Why were Jews and Christians separated in Shakespeare's time, and how was the separation delineated in society?

During Shakespeare's lifetime (1564-1616), there were few to no Jews in England. The record of Jews living in England goes back to 1070, but Jews were expelled from England by Edward I in 1290. Even before Edward's Edict of Expulsion, Jews were treated differently than other people in England. They were subjects of the king, not of lords, and Jews often worked as money lenders during medieval times because the church did not allow money lending. This profession was one of the few open to Jews, and the king often taxed them heavily because he did not have to go through Parliament to collect taxes from Jews.

Unfortunately, Jews were disliked for being money lenders, and this situation resulted in a great deal of anti-Semitism across Europe. Jews were associated with the devil and with false ideas (such as the idea that they used the blood of Christian children in their Passover matzah). These types of anti-Semitic ideas are referred to as "blood libels." Many Jews were required to wear badges or identifying signs. When they were expelled from England, many Jews went to France or Poland. Oliver Cromwell readmitted Jews into England around 1657, though a very small number of Sephardic Jews came in the years between 1270-1657. Shakespeare was unlikely to have known a Jew personally, though some of his characters, such as the Jewish money lender Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, are described in a way that some critics consider anti-Semitic.

The separation of Jews and Christians was often delineated through the creation of Jewish ghettos. Jews had to live in particular areas of cities. For example, the Jewish ghetto in Rome goes back to 1555. It was created by Pope Paul IV in the worst part of the city, which was flooded by the Tiber River. Jewish ghettos in many European cities became densely packed to the point of overcrowding, as Jews were not allowed to live outside the ghetto. In England, Jews did not live in an official ghetto but were crowded into the East End (in London) and specific areas in other cities. In addition, Jews were often forced to wear badges or special types of clothing that identified them as Jewish in a debasing manner. 

Explain "The Pitfalls of National Consciousness'" by Frantz Fanon.

"The Pitfalls of National Consciousness" was one chapter of The Wretched of the Earth, a revolutionary book about imperialism, decolonization, and their effects on colonial peoples. Basically, Fanon argued that colonial governments fostered, usually deliberately, inequalities in their colonies. In particular, a class of colonial elites emerged with close ties to the mother country--usually educated there--and received positions of prominence in the colonial government. Once independence was achieved (and this colonial bourgeoisie was typically at the center of independence movements) they became the leaders of the new nation. Through their connections, education, and familiarity with European ways, they would gain wealth and even more influence, offering investment opportunities to European capitalists. They would siphon off some of this wealth for themselves, solidifying themselves as the elites. These same people, as national leaders, were the ones responsible for the emergence of what Fanon called a "national consciousness" that in turn made their wealth and power possible. So over time, the emergence of a national consciousness, promoted by  a wealthy, Western-educated class, would lead to the exploitation of the poor people of these new nations--a situation not materially different than colonialism itself. In fact, Fanon argues, national consciousness can lead to dictatorship as "[p]rivileges multiply and corruption triumphs, while morality declines." Only be focusing on the well-being of all the people could a former colony avoid this fate.

How does author use imagery or figurative language to convey his attitude towards life in "Dover Beach"? Support with evidence from the selection.

The speaker is lamenting the fact that the world is changing. The initial scene is comprised of calm images. The sea is calm, the moon is reflected in the water, and the English cliffs are "glimmering" and powerfully "vast." This visual imagery suggests a world that is marked by peace, beauty, and power. But subsequent lines will describe that world fading into the past. This is/was a world in which faith/religion played a vital role in giving people comfort and a feeling of purpose. 

To signify the initiation of the new, scientific era, the speaker shifts from the calm, visual imagery to some shocking auditory imagery: 

Listen! you hear the grating roar

Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,

At their return, up the high strand,

Begin, and cease, and then again begin,

With tremulous cadence slow, and bring

The eternal note of sadness in. 

This audible symbolism describes the shocking transition from a world comforted by faith to a more scientific world and one which no longer has that comforting feeling. The "grating roar" illustrates an erosion of the sand beneath. The "eternal note of sadness" describes the speaker's feeling with this loss of religious certainty. 

In the third stanza, the speaker notes how the "Sea of Faith" which once fit the world like a "girdle," is now withdrawing. We have the image that the world was once held together (like a girdle) by faith, but now that "sea" is retreating. The world has lost that unifying idea. Without this unity, the world feels fragmented, and this might lead to "ignorant armies" which "clash by night." In the final stanza, the speaker looks to his lover for some kind of meaningful connection to replace the comfort he (and the world) once had. 

How does compassion lead to growth in the characters in the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens?

There are some examples of characters who initially demonstrate no compassion and very low levels of personal morals, but in time they come to understand the error of their ways.  Life experiences sometimes teach a person to look at the world differently.  This is what happened to Pip, Estella, and, to a lesser extent, Miss Havisham.

Pip showed the most personal growth in the novel.  He went from being completely self-centered and focused on a narrow conception of himself as a gentleman to caring about Magwitch, Herbert, and Joe.  Pip became a much more generous and worthwhile person by the end of the novel.  This personal growth was a direct result of learning compassion.

When Pip was younger, all he thought about was himself.  He took the money from his "great expectations" without another thought, so he could become a gentleman and pursue Estella.  Learning that the money came from Magwitch instead of Miss Havisham was a big blow to his ego, but Magwitch won his heart with his unassuming and gentle nature and his own generosity.  

For now my repugnance to him had all melted away, and in the hunted wounded shackled creature who held my hand in his, I only saw a man who had meant to be my benefactor, and who had felt affectionately, gratefully, and generously, towards me with great constancy through a series of years. (Ch. 54) 

At the end of the novel, Pip is different.  This Pip arranges for Miss Havisham to pay for Herbert’s partnership, decides to ask Biddy to marry him (although it turns out she is in love with Joe), and stops pining for Estella.  Pip changes his lifestyle completely, and becomes a more mellow and mild-mannered man who focuses on the people he cares about rather than money or prestige. 

Estella’s journey is different than Pip’s but no less complex.  Hers was mostly about escaping her upbringing.  For Estella, coldness was a way of life and a defense mechanism.  She told Pip that she had no heart.  

“Oh! I have a heart to be stabbed in or shot in, I have no doubt,” said Estella, “and, of course, if it ceased to beat I should cease to be. But you know what I mean. I have no softness there, no—sympathy—sentiment—nonsense.” (Ch. 29) 

This was actually a kindness for him, in an ironic way.  She was trying to prevent him from chasing after her because she could not love him if she had no heart.  She wanted him to understand that she could not love him the way he wanted her to. It was a big deal for her to stand up to Miss Havisham and explain that she had decided to take herself off the market by marrying Drummle. 

It is easy to see Miss Havisham as a villain, but she is no cartoon character.  We learn her story from Herbert, Jaggers and Magwitch in pieces.  It is a very sad story of isolation and a jilted love affair.  It does not excuse the way she treated Pip and Estella, but it provides an explanation or motivation.  She agrees to pay for Herbert's partnership when Pip asks for it, and she asks him to forgive her.

“Yes, yes, I know it. But, Pip—my Dear!” There was an earnest womanly compassion for me in her new affection. “My dear! Believe this: when she first came to me, I meant to save her from misery like my own. At first I meant no more.” (Ch. 49)

Miss Havisham only changes at the very end, but there is a subtle change in her when she realizes that she has lost Estella.  Both Pip and Estella are miserable and will remain so.  It is her doing, but she gets no pleasure from it.  She feels compassion from it, and that is a new feeling for her.  She tries to make amends, small that they are, in helping Pip.

What figurative language is used in the following quote from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins? “…and turn my features into a indifferent...

The mask of indifference is a metaphor for hiding Katniss's feelings.

Figurative language is language that is not meant to be taken literally. The most common types of figurative language are probably simile, metaphor, and personification.  A simile compares two unlike things indirectly, usually with the words “like” or “as” used in the comparison.  A metaphor, on the other hand, is a more direct comparison where you describe something as if it were something else.  Personification is when you describe something nonhuman with human qualities. 

The quote you have included is from the beginning of the book, when Katniss is explaining how she learned from a young age not to question the government. 

When I was younger, I scared my mother to death, the things I would blurt out about District 12, about the people who rule our country, Panem, from the far-off city called the Capitol. Eventually I understood this would only lead us to more trouble. (Ch. 1) 

Katniss says she learned to hold her tongue, which is an idiom.  It is a common figure of speech, based on a metaphor, meaning she learned not to speak up.  The rest of your quote is related to this metaphor. When Katniss says she learned to turn her face into an “indifferent mask” she does not mean that she literally wore a mask.  She means that she learned to hide her feelings so that her facial expressions did not show them. 

The metaphor of the mask of indifference is an important one for Katniss.  It extends beyond not getting in trouble for speaking against the Capital.  Katniss learned to hide all of her feelings as a coping mechanism for a difficult life.    Throughout the rest of the book, Katniss tries to hide her emotions behind indifference so she will not get hurt.  When you are fighting to survive a daily basis, which she did even before going to the Hunger Games, this is a valuable skill.

I need a diagram of a plant cell, with a vacuole, chromosome, and cytoplasm. Do you have any good ones?

Plant cells are fairly consistent across species in shape and build. The vacuole will appear as a large water-filled sac that takes up the vast majority of the cell. Due to the plant's inability to search for food or water sources on its own, plant cells require a large storage space to store what materials they can find, which is the vacuole that takes up 60%-70% of the space inside of the cell.

Chromosomes are the DNA structures that all eukaryotic cells have in their nuclei. Plant cells are no different and their chromosomes can be found as small x-shaped structures stored inside of their nucleus just inside of the nuclear membrane. This may also be seen as chromatin, which is one half of a chromosome before it has been replicated. 

The cytoplasm is the jelly-like fluid that fills the rest of the cell. The organelles float and move around inside the cytoplasm and pass around materials through it. This is also where proteins are made, waste products and nutrients can be found being sent from organelle to organelle, and most general activities happen.

Linked below are some good diagrams.

What references in the sermon reveal Edwards's implicit philosophical beliefs regarding divine mercy?

The vast majority of Edwards's 1741 sermon emphasizes God's formidable anger with sinners and his readiness to subject them to the eternal tortures of hell. The sermon does, however, take a significant turn in tone and message near the conclusion, when Edwards declaims:

"And now you have an extraordinary Opportunity, a Day wherein Christ has flung the Door of Mercy wide open, and stands in the Door calling and crying with a loud Voice to poor Sinners."

Edwards goes on to claim that "God seems now to be hastily gathering in his Elect in all Parts of the Land" as if divine mercy has an imminent expiration date. The final words of the sermon exhort listeners to hasten their pursuit of God's gift of salvation, likening their condition to the people who were left behind to perish when, in the biblical story, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire.  

Scholars of Edwards's work recognize some apparent modifications in his beliefs as he developed as a theologian, but what seems consistent is the idea that God's granting of grace could be arbitrary and is ultimately unknowable.