Explain the motivation of Jerry’s mother in “Through the Tunnel” and how her motivation advances the plot of the short story.

Jerry's mother does not want to be the smothering type; she is worried that because she is the sole parent she has been "keeping him too close" to her. So, she tries to be loving, but provide him certain freedoms.

When Jerry and his mother walk toward the customary beach one day on their vacation, she notices that Jerry looks over his shoulder, and as he plays on the "safe beach," he thinks of the other one. So, the following day when it is time for their swim, she asks Jerry if he would like to go to another spot. At first, Jerry says "no" because he does not want to hurt her feelings, but then he blurts out that he would like to explore the rocks. So, she gives her permission for Jerry to go to the other beach alone. With this action Jerry's mother provides her son the opportunity to be more independent.

Another way in which Jerry's mother affords him chances for independence is by purchasing swim goggles, and not questioning him about his reason for wanting them. Further, when she talks to Jerry, she says things "casually" without dictatorial tones. On the day that Jerry completes his rite of passage through the tunnel, he returns home and rushes into the bathroom so that his mother will not see the bloodstains or tear stains on his face. After Jerry comes out, his mother just asks him, "Have a nice morning?" and she lays her hand on his shoulder momentarily. Then, she examines him more closely and is concerned, "How did you bang your head?" When Jerry answers "Oh, just banged it," his mother catches herself, thinking,

"Oh, don't fuss! Nothing can happen. He can swim like a fish."

By catching herself, Jerry's mother allows her son to retain his sense of maturity. As a result, he volunteers information on what he has been doing, "Mummy, I can stay under water for two minutes--three minutes, at least." She affirms his accomplishment, "Can you, darling?" But, she also cautions him lightly, "Well, I shouldn't overdo it. I don't think you ought to swim any more today." 

By allowing Jerry the opportunity to make his own decisions, Jerry's mother provides her son room to mature. This freedom advances the plot because she encourages Jerry to make every effort to go through the tunnel and complete his rite of passage. Perhaps, without the trust of his mother, Jerry might not have had the perseverance to have swum through the tunnel.

Discuss the portrayal of class or social distinctions in Chapter Two of The Great Gatsby.

Chapter two of The Great Gatsby introduces us to George and Myrtle Wilson and the Valley of the Ashes. George owns a car repair shop, a place Nick describes as "unprosperous and bare." It sits in the Valley of the Ashes, an unappealing locale halfway between the end of Long Island and New York City, a place Nick refers to as a "wasteland." Nick describes George as a "spiritless man."

George, Myrtle and the Valley of the Ashes represent the lower classes, the underside of the American dream. They are a stark contrast to the wealthy Buchanans, with their grand house, servants, billowing curtains, cars, beautiful views, and polo ponies. The wealthy and entitled Tom overflows with an aggressive self-assurance, while George is meek and servile. 

George's wife, Myrtle, is Tom's mistress. She has a brash personality, but we soon see she is lower class. Her apartment, paid for by Tom, is overstuffed with nouveau riche French furniture "entirely too large for it." Myrtle reads a cheap magazine called Town Tattle, and when she changes into overly grand clothes, she puts on "mincing" airs. Finally, she tolerates it when Tom "broke her nose with her open hand." Tom has bought himself a relationship with a lower-class woman, foreshadowing his tendency to treat people as commodities.

If the momentum of an object is increased by four times, then what will be its final kinetic energy?

Momentum, or impulse (the change in momentum) of an object is its "quantity of motion." It is defined as the product of the mass `m` of an object and its velocity `V.` As such, momentum is actually a vector quantity.

When two bodies move towards one another and have a collision, the object which has a greater momentum hits harder. Also, for a closed system of bodies, momentum is conserved.

Kinetic energy is a scalar quantity which is defined as `(mV^2)/2.` It is also a measure of a quantity of a body's motion. Energy (not only kinetic but all types of energy) is also conserved in a closed system.

Now if `mV` is increased `4` times (and mass `m` remains the same), this means `V` is increased `4` times: `V_1=4V.` Therefore, kinetic energy becomes `(mV_1^2)/2=(m(4V)^2)/2=16*(mV^2)/2.`

So, we can state that kinetic energy is increased `4^2` = 16 times. This is the answer.

What town was Tree-ear in when two robbers smashed the vases he was carrying?

Tree-ear is attacked by the robbers when he reaches the city Puyo. Thinking the boy's basket may contain food, the robbers take it from him. Angry and disappointed, they smash the expensive pottery. Tree-ear is unwilling to let that disaster be the end to his mentor's dreams of being awarded a royal commission. He selects a large piece of pottery that shows Min's skill and craftsmanship and sets out to finish his journey to see Kim, the king's emissary.

Until the encounter with thieves in Puyo, Tree-ear rested and took time to eat. Once the pottery was shattered, he took off in haste as getting to Kim became more important than before. With a show of self-confidence, Tree-ear manages to meet with Kim, explain what happened, and show him the shard of pottery. Kim was impressed and gave Min the commission.

The incident at Puyo strikes me as an important element of the journey metaphor for Tree-ear's life. Craneman had told him that each journey takes "one day, one village at a time." Up until he arrived at Puyo, others were in charge of his fate and he sometimes resented Min's barking orders at him.

Confronted with possible defeat, Tree-ear grew more bold and determined as a result of the encounter with robbers at Puyo. From that point forward, his dedication to Min led toward the fulfillment of his dream -- to learn from the master potter how to make pottery.

What is the exile Kipling is talking about in his poem "The Exiles' Line"?

The exile that Rudyard Kipling is talking about in his poem “The Exiles’ Line,” is the “exile” of British people to India to serve there as colonial administrators, soldiers, or the like.  In this and other poems (notably, in “The White Man’s Burden”) Kipling talks about how difficult and how thankless the work of building an empire is.  Therefore, in this poem, he likens it to being exiled from one’s country.

Kipling liked to say that the British were going out to serve the people whose lands they conquered.  In “The White Man’s Burden,” he says that the white people must

Go bind your sons to exile

To serve your captives’ needs.

In “The Exiles’ Line,” he is using this same idea.  To him, the British have to work hard to help the people of their empire.  They have to give up their own desires and, as he emphasizes here, their own homes.  They have to live out most of their lives in foreign countries, helping people who do not appreciate them and who actually are more likely to hate them.  As he says in “The Exiles’ Line,” the British are

Bound in the wheel of Empire, one by one,

The chain-gangs of the East from sire to son,

This shows how he thinks of the empire.  He likens it to being punished on a chain gang, working hard for little or no reward.

In this poem, Kipling is talking about how the British in India feel homeless and exiled.  They have had to leave their own land to help others.  They have lost the feeling of belonging anywhere.  That is why Kipling says that these people

Come nearer home beneath the Quartered Flag

Than ever home shall come to such as we.

He is saying that they feel more at home aboard the P&O ships (the “Quartered Flag” was the flag of that shipping line) than they ever get to feel anywhere else.  They are no longer truly of England and they are certainly not Indians. Instead, they are a group of exiles who have been taken out of their own country and sent to another to serve the Empire and its subjects.

How is Atticus Finch tolerant?

Atticus Finch is a morally upright and tolerant individual throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. There are several scenes that portray Atticus' tolerance throughout the novel. Atticus is courteous to Mrs. Dubose despite her nasty comments and insults. Atticus goes out of his way to be polite and help her. He tells his children to be tolerant towards her because she is old and ill. After learning about her terminal illness and morphine addiction, Atticus sends Jem over to read to her, which helps take her focus off the pain. Another scene that portrays Atticus as a tolerant individual is when Scout begins to curse. Instead of yelling at Scout or disciplining her, Atticus shows her no attention. Atticus tells Uncle Jack that she is just going through a phase and will stop cursing when she realizes she is not getting attention. Atticus also displays tolerance by keeping his calm when Bob Ewell spits in his face. Instead of reacting out of anger, he lets Bob curse him out. Atticus tells Jem that he doesn't blame Bob for his actions and is glad that he spit on him, instead of beating Mayella.

In The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman, what is Beetle like before she becomes the midwife's apprentice?

Before Beetle became the midwife's apprentice, she was homeless.  She was an orphan with no known family.  The girl did not even know her real name.  She had been called Brat, so she went by that name until the midwife started calling her Beetle.  She was about twelve or thirteen years old, but she did not know her exact age.  She had drifted from place to place, doing odd jobs for food or "a night on the stable floor."  She was very skinny from not eating enough.  Beetle was often taunted by village boys, who were always "teasing, taunting, pinching, [and] kicking" the girl.  

On the night before Jane, the midwife, found the girl, she slept in a dung heap in the village.  The night was cold, so she "burrowed deep into the warm, rotting muck."  At first, Jane told her to leave the village.  Beetle offered to work in exchange for food, and Jane gave her several small tasks to do before she became the woman's apprentice.