How does the Zimmermann Telegram relate to the 2016 theme of the NHD of exploration, encounter and exchange in history?

The Zimmermann Telegram relates most clearly to the theme of encounter, but it can be linked to some degree to exploration and exchange as well.

The clear connection is between this telegram and encounter.  One aspect of encounter can be conflict.  The Zimmermann Telegram came about because of two different conflicts.  First, it came about because of conflicts between Germany and the US-British alliance.  Second, it came about because of conflict between the United States and Mexico.  If the US had not taken what is now the American Southwest from Mexico in the 1840s, the Zimmermann Telegram would not have been sent. If the British and the US had not been in conflict with Germany in 1917, (I know the US was not at war with Germany yet, but there were clear conflicts between the two), the telegram would not have been sent.  So, the main connection here is that the telegram came about because of encounters/conflicts.

It is also possible to tie the Zimmermann Telegram to exploration and exchange.  Without exploration (and the exchange of germs that went with it), neither the United States nor Mexico would exist in their current forms.  Without exploration, the European countries would not have had empires to fight over and WWI might not have happened.  Thus, exploration and exchange made the telegram possible.  We could also say that the exchange of people and goods helped make the US and the British allies.  Because of exchange, many Americans are of English descent.  Because of exchange, there were economic ties between the US and Great Britain.  These ties helped cause an alliance between the two countries and helped cause Germany to come into conflict with the US.

Thus, all three of the themes of National History Day are present with the Zimmermann Telegram, but the theme of encounter has the strongest connection.

In what type of athletics event would speed and velocity be equal to each other? This came up in my lecture, but I did not really understand it...

Speed is the ratio of distance traveled to time taken and is a scalar quantity (that is, has only magnitude, but no direction). In comparison, velocity is the ratio of displacement to time taken and is a vector quantity (that is, has both magnitude and direction). For an object to have the same speed and velocity, it must be moving in a straight line. Only in that situation, speed and velocity would be equal to each other.

In athletics, common events such as football, soccer, tennis, cricket, running, etc., all involve scenarios where distance traveled and displacement are different. Short distance swimming (although it is not a athletics event), in which the swimmer has to just swim from one end of the pool to the other can be considered a case where both speed and velocity are same. Similarly, in long jump, the distance traveled and displacement of the athlete are same and hence velocity and speed are same.

Hope this helps.  

Are limits on freedom of speech justified by war?

There are two viewpoints about whether the government should be allowed to limit our freedom of speech during times of war. I’ll present the views of both sides, and then you can make an informed decision.

During times of war, it is common for the government to limit our freedom of speech. From the perspective of the government, this is necessary because the government doesn’t want our enemies to believe that our people don’t support the war or the war effort. If our enemies believe this, it may encourage them to continue fighting us with the belief that if our people don’t support the war or the war effort, we might have to stop fighting in the war. In World War I, the government passed the Sedition Act. This law made it illegal to publicly criticize the government or the President. The Espionage Act also made it illegal to conduct anti-war activities. The people generally put up with these restrictions because they didn't want the war to drag on because our enemies might have believed that the American public didn’t support the war or the war effort.

On the other side of the issue, there are people who believe the government shouldn’t be able to limit our freedom of speech during times of war. These people believe that being critical of the war or the war effort may send a message to the government how the American people feel about our involvement in the war or about how the American people feel about the war effort. The protests during the Vietnam War would be a good example that represents this point of view. Many Americans were against this war, and they let the government know this through various protests and defiant actions. These actions included protests, demonstrations, not registering for the war, and not serving in the war if drafted for it. The ability to criticize the government is one of our basic freedoms. This freedom is one of the factors that separate us from other governments that try to suppress the rights of the people they govern. These people would argue that it isn’t acceptable to limit our freedom of speech during times of war.

Now it is your turn. What do you think of the government suppressing our freedom of speech during times of war?

What's the point of studying the past? I need both arguments for and against.

As I see it, there are three main reasons for studying the past.

First, when we study our own country’s past, we learn more about who we are.  We learn about our shared heritage.  That can help create a sense of solidarity as citizens of our country.

Second, when we study the past, we learn more about how other people have lived.  As human beings, we only get (so far as we know) one life on earth.  We only gain one set of experiences.  By studying history, we can experience others’ lives to some degree.  We can try to understand what it was like to be different people in different times and places.

Finally, we can say that we should study history so that we can learn from it.  The famous saying argues that people who do not study the past are doomed to repeat it.  This implies that, by studying the past, we can learn from the mistakes made by people in other times and places so we do not have to make those mistakes ourselves.

Of course, people can argue that there is no point to studying the past.  The main argument for this point of view is that the past is irrelevant.  The situations that arose in the past are not really the same as those we encounter today so they cannot teach us anything.  If the past cannot teach us anything, the only reason to study it is for fun.  If we do not think that it is fun, there is no reason to study it.

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, who were the group of men that came to visit Atticus at his house?

At the beginning of Chapter 15, a group of men, which includes Heck Tate, Link Deas, Dr. Reynolds, Mr. Avery, and other familiar men throughout town, stand outside Atticus' home and talk to him. Sheriff Tate tells Atticus that he is worried about housing Tom Robinson in the Maycomb jailhouse for the night, and Atticus assures him that nothing bad will happen. Link Deas mentions that the only people they need to worry about are the Old Sarum bunch. Atticus remains calm, but the other men are unsure and mention that it is a "special occasion." Link Deas tells Atticus that he has everything to lose by defending Tom Robinson, but Atticus explains that he is adamant about making sure the truth is told during the trial. Jem anxiously watches the men talk from inside the house, and jumps as soon as the phone rings. When Atticus enters the home, he explains to Jem that the men outside are their friends.

Using children’s books is a great way to teach math and science concepts across the curriculum. Find three children’s books that could be used...

There is a wide variety of excellent children's books available to stimulate interest in both math and science. I have picked three of my personal favorites.  

Everyone Poops by the renowned Japanese children's author, Taro Gomi, is so popular that it has published in the United States as part of the series "My Body Science".  Briefly, it acknowledges that all creatures participate in the process whereby their bodies eliminate waste from their system.  While it may be viewed by some as a "potty training" primer, it actually relates a much deeper meaning.  It can be used to show that all life is interconnected.  Whether that lifeform is fish, insect, fowl, or human we all share necessary life functions.  In order to prevent the possibility of having the students actually interacting with feces, activities would best be applied to how poop is dealt with once it leaves the body.  This could be accomplished by a variety of field trips. You could visit a pet store and view the plethora of products available for dealing with your pet's output. You could make posters showing the products that humans use for their personal hygiene. Maybe, you could even visit a waste treatment plant.

Go, Dog, Go by P. D. Eastman is a wonderful book to show children the concepts of mechanics. While it may use dogs to illustrate these concepts, the activities are common to all walks of life.  Up vs. down, in vs. out, over vs. under - all are scientific terms used to define placement.  An added bonus is the concept of rudimentary counting.  A short play would be an excellent way to illustrate the myriad of positions in which the dog's find themselves.  This would incorporate the use of wedges, levers, hoists, etc.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle may be a simple picture book, but it speaks volumes.  It beautifully illustrates metamorphosis.  It teaches that living things do not start out as they end up.  Caterpillars become pupae and finally butterflies.  One obvious activity would be to grow some butterflies (thebutterflysite, insectlore, ordercaterpillars,etc.).  However, you could also grow plants from seeds, or discuss the various stages of human development.

Why did the Crusades have such a significant impact on our modern world?

The lasting effects of the Crusades are really twofold. First, the Crusades facilitated direct contact between Europeans and the Middle East, which was in turn connected by a complex series of trade networks with the rest of Asia and Africa. This helped to spark increased demand for Asian goods, especially spices, and gold from Africa. A desire to maximize profit from these trades led European merchants and monarchs to promote voyages of exploration. The Crusades also exposed European scholars to the learning of the Arab world, a major intellectual development. 

Another major effect of the Crusades has been quite tragic. The Crusades were unfortunately a touchstone in relations between the western world and the Middle East. The word "crusader" remains an epithet in the Muslim world, one which has become relevant over the years following World War II, as the Ottoman Empire collapsed and western powers became increasingly involved in the region. There is little doubt that memory of the Crusades serves as a frame of reference for western involvement in the region. 

What is the general shape of an onion cell?

The general shape of an onion cell is square or rectangular.  The interior of the cell is easy to see and focuses well for microscopic observation.  Onion cells fit together like pieces of floor tile, which is sort of what you would expect to see in a layering effect.  Onions are composed of plant cells, which normally would have chloroplasts present to facilitate the process of photosynthesis.  The onion bulb usually grows underground, and is fed by the stalk like green top part.  Onion cells are easily wet-mounted on microscope slides, and contrast their structures nicely when applied with wet-mount stain.  Onions are multicellular, which means they have multiple cells.  They are also eukaryotic, indicating the presence of a nucleus, in which the cellular DNA is housed.  Since the cells are eukaryotic, onion cells undergo mitosis, which is a process of cell division in multicellular eukaryotes.

Under what conditions might a stream's volume increase? Under what conditions might a stream's volume decrease? How would the size of the...

Under what conditions might a stream's volume increase? Under what conditions might a stream's volume decrease?

The discharge of a stream refers to the volume of water that passes any given point within a given amount of time. Thus, the discharge and the volume of a stream are affected by the amount of water within the stream at any given time. Factors such as melting seasons and floods would increase a stream’s volume. Droughts, which are periods of little precipitation, would decrease volumes within a stream. Hot temperatures can increase the rate of evaporation which in turn decreases the volume of water in a stream.

How would the size of the sediment particles in the stream’s load differ in the two situations?

As the volume of a stream increases, so does the size of the sediment particles carried by the stream.

The load of a stream refers to the matter that is carried by a stream. There are three types of loads which differ in the size of the particles that are carried by the stream. The three load types are dissolved loads, suspended loads, and bed loads. Dissolved loads involve the smallest particle sizes, such as dissolved ions. Suspended loads involve midsized particles, such as silts. Bed loads involve large particles, such as gravels.

The velocity of the stream directly affects its load. It would be expected that streams with low volumes of water would have a lower velocity and could carry dissolved loads. As the volume of water increases within a stream, it would be expected that the velocity would increase. In this case, suspended and bed loads could be carried. However, large, slow moving streams may have lower velocities and have a smaller load.

How can I solve this question of Dynamics ??

First, we need to find the resultant force acting on the block with the following equation:

F = F1(hori) + F2(hori) – μN

Where:

F1(hori) = F1 cos 20°, is the horizontal component of F1

F2(hori) = F2 cos 35°, is the horizontal component of F2

μN = μmg, is the force of friction.

So the total force on the body is:

F = F1 cos 20° + F2 cos 35° - μ(mg)

F = 100(0.94) + 75(0.82) - (0.4)(35)(9.8)

F = 18.2 N

With the value of the net force and the mass, we can calculate the acceleration experienced by the block applying Newton's second law:

F = ma

a = F/m = 18.2/35

a = 0.52 m/s^2

Now we can apply the equation of the distance to the uniformly accelerated motion:

d = v0t + a(t^2)/2

Then, for v0 = 0 and t = 10 s, we have:

d = a(t^2)/2 = (0.52)(100)/2

d = 26 m

In 10 seconds the block slides a distance of 26 m.

Who did Meyer Wolfsheim believe Nick was before Gatsby convinced him otherwise?

Chapter 4 is where Nick is introduced to Meyer Wolfsheim, whom Gatsby describes as a gambler and "the man who fixed the World’s Series back in 1919."  So, when Wolfsheim turns the conversation to business, there is a moment of awkwardness:

 “I understand you’re looking for a business gonnegtion.”

The juxtaposition of these two remarks was startling. Gatsby answered for me:

“Oh, no,” he exclaimed, “this isn’t the man.”

“No?” Mr. Wolfsheim seemed disappointed.

“This is just a friend. I told you we’d talk about that some other time.”

“I beg your pardon,” said Mr. Wolfsheim, “I had a wrong man.”

Nick does not make the connection until later what Wolfsheim was talking about.  The reader finds out in Chapter 7 that Gatsby and Wolfsheim work together in a bootlegging business, running illegal alcohol from state to state.  It is also mentioned that Gatsby owns several drugstores, which were fronts for speakeasies, hidden bars where people could drink and dance. In fact, in Chapter 4, Nick, Gatsby, and Wolfsheim meet in a speakeasy for lunch, probably a place where Gatsby has taken other potential business connections to meet Wolfsheim, hence his confusion with Nick. 

What is an example of an ontological question one could ask after reading the book Night by Elie Wiesel, and how would Wiesel answer it?

Many ontological questions arise after reading Night by Elie Wiesel. For example, one question might be, "Why do evil and suffering exist?" In Night, Wiesel loses his faith in God because of the evil and suffering he witnesses. He sees man's inhumanity and wonders why God does not interfere, and when God seems absent to him, he gives up his belief. I think today, Wiesel would say that evil and suffering exist because of human beings--that there are some people who have allowed fear to take over their lives and the only way they can deal with it is to hurt others. Wiesel has made it his life mission to speak out against evil in order to prevent another horrible even like the Holocaust. Sadly, genocides have continued to occur across the world in spite of Elie Wiesel and others like him. He speaks out against persecution of all peoples and works toward peace and justice because he witnessed the absolute worst of humanity during his time in the ghettos and in concentration camps.

What is a domestic novel? Is Pride and Prejudice a domestic novel?

A Domestic Novel is a type of fiction that was prevalent in the early-to-mid-nineteenth century, and was primarily read by women. The Domestic Novel has certain defining characteristics, among which are:

• Time period: domestic novels or domestic fiction generally date from the 1820s to the 1860s;


• Focusing on a particular type of heroine; specifically, either the angel or the practical woman. This heroine is frequently contrasted with an incompetent or cowardly woman, or with an ignorant beauty;


• The novel documents the heroine's struggle for self-mastery, particularly in relation to her emotions and desires; the heroine is seen as struggling to control her feelings and her wants;


• She may undergo religious struggles in the submission of her emotions and wants;


• She may suffer abuse by persons in positions of power;


• She will usually be married by the time the story is ended, either to a "bad" man who the heroine's virtue has reformed, or to a paragon to whom she has aspired;


• These novels are frequently couched in extremely sentimental language designed to wring the heartstrings of a female readership.

Pride and Prejudice does not meet these outlines for a few reasons, which I will elaborate in a moment. Instead, Austen has written Pride and Prejudice as a Novel of Manners. A novel of manners has the following characteristics:

• Usually a story about social class;


• A lot of attention is paid to the different ways the characters express themselves, and how their words are indicative of their class and good (or poor) "breeding," or upbringing;


• The story is concerned with the manners, morals, and customs of various social classes, the conflict between those classes and customs, and the ways in which the characters succeed or fail in living up to their social roles.

In the story, the Bennett sisters are a group of genteel young women by social class, but with no fortune. They are brought into contact with their various social equals and "betters," such as Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and various members of the landed gentry, such as Mr. Darcy and his friend Bingley. As the story progresses, the girls, and Lizzy and Jane in particular, observe and react to the various characters and their successes or failings in the social roles which define them. Charlotte, for instance, is a success in her social role, according to this formula: although she marries the insipid and objectionable Mr. Collins, nevertheless in doing so she cements her social position and obtains a home and livelihood--and financial security. Lydia, on the other hand, fails miserably in her prescribed role and is too brazen to care: she elopes with the scandalous Mr. Wickham, living with him without benefit of marriage until Mr. Darcy steps in and pays Wickham's debts, thus clearing the way for Lydia and Wickham to marry. The mere fact of her marriage doesn't completely rehabilitate Lydia, however; her transgression against her social role is far too serious to be undone. Due to her actions, she is effectively banished, albeit with Wickham and his regiment, to the far north.

Pride and Prejudice was written somewhat earlier than the vogue of the domestic novel, and verges more on satire. While some of its themes blur at the edges, so to speak, with the domestic novel, it is more properly considered a novel of manners. As well, it is less sentimental than humorous, and the language is not couched in effusively emotional terms. The characters have their struggles, but their struggles are social in nature--rather than emotional suffering or a struggle to sublimate the will, for instance.

For an example of a domestic novel, see the works of Harriet Beecher Stowe.

What is a translation of the Prologue of Romeo and Juliet?

One way to translate the Prologue is simply to recognize that it is basically a short summation of the plot. This also helps you understand the dramatic irony that can be found throughout Romeo and Juliet--the audience knows throughout the play that despite all their efforts, the play's title characters will die at the end.Somehow, that makes the play even more tragic. Basically, the Prologue can be translated as follows:

In the city of Verona, there were two families who held an ancient grudge against each other, which led them to fight in the streets of the city. Two young people, one from each family, fell in love, and because their circumstances would not allow them to be together in peace, they killed themselves. This turned out to be the only thing that could end their "parent's rage." The Prologue goes on to say that the play will last two hours, during which the audience will witness the preceding events unfold. 

In The Giver, why did the community want to control the stirrings? What things were they trying to prevent and why? How where they able to...

The community controls the Stirrings to keep people in continual preadolescence.  People are given pills as soon as Stirrings occur, and the pills block the hormonal change.  This prevents non-approved population and keeps the citizens docile.

Stirrings is a euphemism for puberty.  The community carefully monitors children who are about to enter puberty to prevent it from happening.  At the first signs of puberty, children are given a medication that prevents the Stirrings.

Jonas’s parents are first aware that he is entering puberty when he has a dream of a sexual nature.  The dream shows that Jonas is beginning to have feelings for the opposite sex.  This is when the Stirrings pills start for each child.  For the community, taking the pills is just a normal part of life.

Jonas’s mother explains the procedure for taking Stirrings pills to him.

"But you mustn't forget. I'll remind you for the first weeks, but then you must do it on your own. If you forget, the Stirrings will come back.  The dreams of Stirrings will come back. Sometimes the dosage must be adjusted." (Ch. 5)

It makes sense to control the population by preventing people from wanting to have sex, something that would create unwanted or unplanned babies.  The community has carefully planned each birth.  It makes sure the child will be genetically appropriate and that only a set number of babies are born each year.  This way there can never be overpopulation.

There is another reason for the Stirrings pills though.  They control hormones, but they also seem to control adult thinking.  The citizens of the community are basically kept permanently immature.  The pills limit their access to developments such as rational thinking and emotions.  People’s emotions are kept in check by the Stirrings pills. 

When Jonas goes through his training, he learns about the emotions that most people had in the days before Sameness.  As Jonas learns about the reality of human life, he stops taking his pills for Stirrings.

He had not taken the pills, now, for four weeks. The Stirrings had returned, and he felt a little guilty and embarrassed about the pleasurable dreams that came to him as he slept. But he knew he couldn't go back to the world of no feelings that he had lived in so long. (Ch. 17)

Jonas is aware that no one in his community is capable of a genuine emotion, other than The Giver and now him.  The Stirrings pills are obviously part of the reason why.  If you keep people immature and unthinking, they will never question anything.  It is the cost of perfect obedience and docility.

Although population control is a worthy goal, the community’s method of isolating and preventing emotions in its people is tyrannically abusive.  No one in Jonas’s community is a real, whole person.  No one is ever an adult.  They are more like drones or robots, completely unaware of what is really happening to them.  Jonas’s community is not one without pain; it is one where pain is hidden away and the people are kept too drugged to understand it.

What kind of job does Nene have?

In the story, Nene is a teacher at a school for girls in Lagos.

We find this out during Nnaemeka's conversation with his father, Okeke, when he is breaking the news that he is engaged to Nene.

Unfortunately for Nnaemeka and Nene, Okeke is extremely opposed to the idea of women teaching. He abides strictly by Biblical beliefs, and he sincerely adheres to the notion that women shouldn't teach others and, further, that they should "keep silent." Okeke quotes "St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians," a passage from the Bible, when he reminds his son about his views.

In fact, Okeke doesn't just disown his son and leave it at that--he feels an ongoing struggle and deep shame about the fact that Nnaemeka went forward in a marriage to a woman who teaches. Okeke has other problems with Nene (mostly because she doesn't belong to the Ibo tribe, and because she wasn't part of a traditional arranged marriage) but Nene's profession is definitely a factor that prevents Okeke from accepting her as his daughter-in-law.

You might ask, what kind of job should a girl have in order for her to be accepted by Okeke as a suitable wife for his son? We get a clue in Nnaemeka's description of Ugoye, the traditional girl he was supposed to marry but didn't love:

"When she stopped schooling some years ago her father (a man of sound judgment) sent her to live in the house of a pastor where she has received all the training a wife could need. Her Sunday school teacher has told me that she reads her Bible very fluently."

So really, Okeke would prefer a girl who has no profession or even schooling. He would prefer a daughter-in-law who simply reads and abides by the Bible.

What is the theme of "The Concert" by Lisel Mueller

“The Concert” by Lisel Mueller consists of seven two-line free verse stanzas and a final verse consisting of only a single line.  Each of the couplets identify and describe an instrument found in an orchestra, assigning each its own personality based on its construction and purpose.  This personification suggests that each instrument in an orchestra is a different being, and contributes to the full sound of a piece of music in its own way.  When, for example, she states that “Drumsticks rattle a calfskin/from the sleep of another life,” she alludes to the materials from which the drums are made, which gives the drums they’re particular timbre and place among the brass and winds and strings.

At first Mueller designates the individuals behind the instruments:  “the harpist believes…” and “the French horn player believes…” but after the second couplet she implements synecdoche (in which a part is used to represent a whole, or vice-versa), to make the instrument itself stand in for its player – “the piano believes…” and “the strings are scratching their bellies….”  This obviates any distinction between a player and its instrument – the two are one, and as one form a new being that performs its own necessary function within the orchestra. 

Structurally, each couplet is a full sentence, with a subject and a predicate, until we get to the penultimate verse, which begins with a conjunction:  “because the supernatural crow/on the podium flaps his wings.”  Here we find the cause of this harmonious individualism:  all of these personalities are awoken because of the control of the conductor over the orchestra; without this “crow” there would be no cohesion amongst all the instruments and players.

The poem is dedicated to the late, great conductor and composer Dimitri Mitropoulos.  The final line in the piece, the only one to stand alone, tacks this thought onto the end:  “and death is no excuse.”  The poem was written for Mitropoulos, who must be the “supernatural crow” mentioned in the work – a crow often being a symbol of death – and so we can assume that he especially is capable of bringing out such living harmony in both his conducting and his composition.  And his legacy will live on in his works, perpetuating this ability of his to see instruments as extensions of the lives that control them, as well as to harness their differences to work in unity, each according to its construction.  Just because he has passed away does not mean his works will cease to hold this beauty and this meaning.  The poem is in remembrance of his skill.

Why do you think "The Sniper" is so universal and is admired?

One of the reasons why "The Sniper" is universally admired is because of its statement on war.

The main character is focused on his wartime mission.  Nothing gets in the way of his purpose.  He is described as "thin" and "ascetic" as a consequence of his war training, a training that dehumanizes sniper and enemy.  The sniper fails to find happiness:

The sniper looked at his enemy falling and he shuddered. The lust of battle died in him. He became bitten by remorse. The sweat stood out in beads on his forehead..... His teeth chattered, he began to gibber to himself, cursing the war, cursing himself, cursing everybody.

He looked at the smoking revolver in his hand, and with an oath he hurled it to the roof at his feet. 

In the middle of the story, after being wounded, the sniper experiences a short-lived moment of revelation about war and his role in it.

"The Sniper" speaks to the idea that no war is ever "civil."  When the sniper comes to see that he has killed his brother, he is left in silence.  

The machine gun stopped.
Then the sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother's face.

The sniper is face-to-face with the reality that he is his brother's murderer. This is the story's ultimate statement. Even though it is set amidst the Irish Civil War, it has universal applications because war makes either the sniper who kills or the brother who is killed.

Describe the Fosters' house and yard in Tuck Everlasting. How does it reflect the Fosters' personality?

I've always thought to myself that there is a difference between the words "house" and "home."  I understand that both locations have bedrooms, bathrooms, and a kitchen.  I understand that people live in both locations as well.  But there is a difference.  A house has those things, but no heart.  There's no warmth.  There's no feeling of belonging.  There's no sense of family with a house.  It's only a place to eat and sleep.  But a home has a heart.  It's warm and welcoming.  It's a refuge of peace and happiness.  I grew up in a home.  I had friends that grew up in houses (by their own admission).  

The Foster family lives in a house.  It's a cold and unwelcoming place. In fact, when the reader is first introduced to the Foster house, it has a name.  It is called the "touch-me not cottage."  

And anyway, for the people, there was another reason to leave the wood to itself: it belonged to the Fosters, the owners of the touch-me-not cottage, and was therefore private property in spite of the fact that it lay outside the fence and was perfectly accessible.

The Foster house is functional enough.  We are told it's sturdy and well kept.  

On the left stood the first house, a square and solid cottage with a touch-me-not appearance, surrounded by grass cut painfully to the quick and enclosed by a capable iron fence some four feet high which clearly said, "Move on—we don't want you here."

Despite being a solid structure that is clean and neat, it is not a welcoming home.  I would liken the Foster house to a museum.  Everything is clean and pretty to look at, but a person isn't allowed to touch anything.  Everything has its place, and that's because the Fosters are rule givers, rule followers, and watch everything like hawks in order to make sure it stays that way.  

It's because of that personality that Winnie is contemplating running away in the early parts of the book.  

And another, firmer voice—her mother's—added, "Come in now, Winnie. Right away. You'll get heat stroke out there on a day like this. And your lunch is ready."

"See?" said Winnie to the toad. "That's just what I mean. It's like that every minute. If I had a sister or a brother, there'd be someone else for them to watch. But, as it is, there's only me. I'm tired of being looked at all the time. I want to be by myself for a change."

Winnie feels micromanaged every step of the way by her family and by the house.  She simply isn't allowed to do anything remotely resembling a rambunctious little girl.  

In the Ransom of the Red chief, what was the turn of events that made this kidnapping different from any other?

In "The Ransom of Red Chief" the two inexperienced kidnappers discover to their dismay that their "victim" fantasizes about being a wild Indian--and acts like a wild Indian. The boy doesn't not mind in the least being kidnapped. He likes it. He considers it a great adventure.

Yes, sir, that boy seemed to be having the time of his life. The fun of camping out in a cave had made him forget that he was a captive himself. He immediately christened me Snake-eye, the Spy, and announced that, when his braves returned from the warpath, I was to be broiled at the stake at the rising of the sun. 

Red Chief's fantasies about being a savage Indian make him dangerous because he comes up with different weapons, including rocks, slingshots, and knives. Bill and Sam are afraid to go to sleep. They don't know what Red Chief might try to do to them while they are asleep. Their biggest problem seems to be that they have no moral authority with the boy as adults because they are kidnappers. The boy relates to them as outlaws rather than as caretakers. It is because of the upside-down situation they have gotten themselves into that it seems reasonable for Bill and Sam to pay a "reverse ransom" to get the boy off their hands. In the usual kidnapping, the parent is happy to pay a ransom in order to get his beloved child back, but in this story the parent Ebenezer Dorset does not seem the least bit anxious to get Johnny back--which is why they have to pay to have the father take his wildcat son back. 

"Athlete's are born, not made." Discuss this statement in terms of the individual characteristics of heredity, personality and self - confidence.

I completely disagree.  While I do believe that genetics plays a part in giving a potential athlete a good starting base, I believe that hard work, practice, and attitude play a much more important part in "making" an athlete.  I've been coaching for over a decade, and I would much rather have hard working athletes than supposed naturally gifted athletes.  That's because the hard working athletes focus more on honing their skills.  A person might be the equivalent of a genetic super athlete, but if they never practice and train themselves, they will be quickly passed over by other athletes. 

Let's use Steve Prefontaine as an example.  At one time, he held every American track record in distances between 2,000 and 10,000 meters.  But by his own admission, he was told over and over again that he wasn't "built right" in order to run distance.  Prefontaine became a great runner through sheer grit, determination, attitude, personality, and self-confidence.  I suppose that you could claim that all of those characteristics are determined by genetics, but I believe those characteristics are more of a result of outside influences on a person. 

The tens digit of a certain two-digit number exceeds the units digit by three. The sum of the digits is 1/7 of the number. Find the number. Can...

Any two-digit number can be written as 10x + y, where x is the tens digit and y is the unit (ones) digit. This is because y has the place value of 1 and x has the place value of 10. The value of x can be any integer between 1 and 9, and the value of y can be any integer between 0 and 9.

According to the problem, the tens digit exceeds the unit digit by 3. This can be written, in term of x and y, as x = y + 3.

Also, the sum of the digits is 1/7 of the number itself. This means that

Now we have two equations with two variables, that can be solved for x and y:

x = y + 3 and

Before solving, the second equation can be simplified by multiplying both right and left side by 7. It then becomes

7(x+y) = 10x + y

7x + 7y = 10x + y

-3x + 6y = 0

The two equations are now x = y + 3 and -3x + 6y = 0. This system can be solved by substitution. Substitute x = y + 3 from the first equation into the second:

-3(y + 3) + 6y = 0

-3y -9 + 6y = 0

3y = 9

y = 3

If y = 3, then x = y + 3 = 3 + 3 = 6

So the number is then 63. Notice that both conditions are satisfied: the tens digit exceeds the unit digit by 3, and the sum of digits (9) is 1/7 of the number: 9 is 1/7 of 63.

What are the pros and cons regarding the annexation of Texas?

There was support for and opposition to the annexation of Texas. While much of the concern dealt with the slavery issue, there were other factors also involved.

The South was very supportive regarding the annexation of Texas. The South knew Texas would be a slave state since slavery existed in Texas. The North opposed the annexation because they were concerned it would add another slave state to the Union. Maintaining the balance between the free and the slave states was very important as this could impact legislation being discussed in Congress.

Another factor impacting annexation was our desire to expand from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Many people wanted us to expand, and Texas was part of the expansion plan. However, there were people who were concerned that the annexation of Texas might lead to war with Mexico. Mexico had never recognized the independence of Texas. There was concern that if we annexed Texas, Mexico would view this as an act of aggression against them.

Thus, there were reasons for and reasons against the annexation of Texas.

A 100g cart is placed against a spring with a force constant of 20,000 N/m. The spring is compressed 2.5cm. A second cart with a mass of 200g is...

Hello!

Denote the mass of the first cart as  the mass of the second cart as the spring's force constant as and the coefficient of friction as  Denote the distance of spring compression as

The friction force will be The starting spring force is Therefore we can neglect the friction force while spring is releasing. Also we can neglect the position change while spring is releasing (2.5cm vs. 5m).

Determine the speed V_0 of the first cart after the spring is released completely. Use the law of energy conservation: the elastic potential energy is transforms into kinetic energy of the first car,

So

Then the first cart decelerates uniformly due to the friction force It gives the negative acceleration of (Newton's Second law).

The speed is   the position is  

Let's find the (smallest) time when becomes 5m (and collision happens):

The speed before collision will be

Now for the collision. Elastic collision means no bounce, both bodies move as a whole. Then the law of impulse conservation gives that the final speed satisfies

or

This is the answer.

Why do you think mothers can't give birth to their own children in The Giver?

I think there are a few reasons women do not give birth to their own children in The Giver.  These reasons are to allow the leaders of the community to more easily maintain control over the community.

First, if women gave birth to their own children, they would be having sex with partners.  We can infer that there is no sex in the community because everyone's sexual desire is repressed with drugs the minute it surfaces. Stirrings must be reported immediately, and then the "treatment" begins. (There is no discussion about how Birthmothers are impregnated, but I have always thought that it is through artificial insemination, rather than through sex.) If people have sex, the leaders begin to lose control. People will want to choose their own mates and sexual jealousy might surface.  And when people have sexual desires, they are less inclined to follow rules, for example, the rules on sameness for clothing, as some people would want to dress more provocatively. They might commit adultery. They might not be so productive at work, flirting or sneaking out for a tryst.  One reason this society functions as well as it does is because there is no sex. People's energies are channeled away from sex to productivity.  All in all, allowing sex would make the population much more difficult to control and channel effectively.

Second, if women gave birth to their own children, they would love them, as would their fathers, no doubt, and this, too, would act to weaken the leaders' control.  Love is an emotion that is repressed in the community, mocked actually. It is not clear whether the repression is the result of some drug or simply some very effective brain-washing, but no one but the Giver and Jonas seem capable of this emotion.  As parents are "assigned" children to whom they have no biological ties, they think of parenting as just a job, and they do not have the same stake in the game.  Biological imperatives make us fight for our children, seeking advantages for them, even at a cost to others sometimes, and this dynamic is not operative the way things are arranged in this community. (I hasten to say that this is not like adoption, in which case parents want the child as part of the family and behave just like biological parents.)  Mothers and fathers might question the jobs to which their children were assigned. They would be likely to want to dress them more nicely, or at least differently from others.  They would want educational advantages for them. They would want to buy them books and nicer toys. They would care more about the success of their children than about the community as a whole.  All of this would mean the leaders' loss of control.  Sameness would never be the same. 

In separating parenting from sex and making it a job, an assignment, not a choice, the leaders have found an effective means to exert control over the populace. This eliminates sex as motivation for anyone's actions or behavior. And it eliminates love, which is an exceedingly difficult emotion to control. 

What are “a few individuals using the…government” to start the Mexican War trying to do? What is the geographical reason?

The Mexican-American War began because there was a boundary dispute between the United States and Mexico over the border with Texas. The United States claimed the border with Mexico was at the Rio Grande River. The Mexicans claimed the border was at the Nueces River. Depending on each side’s claim, Texas would either be larger if we used the American border definition or smaller if we used the Mexican border definition.

The United States wanted to negotiate a settlement to this dispute with the Mexican government. We sent a representative, John Slidell, to meet with Mexican officials. We were prepared to offer Mexico $30 million for California and New Mexico if Mexico would accept the border at the Rio Grande River. However, the Mexican government wouldn’t meet with John Slidell. As a result, when the Mexicans attacked our troops that were in the disputed territory, we went to war against Mexico in what was known as the Mexican-American War.

How does Elie Wiesel's relationship with God change throughout the memoir?

In Elie Wiesel's Night, he struggles with his faith in God as his situation worsens.
 
Towards the beginning of the memoir, Wiesel's relationship with God is strong. He talks about how he studied the Talmud during the day, attended the synagogue at night, and even wanted his father to find him a master who could help him study Kabbalah. All of this, though, describes his life before he and his family are taken to Auschwitz.
 
After spending his first night in the concentration camp and seeing so much evil, such as babies being killed, Wiesel's faith is shaken to say the least. In his own words, he says, "Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes" (Wiesel, 34). 
 
Soon, Wiesel's faith begins to decline rapidly. While other Jews talk about the "mysterious ways" of God and the sins of their people, Wiesel simply stops praying. He says, "I was not denying His existence, but I doubted His absolute justice" (Wiesel, 45). Then, Wiesel witnesses the hanging of three prisoners, one of whom is a child, and questions why God lets these things happen to people.
 
By page 68, Wiesel seems almost sure that God has abandoned them. While he still prays with the other prisoners, his heart is no longer in it. Regarding this, he says, "My eyes had opened and I was alone, terribly alone in a world without God, without man" (Wiesel, 68). Though he never outright denies God's existence, his doubts begin to overwhelm him. 
 
Still, though, he continues to reference, and pray to, God. After Rabbi Eliahu's son purposely leaves him behind during a march, Wiesel prays, "'Oh God, Master of the Universe, give me the strength never to do what Rabbi Eliahu's son has done'" (Wiesel, 91). That said, though he's struggling with his faith, it's evident that some part of him still believes. 
 
By the end of the memoir, Wiesel and his father are transferred to Buchenwald. His father gets sick and dies, yet he cannot even cry. Not too long after, the American military shows up and frees them all. 
 
In his Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, given in 1986, Wiesel gives thanks to God, which proves that, somehow, he was able to retain his faith after the horrifying years he spent in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. He opens his speech saying, "Words of gratitude. First to our common Creator" (Wiesel, 117). He then goes on to recount his experience.
 
Eventually, Wiesel brings up the conflict between Israel and Palestine and urges the people of the world to make the violence stop. He says, "Should Israel lose but one war, it would mean her end and ours as well. But I have faith. Faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and even in His creation. Without it no action would be possible" (Wiesel, 120).
 

What is the role of O'Brien in the third part (Part 3) of "1984" by George Orwell? Why is he important?

O'Brien's role in the third part of 1984 is to reprogram Winston's thoughts so that he internalizes the values of the Party. Winston's fundamental crime lies not in what he did, though that is criminal too, but what he thought. He believed he could think differently from the government, and he thought he could rebel and win against the government. O'Brien's role is to show him that the government is all powerful, and that he, Winston, is nothing.

O'Brien does this through torture but also by revealing that the government knew all along everything Winston was doing. Big Brother and his spies truly were watching him. They were reading his journal and replacing the speck of dust. They were filming his affair with Julia. They were ahead of him every step of the way. Challenging them was futile.

O'Brien has two other tasks. First, he must get Winston to truly believe that whatever the government says is true is the truth. That is why Winston must come to believe, not just pretend to believe, that two plus two equals five. He must not have independent thoughts.

Finally, O'Brien must rid Winston of his illusion that he is a person of integrity, thus destroying his sense of humanity. He does this by getting him to betray Julia.

O'Brien is important because he is the face of the totalitarian government and fully explains its beliefs while demonstrating its power and what it will to do to a person to ensure complete obedience.  He is Big Brother personified, and it is not a pleasant picture. 

Who is the aunt who has a fishing pole and says "Do-o-o Jee-sus" when mad?

Dill Harris's Aunt Rachel Haverford is the character who says, "Do-o-o Jee-sus."

Miss Rachel Haverford lives next door to the Finches; every summer Dill Harris comes to live with her because his parents do not want to spend time with him. In Chapter 6, Jem and Scout sit by Miss Rachel's fishpool with Dill on Dill's last night in Maycomb. But, when they arrive, Dill wants Jem to sneak up on the Radley porch and peek into a window. Jem does so, but as he tries to leave, he makes a step creak. Frightened, he tries to run but catches his pants on a wire fence and must remove them to escape.

When the neighbors hear a shotgun fired, they run outside to learn what has occurred; Mr. Nathan Radley is standing with a shotgun broken over his arm. The children come up because they realize that Atticus will wonder where they are. When Atticus asks Jem where his pants are, Dill volunteers, "We were playin' strip poker up yonder by the fishpool."

Miss Rachel is appalled that Dill would be playing cards: "Do-o-o Jee-sus, Dill Harris! Gamblin' by my fishpool? I'll strip-poker you, sir!"

Why has Jackson chosen common people for her characters? Could she have chosen characters from other levels of sophistication with the same effect?...

When writing "The Lottery" Jackson's use of "common people" and lack of specificity in time period, location, etc is purposeful. She wanted the themes in the text to resonate and be timeless. If she used more sophisticated people, the story may have lost its impact on the reader for a few reasons. 

In "The Lottery," the people are characterized by the devotion to tradition. The lottery is a part of the town's "civic activities" like "square dances, the teen club, and the Halloween program." Although elements of the lottery have evolved to accommodate the growing population, the black box remains a constant. In fact when it is suggested that the black box be changed, the town objected because "no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box."

It is this blind devotion and adherence to tradition that allows the lottery to continue year after year. At one time, there may have been a religious significance to the sacrificial ritual, but no one remembers or acknowledges that function anymore. Even now, some townspeople admit that others are ceasing the antiquated tradition:

"They do say," Mr. Adams said to Old Man Warner, who stood next to him, "that over in the north village they're talking of giving up the lottery."

Old Man Warner snorted. "Pack of crazy fools," he said. "Listening to the young folks, nothing's good enough for them. Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work any more, live hat way for a while. Used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.' First thing you know, we'd all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There's always been a lottery," he added petulantly. "Bad enough to see young Joe Summers up there joking with everybody." 

Jackson portrays this sense of respect for tradition as a universal trait. By creating characters who are not sophisticated or of a different class, her argument is valid. Had the characters been more sophisticated, wealthy, or powerful, the reader would not be convinced that the motivation for maintaining the sacrifice was simply out of respect for tradition. 

There are others that interpret the text as a demonstration of the worst of mankind. The lottery is a prime example of human beings' willingness to find a scapegoat. This is supported by the town's willingness to stone Tessie Hutchinson, and their inability to feel remorse for her as she pleads "It isn't fair." Once again, if the characters were more sophisticated, wealthy, or powerful, the reader may not empathize with Tessie. They may be more apt to blame her sin for her punishment rather than see the ills of human nature. 

The ironic twist is setup by the tone in the story. There is nothing somber or morose in the tone to indicate that Tessie will be harmed let alone stoned to death. The tone of the text emphasizes the ubiquitous nature of the event and how essential the characters feel the event is.

Whose family owned possession of the disputed land after the lawsuit?

According to the short story, there was a famous court case a few generations ago between the grandfathers of Ulrich von Gradwitz and Georg Znaeym over a tract of land. The courts favored Ulrich's family.  This ruling is not surprising, because Ulrich's family was wealthy.  Therefore, the land belonged to them, even though the land was not particularly good.

However, the Znaeyms never accepted the ruling. They continued to use the land. When they did this, Ulrich's family saw them an interlopers and a great feud began. Here is what the text says:

A famous lawsuit, in the days of his grandfather, had wrested it from the ille- gal possession of a neighboring family of petty landowners; the dispossessed party had never acquiesced in the judgment of the courts, and a long series of poaching affrays and similar scandals had embittered the relationships between the families for hree generations.

The irony of the whole dispute is that neither party considered the fact that the land might not belong to either of them.  In their worldview, land could be owned, but in the end the real inhabitants of that tract of land, wolves, came and killed them both. 

In The Witch of Blackbird Pond, what does Nat do to make Kit want to marry him? Who is Nat Eaton?

The plotline between Kit and Nat is one of those classic love stories when the characters initially don't like each other, but later grow fond and eventually marry.

Kit first meets Nathaniel Eaton aboard the Dolphin on her way to Wethersfield. Nat is the first mate and the captain's son, as the ship belongs to his father. He thinks Kit is arrogant and spoiled. She refers to the ship as "filthy," and Nat finds this offensive since the ship smells because the Eatons make a moral choice to transport horses instead of slaves.

When Kit jumps in the water to save Prudence's doll, Nat jumps in after her. He is furious when he jumps in the water to save Kit, only to find that she can swim. He feels foolish and is forced to wear wet clothes all day as he has soaked the only ones he owns during his attempted rescue.

Nat is the first person to warn Kit that "only the guilty ones stay afloat," referring to witch trials that took place during this time period.

Later, Nat's feelings toward Kit soften when he sees that she is a good friend to Hannah Tupper. Nat has been friends with Hannah since he was a boy and Hannah found him crying in the Meadow, similar to Kit. They become friends as they work together to thatch Hannah's roof.

Nat becomes jealous when he hears that Kit is going to marry William Ashby and he and some of his sailor friends put jack-o-lanterns in William's windows as a prank. This lands them in the stocks and Kit is distraught to see the townsfolk jeering and throwing apple cores at Nat.

Nat eventually comes to Kit's rescue when she is accused of being a witch by Goodwife Cruff. He brings Prudence, who reads out of the Bible and convinces Goodman Cruff and the town that Kit is not a witch and all charges are dropped.

Nat returns to Wethersfield with a new ship, his own, that he has named The Witch. He tells Kit about it and his hopes for their relationship, and Kit is eager to sail on her namesake, but Nat won't bring her aboard until she agrees to marry him.

What is learned about Richard from the flashback in Killings? How does this information affect your attitude toward him?

Richard Strout is the man who kills Matt Fowler's son, Frank. The story opens with the Fowler family laying Frank to rest and upset that Strout is out walking the streets on bail. With this information, the reader may first feel upset to hear that a murderer is not in jail, as well as a sense unfairness for the Fowlers. The flashbacks, though, give insight to Strout's past as an all-American boy: football player, scholarship to University of Massachusetts, construction worker, husband and father of two sons. Fowler describes what the community thought of these images when the murder got around town, as follows:

". . . those who simply knew him by face and name, had a series of images of him which they recalled when they heard of the killing: the high school running back, the young drunk in bars, the oblivious hard-hatted young man eating lunch at a counter, the bartender who could perhaps be called courteous but not more than that."

The reader might have an empathetic attitude towards Richard at this point because of how average he is--simply living out his normal daily. On the other hand, a reader might feel that he lives a cold life--unadventurous and boring.

The part that may change the reader's attitude from apathy for Richard to empathy is the fact that he has a wife and two children:

". . . near the bedroom door, hung a color photograph of Mary Ann and the two boys sitting on a law. . . Mary Ann smiling at the camera or Strout or whoever held the camera. . . was that when they were both playing around and she was smiling like that at him and they were happy, even sometimes, making it worth it?"

As more and more facts about Strout come to light, the whole story becomes more depressing. Strout, a man who had a family and everything to lose, kills Fowler's son because he was messing around with his estranged wife. For the reader, Strout evolves from a cold-blooded killer at the beginning of the story to a sad and jealous husband who made an insane choice to kill Frank.

Any suggestions on how to improve my Romeo and Juliet comparison essay? We were assigned to write a comparative essay comparing Romeo and Juliet...

I will answer your question about whether or not your thesis is clear, arguable, focused, and good.  Yes, I believe that your thesis idea is all of those things.  I can't offer specific feedback on the thesis statement itself, because the question doesn't provide the word for word written out thesis.  I can offer this suggestion.  Don't use parentheses in the thesis statement.  I realize you are giving me extra information for the question to make sense, but the formal thesis needs to have that incorporated into the main statement.  Something like this:  Although Romeo's metaphors of love toward Juliet are understandable, Eminem's metaphors are more powerful to modern audiences because they are more relatable and singularly focused.  

By "hook" I think that you mean the first, attention getting sentence.  There are generally four types.  

1. Ask a question


2. Make a bold statement


3. Use a quote


4. Use a definition

Because you are comparing two written texts, I recommend using a quote.  You also said that you want your hook to be immediately relatable to your readers.  Use something from the Eminem song.  The quote is likely to be more recognized by your peers than an obscure Romeo and Juliet quote.  Plus your argument is that Eminem is better for modern audiences.  You want to start your essay with that in mind.  If Eminem is better, then he is better to start your paper with. 

To what extent do violence and softness exert influence in the play?

You are perfectly correct in thinking that violence and softness, or violence versus softness, are important to Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. The primary conflict is between Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski. The conflict is over Stella, who is the "MacGuffin" or "bone of contention." Blanche is the protagonist and Stanley, although he is much bigger and stronger than Blanche, is the antagonist. Stanley is on the defensive. Blanche dislikes him because he is uncouth and lower-class. She tries to turn Stella against him and seems to be trying to break up their marriage, in spite of the fact that Stella is expecting a baby. 

Stanley is brutal and violent. Blanche pretends to be soft, sweet, gentle, refined, sentimental, idealistic. Significantly, Blanche has been an English teacher. She undoubtedly favors romantic poetry by such sentimental authors as Tennyson. She was married to a sentimental young man who wrote poetry. When she comes up against Stanley Kowalski, her attitudinizing is ineffectual. He is everything she is not. She has been said to be a symbol of the old South, while Stanley has been seen as a representative of the new dog-eat-dog South. He is not only animalistic, but he gets sweaty and greasy, drunk and disorderly. Blanche has a hard time maintaining her defense of dainty femininity against his brutal realism and candor. She amuses him. She despises him--but he despises her even more.

A Streetcar Named Desire is all about a contest between realism and idealism, between violence and softness, between masculinity and femininity. If Blanche had been as pure as she pretended to be, she might have had a better chance. But Stanley sees right through her. He finds out that her refinement is corrupt. He may be brutal but he is more moral and wholesome than she is. He may be ignorant, but he sees the truth. She may be educated, but she lives in a world of fantasy.

In Scene Nine she tells Mitch:

I don't want realism. I want magic! [Mitch laughs] Yes, yes, magic! I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don't tell truth. I tell what ought to be truth. And if that is sinful, then let me be damned for it!--Don't turn the light on!

Her world is fragile and easily shattered--and Stanley Kowalski shatters it to pieces when she makes the mistake of becoming his adversary. At first she thinks it should be easy to defeat Stanley by making him look like a savage beast in contrast to her own refinement and sensitivity. But she finds out that he is much more subtle and resourceful than he appears on the surface. It is people like Stanley Kowalski who will prevail in the new South, and people like Blanche DuBois who will be trodden down.

It is interesting to see how William Faulkner describes Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who must be one of Blanche's favorite poets as well as a favorite of Faulkner's character Reverend Hightower in the great novel Light in August.

One wall of the study is lined with books. He pauses before them, seeking, until he finds the one which he wants. It is Tennyson. It is dogeared. He has had it ever since the seminary. He sits beneath the lamp and opens it. It does not take long. Soon the fine galloping language, the gutless swooning full of sapless trees and dehydrated lusts begins to swim smooth and swift and peaceful. It is better than praying without having to bother to think aloud. It is like listening in a cathedral to a eunuch chanting in a language which he does not even need to not understand.  

In the novel Lord of the Flies, why do Ralph and Piggy refuse to paint their faces?

In Chapter 4, Jack decides to paint his face in order to disguise himself and blend in with the environment while he is hunting pigs. The "mask" gives Jack a feeling of liberation, and he is no longer self-conscience. Behind his painted face, Jack feels free to engage in barbaric acts of violence and behave like a savage. In contrast, Ralph and Piggy refuse to paint their faces and act like savages. Both Ralph and Piggy value civility and view Jack and his band of hunters with contempt. They understand the importance of maintaining a structured, civil society and realize that painting their faces will only promote savagery on the island. However, Jack encourages his hunters to follow his lead and mask their faces. Once the hunters paint their faces, they too become more savage and feel free to act violently.

What are some positive and negative words about the American industrial Revolution?

The American Industrial Revolution had some positive and negative characteristics associated with it. Some of the words that would reflect the positive characteristics would be economic growth, progress, the growth of the country, and increased trade. As a result of the Industrial Revolution, our economy grew. Many jobs were created by the growth of factories. New products were available. We were able to trade more products with other countries because we were making more products in the factories.

There was progress as a result of the Industrial Revolution. New inventions were made that helped make life easier. The mechanical reaper helped farmers with their work. Elias Howe invented the sewing machine. These and other inventions helped make life easier for Americans.

The Industrial Revolution also helped the country grow. With the development of the steam engine, it became easier for people to move to the west. As people moved to the west, the businesses followed. As more people moved westward, cities began to grow and develop. This led to more industrial development. Industries followed the westward movement of the people.

Some of the negative words associated with the Industrial Revolution are poor treatment of workers, pollution, and dangerous factories. As factories developed, workers found it more difficult to improve their pay and working conditions. Because there were many workers available, workers weren’t in a strong position to ask for more pay and improved working conditions.

The Industrial Revolution led to more pollution. The steam engine belched smoke into the air. Factories would often pollute the water supply. There were no laws to regulate the pollution caused by the factories. Pollution became a real issue with the growth of our industries.

Factories were often unsafe places to work. There were no safety laws to protect workers. Workers got hurt and would lose their jobs. There was no compensation for workplace related injuries.

The Industrial Revolution had both positive and negative characteristics associated with it. Some of these positive issues helped the country while some of these negative issues led to calls for reforms to correct the problems that existed.

How does the saying, "No good deed goes unpunished," relate to the events in chapter 11 of Freak the Mighty?

Chapter 11, titled "The Damsel of Distress," is the story of Kevin and Max attempting to do a good deed and the terrible payment they get for their troubles.  The boys find a purse in a storm drain; when they check it for identification, they find the name of Loretta Lee.  Freak insists on going on a quest to return the purse to her, despite Max's warnings that the address in the Testaments is a dangerous location.  They find the apartment and are met by two very scary characters: Loretta and her boyfriend, Iggy Lee.  The boys try desperately to get away from Loretta and Iggy as soon as they deliver the purse; they can sense the evil surrounding the two adults, but they are trapped.  Soon Loretta and Iggy recognize Max as the son of "Killer Kane."  This is the first time Kevin has heard about this part of Max's life, and Max is terrified:

Meanwhile Freak is giving me this look like he has no idea what's going on, and that look scares me more than Iggy Lee and all his tattoos.

Then Loretta unknowingly teases Kevin in the worst possible way:  She pretends she knew his father:

"Hey, midget man? I know all about you. Your old man was a magician, did-you know that?"
Freak is scuttling around behind me, keeping out of her way, but when she says that, I can tell he wants to know about his father, if maybe he really was a magician.
"Yeah," Loretta says. "Right after you was born. He must be a magician, because as soon as he heard the magic words 'birth defect,' he disappeared."

Both boys are "rewarded" for their efforts at trying to do a good deed with cruelty and heartache from these hateful, selfish adults.

How can I compare A Farewell to Arms and Bridge on the Drina?

I am happy to help you with your outline and the comparison between the two books. You don’t mention the exact thesis here, so allow me to suggest one. How about this: Both A Farewell to Arms and The Bridge on the Drina focuses on the importance of connection due to two “characters”: Catherine and the bridge. The first section of your outline, then, should lead into this particular thesis statement.

The second part of your outline would be the first body paragraph. Begin with a topic sentence like, “The two books need a connection because of the tragedy of war.” In A Farewell to Arms, the war is World War I, and Frederic Henry describes it in detail. Specifics can be included, such as the battle in which the character is wounded, so that you can include examples. In The Bridge on the Drina everyone needs a connection because of many wars from the 1500sto the 1900s. Here some specifics can be given about the suffering of the Bosnian people.

The next part of your outline would be the middle body paragraph. This one should focus as Catherine and “the bridge” as characters that serve to unify. It is a love connection with Catherine that helps Frederick Henry along through the destruction of war. An example can be him getting lost “in her hair” as well as their travels and conversations. A further example could be the child they conceived together. In The Bridge on the Drina the connection the bridge from the title built across the Drina River near Viegrad. It serves as the connection between the Bosnian people and the Turks. After it is accepted (which takes a while), the connection is significant.

Next, your outline should have a final body paragraph. Again, begin with a topic sentence which would include the end of the connection. In A Farewell to Arms, the end of the connection is the baby’s death and then Catharine’s death. This destroys all hope for Frederick Henry. In The Bridge on the Drina the end of the connection is the “death” of the actual bridge. It is destroyed in the same war as Catherine is destroyed: World War I.

The final part of your outline should be about your conclusion. Reword your thesis statement here and suggest a new idea of unity or connection in the world that is either being continued or lost. Perhaps the success of the NATO or the United Nations could be an example.

What are the challenges faced by small animals?

Small animals face the biggest challenges in terms of competition for resources and predation by larger predators. Animals need resources such as food, water, light, habitat, etc. and they are in constant competition with other larger and smaller animals for such resources. For example, smaller herbivores live on plants, grass, etc. The same food is also eaten by larger herbivores and hence there is competition. Smaller animals are also under constant threat of predation by larger animals. For example, a rat is under threat from foxes and other similar predators. One can also think of food being out of reach of smaller animals if it is on taller plants. 

Another challenge for smaller animals is traffic by cars. A large number of smaller animals are killed by cars, trucks and other vehicles every year. In comparison, larger animals face a lesser traffic threat. 

Hope this helps.

Who is the mysterious stranger that visits Pip at the pub in Great Expectations? What are Pip's expectations on learning about the reasons for the...

The mysterious stranger is a London lawyer named Jaggers.  Pip is surprised at first, but then pleased with the news that he now has “great expectations.”

One day Pip is in the pub with Mr. Wopsle reading a newspaper about a crime in London when a man who seems to have knowledge of the crime interrupts.  The stranger asks Joe about his apprentice.  He explains that he is there to see Pip.

“My name,” he said, “is Jaggers, and I am a lawyer in London. I am pretty well known. I have unusual business to transact with you, and I commence by explaining that it is not of my originating. … What I have to do as the confidential agent of another, I do….” (Ch. 18)

Jaggers first checks to make sure that Joe will not interfere, and then explains to Pip what he is there for.  He explains to the men that Pip is about to come into “handsome property.”

“… Further, that it is the desire of the present possessor of that property, that he be immediately removed from his present sphere of life and from this place, and be brought up as a gentleman—in a word, as a young fellow of great expectations.” (Ch. 18)

There are some stipulations for this property.  Pip is not supposed to ask about his benefactor or where the money came from.  He has to agree to go to London to be trained to be a gentleman, leaving everything and everyone he knows behind.  Pip readily agrees. 

Pip assumes that the money and the “expectations” are Miss Havisham’s doing.  After all, she is the richest person that he knows.  She also has a lovely adopted daughter that Pip is in love with.  Ever since getting to know them, Pip has been unsatisfied with the simple blacksmith’s life.  He believes that he is being set up to marry Estella by becoming her equal, so he does not ask too many questions.  Of course, that was part of the deal.

What are some examples of personification in the story "The Veldt"?

Personification—or the attribution of human characteristics to non-human entities—is largely used within Ray Bradbury's short story "The Veldt" in order to provide a sinister tone to the events which take place within the "HappyLife Home" that has been purchased by the Hadley family.

The other educator who responded to this question has done quite a thorough job of outlining instances of personification within the story, but I will elaborate in order to provide more context.

After Lydia and George first encounter the lions voraciously feeding on a dead animal in the the African "veldt" that has been manifested by the nursery, the couple is faced with the problem of dealing with their children's obsession with the room. Lydia has begun to regret purchasing the house, which in meeting her initial desires of relieving her of parental duties has also rendered her useless to her children, as she vocalizes by saying,

That's just it. I feel like I don't belong here. The house is wife and mother now, and nurse for the children. 

The personification of the house as having assumed the marital and motherly responsibilities is quite disturbing, and foreshadows the couple's later demise.

After Lydia and George discover the children are disobeying their orders to stay away from the nursery, it is noted that:

Although their beds tried very hard, the two adults couldn't be rocked to sleep for another hour.

Again, we are given a sense of artificial, human-like comfort being provided by the house.

A psychologist who comes to assist George and Lydia decides the couple spoils their children, which has resulted in resentment now that nursery access has been blocked. When observing the room, he states,

No wonder there's hatred here. You can feel it coming out of the sky. Feel that sun. 

The house i no longer just acting. It is also feeling and expressing emotions.

The sense that the house is a living thing is once again reaffirmed when Peter begins screaming,

"Don't let them do it!" cried Peter to the ceiling, as if he was talking to the house, the nursery. "Don't let Father kill everything."

The children clearly regard the house as a living, breathing entity, and the suggestion that to power it down would be to "kill it" only makes that concept more alarming. Ultimately, this sense of agency is manifested when the lions projected by the house kill the parents.

Sketch the region enclosed by the given curves and find its area.

Given 

Find the intersection point of and 

 

When x=1, y=1. The intersection point is (1, 1).

Find the intersection point of     and  

When x=2, y=1/2. The intersection point is (2, 1/2).

The area enclosed by the given curves is 1.443 units squared.

The curve in black is 

The red line is 

The green line is 

Why does February have an extra day during leap year but not any other month?

Our calendar year is based (somewhat loosely) on the amount of time Earth takes to complete one orbit around the Sun. This time period is known as a solar year and is about 365 days and 6 hours long. Our calendar year has only 365 days.

This anomaly causes an accumulation of (almost) 1 day every four years and, unless corrected, will cause an ever increasing gap between calendar dates and astronomical events. To avoid that, we add 1 day to the month of February every 4th year and call that year as the Leap Year. One of the possible reasons for adding the extra day to February is because it is the shortest month of the year, with only 28 days (all other months have 30 or 31 days). 

Hope this helps. 

Explain "and things are not what they seem"

This line comes from the poem "A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Longfellow wrote the poem as a sort of response to the belief, often expressed by the Psalms in the Bible, that this life does not matter and that men should focus only on the afterlife. He starts the poem with the speaker directly addressing the writer of the Psalms, saying, “Tell me not, in mournful numbers/Life is but an empty dream!” (1-2). The speaker does not want to accept the message that life is meaningless, therefore, when he says “And things are not what they seem” (4), he sends a hopeful message that “life is real” (5). To say “things are not what they seem” is essentially to question the message in the Psalms and to say that there is hope for life. For the rest of the poem, he supports this by giving people advice about how to live life in the present rather than to sit by and watch life pass them by.

What is the effect Rev. Jonathon Edwards gives his audience?

The highly-charged fire and brimstone sermon of Reverend Edwards strikes such fear into his audience that many of the women cried and screamed; also, there were a number of terrified listeners who actually fled from hearing more as they ran screaming out of the church. 

"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is Edwards's most famous sermon. It was so highly charged and had such a powerful effect that several times during this sermon, he had to stop and request that certain members of the congregation refrain from their shrieking, if they did not leave.

Much of the power of Edwards's sermon derives from his effective use of rhetorical devices such as the use of repetition and parallel constructions that seem to reach a disturbing and horrifying crescendo. For instance, Edwards repeats the word nothing in parallel phrases such as "nothing that you have ever done, nothing that you can do" in order to stress the belief that people cannot be saved by their actions; instead, they must have God's grace. An extremely effective parallel construction is exemplified in the beginning of Edwards's sermon as he uses frightening visual imagery:

The devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them....

This use of parallelism, frightening images, and repetition is certainly effective in terrifying and emotionally moving Edwards's congregation.

When the narrator says the wounded soldiers "were all very polite and interested in what was the matter, and sat in the machines that were to make...

The narrator is being skeptical. We can tell by the contrast between the doctor's enthusiasm and the major's skepticism. The doctor seems to be more excited about football than medicine, so the major asks sarcastically, "And will I too play football, captain-doctor?" We are sure it is sarcasm because the major never played football but was instead a fencer.

Later, the narrator explains that the major had bluntly stated that the machines were "an idiotic idea." The narrator suggests that this skepticism affected every patient at one point. Their continued attendance seems to be either out of habit or obedience, but not because of faith in the techniques.

At the end of the story, this skepticism is reinforced by the photos of a hand injury like the major's. The photos are allegedly examples of similar cases where the machines produced a full recovery. The narrator points out that he understood that "we were the first to use the machines." This contradiction undermines the credibility of the doctors and reinforces the tone of sarcasm in the original statement.

Evaluate the integral

You need to use integration by parts, such that:

You need to solve the integral using substitution , such that:

You need to use integration by parts to solve , such that:

Replacing back the variable yields:

Hence, evaluating the indefinite integral, using parts and substitution, yields

How did Clarisse die in the novel Fahrenheit 451?

Clarisse is Montag's energetic and eclectic seventeen-year-old neighbor, who befriends Montag at the beginning of the novel. She sparks Montag's interest and begins discussing the dystopian society they live in. Their brief interactions have a profound affect on Montag and are the catalyst for him to reevaluate his life. After speaking with Clarisse, Montag realizes that he is not in love with Mildred, and that he is also unhappy as a fireman. One night, he mentions to his wife that he has not seen Clarisse in four days and asks Mildred if she's seen her. Mildred casually tells Montag that she forgot to tell him that Clarisse died after being hit by a car. Montag is shocked and asks why Mildred didn't tell him sooner. Mildred is unapologetic and tells him that she simply forgot. Mildred does not care about what happened to Clarisse and disregards Montag's feelings because she is a shallow individual. 

How is Curley's wife treated with disrespect in Of Mice and Men?

The first indication that Curley’s wife is treated with disrespect is that she is never given a name. She is simply known as “Curley’s wife.” The contempt with which the ranch hands view her is due to the fact that she is desperately seeking attention, perhaps companionship at some level. Curley seems to be inadequate. They never seem to be in the same room at the same time. Throughout the novel they are constantly seeking each other. Yet Curley does not trust her around men, perhaps with good reason. The ranch hands view her as a “tramp,” seeking to be unfaithful to Curley. She tells Candy and Lennie that she wanted to be an actress, but her mother thought she was too young. Since then, she has been looking for her identity. Perhaps she does not want what the men think she wants. Yet they view her as trouble looking for an opportunity. When she comes around, they almost immediately push her aside to get rid of her. She is the only female in the novel in a masculine environment. The men may not be so much misogynists as self-defensive. They view women only as sexual objects (such as the prostitutes in the brothel in town), and thus Curley’s wife fits in that category. There is no attempt to reveal her as a fully developed character, worthy of respect or even understanding.

Why do oscilloscopes display sound compressions and rarefactions as transverse waves instead of longitudinal waves?

The main reason for displaying sound waves like that is for the sake of simplicity.  A transverse wave gives a very clear indication of wavelength and amplitude.   It's immediately clear how two waves differ in frequency and amplitude when they are displayed as a transverse wave with crests and troughs.  Displaying a longitudinal wave on a screen is possible, but difficult to see.  The only way to do it would be to have a series of vertical lines on the screen.  Then have sections of those lines that are spread out (rarefaction) and sections that are squished together (compressions).  That would be incredibly annoying to look at, and it would make measuring wavelength, frequency, and amplitude incredibly tedious.  I've attached a link to a picture of a longitudinal wave display.  I for one would not want to stare at a screen loaded with those.