What are three quotes from the novel To Kill a Mockingbird that describe the symbol of the Radley house? The theme is "judging others is dangerous."

The Radley house is a symbol of mystery, terror, and isolation throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Scout, Jem, and Dill fear Arthur "Boo" Radley, who resides in the terrifying house. In Chapter 1, Scout describes the appearance of the Radley home. She says,

"The house was low, was once white with a deep front porch and green shutters, but had long ago darkened to the color of the slate-gray yard around it. Rain-rotted shingles drooped over the eaves of the veranda; oak trees kept the sun away." (Lee 10)

Harper Lee uses imagery to depict the dull, spooking looking residence. The description of the faded siding and rotted shingles adds to the ominous appearance. People looking at the Radley house immediately judge the family by the way they choose to maintain their home. The children see an unkept, deteriorating house and assume that whoever is inside has bad intentions. They refer to Boo Radley as the "malevolent phantom" before they even meet him. When Scout is explaining how people react to the Radley residence she says,

"A Negro would not pass the Radley Place at night, he would cut across to the sidewalk opposite and whistle as he walked." (Lee 11)

The children are not the only members of the community who fear the Radleys' home. Most of the rumors about Boo Radley have been spread by Stephanie Crawford, the community busy-body. The Radleys were different from the other families in Maycomb and Scout mentions,

"The shutters and doors of the Radley house were closed on Sundays, another thing alien to Maycomb's ways: closed doors meant illness and cold weather only." (Lee 11)

Any family who kept their doors closed all year round was instantly judged. People assume that the Radley family is up to no good, and has "secrets" they are trying to hide because their doors and shudders remain closed. Toward the end of the novel, Scout is passing the Radley home and says,

"It is a scary place though, ain't it?" (Lee 341)

Scout is older, and realizes that Boo was essentially harmless. She is able to look back at her first impressions of the Radley home, and understands that she unfairly judged Boo by the appearance of his house. Throughout the novel, Boo was confined inside his home and was negatively judged because his home was spooky and old. Pre-judging others can have adverse effects on people, especially shy individuals like Boo Radley. Boo Radley was already reclusive, and the way the community judged him only gave him more reasons to stay inside his home.

Why is Abraham Lincoln viewed by Sam as "a man of magnitude" in "Master Harold". . .and the boys?

In "Master Harold". . .and the boys, Sam considers Abraham Lincoln "a man of magnitude" because Lincoln fought for social justice. Before Sam names Lincoln as a man of magnitude, he tells Hally that he had been reading through Darwin's book On the Origin of Species, and he found a chapter titled "The Struggle for Existence." Sam at first was heartened by such a title because he thought that Darwin would discuss the struggles that people go through, such as the struggle that he as a black man living under apartheid experiences. However, the chapter according to Sam was just about "mistiltoe [sic]." Sam thinks that a true man of magnitude is one who works for the greatness of all mankind, so Abraham Lincoln gets his vote for his role in freeing slaves in America. Although Hally suggests that Sam has "never been a slave" and that South Africans freed blacks in the country, Sam understands that his people are certainly not yet free.

What important lessons did the book, Tears of a Tiger, teach students?

Tears of a Tiger touches on so many issues that are relevant to adolescents in a powerful way. The first lesson, which is fairly important to the narrative, is the danger of teenage drinking. The students are in the car accident that claims Robbie's life because they made the poor decision to drink and drive. The book slams its readers with the importance of making good decisions.

Another obvious lesson is that suicide is not the solution to what is troubling you. This is not as important as missing the signs of suicide, which is also an underlying theme in the book. There are many suicide prevention initiatives in contemporary schools and this book supports many of the ideas of these programs.

Tears of a Tiger clearly demonstrates the dangers of harboring guilt. Guilt quickly leads to depression. Adolescents that read the book understand that there are avenues to explore in dealing with emotional distress. Another important lesson for students is the idea of mortality. Teenagers tend to have a feeling of invincibility and this book is a sobering reminder of one's mortality.

Is expansion a physical or chemical property?

Expansion of a material is a physical property. A physical property is one that can be observed and is related to a physical change. A chemical property, on the other hand, is one that is observed through a chemical reaction and is thus, related to chemical change. 

Expansion is typically observed during heating of material. For example, when we heat a bar of metal (say iron), it expands. We can also blow air into a balloon and observe its expansion. In both such cases, the material remains the same and no chemical change or reaction takes place. The chemical composition of the materials (metal and balloon) remains the same, the only change is the intermolecular spacing. Hence expansion is a physical property and not a chemical property.

Hope this helps. 

Why does Eddie run from Angel? Does he need to run?

Eddie runs away from Angel for two very good reasons. For one, he simply doesn't trust him. Ever since they were kids together Angel has proven to be a bully and a thief. He even stole the crucifix which hangs around his neck. His name is meant to be ironic. Eddie also suspects that Angel was involved in the theft of Mr. Stiles's truck. Secondly, Angel wants Eddie to help him kill the guy who stabbed and killed Jesús, Eddie's cousin and Angel's blood brother. Angel has a gun he received from Eddie's aunt, who also wants revenge. When Eddie refuses to help, Angel calls him a "sissy."

Later Eddie learns from Norma that it was actually Angel who killed Jesús over a bad deal involving a stolen car. From then on Eddie attempts to avoid Angel. When he sees Belinda in the street one day he imagines she is trying to set him up for Angel to kill. He runs away, hopping fences, avoiding both Angel and another young "cholo", Samuel, who Eddie believes is in league with Angel. Much of the evidence against Angel, however, is suspect. Most of it is just "chisme" or gossip. Nevertheless, Eddie's fears are very real and eventually he takes the fight to Angel, jumping him on the porch of Angel's house. They fight twice without a true victor, symbolic of the idea that no one ever really wins in the streets of the Mexican-American neighborhood of southeast Fresno.

What would be two good questions to ask from chapter four of the book Bud, Not Buddy?

In chapter four, Bud has been sent to live with a foster family. During his short time there, the Amos' son is particularly cruel to Bud. The son creates disruptive situations and then blames Bud for them. The foster parents are equally cruel and always take their son's side when there is conflict. After freeing himself from the shed they locked him in, Bud decides to get some revenge before fleeing the Amos' home forever.

You might ask: What are three specific ways that the members of the Amos family are unfair and cruel to Bud during his short stay there?

Why does Bud decide not to use the gun in his revenge, and how does Bud instead attempt to seek revenge on the Amos' son before fleeing the family? Why does he choose this method of revenge?

In what ways does the presence of the mass media influence our perception of social problems in society today? How is this different than it was in...

The increasing ubiquity of media shape our perceptions to a degree that they almost become a substitute for personal experience. Especially given the growth of smartphones, people can live in an electronic bubble, barely perceiving the world outside a heavily mediated almost virtual reality.

For example, in the middle ages, the problem of poverty or economic inequality was understood through two major lens. The first was simply the personal experience of being poor or being a wealthy person who encountered poor people in everyday life. The second lens of viewing poverty as a social problem in the west was Christian theology, which both accepted poverty as inevitable, as "the poor are always with us", but also accepted the notion that it was the Christian duty of the better off to contribute to the welfare of the poor, with the Church often organizing social services on the parish level. 

Now, many people live in economically segregated neighborhoods, with the children of the wealthy ending up in private schools or upper or middle class public school districts and the poor also clustered together. Thus poverty is understood not as "the widow living above the blacksmith shop" or "the serfs on the estate of the Duke" but almost as a spectacle seen in the media. The average US resident now spends 11 hours a day on the average either connected to the internet or consuming some form of video (TV, video games, etc.).

This degree to which perceptions of social problems are mediated rather than experienced directly is further biased by the tendency of media to allow partisan filtering of sources. So, for example, a Republican stalwart might get most of his news from Fox news, which might illustrate the problem of poverty with a 60-second sound bite on one case of welfare fraud, while a Democrat might watch a story on NPR about disabled veterans having to live on cat food. 

Thus social problems become transformed by the ubiquity of the media into one of two things, either fodder for partisan politics or entertainment.

How do outliers effect data? In particular I'm curious about how they effect mean, median, and mode. Are outliner data able to be dismissed or not?

The outlier affects the mean by pulling the mean towards it.  For instance, in a set of data like:  1, 2, 3, 4, 2 the mean is 2.4. However if you add 12 to the set of data, which is significantly higher, the mean is now 4, pulling it closer to 12.  The median, also known as a middle score, and the mode is largely unaffected by an outlier. The outlier can also have a larger impact on the range of a set of data.  Before you dismiss the data you must analyze the meaning of the outlier and what is is you are calculating and why. 

How does the narrator feel when he first sees Fortunato in "The Cask of Amontillado"? What conclusion might the narrator's behavior lead you to...

When the narrator (a man named Montresor) first sees Fortunato at the carnival, he claims that he was so pleased to see Fortunato that he almost could not stop himself from shaking the man's hand, and he greets Fortunato with pleasant words. Throughout the whole story, Montresor is exceedingly polite to Fortunato, but he is also false; not only is he lying about having a cask of Amontillado, he is also falsely reluctant to interrupt Fortunato's partying at the carnival and falsely worried about Fortunato's health down in his vaults.

These actions tell us that Montresor is a very determined man and that he is willing to do whatever it takes to get revenge on Fortunato. He is not afraid to lie to the man who was once his friend, he is not afraid to manipulate the obviously drunk man, and he is not afraid to wall the man into a recess in the depths of his vaults, sentencing him to a slow death. He is also cunning enough to come up with this particular plan. So, because of his actions within the story, we can see that Montresor is a smart and tenacious man, who has no problem murdering a man for insulting him.

What is one quote from The Devil's Arithmetic that tells us why we should remember history?

"Hannah nodded and took her aunt's fingers from her lips. She said, in a voice much louder than she had intended, so loud that the entire table hushed at its sound, 'I remember. Oh, I remember.'"--Hannah

This is a very good question because one of the central themes of the book is memory and its relationship to cultural heritage and history. It was not difficult to find a quote that answers this issue because the book's purpose is to have the reader reflect on the importance of remembering the past. Hannah, as an adolescent in modern times, is dismissive of the Jewish traditions. She does not see the relevance in learning about the heritage of her people. When she is made to experience the Holocaust, her feelings about learning from the past are changed.

The quote mentioned above comes at the end of the story. With the quote, the novel's central theme comes full circle. Hannah promises Aunt Eva that she will always remember the pain and misery that her ancestors experienced. By sharing the experiences of Jews during the Holocaust, she can pass this history down to future generations so their suffering is not forgotten.

Describe the motion of individual molecules.

Molecules are in constant motion, even if we are unable to see them due to their small size. We can see the effects of this motion and understand some basics about molecular motion. Matter is made up of molecules, which are in constant motion (as already stated), however there are restorative forces than force the molecules back to their original position. In case of solids, these forces are strongest and hence molecule return back to their original positions and that is why solids are rigid. In comparison, liquids have weak restoring forces, which causes a lack of fixed shape in case of liquids and molecules are able to cause changes in liquid shape (as the liquid is transferred to a differently shaped container). The restoring forces are totally absent in gases and that is why gases have no shape and it is so easy for smoke to disperse. We can aid the motion of individual molecules by heating the substance. Heat provides kinetic energy to molecules and help them move faster. This is why (and how), solids can be converted to liquids (through melting) and liquids to gases (through vaporization). We can also reduce the molecular motion by decreasing their temperature.

Hope this helps.   

What is a metaphor for Mary Warren from the play The Crucible?

At the beginning of Act Two, John and Elizabeth Proctor briefly discuss their servant, Mary Warren, who has been participating in the witch trials.  When Elizabeth tells him that Mary Warren has gone to Salem that day, he becomes angry because Elizabeth had heard him forbid Mary Warren to go.  When Elizabeth claims that Mary Warren "frightened all [her] strength away," he asks, "How may that mouse frighten you, Elizabeth?"  John Proctor uses the metaphor of a mouse to describe Mary Warren's typical behavior.  We think of mice as skittish creatures, quiet and small and frightened, and this is how Mary Warren has always acted. 

Now, however, she "is a mouse no more," according to Elizabeth.  Mary Warren has developed quite a sense of self-importance now that she is "an official of the court," and she feels her obligation to the court outstrips her obligation to her employer.  Prior to her change in status, we can assume that she would have willingly deferred to either John or Elizabeth, but now that all the accusing girls have been placed on a pedestal in town, Mary Warren is no longer quiet and small and frightened.  She has been given a voice and made bold by the way the judges and ministers now all defer to her and her friends.

One Scene in Act 2 is used for comic relief after the dark mood of the murder scenes. Which scene provides comic relief and how?

Scene 3 of Act II is designed to provide comic relief after the succession of stressful scenes leading up to Duncan's murder. Shakespeare probably used an actor who specialized in comic roles to play the drunken Porter who admits Macduff after his prolonged knocking. The comedy is bawdy and scatalogical. It must have provoked loud laughter in Shakespeare's theater. Here is a typical example of the low comedy:

MACDUFF
What three things does drink especially provoke?

PORTER
Marry, sir, nose-painting, sleep, and urine.
Lechery, sir, it provokes and unprovokes: it provokes the
desire, but it takes away the performance. Therefore much
drink may be said to be an equivocator with lechery: it
makes him, and it mars him; it sets him on and it takes
him off; it persuades him and disheartens him; makes him
stand to and not stand to; in conclusion, equivocates him in
a sleep, and giving him the lie, leaves him.

But Shakespeare had a more important reason for inserting this scene than merely providing comic relief. The main purpose of the prolonged knocking at the gate and the Porter's slowness in responding is to force Macbeth to come down in his nightgown to find out what is going on. He planned to pretend to have been in bed asleep when Duncan was killed. In Act II, Scene 2, Lady Macbeth says:

Get on your nightgown, lest occasion call us
And show us to be watchers.

This indicates that Macbeth will be in his nightgown when he appears in Act II, Scene 3. But he can't pretend to be sleeping through all that knocking, which undoubtedly gets louder and more insistent until the Porter finally opens the gate.

Shakespeare wanted Macbeth to be present when Macduff discovers the king's body. This makes the discovery much more dramatic as well as easier to stage. The drunken Porter may be used for comic relief, but he is also used to explain why there had to be so much knocking. In Act II, Scene 1, Banquo tells Macbeth:

The king's abed.
He hath been in unusual pleasure and
Sent forth great largess to your offices.

This "largess" explains why Macbeth's entire household staff is drunk and doesn't respond to the knocking. Macbeth can hardly complain, since the king himself was responsible for getting all his servants drunk.

Thomas De Quincey wrote a famous essay "On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth" in which he focuses on the effect of the knocking. But he does not explain the purpose of the knocking, which is to force Macbeth to put in an appearance. When he does make an appearance he seems stiff and cold. This is because he is dreading the discovery of Duncan's body. But innocent Macduff thinks it is because Macbeth is angry at having been wakened out of a sound sleep. In reality Macbeth has never been to bed. 

What is the difference between interxylary and intraxylary phloem?

The phloem is a component of the vascular tissue system in plants responsible for the conduction of soluble organic materials. Its counterpart, the xylem, conducts water and mineral nutrients from the roots to the shoot and leaves. Both elements of the vascular bundle originate from the procambium. In dicotyledons and gymnosperms where the stems grow in thickness, part of the procambium develops into the cambium.

Phloem is external to the xylem in the vascular bundle except in certain dicotyledonous plants such as the Cucurbitaceae family where the phloem may also exist internal to the xylem. In such cases, the internal phloem growing inside the xylem was previously referred to as intraxylary phloem by early researchers. Both the internal and the external phloems are similar in structure and composition and so the term intraxylary phloem is no longer used.

The interxylary phloem on the other hand is a different type of phloem which exists in some dicotyledonus families such as Combretaceae and Acanthaceae. They are embedded in the secondary xylem, which is formed during secondary growth from the vascular cambium. They are made up of sieve tubes, companion cells and other adjacent cells embedded within the secondary xylem and they are histologically distinct from the intraxylary phloem.

I need to write a speech about dog-fights. How do I make people emotional when they listen to my speech?

The main idea in the speech would be to communicate the negative impacts of dog-fighting. This idea can be supported by numerous points, but to ensure consistency, only a single idea should be communicated.

The speech may begin with logical statements that have the capacity to evoke strong emotions in the audience. For instance, shocking facts and statistics about dog casualties and fatalities attributed to dogfights. This should help in affirming the negative impacts of dog-fighting. It is important to give actual examples. The best way to do this is through the art of storytelling.

The speech can combine some popular stories and other stories that communicate the situation. Stories will capture the audience’s attention and tap into their emotions. A Google search yielded two compelling stories that are quite evocative. In one of the stories, the dog talked about was a bait dog that was terribly abused by dog-fighting trainers (Dog-fighting survivor). The other story talked of a fighting pit-bull that was injured in the fights (Stallone the pit-bull). The dogs were however rescued and ended up living better lives under responsible caregivers.

When conducting the speech, it is always good practice to take your time by pausing, to create emphasis and enhance the tension.

Make use of visual displays if available, as visual cues work best to drive the point home.

How did the refrigerator impact the world?

Refrigeration is the process by which an object is kept below room temperature. Refrigeration is a method that allows humans to preserve many items. A large benefit to refrigeration is preserving food. Refrigeration helps to preserve food because most bacterial growth is slowed in cooler temperatures.  

Below are just a few examples as to how refrigeration has had an impact on the world, in regards to food.

- Refrigeration saves people a lot of time in the following ways.

• Prior to refrigeration, foods were preserved via either pickling, drying, salt curing, canning, or jamming. Such processes are timely.


• Because of refrigeration, humans are able to keep more food within their homes. Prior to refrigeration, people had to shop more often and in smaller quantities. Not having to go food shopping as often also saves people a lot of time.

- Refrigerated trucks allow for the transportation of foods. As a result, people now have a greater variety of nutrients within their diets.

- As long as food is not overbought, refrigeration can decrease the amount of food that a household discards. In this way, refrigeration can help save people money.

In "The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty, what was the Republican sniper's first job?

We aren't directly told that the Republican sniper had a previous job, but we might make an educated guess that he was involved in some kind of academic discipline, possibly a student, and possibly with a medical focus.

The only direct characterization alluding to a prior occupation is in the introductory description of the sniper's appearance; he is said to have "the face of a student, thin and ascetic." This isn't necessarily evidence that he was a student, per se. This may even be an analogy for the physical effects of his military service; a thin and ascetic face implies that one faces a strict way of living and is not prone to excess, which would fit the lifestyle of a soldier in an urban civil war. 

The second piece of evidence is the manner in which the sniper treats his wound after he is shot. He acknowledges the injury and the pain, and deals with it, but in a methodical manner; he goes through a series of motions to treat both the injury and the pain, almost as if he's done this before. We might imagine that he's either been shot previously, or that he has some experience with treating wounds of this nature, which would imply that he has some degree of medical training. 

What are factors that affect reading?

Many factors that affect reading include comprehension/fluency, vocabulary, background knowledge, and frequency.

Comprehension/fluency: You can be a good reader and tear through a book quickly, but if you don’t understand what you just read, it’s useless.  Taking an active role while you read will help with comprehension.  Take notes, mark in the margin, and interact personally with the text. 

Vocabulary:  If you don’t know the words, it will be hard to comprehend what you are reading.  Understanding the meaning of words will greatly enhance your reading abilities.

Background knowledge:  What you already know about the subject of the text you are reading will help you with your ability to read.  If you are ignorant of a topic, reading may be harder than if you have previous experience with the topic.

Frequency:  Reading is like a sport; the more you read, the better you will become.  Frequency enhances vocabulary and background knowledge.  Reading a variety of different texts will also help improve your reading.  Don’t limit yourself, for example, to only science fiction.  Read a good assortment of books, magazines, newspapers, and scholarly texts to help. 

*When reading a textbook, it is also helpful to understand how a textbook is formatted and how to find major ideas.  For example, look for highlighted words, look at charts and pictures, and learn how to identify the passage’s main idea.  All of these tips will affect your reading and make it better.

What are some examples of literary devices in Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address?

Abraham Lincoln was one of the great orators in the history of American politics. When writing the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln utilized a number of literary devices to draw the attention of his audiences.  Hopefully, this will get you moving in the right direction:

"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

The opening statement is an example of the use of allusion.  Allusions are references to things from the past, whether they be famous people, literary works, or events.  In this case, it is a reference to the Declaration of Independence and the Revolution.  The phrase ".and that government of the people, by the people, for the people" could also be an allusion to the United States Constitutions which states "We the People."  That statement is also an example of repetition.  

 "We are met on a great battlefield of that war."

Imagery is used to illicit mental pictures from the audience and often appeals to the senses.  This short sentence is very powerful in that it conjures up images of bravery and valor in battle.  It would have an even more dramatic response as it was being delivered on a battlefield where many soldiers perished.

"we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow."

Anaphora is the deliberate use of repetition in order to make speech or text more interesting or artistic. This was an interesting transition to the part of the speech that speaks of the ultimate sacrifice paid to protect liberty.

"The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."

This is an example of antithesis, in which two opposing ideas are joined to achieve a contrasting effect.  Lincoln uses this sentence to describe how insignificant he is to history when compared to the soldiers that died in the Civil War.  

"that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom"

This is an example of allegory in that it compares an abstract idea like "freedom," to the more concrete notion of being born.  In this case, he discusses the rebirth of the United States should the Union win the United States.  

Write the partial fraction decomposition of the rational expression. Check your result algebraically.

 

Multiply by the LCD 

Equate coefficients of like terms. Then solve for A, B, C, and D.

B=1

What is the central point or idea of The Little Prince?

The main theme of The Little Prince can be summed up, I think, by the Fox's secret, which is "One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes." While at first this statement can seem mysterious, we are given many examples of this principle at work in the story. At the beginning of the story, the narrator talks about his drawings number 1 and number 2 -- the first looks like a hat, but, as the second drawing explains, is actually a snake swallowing an elephant. This suggests that appearances can be deceiving -- how "anything essential is invisible to the eye." In the same way, when the narrator is drawing a sheep for the Prince, it is significant that the only satifactory drawing is the one that doesn't represent a sheep at all -- the drawing of the crate. The Little Prince is free in this case to imagine what the sheep inside the crate is like. In this way, we can see that imagination is a kind of knowledge in and of itself, independent of the literal representation of reality.

The Prince's relationship with the Rose is another case in point. The Rose is a vain, demanding, and occasionally untruthful flower, and the Prince goes to great pains to satisfy her needs (he places her under a glass dome to protect her from the wind, is on guard against caterpillars, and worries a great deal about how introducing a sheep to his planet might affect her). However, the Prince's journey shows that he has misunderstood the flower, or his feelings for her. When he comes to Earth and finds the garden of Roses, he is at first distraught because his flower, which he thought was unique, is in fact just one of many flowers. However, what he learns from taming the fox is that the uniqueness of a flower or a person is not based on its appearance, but on one's emotional relationship to it: "You're not at all like my rose...no one has tamed you, and you haven't tamed anyone..." As the fox tells him, "It's the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important." In this way, "seeing with the heart" suggests that what is important in life are not external realities, but inner emotional truths.

What was the date and place the original Tom Sawyer play took place?

The first Tom Sawyer play was produced in Seattle by the Seattle Children's Theater during their 1976-1977 season. 

If you were referring to the first Broadway play, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer opened at the Minskoff Theater in New York City on April 26, 2001 and closed on May 13, 2001.

The Broadway show received mixed reviews, particularly a very negative review in the New York Times. One thing that was criticized was their portrayal of Tom as a very immature 14-year-old boy. Needless to say, Tom has his immature moments, but while Mark Twain does not specify Tom's age, he is certainly younger in the book and his actions are much more age appropriate.

Only a few plays have been produced from this book as of yet. One problem producers seem to have encountered was dealing with Twain's episodic style, his tendency to jump from one scene to the next and let the reader figure out what was happening. Some dealt with this problem by appointing a character as a narrator; for instance one play had a Mark Twain character narrating, while another had Huck narrating.

Do you think George will be happy without Lennie and will he still go for his dream?

George and Lennie had their dream of owning their own little farm and being independent. But George also had another dream which he was candid enough to describe to Lennie. He does this at considerable length in the first chapter when they are camping beside the river.

"God a'mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an' work, an' no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want. Why, I could stay in a cat house all night. I could eat any place I want, hotel or any place, and order any damn thing I could think of. An' I could do all that every damn month. Get a gallon of whisky, or set in a poolroom and play cards or shoot pool....An' whatta I got," George went on furiously. "I got you!"

George is only half-involved with the dream he shares with Lennie. Candy is the catalyst who almost makes it happen. The old swamper has several hundred dollars he can contribute to the purchase of the little farm George knows about. But with Lennie out of the equation, the little farm is out of the question. George would be doing all the heavy work and living with an old man who wasn't much good with a missing hand and would keep getting feebler until he was a complete liability. 

George's alternative dream would likely be the one that he would realize. For some reason he doesn't consider a practical, conventional and realizable course of finding a single woman--a widow, perhaps--who already has a little farm and would appreciate having a good man share it with her. George doesn't want a commitment. A cat house is his idea of love. A gallon of whiskey is his idea of happiness. With Lennie dead, George might end up like Crooks and Candy, old and barely hanging on to a job.

Lennie understands George's "alternative dream" and even sympathizes with him, as we see in the very last chapter when Lennie asks his friend to tell him what he would do if he were alone and free of responsibility. He encourages George to express his anger and frustration.

"Well, ain't you gonna say it?"

George shook himself. He said woodenly, "If I was alone I could live so easy." His voice was monotonous, had no emphasis. "I could get a job an' not have no mess." He stopped.

"Go on," said Lennie. "An' when the ends the month come--"

"An' when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks an' go to a . . . cat house . . ." He stopped again.

This is pitiful. Lennie is used to George's verbal abuse. Lennie seems to understand that their shared dream was nothing but a dream all along, one that never would come true. He is offering George his freedom. George will not be any happier without Lennie. It was Lennie who kept that other dream of freedom and independence alive. George will undoubtedly go on to live out his alternative dream. What choice does he have? 

Pathway of air in inhalation 1) nose 2) __ 3) __ 4) __ 5) __ 6) Alveoli

When a mammal breathes in air, the pathway it takes is

1. Nose


2. Nasopharynx/oral pharynx


3. Trachea (the "windpipe")


4. Bronchi


5. Bronchioles


6. Alveoli

After air enters the nose (or mouth) it passes into the pharynx, which is a passage for both breathing and eating. The epiglottis, a flap of tissue, keeps food from entering the trachea. Air travels easily through the trachea due to cartilage rings that keep it open. The trachea divides into smaller airways called bronchi, which enter the lungs. These further divide into smaller and smaller bronchioles. They eventually become extremely small alveoli, which is where gas exchange takes place between the alveoli and the capillaries of the circulatory system. Oxygen and carbon dioxide diffuse through the membranes of the capillaries and alveoli from their areas of relatively higher concentration to the relatively lower concentration. Oxygen from the air breathed in diffuses into the capillaries, and carbon dioxide moves from the capillaries to the alveoli.

What is a summary of chapters 11-12 of Frindle?

Nick had invented the word “frindle” to test the theory that if everyone agreed on the meaning of the word, then it becomes a word.  Mrs. Granger and the school fought the students in this endeavor.  In chapter 11, a writer for The Westfield Gazette was looking for a new, interesting story.  Being a small town, Westfield did not have a lot of exciting news.  She published a story on the front page that read,

“Local 5th grader says, “Move over, Mr. Webster’” (pg 67)

She goes on to explain the war of words, and that Nick Allen was responsible for this event.  The day before, she had received a copy of the fifth grade group picture with all the students holding “frindles.” She included this picture in her article.  The reaction was immediate.  The superintendent contacted the principal, and the principal contacted Mrs. Granger.  Mrs. Chatham says,

“It’ll be a wonder if we don’t all get fired!” (pg 69)

In chapter twelve, Nick has suddenly become a hero, and he isn’t very comfortable in that role.  

“Kids at school started expecting him to be clever and funny all the time, and even for a kid as smart as Nick, that was asking a lot.” (pg 70)

Bud Lawrence, a businessman in town, filed a preliminary trademark claim on the word “frindle.”  He sold three thousand “frindles” in one week.  The sales began to slow, until a reporter in the larger town of Carrington, Alice Lunderson, from a local CBS-TV station picked up the story.   The story went from Carrington to Boston to New York and was on the national news.  Twenty million viewers would view it. Alice Lunderson interviewed Mrs. Granger and the Allen family.  Nick’s mother sat right next to him and made sure that he didn’t say anything inappropriate. 

“…..these reporters are just looking for a quick story that will make some excitement.  But you have to stay here and live in this town.  So mind your Ps and Qs” (pg 75)

Nick complimented Mrs. Granger during the interview.

“…. I learned a lot about words, and without her, I wouldn’t have.” (pg 76)

Twenty million people saw that interview, and the producer of The Late Show with David Letterman, a writer for People magazine, and a writer for 3-2-1 Contact magazine for kids were among the viewers.  Nick was a celebrity, and kids all over the United States started using the word, “frindle."

Bud Lawrence’s little enterprise in frindles suddenly skyrocketed.  This alarmed his attorney.

“The whole country knows that that little kid made up the word, and unless you make a deal with his dad, you’re going to end up with nothing, maybe even a big fat lawsuit.  That kid owns that word.” (pg 78)

Bud Lawrence calls Nick’s father and offers to give Nick thirty percent of whatever profits he makes selling "frindle” merchandise.  They sign a contract and set up a trust fund for Nick.  Mr. Allen asks that Nick not be told of this arrangement, and Mr. Lawrence agrees. 

Explain why Chopin uses the word "her" in this line: "He absented himself from home; and when there, avoided her presence and that of her child,...

In Kate Chopin's story "Desiree's Baby," Desiree seems to have attained the life of her dreams. From her infancy as a foundling to marrying one of the wealthiest and most prominent plantation owners in the area, her life seems like a fairy tale come true. When she has her baby, she is as happy as can be, and Armand seems to become a gentler person. But when the child is about three months old, everything changes. Armand starts to avoid them. 

As we find out through the progression of the story, as the baby grows, it becomes more apparent that he has African features. Armand infers that Desiree, whose parentage is unknown, has black ancestors, and because of his racial prejudice, he can no longer love her. When Chopin uses the words "her child" instead of saying "their child," she is describing the rejection that Desiree feels from Armand. He seems to not even acknowledge that the child is his. At this point in the story, Desiree is confused because she doesn't yet see the African features in her child and can't understand the change that has come over Armand. 

Chopin is also using the literary technique of foreshadowing in which authors hint at something that is to come later in the story. Calling the baby "her child" subtly sets up what happens later when Armand rejects both Desiree and the baby.

The use of "her child" also hints at the strong patriarchal system Desiree lived under. There are hints in the story that Armand has fathered other children with his slaves, particularly La Blanche. In those cases, too, the child would be considered "her child," not his, although he should have played the role of father socially and morally, not just physically. The words bring out one of the themes of the story, that men wield absolute power in that society, and that women and children are on their own if the man refuses to acknowledge them as his. 

What do we call the rights that citizens of a country have?

All citizens have certain rights.  According to the ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence, these rights are called the inalienable rights. These include the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. According to the authors of the Declaration of Independence, the government must protect these rights and can’t take them away from us. When a government fails to protect the rights of its citizens, the writers of the Declaration of Independence believed that the people must change their government. Because the British government no longer protected the colonists' rights, and in some cases took away those rights, the colonists believed they needed to overthrow the British government and start a new one of their own that would protect their rights. Sometimes these rights are also referred to as our civil rights. It is important to know about your rights and the responsibilities that come with exercising these rights.

Why was Jason searching for the Golden Fleece?

Jason is motivated in his search by his evil uncle Pelias who tells him the story of the Golden Fleece. In this story, a golden ram was sent by the gods to save two children from their evil stepmother. The boy allowed the ram to be killed for its golden fleece, angering the gods who sent a curse on his family. Pelias suggests that Jason go on a quest for the fleece and that if Jason succeeds, Pelias will give Jason his kingdom (the kingdom to which Jason is actually the rightful heir.)

The motives involved are:

• Pelias is hoping that Jason will die on the quest so Pelias can keep the throne securely.


• Jason believes that Pelias will give him the throne if he brings back the fleece. 


• Jason is young and untested and by completing a dangerous heroic adventure, he will prove himself worthy of the throne.


• Fame and glory were very important in Greek heroic culture.

What are some strategies to help cultivate positive emotions in your life?

The answer to this question depends on the field or context from which the respondent is answering. Given that breadth and depth, I'll provide several possible responses and links to more resources you could use in your own response: 

1. Maintain a balanced diet: Many health professionals believe that the food humans consume has a significant impact on one's ability to cultivate positive emotions. The healthier one's diet is, the happier one feels. This is due in part to the amount of energy one intakes, and to the amount of lipids one's body needs to process. 


2. Regularly meditate: Meditation, or the practice of conscious focus, is touted by many different religions and medical fields for its positive physical and mental effects, which can strongly influence one's level of happiness. 

You might also find some of Gretchen Rubin's book The Happiness Project useful in your research. 

In To Kill a Mockingbird, where in the book does Mayella admit that it was her father that abused her?

Mayella never admits that her father was responsible for the assault on her that landed Tom Robinson in court. Atticus asks her directly if "Bob Ewell beat you up," but she swears to the jury under oath that he did not, and that Tom was responsible (251). She bursts into tears and shouts at Atticus and the others in the court, accusing them of cowardice for failing to deal with her attacker. It is clear, though, that Mayella and her father are lying, at least about Tom's attempted rape. Later in the book, Atticus surmises that Ewell's continued rage over the trial, even Tom was convicted, stems from the fact that "very few people...really believed his and Mayella's yarns," but he never acknowledges that it was in fact him that beat and injured Mayella after catching her trying to force herself on a frightened Tom. By the end of the novel, of course, Ewell is dead, never having admitted the truth. His daughter Mayella does not recant her story either.

How does Jem respond to the news that one of the jurors was a Cunningham and that he had initially moved to acquit Tom?

In Chapter 23 of the novel, Jem's initial response is surprise since it was a Cunningham who led the lynch mob and who had tried to kill Atticus the night before in front of the jail. However, it becomes clear that his initial surprise gives way to confusion when he says, "One minute they're tryin' to kill him and the next they're tryin' to turn him loose . . . I'll never understand those folks as long as I live."

Jem's words reflect his youthful and simplistic judgement of people as all good or all bad. The conversation he has with Atticus about the Cunningham on the jury initially voting to acquit Tom forces Jem to realize that people are not always easy to label. Atticus explains that the Cunninghams have a strong sense of right and wrong. When they thought Tom was wrong, they sought to lynch him as an act of justice. However, after hearing the facts of the case, the Cunningham on the jury votes his conscious (at least for a while) showing he didn't believe the girl or her father to be of good moral character.

“There are linkages between deforestation and desertification”. Elucidate

Deforestation and desertification are closely related. Deforestation is the practice of cutting down trees. And desertification is the development of desert like conditions in place, where none existed before. 

Tree roots bind the soil in its place and hold it against the forces of nature, such as blowing wind and flowing water. When tress are cut down, the soil is no longer held in its place and is open to wind and water erosion. When the topmost soil layer, which is also the most fertile, is lost further vegetation growth becomes difficult. Loss of trees and top soil cover results in desert like conditions, since newer vegetation growth does not take place, native animal species have to migrate to newer places, rapid water loss and changes in land use take place.

Thus, deforestation is one of the key factors for desertification, the others being, overgrazing, over cultivation, poor irrigation systems.

Hope this helps.  

Why is Herman Calloway's house called Grand Calloway Station?

In Chapter 15, Bud and Miss Thomas arrive at Herman Calloway's home after dinner. Bud is still embarrassed about crying at dinner and realizes that he is going to have to talk to her about his past eventually. Miss Thomas tells Bud that they have just arrived at Grand Calloway Station. After Bud grabs his suitcase from the back seat, he asks Miss Thomas why Herman's house has a name. Miss Thomas tells Bud that a long time ago there were so many people coming and going through the house at different hours of the day and night, that Herman said it reminded him of Grand Central Station in New York City. She said that the name kind of stuck and that is why they call Herman's home Grand Calloway Station.

Why does a life or death trial appeal to the king?

The king in Stockton's "The Lady, or the Tiger?" is described as semi-barbaric. This means that he is somewhat uncivilized and unsophisticated. One might say he enjoys participating in events that show the raw nature of human beings. He is also described as a man with "exuberant fancy," which means that he is overflowing with imagination. Add these characteristic traits play into the fact that he believes that justice should be swiftly executed and it can be understood how he comes up with Chance deciding criminals' fates in his arena. For example, the king loves the "poetic justice" satisfied by the two-door trial, as well as "by the decrees of an impartial and incorruptible chance." He feels that Chance is incorruptible; that is to say, that other trials that take long periods of time showing evidence and listening to witnesses are overrated and corruptible. This is ironic because the king expects this way of sentencing people to be a pure way to enact justice, but it's his daughter who eventually corrupts it.

Furthermore, because he is semi-barbaric, only extremes will do. A king who invites extremism would not be satisfied with anything less than a life or death trial. For him, there is no inbetween--it's either life or death because one consequence is full of life and joy, and the other is a death engulfed in violence and pain. In addition to the extremism, this way of presenting trials also provides entertainment for himself as well as for his subjects.  It is suffice to say, for this question, though, that the king believes his arena is the best way to provide Chance an opportunity to either claim or reward a victim.

Why would there likely be low humidity when there is high pressure system in your area.

Humidity is defined as the amount of water vapor in the air. Air pressure is defined as the force that is exerted on Earth’s surface by the weight of air. On average, air consists of roughly 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% argon. The rest of air is composed of trace gases such as carbon dioxide, neon, and helium. When the humidity is high, the amount of water in the air is higher than normal. As the amount of water vapor in the air increases, the amount of oxygen and nitrogen in the air decrease. Water is made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom (H2O). The mass of water vapor molecules is less than the mass of the diatomic oxygen (O2) and nitrogen (N2). Therefore, there is less force that is exerted on Earth’s surface. This results in a lower air pressure. Thus, as the humidity increases, the air pressure decreases.

The opposite is also true. As humidity decreases, the amount of water vapor in the air decreases. Thus, there is more of the heavy nitrogen and oxygen, which results in an increased air pressure. Therefore, low humidity results in a higher air pressure and vice versa.

What were the main features or objectives for Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points?

Woodrow Wilson proposed a peace plan at the end of World War I. This plan was called the Fourteen Points. The purpose of President Wilson’s peace plan was to secure a peace that wouldn’t be too harsh on the defeated Central Powers and would allow them to get back on their feet again. Unfortunately, the leaders of Great Britain, France, and Italy wanted to harshly punish the defeated nations in the Central Power alliance.

President Wilson’s Fourteen Point peace plan can be divided into five major themes. One theme was to end the practice of having secret treaties. When the Soviet Union pulled out of World War I, they published the secret agreements the Allies had made regarding various issues, including the dividing up the land, after World War I. This didn't reflect well on some of the Allied countries.

President Wilson wanted countries to be ruled by people of their own ethnic group. This concept, known as self-determination, would hopefully avoid some of the issues that led to the start of World War I. When a group of Serbians carried out their plan to kill Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, the lack of self-determination was part of the reason for this attack.

President Wilson also wanted to promote the concept of freedom of the seas. The attacking of American shipping before we joined World War I was a major factor in our decision to join the war and fight against Germany and the countries in the Central Power alliance.

President Wilson also wanted to reduce the number of weapons that existed. He believed that lots of weapons and powerful armies were ingredients that could lead to war.

The most important point to President Wilson was the creation of the League of Nations. This organization would be a place where countries could take their disputes and try to settle them peacefully through discussion and negotiation. President Wilson believed this organization would go a long way toward preventing wars from occurring in the future.  

President Wilson’s Fourteen Points peace program was viewed as a very idealistic peace plan by the other Allied nations. They wanted a harsher peace, which was what was eventually created by the Treaty of Versailles.

Banks can multiply money by using the cash from the people's deposits to give loans and receive an additional interest for the money they lent. If...

The reason that this helps the economy is that actual physical cash is not terribly important these days.  As electronic transmission of money and payments becomes more and more prevalent, the importance of actual physical cash wanes.  Fractional reserve banking increases the amount of money that is in the economy without necessarily changing the amount of cash.

In today’s world, we in developed countries use relatively little cash.  We get paid by the electronic transfer of virtual money into our bank accounts.  We buy things with credit cards and then pay the credit card companies with electronic transfers of virtual money out of our bank accounts.  It is very rare for us to pick up physical cash and go out and make any kind of a substantial purchase.

Modern economies do not run on cash.  They run on electronic transfers of virtual money.  For this reason, fractional reserve banking can help our economy without creating physical cash.  Fractional reserve banking does this because it creates more of the virtual money that actually drives our economy.  

In what way do magnetic minerals align with the earth's magnetic field?

Magnetic minerals align parallel to the earth's magnetic field.

Lets look a little further into how magnetic minerals are classified, and why it is important to know how they align within earth's magnetic field.

In order for a mineral to be magnetic it must contain certain elements. Minerals not containing these elements are what are known as diamagnetic, meaning they have no magnetism.

Other minerals, specifically ones containing the elements Ti, Cr, V, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu, are able to interact with magnetic fields, including the earth's, however only very weakly. Interestingly, once these minerals are removed from a strong magnetic field, they lose all magnetism, and cannot function as magnets themselves. These are known as paramagnetic minerals.

Other minerals, known as ferromagnetic minerals, are permanently magnetic, as long as they are in an environment below a specific temperature, defined as the Curie temperate. These minerals will become magnetized when placed in a strong magnetic field, and remain that way once removed. The most notable example of this type of mineral is Magnetite.

Analysis of the alignment of these types of magnetic minerals, trapped in stone as it formed and hardened from liquid magma, has provided scientists with evidence that earth's magnetic field actually shifts the location of its poles over time. During this shift, what we know today, as magnetic north actually becomes located in the south, and vice versa, meaning a compass that points north today, would point south when the poles are flipped!

Hope this helps!

In the book The Giver they mention assignments and I wanted to know more information on the Engineer assignment.

The assignment itself is not really detailed, but we do know a little bit about what engineers in the community do as a result of other conversations that go on in the book.

We know that one of Jonas's father's friends was an engineer who designed a bridge there in the community, so that indicates that engineers have some or most of the same duties in this community as in any other. They would be responsible for creating the plans for buildings and infrastructure. Although the assignment of Engineer is not specifically mentioned in regards to Benjamin, in Ch. 7the Council of Elders "describes this year's group [of twelves] and its variety of personalities..." and in doing this they talk about a boy with "unusual scientific aptitude" and Jonas assumes,

"Probably the one with scientific aptitude was Benjamin, the male who had devised new, important equipment for the Rehabilitation Center" (Ch.7).

This falls in line with the qualities one would need for being an Engineer and seems to describe some of the duties one in that a assignment would need to do.

We also know that the community has genetic engineers who they call genetic scientists. We learn of them in Ch. 12 when Jonas and the Giver are talking about the community no longer having color. The Giver explains that when they went to Sameness they gave up color, and that "hair like Fiona's must drive them [the genetic scientists] crazy." In our world the duties that the Giver describes their genetic scientists having are the duties of our genetic engineers, so you could actually use them as an example of engineers as well. In Jonas's society they are responsible for making everything look the same by manipulating their genes.

In The Giver, what are the main events that occur in chapters 8 to 15 as part of the rising action?

These events in the rising action include Jonas’s appointment to Receiver of Memory and his training.

The first part of a book, chapters one through seven in this case, is exposition.  Exposition is the part of the book that introduces the main elements, including the characters, setting, and initial conflict.  The middle of a book, chapters eight to fifteen here, makes up the rising action.  Rising action is the important events of a story that occur between the exposition and the climax.  These events lead up to the climax and build suspense and interest.  The climax, of course, is the most exciting part of the book and the turning point of the plot.

At the beginning of the rising action, Jonas is preparing himself for the Ceremony of Twelve.  This is the event that will shape the rest of his life.  He does not know what assignment he will get, because he has never focused on any one area of study.  Jonas is apprehensive and curious.

When Jonas is chosen to be the new Receiver of Memory, it is a shocking moment for him because it comes as just as much a surprise to him as to the reader.  First, Jonas is skipped during the ceremony.  This leads him to believe he must have done something wrong.  It turns out that he was skipped because his is a special appointment that does not happen very often.

"Jonas has not been assigned," she informed the crowd, and his heart sank.

Then she went on. "Jonas has been selected." (Ch. 8)

Everyone in the community seems puzzled.  They must have a very short memory, because Jonas is not the only time a Receiver of Memory has been chosen.  His predecessor Rosemary failed.  Jonas was chosen to replace her ten years later.  The Chief Elder describes the traits that Jonas has that mean he is up to the task: intelligence, integrity, courage, and the Capacity to See Beyond.

Most people have no idea what that last one means, but Jonas has been having strange visions for quite some time now. He has one there, at the ceremony, and confirms that he does have all of the traits listed, including the Capacity to See Beyond.  Jonas gets a list of rules for his assignment, and they confuse and trouble him.  He is told that he can lie, and that he cannot apply for release.  He has no idea what these rules mean.

Jonas begins his training with The Giver.  This is another key event in the rising action.  As Jonas gets more and more training, he learns that the world used to be pretty different.  Before sameness, there was snow and hills.  Jonas takes a ride on a sled, and gets a sunburn.  Both are completely new concepts to him.

"It hurt a lot," Jonas said, "but I'm glad you gave it to me. It was interesting. And now I understand better, what it meant, that there would be pain." (Ch. 11)

Jonas later dreams about the memory, even though before he rarely dreamed.

After talking with his friend Fiona, who seems much changed since she started her training as a Caretaker of the Old, Jonas asks The Giver about the Capacity to See Beyond.  The old man explains that Jonas began to see the color red, as in the apple, Fiona’s hair, the skin tones at the ceremony, and now the sled.  Jonas asks the man if he will ever see all of the colors.

"Of course. When you receive the memories. You have the capacity to see beyond. You'll gain wisdom, then, along with colors. And lots more."  (Ch. 12)

The Giver gives Jonas a special memory of a rainbow.  Soon Jonas can see all of the colors in his everyday life.  He asks The Giver why no one in the community can see colors, and The Giver explains that it is part of Sameness.  With colors come choice, and choice has been mostly eliminated from their lives.  Choosing, even only with colors, would be “not safe” Jonas decides.

Jonas tries to tell Lily that her comfort object, an elephant, was once real.  When she does not believe him he attempts to transmit a memory to her.  It completely fails.  Lily does not have the Capacity to See Beyond.  Jonas tries to find out if The Giver is lonely, because he is starting to realize he is very different from everyone else.  The Giver confides that he lives an isolated life, but tells him that when the last Receiver failed, it was disastrous for the community.  They need him and Jonas, to hold their memories and their pain.  The Giver tells Jonas that his instructors “know nothing” about memory (Ch. 13).

Jonas asks The Giver what causes him pain, and takes the ride on the sled again—this time with a broken bone.  It is like nothing he has ever felt before, and no relief of pain medication can cure it.  Jonas realizes what the pain The Giver has warned him about means.  He also realizes that no one in his community has ever really known pain.

That night, Jonas’s father announces that identical twins are about to be born.  The smaller one will be released.  Jonas is unclear what this means.  He thinks the other twin will be taken somewhere else.  Jonas volunteers to have Gabriel sleep in his room. When he is rubbing the baby's back, he accidentally transmits a memory to him.  Gabriel does have the Capacity to See Beyond, because he, Jonas, and The Giver are related (you can tell by the pale eyes).

The next day, Jonas comes in and finds The Giver in pain.  He agrees to take the memory, and finds himself in the middle of an old fashioned war.  He sees death for the first time, and is horrified and frightened.  The Giver asks Jonas to forgive him.

These events lead up to the climax, when Jonas’s father kills the infant.  It is then that Jonas puts all of the pieces together, and realizes what release means.  That coupled with an argument with Asher about playing war leads Jonas to understand that his people have no concept of death or suffering of any kind, any more than they understand pleasure.  This realization causes him to despise his community and all it stands for.  He plans an escape to return the memories to the people and bring reality to his world.

Many people have criticized Frost for being too concerned with the past or with things that have nothing to do with the modern world (like...

Robert Frost wrote poems over a period spanning nearly half a century, from 1914 to his death in 1989. The world saw tremendous changes during that time, going through two world wars and a cold war. Transportation changed, technology changed, family relationships changed. "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," however, was written in 1922, before many of the changes Robert Frost would see in his lifetime came to pass. 

Although the environment we live in changes over time, the realities of the human condition do not. People still experience emotions of love, fear, hope, and despair in the same ways people have from the dawn of time. Classic works of literature speak to these undying themes that bind humanity together, no matter what culture they live in. To me, this poem is a classic that reflects such themes. Inserting references to the modern world into this poem would do nothing to improve its relevancy and might, in fact, detract from its power.

Let's say it was "Driving through Woods on a Snowy Evening," and the horse was replaced with a car. The man gets out of his car for a few minutes to watch the snow fall. The experience could be almost identical; the only thing missing would be the questioning shake of the horse's head and the sound of his harness bells. Instead we might have the rumbling of the car engine. Would the poem be improved? I don't think so. The fact that the horse is a living creature gives the man some companionship and "someone" to bring another opinion into the story, making the experience more relational for the man. Having only his car there with him would not have the same gentle effect as when the horse "ask[s] if there is some mistake."

The poem is about being able to enjoy nature as a brief respite from the obligations of life. This is still an experience anyone can have, all across the world. The fact that it is set in the past only adds further charm to the scene; bringing in modern elements would not have improved the meaning of this poem and would probably detract from it.

Hermia says in Act 1, Scene 2 "Belike for want of rain, which I could tell /Beteem them from the tempest of my eyes." What is significant about the...

In this scene, Hermia is pale because she has been told she must marry Demetrius or become a nun, when she is in love with and wants to marry Lysander. When Lysander asks her why the roses (color) have left her cheeks, she responds it's because she wants to cry: her tears, she says, are needed to water her cheeks. The word "tempest" is significant because it reveals that although she is dry-eyed, she is deeply upset and in intense inner turmoil: she doesn't just want to weep, she wants to cry violently and for a long time. Inside she is experiencing the kind of emotional upheaval characterized by a wild storm.  

The word tempest foreshadows or hints to us of Hermia's strong, tempestuous personality. She is a woman of deep emotion, who will follow her heart.

What do people in the town generally think of Miss Strangeworth?

Generally, people in the town are fond of Miss Strangeworth and we can see this from their interactions with her. When she goes to the grocery, for example, she is instantly acknowledged by other customers:

Half a dozen people turned away from the shelves and counters to wave at her or call out good morning.

Similarly, other members of the town value her opinion and experiences. Mrs Crane, for example, asks Miss Strangeworth for an opinion on child development:

Don' you think she ought to move around more? Try to sit up, for instance?

Miss Strangeworth is also well-respected by younger members of the community, as shown when she goes to the Post Office. Most of the children, for example, stand back "respectfully" and many of them greet her by saying hello.

Arguably, people like Miss Strangeworth because they have no idea that she is the mastermind behind the poison pen letters. On the surface, she appears to be a kind and friendly old lady but, in reality, she uses her anonymous letters to upset and wreak havoc on the lives of others. This idea demonstrates the notion that appearances can be deceptive and this is one of the story's central themes.

In The Devil's Arithmetic what is foreshadowed on pages 27 and 28?

In my copy of The Devil’s Arithmetic, page 27 and 28 are about the end of the car ride to Hannah’s grandparents’ apartment in the Bronx, NY where the family will celebrate the Seder meal.  Hannah’s brother, Aaron, asks Hannah to tell him a story in order to pass the time in the car from New Rochelle to the Bronx.  Hannah tells a harrowing tale of “the walking dead,” which is quite a “gruesome tale.”  The story Hannah tells captivates Aaron. 

Foreshadowing, of course, indicates something that will happen later in the story.  In this case, Hannah’s “real” story (to be revealed later) is about her journey back in time into the Holocaust.  The tale of the Holocaust is also a “gruesome tale” about the “walking dead” who are the Jewish people killed in the gas chambers and ovens all over Europe.  When Hannah tells this harrowing tale to Aaron, it foreshadows the real events in the concentration camp that Hannah witnesses later.  The other irony here is that when Hannah does go back in time, she plays the character of Chaya, who sacrifices herself for Rivka.  In this way, Chaya becomes the “walking dead” through Hannah.

What was the impact of westward expansion on the development of the United States?

Westward expansion had a huge impact on the development of the United States. As people moved westward, the United States began to grow in many ways. One way the country grew was that we began to add more land to our country. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, we doubled the size of the country. When explorers such as Lewis and Clark mapped out the new land, this opened the door for settlement of the Louisiana Purchase. People moved west to farm, raise sheep and cattle, and to claim land. Then, as we expanded toward the Pacific Ocean, with the acquisition of the Oregon Territory and the Mexican Cession, more people headed west. When minerals were discovered, westward expansion really increased.

This movement westward led to the development of the west. As people moved west, businesses followed. People needed products, and the businesses were more than willing to provide those products. This led to the growth of the railroads. It was profitable for the railroads to expand as people moved west. The railroad companies could ship the business products and could transport people faster and easier than other modes of transportation. Eventually, more cities were formed in the west, and the territories produced new states that were admitted to the United States. Westward expansion had a significant impact on the development of the United States.

Write the partial fraction decomposition of the rational expression. Check your result algebraically.

You need to decompose the fraction in simple irreducible fractions, such that:

You need to bring to the same denominator all fractions, such that:

You need to group the terms having the same power of x:

Comparing the expressions both sides yields:

Hence, decomposing the fraction, yields

How have Sam and Bill changed?

Sam and Bill started off on their first kidnapping venture full of confidence. Sam tells the reader:

It looked like a good thing: but wait till I tell you. We were down South, in Alabama--Bill Driscoll and myself-when this kidnapping idea struck us. It was, as Bill afterward expressed it, 'during a moment of temporary mental apparition'; but we didn't find that out till later.

They decide to ask two thousand dollars ransom for the return of the boy who calls himself Red Chief. But they drop their demand to fifteen hundred dollars even before they send the ransom note. This is because they are already starting to feel frightened of the ten-year-old wildcat.

Their biggest problem seems to be that they cannot exercise any moral authority as adults because they are kidnappers. The boy, who imagines that he is a real Indian chief, has superior moral authority just because an Indian chief necessarily is better than a kidnapper. Red Chief can't be frightened, and they don't dare to use physical punishment because, for one thing, they don't know how far they might have to go. They might end up killing the boy, and then they would be subject capital punishment for a miserable fifteen-hundred dollars. The boy is enough of a problem while he is a friendly and willing captive. He could be a much worse problem if they made him an enemy. They can't tie him up at night, but if they don't tie him up he might try to scalp them in their sleep.

When they finally get a reply from Ebenezer Dorset--whose first name calls to mind Ebenezer Scrooge of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and suggests he will be a tough man to bargain with--he makes them a counter-offer which shows he is fully aware of their situation. He will take Johnny off their hands if they pay him two hundred and fifty dollars. At first the counter-offer seems preposterous, but it isn't long before Sam and Bill realize they are getting a bargain. This is a comical version of what in Hollywood is called a "busted caper story." A planned crime turns into a disaster because of some overlooked detail. In "The Ransom of Red Chief" the hostage enjoys being kidnapped and the father doesn't really want him back. A good example of a busted-caper movie involving kidnapping is Fargo (1996), in which the stakes are higher and the outcome more serious.

Sam and Bill are changed men by the time they deliver Red Chief to his father. They may not be ready to give up their lives of crime, but they are certainly ready to give up any further thoughts of kidnapping. They are two frightened ex-kidnappers when they depart on the run, with Ebenezer Dorset trying to hold his struggling son for the full ten minutes he promised when he accepted their ransom money. Sam tells the reader in the final sentence of the story: 

And, as dark as it was, and as fat as Bill was, and as good a runner as I am, he was a good mile and a half out of summit before I could catch up with him.

In Persepolis, how can I compare Marjane's life in Iran and in Austria through the panels using the technique, tone and theme?

I think it's fair to say that she had fewer self-doubts as a little girl in the militantly repressive Iran than she had in the unstructured, unrestrained West. It's tempting to say that one thing might be connected to the other; maybe rebelling against the Religious Police gave her a sense of confidence and structure she was missing when sleeping outside in the parks of Vienna.

On the other hand, as a little girl, she had a strong family watching her back and when she lived in Austria, they were far away. But don't all small children feel immortal, and aren't all adults afraid? The paramilitaries that oppressed her also, in a way, watched out for her and in Austria, nobody did.

As a kid, she had a hijab and a Walkman, and they were almost connected. In Austria, she had neither and was all the more vulnerable for it. She always acted tough as nails, but as she got older realized it was just an act.

In "Bartleby the Scrivener," discuss the story's humor and how it affected your response to Bartleby.

Bartleby is a very funny story, but as is the way with Melville, the humor is very dark. I think the humor comes from Bartleby's complete passivity and the lawyer's inabilty to have any impact on him whatsoever. Sometimes, the humor is very broad, as in the scene where the lawyer asks Turkey's opinion and he instantly jumps to his feet and says he'll "black his eyes for him!" Other times, the humor comes from the lawyer's own comic inability to exert any influence over Bartleby: "Indeed, it was his wonderful mildness chiefly, which not only disarmed me, but unmanned me, as it were," the lawyer says after he is turned away from his own office on a Sunday morning by Bartleby, who is living there. Nothing seems to work: Bartleby won't do any work, won't leave, won't respond to orders of any kind, won't even eat -- he simply prefers not to. Finally, the lawyer decides to change offices, but even then, Bartleby remains haunting the halls of the old building. He eventually is removed by the new tenant, who -- finally -- calls the police. Bartleby dies alone in prison, presumably of hunger.

If we think of the story as funny, then it seems fair to ask what the joke is about. On one level, clearly the lawyer is the object of Melville's satire: all of his scruples, and good wishes towards Bartleby prove to be completely irrelevant. It may also be that Bartleby, in his refusal to participate in life, also is a comic figure: however much he may prefer to not engage with others, he nevertheless is required to exist. Maybe his death is the only real effect the lawyer can have on him, and the only one that can have any meaning for Bartleby. In that case, perhaps the humor of the story points toward the ultimate blankness of existence, as represented by Bartleby staring at the blank wall, and the inability of good-meaning men like the lawyer to do anything about it.