What advice does Mr. Spencer offer to Holden in The Catcher in the Rye?

In Chapter 2, Mr. Spencer tells Holden that "Life is a game that one plays according to the rules." Holden immediately rejects this advice, arguing,

If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it's a game, all right—I'll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren't any hot-shots, then what's a game about it? Nothing. No game.

Throughout the rest of their conversation, Holden's thoughts drift in and out as Mr. Spencer scolds him for not succeeding in school. He asks him, "Do you feel absolutely no concern for your future, boy?" Spencer then tells him he'd "like to put some sense in that head of yours, boy." 

By the end of the novel, it's clear that Holden rejects Spencer's claim that life is a game. When begging Sally Hayes to run away with him into the wilderness, Holden says,

I hate living in New York and all. Taxicabs, and Madison Avenue buses, with the drivers and all always yelling at you to get out at the rear door, and being introduced to phony guys that call the Lunts angels, and going up and down in elevators when you just want to go outside, and guys fitting your pants all the time at Brooks.

Because Holden rejects this "game" completely and attempts to prevent others from playing, he drives himself crazy and ends up in a hospital. By the end, it's not clear whether Holden will ever play the game Mr. Spencer says he needs to play.

In the book Lyddie by Katherine Paterson, how has Lyddie's opinion on her father changed in chapters 3 to 5?

Lyddie never stops loving her father and never blames him, but she begins to doubt he will ever come back.

After the incident with the bear, Lyddie’s mother gives up on pretenses.  Lyddie’s father left a year after her youngest sister was born.  Her mother had never been right since then, and the two circumstances put them in a precarious situation.  Lyddie said that it was hard to “escape that specter that their father had headed West” (Ch. 1).

Lyddie describes her father as unlucky, saying that his children “loved him fiercely.” He just was never a very successful farmer, and went west to try to make his fortune elsewhere.  Lyddie values everything he tried to do, even if he failed.  

But their father … had bought the land and built the cabin with his own hands before their birth, promising every year to sell enough maple sugar, or oats, or potash to build a larger, proper house with a real barn attached instead of a shed which must be found through rain or blizzard. (Ch. 2)

She doesn't consider these empty promises.  Lyddie always feels that it is her mother's fault and not her father's that he had to leave.  When Lyddie’s mother hires Charles and Lyddie out to pay off the family debts, Lyddie feels that her father would have been horrified.  She idolizes him and does not blame him for leaving them with debts, but she blames her mother for not being able to hold it together and not trying to keep the rest of the family together.

Lyddie says that her father had sent her in to help her mother in the year before he left, because she never got over the birth of her last baby, Agnes.  She felt that if she had been a boy, should would have been able to help him more, and then he would not have left.  When he left, Lyddie had to take over both household and outdoor chores because her mother could or would do nothing.

As Lyddie works at the tavern, the dream of getting the family in one place again begins to fade out of possibility.

She rarely thought of Rachel and Agnes or their mother. The three of them seemed to belong to another, sadder life. The possibility of their father's return slipped into a back corner of her mind. She wondered once if he were dead, and that was why she seldom thought of him now. (Ch. 4)

Lyddie thinks mostly about Charles, her brother and the closest in age to herself.  She wanted the two of them to be a family, and felt that they could have kept the farm going even without her mother and father there.  Her mother was useless anyway, and Lyddie had been the one who did everything.

Hadn't she felt bad that he didn't have a father and mother like Luke Stevens had to watch over him? But these weren't his real family. She was his real family. More than their mother, really, who had shucked them off like corn husks to follow her craziness. (Ch. 5)

Even though Lyddie was abandoned by her father and then her mother, she never blames her father.  She wonders what happens to him, but she never doubts him.  Lyddie still loves her father even though he has been gone for years, and resents her mother for falling apart and making him leave.

Why were saloons popular places for the poor and working class in the years leading up to prohibition?

Saloons were popular places for the poor and for the working class before the beginning of prohibition. The poor and working class often lived in very crowded apartments. There was no room for socialization and relaxation. The saloon gave these people a chance to unwind and to socialize in a place that was less crowded and possibly more comfortable.

The saloon also was a place where people with similar backgrounds could spend time. Many of the poor and working class people were immigrants. They needed a place where they could be with people who spoke their native language. Since many immigrants didn’t know English, the saloon was a good place where they could be with people who spoke their language and who could help them. The saloon also was a place where people with similar cultural practices and customs could be together. They could observe the various cultural, religious, or ethnic practices that were common in their homeland. Since the people shared this common background, the saloon was a place where they could feel comfortable doing the things that they used to do in their homeland.

Describe the three appearances of the ghost in "The Canterville Ghost."

In "The Canterville Ghost," the ghost makes his first appearance to the Otis family in Chapter Two. Every member of the family is in bed after a busy day of driving and, around 1 a.m., Mr Otis is woken up by a "strange noise" coming from the hallway. On opening his bedroom door, he is greeted by an "old man of terrible aspect" with eyes as red as "burning coals." But, instead of feeling fear, Mr Otis offers to oil the ghost's chains before promptly returning to bed.

The ghost next appears to the family on a Sunday night in Chapter Three. Again, the Otises are in bed and, this time, they are all woken up by a "fearful crash" downstairs in the hall. The sound was, in fact, an antique suit of armour falling to the floor after the ghost had unsuccessfully attempted to climb into it. The Otises then find the ghost sitting in a chair with an injured knee and "an expression of acute agony on his face." This prompts the twins to shoot their pea-shooters at the ghost while Mr Otis calls him out with his revolver. The terrified ghost is thus forced to run away. 

Finally, the ghost appears for a third time later in Chapter Three. He waits again until the family has gone to bed, before emerging from the wainscotting. His plan is to scare Washington Otis, the eldest son, who has annoyed him by removing the blood-stain in the library each morning. But, on arriving at Washington's room, he is confronted by the sight of a "horrible spectre." Having never seen a ghost before, the Canterville ghost is terrified and immediately flees to his room. In the morning, however, the ghost returns to confront this other ghost, only to find that it is nothing more than trick played on him by Washington Otis.

What we learn from these appearances, then, is that the ghost's persistence is matched only by the resilience of the Otises. The family refuses to be afraid of the ghost and this, in turn, leaves the ghost feeling humiliated and frustrated, thereby creating the story's central conflict.

`6, 15, 30, 51, 78, 111.....` Decide whether the sequence can be represented perfectly by a linear or a quadratic model. If so, then find the...

Firstly we need to determine whether the series is linear or quadratic. A linear sequence is a sequence of numbers in which there is a first difference between any consecutive terms is constant. However, a quadratic sequence is a sequence of numbers in which there is a second difference between any consecutive terms is constant.

Let's begin finding the solution by finding the first difference: 

`x_1 = T_2 - T_1 = 15 - 6 =9`

`x_2 = T_3 - T_2 = 30 - 15 = 15`

`x_3 = T_4 - T_3 = 51 - 30 = 21`

`x_4= T_5 - T_4 = 78 - 51 = 27`

From above we can see we do not have a constant first difference, now let's find out if we have a second difference: 

`x_2- x_1 = 15 - 9 =6`

`x_3- x_2 = 21 -15 = 6`

`x_4 - x_3 = 27 - 21 = 6`

From above we have a second difference, therefore we have a constant second difference. The sequence is quadratic.

Now we know our sequence is quadratic, let's find the the model using the following equation: 

`T_n = an^2 + bn + c`

We need to find the variables a, b, c using the following equations: 

`2a =`  second difference therefore

`2a = 6`

`a = 3`

`3a + b =` first difference between term 2 and term 1

`3a + b = 9`

`3 (3) + b = 9` (substitute 3 for a)

`b = 9-9 =0`

Lastly: 

`a + b + c` = first term

`3 + 0 + c =6` (substitute 3 for a and 0 for b)

`c = 6 -3 = 3`

Now we have determined all three variables, lets determine the model: 

`T_n = 3n^2 + 0n +3 = 3n^2 + 3`

Now we have a model, let's double check if it is correct using term 2 and term 6:

`T_2 = 3 (2)^2 + 3 = 15`

`T_6 = 3(6)^2 +3 = 111`

SUMMARY:

Sequence: Quadratic

Model: `T_n = 3n^2 +3`

What are the elements of the plot of "A Sound of Thunder"?

The elements of plot are exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. 

Exposition

The exposition of a story is where the basic premise is introduced.  We meet the characters, learn what the setting is, and find out the initial conflict.  The setting is important in this story.  The story takes place in the future, because time machines have been invented. 

Eckels felt his eyelids blink over his stare, and the sign burned in this momentary darkness:

TIME SAFARI, INC. SAFARIS TO ANY YEAR IN THE PAST.

YOU NAME THE ANIMAL. WE TAKE YOU THERE. YOU SHOOT IT.

Eckels is the protagonist.  He is the one who hires the time travel agency.  He is a big game hunter, and he is interested in hunting a dinosaur to get more of a challenge.  Travis is the severe safari guide, and the men are accompanied by his assistant, Lesperance, and two other hunters, Billings and Kramer.

The problem is that time travel is very dangerous.  If you make one misstep, you could change the entire future.  Eckels is told this, and he is also told that there is no guarantee he will return alive.

Rising Action

Rising action is the sequence of events leading to the climax.  The time machine lands, and Eckels is introduced to the path and pointed to the dinosaur.  He’s a big game hunter, right?  What could go wrong? 

Climax

The climax is the turning point.  Eckels freaks out.  He does not want to shoot.  He thinks that the dinosaur is too big and scary to go down.

“Why, why,” Eckels twitched his mouth. “It could reach up and grab the moon.”

“Sh!” Travis jerked angrily. “He hasn’t seen us yet.”

“It can’t be killed.” Eckels pronounced this verdict quietly, as if there could be no argument.

Travis shoots the dinosaur himself, telling Eckels to go back to the time machine.  He does so in a daze, accidentally walking the wrong way, off the path.

Falling Action

Falling action is the wrapping up of the plot.  Travis makes Eckels dig the bullets out of the T-Rex.  They can’t leave anything behind in the past.  Then they are getting ready to return and Lesperance asks Eckels if he wants a trophy picture with the dinosaur.  They have to leave the body behind.  This is when Travis realizes that Eckels stepped off the path earlier.

Resolution

Resolution is the ending.  The men return, and find the future altered.  There is a different man president, and the language on the sign is the same but the spelling is different.  Travis shoots Eckels.

In chapter 28, Scout decides to wear her costume on the way home. How does this help her understand what happens on the way home?

Because the ham costume's skeletal structure is made out of chicken wire, this actually protects Scout from being easily picked up or hurt during Bob Ewell's attack. On the other hand, she can't see what is happening around her because the costume gets crushed around and her arms get pinned in the wiring. As a result of the costume restricting Scout's vision and movements, she can't run very well, and she must depend on her other senses to understand what is going on around her. For example, because she forgot her shoes at the school that night, her bare feet help her to feel the cool earth and roots under the tree where the attack happens.

During the attack, Scout can feel when Jem falls on her. She can also feel his hand as he guides her onwards, but she has to listen to find her way. She hears metal scraping on metal, bodies scuffling in the dirt, and other people screaming, moaning, and coughing. In the end, she says, "It was slowly coming to me that there were now four people under the tree" (262). At first, she thinks it is Atticus. It isn't until chapter 29 that Scout puts all the pieces together about what happened as she is retelling it to Sheriff Tate. 

"Then all of a sudden somethin' grabbed me an' mashed my costume. . . think I ducked n the ground. . . heard a tusslin' under the tree sort of. . . they were bammin' against the trunk, sounded like. Jem found me and started pullin' me toward the road. Some--Mr. Ewell yanked him down, I reckon. They tussled some more and then there was this funny noise--Jem hollered. . . an' the next thing--Mr. Ewell was tryin' to squeeze me to death, I reckon. . . then somebody yanked Mr. Ewell down. . . I thought Atticus had come to help us and had got wore out--" (269-270).

It's at this point that Scout realizes that it was Boo Radley who had saved them that night. With all adults accounted for, and Atticus listening to the story without knowing what happened, she figures out the rest and points to Boo in the corner of the room. Scout has to use deductive reasoning, though to figure out what happened. Without her sight to help her see, she had to listen and piece together the sounds of the commotion around her. 

One piece of evidence found on the costume that Sheriff Tate discovers (that Scout didn't understand at the time of the attack) is a large slice down the fabric of the ham costume. At one point Scout did say that "metal ripped on metal" (262), so that must have been when Mr. Ewell used the kitchen knife to attack her and it scraped the wire rather than slicing her.