What mood is Icabod in when he leaves Katrina's house and give the evidence of that mood ?What does the author think happened to change his mood?

Icabod leaves the house ''with an air quite desolate and chopfallen.’’  Just prior to this, he has been talking to Katrina, whom he has approached with the plan of asking for her hand in marriage.  We can assume from this that Katrina has turned him down, which leaves him feeling so desolate, so dejected.

Explain the quote from Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia: "...we shall find that they are probably formed in mind as well as in body, on...

Jefferson is referring specifically to Native Americans in this quote. This statement is written, like Jefferson's description of the flora and fauna in Virginia, to refute the Comte de Buffon's contention that species degenerated in the New World. Jefferson is arguing that whatever "inferiorities" Europeans observed in Native Americans were a product of their environment, not inherent to them as people. Buffon, for example, had suggested that Native Americans were not as prolific as whites, an assumption rooted in Europeans' belief that North America was largely uninhabited wilderness before whites arrived. Jefferson claims that any lack of virility on the part of Native men (an flawed premise to begin with) was due to the difficulties of their lives, and would quickly become equal to whites if they practiced settled agriculture (which, of course, many of them did.) Jefferson goes on to extol their prowess in war, as well as in oratory:

Of their bravery and address in war we have multiplied proofs, because we have been the subjects on which they were exercised. Of their eminence in oratory we have fewer examples, because it is displayed chiefly in their own councils...I may challenge the whole orations of Demosthenes and Cicero, and of any more eminent orator, if Europe has furnished more eminent, to produce a single passage, superior to the speech of Logan, a Mingo chief, to Lord Dunmore, when governor of this state.

That these statements are made in the context of disproving Buffon's thesis is significant. They did not reflect any particular sympathy for the political plight of Indians. If Jefferson admired Native Americans, including some aspects of their culture, he also advocated their "extermination" in the sense that he wanted them to give up that culture, settle onto farms and to give up hunting lands so that white farmers might move west, creating the nation of smallholding farmers that he waxed poetic about elsewhere in Notes. These statements are also significant when juxtaposed with his views on African-Americans in the same work.

Why and how did the Mirabal sisters die?

Three of the Mirabal sisters, Minirva, Maria Teresa ("Mate"), and Patria are killed by forces loyal to Trujillo ("El Jefe").  The thugs run the sisters off the road and murder them individually.  The reason for their killings was their opposition to the regime and inciting others to try to overthrow the brutal dictator.

Only Dede, the fourth sister, remains to tell their story to the world.  Once reluctant to get involved, and for years feeling guilty about her sister's deaths, Dede eventually understands that her life still has purpose.  She is able to tell the story of her sisters' valiant efforts and prove to the world what an evil man Trujillo was to the people of the Dominican Republic. 

What is a good theme for The Hunger Games?

It is the survival of humanity and the survival of the humanity in humans. Often, when survivability kicks in, humanity is thrown out and there is rapid degradation in our actions from civilized to savages. Due to this, Katniss struggles with true love and on-screen love, struggles to come to terms to people whom she grows to know and associate with who sacrifice themselves for the ultimate usage of herself as the Mockingjay. Also it shows  the attempt to create a utopia ends up being a dystopia. It is not that obvious as to how the people of the Capitol got to their places and the society depicted in the books are originally formed, but from the last book, Katniss speculates if there were a group of "victors" long ago that sat at a round table to discuss the fate of the "evil" beings, the people of the districts at that time, which culminated in the creation of the Hunger Games. This could also be a central theme as to the series from the fact that the rebellion was lead by District 13's head, whose district was the one who "ceased to exist"when the districts were losing, and then suddenly at the top leading, but grabbing the power after the fighting, after the war efforts from all OTHER districts had been successful. In the climb for Utopia, there are people with the same goal for different motives, and this is what Katniss finally realizes at the very end of the series. This, I think would be the main, core, central theme of the book, that the attempt at Utopia always falls to dystopia.

Can anyone summarize chapter 16 of The Hunger Games?Any new characters, setting, important events, and important vocabulary.

In this chapter, Katniss and Rue spend the night sleeping in a tree before heading out with a plan to destroy all of the food supplies that the Careers are hording.  As they journey to where the food is, they talk, and get to know each other a little better, forging a friendship that will be very significant for both of them.  Katniss learns that Rue is the oldest of six children, and has fought to keep her siblings alive her entire life.  Also, she learns that Rue loves music, and that the mockingjays in her orchards help pass her songs and music on in the form of information.

They split up to enact their plan.  Katniss spies on the Careers that are guarding the food supplies, and Rue starts a fire to distract all of them.  They all leave, leaving the food exposed; Katniss waits a bit before going after it, and in the meantime, notices Foxface approaching the food.  Foxface is walking carefully, hopping around, and Katniss realizes that it is because the Careers have planted land mines all around the food.  Katniss decides, in order to set off the mines, to shoot an arrow at a bag of apples.  The apples scatter, igniting the mines.  The chapter ends right there.

In this chapter, the setting is in the actual Hunger Games arena, and we learn a lot more about the mine-planting boy from District 3, whose skills the Careers have recruited to protect their food.  Katniss and Rue strengthen their friendship, and work as a team to get at the Careers' food.  I hope that helped a bit; good luck!

How is Marlow's journey up the Congo symbolic?

Marlow journeys not only into the heart of Africa where he sees what isolation and moral corruption have done to Kurtz but he also gradually recognizes what he himself is capable of becoming--a man like Kurtz. The trip up the river becomes a journey into himself, an examination of what he believes and knows is right. 

Marlow naively begins his trip from Brussels, seeking only to pilot a steamboat, but upon his arrival in Africa, he is shocked by the condition of the Africans and by the chaos that greets him. Moving further inland, he discovers that the corruption only worsens when he meets characters like the Accountant and the Brickmaker, both of whom represent hollow characters (like ivory) more concerned about appearance than compassion or accomplishment. As Marlow waits to repair his foundered boat, he  stresses the value of work. Traveling from the Central Station to reach Kurtz, Marlow recounts his admiration for the cannibals' restraint, which sharply contrasts the pilgrims' greed and eagerness to shoot their guns.

 Marlow's journey causes him to examine what he believes, and he realizes that choices are often not easy to make when he must choose to lie to the Intended despite his hatred of lying. He learns that compromise is necessary, but he won't allow himself to step over the precipice into the pit of moral decay where he found Kurtz. Now Marlow knows all men are capable of evil.

Describe the relationship between the man and the boy in The Old Man and the Sea.

I believe that the simple sentence that describes the relationship between the old man and the boy is

"The old man had taught the boy to fish and the boy loved him".

Santiago had taken the boy, Manolin, under his wing when the boy was only five years old.  They had gone out in the boat, and Santiago remembers that the boy had very nearly been killed when he brought the fish in too green and "he nearly tore the boat to pieces".  The boy clearly remembers details of that incident, but does not seem to have been afraid; he recalls Santiago "throwing (him) into the bow where the wet coiled lines were" to keep him safely out of the way.  Santiago has always included Manolin in all aspects of his craft, and the boy appreciates that.  His own father prefers to do things on his own, and sometimes makes the boy feel "inferior".  Santiago makes the boy feel capable, and Manolin thinks the old man is "the best fisherman", far better than the "many good fishermen and some great ones" of which he knows.

Manolin is obedient to his father, but it is Santiago whom he loves.  His father has forbidden the boy to fish with Santiago because he thinks the old man is no longer an effective fisherman; Manolin "must obey" because "(he) is a boy", but still, he has faith in Santiago.  Despite not being allowed to fish with him anymore, Manolin looks after Santiago, making sure he has bait and food, and lovingly anticipating his needs.  Realizing that the village water supply is a good distance from the old man's home, he brings him water and washing supplies, and plans to "get him another shirt and a jacket for the winter and some sort of shoes and another blanket".

Santiago and Manolin enjoy each others' company, and share a mutual respect.  Their relationship is based on love, and they look out for each other like a father and a son, Santiago having taught the boy his trade when he was young, and Manolin looking after Santiago now that he is old.