With your version of jQuery, it works only with a little trick. The implicit value of textarea has different values for different browsers. Firefox, for example has the implicit value of -1.
Shot in the dark: it may be because maxlength is not a valid attribute for textareas.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.