Describe how the immune system of a person without AIDS would respond to the flu virus.

The immune system of our body fights against any infection and protects us. In case of an attack by flu virus (or influenza virus), the two components of our immune system: innate and adaptive immune systems, work together to protect us and cleanse the infecting viruses from our body. The innate immune system responds first to the influenza infection and adaptive immune system starts the response a little later. 

In the first stage of immune system's action, the innate immune system is activated within hours and its activity lasts for few days (3-5 days); making it the first line of body defense (against infection). The pathogen recognition receptors recognize the foreign microbes by identifying certain molecules associate with infectious agents that are not associated with a healthy body. In response to the infection, interferons are released; this causes activation of natural killer cells which destroy infected epithelial cells. 

Adaptive immune system, takes over from innate immune system after a few days and clears the body of the foreign infection. Both the humoral and cell-mediated immunity participate in the process. The humoral immunity is affected by the B-cells, while the cell-mediated immunity is affected by T-cells (CD4+ helper and CD8+ cytotoxic cells); giving us long lasting protection from specific viral strains.

This is, in nutshell, how our immune system fights off influenza infection in a healthy (HIV-negative) body. Interestingly, the flu vaccines have to be updated every year to account for changes in the flu virus (in response to selective antibody activity against prevalent viral strain).

Hope this helps. 

What is the reaction between glucose and water?

Glucose does not dissociate when dissolved in water. In comparison, a substance like sodium chloride, dissociates into sodium and chloride ions when mixed with water. And the chemical equation for that is

Since glucose does not dissociate, it simply converts from solid to the aqueous form as per the following equation:

In general, we are more interested in oxidation of glucose in our body. When glucose reacts with oxygen, cellular respiration takes place and carbon dioxide, water and energy molecules are released. Here is the relevant equation:

Here ATP or adenosine triphosphate are the energy molecules. This is the reaction which produces energy in our body and that of animals.

Hope this helps. 

What is the meaning of Hamlet's soliloquy where he says "it is not nor it cannot come to good"?

In this soliloquy, we learn the depths of Hamlet's despair at his father's murder and especially his mother's quick remarriage to Claudius, the elder Hamlet's brother. (Remember that at this point in the play Hamlet has no idea that Claudius murdered his father.) Hamlet has just been informed, after frankly admitting that he is still grief-stricken, that he will not be allowed to return to school at Wittenberg. He promises to abide by the King's wishes, and those of his mother. But we see in the soliloquy, his first in the play, that he is not just upset at the passing of his father, but the marriage of his mother "a little month" after his death. Hamlet regards this as "rank and gross in nature" and clearly has little use for Claudius, who is a shadow of what his father was. None of these developments, he says, can "come to good," but he resolves to keep his anger and hurt, which borders on suicidal, to himself. So this soliloquy reveals Hamlet's state of mind before encountering the ghost, which urges him to gain revenge on his wicked uncle.

Discuss the significance of the handkerchief to the tragedy of Othello.

The handkerchief, or "napkin" as it is often called in the play, is a central plot device in Othello. Essentially, Iago uses the handkerchief to convince Othello that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him with Michael Cassio. Iago gets the handkerchief when Emilia, his wife, picks it up after Desdemona drops it. The handkerchief was Othello's first gift to Desdemona, and so it serves as a symbol of their love and her loyalty to him. The scheming Iago determines to drive a wedge between Othello and his wife by placing the handkerchief in Michael Cassio's room, and arranging for Othello to find out. After talking with Iago, Othello asks his wife for the handkerchief, which, he says, came from Egypt, where it was woven with silk from sacred worms and embroidered with berries dyed with the blood of mummified virgins. When Desdemona admits that she does not have the handkerchief, Othello is outraged. When it is revealed that Cassio (through the schemes of Iago) has come into possession of it, Othello assumes that Desdemona gave it to him. Iago pushes the scheme even further by making Othello believe that Cassio's comments about Bianca, his mistress (to whom he gives the handkerchief) are actually about Desdemona. The fact that Desdemona consistently advocates for Cassio before her husband (at Cassio's behest) only adds to Othello's suspicions, which eventually reach a boiling point. So the handkerchief is the plot device that Shakespeare places at the center of the fatal and tragic split between Othello and Desdemona.

What is one major event that happened in To Kill a Mockingbird from Scout's perspective?

Throughout the course of the novel, Scout's perception of Boo Radley changes, which contributes to some of the major themes of the novel. 

In the beginning of the novel, Boo Radley's character emphasizes Scout's childlike ways and innocence - in fact, the kids describe him as a giant man who eats raw animals. As the novel progresses, however, they grow closer to Boo Radley . . . from a distance. He leaves Scout and Jem presents and even mends Jem's pants. 

At the end of the novel, however, one event solidifies Scout's perception of Boo Radley, completing her transformation from an innocent child to a young lady that understands the differences between appearance and reality. After the trial in which Tom Robinson was convicted, Bob Ewell attacked Scout and Jem while they were walking home from the Halloween pageant. While the official story was that Ewell fell on his own knife, Tate insinuated that Boo Radley stabbed Ewell in order to protect Scout and Jem. 

Due to her costume, Scout couldn't see her assailant well, but she did see that a tall, unshaven man carried Jem home. When that same man was in her living room, it took her awhile to recognize him as Boo Radley. Instead of charging Boo Radley, Tate decided to "Let the dead bury the dead" - Tom Robinson was wrongly convicted and now the man responsible for his conviction was also dead. 

After Scout walked Boo Radley home, Atticus reads Scout a story before bed. Scout describes Boo Radley as "nice," and Atticus responds by saying, "Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them." 

It's at this moment that she realizes that Boo Radley - who she previously viewed as evil - is actually capable of good deeds. He becomes a real person to her, which pushes her to a more adult reality. 

The speed of electron is measured to be m/s to an accuracy of 0.003 percent. Find the uncertainty in determining the position of the...

This problem involves the Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, which states that it is impossible to measure both position and velocity (or momentum) of a particle at the same time. The relationship between the uncertainties in the measurement is

Here, h is the Planck' constant: .

Please see the reference link to learn more about the uncertainty principle.

To find the uncertainty in the position of the electron, first we need to find the uncertainty in its momentum. Since the velocity is measured to an accuracy of 0.003%, the uncertainty of the velocity is

The uncertainty of the electron's momentum is then

kg*m/s.

Then, from the uncertainty principle, the uncertainty of the electron's position is at least

 m.

The uncertainty in determining the position of electron is 0.386 millimeters.

In your opinion, which of the three spirits has the most powerful effect on Scrooge? Explain why you think this.

In A Christmas Carol, each of the three spirits has a profound effect on Scrooge but, arguably, it the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come who truly changes his life. 

First of all, let's look at the ghost's physical appearance. The Ghost of Christmas Past is bright and child-like, the Ghost of Christmas Present is akin to a "jolly Giant" while the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come genuinely terrifies Scrooge. He is a "phantom...shrouded in a deep, black garment." He does not speak to Scrooge, only points with an "outstretched hand." When Scrooge meets him, he is instantly filled with a "solemn dread" and it is this dread which has the most profound affect on Scrooge. 

Secondly, the images shown to Scrooge by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come are the strongest in the book. While Scrooge has relived many painful experiences, through the first two ghosts, it is the uncertainty of his future which truly haunts him. Scrooge shudders from "head to foot" when confronted with his own death. Later, in the Churchyard, Scrooge is almost driven to madness when he sees his own grave. It is not just the fear of death which bothers him, it is the ghost's inability to communicate. Here, we find Scrooge "trembling" and "clutching at the spirit's robe." 

Finally, we see the strongest evidence to support this view in the closing lines of the chapter. Scrooge is finally broken and ready to reform:

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!''

Neither the Ghost of Christmas Past nor the Ghost of Christmas Present is able to solicit such a response from Scrooge. This is irrefutable proof of the ghost's effect on him and it kick-starts the process of change in Scrooge. 

What gift does Christine get in The Phantom of the Opera?

The Phantom gives Christine a gold ring that she loses in Chapter XIII, if that's what you're referring to.  It's not much of a gift, though, at least not one given in the spirit of generosity, because as Christine tells Raoul, "[Erik] said, 'I give you back your liberty, Christine, on condition that this ring is always on your finger. ...'"  So really, the Phantom's "gift" in this context is not so much a gift as a symbol of the power he still holds over her, the threat he continues to pose to her well-being, which is hammered home by the fact that this "gift" is a gold ring, suggestive of a wedding band.

However, you could argue that the voice lessons the Phantom gives Christine are a gift at first... until he, again, uses them to try to convince Christine that she owes him unswerving loyalty and love.  Some gift-giver he is.

According to Thoreau in "Civil Disobedience," what does government actually do to society?

According to Thoreau in "Civil Disobedience," the government robs society of its ethics and individuality. Thoreau says that the system of government that we in America have created and employed does not challenge the individual to fully participate in the making of laws or the carriage of justice.  Instead, we leave the rule of the government up to "majority rule" so those who are appointed make decisions for us. As a result, members of society are forced into "quiet submission" as others make decisions for the whole.  Thoreau says that few people are willing to "put their head into the fire" or to stand up in the face of unjust laws and practices. Thus, the government, which is supposed to create a framework of justice for citizens, actually bears down on citizens and robs them of their voice in the government.

How do Catherine and Raina create an atmosphere of military melodrama in the opening of Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw?

The first element of military melodrama is the setting. The play takes place during the Serbo-Bulgarian War just after the November 1885 Battle of Slivnitsa in a town near Dragoman Pass where the battle took place.

Catherine rushes into the room to announce to her daughter Raina that the Bulgarians have won the battle and that Sergius, to whom Raina is engaged, was the hero of the battle, defying his commanders to lead a cavalry charge. She recounts this in a tone of breathless excitement:

A cavalry charge—think of that! He . . . led a charge on his own responsibility—headed it himself—was the first man to sweep through their guns. Can't you see it, Raina; our gallant splendid Bulgarians with their swords and eyes flashing, thundering down like an avalanche and scattering the wretched Servian dandies like chaff.

Although Raina worries that her own impression of the war has been as much shaped by opera and poetry as by reality, she is swept away in her mother's enthusiasm.

The next element of melodrama is suggested when Louka, the maid servant, carries in the news that Raina should lock her shutters tightly as the Bulgarian army and their Russian allies may be pursuing Serbian stragglers through the streets and even firing guns. 

The final element of melodrama is found in the advent of Captain Bluntschli, who has been fighting for the Serbian army, and who climbs up to the balcony to find refuge and threatens Raina with his revolver. From this point onward, though, the play moves from melodrama to comedy.

How would you describe Hareton's social relationship?

Wuthering Heights suggests that character is more important than birth or inheritance. Hareton is a perfect example of this. Just as Heathcliff overcomes his low birth to become master of both the Heights and the Grange, Hareton "overcomes" his birthright as an Earnshaw to become a common laborer. Hareton, the last of the Earnshaws and rightful heir to Wuthering Heights, is raised by substitute parents -- his "mother" is the servant Nelly, and his father, of course, is Heathcliff, who systematically demeans him and cultivates his worst qualities. However, it is the second Catherine Linton that redeems Hareton through her love; by the end of the novel, we see Hareton reclaiming in some measure his place in society, but in a transformed way. Hareton will not be the "lord of the manor" that old Mr. Earnshaw was; his life, and standing in society, has instead been determined by his upbringing and, we are meant to believe, the natural nobility of his character.

What are some themes that relate to women's emancipation?

You have several different possible approaches to choose from. Are you specifically focusing on female authors? A Tale of Gengi is widely considered the first novel ever written, and its author, Murasaki Shikibu, was a woman. With her tale of the Japanese imperial court, Murasaki showed the ladies of the court in a sympathetic light that might never have occurred to a male author.

Are you looking for groundbreaking female characters by male authors? Tess of the d'Urbervilles might be a good starting point, Thomas Hardy's novel about a woman's struggles with class, fate and family. Several plays by George Bernard Shaw deal with women's concerns at the dawn of the suffragette movement (Candida, Major Barbara and Pygmalion come quickly to mind).

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is often bruited as a feminist statement, mainly because it was an early popular novel by a female author. This is troubling, because the book has no actual female characters (Elizabeth was a plot device and poor Safie was barely even that). Something by Jane Austen or Louisa May Alcott might be more on point.

Perhaps the best book about female emancipation written by a female author is The Color Purple by Alice Walker, about a woman who has an awful LOT to be emancipated from, though you'll need to decide for yourself whether the primary focus is Women's Studies or Black Studies.

The most important questions are: (A) What do you want to say about female emancipation? (B) What novel or play best exemplifies what you want to say?

In Freak The Mighty chapter eight, why is Kevin so interested and connected to the dictionary?

This is a very interesting question because it has to do with how Kevin tries to overcome his physical flaws. Kevin always uses intelligence and imagination to override his birth defect. This is the reason why he is so “interested and connected” to the dictionary. Kevin keeps a tattered and worn dictionary in his backpack at all times in order to increase his vocabulary. In my opinion, before Kevin becomes friends with Max, the dictionary serves as a kind of “friend” to Kevin. Words and their meanings always keep Kevin company. At one point in the book, Kevin tries to show Max how to use the dictionary to increase vocabulary. This doesn’t work for Max, however, and the incident becomes a symbol of Max’s friendship being more important than anything, even more important than intelligence and vocabulary. Max is a better companion than a dictionary. Further, Kevin admits that even dinosaurs (who had tiny brains) ruled the earth for millions of years.

In Night by Elie Wiesel, what story did Moshe tell upon his return?

In Night by Elie Wiesel, Moshe the Beadle is taken along with other foreign Jews by the Nazis before the other residents are rounded up for the camps. Moshe manages to escape and makes his way back to Sighet, the town where Elie Wiesel lives with his family. Moshe feels that he has been saved in order to warn the others about the Nazis, but nobody believes him. He tells everyone who will listen that he and the others, who were taken along with him, were transported by train into Poland, where they were transferred into lorries and driven into the forest. 

"There they were made to dig huge graves. And when they had finished their work, the Gestapo began theirs. Without passion, without haste, they slaughtered their prisoners. Each one had to go up to the hole and present his neck" (Wiesel 4).

Moshe tells horror stories of how the babies were killed and how relatives were forced to watch their families killed before they were killed themselves. Somehow Moshe was able to escape when he was shot in the leg, and the murderers thought him dead. He went from house to house in Sighet to convince his neighbors to leave, but his stories were so unbelievable, they decided he must be crazy. 

What is the impact of women in society today?

Women have a tremendous impact on our society today. One major example of this can be seen in the race for the presidency. The leading candidate for the Democratic Party, and likely the nominee for that party, is Hillary Clinton. This would be the first time we will have a woman running for the presidency from a major political party.

Women are also involved in other parts of politics. Hillary Clinton was a United States Senator from New York. Dianne Feinstein is a U.S. Senator from California. Gwen Moore is in the House of Representatives. Nikki Haley is the Governor of South Carolina. There are many women who are also involved in other aspects of our state and our local governments.

Women are also very involved in the business world. Mary Barra is the CEO of General Motors. Indra Nooyi is the Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo. There are many other women who own small businesses and make valuable contributions to our economy.

Women have leading roles in sports, in the motion picture and entertainment industries, and in law. Danica Patrick is a famous racecar driver. Sandra Bullock is a famous actress. Celine Dion is a well-known singer. Gloria Alfred is a famous attorney. Women have made many important contributions in so many different areas.

Without the contributions of women, we wouldn’t be as advanced as a country as we are today. Women have made tremendous contributions to our country and to the world.

What unusual incident occurs at the local pub in Chapter 10 of Great Expectations?

Pip is sent by his sister to fetch Joe at the Three Jolly Bargemen, the local pub. There Pip finds Joe in the company of Mr. Wopsle and a stranger. When Joe greets Pip by his name, the stranger looks closely at him. Pip calls him a “secret-looking man,” though never having seen him before. The man wears a broad-brimmed hat, but underneath he wears a kerchief to hide that his hair has been shaved off (as was usually done to convicts). The stranger keeps looking carefully at Pip all the while the men are talking, frequently nodding at him. When Joe is not looking, the stranger rubs his leg in an odd way and nods at Pip. He asks questions about the local area, especially about the marshes. The stranger then takes out a file and stirs his drink with it. With horror, Pip recognizes it as the file he had stolen from Joe and had given to the convict, Abel Magwitch. He realizes that this person knew the convict somehow. As Pip leaves, the stranger gives him a shilling wrapped in crumpled paper. At home, Pip discovers that the paper is two one-pound notes. Mrs. Joe wants to return the money immediately, assuming it was a mistake. The stranger has disappeared, however, so the money haunts Pip in fear that the convict will return.

Sal drew a picture of a tree and hanged a person with curly hair with a rope around her neck. Who do you think the person was? What does this...

The curly-haired girl that Sal draws and hangs from a tree is Phoebe. Phoebe has been staying the weekend with Sal and her father, and she is being especially impossible. She criticizes everything. The mattress is lumpy. Sal has not emptied her closet so that Phoebe can hang up her things. She has a headache; it might be a brain tumor. Sal is not a very good host. Phoebe tells her that she should make sacrifices, like her mother always did. Sal points out that it must have been a great sacrifice when Phoebe’s mother took off. Sal is really frustrated with Phoebe. In her book is a picture of a tree. She draws a noose around a curly-haired girl, meaning it to be Phoebe. This is symbolic of the negative feelings she has about Phoebe, who is not learning to handle her problems well. This is something that Sal herself is struggling with. In the middle of the night, however, Sal hears Phoebe crying. Sal’s dad comes to check on her, but Phoebe insists that she is not crying. Sal feels bad for her, but remembers her own time of crying after her mother left and realizes that sometimes you just have to be alone with your “birds of sadness.”

In Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel, how does Baroka seduce Sidi?

Baroka spreads a lie that he is impotent and invites Sidi to come to supper even though she rejects his marriage offer. Once she is there, he tempts her vanity in such a way that she is awed and silenced. While Sidi is in this state, Baroka manages to seduce her.

Baroka, the Bale and village "ruler," is crafty and knows just how to appeal to Sidi's vanity, which is amplified now because of the glossy images of her face and body in the magazine Lakunle showed her earlier:

SIDI: Look, judge for yourself. [Opens the magazine and points out the pictures.]. . .
He's old. . . To think I took
No notice of my velvet skin. . . 
I am the twinkle of a jewel
But he is the hind-quarters of a lion!

Baroka confides in his first wife, Sadiku, that he is impotent, which is a lie, knowing that Sadiku will spread it as gossip to everyone, including Sidi. He knows this knowledge will disarm Sidi's fear of him, based as it is on stories of young girls being seduced by him.

Baroka sends Sadiku to Sidi with a marriage proposal. When Sidi refuses to marry Baroka, Baroka invites her to supper anyway. After first making her feel insecure by ignoring and humiliating her for a wrestling match, he tempts her vanity by showing her a stamp-making machine, which is used for producing paper-tax stamps. Baroka promises to make thousands of stamps with Sidi's face on them.

BAROKA: The one redeeming grace on any paper-tax [stamp]
Shall be your face.
And mine,
The soul behind it all, worshipful
Of nature for her gift of youth
And beauty.

In Sidi's awed silence at the thought of her face—the face she's seen in the magazine images—spread throughout the land on thousands of paper-tax stamps, Baroka presses home his advantage, and Sidi is unable to resist his advances.

First make a substitution and then use integration by parts to evaluate the integral

We need to make a substitution then use integration by parts.

Let us make the substitution:

so:

therefore

so our equation can be changed.

Now use integration by parts.

Let

We will call that equation 1.

Now we need to evaluate that second integral with integration by parts again.

Now let us plug this result for int e^t cos(t) dt back into equation 1.

add to both sides:

sub back in our original or

divide both sides by 2 and add the constant of integration. And were done!!!!

What are some conflicts in The Outsiders in chapters 1 to 4?

The main conflict is between the greasers and the Socs.

The main conflict is between the two rival gangs.  This conflict results in them constantly fighting each other.  It is a self-perpetuating thing.  The gangs fight because they come from different socioeconomic backgrounds, but they also fight to defend their members or to avenge grievances. 

Pony, Johnny, and Dally are at the movies when Dally behaves coarsely to a Soc girl, Cherry.  Despite this conflict, which of course is partly just Dally’s personality and partly due to the conflict between the greasers and Socs, Cherry comes to like Pony and Johnny.  She shows them that she is not against greasers, she just doesn’t like Dally because he is rude.

Pony also has trouble with his older brother Darry. There seems to be a perpetual conflict between the two of them.  Darry is the only father figure Pony has, because both of his parents died in a car crash.  This means Darry worries a lot, and Pony resents him.

It was my house as much as Darry's, and if he wanted to pretend I wasn't alive, that was just fine with me. He couldn't stop me from living in my own house. (Ch. 3)

Darry hits Pony because he does not know where he has been.  He obviously was worried.  However, the incident upsets Pony.  Pony and Darry are constantly fighting, and Pony feels like Darry does not understand him at all.

Things come to a boil when Johnny and Pony are attacked in the park.  A group of Socs finds them there and Johnny accidentally kills one of them in the fight.  Johnny and Pony have to go on the run then, and end up hiding out in an abandoned church.

What is the mood of the story about "The Ransom of Red Chief."

The mood of "The Ransom of Red Chief" is light, fun, and comical. That is really odd considering that the story is about the kidnapping and ransoming of young Johnny Dorset. That should be a serious, dark, and foreboding mood. The mood is as fun as it is because Bill and Sam are bumbling idiots. On top of that, Johnny Dorset is essentially the devil's child. Not only does he play Bill and Sam like a fiddle, he makes their lives miserable. One of the funniest turns in the entire story is when Ebenezer Dorset only agrees to take his son back from Bill and Sam if they pay Ebenezer.  

I think you are a little high in your demands, and I hereby make you a counter-proposition, which I am inclined to believe you will accept. You bring Johnny home and pay me two hundred and fifty dollars in cash, and I agree to take him off your hands.

Bill practically begs Sam to take the offer. I've always liked to think of "The Ransom of Red Chief" as the original Home Alone. Plot-wise, that movie shouldn't be funny, but its overall tone and mood is completely comical, which is what this O. Henry story is too.    

In The Cay by Theodore Taylor, how did Philip's return affect his family?

In The Cay by Theodore Taylor, young Philip is finally rescued when an American destroyer spots smoke from the island. The crew takes Philip to a naval station in Panama, and there he is reunited with his parents. Of course they are overjoyed to have their son back because they thought he had died at sea. Philip's mother keeps apologizing to him as she feels she is at fault. Philip is more man than boy at this point due to his experiences on the cay with Timothy. Though Philip tries to tell his parents about those experiences, he doesn't feel that they really understand what he went through. Philip sees that his mother has changed a lot and no longer wants to leave Curacao like she had at the beginning of the book. Not only has Philip's relationship with his parents changed, it has also changed with his friends back home. Henrik seems like a child to him now, and Philip prefers spending time with the black people on the bay and in the market because they remind him of Timothy, and many of them had been Timothy's friends. 

How can I critically analyze "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg?

In terms of literary style, "Howl," by Allen Ginsberg, can be placed within the Beat Movement. Beat poetry (as exemplified by writers such as Kerouac, Ginsberg, Corso, and Burroughs) often challenged the notion of the status quo; it regularly featured a refusal of gender and sexual norms, capitalism, and social expectations. Travel, drug use, artistic expression, and personal/spiritual enlightenment were common themes in Beat poetry and prose, and Ginsberg's work draws upon these as well. Within Howl, the speaker laments the destruction of "the best minds of [his] generation" and proposes that these minds have ultimately succumbed to madness. Importantly, this madness is one perpetuated by social and economic demands. For Ginsberg's speaker, madness (whether literal or figurative) is, at least in part, propelled by a destructive, machine-like, frequently violent society, one which often excludes artists, intellectuals, minorities, roamers, and the disadvantaged. Ginsberg addresses the most negative aspects of the human experience through the figure of Moloch, a powerful presence within the poem who stifles creative or spiritual development while promoting the tendency toward war and who exists symbolically in faceless representations of capitalism and impersonal, oppressive public structures. The final portion of Howl addresses Ginsberg's friend, Carl Solomon, and his experiences at Rockland, a psychiatric institute. One way of interpreting this section of the poem is seeing it as an expression of solidarity--an attempt to share experiences. The references made within Howl are extensive, and it is certainly worth looking into the meaning behind each line.

In Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, please explain Shylock's rhetoric as he uses metaphor and repetition.

Whenever an author, or character, uses literary devices such as metaphors and repetitive language, it is done in an effort to create a mental image in the mind of the audience (or other character) for the sake of deeper understanding, and/or to drive home a point, message, or theme. Shylock does this masterfully because he wants the Christians to know and understand how they continue to make him and his fellow Jews suffer. For example, before Shylock loans three-thousand ducats to Antonio, he reminds him how he has treated him in public in the past. During Shylock's discourse, he repeats the words you, money, dog, and cur because he doesn't want Antonio to forget the connection he is now making between hurting Shylock and needing to borrow money from him.

"You come to me, and you say

'Shylock, we would have moneys'--you say so,

You, that did void your rheum upon my beard,

And foot me as you spurn a stranger cur

Over your threshold. Moneys is your suit.

What should I say to you? Should I not say

'Hath a dog money? is it possible

A cur can lend three thousand ducats?'" (I.iii.111-118).

Basically, Shylock is telling Antonio that it is ironic that he needs money from someone he has spit upon and called a dog and a cur. He wants Antonio to recognized the irony and wallow in it for all the suffering he has caused Shylock in the past. Shylock uses the metaphor of him being compared to a dog because not only is that what Antonio has called him before, but now the high and mighty Antonio is seeking help from said dog. Shylock, again, then uses the repetition of the above-mentioned words in order to drive home the point of this ironic business transaction.

Why are tampons and other feminine products taxed as a luxury item in many American states? Should they continue to be?

One reason that tampons and other "feminine hygiene" products are subject to sales taxes in many states is that most laws have historically reflected the overwhelming political influence of males. This is not intended as a feminist indictment of men; it is, however, acknowledgement that the issue of the so-called "tampon tax" has only taken on greater urgency as women have more vigorously asserted themselves in political processes. Exemptions from state sales taxes usually reflect interpretations of what constitutes "necessities" as opposed to "luxuries." Tampons, douches, wipes and other such items are categorized as "personal hygiene" and are treated the same as antiperspirant, mouthwash, soap, toothpaste, haircare products, etc. While one can, and should, argue that toothpaste and certain other personal hygiene items are, in fact, medical necessities, as the failure to use such items does lead to health problems, but this is the fact of the situation. Certainly, deodorant and other items are not "necessities," in that their use is not vital to survival, but tampons in particular are a necessity given the natural, inevitable and often-inconvenient fact of life that is menstruation. Concern about the inevitability of menstruation, however, has historically been unique to the only gender that must endure this monthly condition. Because women were marginalized politically for so many decades, and continue to be underrepresented relative to their proportion of the nation's population, it has taken this long for the issue of the "tampon tax" to be addressed.

Tampons should not be subject to the luxury tax. They are a necessity. It's been a while since the 1989 decision by the Supreme Court for the State of Illinois in Geary v. Dominick's Finer Foods, in which that state's highest court arrived at the following conclusion with regard to the need for tampons by those who use them:

"Clearly tampons and sanitary napkins are necessities of life for a vast number of post-pubescent women. These products are virtually the only ones available to and used by women during menstruation. No reasonable alternative product exists."

This 1989 decision represented an important legal victory for women, but the fact that women continue to have to agitate politically over an issue of such sensitivity illuminates the distance yet to go.

What is combustion ? Please explain for kids.

Combustion is the reaction of a substance with oxygen, usually producing heat and light. Another word for combustion is burning. Where there's a fire, something is combusting. The ingredients of a chemical reaction are called reactants. The reactants that are needed for combustion are fuel and oxygen. Combustion produces one or more products which have oxygen combined with another element, like carbon dioxide which has the chemical formula .

Most substances that burn contain the chemical elements carbon and hydrogen. Coal is pure carbon. Wood, paper, natural gas, gasoline, kerosene and candle wax all contain carbon and hydrogen. When a hydrocarbon burns it produces carbon dioxide and water and gives off energy (heat and light). Here's the chemical equation for the combustion of methane, which is a natural gas that's used for cooking and warming houses:

In a chemical equation the reactants are on the left and the products are on the right. The arrow means "yields" or "produces", and also represents an equal sign because there are the same number of atoms on each side. The chemical formula of each substance shows the number of each atom in a molecule, for example methane has one carbon and four hydrogens.  

An example of combustion that doens't involve carbon is magnesium burning. Magnesium is a metal that produces the bright white sparkles in fireworks. It combines with oxygen to produce magnesium oxide, which is a white powdery substance. 

What is the argument between Miss Caroline and Scout about?

Miss Caroline is Scout's teacher in Harper Lee's classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird. In Chapter Two, Scout, the book's protagonist, attends school for the first time. Scout is so bright that she has already picked up reading naturally by looking through her father's papers. As Scout explains in the book, "I never deliberately learned to read, but somehow I had been wallowing illicitly in the daily papers." This remark is funny because it implies that Scout is doing something wrong by looking at the papers. Miss Caroline assumes that Scout's father, Atticus, has instructed her to read, and she tells Scout that she must stop reading until she is older. Scout, who is a natural reader, takes an immediate dislike to her teacher when she hears this remark.

Miss Caroline, who is new to the town of Maycomb, also assumes that Walter Cunningham, one of Scout's fellow students, has forgotten his lunch when she hears that he has no money or food for lunch. However, as everyone, including Scout knows, Walter's family is too poor to afford lunch. Miss Caroline innocently offers to lend Walter money, committing a tactless mistake because Walter can never pay her back. Scout tries to explain the situation to her teacher, but Miss Caroline punishes her.

Scout's entry into the world beyond her house is troubled. Her failure to understand the ways of people around her will continue, in part because she has grown up in a fair house and the world around her is not as fair or open-minded. Later in the novel, Atticus tells Scout that he will continue to teach her to read but that she must not tell her teacher about it. Atticus's forms of educating his children are far more progressive and fair than those practiced in the Maycomb school.

What do yams represent in Things Fall Apart?

In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, yams are by far the most important crop to the traditional Igbo farmers within Umuofia. They are a sign of a man’s wealth, and a family with yams is a family that can prosper in the region. More than that, however, yams represent manliness:

“Yam stood for manliness, and he who could feed his family on yams from one harvest to another was a very great man indeed” (33).

A man who can grow yams successfully proves his virility. Yams are very labor intensive, and are crucial crops to the traditional Igbo culture. In one key scene that demonstrates how highly Okonkwo values yams and their signification of masculine qualities, Okonkwo threatens Nwoye and Ikemefuna with physical violence based on their treatment of yams:

“Sometimes Okonkwo gave them a few yams each to prepare. But he always found fault with their effort, and he said so with much threatening. 'Do you think you are cutting up yams for cooking?' he asked Nwoye. 'If you split another yam of this size, I shall break your jaw. You think you are still a child. I began to own a farm at your age” (32-33).

Thus, yams hold a valuable position in the Igbo culture because of its association with manliness and virility.  

In "Hills Like White Elephants" why is the man called "the American"?

In Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants, the main character remains nameless and is only referred to as The American. There are a few reasons why Hemingway may have chosen to keep this character nameless.

First off, calling this character The American may be to generalize about Americans in general. He doesn't come off as very caring, considering the serious conversation they are having about "Jig's" pregnancy. Hemingway was an ex-patriot, which means he spoke out against many of the ideals of Americans even though he was one. This is a story about an uncaring American, and by keeping him nameless, it speaks out against all Americans.

It also accentuates the fact that he is the foreigner in the story. While we don't know where Jig is from, she seems to be from another country. Sure, they are in Spain and she clearly doesn't speak Spanish, but the fact that he is called The American suggests that she is not from the United States.

This is also a snippet of the life of this well-traveled couple. Hemingway rarely used names in his short stories anyway, because names create a familiarity, and the lack of names makes them seem like they could be anyone.

Calling him The American basically calls out all Americans on their selfishness, manipulative ways and other negative characteristics Hemingway saw in them.

In "The Bet," what did the lawyer think about the bet after fifteen years?

After just under fifteen years of solitary confinement, the lawyer in Anton Chekhov's "The Bet" is set to be released and collect two million from the banker the next day. The banker has experienced a lot of financial difficulties since agreeing to this bet with the lawyer, and is very concerned that he will have no money left when they lawyer is free and claims the two million the banker agreed to pay him. This causes the banker to contemplate killing the lawyer. When he goes to the lawyer's window to see how the lawyer is doing, the banker sees that the lawyer, who is only forty, looks "half dead." The lawyer is asleep at his table, so the banker enters his room and looks at the piece of paper that is in front of him. In it, he finds the lawyer plans to end his confinement a few hours before the agreed-upon time and does not want the banker's money. His reasoning is as follows:

And I despise your books, I despise wisdom and the blessings of this world. It is all worthless, fleeting, illusory, and deceptive, like a mirage. You may be proud, wise, and fine, but death will wipe you off the face of the earth as though you were no more than mice burrowing under the floor, and your posterity, your history, your immortal geniuses will burn or freeze together with the earthly globe.

You have lost your reason and taken the wrong path. You have taken lies for truth, and hideousness for beauty. You would marvel if, owing to strange events of some sorts, frogs and lizards suddenly grew on apple and orange trees instead of fruit, or if roses began to smell like a sweating horse; so I marvel at you who exchange heaven for earth. I don't want to understand you.

The lawyer rejects the banker's money because he wants to prove how much he despises the earthly priorities of people like the banker. He leaves the banker's property only hours before the bet would end, and the banker weeps, feels contempt for himself, and then locks away the lawyer's letter "to avoid unnecessary talk."

Where in Gary D. Schmidt's book Trouble does Henry's father say to stay away from trouble?

Gary D. Schmidt's novel Trouble opens with the narrator reflecting on Henry's father frequently reminding his family to stay away from trouble. However, the only time the reader witnesses Mr. Smith saying these words aloud is in the first chapter, during a flashback of a time when Henry had been climbing the black boulders in Salvage Cove when he fell "ten or twelve feet" (p. 5). The narrator continues to relay that, had Henry fallen either a little to the left or right, he would have landed on "stone wedges" or "sharper mussel beds" and would have been seriously injured (p. 5). However, instead, Henry landed in the water. Afterwards, Franklin said he needed to teach Henry how to climb and suggested they climb Katahdin, even climb "through the Gateway and up to the Knife Edge" (p. 6). Mr. Smith's response to Henry's fall and the proposal of climbing a dangerous mountain is to say, "If you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you" (p. 6).

At other moments throughout the book, Henry reflects on his father's words about staying away from trouble but only to think about how completely wrong his father had been. For example, in Chapter 20, Henry learns more about the history of the burned ship's remains in Salvage Cove. Specifically, Henry learns that the ship had been captained by Thomas Smith, founder of the Smith family fortune and builder the house Henry and his family live in. Captain Smith had sailed the ship during King Philip's War against the Native Americans then had used it to transport and sell enslaved Native Americans in Morocco, which shows us that trouble has always existed within the Smith family household; no one can really build a house "far enough away from Trouble."

What might happen to the people who are released in The Giver?

We come to find out that to be released means to die, so anyone being released is really dying. The community does not use the term "death," however, nor do they talk about dying, even if someone is very sick or very old. 

It takes a while for us to realize this, though. We begin to get an idea that release means death when Jonas is volunteering at the House of the Old and the old woman he is bathing is talking about a release celebration for another one of the elderly people in the nursing home. Although it sounds a bit more like a retirement party than anything else, we get the impression when Roberto is taken through the door to the release room that he is going to meet his death, even though when Jonas asks what happens during the release, the old woman says only the Elders know.

Later, Jonas actually watches a video of a release and sees exactly what it means.

As for what happens to those who are released, if we are being literal about what happens to their bodies, we do not know. The only release we see from beginning to end is for the newborn twin and his body is discarded in what appears to be a trash chute. The other references to release in the novel do not mention where the bodies go following the release.

What did Tom Robinson think before his trial in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird?

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, well before his trial, well before even his arrest, Tom Robinson thought of himself as a God-worshiping and upright citizen.

We know that Robinson thought of himself as a morally upright person based on Calpurnia's descriptions of him. According to Calpurnia, Robinson is a member of Calpurnia's church, and she describes Robinson and his family as clean, decent, church-going folks. We learn during the trial that, unfortunately, Robinson had been imprisoned once before for "disorderly conduct" (Ch. 19). However we also learn from Robinson's testimony that the man Robinson had gotten into a fight with had started the fight by drawing a knife on Robinson; plus, Robinson describes that the other man had severely beaten him. Hence, the reader knows that Robinson was treated unjustly during even his last trial, and, in actuality, Robinson is an upright citizen.

Immediately before his arrest for the alleged rape of Mayella Ewell, Robinson had fled the Ewell property because, as he phrases it, he was "scared" because he knew it was dangerous for "any nigger to be in--a fix like that" (Ch. 19). Hence, we know that another thing Robinson thought before his arrest and trial was about just how frightened he was.

After losing the trial, Atticus has a great deal of hope that Robinson may be acquitted by the higher court or even retried by the higher court. However, evidently, Robinson still felt too scared to share in Atticus's optimism. The continuation of Robinson's fear is evidenced in the fact that he tried to escape prison and was shot and killed in the process.

What were three major reasons people in Jamestown died?

In May of 1607, just over one hundred colonists made landfall in Virginia with the hopes of establishing a prosperous colony. They could not possibly foresee the doom and death that was to befall them in the next couple of years. Almost immediately after setting foot on dry land, they were besieged by attacks from the native Algonquian tribes. Indian attacks took a brutal toll on the colonists despite efforts to maintain peace with the tribes.

A majority of colonists that perished did so in the first couple of winters due to famine. They brutally starved to death because of the worst drought to hit the continent in over eight centuries. Half of the colonists perished during the first winter. Reinforcements arrived in the spring, but that only meant greater death counts the following winter. The second winter, which has been called "The Starving Time", took an even greater toll as only 12% of the population of 500 survived the famine.

Disease, which was closely associated with famine, also claimed the lives of many colonists at Jamestown. Scores of Jamestown's settlers suffered from diseases associated with malnutrition and contamination. These diseases included dysentery, typhoid and scurvy. Hunger causes a breakdown of the immune system, which prevents the body from attacking pathogens that may do harm. It is also quite conceivable that poor management of the water systems led to colonists drinking from contaminated water sources.

Disease, famine, and attacks from the native populations were all real threats to the survival of the Jamestown colony.

What does "economy" mean?

There are two main definitions of the word "economy." The primary definition is: a network of producers, distributors, and consumers of goods and services. The second definition is: careful management of available resources. Let's take a look at these in more detail.

The first definition is what we mean by "the economy." When we talk about "the economy," we are referring to a geographic area with physical boundaries: a nation (the American economy), or a region (the European economy). We can even talk about entire planet as a unit (e.g., the global economy). The economy includes the entire set of interrelated networks and relationships that facilitate the exchange of goods and services. It includes all producers and consumers, as well as all persons or organizations that facilitate transfer of goods from producer to consumer. Everyone is part of the economy; we all produce, distribute, and consume things on a daily basis.

In a more general sense, "the economy" can also mean the total wealth of a particular region. Thus, we can ask the phrase "What is the U.S. economy worth (in dollars)?" GDP (gross domestic product) is a quantitative measure of an economy's monetary worth. Such measures, while widely used and accepted, are subject to criticism. There is significant debate in both politics and economics as to how these numbers should be used.

The second meaning of the word "economy" is: careful management of available resources. It implies the skillful use of resources toward maximum effect. A person who budgets well with little money has frugal economy. A poet who uses sparse language vibrantly has great economy of language. This use of the word "economy" signifies working with limits or constraints by being creative, resourceful, or wise. 

Can we create a society in which everyone can live long healthy lives? Why or why not?

There are powerful arguments to be made on both sides of this issue. However, there are so many unknowns about the future of society, humankind, and even our planet itself that it’s difficult to answer with any real sense of certainty. Whether or not you believe such a utopia is possible may depend on your sense of optimism or pessimism.

In making your argument, here are some possible topics on both sides of the issue you may wish to explore—

Reasons why society may not be able to provide everyone with healthy long lives:

1. Overpopulation may make providing quality food and healthcare to everyone a logistic impossibility. See the work of Thomas Malthus and his dire predictions in the 19th century, which, thankfully, have not come to pass (so far!).


2. Climate change and environmental degradation will so thoroughly wreak havoc on our planets that healthy, long lives will become impossible.


3. Rising global income and wealth inequality may not be compatible with universal healthy, long lives.

Reasons why society will succeed in providing healthy, long lives:

1. Advances in medicine and technology have significantly improved lifespans in industrialized countries. Perhaps these advances can be generalized to all countries and to the poor.


2. Democratic socialism, a philosophy popular in Scandinavian countries, has been successful in providing its population with excellent health care. This political philosophy might be able to be applied outside of the small and ethnically homogenous populations of Scandinavia.

At the root of this question are essential issues about wealth distribution and poverty, both within countries, and globally. Good luck and keep learning!

What are some ideas for writing a response to the story Unwind?

I think that you could pick any two characters in the novel and structure your response like this: "I find the relationship between...and...interesting/confusing...because...." It's not important which two characters that you pick.  What is important is your explanation of why you think that the relationship is interesting or confusing.  

For me, Lev has always been the most confusing character in the novel.  Even in the following short story that Shusterman wrote to explain what happened to Lev after leaving CyFi, I was still confused by is his character.  I guess I just never bought into Lev being such a blindly willing tithe in the beginning.  Lev's relationship with just about everybody seems odd to me, but I will pick CyFi as the main relationship.  

I find that relationship interesting and odd at the same time, because very shortly before Lev wanted nothing more than to get away from Connor and Risa and return to his family so that he could go back to being a tithe.  But then he meets CyFi, and Lev is incredibly willing to follow this kid across the country.  Granted, Lev has come to regret his betrayal of Connor and Risa; however, CyFi is so unlike anything that Lev knows and understands that I find it odd that he would gravitate so strongly toward CyFi.  People say that opposites attract, but I just don't see that too often in reality, which is why Lev's strong devotion to CyFi never seemed genuine to me.  

Can a singularity created by a particle accelerator truly become large enough to the point where it becomes a threat?

No.  A particle accelerator is a device used to accelerate particles, subatomic in nature, in a rapidly advancing state of acceleration, then crashing them into each other in an attempt to create high levels of energy.  There are two types of accelerators, a linear accelerator and a circular accelerator.  Linear accelerators use a straight line path, while a circular accelerator uses a circular path to achieve acceleration.  It is important the pathway be conducted in a vacuum, so as to avoid interactions with gas particles and dust.  Particles are accelerated using specific  frequencies to achieve the required acceleration rate, then collided with either a fixed target, such as a metal foil, or with each other.

Singularities are an interruption in the general structure, as we understand it, of space and time.  They are a concept in the physical fabric of space and time that represent an ending point, a finite quantity.  Black holes are a phenomenon that are a close representation to singularities.  The gravitational attraction of a black hole is so intense, not even light can escape.  If a black hole was manufactured by a particle accelerator, it would be a small black hole, there wouldn't be enough mass to sustain it.  The rate of accretion it would need to sustain itself would not exist within the parameter of its relation to the earth, and it would rapidly evaporate.  So no, the creation of a singularity by a particle accelerator would not be large enough to be regarded as a threat to the earth.

Why is July 4, 1776 significant in American history?

July 4, 1776, is a significant date in American history. On that day, the United States formally declared its independence from Great Britain. We announced to the world that we were now an independent country. By doing this, it meant we would fight against Great Britain to see if we would truly receive our independence. We had to win the Revolutionary War in order to get our independence from Great Britain.

Conditions in the colonies had been rapidly deteriorating. After the Boston Tea Party, the British passed the Intolerable Acts. The colonists refused to obey these laws, and they formed their own militias. In April 1775, the Battles of Lexington and Concord were fought. Both sides suffered casualties. The King of England rejected the Olive Branch Petition, which asked for a peaceful resolution to the crisis by having the British remove the unpopular laws. The Second Continental Congress began to debate resolutions for independence in June 1776. Thomas Jefferson was asked to write a draft of a document that would declare our independence from Great Britain.

After some revision, the draft was approved, and the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. This is why we celebrate July 4th as our Independence Day, and that day is a national holiday.

Who is Mr. Pitt in The Scarlet Pimpernel?

Mr. Pitt is only referred to in the novel The Scarlet Pimpernel. He is not a character that is physically present in the story. "Mr. Pitt" in the novel is a reference to William Pitt "The Younger," who was the Prime Minister of Britain during the French Revolution. He was Britain's youngest Prime Minister. At first he was sympathetic to the cause of the French Revolution. Later, he changed his stance on the Revolution. After the King of France, Louis XVI, was executed by the guillotine at the hands of the revolutionaries, Pitt "expelled the French ambassador" from England. He became a great defender of the established ways of society, which contrasted greatly with the changes in France. Pitt did not want upheaval in his own country.

How does Shakespeare treat death in Romeo and Juliet?

In the most general sense, death is treated very liberally in Romeo and Juliet. Many characters die in the play, including Mercutio, Tybalt, Romeo and Juliet. The characters come from both families, including the extended families of the Capulets and Montagues. As a literary device, death works in many ways in Romeo and Juliet. By the end of the play, death brings about a reunification between the two families. However, the initial death of Mercutio is a catalyst that fuels the fights that cause the subsequemt deaths in the play. Death is a test that presents the characters with options, as if asking them, "Will you fight or will you make amends?" In each instance, until Romeo and Juliet's deaths, the characters choose to escalate the conflict between the families. In a way, death is a plot device that questions the feud, asking the family if the fight is worth the outcomes. Ultimately, death does not unite the families. It is not until the love of Romeo and Juliet is discovered that the families choose a new tactic.

From the story - A Retrieved Reformation by O. Henry: Do you think Jimmy returned to his life of crime? If so, do you think he will get caught?...

It does not seem likely that Jimmy Valentine returned to a life of crime. He had too many reasons for wanting to reform and stay reformed.

• He had a narrow escape when Ben Price decided not to arrest him. Price wanted him for three safecracking jobs in Indiana. Jimmy had been sentenced to four years in prison just for one such job, so he could have gotten as much as twelve years in prison for three. This experience should have taught Jimmy how much he values freedom and the good life on the outside.


• Jimmy could still have married Annabel Adams even though she had found out that he was a professional safecracker. If Ben Price could forgive him, then Annabel and her father could too. There would be a lot of explaining to do, but she loves Jimmy and would trust him to reform, especially in view of the heroic sacrifice he had made when he freed the little girl trapped in the bank vault.  


• Jimmy was giving up his set of safecracking tools.


• Jimmy was making a good living in the shoe business in Elmore.


• Jimmy was deeply in love with Annabel. They would be married and have children. He would become a family man and a pillar of society.


• Jimmy was beginning to realize that his life of crime was getting harder and harder to maintain. He thought he would get pardoned after serving only four months of his sentence, but he actually served ten months. His friend Mike Dolan tells him: "Sorry we couldn't make it sooner, Jimmy, me boy,” said Mike. “But we had that protest from Springfield to buck against, and the governor nearly balked. Feeling all right?” This is significant. It shows that Jimmy will find it easier and easier to get arrested and harder and harder to get pardoned or paroled. He is building a big reputation as the best safecracker in the business, but this is becoming a serious handicap. Ben Price recognizes his handiwork and has no trouble tracking him to Elmore. Everybody knows about Jimmy and talks about Jimmy, in spite of the fact that he tries to keep a low profile.


• Jimmy knows his reformation is a last chance for him to change his ways. His reformation was like a miracle. He fell in love at first sight. He started a successful shoe business. He established a whole new identity. Everything worked out perfectly for him in Elmore. Such miracles do not occur often. Jimmy was on a slippery slope and didn't realize it until it was almost too late. O. Henry's story is intended to show that it isn't easy for a criminal to reform. Jimmy is still a young man. He can still change his attitude, and that is the most important part of reformation. 

If Jimmy returned to a life of crime he would be sure to get caught. O. Henry makes that clear in various ways. Jimmy is the first person every cop would suspect for every safecracking job in the Midwest. His success has depended on his remaining anonymous. He flees to Elmore, Arkansas, because he is trying to establish a "front" and a new identity. But Ben Price finds him there. Jimmy couldn't remain married to Annabel and resume a life of crime. She wouldn't tolerate it. He would have little to gain from burglarizing banks and a lot to lose. The best evidence of Jimmy's real reformation is contained in the letter he sends to an old pal to whom he plans to give his custom-made safecracking tools.

Say, Billy, I've quit the old business—a year ago. I've got a nice store. I'm making an honest living, and I'm going to marry the finest girl on earth two weeks from now. It's the only life, Billy—the straight one. I wouldn't touch a dollar of another man's money now for a million. After I get married I'm going to sell out and go West, where there won't be so much danger of having old scores brought up against me. I tell you, Billy, she's an angel. She believes in me; and I wouldn't do another crooked thing for the whole world. 

Why did the Japanese choose the date and time for the attack on Pearl Harbor?

The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, a Sunday, for several reasons. First, the Japanese had been expanding their empire for several years, including into China in 1937. They had signed a pact with the other Axis powers (Germany under Hitler and Italy under Mussolini), and they had taken over French Indochina in 1941. In reaction, the United States froze Japanese assets and embargoed petroleum and other products going to Japan. Hence, the Japanese wanted to retaliate against the United States. Second, the Japanese wanted the U.S. out of its way as it pursued further expansion in the Pacific.

The Japanese chose December 7 for the Pearl Harbor attack partly because it was a Sunday--a day when many of the troops would be resting or attending religious services. The first dive bomber arrived at Pearl Harbor just before 8 am, and the battleships in the harbor were open targets because the American planes were grounded at that time. A private in the U.S. Army had noticed the Japanese aircraft on his radar system, but he was told that the planes were American, as the Americans were expecting the arrival of planes. The early morning raid was also conducted on a clear day, so the weather helped the Japanese in their aims. In the attack, more than 2,300 Americans were killed, and the Pacific fleet took a large hit, as several battleships were sunk and 180 aircraft were destroyed. On December 8, 1941, the U.S. declared war on Japan, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt called the attack "a day which will live in infamy."

What does the speaker in Sonnet 73 compare himself to? What do each of these comparisons have in common?

The speaker in sonnet 73 compares himself to yellowed leaves, ruined church buildings, twilight, sunset and a last glowing ember lying in the ashes of a fire that is almost burned out. All of these reflect aging, an end. For example, the line "When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang/ Upon those boughs" which "shake in the cold" indicates that the warm days of youth, symbolized by spring and summer, are ending, and winter, meaning old age, is coming soon. "Bare ruined choirs" are the ruins of an old church that once was young and vibrant, while "twilight" and "sunset" are classic images of old age. When the speaker mentions "the ashes of his youth," he conjures an image of his young days being burnt out and dead, for ashes are a symbol of death. He is mourning lost youth, using melancholy and bittersweet images of aging. 

In "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge," why does Farquhar want to destroy the Owl Creek Bridge?

Peyton Farquhar, we learn at the beginning of Section II, was a "well-to-do planter, of an old and highly respected Alabama family."  He was a slave owner and a secessionist, "ardently devoted to the Southern cause."  In other words, he was very much in favor of the Confederacy seceding from the Union (the southern states forming their own country, distinct from the northern ones).  This story, then, we now know is set during the era of the American Civil War, deep into the war when the army from the north was making great headway in the southern states.

Farquhar, unable to join the war as a soldier, feels compelled to aid the Confederate effort as much as he possibly can.  "No service was too humble for him to perform in aid of the South, no adventure too perilous for him to undertake if consistent with the character of a civilian who was at heart a soldier" who believed that "all is fair in love and war."  When he learns that the Yanks have repaired the railroads, having reached Owl Creek Bridge, he ascertains that disrupting the railroad would be seriously detrimental to the Union war effort.  A man dressed as a Confederate soldier tells him that there's a great deal of driftwood pressed right up against the bridge from a recent storm, and, if set alight, it "would burn like tow."  Farquhar, in his desire to aid the Southern war effort as much as possible, makes the attempt to burn the bridge down.  (However, that soldier was actually a Federal scout, so the Union army was prepared for such an attack, caught Farquhar, and hanged him.)