How does Richard Conell use organisation in "The Most Dangerous Game" to establish mood?

Richard Conell begins "The Most Dangerous Game" with direct dialogue to involve readers immediately in the story. He uses the character's dialogue to establish setting - the tropical Caribbean. It is "like moist dark velvet," and all is surrounded in "thick warm blackness" due to the moonless night. The setting and lush descriptions instantly create a creepy, ominous mood. 

As the story continues, the superstitious talk of tangible evil raises tension. The events of the story - Rainsford falling off the yacht, swimming to the brink of exhaustion, finally being rescued by General Zaroff - are points of building and falling tension. The realisation that General Zaroff hunts men is a turning point in the story, for the mood is solidified and the reader is certain that something terrible will happen. 

As for organisation, the hunt occurs over three days. Each day is detailed, and each day holds new challenges and new terrors for Rainsford. Each plan (the complicated trail, the man-catching trap, the tiger trap, the knife) brings new hope, but each one fails. The mood is still ominous, but the story is constantly exciting and new. Rainsford's final plan, to swim to the chateau and win the hunt, succeeds! The suspense in the final line, "He had never slept better in a bed, Rainsford decided," allows the suspense to linger until the penultimate word of the story. Story organisation and even sentence structure contribute to the ominous yet exciting mood of the tale. 

How do setting and atmosphere in How to Date a Brown Girl, Black Girl, White Girl, or Halfie by Junot Diaz impact the reader? How does setting and...

Yunior is a poor Dominican immigrant sharing dating strategies with the reader. He lives in an inexpensive apartment in a mostly hispanic part of the city.

The reader can tell that Yunior is in some way ashamed of his family's living area, because he mentions hiding the government cheese (a sign of poverty) and hiding the bucket full of used toilet paper under the sink. Clearly, he is afraid girls might judge him.

These stresses about the apartment combine with Yunior's hints of racial anxiety, such as his suggestion to run fingers through your hair as if you were white, or to accept a white girl's false implication that you are Spanish.

Both of these issues show how having a girl in his living area can cause a great deal of anxiety for Yunior about his own identity. Sadly, he appears to believe that his poverty or his color in some way make him less worthy. Or, alternatively, he believes that these girls would perceive these things as negative.

This fear of judgment forces the reader consider the source of Yunior's attitude. Is there a larger social mindset that has created his opinions of his own home and identity?

Was it best for Junior to attend Reardan in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian?

In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, it is best that Junior attends Reardan.  After Junior learns that he has been issued his mother's 30-year-old math textbook, he realizes that his education on the reservation is limited by money.  His teacher Mr. P encourages Junior to seek education off the reservation so that he can find a sense of hope.  So Junior leaves the school in Wellpinit to go to Reardan for what he considers a better education.  However, arguably speaking, this apparent goal is not what makes it best that Junior attends Reardan.  What makes it best is that attending Reardan is a way for Junior to exert a sense of agency over his life--he makes a decision that he thinks is best for him.  Other Indians on the reservation label him a "traitor" and a "white-lover," but Junior overcomes this abuse to follow the path that he thinks is best for his own life.  By standing up to detractors, Junior gains self-confidence.  So arguably, the development of a strong sense of self is what makes attending Reardan a great decision for Junior.

How did New York and New Jersey become English colonies?

The colony that would become New York was founded as New Netherland by Dutch settlers in the 1620s. They established New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island no long after. The colony thrived on the beaver trade with area Iroquois, but was in competition with the New England colonies just north of the region. In 1664, after the restoration of the British monarchy, English King Charles II, not recognizing the Dutch claim on the land (which was actually in a region long claimed by the English) granted it to the Duke of York, his brother and the future king James II. The Duke sent an expedition to seize the land from its Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant, and renamed it New York after himself. He then granted the lands that are now New Jersey to two proprietors, Lords Carteret and Berkeley. Berkeley sold his lands to investors in England. This area, known as West Jersey, was heavily settled by Quakers. East Jersey, owned by Carteret, changed hands several times before uniting with the West (under the control of New York) in 1702. The combined colony gained separate status as New Jersey in 1728. However, the capitals of West and East Jersey, Burlington and Perth Amboy, respectively, remained dual seats of government until the Revolutionary era. 

What costume is Fortunato wearing in Poe's short story, "The Cask of Amontillado"?

Fortunato is the victim of the narrator Montresor in Edgar Allan Poe's macabre short story "The Cask of Amontillado." The story takes place during Carnival. Carnival is a raucous festival on the eve of the forty day period called Lent, the Christian time of abstinence before Easter. Carnival literally means a farewell to meat. Carnival is usually marked by extreme and excessive binging on food and alcohol. Participants usually celebrate in brightly colored costumes. 

Montresor chooses Carnival as the time to carry out his plot to murder Fortunato. He knows that amidst the chaos of the celebration he will be able to get away with the crime. The plan involves luring Fortunato down into the catacombs below Montresor's villa. The fact that Fortunato is in a celebratory and somewhat inebriated state makes it easy for Montresor. When they meet in the street, Fortunato is wearing the typical garb of the season, a multi-colored "dress" and a cap with bells. Picture a jester from medieval times. Poe describes the man:

The man wore motley. He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells.

How have African-American living conditions improved since 1865?

African-American living conditions have improved since 1865. However, the improvement has not always been continuous.

In 1865, the Civil War ended. As a result, slavery ended, and the African-Americans were freed. This was a huge improvement. Having freedom instead of being a slave can’t be underestimated. During Reconstruction, African-American males began to vote. Some got elected to political offices. The Freedmen’s Bureau was established to help the former slaves get adjusted to freedom. There were definite improvements right after the Civil War ended.

Once Reconstruction ended in 1877, African-Americans saw many of their rights being reduced significantly. While they were still free, white southerners began to restrict African-American rights. As the number of white southerners who got elected to office increased, a series of laws, known as the Jim Crow Laws, were passed that segregated the races. Poll taxes and literacy tests were used to deny voting rights to African-Americans. Many African-Americans were poor and couldn’t pay the tax. Others didn’t have the education so they couldn’t read or write. That disqualified them from voting. Groups like the Ku Klux Klan formed and began to intimidate and terrorize the African-Americans people.

It wasn’t until the 1950s and 1960s that conditions improved. In the Brown v The Board of Education case, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public school was illegal. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made segregation in public places illegal. Separate drinking fountains, bathrooms, and waiting rooms were now against the law. In 1965, the Voting Right Act banned the poll taxes and literacy tests. Federal workers helped African-Americans register to vote. The Civil Rights Act of 1968 made discrimination in the areas of housing sales and apartment rentals illegal.

In more recent times, African-Americans have been able to secure good jobs and get promoted to better positions within their companies. Their standard of living has improved. While some problems continue, such as higher unemployment rates and higher poverty rates, African-Americans have seen improvements in their lives. American-Americans have come a long way since 1865.

In general, who would like To Kill a Mockingbird? Why do you think so?

To Kill a Mockingbird has captivated generations of readers because of the characters, themes, lessons, and nostalgic feel of the novel.  There is a reason why the novel is universally taught in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade classrooms across this country, and, when asked, many readers will place To Kill a Mockingbird on their top 10 list of favorite books. 

To have characters you can identify with is something that makes a novel timeless.  Scout’s tomboy ways, Boo Radley’s mysterious life, and Atticus’ wise, fatherly demeanor adds to the popularity of the novel for many people.  Scout’s innocence and intelligence is seen as a vibrant part of a character in which we can all identify.  The development of all the characters from Jem to Mrs. Dubose adds to the intrigue and accessibility of the novel for people of all ages.

The major themes and lessons that we take from the novel also add to the novel’s importance.  Tolerance, the effects of racism, respect, and family are just a few themes that make the novel powerful.  When a reader can learn from something they read, the book becomes a memorable and unforgettable resource in which one can learn life lessons and can acquire personal values and beliefs.  To Kill a Mockingbird is one such novel that has done that for many readers.

The novel also has the ability to take us all back to our childhoods when life was simpler and easier than life as adults.  To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming of age novel where Jem and Scout grow and mature from the things they learn and the events they experience.   The melding of the innocence of childhood with the maturity of social issues like racism, abuse, and violence allows the reader to become connected to the characters as they experience and grow in an imperfect society.

So, to answer your question, I feel To Kill a Mockingbird is a book for any generation.  As a teacher, I always tell my students to reread the novel when they are older as well.  Every time I read it, I learn something new, remember something important, and lose myself in the antics of Jem and Scout. 

Evaluate the definite integral.

You need to use the following substitution  , such that:

Replacing back  x-1 for u yields:

Using Leibniz-Newton theorem yields:

Hence, evaluating the definite integral, yields

In "A Christmas Carol," what does Scrooge learn by witnessing the poor people?

As a result of witnessing the poor people, Scrooge learns that people can be happy even if they are without money.

Scrooge views reality in purely materialist terms. The Ghost of Christmas Present shows him how the poor still find happiness when it comes to the spirit of the Holidays.  Scrooge sees how the poor appreciate the "brisk and not unpleasant type of music" and how "exchanging a facetious snowball" can breed community.  This is eye- opening to Scrooge because the people he sees are not rich.  

No better is this shown than when he sees the Cratchit home.  Scrooge is surprised to see the Ghost bless Cratchit's poor dwelling.  However, Scrooge sees how poor people like the Cratchits can still find happiness because they embrace the spirit of the season. The household is full of activity and "hurrahs." Mrs. Cratchit is offering kisses to the children, and Bob Cratchit showing care and concern for his family are examples that show Scrooge how money is not the most important thing.  There is a collective spirit of inclusion that overcomes money in the Cratchit home.

Bob Cratchit and his family have little to eat and don't show much in way of wealth.  However, Scrooge sees how happy they are and how much joy there is in the holiday season in their home.  In witnessing poor people like the Cratchits, Scrooge learns there is something more to living than relying solely on money. 

What does Chaucer's descriptions of both the physical attributes and dress of the pilgrims reveal or suggest about their inner nature?

The apparel of the persons who are going to Canterbury is very revealing of the true character of these pilgrims.

In his Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer utilizes "estate satire"; that is, he satirizes the abuses that occur with the three traditional estates of 

1. The Nobility


2. The Clergy


3. The Merchants and Peasants

It is the Clergy who receive the most satire, and deservedly so in the historical context. 

The knight is a noble man, "a worthy man," who has recently returned from battle as his "long armored shirt/And cotton tunic" are wet and dirty. Since he has not taken the time to change lest he miss the pilgrimage, the knight is sincere and certainly not vain.

His clothes reflect the impassioned youth, who sings or plays his flute all day. He is romantic:

His clothes were embroidered up and down, and bright
As meadows full of fresh flowers, red and white.

This man is a hunter, through and through; he wears green (it would be camouflage nowadays). He makes his own arrows from peacock feathers. He wear a St. Christopher, patron of travelers, medal.

• The Prioress

This nun is truly hypocritical as she is more concerned with worldly things. That she affects sophistication is apparent in her speaking French through her nose and her mannerisms as she daintily touches her food. 
Her vanity is displayed with the wimple of her nun's habit that is "carefully ironed," and the rosary that is around her neck is not the customary black of a nun's. Instead, it is more jewelry than it is part of her habit.

A pair of coral prayer beads was strung around
Her arm, great beads as green as anywhere found,
And hanging from them a brooch of the brightest gold,
Inscribed...Love Conquers All.

He also has a false pride and vanity that one in the religious life should not possess. He hunts, which is against the rules of his order, and, like the prioress, he is vain. Chaucer refers to him as a "lordly monk" who wears "lovely gray fur, the finest in the land." He fastens his monk tunic's hood with a golden pin. This is also like the prioress, who adorns her religious habit with the ornate rosary. In addition to these luxuries, the monk wears boots of the finest leather.

This man is supposed to live off the charity of others; however, he owns expensive clothes: He wears a luxurious cape "woven of couble twisted/Wool" in which he carries "generous presents for good-looking wives."

• The Merchant

Dressed in "many colors," and fancy clothes, the merchant hides his being in debt because he wishes to rise to the new middle class. He wears a "beavered hat from Flanders" and boots with "handsome buckles."

• The Lawyer

This man desires to join the ranks of the nobility through his own skills. Chaucer comments,

His clothes were modest, his coat was drawn
Around by a silken belt, brightly striped
Of the rest of his clothing I've nothing more to write.

The "man of law" invests his money in land, not clothes, but he wears good clothing.

• The Shipman

This is a coarse man of the sea, who pirates things and is always ready to fight. His clothes, like the man, are "coarse" and ill-fitting as they "flap onto his knees." With a coarse string around his neck he hangs his dagger and holds it under his arm for any time he may want it.

• The Wife of Bath ("A goodwife")

The clothes that she fashions from the cloth that she weaves are better than those woven by the Belgians and the Dutch, who were known for superior cloth. 

                                               ....Her stockings
Were red, full scarlet red and somewhat shocking.
....Her shoes were supple and new....
An outer skirt was wrapped around her hips
(Quite large), a pair of spurs on his feet.

The red stockings indicate the wealth of the "goodwife" because the red dye for them is made from a red beetle that can only be found in certain areas. Also, the color red symbolizes lust, and the Wife of Bath has had five husbands. Her outer skirt that she wears to protect her other clothes as she rides on her horse, is large and she has spurs on her boots, indicating that this lusty woman is a formidable force on her own.

• The Miller

Described as a "hefty rascal," the miller steals some of the grain he mills and cheats on his prices, but "could not be called, in truth,/A thief." As a decoy, he wears a white coat, and his hood is blue.

• The Steward

A crafty man who handles his lord's accounts, the steward also wears blue in his long overcoat and carries a rusty sword, and indication that it is not used as his pen and ledger are his weapons.

In "The Masque of Red Death," what do the prince's actions - and his decision to hold a ball - suggest about his attitude toward the "external...

Prince Prospero's decision to hold a ball while the citizens of his country fall victim to the most fatal disease they have ever encountered shows just how little he cares about them and the world outside his walls.

The narrator, ironically, describes Prospero as "happy and dauntless and sagacious."  He may be happy, but that will only last a short while longer, and he is certainly neither courageous nor perceptive.  It is pretty cowardly to hole up in one's castle while one's countrymen die by the thousand, and -- in the end -- Prospero's shrewd plan to stay alive is ineffective.  

Further, the amount of money that Prospero spends on a "voluptuous," months-long party could have been put to better use in trying to stop the spread of this disease (or at least to isolate more of the healthy so that they, too, could have a chance at survival).  Instead, he spends indiscriminately in order to orchestrate this "masquerade" and the seven rooms, each of a different color, in which it takes place.  His willingness to spend money on his own behalf, and for his own enjoyment, rather than using it to assist the citizens of the country further shows his selfishness and lack of concern for the outside world.

Give an example of a simile in The Witch of Blackbird Pond.

A simile is a figure of speech.  Specifically it makes a comparison between two different items in order to highlight some similarity between the two items.  The last piece of a simile is that the comparison must use the words "like" or "as" to make the comparison.  For example:

My sixth grade class is full of energy.  They are like the atoms in a gas -- always bouncing off the walls.  

In The Witch of Blackbird Pond there is a great simile in chapter one that is used to describe Kit as she sets foot in America for the first time.  

Her spirits bobbed like the whitecaps in the harbor as the boat pulled away from the black hull of the Dolphin.

A page later, Kit gets back into the longboat with a few other passengers.  One is a little girl with a toy.  After a few minutes of rowing, the little girl realizes that she dropped her toy in the water.  The simile used to describe the floating toy is as follows.  

The toy was drifting farther and farther from the boat, like a useless twig in the current. 

One last simile.  This one is from chapter two.  

It was almost too much to bear when she heard a splash directly below her and saw that Nat and two of the other young men had taken advantage of a wait for the rowboat and were thrashing about like porpoises in the river.

I don't know much about American literature in 1960s. I want to find some brief information about this period. Could anybody tell me how that...

There were many different literary movements in the 1960s, some continuous with literary movements of the 1950s and some representing new approaches to form and subject matter.

The Beat poets of the 1950s, including Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti continued to be influential, pursuing a style influenced by Whitman, emphasizing intense first person experience and rebellion against both social and literary conventions. Also linked with the Beats and active at the same period were the Black Mountain poets, including  Robert Duncan, Denise Levertov, and Robert Creeley, all of whom appropriated many of the poetic techniques of Pound and the Imagists. Southern poets and an eclectic group associated with Yvor Winters remained concerned with traditional forms.

In fiction, one major topic area was the Vietnam War; perhaps the most iconic novel emerging from this was Joseph Heller's Catch-22. William S. Burroughs, Henry Miller, and Jack Kerouac wrote novels connected with the Beat movement, written in a stream-of-consciousness style and including explicit details of sexual experiences. Another major development in fiction was the growth of postmodernism, especially metafiction, seen in the work of such writers as Kurt Vonnegut, Robert Coover, John Barth, and Thomas Pynchon. 

In nonfiction, a major movement was the New Journalism, a highly personal, novelistic style of writing which focused as much on the character and reactions of the writer as on the putative subject. Exemplars of this style included Joan Didion, Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe, and Hunter Thompson. 

Please explain the following quote, "But I must get him close, close, close," he thought. "I mustn't try for the head. I must get the heart. Be...

Santiago has been battling this marlin in the heat of the day for a while now. He is tired and beginning to get weak from the fight. He needs to harpoon the fish and get it off his line, but a head shot would not guarantee death and he cannot risk not killing it. If he only injures it, he would then have lost his harpoon and still be battling the marlin. He knows if he is going to kill it, he needs a sure shot, and that is a shot to the heart.

By saying, "Be calm and strong old man," he is essentially talking himself up...giving himself confidence to make the shot. He can "only see in flashes now" and his hand are "all mushy" because he is so tired and weak. He is trying to gather himself so that he can do what needs to be done, otherwise this battle has been for nothing.

What does Steinbeck imply about that society's general perception of women and wives of ranch workers?

Overall, Curley's wife is one of the most unfairly treated characters in 20th Century American literature. Certainly she is the loneliest character on the ranch and, despite her abhorrent threat to have Crooks strung up, her actions throughout the novel depict a lonely woman desperate for attention. Instead, because the limited third-person point-of-view only looks at Lennie's and George's perspectives, Curley's wife comes off as a "tart" who leads Lennie to break her neck. Overall, Curley's wife is symbolic of the way women might have been treated on a ranch in the 1930s.

Starting with her name, or lack of one, it's clear that Curley's wife is just that: a wife. She maintains no purpose on the ranch other than being the boss's son's spouse. In fact, Curley's wife doesn't even receive much respect from her husband, since he goes off with the ranch hands to a whorehouse. At the end of the novel, Curley doesn't seem heartbroken about his wife's death, but instead seems hellbent on lynching Lennie.

This lack of attention from her husband, or lack of any duty for that matter, leads Curley's wife to flirt with the other men on the ranch. Before marrying Curley, she clearly received attention. She explains that a man asked her to make films and she "Coulda been in the movies, an' had nice clothes..." However, she's left wandering around the ranch looking for attention, which none of the other men give her.

This role as wife leaves this woman without opportunities. In a novel about loneliness, she is the loneliest character, which is due directly to her role as a woman on a ranch.

What is the daughter isotope of carbon-14 decay?

The daughter isotope of carbon-14 decay is nitrogen-14.

Carbon-14 decay is most famously known for its application in carbon dating of fossils. It is generated in the upper atmosphere, when cosmic rays cause production of neutrons, which interact with nitrogen. All the living organisms contain a fixed ratio of two isotopes of carbon: carbon-12 and carbon-14. Till the organism (both plants and animals) is alive, it maintains this ratio. However, once the organism is dead, it is unable to replenish carbon-14 and this ratio changes. Carbon-14 undergoes beta-decay, as per the following chemical reaction:

C-14 -> N-14 + 

In the decay process, nitrogen is generated, thus completing the cycle. Carbon-14 decay process has a half life of about 5730 years and can be used to determine the age of fossils.

Hope this helps. 

In Farenheit 451, what clue does the author give to describe human interaction in Guy's world?

Most of the information about human interaction in Guy's world is given to the reader through the character of Clarisse.

Early in the book, a huge amount of information can be found in the first conversation between Clarisse and Montag. Initially, Montag is insulted and confused by the young woman's questions:

[Clarisse] "You laugh when I haven't been funny and you answer right off. You never stop to think what I've asked you."

[Montag] He stopped walking. "You are an odd one, " he said, looking at her. "Haven't you any respect?"

but eventually is intrigued by her. We learn that most people don't think for themselves, obey rigid rules for conversation, and mold their identity around their work.

Additionally, Montag finds Clarisse's family strange, specifically because they spend a large amount of time talking to one another.

Finally, Clarisse contrasts her own inquisitive conversations with that of her peers and others. Midway through part one, she confesses to Montag that she likes to watch people, and sometimes eavesdrops on their conversations:

[Clarisse] "Or I listen at soda fountains, and do you know what?"

[Montag] "What?"

"People don't talk about anything."

"Oh, they must!"

"No, not anything. They name a lot of cars or clothes or swimming pools mostly and say how swell! But they all say the same things and nobody says anything different from anyone else."

Interestingly, as soon she mentions this, Montag begins noticing this fact in his own conversations.

What is the actual definition of "stave" in the novel "A Christmas Carol"?

A stave is a chapter in A Christmas Carol.

If you look at the title of the book, you can see the significance of the chapters being called "staves."  Dickens is acting as if the book is a Christmas carol, and each chapter is part of the song.  Stave is another word for “staff.”  In music, a staff is how music is written.  It is the lines on which the notes are displayed.

Dickens could have just named his chapters as chapters, but what would be the fun of that?  By calling the chapters staves, Dickens reinforces the idea that the book is a song.  Songs are short, as this book is, and at the holidays carols often have deeper meanings.

The metaphor continues with Dickens’s use of other imagery.  You will notice as you read the book that Dickens is very descriptive, and loves to use similes, metaphors, and symbolism throughout the book.  Even Dickens’s note to the reader contains a metaphor.

I HAVE endeavoured in this Ghostly little book to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it. (Note)

When Dickens says the book will “haunt” his readers’ houses, that is a metaphor for people bringing the book into their homes and making it a part of their holiday celebration.  Just look at the description of Scrooge, which is full of figurative language.

Oh! but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. (Stave 1)

Scrooge is described as “a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone” even though he was a banker and did not use a grindstone.  This metaphor is coordinated with several similes, including “sharp as flint” and “solitary as an oyster.”  These descriptions add to the poetry of the book and reinforce the idea that it is like a song.

Dickens wanted to create a book that would help people celebrate the holidays, but would also be meaningful.  The lesson he wanted to teach his readers was that during the holiday time of year, it was their responsibility to look out for the less fortunate.  The book is so powerful that, like a Christmas carol, it is still loved by many around the world over a hundred years later.

In "By the Waters of Babylon," how does John's tribe view the Dead Places?

John’s tribe, including priests like his father, is very fearful of the Dead Places and Place of the Gods. No one is allowed to travel east towards this area because of its dangers. Although the priests and John comb the Dead Places close to their tribe for metal, they are not allowed to go beyond the river that separates them from the Place of the Gods. The metal kills those who are not priests and must be purified to be used; however, the metal’s effects seems to be stronger in the Place of the Gods. John’s father tells him that “It is forbidden to travel east. It is forbidden to cross the river. It is forbidden to go to the Place of the Gods.” When John has dreams drawing him to seek out the Gods, his father can only let him go because it is a journey he knows John must make. John’s father, however, is not expecting him to return from the Place of the Gods because it is dangerous and deadly. John, too, expects to die, but feels he must make the journey to see what the Place of the Gods is. He says, “I knew I was meant to go east—I knew that was my journey.” At the end, John does return home to tell his tribe that the Gods were mere men who were destroyed during the Great Burning—a nuclear war in the past.

What are the similarities between Hitler, Stalin, and Macbeth?

Ruthless, relentless ambition drove Hitler, Stalin and Macbeth. Each was willing to anything to win, and each threw all notions of ordinary morality under the bus in their pursuit of power. All three men were willing to betray and murder people they were close to get ahead; in fact, all three were willing to murder anybody who got in their way. They displayed no loyalty and no compassion: in fact, all three considered mercy an obstacle to the "strength" they needed, compassion a quality they had to crush.

Hitler betrayed his close friend Röhm, having him murdered cold-bloodedly when he threatened Hitler's grip on power. This was a person Hitler had considered a dear friend, an old companion, a drinking buddy. Likewise, Stalin betrayed his old comrade Trotsky, eventually having him assassinated. Macbeth killed his king, Duncan, despite Duncan's goodness to him, because Duncan stood in his way to the throne.

All three men had an insatiable desire for political power. Each man wanted to be the undisputed, unchallenged leader of his country, and in Hitler's case, the world. None of them were willing to accept  second place. Nor were any of them willing to wait any longer than they had to to get what they wanted. 

For both Hitler and Macbeth it ended badly. Stalin managed to stay alive, but wreaked havoc on millions and millions of innocent people. 

What is the rhyme scheme of Shakespeare's "Sonnet 18"? Is the poem an Elizabethan or a Petrarchan sonnet?

Let’s start with a quick review of how rhyme schemes are notated. First, we identify the final syllable in the first line of the poem, and label that sound “a”:

1. Of this World's theatre in which we stay, (a)

From now on, any line that ends in a syllable rhyming with “stay” will also be labelled “a.” Now look at line two:

2. My love like the Spectator idly sits, (b)

“Sits” doesn’t rhyme with “stay.” It’s a new sound, so we label it “b.”  From now on, any line ending in a syllable that rhymes with “sits” will also be labelled “b.”

Continue through the rest of the poem, marking each line according to its final syllable. Here’s the quatrain that we’ve just been looking at as an example:

1. Of this World's theatre in which we stay, (a)
2. My love like the Spectator idly sits, (b)
3. Beholding me, that all the pageants play, (a)
4. Disguising diversely my troubled wits. (b)

We refer to this rhyme scheme as, “A B A B.” (This is the beginning of Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet 54.)

Okay, on to your question. How do we tell the difference among various types of sonnets? Here are some clues for you.

In the Petrarchan sonnet (also known as the Italian sonnet):

• There are 14 rhyming lines


• Each line has 10 or 11 syllables, arranged in (about) five iambic feet (“da - DUM”)


• The sonnet as a whole presents two contrasting ideas, or two perspectives on one idea


• Idea #1 is usually presented in the first 8 lines of the sonnet (the octave)


• The octave has the rhyme scheme A B B A A B B A


• Idea # 2 is usually presented in the final 6 lines of the sonnet (the sestet)


• The rhyme scheme of the sestet can vary:  

             C D C D C D, or
             C D D C D C, or maybe
             C D E C D E

• The earliest writers of Petrarchan sonnets felt that it was important to avoid letting the two final lines rhyme (E E), but later poets — especially those writing in English — haven’t always followed this rule.


• At the point where one rhyme scheme gives way to the other (called the “volta”, Italian for “turn”), we see a significant change in attitude or perspective (Idea #1 shifting to Idea #2)

What about the Shakespearean sonnet?

• There are 14 rhyming lines


• Each line has 10 or 11 syllables, arranged in (about) five iambic feet (“da - DUM”)


• The sonnet as a whole presents two contrasting ideas, or two perspectives on one idea


• Idea #1 is usually presented in the first 12 lines of the sonnet (comprising 3 quatrains)


• Idea #2 is usually presented in the final 2 lines of the sonnet (a couplet)


• The rhyme scheme goes like this:


• First quatrain: A B A B


• Second quatrain: C D C D


• Third quatrain: E F E F


• Couplet: G G

Now, with all this in mind, take another look at Sonnet 18 (“Shall I compare thee . . .?”) What rhyme scheme does it have? Does it have an octave and a sestet? Does the shift in tone happen after the first 8 lines, or after the first 12 lines? Which kind of sonnet is it?

(There are other types of sonnets besides the Petrarchan and the Shakespearean, but they are two of the most important.)

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st;
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

In The Cay, Phillip steps on a skate. What is a skate?

The skate that Phillip steps on while exploring the island and looking for Stew Cat is a fish that resembles a stingray. It is smaller than a stingray and has barb-like protrusions on its back for protection.  Skates are usually found in deeper water and lay eggs. Stepping on the skate is just more sign of bad luck for Phillip and Timothy who worry about the “jumbi” (bad luck) that has followed them onto the island.  Timothy is very superstitious and blames the bad luck on Stew Cat, but Phillip needs Stew Cat and doesn’t want to lose him.  After fending off the bad luck with a wooden, spiked replica of Stew Cat that he makes, Timothy finds the runaway cat at the end of Chapter 11 and tells Phillip that he believes their luck will change.

In Animal Farm, how does Boxer's behaviour portray him as a follower?

In Animal Farm, Boxer is a follower because he never questions the wishes or the motivations of those in power. This is shown most clearly through Boxer's personal mottoes which he develops after the Rebellion against Mr. Jones. The motto "I will work harder," for example, becomes Boxer's "answer to every problem" and "every setback" on the farm.

In Chapter Five, when Napoleon bans the Sunday morning meetings, Boxer does not protest the decision. Instead, he further demonstrates his follower behaviour by developing another motto: "Napoleon is always right."

Even when Napoleon brutally slaughters a number of animals on the farm in Chapter Seven, Boxer remains loyal and instead blames himself for the violence. From now on, he declares, he will get up an hour earlier each day.

In the end, however, Boxer becomes the victim of his own misplaced loyalty when Napoleon sells him to a local glue manufacturer and Boxer realises too late.

Why did the Annales school of history have no lasting effect when it was so different from what had gone before?

The Annales school did, in fact, change how history was practiced. It was part of a larger transformation in historiography that moved away from the study of just kings and battles, and looked at a broader sweep of social and economic history. Much of "history from below", which attempts to study the lives of ordinary people, is a direct outcome of the influence of the Annales school. Several of the works of the school, including the writings of Lucien Febvre, Marc Bloch, and Jacques Le Goff are still widely read and respected.

The study of history progresses, however, and the journal Annales d'histoire économique et sociale was founded in 1929. In a period of over 85 years, much has changed. While scholars such as Chartier are legitimately descended from the Annales school, especially in the ways they use archival materials to reconstruct everyday life, more recent work tends to be skeptical of the broad notion of mentalities and more aware of issues of race and gender than was common in the early twentieth century. 

Far from having no lasting affect, it is more accurate to state that ideas that were considered revolutionary when first mooted by the Annales historians are now simply part of how we do history, something that is a testament to their enduring influence. 

From a group of 7 candidates, a committee of 6 people is selected. In how many different ways can the committee be selected

Hello!

If all of committee members have equal rights, then to select 6 people from 7 candidates is the same as to select ONE people who is NOT in the committee. There are 7 ways to select one people, so there are 7 ways to select a committee. Also it is known as the number of combinations from 7 by 6,  

If, for example, a committee has 1 chairman, then there are 7 ways for selecting a chairman and 6 ways to select a man not in a committee, 7*6=42 ways at all.

The answer for the simple question is 7 ways.

Why was the Declaration of Independence made?

There were many reasons that the colonies declared independence in 1776. Let us look at a few of them:

• The United States was losing the war against Great Britain in 1776, and desperately needed foreign recognition and assistance, especially from France. Declaring independence made it more diplomatically palatable for the French to intervene, which they did in 1777. It also made it possible to negotiate loans from European governments.


• Many of the colonies were left without government after the British royal government was driven out. They needed to declare their independence in order to craft new constitutions to establish governments at the state level.


• More than a year of war had made many Americans believe that no reconciliation was possible with the mother country. Too many people had died for the war to be a matter of protecting the rights of Americans as British subjects.

The reasons for the Declaration of Independence itself were basically to assert the colonists' case for independence. They grounded their arguments in the natural rights of man, arguing that the British had repeatedly violated these rights. This gave them the right to break away from Great Britain and form their own government, one founded on the principles set out in the Declaration.

Which animal has four pairs of legs, spins silk for its web and has a cephalothorax and abdomen?

Spiders have eight legs (four pairs), are capable of spinning silk webs and have an abdomen and cephalothorax. The main body parts of a spider are an abdomen and a cephalothorax. The front portion of spider's body is known as a cephalothorax and contains the legs, eyes, mouth, etc. Cephalothorax is connected to the abdomen through a thin stalk. The abdomen is home to spinnerets (typically 6 in number), the organ that is responsible for spinning of silk webs. These webs are not only useful for catching food, but also for making sperm webs, protection of developing eggs, etc. The silk produced by spiders has very high tensile strength and is capable of extending to great extents. The abdomen also contains other vital organs, such as, lungs, reproductive organs, etc. 

Hope this helps. 

Was Virginia really lost in The Canterville Ghost? How did her family members react to her sudden and mysterious disappearance?

No, Virginia was not really lost. She allowed the ghost to take her to  "a great black cavern" so she could weep and pray for the angel of mercy to allow the ghost to die. The ghost had explained to her that he could not leave behind his torments unless someone pure and innocent like Virginia helped him. She must weep for him, he said, because he, as a ghost, couldn't cry, and she must pray for him because he had no faith. 

When they can't find her, her family becomes worried and frantic. They fear a nearby band of gypsies might have taken her and so they go after the gypsies. When they find out the gypsies are innocent, the family sends telegrams to all the police inspectors in the area, asking them to search for her. Then the family drags the carp pond in case she has drowned, and they search the entire Chase. At midnight, she returns through a panel in the wall in a peal of thunder and is able to tell them what happened to the ghost. 

How is Hart chosen to be in charge of the concert in Andrew Clements' The Last Holiday Concert?

There are a few different events that lead to Hart being chosen to direct the choir for the holiday concert in Andrew Clements' The Last Holiday Concert.

The first event is that Hart, the usually popular kid who always gets what he wants, does not get chosen to be the drummer in the school band. Hart is extremely disappointed about that because he thinks the drums are the "coolest [band instrument]" of them all. Instead of being in band, he's forced to join the school chorus. The second event is that, in a burst of resentment, Hart shoots Mr. Meinert, the chorus director, in the neck with a rubber band, since keeping a "tangled wad of rubber bands" in his pocket and occasionally shooting them is one of his vices (Ch. 1). Little does Hart know that Mr. Meinert is losing his job this year because of budget cuts. Being shot by a rubber band is enough to make him lose all courage to keep teaching his class, so he gives all control over the class to the kids, telling them they can do whatever they want.

At first, the kids don't know what to do with themselves. But, soon, they decide they need to choose their own director. A few different kids nominate themselves, but the kids agree they should vote, which is the third event. When Mr. Meinert counts up the ballots, he sees that Hart has been elected to be the director, making Hart the unexpected director of the holiday concert.

How does socialization impact our culture?

Socialization impacts our culture the same way it impacts every other culture in the world.  That is, socialization perpetuates our culture.  Without socialization, our culture would not be handed down from generation to generation.

Culture is not an innate part of our nature.  It may be that we are innately social and we want to be around other people.  However, there is nothing in our genes that points us toward certain cultural practices.  Americans are not genetically predisposed to like hot dogs and baseball while people in Saudi Arabia are not born believing that women should not be allowed to drive cars.  Instead, we gain these cultural beliefs and practices through socialization.

All cultures are passed down through socialization.  This means that people in different countries socialize their children in different ways.  Where I grew up, I was socialized to not look older people or superiors in the eye because that was offensive.  Here in America, children are taught that it is respectful to do so.

However, socialization does not affect the content of our culture.  Socialization is simply a means for passing our culture to the next generation.  Therefore, socialization impacts our culture by passing it down and making sure that it continues to exist.

I need to do a critical analysis of Act I of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.

There are several different themes you might address in a critical analysis of Act I of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Perhaps the most obvious are the two related themes of usury and Judaism and their role in Venetian commercial society as imagined by Shakespeare. 

In the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, usury, or lending money for interest, was regarded as a sin by the Roman Catholic Church. Since wealthy merchants often needed loans and Catholics were forbidden by the Church from providing them, the sin of usury was, as it were, outsourced to Jews at this period. This created a vicious cycle, in that the sinfulness of Jews was held to explain why they committed the sin of usury (and why it was acceptable for Christians to benefit from that sin) and the act of usury was taken as evidence that Jews were sinful. In a sense, though, for every lender there must be a borrower and thus the Christians who borrow from Shylock are obviously complicit in usury. Shylock points out this hypocrisy in the following lines:

You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog,

And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine,

And all for use of that which is mine own.

Well then, it now appears you need my help:

This should bring your analysis to evaluation of the character of Bassanio. His indebtedness, and desire to win the hand of a wealthy heiress, drives the usury plot. As you analyze the play, you might consider whether Bassanio is as much of a villain as Shylock and that it is only religious and ethnic prejudice that makes Bassanio a romantic leading character with a happy ending and Shylock a suffering outcast. 

Your final step in analyzing this part of the play should be investigating the role of the women in the play, who are introduced almost in parallel with Shylock as persons to be used by the men to obtain money. 

What is the compromise between Scout and Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird? What does this say about Atticus?

In Chapter 3, Scout comes home from school dejected and upset because her teacher, Miss Caroline, tells her that she is not allowed to read with her father anymore. Atticus consoles his daughter and explains the importance of understanding people's perspectives. Scout maintains that she will not go to school anymore because Burris Ewell doesn't have to attend. Atticus teaches Scout a lesson about compromise. Atticus tells her that a compromise is an "agreement reached by mutual concessions." (Lee 41) Atticus agrees to keep reading to Scout every night if she concedes to go to school. This scene portrays Atticus as a sympathetic, understanding father who is willing to listen to his child's problems and solve them creatively. Atticus continues to play a major role in Scout's moral development by teaching her important life lessons such as taking different perspectives and learning about compromise.

How does Unoka affect different characters in the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe?

Despite the fact that Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, has a relatively minor role in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, he has a considerable impact on the novel. Obviously, Unoka deeply affects his son Okonkwo, as Okonkwo devotes his entire life to being the stark opposite of his father. Unoka was a lazy individual who amassed a tremendous amount of debt and put his entire family into a disadvantaged, marginalized position. Thus, Okonkwo throws himself into attaining titles and achieving success:

“With a father like Unoka, Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men had.... But in spite of these disadvantages, he had begun even in his father's lifetime to lay the foundations of a prosperous future. It was slow and painful. But he threw himself into it like one possessed. And indeed he was possessed by the fear of his father's contemptible life and shameful death” (18).

Unoka also indirectly affects Okonkwo’s son Nwoye. Okonkwo perceives his son’s disposition as similar to his ill-fated father, and he strives to beat his son to instill his own manly qualities upon Nwoye. He is especially hard on Nwoye because he can see Unoka’s qualities in him. Indeed, when Nwoye rebukes his father and joins the Christian church, Okonkwo compares Nwoye to Unoka:

“But Nwoye resembled his grandfather, Unoka, who was Okonkwo's father. He pushed the thought out of his mind. How could he have begotten a woman for a son? At Nwoye's age Okonkwo had already become famous throughout Umuofia for his wrestling and his fearlessness” (153).

These are the two characters Unoka affects the most.

In Animal Farm, what is forbidden shortly after the executions?

The singing of the anthem which Old Major had taught them, Beasts of England, was abolished.   

After the executions, the distraught and frightened animals had gathered on a knoll overlooking the farm. Clover, especially, was saddened by what had just happened and felt that that had not been what they had worked so hard for. They had now come to a time where they were too afraid to speak up and felt threatened. Because she could not express what she felt in words, she began singing Beasts of England. The other animals took up her lead and mournfully and slowly sang the tune three times over, in a manner which they had never sung it before.   

It was at this point that Squealer, accompanied by two dogs, approached them and announced that the anthem was, by order of a special decree from Napoleon himself, heretofore banished. It was forbidden to sing it. When Muriel asked why Squealer explained that the anthem had served its purpose and was no longer necessary. The anthem was a song of the Rebellion and the Rebellion had been completed. The enemies of the animals, both within and without, had been overcome and the executions were the final act of the Rebellion.

Squealer explained, furthermore, that in Beasts of England the animals expressed their desire for a better society, free of man's tyranny, and that society had now been established. The song, therefore, had no more relevance. Some of the animals might have protested at this point but were prevented from doing so because the sheep loudly started bleating 'Four legs good, two legs bad,' which put an end to any further discussion. 

After this, Beasts of England was never heard again. In its place, Minimus the poet had composed a replacement which never sounded as good as the original anthem. 

The pigs under Napoleon's leadership had now reached a point where their dominance was unquestionable. Napoleon has become a tyrant and he would use his power to further oppress his own kind and ensure privileges for himself and the other pigs exclusively. At this point, he was comfortable in the knowledge that all his decisions, no matter how unfair or harsh they might be, would be executed without any resistance - the executions made sure of that.

What are some motifs used in Bud, Not Buddy?

One motif in the novel is Bud's rule book.  Bud keeps reminding the reader about his  "Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself."  By the end of the book, it's clear to the reader that Bud is making up some of the rules as he goes along.  Or at least he is making up the numbers as he goes, because the same rule is listed as two different numbers at one point.  The rules serve as a coping mechanism for Bud.  He always brings up the rules when he knows that something bad is about to happen or be said.  The rules represent Bud's attempts to put some order into his chaotic life.  It's interesting to note that as Bud's life takes on more order and belonging with the band, the frequency of Bud's rule book references slows down.  

Another motif is doors.  Before she died, Bud's mother told him that when one door closes another door opens.  

"And Bud, I want you always to remember, no matter how bad things look to you, no matter how dark the night, when one door closes, don't worry, because another door opens."

Bud realizes years later that his mother was making an analogy.  Bud constantly thinks about doors in the book, and he is always looking for the next open door after a door closed on him from a bad situation.  For example, the Amos door closed harshly on Bud, but it opened the door for him to eventually meet Lefty Lewis and his daughter.  

How are Europeans presented in the poem "White Man's Burden?"

First, we must remember that Kipling's intended readers were American, not European. Kipling's poem was urging the United States to take up the "burden" of annexing the Philippines, recently won by the US in the war against Spain. But the "burden" of imperialism is one that had been undertaken by many European nations. Kipling views imperialists as possessing a superior culture and level of civilization compared to native peoples, who he characterizes as "half-devil and half child." He thinks that this confers upon Europeans and Americans the "burden" of bringing civilization to colonial peoples, whether they want it or not. They will build ports, roads, and "fill full the mouth of Famine," all of which, Kipling believes, will help the people of the Philippines. Kipling thinks, though, that the American imperialists will never appreciate the sacrifice. They will hate their benefactors, even trying to kill them. But Europeans and Americans, he believes should still take up the burden, if only to secure the esteem of other whites--the "judgment of your peers". 

Why was the discovery of America so significant?

The "discovery of the Americas" is perhaps more accurately described as a collision of European and American peoples and cultures. This had profound long-term effects. It led to the exploration and colonization of both continents by Europeans, a process that proceeded along with the expropriation of lands from Native Americans. It also played a role in the rise of European powers, notably Spain and later England, whose power was derived in no small part from the wealth they extracted from their American empire. The colonies played a prominent role in European wars, especially between Britain and France, in the eighteenth century. Of course, in the long run, the major result of the "discovery" of the Americas was an event that nobody at the time could have foreseen--the rise of the nations of the Americas as independent countries.

At the time, though, the main significance of the event was what modern historians call the "Columbian Exchange." This was the exchange of animals, plants, and diseases between two continents separated by millions of years of evolution. The most striking and tragic aspect of this exchange was the exposure of Native Americans to European diseases like smallpox and typhus, to which they had no immunity. These diseases wiped out millions of people throughout the Americas, destroying ancient civilizations. Europeans also introduced animals like swine, chickens, cattle, and horses which were not native to the Americas. Meanwhile, maize, potatoes and other crops made their way to Europe.  

Why does the author fail to reveal why the lottery was necessary or what it accomplished?

The author of The Lottery gives veiled hints of the reason behind the yearly lottery, but doesn't flat out tell the reader why, possibly because she wants people to try to figure it out for themselves.

A few hints or suggestions pop up throughout the story. Old Man Warner gets angry when someone mentions that some towns have stopped the lottery. He calls them names and then says "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon" (Jackson). In this subtle but important statement, he suggests that at some point the people of this area believed the human sacrifice takes place to ensure a good harvest of the crops. This is also suggested since the date is June 27th, a time when the crops are starting to grow and harvest is coming soon. This town seems to have (at one time) been a farm town, as suggested by the mention of tractors.

Was it necessary? At some point these people believed in the lottery, and not they continue it because it's a tradition and they are afraid to change.

Hope that helped! For more information see the link.

What is the relative abundance of argon in the atmosphere?

Argon is a noble gas with a relative abundance of 0.94% in our atmosphere. It is the third most abundant gas after nitrogen (relative abundance ~ 78%) and oxygen (relative abundance ~ 21%).

It belongs to group 18 (like all the noble gases) and 3rd period in the periodic table of elements. It has an atomic number of 18 and an electronic configuration of 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p6. It has fully filled outer electronic orbitals and hence is a noble gas. It is practically inert and is commonly used for creating inert environments. It is most commonly used in welding. It has 3 known isotopes: Ar(36): 0.3336%, Ar(38): 0.0629% and Ar(40): 99.6035%. Thus, Ar(40) is the most abundant natural form of this element.

Hope this helps. 

Was Paulo Freire a Leninist? Why or why not?

It would be a little simplistic, but not necessarily inaccurate, to label Paulo Freire a "Leninist." The author of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire was intellectually devoted to Marxist-Leninist interpretations of history. Early in the opening chapter of his protracted essay on the nature of education and educational processes and the effects on both of the stifling influence of the oppressive classes, Freire emphasizes the importance and severity of this phenomenon upon the role of pedagogy, or the process by which teachers are taught what and how to teach:

". . .while both humanization and dehumanization are real alternatives, only the first is the people's vocation. This vocation is constantly negated, yet it is affirmed by that very negation. It is thwarted by injustice, exploitation, oppression, and the violence of the oppressors; it is affirmed by the yearning of the oppressed for freedom and justice, and by their struggle to recover their lost humanity."

Throughout his essay, Freire repeatedly displays the influences of Marx, Hegel, Lenin and others upon his own philosophy regarding education. Citing a passage from Georg Lukas' essay Lenin: A Study on the Unity of his Thoughts, Freire wrote, 

"The oppressor knows full well that this intervention would not be to his interest. What is to his interest is for the people to continue in a state of submersion, impotent in the face of oppressive reality."

And, later, Freire injects into his discussion of the requirements for radically transforming educational processes Lenin's famous statement from What is to be Done, "Without a revolutionary theory there can be no revolutionary movement," by which he means both theory and action are inseparable, the latter inspired and shaped by the former. 

Finally, in their study of Freire's intellectual development, Paulo Freire's Intellectual Roots: Towards Historicity in Praxis, Robert Lake and Tricia Kress meticulously trace the evolution of Freire's intellectual development, noting the enduring influences on their subject's thought not just of Lenin but of Hegel, Gramsci, Louis Althusser, and Georgi Plekhanov, the latter Lenin's teacher and the former, Hegel, a major influence on Lenin and, subsequently, on Freire. In short, Freire's philosophical perspective is indistinguishable from those of Marx, Hegel, and Lenin. He was, basically, the mid-20th century heir to Lenin, which could make him "Leninist."

To Lenin, the ability of the upper classes to oppress the proletariat was contingent upon the former's control of the educational processes that were used to shape the thoughts of the working classes. In this, Freire was entirely in agreement. Freire's arguments have their 21st century acolytes in American education, most prominently teachers and professors across the country who seek to eliminate what they consider European -- read: Caucasian -- influences from the study of history, the humanities, economics, and virtually all fields of academic study. The history of European imperialism, such educators argue, unfairly and inaccurately influenced the writing of history and the study of these other fields, leaving unspoken or unwritten the impact on non-Eurpean or non-Caucasian races and societies of European/American policies.

Was Freire a Leninist? Yeah, sure. More accurately, he was a Marxist-Leninist, drawing considerably from the evolution of Marxist thinking. His Brazilian, or "Third World" roots, indisputably colored his perceptions of history and international affairs, and that he was influenced by Lenin, among others, is beyond dispute.

How does A Doll's House reflect the life of its author Henrik Ibsen?

Henrik Ibsen drew his plot for the play A Doll's House from the real-life experiences of his friend Laura Kieler, whose maiden name was Laura Smith Petersen.

Just like Torvald in the play, Laura's husband Victor was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and his doctor counseled him to move to warmer southerly climates for a greater chance at recovery. Just like Nora, Laura took out a loan to pay for the trip. She ran into such difficulty repaying the loan, however, that she eventually resorted to forging a signature on a second loan to help pay for the first, just as Nora forged a signature to acquire her own loan to pay for her husband's care.

Unlike Nora's forgery in the play, Laura's forgery became public. Also, unlike Nora, once Laura's husband learned of the forgery, he immediately divorced Laura. During this time period, upon divorce, the husband was given legal possession of the children, so Laura's children were removed from her care. Laura's story also ends much more tragically than Nora's potentially optimistic ending. After losing her husband and children in the divorce, Laura fell into such a state of anxiety and heartbreak that she was committed to a mental hospital for a while, although she ultimately lived to be a successful playwright and historic novelist.

What hoax was played on red-headed people by the League?

In the story, Jabez Wilson, a London pawnbroker, is informed about an advertised position by his assistant, Vincent Spaulding. Spaulding tells Wilson that the position at the Red-Headed League is perfect for him, as he has red hair. Accordingly, the job itself isn't demanding and pays well enough for the few responsibilities it entails.

Spaulding accompanies his boss to the interview, and Wilson is delighted to be offered the position by a Mr. Duncan Ross. Ross tells Wilson that the pay is four pounds a week for the work of copying out the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. The only stipulation for the job is that Wilson must never leave the building for the entire fours he works each day. Eight weeks pass without incident, until Wilson suddenly finds himself abruptly terminated from his position.

Bewildered that the League has suddenly been dissolved, he inquires as to the fate of the organization. When he questions the landlord as to the whereabouts of Duncan Ross, the landlord tells Wilson that Ross is really a solicitor named William Morris and that he has since moved from his present location. Wilson sets out to find Ross but is unsuccessful.

In the end, Wilson's nondescript job with the Red Headed League was just a clever ruse to get the gullible pawnbroker out of his building for four hours every day. His assistant, Vincent Spaulding, was really the notorious criminal thief, John Clay. John had been burrowing a tunnel through the cellar of Wilson's property to the City and Suburban Bank vault while Wilson was away for four hours every day. The rest of the red-headed men who applied for the job also fell for a ruse of another sort. Unknown to them all, not one of them stood a chance to be considered for a position with the spurious Red-Headed League. Their presence merely lent an air of legitimacy to the whole business of Spaulding/Clay's fake job offer.

Polymerization reactions triggered by thermal energy require an initiator but those triggered by irradiation do not require an initiator. Why?

A polymer is a large, complex chemical unit that is composed of numerous smaller repeating units.  These smaller repeating units are called monomers.  In order to build a polymer chemically, you start with numerous equivalents of the monomer and allow it to undergo a polymerization reaction whereby the monomers react with one another in repeating fashion to build up the polymer chain.  Polymerization reactions require some kind of event to initiate the reaction.  Most commonly the initiation event is brought upon by the presence of a radical initiator chemical compound like azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN).  The initiator compound forms a radical (unpaired electron) under thermal conditions and the presence of that radical species is what catalyzes the polymerization reaction.  Polymerization reactions that require light (irradiation) do not require a separate chemical initiator because the light energy itself is the radical initiator.  The energy from the light source is all that is required to form a radical and catalyze the reaction.

What are vocabulary words for chapter 10 in A Wrinkle in Time?

This is an interesting question because usually instructors give particular lists of vocabulary words for the books that they teach; however, I am happy to suggest some vocabulary words that I use for this particular chapter. We will begin with the title of the chapter, "Absolute Zero," and continue with other vocabulary words.

"Absolute Zero" is the lowest possible temperature, where molecules are unable to move at all. Another vocabulary word from this chapter could be "consciousness," which is the state of being aware (and has to do with Meg coming back to awareness after being controlled by IT). Yet another word is "deliberately," which means consciously making an effort to do something (and has to do with Charles Wallace making that conscious decision to enter IT). A fourth word could be "straightforward," which means understandable (and has to do with a reference to our own time on earth). A fifth word could be "humbler," which means not proud (and has to do with Meg's father coming out of his experience being less prideful).

A sixth vocabulary word could be "paralyzed," which means completely unable to move (and has to do with how Meg can't move at one point after they find her father). A seventh word could be "faintly," which means hardly able to be heard (and has to do with Meg admitting that she feels frozen when paralyzed). An eighth word could be "fragrance," which means smell (and has to do with the way the gray planet smells like spring. A ninth word could be "teetered," which means going back and forth (and has to do with Meg going back and forth between love and hate for her father while she is still affected by IT. A final word could be "indentations," which means notches or shallow recesses (and has to do with the "eyes" of the creatures on the gray planet).

How was porn originated?

It is difficult to say how pornography really began, but what sets pornography apart from other material is that it is intended to be sexually arousing to the viewer. Art which depicts nude figures is not necessarily pornographic, so when we consider ancient carvings like the Venus of Willendorf or famous paintings like Titian's Venus of Urbino, we really need to understand the artist's intent in the piece. This gets more and more difficult the further back in time we look. We are more removed from the cultural context in which the art was made and may be lacking in our capability to understand what was or was not erotic in that culture.

Even when considering materials which explicitly depict sexual intercourse, like the Kama Sutra, we must also try to understand the context of the art. The Kama Sutra is a Hindu text dating to about the second century CE, and only a small portion of the book actually deals with sexual intercourse. The whole text is primarily a guide for living a virtuous life, and sex is accepted as part of a life lived well. While to my American eyes, the depictions of intercourse in the Kama Sutra may be erotic or pornographic, I understand that it is just a small part of what is essentially a self-help book.

In 1524, shortly after the establishment of the Gutenberg Press, a book of erotic engravings was published with the title I Modi. What remains of the original engravings is housed at the British Museum. Based on the fact that these engravings were accompanied by sonnets describing sexual and intimate acts, we can presume that the artists intended for these works to be sexually enticing. 

The origins of what we consider to be modern, commercialized pornography dates back to 1839 with the development of daguerrotype photography. Soon after its invention, photographers began using it to make pictures of scantily clad women and couples engaged in intercourse. Film came into play in the 20th century, with thousands of pornographic films being shot and produced by ameteurs in just the first half of the century.

Today, pornography production is a legal form of sex work in the United States and many other countries. It may be created as film or photo, or even in literary works called erotic fiction. These means of production are much like their nonsexual counterparts and employ writers, actors, models, directors, editors, and artists of all kinds in order to complete the production.

I am not including reference to links as I cannot be sure that you are not a minor and I do not want to refer you to any explicit material.

In Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, what is Captain Beatty's opinion about school?

Captain Beatty is a well-read fireman who burns books for a living. After learning what he could from books, he assimilates back into the anti-literate society because he didn't feel satisfied with what he learned from them. When one of his employees, Montag, gets the "fever" for knowledge, Beatty shows up at his house to educate him and possibly sway him not to go down the road to literacy.

Beatty decides to tell Montag about the history of how books became unpopular and eventually unneeded in society. First, radio, television and movies condensed stories into more entertaining experiences. He explains further by saying:

"Classics cut to fit fifteen-minute radio shows, then cut again to fill a two-minute book column. . . School is shortened, discipline relaxed, philosophies, histories, languages dropped, English and spelling gradually neglected, finally almost completely ignored. . . Why learn anything save pressing buttons, pulling switches, fitting nuts and bolts?" (55-56).

Thus, the history that he explains actually gives Montag the picture that people simply started caring more about entertainment than studying anything academic or scholarly. And, contrary to what Montag may think, Beatty says that the loss of literacy was not a government conspiracy, either. The loss of literacy in their society is due to the mass exploitation of technology! As a result, schools focused more on running, jumping, and swimming rather than reading, writing, and arithmetic. He even says, "the word 'intellectual,' of course, became the swear word it deserved to be" (58).

Beatty goes on to say that the bright boy in every class was hated and beat up by everyone else because he was actually in the minority. Most people, he continues, would rather have fun and be happy through entertainment than study, learn or read--so they got rid of it all. School, therefore, is useless unless it teaches kids to run fast, drive fast, and have fun. Basic skills are taught to people so they can have jobs to sustain life, but after a mindless job each day, people go home to their TV parlors, radios and fast cars so they can be distracted and ignore one another all in the name of happiness. Clearly, Beatty dislikes traditional school based on academic learning because it causes too many arguments and discomfort for everyone.

How would you paraphrase the first stanza in "I heard a Fly buzz---when I died"?

“I heard a Fly buzz—when I died-(591)”

I heard a Fly buzz--when I died--

The Stillness in the Room

Was like the Stillness in the Air—

Between the Heaves of Storm—

This famous poem by Emily Dickinson suggests that at the point the narrator is in the process of dying, the last sound she hears is the buzzing of a fly.  Imagine a quiet room with a person on their death bed.  The room is so quiet that she is able to hear the faint buzz of a fly.  Dickinson uses a metaphor to describe the stillness of the room by comparing it to the “calm before the storm.”  Often in severe weather events, the air and environment goes quiet and still in anticipation of what is to come.  This is the quiet the narrator experiences before the “heave” or great effort it takes to live and give one self to death. 

However, the poem has been analyzed as Dickinson’s critique on Romantic poetry and fiction, but that is another question and requires a lot of analysis to understand how and why she does this. 

Why did the thief, the wife, and the man claim to have committed the murder?

This is a story in which we are given multiple perspectives and have no definitive "truth," just the testimony of various people who offer their own self-serving perspectives on the situation. I would say that in all three instances, it was a matter of honor to have killed Takehiko.

The thief, Tajomaru, claims to have killed Takehiko because he has a reputation as a brigand to maintain. While he says he had no intent originally to kill him, when Masago tells him she will go with whoever is the victor in battle, he feels compelled to fight a "fair" fight with Takehiko, and he kills him. He makes Takehiko sound like a worthy foe, to enhance his own reputation. 

Masago claims to have killed Takehiko for her honor.  She says she cannot bear to be looked upon by him now that she has been violated by Tajomaru. She says he has seen her shame, and she says she sees a look of hatred in his eyes.  Her first plan is to kill him and then herself, but after she kills him, she is unable to kill herself. Still, her dishonor will at least not be observed by her husband.

Takehiko claims to have killed himself out of honor as well.  He testifies that Masago has freely given herself to Tajomaru, and once Tajomaru releases him, he finds the sword Masago has dropped and stabs himself. To have one's wife behave in this way was a great source of shame, and this was the only path open to him.

It is important to remember that this story takes place in what I believe is medieval Japan, where honor was everything.  In most modern cultures, these attitudes and actions would not make for a credible story. But there are still some cultures in which the violation of a woman or adultery can easily lead to an "honor killing." 

In The Veldt, what do you think the author is saying about the way society treats children in general?

In "The Veldt," Ray Bradbury might be suggesting that society, particular parents, generally finds a way for children to be constantly spoiled and entertained. The entire premise of the story surrounds this "nursery"—a word being used to mean something contrary to what it generally means—that entertains the children by giving them realistic places to visit. 

Throughout the story, George and Lydia Hadley send their children, Wendy and Peter, away. At the first meal mentioned in the story, "Wendy and Peter were at a special prastic carnival across town..." This suggested abandonment of the children to entertainment seems to have backfired on the parents, however, as the children are rebelling. Lydia explains to her husband that the children have "been acting funny ever since you forbade them to go to New York a few months ago."

When the psychiatrist visits the nursery, he immediately blames the parents for their abandoment of the children to the room. He tells George that "This room is their mother and father, far more important in their lives than their real parents." This is why when the parents attempt to shut off the nursery the children rebel and lure George and Lydia in the nursery, which has tranformed into the African veldt where they are killed and eaten by the lions.

Overall, Bradbury suggests that parenting, when done by automated devices like the nursery (or television), turns out poorly with the children showing little to no respect for their parents.

What is an example of imagery in Macbeth Act 1, Scene 3?

The witches are very descriptive and use imagery to describe their doings.

Imagery is use of language to create a picture in the reader’s mind, or the audience’s mind in this case.  Imagery often takes the form of common figurative language like similes and metaphors.  A simile compares two things indirectly with “like” or “as” and a metaphor is a more direct comparison, saying something is something else.

An example of imagery can be found in the first witch’s speech.  She describes the sailor’s wife munching on chestnuts, which is a descriptive sensory detail that we can see and hear.  She also uses a simile.

But in a sieve I'll thither sail,
And, like a rat without a tail,
I'll do, I'll do, and I'll do. (Act 1, Scene 3)

When the witch describes herself as “like a rat without a tail” she is referring to her supposed clandestine travels.  She can possibly directly transform herself into a rat also, of course.  She is a witch!  In this case though, it is a simile because she says “like.” The other witch offers her a "wind" which may be literal or be a metaphor.  It may be that witches can conjure wind.

Another simile is used to describe the witches’ influence over Macbeth.  The first witch already has a plan for him.

 
I will drain him dry as hay

Hang upon his pent-house lid;
He shall live a man forbid:
Weary se'nnights nine times nine
Shall he dwindle, peak and pine (Act 1, Scene 3)

The witches are going to deliver the prophecies to Macbeth in order to put him off balance.  It is not entirely clear why they have chosen him, but all of their speeches seem to indicate that they desire mischief.  They are definitely making mischief in the kingdom by pitting Macbeth against Duncan!

Figurative language adds a lot to a play.  Since the witches are a source of mystery and interest, having them talk figuratively and use a lot of imagery helps establish their mystique.  The witches are making trouble, and seem to enjoy it.  We know that Macbeth is in for a wild ride.

Evaluate the indefinite integral.

You need to use the following substitution  , such that:

Replacing back  for yields:

Hence, evaluating the indefinite integral, yields

What is the significance of Germany's annexation of Austria?

Germany's annexation of Austria occurred in 1938. Known in German as the Anschluss, it was a longstanding goal of many Germans within Austria, though many non-Germans understandably saw it as an unmitigated disaster. The chancellor and president of Austria opposed the Anschluss as well, but was undermined by Austrian Nazis. Hitler entered Vienna in March, and the annexation was approved by an almost unanimous vote of the Austrian people, a number that is almost certainly skewed by ballot rigging, intimidation, and other tactics as well as the fact that the vote was essentially meaningless under the circumstances. The significance of the Anschluss is that it was the first major step in Hitler's stated goal of unifying all German people under the Third Reich. The next step, taking the Sudetenland, would precipitate a crisis that culminated with the Munich Conference. For Hitler, of course, the event had tremendous significance--he himself was Austrian, and uniting his homeland with the nation he ruled carried deep symbolic significance. Although basically bloodless, it raised the frightening specter of continued expansion by an increasingly emboldened Hitler. 

Why does the sniper shoot the man in the armored car and shoot the woman?

This short story is set during the Irish Civil War. The two warring sides are the Republicans and the Free Staters. The protagonist, "the sniper," fights on the Republican side. As a sniper, in this case, he is on his own. 

After eating a sandwich, the sniper lights a cigarette and his enemy, a different sniper for the Free Staters, sees the smoke and fires at him. At this point, the enemy sniper knows his position.

The armored car approaches. An old woman informs a soldier in the turret of the armored car of the sniper's (protagonist's) position. The sniper shoots the man in the turret when he is in view. He needs to do this before that soldier can attack him or inform other soldiers of the sniper's position. Then the sniper shoots the old woman to prevent her from informing any others. 

The sniper kills these two in order to protect himself. As the narrator notes, the sniper has become "used to looking at death." He understands that if he does not kill the enemy, he will be killed. 

Who was Jonathan Swift's audience in "A Modest Proposal?"

A Modest Proposal was written for Swift's usual audience - the literate and learned of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

There is a widespread assumption that his target was the English people, but they were neither the target of his satire nor his intended audience.

The proposal was partly an attack on the attitudes of the Irish, both Roman Catholic and of the Established Church - for their neglect of the poor. But mostly against the new-fangled economic ideas that everything could be corporatised and monetarised. Ironically modern, in a way.

The proposal was ostensibly designed to reduce poverty, increase the national wealth of Ireland, and prevent "voluntary abortions, and that horrid practice of women murdering their bastard children". Ultimately to convert unwanted children from being a burden on the country to being a economic asset, contributing to the feeding and the clothing of the kingdom. In other words he is taken economics to its logical, but absurd, conclusion.

How does simile make a poem effective?

In order for us to understand anything, we must draw upon at least one of our five senses, to have a concrete image in our minds. A simile is one device that poets use to provide a concrete image, a comparison of something with something else, so the reader has a sensory image to hold in his or her mind, a way of understanding that something that might not be concrete is like something that is concrete.

My favorite examples of this are in a poem by Robert Burns:

O my Luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June:
O my Luve's like the melodie,
That's sweetly play'd in tune (lines 1-4). 

Burns cannot describe love without giving us an image of some sort in our minds. Love is a concept. How can we possibly say what it is?  Now, though, we have a comparison with two sensory details, a rose and a melody. Thus we know that love to Burns is beautiful, sweet-smelling, and fresh, and that it is as melodic as an air played in tune.  These are images that we have all had some experience of, and we understand that Burns is making a comparison with the positive attributes of roses and melodies. Within the context of this lighthearted poem, we realize that he is not focusing on the thorns of a rose or a song that is discordant.  That would make for a very different kind of poem.

The way to identify a simile is to look for words of comparison, such as "like" or "as." There are other kinds of literary elements used in poetry to provide concrete, sensory images, and I have included a link to our guide to literary terms, which includes these, for example, metaphor.  You should be able to practice your simile-spotting skills now and notice all of the similes that are used in poetry and what it is they contribute to your understanding and analysis of poetry. 

In The Crucible, why does Ann Putnam dislike Rebecca Nurse? What are the two families constantly arguing over?

Mrs. Putnam has lost seven of her eight children within the first day of their births.  Miller describes her as "a twisted soul of forty-five, a death-ridden woman, haunted by dreams."  She is desperate to understand why so many of her children have perished, and, in her desperation, she sent her one surviving daughter, Ruth, to Tituba, Parris's Barbadian slave, to see if they could conjure the spirits of her dead babies and find out what happened to them.  She is a woman who is very ready to believe in the possibility that witches exist in Salem, and that they have used their magic against her. 

Rebecca Nurse, on the other hand, has been extremely lucky.  She has lost not one child or grandchild to death, and for this reason alone, Mrs. Putnam is extremely envious of her and a little suspicious of her too.  Rebecca is much less willing to accept the possibility that there are witches in Salem, and when she learns that Parris has sent for an expert on witches, Mr. Hale, to find out why some of the local girls are ill, she says,

I think we ought to rely on the doctor now, and good prayer [....].  If [the doctor is baffled] then let us go to God for the cause of it.  There is prodigious danger in the seeking of loose spirits.  I fear it, I fear it.  Let us rather blame ourselves [...] --

Rebecca is calm and kind and devout.  She believes that, if the community struggles, they should look to themselves for the cause of it.  Mrs. Putnam interprets this as Rebecca's judgment on her, and she feels she's done nothing to warrant losing seven babies.  In anger, she cries,

You think it God's work you should never lose a child, nor a grandchild either, and I bury all but one?  There are wheels within wheels in this village, and fires within fires!

Thus, the personal becomes the political for Mrs. Putnam.  Because she needs an answer as to why she's lost seven children, she looks to any possible explanation, and, having exhausted her meager resources, she assumes that witchcraft must be at the root of it.  She is frustrated and grieved, and she vents her pain at Rebecca because Rebecca advocates for reason and medicine instead of an exploration of the supernatural. 

What happens to an object's density as the object is heated?

As the particles in a substance are heated, the density of the substance decreases.

Heat is the total amount of energy possessed by the particles that make up a substance.  Oftentimes, the addition of heat energy results in an increase in the motion of the particles that make up the substance. In other words, the particles gain kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is the energy of movement. Because temperature is a measurement of the average kinetic energy of the particles of a substance, heating a substance is often accompanied by an increase in the temperature of the substance.  When particles gain kinetic energy, the particles begin to move more and faster. This causes the particles to move away from one another.

The formula for density is mass divided by volume. As a result of the increased distance between the heated particles, the volume of the substance increases but the substance's mass stays the same. Therefore, the density of the substance decreases.

What are three elements that Faber feels are missing from his life?

In Part Two of Fahrenheit 451, Montag meets with Faber, a former English professor. Faber explains to Montag that there are three things missing from modern society due to the absence of books: quality, leisure, and what people learn from the interaction of the two.

By "quality," Faber means that books have the ability to look at the "pores" of society, or, in other words, literature sees human imperfection. The "fourwalled televisors" do not, according to Faber, allow humans to look at their flaws. In this society, "the comfortable people only want wax moon faces, poreless, hairless, expressionless."

The second quality missing, according to Faber, is "leisure," or time to digest information in a book. In this world, the mass media of the televisors and movies "tells you what to think and blasts it in" and does not give the viewer time to say "What nonsense!" He says sitting with a book allows the reader to "play God to it." The reader has the ability to argue with the book and has the ability to agree with it as well.

Finally, the third quality is not as clear-cut as the previous two. Faber says that the third quality missing from society is "the right to carry out actions based on what we learn from the inter-action of the first two." Perhaps the easiest way to explain this is by looking at Montag and Beatty, two characters both read and made time to read. Each reacted differently. While Montag sets out to change the world, Beatty seems to feel justified in the laws of the land that prohibit reading. According to Faber's theory, both are justified in reacting the way they do. However, in this society, people do not have the option to react to a book.

How does having a female author affect the plot of Silas Marner?

An author's gender doesn't necessarily impact the plot of any novel; after all, gender is a social construction, and imagination knows no bounds. Unless you found yourself remarking, "I can tell this novel was written by a woman" when reading, the question you pose is difficult, if not impossible, to answer fairly.

Consider that even today, authors often use gender neutral pseudonyms to prevent social constructions about gender from impacting readers' reactions to their work. For George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Ann Evans, a male-gendered pseudonym increased the likelihood of her fiction being taken seriously; it also kept her fiction writing separate from her work and from her life.

It is interesting and often fruitful, however, to ask if an author's life influences how they represent certain events. How does their interaction with the world impact how they portray divisions between genders, social classes, races, and the like? These are all good questions to consider, particularly when examining nineteenth-century literature.

Consider that Eliot was a well-educated woman and a noted journalist and editor. Her social status and education enables her to understand how the world works; she didn't live as a cog in the industrial machine. Eliot understood the complexities of the world, and that's evident in her novels, with her depictions of the industrial age and the divisions between social classes. She creates layered narratives, like Silas Marner, that both represent the world and instruct (or inspire) the readers. For example, on one hand, Silas Marner functions as a morality tale, asserting that love and hope wins, and on the other it's a study of the function of community and of a world that is swiftly changing.

What living organisms live in/on coasts?

No comprehensive list could be generated -- The coastal environment provides ideal living conditions for animals and plants that thrive in a salt environment, and for amphibious creatures such as turtles, frogs, salamanders, etc. as well as , of course, water-dwellers such as mollusks, snails, and the innumerable tiny organisms that comprise the ecosystem of the ocean. Less obvious are creatures that seek ocean life for food – otters, walruses, seals, and the like. Further from the ocean itself are plant species with shallow root systems, and the kinds of plants that can withstand high winds. Apart from perhaps jungle environments, coastal areas are the most diverse on earth, especially if one includes those marine creatures that thrive in tidal areas, where changes in environment are actually beneficial to survival – crabs, oysters, etc.

What are the connections between the growing power of Christianity and the political reconfiguration of the Roman Empire? What was the appeal of...

Christianity's greatest appeal for the Roman Empire was the role model it provided for forming strong and powerful kingdoms. Prior to the start of Constantine's rule in 306 CE, Rome had rejected Christianity as a threat to its ability to dominate. However, in the third century CE, the Roman Empire was undergoing The Crisis of the Third Century (235 - 284 CE), a period in which the empire broke into three separate sections--the Gallic Empire, Britannia, and the Palmyrene Empire--as a result of the assassination of Alexander Severus, civil war, invasions, and financial depression. Due to the weakness of the Roman Empire, a Germanic tribe known as the Goths invaded Rome by attacking the city of Histia, now Hungary, weakening Rome even further (Ancient History Encyclopedia, "The Goths"). In 312 CE Constantine battled Maxentius, son of former Roman Emperor Maximian, in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. Constantine is also said to have had a vision of Christ's cross while on the bridge, which led to his conversion to Christianity.

But what is most important is that Constantine was influenced by a branch of Christianity that accepted both the Old Testament and the New Testament in its canon. As Brown University Judaic and Religious Studies Professor Samuel Ungerleider explains, the Old Testament tells stories of the kings and rulers of the historic Israel bringing Israel's salvation through conquering its enemies. In other words, as Ungerleider further explains, the Old Testament provides a model that combines "government and piety. It has the model of King David. It has the model of the kings of Israel," and these models influenced Constantine (PBS, "Legitimization Under Constantine").

As a result of being influenced by the "government and piety" model, Constantine was able to rebuild the Roman Empire under this model with himself established as the "righteous king" (Ungerleider). Under his new role as the "righteous king," just like King David and Jesus Christ, Constantine was able to re-establish the empire and to conquer "not only the West but also the Greek East" (Ungerleider).

Hence, it can be said that the greatest appeal Christianity had for the Roman Empire was its model of absolute powerful authority blessed by piety.

Was Rakesh a hypocrite in real life?

I don't think Rakesh was a hypocrite towards his father.

One of Desai's most compelling points in "A Devoted Son" is the downside of social expectation.  In this case, it is in how parental expectations can contain unforeseen circumstances.  Rakesh's parents don't really ask him what he wants out of his life.  Rather, the social conventions of him doing well in school, getting into a good university, marrying a bride of his parents' choice, and holding a successful position as a doctor are all expected of him.  He dutifully follows what his parents lay out for him, meeting these external standards of success and happiness.

When he tends to his father, it is almost as these expectations are realized. Rakesh's approach to his father is reflective of a socially designed notion of love and respect.  Just as his father never really asked him what the boy wanted out of life, Rakesh does not open up an indepth dialogue on how to take care of the father.  Rakesh simply does what is "expected" of him as a doctor and a son.  He limits his father's food intake.  He prescribes a cocktail of medicines.  Rakesh's internalization of social expectation makes him do his job of being a son "who actually refused his father the food he craved."

I don't think that Rakesh is hypocritical.  To be hypocritical is to be knowingly inauthentic, to deliberately pretend.  I don't see Rakesh as doing that. Rather, I see him representing a world where people live for social expectation and nothing else.

In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, was Montag able to recover the 3 elements Faber said were missing in a world without books?

Professor Faber teaches Montag that in order for books to thrive there need to be three supporting elements accepted by society. First, the information in the books need to have substance, or as Faber calls it, quality. The second supporting element needs to be "leisure to digest it" (85). This means that people need time to read the information and time to think deeply about what they have read. Third, and probably most importantly, Faber says the following:

". . .the right to carry out actions based on what we learn from the interaction of the first two. And I hardly think a very old man and a fireman turned sour could do much this late in the game" (85).

By the end of the story, Montag does find the quality information from books preserved in the minds of a group of people who have memorized books. It probably isn't how he imagined finding the information, but it is there nonetheless. This group that Montag finds living in the wilderness outside of his city are basically wandering hobos steering clear of society to preserve their knowledge. The life these people live away from daily stress of urban living certainly gives them the second element, which is leisure time to process the information. They also create a learning community through which they can share their knowledge of the information contained in the books they have memorized. 

As far as the third element, however, which is the right to carry the knowledge within society, is not found. Yes, Montag finds the right to carry the information within the groups of people who are outcasts from society, but they don't have the means or ability to print and mass produce the books they have memorized. So, until books are reintroduced into the world's societies, the third element will not be fully recovered or realized.

Sadly, it doesn't seem like the group's goal is to pubish books again because Granger says the following:

"Someday the load we're carrying with us may help someone. But even when we had the books on hand, a long time ago, we didn't use what we got out of them. We went right on insulting the dead. We went right on spitting in the graves of all the poor ones who died before us. . . And when they ask us what we're doing, you can say, We're remembering. That's where we'll win out in the long run. And someday we'll remember so much we'll. . . dig the biggest grave of all time and shove war in and cover it up. Come on now, we're going to build a mirror factory first and put out nothing but mirrors for the next year and take a long look in them" (164).