Does Pa simply change his ideas or does he change in some deeper way in "Split Cherry Tree" by Jesse Stuart?

While Pa changes his opinion of Professor Herbert and his ideas about germs, he certainly undergoes change in deeper ways.

When Dave returns home late, his father interrogates him and learns that his teacher has made Dave stay after school in order to work off a fine incurred because he and others broke limbs on a cherry tree. Pa's initial anger is directed toward Dave; then, it takes on the clannish mentality of many who live isolated lives in remote areas after he learns that Dave is the sole student who has had to stay: 

"Poor man's son, huh...I'll attend to that myself in th' mornin'. I 'll take keer o' 'im. He ain't from this county nohow....
I'll straighten this thing out myself!....A bullet will go in a professor same as it will any man. It will go in a rich man same as it will a poor man."

And so, it is with rancorous and antagonistic feelings that Pa, who carries a gun with him, goes to the school the next day with Dave. Fortunately, Professor Herbert is a sanguine and cerebral man who has learned about the local culture. Although terribly alarmed at the sight of the gun and Pa's hostile words, he addresses Pa civilly,

"I was only doing my duty, Mr. Sexton...and following the course of study the state provided us with."

Having explained the circumstances pertinent to the cherry tree, he then takes Luster Sexton into a room and shows him the black snake that is to be dissected. Ironically, Pa teaches him about the value of this breed of snake, so the teacher agrees to find another snake for the experiments. Then, Prof. Herbert demonstrates how to see germs through a microscope and talks further with Pa until Dave's father comes to respect him. 

Pa also reaches the important realization that Professor Herbert has, indeed, been fair to Dave and he should not have been antagonistic to the teacher. Also, he proudly tells the teacher that, although Herbert has offered to cancel the debt, his people never take "somethin' for nothin'." Thus, he stays with Dave and helps him work off his fine.
As Luster Sexton helps Dave sweep, he demonstrates a powerful change that has taken place in his psyche as he tells Dave,

"I'm a dead leaf.....You must go on to school. I am as strong a man as ever come out'n th'hills fer my years and th' hard work I've done. But I'm behind, Dave. I'm a little man...."

Therefore, in addition to altering his ideas about Professor Herbert and schooling, Luster Sexton demonstrates that he is a complex and many-sided man--no country bumpkin, after all. He has clearly shown that he has the capacity to learn and to change his attitudes.

What is ironic about the violin scene in The Metamorphosis?

There's a lot of irony at work in that scene! It's in the third (final) part of the story. Here's what's going on as Grete plays her violin for the boarders:

1. Although her playing is beautiful and poignant, the three men who are supposed to be fine gentlemen aren't impressed, and they get bored with listening to her. Yet the one who truly appreciates the music, this most human expression of emotion, is Gregor, the bug. It's ironic because the "filthy" creature that frightens and shames the family appreciates the fine beauty of the music, while the men who are treated with utmost respect in the home don't appreciate the music at all:

"It quite clearly appeared as if they were disappointed in their assumption that they were going to hear a beautiful or entertaining violin performance, had had quite enough of the entire presentation, and now allowed themselves to be disturbed only out of politeness. The way that they all blew the smoke of their cigars up in the air out of their noses and mouths especially brought one to the conclusion that they were rather annoyed."

2. Similarly, notice how the narrator emphasizes how physically dirty Gregor has become, and then points out that the living room floor where Grete is playing for her audience is extremely clean:

"He would have had much more reason right now to hide himself, as the dust that lay over the whole of his room and which flew about at the slightest movement now covered him completely as well; he dragged threads, hair, and food scraps with him on his back and sides; he was far too indifferent about everything to lay on his back and rub himself on the carpet as he used to do multiple times during the day. In spite of these circumstances, he had no inhibitions about moving forward a little bit over the immaculate floor of the living room."

This is an ironic difference. The living room is clean, yet it's where something shameful is going on. And Gregor is dirty, yet he's the one feeling an intensely emotional longing for closeness with his sister. The narrator emphasizes this irony by asking:

"Was he an animal, that music would so move him?"

3. It's also ironic that Grete is hanging around at home, playing her violin for people who don't appreciate it, while Gregor is forced to stay hidden from her presence even though he was the one who had been earning money in order to send her to the conservatory to become a professional player. If things had happened normally, Gregor's earnings would have propelled Grete into a career as a violinist, and she would be playing for him and for the public. But her potential as a musician has, like Gregor himself, degraded and morphed into something shameful that must be kept away from the public.

4. Also, the fact that Gregor feels so tender toward his sister as she plays stands in ironic contrast to how she feels toward him: disgusted and ashamed. That he would continue to feel loving toward her while she forgets everything he's done to help the family--and while she goes on to talk about how to get rid of Gregor--is bitterly ironic. 

5. Lastly, it's ironic how the "gentlemen" boarders are entertained and excited by the appearance of Gregor, a giant dirty bug, much more so than the beautiful violin playing they had just witnessed. Grete's playing makes them sit impatiently, looking around and smoking, but Gregor's appearance makes them jump up and pay attention:

"... the tenants were hardly upset and that Gregor entertained them more than the violin performance."

What was the "dirty work of empire" in "Shooting an Elephant"?

"The dirty work of empire" in "Shooting an Elephant" is the violence used by imperialists to maintain control over colonized peoples. Orwell, who uses this phrase, describes it this way:

the wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages of the lock-ups, the grey, cowed faces of the long-term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been Bogged with bamboos...

As an imperial policeman, Orwell's narrator says that he was in a position to see this "dirty work" firsthand. He has no illusions about empire, indeed he says that he hates being part of such a corrupt institution. At the same time, he is conscious that the Burmese people hate him, and even though he doesn't really blame them, he hates them too. Really, the incident that forms the basis of this short story--the shooting of the elephant that has briefly run amok in the bazaar, is itself an example of the "dirty work of empire." When the elephant kills a man, the people demand, indeed expect, that Orwell will reciprocate by killing the elephant. That he does not want to do so, but does anyway simply to avoid "looking a fool," simply underscores the "dirty" and debasing nature of the entire imperial project. To maintain legitimacy in the eyes of the Burmese people, he must carry out a deed that is contrary to his own morality. He must become the violent thug that the Burmese believe him to be. 

What effect does the Magna Carta have now?

Though it was sealed in 1215, the Magna Carta (or "Great Charter) remains a document of significance in the 21st century. It helped to pave the way for modern, parliamentary democracy, for example, by declaring that taxes could only be raised with the "general consent of the realm." Similarly, the Magna Carta also established the principle of trial by a jury of one's peers, when accused of committing a crime.

In addition, according to the British Library (see the reference link), while many of Manga Carta's 63 clauses have been repealed by the British government, three of these clauses remain. These clauses protect the freedom of the Church (Clause 1), ensure the "liberties and customs" of the City of London (Clause 9) and guarantees justice for all free men (Clause 29).

Please see the reference links provided for more information.

How did William Wordsworth evolve as a poet throughout his life?

William Wordsworth's early poems were marked by a sense of mysticism and wonder. For example, in 1798, he published Lyrical Ballads, a seminal work in the English Romantic movement, with his friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Wordsworth's poem "Tintern Abbey" is a lyrical description of nature that becomes a meditation on poetical inspiration. He asserts the healing power of nature, writing that "Nature never did betray/ The heart that loved her." Wordsworth deliberately used real language as opposed to elevated diction and defined poetry as "emotion recollected in tranquility." He composed several poems following this idea, including "My Heart Leaps Up" and "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud."

Wordsworth then turned to writing a more abstract poem called "The Recluse, or Views of Man, Nature and Society," but he was unable to finish it. He returned to writing poems about the interaction of nature and people, such as "To a Butterfly" and "The Rainbow." 

Around 1802, when he was 32, Wordsworth sank into a period of depression. He visited France, where he had spent time after the French Revolution of 1789. He found that the promise of the revolution was unfulfilled, and he lost the idealistic attitude of his youth. Instead, he became an English patriot, expressing his patriotism in poems such as "London, 1802." He was also concerned with his friend Coleridge, who used opium to deal with physical pain. Wordsworth's poems at this time, such as The Ecclesiastical Sonnets, turned to Christian themes for inspiration and are considered dogmatic and unexceptional. 

His last work, published after his death, was The Preludes, which many people consider his masterpiece (it had formerly been known as "the poem to Coleridge"). It is an autobiography about the development of the poet and includes revealing details about Wordsworth's life. 

What are the values of Aunt Alexandra and the community of Maycomb in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Tradition is important, both in Maycomb and to Aunt Alexandra. Many things have been done the same way for generations, and people want it to stay that way. These unchanged elements and common practices of daily life range from manners to the way a person dresses to how much they attend church. There are certain expectations, and these come from age-old traditions.

Scout describes Maycomb and its ways. She notes that the town itself is quite old, and that certain things are done in a particular way there:

Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer's day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men's stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum (Chapter 1).

The examples of common practices in Maycomb that Scout gives are ladies bathing and napping at the same time each day, and men wearing their collars stiff despite the heat.

Aunt Alexandra strongly holds to tradition and common practices. For example, she believes little girls should prepare themselves for becoming polite Southern ladies. Scout prefers to wear pants and play outside, and she explains her interactions with her aunt on this matter:

Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn't supposed to be doing things that required pants. Aunt Alexandra's vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born; furthermore, I should be a ray of sunshine in my father's lonely life (Chapter 9).

In addition to her beliefs about proper young ladies, Aunt Alexandra also has a "preoccupation with heredity" (Chapter 13). She thinks certain families are certain ways based on heredity. She thinks the Finch family is a respectable one and that all its members should live up to this standard.

What is a possible theme and theme statement, along with supporting examples from The Giver?

A theme from the book is that emotions are necessary for the human experience.  This is supported by the fact that community has no emotions and commits atrocities without questioning them. 

The main lesson from The Giver is that you cannot create a perfect world where there are no emotions and everyone is the same.  While emotions may cause us pain sometimes, life just is not worth living without them.  In human nature, you have to take the good with the bad. 

In trying to create a utopia where everyone is always happy, and there is no poverty, war, or hunger, Jonas’s community commits many atrocities.  They regularly kill people who do not conform.  We would consider many of the moral choices made by Jonas’s community questionable, including killing people for minor infractions, killing the elderly, and killing babies. 

Jonas’s community enforces conformity very harshly. From a young age citizens are raised to follow the community’s expectations, and there is very little room for individuality.  There are no relationships like we have in our world.  Everything is very artificial, and there is no attachment.  Babies are born to anonymous birthmothers, raised in an institutional setting for the first year, and then assigned to “family units” that consist of pre-matched mother and father figures. 

The community keeps people in a chemically-induced pre-adolescent state.  All adults take pills for Stirrings, which is a euphuism for sexual feelings.  The community uses the Stirrings to determine when people are maturing so they can stop it.  Jonas begins taking the pills at first, but since he has experienced the memories he knows that this feeling-free existence is not right. 

And his new, heightened feelings permeated a greater realm than simply his sleep. Though he knew that his failure to take the pills accounted for some of it, he thought that the feelings came also from the memories. Now he could see all of the colors; and he could keep them, too, so that the trees and grass and bushes stayed green in his vision. (Ch. 17) 

Jonas finds out that his community has done more than make sure everyone looks the same and acts the same.  In addition to eliminating colors and feelings, the community also controls climate and landscape.  People are kept in line with release.  It controls the population because the elderly are released regularly and the only children born are planned.  People who do not conform are also released.  This even includes babies. 

Jonas is horrified when he learns what release means. He watches his father kill a newborn baby just because it has an identical twin.  When you have eliminated feelings from your society, this kind of thing can happen.  The Giver tells Jonas that they know nothing.  They do not even realize that what they are doing could be considered wrong, because having Sameness is their first priority.