How do Rappaccini and Baglioni use Beatrice and Giovanni for their own needs in "Rappaccini's Daughter"?

When Giovanni first speaks with his father's old friend, Professor Baglioni, the professor tells him that Dr. Rappaccini cares a great deal more about science than he does about people and that he only sees individuals as potential subjects of his experiments.  However, the narrator implies that Baglioni has an axe to grind because Rappaccini and Baglioni are at odds professionally and that Rappaccini "was generally thought to have gained the advantage" in their disagreements. Therefore, it should not be terribly surprising when Baglioni continues to try to arouse Giovanni's suspicions of Rappaccini and his daughter's motives.  In the end, he gives Giovanni an antidote that should reverse Beatrice's poisonous nature, and, when it kills her, he calls out triumphantly to rub the death of this experiment in his rival's face.  Thus, it appears that he has manipulated Giovanni so that he could use the youth to ruin Rappaccini's most precious experiment: his daughter.

However, Rappaccini has also manipulated Beatrice and Giovanni in order to see if he could convert and procure a husband for his poisonous daughter.  He seems to have purposely cultivated her poison from her birth for the sake of science, and now he wishes to take the experiment to the next level.  He wants to see if he can transform a healthy youth into a poisonous one to be a mate for her daughter in this corrupted Eden.  He doesn't ask his daughter what she wants, and he certainly doesn't consult Giovanni before his conversion.  Beatrice ends up so miserable that she actually embraces death because "the evil" that her father has "striven to mingle with [her] being, will pass away like a dream."  It doesn't seem to be her happiness that her father has sought but rather a continuation of his experiments.

When did Jonas first lie to his parents in The Giver?

Jonas lies to his parents in the end of Chapter 16, after they ask him if he understands that love is a vague concept.

No one in the community is allowed to lie, as far as Jonas knows.  Precision of language is very important.

He had been trained since earliest childhood, since his earliest learning of language, never to lie. It was an integral part of the learning of precise speech. (Ch. 9)

The community values Sameness, and the entire goal of his civilization seems to be avoiding discomfort.  They want to ensure that everyone is toeing the line.  That means that children are indoctrinated from a young age to the community’s procedures and expectations.

When Jonas is selected for the prestigious assignment of Receiver of Memory, one of his instructions is that he can lie.  This confuses and horrifies him.  It never occurred to him that anyone in his community might lie.  He wonders if anyone else has the same instruction, and begins to doubt from that point on if anyone in his community is telling the truth.

This is a pivotal moment in Jonas’s character development.  It is the first time when he begins to wonder about his community.  Jonas will soon learn that his entire community is a lie, in a way.  It professes to be perfect and orderly, with content citizens and no negatives.  Jonas soon learns that the community has carefully constructed this illusion by keeping its citizens almost completely cut off from the human experience.

No one in the community feels any emotion at all.  They are carefully trained from birth to avoid attachment.  Jonas learns through the memories that attachment is part of being human. He realizes that his people do not experience humanity because they are cut off from love and joy as well as suffering.

When Jonas experiences the concept of love, he has already seen many memories of things that the community has stamped out.  The concept of family bothers him the most though.  He enjoys the connectedness that he feels in the memory, and he realizes that it is important.  In an effort to see if any of that connectedness is there, Jonas asks his parents if they love him.  He knows that he is not likely to get expressions of love back, but is totally unprepared for confusion and amusement.

His parents both explain to him that “love” is an imprecise word that has come to be meaningless.

Jonas stared at them. Meaningless? He had never before felt anything as meaningful as the memory.

"And of course our community can't function smoothly if people don't use precise language. You could ask, 'Do you enjoy me?' The answer is 'Yes,' " his mother said. (Ch. 16, p. 160)

When Jonas’s parents ask him if he understands, he lies and says he does.  He lies because he knows that they are the ones who do not understand.  Since no one in the community can experience real affection, or attachment, there is no way that they can understand love.  His entire community has been carefully constructed to avoid it.

While different versions of the book will have different page numbers, you should easily be able to find this incident because it is near the end of Chapter 16.  In my edition of the book, it can be found on page 160.

What kind of objects may Scout have or represent her in Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird? Please explain each.

A character's personal objects and treasures say a lot about his or her personality. For Scout, some of those objects include her overalls, her air rifle, and the objects she receives from Boo Radley. First, the overalls are a symbol of Scout's tomboy/childhood self. She is free to romp and play with the boys in pants where she would be less free in a dress. It is always a source of discomfort for Aunt Alexandra, though.

"Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn't supposed to be doing things that required pants" (81).

Second, her air rifle that she receives at Christmas also symbolizes her personality as a tomboy; but also, Scout is like a gun because she can attack verbally, physically, and just as violently and quickly as one. She attacks Walter Cunningham, Jr., Cecil Jacobs, Francis and Jem just like a quick trigger when she wants to defend herself or her father. The best one is when she pops Francis as follows:

"This time, I split my knuckle to the bone on his front teeth. My left impaired, I sailed in with my right, but not for long. Uncle Jack pinned my arms to my sides and said, "Stand still!" (84).

The other objects are the ones she receives from Boo Radley. She keeps these objects to remind her of him, but they are also great to symbolize who Scout is:

"He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives" (278).

Boo Radley also gave her a blanket to keep warm on a winter night while Miss Maudie's house burned down. But the two soap dolls and the pennies represent her running around with Jem, just the two of them; and the broken watch and chain could symbolize how time seemed to stop for Boo and for Scout. Memories seem to exist in our minds forever, and are never erased by time. Scout also talks about time as she reflects back on her childhood in the following passage:

"People moved slowly then. They ambled across the square, shuffled in and out of the stores around it, took their time about everything. A day was twenty-four hours long but it seemed longer" (5).

Thus, as the watch is broken, then it is as if her childhood time has stopped; but the memories of her childhood are suspended in time through her older self and the book.

How did geography play a role in the development of early societies in Ancient India?

Geography played a critical role in the early history of India, as it did in most locations around the world. Some key geographical factors played a role in the development of civilization and cities. First, the availability of rivers allowed farming settlements to grow into large urban areas. The Saraswati, Indus and Ganges Rivers were important water sources for irrigation.  The flooding of the rivers left behind fertile soil for cultivation. Rivers were also used for transportation which allowed trade.  The seasonal monsoons also brought plenty of water for the fields.

Another advantage of the geography for early Indian settlements is that it isolated India from potential invaders. Mountains and deserts formed a natural geographical advantage and separated the people of India from other areas including the Middle East and China. These barriers assured the city-states that they were safe and allowed civilization to develop without excessive military expenditures for defense. The city-states used these resources instead to develop water systems and paved streets.

How did Andrew Jackson solve the nullification crisis?

The nullification crisis that arose during Andrew Jackson’s presidency was a serious challenge that he had to face. The people of South Carolina was very unhappy with the high protective tariff of 1828 because they believed it hurt the South while benefitting the North. John C. Calhoun believed a state should be able to reject a law if it hurts a state or region while helping another state or region. This would violate the Constitution because the Constitution states that federal laws are supreme.

President Jackson had a clear stance on this issue. He said that states couldn’t nullify federal laws. He indicated that the tariff would be enforced throughout the country. When South Carolina threatened to secede over this issue, Jackson indicated there would be a military response by the federal government. President Jackson was not going to just allow South Carolina to secede. Fortunately, a compromise was reached that allowed for a gradual lowering of the tariff over a ten-year period. South Carolina stayed in the Union and the issue was resolved, at least in the short-term.

What do you think of Odysseus's plan for escaping Polyphemus?

I think Odysseus's plan to escape Polyphemus is pretty ingenious.  He first considers killing the Cyclops by stabbing him in the liver while he sleeps, but then Odysseus correctly realizes that they need Polyphemus to roll the stone away from the door because it is too big for his crew to move.  If he kills the monster, there will be no one to let them out of the cave and they will all perish.  Despite the danger they're in, Odysseus still exercises rationality and forethought and cunning.

Therefore, when Odysseus comes up with the idea to blind Polyphemus so that he can still roll away the stone door, it is quite shrewd and intelligent.  He gets the monster really drunk, he and his men plunge an olive stake into his one eye, and then they ride out of the cave tied underneath the sheep so that Polyphemus will not be able to feel them.  Further, Odysseus had told Polyphemus that his name was "No man," so that when other Cyclopes came to check on him, he would have to tell them that No man had hurt him.  Hearing this, they left him alone. 

Finally, the plan succeeds, and all but the six men Polyphemus ate escape the cave, so it must have been pretty sound!

What is the evidence that Lady Macbeth does not know that Macbeth will kill Banquo?

In Act 3, Scene 2, Macbeth and his wife discuss their mutual problem involving Banquo. They have attained their objective of becoming king and queen, but they dread the thought that Banquo will profit by their crime in having his descendants rather than theirs become the rulers of Scotland. Macbeth assures his wife in cryptic terms that something will be done about that.

Ere the bat hath flown
His cloister'd flight; ere to black Hecate's summons
The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums
Hath rung night's yawning peal, there shall be done
A deed of dreadful note.

When she asks him specifically, "What's to be done?" he tells her:

Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck,
Till thou applaud the deed.

This is the best evidence in the text that Lady Macbeth does not know that her husband will kill Banquo. Macbeth is not concerned about keeping his wife in ignorance of his plans in order to protect her from being an accessory or in order to insure that she does not inadvertently arouse suspicions. Shakespeare has already made his plans perfectly clear in Act 3, Scene 1, and the playwright does not want to risk boring his audience with having everything spelled out to Lady Macbeth which the audience already knows. The words "dearest chuck" may have been intended to suggest that Macbeth had suddenly become protective of his sweet, sensitive wife, but the term of endearment is a weak excuse Shakespeare employs to get out of having to have Macbeth explain what he has already arranged to have done and what the audience will actually see being done in the very next scene when Banquo and his son Fleance are ambushed by the three murderers.

So at this point in the play, Lady Macbeth does not know that her husband intends to have Banquo (and Fleance) killed. Shakespeare probably intended to establish this fact in this scene because she will be all the more bewildered when, in Act 3, Scene 4, her husband sees Banquo's ghost occupying his place at the coronation banquet. She still does not even know Banquo is dead.

Please provide a good hook for an essay about how Atticus from To Kill a Mockingbird is a good father.

Good hooks can start with an interesting quote, a short anecdote, a thoughtful rhetorical question, or a statement that rings a profound truth about the subject to be discussed in the essay. Sometimes writing out the essay first can help a writer to discover that truth. Then go back and write the hook after the essay is written. In this case, the truth to be discovered is Atticus from Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus is a father, brother, widower, lawyer, state legislator, and a pillar of his community. (That list of facts could be tweaked into a good opening statement, in fact.) Consider how Atticus speaks and acts to discover the quality of his character and then a profound statement can be created.

Essential passages that highlight the truth found in Atticus Finch can help. Take for example when Miss Maudie and Scout are discussing people in the community who hide secrets behind closed doors. Scout defends her father and Miss Maudie agrees as follows:

"'Atticus don't ever do anything to Jem and me in the house that he don't do in the yard,' I said, feeling it my duty to defend my parent.

'Gracious child. . . I'll say this: Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets'" (46).

The above passage shows that people know that Atticus doesn't have anything shameful to hide from the community and is an upstanding man. This would be good to used if the essay is about his good character.

Next, from Jem's perspective, he sees Atticus as a mystery; but every time he learns something new about his father, he adds to his list of talents for his father. Jem is amazed to learn that his father is a dead shot when he kills a mad dog, but he proudly tells Scout that "Atticus is a gentleman, just like me!" (99). This could be a good quote to use about his character or as and example of a good male role model for Jem.

Finally, the community respects Atticus for the honorable man he is whether they spit in his face or honor him. The best way Tom Robinson's community showed their respect and appreciation for Atticus defending Tom was to give him loads of food the next morning after the trial. Atticus was humbled to the point that he couldn't touch the food they brought him. Also, they showed their respect by standing and waiting for Atticus to exit the courtroom before they left after Tom's trial. Reverend Sykes taught Scout to honor her father in the following passage:

"I looked around. They were standing. All around us and in the balcony on the opposite wall, the Negroes were getting to their feet. Reverend Sykes's voice was a distant as Judge Taylor's: 'Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passin'" (211).

For a good hook about Atticus, determine the focus--whether it is about being a father, a leader in the community, or a humble man--and then use any one of the references above to help out.

What mistake does Eckels make while the men are hunting in the story "A Sound of Thunder."

Eckels made the mistake of walking off the edge of the floating path while hunting dinosaurs in the past.  

"This fool nearly killed us. But it isn't that so  much, no. It's his shoes! Look at them! He ran off the Path. That ruins us! We'll forfeit! Thousands of dollars of insurance! We guarantee no one leaves the Path. He left it."

Travis is visibly upset when he says the above line, because he knows that there are possibly catastrophic repercussions of changing the present through actions in the past.  When Travis does say those lines, the reader still doesn't know if Eckels's actions changed anything in the present.  Sure enough though, the present is different because Eckels stepped off of the path.  The written language on signs is a bit different and the system of government has been changed.  

"You joking? You know very well. Deutscher, of course! Who  else? Not that fool weakling Keith. We got an iron man now, a man with guts!

Upon realizing that things have changed, Eckels checks his boot.  On the bottom of the boot is more than mud. Eckels has killed a single butterfly.  That single death caused untold repercussions to ripple through history.  

Embedded in the mud, glistening green and gold and black, was a butterfly, very beautiful and  very dead

What does Antigone claim is the worst kind of death? Why does she say this?

In Antigone, Antigone says that the worst kind of death is a death without honor.  She believes that the laws of the gods trump the laws of men.  As such, the gods hold that family members need to honor their dead, so even though Creon the king has ordered that Polynices not be buried because he is a traitor, Antigone believes that Polynices deserves a proper burial because he is her family member.  Antigone, like the other citizens in Thebes, knows that Creon has ordered the punishment of death on anyone who attempts to bury the body of Polynices, but she believes that the laws of the gods trump those of men.  She cannot bear the thought of going to her grave as a dishonorable woman--one who has not obeyed the laws of the gods.  So she opts for a death with honor and buries her brother.

What is the importance of studying anatomy in clinical medicine?

Clinical medicine is medicine practiced under the attention of an attending doctor (or other authorized practitioner). This is as opposed to research medicine or laboratory medicine.

Clinical medicine involves seeing patients, diagnosing their health conditions and forming plans of treatment. Sometimes, a doctor will forego a treatment plan and instead refer the patient to a specialist. 

It is important for a clinical doctor to have a good grasp of anatomy. Anatomy is the study of the different structures of the body. Anatomy can be a taxing subject for a student because it includes a lot of memorization of the names and locations of different body structures (such as bones, muscles, nerves, etc.).

Without a good grasp of the names and locations of body structures, a doctor would be at a disadvantage. He or she would find it difficult to communicate their findings to other doctors, such as in the case of a referral, and to the patient. The doctor would have difficulty reading publications and continuing education materials, since all of these will be prepared using anatomical terms.

It may seem tedious to spend a great deal of time memorizing long lists of names. But these names are part of the specialized language doctors use to communicate. A doctor who was unable to speak this language would find it difficult to practice medicine adequately.

To release the energy stored in coal, it is burned. The combustion of coal transforms its energy into ________and_______energy.

The phrasing of this question is ambiguous, and I think the missing blanks are items specific to your teacher's notes. Several terms and combinations of terms could be used to fill them. Instead, let me address what is happening in the burning of coal, and perhaps that will help you identify the terms your instructor intended to go in those slots.

Coal is principally composed of carbon, with numerous contaminants like sulfur and nitrogen. The burning of coal is actually an oxidation reaction, where oxygen from the air is added to the carbon to form gaseous carbon dioxide. The oxidation reaction is exothermic, producing substantial heat, but it also breaks away individual carbon atoms from the solid coal to form gaseous carbon dioxide. This conversion from a dense solid to a voluminous gas also creates air pressure. The mechanical force of air pressure isn't directly used to create electricity in coal-fired power plants, although it is relevant in engines and generators that burn oil or natural gas. Instead, the heat from burning coal is used to boil water, and the steam from that reaction is used to turn the turbine of an electrical generator. Through understanding this process, we can deduct that two possible types of energy given off during the burning of coal are heat energy and light energy. 

A very nice animated schematic of coal power generation may be found at the Duke Energy website linked below.  

What were some of the religious reasons the colonists went to Jamestown?

The primary reason that the original settlers went to Jamestown was not a religious one.  However, some early colonists in Jamestown did feel the need to spread the message of Church of England Christianity, which was widely practiced in England.  Those colonists wanted to spread their religious beliefs to the local Native Americans.  Overall, the Native Americans were not receptive to the religious beliefs of their new English neighbors.  Settlers established churches in and around Jamestown.

The Pilgrims, who did leave England primarily for so that they could practice their version of Christianity freely, had originally intended to settle near Jamestown.  However, their ship got off course.  It was because of this that the Pilgrims created their own colony in what is now Massachusetts, rather than as planned in Virginia.

How do Macbeth and Banquo each respond to Duncan's praise?

When Duncan finally sees Macbeth and Banquo after they have defeated the Norwegian forces, he tells them that "More is thy due than more than all can pay"--that is, you deserve more than the entire country can possibly pay you. That's high praise. 

Macbeth responds that "The service and the loyalty I owe, / In doing it, pays itself." That is, it is enough that I am honored to fight for you. "Your highness' part / Is to receive our duties"--All you have to do is be king.

In essence, we owe you our loyalty, and we are honored to serve you. We ask nothing more. 

Duncan then turns to Banquo and says he deserves just as much; "Let me enfold thee / And hold thee close to my heart." Banquo responds, "There if I grow, / The harvest is your own." That is, whatever my work (fighting) produces belongs to you. 

Both are eloquently humble when Duncan praises them. 

Compare and contrast the tundra and desert biomes.

A biome is made of several ecosystems. Biomes are classified by distinct climates, vegetation, and wildlife. Tundra and desert are two examples of biomes. There are two kinds of tundra: the arctic tundra and the alpine tundra. Deserts may be classified as hot and dry deserts, semiarid deserts, coastal deserts, and cold deserts. For the purposes of this answer, we will compare an arctic tundra to a hot and dry desert. These two biomes are different from one another in the following ways.

Location

• The arctic tundra is located in northern latitudes.


• Hot and dry deserts are often found closer to the equator.

Climate      

• Tundra are very cold. The average temperature of the tundra is -34 degrees Celsius, while the summer months average between 3-12 degrees Celsius. Therefore, the ground of the tundra stays permanently frozen and is called the permafrost.
  


• Deserts have hot and dry climates. The rainfall of a desert averages less than 25 centimeters annually!

Vegetation

Tundra and deserts both face a scarcity in water. Therefore, the vegetation found in either biome are adapted to live in such water-barren environments.  

• The vegetation of the tundra is also resistant to cold temperatures and winds. Therefore, more vegetation found in the tundra are low to the ground. Examples of vegetation found in the tundra are low shrubs, mosses, liverworts, grasses, and lichens.


• Many succulents are found in a hot and dry desert. These plants, such as cacti, have thick cuticles that aid in the prevention of water loss. Many leaves of desert plants are also “replete”, which means that they are full of nutrients. As in the tundra, low shrubs are also common in the desert. Other examples of plant-life found in the hot and dry desert include prickly pears, yuccas, and agaves.  

Wildlife

• The animals found in the arctic tundra are adapted to withstand the cold. Many animals in the tundra breed rapidly in the short summer months. Some may hibernate or migrate south during the winter, which results in large population oscillations throughout the year. Examples of animals that inhabit the tundra include fox, wolves, bear, caribou, snowbirds, blackflies, salmon, and trout.


• The animals found in a dry and hot desert must be able to withstand the hot temperatures and lack of water. Two ways in which animals of a hot and dry desert to this is by being nocturnal or creating burrows in the ground. Examples of organisms that can be found in a hot and dry desert include reptiles, kangaroo rates, arachnids, and insects.

I am creating a thesis statement for a literary analysis of "The Story Of An Hour." I want to write something about how Mrs. Mallard was happy...

 A good place to begin would be to consider the reasons why you feel that readers should feel sympathy for Mrs. Mallard, especially considering the fact -- as you point out -- that the news of her husband's death has ultimately caused her a great deal of happiness. 

Because Brently Mallard was a good, kind man, his wife's feelings upon his death would not typically compel readers to sympathize with her.  If her husband were abusive to her, we'd be much more likely to understand (and excuse) her joy right off the bat.  However, the narrator tells us that

She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray, and dead.

So, you'll need to come up with two or three distinct and persuasive reasons that we ought to feel sympathy for Mrs. Mallard despite the fact that she feels something that might be difficult for us to understand.  From there, you can use the words you already used in your question.

You could use something like this: Even though Mrs. Mallard is happy to learn that her husband as died, we should sympathize with her because ______ and _______. 

This would be a clear and specific claim that not only makes a point but also offers your rationale for it.

Atticus gave the children air rifles and with them some very important advice. What was the advice? Relate that advice and explain the significance...

When Atticus gave the children the air rifles, he gave them advice that is the source of the name of the book. He tells them that it is all right to kill blue jays, but to 

Remember that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.

This is a theme of To Kill a Mockingbird--that creatures that do no harm and only bring good to others should be valued and cared for. There are multiple people in Harper Lee's novel who can be considered mockingbirds. Boo Radley is harassed for being different but eventually saves the children. Tom Robinson tries to help Mayella but dies for it. Atticus tries to do the right thing despite threats to himself and his family. Jem and Scout are innocent children, targeted because of their father's defense of Tom. All deserve protection, but only some receive it.

Why do you think Darry is so hard and tough on Ponyboy?

As Ponyboy often points out, Darry has had to feel the weight of the world far too young. When their parents were killed in a car accident, Darry had to work two jobs and sacrifice everything in order to keep the boys together and keep them out of a group home.

Because of this, he is very protective of Ponyboy and wants to be sure that he is taken care of. Unfortunately this worry manifests itself as being harsh and his actions can be interpreted as constant nagging instead of those of a worried guardian. Plus Darry feels that he has to be tough on Ponyboy so that Pony will be strong enough to deal with the world and the way it will treat him as a greaser.

How is sympathy for Beowulf encouraged throughout the epic? Provide textual evidence for support.

Throughout the majority of the epic, Beowulf is seen as an epic hero. He is portrayed as a courageous, strong leader. A later section in Beowulf, titled "The Last Battle," is where readers can really see where sympathy is encouraged for the brave leader of the Geats. 

As indicated by the title, the section in which Beowulf battles the dragon is indeed his last and final battle. In just the first eight lines of the section, he says goodbye to all his followers for the last time; and his age and determination are revealed.

And Beowulf uttered his final boast:

"I've never known fear, as a youth I fought

In endless battles. I am old, now, 

But I will fight again, seek fame still,

If the dragon hiding in his tower dares

To face me." 

Then he said farewell to his followers, 

Each in his turn, for the last time:

Goodbyes are generally seen as a sad moment in the lives of people, especially when it is a goodbye for the final time. 

The admittance of his age and the assertion of calling himself "old" is sad in the sense that Beowulf knows he is going into battle with a disadvantage that he didn't have in his youthful years. 

Another place in this same section in which readers can find themselves sympathetic to Beowulf is when he is so close to defeat and all but one of his followers abandon him. 

The poem states: 

None of his comrades

Came to him, helped him, his brave and noble

Followers; they ran for their lives, fled

Deep in a wood. And only one of them

Remained, stood there, miserable, remembering, 

As a good man must, what kinship should mean.

The one man who stuck by his side was his cousin Wiglaf. Wiglaf gave thought to the memories he had with Beowulf and all the honorable things Beowulf had done for him. He reflected on how much he owes him. Readers sympathize with Beowulf because he was deserted by all the men who owed him their loyalties, and they should have shown him the respect and courage that he, for so long, had shown them. 

What does Atticus mean when he says, "Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win"?

Atticus wants Scout to understand that just because something is difficult doesn't mean you should not do it if it is the right thing to do.

Atticus tells Scout that there is no way he is going to win the case when she gets into a fight with Cecil Jacobs after the boy insulted him.  Scout doesn’t understand why people are so upset with her father.  He explains to her that he is defending Tom Robinson.  Tom was accused of raping a white woman.  He is a black man.  To the people of Maycomb, that makes him guilty.

Atticus feels that just because he was assigned the Robinson case does not mean he should not put his best efforts into it.  He wants to try, even though he knows he will not win.  It is a matter of personal pride to him.

Scout tells Atticus that he sounds like Cousin Ike Finch, who likes to rehash the Civil War.

“It’s different this time,” he said. “This time we aren’t fighting the Yankees, we’re fighting our friends. But remember this, no matter how bitter things get, they’re still our friends and this is still our home.” (Ch. 9) 

Atticus knows that the people of Maycomb will not want to confront the racial realities of the case, but he feels that it is his job to show them.  It is common in Maycomb to assume that a black person is guilty, no matter what.  No one in Maycomb is willing to consider otherwise.  Atticus wants to give them a chance. 

When Mrs. Dubose dies, Atticus uses her battle with her morphine addiction as an example of moral courage.  He wants his children to remember that sometimes you have to do things that are very difficult, and perhaps even impossible.  The description he gives of Mrs. Dubose fighting her addiction could just as easily apply to his taking the Tom Robinson case. 

I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. (Ch. 11)

Atticus realizes that it will be very hard to win Tom Robinson's case, because of Maycomb's deeply ingrained racism.  However, he wants to try, because it is the right thing to do for Tom Robinson and for Maycomb. He does not get Tom Robinson acquitted, but he does get the jury to deliberate longer than any other Maycomb jury has.  That shows progress.

How and why did Mrs Luella Bates Washington Jones try to change Roger in "Thank You, M'am?"

Ideas for Response Projects

Mrs. Jones saw in Roger, the boy who attempted to rob her, something of herself and a life worth rescuing from a life of wrongdoing. For these reasons and because it appears Mrs. Jones was a descent and caring person, she decided to help Roger change the course of events he had put himself on by turning to robbery to get the things that he wants.

When he attempted to rob her, rather than treat him as the thief he tried to be, she stepped into a parental role and tried to make an impression upon him that would forever change him and keep Roger from wanting to rob again. She was an authoritarian figure as she forcefully took him home with her. In asking him his name, Mrs. Jones gave him respect and dignity. She offered him guidance in washing his face when he said there was no one at home to guide him. Even though she had little to eat herself, she offered him half of her dinner and dessert when she realized he had no food.

In speaking with Roger, she explained that she too had done things about which she was not proud. In so doing, the author describes a connection that the two share. As he left, Mrs. Jones makes one more gesture that may change the way that Roger thinks about stealing from now on. She offers him the ten dollars he had wanted to steal in order to buy some blue suede shoes. Roger is left bewildered by her actions and the reader is left to believe Mrs. Jones has changed him for the better despite his attempt at robbing her.

Can someone tell me how endothermic reactions in solutions absorb energy so the temperature drops? I think that the heat and temperature are in...

You are correct that heat and temperature are related. Heat is thermal energy, and energy is defined as the ability to do work. Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of molecules. When a substance gains heat energy its particles move faster and therefore it's temperature increases. Conversely, when the particles of a substance lose energy and move more slowly the temperature of the substance drops. The temperature change resulting from the gain of a specific amount of energy is indeed directly proportional to heat but varies for different substances according to the equation 

`q = mcDeltaT`

Where q is the heat absorbed or released,  `Delta` T is the temperature change, c is the specific heat capacity for the substance, and m is the mass is kg. Heat capacity relates the amount of heat a substance absorbs to its temperature change.

Your confusion seems to be in the fact that the absorption of energy seemingly causes a decrease in temperature, but that's not really the case. The heat aborbed during an endothermic reaction is absorbed by the reactants as products are formed. It's is absorbed FROM the surroundings. The surroundings, such as the reaction vessel, therefore become cooler. If an endothermic reaction takes place in aqueous solution the temperature of the solution decreases as energy is absorbed from the water. Here's a pneumonic to help you remember this:

exothermic - heat exits the reacting substances (goes to surroundings)

endothermic - heat enters the reacting substances (leaves surroundings)

What powerful language techniques/tools are used in To Kill a Mockingbird to construct character in the novel?

Harper Lee is able to give the reader a powerful image of the characters in the novel using very few words. Here is her description of Atticus in the first chapter of To Kill a Mockingbird:

"Atticus's office in the courthouse contained little more than a hat rack, a spittoon, a checkerboard, and an unsullied Code of Alabama. His first two clients were the last two persons hanged in the Maycomb County Jail. Atticus had urged them to accept the state's generosity in allowing them to plead guilty to second-degree murder and escape with their lives, but they were Haverfords, in Maycomb County, a name synonymous with jackass."

This description uses a great deal of irony and humor. Irony is a literary device in which the author presents the opposite of what the reader might expect. The idea that Atticus's first two clients were the last two hanged is an example of ironic humor. In addition, the idea that the state is generous in allowing the accused criminals to plead guilty is an example of ironic humor, as is referring to Haverfords as a form of "jackass." We know from this description that Scout's relationship with her father, Atticus, is tinged with a gentle humor. 

Later in the first chapter of the book, there is a description of Calpurnia: "Calpurnia was something else again. She was all angles and bones; she was nearsighted; she squinted. Her hand was as wide as a bed slat and twice as hard." Again, the author gives us a very good idea of this character with an economy of words by using metaphorical language. For example, Calpurnia is compared to angles and bones. Her hand is compared, using a simile, to a bed slat. Lee's use of well-employed metaphors and similes gives the reader a very good idea of Calpurnia's character and Scout's sometimes contentious relationship with Calpurnia in a few sentences. 

"Roger looked at the door- looked at the woman - looked at the door- and went to the sink ." Why did the author choose to italicize this part of...

Roger looked at the door--looked at the woman--looked at the door--and went to the sink.

The appearance of the italicized words differs from the upright letters, suggesting the leaning of a person who is ready to run or flee. Also, one almost reads italicized letters faster. Thus, in "Thank You Ma'm" when Roger looks at the door, the italicized print is the objective correlative of Roger's poised position to swiftly flee for fear that Mrs. Jones may turn him in after all, or punish him further. 

Physically and psychologically intimidated by Mrs. Jones after she has picked him up, put him in a wrestling hold, and literally dragged him up the street and into her house, Roger swiftly contemplates running away from her by darting his eyes from the door to the woman to the door, but his hunger takes him to the sink to wash his hands before eating. Then, as he washes, Roger asks Mrs. Jones, "Are you going to take me to jail?" But, the warm-hearted woman jokingly replies, "Not with that face, I would not take you nowhere."

The kind Mrs. Jones feeds Roger and talks with him about what he has done. Again, he considers running from the scene. After she feeds Roger, she tells him that if he had asked for money for the shoes, she would have given it to him. Later, she hands him ten dollars and urges him to behave himself. Stunned, Roger barely utters his thanks before she shuts the door.

Certainly, Roger is glad that he did not flee, and he is truly touched by the charity of Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones.

The meaning of Jaques' soliloquy from As You Like It?

In Act II, Scene 7, when Jaques says:

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players,

he seems to be referring to what psychiatrist Carl Jung calls the "persona."

Through the persona a man tries to appear as this or that, or he hides behind a mask, or he may even build up a definite persona as a barricade.

This suggests that all of us are acting a part which we want the world to accept as our real selves. That is the sense in which all the world is a stage, and all the men and women merely players.

In every walk of life each man puts on a personality and outward appearance so as to look what he wants to be thought: in fact you might say that society is entirely made up of assumed personalities.
                                     Francois Duc de La Rochefoucauld

We can see other people's personae more easily than we can see our own. We see how the doctor is playing the role of doctor and how the lawyer is playing the role of lawyer. It may have been in this sense that Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye thought of so many people as being phonies. Holden Caulfield himself was obviously trying to build up a persona. It is a hard task for people his age because they have just emerged from childhood, an age when most children, but not all of them, do not yet feel the need for developing a persona. That comes with adolescence.

Well, youth is the period of assumed personalities and disguises. It is the time of the sincerely insincere.
                                                                    V. S. Pritchett

The pessimistic German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer also felt that most people are wearing masks.

Our civilized world, then, is only a great masquerade; here we meet knights, parsons, soldiers, doctors, barristers, priests, philosophers, and the rest.  But they are not what they represent themselves to be; they are mere masks beneath which as a rule moneymakers are hidden.  

It is interesting, and somewhat amusing, to think that we do not have to go to the theater to see people acting. In fact, the best actors might never appear on a stage or in front of a movie camera at all. If an actor in a movie is playing, let us say, a judge, he is trying to act the same way a real judge is acting the part of a judge while seated on the bench. The show that Jaques is talking about is going on everywhere and all the time. People make their entrances wearing masks, and we ourselves put on our masks before we enter a setting. The mask we put on depends on the type of setting--a classroom, a party, or whatever. 

 

Who is Jamie and why did he go with Claudia in From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler?

Jamie Kincaid is Claudia's younger brother. She brings him along on her plan to run away and live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She brings him along because he shares her sense of adventure. Also, she's broke and he has some money saved (about $25 in late 1960s money), and has good ideas about how to make (and save) money while the two are on the run.

She has a love of luxury, indulged by sleeping in antique beds, riding in a Rolls Royce and basically living in the grandest museum in America. Jamie's frugal, practical nature keeps her grounded, enabling her to stay on her adventure until it has reached its resolution in Mrs. Frankweiler's file room. Jamie's strengths complement Claudia's.

What is Cassius's true importance throughout the play Julius Caesar? Answer with references.

Cassius plays a major role in the play. He is essentially the chief plotter in Caesar's downfall. It is he who talks to the other senators and draws them into his murderous scheme. Cassius is clearly jealous of Julius and maliciously wants to get rid of him. We notice from the outset that he is not one to be trusted. When Caesar sees him, he tells Antony:

Let me have men about me that are fat;
Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o' nights:
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.

Caesar's judgement is quite perceptive and we learn later, spot on. His description of Cassius is that of a predator in search of a prey and, he, Caesar, becomes that prey later in the play. When Antony assures him that Cassius is noble, well stated and should not be feared, Caesar replies:

Would he were fatter! But I fear him not:
Yet if my name were liable to fear,
I do not know the man I should avoid
So soon as that spare Cassius. He reads much;
He is a great observer and he looks
Quite through the deeds of men: he loves no plays,
As thou dost, Antony; he hears no music;
Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort
As if he mock'd himself and scorn'd his spirit
That could be moved to smile at any thing.
Such men as he be never at heart's ease
Whiles they behold a greater than themselves,
And therefore are they very dangerous....

Caesar's assessment is, once again, accurate for later, when Cassius approaches Brutus and notices his solemn mood, he draws Brutus out, flatters him and gives him a speech about how frail Caesar is. He makes a comparison between Caesar and them and questions why such a weakling should lead Rome when they, men of greater strength, should be his slaves.

Cassius is a sly manipulator and he soon persuades Brutus to become a member of his conspiracy. To ensure that Brutus is completely convinced about joining them, he asks Cinna to place a number of letters to Brutus in various places where he could easily find each, informing him of his duty to Rome. Furthermore, he also easily persuades Casca to join his plot. He is, truly, a masterful puppeteer.

When the conspirators meet at Brutus' house later and they declare their intent, it is Cassius who sees the danger in Antony and suggests that he too, should be killed. We learn from this that he possesses great insight and understands his adversary and those associated with him. It is important to him that there are no loose ends, the destruction of his enemy must be complete. This kind of ruthless malice is typical of a Machiavellian character, which Cassius clearly is. He is the archetypal villain.    

Again, later, after Caesar's murder, he is upset about Brutus giving Antony an opportunity to to speak at Caesar's funeral. He sees, unlike the naive Brutus, the danger in allowing Antony this concession. As it turns out, he was correct in his assumption, for Antony uses his oration to turn the citizens against the conspirators, who then have to flee for their lives.   

Cassius is also a foil to Brutus. Where Brutus is noble and wishes to displace Caesar for the good of Rome, he Cassius, only bears self-interest. He clearly despises Caesar and wants to ensure his own ascension in status. With Caesar out of the way, he can assume greater power and possibly lead Rome with Brutus and a few others. Brutus has a good heart and bears no real malice - he displays a sage kindness towards Antony, for example, whilst Cassius wants him murdered. It is also clear that Cassius has no qualms about going on a murderous rampage, whilst Brutus does not want to be seen as a butcher, as he states after Cassius' suggestion that they should slay Antony:

Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius,
To cut the head off and then hack the limbs,
Like wrath in death and envy afterwards;
For Antony is but a limb of Caesar:
Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.

Furthermore, Cassius is clearly corrupt for, later, on the fields of Sardis, he and Brutus argue about his failure to use funds that were provided for the soldiers. Brutus tells him:

Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself
Are much condemn'd to have an itching palm;
To sell and mart your offices for gold
To undeservers.

Cassius obviously denies the charge and he loses his temper, whilst Brutus remains calm. Brutus also suggests that Cassius is cowardly, for he dared not challenge Caesar whilst he was still alive. Cassius is offended by the charge but Brutus is unapologetic. The two men, however, later resolve their differences and part friends. 

How did Gulliver and his race differ from the Yahoos?

On the one hand, the Yahoos have, as Gulliver puts it, a "perfect human figure." Their physical differences chiefly lie in the amount of hair on their bodies and in some other features--flat, broad faces, coarseness of skin, and some other essentially cosmetic differences. The main difference is that the Yahoos are enslaved by the horse-like Houyhnhnms. They are, as described by Gulliver, dumb brutes. He is repulsed by their smell, shocked by the fact that they live in kennels, and disturbed by the fact that the Houyhnhnms seem to discern no difference between himself and the Yahoos. The Houyhnhnms, indeed, cannot believe that in Gulliver's society, the roles are reversed. Eventually Gulliver, despite the disturbing implications of the fact, is forced to accept that he is a Yahoo, and that only circumstances differentiate him from what he views as an "accursed race." Most disturbing of all is what becomes evident over time--Gulliver is not objectively superior in intellect to the Yahoos. Moreover, he is clearly inferior to the Houyhnhnms.

In the cop and the anthem, what kind of character is Soapy? Is he a dynamic character, static character, the narrator, or the secondary character?

Soapy is definitely the main character and the protagonist in "The Cop and the Anthem." He is not the narrator. The narrator is the very familiar "third-person anonymous" voice who knows a lot about Soapy but is not omniscient. Soapy is the viewpoint character; everything is seen and experienced through Soapy's point of view. Soapy is a dynamic rather than a static character. A dynamic character is capable of changing, and the story is mainly about the change that takes place in Soapy's character as a result of his failures to get himself arrested and then hearing the old, familiar anthem played at the church.

As a matter of fact, Soapy has already changed at least once before this epiphany. He is not the usual type of bum who lives by panhandling and who sleeps on park benches. Soapy still has middle-class manners and some vestiges of middle-class clothing. The narrator never explains the reason Soapy fell from high social status to the lower depths, but it is obvious that Soapy was once a gentleman with refined manners and discriminating tastes. His choices of the food and wine he intends to order at the first restaurant, where he is denied service because of the condition of his trousers, show that he was once accustomed to an entirely different lifestyle than he has now.

A roasted mallard duck, thought Soapy, would be about the thing—with a bottle of Chablis, and then Camembert, a demitasse and a cigar. 

Then at the end the narrator makes it clear that Soapy had once enjoyed a comfortable and respectable life.

He viewed with swift horror the pit into which he had tumbled,the degraded days, unworthy desires, dead hopes, wrecked faculties and base motives that made up his existence....He would pull himself out of the mire; he would make a man of himself again; he would conquer the evil that had taken possession of him. There was time; he was comparatively young yet; he would resurrect his old eager ambitions and pursue them without faltering. 

So Soapy has already changed once, and he has decided to change again when he gets arrested for vagrancy right outside the church. Soapy is sentenced to three months in jail, which was what he wanted in the first place but doesn't want anymore. When he gets out of jail he will have changed again. He will probably have lost his genteel affectations and will be just an ordinary bum.

A  good moral for O. Henry's story is to be found in Nathaniel Hawthorne's story "Wakefield."

Amid the seeming confusion of our mysterious world, individuals are so nicely adjusted to a system, and systems to one another, and to a whole, that, by stepping aside for a moment, a man exposes himself to a fearful risk of losing his place forever. Like Wakefield, he may become, as it were, the Outcast of the Universe.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of development?

The question does not identify if the term “development” is referring to the development of land, economy, or technology. Therefore, at least one advantage and disadvantage for each of the three categories have been identified below.

Development of Land

The development of land will draw people into a region. This is beneficial because it will spark the economy of that area.

The development of land can have adverse effects on the environment. One of the most immediate consequences of deforestation is erosion. Erosion is the movement of soil to a new location. Without the roots of the trees to hold the soil in place, the soil becomes free and loose to move by wind, animals, or rain. This movement of the earth can cause the forestry that does remain in a deforested location to become unsettled. The unsettlement of these trees could affect their root systems and prevent the trees from absorbing the needed nutrients. Even worse, the trees may become so unsettled that they become uprooted, fall, and die.

When deforestation occurs, the habitat(s) of many organisms is disheveled. Thus, deforestation can also cause a decrease in the biodiversity as the organisms emigrate to other habitats in order to survive.

Development of the Economy

A developed economy is able to compete with other countries. According to BenefitOf.net, a developed economy leads to increased employment rates, an increase in the standard of living, an enhancement in tax revenues, and better public services.

Increased production of goods is often associated with economic development. Industrialization can have an adverse effect on the environment. For example, factories may emit pollutants into the air or water.

Technology Developments

Technologies can increase the speed and precision in which products are developed, thus improving the economy of an area.

Technology development may hurt smaller local businesses that do not have the financial means or know-how to convert their existing businesses methods into more tech-savvy strategies.

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, what are some passages showing how Atticus Finch represents the issues in society?

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, one way in which Atticus Finch represents the issues of society is by representing the voice of the oppressed. Atticus represents the voice of the oppressed by representing Tom Robinson in the face of town ridicule.

Atticus knows from the start that Robinson's case is an unjust one since there is no real evidence. As Atticus explains to his brother Jack, the only thing serving as evidence in the trial is a "black man's word against the Ewells'" (Ch. 9). As he later states in his closing remarks to the jury, the case never should have gone to trial due to lack of "corroborative evidence" (Ch. 20). There wasn't even any medical evidence proving Mayella had indeed been raped because neither the Ewells nor Sheriff Tate had the sense to call a doctor to the scene of the alleged crime. The only reason why the case went to trial is because white folks charged a black man with a crime, showing us the unfairness of the Southern legal system when it comes to charging the oppressed members of Southern society with a crime. It is partially due to the unfairness of the case being brought to trial that Atticus is determined to put his all into defending the oppressed Tom Robinson.

Atticus also knows that, despite lack of real evidence, Robinson is likely to be judged guilty simply due to his race. We see Atticus express the inevitability of conviction when he says to Scout, "Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win," a statement that reflects the South's history of oppression due to racial prejudice (Ch. 9). Yet, as he tells the group of men congregated outside his home, led by Sheriff Tate in Chapter 15, Atticus will not rest until the truth about Robinson's innocence and Bob Ewell's guilt is known. Since Atticus is so determined to reveal the truth, it can also be said he is representing the voice of the oppressed.

Describe the setting.

When Mr. White loses yet another game of chess to his son Herbert, he vents his frustration by complaining about the bad weather and the isolated setting.

"That's the worst of living so far out," bawled Mr. White, with sudden and unlooked-for violence; "of all the beastly, slushy, out-of-the-way places to live in, this is the worst. Pathway's a bog, and the road's a torrent. I don't know what people are thinking about. I suppose because only two houses in the road are let, they think it doesn't matter."

The author's main reason for describing the setting as "slushy" and "out-of-the-way" is to make it seem very likely that the person who comes knocking at the door will be the White's son Herbert returned from the grave, horribly mangled and decayed, and now soaked and covered with mud. The little house is so isolated that it would be extremely unlikely that anyone else would be out there in the dead of night. Still, it is not entirely impossible that some stranger might be lost and seeking directions. The author wants to leave the possibility open that the knocking could be the result of sheer coincidence. Early in Part II, W. W. Jacobs again uses Mr. White's dialogue to cast some doubt on the magical powers of the monkey's paw.

"Morris said the things happened so naturally," said his father, "that you might if you so wished attribute it to coincidence."

The reader will be left wondering. Was it only a coincidence that Maw and Meggins paid the Whites two hundred pounds compensation for their son's accident, the exact amount that Mr. White had wished for the night before? Did the monkey's paw cause Herbert to get caught in the machinery, or was he groggy and hung over after staying up later than usual talking to their interesting visitor and drinking too much whiskey with him? Was that really Herbert knocking at the door, or was it just a coincidence that some stranger was lost in that dark, isolated setting and was only trying to get directions back to the main road? 

Mr. White describes the exterior setting in his tirade after losing the chess game. The interior of the little house is described succinctly in the first paragraph of the story.

Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlour of Laburnam Villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly. Father and son were at chess, the former, who possessed ideas about the game involving radical changes, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils that it even provoked comment from the white-haired old lady knitting placidly by the fire.

The house is obviously small and cozy. It has a nice fireplace which all the family members enjoy. Evidently Mr. White only paid about two hundred pounds for the house and lot in a new real estate development. There is only one other house in the tract that has been "let." The word "let" suggest that the houses are sold on rent-to-buy plans. The monthly rents are applied to the purchase price, and the lessee can take title when he has paid the full purchase price in the form of rental fees. The fact that there is only one other house occupied will make it all the more likely that the person knocking at the door is not the dead Herbert but some lost stranger who has tried at the other house and now is desperately pounding at the Whites' front door as his last resort. The hypothetical stranger would know there is someone at home because he would have seen a light. After Mrs. White forces her husband to wish for Herbert to return, she stands at their bedroom window looking out, hoping to see her son.

He sat until he was chilled with the cold, glancing occasionally at the figure of the old woman peering through the window. The candle-end, which had burned below the rim of the china candlestick, was throwing pulsating shadows on the ceiling and walls, until, with a flicker larger than the rest, it expired. 

In that dark setting, the light would have been visible all over the isolated little housing development. That could explain why the knocking became more and more insistent. The reader will never know whether the monkey's paw brought the Whites their fortune and misfortune, or whether it was sheer coincidence. Many of our worst fears are purely imaginary.

What makes the ending of the story "Sredni Vashtar" so powerful.

The ending of “Sredni Vashtar” is powerful in many ways. First, it is a very cathartic ending, where the reader can finally feel some vicarious relief through the eyes of the main character, 10 year-old Conradin.

Conradin is a child who leads a terrible existence. Terminally ill, unloved, and badly treated by his guardian, Conradin’s daily emotions shift, from hatred toward Mrs. De Ropp, to an intense fascination with the things that he conjures up in his imagination.

One of his most powerful ideas is about a ferret that he names Sredni Vashtar and that lives in a "disused toolshed" in a "dismal" forgotten corner of the "cheerless" garden overlooked by the "many windows" of his house. One day, out of "Heavens knows what material," the ferret becomes Conradin's god to whom he offers prayers and festival gifts of nutmeg.

After Mrs. De Ropp has the Houdan hen sold as a result of her noticing how much time Conradin spent in the toolshed, his prayers to the ferret-god change from giving praise to asking a "boon," a life-improving kindness, though not explained in detail: 

   Conradin had been wont to chant his praises, tonight be asked a boon.
   "Do one thing for me, Sredni Vashtar."

The ending is powerful because it provides the cathartic, yet, tragic moment the main character has secretly prayed for. Another reason it is powerful is because the tragic end is presented with an ironic twist: the prayer fulfillment happens during a typical, daily moment in Conradin’s life, tea time.

Making himself toast, which was always forbidden by his guardian, Conradin enjoys this first taste of freedom while at the same time he:

….. listened to the noises and silences which fell in quick spasms beyond the dining-room door.

Even though both characters have animosity against one another, Conradin’s guardian is comparatively worse because she actually gets to be mean and careless toward him. Therefore, the narrative is partial to Conradin, and the reader waits for some sort of restitution at some point. This restitution is the key reason why the ending is so powerful.

Saki only suggests Conradin’s emotion at this point. It is clear from his actions, which Saki describes, that the boy's emotions are not what would be expected of a normal boy in a normal situation because he quietly and deliberately goes to tea.

Conradin fished a toasting-fork out of the sideboard drawer and proceeded to toast himself a piece of bread. And during the toasting of it and the buttering of it with much butter and the slow enjoyment of eating it, Conradin listened ... the loud foolish screaming of the maid,....

Conradin helping himself to another piece of toast while her body is being loudly mourned and carried into the house adds to the irony of the situation. Not only has finally avenged himself through karmic justice, but he finally gets the pleasure of enjoying an extra helping of toast, while those in the household believe that this will be a tragedy to the child.  

   "Whoever will break it to the poor child? I couldn't for the life of me!" exclaimed a shrill voice. And while they debated the matter among themselves, Conradin made himself another piece of toast.

The ending is powerful because it is cathartic, enigmatic and ironic.

In Monster, why does Steve write, "The best time to cry is at night"?

Stevie writes that night time is the best moment to cry because it prevents the other inmates from knowing that you are scared.

In the opening to Monster, Stevie depicts a world where people are hunted. Those who are scared and weak are seen as primary targets:  

The best time to cry is at night, when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and screaming for help. That way even if you sniffle a little they won't hear you. If anybody knows that you are crying, they'll start talking about it and soon it'll be your turn to get beat up when the lights go out. 

Stevie's writing shows that the night time is when a prisoner is physically abused by other prisoners.  In the midst of this abuse, it is easier to cry because no one will hear you.  When the other inmates hear someone crying, it places a target on them and they become victimized. Stevie's writings convey the fear intrinsic to prison.  Whenever someone transmits this fear, they become targeted.  It is for this reason that nighttime is the best time to cry. As someone else is being abused, it provides the cover to cry and be scared because no one will hear it.

In "Charles" by Shirley Jackson, what is Laurie's relationship with his parents like? How would it be described?

On the surface, the relationship between Laurie and his parents seems quite typical. When he starts kindergarten, he starts wearing jeans instead of overalls and this shows how he is becoming more independent. He begins taking a more active role in who he is. Laurie uses this stage of his development to try different things. The narrator (mother) notes how he becomes more thoughtless and insolent when talking with his father. Laurie is testing the limits of what he can and can not get away with. Laurie tests his parents' and teacher's patience. While this is also a typical phase that many children go through, it does seem that Laurie goes a bit too far. Laurie knows this as well. That's why he creates an alter-ego in order to do the things that he knows are wrong. On the other hand, he also attributes his good deeds with Charles. Note that it is Charles who acts as the teacher's helper. By acting out, via Charles, Laurie creates a problem in his relationship with his parents. He uses a lie (not telling them that he is Charles) in order to tell the truth. 

The relationship between Laurie and his parents is troublesome because Laurie lies about what he has been doing at school and he is rude to his parents. On the other hand, Laurie tells them everything he does; he just uses his alter-ego as a way of disclosing everything. Their relationship would best be described as complicated or problematic. He tells them everything Charles does but does not tell them that he is Charles. So, it is an odd paradox of lies and truth. Their relationship is therefore paradoxically healthy but also problematic. 

Why is the Ghost of Christmas Past described as a child and an old man?

In the first stave of A Christmas Carol, the Ghost of Christmas Past appears to Scrooge. He is described as "like a child: yet not so like a child as like an old man." It is likely that Dickens deliberately describes the ghost in this way for two reasons. 

First of all, it adds to the supernatural element of the story. A Christmas Carol may be a festive story but, let's not forgot, that it is a ghost story too. By giving the ghost the characteristics of both a child and an old man, Dickens is tapping into the unexplainable and fantastical elements of the supernatural.

Secondly, the ghost's physical description is a visual representation of Scrooge's journey. The first image shown to Scrooge is of his childhood: of being at boarding school and being taken home by his sister. Next, he sees himself as a grown young man with Mr Fezziwig, before he revisits the painful recollection of his engagement to Belle. The ghost is, therefore, representative of all of these experiences which, over time, transformed Scrooge into a cold and calculating miser. 

What are passages in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird that show how Scout has come to understand that judging others is dangerous because it...

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, one example of Scout demonstrating how she has learned that judgement can lead to immoral behavior can be seen in her guilty feelings concerning her treatment of Arthur (Boo) Radley. Due to rumors and myths, Scout, Jem, and Dill have judged Arthur, whom they call Boo, to be an insane, dangerous person who piques their curiosity because they want to see just how insane and dangerous he is. Since their curiosity is piqued, especially Dill's, the two boys undertake several stunts to try and get a look at Arthur, and Scout goes along for the ride. Later, Scout feels very guilty about their behavior, showing us that she has been able to understand how much judgement can lead to immoral behavior.

Soon after the trial, Scout begins the third grade and opens Chapter 26 by reflecting on the progress of the start of the new school year. One of her reflections concerns the fact that she no longer fears walking past the Radley Place even though she still sees it as being "no less gloomy, no less chilly under its great oaks, and no less uninviting." More importantly, she reflects upon how guilty she feels about having participated in activities aimed at invading Arthur's privacy, activities she became involved in just because she, along with others, had judged him to be an insane curiosity, worthy of poking fun at:

I sometimes felt a twinge of remorse, when passing by the old place, at ever having taken part in what must have been sheer torment to Arthur Radley--what reasonable recluse wants children peeping through his shutters, delivering greetings on the end of a fishing pole, wandering in his collards at night? (Ch. 26)

A second example of Scout realizing judgement can lead to immoral behavior concerns her reflections of her third-grade teacher, Miss Gates. Early in the new school year, Scout's third-grade class enters into a discussion about Hitler's treatment of the Jews. Scout is very dismayed to hear Miss Gates say something very hypocritical. Miss Gates speaks out against Hitler's treatment of the Jews and speaks in favor of democracies because the people within democracies do not "believe in persecuting anybody." And yet, when leaving the courthouse on the day of the trial, Scout very distinctly remembers hearing Miss Gates say to Miss Stephanie Crawford,

"[I]t's time somebody taught 'em a lesson, they were gettin' way above themselves, an' the next thing they think they can do is marry us" (Ch. 26).

Scout recognizes that Miss Gates's action of speaking out against persecution while also persecuting people in her own town is hypocritical and, therefore, immoral. She also recognizes that Miss Gates's immoral behavior stems from wrongly judging African Americans, as Scout shows when she asks her brother,

"Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an' then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home--" (Ch. 26).

Hence, Scout's comment to her brother further shows just how much Scout has come to recognize that judgement leads to immoral behavior.

In "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," was Harry's past really full of promise? If yes, how does Ernest Hemingway show it?

Hemingway’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” is one of his greatest short stories.  There are many scholarly articles and papers regarding its symbolism, theme, and Harry himself.  It is a story of fantasy versus reality, and Hemingway writes of both Harry’s idealized beginning and non-idealized ending. 

Harry originally had ambitions of being a great writer, but he squandered his gift by joining those he sought to expose.  Harry noted “you said that you would write about these people; about the very rich; that you were really not of them but a spy in their country; that you would leave it and write of it” (Hemingway 831).  He was obviously an excellent spy in their world, because he was able to gain admission and companionship while inside of it.  Harry became accustomed to living a life of luxury; he never left the “country” of the rich or wrote of it. 

So, at least to Harry, he thought his life was full of promise and that he would write great works of literature.  His flashbacks certainly told amazing stories as well. The half-wit chore boy who thought he was a hero before being arrested, and Williamson, the bombing officer who was caught in barbed wire, would have made excellent stories had Harry bothered to write them.  As he lay dying he lamented “it was his duty to write … but now he never would” (Hemingway 835). 

For these reasons, I believe Harry’s life was initially very promising.  Unfortunately, he allowed complacency to dull his ambition, and he never wrote the amazing stories he had been saving.

How would I compare Life of Pi to Ender's game?

Those are both two great books.  In order to compare the two, don't do a plot comparison.  That won't work well.  The best way to compare two seemingly very different books is to compare their characters and/or themes.  You could compare Ender to Pi.  Both are young.  Both are male.  Both boys are very much on their own and depending on their own skills.  I realize that Ender is surrounded by people, but he is emotionally separated from everybody, and he knows it.  

Thematically, both books are about struggling to survive in the face of insurmountable odds.  Both books highlight the internal conflicts raging within each boy.  Ender struggles to come to grips with the realization that he is being used to eradicate an entire species.  Pi struggles with the will to live day in and day out.  

When was Damascus founded?

The city of Damascus has a long history, which makes it difficult to identify a precise date for its establishment.  According to UNESCO's World Heritage List, Damascus was "founded in the 3rd millennium B.C." and it "is one of the oldest cities in the Middle East."  The area where the city of Damascus is located was a home to settlers "as early as 8,000 to 10,000 BC."  When the Aramaeans arrived and settled in the area, it is recorded that it became an important city. 

The original city area of Damascus has been inhabited by residents continually for thousands of years.  This makes it one of the world's oldest cities to be inhabited continually.  Much of the physical planning of the city was done by the Romans.  Later, Muslims settled in the city and built the Great Mosque.  It was the Umayyad caliphate that made the city into the capital it is now.

Why is low birth weight in the progeny of beetles not considered evolution?

Evolution can be defined simply as a change in gene (allele) frequency in a population.  Evolution can occur due to selection for or against certain traits due to how they interact with the environment (natural selection), due to random events like natural disasters or bottlenecks (drift), or gene flow between populations (migration).  

In order for evolution to occur, heritable variation for the trait being investigated must be present in a population.  In the situation that you have presented, some beetles have progeny of low birth weight while others may have progeny of average birth weight and still others may have progeny of high birth weight.  There is likely variation in birth weight of the progeny of these beetles.  However, in order for evolution of the trait to occur, the propensity to produce beetles of smaller size must be heritable--capable of being passed on (genetically) to offspring so that the trait can be transmitted from generation to generation.  In your case, you did not specify that the low birth weight was due to a genetic change.  More likely, the low birth weight was environmentally-induced.  If the low birth weight was due to lack of nutrition obtained by the mother prior to egg-laying, then the trait was environmental rather than genetically caused and, therefore, cannot be passed on to the next generation.

`int_(-pi/3)^(pi/3) x^4 sin(x) dx` Evaluate the definite integral.

You need to solve the definite integral, using fundamental theorem of calculus, such that:

`int_a^b f(x) dx = F(b) - F(a)`

First, you need to solve the indefinite integral `int x^4*sin x dx` , using parts, such that:

`int vdu = v*u - int udv`

If `v = x^4 and du = sin x` yields:

`dv = 4x^3 and u = -cos x`

`int x^4*sin x dx = -x^4*cos x + 4int x^3*cos x dx`

Using parts again for `int x^3*cos x dx` yields:

`v = x^3 and du = cosx=> dv = 3x^2 and u = sin x`

`int x^3*cos x dx = x^3*sin x - 3int x^2*sin x dx`

Using parts again for `int x^2*sin x dx` yields:

`v = x^2 and du = sin x=> dv = 2x and u = -cos x`

`int x^2*sin x dx = -x^2*cos x + 2int x*cos x dx`

Using parts for the last time for `int x*cos x dx` yields:

`v = x and du = cos x => dv = 1 and u = sin x`

`int x*cos x dx = x*sin x - int sin x dx`

`int x*cos x dx = x*sin x + cos x`

Take the result `x*sin x + cos x` and replace it for `int x*cos x dx` above:

`int x^2*sin x dx = -x^2*cos x + 2x*sin x + 2cos x`

Take the result `-x^2*cos x + 2x*sin x + 2cos x` and replace it for `int x^2*sin x dx` above:

`int x^3*cos x dx = x^3*sin x - 3(-x^2*cos x + 2x*sin x + 2cos x)`

`int x^3*cos x dx = x^3*sin x + 3x^2*cos x - 6x*sin x - 6cos x`

Take the result `x^3*sin x + 3x^2*cos x - 6x*sin x - 6cos x` and replace it for `int x^3*cos x dx` above:

`int x^4*sin x dx = -x^4*cos x + 4int x^3*cos x dx`

`int x^4*sin x dx = -x^4*cos x + 4(x^3*sin x + 3x^2*cos x - 6x*sin x - 6cos x)`

`int x^4*sin x dx = -x^4*cos x + 4x^3*sin x + 12x^2*cos x - 24x*sin x - 24cos x`

Calculating the integral yields:

`int_(-pi/3)^(pi/3) x^4*sin x dx = (-x^4*cos x + 4x^3*sin x + 12x^2*cos x - 24x*sin x - 24cos x)|_(-pi/3)^(pi/3)`

`int_(-pi/3)^(pi/3) x^4*sin x dx = (-(pi/3)^4*cos (pi/3) + 4(pi/3)^3*sin (pi/3) + 12(pi/3)^2*cos (pi/3) - 24(pi/3)*sin (pi/3) - 24cos (pi/3) +(pi/3)^4*cos (pi/3) - 4(pi/3)^3*sin (pi/3) - 12(pi/3)^2*cos (pi/3) + 24(pi/3)*sin (pi/3) + 24cos (pi/3))`

Reducing like terms yields:

`int_(-pi/3)^(pi/3) x^4*sin x dx = 0`

You also may solve the integral by noticing the the function `f(x) = x^4*sin x` is odd and you may use the propert` int_(-a)^a f(x) dx = 0` if f(x) is odd.

You may prove that ` f(x) = x^4*sin x` is odd such that:

`f(-x) = (-x)^4*sin (-x) = x^4*(-sin x) = -x^4*sin x = -f(x)`

Hence, evaluating the definite integral, using either the fundamental theorem of calculus, or the property of odd functions `int_(-a)^a f(x) dx = 0` , yields `int_(-pi/3)^(pi/3) x^4*sin x dx = 0.`

Does courtship lie at the center of Pride and Prejudice or not?

Very good question.

Courtship, while important to the novel, is not really the novel's central concern. Pride and Prejudice is a novel of manners, meaning it is a story that focuses on the social roles of a group of characters, how their words and conversations help define those characters' social roles, and ultimately, how well each of the characters succeeds at fulfilling their social roles.

Some examples:

• For the Bennet sisters, the social expectation is, of course, that they will marry well--but then again, they have to. Their father, described as an "indolent" man, has not saved any money for their upkeep, and to make matters worse, his estate is entailed, meaning that if he himself has no sons, the estate will not be inherited by any of his daughters, but by the next available male heir. In this case, that heir turns out to be a somewhat distant cousin, the objectionable, foolish, and insipid Mr. Collins. In this way, Mr. Bennet may be said to be something of a failure at his role: he cannot provide for his daughters, and is too indolent and indifferent to try to mend matters. Meanwhile, his wife Mrs Bennet--ignorant, foolish, embarrassing, and high-strung though she may be--is nevertheless rather a success, at least socially: she has married well, is secure at least for the lifetime of her husband, and surely one or the other of her daughters will marry well enough to take care of her and the rest of the girls, should Mr. Bennet predecease her. As far as Mrs. Bennet's social expectations are concerned, therefore, she has fulfilled them.

• The kind and intelligent Charlotte Lucas, who eventually marries the awful Mr. Collins (after Lizzy turns him down), on the other hand, is a smashing success: she has succeeded in marrying a stable man and achieving an establishment and financial security of her own--no matter how annoying the man she had to marry to get that security may be.

• Lydia is an abject failure at her role. She elopes with Wickham and thus tarnishes permanently not only her own reputation, but the reputation of all her family.

• Caroline Bingley, lovely, cultured, and rich, is also catty and rude to the extent that the brilliant match she hoped for, Mr. Darcy, is disgusted by her.

Courtship and marriage is such a concern for the Bennet sisters in particular because they are in an awkward place socially. Being the daughters of a gentleman, however penniless he might be, they cannot exactly go get jobs to better their situation; that would be absolutely unheard of. Their best hope is to succeed in the role available to them: that is, to make a good marriage, and achieve permanence and stability that way.

So while the courtships and marriages of many of the female characters are important to the plot of the story, Pride and Prejudice is less a novel about courtship, and more a novel about success and failure in one's prescribed social role, and the various faces that success or failure may wear.

Why is Gonzalo's symbol a pepper in Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman?

Paul Fleischman's novel Seedfolks is a series of thirteen character vignettes that tell the background of each character and what they plant in the community garden that connects them. Kim, the first character to plant in the vacant lot in the Cleveland, Ohio, neighborhood where they live, is from Vietnam.

Gonzalo is the fourth character readers meet. He is from Guatemala, and he helps his Tio Juan when he plants in the garden. In this book, the seeds that Gonzalo and Tio Juan plant are never identified. Gonzalo explains,

"He showed me exactly how far apart the rows should be and how deep. He couldn't read the words on the seed packets, but he knew from the pictures what seeds were inside. He poured them into his hand and smiled. He seemed to recognize them, like old friends. Watching him carefully sprinkling them into troughs he'd made, I realized that I didn't know anything about growing food and that he knew everything."

Many of the characters specify what they are growing, because what they grow is significant in some way. Curtis plants tomatoes in an effort to show his ex-girlfriend Lateesha that he has changed. Virgil's father plants lettuce because he has heard that fancy restaurants will pay top dollar for fresh lettuce. Gonzalo's story is more about acclimating to a new culture. It was easy for him because he learned to speak English through watching TV. It was impossible for Tio Juan because he was old when they moved, and only knew an Indian language. The only person he is able to communicate with is Gonzalo's mother. Planting seeds in the garden is the first time Tio Juan can participate in something meaningful in his new country.

Judy Pederson provides illustrations in this novel, and she drew a packet of sweet peppers on page 17, where Gonzalo is introduced. There is no other textual evidence about what was planted by Gonzalo and Tio Juan, so readers must make an inference about why the sweet pepper packet was drawn by the illustrator. Since Tio Juan was a farmer in Guatemala, it is possible he chose seeds based on what he knew would grow best in that location. He did feel and even taste the soil prior to planting.

Can a President be sued in order to prevent him or her from executing the law as passed by Congress? I know that they can overrule a veto, but can...

One of the things that makes America great and/or terrible is that you can basically sue anyone for anything. If you can find a lawyer who will sign off on it, you can pretty much sue anyone at any time.

Republicans in Congress, led by John Boehner even did so a couple years ago. According to PolitiFact (which I highly recommend in general), this is the only time a sitting President has ever been sued by Congress.

Of course, suing someone and suing someone successfully are very different things. The lawsuit was immediately thrown out and nothing came of it. Many people mocked it as nothing more than a political stunt.

Still, there doesn't appear to be anything in the Constitution saying that Congress can't sue the President, or even potentially win and make him pay damages; it's just that this has only been tried once and didn't work.