How does Mrs. Joe's tragic end represent the Victorians' abuse of women?

In Victorian England, the role of women was a bit of a paradox. On the one hand, they were seen as “the angel in the house,” a phrase from a poem of the same name by Coventry Patmore published in 1854. In this poem, the woman is presented as the center of the home, around whom both husband and children rotate. The woman is placed on a pedestal and always protected from the unpleasantries of life.
In reality, the role of a woman was one in which she was in constant labor, unless she was very wealthy and had servants to do all the hard work. She was viewed as physically and mentally unable to do much thinking, and so was relegated to being a wife and mother. If she failed to marry, she was placed under the “protection” of her nearest male relative.
Women in Victorian England were at the mercy of men and had few rights. While Dickens presents women of varying personalities, they were still subject to abuse by husbands and others with little recourse. Mrs. Joe and Estella are both victims of physical abuse. Mrs. Joe was beaten savagely, eventually dying from the consequences of her injuries. Though Mrs. Joe was unpleasant, Dickens grants her some measure of redemption in the change in her personality as a result of her tragedy. Estella was beaten by her husband, Bentley Drummle, a nemesis of Pip’s. Though this "discipline" might have been more common and acceptable in Victorian England than it is now, it is obvious that Dickens presents all such instances as the work of villains. Like his depiction of children, Dickens reveals women to be victims of the injustice of their time. It was one of many aspects of society that Dickens wished to see reformed.

What is the climax of the book Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne?

The climax of a story is the point in the story where tensions are highest. It represents a turning point in the story, and it is often the moment when the main conflict is at its peak. Fogg has quite a few conflicts in this story, but one conflict that runs throughout is the chase that is happening between him and Fix. Fix seems to just miss Fogg over and over again, and everything seems to be working out for Fogg. He even manages to get back to England; however, it is then that he is finally arrested. By this point, readers think that Fogg is actually going to make good upon his bet. We are excited to see him win this ridiculous wager, and then Fogg is arrested. All hope seems to be lost. The winning moment that we thought we were going to read about won't happen, and the conflict is over. Fix has won. From here, the story moves into the falling action and conclusion. Fogg is found to be innocent, he is set free, he becomes engaged, he discovers he has an extra day, and he wins the bet.

The climax of the story occurs at the end of Fogg's journey.  He has waged a bet that he can make it around the entire world in 80 days, and he is so close to making it back to London in time.  Tensions are high in this section because Fogg and his companions have already overcome so many obstacles on their trip.  When they arrive in England, it seems like Fogg has won--he has time to reach his destination in London.  But just when he thinks he's made it, he is arrested upon arrival in London.  This is a misunderstanding, as he is mistaken for a thief.  Eventually the misunderstanding is cleared up, but Fogg is five minutes late to his destination in London.

How would you summarize the book Playing for Keeps by Warren Goldstein?

Playing for Keeps outlines the, at times, contentious history of baseball. Goldstein tracks how the sport has changed over time. He shows how the sport began in clubs and thrived in its small-town environment. The players were mostly working- and middle-class enthusiasts who played for the joy of it. The teams were sponsored by fraternal clubs. As the fan base grew and baseball became a spectator sport, ticket sales increased drastically. The sport went from being about the fun of the game to the money it can make in no more than 20 years. This created opportunity for the capitalist venture that is modern day baseball. It is now a business rife with big money. Goldstein considers the roles of owners and managers. He considers how players went from being “average joe’s” to professional athletes. Goldstein takes a holistic approach to considering what has brought about modern day baseball.

Playing for Keeps by Warren Goldstein discusses the evolution of baseball as a professional sport. The author focuses on baseball and looks at how it started and ended up being a business. Baseball initially began as an activity whose main participants were employee clubs from sister organizations. Many people did not look at it as a money-generating activity.
As baseball started becoming popular, there was increased interest in local teams. The more people showed interest, the more winning became important. For this reason, the players began practicing more to improve their skills. Increased practice sessions changed baseball from being an amateur to a professional sport. Goldstein also focuses on other aspects of the game, such as how the uniforms evolved and the socio-economic effects of baseball becoming a profitable sport.

Playing for Keeps: A History of Early Baseball was published by Cornell University Press in 1989. An expanded twentieth anniversary edition includes additional material uncovered in the intervening twenty years. The book is especially notable for its extensive use of archival sources. Its author, Warren Goldstein, PhD is (as of 2016) Professor of History and Chair of the History Department at the University of Hartford. He is a prolific author of popular books and magazine articles on topics pertaining to life in the nineteenth- and twentieth-century United States as well as articles on sports, especially baseball.
The book is organized into a prologue, eight major chapters, and an epilogue. It traces the history of baseball from its development into an organized sport in 1857, with the founding of the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), through its increasing professionalization in 1870, marked by the formation of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players. He sees baseball in the 1850s as being based in amateur clubs that were part of the male social fabric of local communities; by the 1870s, baseball was a business for both athletes and managers. 
In many ways, this is a cultural history, showing how fandom worked in tandem with economic opportunism to professionalize what had been a club sport played by amateurs who were often skilled workers. In this initial phase, the fraternal clubs sponsored baseball as one of several different wholesome recreational activities. The combination of fan enthusiasm and commercialization of ticket sales shifted the emphasis from recreation and players enjoying themselves to winning in order to please audiences and thereby increase ticket sales and profits. This in turn led to increased professionalization of players. 
The book's approach is distinguished by an emphasis on the sociological and economic underpinnings of the sport rather than simply focusing on player biographies.
https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/books/

What is the function of the suffering child in "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"?

The suffering child in LeGuin's story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" is the scapegoat for the misery of others, so that the others are able to live in comfort and happiness.
The concept which LeGuin explores in this work of philosophical fiction is that of the greater good, a concept explored in William James's The Moral Philosopher and the Moral Life. In this work James writes on a supposition that one person might be able to absorb the pain, illness, and misery for all others:

Or if the hypothesis were offered us of a world in which...millions [could be] kept permanently happy on the one simple condition that a certain lost soul on the far-off edge of things should lead a life of lonely torture....

This miserable creature that is confined is essential to the comfort of all the others in the community. In Omelas, then, all the "goodness and grace of every life...." depends upon the condition of this child imprisoned in a basement of one of the attractive public buildings. This miserable creature must be kept there for "the greater good" that allows others happiness and comfort.
When children reach the ages of between eight and twelve, they are brought to see this isolated creature, and all are shocked at the sight. But they are instructed that if something were done for this miserable creature, the "beauty and delight" of Omelas would wither and die. Only by exchanging all the goodness and grace of every life in Omelas can the single child's life improve. While some residents of Omelas are so disturbed by the discovery that they "walk away from Omelas," departing into the unknown, others become reconciled to the idea that one life where evil is contained is worth the happiness of all others. Further, they feel that even if the child were released, it has been degraded for so long that it "would not get much good of its freedom," anyway, because it has become "imbecile."
With this vagueness of position at the end of LeGuin's allegory, the readers must, then, draw their own conclusions of the author's particular illustration of Pragmatism.
 

where is Mrs. Frisby's winter homeand why is it a good choice fir a famiy of fleid mice

Chapter 1 gives readers good details about Mrs. Frisby's winter home and why it is such a prime location. The location itself is in the middle of the farmer's vegetable garden. The location is a good winter location because the farmer won't be doing any gardening during the winter, so the mice remain undisturbed for much of the winter. Additionally, the mice have plenty of food in this spot. The text tells readers that there is plenty of food available for mice even after the crop has been harvested. As for the winter home itself, the house is a cinder block that is mostly buried. It is buried in such a manner that the holes of the cinder block are not facing up. This gives the house a roof and a floor that remain dry all winter. The mice have made the home even more robust against winter's wet chill by stuffing the house with all kinds of leaves, fluff, and cloth.

How does Chee live according to Navaho tradition?

According to the Navaho tradition, “female children belong to their mothers’ people.” Chee’s parents-in-law take away his daughter after his wife’s death even though they themselves are not strict followers of the customs—as Chee says, “their Hogan does not even face the East as is dictated by customs.” His family members urge him to respect the decision of his parents-in-law for peace’s sake. Chee, however, is unable to let the matter rest. After losing his wife, he feels like his daughter, the Little One, embodies all the memories he has of his wife: He tells his family members that “it is not as bad as it might be. It is not as though we are left with nothing.” Therefore, he follows after the Little One, hoping to come to an agreement with his parents-in-law on a shared custody.
However, his parents-in-law do not want to talk about anything to do with the raising of their granddaughter. They despise Chee and his family for being simple farmers and do not want their granddaughter raised up in Chee’s family. Chee is forced to leave his daughter behind in their care, but only until he can come up with a plan to take away the Little One. In this regard, Chee does respect the customs. He accepts the decision of his parents-in-law to live with his daughter. Towards the end of the story, he manages to convince them to give back his daughter to live with him.
Chee has tried to live by the customs of his people much of his life. When he first married his wife, he agreed to live with her among her people, as was required by the customs.

Examine the extent to which Paine's characterization of America still holds true today. What evidence is there?

Thomas Paine saw America as a battleground in which to fight for his political philosophy—namely, that all men (yes, he was a chauvinist, like most writers of his time) were born with certain unalienable rights. A government-issued charter could not grant a man these rights; it could only seek to take these rights away. These are laid out in Rights of Man as a right to liberty, property, security, and the resistance of oppression. Rights of Man was a direct commentary on the French revolution as well as the claims of the British crown to possess an inherited or dynastic right to rule. However, coupled with Common Sense and his other published works, Rights of Man was a fundamental expression of the founding philosophy of America. Its sentiments were echoed in the Declaration of Independence, namely via the self-evident "truths."
Largely, America continues to uphold the protection of these basic rights. State leadership is not an inherited trait; it can only be earned through winning elections. Even those positions held for life (i.e. the Justices) do not pass down the title to their children. 
Property continues to be protected in our civil court systems, even if the process has its flaws. Still, any American that deems their property wrongfully destroyed or stolen can file a lawsuit and attempt to win it back through due legal process. 
Security also is supposed to be provided for all indiscriminately. It is illegal for any law officer to deny protection to an American citizen, regardless of race, class, faith, or creed. 
Of course, every one of these statements must come with a disclaimer. For dynastic rule does exist in our government (look at the Clintons and the Bushes), and the overwhelming majority of our politicians are heterosexual Christian males born into privileged white families. It is undeniably easier for privileged Americans to win legal battles, just as it is more likely that they will be protected by the law if they are in danger. 
And so we keep getting closer to Paine's vision for America—and yet, some old habits just seem to die hard.