In Whirligig by Paul Fleischman, what is Alexandra trying to do for Steph?

Alexandra and Steph show up in the second chapter, titled “Weeksboro, Maine.” They’re eighth graders, and it’s Christmas time, so a lot of snow is on the ground. Alexandra thinks Steph should get a boyfriend. They trudge out to the cliff beyond the McQuillen place to see the whirligig. Alexandra claims it’s the perfect place to do guided imagery – to imagine a dream of an alternate story, complete with many details -- and to get Steph a boyfriend. She talks aloud and imagines a future for Steph that involves her rescuing a drowning French Canadian boy with her boat. Then they hear a real human sound. It turns out to be a young boy who is visiting people in the area. Amazingly enough, he becomes a friend and perhaps even a boyfriend to Steph. The two girls therefore believe that the whirligig has the power to bring dreams to life. Steph keeps it painted and in good working order from that point on.

Why did Max wait so long to reveal his illness to the family in The Book Thief?

The answer to this question involves inference on the part of the reader in that Max never really tells us why he waits so long to tell the family that he is sick. The answer has more to do with Max’s character: he is a fist-fighter and likes to believe that he can handle whatever comes along on his own. In reality, Max cannot handle everything by himself, mostly because he is Jewish in the middle of Germany during World War II.

We learn this part about Max’s personality after Max eats the pea soup at the Hubermanns'. After Max eats, he immediately throws up because his stomach is not used to having so much food. At this point, Max fumbles for words:

Thank you. For Max Vandenburg, those were the two most pitiful worlds he could possibly say. Rivaled only by I’m sorry.

Even though Max is not sick at this point, we learn how independent Max wants to be. Unfortunately, at this time in history, a Jewish person like Max is unable to be independent, especially when he is sick. We can infer, though, that Max wants to try to remain independent even through sickness. As a result of this independence, Max waits too long to tell the family he is sick.

How did the Gold Rush speed up the process of Manifest Destiny?

The California Gold Rush sped up the process of Manifest Destiny. When people heard that minerals were discovered in California, many people went to California hoping to find minerals and become wealthy. So many people moved to California, that California’s population grew significantly. We had just received California and other lands in the southwest part of the country from Mexico as a result of the United States winning the Mexican-American War.

With the explosion of California’s population, California was ready to become a state by 1850. A constitution was written, and California applied for statehood. There was some controversy with this request because California had to be a free state based on its constitution. Eventually, California became a state as part of the Compromise of 1850.

With California becoming a state, we had expanded from the East Coast to the West Coast. With the exception of the Gadsden Purchase in 1853, Manifest Destiny was now complete.

In The Giver, what does it mean to be politically correct?

The citizens have to be very careful how they use language and never be impolite.

To be politically correct means that you do not offend someone.  In Jonas’s society, political correctness is an idea taken to the extreme.  No one is ever supposed to offend anyone, ever.  They try so hard to make sure that no one is ever uncomfortable that they have many strict rules governing people’s behavior.

The community values Sameness, and calling attention to differences is not allowed because it might make someone uncomfortable.  An example of this is when Lily comments on the fact that Jonas’s light colored eyes are different from most everyone else in the community.  Jonas expects her to be scolded for being rude.

No one mentioned such things; it was not a rule, but was considered rude to call attention to things that were unsettling or different about individuals. Lily, he decided, would have to learn that soon, or she would be called in for chastisement because of her insensitive chatter. (Ch. 3) 

In fact, in Jonas’s community anything that might be considered rude is outlawed.  You do not call attention to other people.  You do not call attention to yourself.  You don’t single anyone out, and if you do break any of these rules, you apologize immediately. 

Precision of language is the cornerstone of Sameness.  Children are taught from a young age that they need to be very precise and never say something that they do not mean.  For example, Jonas is scolded for saying that he is “starving.”  

To say "starving" was to speak a lie. An unintentioned lie, of course. But the reason for precision of language was to ensure that unintentional lies were never uttered. Did he understand that? they asked him. And he had. (Ch. 9) 

The goal is to make sure that everyone exists in a state of simple-mindedness.  There are no emotions.  As soon as someone has a feeling, it is quickly dismissed.  This is the purpose of the telling of feelings at night and the telling of dreams in the morning.  No one should ever be made uncomfortable.  That is how you keep your population in line.

Any uncomfortable information is kept from the people.  They have no sense of history.  Each person has his or own memory, but knows nothing about the past.  The community's history is maintained through intergenerational memories held by the Receiver of Memory.  That way, no one has to face anything disturbing.  The past simply doesn't exist.

What is the purpose of having a prologue?

A prologue can serve many purposes in a book or play.  Sometimes a prologue tells you what is going to happen before it happens.  An example of this is the prologue of Romeo and Juliet, which lays out the story in broad strokes.

Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life … (Act 1, Prologue)

We all know the story of Romeo and Juliet’s sad end.  Why does Shakespeare tell us everything that happens before the play even starts?  There are a couple of reasons.  First of all, knowing what will ultimately happen does not give us all of the details.  It increases suspense, rather than diminishing it.  It also helps us focus on the whys of what happened, not just the whats.  Romeo and Juliet killed themselves, but why?  What happened to make this feud turn so tragic for a pair of young lovers?

Sometimes a prologue gives you important background information that helps you understand the story.  This might be true of historical fiction or science fiction, or even fantasy.  If there is a lot of information a reader needs to know to fully appreciate a story, a prologue is a good place to put it.

Prologues are not very common, and when an author uses a prologue it is a specific choice.  It means that the author wants the reader to delve deeper.  Do not skip a prologue.  It is more than just an introduction.  Prologues are important parts of a book.  They help identify themes and important background.  Some books also have epilogues, which appear at the end of the book.  These often tell you what happens to the characters after the events of the book, or give further information about the time period or place.

What is the significance of the opening scene of Their Eyes Were Watching God?

In the opening scene of Their Eyes Were Watching God, the narrator describes the differences in the nature of men versus the nature of women in terms of following their dreams.  The narrator says that "[s]hips at a distance have every man's wish on board" to suggest that the dreams of men exist out of reach on the horizon.  Men pose their dreams as far-off ideas that are often extinguished by time.  However, according to the narrator, women "remember everything they don't want to forget," and they keep their dreams close so that they can live out the dreams.  So, the narrator poses men as dreamers and women as doers.  Thus, Hurston uses the opening scene to set the foundation for Janie's journey as she lives out her dreams of love, freedom, and independence.

Why did Macbeth visit the witches a second time? Where did he find them this time and what were they doing?

In Act IV, Scene 1, Macbeth visits the witches for a second time because he is afraid he might lose his position as king. Now that he has become king, Macbeth is paranoid that others will discover that he killed Duncan and kill him or dethrone him in some other manner. Since the witches were the ones who told Macbeth that he would become king to begin with, he now returns to them to see if they can foresee whether he will lose the throne or who he should avoid or kill to ensure he remains king.

When Macbeth finds the witches the second time, they are standing over a cauldron to make a potion and cast a spell. This scene has a couple of the most famous lines in Macbeth: the witches say, "Double, double toil and trouble;/ Fire burn and cauldron bubble" over their potion, and when Macbeth is about to appear on stage, the Second Witch says, "By the pricking of my thumbs/ Something wicked this way comes." This indicates that the witches know Macbeth killed Duncan.

Once Macbeth is onstage, he asks the witches to tell him more about his future. To do this, the witches conjure three different apparitions. The first tells Macbeth to beware Macduff, who is Thane of Fife. Seemingly conversely, the second apparition tells Macbeth that no one "of woman born" can harm him. This causes Macbeth to think he does not need to fear Macduff after all, though he says he still plans to kill Macduff. The third and final apparition says that Macbeth will not be defeated until "Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him." Macbeth takes this literally to mean his defeat will come when the trees in Birnam wood come against him, which he knows is not possible. Thus, Macbeth's conversation with the witches and the apparitions makes him feel far more secure about remaining king.