What is the significance of this passage from Beloved? “124 was spiteful. Full of a baby’s venom.”

Toni Morrison's Beloved starts with this line, a reference to the noises and spirits that occupy the house of Sethe, an escaped slave who escapes north to Cincinnati, Ohio, with her children. As the book starts (the action begins in 1873), Sethe's house, where she lives with her daughter Denver, is plagued with the memory of Sethe's dead child. Sethe killed the child to prevent her from being taken by slave captors, and the epitaph on her grave reads "Beloved." The house, number 124, symbolizes Sethe's continually troubled memory as she recalls her murder of her daughter, carried out to save the child from slavery, and other haunting memories of her enslaved past.

The other two parts of Beloved begin with references to 124, including "124 was loud" (in Part Two) and "124 was quiet" in Part Three. The ghost of the dead child will continue to trouble the house until Part Three, when Sethe is able, with the help of members of the community, to put her past into a more comfortable place and face the future. The ghost of Beloved is a symbol of the suffering of countless of slaves and the memory of the horrors of slavery. It is not until the community can come together in Beloved that Sethe is able to move on and rid 124 of the vengeful spirits that possess it. 

A bee sting has a pH of 5.5. What could be added to a bee sting to make it better and why?

The bee sting has a slightly acidic pH (a value of 5.5) and hence it can be neutralized by using something slightly alkaline (something with a pH value of more than 7). One can use some baking soda and rub it on a bee sting to neutralize it. This will provide a soothing effect. In general, the acid in the bee sting causes it to turn orangish yellow. The neutralization of a bee sting by baking soda will cause the color to turn green (as the pH increases to around 7).

In comparison, a wasp sting is almost neutral (pH value of about 6.9). It can be treated with the application of some vinegar on the sting. 

Hence, we can use the acid-base neutralization reactions to our advantage and achieve a soothing effect in the case of a bee sting or wasp sting.

Hope this helps. 

What can famous people say about bullying?

Famous people can speak out against bullying.

Adolescent bullying is something that almost everyone has experienced. When famous people speak out against bullying, it can be quite supportive to a person who is experiencing bullying. It  breeds connection.  For example, when Justin Timberlake says,  "I got slurs all the time because I was in music and art. But everything that you get picked on for is essentially what's going to make you sexy as an adult." Justin Timberlake shows us that someone who is being harassed for something can also be empowered by the things that they are being harassed for.  Mad Men star Christina Hendricks's words have the same effect:  "If I could go back and tell my 14-year-old self anything...it would be: 'Don't worry. You're going to be doing exactly what you want to be doing in 20 years, and those a***holes are still going to be a***holes.'" In both of these cases, famous people are connecting their experiences of harassment to real life.  Those who are feeling similar pain can recognize that they are not alone in their fight.  Famous people are often seen as "different" from others.  However, when they speak out against bullying, providing examples from their own life and how they overcame it, the results can be empowering because a human connection is made.

Why did Bilbo stand on Ravenhill with the elves at the end of the battle?

The climax of The Hobbit is the Battle of Five Armies, which begins as a confrontation between the armies of Elves, Humans and Dwarves arguing over the distribution of the treasure that lies in Erebor. However this conflict is interrupted by the arrival of an army of goblins and wolves, who are the enemies of elves, men and dwarves alike. They ally themselves against the goblins and wolves and attempt to trap them between two of the spurs of the mountain, hoping that their superior positions will make up for the superior numbers of the goblins and wolves. 

The elves take up the southern spur, and the dwarves and men the eastern one, bracketing the entrance to the mountain gate, which was guarded by Thorin's company. The southern spur, manned by the elves, happened to have an old watch post named Ravenhill, which was where the elvish king took up defense. Bilbo, who is mentioned as having been quite inconsequential to the battle's outcome, joined the elves at Ravenhill because he thought that escape might be most likely from that position, should it be necessary (as the western part of the southern spur faced away from the goblin and wolf armies, while the eastern spur was surrounded by them). 

Bilbo is also possibly stirred by the adventurous aspect of his heritage to stand by the elves, perhaps out of a sense of their nobility and innate goodness that would make dying in their service a better end than that of the more materialistic and conflicted men and dwarves. 

What were the motives of the suspects in The Hound of the Baskervilles?

Several suspects are considered in the case being investigated by Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. Their prime suspect is Mr. Stapleton, who is the estranged nephew of the late Sir Charles. He owns a very large dog, who would be capable of leaving the sort of large footprints found near Sir Charles' body. Mr. Stapleton, though having grown up distant from his family, would be next in line to inherit his family's fortune in the case of the death of his uncle (Sir Charles) and cousin (Sir Henry.) 

There are also Mr. and Mrs. Barrymore, who work as servants in the Baskerville home. They would essentially inherit the estate as its caretakers if Sir Henry were to die and no heir came forth to claim the fortune. They act rather strangely in the story, which brings us to our next suspect. Mrs. Barrymore's younger brother, Selden, is the escaped Notting Hill Murderer. He would not really have much motive in killing the Baskervilles beyond satisfaction of a morbid desire for murder, and perhaps some theft of valuable goods.

In Silas Marner, we are told that "Marner's inward life has been a history and a metamorphosis." What has his life been filled with before he comes...

The quote that is mentioned in this question continues on, saying that his metamorphosis is often typical of someone who has 

[has] fled or been condemned to solitude.

This is very true of Silas Marner's life, and it is also true that his inner life had been a metamorphosis. 

The presence of Silas in Raveloe is the consequence of a terrible event that took place in his former town of Lantern Yard, where he had led a very full and happy life prior to the event. 

 Prior to moving to Raveloe, Silas’s life had been filled with

Movement, mental activity, and close fellowship.

The narrator goes on to say that Silas was once able to achieve all of these qualities because he had been influential in a “narrow religious sect” where he was highly thought of.

Surrounded by friendship and support, Silas excelled in this group, even becoming somewhat legendary after a time during which he fell into a deep trance during a prayer-meeting. This reaction was attributed to some particular spiritual gift or ability that is unique to Silas.

Among his friends there was William Dane, his closest one, who was also considered to be quite influential in the group. Aside from William, Silas had a girlfriend named Sarah, who was a young servant. He intended to marry Sarah once they saved up enough money.

While he enjoyed his time in Lantern Yard, Silas was respected, loved, and supported. He was not the strange and enigmatic, big-eyed loner that people saw in Raveloe. This altered persona, the Silas from Raveloe, is the product of the transformation, or metamorphosis, that he suffers as a result of the horrible betrayal that is orchestrated by William, who literally makes the whole congregation gang up against Silas.

William Dane was a fake friend, and first spread a rumor that Silas’s fits were more sinister than saintly in nature. To add insult to the injury, William also frames Silas and manages to set him up as a thief. Finally, William takes Sarah from Silas and marries her.

Imagine how Silas’s life must have changed as a result of this horrible betrayal. He was secure, happy, and strong in Lantern Yard, believing that his life was set. Now he would have to start over again in a new town, alone, and trying to make peace with what they did to him so unfairly.

The life of Silas in Lantern Yard ends in shame and heartbreak. This is a tough place to rise up from. This is what his life had previously been filled with and this is why his only choice was to transform his life altogether through the enforced metamorphosis from sociable to loner.

Why does Jody, from the novel The Red Pony, name his colt Gabilan?

In Steinbeck's early novella, The Red Pony, the main character, Jody Tiflin receives a red colt from his father which he names Gabilan. In Spanish, gabilan or gavilan, means sparrow hawk. It is the name of the mountain range that borders the boy's family ranch in the Salinas Valley. Hawks, especially red-tailed hawks, are numerous in this area and throughout California.

Steinbeck's best novels, East of Eden, The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, Tortilla Flat and Cannery Row are all set in California. Steinbeck grew up in the Salinas Valley and he describes that area beautifully in his stories. In the opening chapter of the novella Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie camp next to the Salinas River at the foot of the Gabilan Mountains. The "rocky Gabilan Mountains" are west of the fertile Salinas Valley and run through much of Monterey and San Benito County. They are the high range to the west as you drive north on the 101 freeway through King City, Soledad, Gonzales and Salinas.