Friday, March 30, 2012

What is gas chromatography and describe it. In connection with this discuss the sampling, detection limit, precision, and error sources. Regarding...

Gas chromatography (also commonly called GC) is a method of analyzing chemical samples for purity.  Different chemical components within a sample injected onto a GC will separate and read as separate compounds by a detector.  A sophisticated system can not only separate different chemical components but it can quantify them as well.  So one very useful application of GC is detecting for the presence of illegal chemicals in samples in crime and drug labs.  Assay performance on a sophisticated system is very high.


The principle and equipment used are as follows.  The chemical sample is dissolved and diluted in a volatile chemical solvent like methanol or acetone.  The sample is injected using a syringe into an injector assembly.  The injector assembly is very hot (>200 degrees C) and vaporizes the solvent and atomizes the chemical sample into gaseous form.  The gaseous sample is picked up by the carrier gas (usually helium or hydrogen) and then carried through the GC column.  The column is a long (~25 meters) and thin (<1 millimeter) flexible tube coiled inside an oven.  The sample travels through the stationary phase in the column tube where the individual chemical entities are separated according to their affinity for the column.  The temperature in the oven can be varied to help larger compounds travel faster.  The gas then exits the column and enters a detector, which is usually a flame ionization detector (FID).  The output of the detector is plotted over time to give a graph of the sample being analyzed.


The sampling for GC is very easy.  The chemical sample needs to be dissolved in any number of basic chemical solvents.  Only microgram levels of material are required for an effective GC trace so the detection limit is down to parts per billion levels (ppb).  Precision of analysis can be very high when using an autosampler to inject the samples since it can measure and replicate injection volumes with a high degree of precision.  Error sources include sample preparation and potential gas leaks with the system (it should be gas tight).  Probably the biggest drawback to GC is that the chemicals injected need to be a low enough molecular weight to effectively atomize and exist in the gaseous state.  Compounds that are too large will not travel through the column effectively and can damage the column with regard to future analysis.

When Odysseus goes to the Underworld, the blind prophet Tiresias tells him to act with restraint and control. Find two examples after this visit,...

When Odysseus visits the Underworld and Tiresias warns Odysseus not to do certain things, Odysseus promises to heed his words, but later on, he does not obey the warning.


In Book 11, Tiresias says to Odysseus,



"...if you will curb your spirit and your comrades.


As soon as you’ve escaped the dark blue sea                     


and reached the island of Thrinacia


in your sturdy ship, you’ll find grazing there


the cattle and rich flocks of Helios,


who hears and watches over everything.


If you leave them unharmed and keep your mind                  


on your return, you may reach Ithaca,


though you’ll have trouble. But if you touch them,


then I foresee destruction for your crew,


for you, and for your ship."



Firstly, Tiresias warns Odysseus to restrain his men. After the men successfully get through the dangers of the Sirens and Scylla and Charybdis, Odysseus' crew wants to stop on the island of Helios, but Odysseus explains that they can't, he was warned against it. The men argue, and Odysseus gives in, making the men promise not to kill the cattle and flocks of Helios. Odysseus does not show restraint by allowing his crew to stop and rest on this island.


Then, the men are forced to spend a month on the island because of the winds. Odysseus goes off to pray and sleep and while he is gone he is unable to prevent the men from killing some of the cattle. Homer writes,



"They quickly rounded up the finest beasts


from Helios’ herd, which was close by,


sleek, broad-faced animals with curving horns grazing near the


dark-prowed ship. My comrades


…cut the creature’s throats,


flayed them, and cut out portions of the thighs."  



So the men kill the cattle, and have to face the wrath of the god Helios.


These two examples, of when Odysseus doesn't restrain his men and stops at the island, and then when he doesn't stop them from killing the cattle, are two examples where Odysseus does not show restraint and control according to the warnings of Tiresias.

How can I write a thesis statement on the role of Big Brother within 1984? What effect does he have on Winston, and how is Winston's obsession...

To write a clear thesis statement about Big Brother, you need to understand the role Big Brother plays in the novel. George Orwell's 1984 never answers the question of whether or not Big Brother is a real person, or just a symbol created by the Party. No matter the truth, Big Brother plays a large role in the lives of Oceania's citizens, including Winston Smith. To the masses Big Brother is the head of state and government. Countless posters proclaiming 'Big Brother Is Watching You' cover walls across Airstrip One. They are a reminder that the government is always watching, not through the posters themselves but through surveillance devices employed by the Thought Police.


For Winston Smith, his obsession with Big Brother begins with curiosity about the past, the hazy memories from his childhood when Big Brother did not exist. This search for information influences his decision to actively oppose Big Brother and the Party.


Winston's obsession with Big Brother leads to his obsession with O'Brien. Winston suspects that O'Brien is part of a resistance group against Big Brother. Believing his suspicions confirmed, Winston tells O'Brien that he wants to bring down Big Brother. In this way Winston's obsessions with Big Brother and O'Brien are similar because they influence Winston's key decisions in the novel.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Write an expository paragraph of 5-7 sentences explaining why Sylvia does not (or cannot) speak in "A White Heron." Use at least 4 supporting...

Sylvia has difficult speaking to strangers especially because she is somewhat "'"Afraid of folks,"'" as her grandmother was told when she chose Sylvia to help her on the farm from among her daughter's many children.  The little girl seems to realize that the best way to hear the sounds of nature is by being quiet herself: she could listen "to the thrushes with a heart that beat fast with pleasure," and she hears the "stirring in the great boughs overhead" which are full of "little birds and beasts" that chatter and twitter away like friends.  


However, when she hears the hunter's whistle, she is "horror-stricken," attempting to hide in silence, and perceives of him as an "enemy."  When he mentions the reward of $10 that he's willing to give anyone who helps him find the heron's nest, Sylvia gets lost in reveries about the "many wished-for treasures" that she could purchase with so much money (as it seems like a vast fortune to her).  Even as she grows more and more comfortable in the hunter's presence, she is still "troubled [and] afraid" when he shoots and kills some "unsuspecting singing creature" from its perch in the trees.


In short, Sylvia seems to speak little (or not at all) for various reasons: there is her general discomfort around people; silence it allows her to hear nature's sounds better; she's imaginative and can get wrapped up in her fantasies; and she intuitively understands that the hunter is ultimately harming, not preserving, the birds that she loves so very much.

How does the writer bring out the sadness of the boy's death in the poem "Out, Out—?" Discuss the time and setting, the cause of the fatal...

The poem recounts a day when the men and boys are working in the yard cutting firewood with a buzz saw. The setting is in Vermont, where five mountain ranges can be seen in the background. It is just about dusk, and the men have been working all day. The boy is operating the buzz saw, cutting larger logs into "stove-length sticks of wood," when his sister comes to announce that supper is ready. At this the boy becomes distracted, and the whirling blade of the saw meets the flesh of his wrist, severing it nearly completely. The doctor arrives and administers an anesthetic, but as he is doing so, the boy dies, presumably from shock and loss of blood.


The poet conveys sadness by the narrator, known only as "I" in the poem, saying, "Call it a day, I wish they might have said." If the work had been called off an hour sooner, giving the boy a half hour to go and play, the accident would never have occurred. The exclamation, "But the hand!" and the description of the boy's "rueful laugh" brings a horrifying sadness. The poet puts the reader in the boy's mind, saying that as he held up his dangling hand, he "saw all— / Since he was old enough to know, big boy / Doing a man’s work, though a child at heart." The reader feels sadness knowing the boy had been working so hard, yet he really was just a child. One can't help thinking at the same time that the parents and all the adults there would be blaming themselves for allowing so young and inexperienced a person to run such dangerous equipment.


When the boy pleads with his sister to not let the doctor cut his hand off, it is almost unbearable to imagine the scene. The pronouncement that "the hand was gone already" is somber, but then comes the stunning description of the boy's life slipping away before the reader's eyes: "Little—less—nothing!—and that ended it." With agonizing understatement, the poet sums up the finality of death: "No more to build on there." Though the last line seems cruel, describing how those who were not the one who was dead "turned to their affairs," it is a numbing commentary on the fact that life goes on for the living even after unspeakable tragedy.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

What is a summary of From the Mines to the Streets: A Bolivian Activist’s Life by Benjamin Kohl and Linda C. Farthing?

In From the Mines to the Streets, authors Benjamin Kohl and Linda C. Farthing jointly translated Felix Muruchi Poma's autobiography titled Minero con poder de dinamita, published in 2009. In From the Mines, Kohl and Farthing detail the life of Muruchi, a social activist in Bolivia during the time of military dictatorship, while also providing historical accounts of the social, economic, and political atmosphere of Bolivia during this time period. Themes in From the Mines include struggles among classes, the importance of ethnic identity, and gender roles in Bolivia.

Muruchi, of indigenous Andean descent, was born in the village of Wila Apacheta in the department of Oruro. When Muruchi was born in 1946, as he phrases it, "a kind of slavery" existed in which landowning Spanish families ruled over the indigenous people. As Muruchi further phrases it, "[The] indigenous people were not allowed to walk freely in the plazas of the cities nor contract their labor independently" (Ch. 1). At the age of 6 or 7, Muruchi helped his family pasture sheep, and during this time, the 1952 Revolution broke out, securing citizenship, suffrage, freedom of mobilization, and education for the indigenous people. At the age of 18, in 1964, Muruchi began his compulsory military service. He recounts standing sentry outside the meeting in which commanders planned the coup d'etat that began 18 years of military dictatorial rule over Bolivia.

Soon, Muruchi joined the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (PCML), which formed a resistance against the dictatorship. As a member of the PCML and a miner, Muruchi was a victim of the September Massacre of 1965 in which the military occupied the Catavi-Siglo XX mines, killing miners and their families. During this time Muruchi was wounded by a grenade. By 1970, he led a triumphant attack on the police barracks in Uncla and captured their weapons. He also became a labor leader and began making covert trips into Chile to meet with other labor leaders. Though he was imprisoned for a time, he was released and exiled to Chile in 1976 and eventually taken in by the Dutch as a refugee.

By 1981, Bolivia's military government was brought down. By 1982, the Confederation of Bolivian Private Entrepreneurs, the Bolivian Workers Confederation, and the Catholic Church all pushed for the restoration of the democratic government in Bolivia, leading to the election of President Hernán Siles Zuazo. By 1987, Muruchi returned to Bolivia and took residence in El Alto. In 1993, he won the office of the congressional deputy with the Free Bolivia Movement. He also actively fought for the establishment of a university and, by 2009, graduated as an attorney.

"Some believe that Midsummer has strong female characters who make their own decisions and stand up for themselves. Others believe that the play...

The play does not merely reinforce stereotypes. It shows how women can break through stereotypes. I would caution, however, against the false dichotomy of either so-called strong females characters or a sexist narrative. Women in real life are neither strong nor weak in every cause, just as men in real life are neither strong nor weak. Humans have both good and bad qualities and there are some people who are stronger than others. Shakespeare presents a realistic cast of characters with a different array of realistic strengths and weaknesses. I would argue this is actually more of a break from convention than simply preventing a series of women who confirm to the strong/weak binary.


The fairy queen, for instance, is generally a very strong character. She is in a position of power and she disobeys her husband. She becomes a fool, however, when the love spell enamors her with Bottom. This is not a reinforcement of stereotypes. She is still a powerful and strong woman. Shakespeare is merely demonstrating how strong people are often foolish in the face of love, even when that love that is fading and superficial. This is realistic of human beings, whether these humans are male or female. Note that the male characters of the play are also swayed by the spell. No character is immune from the charms of love.


Shakespeare presents many kinds of women: Helena, who has a stereotypical pining for her lover, Titania, a powerful woman in conflict with her husband, Hippolyta, a strong, free woman in love with a man of order, etc... This depiction of women as human beings, with the same flaws and strength as men, is the very sort of force that breaks stereotypes in literature. Strong female characters alone are often as foolish as weak characters alone; both demonstrate that women exist on a binary, unlike the more complex male characters. Complexity breaks convention, not strength.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

At a track meet, a runner runs the 100-m dash in 12s. What was the runner's average speed?

A runner runs 100 meters in 12 seconds and we are asked to find the average speed.


The average speed is the total distance divided by the total time over some interval. This is the rate of change of distance with respect to time. Here the average speed is given by (100m)/(12s) or 8 & 1/3 m/s, or 8.33.


The average speed is 8 and 1/3 m/s.


This can be converted to other units such as km/hr or miles per hour:


(a) km/hr: 25/3 m/s * 1/1000 km/m * 3600/1 s/hr = 30 km/hr


(b) mi/hr: 25/3 m/s * 3600/1 s/hr * 100 cm/m * 1/2.54 in/cm *1/12 ft/in*1/5280 mi/ft = 18.64 mi/hr


In general speed can be thought of as the rate, where d=rt with d the distance traveled, r the rate, and t the time. So, we have 100m=r(12s), so r=100/12 m/s or 8 and 1/3 m/s.

Monday, March 26, 2012

In Animal Farm, what are the animals' condition under Napoleon's leadership?

Napoleon over promises and under delivers.  The condition of the animals, therefore, is miserable. This fact is painfully clear to the reader, but the animals cannot see through the ideology that Napoleon and Squealer spin.  Therefore, some animals think that they have it better, when, in fact, things are far worse.  A brief summary will show this point. 


First, the workhorse of the group - Boxer is not rewarded for all his labor, but he is actually sent to a slaughter house when he cannot work any more.  This shows that the pigs do not care about the well being of any of the animals. 


Second, under the leadership of Napoleon, there is a massacre. Many of the animals are killed under false charges. It is a blood bath. 


Third, when it comes retirement, the text says that no one actually ever retired. Napoleon works the animals until death.  Of Clover the text says: "she was two years past the retiring age, but in fact no animal had ever actually retired."


Finally, Napoleon's hypocrisy is complete when he turns into a human. In short, the condition of the animals is horrible. 

What is the summary for Shell Shaker by LeAnne Howe?

Shell Shaker, by LeAnne Howe, tells the parallel story of two women's lives. The story follows the strange circumstances that similarly occur to two separate generations of the Billy family, who is part of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The first tale takes place in 1738 when a woman named Shakbatina sacrifices herself to save her murderous daughter, Anoleta, and to prevent a war from erupting with the Chickasaws. Two centuries later in 1991, Auda Billy is accused of murder. Much like Shakbatina sacrifices herself to save her daughter, Auda's mother, Susan, takes the blame for Auda and is tried for the murder. The story flashes back between 1738 and 1991 so that the reader can see the similarities between the lives of each of these families.

How could I go about writing an interview in reference to the book Bud, Not Buddy?

An interview concerning the book Bud, Not Buddy would involve asking a particular character questions and revealing the answers. I think it would impress any instructor if you wrote an interview with the character of Bud concerning his experience of the time period in which he lives: the Great Depression. You could then ask Bud questions for which the reader never receives direct answers in the book. For example, you could ask Bud how it felt to be an orphan. Then Bud could respond. You could ask Bud how he felt when his good friend Bugs disappeared while riding the rails. You could ask Bud about the racism he sees within the Hooverville (as well as within Grand Rapids) and how it affected his opinion of “white folks.” You could ask Bud if any of his “rules” have a direct reference to the Great Depression and survival amid poverty. You could ask Bud if he had any previous experience with hearing jazz music of the 1930s (and if he liked that music). You could ask Bud to compare his mother with his grandfather. (This question could involve the differences in thought between experiencing life in the 1920s vs. the 1930s.) You could ask Bud about the first song he played both on his recorder (the “skinny wooden flute”) and then on his saxophone.

What does the necklace symbolize when Mathilde first sees it in the satin box in "The Necklace"?

The necklace symbolizes the unattainable life of wealth that Mathilde longs for.


Mathilde is a middle class woman who longs to be rich.  She feels like she was born into the wrong lifestyle.  She is pretty, but she wants wealth.  When her husband gets her an invitation to a party, she is not as happy as he might have thought.  She gets very upset, and he asks her what is wrong.



"Nothing. Only I have no gown, and, therefore, I can't go to this ball. Give your card to some colleague whose wife is better equipped than I am."



Mathilde convinces her husband to use all of his savings on the new dress. However, she still needs a jewel that can compete with the other wealthy ball attendees.  He tells her to borrow one from a rich friend.


Madame Forestier is an old school friend of Mathilde’s, and much wealthier.  She gladly agrees to lend Mathilde any jewel that she wants.  She offers up many to her, but Mathilde chooses one that seems particularly expensive.



Suddenly she discovered, in a black satin box, a superb diamond necklace, and her heart throbbed with an immoderate desire. Her hands trembled as she took it. She fastened it round her throat,outside her high-necked waist, and was lost in ecstasy at her reflection in the mirror.



The necklace seems very valuable, and appears to be part of the lifestyle Mathilde desires and feels that she deserves.  It symbolizes wealth and prestige to Mathilde.  She has no idea that it’s fake.  When she loses it, she replaces it with the real thing.  Madame Forestier doesn’t know it until years later, when Mathilde has paid off the debt.  Mathilde tells her, and she realizes that she has wasted her life and her beauty paying off a debt that she didn’t need to incur.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

What is the relationship between altitude and temperature of a place?

The temperature and altitude relationship depends upon the altitude of a location. In general, as we go higher, the temperature falls. This is the reason, mountains have lower temperature and beyond a certain height, mountains are always covered with snow. The elevation is generally measured with reference to mean sea level. As we go up in altitude, the temperature falls at a rate of about 6.5 degree Celsius per 1000 m altitude rise. Till temperature fall continues within the lowermost layer of our atmosphere, known as the troposphere. Above the troposphere, the stratosphere exists and in this region the temperature increases with an increase in altitude. The mesosphere is the part of the atmosphere that lies above the stratosphere. In this region, the temperature falls with an increase in altitude. And finally as we continue rising up, we reach the thermosphere, where the temperature increases with increased altitude.


Hope this helps. 

`x + y + 4z = 5, 2x + y - z = 9` Use matricies to solve the system of equations (if possible). Use Gauss-Jordan elimination.

The augmented matrix is `[[1,1,4,5],[2,1,-1,9]]`


On applying `R_1 -gt 2R_1 - R_2` we get



`[[1,1,4,5],[0,1,9,1]] `


On applying `R_1 -gt R_1 - R_2` we get


`[[1,0,-5,4],[0,1,9,1]]`


The corresponding system is `x - 5z = 4`


`y + 9z = 1`


Let `k` be any real number and `z = k` . Now substitute `z` value in above equations and find the values of `x` and `y` in terms of `k` .



`x - 5z = 4 `


`x = 4 + 5z = 4 + 5k`


`y+ 9z = 1`


`y = 1 -9 z = 1 - 9k`


Hence the solution set is `{4 + 5k, 1 - 9k, k}`

Why didn't Portia accept Shylock's offer to take Bassanio's money instead of the pound of flesh?

Once Shylock realizes he’s been outfoxed by Portia’s legal maneuvering, he offers to settle his suit for the return of the principal he lent Antonio. Portia refuses to grant him even that. Shylock had earlier refused offers of several times his initial principal and declared himself unsatisfied with any settlement except the pound of Antonio’s flesh that he is entitled to. Portia’s vengeance is to hold him to this declaration, determining that he is not entitled even to his principal funds, but must take the pound or nothing. It’s harsh and a bit mean-spirited to refuse even to give him back the money he lent in the first place, but Shylock’s implacability and insistence on his payment in flesh was equally harsh and Portia is determined to subject him to his own merciless sense of justice.

Give a brief description of a daydream and what caused it by reality?

Walter Mitty's daydream which opens the story is a good example of how he translates reality into fantasy. 



"We're going through!” The Commander’s voice was like thin ice breaking. He wore his full-dress uniform, with the heavily braided white cap pulled down rakishly over one cold gray eye. “We can’t make it, sir. It’s spoiling for a hurricane, if you ask me.” “I’m not asking you, Lieutenant Berg,” said the Commander. 



This daydream is especially interesting for several reasons. One is that it shows how Mitty puts himself in roles that are appropriate to his age. In order to have reached the rank of Commander he would have to be middle-aged. Many young people indulge in fantasies regularly, but they fantasize about being football or baseball heroes or, in the case of girls, perhaps as Cinderella types or lead singers with rock groups. Mitty has no youthful fantasies anymore, which shows he is something of a realist even in his daydreams.


The reality that triggers his daydream of piloting a powerful hydroplane through hurricane weather is in the fact that he sees a storm coming and the fact that he knows he is going to have to drive through wet weather to get himself and his wife to Waterbury for their shopping trip and back again to their country home. At the end of the story the storm will finally hit. He will be standing with his back against the wall of a drugstore smoking a cigarette. The cigarette and his standing against a wall will trigger the idea that he is standing bravely before a firing squad.



“To hell with the handkerchief,” said Walter Mitty scornfully. He took one last drag on his cigarette and snapped it away. Then, with that faint, fleeting smile playing about his lips, he faced the firing squad; erect and motionless, proud and disdainful, Walter Mitty the Undefeated, inscrutable to the last. 



What snaps him out of his fantasy role as Commander Mitty piloting the hydroplane is his wife's voice--the voice of reason, reality, caution, and authority.



“Not so fast! You’re driving too fast!” said Mrs. Mitty. “What are you driving so fast for?”



She is one of those women who repeats everything.



“You were up to fifty-five,” she said. “You know I don’t like to go more than forty. You were up to fifty-five.” 



When Mitty was mentally giving orders to increase the power of the hydroplane engines, he unconsciously pressed a little harder on the car's accelerator and was soon going fifty-five miles an hour. His wife probably had her eye on the speedometer and didn't squawk until the needle reached 55. He was courting danger, not only in his imaginary hydroplane, but in his automobile. 


Thurber's story just gives a glimpse into Walter Mitty's mind. He has many other fantasies, but the one triggered by the approaching storm clouds and one triggered by the rain and sleet when they hit put a frame around the story by giving it a sense of a beginning and an end. 

Does George Orwell use any stylistic devices, like irony or metaphor, in "Shooting An Elephant"?

In "Shooting An Elephant," Orwell employs a number of stylistic devices to reinforce the story's themes and key ideas. There is a strong element of situational irony, for instance, through Orwell's description of his role as a police officer. While we might expect Orwell to be a figure of power and authority, his situation is ironic because the opposite happens: we learn that he has much sympathy for the plight of those he governs and that he only shoots the elephant to avoid "looking a fool."


Orwell also uses metaphors in the story. Here is one example:



I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly.



By comparing the will of the people to a physical force, Orwell emphasises the idea that as a colonial officer, he is forced to act in a particular way. This, he argues, illustrates the true nature of imperialism: that it exploits the imperialists as much as those who are colonised. 

Saturday, March 24, 2012

What are some examples of metaphors in the Lord's speech to Job?

The Lord's speech to Job, found in Job chapters 38-41, contains some of the most beautiful metaphors and personifications in the Bible.  Merriam-Webster defines a metaphor as:



A word or phrase for one thing that is used to refer to another thing in order to show or suggest that they are similar.



With this definition in mind, here are some examples of metaphors found in the Lord's speech:



Job 38:1 "Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm."



The opening of the speech sets the scene: God is speaking to Job out of a storm. The storm can serve as a metaphor here for the chaos currently reigning in Job's life.



Job 38:4-6 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone..."



The Lord is using the process of building a structure as a metaphor for creation. 



Job 38:15 "The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken."



Light is often used as a metaphor for goodness and wisdom in the Bible, and the upraised arm is a symbol for victory (think of a statue with a soldier's arm raised with a sword in hand). This verse is a metaphor for God's victory over the wicked, as they are without wisdom or weapon.



Job 39:2-4 "Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will it stay by your manger at night? Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness? Will it till the valleys behind you? Will you rely on it for its great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to it? Can you trust it to haul in your grain and bring it to your threshing floor?”



The ox was considered to be the strongest creature and tool in Ancient Near Eastern society. God is using the ox as a metaphor for society's strength and innovation, asking Job if he has the ability to control the people's innovation and might for his will.


There are a lot more metaphors found in the text. Some of them are buried in symbols and extended personifications (see if you can find it in Job 39:2-4). Remember, metaphors are different from similes and do not use "like" or "as" when making comparisons. Be sure to not mistake the many similes in the Lord's speech for metaphors as you comb the passage. 

How can pollen be dispersed?

Pollen is the product of the male reproductive system of a plant and needs to be dispersed, ideally, away from the parent plant. This pollen dispersal increases genetic diversity, protects the species from extinction and reduces the competition between the plants for resources. A number of agents are used for the dispersal of pollen. Many flowering plants use bees and other insects for pollen dispersal. Some other plants may use birds for pollen dispersal. These pollinators (the organisms that causes pollination by dispersal) need to be attracted towards the pollen source. That is why many plants produce nectar. Wind and water are known agents of pollen dispersal. Wind can carry the pollen great distances. Similarly, any pollen that falls into water can also be carried away to distant regions. This increases the chance of pollination of a flower farther away, increasing the odds of the seedlings growing in some region far away from the parent plant. This will give both plants greater access to resources without competition between the parent plant and seedling.


Hope this helps.  

Friday, March 23, 2012

I'm taking a mid-semester test for middle school. Currently, we are learning about Imperialism and the Industrial Revolution. On our study guide,...

I would recommend you drop the first word in the first sentence. There is no need to start with the word yes. This makes it sound like you are having a conversation with somebody.  Make the second sentence into a sentence. You have written the second sentence as a phrase. I would reword the second sentence by indicating the industrial revolution can lead to imperialism. Then give examples of countries that were imperialistic and experienced the industrial revolution. The United States and Britain could be used as examples. Explain that these countries needed raw materials, and they could get them more cheaply if they had colonies than if they had to buy them from other countries. Also, explain that the colonies provided a place where they could sell the products made by their factories. I would give examples of places each country colonized to support why they wanted colonies. For example, Great Britain had the American colonies while the United States had the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. From there, I would explain that imperialistic countries need colonies so the military, especially the navy, would have a place to resupply and refuel their ships. Without colonies, it would be much more difficult to protect the international trade because the navy needs ports where they can dock their ships. I would then conclude with a statement that there is a connection between imperialism and industrialization.


I hope these ideas help you rewrite your answer in a smooth flowing response.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

How does Jim bet on his mare in "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"?

Jim enters his mare into races, fooling others into thinking she can't possibly win, and he places bets on her.


Because the mare looks very slow and sickly, people don't believe she'll win. (When others are very confident that your horse will lose, then you actually get more money when your horse wins than if your fellow betters had more confidence in your horse.) So, his mare looks very ill and starts off going very slowly in the races. Her unfortunate appearance and gait have earned her the nickname "the fifteen-minute nag," meaning it takes her fifteen minutes to go once around the track. (In other words, since the track is 1/4 of a mile long, she only goes one mile an hour.)


So, Jim's mare is such a poor competitor that she even gets to have a head start in the races. At first, as the race begins, she does horribly. The other horses pass her by as if she never had the head start.


But then suddenly, toward the very end of the race, she puts on a burst of speed and makes this awkward, messy, loud bolt for the finish line--and then she wins, just barely beating the other horses.


The man who retells this story, Simon Wheeler, says that Jim is just lucky and that's why he wins his bets a lot. But as readers, we know a bit better. Jim is tricky. He lets people think that his mare is not a good competitor; he places the bets, and then he collects his winnings. He did the same thing, basically, with his dog (entering him in fights) and his frog (entering him in jumping contests).

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Why was Virginia called an angel in "The Canterville Ghost?"

Angels are messengers who travel forth between heaven and earth, interceding between God and humans. Virginia is called an angel because she intercedes on the ghost's behalf. She weeps the tears he is unable to cry, and she says the prayers he is unable to speak. By interceding for him, she paves the way for him to be forgiven for his crimes. She shows the remorse he feels but can't express. By interceding for him, she paves the way for him to go to his final rest, which is what he longs for more than anything. 


Angels are associated with purity, and Virginia is like an angel in that sense too. She is pure, a 15-year-old virgin, and she has a kind, compassionate heart. Unlike her brothers, she doesn't ridicule the ghost but is able to empathize with his pain. 

What are atoms composed of?

In order to understand atoms, one must first look at their individual parts. Atoms are made of three main parts that determine what type of element the atom is. The first two parts, protons and neutrons, reside in the nucleus of the atom, a central location that is much smaller than the entire atom itself. The number of protons present in an atom is what is used to define what type of element it is. This measure is used to classify atoms by their atomic number. For example, hydrogen, the first element of the periodic table, has 1 proton giving it an atomic number of 1. Neutrons are important for determining the atomic mass of an element. The atomic mass number is calculated by adding together the mass of all the neutrons and protons present. It is important to note that an atom with the same atomic number can have a different number of neutrons, giving it a different atomic mass. When this occurs it is known as an isotope of the element. 


The third type of particle in an atom is the electron. Electrons reside outside the nucleus of the atom. In fact, the distance of electrons from the nucleus is immense. Electrons are also responsible for determining the charge of an atom. Today, quantum physics is focusing on looking at how electrons function in the atom and where exactly they are located at any given time. Hope this helps!

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Is Lennie's killing by George justified in Of Mice and Men?

In my opinion, Steinbeck wants us to believe that George is justified in killing Lennie and that he really has no other choice. In the 1930s, when the novel is set, there were no special education programs or federal disability laws. People were unlikely to have any understanding of the mentally challenged. In those days people like Lennie had very few alternatives and might have found themselves in a mental hospital if no one was available to care for them. Law enforcement would have been apathetic toward Lennie's disability. They would have locked him up and treated him very poorly if he had been apprehended after the accidental killing of Curley's wife.


Steinbeck foreshadows Lennie's death in chapter three when Carlson kills Candy's dog because the dog has become old and crippled. The dog was Candy's best friend, and he couldn't bring himself to put the dog out of its misery himself. He confesses to George that his lack of action was a mistake. He says,






“I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.”









This must be on George's mind in chapter five when Candy shows him the dead body of Curley's wife. After asking Candy to wait before telling the other men about the girl, he sneaks into the bunkhouse and takes Carlson's Luger.


George may ultimately make up his mind after Slim implies that George must do something about Lennie. Slim says,






"An’ s’pose they lock him up an’ strap him down and put him in a cage. That ain’t no good, George.” 









George realizes that Lennie wouldn't understand being locked up and he doesn't want his friend left at the mercy of Curley, who is angry not only about his wife, but more so because Lennie has crushed his hand. George does the only thing possible to save his friend. Slim affirms George's decision in the end of chapter six when he says,






“You hadda, George. I swear you hadda. Come on with me.”











In what ways is Mr. Flood an example of a modern hero in "Mr. Flood's Party"?

In Edwin Arlington Robinson's poem, "Mr. Flood's Party," Mr. Flood represents modern man because he is alienated and alone, and lost in a world that has become for him meaningless, yet he is an existential hero because he creates some meaning out of this meaningless world.


Accompanied by his jug, Eben Flood walks drunkenly home, talking to himself as though someone else were holding this jug. He becomes involved in an imaginary drama as an untethered soul because his friends are all gone. He sings "with only two moons listening," and



There was not much that was ahead of him, 
And there was nothing in the town below— 
Where strangers would have shut the many doors 
That many friends had opened long ago.



Eben Flood is an existential man, who seeks to create some meaning out of a meaningless world. He sings "Auld Lang Syne" but no one listens in the "silver loneliness"; nevertheless, he forms some sense of order with this song and with his valiant recall of memories with old friends; in fact, he is heroic as he creates meaning in his empty life.

Friday, March 16, 2012

`(2x^3 - 4x^2 - 15x + 5)/(x^2 - 2x - 8)` Write the partial fraction decomposition of the rational expression.

`(2x^3-4x^2-15x+5)/(x^2-2x-8)`


Since the above rational expression is an improper rational expression , so the first step is to divide and express the expression as a sum of simpler fractions such that the degree of the polynomial in the numerator is less than the degree of the polynomial in the denominator.


Dividing the polynomial using long division method yields,


`(2x^3-4x^2-15x+5)/(x^2-2x-8)=2x+(x+5)/(x^2-2x-8)`  


Since the polynomials do not completely divide, we have to continue with the partial fractions of the remainder expression,


Now let's factorize the denominator of the remainder expression,


`x^2-2x-8=x^2-4x+2x-8`


`=x(x-4)+2(x-4)`


`=(x+2)(x-4)`


Let,`(x+5)/(x^2-2x-8)=A/(x+2)+B/(x-4)`


`=(A(x-4)+B(x+2))/((x+2)(x-4))`


`=(Ax-4A+Bx+2B)/((x+2)(x-4))`


`=(x(A+B)-4A+2B)/((x+2)(x-4))`


`:.(x+5)=x(A+B)-4A+2B`


Equating the coefficients of the like terms,


`A+B=1`           ----- equation 1


`-4A+2B=5`  ------ equation 2


Now solve the above equations to get the solutions of A and B,


From equation 1,


`A=1-B`


 substitute the above expression of A in equation 2 ,


`-4(1-B)+2B=5`


`-4+4B+2B=5`


`6B=5+4`


`B=9/6`


`B=3/2`


Plug the value of B in equation 1,


`A+3/2=1`


`A=1-3/2`


`A=-1/2`


`(x+5)/(x^2-2x-8)=-1/(2(x+2))+3/(2(x-4))`


`:.(2x^3-4x^2-15x+5)/(x^2-2x-8)=2x-1/(2(x+2))+3/(2(x-4))`

Thursday, March 15, 2012

How is Dill Harris a mockingbird in To Kill a Mockingbird?

The mockingbird in To Kill A Mockingbird symbolizes any person who is damaged or injured by evil or cruelty, resulting in a loss of innocence, an understanding of the brutal world, or even physical injury or death.


During Tom Robinson's trial, the reader begins to see how Dill is a symbolic mockingbird. Specifically, after the cruel cross-examination by Mr. Gilmer, Dill reveals this side of himself. He and Scout go outside where Dill compares Mr. Gilmer with Atticus. He says that Atticus does not treat witnesses in that manner. A man who is outside with them, Mr. Dolphus Raymond, assures Dill that he will soon reach a point in his life that he will not cry about such matters. It is during this time that the reader sees a loss of Dill's innocence. Dill realizes that people do not always treat others fairly or care about understanding others. Up until this time, Dill was essentially unaware of differences between black people and white people, and just assumed that all people are equal as they are all members of the human race. During this scene in the book, Dill loses his ability to be blind to race and color, therefore losing his childish innocence, and becoming a symbolic mockingbird.

State two examples where an object possesses both the potential and kinetic energies.

Kinetic energy is the energy due to the motion of the body. If the body has a mass (m) and a velocity (v), its kinetic energy can be calculated as 1/2 mv^2. Potential energy is the energy by virtue of position of an object. If the mass of the object is m and it is at a height of h (above a certain datum, typically ground), its potential energy ca be calculated as mgh.


It is possible for an object to have both these energies simultaneously. The condition for that is the object should be in motion and should be above ground. An example is a stone falling from a height. It is in motion, hence has kinetic energy and it has potential energy, since it is above the ground. Another example is a roller coaster. It is in motion, hence has kinetic energy and it goes up and down and hence possesses potential energy (as it goes up, it increases and it decreases as the roller coaster comes down). One can also think of a ball thrown upwards as a relevant example.


Hope this helps. 

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Why was Thomas Jefferson's authorization of the Louisiana Purchase controversial?

Thomas Jefferson’s authorization of the Louisiana Purchase was controversial. The decision was a hard one for Jefferson to make, even though, to many people, it seemed like the obvious decision was to buy the land that was being offered to us by France.


The Louisiana Purchase would have doubled the size of the country if we made the purchase. It would have given us control of the Mississippi River as well as the port at New Orleans. The Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans were essential for western farmers and for our western trade. The farmers depended on the river and the port to get their products to market. It seemed like it was an obvious decision to buy the land.


However, the Constitution said nothing about the President having the authority to buy land. Those who believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution, including Thomas Jefferson himself, believed we can only do what the Constitution specifically says we can do. Thus, a person who interpreted the Constitution in a strict manner felt it wasn’t possible to make the land purchase because the Constitution didn’t specifically say the President could buy land. Thus, for some people, the decision to buy this land was very controversial. Fortunately, the President was persuaded to buy the land, and the United States doubled its size for $15 million.

What are the types of assimilation in linguistics?

In phonology (linguistics), assimilation is a process of sound change in which a sound becomes similar to another sound in its immediate environment. Assimilation of sounds can happen within a word or can even cross word boundary. Usually, the sounds undergo a change in one or more features so as to assimilate to other sounds in their environment.


In phonetics and phonology, we can classify and study sound segments in terms of a set of features. Two distinct sounds can have some common features, but will never have exactly the same set of features. For example, the phoneme /p/ is bilabial, plosive and voiceless, and differs from the sound /b/ in voicelessness. You might want to read about Distinctive Features by Jacobsen et al. for a better understanding of the theory of phonological features. During assimilation, there can be a change in the place of articulation, manner of articulation, voicing, etc. 


Assimilation of Place: In rapid speech, the native British English speakers would pronounce the phrase ‘ten balls’ as something like /tɛm bɔːlz/ instead of /tɛn bɔːlz/. For British English speakers, the sound /n/ changes to /m/ in the presence of the following sound /b/ in the next word. The sound /n/ is alveolar, but when followed by the bilabial sound /b/, it undergoes assimilation to become the bilabial sound /m/. Note that there is a change in only one feature, i.e. the place of articulation. The sound /n/ does not become plosive like the sound /b/.


Assimilation of Manner: In Hindi, which is an Indo-Aryan language, there are many instances where phonemes get nasalised when followed by nasal consonants or vowels. Such a change also happens during rapid speech. For example, the word for ‘work’ /kɑ:m/ is pronounced as /kɑ̃:m/. The vowel preceding the nasal sound /m/ becomes nasalised.


Assimilation of Voice: The plural morpheme –s (voiceless) in English becomes voiced when preceded by a voiced phoneme.


/dɒɡ/+ -s--> /dɒɡz/


Note that it remains voiceless when preceded by a voiceless phoneme.


/ kat/ + -s--> / kats/


The above example is also an example of progressive assimilation of voice, as the sound change is affected by the features of the sound preceding the given sound. The opposite of this is Regressive assimilation, where the sound acquires one or more features of the following sound. Nasal assimilation of Hindi vowels is an example of regressive assimilation.


Assimilation can be complete or partial. The above examples are all cases of partial assimilation. Assimilation is complete when the sound changes in all the features and becomes exactly like the sound nearby. For example, in British English the phrase ‘ten miles’ /tɛn mʌɪls/ is realised as /tɛm mʌɪls/ in rapid speech.


We can classify assimilation in one more way. When assimilation happens only at a given time era during rapid speech, we call it a synchronic change reflecting sociolinguistic events during a specific time. However, if it results in a change in the language phonology over a period of time, we call it a diachronic or historical change.

Why was the nullification crisis a good thing?

There are reasons why the nullification crisis was a good thing. Going back to 1798, when the Federalists passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, there had constantly been some discussion by some states about the nullification of federal laws. These Acts were aimed at the Democratic-Republican Party. More immigrants were joining the Democratic-Republican Party than the Federalist Party. By passing the Alien Act, it lengthened the amount of time it took for an immigrant to become a citizen. This meant that the immigrants couldn’t vote until they became citizens, which now would have taken more years to occur. It increased the likelihood of the Federalists staying in power. The Sedition Act made it illegal to falsely criticize the government. The South, where the Democratic-Republicans had more power, threatened to nullify these laws. Specifically, the states of Virginia and Kentucky threatened to nullify these laws. Since the laws were repealed, the threat of nullification ended. However, the threat of nullification didn’t go away.


In 1828, the people of South Carolina were outraged by the high tariff that was placed on imported products. Led by John C. Calhoun, South Carolina insisted that it could nullify any federal law that helped one state or region at the expense of another state or region. President Andrew Jackson insisted the tariff would be enforced throughout the country, including South Carolina. President Jackson suggested military force would be used to enforce the tariff, if necessary. While this crisis faded when a compromise was reached gradually lowering the tariff over a ten-year period, President Jackson made it clear that federal laws were supreme and would be enforced. It sent a message that nullification wasn’t acceptable.


While this issue wasn't clearly put to rest until after the Civil War was fought, the nullification crisis reinforced the powerful of the federal government. It also made it clear the federal laws can’t be rejected by individual states. This nullification crisis reinforced the ideas about the federal government and the federal laws that are stated in the Constitution.

What are some examples of pride in The Old Man and the Sea?

Ernest Hemingway’s Pulitzer Prize winning novella The Old Man and the Sea is the harrowing story of Santiago, an old man who faces an epic battle with a giant marlin. Hemingway foregrounds Santiago’s iron-will as he attempts to pull in this majestic fish. He is prideful and strong in a way that Hemingway positions most of his masculine protagonists. When Santiago first catches the giant marlin, he illustrates his prideful attitude:



“'I'll kill him though.... In all his greatness and his glory.' Although it is unjust, he thought. But I will show him what a man can do and what a man endures” (66).



He respects the marlin, but his pride will not allow him to accept defeat. Later in the novel, after he has fended off shark attacks, he questions what would happen if he encounters more sharks:



“Then we might have fought them together. What will you do now if they come in the night? What can you do? 'Fight them,' he said. 'I'll fight them until I die'” (115).



Thus, Santiago is a prideful, strong Hemingway protagonist, and this can be best demonstrated through his actions out at sea.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Which character had the greatest impact on Maniac in Maniac Magee?

The character that has the greatest impact on Maniac is Amanda Beale, because she gives him a family.


Maniac wants a family more than anything else. His parents are dead, and the relatives he was sent to live with did not seem able to handle having a child, or each other. He ran away and ended up in Two Mills. There he eventually found Amanda Beale, and they became friends.


The author tells us that Amanda was the first person to befriend Maniac.



As for the first person to actually stop and talk with Maniac, that would be Amanda Beale. And it happened because of a mistake. (Ch. 3) 



Maniac tells her “hi” and she is surprised, because white kids do not greet black kids. He shouldn’t even be in her neighborhood. However, Maniac has a disarming smile and is enamored of Amanda’s books. Amanda carries her library with her, so that younger siblings do not destroy the books. 


Maniac asks Amanda to lend him a book. She is hesitant at first, because she doesn’t know how he will get it back to her. He told her he was from Bridgeport. She is late for school, so she lends him a book about the Children’s Crusade. Maniac loves reading, and he is thrilled.


The Beales take Maniac in and give him a family, despite the color of his skin. It makes little difference to them once he is in their house. Maniac is so excited that he can’t sleep on his first night there until he looks at the house's address.



Before the puzzled faces of Mr. and Mrs. Beale, he opened the front door and looked at the three cast-iron digits nailed to the door frame: seven two eight. He kept staring at them, smiling. Then he closed the door, said a cheerful "Good-night," and went back to bed. (Ch. 12)



Since running away from home, Maniac has wanted nothing more than an address, with real numbers. The Beales give him that. He is forced to leave because others do not approve of a white boy living with a black family, but he later returns after Grayson dies, finally home.

In The Bronze Bow, when does Daniel break a rule, and what is the rule that he breaks?

Daniel breaks a religious rule in Chapter 7 of The Bronze Bow. In Chapter 6, Daniel has an interaction with a Roman soldier that results in Daniel getting wounded by a spear. He flees and manages to make it to Joel and Malthace's house before he passes out from the trauma of his wound. Joel and Thacia hide him in a passageway of their home, keeping him a secret from their family. Here, in Chapter 7, Daniel gets to know Joel and Thacia better. They discuss their Jewish faith, read Scripture together, and talk about their hoped-for deliverance from Roman oppression. They read the passage from the Psalms that speaks of the bronze bow, and they make a vow together to fight "for God's victory." Daniel has been getting stronger and feels like he is ready to go back to the mountain. However, it is the Sabbath (Saturday), and their religious law forbids Jews to walk "more than two thousand cubits from home" on the Sabbath because it is a day of rest. Daniel knows he is breaking this rule, but he feels he has broken so many laws already that he is "beyond all redemption." He thinks that "the Law was for the wealthy, for the scholars, not for the poor." So he leaves and returns to his mountain home, which is a violation of the rule prohibiting long travel on the Sabbath.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Is bromine a solid?

Bromine is a deep-red liquid at room temperature. Below 19 degrees Fahrenheit, bromine is a solid.


The fact that bromine is a halogen and located in group 17 of the periodic table is evidence that the element is a nonmetal. However, bromine’s position on the periodic table is not indicative as to whether or not the element is a liquid or a gas at room temperature. This can be determined by the element’s melting and boiling points. Room temperature is about 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Bromine has a melting/ freezing point of 19 degrees Fahrenheit (-7.2 degrees Celsius). This means that when bromine is below 19 degrees Fahrenheit, it is a solid. However, when bromine is above 19 degrees Fahrenheit, bromine changes from a solid to a liquid. The boiling point of bromine is 137.8 degrees Fahrenheit (58.8 degrees Celsius). At its boiling point, bromine changes from a liquid to a gas. Thus, between 19 degrees Fahrenheit and 137.8 degrees Fahrenheit, bromine is a liquid.

How are Nat and the others punished for the prank?

Nat and Kit's relationship has a somewhat rocky start. First, Nat is embarrassed and angered by Kit when she jumps into the water to save Prudence's doll. He splashes in after her but feels silly instead of heroic when he learns that she is in no danger of drowning and is upset that he has drenched his only set of clothes. 


However, later Nat learns that Kit has been helping Hannah Tupper, an old woman who lives near Blackbird Pond. Since Nat is a good friend of Hannah's, he is touched that Kit has also been taking care of her. The two grow closer while doing chores for Hannah and Nat begins to fall for Kit.


With this in mind, it is obvious that Nat is jealous when he learns that William Ashby intends to marry Kit and is constructing a large new house where they will live. Nat and some friends from The Dolphin put jack-o-lanterns in the windows of William's new house and are caught and punished by being put in the stocks.


While in the stocks, the townspeople taunt the wrongdoers and one throws an apple at Nat's head. Kit is visibly upset by this, but Nat tells her it was worth it to see the look on William's face.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

How does Shakespeare present Macbeth’s actions and feelings around the murder of king Duncan?

Shakespeare reveals Macbeth's complex feelings about killing Duncan through a series of asides in Act 1, Scenes 3-4. An aside is a dramatic convention where a character speaks either to himself, another character, or even the audience, and no other character hears what is said even though they may also be on stage.  


The following aside allows the audience to see Macbeth's initial unwillingness to kill Duncan in order to take his place as king. Just after he is named Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth speaks to himself, saying,


If chance will have me king, why, chance may    crown meWithout my stir.
[....] Come what come may,Time and the hour runs through the roughest day.  (1.3.157-164)

Since he became Cawdor without having to do anything, he thinks perhaps he can become king in the same way. He then says that even the longest day comes to an end; so, even Duncan's reign will end at some point, and then, perhaps, Macbeth can step in without having to do anything violent. Because an aside, spoken to himself, would reveal Macbeth's innermost thoughts and feelings, we can assume that Macbeth really does not want to kill Duncan.


However, once Duncan names his son, Malcolm, the Prince of Cumberland (heir to his throne), Macbeth knows that he will not be next in line. Again, in an aside to himself, he says,


The Prince of Cumberland!  That is a step On which I must fall down or else o'erleap, For in my way in lies.  Stars, hide your fires;Let not light see my black and deep desires.  (1.4.55-58)

In other words, he will either have to stop his progress to the throne here because Malcolm has been named the heir, or he will have to find another way to become king besides being named the heir. He then speaks to the stars, asking them to hide their light so that no one will be able to see the dark thoughts he's now having about what might be required to become king.


He finishes the aside by saying, "The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be / Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see" (1.5.59-60).  He won't let himself look at what his hand is doing, and yet he's still going to do whatever it is that will make his eye afraid to look. He's going to murder Duncan.  He might feel a little horrified at himself for doing it, but he's going to do it anyway.


Asides, like soliloquys, give the audience an opportunity to hear the character thinking aloud, especially when the character is speaking to himself. We see Macbeth's quick transition from willing to wait and see, to allowing his ambition to guide his actions, however wrong he knows those actions to be.

Friday, March 9, 2012

What made Leah come out of the corner in The Bronze Bow?

In chapter 10 Daniel gets a message from Simon that his grandmother is dying. Reluctantly he leaves his home on the mountain to go to his grandmother's house. She is too sick to let him in, and Leah won't open the door. When he breaks the door open, she scuttles away against the wall and stays there. Night falls and neighbors bring broth and hot coals, but Leah stays huddled against the wall, although she watches Daniel "from behind the tangled hair." As Daniel tries to nurse his grandmother, he begins speaking to her quietly. When he begins to speak of the Bible stories his grandmother had told Daniel and Leah as children, Leah stirs in the corner. Then Daniel begins to recite Psalm 23, and Leah comes to his side. She places her fingers on his hands and then sits down beside him. The words of scripture seem to have drawn Leah to Daniel and made her less fearful and more willing to trust her brother. Daniel felt that "was a sign that even now the devils did not have complete dominion."

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

How does "The Rape of the Lock" reflect 18th century society?

"The Rape of the Lock" offers a window into upper-class society in the early 18th century. At this time, England was rising as an empire and on the brink of becoming a world power. Wealth from various colonies, especially colonial outposts in India, flooded into the country, most of it to be captured by the upper classes. 


In this poem, we see a very wealthy upper class enjoying leisure and trivial pursuits. They go to balls, visit each other, gossip, drink tea, and play cards. The poem mocks  them for their idleness and their tendency to exaggerate issues that don't matter into "epics" or "dramas" of grand proportions. Today, we might call them "drama queens" or say they make mountains out of a molehill. 


As Pope writes, the rich focus on the following:



Who gave the ball, or paid the visit last;
One speaks the glory of the British Queen,
And one describes a charming Indian screen;
A third interprets motions, looks, and eyes;
At every word a reputation dies.



The "Indian screen" represents the many coveted objects from India coming into England, expanding a mercantile or trade-based culture. Tea drinking represents wealth, as the tea imported from China was very expensive in the early 18th century (the cost would fall over the course of the century), and thus a status symbol. "At every word a reputation dies" suggests that upper-class people engaged in petty and destructive gossip rather than building a strong community.


The poem reflects anxieties that the British upper class lacked the courage, virtues and abilities of the men and women in the Greek and Roman world. By framing the poem as a Classical (Greco-Roman) mock epic, Pope highlights how trivial and misguided upper class pursuits had become in comparison to the real probems the Greeks and Romans faced. If a war were to come, could the British upper classes lead armies effectively? Could a group focused on card playing, gossip, flirtations, and balls manage the growth of England into a world power? At this time, England looked to Rome with great admiration as a model of how to run an empire: the poem calls out to people to note what is lacking in the English and to become more serious.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

What is Uncle Oscar's role in "The Rocking-Horse Winner?"

Uncle Oscar is first used for purposes of exposition through dramatic dialogue. He finds out that Paul is winning money on the horses and that he is in partnership with the family gardener whose last name is Bassett. Both Paul and Bassett explain to Uncle Oscar, in extensive dialogue involving many questions and answers, that Paul picks the winning horses, and they tell him to his amazement how much money they have won so far. Paul does not need Uncle Oscar to handle the betting or to keep the money, but he wants to give his mother five thousand pounds out of his winnings without having her know where the money came from. Uncle Oscar can handle this, whereas neither Paul nor Bassett would know how to do it.



They managed it very easily. Paul, at the other's suggestion, handed over five thousand pounds to his uncle, who deposited it with the family lawyer, who was then to inform Paul's mother that a relative had put five thousand pounds into his hands, which sum was to be paid out a thousand pounds at a time, on the mother's birthday, for the next five years. 



Uncle Oscar handles other such matters for Paul, but his main functions as a character are fulfilled when he has been told all about Paul's and Bassett's winnings and has shown that he knows how to transfer money from Paul to his mother without her knowing the source of her sudden bounty. Uncle Oscar is a suitable character because he is a horse player himself and because he is thoroughly trustworthy with the money and with Paul's secrets. Uncle Oscar is also allowed to take Paul to some of the races--a fantastic experience for a boy so captivated by horses and horse-racing. 


One thing Paul keeps secret from everybody is that he is getting the names of the horses destined to win the important races by riding his rocking horse. If he rides long enough and hard enough, the name of the horse will come to him intuitively. Many horse players develop superstitions about picking winners. There is just enough plausibility to Paul's unique "system" to make the reader believe in the whole story. Uncle Oscar has the last word after Paul dies of what might be a brain hemorrhage brought on by his frantic efforts to pick the winning horse in the forthcoming Derby. 



"I never told you, mother, that if I can ride my horse, and get there, then I'm absolutely sure - oh, absolutely! Mother, did I ever tell you? I am lucky!" 

"No, you never did," said his mother. 

But the boy died in the night. 

And even as he lay dead, his mother heard her brother's voice saying to her, "My God, Hester, you're eighty-odd thousand to the good, and a poor devil of a son to the bad. But, poor devil, poor devil, he's best gone out of a life where he rides his rocking-horse to find a winner." 


How did the Canterville ghost plan to frighten the US family?

The ghost's job is to haunt and frighten whoever resides in Canterville Hall and one of his charming qualities is how seriously and earnestly he takes his job. He works hard at it and tries his best to do it well. He truly is a professional. He has a full repertoire of "frights," and he pulls out all the stops for the Otis family. This includes repeatedly putting the bloodstain on the floor of the library that the family scrubs out. He also has a series of elaborate costumes, from his Headless Nick gear to a suit of armor he dons. He moans, he drags clanking chains, he appears suddenly at night at a bedside: he does all he can to fulfill his mission. Of course, he has never been up against a set of Americans, and they don't respond as expected to his tried and true methods. 

Who were the puritans in The Crucible by Arthur Miller?

In short, pretty much every character in The Crucible is a Puritan, except perhaps for Tituba who is a slave brought to America from Barbados. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as a social commentary on what was happening in America during the 1950s in what is now called The Red Scare. Senator Joseph McCarthy was accusing people, specifically actors in America, of being communists. There was absolutely no way to prove that one was innocent of these claims - of course, a communist would deny trying to overthrow the government! With these accusations came backlash from the public, and some careers were impacted by the now-determined-false accusations. 


What's really troubling is that Joseph McCarthy had essentially no proof of any guilt for anyone he accused. People were fearful of communism, and he exploited those fears. Arthur Miller hoped that by writing The Crucible and highlighting how crazy and out of control the witchtrials in Salem were, he could draw a parallel to what was happening in America at that time. These Puritan characters offered a great similarity to how hysteria can take hold very quickly and have devastating results. 

Monday, March 5, 2012

What are some examples from Farenheit 451 in which Beatty says or does things that would make him a character foil compared to Montag?

Captain Beatty is the novel's antagonist and is the foil to Montag's character in Fahrenheit 451. There are several scenes throughout the novel that depict Beatty antagonizing, criticizing, and intimidating Montag. Towards the beginning of the novel, the firemen are sitting around a table playing cards. Montag asks what happened to the man whose library they set on fire. Beatty tells him they took the man to an asylum and says,



"Any man's insane who thinks he can fool the government and us." (Bradbury 31)



Beatty's comment conveys his confidence in the government which contrasts greatly with Montag's political views. Montag does not trust the government and becomes an enemy of the state by the end of the novel.

When the firemen are called to destroy a woman's book collection, they are surprised to find out that she is home when they arrive. The woman refuses to leave her books and is willing to die with them. Beatty comments,



"We're due back at the House. Besides, these fanatics always try suicide; the pattern's familiar." (Bradbury 36)



Beatty's attitude is dismissive and impatient with the woman. Montag has the opposite response, and he attempts to save the woman. Montag is sensitive and understanding. He tries to convince her to leave her books behind.

Later on in the novel, Captain Beatty visits Montag's home. Montag has recently stolen a book and is trying to avoid Beatty. Beatty explains why books were censured, and the reason intellectuals were cast out of society. He makes the comment,



"A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it." (Bradbury 56)



Again, Beatty's views on censorship contrast with how Montag feels about them. Montag is curious to read books, and the last thing he wants to do is burn them.

After Mildred calls the fire station and reports Montag for having books, Beatty confronts Montag and makes him burn his own house. Beatty expresses his affinity for fire and explains why it's convenient. Beatty says,



"A problem gets too burdensome, then into the furnace with it. Now, Montag, you're a burden. And fire will lift you off my shoulders, clean, quick, sure; nothing to rot later. Antibiotic, aesthetic, practical." (Bradbury 109)



His comments also express how he views Montag. Beatty's character views Montag as a problem that needs to be dealt with.

Right before Montag sprays the flame-thrower at Beatty, Beatty criticizes Montag for his choices. He says,



"Montag, you idiot, Montag, you damn fool; why did you really do it?" (Bradbury 112)



Beatty not only has a negative view of Montag, but he does not understand Montag's choices.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Author Shirley Jackson gives some interesting names to a number of her characters in "The Lottery." Explain the possible allusions, irony, and...

In "The Lottery," author Shirley Jackson gives some interesting names to several of her characters. The most obvious one is the name "Delacroix," which means "of the cross," which along with Bobby Martin's name--Martin meaning "ape," and Harry Jones, which is a very common name, all together allude to the idea of the uncivilized part of all of us--the "Hairy Ape," so to speak. Mrs. Delacroix, who is described as being friendly and warm, at the end picks up a rock so big she can barely carry it. She follows the rules of the lottery with gusto--perhaps as many follow their faith without question.


Furthermore, we have Mr. Adams, probably based on Adam of the Biblical Adam and Eve, Mr. Graves, whose name's meaning is obvious, and Hutchinson. Anne Hutchinson of Massachusetts was declared a heretic by the Puritans and cast out of her home and town in the 1600s. She, like Tessie Hutchinson, had an unfair trial (or in Tessie's case--none at all for no crime at all). Anne was banished, and Tessie was stoned.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

In the book Flight, written by Sherman Alexie, why does Sherman Alexie put the narrator, Zits, into Gus' body? Why did he not choose another body ?

It is easy to demonize people who have harmed us directly or indirectly. With regard to the book Flight, it could have been easy for Sherman Alexie to demonize the "Indian Tracker" Gus, rather than portray him as a feeling person. If Zits had been inside another body in that scene, particularly the body of another First Nations person, it could have been easy to just take the character of Gus as a hateful person with no conscience. I think that Alexie chose to put Zits into Gus' body to show that acts of hate and war can't just be reduced down to mindless action in order to make it easier to understand.


A running theme in the book was also to observe and possibly re-write history and Zits' own future. By having Zits control Gus' action, Alexie both demonstrated conscience on the part of Gus, who joined the military because he wanted to help people. War and conquest are not summarized in one broad stroke of action, and have always involved many small acts which add up to the big picture. Gus' kindness in helping save Bow Boy and Small Saint shows these subversive actions which are often left out of the telling of history.


Zits learns throughout the book that his actions affect not just those immediately around him, but their friends and families and so on. 

What are two examples of imagery from Act 2, scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet?

There are multiple options to choose from in this scene. Imagery can be defined as vivid and descriptive language that appeals to the reader's senses. In Act 2, scene 2, Romeo spies on Juliet from her garden as she stands on her balcony. The party has just ended and the lovers have realized each other's true identity. Smitten, Romeo has resorted to stalker tactics and Juliet has isolated herself to mourn her new crush. 


Romeo begins Act 2, scene 2, by using light and dark imagery to compare Juliet's beauty to that of the sun's brilliance in the morning. He mentions the moon as a pale imitation to the sun and notes that others must be jealous of how beautiful Juliet is.


"But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?


It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.


Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon" (2, 2, 2-5)


He continues to use the light/dark imagery as he compares the twinkling of Juliet's eyes to the stars in the skies and how her cheek's brightness could shame the real stars to dim.

Friday, March 2, 2012

In Lord of the Flies, what's the author's attitude towards the characters (i.e. Ralph, Piggy, Simon, Jack, etc.) and what are some examples in the...

The author’s attitude in my opinion is that the strong survive and the weak and naive perish. Ralph the protagonist and Jack the antagonist are the main ‘big uns.’ Both are strong. Both became leaders of their respective tribes and both survived. Ralph is portrayed as being noble, courageous and although he did not have Jack's prowess as a hunter he acquires some of that skill and sticks a pig. He demonstrates great daring to avoid being captured and apparently ‘dispatches’ some of his pursuers. Jack is somewhat of a megalomaniac: he seeks to usurp Ralph's authority, shows no respect for the conch and sadistically ties up and whips Wilfried, a tribe member. Simon was a helpless victim of circumstances and after his death, he was washed away by the ocean. Piggy although being strong intellectually was frequently the object of social derision and in the novel he often sought Ralph’s approval. Coincidentally, he (Piggy) was washed away by the ocean. The ocean although not a character as such is neutral. It holds the prospect of salvation and actually does bring salvation and it cleanses the land of the weak - Simon and Piggy.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

what is the answer to this problem (34x^15+19x^98)(54x^54+76x^34)

Hello!


It isn't clear what the problem is. I see two variants: extract some more factors (factor completely) and, to the contrast, open the parentheses (express as a sum of monomials). Let's do both tasks.


1. Factoring.


34 and 19 have no common factors (34=2*17), `x^15` and `x^98` have the greatest common factor (GCF) `x^15.` Also, 54 and 76 have GCF 2 (54=`2*3^3,` 76=`2^2*19`). And GCF of `x^54` and `x^34` is `x^34` (the less power).


And the most factored form is:


`x^15(34+19x^83)*2x^34(27x^20+38)=2x^49(34+19x^83)(27x^20+38).`



2. Making a sum.


To multiply two binomials we have to multiply each term by each and sum the results: (a+b)(u+v)=au+av+bu+bv.



So `(34x^15+19x^98)(54x^54+76x^34)=`


`=34*54x^(15+54)+34*76x^(15+34)+19*54x^(98+54)*19*76x^(98+34)=`


`=1836x^69+2584x^49+1026x^152+1444x^132.`

`int e^(2 theta) sin(3 theta) d theta` Evaluate the integral

`inte^2thetasin(3theta)d theta`


If f(x) and g(x) are differentiable functions, then


`intf(x)g'(x)=f(x)g(x)-intf'(x)g(x)dx`


If we rewrite f(x)=u and g'(x)=v, then


`intuvdx=uintvdx-int(u'intvdx)dx`


Let's integrate using the above method of integration by parts,


Let `u=e^2theta, v=sin(3theta)`


`inte^(2theta)sin(3theta)d theta=e^(2theta)intsin(3theta)d theta-int(d/(d theta)(e^(2theta))intsin(3theta)d theta)d theta`


`=e^(2theta)(-1/3cos(3theta)-int(e^(2theta)2(-1/3cos(3theta))d theta`


`=-1/3e^(2theta)cos(3theta)+2/3inte^(2theta)cos(3theta)d theta` 


apply again integration by parts,


`=-1/3e^(2theta)cos(3theta)+2/3(e^(2theta)*intcos(3theta)d theta-int(e^(2theta)*2intcos(3theta) d theta)`


`=-1/3e^(2theta)cos(3theta)+2/3(e^(2theta)1/3sin(3theta)-int2e^(2theta)(sin(3theta)/3)d theta)`


`=-1/3e^(2theta)cos(3theta)+2/9e^(2theta)sin(3theta)-4/9inte^(2theta)sin(3theta)d theta`


Isolate `inte^(2theta)sin(3theta)d theta`


`(1+4/9)inte^(2theta)sin(3theta)d theta=-1/3e^(2theta)cos(3theta)+2/9e^(2theta)sin(3theta)`


`inte^(2theta)sin(3theta)d theta=9/13(-1/3e^(2theta)cos(3theta)+2/9e^(2theta)sin(3theta))`


`=-3/13e^(2theta)cos(3theta)+2/13e^(2theta)sin(3theta)`


add a constant C to the solution,


`=-3/13e^(2theta)cos(3theta)+2/13e^(2theta)sin(3theta)+C`

How does author Elie Wiesel use symbolism to contribute to the meaning of Night?

In his book Night , Elie Wiesel uses symbolism throughout to enhance the text. First of all, the title itself is symbolic. The word "ni...