In "The Scarlet Letter" Mr. Wilson asks Pearl "Who made thee?" What is Pearl's answer and why does she reply as she does?

Pearl's response is indicative that, like the prison rose bush,she, too, is a symbol of passion.  In fact, she is more symbol than human until the events of Chapter XXIII bring her fully into the world of humanity as Dimmesdale beckons her onto the scaffold,

'Dear little Pearl, wilt thou kiss me now? Thous wouldst not, yonder, in the forest!'....Pearl kissed his lips.  A spell was broken.

In Chapter IV Hawthorne elaborates on Pearl's function as symbol as he tells the reader that when Chillingworth attended to her in the prison, she

writhed in convulsion of pain, and was a forcible type in its little frame, of the moral agony which Hester Prynne had borne throughout the day.

The struggles of Hester's spirit are symbolized in the behavior and nature of Pearl.  In Chapter VI, the author tells the reader this much: 

The mother's impassioned state had been the medium through which were transmitted to the unborn infant the rays of its moral life; and...they had taken the deep stains of crimson and gold, the fiery lustre, the back shadow, and the untempered light of the intervening substance.  Above all, the warfare of Hester's spirit, at that epoch, was perpetuated in Pearl.

This "perpetuated" spirit of Hester in Pearl as symbol is exemplified in the forest as Pearl delights in the sunshine, stands on the other side of the brook, and insists on Hester's replacing the cast-off letter, for Hester delights in being with the minister and stands at a point of possible freedom, but she later must resume the wearing of the letter. When all three are joined as family, they can be true to Nature and Pearl, thus, acquires her humanity.

Describe the Ottoman Empire.

The Ottman Empire ruled Asia Minor for about 600 years, from the middle of the 13th century until the end of World War I.  At its height it included the Byzantine Empire, extending over parts of eastern and central Europe, the Middle East, and northern Africa.  Read more at the link:

In "To Kill a Mockingbird" why did some African Americans forget their birthday or were not sure it was correct?Extra Credit: if I know more about...

Many black people during this time period could not read or write; because of this, they didn't use traditional calendars like we have today; they wouldn't be able to read it.  They kept time in different ways, through the position of the sun, length of the days, and seasonal signs related to the planting of crops.  Because of this, Calpurnia didn't really know the exact day of her birthday.  She states in the book,

"We started rememberin' one time, trying to figure out how old I was...I just have [my birthday] on Christmas, it's easier to remember that way-I don't have a real birthday."

Of course she had a real birthday, but didn't know which day it was on, or even which year.  Keeping track of such things was not as significant for large, poor families back then.  Who could afford to celebrate a birthday, even if they did know how to read the date when one was born?  So, Calpurnia figures that she's "older than Mr. Finch, even...not sure how much though," and that is good enough for her.

Mostly, the people only mention the four places, East Egg, West Egg, New York and Valley of ashes. But isn't Midwest important? Midwest

The Midwest is an important setting in this novel because it sets up the contrast to the rich who live in East Egg. Those in the East Egg are so destructive and self-involved that they leave everything behind them whenever it suits their needs. 

Nick, the narrator of the novel, is from the Midwest.  He has the morals and values of those who work for their money and live well, but he has a conservative side about his.  Nick is a fair man, he is for the most part an innocent person, and he doesn't have the sophistication of those in the East Egg. His values are understood through his narration.  He witnesses how Daisy treats others. She uses people, then discards them when she's done.  Without his contrasting morals, the reader wouldn't be able to see how corrupt the East Egg people really are.  So, yes, Fitzgerald put the Midwest in there for a reason. It's very essential to the story line.  It's also where the "hero" of the story is from.  Jay Gatsby is from the Midwest, even though he ends up in the category of the West Egg people.  He began in the Midwest.

What is the theme of short story "The Hungry Stones" by Rabindranath Tagore?

This one is going to be a bit tough because the story itself is one of the most challenging to dissect.  It is difficult to find a theme because the story's ending is suspended.  The companion's story of hopeful escape from the mansion is not completed, and accordingly, the judgment of whether the story is valid or false is also suspended.  The speaker and his "theosophist relative" disagreed on their own impressions of the narrative, causing a "rift which was never healed."  In this, one can see that it is difficult to find a definitive theme because of the suspended nature of both the story and the narrative framed within it.  It is Tagore's genius that he would provide a fragmented narrative in both the frame of the story and the story, itself.  With all of this in mind, I think that a theme that can be present is the idea of negative capability.  There is a level of uncertainty and lack of totality present in the short story.  The start of it features everyone telling the companion that he should avoid the palace at all costs, and his rebuke of such a claim.  Over time, he begins to recognize the truth of the warnings and the end result is that there is some larger force which is at work in the palace, one that cannot be fully appropriated or controlled.  In this, there is a theme of challenging control with the invariable opposite of a lack of control.  This assertion in a lack of totality and harmony is apparent in the ending of the story, one where there is the sense of the inconclusive evident along with disunity present in the telling of the narrative, as well.

In the novel, "1984", why is their world constantly at war?

Although we think of war as a horrible experience, it can be a useful tool for the state.  If there is a constant threat to the well being of a state's citizens, that anxiety can be used to control the people and focus their attention on doing whatever it takes to keep them safe.  Although it is not the same thing, look at what happened in our country after 9/11.  Our government, for better or for worse, asked us to give up some of our traditional civil rights in return for greater safety.  It's still under discussion

In 1984, it doesn't make any difference which state is fighting against which since all the states use the "war" to control their people, to give them someone to hate, to turn over whatever rights (more to things like razor blades than abstract freedom) they may have in turn for safety, and to turn their energy anywhere else than on themselves and the sorry state they live in.

War as tool.

In "The Storm" by Kate Chopin, are there any setting elements other than the storm?

One element of setting is the symbolic bedroom "with its white, monumental bed, its closed shutters, look[ing] dim and mysterious."  Chopin was notorious for writing scandalous stories about housewives enjoying the forbidden.  So the great mystery here is what lies beyond the borders of accepted morals, represented by the bed.   Later Chopin states that "she was a revelation in that dim, mysterious chamber".  So, once they decide to answer that question, it was a "revelation", no longer a mystery.

A last element of setting is the dirt and mud that her husband and son get covered in as they walk home.  This is the only reference to anything dirty or unclean in the entire story; they are worried about it, and Bobinot "scraped the mud off Bibi's bare legs and feet with a stick and carefully removed all traces from his heavy brogans" before they went into the house.  Calixta isn't upset, but rather delighted that they are home.  The mud (and similarly, her affair) is something that could have been deemed unclean or muddying, and have no negative effect on Calixta.  She laughs them both off, and is happy.  This happiness and freedom in unconventional sources is a major theme of Chopin's, and you can see that through the different elements of setting that she uses.