In "The Cop and the Anthem," what is a metaphor? What do these words stand for: "sailing away on a ship," "southern skies"?

The words about "sailing away," and "southern skies" are contained in an early paragraph of the story.

The hibernatorial ambitions of Soapy were not of the highest. In them there were no considerations of Mediterranean cruises, of soporific Southern skies drifting in the Vesuvian Bay. 

These are not metaphors. They are allusions to one kind of advertising that would be commonly seen at this time of year in newspapers, magazines, and on travel posters. O. Henry took it for granted that his readers would be familiar with the pictures and copy intended to arouse a desire to get away from the cold northern cities and relax in the southern sunlight. Soapy himself would have seen many such ads because he collected piles of newspapers that others had read and discarded. But such "hibernatorial ambitions" were naturally out of the question for a homeless man like Soapy, who slept on a park bench blanketed with piles of newspapers containing such tempting words and pictures.

There are many metaphors in "The Cop and the Anthem." The second paragraph of O. Henry's story is laden with fanciful metaphors.

A dead leaf fell in Soapy's lap. That was Jack Frost's card. Jack is kind to the regular denizens of Madison Square, and gives fair warning of his annual call. At the corners of four streets he hands his pasteboard to the North Wind, footman of the mansion of All Outdoors, so that the inhabitants thereof may make ready.

O. Henry is comparing a dead leaf to Jack Frost's calling card without using "like" or "as." Jack Frost is a mythical figure who flies about painting the leaves in the fall and early winter.

`3/(x^4 + x)` Write the partial fraction decomposition of the rational expression. Check your result algebraically.

`3/(x^4+x)`

Let's factorize the denominator,

`x^4+x=x(x^3+1)`

`=x(x+1)(x^2-x+1)`

Let `3/(x^4+x)=A/x+B/(x+1)+(Cx+D)/(x^2-x+1)`

`3/(x^4+x)=(A(x+1)(x^2-x+1)+B(x)(x^2-x+1)+(Cx+D)(x)(x+1))/(x(x+1)(x^2-x+1))`

`3/(x^4+x)=(A(x^3-x^2+x+x^2-x+1)+B(x^3-x^2+x)+(Cx+D)(x^2+x))/(x(x+1)(x^2-x+1))`

`3/(x^4+x)=(A(x^3+1)+B(x^3-x^2+x)+Cx^3+Cx^2+Dx^2+Dx)/(x(x+1)(x^2-x+1))`

`3/(x^4+x)=(x^3(A+B+C)+x^2(-B+C+D)+x(B+D)+A)/(x(x+1)(x^2-x+1))`

`:.3=x^3(A+B+C)+x^2(-B+C+D)+x(B+D)+A`

equating the coefficients of the like terms,

`A+B+C=0`       - equation 1

`-B+C+D=0`    - equation 2

`B+D=0`              - equation 3

`A=3`

Plug the value of A in equation 1,

`3+B+C=0`

`B+C=-3`

`C=-3-B`

Substitute the above expression of C in equation 2,

`-B+(-3-B)+D=0`

`-B-3-B+D=0`

`-2B+D=3`      - equation 4

Now solve equations 3 and 4 to get the solutions of B and D,

Subtract equation 3 from equation 4,

`(-2B+D)-(B+D)=3-0`

`-3B=3`

`B=-1`

Plug the value of B in equation 3,

`-1+D=0`

`D=1`

Plug the value of A and B in equation 1,

`3+(-1)+C=0`

`2+C=0`

`C=-2`

`:.3/(x^4+x)=3/x-1/(x+1)+(-2x+1)/(x^2-x+1)`

How did the narrator's parents meet, and what trade did they offer to each other?

The narrator's parents meet after the mother is taken to a hospital for her broken arm and burns sustained from her leap to save herself. There a consulting specialist and she fall in love, and to help her relieve the tedium of being in the hospital, the doctor teachers her to read. They trade her stories of adventure for his help with her reading and "letters": "In return for stories of her adventures, he graded her first exercises."

The doctor purchases for the narrator's mother her first book, and as he leans over her to guide her in forming her bold letters that go outside the guide lines, they grow tenderly close to each other. Although the doctor wishes to move to a larger city, they remain in the area because the mother could not leave behind her buried child that she lost in the terrible storm that killed her first husband, the other half of the Flying Avalons, a trapeze act. So, the newlyweds move onto an old farm, and the doctor expands his practice to the surrounding valley.

A surfer is about to attempt to ride the biggest wave she has ever seen. Her heart is pounding with fear, and she is not sure if she can make it...

Achievement motivation acts on our desire for success.  What causes this desire varies greatly from individual to individual, and so we can’t say anything definitive about the surfer’s motivations (whether they are intrinsic or extrinsic, i.e. whether she is riding the wave for personal reasons or whether she chances it because she wants to improve for a contest), but we can say that she is attempting the massive and intimidating wave because she wants to be a better surfer.  The idea here is that our achievements define us, and she is motivated by the desire for excellence.  If she manages to ride the wave, she has made an achievement in her sport, which is cause for personal satisfaction.  Even if she doesn’t ride the wave, she has attempted, which is in itself a satisfaction.

The arousal theory of motivation is based on the idea that people seek out activities that will help them maintain an ideal level of arousal.  For example, if you’re bored on a Saturday night, your arousal levels are low, and you will most likely seek out some activity to stimulate you – going out with friends or seeing a concert, something tailored to the individual that maintains a balanced level of interest.  Under this theory, the we can assume that the surfer is a thrill-seeker, someone whose optimal levels of arousal are fairly high – in this case she chooses to ride the wave in order to raise her levels of arousal; that is, to keep herself interested and keep the activity relevant.  It is possible, however, that she is not a thrill-seeker – her fast-beating heart is a possible indication that she is over-shooting in seeking arousal, in which case her performance as she rides the wave will suffer. 

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is often represented as a pyramid of motivational factors; when a person’s most basic needs are met (those at the base of the pyramid), any actions performed by that person are said to be motivated by the needs defined on the next tier of the pyramid, working one’s way up to self-actualization, the highest motivator, which can only be “activated” after having secured all the needs on the pyramid prior to it.  In order, these needs are biological and physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs.  So a person who has just moved to a new town will only actively strive to meet new people (social) after he has found a secure place to stay (safety), and this only after he has satisfied those biological needs we all must satisfy to stay alive – proper food, water, health, etc.  In the case of the surfer, we can assume she is not struggling with any biological or safety needs – she feels secure in her abilities, her health, and the ultimate safety of the wave or else she wouldn’t attempt to ride it.  Social needs don’t explicitly factor in because there is no mention of anyone else in this scenario.  So we can assume that her motivation falls within either esteem or self-actualization.  Esteem needs are driven by a desire for achievement and independence, qualities which would emphasize the surfer’s abilities.  By attempting to ride the wave she is searching for the growth and affirmation of these qualities within herself.  If this need is self-actualization, she is seeking to realize her own potential.  We cannot know exactly which need she is fulfilling because they are driven by personal perceptions and goals.

The Canon-Bard Thalamic Theory is a theory of emotion that would explain the surfer’s pounding heart.  The surfer sees the wave, and it stimulates both the emotion fear and the physical reaction attributed to fear simultaneously.  This theory was proposed in opposition to other leading theories that the physiological responses to stimuli precede and cause the resulting emotion.  Instead, the emotion is interpretable only with reference to the physical manifestation.  Because a racing heart may be a sign of several different emotions, it is possible that what the surfer is feeling is not actually fear, but excitement, which would modify the arousal theory analysis above.

The opponent-process theory is another theory of emotion positing that the experience of a particular feeling at first may overshadow its opposite, but over time the opposing feeling will take precedence and edge out the initial feeling.  Addiction is a prime example of this: with prolonged exposure to some addictive substance, an individual’s feeling of pleasure after contact lessens, and it is instead the misery of withdrawal that forces the continued behavior.  So by stimulating one emotion, its opposite is also being stimulated, and with the lessening of the initial emotion the opposing emotion manifests itself.  Our surfer is feeling fear at the sight of the huge wave before her – according to this theory, she is also therefore experiencing the opposite of fear – this could be relief, it could be excitement.  As she rides the wave, this fear will dissipate and be replaced with whatever opposing emotion she is feeling, and as she continues in her surfing career, the more often she is faced with these intimidating waves, the more often she will approach them with excitement or relief, and the more her fear will diminish.  According to this theory she is unconsciously conditioning herself emotionally to these sorts of waves.

`int_0^1 t cosh(t) dt` Evaluate the integral

Take the indefinite integral by parts. It is known (and easy to prove) that `cosh(t)=d/dt sinh(t)` and `sinh(t)= d/dt cosh(t).`

Denote `u=t,` `v=sinh(t),` then `du=dt` and `dv=cosh(t)dt.`

`int t cosh(t) dt= int u dv =uv- int v du=`

`=t sinh(t)-int sinh(t) dt= t sinh(t)-cosh(t)+C.`

Therefore the definite integral is

`sinh(1)-cosh(1)+1=1/2(e^1-e^(-1)-e^1-e^(-1))+1=1-1/e.`

What details throughout the book show that Lyddie is proud?

I think that the early chapters of the book do a nice job of showing the reader that Lyddie is a proud and determined girl.  I think a good early example is her determination to continue taking care of the farm through the winter despite her mom leaving.  Lyddie is too proud to just leave the farm and let it go to waste.  She and Charlie do quite well with the responsibilities as well too; nevertheless, they are both sold into indentured servitude.  

While Lyddie is worked to the ground by Mrs. Cutler, Lyddie is proud enough to not give up and cower from Mrs. Cutler.  At one point Lyddie thinks the following line.  

Mrs. Cutler watched Lyddie like a barn cat on a sparrow, but Lyddie was determined not to give her cause for complaint.  

Lyddie is proud of her ability to work and work hard.  That pride continues throughout the story.  She is determined to learn how to operate her own loom.  It pays off, and she quickly becomes one of the strongest factory girls.  That pride in her accomplishments leads to Lyddie's dismissal of Brigid's initial efforts.  Lyddie believes that she is too effective and talented to waste her time and efforts on teaching a girl like Brigid.  That's Lyddie's pride having a negative impact on her and the people around her.  

Explain examples of where leadership of the Joad family shifts to different people. Why do these shifts occur? How does the family unit itself...

When the Joad family first comes together to discuss their move to California, the Joads still respect Grampa Joad's seniority; he is the patriarch of the family. However, Grampa's health deteriorates very quickly once he leaves his homeland and passes away shortly after. Traditionally, Pa Joad should have taken over the leadership role as the next oldest male, but since they are in an unusual situation, Tom Joad takes on the role of leader since he is more knowledgeable about the world than his father. Yet Tom cannot bring his family the security they long for either and he becomes particularly concerned with the plight of the labor migrants around him. When Tom has to flee after his fight with the police, it is Ma Joad rather than Pa Joad who takes charge of her family. She knows that her family needs her to be strong, as this quote from chapter 8 demonstrates: "She seemed to know that if she swayed the family shook, and if she ever really deeply wavered or despaired the family would fall, the family will to function would be gone." The traditional role of the male provider is called into question at this time in history, since the men are out of work and cannot provide for their families. Steinbeck shows the extraordinary strength of women and how they form the backbone of these families in need. 

In To Kill a Mockingbird, how does Atticus feel when the verdict is announced?

The answer to this can be found in Chapter 22 of To Kill a Mockingbird. We are not told exactly how Atticus felt at the moment the verdict was announced, though Scout describes him as "tired" several times in the hours before the verdict is given. Indeed, this is how he describes himself to Aunt Alexandra as he goes to bed after returning from court on the night of the verdict: He is "not bitter, just tired." His remarks to his children demonstrate that he is disappointed, though, being thoroughly aware of the realities of race in Maycomb County, not surprised. He acknowledges to Jem (who if anything, takes the decision harder than Atticus) that the decision is "not right" and when asked how the jury could have arrived at such a verdict, says with resignation that "they’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again." 

But Atticus is not totally without hope. The next morning, before he encounters the mountains of food brought to the house by several sympathizers, he reassures Jem that the case will be heard on appeal. We learn in Chapter 24, of course, that Tom is shot and killed supposedly trying to escape. At this point, Alexandra observes that the news, and his role in the trial in general, "tears him to pieces." Throughout the book, and especially in Chapters 22 through 24, we see that Atticus, though a stoic figure, bears a heavy burden in the form of the trial. This is not a surprise to him--as mentioned before, he is well aware of the social and racial dynamics in Maycomb, but it clearly takes a toll on the man.

You can find the quotes above in the Warner Books edition of To Kill A Mockingbird (1988), pages 215-221.  

Aristotle defined tragedy as a play about a basically good person, important to society, who suffers a fall brought about by something in his or...

According to the Greeks, the tragic hero's hamartia, or tragic flaw, does not always have to be something negative. It can be a seemingly positive trait, but in excess, it can lead the hero to his fall. Such is the case with George  and Lennie in Of Mice and Men.

George Milton, the protagonist of the novella, is the reluctant caregiver of Lennie Smalls, a large but childlike man. He knew Lennie's aunt before she died and promised Clara that he would watch over him after she passed. Throughout the novel, George expresses his frustrations towards Lennie and repeats, "I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn't have you on my tail" (7).

However, despite his frustrations, George is very compassionate towards Lennie and quickly realizes that Lennie is not at fault for constantly costing him every job he gets. He is so compassionate that he often acquiesces to Lennie's will, He allows him to have a puppy and plans to let him tend the rabbits once they have a farm of their own. It is this compassion that is George's hamartia, for if he were like the other ranchers, he could travel alone and not bother himself with Lennie's shenanigans. However, he believes Lennie incapable of caring for himself and tells him, "I want you to stay with me, Lennie. Jesus Christ, sombody'd shoot you for a coyote if you was by yourself" (13). George's inability to desert Lennie and let him roam the ranches on his own leads to Lennie's tragic death and George's inevitable guilt which will more than likely haunt him for the rest of his life.

Likewise, Lennie possesses an admirable trait that, because of its excessiveness, is his hamartia. Innocence has a positive connotation, but in the case of a grown man, a migrant farm worker, it can be dangerous. Lennie's innocence gives him a predilection for soft things. Sometimes these things are rodents, and sometimes they are mere fabrics. Normally, when Lennie gets ahold of a mouse or puppy, the creature faces death under Lennie's huge "paws." In the past, when the gentle giant has gotten hold of a soft piece of fabric, it is attached to a woman's dress, which understandably frightens the lady. This is what happens to Curley's wife, and because of his innocence, Lennie is equally frightened, cannot let go of her, and inadvertently kills her, snapping her neck with his massive hands. This ultimately leads to his death, his fall.

Lennie's death was the fall of both characters. Before George shoots Lennie, he responds to his large friend's request to "get that place now" with, "Sure, right now. I gotta. We gotta" (106). These words represent both characters' hamartias. Lennie, too innocent to understand the seriousness of the situation, believes the farm is still attainable, while George, too compassionate to let Lennie die a horrible, torturous death in Curley's hands, kills his friend mercifully.

According to the Loyalists, who started the fire and why? According to the Patriots, who started the fire and why?

A fire broke out in New York on September 21, 1776. The "Great Fire of New York," as it was later called, burned down nearly 1/3 of the city. It appeared that the fire started in several different places, so New York City residents immediately suspected arson.

British soldiers and Loyalists accused the American Revolutionaries of starting the fire to kill British soldiers and destroy British property. British General William Howe accused Patriots, and Governor William Tryon believed General George Washington had orchestrated the fire.

Patriots disagreed with this assessment and denied starting the blaze. They, in fact, placed the blame on the British. The Patriots claimed that the British wanted an excuse to plunder the possessions of New York City residents; the fire gave them the excuse they needed to do so.

Why did Pony think it was better to see Socs as "just guys?" What do you think he meant by this?

The answer to this question is fairly simple.  When a Greaser like Ponyboy labels someone as a "Soc," then the person is made an automatic enemy (while disregarding his or her humanity).  However, if Ponyboy thinks of any of the Socs as "just guys" instead of the incriminating term "Socs," then Ponyboy blesses those people (who the other Greasers think of as enemies) as truly human and, therefore, worthy of at least consideration if not love and compassion. 

This is an example of how Ponyboy is a truly thoughtful individual and not an unthinking and unintelligent Greaser at heart.  Ponyboy proves this in many ways, most especially in observing nature with Johnny and reciting Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay."  Ponyboy further shows his thoughtfulness (and difference between himself and the other Greasers) by his relationship with Cherry Valence (a Soc).  Ponyboy's statement about Soc's as "just guys" is yet another way he proves himself different from his fellow Greasers by being thoughtful about humanity.

Why did dynasties form in Sumer?

Sumer's location as the southernmost region of Mesopotamia, along with its access to the Persian Gulf, made it a prime location for a blossoming of culture and economy. Many believe that the Sumerian city of Uruk is where civilization began.

A few dynasties have appeared in Sumer over the course of its history. The First Dynasty of Lagash started around 2500 B.C. This small empire included the majority of Sumer as well as some parts of Elam.

Another dynasty—the Third Dynasty of Ur—is remembered as occurring during a period of time when the Sumerian Renaissance influenced many aspects of Sumerian life. Cultural advancements were the goal of the kings during this period, thus a peace was maintained that allowed for advancements in technology and art to blossom. The advancements that occurred at this time helped the area to be remembered as the cradle of civilization.

How does Shakespeare present love in Romeo and Juliet?

Shakespeare presents love in three ways in Romeo and Juliet. He presents it as something that happens at first sight, something that can conquer anything, and as something that is worth dying for.  

Regarding love at first sight, Romeo and Juliet are instantaneously in love with each other upon first laying eyes on each other.   Their conversation is great, because together their spoken lines of dialogue make a sonnet.  At the end of the 14 lines, they kiss.  Are you kidding me?  After saying 14 lines to each other, they are kissing.  Then within 36 hours or so they are married.  If that's not love at first sight, I don't know what is.  

Love conquers all.  Both Romeo and Juliet are aware that the other person is from the family that they are enemies with, yet they don't care.  Their love for each other has ended any sort of squabble that Romeo or Juliet may have for the other family.  Friar Lawrence believes in that aspect of love too.  He agrees to perform the wedding ceremony for the two star crossed lovers, because he hopes that it will bring the Capulets and Montagues together.

For this alliance may so happy prove,
To turn your households' rancour to pure love.

The last presentation of love is that it is worth dying for and/or that it can conquer the grave.  The best example of that is the fact that Romeo and Juliet would rather die together than live apart.   Juliet even says as much in Act 3, Scene 5.  

If all else fail, myself have power to die.

`(x + 1)/(x^2 - x - 6)` Write the partial fraction decomposition of the rational expression. Check your result algebraically.

`(x+1)/(x^2-x-6)`

Let's factorize the denominator,

`x^2-x-6=x^2-3x+2x-6`

`=x(x-3)+2(x-3)`

`=(x-3)(x+2)`

`:.(x+1)/(x^2-x-6)=(x+1)/((x-3)(x+2))`

Now let`(x+1)/(x^2-x-6)=A/(x-3)+B/(x+2)`

`(x+1)/(x^2-x-6)=(A(x+2)+B(x-3))/((x-3)(x+2))`

`(x+1)/(x^2-x-6)=(Ax+2A+Bx-3B)/((x-3)(x+2))` 

`:.(x+1)=Ax+2A+Bx-3B`

`x+1=(A+B)x+2A-3B`

Equating the coefficients of the like terms,

`A+B=1`

`2A-3B=1`

Now let's solve the above two equations to get the values of A and B,

express B in terms of A from the first equation,

`B=1-A`

substitute the expression of B in the second equation,

`2A-3(1-A)=1`

`2A-3+3A=1`

`5A-3=1`

`5A=1+3`

`5A=4`

`A=4/5`

Plug the value of A in the first equation,

`4/5+B=1`

`B=1-4/5`

`B=1/5`

`:.(x+1)/(x^2-x-6)=4/(5(x-3))+1/(5(x+2))`

Now let's check the above result,

RHS=`4/(5(x-3))+1/(5(x+2))`

`=(4(x+2)+1(x-3))/(5(x-3)(x+2))`

`=(4x+8+x-3)/(5(x^2+2x-3x-6))`

`=(5x+5)/(5(x^2-x-6))`

`=(5(x+1))/(5(x^2-x-6))`

`=(x+1)/(x^2-x-6)`

= LHS

Hence it is verified.

In the book The Witch of Blackbird Pond, what did the new governor want the landowners to do?

In Chapter 15, Governor Edmond Andros, the new royal governor, means to make the landowners pay for land they have already purchased. He also wants the landowners to apply for new land grants, stating that the deeds signed with the native Indians are worthless. The landowners are furious, as they argue that the new fees will leave them paupers.

Some are ready to defend their rights, but Matthew says that their defense will come at the cost of all their lives. He advises everyone to be patient. The new governor comes to Wethersfield and participates in a town council. During the council, someone steals the town charter under cover of darkness. William Ashby rides to tell the exciting news to the Woods family. Meanwhile, Governor Andros remains calm, as he realizes that the charter will never be found in his presence. He announces that Connecticut will be annexed to Massachusetts.

Why do you consider the Roman, Persian, British, Caliphate and Mongol as a major empires?

The Roman, Persian, Mongol, and British Empires, and the Caliphates (Rashidun, Umayyad, Abassid, Fatimid, Almohad, and Ottoman) can be considered great for their geographical and economic conquests. All of these Empires managed to conquer and incorporate great expanses of land into their territory and in most cases, exploit the local resources and economies. 

Many of these Empires had long lifespans where there territories were in flux as land was conquered and re-conquered by opposing forces. What was really distinctive about these Empires was their capability for establishing uniformity throughout the land. For example, Roman trade networks ensured that the goods and money being used even in the most distant provinces were of Roman style.The Sassanians (a Persian Empire) were able to establish a uniform revival of orthodox Zoroastrianism, and the Mongolian Empire even had a postal system connecting the lands.

These empires can be considered driving forces in cultural change for much of the world over the past 2,500 years. Their power can still be felt today in the language, architecture, art, religion, and customs of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

Desirable properties of a liquid used in thermometers?

A thermometer is a device used to measure temperature. Thermometers are thin hollow tubes of glass partially filled with a liquid. 

The application of heat to a liquid (or any other type of matter) causes that liquid to expand. When a thermometer is heated, the liquid expands and takes up more volume inside the tube. Thus the height of the liquid in the tube rises. The temperature is read by comparing the height of the liquid to calibrated markings on the glass.

A desirable property of a liquid used in a thermometer is a high coefficient of thermal expansion. This means even a small change in temperature results in a significant change in volume. 

Mercury was the original liquid of choice for thermometers. However, mercury is very toxic. Colored ethanol solutions are now preferred, both because they are not dangerous when accidentally broken and much easier to dispose of without harming the environment. Thus, non-toxicity is another desirable property of a thermometer liquid.

What is the premise of Andrew Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth”?

Andrew Carnegie makes no qualms about being wealthy and prosperous in the industrial capitalist world of early Twentieth Century America.  In many respects, he need not offer apologies.  Carnegie started his journey to the top one percent at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid.  What is clear from the essay is that Carnegie is a proponent of the notion of Social Darwinism, or "survival of the fittest" applied in the socio-economic realm.  He feels that the wealthy are the superior members of the society and have earned their money through talent and hard work.  Where Carnegie departs from the camp of the Social Darwinists is in his belief in philanthropy.  The Gospel of Wealth is fairly critical of those individuals that die wealthy.  He forwards the belief that it is the responsibility of the wealthy to help the lower classes.  He does not advocate almsgiving as he feels that the poor cannot adequately make decisions about what to do with these handouts.  Carnegie suggests using wealth to create opportunities for the inferior classes to make self-improvement.  Carnegie believes that building libraries, universities, and museums with personal wealth will somewhat level the playing field between the classes.  

In what way did Krogstad and Nora face a similar moment of decision in the past?

Krogstad and Nora faced a similar moment of decision in the past when they both committed the same crime: forging a signature.

After Torvald (Nora's husband) becomes ill, it becomes imperative that he travel to a location with a fairer climate to recover. The trouble is that the family cannot afford this trip. Desperate to protect the fleeting health of her loved one, Nora chooses to illegally borrow money, forging her father's signature as the security for the debt. She tells Torvald that she has received the money directly from her father so that he will not fret over their financial concerns. Although Nora faithfully makes payments on the loan, Krogstad discovers that the loan documents were signed by Nora's father three days after his death, an impossibility which leads him to realize the crime Nora has committed. 

Krogstad comments quite observantly that Nora's act "was nothing more and nothing worse that made [him] an outcast from society" and that "[t]he law takes no account of motives." Nora shortly thereafter discovers that the deed that Krogstad has been so thoroughly punished for is, in fact, forgery. Torvald claims that, "...Krogstad has been poisoning his own children for years past by a life of lies and hypocrisy--that's why I call him morally ruined." Little does he know that his wife has done the very same thing.

This epiphany at the conclusion of Act One--that she is no better than the man her husband detests most--is what ultimately drives Nora's crisis of self throughout the rest of the play.

What emotions does "In Another Country" probably bring out in most people?

There could be many correct answers, but most likely Hemingway was trying to elicit the emotion of loneliness. The main character feels isolated from most everyone. The townspeople say, "A basso gli ufficiali!" "Down with the officers!" The narrator also suggests that all men who have been to the front have symptoms of PTSD, indicated by the narrator saying, " We were all a little detached." And he personally is separated by the fact that he only won his medal because he was American. "I was not a hawk, although I might seem a hawk to those who had never hunted; they, the three, knew better and so we drifted apart."

The language barrier is another source of loneliness. At first the narrator is unaware of his poor grammar, but the major points out his flaws and begins to help him. Ironically, the narrator then becomes afraid to speak, "until I had the grammar straight in my mind." This suggests fear in talking to even a confidant.

Finally, the climax of the story is the revelation that the major's wife has just died. The major instructs the narrator never to marry. "If he is to lose everything, he should not place himself in a position to lose that." The message is that his pain is from his connection, and one is better off remaining alone. The story ends with the image of the major staring out the window by himself, underscoring the concept of loneliness.

Why does Madame Loisel select the necklace rather than any other piece of jewelry?

Madame Loisel's character is superficial and concerned about status. When invited to the Minister of Public Instruction's soiree, a difficult invitation to receive considering her husband's status as clerk, she is not satisfied. "She looked at [her husband] with an irritated eye, and she said, impatiently: 'And what do you want me to put on my back?'" Her initial reaction is not of gratitude but of ingratitude because she doesn't have a dress to wear to the event. 

Madame Loisel does not care that her husband may not be able to afford finer items such as dresses or jewelry; she only cares that she presents the illusion that she is wealthy and of an appropriate status. This is what leads her to borrow jewelry.

Madame Loisel chooses the necklace rather than wearing flowers or even another piece of jewelry because the necklace symbolizes status and wealth. 

All of a sudden she discovered, in a black satin box, a superb necklace of diamonds; and her heart began to beat with an immoderate desire. Her hands trembled as she took it. She fastened it around her throat, outside her high-necked dress, and remained lost in ecstasy at the sight of herself.

Ultimately, it is Madame Loisel's desire for a higher status and wealth and dissatisfaction with her life that contribute to her borrowing the jewelry.

Madame Loisel borrows the necklace and unfortunately loses it. This event is a turning point in her life because she must work tirelessly to afford a replacement necklace. As a result, Madame Loisel is reduced to a lower status (both economically and socially) than she was prior to borrowing the necklace. In the end, we learn that the necklace she coveted and which symbolized wealth to her was indeed a fake and not worth much more than fresh flowers.

What is the main conflict of Jane Eyre?

Jane Eyre struggled with an internal conflict through much of the story.  After some time at Thornfield Hall as Adele's governess, Jane began to have romantic feelings toward Mr. Rochester, her employer.  Jane attempted to ignore these feelings.  She soon found out about Ms. Ingram, who was Mr. Rochester's intended.  Despite their upcoming nuptials, Jane struggled with her desire to be with Mr. Rochester:

I began to cherish hopes I had no right to conceive: that the match was broken off; that rumour had been mistaken; that one or both parties had changed their minds.

Jane's secret hopes came true.  Mr. Rochester soon professed his love for Jane. He chose Jane over Ms. Ingram. Jane and Mr. Rochester became engaged.  She and Mr. Rochester arrived at the church to get married on their wedding day.  Before the minister could complete the ceremony, a man burst into the church to announce that Mr. Rochester was already married.  The story unraveled and Jane was devastated.  Mr. Rochester was married to a woman who had long ago gone insane.

Shocked, Jane listened to Mr. Rochester's pleas for her to stay with him.  He suggested that Jane become his mistress.  Jane then had another internal conflict.  Should she become Mr. Rochester's mistress?  That was the only way she could be with him.  She believed that being his mistress would be morally wrong.  In the end, Jane refused and left Thornfield.

When should one use the simple past or the present perfect in summaries?

Present perfect tense is the less specific of the two: "I have eaten horse meat" informs the listener that the speaker has, at some point in his past, eaten a kind of meat that most people avoid. Simple past tense is a lot more specific: "I ate horse meat yesterday." The listener knows not only that the speaker has eaten it in the past, but specifically when.

Suppose you were applying for a job at a very specialized restaurant. They have horse meat on the menu and want to know if you are squeamish about eating, preparing or recommending this delicacy to their clientele. their first question might be "Have you eaten horse meat?" The present perfect is the right way to answer: "Yes, I have eaten horse meat." In your resume of life experiences, eating this is on the list. But eating horse flesh is suddenly popular, because a famous rock star just announced he loves eating it. So now the restauranteur wants to know: "Is this something you did a long time ago as a child, or if it's something you've done recently, so the details are vivid?" And you want to give a detailed, specific answer: "Why yes, I ate horse meat last night. It was delicious!"

In "After Twenty Years," what kind of area was the policeman patrolling?

The area seems to be made up of two-story wooden buildings with shops on the ground floor and offices on the second floor. Property was not as valuable in New York in O. Henry's time. Nowadays the same neighborhood would be covered with high-rise buildings. New York was constantly undergoing an evolution in its architecture. Twenty years before the story opens the neighborhood must have been more lively. There were probably plenty of saloons as well as restaurants like "Big Joe" Brady's. Now it is a neighborhood where people in the office go home at five or six o'clock and the stores lock up at around the same time. 

O. Henry wanted the encounter between Jimmy Wells and "Silky" Bob to take place in a dark, nearly deserted section of the city. It had to be dark so that Bob would not recognize the policeman as his old friend. It also had to be very quiet at that time of night, about ten o'clock, so that Bob might seem a little suspicious standing in a darkened doorway. The two men wouldn't have made an appointment to meet in front of a hardware store. They had made the appointment to meet at the same place where they separated, at "Big Joe" Brady's restaurant. O. Henry had to explain that Bob had found that the restaurant had been torn down and replaced by some shops.

Bob thinks the uniformed cop is approaching him because he looks suspicious standing in the shelter of a darkened entranceway to a closed hardware store. He is mistaken. The cop is there to keep the appointment he made to meet Bob on that spot in twenty years. Jimmy doesn't get a chance to identify himself. Bob is a big talker and starts explaining his presence there before Jimmy can say anything.

"It's all right, officer,” he said, reassuringly. “I'm just waiting for a friend. It's an appointment made twenty years ago. Sounds a little funny to you, doesn't it? Well, I'll explain if you'd like to make certain it's all straight. About that long ago there used to be a restaurant where this store stands— ‘Big Joe’ Brady's restaurant.”

Then, before Jimmy can get a word in edgewise:

The man in the doorway struck a match and lit his cigar. The light showed a pale, square-jawed face with keen eyes, and a little white scar near his right eyebrow. His scarf pin was a large diamond, oddly set.

We learn later that as soon as Bob lights his cigar, Jimmy recognizes him as the man wanted by the Chicago police. After that, Jimmy decides not to introduce himself. Jimmy just listens to what Bob has to say, which conveys a lot of background information to the reader in dialogue form. Jimmy decides that he can't arrest Bob himself but that he will go back to the station house to get someone else to do it. He has to make sure Bob will be waiting there. 

“I'll be on my way. Hope your friend comes around all right. Going to call time on him sharp?”

“I should say not!” said the other. “I'll give him half an hour at least. If Jimmy is alive on earth he'll be here by that time. So long, officer.”

Because the neighborhood is dark, it is easy for the plainclothes officer to pose as Bob's old friend for at least a short time. The wet weather explains why the officer has his overcoat collar turned up to his ears, hiding part of his face. It also explains why Bob is standing deep inside the entranceway to the hardware store. He wants to smoke his cigar and can't do that in the rain. And he has to remain there until he finishes the cigar. The neighborhood is created to suit the plot, and so is the bad weather. 

How are love and marriage treated in The Importance of Being Earnest?

As the complete title of the play specifies, The Importance of Being Earnest is "A trivia comedy for serious people." This means that those themes which are universally considered, or treated, in a "serious" way, namely, love and marriage, will also be treated trivially, or with little importance, throughout the play. 

While the ultimate goal of the play is for Jack (Ernest) Worthing to marry Gwendolen, and for Algernon to marry Cecily, the motivations and means by which these goals are attempted are as ridiculous as they are comical. 

Jack says that he loves Gwendolen. His passion is supposedly reciprocated, but the relationship cannot be possible unless Jack shows Gwendolen's mother what sort of family he comes from and who are his relatives. Lady Bracknell, an arrogant aristocrat, just cannot tolerate Jack's life story that he was found in a handbag at a cloakroom in Victoria station, "the Brighton line." Hence, in order for a marriage to be possible, Jack needs to "produce" a father and a mother (a family name) in short notice. 

What this shows is the shallowness of the entire thing. Marriage is seen as a transaction of family names and fortune, and not as a love connection. Gwendolen is all too familiar with this, as even she says that 

...although (Lady Bracknell) may prevent us from becoming man and wife, and I may marry some one else, and marry often, nothing that she can possibly do can alter my eternal devotion to you

Love and devotion, as well as marriage and loyalty, are flimsy and ephemeral in the eyes of  Gwendolen and her mother. Algernon, who is Lady Bracknell's nephew and Gwendolen's cousin, has a similar opinion on the matter.

Algernon: I really don't see anything romantic in proposing. It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal. Why, one may be accepted. One usually is, I believe. Then the excitement is all over. The very essence of romance is uncertainty. 

Add to this that the primary motivator of the devotion of the two female leads, Gwendolen and Cecily, is the simple fact that their object of affection goes by the name of "Ernest." Gwendolen says that there is something in the name gives her vibrations. This is primarily why Jack adopts the name and goes by it. Cecily says that the name inspires confidence- which is why Algernon pretends to be the bad, fake brother Ernest (a character invented by Jack to leave the country side with an excuse) and introduces himself like that to Cecily. The name is a lie that will later become an ironic, partial truth when Jack discovers that this father's name was,and hence his namesake would be, Ernest.

The motivations behind the affections of the characters are shallow. The process of the marriage proposal is transactional and matter-of-fact. There is very little space for true love, commitment, and passion. In true Wilde fashion, these facts will be further twisted as a way to take digs at the prudish and hypocritical Victorian society that harbored these types of dynamics. This is also the primary reason why Wilde will choose those very two topics as sources of comical triviality.

What is theoretical postmodernism?

Postmodernism, as a framework, is a way of challenging or re-assessing the theories and ways of thinking developed in the modern context. It deals heavily with skepticism and epistemology--how do we know what we know? Theoretical postmodernism emphasizes relativity in developing theory, and is used widely in the social sciences as a means of addressing the subjective nature of knowledge and truth.

Someone who works with postmodernist thought should be no stranger to the fact that knowledge changes over time. Modernist philosophy emphasizes the use of logic and reason and asserts that there is a concrete, quantifiable, and even predictable or certain nature to the world. While a modernist might feel that the world can be easily understood and explained through theory developed through methodical, logical reasoning, a postmodernist recognizes the importance of subjectivity. 

To put it in a very abstract example, a modernist might measure a sack of potatoes using standardized weights and determine that it weighs one kilo. The postmodernist acknowledges that the weight of the sack of potatoes is determined by a previously established and arbitrary system of measurement. 

What is the importance of soliloquy in Macbeth?

Soliloquy is a literary device by which readers are able to gain access to the inner world of characters, specifically, their thoughts and ideas about certain situations, issues or other characters in the play. This literary device enables us to examine the characters more closely and to see them as what they really are - complex human beings.

On the subject of Macbeth, many soliloquies reveal how complex the character of Macbeth is. If we disregarded all the soliloquies, Macbeth would be seen as an utterly  despicable character, a cold-blooded murderer who is devoid of humanity. Thankfully, it is in his soliloquies that we see him as what he really is - a complex human being, with both the good and the bad within him. Although the bad in him prevails as the play unfolds, his soliloquies make him human. In them, he shows his fears, doubts, suspicions, etc. Although he may be seen as a fearless, blood-thirsty villain on the outside, we are able to see his other side as well. For example, before he murders Duncan, we see how conflicted he is about doing it:

 First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
 Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
 Who should against his murderer shut the door,
 Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan
 Hath borne his faculties so meek.

Here, he attempts to weigh all the factors in order to make a decision and lists the reasons why he should not murder Duncan. We see how agonizing this is for him, yet his ambition needs to be fulfilled.

Macbeth's vulnerability, fears and doubts make him a rather complex character, even sympathetic at times, so it is thanks to the soliloquies that we are able to see him as accurately as possible.

What values did the ancient Greeks esteem?

The ancient Greeks esteemed many values, which they referred to as virtues. Collectively, these virtues--along with beauty--formed the Ideal Type, or the perfect human. Among these virtues were glory and piety.

The goal of every Greek's life was to earn glory. This was accomplished by living a virtuous life and dying a glorious death. Perhaps the most glorious death was dying in battle in defense of one's country. Thus the Spartans (and other assorted Greeks who fought with them) who died at Thermopylae while attempting to stave off the Persian invasion earned glory.

The Greeks also highly valued piety, which meant revering the gods and giving them due honor. Greek literature is replete with stories of people who prospered by honoring the gods or received punishment for dishonoring them. For example, Homer relates in the Odyssey that Odysseus' men ate the sacred cattle of Helios, the sun-god. As punishment, Zeus destroyed their ships with a storm.

How do climate and location influence occupation?

Climate and location have influenced occupation from the beginning of human history. For example, it's difficult to farm on a sandy beach. Of course, particularly in modern society, climate and location are not the only factors that determine vocation. Climate and/or location will, however, create industries to support major enterprises in a particular region. 

Let's look at climate separate from location. A dry climate will be home to jobs that more humid climates do not require. Each year, we see how fires devastate parts of the North American Southwest. Because of this, specially trained personnel are necessary to manage both conditions that can lead to fires, like irrigation engineers, and combat fires across large sections of land, like aerial firefighters. 

Now, let's look at location separate from climate. Coastal communities rely on the fishing industry, at least in part, on both North American coasts. Fishermen and -women are part of a large distribution chain that can reach across states and even continents. Every stop in the supply chain, from ice brokers to truck drivers, is in some way employed by the fishing industry. 

Do you consider Ghana to be a sovereign state?

Yes, Ghana, or the Republic of Ghana, is a sovereign state.  The country, on West Africa's Gulf of Guinea, is a sovereign unitary presidential constitutional democracy.  A sovereign state is defined as a state, or country, which has defined borders inside of which people live and that has its own government that makes laws for these people that the people have to follow; in addition, sovereign states have the power to form diplomatic relationships with other sovereign states.  Ghana meets this definition; thus, it is a sovereign state.  In 1957, Ghana, formerly known as the Gold Coast, became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence from the United Kingdom.  The country has its own president and government, its own constitution, and its own legal system.  One reason that some question whether Ghana is a sovereign state is that the country relies significantly on outside financial assistance; however, it is still considered to be one of the most stable countries in West Africa. 

What are ten features of the Dark Ages?

The Dark Ages are also known as the Middle Ages; the term "Dark Ages" is seen as somewhat pejorative in that it implies a time of barbarity and intellectual darkness. The period extends from roughly the 5th century (the Fall of Rome) through the 14th century (the birth of the Renaissance) and usually refers to life in Europe and Asia during that time. It is also known by historians and scholars as the "medieval period" because the term "middle" implies a somewhat short period of time, or one that is somehow less significant than the two periods surrounding it. 

The Middle Ages saw a number of social movements, some positive and some negative. The Age of Chivalry occurred during this time, and was associated with a code of integrity and ethical behavior followed by knights. Knights were warriors who fought in the Crusades (holy expeditions ordered by the Catholic Church that were designed to preserve Christian dominance). They also helped protect various dynasties and communities from harm, often under the orders of a monarch or military leader. Many invasions and battles also took place during this time, including the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

The latter part of the Middle Ages (middle of the 14th century) saw a horrific disease known as "The Black Death" (the bubonic plague) spread far and wide through Europe and kill over 20 million people due to its high rate of contagion and high instance of mortality. Because of a general lack of medical knowledge or hygiene, the disease was believed by some to be linked to superstitious religious beliefs in the devil and witchcraft. These beliefs persisted well into the 18th century in Europe and the Americas. The Catholic Church became very powerful and influential during this period, partly as a result of the Crusades (begun in the 11th century) and the charges of heresy (which meant rejecting the teachings of the Church) the Church made, which were also associated with witchcraft and the occult.

It sounds as though your question is pertaining to a specific list of features you were asked to memorize. There are many different features particular to this time period, so I hope I have illuminated some of them for you.

Are there any articles that discuss the issues mentioned in Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma?

Michael Pollan's writings on food, nutrition and botany are very popular and have been instrumental in fomenting a food revolution in recent years. In addition to writing books on these topics (including The Botany of Desire, which looked closely at four common plants to determine their impact on humanity and history: the apple, the tulip, the potato, and marijuana), he has authored many articles and been featured in a number of documentary films. His work incorporates research and writing on environmental issues as well. His articles have been featured in Newsweek, The New Yorker, The Nation, and the New York Times.

One of his first high-profile articles on food systems appeared in the Sunday New York Times Magazine, entitled "The Vegetable Industrial Complex." This article looks at many of the issues explored in The Omnivore's Dilemma, including the impact of modern agricultural practices on the foods we eat, the impact upon consumers of corporate agriculture, and the implications for farming in the future, as well as issues such as bacterial contamination (such as e. coli and listeria) in the foods we purchase in stores and restaurants.

The website michaelpollan.com contains information about the author's work and links to articles published in many online magazines. This is one of the best sources for finding writings by Pollan.

What does the word "nevermore" represent in “The Raven?”: a. internal rhyme b. alliteration c. a refrain d. paradise

Although Edgar Allen Poe does use internal rhyme and alliteration in the poem “The Raven,” the word “nevermore” is a refrain. The word is repeated eleven times in the latter stanzas of the poem. Each time the desperate lover questions the Raven, it answers “Nevermore.” The man knows what the answer will be, but he tortures himself by asking questions about his lost love and if he will ever find solace. Poe uses the refrain as a point of emphasis. He emphasizes the man’s despair, loneliness, and desolation.

You will notice in the first stanza an example of internal rhyme in the line, “While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,” The words napping and tapping rhyme within the same line instead at the end of two lines.

The line “Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before” includes an example of alliteration in which the first sound of a word is repeated in words that follow. In this case, the sound of /d/ is heard at the beginning of doubting, dreaming, dreams, dared, dreamed.

Could John represent the wallpaper in "The Yellow Wallpaper?"

Although John thinks that he is helping his wife, Jane, by keeping her isolated and inactive, this is actually an imprisonment and leads to Jane's breakdown. The yellow wallpaper lines the wall of her room. They are the metaphorical prison bars of her incarceration. So, John is comparable to the wallpaper in the sense that he basically imprisons her and the wallpaper coats the actual walls of her prison. 

John is condescending to Jane, telling her that he knows best. And his advice is really a command that Jane must stay in this room and be as inactive as possible. This illustrates the gender roles of this time (1892) and how men were deemed to be the active, controlling members of relationships and marriages. Women were supposed to be passive and inactive, while avoiding stress and work. So, the author focuses on these roles and shows how John treats Jane more like a child than an equal partner in marriage. He actively imprisons her and she reluctantly acquiesces because the marital and gender roles prescribe that she must obey her husband. Since he is the one most responsible for imprisoning her, it is logical to compare him to the actual walls of her prison. So, yes, John is comparable to the yellow wallpaper. He represses her and so do the walls themselves. 

Jane wishes to escape from this room but she doesn't want to disobey John. Being stuck in the room, she begins to hallucinate and lose her sanity. She starts seeing a woman trapped in the wallpaper. Then she sees even more women: 

And she is all the time trying to climb through. But nobody could climb through that pattern - it strangles so; I think that is why it has so many heads. 

In addition to symbolizing John's dominating role, the wallpaper now symbolizes how all women have historically been imprisoned. Jane even supposes that she, like the imaginary women, is imprisoned in the wallpaper. In escaping the wallpaper, she symbolically escapes John's domination. Unfortunately, by this time, her imprisonment has led to madness. 

The volume of a box is modeled by the function V(x) = x3 + 2x2 − 29x − 30. Identify the values of x for which the volume is 0 and...

We are given the model for the volume of a box as  we`V(x)=x^3+2x^2-29x-30 `
and we are asked to factor the function:

If the function factors in the rationals, we can write the function as
V(x)=(x-p)(x-q)(x-r), where p,q, and r are the real zeros of the function.

If we have access to a graphing utility, we can graph the function and use the zeros to factor; here is the graph:

The zeros appear to be at x=-6, x=-1, and x=5. If this is true, the function factors as:

V(x)=(x+6)(x+1)(x-5)

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The zeros are at x=-6,-1, and 5. The factored form is:

V(x)=(x+6)(x+1)(x-5)

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If we did not have access to a grapher, by the rational root theorem we know that the only possible rational roots are `pm1,pm2,pm3,pm5,pm6,pm10,pm15,pm30 `

It would not take long to find the roots.

What are all of the populations in an ecosystem called?

All the populations in an ecosystem are called a community. A population is composed of one particular species, such as a population of cardinal birds, a population of red foxes, or a population of gray squirrels. When you combine two or more populations together in the same general location, you have a community. Think about all of the living organisms in your neighborhood. At my house, we have four human beings, four dogs, and one cat. A community could be all of the populations that exist within my entire neighborhood.

When you combine the living factors of a community together with the nonliving factors of the area it lives in, you have an ecosystem. The nonliving factors of an ecosystem would be water, soil, temperature, light, and climate. The biotic factors and the abiotic factors work together forming a cycling of nutrients and required raw materials that are necessary to life as we know it here on the earth.

What language techniques are used in the following sentence, and what effects do they have on the reader?: 'for stony limits cannot hold love...

This line from Romeo and Juliet uses personification to drive home Romeo's point.  In the line mentioned above (line 67 of Act 2, Scene 2), "love" takes on human qualities, as it climbs over stone walls -- the stone walls that surround the Capulet residence -- in order to get to Juliet.  In reality, it is Romeo, rather than "love," who has climbed the walls, but attributing the action to "love" makes it feel as though his aims were a bit more lofty than simply hoisting himself over a wall.  Romeo feels that he is compelled by love, a person-like entity that provides him with wings to fly to Juliet and urges him to return to her by any means possible.

In the short story "The Lumber Room" by H. H. Munro, what is Nicholas doing in the lumber room?

In the lumber room, Nicholas delightedly unleashes his imagination as he examines the treasures stored away in this dusty room.

Nicholas escapes from his prosaic and supercilious aunt by sequestering himself in the forbidden lumber room after assuring his safety by cleverly assuming "an expression of considerable obstinacy." He does this in order to make the aunt believe that he truly desires to enter the gooseberry garden and will make efforts to do so. With this subterfuge, Nicholas ensures that his aunt will occupy herself in "self-imposed sentry-duty for the greater part of the afternoon," and he can safely enjoy himself elsewhere.

Once in the lumber room, Nicholas indulges in flights of fancy as he happily gazes at all the "wonderful things" therein. Among them are quaint objects of interest and delight that absorb his attention:

• candlesticks that are twisted into the shapes of snakes from an exotic world


• an old-fashioned teapot shaped like a china duck whose beak is the pour spout


• a sandalwood box containing small, delightful brass figures of Brahma bulls, peacocks, and mischievous dwarf-like demons


• a large book filled with pictures of exotic and resplendent birds such as wood pigeons, herons, bustards, toucans, scarlet ibises, golden pheasants, and many others

But the object that truly arrests Nicholas's attention is a large tapestry which depicts a hunter who has shot a stag with an arrow. To him it is "a living, breathing story" in which he becomes the narrator. Looking at the scene of the deer impaled with the hunter's arrow and the two dogs "springing forward," having remained at point while the hunter shot, Nicholas engages his imagination as he wonders if the hunter, who has but two arrows left, and the dogs will be able to hold off the four wolves who are stealing upon them:

Nicholas sat for many golden minutes revolving the possibilities of the scene; he was inclined to think that there were more than four wolves and that the man and his dogs were in a tight corner.

His exciting reveries about the deer and the picture-book birds are unfortunately cut short by "the shrill vociferation" of his appointed-aunt's voice calling his name from the forbidden gooseberry garden. Nicholas returns the bird book to its place and leaves the room, locking it, and replacing the key where it had long rested.

Is Jane Eyre a feminist novel?

Yes, Jane Eyre is a feminist novel. From its first reception, when Jane's passionate nature was criticized, up until today, people have understood Jane as a heroine fighting for her freedom within a social system that oppressed women. 

As a governess, Jane has ideas that sound as if they come from an early feminist manifesto. Victorian readers condemned the passionate thoughts Jane expressed as unfeminine:

Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.

In the late 1970s, English professors Gilbert and Gubar wrote a famous book called Madwoman in the Attic arguing that Eyre should be pronounced "ire," meaning anger, and noting that the angelic Helen had the last name "burns," also representing the anger women felt at being forced into an unnatural docility. The novel, they argued, is about women's anger at their repression.

Beyond her anger, Jane reveals herself to be a strong woman who thinks and acts for herself, determining her own fate. As a child, she shows her strength when she rebels against the abuse she suffers at the hands of a bullying male cousin. As an adult, she refuses to marry Rochester after she finds out he has a wife, for as much as she loves him, such an act would violate her conscience. She would rather run away and take her chances alone than live in a demeaning relationship. Later, she refuses marriage to St. John because she does not love him and does not want her needs subordinated to his desire to be a missionary.  

Jane's courage in making her decisions, in being self-supporting as a governess, in desiring more than the narrow life expected of a woman, in living with integrity and in refusing to sacrifice herself to men adds up to a feminist heroine at the heart of a novel that calls into question how women are treated by the larger society.

According to Foucault, how might capitalism generally control bodies, including their reproduction?

In Discipline and Punish, Foucault discusses how the penal system has had the illusion of progress. It does seem that humanism influenced a more humane use for prison systems. He describes a trajectory from torture to regimented and monitored incarceration. Indeed, imprisonment is more humane than calculated torture. But Foucault argues that it is a strategic move (not necessarily a humanistic one) corresponding to increased use of similarly regimented and monitored infrastructures in other aspects of life. 

These notions of discipline and control, which Foucault frames in terms of the modern prison system, are used in all aspects of life to create for the individual only a sense of true/free individuality. In other words, those in power brainwash "individuals" by giving them certain places to do certain things. You learn in schools. Art is to be in museums. People work in factories. The military is an ordered regiment. This all seems obvious and not harmful. But Foucault is making a wider argument about power structures and how these categories and predetermined spaces and places are part of the exercise and abuse of power. He explains how this whole infrastructure of discipline literally and figuratively controls bodies. Hence, he uses the phrase "docile bodies" to describe how subjects and citizens are submissive, perhaps without even knowing it. 

To pull this off, those in power must be able to constantly observe and record the bodies they control. Companies do just that, now more than ever. They observe what people are buying, selling, smoking, drinking, reading, watching, and they record and use this information. Through analysis of this information and using careful manipulation (via advertising, media, and other forms of information), capitalists can persuade and encourage them to buy certain products. Think of online companies like Amazon and Pandora giving you "feedback" with statements like "If you liked this, you will like . . ." If such companies and governments are able to control what these bodies (people) eat, drink, sleep in, watch, read, and so on, they control nearly all aspects of their lives. Falling under that all inclusive umbrella of life and culture, entertainment and politics, are notions of relationships, gender, sexuality, and reproduction. Foucault's philosophical project is all about examining how power is used to control all of these aspects. 

What are some of the jury's reactions during the trial in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird?

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, we actually don't learn a great deal about the reactions of the jury members during the trial. Instead, Scout narrates a great deal about the reactions of the spectators of the trial. However, there are a few things we learn about the jury.

First, we learn that Mr. Gilmer, the prosecuting attorney, has a lazy eye, or as Scout describes it, a "slight cast in one of his eyes" (Ch. 17). Scout further notes that Mr. Gilmer uses his lazy eye to his advantage because the jury and the witnesses think he is staring at them when he is actually not. To that effect, the jury pays very close attention whenever Mr. Gilmer is speaking before the court. Hence, one of the reactions of the jury members during the trial is to pay very close attention; Scout even describes the members of the jury as sitting "straight and alert" (Ch. 16).

One moment of particular interest is when Atticus has Bob Ewell write his name before the court. The entire court becomes very interested in the fact that Ewell writes with his left hand. Particularly noteworthy is the jury's reaction, which Scout details in the following:

The jury was watching him, one man was leaning forward with his hands over the railing. (Ch. 17)

Scout's description of the jury's reaction shows that the members fully understand the importance of the evidence Ewell has just inadvertently presented that confirms he is left-handed.

Another moment of interest is when Atticus gives his closing remarks to the jury. Scout narrates that, as he spoke, he "walked slowly up and down in front of the jury" (Ch. 20). She further describes that the members of the jury paid very careful attention as he spoke, following him with their eyes and looking at him with "what seemed to be appreciation" (Ch. 20).

Yet, despite the fact that the members of the jury recognized the importance of the evidence presented and appreciated Atticus, the members still allowed racial prejudice to cloud their judgement and returned with a guilty verdict.

How does Lee create suspense at the end of chapter 25 in To Kill a Mockingbird?

By chapter 25 in To Kill a Mockingbird, the trial is over. Tom Robinson had been found guilty. In the previous chapter, the reader finds out that Tom had been shot while trying to escape from the prison. He died from his gunshot wounds.

Bob Ewell is an unsavory character in the book. He is portrayed as being crass and coldhearted. After news of Tom's death spreads around town, word gets out that Bob Ewell is not satisfied. He does not just want Tom to be dead. He wishes for Atticus to be dead, as well.

It is Miss Stephanie, their gossipy neighbor, who tells Aunt Alexandra what she had heard about Bob Ewell. She heard that when Bob Ewell found out about Tom's death, he "said it made one down and about two more to go."

Bob Ewell's statement creates an element of suspense. Jem, Scout, and Aunt Alexandra are fearful. Jem makes Scout promise not to tell Atticus. The reader wonders if Bob Ewell is serious or just talking. What will happen next? Bob's statement also foreshadows the scene where he attacks Scout and Jem later on.

How does Emerson's "Nature" discuss the tension between nature and culture (or civilization)? How does one relate to the other?

Tension exists in Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Nature" because, according to Emerson, Nature and Culture operate as competing forces. In the introduction to "Nature," Emerson claims,

Our age is retrospective. It builds the sepulchres of the fathers. It writes biographies, histories, and criticism. The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs?

Here Emerson calls for a new relationship with the universe; this relationship should not be based within the preexisting culture. In other words, he is saying that rather than comprehending nature through the lens of the past (because the past is what created the current culture), we should comprehend nature from our own, original perspective. He continues, saying that "The sun shines to-day also. There is more wool and flax in the fields. There are new lands, new men, new thoughts. Let us demand our own works and laws and worship." Emerson charges his readers with redefining the world on their own terms rather than fitting the world into preexisting, inherited categories.  

Emerson furthers this idea in "Nature" itself, beginning by saying, "To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society." To Emerson, man cannot truly experience solitude in his own chamber, because that chamber itself signifies culture. Rather, "If a man would be alone, let him look at the stars." The true experience of nature, then, is gained only through a complete separation from all markers of culture. Toward the end of the essay, Emerson gives an example of how nature supersedes culture,

Standing on the bare ground, — my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space, — all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God. The name of the nearest friend sounds then foreign and accidental: to be brothers, to be acquaintances, — master or servant, is then a trifle and a disturbance. I am the lover of uncontained and immortal beauty. In the wilderness, I find something more dear and connate than in streets or villages. In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature. 

To Emerson, in nature all cultural markers, be they negative (master/servant) or positive (friend/brother) are stripped away until man's very self is subsumed into nature. It is only then that one truly becomes part and particle of the universe and, in turn, of God.

What action best demonstrates Lady Macbeth’s weakness in Act V?

By Act V, Lady Macbeth has completely fallen apart psychologically. She is a shell of the strong (if profoundly wicked) woman portrayed earlier in the play. Wracked by guilt, she sleepwalks, attempting to wash away imagined bloodstains from her hands, exclaiming "Out, damned spot!" Interestingly, her collapse into madness from guilt parallels her husband's development into a murderous monster. Earlier in the play, Macbeth was morally conflicted about the murder of King Duncan, and it was Lady Macbeth who drove him to commit the deed that unleashed the string of killings. By this point in the play, Macbeth has become a pitiless tyrant, plotting the murder of any who he perceives to threaten his security as king. His wife is the one torn apart by remorse for the murders they have committed, as we see when she asks herself, "will these hands ne'er be clean?" The "out, damned spot" scene (Act V, Scene 1) is when we see Lady Macbeth at her lowest, and Macbeth discovers before his climactic battle with the forces of Malcolm and Macduff that his shattered wife has taken her own life.

What would the title of To the Lighthouse be if Virginia Woolf wrote this novel today?

To the Lighthouse, which Virginia Woolf published in 1927, is a three-part novel. In the first section, the Ramsay family spends the summer at their house at the Isle of Skye. The son, James, wants to visit the lighthouse just off the coast of the island the next day, and his mother assures him that he will be able to, but Mr. Ramsay believes the weather will not allow it.

In the second section, called "Time Passes," a number of large human, political, and natural events unfold, including the turn of the seasons, the outbreak and end of the First World War, and the death of Mrs. Ramsay. The third section describes the remaining members of the Ramsay family, with some of their friends, back at the summer house at the Isle of Skye. James wants to go to the lighthouse again, and this time, he reaches it on a small boat. 

The lighthouse in this novel is a symbol of things that are desired, longed for, and unknown. Its importance changes over time: in the first section, it is the object of James' whim; in the third section, however, it has taken on greater importance, becoming a kind of pilgrimage site, as James wants to go not only to see the building, but also to honor his memory of his deceased mother.

The lighthouse works beautifully as a visual symbol for this purpose, and is often illuminated by the sun or shrouded in mist and fog. However, while To the Lighthouse is a very historical novel, the lighthouse itself is most powerful as a symbol, rather than a specific historical site, and wouldn't necessarily need to be "updated" if the novel was rewritten today. However, another novel that deals with the same themes might have its own "lighthouse"-- and that lighthouse could be any site or object that has a sheen of unattainability and significance as a personal memory. 

From Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, what are the specific actions by Lysander that Egeus cites as “bewitching”?

In the opening scene of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Egeus brings Demetrius, Lysander, and his daughter Hermia to the presence of Duke Theseus to settle the matter of who will marry his daughter. Egeus feels as if Demetrius is the better match for his daughter, but Lysander has already stolen her heart. By Athenian law, a father owns his daughter and has a right to determine whom she will marry, or exercise the right to have her executed for disobedience. In an effort to strengthen his case, Egeus names all of the things that Lysander has done to capture Hermia's love. Lysander's bewitching spells and tricks according to Egeus are as follows:

"This hath bewitched the bosom of my child.

Thou, thou, Lysander, thou hast given her rhymes,

And interchanged love tokens with my child.

Thou hast by moonlight at her window sung

With feigning voice verses of feigning love,

And stol'n the impression of her fantasy

With bracelets of they hair, rings, gauds, conceits,

Knacks, trifles, nosegays, sweetmeats--messengers

Of strong prevailment in unhardened youth. 

With cunning hast thou filched my daughter's heart,

Turned her obedience which is due to me

To stubborn harshness" (I.i.27-38).

In summary, and by order of appearance, Lysander did the following: he wrote Hermia love poems; exchanged tokens of love; serenaded her at her window; stole her fantasy of love; gave her lockets of his hair, rings, trinkets, and clever gifts; gave her knick-knacks, bouquets of flowers, and candies; as well as the fact that he frequently sent her messengers/messages to persuade her to fancy him. Thus, in the process, Lysander won Hermia's heart and also her obedience. Egeus seems to be more upset that he lost Hermia's obedience because he cannot control her now.

`-x + y = -22, 3x + 4y = 4, 4x - 8y = 32` Use matricies to solve the system of equations. Use Gaussian elimination with back-substitution.

The augmented matrix is `[[-1,1,-22],[3,4,4],[4,-8,32]]`

On applying `R_1 -gt -R_1 ` and `R_3 -gt (R_3)/4` we get (means inverse the sign of first row and divide the third row by 4)

`[[1,-1,22],[3,4,4],[1,-2,8]]`

On applying `R_2 -gt 3R_1 - R_2` and `R_3 -gt R_3 - R_1` we get

`[[1,-1,22],[0,-7,62],[0,-1,-14]]`

On applying `R_3 -gt 7R_3 - R_2` we get 

`[[1,-1,22],[0,-7,62],[0,0,-160]]`

On applying `R_2 -gt (R_2)/(-7) ` we get

`[[1,-1,22],[0,1,-62/7],[0,0,-160]]`

Hence the given system of equations is equivalent to the following

`x - y =22`

`y = -62/7 ` and `0(x) + 0(y) =-160`

Clearly no `x, y` satisfy the last equation. 

Hence the given system has no solution and is inconsistent

What is the relationship between DNA, a chromosome, and chromatin?

The term DNA, chromosome, and chromatin are three terms which have very distinct meanings in biology.

DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid and refers to a biopolymer structure composed of four different nucleotide or base constituents which include adenine, guanine, thymine, and cytosine. These bases are linked together via a phosphate backbone. Within the nucleus, Naked DNA exists as a double helical structure held together by a collection of forces. Hydrogen bonding between adenine and thymine as well as guanine and cytosine bases from adjacent strands are one of the primary ways in which the double helix is formed. Genes which code for specific proteins are contained within the sequence of nucleotides which arise within each strand of DNA. These gene sequences contain hereditary information.

Chromosomes are relatively large thread-like structures within the nucleus which tightly package double stranded naked DNA via a complex collection of proteins called histones. These histones allow DNA to be organized into protein-DNA bundles called nucleosomes which in turn can form solenoid fiber-like collections of nucleosomes called chromatin. Please refer to the attached resource to better visualize this organizational structure.

What is the relationship between DNA, a chromosome, and chromatin?

The nature of the relationship which exists between DNA, a chromosome, and chromatin involves how the heredity information in the form of naked DNA is tightly packed into protein-DNA nucleosomes which create solenoid fiber-like chromatin structures that ultimately form chromosomes.

What does Melinda put in her bedroom closet in Speak?

In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the protagonist is a girl named Melinda who is struggling with her identity throughout the book.

One moment that is symbolic of this is the day a few weeks after the school year starts when she comes home from school and looks into the mirror. She has been biting her lips hard, damaging them.

This lip-biting, a self harming behavior, may be symbolic of her silence concerning what really happened the night of the party the summer before. She will not speak about it to anyone, and both literally and metaphorically "bites her lips."

She feels at this moment that her mouth does not belong to her anymore, a sign of her feeling disconnected from her identity. She then puts the mirror in the bedroom closet.

`1, 3, 1, 3, 1, 3, 1` Write an expression for the apparent nth term of the sequence. (assume that n begins with 1)

Let us start with the sequence `-1,1,-1,1,-1,1,...` The `n`th term of this sequence is `(-1)^n` (for odd `n` we get `-1` while for even `n` we get `1`) If we add `2` to each term of this sequence we get 

`2-1,2+1,2-1,2+1,...=1,3,1,3,...`

which is exactly our sequence. Therefore, the `n`th term of our sequence is

`a_n=(-1)^n+2`                                          

` `

`int (x^2+1)(x^3 + 3x)^4 dx` Evaluate the indefinite integral.

You need to use the following substitution  `x^3 + 3x=u` , such that:

`x^3 + 3x = u=>(3x^2 + 3)dx = du => (x^2 + 1)dx= (du)/3`

`int (x^2 + 1)(x^3 + 3x)^4dx = (1/3)*int u^4 du`

`(1/3)*int u^4 du = (1/3)*((u^5)/5) + c`

Replacing back  `x^3 + 3x` for u yields:

`int (x^2 + 1)(x^3 + 3x)^4dx = ((x^3 + 3x)^5)/15 + c`

Hence, evaluating the indefinite integral, yields `int (x^2 + 1)(x^3 + 3x)^4dx = ((x^3 + 3x)^5)/15 + c`

I need a brief break-down of the themes in Pride and Prejudice, with examples.

The first theme in the novel is that of pride. Mr. Darcy, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and the Bingley sisters are examples of a certain type of pride of very wealthy aristocratic families who tend to judge people to a degree on their lineage rather than on inherit qualities of intellect or moral nature.

Another major theme in the novel is that of prejudice, of forming quick, superficial judgements based on insufficient evidence, as is exemplified by Elizabeth's early misjudgment of Darcy. One also sees pride in Elizabeth's judgment of Mr. Collins. Although she would have been quite unhappy married to Collins, her prejudice against him makes her blind to the fact that he is not a bad husband for the pragmatic and sensible Charlotte Lucas. In a sense, though, prejudice is a form of intellectual pride. 

Other major themes are class conflict and the role of marriage in the lives of women.