Why did the major say ugly things to the narrator in the short story "In Another Country"?

The major shows courage but he is frustrated with his injury and has little hope of substantially recovering from it. According to the narrator, his hand is like a baby's hand. Adding more frustration to this, the major had been the best fencer in Italy prior to the war. With this injury, presuming it is on his dominant hand, he will never fence at that level again. And perhaps, he will never fence again. Despite...

The major shows courage but he is frustrated with his injury and has little hope of substantially recovering from it. According to the narrator, his hand is like a baby's hand. Adding more frustration to this, the major had been the best fencer in Italy prior to the war. With this injury, presuming it is on his dominant hand, he will never fence at that level again. And perhaps, he will never fence again. Despite these frustrations, the major goes to his rehabilitation with a stoic and sometimes sarcastic discipline. 

The major came very regularly to the hospital. I do not think he ever missed a day, although I am sure he did not believe in the machines. 

The major criticizes the narrator about his grammar and calls him a "stupid impossible disgrace." He also says he is a fool if he wants to be married. The major has no hope of recovering use of his hand, he is disillusioned by the war, and he has just lost his wife to pneumonia. This is why he chastises the narrator about marriage: 

If he is to lose everything, he should not place himself in a position to lose that. He should not place himself in a position to lose. He should find things he cannot lose. 

The major takes out his frustrations and his grief on the narrator. And this is possibly because he knows no other way of venting his anguish. He feels the need to project his feelings somewhere or to someone. 

Discuss the dramatic irony in Malcolm’s tactical decision in Act 5, scene 4, especially in light of the previous scene.

Malcolm is with his men in the wood of Birnam, getting ready to do battle with Macbeth. Malcolm tells every soldier to "hew down a bough and bear 't before him." This way, each man carrying a leafy tree limb, they will advance looking shadowy and hidden, and Macbeth won't be able to get a good idea of how many soldiers Malcolm has.

The dramatic irony is rich, because Macbeth, desperate and upset, has comforted...

Malcolm is with his men in the wood of Birnam, getting ready to do battle with Macbeth. Malcolm tells every soldier to "hew down a bough and bear 't before him." This way, each man carrying a leafy tree limb, they will advance looking shadowy and hidden, and Macbeth won't be able to get a good idea of how many soldiers Malcolm has.

The dramatic irony is rich, because Macbeth, desperate and upset, has comforted himself in the prior scene by remembering the witches' prophecy that he doesn't need to fear death until "Birnam forest come to Dunsinane." Since he firmly believes the prophecy is true and knows the forest can't move, he manages to control his fears and tell himself he will triumph.

Dramatic irony is when the audience knows something that characters in the play don't. What the audience learns in scene four is that Malcolm's tactical maneuver will indeed bring Birnam forest to Macbeth. The prophecy is true, but Macbeth doesn't yet know that it will play out not for but against him. However, we, the audience, know it's over for Macbeth.

How does mama explain to Cassie about Mr. Simms and Big Ma's handling of the situation in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry?

Mama explains that Big Ma was protecting Cassie when she made her apologize.

Cassie is like most young girls.  She is trying to figure out how the world works.  As far as she is concerned, Lillian Jean Simms is just a bratty girl and has no right to tell her what to do.  Lillian Jean  sees it differently.  She considers herself superior because she is white and Cassie is black.  Unfortunately, Lillian Jean has learned to feel this way from her society.  Cassie gets a hard lesson in race and inequality.

The incident occurs because Lillian Jean wants Cassie to get off the sidewalk.  Her brother Jeremy, who is a sort of friend of Stacey’s, tries to tell Lillian Jean that Cassie isn’t doing anything but Lillian Jean responds that Cassie is standing in front of her.  Her father pushes Cassie off the sidewalk, and demands an apology when Big Ma says they are going home. 

“Not ’fore she ’pologizes to my gal, y’all ain’t,” said Mr. Simms.

Big Ma gazed down at me, fear in her eyes, then back at the growing crowd. “She jus’ a child—”

“Tell her, Aunty—”

Big Ma looked at me again, her voice cracking as she spoke. “Go on, child . . . apologize.” (Ch. 5) 

Big Ma knows that there might be trouble if the Simmses do not get what they want.  This is why she is afraid.  She can’t stand up for Cassie then, and she can’t explain things to her.  She just has to get her to apologize so they can get out of there.  It is a terrible thing to see your granddaughter go through, but she has no choice.

Stacey tells Cassie not to blame Big Ma.  He is older, and understands the way the world works better than Cassie does.  Later, at dinner, Cassie complains that Mr. Barnett waited on the whites before the blacks in the store, and when she let him know he banned her.

Mama explains to Cassie that Big Ma was trying to protect her when she forced her to apologize to Lillian Jean.  Mr. Simms acted the way he did because as a white man, he felt superior.

“Because he’s one of those people who has to believe that white people are better than black people to make himself feel big.” (Ch. 6)

Cassie asks why he doesn’t know better.  Mama tells her this is just the way things work.  Although things have changed since the days of slavery, Mama tells her that people like the Simms hold onto the belief that they are superior because “they have little else to hold on to.”  Things are better, but still not equal.

In Freak the Mighty, what are three ways Max and Kevin demonstrate the truth behind the saying, “The whole is greater than the sum of its...

"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" means that putting separate parts together to make a whole creates something greater. This is exactly what Max and Kevin discover they can do together--create a greater whole. Max and Kevin are weak when each is on his own. For example, Max is weak in his learning, thinking and reasoning skills where Kevin is very strong. Kevin is weak because of his physical disabilities where Max is...

"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" means that putting separate parts together to make a whole creates something greater. This is exactly what Max and Kevin discover they can do together--create a greater whole. Max and Kevin are weak when each is on his own. For example, Max is weak in his learning, thinking and reasoning skills where Kevin is very strong. Kevin is weak because of his physical disabilities where Max is big and strong. As separate parts, or entities, each boy struggles with his own weakness; but, together they can create a greater whole. The three ways that Max and Kevin become greater than they are on their own is physically, academically, and socially.

Physically, Max carries Kevin around on his shoulders. This enables Kevin to experience life as if he could walk normally. He is also able to participate in normal activities, such as watching fireworks and seeing over the tops of people's heads during the Fourth of July activities in chapter 7. Next, Kevin helps Max with academics by teaching him how to develop better reading and writing skills. This enables Max to feel what it is like to be strong at school and more confident in his own mind. Finally, they both keep each other company as they develop a strong friendship. Before they met, both boys were social misfits and struggled to be accepted by their peers. This caused both of them to feel lonely and unaccepted. Together, they create a strong friendship as well as a unified team that is eventually accepted by their classmates and teachers.

Comment on William Shakespeare's use of the supernatural in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The forest in A Midsummer Night's Dreamis populated with a world of supernatural beings: Oberon and Titania, king and queen of the fairies, and a cadre of charming magical creatures who serve them, including Peasebottom, Cobweb and Moth, and Puck or Robin Goodfellow, a mischievous fellow from folklore who would have been familiar to English audiences at the time. Puck can traverse the globe in moments, and Puck and the fairies flit about serving at...

The forest in A Midsummer Night's Dream is populated with a world of supernatural beings: Oberon and Titania, king and queen of the fairies, and a cadre of charming magical creatures who serve them, including Peasebottom, Cobweb and Moth, and Puck or Robin Goodfellow, a mischievous fellow from folklore who would have been familiar to English audiences at the time. Puck can traverse the globe in moments, and Puck and the fairies flit about serving at the command of their monarchs. Puck puts the magical potions in the eyes of the humans that cause comic (and potentially dark) mishap and mayhem.

The fairies add to the magical, upside-down world of the Midsummer's night forest, where the irrational—love—trumps reason in many ways. These fantastical creatures represent the imagination and the way imagination creates love, so that

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind . . .

These creatures may be "real" within the logic of the play, and Shakespeare goes to great length to describe the forest in rich sensory detail—or the entire action, as Puck suggests, may be a dream. Whatever their literal reality within the play, the "potions" and "magic" the fairies dispense represent love's mad side. Do we humans need a potion to suddenly fall in or out of love with a person? Do we need a charm to fall in love with an "ass"? The supernatural characters in the play thus symbolize the irrational mystery at the heart of love. As Puck comments, "what fools these mortals be."

What type of evidence is the best indicator of how closely two species are related?

The similarity in the DNA of two species is the best evidence to tell us how closely related the two species are. Another significant source of evidence is the similarities in the amino acid sequence of the proteins of the two species. Thus, scientists can look for similarities in the DNA and amino acid sequence to determine how closely related the two species are.

The characteristics of an organism are determined by its genes, which...

The similarity in the DNA of two species is the best evidence to tell us how closely related the two species are. Another significant source of evidence is the similarities in the amino acid sequence of the proteins of the two species. Thus, scientists can look for similarities in the DNA and amino acid sequence to determine how closely related the two species are.

The characteristics of an organism are determined by its genes, which are nothing but specific sequences of DNA molecules. Genes also determine the type of protein produced in an organism and hence amino acid sequence in proteins is also a function of DNA. It is a rather routine laboratory exercise for scientists to determine these two characteristics for any given organism. The similarities in DNA and amino acid sequence is known to be directly correlated to evolutionary relationships between species. 

It should also be noted that genetic variation is a key to evolution. If genes are similar (or the same), evolution does not take place and offspring are similar to the parents. Thus, similar species will have similar DNA. 

Some other factors that scientists use to determine the similarity between species are body structures, patterns of early development, and the fossil record.

Hope this helps. 

What does Thorin vow to do anyone who withholds the Arkenstone in The Hobbit?

Thorin vows to get revenge on anyone who keeps the stone from him.

The Arkenstone is very important to Thorin.  It is his birthright.  To him it is the most valuable jewel of all of the dwarves’ riches hidden in the mountain.  It hurts him deeply that the dragon has it.  It is one of the reasons he wants to go into the Lonely Mountain to get it.

"The Arkenstone! The Arkenstone!" murmured Thorin in the dark, half dreaming with his chin upon his knees. "It was like a globe with a thousand facets; it shone like silver in the firelight, like water in the sun, like snow under the stars, like rain upon the Moon!" (Ch. 12)

When the dwarves do take the mountain, Bilbo finds the stone.  He knows what it is from the description, but he does not tell Thorin immediately.  He thinks he can use the stone to negotiate with the elves and men who are at a standoff with the dwarves. 

Bilbo becomes concerned about Thorin’s reaction to the stone being missing.  He worries about dragon-sickness, or the dwarves’ reactions to the gold, specifically Thorin’s.  The longer Bilbo holds out, the more worried he gets.  He knows that Thorin will be very, very angry if he tells him he has had it this whole time.

"For the Arkenstone of my father," he said, "is worth more than a river of gold in itself, and to me it is beyond price. That stone of all the treasure I name unto myself, and I will be avenged on anyone who finds it and withholds it." (Ch. 16)

Poor Bilbo feels bad about withholding the jewel from Thorin, even though he is also a little nervous about the fact that Thorin has vowed revenge on anyone who withholds the stone.  When Thorin finds out he is mad, and threatens to throw Bilbo off the mountain.

How does Shakespeare portray the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet?

The Nurse is set up as a foil to Juliet. A foil is a character who provides a contrast to another character. The Nurse is more light-hearted than Juliet. She doesn't look at love as romantically as the girl and often refers to it simply as a physical act. She obviously loves Juliet very much or else she would not have provided the support that allowed Juliet to be with Romeo. She is also more pragmatic and when Romeo is banished she urges Juliet to marry Count Paris in order to please Lord Capulet.

Her light-hearted and whimsical nature are on display when she is introduced in Act I, Scene 3. When asked how old Juliet is, she launches into a bawdy story about how her husband made a rude comment about Juliet when she was a little girl. She goes on and on, much to the dismay of Lady Capulet who seems uptight and nervous around her daughter. The Nurse oozes love for Juliet. She says, "Thou wast the prettiest babe that e’er I nursed." In this scene and in Act II, she often provides comic relief in a story which is moving toward tragedy.

As indicated by her story in Act I, Scene 3, the Nurse looks at love in a lustier, more physical way. In that scene she is simply concerned that Paris is good looking. That he may provide the spiritual link Juliet is looking for does not concern her as illustrated by her comment that men make women bigger by getting them pregnant: "No less? Nay, bigger. Women grow by men."

After she meets Romeo she can only talk about his good looks. She admits that he is not the most courteous man she's ever met but that doesn't matter because he is physically attractive. In Act II, Scene 5 she says,

Though his face be better than any man’s, yet his leg
excels all men’s, and for a hand and a foot and a
body, though they be not to be talked on, yet they
are past compare.

A little later in the scene she makes another sexual reference about Juliet's honeymoon night. The Nurse acts as a go between for Romeo and Juliet and is responsible for getting a rope ladder so Romeo can crawl into Juliet's room. She says,

Hie you to church. I must another way,
To fetch a ladder by the which your love
Must climb a bird’s nest soon when it is dark.
I am the drudge and toil in your delight,
But you shall bear the burden soon at night.

The Nurse does not understand the spiritual nature of Juliet's love. Juliet believes Romeo is her soulmate, not simply a good looking man who will provide her with physical pleasure (though Juliet is not without anticipation of this). Because the Nurse fails to recognize, or simply cannot comprehend, Juliet's intense feelings for Romeo it is easy for her to advise Juliet to forget him and do as Lord Capulet wishes. In Act III, Scene 5 she tells Juliet to marry Paris,

Then, since the case so stands as now it doth,
I think it best you married with the County.
O, he’s a lovely gentleman!

That the Nurse is kind, loving and trying to do what is best for Juliet cannot be denied. She goes out of her way for the girl and probably risks her job and maybe even her life by keeping Juliet's secret. In the last scene where the Nurse appears, Shakespeare reinforces the idea that the Nurse truly loved Juliet as she cries and carries on after finding Juliet supposedly dead at the end of Act IV:

O woe, O woeful, woeful, woeful day!
Most lamentable day, most woeful day
That ever, ever I did yet behold!
O day, O day, O day, O hateful day!
Never was seen so black a day as this!
O woeful day, O woeful day!

In the first four lines of the poem "A Bird came down the Walk--" by Emily Dickinson, which lines end with words that rhyme?

It's only the second and fourth lines that rhyme:

A Bird came down the Walk—He did not know I saw—He bit an Angleworm in halvesAnd ate the fellow, raw,

"Saw" at the end of the second line rhymes with "raw" at the end of the fourth line, but that's the only end rhyme we see in that first stanza.

To find rhymes, it really helps to read the poem out...

It's only the second and fourth lines that rhyme:

A Bird came down the Walk—
He did not know I saw—
He bit an Angleworm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw,

"Saw" at the end of the second line rhymes with "raw" at the end of the fourth line, but that's the only end rhyme we see in that first stanza.

To find rhymes, it really helps to read the poem out loud. Listen for words that have the same final vowel sound, such as "say" and "hey," or "noon" and "June." Notice that the spelling of two rhyming words doesn't have to look the same: it's only the sounds that matter.

Because Lines 2 and 4 rhyme with each other, you can say that the rhyme scheme of the first stanza is "ABCB." It means that only the second and fourth lines (both labeled "B") rhyme with each other.

It's interesting to consider the rhyme pattern of the first stanza of this poem, because we might expect that the same pattern will keep going for the rest of the poem. And yes, the second stanza does show the same pattern:

And then he drank a Dew
From a convenient Grass—
And then hopped sidewise to the Wall
To let a Beetle pass—

When you read that second stanza above, you might think, "Great! I've identified the rhyme scheme for the whole poem. It's ABCB all the way down."

But then you start checking out the rest of the stanzas, and you notice that they stop following the rhyme pattern:

He glanced with rapid eyes
That hurried all around— 
They looked like frightened Beads, I thought—
He stirred his Velvet Head

Do you see any rhymes in that third stanza above? I don't! Everything just stops rhyming from there. That's part of what makes this poem so interesting: it makes us wonder if the order is falling apart for some specific reason. Maybe the speaker is emphasizing how the encounter with the bird isn't exactly going the way she expected!

What is a living thing that carries out all life functions?

All living things are capable of carrying out all life processes. Some examples of such organisms are plants, animals, microorganisms (such as bacteria), and human beings. All of these life forms carry out life processes such as growth, metabolism, and reproduction. Depending on the complexity of the life form, such processes may be simple or very complex. In other words, the same process may be carried out by simple cells in simpler life-forms or may...

All living things are capable of carrying out all life processes. Some examples of such organisms are plants, animals, microorganisms (such as bacteria), and human beings. All of these life forms carry out life processes such as growth, metabolism, and reproduction. Depending on the complexity of the life form, such processes may be simple or very complex. In other words, the same process may be carried out by simple cells in simpler life-forms or may be carried out by complex organ systems in more complicated life-forms, such as human beings.

Cells are the smallest life-forms that can carry out all life processes. According to the cell theory, all organisms are made up of cells, which are the smallest unit of life (which means capable of carrying out life processes). Cell theory also states that all the cells come from pre-existing cells.

Hope this helps.

In Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, how do you know if Bob Ewell is a mockingbird?

Throughout the novel, mockingbirds are symbolized as innocent characters who seek to bring joy into the world and are relatively helpless against harmful beings. In Chapter 10, Atticus tells the children that they can shoot all the bluejays that want, but it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Maudie elaborates by telling the children that mockingbirds do nothing but make music for people to enjoy. She also says that they don't nest in corncribs...

Throughout the novel, mockingbirds are symbolized as innocent characters who seek to bring joy into the world and are relatively helpless against harmful beings. In Chapter 10, Atticus tells the children that they can shoot all the bluejays that want, but it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Maudie elaborates by telling the children that mockingbirds do nothing but make music for people to enjoy. She also says that they don't nest in corncribs or eat up people's gardens. Bob Ewell would certainly not be considered a metaphorical mockingbird, but could be identified as a bluejay throughout the novel. Bob is the most despicable individual in Maycomb County and is notorious for being a rude alcoholic. Bob is the novel's antagonist who harms his children, Tom and Helen Robinson, and attempts to murder Jem and Scout. He is not innocent like mockingbirds and causes trouble throughout the entire novel. The two most notable characters who would be considered mockingbirds would be Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. They are both magnanimous, innocent individuals who are relatively helpless against evil people. Bob Ewell does not display any redeeming qualities and therefore would not be considered a mockingbird. 

I need help with an assignment that involves writing a story based on a collage of learners in classroom.

Completing a creative assignment of this type means making a series of choices that form the basis of a story outline.

First, look carefully at the collage to find a source of inspiration. Since a story needs some sort of plot dynamic, you should look for two characters you can imagine in some sort of relationship, whether love, hate, jealousy, or some other potential source of conflict. 

Decide on the basic details of what the...

Completing a creative assignment of this type means making a series of choices that form the basis of a story outline.

First, look carefully at the collage to find a source of inspiration. Since a story needs some sort of plot dynamic, you should look for two characters you can imagine in some sort of relationship, whether love, hate, jealousy, or some other potential source of conflict. 

Decide on the basic details of what the collage represents:

• Name and number of the class (e.g. Math 201: Calculus or English 101: First Year Composition)


• Professor's name


• Building and room: e.g. Founder's Hall 201


• Description of building and classroom: e.g. a seminar room on the second floor of a nineteenth-century neo-gothic classroom building

Next, for the two characters you have chosen, create a background sheet for each one, in which you flesh out details about them. Although you may not use all these details in your story, the more you know about your characters, the better you will write about them. Thus you should include on your character sheets:

• full names


• family background


• home town


• why they are taking the class


• gender, age, and appearance


• religion


• career and personal aspirations


• pets


• favorite music, films, TV shows


• clothing style


• economic background 


• what part-time jobs they have, if any

Once you know your characters, start thinking about what sort of relationship they have to each other and how that could propel a plot, starting with a conflict (e.g. they like each other but one of them is still dating a high school sweetheart) and ending with a resolution. Choose a narrative viewpoint and then outline your basic plot arc. 

Once you have completed these steps, writing the actual story should be much easier than if you just stare at a blank computer screen waiting for a story to emerge like Athena from the head of Zeus.

What are the ten characteristics Csikszentmihalyi says creative people have?

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi built on his work in the book Flow by interviewing people who achieved flow and contributed to improving society. He found that they had the following ten traits, some of which seem at first to be contradictory:

1. Creative people are full of energy, but they also know when to rest. They can charge their batteries at rest, but they are also capable of marshaling energy.

2. They are smart but naive. They...

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi built on his work in the book Flow by interviewing people who achieved flow and contributed to improving society. He found that they had the following ten traits, some of which seem at first to be contradictory:

1. Creative people are full of energy, but they also know when to rest. They can charge their batteries at rest, but they are also capable of marshaling energy.

2. They are smart but naive. They know a great deal but can also be open to learning.

3. They are disciplined yet playful. They know when to be hardworking and diligent, but they can also have a playful attitude.

4. They are aware of reality but can also indulge in fantasy, going beyond what is know into the heights of the imagination.

5. They can be both extraverted, or externally oriented, or introverted, or inner directed.

6. They are humble yet proud. They know what they have accomplished but are aware of the role of fate in their achievements.

7.They do not follow gender roles, either masculine or feminine. They can choose the best parts of each gender's stereotypical roles.

8.They can be conservative but also challenge accepted ways of doing things. In order to be innovators, they can break with established methods.

9.While passionate about their work, they can also look at it dispassionately. 

10. Because they don't always follow established paths, they can be subjects of ridicule, but they also enjoy what they do so much that this criticism does not bother them. 

How old was Maniac Magee when he became an orphan?

In Jerry Spinelli’s book Maniac Magee, Jeffery Lionel Magee is orphaned at the age of three. While the child, who comes to be known as Maniac, is at home with a babysitter, his parents are killed in a high speed trolley accident. The trolley, which was being driven by a drunk trolley man, plunged off a bridge into a river in Pennsylvania.

After the accident, the child is sent to live with his aunt...

In Jerry Spinelli’s book Maniac Magee, Jeffery Lionel Magee is orphaned at the age of three. While the child, who comes to be known as Maniac, is at home with a babysitter, his parents are killed in a high speed trolley accident. The trolley, which was being driven by a drunk trolley man, plunged off a bridge into a river in Pennsylvania.

After the accident, the child is sent to live with his aunt and uncle who are not happy to be saddled with his care. The two, who live in a loveless marriage, rarely speak to each other. Eight years after the accident, Maniac has endured enough and runs away from his relatives. He lives off the land for a year until he arrives in the segregated town of Two Mills where his reputation grows. The rest of the story chronicles Maniac’s new life.

What is the theme of the Ramayana and explain its significance?

The need to uphold one's duty is one of the most important themes in The Ramayana.

There are many different themes within The Ramayana.  However, the need for people to adhere to their duty resonates throughout the work.  It is the respect for one's duty that causes Lord Rama to accept his banishment because a child's must always honor parents.  Rama's father, Dasaratha, is bound by his promise to Kaikeyi.  In honoring his...

The need to uphold one's duty is one of the most important themes in The Ramayana.

There are many different themes within The Ramayana.  However, the need for people to adhere to their duty resonates throughout the work.  It is the respect for one's duty that causes Lord Rama to accept his banishment because a child's must always honor parents.  Rama's father, Dasaratha, is bound by his promise to Kaikeyi.  In honoring his promise to her, she insists on Rama's exile. While it causes great pain to him, he knows that his responsibility as a King is to respect his word.  Breaking his word would be an abdication of duty and the source of great shame.

Devi Sita sees her duty as accompanying her husband, even if it comes at great cost to herself.  Lakshmana's duty is to follow his brother, assisting him as he can and leaving the life of a prince.  Another example of the theme of duty can be seen in Bharata, who pledges his dutiful respect to Lord Rama. Even when he is given the throne through his mother's actions, Bharata insists that Rama's slippers will rule in his absence.  Bharata's duty is even more evident when he says that should Rama fail to return, he will take his own life to show respect to his exiled brother. The way in which it drives the major characters reflects the significance of the duty theme.  It helps to define the purpose of  human beings.

For what does Nestor praise Telemachus?

In Book Three, Nestor praises Telemachus for his bravery and for his potential as a hero a few times: first, after hearing what Telemachus's mission is, and second, after realizing that Athena herself had been taking care of Telemachus and guiding him on his journey.

His praise seems quite strong considering the two of them have just now met, and considering that Telemachus is much younger and has much less life experience than Nestor does.

...

In Book Three, Nestor praises Telemachus for his bravery and for his potential as a hero a few times: first, after hearing what Telemachus's mission is, and second, after realizing that Athena herself had been taking care of Telemachus and guiding him on his journey.

His praise seems quite strong considering the two of them have just now met, and considering that Telemachus is much younger and has much less life experience than Nestor does.

Here's what Nestor says the first time in praise of Telemachus:

"You too, then—for you are a tall smart-looking fellow—show your mettle and make yourself a name in story."

He means that Telemachus seems like a capable, intelligent man, someone who's able to prove himself as having courage, vigor, and a strong sense of character. By telling Telemachus to "make [himself] a name in story," Nestor means that Telemachus should be able to perform the kind of brave, valiant acts that will go down in history.

The second time Nestor praises Telemachus, it's just a short while later, after the meal and just after Athena has revealed herself by changing into an eagle:

“My friend,” said he, “I see that you are going to be a great hero some day, since the gods wait upon you thus while you are still so young."

Nestor is saying here, again, that Telemachus has the potential to perform heroic, meaningful deeds.

What do Lord of the Flies and The Stanford Prison Experiment reveal about what lies at the core of basic human nature?

The Stanford Prison Experiment took 24 volunteer male college students and randomly divided them into prisoners and guards to see what would happen to their psyche in these two different roles. The "prisoners" were arrested, humiliated, uniformed, and put into cells and the 'guards' were given power over the prisoners. The novel Lord of the Flies also places young boys in a survival situation, stranded without adults on a desert island, and examines what happens to their psyche. Some of the boys, Jack and Ralph, for example, are natural leaders, and for a short time life seems to be idyllic on the island. However, the evil side of human nature takes over and the boys separate into two groups. The group of 'savages' even kills one of the boys.

When the 'prisoners' in the Stanford Prison Experiment were put into uniform smocks, they felt humiliated and emasculated. Some of them carried themselves differently, less confidently, as a result. The guards were also dressed in uniforms, along with mirrored sunglasses, and given power to make their own rules and use whatever means they felt necessary to protect themselves and control the prisoners. The guards used their power to make the prisoners do push-ups in punishment for breaking rules. In Lord of the Flies, the boys in the choir have uniform choir robes, and these are the boys who behave like savages. Maybe these examples show that the way people dress can affect the way they see themselves and behave.

In the Stanford Prison Experiment, the prisoners rebelled on the second day in their 'prison.' In Lord of the Flies, the choir and their leader, Jack, rebel against Ralph, even though Ralph has been voted and appointed as leader. These examples show that humans are, at their core, rebellious and do not submit to leadership easily.

When the prisoners rebelled in the Stanford Prison Experiment, the guards reacted with violence. Similarly, in Lord of the Flies, Jack's choir and the rest of his followers react to Simon and Piggy, two outcasts, with violence. These examples show that the core of human nature is violent and filled with hatred.

In the Stanford Prison Experiment, the guards then gave some of the prisoners, the ones who were least involved in the rebellion, special privileges, including being allowed to eat while the other prisoners were not. The privileges were meant to break down solidarity among the prisoners, because the group of guards was smaller than the group of prisoners and the guards knew the prisoners had strength in numbers. In Lord of the Flies, Jack and his followers have a feast while Ralph and his small group try to get a fire going to attract rescue. Ralph's group represents solidarity while Jack's group represents selfishness. Jack's group would rather hunt and feast than contribute to rescue efforts. These examples show that the core of human nature is selfish and self-serving. 

Find out more about Lord of the Flies  and more details about the Stanford Prison Experiment .

What did Joseph Stalin do?

Josef Stalin was dictator of the Soviet Union from 1929 to 1953. In this capacity, he oversaw, indeed directed, the transformation of the nation into an industrial power. This was an important part of the development of state socialism in the USSR, but it had an enormous human cost. Millions of Russians were forced onto collective farms, and millions more went to work in state-run factories. Rural peasants in particular resented these changes, and millions...

Josef Stalin was dictator of the Soviet Union from 1929 to 1953. In this capacity, he oversaw, indeed directed, the transformation of the nation into an industrial power. This was an important part of the development of state socialism in the USSR, but it had an enormous human cost. Millions of Russians were forced onto collective farms, and millions more went to work in state-run factories. Rural peasants in particular resented these changes, and millions were killed or starved to death in a massive famine that hit the Ukraine especially hard. Stalin, a suspicious and thoroughly ruthless man, also maintained his power by a series of bloody purges that killed hundreds of thousands of people, including many senior Party members. This was part of the construction of a police state that governed by terror and surveillance. Stalin oversaw the Soviet Union during World War II, a conflict that witnessed more than 25 million Soviet deaths. He had tried to forestall the conflict by concluding a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany in 1939, but Hitler broke this agreement in 1941, beginning the bloodiest conflict in human history as the Germans penetrated deep into Soviet territory, murdering in massive numbers as they went. They were eventually repulsed with staggering losses. Stalin oversaw the beginnings of the Cold War, as he sought to expand Soviet influence into Eastern Europe, contrary to the wishes of the United States. He was in charge when the Soviets developed the atomic bomb. Stalin died in 1953, leaving behind a legacy of death and destruction alongside the establishment of communism in the Soviet Union. He achieved much while in power, but he is remembered as one of history's most bloodthirsty tyrants.

What are strong examples of assonance, consonance, alliteration, repetition and rhyme in "The Hamilton Mixtape"?

"The Hamilton Mixtape" could refer to a couple of things (the entire play, the forthcoming album remix), but I'll answer this question as it refers to Hamilton's opening song, "Alexander Hamilton" from Lin-Manuel Miranda's popular "Hamilton Mixtape" YouTube video (linked below, along with lyrics).

1. 
   Assonance is the repetition of a vowel sound in two or more words that are close together, but start with different consonant sounds (e.g. "Go out and mow...

"The Hamilton Mixtape" could refer to a couple of things (the entire play, the forthcoming album remix), but I'll answer this question as it refers to Hamilton's opening song, "Alexander Hamilton" from Lin-Manuel Miranda's popular "Hamilton Mixtape" YouTube video (linked below, along with lyrics).

1. 
   Assonance is the repetition of a vowel sound in two or more words that are close together, but start with different consonant sounds (e.g. "Go out and mow the back yard."). In the Hamilton Mixtape, we see an example in the line: "dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot" where the "o" sound in each word is similar. Alternative: "Then a hurricane came and / Devastation reigned."


2. 
   Consonance is the repetitive sound caused by similar consonants in a phrase, frequently used to reinforce a theme or clarify imagery (e.g. came, home, and time all make use of the "m" sound). In the Hamilton Mixtape, we see an example in the line: "He would've been dead or destitute / without a cent of restitution." We get the same "s" sound in all three words.


3. 
   Alliteration is the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words close to together. In the Hamilton Mixtape, we see an example in the line: "The brother was ready to beg steal borrow or barter" where the "b" sound is repeated.


4. An example of repetition can be found in the the repeated use of the phrase "Alexander Hamilton" by various members of the cast during the song. It's used to build tension, to introduce the character/play, and ties the entire song together around this character, telling the audience that the play is about this man.


5. 
   Rhyme, unlike consonance, generally comes only at the end of a word: "Connected it to his brain / And he wrote his first refrain / A testament to his pain".

How does the tone of Nick's description of Tom reveal Nick's feelings about Tom?

Nick's tone towards Tom  reveals how deeply he dislikes his old college friend. Nick really doesn't like Tom. Nick, for example, opens with a description of Tom that contains one the classic disses in American literature; locating Tom's top moment of glory in his days as a college football player, Nick says he was:

one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterwards savors of anti-climax. 

It's not...

Nick's tone towards Tom  reveals how deeply he dislikes his old college friend. Nick really doesn't like Tom. Nick, for example, opens with a description of Tom that contains one the classic disses in American literature; locating Tom's top moment of glory in his days as a college football player, Nick says he was:

one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterwards savors of anti-climax. 

It's not great--at all--to have someone conclude that you hit your high point in life at 21. Nick follows this by noting Tom's "hard mouth," his "arrogant eyes" and the "effeminate swank" of his riding clothes. These are not compliments.

He then offers a recounting of Tom's racism. Tom declares that the "Nordic" races are in danger of being overrun. And Nick offers that

Something was making him [Tom] nibble at the edges of stale ideas.

Not only is Tom chasing after stale racist ideas, he can't even comprehend them fully, according to Nick, but can only nibble the edges. 

Overall, Nick seldom misses a chance to get in a dig at Tom. Follow the emotional ups and downs of the novel, and it's easy to note that when Tom is around, misery follows. Contrast social events centered on Tom, such as the small party at Myrtle's apartment where Tom hits Myrtle in the nose, with Gatsby's parties: where do you, as a reader, end up having more fun? We know Nick, in any case, is a lot happier at Gatsby's house. 

"Understanding organizational behavior has never been more important for managers. Because of the dramatic changes now taking place in...

With rapid technological advancements and globalization, it is evident that the business landscape of the 21st century is defined by innovation. As the statement suggests, we now live in an interconnected world, where business leaders must take into account a multitude of external factors and trends. Combined with the rapid diffusion of information thanks to the Internet and social media, managers must also take into consideration the transparency of their decisions.  

As a result...

With rapid technological advancements and globalization, it is evident that the business landscape of the 21st century is defined by innovation. As the statement suggests, we now live in an interconnected world, where business leaders must take into account a multitude of external factors and trends. Combined with the rapid diffusion of information thanks to the Internet and social media, managers must also take into consideration the transparency of their decisions.  

As a result of all these phenomena, it is important for managers to implement a flexible management style that examines these external forces. A very practical tool that many managers use to obtain a snapshot of the external environment is the PESTEL analysis (check it out on Google). Combined with the tradition SWOT analysis, managers that implement both tools have a great chance at innovating and remaining competitive in the global marketplace.

In this day and age, rigidity can been viewed as suicide for most organizations. In fact, Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest has never been more relevant than it is today. 

Which women in Macbeth have a pivotal role in the play, and how?

The Weird Sisters certainly have a pivotal role in the play.  They ignite Macbeth's ambition by telling him that he will become king, and they plant the seeds of jealousy in him when they tell Banquo that he will father kings.  It seems unlikely, based on Macbeth's initial response to the Sisters' predictions, that he would ever have dreamed of becoming king.  He begins the play as an incredibly loyal subject to his kinsman and...

The Weird Sisters certainly have a pivotal role in the play.  They ignite Macbeth's ambition by telling him that he will become king, and they plant the seeds of jealousy in him when they tell Banquo that he will father kings.  It seems unlikely, based on Macbeth's initial response to the Sisters' predictions, that he would ever have dreamed of becoming king.  He begins the play as an incredibly loyal subject to his kinsman and friend, the current king, Duncan.  However, once the Weird Sisters' first statement, that he will become the Thane of Cawdor, comes true, Macbeth begins his passage down a dark path of betrayal and corruption and tyranny.  Without the Weird Sisters' involvement, it seems probable that Macbeth would have remained loyal to Duncan.

Macbeth's wife, likewise, has a pivotal role.  He tells her, "We will proceed no further in this business" but she urges Macbeth on, persuading him to kill the king, even after he's decided against it.  Without Lady Macbeth's involvement, it seems likely that Macbeth would not have gone through with regicide.

What items are found in the knothole in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird?

There were several items found inside the knothole of the Radley tree. The first thing that Scout finds in the tree are two sticks of Wrigley's chewing gum. Initially, Jem is upset at Scout for chewing the gum because he believes that it is poisoned, but it turns out to be okay. When summer begins, Scout spots another piece of tinfoil hanging from the knothole in the tree. Jem and Scout find atiny box...

There were several items found inside the knothole of the Radley tree. The first thing that Scout finds in the tree are two sticks of Wrigley's chewing gum. Initially, Jem is upset at Scout for chewing the gum because he believes that it is poisoned, but it turns out to be okay. When summer begins, Scout spots another piece of tinfoil hanging from the knothole in the tree. Jem and Scout find a tiny box with two polished Indian-head pennies inside. Jem believes that the Indian-head pennies are good luck. In Chapter 7, the children find a ball of grey twine and believe the knothole is some kid's hiding place. In the fall, Jem and Scout find two small figures carved out of soap that resemble themselves. Less than two weeks later they find a whole pack of chewing gum. Then, they find a tarnished spelling bee medal, and four days later they find a pocket watch on a chain and an aluminium knife. Jem and Scout write a letter to the person who has been leaving them gifts, but Nathan Radley covers the knothole in cement. The mysterious Boo Radley was leaving Jem and Scout gifts in an attempt to communicate with them.

According to Jem, why doesn't a mixed child belong anywhere?

This conversation occurs in Chapter 16. Scout asks Jem what a mixed child is, and when he explains and notes that they're sad, Scout asks why. Here's Jem's reply:

"They don’t belong anywhere. Colored folks won’t have ‘em because they’re half white; white folks won’t have ’em cause they’re colored, so they’re just in-betweens, don’t belong anywhere..."

So, according to Jem, a mixed child doesn't belong anywhere because each race sees in the child the...

This conversation occurs in Chapter 16. Scout asks Jem what a mixed child is, and when he explains and notes that they're sad, Scout asks why. Here's Jem's reply:

"They don’t belong anywhere. Colored folks won’t have ‘em because they’re half white; white folks won’t have ’em cause they’re colored, so they’re just in-betweens, don’t belong anywhere..."

So, according to Jem, a mixed child doesn't belong anywhere because each race sees in the child the portion of the opposite race and rejects that aspect of the child. To paraphrase what Jem said exactly, black people reject a mixed child because she's got whiteness in her, and white people reject a mixed child because she's got blackness in her. It's a very sad situation for any mixed child, therefore, at least in the time period in which this book takes place.

Their conversation becomes more important in Chapter 19, when Scout recalls Jem's comments and thinks about Mayella:

"...it came to me that Mayella Ewell must have been the loneliest person in the world. She was even lonelier than Boo Radley, who had not been out of the house in twenty-five years. When Atticus asked had she any friends, she seemed not to know what he meant, then she thought he was making fun of her. She was as sad, I thought, as what Jem called a mixed child: white people wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she lived among pigs; Negroes wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she was white."

Even though Scout is a little kid, she's showing some serious insight here. She sees the similarity between between being a mixed child (caught in between the black and white worlds with no place to belong) and being a poor white person (caught in between the two worlds of black people and richer white folks). Either way, whether you're of mixed races or whether you belong to the very poor class in Maycomb, you're stuck between two worlds, neither of which accepts you for who you are.

Summarize the novel The Outsiders.

The story opens with 14-year-old Ponyboy walking home from the movies and thinking about life. He knows he shouldn't be walking home alone, because his gang of poor kids known as Greasers frequently gets beat up by the rich kids, knows as Socs (pronounced "so-sh" or "so-shiz" when plural). He didn't want to take anyone with him though, because no one else in the gang really appreciates stories the way he does. Sure enough, Ponyboy gets jumped by a group of Socs on the way home. Luckily, the members of his gang see what's happening and run in to help. Now we meet them: Pony's older brother Sodapop and oldest brother (and father figure, since the boys are orphans), Darry. As for the rest, we have Two-Bit the joker of the group; Dally, the rough one from New York, Steve, Sodapop's best friend; and Johnny, the second youngest living in perpetual fear of beatings from Socs and his parents. 

The next night, Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dallas go to the drive-in movies. Dallas decides to harass the two Soc girls sitting in front of them, until Johnny tells him to stop. Dally gets mad and Pony notes that Dally would have hit anyone else, but Johnny is the gang's pet, so Dally storms off instead. The girls, Cherry and Marcia, invite Johnny and Pony to sit with them. Two-Bit shows up and him and Marcia crack each other up with jokes. Meanwhile Pony and Cherry seem to have a lot in common and Pony opens up to her about Johnny's terrible beating by the Socs, in which he almost died.

The boys decide to walk the girls to Two-Bits to drive them home, since they have ditched their drunk Soc boyfriends. The drunk boyfriends show up in a car with their friends, though, and the girls leave with them to avoid a fight. Pony and Johnny lie down in a lot and fall asleep talking. When Pony wakes up at 2 AM, he knows Darry will be furious (Darry takes his job of makeshift father very seriously) and so he runs home. He and Darry get in a huge fight about Pony's lack of street smarts and poor decisions and Darry ends up slapping Pony. Pony runs back out of the house and grabs Johnny to tell him they're running away.

Pony knows he just needs to cool down, though, so they wander around the park for a bit. That's when the Socs come back, ready for revenge on Pony and Johnny "taking their girls." When one of them tries to drown Pony in the fountain, Johnny pulls out the switchblade he's carried since his first attack and stabs Bob (Cherry's boyfriend). Horrified, the boys run to find Dally to help them out of this mess. 

Dally hooks them up with some cash and a gun and gets them on a train to the countryside, telling them to make for an abandoned church to hide. They do, reading from Gone with the Wind to pass the time and cutting their long hair to hide their identities. On the 5th day, Dally comes to visit and they go out for burgers. When they come back, the church is on fire from one of their cigarettes. Worse still, so children who were there on a field trip are trapped inside. Pony runs inside to help, with Johnny hot on his heels, and Dally running after telling them to not risk their lives for some kids. 

All three of them end up in the hospital. Johnny is especially bad off, as a piece of flaming timber fell on his back. The timing is nearly perfect, as the Greasers and Socs have a big rumble planned for the next day. Johnny killing the Soc has had serious repercussions and this rumble is meant to decide things once and for all. Pony and Dally get out and fight and the Greasers win. Dally grabs Pony and takes him to tell Johnny. 

While they are there, Johnny dies from his injuries. Dally runs off and Pony hitches a ride home. The rest of the gang is waiting and they hear that Dally has robbed a store. The gang witnesses him pull out a gun so the cops will shoot him. 

There is a trial for Ponyboy, to decide if he can keep living with his brothers or will need to go into foster care. It's decided that he can stay, but he goes through life in a daze, losing his good grades and sense of purpose. That is, until his English teacher assigns him a story to write from his heart. Thinking back on the events of the year, Pony starts writing the story of what has happened to him.

What are the six characteristics animals share?

According to the biologists Gerald and Teresa Audesirk, all members of the animal kingdom have six characteristics in common. They are as follows:

1. All animals are made up of cells that do not have cell walls.


2. All animals are multicellular organisms.


3. Most animals reproduce sexually. Some are capable of asexual reproduction by fragmentation, budding, or parthenogenesis.


4. All animals are capable of self-propelled motion at some point in their lives.


5. All animals are heterotrophic and must consume other organisms for energy.


6. All animals are capable of responding to external stimuli through the use of nerve, muscle, or contactile tissue.

Some animals are capable of or rely on asexual reproduction, like sea stars and some forms of snakes. In all other respects, these organisms meet the criteria for being members of the animal kingdom.

How has the US been changed due to globalization? What caused or contributed to that change?

Globalization has wrought many changes in the United States, as your question calls for, some good and some bad. Let's look at some of the changes and the pros and cons.

The United States has flipped from being a mostly manufacturing economy to being a mostly service economy.  I have read various statistics on this, most recently, that we are 70% a service economy and 30% a manufacturing economy, with the converse being true thirty or forty years ago. 

We have more and more goods available to us from other countries for a number of reasons.   Those goods can be more cheaply produced in most of those countries because, among other reasons, labor is cheaper and there are fewer safety regulations to protect workers or consumers.  Thus, the American consumer is purchasing more and more foreign-made products and the factories that made many of those products in the United States have become still.  This caused us to shift our focus to service industries, providing in ways that cannot be farmed out to other countries, for example, medicine and healthcare.  Food and drink are primarily service industries as well, to the degree that they are provided in restaurants and bars. Housing is a kind of service industry, too, with plumbers and carpenters and electricians providing their respective services. Our willingness to enter into trade agreements has eliminated the tariffs that made foreign-made goods more costly, a form of protectionism that some Americans would like to see return.  No matter what one's position is on this issue, the fact is that the elimination of tariffs made the American market wide open to foreign goods.  The advent of the Internet has also contributed strongly to this change, since goods from all over the world are available to consumers with just a click.

All of this has changed the employment landscape dramatically. People used to have decent-paying jobs in steel mills or making clothing, furniture, toasters and televisions.  Those days are gone because we buy steel from overseas mostly, and the foreign manufacturing has taken those jobs from us.  What is left are largely service industry jobs that do not pay particularly well, for example, working at a fast food establishment or a chain restaurant or providing cleaning services. The service industry jobs that pay better are not particularly high-paying jobs, in healthcare and education, for instance, and they require more education than many people can afford today. Teachers and doctors, while not starving, are seldom much more than middle-class today.  High-tech jobs require training and education, too, and those people who have lost their manufacturing jobs over the years have had a hard time making a change because of age, a lack of training and education, and a lack of help from the government that wrought these changes. 

Three advantages that I can point to are the availability of affordable goods to consumers,  the opportunity the United States has to sell those goods it does excel in making all over the world, and the prospect, perhaps, of greater domestic security to the degree that having trading partners everywhere encourages diplomacy instead of saber rattling.  Neither China nor the United States could possibly afford to wage war on the other, since our economies are inextricably intertwined now in trade. 

Two disadvantages are the present lack of upward mobility for Americans in the lower socioeconomic classes, since their means of rising through good-paying manufacturing jobs have gone by the wayside and an increasing dependence on foreign goods, which does make us vulnerable to the vagaries of other nations.  For instance, we have not until quite recently been anywhere close to energy independence, which has made for national concern when various events have occurred in the nations that have traditionally provided us with gas and oil.  While there are significant advantages to trade, there is something to be said for self-sufficiency. 

How does Macbeth repeat the word sleep and use it in different contexts? Why is this significant?

Shakespeare utilizes the motif of sleep throughout Macbethon many different occasions. Most famously noted is immediately following the murder of King Duncan when Macbeth reports a spooky occurrence that he experienced during the murder when the two others sleeping in the chamber called out in their sleep that "Macbeth murdered sleep." Further, after murdering Duncan, Macbeth reports "Macbeth will sleep no more." This is coupled with the use of sleep as symbolic of murder...

Shakespeare utilizes the motif of sleep throughout Macbeth on many different occasions. Most famously noted is immediately following the murder of King Duncan when Macbeth reports a spooky occurrence that he experienced during the murder when the two others sleeping in the chamber called out in their sleep that "Macbeth murdered sleep." Further, after murdering Duncan, Macbeth reports "Macbeth will sleep no more." This is coupled with the use of sleep as symbolic of murder with reference to Duncan himself. In this scene, the motif of sleep represents two different but related things. First, sleep is the endless rest that overtakes Duncan when Macbeth murders him. This sleep is important because it represents the life that Macbeth takes away with his evil act. Next—and more significantly—sleeplessness signifies the guilt that Macbeth will face due to evil act he committed. When Macbeth acknowledges that he will no longer sleep, he accepts that the evil act he has committed has truly changed his character. This sleeplessness continues throughout the play as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth descend into madness. Lady Macbeth sleepwalks as one of her final acts before she commits suicide, and Macbeth stops sleeping because he can no longer find rest in the actions that he's committed.

In "The Masque of the Red Death" whom does Prince Prospero invite to his Abbey?

Prince Prospero invited a thousand of the wealthiest people in his kingdom to his abbey.

Prospero has a problem.  His people are dying.  There is a horrible disease known as the Red Death that is killing his people off in droves.

When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys. 

These courtiers would have been the most important people in the kingdom, and the people with the most money.  They all just hung out together and had a good time while back home people were dying.  Prospero did not care. As far as he was concerned, it was better to have one big party with your friends than take care of your people.

It is not enough that they are holed up in the fortress of an abbey with all they could ever need, far away from the pestilence.  Prospero decides to throw a spectacular ball to celebrate their continued existence there.

It was toward the close of the fifth or sixth month of his seclusion, and while the pestilence raged most furiously abroad, that the Prince Prospero entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence.

This turns out to have been his fatal mistake.  Half of the people in his kingdom died, and his response was to run away.  Now six months have passed and he and his friends are still alive, so he is throwing a party.  Prospero did not invite Death, but Death came uninvited.  Prospero and all of his friends were living on borrowed time, and they found out the night of the ball.

Leaders have an obligation to protect their population.  This extends beyond favors for the rich.  This story is a cautionary tale against greed and excess, but also against delusions of grandeur.  Prospero thought he could cheat Death.

What is the purpose of prologue in Agamemnon?

The Agamemnon opens with a Prologue spoken before the chorus enters singing their first ode, the parados, or entrance song, as they sing and dance their way to the orchestra.

Both the first choral ode and the Prologue serve as exposition, informing the audience of what has happened in the past and explaining the situation of the play. We learn from these speakers that the play is set just as Agamemnon is about to...

The Agamemnon opens with a Prologue spoken before the chorus enters singing their first ode, the parados, or entrance song, as they sing and dance their way to the orchestra.

Both the first choral ode and the Prologue serve as exposition, informing the audience of what has happened in the past and explaining the situation of the play. We learn from these speakers that the play is set just as Agamemnon is about to return home from the Trojan War. We learn that Agamemnon has been away from home for ten years and that his return is eagerly awaited, with a watchman having spent every night of those years on a watch tower waiting for a sight of the beacon that will announce Agamemnon's arrival. 

While the chorus addresses this wait in more general terms, and focuses on the narrative of the events, the Prologue is more individual and emotional, evoking the long sleepless nights at watch and a sense of joy at the sight of the beacon, which the Watchman sees as a resolution to his worries. The chorus, of course, not being so isolated, knows that the return will not mark an end to suffering, but itself cause problems. 

What are some minor conflicts in To Kill a Mockingbird and what are their thematic significances?

Most folks are familiar with the main conflict of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and the famous trial scene that goes along with it. However, there are other, smaller conflicts that happen throughout the book that are less well known, but that also have important thematic significance. One of these conflicts occurs toward the beginning, when Scout is rebuked for being a good reader and ahead of most of the class when she begins...

Most folks are familiar with the main conflict of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and the famous trial scene that goes along with it. However, there are other, smaller conflicts that happen throughout the book that are less well known, but that also have important thematic significance. One of these conflicts occurs toward the beginning, when Scout is rebuked for being a good reader and ahead of most of the class when she begins attending school. It might not have the far-reaching implications of the Tom Robinson trial, but Scout's conflict in the classroom is nonetheless important, as it functions as Lee's critique of the public school system. Rather than presenting public school as a place of education, Lee instead presents it as a place burdened by bureaucracy that stifles children's learning. Most readers often overlook this important theme, moving right along to the novel's depictions of race and racism. The main conflict against racism is obviously important, but so is Lee's educational conflict, as it reveals the ways in which children are encouraged to be ignorant and receive little real education. 

There are many more, smaller conflicts in the novel dealing with topics as diverse as class, reputation, gender, and more. I'd encourage you to read the novel carefully to see how many you can find, as the book truly is a sweeping representation and critique of American society in general. 

What is Elizabeth's dilemma when she is brought in for questioning in Act 3 of The Crucible?

Act 3 of the play is a battle for the reasonable folks of Salem to overcome the witchcraft hysteria that has overtaken the town. The act balances on the idea that the court is being used by people like Putnam for self-gain and revenge on their enemies and the idea that witchcraft is real and rampant and only the court can save them. 

After much back and forth, Proctor, furious about the sway that Abigail...

Act 3 of the play is a battle for the reasonable folks of Salem to overcome the witchcraft hysteria that has overtaken the town. The act balances on the idea that the court is being used by people like Putnam for self-gain and revenge on their enemies and the idea that witchcraft is real and rampant and only the court can save them. 

After much back and forth, Proctor, furious about the sway that Abigail and the other girls have over the court leaders, calls Abigail a whore and confesses to having had sex with her as a way to discredit her. Danforth insists that Elizabeth come in to confirm this story, but he does seem ready to believe it, telling Abigail that if Elizabeth confirms this, God had better have mercy on her (because he won't, presumably).

Elizabeth is brought in, but Proctor and Abigail's backs are to her so they cannot tip her off. Danforth asks her why she dismissed Abigail and she avoids the truth, saying at first that she was dissatisfied with her, then that she was afraid her husband was enamored with her. When Danforth asks if Procter is "a lecher," Elizabeth says no. 

Even though Elizabeth chose to lie and protect her husband's reputation rather than remain her completely honest self, her choice ended up doing more harm than good, as Abigail's possession was no longer questioned. Telling the truth here could have ended the trials, but Elizabeth's lie inadvertently kept them going. 

What would happen if gray wolves became extinct?

As with the extinction of any other species, loss of the gray wolf could have a significant effect on the food chain(s) and ecosystems of which it is a member. Think of how a drop of water creates ripples on the surface of a lake—the loss of the gray wolf would at first have immediate impacts on its natural predators and prey, and eventually disrupt the food chains these other organisms are a part of.

...

As with the extinction of any other species, loss of the gray wolf could have a significant effect on the food chain(s) and ecosystems of which it is a member. Think of how a drop of water creates ripples on the surface of a lake—the loss of the gray wolf would at first have immediate impacts on its natural predators and prey, and eventually disrupt the food chains these other organisms are a part of.

Canis lupus, the gray (also spelled "grey") wolf, is found naturally throughout North America. Gray wolves' diets typically consist of large animals like deer, elk, or bison, but if these large animals aren't available, these wolves will eat rabbits or other small mammals. If the gray wolf were to go extinct, the populations of their prey—the deer, rabbits, and so on—may increase due to a lack of at least one natural predator. Especially in food chains where there is an exclusive predator-prey relationship, the population of the prey can essentially grow out of control with the loss of a predator. This can have secondary effects which deplete the food of the prey or cause a boom in the populations of other predators. 

Gray wolves are sometimes prey to larger mammals like bears or mountain lions. The loss of the gray wolf in an area where bears or lions rely on the wolf population for a source of food would significantly disrupt the food chain. 

Why was the Great Depression good preparation for WWII?

For people on the Home Front, the Great Depression helped pave the way for World War II. The Depression prepared them for wartime. By the time the United States entered World War II in 1941, the Great Depression had been going on for over a decade.

During the Great Depression, many people had to reduce, reuse, and recycle because they could not afford to do otherwise. People thought of creative ways to reuse things and...

For people on the Home Front, the Great Depression helped pave the way for World War II. The Depression prepared them for wartime. By the time the United States entered World War II in 1941, the Great Depression had been going on for over a decade.

During the Great Depression, many people had to reduce, reuse, and recycle because they could not afford to do otherwise. People thought of creative ways to reuse things and many times did without. This ability to adapt was essential in World War II, when food, rubber, and gas were rationed. It was considered patriotic to save cooking oil and collect scrap metal. Many people used secondhand tires on their cars to conserve rubber. People transitioned from the Great Depression to World War II somewhat seamlessly.

Both World War II and the Great Depression were times filled with hardship. People had to face each day with strength and courage. Many had to sacrifice the safety and comforts of home.

Men and some women joined federal work programs, such as the WPA, during the Great Depression. While employed, workers traveled to different places away from their families. During World War II, many men and some women left their homes to join the military.

Why was the election of 1824 said to have resulted from a "Corrupt Bargain" between John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay?

The election of 1824 was a very interesting election. There were four candidates running for President. Since no candidate got a majority of the electoral votes, the House of Representatives had to choose the President. The four candidates were Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams, and William Crawford. Andrew Jackson got the most electoral votes, but not the majority he needed to become President. According to the Constitution, the House of Representatives would choose...

The election of 1824 was a very interesting election. There were four candidates running for President. Since no candidate got a majority of the electoral votes, the House of Representatives had to choose the President. The four candidates were Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams, and William Crawford. Andrew Jackson got the most electoral votes, but not the majority he needed to become President. According to the Constitution, the House of Representatives would choose from the top three candidates based on the number of electoral votes each candidate had received. This eliminated Henry Clay who had the smallest number of electoral votes.

The House of Representatives chose John Quincy Adams to become President. When John Quincy Adams became President, he made Henry Clay the Secretary of State. This led Andrew Jackson and his supporters to claim that a deal, which became known as the Corrupt Bargain, was made between Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams. Andrew Jackson believed that in return for Henry Clay’s supporters to vote for John Quincy Adams, John Quincy Adams would make Henry Clay the Secretary of State. Andrew Jackson was furious because he felt he should have won the election and not John Quincy Adams. Andrew Jackson was determined to win the presidency in the next election, which he did in 1828.

What does Ponyboy do in The Outsiders?

Ponyboy is the novel's protagonist, and there are numerous events that Ponyboy plays a significant role in throughout the novel. The novel begins when a group of Socs jumps Ponyboy in Chapter 1. After, Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dally sneak into the drive-ins where they meet two Soc girls, Cherry and Marcia. After sharing a connection with Cherry, Ponyboy and Johnny hang out in a vacant lot and discuss the social issues of their city. Ponyboy...

Ponyboy is the novel's protagonist, and there are numerous events that Ponyboy plays a significant role in throughout the novel. The novel begins when a group of Socs jumps Ponyboy in Chapter 1. After, Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dally sneak into the drive-ins where they meet two Soc girls, Cherry and Marcia. After sharing a connection with Cherry, Ponyboy and Johnny hang out in a vacant lot and discuss the social issues of their city. Ponyboy returns home past his curfew, and his older brother, Darry, slaps him in the face. Ponyboy runs out of the house and meets up with Johnny. While they are hanging out at a local park, five Socs approach them and attempt to drown Ponyboy in the park's fountain. Ponyboy passes out, and when he wakes up, Johnny tells him that he's stabbed and killed a Soc. Ponyboy runs away to Windrixville with Johnny, where they stay in an abandoned church. Ponyboy and Johnny become close friends and bond over the novel Gone With the Wind. Dally comes to visit them and takes them out to eat. When they return to their hideout, they see the church on fire. Ponyboy and Johnny enter the burning church and save several children who are trapped inside. Johnny ends up getting hurt in the burning church, and Ponyboy visits him at the hospital. While Johnny is in the hospital, Ponyboy participates in a huge rumble against the Socs. Ponyboy gets kicked in the head and suffers a concussion. Following the rumble, Johnny and Dally both die and Ponyboy suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He begins to fail his classes and argues with Darry continually. At the end of the novel, Sodapop convinces Ponyboy and Darry to stop fighting, and Ponyboy decides to write the novel The Outsiders in order to tell the story of his friends' tragic lives. Ponyboy matures and develops his perspective on life throughout the novel by interacting with both the Socs and Greasers.

Who is buried in Grant's Tomb?

For whatever reason, this question has long been a joke of sorts.  You are expected to say that President Ulysses S. Grant is buried there, only to be told that it is both Grant and his wife, Julia, who are buried there.  To be technically precise, however, no one is buried in Grant’s Tomb.  This is because, as we can see in the link below, Grant and his wife are actually entombed and not buried...

For whatever reason, this question has long been a joke of sorts.  You are expected to say that President Ulysses S. Grant is buried there, only to be told that it is both Grant and his wife, Julia, who are buried there.  To be technically precise, however, no one is buried in Grant’s Tomb.  This is because, as we can see in the link below, Grant and his wife are actually entombed and not buried in Grant’s Tomb.

Although we typically use the word “bury” to refer to any process in which we place human remains in their final resting place, the word literally means to place under the ground.  In other words, a person is only truly buried if their remains are placed underground.  This is not the case with the remains of President and Mrs. Grant.  Instead, their remains were laid to rest above ground, within a tomb.  Therefore, they are technically not buried in Grant’s Tomb.

So, depending on how technical you want to be about things, the answer to this is either A) that President and Mrs. Grant are buried in Grant’s Tomb or B) that no one is buried there.

How was WWI the beginning of the US becoming a military superpower?

World War I helped put the United States on the road to being the world’s only superpower in two main ways.  First, it forced the US to start getting more involved in world affairs. Second, it destroyed the Russian Empire and created the Soviet Union.

Before WWI, the United States had not been a very important world power.  It had been involved in imperialism in Latin America and in Asia, but it was certainly not...

World War I helped put the United States on the road to being the world’s only superpower in two main ways.  First, it forced the US to start getting more involved in world affairs. Second, it destroyed the Russian Empire and created the Soviet Union.

Before WWI, the United States had not been a very important world power.  It had been involved in imperialism in Latin America and in Asia, but it was certainly not as important of a country as the UK, France, or Germany.  With WWI, this began to change.  The US, for the first time, had to fight in a major foreign war.  This changed the way it thought about its military needs.  WWI also made the US think more about the world order.  It made the US want to do more to shape international affairs than it previously had.  This led to the US becoming much more involved in world affairs after WWI.  In these ways, WWI led the US to be more engaged in world affairs and to think about what it needed militarily to project power farther around the globe.

WWI also led indirectly to US power.  The Russian Empire was destroyed by the war.  The war put so much stress on the Tsarist regime that rebels were able to overthrow it.  This led to the creation of the Soviet Union.  The Soviet Union, after World War II, provided the West with a menace it had to defend against.  This forced the US to take the lead and to build itself into a superpower. If the USSR had not existed, the US might not have been so interested in building all the military infrastructure that made it into “the world military superpower.”

Thus, WWI helped create situations that led the US to dominate the world as its only superpower.

Why is it important to use a sociological perspective to examine and explore age?

The idea of age and what it represents is socially constructed. This means that even though we might feel that age is a natural and universal idea, it is actually a social invention specific to history, tradition, culture, time, and place. To take a simple yet ubiquitous example, even the idea of numerical age is itself socially fabricated. In East Asia, traditionally a person would be considered age 1 at birth, with one year added...

The idea of age and what it represents is socially constructed. This means that even though we might feel that age is a natural and universal idea, it is actually a social invention specific to history, tradition, culture, time, and place. To take a simple yet ubiquitous example, even the idea of numerical age is itself socially fabricated. In East Asia, traditionally a person would be considered age 1 at birth, with one year added at the beginning of the solar or lunar term. In China, a year would be added at the beginning of the solar term (which would typically fall on February 4th or 5th). In Korea, a year would traditionally be added at the beginning of the lunar term (which would generally fall on January 1st). 

Age groupings are usually tied to rites of passage, or to other rituals that take on sociological significance. For example, in many traditional societies males and females come into adulthood at the end of puberty, around age 12. Rites that mark initiation into adulthood are sometime violent or physically challenging. Symbols of passage in the West include becoming old enough to vote, serve in the military, or purchase alcohol. 

The reason that the notion of age should be considered from a sociological perspective is that age and age groupings sharply shape a person's life experiences. A person's age influences the range of  decisions and life choices available to them. Understanding the social underpinnings of age helps us to see that age is not a biologically mandated universal, but a socially constructed hierarchy that can and does change over time. 

Discuss Thomas Hardy as a poet hovering between two worlds, the Victorian and the Modern.

I will note a famous Hardy poem, "The Darkling Thrush," to talk about how Hardy bridged the Victorian and the Modern age. This will involve talking in broad strokes about both eras.

In general, the Victorian period was characterized by optimism. England was the unrivalled great world power during this period, with a navy that dominated the seas. Technology boomed: from railroads to vaccines, life had changed radically from the beginning of the century. It seemed that nothing would stop progress and that the world, under the civilizing influence of European culture, would become a better and better place. By the end of the nineteenth century, when Hardy wrote "The Darkling Thrush," there had not been a major European war in nearly a hundred years, people were living longer and better lives than ever before, and technology seemed unstoppable in its promise. Poets reflected society's faith and optimism and even when doubts, perhaps brought about by Darwinism, crept in, many poets, such as Christina Rosetti, Gerard Manley Hopkins and Emily Bronte, wrote religious or devotional poems, while poets like Edward Lear and Lewis Carrol penned nonsense verse (this is painting in the broadest possible strokes: of course, many poets also wrote about death, despair, etc). Nature was still celebrated as in the Romantic period as a source of inspiration and hope, though perhaps not with the same fervor.

World War I ushered in the Modern age. The horror of that war produced a "Lost Generation" that didn't know where to find hope and meaning after the carnage of that war, with its thousands and thousands of lives wasted on the battlefield. The promise of Victorianism seemed betrayed, and poets like Wilfred Owen reflected the new, dark mood (again, this is painting in the broadest strokes).

Hardy is a bridge figure, for while he still writes in the idiom of the Victorian era, with its emphasis on nature, a poem like "The Darkling Thrush" anticipates the hopelessness and fatalism of the Moderns. Rather than find hope and inspiration in the song of the thrush, the narrator can only wonder at it. Nature doesn't fill him with hope, nor does he have religious faith. The poet is simply alienated from the bird's hope:

So little cause for carolings

      Of such ecstatic sound

Was written on terrestrial things

      Afar or nigh around,

That I could think there trembled through

      His happy good-night air

Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew

      And I was unaware.

Who is not present when Toby comes to Fagin's house after the blotched robbery in Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist?

Toby Crackit informs Fagin that he and the other robbers had to flee the scene of a botched robbery. Oliver is missing because he was shot and Crackit and the others fled their pursuers, leaving Oliver in a ditch.

Toby tells Fagin, who has already read of the robbery in the newspaper, that the "whole country was awake" and came rushing after them, so they had no choice but to run. He says the boy...

Toby Crackit informs Fagin that he and the other robbers had to flee the scene of a botched robbery. Oliver is missing because he was shot and Crackit and the others fled their pursuers, leaving Oliver in a ditch.

Toby tells Fagin, who has already read of the robbery in the newspaper, that the "whole country was awake" and came rushing after them, so they had no choice but to run. He says the boy was shot when Bill had Oliver on his back as he was fleeing. Toby adds,

"We stopped to take him between us; his head hung down, and he was cold."

Then as the pursuers gained on them, Toby continues,

"It was every man for himself.....We parted company and left the youngster lying in a ditch."

When Fagin hears that they have lost Oliver, and that the boy could be dead, he yells loudly and pulls his hair in chagrin. Then, he rushes from the house.

In the following chapter (XXVI), Fagin scours the neighborhood for a man called Monks; when he cannot locate him, he looks for Bill Sikes, but only finds Nancy there in a drunken stupor. She says poor Oliver is better off dead, anyway. But, Fagin significantly says that Oliver is worth hundreds of pounds to him. 

Later, Fagin finds Monk and their conversation suggests that Monk has a personal interest in Oliver as does Fagin. Obviously, money is involved if Fagin is so upset and declaring that Oliver is worth a fortune.

What is the form of Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone with the Wind?

Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Windconforms to multiple genres. It is a romance novel, with the protagonist, Scarlett O'Hara, manipulating men for her personal benefit while genuinely falling in love with Rhett Butler. It is a historical novel, meticulously depicting the devastation of the American Civil War and the humiliations associated with Reconstruction, if also decidedly biased towards the South of the author's heritage. It is, to a degree, a feminist novel,...

Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind conforms to multiple genres. It is a romance novel, with the protagonist, Scarlett O'Hara, manipulating men for her personal benefit while genuinely falling in love with Rhett Butler. It is a historical novel, meticulously depicting the devastation of the American Civil War and the humiliations associated with Reconstruction, if also decidedly biased towards the South of the author's heritage. It is, to a degree, a feminist novel, with its protagonist, Scarlett, a strong-willed, fairly independent woman determined to succeed in business during an era well before women would even enjoy the right to vote. It is a Southern novel, reflecting, once again, the author's Southern heritage and disposition, both for better and for worse. And it can be considered a bildungsroman, tracking its protagonist's development over a period of time, in this case the period immediately preceding the start of the Civil War and continuing into the post-war period. Gone with the Wind is all of this, and its commercial success was a testament to Mitchell's ability to capture the environment depicted in the land of her birth that, unfortunately, fought tenaciously to maintain a horrific system of slavery and racial segregation. 

For many Americans living above the Mason-Dixon Line, their most formative exposure to the South's perspective during and after the Civil War was Mitchell's novel and the film that was adapted from the novel. In fact, the 1939 film adaption, also titled Gone with the Wind, and starring Clark Gable in his most famous role as Rhett Butler and Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara, was perhaps the first major "blockbuster" among large-budget films. The film successfully captures the atmosphere Mitchell sought to depict during the decade she spent writing her novel. As far as "forms" that describe the novel, as noted above, they include historical, Southern, bildungsroman, feminist, and romance.

Why is it difficult for Emily to meet suitable men in her youth in "A Rose for Emily"?

Emily’s father drove all of her suitors away. 

The entire town knows Emily.  Emily is eccentric, and her father was even more eccentric.  He is the reason that she ended up alone.  Her father actually drove away the young men who came courting with a horsewhip.

None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such. We had long thought of them as a tableau, Miss Emily a slender figure...

Emily’s father drove all of her suitors away. 

The entire town knows Emily.  Emily is eccentric, and her father was even more eccentric.  He is the reason that she ended up alone.  Her father actually drove away the young men who came courting with a horsewhip.

None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such. We had long thought of them as a tableau, Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the back-flung front door. (II) 

Emily’s erratic behavior is the stuff of legend.  When her father died, she refused to let them have the body to bury it, saying that her father was not dead.  She finally broke down and let them in after three days.

We did not say she was crazy then. We believed she had to do that. We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will. (II)

Emily might have inherited some mental instability from her family.  The townspeople are really not that surprised that she hasn’t left the house since Homer Barron disappeared.  Homer himself said he was not a marrying man, and the town felt sorry for her when he left (or so they said). 

Emily obviously wanted to make sure that if she could not have Homer, no one could.  She told the pharmacist that she wanted arsenic for rats.  When a strange smell came out of her house, she drove away the people who came about it.  She always behaved so oddly that no one really questioned it.  They just believed that her male housekeeper couldn’t keep a kitchen well.  They were afraid to confront her, and instead broke in and sprinkled lime, and after time the smell went away.  It wasn’t until Emily herself died that they found Homer’s body.

After Duncan's death, Macbeth says "all is but toys". Explain what his words mean and whether they are sincere.

In Act II, scene 3, Macbeth, having just killed Duncan, observes:

"Had I but died an hour before this chance,

I had lived a blessèd time, for from this instant

There’s nothing serious in mortality.

All is but toys. Renown and grace is dead.

The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees

Is left this vault to brag of."

Here, Macbeth expresses a fatalistic belief that in killing Duncan, he has...

In Act II, scene 3, Macbeth, having just killed Duncan, observes:

"Had I but died an hour before this chance,

I had lived a blessèd time, for from this instant

There’s nothing serious in mortality.

All is but toys. Renown and grace is dead.

The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees

Is left this vault to brag of."

Here, Macbeth expresses a fatalistic belief that in killing Duncan, he has robbed his own life of dignity, purpose, and meaning.  He is immediately remorseful, and his words are sincere.  He realizes that he has betrayed his king and country, and in doing so, doomed himself.  "All is but toys" expresses his belief that whatever he will do henceforward will be meaningless and transient. In killing Duncan he has discarded his own fame and respect. Whatever lays in his future will be a brief, trifling amusement. He believes that the best of life, living under Duncan's rule,  is behind him, and that he will never be able to rise to the nobility and morality of the great man he has murdered.  

Why is Greg's mother concerned about Greg's fascination with money in Andrew Clements's Lunch Money?

In chapter 3 of Andrew Clements's Lunch Money, Greg's mom explains her concern about Greg's obsession with earning money: she thinks it's unusual for a child.By chapter 3 of the story, Greg gets the idea to start selling gum and candy to the kids at school as a new way to make money since Greg sees so many kids carry spare change to school. He soon gets concerned, however, because the kids carry...

In chapter 3 of Andrew Clements's Lunch Money, Greg's mom explains her concern about Greg's obsession with earning money: she thinks it's unusual for a child.

By chapter 3 of the story, Greg gets the idea to start selling gum and candy to the kids at school as a new way to make money since Greg sees so many kids carry spare change to school. He soon gets concerned, however, because the kids carry the gum and candy they buy from him into class, which is "against school rules" (18). Greg fears getting into trouble with the principal, so he thinks of something new to sell—toys. On the internet, Greg finds a website that sells "toys and souvenirs and gadgets" very cheaply (19), so he asks his mother for permission to use her credit card. Greg can immediately pay her back in cash, so she agrees. Still, she expresses her worries to her husband about Greg's obsession with earning money. In her mind, Greg is not acting like a normal child, and she wants him to enjoy his childhood.

Her husband doesn't share her concern. He sees Greg as a hard worker and wishes the rest of their kids would work as hard as Greg. He also sees Greg as participating in normal childhood activities, like drawing, reading, and playing sports, so he doesn't think Greg is missing out on any childhood fun just because he also works hard.

You are now responsible for fiscal policy in the United States. Your economic advisors are telling you that the economy has been pushed beyond the...

If we are supposed to “slow down the economy,” we will have to engage in contractionary fiscal policy.  In other words, we will have to accept Keynesian ideas and we will have to try to cause aggregate demand to decline.

Fiscal policy is made up government spending and taxes.  The government can increase or decrease either of these aspects of fiscal policy.  Keynesian economists believe that the government can and should use fiscal policy to...

If we are supposed to “slow down the economy,” we will have to engage in contractionary fiscal policy.  In other words, we will have to accept Keynesian ideas and we will have to try to cause aggregate demand to decline.

Fiscal policy is made up government spending and taxes.  The government can increase or decrease either of these aspects of fiscal policy.  Keynesian economists believe that the government can and should use fiscal policy to raise or lower aggregate demand.

In the situation that you describe in this scenario, the government needs to reduce aggregate demand.  That is, it needs people to buy fewer goods and services.  When people buy less, price will drop and firms will not have to produce as many goods.  This will cause the equilibrium to return to the long run aggregate supply level.  So how can the government cause this to happen?  First, the government is supposed to raise taxes.  Second, it is supposed to spend less money.  By doing these two things, the government will take money out of people’s pockets.  They will have to pay higher taxes and the government will not be putting as much money into their pockets through government spending.  When the people have less money they will, all other things being equal, buy fewer goods and services.  Aggregate demand will drop, and the economy will cool.  You can see this process at work in the interactive graph in the link below.

If the government does not do these things, Keynesians say, the economy will overheat.  This means that average prices will rise and we will experience excessively high levels of inflation.

(Please note that supply-side economists and politicians would reject this.  They believe that reduced taxes and reduced regulations, among other things, would cause supply to rise.  They would prefer to do this rather than to engage in the Keynesian policies mentioned above.)