Quickwrite -- Cherished item

If I can only save one item from a disaster, like fire, flood or earthquake, I think I will pick pillow, which still stays with me for my entire life. It's like my amulet. Though I am not always lucky while I bring it with me, I still feel a shapeless but comfortable feeling that I won't be depress easily. Thus, when I am caught in wars or disasters, I think my pillow will give me confidence and make me feel better. Don't laugh at me, I know it's kinda silly to have a pillow as an amulet or a treasure, but my pillow is really important to me.

Universal Education

After searching "Universal Education" on the Internet, I now understand that the Universal Education is the education for all the people, regardless of class, colors, sex or religion. Usually, the universal education is promoted by the government and if the age of each people in the country meets the standard, the people are forced to go to school to be educated. Under the universal education, the public school is established by the government, and the people in the country with the education policy are allowed to go to the public school to learn things for free (since it's your right to be educated).

The Victorian Workhouse

Workhouses were the institution of housing, feeding and taking care of the people who were unable to attending and supporting themselves. However, if you know how did these workhouses work and the detail of the workhouse system, you will figure out that workhouses weren't really the institution of helping people. For the poor people in the Victorian era, workhouses might be the hell they refused to go.
After searching "Workhouse" on the Internet, I understand that the workhouse wasn't really what it should be like. The poor people were paid in cash, and the paupers who were still living in their home would be forced to go to the workhouse. If the people were able to work, they would be sent and put to work, and if you didn't listen to what your master said, you would get the less salary. If you tried to run away from the workhouse, your family and yourself in the workhouse coudn't benefit and be helped by the workhouse system forever. In addition, if you and your family were sent to the workhouse in the same time, you guys might be separated to the different part of the workhouse and not allowed to mix, so it was also very risky to go to the workhouse.
Even though the workhouse didn't really help the poor people completely, after The 19th Century, the workhouse declined, and the welfare policies rose up. The poor people got more indemnification since then.

Quickwrite -- Which Ghost Affects Scrooge The Most

In the story, "A Christmas Carol", there are 3 ghosts, and their duties are to help Scrooge expiate what he had done bad in his life. Those 3 ghosts, Ghost of the Christmas Past, Ghost of the Christmas Present and Ghost of the Christmas Future, all had helped Scrooge understand somethings, well, I think the third ghost, The Ghost of the Christmas Future affected Scrooge the most.
The Ghost of the Christmas Past showed Scrooge's childhood but made him recall his old bad memories although the Ghost showed Scrooge that he had been happy and smiled before. The Ghost of the Christmas Present showed Scrooge what his nephew thought about him, and he started realizing something and began changing his attitude. The Ghost of the Christmas Future showed Scrooge how he would die in the future and how people treated him when he died, and this must be the most influential to Scrooge, because he had seen what his death would be like and how the people related to him would treat him. From then, he completely changed his attitude and behavior of treating people, and he wasn't greedy, selfish and mean anymore, started helping the poor kids and people in the workhouse by his wealth. Thus I think the third ghost is the most influential one to Scrooge.

Quickwrite -- Theme of "Liberty" and "Exile"

After reading both "Liberty" and "Exile", I find out that they both have presented the sorrow and horror of the people trying to survive in the battlefield. Meanwhile, I also understand that for the people living in the war, dying is very common, people can die easily anytime. Thus, I think the theme of both "Liberty" and "Exile" are that the people can hardly survive and live in the danger every day, they also have to beware themselves every time even they are asleep, because they can be killed anytime. Meanwhile, they both may want to represent that the war only makes pain and injury, so it's better not to let the war occur. I think these are the theme of both "Liberty" and "Exile".