How is Pahom's land to be marked by the Bashkirs in Leo Tolstoy's "How Much Land Does a Man Need?"

In Chapter 6 of Leo Tolstoy's short story "How Much Land Does a Man Need?," Pahom is told by the Chief of the Bashkirs that he can purchase for one thousand roubles as much land as he can mark on foot in one day if he successfully returns to his exact starting point before sundown. Pahom feels concerned that the land he claims won't be properly marked and asks how that will be arranged. The...

In Chapter 6 of Leo Tolstoy's short story "How Much Land Does a Man Need?," Pahom is told by the Chief of the Bashkirs that he can purchase for one thousand roubles as much land as he can mark on foot in one day if he successfully returns to his exact starting point before sundown. Pahom feels concerned that the land he claims won't be properly marked and asks how that will be arranged. The Chief then explains how they will mark the starting point and how Pahom will mark out his perimeter using a spade.

More specifically, the Chief explains that they will start at any point Pahom wishes, and the Chief will remain with his tribe at that point all day long. He further explains that Pahom will need to carry a spade with him and mark whatever points of the perimeter he feels are necessary. Furthermore, Pahom will dig a hole at each turning point in the perimeter; then, he will "pile up the turf" on that spot to make the spot clearly visible. After all of Pahom's land is claimed, the Bashkirs will plow the land "from hole to hole" to clearly stake out the land.

As we see by the end of the story, Pahom successfully marks his perimeter but tries to walk more distance than he is physically capable of walking for the sake of greedily claiming more land. As a consequence, he dies by the time he returns to the starting point.

How did the witches set the tone of the play in Macbeth?

Interestingly, Shakespeare introduces the audience to the witches before introducing Macbeth himself (or any of the other characters for that matter). They enter the scene accompanied by thunder and lightning, forbidding omens in their own right, and they describe a battle raging, a "hurly-burly" after which they will meet with Macbeth. The audience can guess from their presence and their words that they are up to no good, though there is no indication of exactly...

Interestingly, Shakespeare introduces the audience to the witches before introducing Macbeth himself (or any of the other characters for that matter). They enter the scene accompanied by thunder and lightning, forbidding omens in their own right, and they describe a battle raging, a "hurly-burly" after which they will meet with Macbeth. The audience can guess from their presence and their words that they are up to no good, though there is no indication of exactly what they will attempt. As the scene ends, they depart, singing that "fair is foul" and "foul is fair." This song portends some of the foul deeds that Macbeth will undertake in order to secure and maintain his throne. Again, the audience is not exactly clear about what will happen, but they are alerted, as it were, that evil deeds may be afoot, that all may not be as it appears, and that the witches themselves may play a role in the proceedings.

Who does Mary in "Lamb to the Slaughter" talk to at the grocery store?

Mary goes to the grocery story mainly to establish an alibi. She knows that she can't have been present in the house when Patrick was killed because she would have heard something. She wants it to look as if she went to the store and the murderer took advantage of her absence to slip inside and kill her husband while there was no witness present. Otherwise, the murderer would have had to kill Mary too, and she has to account for the fact that she is still alive.

The grocery store is one of those small, old-fashioned shops run by one man who knows all his customers and has time to chat with all of them. It is a far cry from the modern supermarket, as described by John Updike in his story "A&P." The grocer's name is Sam. He and Mary know each other pretty well. Naturally she spends as much time there as she can, allowing the fictitious murderer to slip inside, hit Patrick over the head with a blunt instrument, and make his getaway.

Mary makes her selections item by item. None of them seems really necessary. She buys some potatoes and a can of beans and finally a piece of cake. If the police had been at all suspicious of her, they might have checked her cupboards and refrigerator and found that she already had plenty of potatoes and plenty of canned vegetables. She is a woman who stuffs her husband with food, and she would certainly have plenty on hand without running to the grocery store.

The author Roald Dahl explains several times that the Maloney's always go out for dinner on Thursday nights. This is obviously intended to account for the fact that Mary might have to go to the grocery store at the last minute because Patrick wants to stay home on that particular Thursday night. 

"Patrick's decided he's tired and he doesn't want to eat out tonight," she told him. "We usually go out on Thursdays, you know, and now I don't have any vegetables in the house."

This is a weak spot in her alibi. If Mary uses canned vegetables, a woman like her would have plenty of cans of vegetables in her cupboard. If the police had suspected her of killing Patrick, they might have asked her what she bought at the grocery store and then checked her cupboards and refrigerator to see if the trip to Sam's had really been necessary. But Roald Dahl takes pains to establish that Mary and Patrick are considered to be the perfect married couple, so the police never suspect her. This is, of course, very helpful to the author's story.

Even though Mary is apparently the quintessential loving, devoted wife, there are several reasons why the police might have suspected her. One is that the police always suspect the spouse when the other spouse gets killed. The second is that there was such a narrow window of opportunity for the unknown perpetrator to do the deed. The third is that she supposedly had to run out to purchase things which she should have already had in her kitchen. Another is that the unknown perpetrator's behavior is uncharacteristic. Was he supposedly peeking through the window and waiting for an opportunity to kill Patrick when he was alone? Wasn't it convenient for the murderer that Patrick decided not to go out to dinner that Thursday night when they always went out on Thursday nights? And wasn't it a break for the murderer that Mary had to run to the grocery store to make those last-minute purchases? What would the murderer have done if she hadn't gone to the grocery store for just enough time to enable him to kill Patrick? One other thing: Why would Mary decide to cook a leg of lamb for dinner? It wasn't even thawed. It would have taken a full four hours to cook that leg of lamb. Patrick got home at five. They wouldn't have been able to eat dinner until nine o'clock,which is late for such a couple, especially when the husband is tired.

How does Lyddie's first full day in the weaving room affect her in Lyddie?

Lyddie feels nauseous and exhausted after her first full day in the weaving room.

Lyddie tries her best to do well as a factory worker, but it is difficult and dangerous work.  After her first full day in the weaving room, Lyddie is barely coherent.  She can’t even bear the smell of food, and her mind is not working.

She longed only to get to the room, take off her boots, massage her abused feet,...

Lyddie feels nauseous and exhausted after her first full day in the weaving room.

Lyddie tries her best to do well as a factory worker, but it is difficult and dangerous work.  After her first full day in the weaving room, Lyddie is barely coherent.  She can’t even bear the smell of food, and her mind is not working.

She longed only to get to the room, take off her boots, massage her abused feet, and lay down her aching head. … Lyddie dragged herself from the table and up the stairs. (Ch. 10)

The weaving room is very noisy, so Lyddie can’t stand the sound of supper talk and clinking dishes.  She also can barely eat.  Betsy teases her about thinking she is a “strapping country farm girl who could do anything.”  However, she also helps her massage her sore feet and reads to her from Oliver Twist.

Lyddie suffers because she wore boots that were too new, and she is not used to the loud noises.  Of course, as time goes on she will learn how to survive the factory, and even get pretty good at it.  She also develops an interest in books.

Betsy did not give any explanation of the novel she was reading, simply commenced to read aloud where she had broken off reading to herself.  Even though Lyddie's head was still choked with lint and battered with noise, she struggled to get the sense of the story. (Ch. 10)

The story of Oliver transports Lyddie from her current misery.  Even though she is too sick and exhausted to stay awake, she finds herself wanting to hear the story.  She begs Betsy to keep reading until her voice is hoarse.  Lyddie has discovered that she can take refuge in literature.

Factory work was dangerous and difficult.  Girls like Lyddie had to be tough, intelligent, and strong.  Although Lyddie has already been through many hardships, the factory serves as both a challenge and a source of pride. She is determined to do well, and pay off her debts.

Is Wright using Bigger's dream of flying planes in a symbolic way?

A recurring theme in African American literature is one of flight or escape.  African folk tales often chronicle this flight theme with characters turning into birds to escape their plight.  Flight means freedom, and for the African American who has been enslaved and discriminated against, it is seen as a symbolic theme in their literature. Bigger’s desire to leave his circumstances and to escape is symbolized by the plane he dreams about.

Bigger Thomas has...

A recurring theme in African American literature is one of flight or escape.  African folk tales often chronicle this flight theme with characters turning into birds to escape their plight.  Flight means freedom, and for the African American who has been enslaved and discriminated against, it is seen as a symbolic theme in their literature. Bigger’s desire to leave his circumstances and to escape is symbolized by the plane he dreams about.

Bigger Thomas has lived a horrible life without opportunity and feels powerless as a black man.  Wright tells us about Bigger’s feelings when he writes,

"Well, they own everything. They choke you off the face of the earth. They like God..." he swallowed, closed his eyes and sighed. "They don’t even let you feel what you want to feel. They after you so hot and hard you can only feel what they doing to you. They kill you before you die." 

The lack of opportunity and the feeling that he can never achieve because of the oppression he feels, Bigger Thomas dreams of escaping where he will have control over his own life.  The plane symbolizes Bigger’s desire to control his own destiny. 

Which of the animals would travel toward the top of the page if they began moving in a straight line? A is a spider, b is a kind of sea urchin, c...

I can't see the last choice on your sheet but I will assume it is J) animals A and C because that would be the correct answer. Choice A is an insect, and choice C is a turtle. They both exhibit bilateral symmetry (only one way to divide the animal into halves) and cephalization (major sense organs at one end). When they move forward, they move in the direction of the cephalized end, which for...

I can't see the last choice on your sheet but I will assume it is J) animals A and C because that would be the correct answer. Choice A is an insect, and choice C is a turtle. They both exhibit bilateral symmetry (only one way to divide the animal into halves) and cephalization (major sense organs at one end). When they move forward, they move in the direction of the cephalized end, which for these two is toward the top of the page. Choice D is a planarian, which is a type of flatworm. It also exhibits bilateral symmetry and cephalization, but the cephalized end is pointing towards the bottom of the page. When it moves forward it will go to the bottom. Choice B appears to be a sea urchin. Whatever type of animal it is, it has radial symmetry (many ways to divide the animal in half), and is not cephalized. There is no real "forward" for this animal, so when it begins to move in a straight line it is no more likely to move in one direction than any other.

In the play Othello, who is Brabantio, and why did Iago and Roderigo awaken him in the middle of the night ?

Brabantio is the fair maiden, Desdemona's, father. He is a Venetian senator and is depicted as an overprotective and possessive parent who has been consistently turning away the many suitors who have come to woo his daughter. An example of this is illustrated in Act 1 scene 1 on the occasion of Roderigo and Iago's untimely visit to his home. He tells Roderigo:

I have charged thee not to haunt about my doors:
In honest plainness thou hast heard me say
My daughter is not for thee

Othello, the play's protagonist, is a general in the Venetian army and has been a regular guest in Brabantio's house. The senator had been entertained by Othello's dramatic tales about his life. During these conversations, Desdemona had been eavesdropping and was enthralled by Othello's storytelling to such an extent, that she requested he relate his woeful and dramatic life story privately to her. This Othello did and the two eventually fell in love and decided to elope.

It is important to note that Othello is much older than Desdemona and that he is also an outsider, a Moor, and therefore of a darker complexion than the Venetians. He is of noble blood and an excellent warrior and it is because of this that he had been appointed in this most venerable position.

Iago, a full time soldier, had applied for a position as Othello's lieutenant, but the general dismissed his application and instead appointed a young man, Michael Cassio, also an outsider since he is a Florentine, to be his second-in-command. Iago had to be satisfied with being Othello's ancient, which is a much lower rank.

Iago deeply resented being overlooked and despised Othello for having humiliated him in such a manner, for even the appeals made by senators on his behalf, were ignored by the general. In his bitterness, Iago swore revenge and began scheming against the general. He had managed to obtain the support of the sycophantic, love-struck and ill-fated Roderigo whom he would use as his puppet. At one point, Iago tells Roderigo after he had told him about his utter disappoint in Othello for not awarding him the position:

... 'tis the curse of service,
Preferment goes by letter and affection,
And not by old gradation, where each second
Stood heir to the first. Now, sir, be judge yourself,
Whether I in any just term am affined
To love the Moor.

It is obvious that Iago believes that his service to Othello was not a factor in the general's consideration to appoint a lieutenant, but that he was unfairly influenced by 'letter' and 'affection' - probably a reference to the fact that Othello was impressed by Cassio's writing skills and that he was fond of him. Iago asks Roderigo whether he could love Othello for such an injustice. When Roderigo replies that he 'would not follow him then,' Iago states his intent:

O, sir, content you;
I follow him to serve my turn upon him:

He categorically states that he will act as Othello's servant in order to exact his revenge. The two then proceed to Brabantio's house in order to awaken him with the terrible news that Othello has kidnapped Desdemona and is, at that moment, sexually abusing his daughter. Their purpose is to defile Othello's name to such an extent that Brabantio would be both distraught and angry. Their expectation is that the senator would demand Othello's arrest and incarceration. He would obviously also lose his position for committing such a heinous deed. 

Awake! what, ho, Brabantio! thieves! thieves! thieves!
Look to your house, your daughter and your bags!
Thieves! thieves!

Zounds, sir, you're robb'd; for shame, put on
your gown;
Your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul;
Even now, now, very now, an old black ram
Is topping your white ewe. Arise, arise;
Awake the snorting citizens with the bell,
Or else the devil will make a grandsire of you:
Arise, I say.

The two behave as if they're acting out of care and in Brabantio's best interests. They put on such a clamor that he is convinced and proceeds to take what he believes is necessary action, much to the delight of the two scoundrels.