Why was Chips startled when Ralston gave him a soft reminder to think about retirement?

When Ralston suggests that Chips should retire, it's a total surprise. Chips has never liked Ralston. He feels that he's more of a hyper-efficient bureaucrat than a teacher, certainly not a molder of boys into men. He's obsessed with increasing the number of rich pupils attending the school, which has led to something of a snob culture developing at Brookfield. Chips is also disillusioned about the academic changes that Ralston's introduced, especially the new way...

When Ralston suggests that Chips should retire, it's a total surprise. Chips has never liked Ralston. He feels that he's more of a hyper-efficient bureaucrat than a teacher, certainly not a molder of boys into men. He's obsessed with increasing the number of rich pupils attending the school, which has led to something of a snob culture developing at Brookfield. Chips is also disillusioned about the academic changes that Ralston's introduced, especially the new way of pronouncing Latin. Ralston, for his part, looks upon Chips as a bit of an old dinosaur, an unwelcome reminder of the school's past. Chips's eccentricities, such as his tatty old master's gown, are also a source of irritation.

So why is Chips surprised when Ralston suggests he should retire? Over the years Chips has shown outward loyalty to Ralston despite his personal animosity towards him and his misgivings about the school's change of direction. He's witnessed firsthand the ruthlessness with which Ralston deals with masters who get in his way. But Chips thought it would be different for him. He thought that his age and seniority would somehow protect him. Chips is hugely popular in the school, with boys and masters alike, so he also thought that his popularity would protect him.

What is the climax of George Washington Cable's "Tite Poulette"? What are the most important actions/events characterizing this section, and why...

The climax in "Tite Poulette" extends from the moment Kristian Koppig is stabbed to the moment Madame John unobtrusively observes Kristian declaring his love for Tite Poulette. The climax is the highest point of the story, and in this instance, the climax is significant because it brilliantly highlights the theme of discriminatory caste systems in 19th century New Orleans. In focusing on Kristian, Madame John, and Tite Poulette's emotional reactions, Cable portrays for us the...

The climax in "Tite Poulette" extends from the moment Kristian Koppig is stabbed to the moment Madame John unobtrusively observes Kristian declaring his love for Tite Poulette. The climax is the highest point of the story, and in this instance, the climax is significant because it brilliantly highlights the theme of discriminatory caste systems in 19th century New Orleans. In focusing on Kristian, Madame John, and Tite Poulette's emotional reactions, Cable portrays for us the cruelty of unjust laws that circumscribed Southern living.

An important scene in the climax rests upon Kristian's delirious proclamation to Madame John that he cannot marry Tite Poulette because she is "jet black." In this instance, Kristian's words unwittingly expose his heart: he is in love with the daughter of a quadroon woman. However, the law forbids such a miscegenistic alliance. How then will the conflict resolve itself? During his convalescence, Madame John regales Kristian with an account of her nursing a Spanish couple through a bout of yellow fever. After hearing that the couple had succumbed to the fever, Kristian hopefully asks if an infant had been left behind. Here, Cable highlights how decent men are reduced to grasping at straws in order to justify forbidden romantic attachments.

Madame John's answer leads to an anguished reaction from Kristian. Herself affected beyond endurance, Madame John sends Tite Poulette to Kristian's bedside, itself another significant action. Then, unobserved, she watches the emotional exchange between Kristian and her daughter. The conflict is resolved when Madame John produces supposedly legal papers declaring Tite Poulette's "white" heritage, which clears the way for the two lovers to marry. Love wins in the end: "I have struggled hard, even to this hour, against Love, but I yield me now; I yield; I am his unconditioned prisoner forever. God forbid that I ask aught but that you will be my wife."

I love to study the Constitution and it's precepts. In my studies I've noticed that all Constitution copies fail to annotate the changes made by...

It seems from your question that you think published copies of the Constitution ought to reference those portions of the document that are modified or rendered moot or irrelevant by amendments. For example, those parts of the Constitution that reference slavery were amended out of relevance by the Thirteenth Amendment (e.g., the "other persons" in Article I, Section 2 and the persons "Held to Service or Labour" in Article IV, Section 3) and published copies...

It seems from your question that you think published copies of the Constitution ought to reference those portions of the document that are modified or rendered moot or irrelevant by amendments. For example, those parts of the Constitution that reference slavery were amended out of relevance by the Thirteenth Amendment (e.g., the "other persons" in Article I, Section 2 and the persons "Held to Service or Labour" in Article IV, Section 3) and published copies of the Constitution ought to reflect this. I would point out that many published versions of the document, notably those in many textbooks, are actually annotated in the way you describe. Typically this is done by including amended clauses in red, or by crossing them out in such a way that they are still legible.

But the Bill of Rights actually did not make any such changes. None of first ten amendments substantively altered any of the clauses of the Constitution in the way that, say, the Twelfth, Thirteenth, or later amendments did. They may have changed the way we interpret the Constitution as a whole inasmuch as they placed limits on the powers of the federal government, but they did not change the language of the document itself. So they would not appear in the types of annotations described in the question.

N.B. For an annotated copy of the Constitution that reflects the substantive changes made by amendments, see the link below. 

How did the Pilgrims describe America once they arrived here?

Those Pilgrims who wrote about their experiences at Plymouth described the area in different ways. In his History of Plymouth Plantation, the most famous account of the settlement, William Bradford, the governor of Plymouth, described the region alternately as a "hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wild beasts and wild men." Bradford's purpose in writing the Historywas to illustrate the workings of God in providing for his band of Separatists in such a...

Those Pilgrims who wrote about their experiences at Plymouth described the area in different ways. In his History of Plymouth Plantation, the most famous account of the settlement, William Bradford, the governor of Plymouth, described the region alternately as a "hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wild beasts and wild men." Bradford's purpose in writing the History was to illustrate the workings of God in providing for his band of Separatists in such a hostile environment. In an often-cited passage, Bradford describes, for example, a Patuxent village, deserted due to a smallpox epidemic that preceded the Pilgrims, as being cleared out by God for their benefit. Another famous Pilgrim leader, Edward Winslow, described the area as teeming with natural resources, including fish, shellfish, berries, and good land for growing Indian corn. Winslow concluded that "men might live as contented here as in any part of the world." Winslow, who developed a friendship of sorts with the local Wampanoag leader Massasoit, described the inhabitants of the area as "people without any religion, or knowledge of any God," yet "very trusty...quick-witted, and just." Winslow assured a correspondent that Pilgrims could "walk as peaceably and safely in the wood...as in the highways in England." The Pilgrims, in short, believed that the world they had come to inhabit was provided for them by God.

What advantages did European nations have over others in regards to colonization?

First, European nations developed or acquired, earlier than other peoples around the world, many of the technologies necessary for colonization. These included nautical innovations like the caravel (a vessel suited for long voyages,) the compass and the astrolabe (important tools for navigation) and special sails that made exploration possible. But Europeans also developed weapons, including steel and firearms, that facilitated the conquest of people around the world.

Another advantage was in many ways highly ironic. Europeans, having had many domesticated animals for thousands of years, had developed diseases, including smallpox, typhus, measles, and plague, most of which originated with these animals. Native peoples in places like the Americas and Australia had no such animals, and thus no exposure to such diseases. So when Europeans came in contact with these people, the germs they carried led to what are sometimes called "virgin-soil" epidemics that wiped out millions of indigenous peoples. The combination of disease and superior weapons enabled Europeans to conquer and colonize peoples in the Americas in particular. The Inca, for example, were among the most powerful empires in South America, but Spanish conquistadores, especially Pizarro, were able to conquer them because the Inca so depleted by a smallpox epidemic. Thus these diseases, whch had periodically ravaged Europe, proved to be potent "weapons," even if Europeans did not intentionally introduce them. One writer, Jared Diamond, has characterized these mutually reinforcing advantages as "guns, germs, and steel" in a book by that title. 

Once Europeans came in contact with Indian peoples, they were able to spread information about them through print. Where Native peoples were often taken by surprise, at least at first, by contact with Europeans, colonizers were armed with knowledge about other Indian peoples. This could prove, however, to be detrimental, as England's Jamestown colonists thought they could replicate the Spanish model of conquest and colonization among the Powhatan peoples. They were mistaken, and the approach they took was almost their undoing. But Europeans could share information about the peoples they colonized, a fact that facilitated their conquest. 

Finally, all of these things also enabled Europeans to eventually dominate Indian trade, even if they could not conquer Native peoples. Europeans were able to trade for slaves, foodstuffs, and desirable items like deerskins, a process that led to the subjugation of many Indian peoples. The economic changes led to even more social turmoil among Indians, a condition that eventually led to their subjugation in many cases. 

Why do you think the early Chinese were receptive to the ideas of Confucius?

Confucius's philosophy came to the forefront after a period of revolt and civil war in China near the end of the fifth century BCE. People at that time were looking for peace and stability after the chaos and turmoil that had divided the country. Confucius's ideas were all about creating an orderly and harmonious society. He believed that if society were rightly ordered and everyone understood and accepted their roles and their place in the...

Confucius's philosophy came to the forefront after a period of revolt and civil war in China near the end of the fifth century BCE. People at that time were looking for peace and stability after the chaos and turmoil that had divided the country. Confucius's ideas were all about creating an orderly and harmonious society. He believed that if society were rightly ordered and everyone understood and accepted their roles and their place in the social order, peace would prevail. For example, he wrote that five key relationships would keep a culture in order. These relationships were those between the ruler and the ruled, between the father and the son, between the husband and the wife, between the older brother and the younger brother, and between the older friend and the younger. While the first person listed in each relationship was considered the superior, every relationship had mutual obligations. Confucius always insisted that people treat each other with courtesy and respect. For a very long time, Confucius's ideas were the glue that held Chinese society together. 

`2,24,720, 40320, 3628800` Write an expression for the n'th term of the sequence. (There is more than one correct answer.)

`2,24,720,40320,3628800`

Let's write the series as,

`2*1,4*3*2*1,6*5*4*3*2*1,8*7*6*5*4*3*2*1,10*9*8*7*6*5*4*3*2*1`

From the above pattern we can write the series as,

`2!,4!,6!,8!,10!`

So based on the above pattern, we can write the n'th term of the series as:

`a_n=(2n)!`

`2,24,720,40320,3628800`

Let's write the series as,

`2*1,4*3*2*1,6*5*4*3*2*1,8*7*6*5*4*3*2*1,10*9*8*7*6*5*4*3*2*1`

From the above pattern we can write the series as,

`2!,4!,6!,8!,10!`

So based on the above pattern, we can write the n'th term of the series as:

`a_n=(2n)!`