Notes

Patrolman Jimmy Wells is described from two perspectives: that of the anonymous third-person narrator and that of "Silky" Bob as he remembers Jimmy from twenty years earlier when they were close young friends. From the narrator's perspective, Jimmy is a typical New York City beat cop. He appears to have been on the beat for many years. His behavior is typical of beat cops in general. He seems to be happy in his job. He enjoys his social status. He enjoys the responsibility of holding up his corner of the world. The narrator achieves the effect that O. Henry wanted to create when he says: ... the officer, with his stalwart form and slight swagger, made a fine picture of a guardian of the peace. O. Henry is not enlightening but deceiving. This is another way of saying that the officer looked like a typical New York cop. That is the way the reader imagines him during his conversation with Bob: as a big stranger in a navy-blue uniform which blends into the dark background of ...

To lose one's innocence is to become aware that the world isn't the bright, happy place one once thought it was; it is instead full of evil, and in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird , most of that evil comes in the form of racism . It takes Scout quite a while to internalize the meaning of racism and its consequences. Once she does, she fully understands the extent of evil in the world and loses her innocence. It is when Scout comprehends the meaning of Mr. Underwood's editorial , published in The Maycomb Tribune soon after Tom Robinson's death, that Scout fully understands the consequences of racism . Towards the end of Chapter 25, Scout notes that Maycomb had been interested Robinson's death for all of two days. It is during this two-day period that Mr. Underwood writes a very enlightening editorial in which, according to Scout's narration, Mr. Underwood "likened Tom's death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children,...

The key to the answer lies in the lines: My little horse must think it queer    To stop without a farmhouse near   and He gives his harness bells a shake    To ask if there is some mistake. We understand from these references that the wagon driver and his horse usually travel along their rural roads from one house or building to another: probably from home to a store, or to another house to drop off something to a neighbor. Horses that are hitched up to wagons, carriages, or buggies grow to recognize routines and places. This stop, next to the woods, was something the horse wasn’t used to. To stop beside a forest without a house or business sitting in the midst of it was an unusual occurrence for the horse. The driver could have been happy with just a quick glance at the snowy woods as they rode along. But no. He made the choice to stop, in spite of what his horse would think or do. The sight of the snowy woods was important enough for him to do this.

Burris Ewell is a product of his environment.  He is one of the many Ewell children.  They have no mother, and their father is not a very good person.  This means that he is sexist, crude, and probably racist at a very young age.  We can tell all of this from the way he behaves when he goes to school on the first day of first grade.   The Ewells go to the first day of school to satisfy the requirements.  Burris is such an oaf that he doesn’t even make it through the first day.  He looks down on the teacher because she is a woman, and little Burris has such a bloated ego that he thinks he is better than her and doesn’t want to be told what to do.  It is the posturing of a young boy mimicking his father.  Burris is illiterate, because he only goes to that first day each year.  He does not know how to spell his name.  In fact, he doesn’t even seem to understand the question when asked how he spells it.  Miss Caroline inspected her roll-book. “I have a Ewell here, but I don’t have a first ...

In Chapter Eight of Animal Farm, the pigs find a crate of whisky in the cellar of the farmhouse and stay up late drinking. The next morning, "a deep silence hung over the farmhouse" and none of the pigs get to work on time. Worse still, Napoleon claims that he is dying and sends Squealer to inform the other animals. In reality, this is the first time that Napoleon has ever drunk whisky and, being a pig, he is not accustomed to alcoholic beverages. In short, he is suffering from nothing more than a hangover. Arguably, however, he does not want to admit this to the other animals because drinking alcohol contravenes the Seven Commandments. For the other animals, however, Napoleon's claim is clear evidence of Snowball's treachery: A rumour went round that Snowball had after all contrived to introduce poison into Napoleon's food. It is interesting to note that Napoleon does not dismiss this rumour but he does change the relevant Commandment from "no animal shall d...

Despite the serious questions raised in it about the nature of war and how literature and the arts are complicit in its romanticization,  Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw is, in terms of plot, a traditional romantic comedy.  At the beginning of the first act, we have Catherine Petkoff articulating a traditionally romantic viewpoint of both war and love, grounded in aristocratic Bulgarian culture and the artistic tradition of Europe. Raina's engagement to Sergius is situated in that contextual framework. Raina herself expresses that she has some doubts about that ideology, but as a young provincial woman has not really been exposed to any viable alternative modes of thinking or being.  When Captain Bluntschli enters into her room, Raina is presented with a different view of war and love and slowly begins to realize that her engagement to Sergius is based on an illusion. We gradually see that Sergius too, in his relationship to Raina is simply filling out an externally create...

Darry is very strict, and Pony feels Darry does not understand him. The Curtis brothers lost their parents to a car accident. Darry, the oldest brother, became the father figure. Still, Pony considers Soda more loving and caring than Darry.  [Soda is] never hollering at me all the time the way Darry is, or treating me as if I was six instead of fourteen. I love Soda more than I've ever loved anyone, even Mom and Dad. He's always happy-go-lucky and grinning, while Darry's hard and firm and rarely grins at all (Chapter 1). Pony’s relationship with Darry is strained because Darry feels the need to keep the family together, and therefore wants to make sure Pony and Soda toe the line. Darry is particularly hard on Pony because he is the youngest. Soda has already quit school, but Darry wants to make sure Pony gets good grades and stays out of trouble.  Things come to a head when Pony comes home late and Darry gets really worried. Darry hits Pony, prompting Pony to run away. This...

Two cultural attitudes which might be deduced from Washington Irving's short story "The Devil and Tom Walker" involve slavery and usury. Although slavery thrived in the southern states in the early 1700's it was beginning to be more and more limited in northern states, especially in Massachusetts, the setting of the story. In fact, a strident abolitionist movement was burgeoning in Boston, leading to the eventual banning of slavery in the state in 1783. In the 1800's, Massachusetts was even among the first states to allow interracial marriage and desegregate public schools. In Irving's story, Tom Walker reflects this attitude. While he is quite eager to get the gold of "old scratch," he will not agree to outfit a ship and deal in the slave trade. In this refusal, Tom shows the embedded cultural attitude of his time and place against the buying and selling of human beings.  Usury is the lending of money with high interest rates. From the beginning eco...

Winnie's family micromanages Winnie.  They don't necessarily control everything that she does, but her parents and grandmother are constantly around telling Winnie what she should and should not do.  Colleagues of mine call those kinds of parents "helicopter parents," because they are always hovering over their children.  The constant oversight from Winnie's family is the number one reason why she wants to run away.   "Come in now, Winnie. Right away. You'll get heat stroke out there on a day like this. And your lunch is ready." "See?" said Winnie to the toad. "That's just what I mean. It's like that every minute. If I had a sister or a brother, there'd be someone else for them to watch. But, as it is, there's only me. I'm tired of being looked at all the time. . . I'll never be able to do anything important if I stay in here like this. I expect I'd better run away."  After Winnie returns home from bei...

One of the biggest issues with electricity relates to how it is generated. Most of our current electricity requirements are fulfilled by fossil fuel based plants, more commonly known as thermal power plants. These generate greenhouse gases, apart from other wastes. Hydroelectricity has its own environmental issues, such as the loss of animal habitat and possible anaerobic conditions in impounding reservoirs, among others. Nuclear power also has its own issues, most specifically the risk of leakage and waste disposal.  The dependence on electricity also means that we cannot do anything without it. Our lives practically run on electricity, starting from our kitchen and house to our information networks, transportation, etc. Imagine what life would be like without electricity.  Another issue of electricity is the risk of accidents, in terms of short-circuiting, electric shocks, fire hazards, etc. Hope this helps.

In the lyrics of "Bridge Over Troubled Water," here are prominent examples of figurative language: 1)  "Feeling small"--an idiom denoting that the person has been made to feel less than others and/or insignificant 2)  "Like a bridge over troubled water"--a simile suggesting that the person's love for the struggling person is not going to alleviate the struggles, but that the love will help the person struggling not to drown in his/her problems 3)  "Down and out"--an idiom usually used to describe someone who has fallen on hard times (as opposed to someone who has always been in a precarious state) 4)  "Sail on"--an implied metaphor suggesting that the struggling person is a boat or on a boat in the troubled waters, and that is why it is so hard for him/her to get out of the problems 5)  "Your time has come to shine"/"See how they shine"--implied metaphors suggesting that the person and/or the person's dreams ...

To analyze sexuality in a performance, you would focus on gestures, tone and volume of voice, touching and near-touching, proximity of actors in space, places represented, symbolic elements introduced in scenes as well as lighting changes, actions incorporated with dialogue, and actors' movement reflecting director's blocking.   Strindberg's script, as preserved in English translations as in the Dover (1992, Bjorkman translation) and Oxford (1998, Robinson translation) editions, contains minimal stage directions as to performance, space, action and movement. He describes place and scenic elements--all action taking place in the Count's estate kitchen--in detail, but refrains from giving performance detail. Consequently, indications of sexuality will be infused by the director and actors of any given performance, and any two performances can differ widely. Examples of this and of analysis of sexuality in a performance are readily available in the opening.   1. Kristin is...

In Macbeth , fate is made to seem like an unquestionable force, something that determines and directs the course of our lives. It is made to seem this way by the Weird Sisters and the way they speak to Macbeth and Banquo about their futures. When the witches hail Macbeth as Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and the future king, they do so without qualification; there is no if this , then that . They simply present him with what appear to be facts about Macbeth's future without saying what actions he must take to become Thane of Cawdor or king. The same goes for Banquo; the witches tell him that he will father a line of kings without explaining how Banquo's lineage will rule.   It is the same with the three apparitions the Weird Sisters later conjure for Macbeth. They present the king with two statements that seem to be assurances of a secure fate, but turn out to be enigmatically-worded statements of fact instead. The witches tell Macbeth that "none of woman born / Shall h...

The core of the earth’s crust, about 1,800 miles below the surface, is the hottest part of the planet earth. Most of that heat is generated by a continuous decay of radioactive isotopes. The heat generated may cause core temperatures to rise above 5,000 degrees Celsius, radiating outwards and leading to considerable warming of gas, water, rocks and other geological materials. As the heat radiates from its source at the core towards the earth’s surface, the warming effect gradually reduces, creating a geothermal gradient with a temperature difference of about 25 degrees Celsius for every kilometer of depth. If underground rock formations become heated to temperatures between 700 and 1,300 degrees Celsius, they become partly melted. When mixed with gas and gas bubbles they form magma, which exists in the lower crusts, but whenever the magma bubbles to the earth’s surface as lava, a volcanic eruption is said to occur.

Scout has very few things in common with the majority of her classmates. Scout lives in town, and her father is a lawyer. Many of her pupils reside in the rural areas of Maycomb and come from families that make their living farming. Scout also comes a from a family that values education, and her classmates seem rather dismissive of the subjects they are taught in class. In Chapter 2, Scout comments that her classmates were " immune to imaginative literature " (Lee 22). However, Scout is the leader of her class and continually volunteers to answer questions that the teachers ask. She is rather supportive of her classmates throughout the novel and even tries to defend Walter Cunningham when he refuses to accept Miss Caroline's quarter . Scout tells her teacher, " Miss Caroline, he's a Cunningham " (Lee 26). Her classmates look up to Scout and follow her lead. Scout is also tolerant of her classmates both academically and socially . When Cecil Jacobs says that ...

Overpopulation is a condition in which the population exceeds the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. It negatively impacts our environment and its various biotic and abiotic factors. When the population exceeds the carrying capacity, adequate amounts of resources are not available for everyone. To ensure that our needs for space, food, fuel and other resources are satisfied, we tend to exploit the environment. For example, to get more space we cut trees, which decreases our green cover, reduces photosynthesis, and shrinks the habitat of a number of species. This in turn affects the biodiversity of the planet, increases air pollution and soil erosion, and interrupts the food chain, among many other things. Overpopulation also means the use of much more water, which means that the exploitation of water resources will increase. Overpopulation also causes the generation of more wastewater (which will need disposal). We will also need more electricity and amenities for the excess populatio...

In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," the principal crime occurred two years ago when Helen Stoner's sister Julia was murdered by their stepfather Dr. Grimesby Roylott. He was also guilty of the attempted murder of Helen on the night before she comes to see Sherlock Holmes—but that would have been impossible to prove, since Helen never even saw the "speckled band," a poisonous snake Roylott had sent through the ventilator in the expectation that it would bite and kill her, exactly as it had killed Julia in the same room and in the same bed two years before. Holmes comes down to Stoke Moran because he has agreed to help the frightened young woman who has told him that she heard the same low whistle described to her by Julia shortly before she died an agonizing death. ‘Tell me, Helen,’ said she, ‘have you ever heard anyone whistle in the dead of the night?’ ‘Never,’ said I. ‘I suppose that you could not possibly whistle, yourself, in your sleep?’ ‘Certainly not...

In Chapter 14, Crispin comes to a crossroads on a foggy morning. There he sees a corpse hanging from a gallows with a sign posted near him. Even though Crispin cannot read, he finds great meaning in the sight of the hanged man and decides that it is a message from God. Over the previous days of his journey, Crispin had grown very depressed and felt that it was not worth living through all of this suffering thrust upon him. A nameless child until just a few days ago, he questioned his place and path in life now that he had no home, no family, and no community. When Crispin sees the dead man, he is overcome with emotion and realizes that he does not want to die. Crispin prays that he can follow God's path and live a good life so that he does not end up like the hanged man. Soon after, it seems that Crispin's prayers are answered when he meets Bear in the plague-ravaged village.