What is the theme of the passage? (It is the night of the annual parent-teacher conference in school. Sara is a new student in class and is nervous about how her mother and
teacher will interact. Sara enters the classroom with her mother ahead of her. Sara nervously holds on to her mother's hand as Mrs. Blake,
Sara's teacher, spots them and stands up to greet her mother.)
MRS. BLAKE: How do you do, Mrs. Parker? It's nice to finally meet you.
MRS. PARKER: It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Blake. Sara spoke highly of you.
(Sara looks at her teacher shyly, her face turning red with embarrassment Mrs. Blake smiles ar Sara.)
MRS. BLAKE: Thank you, Sara. That is very kind of you. Mrs. Parker, I would like to talk to you about your daughter,
(Sara appears nervous at this comment She begins fidgeting with her hands and looks away. Her mother notices this nervous behavior)
MRS. PARKER: Is there something wrong? Has she done something wrong in class?
MRS. BLAKE: Of course not. I am glad to have a well-behaved student like Sara in my class. Her grades are quite good. However, I believe if
she tries harder, she can make the honor roll
MRS. PARKER: She ist misbehaving?
MRS. BLAKE: Not at all. She is a sincere and dedicated student. That's why I know she can be on the honor roll this semester
MRS. PARKER: I'm so glad to hear that. It is wonderful to hear my daughter being praised by her teacher, Sara, wouldn't you like to thank
Mrs. Blake?
(Sara looks up at her teacher in surprise. Mrs. Blake simply smiles at her, and soon Sara's face breaks into a wide grin.)
SARA: Thank you so much, Mrs. Blake, I was really nervous about what you had to say. But after hearing your praise, I want to work harder
to improve my grades. Trust me, Mrs. Blake. I won't let you down
(Mrs. Blake shuffles her papers and looks happy)

eli whitney was an american inventor best known for inventing the cotton gin. this was one of the key inventions of the industrial revolution and shaped the economy of the antebellum south.

its a hard situation i cant really answer because the essay is for you to write.

"character is what you are in the dark." dwight lyman moody, in this very witty quotation of his, states we act and think differently when we are "in the dark", that is, when the spotlight is not on us and everyone can see us and consequently judge us. when reading, we tend to be sympathetic to some characters and their dilemmas. by being so, we are saying to ourselves that we agree with those characters' acts and choices, even if they are morally questionable if we have common sense in mind. dwight lyman moody's quotation applies very well to "crime and punishment", by   19th century russian writer fiodor dostoyevsky. raskolnikov, the main character, a former law student who spends his days reflecting upon life and its misery, draws a fatal conclusion: mankind is divided in two main categories: ordinary and extraordinary people. the first are the ones who lead a run-of-the-mill existence and are full of imperfections; the latter are the ones who are spiritually superior, the ones who always know better, and have the right to judge the ordinary ones, as well as eliminate them if for common good. raskolnikov considers himself as belonging to the extraordinary category and decides to kill an old lady who is a money lender and in whose house he rents a small room. raskolnikov compares himself to napoleon, who had the undeniable right to execute tons of people during the war in order to save his nation. of course what the main character decides to do is a horrendous crime, but as readers we feel it is the right thing for him to do, since the victim is a mean old woman who only thinks about money and keeps humiliating her younger sister. what one experiences is a mixture of sympathy and empathy for the character, even though he decides to commit homicide, which is not at all accepted or tolerated by civilized citizens. however, since readers are "in the dark", they allow themselves to feel in ways they would probably never dare to confess to anyone, no matter how nasty or vicious a character can be. after all, they are just reading and doing no harm. in other words, readers are in the dark and can be who they are without being judged.