What geological and/or ecological factors affect the composition of the atmosphere?

The air we breathe, is a part of the atmosphere, the gas mixture that covers the globe. This mixture of gases ensure life on earth and protects us from harmful rays of the sun. The atmosphere is maintained by gravity, so can not disperse in cosmic space .In every day millions of people go through the atmosphere with different aircraft, from balloons to airplanes. You can go by foot, bicycle, car, train, metro, plane, by boat.
Atmosphere, compound word of Greek origin (athomos = air and spherein = sphere), is designated as air envelope of the Earth.
The atmosphere of our planet is virtually 100% gasous, but also containing traces of solid substances .Compozition of atmosphere has changed over the approximately 2.5 - 2.8 billion years ago, from a primitive atmosphere at the current , passing through several intermediate stages, during which the atmosphere has changed not only the chemical composition, but also other characteristics such as density, thickness, transparency and others.
The atmosphere is named in normal speech air.
At 4.56 billion years ago, when earth globe appeared, hydrogen (H2) and helium (He) were already present.
Subsequently, due to the low density of these 2 gases, they will not be attracted by the planet, spreading  progressive  in cosmic space.
Thanks to the slow cooling of the Earth,  volcanic activity, were brought to the surface various gases, which were the result of chemical reactions of the internal layers of the globe. These processes arose an atmosphere with a composition of about 80% water vapor (H2O), 10% carbon dioxide (CO2) and 5 to 7% hydrogen sulfide. This combination of gases can be seen today in the emanations and volcanic eruptions.
The climatology depends not only the shape of the atmosphere  , but also its size.
For an atmosphere 35 times thicker than today, would see the sun until the afternoon as a red spot and Heatstroke should be almost null. "Silver Clouds" that we see at night show heights of almost 80 km, and other facts allow us to say this atmosphere even beyond 250 km.
In terms of utility, more interesting than the shape and dimensions of the atmosphere is it's temperature.
Immediately after the air temperature is relative air density and it's weight of each region. Aristotle knew that the air is heavy - even had made some attempts to weight it, but only in modern times found a reliable means of measuring the weight of the atmosphere, when it was discovered barometer (1644).

What is the symbolism of Guy de Maupassant's "Two Friends"?

Fishing is a fine-weather sport, a leisure activity, and in this story by Guy de Maupassant, a hobby shared by two friends.  Before the war Mssrs. Morissot and Sauvage went to the river regularly; now the area is dangerous, the days are literally not so bright, and they must refrain.  The weather itself is here a symbol of war and deprivation, Morissot noting mournfully at the beginning that the day he chances upon his friend on the boulevard “is the first fine day of the year!”  Maupassant notes as well that the sky is “a bright, cloudless blue.” The story takes place in early spring – for months to have gone by in the year without a beautiful day is telling, for during these same months France has been subject to Prussian occupation.  This also represents the happiness and relief of the friends to run into each other – the only beautiful day of the year is also the first day they will spend together since the beginning of the war.  The day they pretend nothing is wrong.

The description of the day as being a “cloudless blue” is noteworthy, for when the friends embark upon their hopeful fishing trip on this fine day, cannons erupt on Mont Valerien, visible from their perch on the riverbank.  These cannons emit smoke, which hovers in the still, clear air around the mountain, and by the end of the story, the “summit [is]…enshrouded in smoke,” an evolution that parallels the two friends’ horrifying transition from carefree fishing to facing a firing squad.  Even on a fine day during wartime, clouds creep in.

Before the friends are taken by the Prussians and assumed to be spies, and shown no mercy, they catch a large sack full of gudgeons that the Prussians capture along with the Frenchmen.  These fish – caught unassumingly, unceremoniously, swept from their rightful home for the sport and social morale of men – can be said to symbolize the two friends themselves, who also are caught unassumingly, unceremoniously, swept from their homeland by invaders and killed for the good of their enemies.  The lack of remorse shown by the Prussian officer toward the Frenchmen is summed up in the very last lines of the story, concerning the fish: 

“’Have these fish fried for me at once, while they are still alive.  They will make a tasty dish.’ 

Then he resumed his pipe.”

From these lines we can see how stoic and heedless the officer is to the innocent lives he just took, the innocent fish he is frying – indirectly; he is not performing the tasks but he bears the full responsibility nonetheless – and we can see that the Frenchmen mean no more to the Prussians than the fish they had caught.  These fish are food, as well, representing the supplies and aid and hope being withheld from the French people by the Prussians, by the evils of war – for all over Paris people were starving.

How are Georg and Ulrich similar, and how does the omniscient narrator show their thoughts?

Georg and Ulrich, even though they are enemies, have similar views on life and each other, causing them to have more in common than not. Both men think that they have a right to the land over which they have been feuding.  Both are arrogant (each man hopes that his men will be the first to rescue them from under the fallen tree so that he will have bragging rights over the other).  Both originally wish death upon the other--the narrator states that each "had hate in his heart." Finally, Saki implies that they both share the same death.

In regards to their thoughts, the narrator comments on the feelings and thoughts that each man has toward the other (hate, murder, pride).  While some of these thoughts are evidenced by the men's actions, most are only made available to the reader from the narrator's knowledge of their thoughts.

What was the problem of Telemachus in The Odyssey?i want to know what are the problems that Telemachus encounter while odesseus was not around.

The largest problem that Telemachus faces in Odysseus's absence is trying to be the man of the house before he is seen to be a man.  The suitors are taking advantage of his mother's hospitality, the servants at the home, the food, and the land.  He wants to protect what is his family's and his.  He cannot, however, easily stand up to the suitors who are all seen by society as men.  They have proven themselves through wealth, bravery, and other means, whereas he is still seen as a child.

What are the advantages of telling the story (To Kill a Mockingbird) from Scout’s point of view.

All of kkosach's points in the previous post are true concerning Scout's point of view in Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. However, we must remember that Scout is telling her story in retrospect--many years later and from an adult's perspective.

    When enough years had gone by to enable us to look back on them, we sometimes discussed the events leading to his accident. I maintain that the Ewells started it all, but Jem, who was four years my senior, said it started long before that.
    ... We were far too old to settle the argument with a fist-fight, so we consulted Atticus.

So, yes, Scout is recounting her tales through the eyes of a youngster (between the ages of 5-8), but it is the adult Scout reverting back to her childhood to narrate. It is not the same as, say, The Diary of Anne Frank, in which Anne narrates her entire story from a present day point of view. Harper Lee does a splendid job in making the reader forget this fact, since Scout's tale does seem so innocent and childlike. But there are many examples of vocabulary and higher understanding within the story that no child--not even the precocious Scout--could display at such a young age.

For example, Scout (the child) has to have Atticus explain "rape" to her; yet, in Chapter 1, she describes her ancestor, Simon, and his "impotent fury." She doesn't understand the term "nigger-lover," but she comprehends that the aforementioned Simon "having forgotten his teacher's dictum on the possession of human chattels, bought three slaves..." Scout speaks with knowledge of "John Wesley's strictures," but Calpurnia has to explain her church's use of "linin'. "

It is Scout's narration, but it is through the eyes of the older, wiser, adult Scout. This "adult perspective also adds a measure of hindsight to the tale, allowing for a deeper examination of events."

In Animal Farm, what idea did Snowball have to improve conditions on the farm?

Snowball's major idea for improving the conditions on Animal Farm is to build a windmill.  He proposes this idea in Chapter V.

Snowball argues that building a windmill will improve the lives of all the animals.  He says that with the windmill they will no longer have to work any more than 3 days per week.  He says that the windmill will generate electricity that will allow the animals to have warm stalls.

Napoleon is totally opposed to the idea of having a windmill.  When Snowball speaks in favor of the idea, Napoleon has him chased from the farm.

The word "brother" may be inerpreted in different ways. What role do the multiple meanings play in establishing the story’s theme in The Sniper?

The word "brother" can be interpreted in different ways, but I don't think it really changes "The Sniper's" theme much.  When we are looking for a theme, we are looking for the author's message that is understood by reading the story.  Sometimes that is easy and sometimes it is hard (and sometimes there really isn't much of a theme.)  "The Sniper," though, falls under the category of "easy" (largely because of that last line.)  The story, at heart, is about the horrors of war and how a civil war, in particular, can divide and destroy families.  There are others, but I think those are the main ones.

Now, what are the different ways that we can interpret the term "brother?"  Well, the most obvious (and the one I think O'Flaherty intended) is to say that one person is related to another, as in legal family member.  The other, looser interpretation would be to say that the term brother referred to an "unofficial" brother, the kind you get through a mental, emotional, or physical closeness.  The kinds of situations that breed this type of "brotherhood" are close friendships, serving in the same military unit, going through some intense experience together...you get the idea.  In this case, if we use the "loose" definition of brother we would be saying that the Sniper feels like the man he shot was his brother in spirit if not by blood.

Are you still with me?

My point is that either way that you look at the term "brother" the main point of the story (about the horrors of war, and its dividing effects) doesn't change.  The Sniper is horrified because he has shot and killed someone very close to him.