In Pride and Prejudice, in what chapter does Charlotte tell Elizabeth about why she is marrying Mr. Collins?

It is in Chapter XXII of Volume I (Chap. 22) that Charlotte tells Elizabeth that she has accepted Mr. Collins' offer of marriage. Charlotte never tells Mr. Collins her reasons for marrying him. In this chapter, Sir and Mrs. Lucas talk about the advantages of Charlotte's marrying Mr. Collins. It is also in this chapter that the narrator discussed Charlotte's general views of her life, prospects for happiness and ideas about marriage.

It is an oversimplification to suggest that Charlotte is marrying Mr. Collins for his money. In this era, marriage settlements still required the bride's family contribute something to the family income, which was deposited in a bank to collect interest that was used for annual household expenses: The large amount of money was left intact and the interest from it provided the income.

The Lucases were not rich and could not "settle" any significant amount of money on Charlotte at her marriage. It was therefore crucial for her to marry someone whose own money was sufficient to support a household. This wasn't considered marrying for money in the way that Wickham actively pursued marrying for money. On the contrary, this was considered prudent and wise and was advised just as Mrs. Gardiner advised Elizabeth to avoid a penniless marriage to Wickham.  

Charlotte reminds Elizabeth that she has never been romantic in her ideas of love and marriage, maybe because whe was never a beauty. She tells Elizabeth that the facts that Mr. Collins has a career, connections of importance in society and a descent home are enough to fulfill her idea of the best chance for being happy in marriage. She had already told Elizabeth in Chapter VI of Volume I (Chap. 6) that she believed people could marry on little knowledge of each other and have as great a chance of happiness as people very well acquainted with each other.

To summarize, Charlotte doesn't marry Collins for his money, for one thing, he's a clergyman, he's not wealthy. She marries him because she believes happiness in marriage is a gamble even in the best situations. She also marries him because she is twenty-seven, not very pretty and living in the countryside of England with no options for love and marriage other than the ones that come to her own front door (they are not rich enough to spend time in London where she might have met more men). She marries him because it is better to have her own family and her own home than to live all her life in her parents home being always financially dependent upon them. An advantage to marrying Collins is that his connection with Lady De Bourgh means that he has the possibility for advancement and additional earnings, but this is what Charlotte's parents point out, not Charlotte.

What quotes are important in the beginning of The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

Clearly there are a number of quotes that you could look at, and in a sense, there are no "wasted words" in a novel, as everything is carefully chosen to establish character, themes and conflict; however, for me, one of the important elements in the first chapter of this great novel is how Kit very quickly discerns that she has entered a radically new world where her beliefs and values are very different and where, because of this, she is treated with suspicion bordering on contempt. This of course is one of the key conflicts in the book as Kit has to battle between her own identity and who she is and how she can express that (or not) in this new world that she has entered. We see this most clearly in the opening chapter when Kit dives off the boat to rescue the doll of Prudence Cruff. Note the reaction she receives when she says that she was taught to swim as a young child:

The others stared at her in suspicion. As though she had sprouted a tail and fins right before their eyes. What was the matter with these people? Not another word was uttered as the men pulled harder on their oars. A solid cloud of disapproval settled over the dripping girl, more chilling than the April breeze.

Kit's spirits plunge in the face of the series of "hostile faces" that stare at her as she realises that she is entering a very different world and she is not able to act and talk as she had been used to.

What are he factors that affect machine loading techniques during scheduling?

Machine loading is the job of deciding sequence of jobs to be processed on a production equipment or machine. In a typical machine shop there are multiple machine tools such as lathe, drill, milling machine and so on. This shop would typically process or manufacture many different components. Each of these components may be required to be processed on one or more of the machine tools. Also, at a time a number of pieces of a component, called lot quantity, may be manufactured. When a component is taken up for processing on a machine, all the pieces in the lot are processed one after another till the whole lot is processed and after this the complete lot is transferred to another machine for further processing, or moved out of shop-floor as finished components.

The way machine loading is done affects the performance of production work in terms of many key areas such as:

• The total time production lots remain on the shop floor.


• The total work-in-progress (wip) on the shop-floor.


• Lost machine capacity due to waiting for job lots to be processed. This may be measured separately for bottleneck machines and others.


• Meeting of committed delivery commitments.

Loading of the machine in a way that balances all such objectives is is a very complex decision. Many different machine scheduling techniques including sophisticated computer software are available and used in industry.

The choice of appropriate machine techniques will depend on many factors including the following.

• The number of machines to be loaded.


• The number of job lots to be processed during a given period such as a week.


• Number of machine used for each job lot


• Existence of machines with no or limited spare capacity that makes them bottleneck in the production process


• Relative weightages or priorities of the management among different machine loading objectives. These have been discussed above.


• Availability of people skilled in machine loading functions and techniques. For computerized machine loading, more important than individual skill is the availability of computer software.

Frequently, it becomes very difficult to choose an appropriate machine loading technique based on just logical analysis. Therefore, the best method of selecting a technique may be to do some simulation exercise with alternative techniques and decision rules and select a method that gives best results.

According to Emerson in "Self-Reliance," why do people dismiss their own thoughts?

2.    FIGURATIVE    language is language that expresses more than just its literal definition.

3. A     PUN     is a play on two or more meanings of a word.

4. A      METAPHOR    makes a comparison between two things without the words like or as.

5. A    SIMILE       makes a comparison between two things using the words like or as.

6.         IRONY          is saying one thing but meaning something else.

7.          HYPERBOLE                 is an intentional exaggeration.

8.  PERSONIFICATION       is giving human qualities to something that's not human.

9.     SATIRE           uses witty language to insult or express dissatisfaction by exposing a person's errors.

10. A     SYMBOL             is one thing or idea that stands for another.

11.       JUXTAPOSITION       is placing two things or words that are opposite or dissimilar next to each other.

12. A  PARADOX   is a statement that seems to contract itself and yet make sense.

13. A    STATEMENT       OF         EQUIVALENCE    is saying that one thing is equal to another.

14. A  PARENTHETICAL     ASIDE   is a statement that appears as an "aside" within a sentence.

What I know about Thoreau and his influence:

1. In real life, Thoreau lived in the cabin for two years. In Walden, he says he lived there for     ONE            YEAR    .

2. It's necessary to     PAY     close      ATTENTION      to Thoreau's writings to get as much as possible out of them.

3. Thoreau spent a night in jail because he did not want to support a government that allowed     SLAVERY     .

4. The three people whom Thoreau influenced were     MOHANDAS         GANDHI     ,    DR.                         MARTIN         LUTHER          KING      JR      , and     RACHEL            CARSON         .

What does Calpurnia's lecture to Scout about criticizing Walter's manners say about hers and Atticus's attitude toward others?Calpurnia lectures...

In Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," both Atticus and Calpurnia respect the individual regardless of race or socioeconomic status.  A phrase that Jem mocked in latter chapters because it was not adhered to by most of the community does, however, hold true for Atticus and Caplpurnia.  This phrase is what Scout says at the end of Chapter 23:  "...there is just one kind of folks.  Folks."

So, when Scout criticizes Walter's table manners, Calpurnia privately scolds her, telling her that Walter is her company. And, it is after this incident that Atticus tells Scout,

If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folds.  You never really understand a person until yu consider things from his point of view--....until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.

Of course, this is the very lesson that Scout does learn as the narrative continues.  For, she comes to understand Mrs. Dubose, the Cunninghams, Tom Robinson, Mr. Raymond Dolphus, Boo Radley as well as Calpurnia, Jem, Aunt Alexandra, and her father.

What is government and what is its purpose in a society? Are there different forms of government? If so,l could you name them?

Can you imagine for a moment what your life would be like if there were no government? That would mean there was no one in charge of your city or town, no one in charge of your county, no one in charge of your state, and no one in charge of your country, since all of the institutions in charge of those areas are forms of government. 

You would not have to pay any taxes to anyone, which might seem great for awhile, but you would have to be responsible for building and repairing your own little section of the street, you would have to pay for schooling for your children, you would have to contract with someone to have your rubbish picked up, you would have to figure out a way to get your own safe water supply, you would have to pay for your own police and fire protection, and you would have no one to complain to if your neighbors played their radio too loudly or trampled your lawn.  You would not be able to sue anyone who did some wrong to you, and you would be driving on roads that had no speed limits or traffic rules, even if you had any roads at all, since government is responsible for building roads. It might seem like fun to be able to go as fast as you wanted and not have any red lights to worry about, but after awhile, you would figure out this was not the best situation.   You would have to solve many problems on your own. For example, if someone stole something from your house, it would be up to you to figure out what to do about that.  If your dog, which would not need to be registered or have up-to-date shots, bit someone, that person would not be able to call on government for a solution, and might just come over to shoot your dog.

I could go on forever with the list of functions government is responsible for, but perhaps you can think of some other functions for yourself and decide what all of these functions have in common. 

What are Darus' feelings about the prisoner and about Balduccis' order?

"The Guest" is set in Algeria, which was at the time a French colony, so there are three groups at play in the story: the Arab Algerians (the arab), the European-Algerians (Balducci), and the French transplants (Daru), none of which trust each other.

Balducci is a gendarme, a military police officer who must obey the colonial command.  He trusts Daru more that the arab.  The prisoner is an Arab who has openly committed murder.  In the end, he trusts Balducci's direct orders, taking himself to prison, rather than Daru's implicit orders, which leave him at apparent freedom.  Daru is French, but he teaches colonial geography to Arab children.  He is not in the military, so he tries to convince himself that he shouldn't feel obligated to either the colonialists or the arabs, even though Balducci thinks Daru is on his, the European, side.  Daru wants to avoid making a choice, which as all philosophy students know, is never a good choice.

All three characters are caught in "the middle" of an existential crossroads of "freedom" versus "death."  Balducci trusts a stranger to carry out his orders.  Daru refuses to acknowledge his colonial obligation to deliver the prisoner.  And the arab cannot decide which road to take because of external, cultural forces.

The irony of the story is that the arab takes himself to prison instead of choosing a life with the nomads.  He would rather die at the hands of his enemies than be free.  A professor in college taught us a caveat in the story: an arab must never dishonor his host.  Since Daru fed and clothed him for the night, the Arab must carry out the wishes of his host.  But what were Daru's wishes?  Did Daru even know his own wishes?

Did Daru want the Arab to be free?  Or did Daru wash his hands of the situation and abandon the arab on the road?

Either the arab misinterprets Daru's wishes (he thinks Daru abandons him to go to prison) or the arab protects Daru from the wrong decision himself (the arab appreciates Daru setting him free, but he cannot go to the nomads because such a decision would land Daru in prison instead of himself).

In the end, Camus says that most of us choose the road leading toward death, that we do not take personal responisbility for our freedoms; instead, it is easier to obey the laws and decisions of others.

What would be three good aspects to compare and contrast in The Sniper and The Monkey's Paw?The two short stories are "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W....

The two stories both qualify as suspenseful, The Monkey's Paw due to the mystical characteristics of the charm, the monkey's paw, and The Sniper because of the mystery of the identity of the enemy sniper that the Republican sniper fights and shoots, killing, thereby saving his own life.

Both stories have a surprise ending, the Whites, from The Monkey's Paw never expect that after they make wishes on the charm that they would end up sacrificing their son and end up with less than they had when they started.

In The Sniper, the civil war that erupts in Ireland that puts brother against brother, literally ends up illustrating the futility of war. Because the Republican Sniper goes down to the street to discover the identity of the man that he killed and discovers that it is his brother.

The two stories are similar in that in actions in both result in the death of a family member.  Each story's plot involves the sacrificial death of a family member, unexpectedly.  In The Monkey's Paw, Mr. White never imagined that his wish for 200 pounds would result in his son's untimely death.

In The Sniper, the Republican Sniper is on the rooftop to protect the town, he never imagined that when he was confronted with an enemy that the person would actually be his own brother.  The two brothers were trying to kill each other without knowing that they were shooting at a brother.

In The Monkey's Paw, Mr. & Mrs. White simply want 200 pounds to make their lives easier, but when Mr. White makes the wish, and nothing happens, the family believes that the monkey's paw is a fake.

Both stories deal with loss, death and a degree of isolation.  The sniper is alone on the roof, and the story gives the sense that he feels totally alone, he is hungry, he can't be seen, or he might be shot.  The White family live in the country isolated somewhat from the rest of the world, and when Sergeant Major Morris visits them, and warns them not to take the monkey's paw because of its dangerous, mystical ability, they don't believe him.

In war, as The Sniper illustrates is futile, it is foolish, especially in a Civil War, that anything will be solved without blood shed and loss.

Both stories present characters who have a goal, in The Sniper, it is to defend their political ideas and beat their opponent, the enemy, other Irish people.  In The Monkey's Paw, the Whites want to make their life easier by having extra money, but instead, they end up with less than they started, they end up with no money and the untimely death of their son.

In "The Scarlet Ibis," what lessons does the narrator learn from Doodle, and why is he telling this story?

One could say that the narrator learns many significant lessons from his brother such as perseverance, faith, and unconditional love. He also learned about the vast spectrum of human emotions from guilt and jealousy to grief, pride, accomplishment, and so on.

Doodle's brother may not have recognized the importance Doodle played in his life until he was an adult, which is why he is telling his story now. He uses his younger perspective to share the story, and this illustrates the immense amount of guilt he feels about the way that he treated his brother when he was younger as well as the responsibility he feels in his brother's death. However, the narrator's actions as Doodle's brother were perfectly normal for a child.

Obviously one who reads the story must understand this perspective. As a child, he could not process the enormity of Doodle's condition nor did he understand Doddle's limitations or his family's feelings and expectations. This story solely focuses on his experiences as a child and coming to terms with those memories as an adult.

In Seedfolks, how does Leona help the garden?

Leona demonstrates what individuals can do when they feel empowered.  The citizens of Gibb Street feel they can't do anything to change their surroundings, but Leona's actions show them that they could make a change for themselves.

Leona is a great example of a idealistic realist.  She knows what she wants (to clean up the Gibb Street lot), but she also knows what she has to do to get it (sit on the phone all day).  This is best shown when she chooses to bring a bag of trash right to the office waiting room: She has found a realistic way to make her ideals known.

Why does Liesel steal books in The Book Thief?

In the beginning of the book Leisel and her mother have gone to the cemetery.  Liesal's mother had carried her brother's limp body there.  The grave diggers dig a burial site for her brother.   While there with her mother Liesel sees something.  She picks it up.  It is a book.  The title is "The Grave Digger's Handbook."

Liesal hangs onto the book.  Her mother sends her to live with a foster family in another town on Himmel Street.  Liesel rubs the book in her hands.  The book is all she has left to remind her of her brother. 

"***THE BOOKS MEANING***

1-The last time she saw her brother.

2-The last time she saw her mother.

Liesel is unable to read or write.  Yet, she wants to be able to read.  Hans Huberman her foster father begins to teach her how to read.  Books are in short supply so he teaches her to read the book she had stolen.  Liesel then steals books from book burnings by the Nazis and from the mayor's house.  Liesel has a thirst for knowledge and the books provide her with both knowledge and escape from the sadness of her mother's abandonment.

Discuss how both Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Sonnet 130 cover the theme below."A common theme in literature is to not judge a book by its cover."

To answer your question, let's agree that in the motto, "You can't judge a book by its cover," the "book" refers to the true inner person while "its cover" refers to the person's external appearance. With that definition in place, Twelfth Night deals with Viola who covers her book as a male page and enters the service of Orsino. Countess Olivia, the object of Orsino's devotion, falls in love with the "youth" in the goodly cover. Malvolio is maliciously tricked into changing his cover for one of a fool. Viola falls in love with Orsino's cover even though his book is in love with someone else and is tempestuous on top of it.

Sonnet 130 talks about the cover of the speaker's beloved, suggesting that she has no qualities to inspire poetry from her wiry hair to her heavy walk. Shakespeare then writes that she is wholly beloved despite having a less than poetical cover. Twelfth Night exemplifies the motto quoted above and Sonnet 130 states the truth of the motto in one specific instance.

In The Most Dangerous Game,what does Zaroff say about "instinct"?Philosophers debate this ideology;think it is true?Why,why not? Provide an example

In "The Most Dangerous Game," General Zaroff says, "Instinct is no match for reason." I agree--instinct is much more important than reason. Reason is often influenced by our prejudices, beliefs, and etc. Instinct is more objective as it is natural response to events. This proves to be true in the story as every clever thing that Rainsford reasons in an effort to defeat Zaroff fails. It is only his instinct (without reasoning that it would be a deadly maneauver) to fling himself into the sea saved Rainsford, and Zaroff with all of his reason  ended up losing the most dangerous game.

What dramatic purposes are served by the role of Giles Corey?tnk very much!

Giles Corey was an elderly man who was accused of witchcraft along with a number of other elderly people in Salem. His age and physical frailty represent the lack of compassion of the magistrates, who treated all of the accused more or less equally. Giles Corey is also an unusual case in that he was not hanged, but was tortured into confessing by having heavy stones piled on top of a wooden door, hence the term 'pressed' to death. He suffers greatly under this torture and is killed when he refuses to confess, and his last words are 'more weight', a chilling indication that he preferred to die by torture than live the lie of admitting to the accusation of witchcraft. This event occurs offstage and is related by another character, and the dramatic impact is the suggestion that no one, even a kind old man, is safe from the brutal tactics of the Salem justice system.

Do you think Tom's decision to leave his family is a sign of strength or of weakness?

Tom's decision to leave his family is a sign that he is just like his father.  He is a weak man who cannot cope with responsibility and finds relief by turning his back on his family and running away.  As a character who succumbs to his tragic flaw, Tom is clearly haunted by his decision to leave Laura and his mother behind.

Even though Tom has physically escaped, he tells us in his narrative that he is unable to forget the memory of his sister, that there are many things that remind him of her and he feels very guilty and ashamed for what he did to her.

"Although Tom does eventually assert his independence, he does not seem to ever become fully mature. Rather, he is compared to his father, who also abandoned the family, though he had presumably chosen that responsibility by getting married. It is his father's desertion which places Tom into such an oppressive situation. Because Tom is so clearly compared to his father, readers can easily forget this primary difference between them."

Tom's decision to leave is clearly a sign of weakness because he doesn't even have the guts to tell his mother to her face that he is leaving.  He takes the money for the light bill and pays his final payment of dues and decides to sneak out and just not return.

Tom is a coward and a dreamer, he is a man who has no sense of purpose, does not understand responsibility and feels controlled and dominated by his mother.  He is dramatic and immature, he is selfish and lacks self-esteem, or he would understand that during a Depression having any job is better than having no job.  Tom acts like a petulant child, he runs away because he feels stifled by his mother's personality.

Two quests: one of the monster seeking friendship/love, and another by Victor seeking revenge on the monster. What do quests show in the novel?---...

Sometimes, the person who undertakes a quest gains knowledge that does not always result in a better understanding of consciousness.  For example, Oedipus learns much of himself on his quest, but this does not always directly benefit him.  This is the same for King Lear.  Knowledge of self is simply that:  Knowledge and greater awareness.  Such a quest does not guarantee results, but only understanding.  Victor seeking revenge on the monster is one such quest.  Victor engages, through reflection in solitude and social perception, the understanding that he wishes to absolve himself of any and all responsibility for creating the monster.  His desire to seek revenge on the monster enhances his own sense of identity by seeing himself as separate from the monster.  Victor is a man of science, and for him, the monster's destruction was not part of the calculus or equation.  Since Victor did not intend for the results of the Monster to happen, he feels that he is not responsible for its actions.  His desire to destroy the monster, then is a realization of his hatred for what the monster did.  We do get the impression at the end of the novel, it does dawn on him that there is a personalized aspect to his quest to kill the monster/ seek revenge.  Perhaps, his desire to do so reflects his own sense of understanding of personal responsibility.  No matter what he does or what he says, Victor bears ethical and moral culpability for his "hideous progeny."   Victor possesses the understanding or the knowledge that he has a right to live his life however he wishes to do so.  He believes that the monster, whose actions were not intended, should not limit his freedom.  The monster seeking friendship or companionship is the direct result of his self awareness that he will never be accepted by society.  He comes this realization in his isolation, and understands quite openly that he is cursed and will be rejected by the social and natural order of collective society.  He seeks some type of acknowledgement because of the horror at being alone and cut off from all human interaction.  For the monster, this quest is a direct result of his knowledge that he is "different" and in a world of increasing mechanism (Industrial Revolution), differences are not accepted.  His desire for companionship is motivated out of the horror of having to live his life alone.  Pay attention to what the monster says to Victor as to why he is "owed" the creation of a companion.

The prologue functions in much the same way that the first act of a play does. What is accomplished in the prologue?

The Prologue provides the frame work for the individual tales being told throughout the narrative. In this General Prologue, Chaucer outlines all the characters and briefly describes them. He also sets up the reason for telling tales. As the pilgrims begin their journey, they tell stories to past the time. They make it into a competition, and are each supposed to tell four tales.

Much like the first act of a play, the prologue provides expositional information that is necessary to telling the tales. Without the Prologue, the tales aren't connected. The setting, characters, and reason behind the narrative are all established in the Prologue.

In Chapter 3 of The Hiding Place, how did Tante Jans react to the news of her imminent death from diabetes?

When Tante Jans learns that her death from diabetes is imminent, she first "put(s) her hands over her eyes and (begins) to cry".  After a short time, however, in a way that is nothing short of miraculous, she finds strength in God.  She lowers her hands and whispers a prayer, then, "with a flourish of her handkerchief and a forceful clearing of her nose, (she) let(s) (the family) know that the moment for sentiment had passed".  She then spends the time she has left determinedly getting her affairs in order.

Tante Jans had first learned that she had diabetes a little less than a year earlier.  In those days, "this was a death sentence as surely as tuberculosis had been".  At that time, Tante Jans "went straight to bed on hearing the news", but soon tired of the inactivity, and, to everyone's surprise, appeared at breakfast one morning "with the announcement that doctors were often wrong".  From then on, she "threw herself more forcefully than ever into writing, speaking, forming clubs, and launching projects" for philanthropic purposes.  Corrie administered Tante Jans a blood sugar-content test weekly, according to the doctor's orders, and all went well for the next several months.

In November, however, Tante Jans' blood test comes back with frightening results, and the doctor declares that she has at most only a few weeks to live.  The family gathers to tell Tante Jans the news together, trying desperately to convey their message in a positive light, but "(their) well-meant words (are) useless", and Tante Jans begins to cry.  After a short time of lamenting, however, she is blessed with inner strength, and, asking the family for "a little privacy", resolves to use the time she has left cheerfully and productively (Chapter 3).

What are some examples of a shift in narration between Marlow and the other narrator in Heart of Darkness?

The shifts in narrative are because this is a story within a story, sometimes called a "frame" story because the primary story "frames" the secondary story. 

As Heart of Darkness begins, Marlow is sitting on a boat called a "yawl," clearly a sailboat since he refers to the sails.  The narrator describes to the reader the men around him, the "Director of Companies, who is the captain, and "four others," who include Marlow and the narrator himself. Then Marlow speaks:

And this also," said Marlow suddenly, "has been one of the dark places of the earth (67).

At this point, the narrator is telling the reader what Marlow says.  Then the narrator takes over again, telling us about the men's responses.  When Marlow speaks next, the narrator is still telling the story. 

Finally, Marlow begins the story within the story on page 70.  Now we have the narrator telling the reader what Marlow is telling the men.  I believe it is not until page 95 that Marlow stops his tale and the narrator pulls us back to the setting around Marlow, when the narrator says, "He was silent for a while." It is Marlow he is describing. Marlow resumes his story again and has "the last word" on page 99, when the story ends. (I have provided page citations to an on-line version of the story, and the link for that version is below.) 

What effect do you think it has on the reader to hear Marlow's story "filtered" through the narrator?  Do you think the narrator is reliable?  Remember, no one had a tape recorder in those days!    

Did the founders of the Constitution intend for Supreme Court Justices to serve for life? (How long do you think they should serve?)

The average age of Supreme Court Justices is 69 years.  This fact alone brings into question whether these judges should be appointed for a lifetime.  For, judges of this age can easily be in poor health mentally and/or physically, a fact which could affect their decision-making abilities or the outcome by their absence on a case. This is one reason no one should be on the Supreme Court for a lifetime.

Another reason that a Supreme Court Justice should not sit for a lifetime is the fact that some candidates have misrepresented themselves during the confirmation process, a fact which is evidenced in their later decisions as Justices.  A case in point is Sandra Day O'Connor who was appointed by President George H. Bush, who felt that she was in accord with his conservative views.  In reality, she was not at all of a conservative view as proven in her decisions while on the Supreme Court.

A third reason that a Supreme Court Justice should not serve all his/her life is one of the reasons that a President is not allowed to serve more than eight years. If a president has an extremely radical agenda--right or left--his/her term can be ended after 8 years.  However, the nation must often suffer for possibly 20+ years under such a Justice.

Because Supreme Court Justices carry extreme power and greatly affect the nation in interpretation of the Bill of Rights, etc., their terms should be no more than eight years.

The epic of Beowulf closes on a somber, elegiac note--a note of mourning. What words or images contribute to this tone?

It is no wonder that Beowulf ends with an elegy to the hero's victories and wisdom. Beowulf ruled as the ideal Anglo-Saxon king: brave, generous, and wise. Accoring to Burton Raffel's translation, the Geats

...have lost the best of kings, Beowulf--
He who held our enemies away
Kept land and treasure intact, who saved
Hrothgar and the Danes--he who lived
All his long life bravely...

Because of Beowulf's ideal reign, none of the dragon's treasures, those spoils of war that would usually belong to the victor, would go to any of the people, but rather be burned on Beowulf's funeral pyre.

Beowulf died as he lived: in honor and courage and glory. His epic example of heroic ideals earned him the praise:

...that no better king had ever
Live, no prince so mild, no man
So open to his people, so deserving of praise.

In what ways the author creates suspense in the short story "Just Lather, That's All"?

Shaving with a long  open razor blade is a highly skilled job  requiring intense concentration:"taking pains to see that no single pore emitted a drop of blood." After lathering  his customer's beard with soap, the barber  begins to shave the beard with the sharpened razor. As the soap lather and the shaven hair collect on the long razor blade the barber will often pause and remove the lather  by stroking the razor on his own bare forearm and will continue shaving. If he pauses every now and then to wash the razor he will take a longer time and more importantly he will lose his concentration.

Although, the narrator-barber is "secretly a rebel, he was also a conscientious barber, proud of the preciseness of his profession."  So, the dilemma he faces now is whether to slit Captain Torres' throat or to give him a clean shave without nicking his skin. After quite a struggle within his mind he decides :"I don't want blood on my hands. Just lather that's all."

He puns on the word "blood" to ironically emphasise the fact that "he is a good barber. The best in town." Blood could either mean the blood when he nicks Torres's skin and collects it alongwith the lather on his forearm in which case he would not be regarded as an expert barber or the blood if he murders Torres by slitting his neck, in which case he would be branded a murderer. The narrator is keen to be known only as an expert barber-only lather on his hands.

Throughout the story the suspense is whether the narrator-barber will or will not slit open Captain Torres's throat. This  intense mental struggle of the narrator-barber is well maintained till the last word of the short story.

What is the climax of the book, Gathering Blue?

The climax of a work of literature is defined as being the most emotionally tense point of the plot before the falling action and the final resolution. Arguably, there are potentially many different climaxes in this novel, but to me, the climax comes when Matt finally brings his little "giftie," the "visitor" home and Kira realises that it is her father, which allows her to have the truth about the society of which she is a part confirmed. She learns the truth about Jamieson, who has been her protector, and finds more evidence to suggest that the Council of Guardians deliberately kills of people to gain control of those, like her, who have special talents that are beneficial to the Guardians themselves:

And Thomas? His parents too? And Jo's?

Why?

So that all their gifts would be captive.

This is an incredibly important point in the novel because we are left wondering what Kira will do with this knowledge and how she will respond to having confirmation concerning facts she had hitherto only suspected.

What could be obstacles when communicating in a diverse environment? Communicating in a diverse world is important in today’s age of global...

There can be many barriers to effective communication between individuals of different cultures.  The most obvious is language barriers.  Not possessing fluent understanding of language can be perceived as being misinformed by some and being dismissive by others.  The inherent difficulty in learning a new language might serve as a deterrent for others to not be well versed in it.  Another barrier for communication could be not understanding cultural gestures or other forms of nonverbal communication.  There are certain mannerisms that are commonly practiced in one culture that carriers different implications in another.  Finally, predispositions that one culture might hold against another could inhibit effective communication.  For example, if there is political or social tension between cultures, or historical antagonisms between cultures, this could make communication very difficult.

I Need some help with the prompt: Sometimes it is difficult to decide between right and wrong in conflict situations.I need three types of...

There are many ways to proceed with this.  I think you can argue several way and the ones I present are by no means to only conflicts that are evident.  My hope is that with my suggestions, the process of thinking and reflecting about what conflicts are present can be started.

Intrapersonal- In Gallipoli, Archy's desire to pursue his running is matched by Australia's entry into the war. There is much to reflect that there is a part of him that wants to war to not happen, and might even not want to be a part of it in serving his native Australia and focus solely on his runinng.  The conflict here is the internal one between desire and duty.  His desire to run and be away from the realm of war and his duty to his country and nationalism.  An interpersonal example of conflict would be the many examples of how the British soldiers treat the Australian soldiers and the resentment that exists between both sets of individual soldiers.

Interpersonal- I think Schindler's List features several examples of this.  Schindler and Stern provide the best example of interpersonal conflict.  At the start of his endeavors, Schindler is committed to making money.  His interactions and actions are predicated on this premise only.  Stern is concerned with asserting and advocating for the rights of the Jewish people, and when this turns out to be something steeped in a sense of fatalism at the growing power of the Nazis, his focus moves to the realm of saving as many Jewish people as possible through the use of Schindler's workforce.  The scene where Schindler confronts Stern in the office where both represent two distinct viewpoints is an excellent demonstration of conflict between two individuals, each side being purely represented by one versus the other.  An intrapersonal example of conflict would be at the end, when Schindler has changed his focus.  The tearful claim, "I could have done more," reflects his internal conflict of wanting to have saved more lives, yet being unable to have done so.  There is a self hate that happens here when he believes he spent so much money, money that could have been spent saving lives.  This internal conflict is brought out at the end.  Another internal conflict can be seen when Schindler watches the liquidation of the Jewish ghetto.  He is visibly moved by what he is witnessing and this begins to prick at him, arousing his sense of conscious, causing internal conflict.

External- The Crucible.  The entire town represents conflict.  Abigail's concocting tale and the division it causes amongst the town as to who is a witch and who is not is evident of externalized conflict on a large scale.  Once the court has been assembled and people start being accused and thrown in jail, conflict is external, with each person against another and the entire down is thrown into the madness of accusation.  There is complete external conflict primarily because no one trusts anyone else.

In chapter ix describe Nick and Tom's final meeting. What events represent the rising action, climax, and falling action?

When Nick and Tom had their final encounter, Nick finally realized how childish Tom's ways where, and in return almost acted childish himself (by not shaking hands with him).

Are you asking about the plot structure for this scene or the entire novel? here it is for this scene:

Rising action: Nick "objecting" to shake hands with Tom, and accusing him of killing Gatsby

climax: Tom admitting that he had told George Wilson to kill Gatsby

Falling action: Tom talking about his grief over Myrtle, and Nick finally agreeing to shake hands

Why do boys in Afgahanistan during the winter of 1975 have gashes on their fingers? What is a tar?

Boys were preparing for a big kite race in the winter of 1975.  According to Amir, "the kite-fighting tournament was an old winter tradition in Afghanistan" (51). Beginning on page 50, there is a detailed description of Hassan and Amir's preparation for kite racing.  They prepare "tar," which is the Afghan word for string, although I am not sure whether this applied specifically to string for kites or string in general.  As I understand this section, the boys took ordinary string and coated it with a "mixture of ground glass and glue" (50).  This string preparation made the string move quickly through a boy's fingers as he let it out to race the kite because the glass eliminated a certain  amount of friction.  However, this glass coating cut into the boys' hands as they elevated the kites.  Amir says that by the time spring came, "every boy in Kabul bore telltale horizontal gashes on his fingers from a whole winter of fighting kites'" (50). 

If you have never flown a kite, you may not know how painful it is to have even ordinary string dragged over your palm, but glass-coated string would be particularly painful to endure.