Pokemon is both singular and plural, right?

Pokemon can be used as both a singular and plural word.

The lyrics to the intro song of the popular cartoon "Pokemon" states:

Pokemon, gotta catch 'em all

By using "'em," a shortened version of "them," we can conclude that Pokemon is suitable to be used in the plural form. You could say "I have many Pokemon" or "look at all of those Pokemon." Both would be correct.

You would not say "I have many...

Pokemon can be used as both a singular and plural word.

The lyrics to the intro song of the popular cartoon "Pokemon" states:

Pokemon, gotta catch 'em all

By using "'em," a shortened version of "them," we can conclude that Pokemon is suitable to be used in the plural form. You could say "I have many Pokemon" or "look at all of those Pokemon." Both would be correct.

You would not say "I have many Pokemons." Adding an "s" onto the end would be incorrect.

Pokemon can also be used in the singular case. Within the playable game there is near-constant dialogue. Within those text boxes we can clearly see the word Pokemon used in both singular and plural forms. For example:

Oh! What's this? A rare Pokemon!

By using the word "a" instead of a word that would reflect a plural, such as "some," we can see Pokemon being used in its singular form. You could say "This is my Pokemon" or "I have a Pokemon." Both would be correct.

Feel free to use the word Pokemon in both singular and plural forms—just remember not to ever add an "s" for the plural form.

How does the setting of the book affect Sam Gribley's decisions?

In My Side of the Mountain, Sam Gribley has run away from his home in New York City in order to live off the land in the Catskill mountains. This setting is key. It could be considered another major character in the book. Everything Sam does and learns about is based on his close attention and reaction to the forest and all of the plants and animals that live in it. When he needs...

In My Side of the Mountain, Sam Gribley has run away from his home in New York City in order to live off the land in the Catskill mountains. This setting is key. It could be considered another major character in the book. Everything Sam does and learns about is based on his close attention and reaction to the forest and all of the plants and animals that live in it. When he needs a place to live, he hollows out a large hemlock tree. When he needs a door for it, he finds a dead deer that a hunter has abandoned. Then he teaches himself how to process the hide to make a deerskin covering for his doorway. His diet is whatever he can find on the mountain, sometimes through trial and error. He trains a falcon he names Frightful in order to help him hunt rabbits and small game. He takes some of the mussels that raccoon Jessie Coon James digs out of the river, before she can eat all of them herself. When winter comes, Sam learns how to keep warm from a fire properly ventilated in his tree-home. He discovers how much work it is to break out of a thick ice coating. The theme here should not be seen as Man versus Nature; but rather, Man connecting, cooperating, and surviving in and with Nature. Imagine how much you would learn and know about your own natural habitat if you had to live with its resources alone, and not with anything you could buy at a store. This is how important the mountain environment is to Sam. It has become his life and his livelihood.

As explained in The Diary of a Young Girl, what was the role of "Kitty," or Anne's diary, during her period of hiding in the annexe?

Anne's diary, Kitty, serves as a voice and sounding board for Anne at a time when she was relegated to silence.

Anne's diary, Kitty, allowed her to have a voice.  In both the act of hiding and in her life, Anne lived a life of silence. Literally and symbolically, she was unable to speak. However, Kitty changes that by giving Anne a place where she could speak her mind.  Anne admits this in her opening...

Anne's diary, Kitty, serves as a voice and sounding board for Anne at a time when she was relegated to silence.

Anne's diary, Kitty, allowed her to have a voice.  In both the act of hiding and in her life, Anne lived a life of silence. Literally and symbolically, she was unable to speak. However, Kitty changes that by giving Anne a place where she could speak her mind.  Anne admits this in her opening entry:  "I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support."  In this way, Kitty is a confidant to Anne.  

Anne believes that Kitty provides an opportunity for her to be heard.  Anne feels that Kitty can validate her experience:

Writing in a diary is a really strange experience for someone like me... Oh well, it doesn't matter. I feel like writing, and I have an even greater need to get all kinds of things off my chest.

Anne needs to "get all kinds of things off [her] chest" because she does not have a release.  Kitty's role is to provide this release.  Anne says that she was "prompted to keep a diary in the first place" because she lacks friends. In her role as a friend, Kitty is able to authenticate and validate Anne's voice.

What does Ralph's father do for a living? Why does this provide hope for Ralph and the boys on the island?

In Chapter 1, Ralph tells Piggy that his father taught him to swim when he was five and that his father is a commander in the Navy.In Chapter 2, Ralph holds an assembly and offers the boys hope by telling them that they will be rescued because his father is searching for them. He also tells the group of boys that his father has access to a collection of maps with all the islands...

In Chapter 1, Ralph tells Piggy that his father taught him to swim when he was five and that his father is a commander in the Navy. In Chapter 2, Ralph holds an assembly and offers the boys hope by telling them that they will be rescued because his father is searching for them. He also tells the group of boys that his father has access to a collection of maps with all the islands in the world on it. Ralph then says that sooner or later his father's ship will pass the island, and the boys will be rescued. The possibility of Ralph's father searching for the stranded group of boys provides every boy on the island with a sense of hope. The boys are relieved to hear Ralph's encouraging words and believe that they will be rescued by his father.

Why does Nathan Radley filling the hole in the tree with cement contribute to Boo's misery?

When Nathan Radley fills the tree knothole, it distances Boo from Scout and Jem.

Boo Radley is not a normal person.  He is very reclusive, and never even comes out of his house.  Scout, Jem, and Dill begin to bring him out of his shell with their efforts to contact him.  He strikes up a friendship with them through the simple means of leaving presents in the knothole of his tree.

The children do not know who the gifts are from at first, but Boo keeps leaving them.  The little trinkets are his way of connecting with them.  He gives them gum, pennies, twine, and even a watch.  The best present and the most personal is the soap dolls.  They are perfect miniatures of Scout and Jem.

Nathan Radley, Boo’s older brother, is almost as quiet as Boo.  However, he does not seem to want Boo to interact with the neighborhood kids.  Maybe he feels it is inappropriate.  Nathan tells Scout and Jem that the tree was sick.

“Mr. Radley, ah—did you put cement in that hole in that tree down yonder?”

“Yes,” he said. “I filled it up.”

“Why’d you do it, sir?”

“Tree’s dying. You plug ‘em with cement when they’re sick. You ought to know that, Jem.” (Ch. 7)

The children ask Atticus if the tree is sick and he doesn’t think it is.  Jem in particular feels very badly about this.  He knows that Boo Radley meant no harm, and that now he has no connection to the outside world.  When Boo leaves a blanket on Scout’s shoulders, Jem insists that Atticus not return it.  He doesn’t want Nathan to know that Boo was there.

“…Mr. Nathan put cement in that tree, Atticus, an‘ he did it to stop us findin’ things—he’s crazy, I reckon, like they say, but Atticus, I swear to God he ain’t ever harmed us, he ain’t ever hurt us, he coulda cut my throat from ear to ear that night but he tried to mend my pants instead… he ain’t ever hurt us, Atticus—” (Ch. 8)

Jem and Atticus both understand that Boo needs his connection to the kids.  He has no one else.  Cementing the tree was cruel, in Jem’s mind, because Boo did nothing wrong. He thinks Boo is harmless, but Nathan must not have thought so.  Still, cementing the hole made poor Boo even lonelier.

Why is the Declaration of Independence still applicable today?

The Declaration of Independence is still applicable today in that it states who should be in charge of the American government—the American people. It says the government derives its power "from the consent of the governed." It also states the government is necessary to provide for the people's "inalienable rights," which according to Jefferson are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The rhetoric in the Declaration of Independence has been used by American politicians...

The Declaration of Independence is still applicable today in that it states who should be in charge of the American government—the American people. It says the government derives its power "from the consent of the governed." It also states the government is necessary to provide for the people's "inalienable rights," which according to Jefferson are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The rhetoric in the Declaration of Independence has been used by American politicians as well as leaders in other countries who wish to create their own forms of self-government.  

The Declaration of Independence is also important in that it gives a list of wrongs committed by Britain against the American colonies. Without this list, the American colonists are only tax-dodgers. This list shows the colonists have legitimate complaints.  

Finally, the Declaration of Independence gives the American people a right to revolution.  A passage states "the people have the right to alter or to abolish that government, and to establish a new government," which means that if the government infringes on life, liberty, and/ or the pursuit of happiness, people have an inalienable right to change the government or establish a new one. The next passage begins with the word "prudence," however, meaning the people should take this responsibility seriously and not flippantly alter the government on a whim.  

In Julius Caesar, does Shakespeare portray Calpurnia and Portia as women of power and strength?

Calpurnia and Portia, though they have considerable strength of mind, do not seem to possess much power. Both are dependent on their husbands and can only plead with them. Calpurnia wants her husband to stay home because she is (rightly) terrified by her bad dreams and all the strange happenings that have been reported.

Caesar, I never stood on ceremonies,
Yet now they fright me. There is one within,
Besides the things that we have heard and seen,
Recounts most horrid sights seen by the watch.
A lioness hath whelped in the streets;
And graves have yawn'd, and yielded up their dead;
Fierce fiery warriors fight upon the clouds,
In ranks and squadrons and right form of war,
Which drizzled blood upon the Capitol;
The noise of battle hurtled in the air,
Horses did neigh and dying men did groan,
And ghosts did shriek and squeal about the streets.
O Caesar! These things are beyond all use,
And I do fear them.

Calpurnia's husband ignores her completely and goes to meet his doom at the Capitol. So while Calpurnia may be strong in the sense that she has correctly read the signs of unrest in the city, she lacks power in a patriarchal society.

Portia too has to plead with her husband, Brutus, to get what she wants. She manages to persuade her husband to confide in her, but this modicum of power is achieved only with great effort:

You have some sick offense within your mind,
Which by the right and virtue of my place
I ought to know of; and, upon my knees,
I charm you, by my once commended beauty,
By all your vows of love and that great vow
Which did incorporate and make us one,
That you unfold to me, yourself, your half,
Why you are heavy, and what men tonight
Have had resort to you; for here have been
Some six or seven, who did hide their faces
Even from darkness.

Like Calpurnia, Portia is deeply concerned in Act 2, Scene 4 after she learns the answers to all her questions. Portia may have succeeded in learning about the conspiracy, but she is unable to interfere in it. So while Portia has the wisdom to regard events with trepidation, she, like Calpurnia, is unable to change the situation.

Calpurnia and Portia appeal to their husbands with their feelings, their insights, and their devotion. Both Caesar and Brutus are on fatal courses, but they do not realize that their wives are closer to the truth. Caesar, of course, should have listened to Calpurnia. We know she is speaking truthfully and with love, while he is surrounded by smiling men who have swords and daggers concealed beneath their robes. Portia knows that her husband has gotten himself involved in a perilous plot with a group of inferior and self-serving men. Her wisdom tells her that the assassination attempt may be successful but that will not be the end of it. She herself will commit suicide in a horrible manner by swallowing burning coals pulled out of the fire. Both these women are rightfully distressed by the arrival of the Ides of March. Their own fates are bound up with those of their husbands—but unlike their husbands, they don't have the power to effect change.