What are the claims Martin Luther King makes in his "Letter From Birmingham City Jail?"

The letter, written on April 16, 1963, is addressed to Martin Luther King’s fellow clergymen and tries to explain his presence in Birmingham while also addressing various criticisms made by these people towards him. He claims that there are racial injustices in Birmingham in the form of brutality, segregation, unfair treatment of African Americans within the judicial system, unsolved bombings of black homes and churches, and so on. He states that his presence in Birmingham...

The letter, written on April 16, 1963, is addressed to Martin Luther King’s fellow clergymen and tries to explain his presence in Birmingham while also addressing various criticisms made by these people towards him. He claims that there are racial injustices in Birmingham in the form of brutality, segregation, unfair treatment of African Americans within the judicial system, unsolved bombings of black homes and churches, and so on. He states that his presence in Birmingham is based on an invitation by the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights to be available to engage in a nonviolent call for action against the appalling racial conditions in the city.

He claims that nonviolent direct action is important as it creates the tension necessary to force a society that has repeatedly refused to negotiate deal with underlying difficult issues. He states that historically, privileged groups rarely give up their privileges easily, unless when pushed into action.

He states that they aim to disregard all laws that are unjust, such as the segregation statutes that “give the segregator a false sense of superiority, and the segregated a false sense of inferiority.” This is in response to criticism leveled towards his group and its willingness to “break laws.” He states that his group’s actions are meant to bring to the surface the underlying societal problems—to expose existing injustices.

In response to calls for patience in agitation for justice, he states that “human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be coworkers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation.” He denies claims that his and his group’s actions are extreme, stating that theirs is a point between two existing stances: one agitating for inaction, the other standing for hatred and despair.

What are some important details about Francis Cabot Lowell and Lucretia Mott? How were these figures involved in reform?

Born on the eve of the American Revolution in 1775, Francis Cabot Lowell is credited with bringing textile mills to the United States. On a trip to England when he was in his 30s, he toured textile mills and decided to bring this technology to the U.S.

In 1813, he founded the Boston Manufacturing Company with other investors. He and his partners used the British power loom but introduced improvements in its functioning, and they also sold shares in their company. In Waltham, Massachusetts, Lowell built a mill that would become the model for other mills by incorporating several different forms of mechanization that turned cotton into cloth. Formerly, this process had been largely done by hand in different locations--not in one building.

Lowell also began employing farm girls from New England in his mills in a system that in some ways tried to replicate the ideals of the cult of domesticity. Even though the mill girls were living far from home, they at first lived in chaperoned boarding houses. Lowell also afforded them the opportunity to attend religious and educational events.

After he died in 1817, the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, an industrial town, was named after him. The Lowell system, as the factory system that Lowell devised was called, was later replicated in factories in New England and then in the Midwest and South. Though Lowell himself was not a figure in the reform movement, his employment of farm girls in his mills, while controversial to many at the time, provided women a source of employment and degree of freedom that they would not otherwise have enjoyed (though it should be noted that he paid women less than men).

Lucretia Mott was a pioneering figure in women's rights. She was a Quaker born in 1793 in Nantucket, and she originally became involved in the abolitionist movement. Along with others, she founded the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society, and she went to London in 1840 to attend the World Anti-Slavery Convention. However, she and other women, including fellow future women's rights leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton, were turned away from the meeting because they were women.

Determined to fight for women's rights because of this humiliating event, Mott, Stanton and others organized the First Women's Rights Convention, which was held in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. This convention produced the Declaration of Sentiments, modeled on the Declaration of Independence, to advocate for women's rights. Mott continued to be active in the abolitionist movement and women's rights, and she was a member of the American Equal Rights Association that advocated for women's rights and those of African-Americans. 

What type of government has a powerful parliament and a weak king?

Constitutional monarchies divide power between the monarch (king or queen) and the parliament according to fixed rules laid out in the nation's constitution. As democratic political ideas have spread throughout the world, constitutions have, generally, been altered to allot more power to citizens (via a strong parliament) and less to the monarchy. Thus many modern constitutional monarchies are essentially democratic (or republican) in nature but retain the monarchy as a symbolic head of state for...

Constitutional monarchies divide power between the monarch (king or queen) and the parliament according to fixed rules laid out in the nation's constitution. As democratic political ideas have spread throughout the world, constitutions have, generally, been altered to allot more power to citizens (via a strong parliament) and less to the monarchy. Thus many modern constitutional monarchies are essentially democratic (or republican) in nature but retain the monarchy as a symbolic head of state for the sake of tradition. The United Kingdom, which is currently nominally governed by Queen Elizabeth II, is one example of this trend.

However, it is important to understand that "constitutional monarchy" does not necessarily mean a strong parliament and a weak monarch. Historically, constitutional monarchies often exhibited a power struggle between the parliament and the monarch, and the power of each branch ebbed and flowed.

What is weird about Nick's drive into New York with Gatsby?

To answer this question, take a look at chapter 4. During their drive to New York, Gatsby says some weird things and acts in a strange way.

First, without any prompting, Gatsby says he wants to tell Nick his family history because he doesn't want Nick to have the wrong idea about him. For Nick, this is a sign that Gatsby is aware of the "bizarre accusations" that people have leveled against him.

Secondly, when...

To answer this question, take a look at chapter 4. During their drive to New York, Gatsby says some weird things and acts in a strange way.

First, without any prompting, Gatsby says he wants to tell Nick his family history because he doesn't want Nick to have the wrong idea about him. For Nick, this is a sign that Gatsby is aware of the "bizarre accusations" that people have leveled against him.

Secondly, when Gatsby says that he was "educated at Oxford," Nick notes that he says the words in a very strange manner, as though he has "swallowed" or "choked" on them.

Thirdly, when Gatsby describes how he lived as a "young rajah" in Europe, Nick almost bursts into laughter because Gatsby's description is "threadbare." In other words, it lacks any sense of authenticity, as though he is describing something that never actually happened.

Finally, Gatsby also shows Nick some souvenirs from his past. There is a medal from the war and a photograph from Oxford. It is weird that Gatsby would show these to Nick because it suggests that Gatsby is desperate to prove that his stories of the past are authentic and genuine.

Excluding discussion of criminal violations, discuss the civil liabilities involved in the scenario presented in the attached document.

I would absolutely not want to be the individual named "Ace" in the scenario provided, but the extent of his liability, if any, under the conditions specified is uncertain and would be highly dependent upon the rulings of a court or the deliberations of a jury. Tort Law is notoriously complicated. Unlike a criminal case in which a preponderance of physical and/or circumstantial evidence is the measurement by which a decision or verdict is made, civil cases are more tenuous. They rely on interpretations of laws and on sometimes nebulous connections drawn between the conduct of individual A and the injury to individual B.

Once upon a time, Ace would have borne little or no responsibility for the conduct of social guests who consumed excessive quantities of alcoholic beverages provided by the host (in this case, Ace). He certainly made alcohol available to adults but was not considered responsible for the conduct of other adults who consumed that alcohol. Today, as a result of the large number of alcohol-related deaths, especially drunk-driving-related fatalities, civil laws have changed to allow for lawsuits that charge the provider of the alcohol with responsibility for the conduct of the consumer of the alcohol. So-called "dram shop statutes" have been adopted that hold servers of alcohol, mainly restaurants and bars that serve alcohol, liable for the actions of customers who consume excess quantities of alcohol at these commercial establishments and then proceed to cause bodily harm to others, such as from driving under the influence of alcohol. While these statutes were targeted primarily at commercial establishments, they have been extended to include private individuals who serve alcohol to guests with similar adverse consequences.

In the scenario provided, Ace had established an environment in which the possibility of personal harm was definitely present. By placing a keg of beer on his deck "near the swimming pool," he almost invited disaster in the person of an inebriated guest falling into the pool and drowning. That did not occur, but it was possible given the party atmosphere Ace deliberately created. Additionally, while the fireworks that caused an injury to Frieda were brought by uninvited guests, Ace apparently did nothing to control the activities taking place on his property. And herein lies a big part of the problem. Ace had taken no steps to protect the individuals on his property from harm and did, in fact, facilitate the creation of an environment in which injury to guests was a distinct possibility. He could be liable for the injuries that occurred as a direct consequence of the environment he created.

Chuck is certainly liable for his actions. Being under the influence of alcohol is obviously no excuse for initiating a chain of events that led to the injury of a police officer. While the student's question states that criminal matters should not be addressed, Chuck would be arrested and charged with a crime under the scenario provided. The injured police officer could, additionally, file a civil suit against Chuck, as well as against Ace, on whose property a fire was started due to negligent behavior. Ace may not have read the warning label on the propane tank, but, as an adult, and as someone who owns and operates a gas grill, he would be presumed to be knowledgable regarding the fire hazards associated with using a gas grill, especially when that grill and its attached propane tank are in close proximity to fireworks. That's a notoriously bad combination--propane and fireworks--and Ace would be expected to be fully aware of the risks involved.

Could Ace argue before a judge and/or jury that his guests failed to use "due care" and were responsible for their own actions? Chuck, Paul, Frieda and the rest were all, presumably, adults. As such, they bear some measure of responsibility for their actions. Again, however, Ace hosted a party in which alcohol was freely and openly served to his guests. That entails a considerable measure of responsibility on the part of the host under current laws. The fact that his guests knowingly participated in the activities that took place on his property does not absolve Ace of responsibility for injuries that occurred and that were directly connected to his party. If anyone has a potential case here it is Frieda, who was injured by the propane tank explosion. It would be very difficult for Act, as a defendant in a civil case, to successfully argue that Frieda assumed responsibility for her injuries. She was invited to a party, but the individuals playing with the fireworks were uninvited. She was a victim of negligence on the part of the uninvited guests and could also be considered a victim of Ace's negligence, as Ace failed to control the environment on his property. The party was not inherently dangerous, despite the presence of alcohol, and she had no reason to fear for her safety as an invited guest. 

The issue of Paul's injury and the inoperable streetlights is the most legally complicated part of the scenario. Electric Company could be held liable for Paul's injuries. Presumably, Electric Company was directly responsible for installation and maintenance of the streetlights. When it assumed that responsibility, it both acknowledged that the streetlights were important for public safety and that it, the utility company, was responsible for the proper operation of those streetlights. Had the company been unaware of the broken streetlight, it might be able to argue that it bore no responsibility for Paul's injuries. If just one call had been made to the company, however, complaining about the inoperable light, then Electric Company could be held liable. Case law on this precise topic is voluminous and varies from state to state. Below are links to legal discussions and court cases specific to real-life cases involving injuries potentially attributable to improperly functioning streetlights. Case law is all over the map on this issue, and the duration of time that the streetlight was inoperable combined with whether or not complaints had been made with the utility company advising of the inoperable light(s) are all factors that would be considered.

Whether Paul is responsible for his own injury is another matter. Again, insufficient information is provided with respect to the chain of events leading to his injury. Was Paul under the influence of alcohol? Was the driver operating his or her vehicle at an unsafe speed? Should common sense--a tenuous proposition in the world of torts--have been a factor? After all, we teach children not to run into streets without watching for cars. The absence of a functional streetlight did not negate that expectation.

In the end, Ace is in a very precarious position regarding liability for injuries connected to his social gathering. Inviting people to such a gathering and serving alcoholic beverages, especially from a keg, the mere presence of which suggests a certain carelessness with regard to the host's ability to monitor guests for excess consumption, involves responsibility for the safety of the guests. Under virtually any formula, Ace appears negligent.

Discuss Miller's view on the role of family in modern drama, with particular reference to Death of a Salesman.

In the work of Arthur Miller, particularly in his masterpiece Death of a Salesman, the role of family plays a vital role. 

Willy's psychological weakness and eventual unwinding comes significantly from his personal relationship with his family members. His son Biff resents him for having cheated on Biff's mother (and Willy's wife) with a woman in Boston.

In Death of a Salesman, the Loman family serves as the basis for most of the...

In the work of Arthur Miller, particularly in his masterpiece Death of a Salesman, the role of family plays a vital role. 

Willy's psychological weakness and eventual unwinding comes significantly from his personal relationship with his family members. His son Biff resents him for having cheated on Biff's mother (and Willy's wife) with a woman in Boston.

In Death of a Salesman, the Loman family serves as the basis for most of the drama that occurs. By letting us into this family and by allowing us to see the interactions between the family members, we are made part of the intimate relationship that makes up a family. As this intimacy crumbles under the weight of tension and drama, the play unfolds, and the disillusionment of Willy Loman is truly revealed. Willy causes pain to his sons through his half-baked ideas of pursuing the American Dream and also through his own infidelity. His sons, particularly Biff, in turn, cause pain to Willy himself, by not finding the success that he expects of him and, in Biff's case, by not loving him.

The family serves as an intimate portal into the drama of the American public. What happens behind closed doors at night is unknown to us, and Miller relishes in this thought. Like familial strife and Machiavellian backstabbing in some of the works of Shakespeare, Miller takes feuding family members and creates organic and thrilling drama.

In "Everyday Use," how are Maggie and Dee similar (apart from the fact that they have the same mother)?

Two sisters, Dee and Maggie, are the focal characters in the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker. The two daughters are quite different in appearance and personality. Despite growing up in the same family, they live entirely different lives. Maggie is rural and follows many of her family's long-honored traditions, while Dee has chosen to leave behind her rural heritage and instead embrace African tribal traditions. 

In "Everyday Use," Walker highlights differences between the...

Two sisters, Dee and Maggie, are the focal characters in the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker. The two daughters are quite different in appearance and personality. Despite growing up in the same family, they live entirely different lives. Maggie is rural and follows many of her family's long-honored traditions, while Dee has chosen to leave behind her rural heritage and instead embrace African tribal traditions. 

In "Everyday Use," Walker highlights differences between the sisters as a way to develop the contrast between the life each has chosen. In comparing the sisters, it is easy to find differences between them. Maggie keeps her birth name, while Dee changes hers to Wangero. Maggie lives at home; Dee does not. Maggie has a limp, but Dee does not. Maggie has chosen to follow the traditions of her family, while Dee decides to affiliate herself with African tribal traditions instead. Maggie is content where she is; Dee is restless and seeks satisfaction outside of what her family's rural life can give her.

Though the sisters chose different life paths, the system that directed them into each of their respective roles is what they share in common. Arguably, each sister is in her current position as a result of the tumultuous social climate of the 1960s. Walker's writing about that time polarizes African-American women's options into two choices: embrace the past or forget it. The African-American community faced a wide reconsideration of its identity, and Dee and Maggie represent two directions African-American women could choose to go in that moment. The sisters are similar in that their respective lives are results of the social climate at that time. What they share is their heritage and the future they must decide to live, with or without that heritage.

How did the CIA, FBI, and organized crime contribute to the assassination of President John Kennedy?

Using the word "contribute" is a good choice as it takes us away from conspiracy theories into reports of what the CIA, FBI and organized crime (usually referred to as the Mafia) are reported to have done in relation to events leading up to, during and after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Reports from at least one former CIA agent claim a connection between CIA orchestrated assassination attempts on Cuba's Fidel Castro (deceased November 25, 2016) and Kennedy's assassination. Reports connect organized crime to the CIA as the instruments of the assassination attempts. Reports connect the CIA to the FBI through the White House, where a White House liaison connected the activities of the CIA, mandated to operate outside the borders of the U.S., with the activities of the FBI, mandated to operate within the borders of the U.S.

Howard Hunt of the CIA and notorious for his role in the Nixon era Watergate break-ins, which resulted in Richard Nixon's resignation, reported that he and other CIA operatives were involved in an attempted Castro assassination stating that, after that and the Bay of Pigs, CIA agents were regrouped to form a within-borders domestic unit operating out of the White House. Richard Ober was reported as the White House liaison to the CIA and to the FBI, bringing extra-domestic and domestic law enforcement together. Hunt said to the New York Times in 1974, "Many men connected with that [Cuban] failure were shunted into the new domestic unit" in which his position was as Chief of Covert Action for the Domestic Operations Division of the CIA. It has been reported that on his deathbed Hunt confessed to his son that the CIA played an active role in Kennedy's assassination.

Mafia hitman James Files confessed in a documentary to firing the shot, from behind the grassy knoll, that killed Kennedy in Dallas. Files worked for organized crime leader Sam Giancana through Giancana's subordinate Charles Nicoletti. Files' confession is supported by a report made by retired FBI Special Agent Zack Shelton to documentary investigator Joe West about Files' involvement in the assassination.

The National Archives’ Special Access Branch is currently completing preparation of secret files on Kennedy's assassination scheduled to be released to the public in 2017. More than 3,000 of the 40,000 files due for release contain information, some of which was heavily redacted (blacked out and made illegible), exposing CIA operations during the Kennedy era and relevant to the CIA's role in Kennedy's assassination. Martha Murphy, director of the National Archives’ Special Access Branch, expects the CIA and other national security organizations will request presidential privilege to override the mandated October 2017 release of these files.

Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby

Warren Commission and U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations

What are the main problems and solutions for each chapter of Hoot?

I will provide answers for Chapters 1-18.

Chapter One: There are three main problems in this chapter. The first one involves Roy's relationship with Dana Matherson, the school bully. The second one involves the vandalism at the construction site of a future Mother Paula's Pancake House. The third one involves the unknown identity of the running boy. The author presents answers to these problems in later chapters.

Chapter Two: In this chapter, the main problem involves Roy and Ms. Viola Hennepin's conflicting perceptions of self-defense. The conflict is resolved temporarily, with Roy suspended from the school bus for two weeks and required to write a letter of apology to Dana. A minor problem in this chapter involves the unknown identity of the tall girl with the red-framed glasses.

Chapter Three: In this chapter, a major problem is the lack of leads the police department in Coconut Cove have in their pursuit of the vandal suspects. A minor problem involves Mr. and Mrs. Eberhardt's disagreement on how Roy should craft his letter of apology to Dana. The vandals are not found in this chapter, but Roy's father supports Roy's tone in his letter to Dana.

Chapter Four: In this chapter, the main problem is the occurrence of more vandalism at the construction site under Officer Delinko's watch. However, the tall girl with red glasses is revealed as one Beatrice Leep, a soccer player.

Chapter Five: In this chapter, the main problem involves the identity of the running boy and his connection to the recent events at the construction site. Roy discovers a bag full of cottonmouth snakes at the boy's campsite but does not know why they are there. The mystery is only partly solved in this chapter: We discover that the running boy is nicknamed Mullet Fingers, but we don't know how he is relevant to the story.

Chapter Six: In this chapter, the main problems involve Officer Delinko's incompetence on the job and Beatrice's connection to Mullet Fingers. Because Officer Delinko fell asleep during his shift at the construction site, the police chief confines him to desk duty for a month. Meanwhile, Roy's efforts to track down Mullet Fingers and to figure out his connection to Beatrice fail.

Chapter Seven: In this chapter, the main problem still involves the recent acts of vandalism at the construction site. Meanwhile, the mystery surrounding Beatrice's connection to Mullet Fingers is solved when Beatrice confesses to Roy that Mullet Fingers is her step-brother.

Chapter Eight: In this chapter, the main problem continues to revolve around the vandalism incidents at the construction site. By orders of Chuck Muckle, the Vice-President of Corporate Relations, Curly (the foreman) hires a dog trainer's four Rottweilers to protect the site. This short-term solution partially solves the problem, but the identity of the vandals is still a mystery. Meanwhile, there is an indication that the conflict between Roy and Dana will soon be resolved.

Chapter Nine: In this chapter, the main problems involve continued acts of vandalism at the construction site (someone released poisonous snakes inside the chain-link fence, spooking the Rottweilers) and Roy suffering continued assaults from Dana.

Chapter Ten: In this chapter, two problems are solved, one temporarily. Beatrice pulls Dana off Roy in the janitor's closet, strips Dana to his underwear, and proceeds to tie him to a flag pole on the school grounds. Essentially, Beatrice becomes Roy's protector. In another development, we discover how Mullet Fingers is relevant to the story. He is revealed to be responsible for the acts of sabotage, in efforts to save the burrowing owls from being decimated by continued development at the construction site.

Chapter Eleven: In this chapter, the main problem revolves around the difficulty of catching the vandal. As a solution, Curly decides to spend the night in a trailer on the grounds of the construction site.

Chapter Twelve: In this chapter, the main problem involves how Mullet Fingers will treat the injuries he sustains after he gets bitten by one of the Rottweilers. Beatrice and Roy accompany Mullet Fingers to the emergency room, but he later escapes.

Chapter Thirteen: In this chapter, the main problem revolves around Roy and his parents' conflicting views about saving the owls at the construction site. In the end, the conflict is resolved with Roy's parents voicing confidence in his judgment about the matter.

Chapter Fourteen: In this chapter, the main problems are Dana's continued assaults on Roy and Mullet Finger's ultimatum for Roy. Mullet Fingers refuses to divulge his immediate plans for further acts of sabotage at the construction site; instead, he challenges Roy to join him. For the first problem, Roy tries to negotiate with Dana, but to no avail. For the second, although the author doesn't reveal Roy's decision about joining Mullet Fingers in his exploits, we suspect that Roy won't stop his friend.

Chapter Fifteen: In this chapter, the main problem revolves around how Roy will support his friend in his endeavors. Roy decides against joining Mullet Fingers in his plans for further sabotage; however, he manages to come up with an ingenious plan to protect his friend. Roy lures Dana to Curly's trailer with a lie that a stash of cigarettes waits for him there. Dana enters Curly's trailer and is attacked by Curly. By the end of the chapter, Dana is arrested by Officer Delinko, as the officer and Curly remain convinced that Dana is the vandal.

Chapter Sixteen: In this chapter, the main problem rests on how Roy will help to save the owls. In the meantime, the problem of Dana's bullying is resolved: Dana will be in prison for a while, due to his actions at the construction site. Roy checks up on Mother Paula's construction permits and teams up with Beatrice to help Mullet Fingers save the owls.

Chapter Seventeen: In this chapter, the main problem is how the police will catch the actual perpetrator of the acts of sabotage. For political purposes, Dana becomes the official culprit, while Officer Delinko is assigned to investigative work.

Chapter Eighteen: In this chapter, the problem revolves around how Roy will stop Mother Paula from continuing the construction project. As a solution, Roy enlists the help of his classmates and teacher, Mr. Ryan. He informs them that the owls are an endangered species and that it is illegal for Mother Paula to be building on the site.

Is Rousseau an honest autobiographer or does he shift events to place himself in a more positive light? Please provide specific examples.

Though Rousseau says in his Confessions that he will "display to my kind a portrait in every way true to nature, and the man I shall portray will be myself," he also does color certain facts to present himself in a more positive light. For instance, he had five children with his mistress, Therese, but glosses over some of the realities of the situation.  

He doesn't, for example, say that Therese was pregnant but says...

Though Rousseau says in his Confessions that he will "display to my kind a portrait in every way true to nature, and the man I shall portray will be myself," he also does color certain facts to present himself in a more positive light. For instance, he had five children with his mistress, Therese, but glosses over some of the realities of the situation.  

He doesn't, for example, say that Therese was pregnant but says that she grew fatter, and he also notes, for example, that “the following year the same inconvenience presented itself.” Rather than use the term "pregnant" or say that Therese was going to have a baby, he reduces the child to the word "inconvenience." Many would say it is not quite honest to call a human being an "inconvenience."

Although the foundling hospital where he put his children was considered by many to be a terrible choice, as children often died young there, Rousseau brushes past this. Therese is so opposed to the idea of giving up her children that he has to get her mother on his side to help convince her to place her babies there, but he still is unable to face the full reality of what he has done. Instead, he rationalizes the decision, writing:

Everything considered, I chose the best destination for my children, or that which I thought to be such. I could have wished, and still should be glad, had I been brought up as they have been.

Many people might consider it less than honest to say abandoning one's children to an orphanage at birth is a fate they would have wished on themselves. Does Rousseau really think he would have been "glad" to have "been brought up as they had been"? Would you want to have been brought up in an orphanage? One could reasonably argue that rather than being totally honest about abandoning his children for his own convenience, he is trying to place himself in a better light by asserting he did it for their good and he also is not entirely truthful when he says he wishes he had been brought up the same way. 

He also says on the topic of abandoning his children that

I trembled at the thought of intrusting them to a family ill brought up, to be still worse educated. The risk of the education of the foundling hospital was much less.

Again, he seems to be justifying what he did to his children--leaving them to an uncertain fate--rather than being entirely honest about his motives in placing them in the foundling hospital. Did he really believe they would get a better education there or was it simply the easiest way for him to get rid of them?

How does Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird show the Antebellum South and Postbellum South?

Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird shows characteristics of the changing face of southern society: specifically Antebellum South and Postbellum South.

Antebellum South reflects norms of a society where whites were dominant over blacks, but the culture of the African-American was extremely influential in that society:

By the mid-1800s, [r]esolved to control their socioeconomic order and continue slavery, southerners lived in a duality between their uncompromising position and the true biracial nature of the region. Whites controlled positions of power but black southerners influenced the region in countless ways. For example, slaves greatly impacted the language, folklore, religion, music, literature, and recreation of the South.

This can be seen in Calpurnia's influence in the raising of the Finch children. When Scout gets in trouble on her first day of school for already knowing how to write in cursive, we find that Cal was her teacher, and Scout's advanced knowledge is only because the housekeeper (who is like the children's mother) took the time to challenge Scout before she ever started school.

Calpurnia was to blame for this. It kept me from driving her crazy on rainy days...She would set me a writing task by scrawling the alphabet firmly across the top of a tablet, then copying out a chapter of the Bible beneath.

Not only did Scout learn to write, but we also understand that Calpurnia can read and write (cursive) herself.

Postbellum refers to the time after the end of a war. It is defined as being "of or during the period after a war, especially the American Civil War." The period after the Civil War in the South was marked by confusion and resentment. Landowners were forced to free their slaves, and slaves were the backbone of the South's agrarian society. During this difficult period of adjustment for all involved, the government attempted to enforce the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. With the changes of presidents and political majorities, common ground was never really found. Ultimately, oppression of the freed slaves became the law of the land once more—even though the law did not support it.

During Radical Reconstruction, which began in 1867, newly enfranchised blacks gained a voice in government for the first time in American history, winning election to southern state legislatures and even to the U.S. Congress. In less than a decade, however, reactionary forces–including the Ku Klux Klan–would reverse the changes wrought by Radical Reconstruction in a violent backlash that restored white supremacy in the South.

These attitudes can be seen with Bob Ewell and others in Maycomb (though not everyone) in their hatred of blacks and their perception that blacks were less than human. Consider Tom Robinson's trial for rape as the result of the false accusations of Mayella and Bob Ewell. Though there is no doubt that Tom Robinson is not guilty by all of the evidence presented, the white jury still finds Tom guilty. He was not convicted because he had done something wrong; he was convicted because he was black.

Then Mr. Underwood's meaning became clear: Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.

While many people in Maycomb (Atticus, Miss Maudie, Mr. Underwood, Judge Taylor, etc.) are more opened-minded, having compassion for the black community, and the practicing their belief that skin color has no bearing upon the value of a man or woman (which is a more Postbellum South vision), many others (including the Ewells and Mrs. Dubose) reflect the norms of the Antebellum South. While people from the North were supportive of changes to the South after the slaves were emancipated, the South found it much more difficult to adapt to the massive changes to their societal and economic norms. Maycomb was still deeply rooted in the past, even though many folks were progressively embracing new attitudes that were not popular with those with a firm and unshakable foundation in the norms of the Old South.

Why are some societies more receptive to social change than others?

Social change is a topic often discussed today. Some want to bring about social change while others fight to keep that change from becoming a reality. Sociologists explain social change and the urge to fight that change in several different ways.

Talcott Parsons, a functional sociologist, argued that societies change according to an equilibrium model. He believed that societies fought to keep a certain equilibrium. While slow, gradual change helps a society to grow, Parsons...

Social change is a topic often discussed today. Some want to bring about social change while others fight to keep that change from becoming a reality. Sociologists explain social change and the urge to fight that change in several different ways.

Talcott Parsons, a functional sociologist, argued that societies change according to an equilibrium model. He believed that societies fought to keep a certain equilibrium. While slow, gradual change helps a society to grow, Parsons argued that too much sudden change would disrupt the equilibrium in that society. The different parts of a society would adjust to keep the equilibrium steady in times of sudden social change. This would explain how some societies change at different paces: diverse societies would adjust and change at a pace specific and individual to their culture. This viewpoint views change in a somewhat negative light.

The conflict perspective would explain change in a more positive sense. The conflict perspective views the status quo in society as negative and invites sudden social change to disrupt inequality. This would explain why some societies seem to thrive and welcome great social change. Societies with large amounts of inequality would then hope for the status quo to change to bring an end to inequality.

While predicting what societies would be more receptive to social change is difficult, one could argue that both sociological viewpoints can help explain the differences in how societies respond to social change. Joining both perspectives together would mean that countries with a positive view of the status quo would be less receptive to social change. Communities with a more negative view of the status quo would welcome that change in hopes of ending social inequality.

Further reading:

http://open.lib.umn.edu/sociology/chapter/20-1-understanding-social-change/

Explain how Abigail's disappearance affects the resolution of the play The Crucible?

Abigail's disappearance makes plain her dishonesty and deceptiveness, something the courts have been unwilling to see up until now.  She lies to her uncle, telling him that she'll be spending the night at her friend, Mercy Lewis's, house -- Mercy tells the same lie at her house -- and then Abigail robs her uncle blind.  Before boarding a ship, she breaks into Reverend Parris's strongbox, and steals his life's savings.  It begins to look as...

Abigail's disappearance makes plain her dishonesty and deceptiveness, something the courts have been unwilling to see up until now.  She lies to her uncle, telling him that she'll be spending the night at her friend, Mercy Lewis's, house -- Mercy tells the same lie at her house -- and then Abigail robs her uncle blind.  Before boarding a ship, she breaks into Reverend Parris's strongbox, and steals his life's savings.  It begins to look as though Abigail is not the righteous, holy, instrument of God the courts initially believed her to be; instead, she appears to be a conniving and deceitful young woman, determined to serve herself and get out of Salem before the tide turns against her.

Abigail's dishonesty casts doubt on the accusations she has made thus far.  Her disappearance is just one of many reasons, however, that Reverend Parris and Mr. Hale beg Deputy Governor Danforth to postpone the hangings.  Despite the many reasons to delay, Danforth refuses, insisting that it will only cast doubt on the guilt of others who have been hanged for the same crimes already.  He seems to understand, now, that Abigail is a vicious liar, but he will not risk his credibility or authority by walking back on the convictions.

Compare and contrast the politics, culture, customs, architecture, and economy that Kerbouchard finds in the cities of Cordova and Paris. Support...

Geography plays a significant role in The Walking Drum by author Louis L'Amour. This novel is set in the Middle Ages and takes place in multiple locations throughout Europe and the Middle East. Kerbouchard, the story's main character, is forced to flee his homeland in Brittany to escape a corrupt government official. He escapes to Spain and the city of Cordova, where he poses as a scholar. Kerbouchard himself notes the importance of setting in a person's life when he comments, "Up to a point a person’s life is shaped by environment, heredity, and changes in the world about them."

Kerbouchard's Time in Cordova

While living in Cordova, Kerbouchard moves inland and lives as a scholar. He soon discovers that the city is rife with the same political corruption he fled in Brittany. In this way, Cordova is far more similar to his homeland than he ever expected. The city features a blend of Spanish and Moorish culture, and Kerbouchard falls in love with a young Moorish girl named Aziza. The slavery that is prevalent in the area leads to culture shock for Kerbouchard. During his time in Spain, he finds the European style of government to be heavily oppressive and the politics to be all-consuming.

Kerbouchard describes Cordoba as exciting, boisterous and prosperous. The economy is thriving despite the political corruption, or perhaps on account of it. Unlike Brittany, reading is widely encouraged in Cordova and Kerbouchard is highly valued for his studious nature. This atmosphere of intellectual freedom is epitomized in the quote, "Reading without thinking is nothing, for a book is less important for what it says than for what it makes you think.”

Kerbouchard's Time in Paris

Kerbouchard finds Paris to be different from Cordova in the sense that it is less open to outsiders. He quickly offends a local teacher and finds himself on the outs in this close-knit society. Parisian architecture is much more gothic than the open halls and arched doorways he saw in Cordova. The book paints Paris as darker in general, both in aesthetic and in tone. Kerbouchard encounters many artists in Paris, including a troupe of acrobats and several caravans. He and his companions have far more hostile encounters in Paris than in Cordova. Much of Kerbouchard's time in France can be characterized in this passage, which is also the origin of the book's name: "We often sang as we marched, and there was always the sound of the walking drum, a sound I shall hear all my life, so deeply is it embedded in the fibers of my being..."

To summarize Kerbouchard's experience in both cities, Cordova is a thriving, open society with a robust economy and an appreciation for the intellectually gifted. Paris is a far more religious city with greater economic disparity and Kerbouchard is less welcomed as a scholar than he is as a warrior.

Why does Lena hate birds?

Athol Fugard's Boesman and Lena is centered on a "coloured" couple living in South Africa during the era of Apartheid. The play was first performed in South Africa in 1969.

Near the beginning of act 1, we come to a brief moment where the stage directions describe Lena watching and yelling at a bird flying slowly out of her view. 

Essentially, Lena does not like birds because she is jealous of them, because they have...

Athol Fugard's Boesman and Lena is centered on a "coloured" couple living in South Africa during the era of Apartheid. The play was first performed in South Africa in 1969.

Near the beginning of act 1, we come to a brief moment where the stage directions describe Lena watching and yelling at a bird flying slowly out of her view. 

Essentially, Lena does not like birds because she is jealous of them, because they have a freedom that she does not. Birds can fly away, while she and Boesman have to stay on the ground, "in the mud." Lena cannot even choose where to stay on the ground. She and Boesman have to move from place to place, as white men keep bulldozing the shantytowns where homeless "coloured" people live, telling them to "Clear out!" She feels that the place they have come to is "rotten," but for now she has no choice but to stay there.

Before Professor Herbert meets Mr. Sexton, what is your impression of the teacher?

In the beginning of the story, Professor Herbert tells Dave that he must pay his part of the six-dollar fine for breaking down the cherry tree. Dave protests that he doesn't have the dollar and begs his teacher to whip him instead.

Upon hearing this, Professor Herbert answers that Dave is too big to whip. Professor Herbert doesn't appear to be the sort of teacher who automatically resorts to capital punishment when his students misbehave....

In the beginning of the story, Professor Herbert tells Dave that he must pay his part of the six-dollar fine for breaking down the cherry tree. Dave protests that he doesn't have the dollar and begs his teacher to whip him instead.

Upon hearing this, Professor Herbert answers that Dave is too big to whip. Professor Herbert doesn't appear to be the sort of teacher who automatically resorts to capital punishment when his students misbehave. Instead, he gives the impression that he is fair yet uncompromising in his values. His fairness and compassion are demonstrated when he declines to whip Dave and offers to pay his student's fine.

Next, Professor Herbert orders Dave to work two hours after school for two consecutive days in order to pay off his fine. He tells Dave that he can do various chores such as sweeping the schoolhouse floor, cleaning the windows, and washing the blackboards. In this way, Professor Herbert is able to help Dave and to hold him accountable for his part in breaking down the cherry tree.

What were the differences between Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon's approaches to the Vietnam conflict?

There were differences between President Johnson’s approach and President Nixon’s approach to the Vietnam War. President Johnson used the alleged incident in the Gulf of Tonkin to escalate our involvement in this war. We went from having a small number of ground troops in 1963 to having over 500,000 ground troops at our maximum level in 1968. President Johnson increased our involvement and the number of our ground troops during his presidency.

President Nixon pledged...

There were differences between President Johnson’s approach and President Nixon’s approach to the Vietnam War. President Johnson used the alleged incident in the Gulf of Tonkin to escalate our involvement in this war. We went from having a small number of ground troops in 1963 to having over 500,000 ground troops at our maximum level in 1968. President Johnson increased our involvement and the number of our ground troops during his presidency.

President Nixon pledged to get us out of Vietnam when he ran for office. His plan was designed to gradually turn the fighting over to the South Vietnamese army while gradually pulling our troops out of Vietnam. While he did expand the war into Cambodia, this was purely a strategy to cut the supply lines the North Vietnamese used to get military supplies to their soldiers fighting in South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese had been using Cambodia to do this. President Nixon was eventually able to withdraw our troops from South Vietnam in 1973.

President Johnson and President Nixon had different approaches in dealing with the Vietnam War.

In The Giver, when was color lost?

In Ch. 12, Jonas asks, "Why did colors disappear?" and the Giver replies,

"Our people made that choice, the choice to go to Sameness. Before my time, before the previous time, back and back and back. We relinquished color when we relinquished sunshine and did away with differences."

Unfortunately, color was a difference that the community felt they could no longer afford. Although things still have shapes and sizes to distinguish them from one another, the...

In Ch. 12, Jonas asks, "Why did colors disappear?" and the Giver replies,

"Our people made that choice, the choice to go to Sameness. Before my time, before the previous time, back and back and back. We relinquished color when we relinquished sunshine and did away with differences."

Unfortunately, color was a difference that the community felt they could no longer afford. Although things still have shapes and sizes to distinguish them from one another, the community is described as "flat and hueless" (Ch. 14) as Jonas begins to learn more and more colors and how vibrantly they changed everything. Interestingly, after Jonas learns what colors are, he is better able to see them and identify them in his own world where they still exist. Being able to "see" the color around him that no one else can, makes Jonas even more aware of how bland, identical, and "ordinary" his life is. This quickly leads him to wish for individual choice -like which color clothing to wear, for example. Although this is one small example of personal choice, it is the very beginning of Jonas recognizing how little choice he has in his own life and gives the reader an indication of just how significant a role color can play in one's life/personal choices.

Would you rather be a member of Parliament or member of Congress? Explain your answer to show your understanding of the differences between the...

Having spent many years working for members for the United States Congress, I have often pondered the question of which of two systems, parliamentary or the US Congress, is better. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Putting aside for a moment the question of which system better serves the public, I would rather be a member of Congress than a member of parliament. While members of both types of institution are elected, members of the US Congress generally enjoy better stability. Under Article I of the Constitution of the United States, members of the Senate serve for six year terms and members of the House of Representatives for two year terms, with no limits on the number of terms members can serve. Those are fixed terms and, unlike a parliamentarian system in which new elections can be called at almost any time, congressmen and senators know that, once elected, they are safe until the next regularly scheduled elections.

Beyond the question of job stability, members of Congress can wield more power individually and collectively, especially when serving as a part of a minority party. In a parliamentary system of government, the majority party enjoys near-absolute power within the confines of the law. The minority parties in parliamentary systems serve as a “loyal opposition” with minimal power over the direction of government unless successful in forming a coalition with other minority parties and/or with defectors from the majority or governing party. When comparing a parliamentary system with the US Congress, though, distinctions obviously have to be made between the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the former, individual members of the House are largely without power except to the extent that they rise to leadership positions on powerful committees like that which oversees appropriations. In the Senate, in contrast, individual senators enjoy considerable power. The filibuster option, for example, provides individual senators the power of obstructing the normal operations of the institution, and is used for such purposes as blocking legislation from advancing or presidential nominations from being considered. So powerful is that authority that its mere threat is sufficient to disrupt proceedings.

With respect to which form of legislative body is more powerful, the answer is less complicated. A parliamentary majority gives the party in power absolute control over governing institutions. Department heads are chosen from the ranks of the majority party and those ministers, such as for Defense, Treasury, and so on, remain sitting members of parliament. That makes the parliamentary majority enormously powerful relative to minority parties. The United States Congress is an enormously powerful institution, but its powers are deliberately constrained under the articles of the Constitution. The Constitution’s authors established a system of checks and balances intended to prevent any one branch of the federal government from growing too powerful. Consequently, a powerful chief executive, the president, is vested with specified powers, such as serving as commander in chief of the armed forces despite Congress’s authority to declare war. The parliament, therefore, can be considered more powerful than the Congress.

The president of the United States is considered the most powerful individual in the world. That power derives from the scale of the US economy relative to most of the rest of the world and to this country’s military capabilities. As such, the president is more powerful than any prime minister. Presidents are elected for specified terms of four years (with a limit of two terms as president). Prime ministers, in contrast, can serve for as many years as their parties elect them to lead the government, but those tenures in office can end very quickly if the balance of power in parliament shifts. In general, the president of the United States is more powerful than any prime minister.

Why does Two-Bit tell them that Tim Shepard is looking for Dally?

Tim Shepard is the leader of an organized gang that is likely to use violence and fight dirty, especially in contrast to Ponyboy’s friends, who rumble for fun and rarely go looking for trouble.

In the second chapter of The Outsiders, Tim Shepard is looking for Dally because Dally slashed his car’s tires. Tim’s brother, Curtis, saw him do it. Cars are an incredibly important of identity for the characters of The Outsiders, so...

Tim Shepard is the leader of an organized gang that is likely to use violence and fight dirty, especially in contrast to Ponyboy’s friends, who rumble for fun and rarely go looking for trouble.

In the second chapter of The Outsiders, Tim Shepard is looking for Dally because Dally slashed his car’s tires. Tim’s brother, Curtis, saw him do it. Cars are an incredibly important of identity for the characters of The Outsiders, so Dally's prank might have been seen as a personal attack. Especially since the greasers have to save up money for a long time to afford repairs to their cars, slashing tires is no joke! However, since all of the members of the Shepard gang identify as greasers, they’ll definitely show up whenever any of Ponyboy’s friends need help.  

What choice does Zaroff give to Rainsford, and why is there really no choice at all?

General Zaroff gives Rainsford a choice between two awful potentials.  Zaroff explains to Rainsford that he gives the men that are trapped on his island a choice.  They can either be whipped to death by Ivan, or they can attempt to survive Zaroff's hunting for three days.  General Zaroff gives Rainsford the exact same choice.  

For most men, the choice really isn't a choice at all.  Thus far, no matter what each man chooses,...

General Zaroff gives Rainsford a choice between two awful potentials.  Zaroff explains to Rainsford that he gives the men that are trapped on his island a choice.  They can either be whipped to death by Ivan, or they can attempt to survive Zaroff's hunting for three days.  General Zaroff gives Rainsford the exact same choice.  

For most men, the choice really isn't a choice at all.  Thus far, no matter what each man chooses, the end result has been the same.  Death.  The only difference is that choosing to be hunted might give a man a few extra hours of life.  Rainsford chooses to take his chances on the hunt instead of a guaranteed death from Ivan.  Rainsford's choice winds up being a good choice for Rainsford because Rainsford evades Zaroff and eventually ends up killing Zaroff.  

Why do clouds get electrically charged?

Clouds are composed of water vapor that has evaporated from liquid water on the earth's surface.  The water vapor cools, the higher into the atmosphere it goes, and condenses to form a visible cloud formation. 

Inside these clouds, the water vapor continues to move around.  The water molecules inadvertently will collide with each other, rub against each other, and strip electrons, which is what electricity is: electrons.  The cloud will become charged with the accumulation...

Clouds are composed of water vapor that has evaporated from liquid water on the earth's surface.  The water vapor cools, the higher into the atmosphere it goes, and condenses to form a visible cloud formation. 

Inside these clouds, the water vapor continues to move around.  The water molecules inadvertently will collide with each other, rub against each other, and strip electrons, which is what electricity is: electrons.  The cloud will become charged with the accumulation of charges, positively charged on the top, negatively charged on the bottom.  The ground is positively charged as well. 

When the negative charges (on the bottom) reach a level that is sufficient to overcome the "gap" between the bottom of the cloud and the ground, the lightning strikes, jumping the gap and completing the electrical circuit from the cloud to the ground.  The lightning will strike the tallest object around as it tries to complete the circuit, so don't stand next to anything tall, like a tree.  You would be electrocuted as a result of a strike, when the lightning travels down through the tree.

“The Lesson” refers to the economic lesson. What other lessons are there and how do they function in the story?

The first lesson that Sylvia probably learns is one about hypocrisy. Their parents are courteous in front of Miss Moore, but as soon as she's gone, they gossip about her. As Sylvia states:

...our parents would yank our heads into some kinda shape and crisp up our clothes so we’d be presentable for travel with Miss Moore, who always looked like she was going to church, though she never did. Which is just one of the things the grown-ups talked about when they talked behind her back like a dog. But when she came calling with some sachet she’d sewed up or some gingerbread she’d made or some book, why then they’d all be too embarrassed to turn her down and we’d get handed over all spruced up.

The parents' embarrassment clearly stems from their guilt about their scandalmongering about Miss Moore behind her back. 

Sylvia also learns about what Miss Moore calls "real money." Although Sylvia is quite offended by the implication that the money they spend at the grocer has no value, she later comes to realize what Miss Moore is actually talking about. She comes to understand that Miss Moore is referring to the large sums that those from a better social and economic class spend on mere trinkets such as toys because they have more where that comes from. Sylvia is quite surprised to learn that other, more privileged individuals would easily spend on a single item more than enough money to feed a large family from their neighborhood.

Sylvia is actually angry that Miss Moore has brought them to the store where "rich people" clearly spend money on expensive toys because it makes her realize how seriously disadvantaged they actually are. Miss Moore's repeated contention that "where we are is who we are" truly hits home at this point. Sylvia probably realizes that what Miss Moore has repeatedly been talking about is choice. We decide who we are and, therefore, determine where we want to be.

On a more profound level, Sylvia and the other students are made keenly aware of the socio-economic disparities in society. They can now see and experience how the other side lives. They are humbled by their engagement with what they see is the privilege of wealth and are somewhat embarrassed about being in the shop. They feel out of place.

Furthermore, the children learn about how unfair these discrepancies in society are. When Miss Moore asks,

“Imagine for a minute what kind of society it is in which some people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven. What do you think?” 

Sugar replies:

“I think ... that this is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough, don’t it?”

This statement probably best encapsulates the lesson Miss Moore wanted her students to learn. The students realize, at this point, that their community and their people have been hard done by. They have not been afforded an equal opportunity to achieve as much as they would want to or are capable of. 

In addition, Sylvia has learned about trust. When Miss Moore gave her the five dollars to pay the taxi driver and to work out a five percent tip, she realized that Miss Moore was testing her. She resents being tested in this way and will not allow Miss Moore to manipulate her; she therefore decides to keep the four dollars change. By the end of the story, she still has the change with her. When Sugar tells her that they can spend the money, her response is a noncommittal "uh hunh."

In the end, we cannot be quite sure what Sylvia decides to do with the money. We do know, nevertheless, that she has decided to do some serious thinking about the day's events and will probably make a final decision about what to do with it. She says:

We start down the block and she gets ahead which is O.K. by me cause I’m going to the West End and then over to the Drive to think this day through. She can run if she want to and even run faster. But ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin.

It is evident that Sylvia has some serious matters to consider, not in the least the fact that she has to think about what she actually means by not being beaten at anything.  

Is equality seen as good or bad?

Throughout Vonnegut's short story, "total" equality is portrayed as a negative thing. In 2081, the US Constitution has been amended numerous times to create a society where each individual is mentally and physically equal through the use of various devices that distort and handicap talented and beautiful people.

Athletically gifted individuals are forced to wear heavy, cumbersome devices that restrict their mobility, while intelligent citizens wear earphones that create high-pitched piercing sounds that disrupt their...

Throughout Vonnegut's short story, "total" equality is portrayed as a negative thing. In 2081, the US Constitution has been amended numerous times to create a society where each individual is mentally and physically equal through the use of various devices that distort and handicap talented and beautiful people.

Athletically gifted individuals are forced to wear heavy, cumbersome devices that restrict their mobility, while intelligent citizens wear earphones that create high-pitched piercing sounds that disrupt their thinking. Even beautiful citizens are forced to wear ugly masks that distort their appearance in order to make them physically equal to everyone else.

Vonnegut's story addresses equality in a unique way and challenges readers to celebrate our differences, rather than focus on artificial equality. While providing equal opportunities for every citizen is positive and appropriate, creating unfair advantages for less-qualified citizens by harming excessively talented individuals creates an issue. Vonnegut's short story takes aim at society's motivation to make everyone equal at the expense of talented, qualified, and intelligent citizens.

What is Omelas's connection to real life in "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"?

"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursala Le Guin explores the theme of scapegoats. Within the text, the suffering child acts as a literal scapegoat for the rest of the town's happiness; since the child permanently suffers, the rest of the town can live in utopia. While this supernatural balance does not translate to the real world, the greater ideas of scapegoating do.

Historically, scapegoats have existed for centuries with anything from ritualistic...

"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursala Le Guin explores the theme of scapegoats. Within the text, the suffering child acts as a literal scapegoat for the rest of the town's happiness; since the child permanently suffers, the rest of the town can live in utopia. While this supernatural balance does not translate to the real world, the greater ideas of scapegoating do.

Historically, scapegoats have existed for centuries with anything from ritualistic sacrifices to genocide "cleansings"  to blaming leaders/politicians for the pitfalls of whole-societal issues. For more examples, see this Huffington Post article, "The Blame Game: 11 Scapegoats In History." 

Le Guin brings up this issue to invite the reader to think about his or her own choices and ways of thinking. For instance, is scapegoating moral? If you go along with scapegoating, are you a "bad" person? Is the idea of the "greater good" moral? Is your happiness worth the cost of someone else's? Is your life and happiness more valuable than someone else's?

The beauty of the way Le Guin portrays this debate lies in the way she leaves the answers to the above questions in the hands of the reader. She does not condemn either the townspeople or the walkers for their choices, and therefore does not guilt the reader into one mindset or another.

The story takes place in the late 1960's, a time of growing cultural awareness for African-Americans. If the story were set in the present, would...

Right now, race and race relations are common topics in the news. But, it is not as dramatic and turbulent as it was during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. That being said, there are some common developments. The "Black Lives Matter" movement is in step with those previous civil rights groups. And that includes a growing need for some kind of solidarity among African-Americans. This is what Dee was attempting to convey to...

Right now, race and race relations are common topics in the news. But, it is not as dramatic and turbulent as it was during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. That being said, there are some common developments. The "Black Lives Matter" movement is in step with those previous civil rights groups. And that includes a growing need for some kind of solidarity among African-Americans. This is what Dee was attempting to convey to her mother and sister. The problem is that she went about it in a superficial way. She flaunted her new passion for African culture in a way that made it seem like something trendy (or trending). And she looked down upon her mother's and sister's way of living.

If this confrontation between Dee and her family occurred today, I think the conflict would be much the same. Although Dee is trying to empower and modernize her mother and sister, she is condescending in doing so. And she mocks her family heritage with her intent to display the quilts like artifacts of a more primitive time period.

However, if we assume that Mrs. Johnson and/or Maggie have access to cell phones and/or the internet, it is possible that they would be more aware of the injustices that the Black Lives Matter movement has been protesting against. In that case, they might be more receptive to modern changes Dee might suggest. But even if that were the case, Mrs. Johnson and Maggie would still be insulted by Dee's flippant treatment of their way of life.

At the beginning of the third stave, how does Scrooge know he should open the door and enter the other room?

Early in the third stave, while Scrooge is waiting for the arrival of the next ghost, he sees a bright light shining. It look as though this light is coming from the "adjoining room" so Scrooge gets up and walks over to the door. As he put his hand on the lock, he hears a strange voice and call his name and tell him to enter the room. Scrooge obeys and this leads to his...

Early in the third stave, while Scrooge is waiting for the arrival of the next ghost, he sees a bright light shining. It look as though this light is coming from the "adjoining room" so Scrooge gets up and walks over to the door. As he put his hand on the lock, he hears a strange voice and call his name and tell him to enter the room. Scrooge obeys and this leads to his meeting with the Ghost of Christmas Present. 

Given Scrooge's nature, it seems odd that he would obey the ghost's request and open the door. This is, perhaps, evidence that Scrooge's character is starting to change and that he is beginning to work with people, instead of fighting against them. It also suggests, then, that he is committed to this process of change and has become a willing participant in his own reformation. 

Pick two types of murderers and compare and contrast as well as explain how we can catch these murderers.

One type of murder is the medical murderer, a type of serial killer who uses his or her position in the medical field and access to lethal drugs to kill victims. Generally, this type of killer is difficult to catch, as the person uses his or her position in a medical office or hospital to cover up the crime. Harold Shipman was a famous example of a medical killer; he used his position as a...

One type of murder is the medical murderer, a type of serial killer who uses his or her position in the medical field and access to lethal drugs to kill victims. Generally, this type of killer is difficult to catch, as the person uses his or her position in a medical office or hospital to cover up the crime. Harold Shipman was a famous example of a medical killer; he used his position as a doctor in the U.K. to kill what is estimated to be 250 victims. His case was difficult to detect, and it was only unearthed once the daughter of one of his victims raised questions about her mother's will (as it left money to Shipman). The police investigation that followed turned up large does of a pain medicine in the victim's body that had been used to kill her. These types of killers are often only caught when medical boards, funeral homes, or related professionals raise questions about the medical professional's high death rate or other suspicious behavior after the fact. 

The premeditated serial killer is a generally psychotic person who carries out his or her crime so that as little evidence is left as possible. However, the FBI has developing means of profiling killers through such clues as how the body was found (for example, was it posed?), whether the killer carried out sexual crimes against the victim, and whether the body was mutilated. Killers have modus operandi, or ways of carrying out their crimes, that provide clues to their identity, and they also have particular signatures, or ways that they try to satisfy their psychopathy, such as mutilating their victims. The killers' M.O. and signature help police catch them, as they can connect several crimes and try to predict the killer's next move.

In A Retrieved Reformation. How can you tell that Jimmy Valentine and any other characters never expected to complete jail time?

Jimmy Valentine was an exception. The other prisoners did not expect to be "sprung" from prison before their sentences were served; but Jimmy had a lot of connections on the outside. The text explains this in part and leaves more to the reader's imagination.

He had expected to stay only about three months, at the longest. When a man with as many friends on the outside as Jimmy Valentine had is received in the “stir” it is hardly worth while to cut his hair.

Jimmy is an exceptional person. For one thing, he makes lots of money in his illegal profession, and no doubt he is generous to politicians and other important people. For another thing, he is exceptionally intelligent, which explains why he is so successful as a criminal. The other men in "stir" are not like him. Jimmy has a charming personality. This also explains why he has so many "friends on the outside." Everybody likes Jimmy. They call him "Jimmy" rather than Jim because they like him. Even the warden likes him.

“Now, Valentine,” said the warden, “you'll go out in the morning. Brace up, and make a man of yourself. You're not a bad fellow at heart. Stop cracking safes, and live straight.”

When Jimmy goes to the place where he keeps a room, the building-owner Mike Dolan greets him cordially.

“Sorry we couldn't make it sooner, Jimmy, me boy,” said Mike. “But we had that protest from Springfield to buck against, and the governor nearly balked. Feeling all right?”

Dolan is one of Jimmy's many "friends on the outside." He represents a whole wide circle of underworld figures, shady politicians, and others who can do such favors as getting a criminal pardoned. 

Jimmy's brains and personality are great assets. But he comes to realize that he can use his personal assets to better advantage by going straight rather than remaining a career criminal. He is getting too well known to many people such as Mike Dolan and Ben Price, the detective. Jimmy decides to move to an entirely different area of operations where he is unknown. There he falls in love and his whole life changes. He is even more successful as an honest businessman than he was as a safecracker.

What does atticus do that causes scout to say that she felt he was the "bravest man that ever lived"?

Mrs. Dubose is a deeply unpleasant old lady who lives down the street from the Finches. Scout describes her as "plain hell." It's not surprising she feels this way when you consider how thoroughly mean the old lady is to everyone. Whenever Scout and Jem walk past her house she scowls at them and hurls abuse. She is a pretty scary character; and that's not to mention the old Confederate pistol she's alleged to keep...

Mrs. Dubose is a deeply unpleasant old lady who lives down the street from the Finches. Scout describes her as "plain hell." It's not surprising she feels this way when you consider how thoroughly mean the old lady is to everyone. Whenever Scout and Jem walk past her house she scowls at them and hurls abuse. She is a pretty scary character; and that's not to mention the old Confederate pistol she's alleged to keep under her shawl.

As expected, Atticus shows much greater wisdom and empathy. Each time he passes the Dubose residence, he politely doffs his hat and wishes the old lady a cheery good morning. This impresses Scout so much that she describes her father as the bravest man who ever lived. Ironically, Atticus thinks that Mrs. Dubose is the bravest person he's ever seen. She is a morphine addict, determined to quit her destructive habit before she dies. Sadly for her, she doesn't manage to achieve her goal. Yet Atticus admires her courage nonetheless:

I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know that you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew.

In the play Antigone, how does Creon show he his loyal to his family?

Early in the play, Creon proclaims that he is the kind of ruler who has

"nothing but contempt for the kind of Governor who is afraid, for whatever reason, to follow the course that he knows is best for the State; and as for the man who sets private friendship above the public welfare,"

but his actions in attempting to spare Antigone, his niece, from execution for defying his order contradict his proclamation of being...

Early in the play, Creon proclaims that he is the kind of ruler who has

"nothing but contempt for the kind of Governor who is afraid, for whatever reason, to follow the course that he knows is best for the State; and as for the man who sets private friendship above the public welfare,"

but his actions in attempting to spare Antigone, his niece, from execution for defying his order contradict his proclamation of being the upholder of law. Because she is his brother's daughter, he attempts to reason with her so that he doesn't have to have her executed. However, Antigone will not break; she stands by the morality of her decision to bury her brother even though in doing so, she has defied the state.

It takes the deaths of his niece, Antigone; his son, Haemon; and his wife, Eurydice, for Creon to finally understand that his loyalty should have been to his family. He laments his blindness when he says,

"I have been rash and foolish. I have killed my son and my wife. I look for comfort; my comfort lies here dead. Whatever my hands have touched has come to nothing,"

but it is too late; in his zeal to demonstrate his decisiveness as a ruler, he has betrayed his loyalty to his family.

What are the most important details of the setting?

The most important details for the setting of "After Twenty Years" are the street, the doorway, the darkness, and the weather. O. Henry creates a picture of a New York street at night when almost all the little business establishments are closed. That is why he sets the time as approximately ten o'clock. Shops that might have remained open until six or seven would be locked and dark by now. The corner drugstore is brilliantly lighted with the new invention of electric lights, but it is locked up for the night. The lights have only been left on as a form of advertising. 

The vicinity was one that kept early hours. Now and then you might see the lights of a cigar store or of an all-night lunch counter; but the majority of the doors belonged to business places that had long since been closed.

O. Henry excelled at such descriptions. He specifies that the weather is cold, windy, and wet. This explains not only why the neighborhood is so nearly deserted, but why Bob is standing deep inside the doorway of the closed hardware store. Bob wants to stay as warm and dry as possible. He also has an unlit cigar in his mouth. He can't smoke a cigar in the rain. He might even have a hard time lighting it in the wind. But it seems to Bob, as well as to the reader, that the cop stops to talk to him because he looks a little sinister loitering in a darkened doorway. The cop is really Jimmy Wells, the man Bob is waiting for. And Jimmy only stops because he has that appointment made twenty years earlier.

The darkness and the cold, wet weather will also explain why the plainclothes officer whom Jimmy will ask to arrest his old friend is able to disguise his appearance by covering much of his face with his overcoat collars turned up and his hat turned down. He is not really protecting himself from the weather but from being seen too clearly by Bob, who would realize that he wasn't his old friend but a complete stranger. Jimmy couldn't have sent another uniformed cop like himself to make the arrest. Bob would have been alerted. He would have given the new cop a different name, of which he undoubtedly had many to choose from. A uniformed cop could not have won Bob's confidence the way the plainclothes detective did.

The setting also establishes a mood of loneliness and anomie which is common to all big cities at night. During the day a neighborhood may be bustling with all kinds of traffic and activity. But late at night many neighborhoods are forlorn and deserted. There is always danger after dark. This is when the burglars and robbers come out of hiding to prey on people. This is why the honest citizens need the protection of a man like Jimmy Wells. Bob too seems to belong to this setting. He is a criminal. He expects to be questioned by the uniformed beat cop who stops in front of his doorway. No doubt Bob has dealt with countless other such policemen over his years of underworld activities. Both these men, Bob and Jimmy, belong in the setting and to the setting.

The pervasive darkness enables Jimmy to talk to Bob without being recognized. It also enables the plainclothes police officer to approach Bob and lead him off arm in arm without being recognized as a perfect stranger. The drugstore blazing with the new electric lighting exposes the arresting officer's face, just as the lighting of the cigar had exposed Bob's; but it is too late for Bob to do anything but submit to his arrest. It seems as if, once he emerges from his darkened doorway, he is like a sea creature out of its shell.   

Why did Brezhnev's 'social contract' break down?

In politics, a social contract is some kind of agreement, usually implicit, between governors and governed. It's a reciprocal agreement: those in power agree to provide something in return for a tacit acceptance from those who are governed. In the case of the Soviet Union under Brezhnev, the Communist government tacitly agreed to provide a certain level of social benefits and job security in return for a degree of compliance from the people. The USSR...

In politics, a social contract is some kind of agreement, usually implicit, between governors and governed. It's a reciprocal agreement: those in power agree to provide something in return for a tacit acceptance from those who are governed. In the case of the Soviet Union under Brezhnev, the Communist government tacitly agreed to provide a certain level of social benefits and job security in return for a degree of compliance from the people. The USSR was a police state, and so opportunities for public complaints over government policy were virtually non-existent. But the government knew that the stability of the Soviet system depended upon a certain level of social peace. If people had a measure of economic security, then they'd be much less likely to resist.

There was, however, a fundamental flaw in Brezhnev's strategy. The Soviet economy was simply too inefficient and too resistant to change to deliver the economic benefits expected of it. The sought-for stability came at a cost: chronic stagnation. Industrial peace had been bought by an unsustainable policy of full employment, which led to Soviet industry being increasingly staffed by unskilled workers. The results were inevitable. Industrial output fell dramatically as productivity plummeted.

The process of decline accelerated further as already limited resources were increasingly devoted to defense spending rather than consumer goods. The inevitable shortages undermined the very foundations of Brezhnev's social contract. The black market flourished and corruption began eating away at the economic system from within.

As a devoted Communist, Brezhnev was never prepared to challenge the system to which he'd devoted his whole political life. His attempt at constructing a viable social contract must then be seen as a sticking plaster solution to cover up the myriad contradictions at the heart of that system. It was almost inevitable that he would fail. In due course, the unresolved tensions of Soviet economic planning led directly to the USSR's eventual collapse, which was to a large extent the culmination of a long period of stagnation begun under Brezhnev.

Sputnik I was launched into orbit around Earth in 1957. It had a perigee (the closest approach to Earth, measured from Earth’s center) of 6.81 x...

Hello!

When a relatively light body rotates around much heavier body, its orbit is elliptical with the heavier object at one focus of this ellipse. And the speed of a smaller object is

`v=sqrt(G*M*(2/r-1/a)),`

where `G` is the constant of universe gravitation, `M` is the mass of a heavier body, `r` is the current distance between objects and `a` is the major semi-axis of the elliptic orbit.

Denote the minimal distance as `r_p` and the...

Hello!

When a relatively light body rotates around much heavier body, its orbit is elliptical with the heavier object at one focus of this ellipse. And the speed of a smaller object is

`v=sqrt(G*M*(2/r-1/a)),`

where `G` is the constant of universe gravitation, `M` is the mass of a heavier body, `r` is the current distance between objects and `a` is the major semi-axis of the elliptic orbit.

Denote the minimal distance as `r_p` and the maximum as `r_a.` Then `r_p+r_a=2a,` or

`a = (r_p+r_a)/2.`

Also, at the perigee `r=r_p.` And we know `G` and `M.`

The final formula is

`v_p=sqrt(G*M*(2/r_p-2/(r_p+r_a))).`

In numbers,

`v_p=sqrt(5.97*10^24*6.67*10^(-11)*2*(1/(6.81*10^6)+1/(6.81*10^6+7.53*10^6))),`

which is approximately

`sqrt(79.64*10^7*(0.147+0.070)) approx 13141(m/s).`

P.S. Sources give the completely different values for `r_p` and `r_a.`

P.P.S. The main formula may be derived from the basic physical laws, see the first link.

Why does Rainsford agree to be hunted?

Sangor Rainsford only agrees to be hunted because if he does not, he will be turned over to Ivan, who will undoubtedly torture and kill him.

While General Zaroff talks with Rainsford at dinner, he mentions the lack of enthusiasm for hunting that he had until he created his "dangerous game." But now, he complains, this "ennui" [boredom] seems to be returning because the hunting the night before was not exciting. 

"The fellow lost his...

Sangor Rainsford only agrees to be hunted because if he does not, he will be turned over to Ivan, who will undoubtedly torture and kill him.

While General Zaroff talks with Rainsford at dinner, he mentions the lack of enthusiasm for hunting that he had until he created his "dangerous game." But now, he complains, this "ennui" [boredom] seems to be returning because the hunting the night before was not exciting. 

"The fellow lost his head. He made a straight trail that offered no problems at all. . . . It's most annoying."

Since Rainsford recalls having heard the pistol shot, he is well aware of the outcome of that hunt. So, when Zaroff suggests that he and Rainsford hunt that night, Rainsford shakes his head in dissent. "No, general, . . . I will not hunt." Zaroff shrugs his shoulders and replies that the choice is Rainsford's, adding,

"But may I not venture to suggest that you will find my idea of sport more diverting than Ivan's."

Rainsford recalls the general's description of Ivan as once having served as "official knouter" to the Great White Czar." (He issued whippings to criminals.) According to Zaroff, Ivan "has his own ideas of sport." General Zaroff also has mentioned that the others who have been on the island have invariably chosen the hunt. So, since not agreeing to the hunt as suggested by Zaroff means a prolonged and brutal death, Rainsford decides to be hunted by Zaroff. As an accomplished hunter himself, Rainsford figures that he may be able to outwit Zaroff. 

`r=1-sintheta` Find the points of horizontal and vertical tangency (if any) to the polar curve.

`r=1-sin theta`

To solve, express the polar equation in parametric form. To convert it to parametric equation, apply the formula

`x = rcos theta`

`y=r sin theta`

Plugging in `r=1-sin theta` , the formula becomes:

`x=(1-sin theta)cos theta=cos theta -sin theta cos theta`

`y = (1-sin theta)sin theta=sin theta -sin^2 theta`

So the equivalent parametric equation of `r= 1-sin theta` is:

`x=cos theta -sin theta cos theta`

`y=sin theta -sin^2 theta`

Then, take the derivative of x and y with respect to theta.

`dx/(d theta) = -sintheta - (sintheta*(-sintheta) + costheta*costheta)`

`dx/(d theta)=-sintheta+sin^2theta-cos^2theta`

`dy/(d theta) = costheta - 2sinthetacostheta`

Take note that the slope of the tangent is equal to dy/dx.

`m= (dy)/(dx)`

To get the dy/dx of a parametric equation, apply the formula:

`dy/dx = (dy/(d theta))/(dx/(d theta))`

When the tangent line is horizontal, the slope of the tangent is zero.

`0 = (dy/(d theta)) / (dx/(d theta))`

This implies that the polar curve will have a horizontal tangent when `dy/(d theta)=0` and `dx/(d theta) !=0`. 

Setting the derivative of y yields:

`dy/(d theta) = 0`

`costheta - 2sinthetacostheta=0`

`costheta(1 - 2sintheta) =0`

`costheta = 0`

`theta=pi/2,(3pi)/2`

`1-2sintheta=0`

`-2sintheta=-1`

`sintheta=1/2`

`theta=pi/6,(5pi)/6`

Take note that at `theta=pi/2` , the value of `dx/(d theta)` is zero. Since both `dy/(d theta)` and `dx/(d theta)`  are zero, the slope at this value of theta is indeterminate.

`m=0/0`   (indeterminate)

So the polar curve has horizontal tangents at:

`theta_1 = pi/6 + 2pin`

`theta_2= (5pi)/6+2pin`

`theta_3= (3pi)/2+2pin`

where n is any integer.

To determine the points `(r, theta)` , plug-in the values of theta to the polar equation.

`r=1-sin theta`

`theta_1 = pi/6 + 2pin`

`r_1=1-sin(pi/6 + 2pin)=1-sin(pi/6) = 1-1/2=1/2`

`theta_2= (5pi)/6+2pin`

`r_2=1-sin((5pi)/6+2pin)=1-sin((5pi)/6)= 1 -1/2=1/2`

`theta_3= (3pi)/2+2pin`

`r_3=1-sin((3pi)/2+2pin)=1-sin((3pi)/2)=1-(-1)=2`

Therefore, the polar curve has horizontal tangent at points

`(1/2, pi/6+2pin)` ,   `(1/2, (5pi)/6+2pin)` ,  and  `(2, (3pi)/2+2pin)` .

Moreover, when the tangent line is vertical, the slope is undefined.

`u n d e f i n e d =(dy/(d theta)) / (dx/(d theta))`

This implies that the polar curve will have vertical tangent when `dx/(d theta)=0` and `dy/(d theta)!=0` .

Setting the derivative of x equal to zero yields:

`dx/(d theta) = 0`

`-sintheta+sin^2theta-cos^2theta=0`

`-sin theta + sin^2 theta-(1-sin^2 theta) = 0`

`2sin^2 theta -sin theta -1=0`

`(2sin theta +1)(sin theta -1) = 0`

`2sin theta + 1=0`

`sin theta=-1/2`

`theta = (7pi)/6,(11pi)/6`

`sin theta -1=0`

`sin theta=1`

`theta=pi/2`

Take note that at `theta =pi/2` , both `dy/(d theta )` and `dx/(d theta)` are zero. So the slope is indeterminate at this value of theta.

`m=0/0`  (indeterminate)

So the polar curve has vertical tangents at:

`theta_1 =(7pi)/6+2pin`

`theta_2=(11pi)/6+2pin`

where n is any integer.

To determine the points `(r, theta)` , plug-in the values of theta to the polar equation.

`r=1-sin theta`

`theta_1=(7pi)/6+2pin`

`r_1=1-sin((7pi)/6+2pin)=1-sin((7pi)/6)=1-(-1/2)=3/2`

`theta_2=(11pi)/6+2pin`

`r_2=1-sin((11pi)/6+2pin)=1-sin((11pi)/6)=1-(-1/2)=3/2`

Therefore, the polar curve has vertical tangent at points `(3/2, (7pi)/6+2pin)` and `(3/2, (11pi)/6+2pin)` .

The declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen includes several Enlightenment ideas. Which ideas were included?

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was written in 1789 by the National Assembly in France during the French Revolution. This document was intended to give the people of France certain unalienable and natural rights. These individual liberties were intended to give all people power in the political system, which was previously dominated by a corrupt system of Estates. To explain the reason why the people of France believed that the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was needed, let me provide some information about the political landscape prior to the French Revolution.

France was divided into three major classes called the Estates. The First Estate consisted of the clergy (the Church). The First Estate made up only .5% of the population, yet it had a huge amount of power! The Second Estate consisted of the nobles. Only about 1.5% of the population were nobles, and most of these people had well-respected jobs and did not have to pay taxes. The Third Estate consisted of everyone else in France. 98% of the population in France belonged to the Third Estate, so there were many different types of people in this class. The top part of the Third Estate was the bourgeoisie (middle class). People in the bourgeoise typically had well-paying jobs such as doctor, lawyer, merchant, and so on. The poorer people in the Third Estate were either peasants or city workers, were not well respected, were underpaid, and had poor living conditions. The Third Estate had the burden of paying all of the taxes in France, while the First and Second Estates enjoyed life tax-free. The majority of the people, who belonged to the Third Estate, found this extremely unfair! They also did not have any political power. When it came to voting, each Estate got one vote each; 98% of the population only had one vote to represent them! More often than not, the First and Second Estate would vote together and would win the vote in a two-to-one majority over the Third Estate. This is, in a nutshell, why the people demanded individual rights and freedoms through the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.

The Enlightenment was a period of time where people began questioning authority and ideas that they had previously known to be true. Enlightenment thinkers used logic and reason to challenge the status quo. These thinkers created many works of literature that spread throughout Europe and therefore spread their ideas. John Locke's major Enlightenment ideals were that the people in society must consent to authority (government), the government should protect citizens' natural rights, and individuals should be treated equally under the law. All three of these ideals were included in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Article 1 of the Declaration reads, "Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good." This article definitely reflects the ideals of John Locke. Locke's ideas can also be seen in Article 2 of the Declaration, which states, "The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression."

Another Enlightenment Thinker, Montesquieu, spread ideas about the separation of powers in government so that one group could not be more powerful than another and so that all people were represented equally. This idea is a focal point in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen as seen in Article 6, which states, "Law is the expression of the general will. Every citizen has a right to participate personally, or through his representative, in its foundation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents."

One more Enlightenment ideal that is seen in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen is Voltaire's idea of free speech. This is seen in Article 11 of the document, which states, "The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious rights of man. Every citizen, may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law."

Before the arrival of Europeans, Native Americans in the New World had no knowledge of Christianity, just as Europeans had no knowledge of Native...

Contrasting religious beliefs and the mutual misunderstanding of each others' religions affected the relationship between Native Americans and Europeans in the 16th century and beyond. For example, English colonists (who came to the New World in the late 16th century and afterward) thought of the Native Americans they encountered as satanic and as deserving of displacement from their ancestral lands. In Jamestown, for example, the Powhatan followed a polytheistic religion with many spirits to whom...

Contrasting religious beliefs and the mutual misunderstanding of each others' religions affected the relationship between Native Americans and Europeans in the 16th century and beyond. For example, English colonists (who came to the New World in the late 16th century and afterward) thought of the Native Americans they encountered as satanic and as deserving of displacement from their ancestral lands. In Jamestown, for example, the Powhatan followed a polytheistic religion with many spirits to whom they made scarifies. The English settlers, rather than seeking to truly understand the Powhatan religion, tried to displace the Native Americans from their lands. Later, the English settlers attempt to convert the Native Americans. There was no attempt at syncretism, or combining the two religious traditions. In addition, the English misunderstood a great deal of the Powhatans' religious practice; for example, they thought that the male initiation ceremony involved sacrifice, which it likely did not.

The Spaniards sought to convert the Native Americans they encountered to Catholicism. They also sought to use Native American labor on their plantations, called encomiendas, and, in return for the labor, the Spaniards promised to save the Native Americans' souls. The Native Americans often believed in communal land ownership, and they did not always understand the Europeans' practice of private land ownership at first; the Natives were often displaced because of the Europeans' desire for land.