Notes

In post-WWII Europe, many countries (including countries like the US that were not in Europe) were angry at the Soviet Union because the Soviets were trying to control as much territory as they possibly could.  Some people within the countries they controlled were angry because they did not want to be communist and/or dominated by the USSR.  Other countries were angry because they did not want communism to spread across Europe. After WWII, the Soviet Union wanted to control as much of Europe (and particularly Eastern Europe) as they could.  They wanted this for two reasons.  First, they felt that it was important to spread communism across the globe because they believed communism was the right ideology for all people.  Second, they wanted to have a large buffer zone of countries they controlled between them and any enemy powers.  They did not want an enemy right on their borders the way Germany had been in WWII so they wanted “satellite nations” between them and the West so that it wo...

You are referring to the skipper who rescues passengers off the drifting wreck of a steamship. The skipper is portrayed as a courageous hero: I understand the large hearts of heroes, The courage of present times and all times, How the skipper saw the crowded and rudderless wreck of the steamship, and Death chasing it up and down the storm, How he knuckled tight and gave not back an inch, and was faithful of days and faithful of nights, And chalk'd in large letters on a board, Be of good cheer, we will not desert you; How he follow'd with them and tack'd with them three days and would not give it up, How he saved the drifting company at last, How the lank loose-gown'd women look'd when boated from the side of their prepared graves, How the silent old-faced infants and the lifted sick, and the sharp-lipp'd unshaved men; All this I swallow, it tastes good, I like it well, it becomes mine, I am the man, I suffer'd, I was there. The skipper’s courage is expressed...

Holden is trying to protect himself—and others—from "man's inhumanity to man." This means all forms of bullying, degrading, dehumanizing, exploitation, and people's inability to see and value others. There are many examples of this kind of behavior in the novel. Holden has sometimes been a victim of it (often partly bringing it on himself), and sometimes he has witnessed it. Here are some examples. In Chapter 6, Holden's roommate Stradlater misses the depth of an essay Holden has written. In his disgust, he tells Holden, "You don't do one damn thing the way you're supposed to." Holden then starts to pester Stradlater about Jane, whom Stradlater has just had a date with. Holden is worried that Stradlater took advantage of her. He keeps it up until Stradlater beats him up. It's this incident that causes Holden to leave the school earlier than he'd planned on. In Chapter 11, Holden relates how he tried to comfort Jane after she cried over s...

In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night , Feste is the fool in Countess Olivia's household. He has served the house for years, entertaining Olivia's father until his death, but Olivia criticizes him over his frequent absence; however, he continues to spend the play entering and exiting the action seemingly at random. His primary job is to entertain, and he does so with songs, dances, wordplay, and mockery of the people around him. Feste's role as a character is primarily pointing out the flaws and absurdities in the behavior of the other characters in the play. For example, he mocks Olivia for her self-indulgent mourning, and points out the excessive moodiness of Duke Orsino's behavior. Feste's presence in the play seems almost omniscient, as he seems to know more about the characters than the audience does and appears in the midst of important actions or conversations frequently. His role in the play is to inform the audience about the characters, make moral judgements ...

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution offers protections for certain types of speech and expression. Only some of the actions taken by the protesters fall under the protections of the First Amendment. Americans have the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression that is free from government interference, provided those expressions do not violate any existing laws. The First Amendment allows the government to prohibit speech that causes a breach of the peace or results in violence. By destroying public property, the protesters clearly violated this aspect of the Constitution and their attempt to use the First Amendment as a defense will not likely be successful in this regard. The Right to Assemble The right to assemble is a primary component of the First Amendment, but it is often misunderstood. Americans have the right to gather together for "peaceful and lawful purposes." Any demonstration that results in violence or causes a breach of the public...

In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, people who refuse to be hunted are beaten to death by Ivan, a giant of a man who used to whip people to death for the Czar of Russia. In this story, the villain is a man named General Zaroff.  Zaroff lives on “Ship Trap Island,” which is somewhere in the Caribbean Sea. Zaroff’s life passion is hunting. During his career as a hunter, he eventually became bored because hunting wild animals is too easy. He decided he wanted to hunt human beings since they are intelligent and would be more challenging to hunt. Humans are “the most dangerous game” to which the story’s title refers. Zaroff obtained Ship Trap Island and uses shipwrecked sailors (including some whose ships were wrecked thanks to false navigational lights that Zaroff rigged up at sea) as his prey. When Zaroff tells Rainsford this, Rainsford wonders how he gets the men to agree to be hunted. Zaroff tells Rainsford that the men have the choice of possible death in t...

The Declaration of Independence stated that we were no longer under British rule. In the Declaration of Independence, the colonists listed the complaints that they had against the King. This section is the longest section of the Declaration of Independence. The colonists believed the British government was violating their rights. They believed the King was abusing his power. In the Declaration of Independence, it stated that all people have certain rights that can’t be taken away or given up. These are called inalienable rights. They include the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Declaration of Independence stated that when a government doesn’t protect the rights of the people, the people must remove that government and replace it with a government that will protect their rights. Once the Declaration of Independence was written and adopted, the Revolutionary War began because Great Britain was not about to let us become free without a fight.