Notes

The narrator of the poem "A Psalm of Life" is adamant that life is not an empty dream, but is instead real and earnest.  He begs the psalmist not to tell him "in mournful numbers" about the emptiness of life.  Instead, he encourages the idea "that each to-morrow, Find us farther than to-day."  He believes in life as a journey.  The narrator also encourages a heroic approach to life.  His approach to life is a positive one, and one which is full of hope and valor.  He does not see any emptiness in life.  Instead, he sees it as being full of possibility. Leaving behind a great legacy is also important to the narrator.  One who lives life as if it is empty will not leave behind such a legacy.  Though bodies will turn to dust, souls will live on.  Legacies will also live on.

In chapter 3, Ponyboy, a Greaser, and Cherry, a Soc, are walking to pick up a car so that the boys could take them home after going to a movie. At first, as he talks with Cherry, Ponyboy is thinking how similar Greasers and Socs must be if the girls are typical Socs. He begins to think that maybe the only difference between them is money. Cherry, however, thinks it is more than money and speaks of how differently the two groups act and think. Ponyboy then considers that the difference is not really money but that the difference between the two groups is tied up in emotions and feelings. According to Ponyboy, Greasers and Socs are different because: "[Socs] don't feel anything and [Greasers] feel too violently" The two discuss how the Socs are always so busy striving to gain more things that they have no room left for feelings. By comparison, the Greasers, Ponyboy thinks, always have it so much tougher, always wanting for more and so they feel things much more intensely.

Readers who have read all three novels will all have differing views on the messages within them. In answering the question "Who is Meggie Cleary in The Thorn Birds  most like in The Kite Runner ?" students are being asked to identify and extrapolate similarities and challenges in common. For example Meggie and Baba are both parents so there's a simple place to start; a student could start by just looking at the parenting experience of each character. Was it difficult and disappointing at times? Or was the experience of the parent joyful and rewarding? In the case of Meggie and Baba, it would seem disappointment and even surprise are true. For example Meggie is unlucky in love twice over, once when Ralph leaves her in order to remain in the priesthood and also when her son by Ralph becomes a priest and drowns when still quite young—so there is bitter sorrow there and also unfulfilled dreams. Meggie's daughter Justine, who is fiercely independent but perhaps a disappoi...

The seven wonders of the ancient world include the following: the Pyramids of Giza,  the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Statue of Zeus in Greece,  the Mausoleum of Halicarnassas, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Only one of these, the Great Pyramid of Giza, still survives. (Some historians say the Hanging Gardens never really existed.) All seven wonders were chosen as works of architectural importance that were those most often commented on by ancient travelers who wrote about their journeys. Since most of the writers were Greek or Greek speaking and from the Middle East or Mediterranean area, they focused on structures in that area, and emphasized Greek accomplishments: five of the seven wonders (all but the pyramids and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon) are Greek. 

This is a good question, as it deals with a potentially tricky part of the text. While it's true that Macbeth isn't directly related to King Duncan and so seems an unlikely pick for the throne, it's important to remember that Macbeth was wildly popular with the king at the time and had proved himself recently on the battlefield.  The play opens at the tail end of a battle between King Duncan's forces and Macdonwald. During the course of the fighting, Macbeth distinguishes himself by defeating Macdonwald and showing great courage, and King Duncan is so impressed that he names Macbeth Thane of Cawdor. This unexpected promotion signals Macbeth's growing popularity with the monarch, and it is this growing political clout that allows Macbeth to jockey himself into consideration for the crown. As such, while Macbeth does not have a claim to kingship via relation to the king, he has won the king's favor and proven himself to be a capable leader, at least in military te...

The three sources of law correspond with the three co-equal branches of U.S. government (legislative, executive, and judicial), which exist both on the federal level and within each of the states. Before we get there, a little background: the U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land.  The U.S. Constitution creates the three branches of our government, grants them specific powers, and by way of the Amendments enumerates various constitutional rights. The U.S. Constitution derives its power from the states, which each have their own constitutions that follow a similar structure. Under the 10th Amendment, any powers not specifically given to the federal government are reserved to the states. The U.S. Constitution is the ultimate source of law nationwide, and each state constitution is the ultimate source of law within that particular state. After constitutional sources of law, we look to the three branches of government, which each have lawmaking powers in their own right. The le...

The Pacific War was more of a "war of distance" than the European Theater of World War II.  This is true because of the Pacific Ocean.  This vast ocean separated the United States from Japan in such a way that much of the fighting took place on the open seas.  Hawaii is over 4,000 miles from Japan.  Guam, an American colony, was over 2,500 miles from mainland Japan. The Pacific War was fought over the ocean with engagements on strategic islands in which airstrips could be constructed.  Only late in the war did the United States approach mainland Japan. The European Theater of the war was much smaller in scope.  The distance between London and Berlin is merely 678 miles.  Ground forces were much more important to the movement on the European front in World War II. Even the fighting in North Africa was a short distance to the enemies in Italy (just over 600 miles.)  When the Allied forces finally crossed the English Channel in 1944 to meet German forces in France, the distance ...