How does totalitarianism differ from democracy?

Totalitarianism differs from democracy in several ways. One difference deals with the leaders. In a totalitarian system, the leaders may come to power by force or by manipulation. They will stay in power for as long as they want. There are no free elections if there are elections at all. The leaders in a totalitarian system can basically do whatever they want to do. In a democracy, the people elect their leaders. The leaders remain...

Totalitarianism differs from democracy in several ways. One difference deals with the leaders. In a totalitarian system, the leaders may come to power by force or by manipulation. They will stay in power for as long as they want. There are no free elections if there are elections at all. The leaders in a totalitarian system can basically do whatever they want to do. In a democracy, the people elect their leaders. The leaders remain in power until their term is up, and then they may run for reelection unless there is a limit on the number of terms they can serve. The power of the leaders is limited by the plan of government.

The people who live in a totalitarian system have very few freedoms. They aren’t able to speak freely about their leaders or about the government policies. The people are often punished if they do this. The people may also not be able to freely practice their religion. In a democracy, the people have many freedoms. One of the jobs of the government is to protect the freedoms and the rights of the people. The people may speak openly about their government and their leaders.  They may also practice whatever religion they choose. The people in a democracy have many freedoms that are usually guaranteed by the plan of government in effect at the time.

What is a summary of "The American Scholar" by Ralph Waldo Emerson?

“The American Scholar” is a speech that Emerson gave to the Harvard inductees of Phi Beta Kappa (a prestigious honor society) in 1837. In this speech, Emerson urges the Harvard students to value self-reliance and never to underestimate the importance of everyday life.

Colleges and books only copy the language which the field and the work-yard made.

Emerson almost immediately mentions three main influences that should direct both scholars and all humanity: the natural world,...

“The American Scholar” is a speech that Emerson gave to the Harvard inductees of Phi Beta Kappa (a prestigious honor society) in 1837. In this speech, Emerson urges the Harvard students to value self-reliance and never to underestimate the importance of everyday life.

Colleges and books only copy the language which the field and the work-yard made.

Emerson almost immediately mentions three main influences that should direct both scholars and all humanity: the natural world, the wisdom found in books, and the action that should be the result of the first two things. Emerson believes the natural world should be devoutly studied because it is our one true connection to the spiritual world. Only in the natural world can we begin to understand ourselves and make a connection with the divine. Next, books contain the wisdom from the past, but cannot be studied in a solitary fashion (creating “bookworms”). Emerson suggests gleaning the wisdom from books, but then venturing out into new territory. In reality, Emerson hopes that these scholars of the new “America” will create their own literature apart from the past examples from Europe.

Thinking is the function. Living is the functionary.

This last quotation advocates for the importance of action. Pondering the natural world and the literature of Europe will do no good if the scholar does not act upon what he or she learns. Emerson insists, then, that the learned scholar trust himself or herself and exhibit the self-reliance needed to find the spiritual in the smallest parts of everyday life.

What is the meaning and significance of virtue and vice in Romeo and Juliet?

Virtue and vice are contraries that are mentioned in Friar Laurence's soliloquy of Act II, Scene 3 in which he employs the rhetorical device of antithesis as he mentions morning and night, darkness and the sun, day and night, good and vile qualities, and virtue and vice, which become a trope for the remaining action of the play. 

In his soliloquy Friar Lawrence contemplates how good can come of "vile," when it is applied in...

Virtue and vice are contraries that are mentioned in Friar Laurence's soliloquy of Act II, Scene 3 in which he employs the rhetorical device of antithesis as he mentions morning and night, darkness and the sun, day and night, good and vile qualities, and virtue and vice, which become a trope for the remaining action of the play. 

In his soliloquy Friar Lawrence contemplates how good can come of "vile," when it is applied in actions for a good end, and how good can become evil if it is put to the wrong use.

For naught so vile that on the earth doth live
But to the earth some special good doth give.
Nor aught so good but, strained from that fair use
Revolts from true birth, stumbling on abuse.
Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied,
And vice sometime by action dignified. (2.3.17-22)

For instance, in Act III Romeo attempts to stop the heated quarrel of Mercutio and Tybalt by telling Tybalt that he has no quarrel with him, and that he loves him now. But, an angered Tybalt attacks Mercutio underneath the arm of Romeo that is outstretched in friendship and love. Then, Romeo misapplies his good intentions by retaliating against Tybalt, and they, then, become evil.

The final example comes at the end of the play, as the tragic deaths of the violent love of Romeo and Juliet do serve some good as the Montagues and Capulets do end their feud.

How do Elizabethan celebration activities for Midsummer Night (also called Midsummer Eve), June 23rd, relate to what happens in A Midsummer Night's...

Midsummer's Eve, the celebration of the longest day of the year, has a long history in England and is intertwined with the country's folklore. 

According to A Midsummer's Night Dream: Texts and Contexts, edited by Gail Paster and Skiles Howard, two festivals blended together in Elizabethan England: the six weeks of May Day activities, also called Maygames, which culminated in Midsummer's Eve. But while the Maygames celebrated the natural world and fertility, Midsummer's Eve focused on...

Midsummer's Eve, the celebration of the longest day of the year, has a long history in England and is intertwined with the country's folklore. 

According to A Midsummer's Night Dream: Texts and Contexts, edited by Gail Paster and Skiles Howard, two festivals blended together in Elizabethan England: the six weeks of May Day activities, also called Maygames, which culminated in Midsummer's Eve. But while the Maygames celebrated the natural world and fertility, Midsummer's Eve focused on the supernatural. It was a time of magic, fantasy and even madness, a night when fairies were thought to dance in meadows, sometimes tricking mortals. 

It's easy to see how this ancient holiday and the fairy stories that went along with were incorporated into Shakespeare's play. For Eliabethans, midsummer faeries and sprites like Puck would have been as familiar as Santa and his elves to us. Audiences were likely to delight in a story in which fairies and mischevious spirits quarreled with each other and interfered in comic ways in the love lives of mortals passing though their woods. 

What is the effect this quote from To Kill a Mockingbird on the reader? "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his...

Atticus tells Scout that you never really understand someone until you see things from that person’s point of view. This is because Scout has been having a hard time learning empathy. The effect of this conversation is to help the reader understand some of the characters in the book, and add to our understanding of Atticus’s personality.

When Scout goes to school, she has a difficult time. She does not understand her new teacher. The...

Atticus tells Scout that you never really understand someone until you see things from that person’s point of view. This is because Scout has been having a hard time learning empathy. The effect of this conversation is to help the reader understand some of the characters in the book, and add to our understanding of Atticus’s personality.

When Scout goes to school, she has a difficult time. She does not understand her new teacher. The teacher does not try to get to know her students, and punishes Scout on the first day.

Scout first catches the teacher’s attention because she can read and write. Then she gets her ire up by trying to give her advice.

If I could have explained these things to Miss Caroline, I would have saved myself some inconvenience and Miss Caroline subsequent mortification, but it was beyond my ability to explain things as well as Atticus, so I said, “You’re shamin‘ him, Miss Caroline. Walter hasn’t got a quarter at home to bring you, and you can’t use any stovewood.”(Ch. 2)

Miss Caroline whips Scout with a ruler for talking too much.  This and the fact that the teacher told Scout not to read with her father caused her to not want to go to school. This is why Scout got the lecture about thinking about other people’s perspectives.

The fact that Atticus is able to explain to Scout how Miss Caroline feels helps the reader understand that Atticus is an empathetic and compassionate father. Scout is going to need the skill of empathy as well during the difficult period that will be coming with the trial of Tom Robinson. Atticus can understand how people feel, and is well-respected in the community normally. He will be able to handle the heat that comes with the trial, and he is trying to make sure his children can too.

How does Steinbeck present the character Lennie in Of Mice and Men?

Lennie is portrayed in a few different ways. First, physically speaking, Lennie is a giant of a man.  He has prodigious strength.  We can see this in the work he does on the field. We can also see this in his reluctant fight with Curley. We should also add that Lennie does not know his own strength, which will get him into trouble.

Second, Lennie is slow.  From the beginning we can see that Lennie...

Lennie is portrayed in a few different ways. First, physically speaking, Lennie is a giant of a man.  He has prodigious strength.  We can see this in the work he does on the field. We can also see this in his reluctant fight with Curley. We should also add that Lennie does not know his own strength, which will get him into trouble.

Second, Lennie is slow.  From the beginning we can see that Lennie is mentally challenged.  He is, therefore, like an innocent child. He is probably the only character in the novella that does not have a mean bone in his body. He is also fiercely loyal to George. We can see this loyalty in his interaction with Crooks.  When Crooks intimates that someone might harm George, Lennie gets upset.

Finally, Lennie does not fit into Steinbeck’s world.  He is the odd man out.  People do not know what to do with him. He is too innocent, too slow, and too childlike in a world of jaded adults, who will do whatever it takes to survive. This is partially why, George had to put him down. From this perspective, Lennie is a tragic figure.

What was your reaction to the the ending of "The Ransom of Red Chief"?

The ending seems exaggerated, but the whole story is exaggerated. This is because it is American humor, and exaggeration is one of the principal characteristics of American humor, as Mark Twain and E. B. White both noted. It seems absurd that these two con men would actually pay the kid's father two hundred and fifty dollars to take his son back. This is a sticking point in the story. After all, they are in a...

The ending seems exaggerated, but the whole story is exaggerated. This is because it is American humor, and exaggeration is one of the principal characteristics of American humor, as Mark Twain and E. B. White both noted. It seems absurd that these two con men would actually pay the kid's father two hundred and fifty dollars to take his son back. This is a sticking point in the story. After all, they are in a hick town in the middle of nowhere. They ought to be able to abandon Red Chief and slip off into the dark prairie. These two con men must have had a lot of experience making getaways all over the Midwest. The last words of the story are gross exaggeration.

And, as dark as it was, and as fat as Bill was, and as good a runner as I am, he was a good mile and a half out of Summit before I could catch up with him.

The only danger seems to be from Red Chief himself. If Ebenezer Dorset doesn't get his money he won't hold the boy for ten minutes in order to allow Sam and Bill to escape. But if they could fool Red Chief into coming back home to his father, they ought to be able to fool him in some other way which would enable them to make their getaway. There is no reason why the two men couldn't just tie the boy up and send his father a note saying where to find him. The story can't be taken too seriously. It is just a good example of American humor of its day. Young people today might not get the humor and might consider the whole story old-fashioned.