How are race, gender, and class addressed in Oliver Optic's Rich and Humble?

While class does play a role in Rich and Humble, race and class aren't addressed by William Taylor Adams (Oliver Opic's real name) in the book. There are no struggles or scenes devoted to gender roles, racial issues in society, or anything of that type.

Class plays the biggest role in the novel, because Bertha starts out as a upper-class girl living on a wealthy estate and is then cast out without a place to go, without friends, and without money. She has to work to prove her father's innocence and reclaim her estate.

Even before Bertha has to become a member of the working class, she has empathy for the poor. Adams writes of an area near Woodhill where Bertha lives: "This was Dunk's Hollow, to whose poor and neglected little ones Bertha Grant had become a ministering angel." She is kind and helpful to people in the social classes below her.

This is contrasted later when her origins are revealed to her employer Mrs. Byron. The woman likes Bertha as a governess until she finds out that Mr. Grant is in jail for fraud. Once that truth is exposed, she views Bertha as a liar, fraud, and thief, and tries to fire her without pay. Her treatment of Bertha, a servant, exposes the negative views of the privileged toward the working class.

Further, when Bertha is cast out by Mrs. Byron, a member of the servant class gives her a place to stay to make sure she's safe. Peter tells her that there's nowhere safe to stay nearby and invites her back to his home. He and his wife give her a comfortable place to stay, and he drives her to the ferry the next day. 

Adams also shows the contrast between two different societies near Woodhill. First, he describes Dunk's Hollow, saying:

Dunk's Hollow had a very bad name in the neighborhood and man, woman, or child who came from there was deemed a reproach to the race. There was only one shop at the Hollow, and that was the principal source of all its miserty, for its chief trade was in liquor, pipes, and tobacco.

Next, he describes another nearby town:

On the opposite side of the river was the thriving village of Whitestone, in surprising contrast with the place just described. It contained four or five thousand inhabitants, with all the appointments of modern civilization, including a racecourse, half a dozen billiard saloons, where better and liquor drinking were the principal recreations, and as many bowling alleys and fashionable oyster shops.

The contrasting descriptions of the two different communities shows the differences in how people see the different classes of people. For example, liquor is clearly seen as negative in Dunk's Hollow. Liquor in Whitestone is considered a part of modern civilization, set up to lure in the rich sons of the local estate owners.

Class plays a role in Rich and Humble as it contrasts the behaviors and actions of the characters. It also serves as the background of Bertha's struggle as she transitions from being a wealthy, cosseted girl to a member of the servant class and then, finally, back to wealth.

Why do the preacher's words disturb Brent in Whirligig?

The preacher's words disturb Brent because they reference his current situation. Like Cain in the Bible, Brent is essentially living in exile.

In complying with Mrs. Zamora's wishes, Brent basically becomes a sort of wanderer, perhaps even a "fugitive" from the kind of justice he thinks he deserves. He feels he should have been sent to the juvenile detention center instead of receiving probation. Above all else, Brent believes he deserves to be punished. The...

The preacher's words disturb Brent because they reference his current situation. Like Cain in the Bible, Brent is essentially living in exile.

In complying with Mrs. Zamora's wishes, Brent basically becomes a sort of wanderer, perhaps even a "fugitive" from the kind of justice he thinks he deserves. He feels he should have been sent to the juvenile detention center instead of receiving probation. Above all else, Brent believes he deserves to be punished. The text tells us that Brent's reaction to the preacher's words is grief; he recognizes the preacher's quotation from chapter 4, verse 12 of Genesis: "When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth."

The preacher's words remind Brent of his dismal situation, his culpability in Lea's death, and the loss of his innocence. Brent already feels like a fugitive from justice, and he definitely feels like a vagabond, someone who has no home. With one singular action, he knows he has wiped out the life of an innocent girl, and he must live with this knowledge for the rest of his life. To Brent, the preacher's words are disturbing because they reinforce his dismal situation and highlight his sense of living under divine condemnation.

If there was one thing that caused both WW1 and WW2 what would it be?

One thing that caused both WWI and WWII would be intense nationalistic feelings.  WWI was started when a Serbian nationalist shot the Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Nicholas II of Russia felt as though he was the protector of all Slavs in Europe--this is why he backed Serbia in its war with Austria-Hungary.  Germany felt as though it should have had more status in Europe so it built up its military which led to...

One thing that caused both WWI and WWII would be intense nationalistic feelings.  WWI was started when a Serbian nationalist shot the Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Nicholas II of Russia felt as though he was the protector of all Slavs in Europe--this is why he backed Serbia in its war with Austria-Hungary.  Germany felt as though it should have had more status in Europe so it built up its military which led to tension between Germany, Britain, and France.  

WWII would not have been possible without WWI.  Germany felt cheated by the Versailles Treaty and Hitler promised to restore the nation to past glory.  He stated that the German people were ideal and that they should own Slavic land in the East.  Italy felt as though their contributions for the Allied Powers in WWI were not appreciated enough so it backed Germany in WWII.  Mussolini wanted to recreate the Roman Empire and soon began to claim land along the Mediterranean for Italy.  Japan sought to drive out the European powers from Asia and create an Asia where Japan was the major power.  This led to tension between Japan and the United States.  

In The Old Man and the Sea, different readers may place the climax at different points. Where do you think the climax is in this novel? Defend...

The climactic action of The Old Man and the Sea involves Santiago's ability to successfully pull in the great marlin and tie him to his boat, as well as his brave battle against the sharks who would deprive him of his success.

Because an enduring work such as Hemingway's tale lends itself to extended interpretations and broader meanings, the climax of the narrative is sometimes interpreted as other than the point at which Santiago finally conquers the marlin by impaling it with his harpoon. Some interpretations of this work extend the climax to include Santiago's heroic struggle against the sharks who would deprive him of the great fish. 

With the definition of the hero as,

A man who lives correctly, following the ideals of honor, courage, and endurance in a world that is sometimes chaotic, often stressful, and always painful, 

it seems that the climax should include Santiago's enduring struggle against the marlin and the sharks. He never gives up in his effort to bring back the marlin. Although he loses the marlin's meat to the sharks, Santiago finds the inner strength to continue to endure his greatest struggle. There is an extended climax because the high emotion remains as Santiago fights against the sharks for the same reason that he fights for the marlin. This reason for Santiago's fighting is what one critic calls "the intangibles that can redeem his individual life."

 At one point in his struggles, the old man tells himself,

You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food, he thought. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman.

It is because of his pride as a fisherman that Santiago continues his battle by fighting the sharks. He repeats to himself, "Fight them. . . I'll fight them until I die." This statement also indicates that the narrative is still at a point of high emotion, a climactic point. 

The falling action occurs when Santiago returns to the little harbor, and he carries his mast over his shoulder up the hill. He is so exhausted by his fight that he must rest five times. Nevertheless, Santiago arrives home, lies on his bed, and falls asleep. As he sleeps, the old fisherman can dream since he has met all the challenges presented to him. Because of his endurance against both the marlin and the sharks, along with his perseverance during these climactic moments, Santiago can retain his pride and know that he is still a man. 

What are the historical significance, background, and evolution of the words to the song Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin?

When examining the lyrics to Scott Joplin's classic ragtime composition Maple Leaf Rag, it is important to keep in mind that the lyrics were written some time after the 1899 publication of Joplin's original music, and not by Joplin. Rather, the lyrics were penned by Sydney Brown. Brown's lyrics, which were added with or without--probably the latter--Joplin's consent by his first publisher, John Stark, who had acquired the rights to Maple Leaf Rag and with whom Joplin had an ongoing feud, were noticeably racist and perpetuated negative stereotypes of African Americans. 

Ragtime was a product of late-nineteenth-century America and, more specifically, of the American South. As with blues and jazz, to which ragtime was a precursor, this musical genre was unique to the African American community, in particular those in St. Louis and Sedalia, Missouri. The origins of ragtime, then, cannot be separated from the racial hostilities and institution of racial segregation that continued to plague the South for decades after the end of the Civil War. And, in contrast to some other ragtime composers, Joplin eschewed music that catered to the lowest common denominator of white American society. The publication by Stark of Brown's lyrics, consequently, do not reflect upon Joplin, but upon the racism endemic to society during the latter's life. Ray Argyle, in his history of ragtime and of Joplin's role in popularizing it, Scott Joplin and the Age of Ragtime, quotes the American Federation of Musicians' 1901 declaration that "swore to play no ragtime and to do all in their power to counteract the pernicious influence...of the Negro school." (p. 36) Such was the atmosphere in which Brown penned the lyrics to Joplin's composition.

The lyrics to Maple Leaf Rag are replete with negative imagery illuminating the racial prejudices of the time:

I came from ole Virginy from the county Acomac
I have no wealth to speak of 'cept de clothes upon my back
I can do the country hoe-down I can buck and wing to show down
And while I'm in the notion, just step back and watch my motion

Oh go 'way man, I can hypnotize dis nation
I can shake the earth's foundation wit' the Maple Leaf Rag

..

The men were struck wit' jealousy, the razors 'gan to flash
But de ladies gathered 'round me for I'd surely made a mash

The finest belle, she sent a boy to call a coach and four
We rode around a season 'till we both were lost to reason....

Note the use of phrases like "de clothes," "I can buck and wing," "I can hypnotize  this nation," and "I can shake the earth's foundation wit' the Maple Leaf Rag." Brown's lyrics tell of a poor African American walking into a presumably upper-class white dance and scandalizing the attendees. Among the pernicious stereotypes of African American men was that they were sex-crazed predators who targeted white women. When the singer suggests that he can "shake the earth's foundation," he is playing to the fears of many caucasians that blacks were innately threatening not only to the status quo but to the sanctity of white women. The reaction of the men in the ballroom further perpetuates the myth of the ever-threatening African American and, of particular note, of the white man's need to castrate the black man who will otherwise rape white women with wanton abandon.

Sydney Brown's lyrics for Scott Joplin's composition are rarely heard for the simple reason that they do not improve the music and are highly offensive. They represented a bastardization of Joplin's music while also illuminating the blatant racism of the era in which both the original composition and the lyrics were written.

Why is the narrator crying after Doodle shows the family how he can walk in "The Scarlet Ibis"?

The narrator cries after Doodle demonstrates that he can walk because he is proud that he has taught his brother to be able to do so. Also, he is somewhat ashamed because he has instructed Doodle from the selfish motives of being embarrassed by Doodle's failure to walk at age five.

It [teaching Doodle to walk] seemed so hopeless from the beginning that it's a miracle I didn't give up. But all of us must...

The narrator cries after Doodle demonstrates that he can walk because he is proud that he has taught his brother to be able to do so. Also, he is somewhat ashamed because he has instructed Doodle from the selfish motives of being embarrassed by Doodle's failure to walk at age five.

It [teaching Doodle to walk] seemed so hopeless from the beginning that it's a miracle I didn't give up. But all of us must have something or someone to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine.

In James Hurst's story, when Doodle is born, the narrator is mortified that his baby brother is not normal. William Armstrong is "an invalid" and must lie on a rubber sheet. But, when the baby pushes himself up and recognizes his brother and smiles, the narrator takes some interest in him. Then, after his baby brother learns to turn himself over and later to crawl, the narrator determines that Doodle must learn to do normal things. The narrator/brother becomes so embarrassed to be pulling Doodle around in a cart when he is five that he becomes determined that Doodle will walk.

They Told Me You Had Been To Her Meaning

What linguistic/ language features does the poet use to create meaning in the poem below?

They told me you had been to her,

And mentioned me to him:

She gave me a good character, 

But said I could not swim.

He sent them word I had not gone

(we know it to be true):

If she should push the matter on, 

What would become of you?

I gave her one, they gave him two,

You gave us three or more:

They all returned from him to you,

Though they were mine before.

If I or she should chance to be 

Involved in this affair, 

He trusts to you to set them free,

Exactly as we were.

My notion was that you had been 

(Before she had this fit)

An obstacle that came between

Him, and ourselves, and it.

Don't let them know she liked them best, 

For this must ever be

A secret, kept from all the rest,

Between yourself and me

- From Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland