What do the owls in the book Hoot symbolize?

The owls in Hoot are symbolic on at least three levels. Most obviously, the owls symbolize wildlife and natural habitats that are at risk of extinction or harm from residential and commercial development. Of course, this is literally true of the burrowing owls on Mother Paula's property, but it represents the larger issue of beautiful and unique creatures that are threatened by loss of habitat. After Roy's family goes on a Sunday outing to the Everglades, Roy gets an idea of what the crusade to save the owls represents. He reflects, "It wasn't just about the owls, it was about everything—all the birds and animals, all the wild places that were in danger of being wiped out." 

The owls also represent Mullet Fingers, or Napoleon Bridger, himself. Like the owls, Mullet Fingers is associated with nature. He feels at home in nature and has a love for and an ability to connect with wild creatures. He is small, but he is unique and special, just like the owls. Yet, like the owls, he is considered a nuisance by those in authority. His mother sends him away because she doesn't want him; Curly continually curses the owls because of their burrows, and Chuck Muckle is ready to ignore the owls' fate. Mullet Fingers identifies with the owls so fully that he digs himself into an owl burrow on the day of the grand opening, and Hiaasen completes the connection between Mullet Fingers and the owls by having an owl land and perch on his head. 

Finally, the owls represent the children in Roy's community whose natural habitats are threatened, that is, who don't belong to loving families as each child deserves. Mullet Fingers and Beatrice's parents are both dysfunctional and either neglectful or abusive. Although she is a school guidance counselor, Garrett's mother seems to put all her effort into her job and none into properly raising her son. Dana Matherson's family is as violent as he is; his mother gives Dana a fat lip. Only Roy seems to enjoy the nurturing environment of a loving family.

The symbolism of the the owls in the story advocates not just for the protection of animals, but also for providing a proper environment for young people as they are growing up.

`1, 1/2, 1/6, 1/24, 1/120` Write an expression for the apparent nth term of the sequence. (assume that n begins with 1)

Given 1, 1/2, 1/6, 1/24, 1/120

In this sequence the numerator of each term is 1. The terms in the denominator follow the n! (factorial) pattern. The expression for the nth them of the sequence is `a_n=1/(n!)`

` `

` `

`a_1=1/(1!)=1`

` ` `a_2=1/(2!)=1/2`

`a_3=1/(3!)=1/6`

`a_4=1/(4!)=1/24`

`a_5=1/(5!)=1/120`

Given 1, 1/2, 1/6, 1/24, 1/120

In this sequence the numerator of each term is 1. The terms in the denominator follow the n! (factorial) pattern. The expression for the nth them of the sequence is `a_n=1/(n!)`

` `

` `

`a_1=1/(1!)=1`

` ` `a_2=1/(2!)=1/2`

`a_3=1/(3!)=1/6`

`a_4=1/(4!)=1/24`

`a_5=1/(5!)=1/120`

How old are Scout and Jem by the end of the book To Kill a Mockingbird?

During lengthy descriptions of her ancestry, her father's career, and the death of her mother, Scout reveals that Jem is four years older than she is. In fact, their mother died when Scout was two and Jem was six; but, the bulk of the storytelling starts when Jem is ten years old and Scout is six. They meet Dill for the first time in chapter one, which covers the summer before Scout enters first grade...

During lengthy descriptions of her ancestry, her father's career, and the death of her mother, Scout reveals that Jem is four years older than she is. In fact, their mother died when Scout was two and Jem was six; but, the bulk of the storytelling starts when Jem is ten years old and Scout is six. They meet Dill for the first time in chapter one, which covers the summer before Scout enters first grade in the fall. Jumping ahead to Chapter 26 we discover the following:

"School started, and so did our daily trips past the Radley Place. Jem was in the seventh grade and went to high school beyond the grammar-school building; I was now in the third grade, and our routines were so different I only walked to school with Jem in the mornings and saw him at mealtimes" (241).

The book comes to an end in chapter 31 around Halloween time. That places Jem in 7th grade around the ages of 12 or 13; and Scout is in the third grade around the ages of 8 or 9. Therefore, To Kill a Mockingbird covers about three years time from start to finish.

Is "The Relic" an ode? What kind of ode is it? Could it be a Horatian ode?

An ode is defined as, "A lengthy lyric poem typically of a serious or meditative nature and having an elevated style and formal stanza structure."

An "ode" does not have a single, defined structure or style, as sonnets, limericks, and haiku all have.  Those styles have rigid definitions, but an "ode" is more open, more inclusive.  The only requirements are that it is "lyric," which means that it seems to have a natural rhythmic flow (many...

An ode is defined as, "A lengthy lyric poem typically of a serious or meditative nature and having an elevated style and formal stanza structure."

An "ode" does not have a single, defined structure or style, as sonnets, limericks, and haiku all have.  Those styles have rigid definitions, but an "ode" is more open, more inclusive.  The only requirements are that it is "lyric," which means that it seems to have a natural rhythmic flow (many odes were meant to be sung), and that it is based on a serious or meditative theme.

The poem you name, "The Relic" by John Donne, seems to fit this definition.  Just looking at the poem on the page shows its length and "formal stanza structure."  A bit of quick analysis shows a somewhat irregular, intricate rhyme scheme pattern: AABBCDDCEEE.  This pattern is repeated in each of the three stanzas. 

The serious nature of the poem is evident right from the start: "When my grave is broke up again...."  (What could be more "serious" a topic than something that starts in the grave?)  This is, overall, a love poem, with the message that the speaker's love for his wife/girlfriend/partner will withstand death, and if their grave is ever opened, the viewers in the future will be able to see the strength of their love.  Donne also provides a comment on the eternal nature of the written word, trusting that his poem will outlive them and future generations will know of their love from the poem itself: 

And since at such time miracles are sought,

I would have that age by this paper taught

What miracles we harmless lovers wrought.

As for the definition of the style, I found a reference from the Academy of American Poets (cited below) which defines three styles of odes: Pindaric, Horatian, and Irregular.  The Pindaric was longer and more complex.  Horace followed with a shorter, more straightforward style.  The Irregular is just the name for odes that cannot be categorized by the first two names.  "The Relic," in my opinion, is more in the Pindaric than Horatian style.  However, the lines between the categories are not clearly defined, so arguments could be made either way. 

In Romeo and Juliet how does Romeo react to the news that he is banished from Verona?

Romeo is very emotional after the fighting which takes place in Act III, Scene 1. His best friend Mercutio is dead and he has killed Tybalt. And after hearing he has been banished from Verona he becomes quite distraught. He is deaf to Friar Lawrence's claims that he is actually fortunate. He tells Friar Lawrence that he would rather die than be placed in exile. He says in Act III, Scene 2,

Ha, banishment? Be...

Romeo is very emotional after the fighting which takes place in Act III, Scene 1. His best friend Mercutio is dead and he has killed Tybalt. And after hearing he has been banished from Verona he becomes quite distraught. He is deaf to Friar Lawrence's claims that he is actually fortunate. He tells Friar Lawrence that he would rather die than be placed in exile. He says in Act III, Scene 2,

Ha, banishment? Be merciful, say “death,”
For exile hath more terror in his look,
Much more than death. Do not say “banishment.”

He goes on about how he will not be able to see Juliet. Others will, and even the dogs and cats can gaze on her beauty, but not him:

’Tis torture and not mercy. Heaven is here
Where Juliet lives, and every cat and dog
And little mouse, every unworthy thing,
Live here in heaven and may look on her,
But Romeo may not. 

At one point he even throws himself dramatically down on the floor as he argues with the Friar about the merits of being banished. The Friar tries to convince Romeo he is lucky that the Prince didn't sentence him to death. The Nurse then shows up and Romeo begins to pull himself together. In the Nurse's presence the Friar launches into a monologue chastising Romeo, saying, "Thy tears are womanish", and providing a potential solution to the problem. He tells Romeo to be patient, go to Mantua and stay there for a while until emotions calm down in Verona. Then, at a time when things have gotten back to normal, the Friar will announce that Romeo and Juliet have been married. He says,

For then thou canst not pass to Mantua,
Where thou shalt live till we can find a time
To blaze your marriage, reconcile your friends,
Beg pardon of the Prince, and call thee back
With twenty hundred thousand times more joy
Than thou went’st forth in lamentation.

Romeo listens intently and is somewhat mollified, saying, "How well my comfort is revived by this!" He then goes to Juliet using the rope ladder brought by the Nurse to ascend Juliet's balcony and enjoy his honeymoon.

The Friar's plan is ultimately thwarted as Lord Capulet, unaware of his daughter's marriage to Romeo, promises her to Count Paris, setting the stage for the tragic events in Act V.

I am having trouble with a paper. The subject is intertextuality and the novel is Borges' Ficciones. I am having trouble understanding what his...

The first thing that will help you in writing about Borges' Ficciones is understanding that it is not a novel. The book is a collection of short stories ("fictions") written over a period of nine years (1935-1944). These are not meant to be read as a coherent narrative.

The style of many of Borges' stories is dense, allusive, and cerebral, often tackling complex philosophical issues. Ultimately, his choice to write in this style was a...

The first thing that will help you in writing about Borges' Ficciones is understanding that it is not a novel. The book is a collection of short stories ("fictions") written over a period of nine years (1935-1944). These are not meant to be read as a coherent narrative.

The style of many of Borges' stories is dense, allusive, and cerebral, often tackling complex philosophical issues. Ultimately, his choice to write in this style was a personal preference; he could have chosen a different literary style, but this was the one that appealed to him or came naturally to him.

The way intertextuality functions in in his works is related to his situation as a writer. Borges' life and writing are located at the intersection of the sophisticated literary culture of Europe and the nascent literary culture of the New World.

Borges was born in 1899 to a family that was embedded in the formation of Argentina as a country, but also well educated in European culture with a vast library of English as well as Spanish books. The young Borges was fluently bilingual in English and Spanish by the age of nine. The family moved to Switzerland in 1915, and Borges lived in Europe until 1921. He began his literary career after his return to Argentina. 

Borges' writing often struggles, in a condensed and lapidary style, to make sense of how to relate sophisticated European ideas to Argentinian folk or regional culture. Intertextuality allows him to bring elements of both cultures into his stories in a very condensed way. Rather than having to flesh out both cultural situations, he can use references to previous texts to invoke their presence.  “Tln, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” and “The Circular Ruins” both, for example, evoke a mysterious unknown land (like the remote regions of Patagonia in southern Argentina) and how it poses an intellectual challenge similar to the imaginary lands constructed in the philosophy of Bishop Berkeley (the empty forest in which a tree falls). 

Borges also sees the nature of literature as intertextual. We are always using words and ideas that have been used by other writers and which come burdened with the ways they have been used in the past. Borges, in Ficciones, states this in the following quotation:

A book is not an isolated being: it is a relationship, an axis of innumerable relationships.

How do plants encourage animals to seek or avoid them, such as bitter-tasting compounds, or an abundance of sugar?

In this book, Pollan explores the ways that plants develop certain characteristics to help prolong their lives or protect them from predators. In the case of the apple, the normally-bitter fruit was widely used to make cider after trees were brought to the New World from England. When drinking alcoholic beverages became forbidden, the apple underwent a sort of "image overhaul" and was promoted as a healthy fruit; there was also effort made by growers...

In this book, Pollan explores the ways that plants develop certain characteristics to help prolong their lives or protect them from predators. In the case of the apple, the normally-bitter fruit was widely used to make cider after trees were brought to the New World from England. When drinking alcoholic beverages became forbidden, the apple underwent a sort of "image overhaul" and was promoted as a healthy fruit; there was also effort made by growers to graft sweeter apples (which would occasionally appear spontaneously in the wild) and produce apples better suited to eating. 

Plants producing sweeter fruit can attract more animal attention, and the animals' droppings can help spread the seeds further, thus allowing the trees to propagate and increase their diversity. Likewise, a plant that produces bitter tastes or poisons will be left alone by animals, and thereby protect itself from being eaten or eliminated (such as mushrooms or some berries like sumac). Some fruits are bitter until they are ripe, thereby protecting the trees during the more vulnerable part of their growing cycle (in spring, for examples). Examples here would include persimmons (these are very sour and inedible until they ripen) or peaches (which are hard and tasteless until they are ripe).