Notes

Self-reliance, like almost any personal or societal concept, carries with it a raft of both positive and negative attributes. In the United States, self-reliance has been the dominant theme since the beginnings of the nation, as the first settlers were forced, by the mere need to survive, to be self-reliant. As the earliest settlers were setting foot on utterly unfamiliar territory and were uncertain of what type of human presence they might encounter, they had to quickly rely on their own skills at providing themselves shelter, food, and virtually every other necessity to survive. Though they received some help from people native to the lands they encroached on, the focus of their survival was self-reliance. Likewise, as they established colonies in the New World and began to expand westward, they were confronted with similar conditions, encountering unfamiliar lands and native populations not eager to share their homelands. Even today, Americans are often encouraged to "Go it al...

Both Friar Laurence and the Nurse help Romeo and Juliet get married. Friar Laurence assists by performing the secret ceremony that allows the pair to hide their union from their family. He also concocts a plan to reunite the pair after Romeo’s exile by providing Juliet with the sleeping potion that wrongly causes Romeo to conclude that Juliet is dead. Similarly, the Nurse assists Romeo and Juliet in a variety of ways, but this assistance also ultimately leads to their respective deaths. Throughout the play, the Nurse acts as an intermediary between Romeo and Juliet. She delivers messages for both and facilitates their secret meetings. So while both the Nurse and Friar Lawrence do, indeed, help Romeo and Juliet get married, this help ironically results in the final tragedy of the play.

The officer in charge of the small Union garrison inside Fort Sumter was Major Robert Anderson. Anderson, who had been stationed along with his men at Fort Moultrie, at the tip of nearby Sullivan's Island, moved his men to Fort Sumter,  which sits on a small man-made island guarding the entrance to Charleston Harbor. This decision, made amid the growing crisis in Charleston following South Carolina's secession, would prove a fateful one. Newly-inaugurated President Abraham Lincoln could not abandon the fort to the Confederates, and Confederate President Jefferson Davis did not feel that he could tolerate the presence of Union troops on what he claimed was Confederate soil. Eventually, Lincoln made the decision to resupply the fort, and the Confederates began the Civil War by opening fire on the fort. Anderson, a native of slaveholding Kentucky, was promoted to brigadier general during the war, and quickly became a national hero.

First of all, we have to recognize that the Romans did not mistreat Christians at all times and all places.  There were many times and places when Christians could get along fine in the Roman Empire.  However, it is true that Christians were persecuted at times.  When they were, it was because A) their religion did not permit them to engage in traditional Roman religious rituals and B) because they were trying to spread their religion to other Romans. The Roman Empire actually tolerated many religions.  The only thing was that they expected everyone of every religion to also make sacrifices to the Roman gods and to engage in Roman religious rituals.  They did not care if people worshipped other gods as long as they also did what the Roman gods wanted in terms of sacrifice and ritual.  They believed that their gods would get angry and harm Rome if its people did not participate in the right rituals.  Most religions were fine with this.  They believed in many gods and didn’t mind if thei...

In the first chapter of the novel, Golding describes the uninhabited island. Golding writes, "The shore was fledged with palm trees. These stood or leaned or reclined against the light and their green feathers were a hundred feet up in the air. The ground beneath them was a bank covered with coarse grass, torn everywhere by the upheavals of fallen trees, scattered with decaying coconuts and palm saplings. Behind this was the darkness of the forest proper and the open space of the scar...Out there, perhaps a mile away, the white surf flinked on a coral reef, beyond that the open sea was dark blue" (10). Although Golding depicts a beautiful island, the description of the "dark forest" and "scar" provide an ominous tone. The vast ocean also illustrates that the boys are completely alone on the island away from civilization. Golding then describes the meeting platform and natural bathing pool. As Ralph, Simon, and Jack explore the island, they discover that it...

Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale are in conflict with the men because of their condescending attitudes. Shortly after Mr. Hale directs the sheriff and county attorney into the Wrights' home where he has previously discovered that Mr. Wright has been killed, the county attorney has Mr. Hale repeat what occurred the previous day when he and his son came to the Wright's house. Then, he moves toward the stair door, suggesting that he and the other men go upstairs to search for a motive. But, before doing so, he pauses, "You're convinced there was nothing important here?" he asked the sheriff. "Nothing that would--point to any motive?" "Nothing here but kitchen things," he [the sheriff] said, with a little laugh for the insignificance of kitchen things.  Still, the county attorney looks into a high cupboard, and he discovers broken jelly jars that have frozen. "'Here's a nice mess,' he said resentfully." When the women express Mrs. Fo...