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Russell Banks’ 1991 novel The Sweet Hereafter was inspired by the true story of a school bus crash in Alton, TX that took the lives of 21 children. Banks’ story takes place in a small town that similarly has to deal with the aftermath of a school bus accident that kills numerous local children. The story is told from the points of view of four different characters—Dolores Driscoll, the school bus driver; Billy Ansel, a... Russell Banks’ 1991 novel The Sweet Hereafter was inspired by the true story of a school bus crash in Alton, TX that took the lives of 21 children. Banks’ story takes place in a small town that similarly has to deal with the aftermath of a school bus accident that kills numerous local children. The story is told from the points of view of four different characters—Dolores Driscoll, the school bus driver; Billy Ansel, a parent of two children who die in the accident; Mitchell Stephens, a lawyer; and Nichole Burnell, a teen survivor of the crash. In a New York Times re...

The nurse and Friar Lawrence are both crucial to the play’s plot. The nurse is a wonderful character who supports Juliet. She loves to joke and laugh. However, she is also very protective of her ward. In terms of the play’s storyline, the nurse is one of the few people who is privy to the romance between Romeo and Juliet, so she serves as a go-between. She is the one who tells Romeo that Juliet... The nurse and Friar Lawrence are both crucial to the play’s plot. The nurse is a wonderful character who supports Juliet. She loves to joke and laugh. However, she is also very protective of her ward. In terms of the play’s storyline, the nurse is one of the few people who is privy to the romance between Romeo and Juliet, so she serves as a go-between. She is the one who tells Romeo that Juliet wishes to marry him, warning him not to “lead her into a fool's paradise.” She also tells the friar about Juliet’s distraught state after Romeo kills Tybalt and is banished. The nurse’s final contr...

The colonists believed that the Stamp Act of 1765 was not fair. The colonists were very upset by this law. The colonists now had to pay a tax on various items. The colonists believed this law violated their rights as British citizens. British citizens have representatives in Parliament. Before a tax law can be passed, the representatives of the people must be able to speak about the proposed taxes. They need to share their concerns... The colonists believed that the Stamp Act of 1765 was not fair. The colonists were very upset by this law. The colonists now had to pay a tax on various items. The colonists believed this law violated their rights as British citizens. British citizens have representatives in Parliament. Before a tax law can be passed, the representatives of the people must be able to speak about the proposed taxes. They need to share their concerns or their support for the proposed law. Then, they must be able to vote on the proposed taxes. The colonists had no elected re...

...and Heaven have mercy on us all - Presbyterians and Pagans alike - for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending. - Moby Dick This passage from Chapter XVII, "The Ramadan," describes Queqeeq's Fasting and Humiliation which continues all day. Ismael observes that while this occasion seems bizarre to the others on the ship, these Christians should not consider themselves superior because all men have serious faults and foibles. ... ...and Heaven have mercy on us all - Presbyterians and Pagans alike - for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending. - Moby Dick This passage from Chapter XVII, "The Ramadan," describes Queqeeq's Fasting and Humiliation which continues all day. Ismael observes that while this occasion seems bizarre to the others on the ship, these Christians should not consider themselves superior because all men have serious faults and foibles. This passage from Moby Dick  can...

Burke has many differing ideas in his political philosophy, some that mark him as quite modern in his thinking (he died in 1792), though on the whole he was a defender of tradition. For example, Burke supported the American Revolution, a view that brought him opprobrium among many in English society, especially monarchists and others who would be labeled conservative. Burke put forth the notion that Americans had a right to levy their own taxes and to be represented by their... Burke has many differing ideas in his political philosophy, some that mark him as quite modern in his thinking (he died in 1792), though on the whole he was a defender of tradition. For example, Burke supported the American Revolution, a view that brought him opprobrium among many in English society, especially monarchists and others who would be labeled conservative. Burke put forth the notion that Americans had a right to levy their own taxes and to be represented by their own officials, while arguing that pea...

Lieutenant Kotler is thoroughly indoctrinated in the ideology of Nazism; therefore, he speaks in an abusive manner to Pavel, who is one of the Jews contained at the concentration camp in Auschwitz. When Bruno decides that his friends from Berlin will not be coming to visit him, he feels that he will just have to entertain himself; so, he decides he can have some fun by swinging in a tire. Seeing Lt. Kotler who is... Lieutenant Kotler is thoroughly indoctrinated in the ideology of Nazism; therefore, he speaks in an abusive manner to Pavel, who is one of the Jews contained at the concentration camp in Auschwitz. When Bruno decides that his friends from Berlin will not be coming to visit him, he feels that he will just have to entertain himself; so, he decides he can have some fun by swinging in a tire. Seeing Lt. Kotler who is talking with his sister Gretel, Bruno approaches him in order to ask the young officer if there are any spare tires around the place that he may have. After joking...

The forced concentration of Jews into ghettos and the requirement that Jews in Nazi Germany and occupied areas wear Yellow Stars were acts of dehumanization, but were not the first acts of dehumanization in Nazi Germany. The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 had already stripped Jews of their German citizenship, essentially making them subjects of the state, and had decreed that Jews could not marry or have sexual relationships with non-Jews. These laws were informed by the Nazis' belief in eugenics and in the superiority of Aryans over other types of people, including Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, and people of African descent. The Nazis first developed the idea that Jews should wear stars to identify them after Kristallnacht, a pogrom in which synagogues, Jewish businesses, and Jewish homes were destroyed in 1938. In addition, about 100 Jewish people were killed during Kristallnacht. When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Jews in Poland were forced to wear Yellow Stars, and the Nazis enforced this ru...