Why did people in Maycomb start to look faintly alike?

There are two reasons the people in Maycomb start to look alike. In general terms, it was a small town in the south, people were farmers and mostly poor. Their clothes were often homemade or hand-me-downs. In effect, the point is that they all start to blend together.

More specifically, since many of the families never moved away, there were a lot of cases of certain families marrying into other families repeatedly. Over time, the result would be a natural blend of familial resemblance that would lead to exactly that: all the people starting to look faintly alike.

In rural areas during that time, it was not an unusual situation. As towns and cities grew, and modes of transportation become more readily available, there would be a lot more mobility. Therefore, less of the same families marrying.

Why did William Shakespeare choose the name Hamlet?

William Shakespeare's character Hamlet and the play by the same name are heavily based on the Danish mythological figure Amleth. Saxo Grammaticus penned the Sags of Amleth in the twelfth century, and Shakespeare must have either read this story or become very familiar with it by other means. While he could have chosen a different name but retained some of the original themes of the Saga, he chose to Anglicize the name of the Prince of Denmark as Hamlet.

It has also been suggested that Shakespeare chose the name Hamlet in honor of his only son, Hamnet. The two names may have been interchangeable in Elizabethan times, as both are Anglicized versions of the Danish Amleth. Hamnet Shapespeare died in 1596, and the play Hamlet was written sometime between 1599 and 1602. Shakespeare may have also expressed his grief in the play King John, written the same year as Hamnet's death and detailing the grief of a mother who has just lost her son.

Grief fills the room up of my absent child,

Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me,

Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words,

Remembers me of all his gracious parts,

Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form.

(III.4.93–97)

Green Energy: Should every community be responsible for generating its own electricity? What are the risks and benefits of such energy production?

Ideally, yes, each and every community probably should be responsible for developing and administrating it's own power supply.  That probably will not happen until the current cost of traditional commercial production of electricity becomes exorbitantly expensive.  The only time the public gets "properly motivated" is when a commodity, such as electricity, becomes scarce or so expensive most people can not afford it.  So far, those conditions do not exist.  It makes for entertaining discussion and debate, but until the consumer gets hit in his or her pocketbook, the status quo will probably continue, unabated.  After the people in the community get motivated to adapt a new energy production method, they must examine their raw materials to see which one is better suited to what exists in their section of the planet.  Solar power is great, if you have extended exposure to the sun.  What if you don't?  Then, we must turn our attention to one of the other alternative energy production techniques, such as wind energy, hydroelectric energy, or biomass energy.  Each specific area will have to see which one is more conducive to their locale.

Calcium chloride is commonly used as a drying agent. Write the ionic formula for this compound.

The ionic formula for calcium chloride is CaCl2.

The octet rule in chemistry states that all atoms want eight valence electrons in their outermost orbital in order to be stable. The only exceptions are atoms that have only one orbital, such as hydrogen and helium. These atoms only need two electrons in order to be stable.

When a metal reacts with a nonmetal, such calcium and chlorine, an ionic bond is formed. Metals lose electrons to the nonmetals and become positively charged ions. The nonmetals gain electrons from the metals and become negatively charged ions.

Calcium is an alkaline earth metal with two valance electrons. Thus, calcium gives one of its two valence electrons to each of the chloride ions within calcium chloride. In this way, calcium drops to a lower and full electron orbital in order to fulfill the octet rule. Chlorine is a halogen with seven valence electrons. Therefore, each chlorine atom needs only one more electron in order to fulfill the octet rule. Thus, each chlorine atom receives one of calcium’s two electrons in order to fulfill the octet rule.

After her changed attitude, how does Mrs. Auld react to seeing Douglass with a book?

You ask about Mrs. Auld's response to seeing Douglass with a book. However, the interaction in question didn't actually involve a book. Mrs. Auld became very angry when she caught Douglass with a newspaper.

In any case, this reaction represented a dramatic shift in Sophia Auld's treatment of Douglass. When he had first come to live with her, she had been kind and warm. She had taught him the alphabet, and helped him learn to spell short words. But when her husband discovered the lessons, he ordered her to stop. He explained to her that was both illegal and "unsafe" to teach a slave how to read. It would "spoil" him:

"He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy."

Afterwards, Sophia Auld changed her attitude. As noted in chapter VII, she ceased instructing Douglass, and ended up becoming "even more violent in her opposition than her husband himself." Douglass cites this example:

"Nothing seemed to make her more angry than to see me with a newspaper. She seemed to think that here lay the danger. I have had her rush at me with a face made all up of fury, and snatch from me a newspaper, in a manner that fully revealed her apprehension."

Douglass also notes that she tried to avoid leaving him alone (in case he'd seize on the opportunity to look at a book):

"From this time I was most narrowly watched. If I was in a separate room any considerable length of time, I was sure to be suspected of having a book, and was at once called to give an account of myself."

Ultimately, her efforts fail. Douglass manages to continue his education, teaching himself to read and write on the sly. In fact, Douglass notes that it was Mr. Auld's warning that inspired him "with a desire and determination to learn." By showing their opposition, the Aulds helped convince Douglass that literacy would indeed transform him, and help Douglass escape bondage.

I have to write a letter to Curley from the book Of Mice and Men with advice. What should I write about?

Curley is the belligerent and insensitive boss's son in Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men. When the reader first meets Curley he is looking for his wife and throughout the novel there is a disconnect between the two. It is revealed in chapters four and five that his wife doesn't even like him. The reader can assume that he is authoritarian and maybe even abusive toward her. We also know that he sometimes goes into town on Saturday nights without her, maybe even to a whorehouse. When she is found dead he flies into a rage and seeks revenge against Lennie. The reader may assume that his quest for revenge is more a product of the humiliation he suffered at Lennie's hands in the bunkhouse fight than any true feeling of sorrow over his wife's death.

If I were to write a letter to Curley I would tell him to pay more attention to his wife. After all, we know that she is quite pretty, and it is revealed in chapter five that she has dreams and is really not the terrible "floozy" or "tart" that the men on the ranch thinks she is. Instead of going into town with the men on Saturday night he should take his wife out instead of leaving her behind in their "two-by-four house." His wife is obviously lonely, but that could be solved if he spent time with her and wasn't always looking to pick a fight with one of his workers.

Curley should treat his workers with respect. They seem to hate him and there is no sympathy when Lennie crushes his hand in chapter three. He has good workers, including the skinner and leader of the men, Slim. Instead of accusing Slim of trying to be with his wife, Curley should develop a relationship with him in order to improve the sometimes hostile atmosphere on the ranch. He should avoid picking fights and look to control his naturally angry disposition. If Curley were to improve communication with his wife and treat his men more amiably the problems on the ranch might go away.

Does Macbeth have hallucinations of daggers?

In Act 2, Scene 1, Macbeth sees a hallucination in the form of a dagger.

He sees the imaginary dagger right after his conversation with Banquo. In speaking to the dagger, he questions whether the dagger is real or a figment of his imagination. He tries to ask the dagger to come closer so that he can clasp its handle. Clearly, Macbeth is in a state of delusion.

He confesses to the dagger that it is already leading him in the way he plans to go. Furthermore, he tells the dagger that he sees some blood on its handle and blade that wasn't there before. At this point, he tells himself that he is seeing an imaginary dagger and that his eyes are playing tricks on him. We think he is recovering his lucidity until his next statement.

Macbeth claims that one half of the world is asleep and is plagued by evil dreams. Meanwhile, witches are supposedly offering sacrifices to Hecate and 'withered murder' is walking towards an evil destination. Macbeth begs the ground not to sound off his footsteps, for he would rather go towards his evil mission quietly. Additionally, he thinks that he had better stop talking or it will cool his desire to kill Duncan. As he hears the bell, he imagines that it is calling him to his murderous task. Before he leaves, he voices the hope that Duncan will not hear the bell that will either summon him to heaven or to hell.

What three reasons does Horatio list for why the ghost of King Hamlet may have returned from the grave?

This question is in reference to lines 130 and 139 in Act I, Scene 1, when Horatio, on watch with Marcellus and Barnardo, implores the ghost of King Hamlet to tell its business in the realm of man:

“If there be any good thing to be done
That may to thee do ease and grace to me,
Speak to me.
If thou art privy to thy country’s fate,
Which happily foreknowing may avoid,
O, speak!
Or if thou hast uphoarded in thy life
Extorted treasure in the womb of earth,
For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death,
Speak of it.  Stay and speak.”

Here Horatio outlines three possibilities (none of which turn out to be quite correct) as to the ghost’s appearance, and begs the late king to give answer.  First, he asks if the ghost has any unfinished business, any “good thing to be done” to put his spirit at rest.  Second, he wonders if perhaps the ghost has information about the fate of Denmark, which, by imparting it to the watchmen, may prevent some tragedy.  Finally, Horatio asks if the late King Hamlet has some ill-gotten treasure buried somewhere, which was a common reason for spirits to walk the earth in the folklore of the day.

These speculations are all in keeping with traditional ghost lore.  There is, however, some additional context that should be mentioned in reference to Horatio’s second suggestion, outlined in lines 79-107 in his explanation for why the men are keeping watch in the first place – King Hamlet had won lands in a duel with Fortinbras, ruler of Norway, and now the son of the slain Norwegian king is raiding, and otherwise causing trouble, along their borders with Denmark to win back the claims.  So we know that Denmark is on the verge of armed conflict.  In this prior speech Horatio also makes mention of the omens foreshadowing the fall of Julius Caesar in Rome, speaking of “tenantless” graves and a moon “sick almost to doomsday with eclipse.”  Therefore he thinks that perhaps this ghost of the king could be a similar harbinger of disaster in this time of unrest.

What does Lyddie feel after Charlie leaves in Lyddie?

Lyddie feels sad when Charlie leaves, because she will miss him and Rachel.

Since their mother left, Lyddie has been alone most of the time.  When Charles tells her that he has a new family and offers to take Rachel, Lyddie feels lonely.  Her hope had always been to get the family back together again.  Now the farm was gone, her mother was in an asylum, and Agnes was dead.

When Charlie comes to see her, Lyddie barely recognizes him.  Two years have passed since they saw each other last. He looks good, but he looks and sounds different from the brother she remembers.  Even though he is only thirteen, he seems more like a man than a boy.  He also appears shy around her. 

"I got good news, Lyddie," he said, a little of the boy she knew creeping into his voice. Her heart rose.

"The Phinneys have taken me on as full apprentice."

"Ey?"

"More than that, truly. They treat me like their own. They don't have no child but me."

"You got a family," she said faintly. (Ch. 18)

Charles tells Lyddie that Mrs. Phinney wants to have Rachel come, because she wants a daughter. He reminds her that Rachel has “never had a proper Ma.”  She can go to school and fatten up.

He leaves, with Lyddie feeling like there is nothing left to say.  For Lyddie, it seems as if she has been replaced.  Her brother has a new family, and is taking her little sister.  She is sad because she misses her brother, and because he seems to have moved on.  To Lyddie, it is a failure.  She was not able to give him the life that she wanted.  She had tried, but never got there.

When Lyddie reads the letter that Charlie brought from Luke Stevens, proposing marriage, she is horrified.  She can’t believe Charlie would bring her such a letter.  She will not go back that way.  She has to go on with her life without them.

From time to time, she wondered why she was working so hard, now that the farm was sold and Rachel and Charlie lost to her. (Ch. 19)

Lyddie works hard because it is all she knows how to do.  She misses her family, and feels like everything is her fault because she could not keep them together.

The visit from Charles is a big blow to Lyddie.  Her dream of having a family is quashed, and she feels all alone.  Her brother is just doing what is best for Rachel, and she understands that.  In her heart, she knows Rachel will have a better life with him and her new family.  The proposal from Luke Stevens horrifies her.  Charles is young, and he just sees it as an attempt to keep the family close.  Lyddie sees it as an attempt to buy her.

True or false: All cells in the system are identical to each other and work together?

The statement is false. In a given system, like the nervous system or circulatory system, there are various types of cells. Even though the entire system performs one function, the constituent cells may be contributing to different individual tasks that ultimately combine to carry out that function. 

In our body (or that of any complex organism), there are various levels of functionalities (or organization). At the most basic level is a cell. A number of cells that perform a given function constitute a tissue. A group of tissues working towards the same task form an organ. A number of organs that combine their functionalities to perform a common task constitute a system. Thus, the constituent cells need not be identical and do not perform the same task, yet collectively form a complex system that carries out a function.

Hope this helps. 

Who taught or influenced Charles Darwin?

There are several names that come into play as to who might have influenced Charles Darwin.  Darwin came from a family of scientifically-oriented people, wealthy and educated.  His father, a medical doctor, wanted him to also become a doctor, Charles Darwin became sick at the sight of blood and disagreed. 

When eighteen, Charles enrolled at Christ's College, Cambridge, after having started at Edinburgh University in Scotland.  At Christ's College, Charles was taught botony, a popular course, by John Stevens Henslow, who had innovated a unique method of botanical instruction called "independent discovery" within which students were given plants and encouraged to make their own independent observations and discoveries. Henslow's method had a deep impact on Charles.  Henslow's instruction inspired Charles's pursuit of the study of natural history. 

After Christ's College in 1831, Charles had a life-changing opportunity as a result of being recommend by Henslow to accompany Captain Robert Fitzroy as the naturalist aboard the HMS Beagle on a five-year exploration around the world.

It was on this famous journey that Darwin collected specimens and data leading to the development of his theory on the origin of species.  It would be fair and reasonable to include these men--his father, Henslow, Fitzroy--and the related experiences as being instructive influences on Charles Darwin.

How did European countries gain African colonies by 1914?

Beginning in the 1880s, a process known at the time and since as the "scramble for Africa" occupied many of the major nations of Europe. By 1914, only Ethiopia and Liberia remained free of European political and economic control. European nations gained control of colonies by a number of means. Great Britain, which controlled a vast swath of land stretching from South Africa to Egypt, gained its territory through a combination of military conquest and political opportunism. Germany cynically exploited a civil war in Southwest Africa to carve out an empire, and King Leopold of Belgium cruelly governed a fiefdom in the Congo administrated by a company that he himself owned and profited from. The pivotal event in the colonization of Africa was the Berlin Conference, held in 1884. At this conference, the leading powers of Europe essentially agreed to carve up the continent of Africa among themselves, and, significantly, not to go to war over African territory. One African region after another fell under European control. In addition to the territories already mentioned that were ruled by Britain, Germany, and Belgium, Portugal controlled the regions today known as Angola and Mozambique, and France held most of the northwest corner of the continent. Millions of African people would remain under European rule until the decades after World War II.

How have Jem and Scout's life changed since the fire at Miss Maudie's house?

Before Miss Maudie's house caught on fire, the children were terrified of their neighbor Boo Radley. Scout refers to him as the "malevolent phantom" who is responsible for all small crimes in Maycomb County. The children believe the negative rumors about Boo and let their imaginations run wild. While Scout and Jem are standing in the Radley yard watching the fire, Boo Radley quietly sneaks up behind Scout and puts a blanket over her shoulders to warm her. The next morning, the children are eating breakfast when Atticus notices the blanket wrapped around Scout. He asks them whether or not they stayed in the yard, and Scout and Jem swear they didn't leave. Atticus comments,

"Looks like all of Maycomb was out tonight, in one way or another." (Lee 95)

Jem understands that Atticus is suggesting that Boo Radley gave Scout the blanket and begins to tell him about their adventures and the gifts in the knothole. Atticus laughs and tells Jem that they should probably keep the blanket to themselves and maybe Scout can possibly thank him herself. Scout is confused, and Atticus says,

"Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn't know it when he put the blanket around you." (Lee 96)

Scout mentions that her stomach turns, and she almost throws up. Atticus tells Jem that he doesn't want him getting any more crazy ideas that involve Boo Radley, and Jem says, "I ain't gonna do anything to him." (Lee 96) Scout mentions that she saw the "spark of fresh adventure leave his eyes."

Following this event, Jem and Scout start to view Boo Radley in a different light. They used to fear Boo Radley, but after finding gifts in the knothole and Jem's pants mended, they begin to think differently about him. After they realize that he was acting in Scout's best interest by covering her up, they put all the pieces together. When Scout mentions that the "spark of fresh adventure" leaves Jem's eyes, she is conveying that Jem understands Boo is not a threat, and he is no longer interested in attempting to bother him. The children no longer fear Boo Radley, and later on in the novel Scout realizes that Boo is simply a caring, shy individual. After Maudie's house burns down, the children's attention shifts from Boo's mysterious nature, to their father's defense of Tom Robinson and the delicate race relations throughout Maycomb.

Where did the two roads diverge?

The two roads are not real roads but are a metaphor for a problem the speaker, presumably Robert Frost himself, encountered at a certain stage in his life. He was traveling, metaphorically, on a single road which diverged in a "yellow wood." He had to choose one road or the other. This certainly sounds like a career choice. Frost obviously wanted to be a poet. But this is an extremely precarious, if not impossible, career. Dante uses a metaphor similar to Frost's in the opening lines of his Inferno.

IN the midway of this our mortal life,
I found me in a gloomy wood, astray
Gone from the path direct: 

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
Mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,
Che la dirrita via era smarrita.

It would seem that Frost is writing about having to make a choice, common enough for aspiring artists of all kinds, of living very frugally and devoting his life to his poetry. What is unusual about the metaphor of the roads diverging is that they form a single image that dominates most of the entire poem. The metaphor is so dominant that it may persuade the reader that it is a real fork in a real wood--which it is not.

Frost chose to take the "road" which symbolized a life of simplicity and austerity. We can see in many of his most famous poems that he lived close to nature and did a lot of work with his own hands. He wrote about the "Thoreauvian" kind of life he had to lead in order to be free to devote most of his time to his poetry. This can be seen in poems like "Mending Wall" and "Two Tramps In Mud Time." In the last stanza of "The Road Not Taken," Frost seems to be wondering whether all his sacrifices were worth it. But that could have been the case regardless of which of the two roads he had chosen. 

What do you think about Atticus' comments about the KKK in "To Kill a Mockingbird"?

This quote/KKK reference happens during Chapter 15, or what I like to call the "mob scene" chapter. There are two sort of "mobs" during this chapter. This first is a group of concerned friends and neighbors who visit Atticus to collectively warn him about the danger in following through on representing Tom Robinson (which likely relates to the social danger or damage to Atticus's reputation). As Jem and Scout watch Atticus talk to the men, Jem thinks the mob has come to hurt Atticus, but Scout soon realizes that there is no threat as these are men the Finches interact with daily.

This sets up a second "mob" scene, which happens when a group of armed men arrive at the jail, seemingly to lynch Tom Robinson in order to serve vigilante justice (in their mind, he is guilty even before the trial begins because he is black). Atticus predicted this possibility and stands between the mob and Tom in order to prevent the attack. However, it is the emergence of Scout (who thinks this group of men is safe because of her and Jem's previous misinterpretation of the first mob) which truly breaks up the lynch mob. Unlike the first mob, the second is made up of drunk strangers from the outskirts of town who truly intend violence. When Scout recognizes one of the mob members as the father of one of her classmates, she reminds the men of their individual humanity. Unable to harm a fellow dad in front of his children, the mob disperses.

To explain the significance, Atticus offers some insight on mob mentality, reminding the children that mobs are always made up of people. Between the two mob scenes, Jem expressed his concern that the first mob was a KKK group who had come to harm Atticus, and Atticus responds:

"Way back about nineteen-twenty there was a Klan, but it was a political organization more than anything. Besides, they couldn't find anybody to scare. They paraded by Mr. Sam Levy's house one night, but Sam just stood on his porch and told 'em things had come to a pretty pass, he'd sold 'em the very sheets on their backs. Sam made 'em so ashamed of themselves they went away." (Lee 196)

While the initial context of this scene suggests that Atticus is trying to comfort Jem and to tell him that he was worried over nothing, the broader context of the chapter and the two mobs reveals a deeper significance.

First, the statement is historically inaccurate. There was a KKK in 1920's/1930's Alabama (just as there still is a Klan today); however, Atticus is suggesting that the evil of these types of groups is a collective evil, and that the collection is made up of individual members who might otherwise be good and productive members of society. While it's easy to label the KKK as "bad", it's harder to label an individual community member and parent as patently bad.

So, as Harper Lee does so often in this book in this chapter and related to Atticus's KKK quote, she's suggesting the issue is not black and white. What's far scarier than a polarized, racist group like the KKK committing violence and fear tactics against upstanding Alabama citizens is the idea that the institutional racism of the time period was strong enough that normally "good" people would participate in subtle racism (like the first mob) or more significant violent racism (like the second mob). It would be too easy to have the KKK be one (or both of these mobs) and much easier to dismiss as a fringe hate group. It's much more interesting (and scary) to have those mobs made up of everyday Maycomb County friends and neighbors.

In "A Jury of Her Peers", what do we know about John Wright's personality? What kind of husband is he?

Any description of John Wright that appears in "A Jury of Her Peers" is made as indirect characterization. This means that the information comes from the other characters, or as a result of the actions of John Wright. The author will not directly state what he looks like, is like, or acts like. It all will be discovered by the reader, as the story progresses. 

This is a clever way of moving along with the plot. After all, the story is a suspenseful and consistent uncovering of facts and details that will ultimately lead to understanding what made Minnie Wright snap and kill John, her husband. 

All this being said, these are some traits we gather from John as the story goes:

1. He is petulant; has an attitude

....I don't think a place would be any the cheerfuller for John Wright's bein' in it.

These are words spoken by Mrs. Hale, the wife of one of John's colleagues, and also a former friend of Minnie Wright. It is Mrs. Hale who first begins to suspect that Minnie acted as a result of John's nonstop abuse. 

2. John Wright had the "feel" of a sociopath, that is, of someone who is unfit to lead a normal life unless he hurts or abuses someone. When the question is asked as to whether Mrs. Peters, the sheriff's wife, knew John Wright, her answer is that she has "heard" that he was, essentially, "good". Here comes Mrs. Hale again, though, and offers more insight into this belief:

Yes--good [...] He didn't drink, and kept his word as well as most, I guess, and paid his debts. But he was a hard man [...]Just to pass the time of day with him--.[...] Like a raw wind that gets to the bone." 

In an allusion that suggests foreshadowing, this is the very moment that Mrs. Hale notices the poignant, empty birdcage laying around. This is the birdcage where Minnie's only loving companion, a canary, was once kept. 

3. John was antisocial. When Hale goes to John Wright to ask whether he would get a telephone, particularly since they were so isolated from mainstream society, the latter put him off...

........saying folks talked too much anyway, and all he asked was peace and quiet--guess you know about how much he talked himself.

Moreover, John seems to also suffer from a degree of misogyny. John does not care about "folks", but he much less cares about his wife. The men knew as much. They didn't even bother going to Minnie first in aims that her female charm would work on her husband's disposition to get a telephone. 

 I said at the same time that I didn't know as what his wife wanted made much difference to John--"

Therefore, John Wright is quite a chauvinistic and unsociable character. We later find out that these traits also render him prone to abusing and bullying others. This is precisely what he does to his wife, ending in his demise. 

What is an example in To Kill a Mockingbird of when displaying courage revealed someone's character?

Some important examples of people showing courage are Jem’s pants, Mrs. Dubose’s morphine addiction, and Atticus's defense of Tom Robinson

Integrity is an important concept in the book.  As the children age, they are learning the value of maturity and reputation.  Jem faces down a challenge when he loses his pants, and goes back to the Radley house to retrieve them.  This requires courage for two reasons.  First, the Radley house is supposed to be dangerous because Boo Radley is portrayed as a monster.  Second, the Radley place might actually be dangerous because Nathan Radley shoots at anything that moves in his yard.

Despite this, Jem goes back.  He goes back because he does not want his father to be disappointed in him.  He wants Atticus to think that he is brave and honest.  To Jem, his father’s opinion of him is more important than any danger he might be in or any trouble he might get into.

He blew out his breath patiently. “I—it’s like this, Scout,” he muttered. “Atticus ain’t ever whipped me since I can remember. I wanta keep it that way.” (Ch. 6)

Atticus told Jem and Scout not to bother the Radleys, and they didn’t listen. If Jem’s pants don’t show up, Atticus will know what happened.  Although trying to keep a secret from his father is immature, Jem’s desire to protect his reputation and have his father be proud of him isn’t.  Jem shows courage in going back to finish what he started.

Early on, Atticus uses the example of Mrs. Dubose to teach Scout and Jem a lesson in character that they certainly were not expecting.  Mrs. Dubose is a horrible, mean old woman.  She shouts insults at the children as they pass, and she is an unrepentant racist.  She doesn't have many character strengths.  What she does have is determination.  Through Mrs. Dubose, the children learn the importance of not giving up against impossible odds.

Mrs. Dubose is addicted to morphine.  The children have no idea until Jem loses it and attacks all of her camellias when she accosts him with racist remarks about his father.  To atone for his crime, Jem has to go sit with her and read to her.  Later, Atticus tells them that she died, but when she died she was no longer addicted to the drug.  She weaned herself off.

Atticus explained to his children why he wanted them so badly to see Mrs. Dubose’s struggle.

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

This is important because Jem and Scout will need to be strong during the upcoming trial.  They have to learn the value of mental courage.  Like Mrs. Dubose, Atticus is fighting a losing battle.  Mrs. Dubose won hers, but he is unlikely to win his.  Still, he must try.  It is a battle worth fighting.

Of course, the person who shows the most courage is Atticus.  He is taking a big risk in defending Tom Robinson when the whole town seems to be against him.  Although he was assigned the task, he does his best with it.  Most other men would have presented a halfhearted defense and not tried to win.  Atticus’s strength of character comes from the fact that he has to stand up to Maycomb every day in order to defend his client.

Atticus explains to his brother Jack why he felt he had to take the case.

But do you think I could face my children otherwise? You know what’s going to happen as well as I do, Jack, and I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness, and most of all, without catching Maycomb’s usual disease. (Ch. 9)

Atticus doesn’t want his children to become racists.  However, he also wants to teach them the value of standing up for what you believe in.  Atticus believes in justice, and he will defend it. 

Courage comes in many forms.  Sometimes it is physical courage, like Atticus shooting the mad dog or Boo Radley killing Bob Ewell.  Both of these events showed that the men were willing to stand up for and defend others, even at great risk to themselves.  Courage can also be more complex.  It can mean finishing what you started.

What is the setting in Theodore Taylor's The Cay, and how does the setting relate to Phillip's mother's uncharacteristic behavior? What does...

In Theodore Taylor's The Cay, there are two ways in which Phillip's mother behaves uncharacteristically in direct relationship with the setting of the story.

The story is set on the Dutch-owned island of Curacao in the Caribbean Sea, near Aruba and Venezuela. Phillip specifically lives on a section of the island called Scharloo. The story opens the morning after German submarines, in the middle of the night, torpedoed the oil refinery on Aruba at which Phillip's American father works. The year is 1942, just three years after the start of World War II and one year after America became involved in the war.

Phillip's mother is described as a very nervous person, the sort who is always worrying about dangers and trying to protect Phillip. Phillip, the narrator, describes his mother's nervous state, especially after the German torpedoes hit, in the following passage:

She seemed very nervous. But then she was often nervous. My mother was always afraid I'd fall off the sea wall, or tumble out of a tree, or cut myself with a pocketknife (p. 14).

Characteristically, the morning after the torpedoes hit, Phillip's mother tells him to stay near the house that day. But when she discovers Phillip went off to play at the old fort with Henrik and check out the view of the sea from the Queen Emma pontoon bridge, she does something very uncharacteristic. She tells her husband that she and Phillip will go back to Norfolk, Virginia. The problem is, as her husband warns her, "There's more danger in the trip back" than staying on the island since the Caribbean waters are infested with enemy submarines, and it is unlikely the Germans will target Scharloo. Hence, due to the terror she experiences as a result of the torpedoes, Phillip's mother does something uncharacteristic by making a decision to head towards danger rather than run away from it.

Sadly, his mother's decision is a mistake, and the ship they sail on is also torpedoed. It's during the attack that she again behaves uncharacteristically. When the ship is hit, Phillip notes that, as she gives him instructions for getting ready to go out to the lifeboats, she does not behave with the same nervousness as at home:

My mother was very calm, not at all like she was at home. She talked quietly while she got dressed ... . Her hands were not shaking. (p. 28)

Hence, Taylor creates a direct relationship between the novel's setting and the behavior of Phillip's mother. Since the novel is set in the Caribbean during World War II, the setting allows us to see Phillip's mother behave uncharacteristically in the face of danger. In one moment when danger is near at hand, she behaves uncharacteristically by deciding to head towards more danger in an effort to protect herself and her son. When faced with danger head on, she uncharacteristically behaves very calmly as she strives to rescue both herself and her son. Phillip emulates her behaviors as the novel progresses.

Describe the relationship between Jem and Scout in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird.

Jem and Scout are brother and sister, and are Atticus Finch's only children.  Their mother died of natural causes when Scout was little.

On the whole, the two get along fairly well.  They serve as co-conspirators and playmates throughout the book.  When Dill Harris visits Maycomb during the summers, Jem and Scout join him in games that range from riding in a large tire to touching the door of the Radley house.  As Atticus sometimes works late hours, Jem is also given the occasional task to "look after" Scout when Calpurnia is not there.

Like any siblings, there are points of friction as well.  As Jem gets older (he is older than Scout by several years), he tries to distance himself a bit from Scout and often asserts his superior knowledge in a way that drives Scout crazy.  On the whole, however, the two have a strong relationship.

What is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a Christian denomination founded by Joseph Smith in the early 1800's. The Church shares some doctrine with mainstream Protestant branches, and also contains its own unique dogma introduced and propagated by Smith and his early followers. The Church is known for for its large, actively involved laity, and for its strict hierarchical clerical order.

The Church has been a controversial Christian sect since its inception. Its history contains a number of violent encounters in communities where Joseph Smith and his followers attempted to settle, such as in Missouri and Utah. The Church has experienced a number of splinters throughout its history, due to unique and seemingly radical theological claims.

Members participate in a number of sacraments to mark life events: birth ceremonies, elaborate weddings, baptisms, and funeral rites. The relationship between clergy and lay members is highly important and integral to religious life. Clergy are devoutly respected and have great authority to establish or change cultural/religious norms within the community. While more accepted among the mainstream now than ever before in its history, the Church continues to struggle with an uneasy relationship with neighboring communities, and with increased political, social, and legal scrutiny. Nonetheless, the Church remains the fourth largest Christian denomination in the U.S., and maintains operation as large, stable, and functioning religious institution. 

What are two good quotes from Chapter 5, and three good quotes from Chapter 6 in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird?

Chapter 5

"There are just some kind of men who---who're so busy worrying about the next world they've never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results." (Lee 60)

In this quote, Miss Maudie is explaining to Scout why Mr. Radley, who is a "foot-washing Baptist," is such a strict man. She tells Scout that "foot-washing Baptists" believe that anything that causes pleasure is a sin. Maudie attempts to explain how some people take the Bible literally and become callous towards others in their pursuit of faithfulness.

"Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets." (Lee 61)

Miss Maudie is describing Atticus' personality. Atticus is the morally upright character throughout the novel who is the epitome of integrity and honesty. Unlike many of the citizens in Maycomb who harbor prejudice behind their friendly dispositions, Atticus is the same regardless of where he is, or who he's around. ___________________________________________________________

Chapter 6

"Mr. Radley shot at a negro in his collard patch." (Lee 72)

This quote reflects the racist attitudes of the community members. No one is sure who infiltrated Nathan's yard, yet they automatically blame an African American. 

"Atticus ain't ever whipped me since I can remember. I wanta keep it that way." (Lee 75)

Jem displays his reverence for his father by risking his life to retrieve his pants to avoid a beating from Atticus. Jem looks up to his father and is afraid of disappointing Atticus.

"Sometimes I did not understand him, but my periods of bewilderment were short-lived. This was just beyond me." (Lee 75)

Scout struggles to understand why her brother is taking the risk of getting shot to retrieve his pants. This quote reflects Scout's naive childhood innocence by not fully understanding Jem's feelings towards his father.

If an organism has a diploid , or 2n , number of 16 , how many chromosomes do its sperm cells or eggs cells contain?

A diploid cell contains two sets of chromosomes, one from the father and one from mother. In comparison, haploid cells contain only one set of chromosomes, either from father or mother. Thus, haploid cells contain half as many chromosomes as the diploid cells. In other words, if a diploid contains 2n number of chromosomes, a haploid will contain only n number of chromosomes. The sex cells, also known as gametes (sperm cells and egg cells), are haploids cells. Since, the given diploid contains 16 chromosomes, each of the sperm or daughter cells will only contain 8 chromosomes.

The gametes, containing only half the chromosomes (as compared to a diploid), interact with each other (sperm cell with a daughter cell) and thereby obtain the full set of chromosomes.

Hope this helps.  

Can someone please write a summary for chapters 7 and 8 of the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell?

Gladwell's "Outliers" attempts to explain the reasons why some people excel way outside average success rates in various fields while others fail or only achieve minimal success. He does this through various theories explained in each chapter. In chapter 7, Gladwell focuses on the way that cultural norms can impact outcomes by using an example of airline pilot performance in the face of various obstacles. The main idea of his theory about success here is that cultural legacy can impact success. He theorizes that for example, if you are from a culture where no one questions authority, not only can this impede success because no one questions what the authority states is fact but that it can even lead to disasters. The plane crash is evidence of this when a copilot won't question the pilot even though the copilot knows he is right about events in the cockpit and the plane crashes. By comparison, living in a culture that questions authority, leads to questioning and critical thinking by all and so, more people take risks going against authority that can lead to above average success.

In chapter 8, Gladwell again ties the chance of succeeding above and beyond norms to culture by referencing the persistence and attention to detail of Chinese rice farmers. In general, many Chinese students outperform students from other countries in math. According to Gladwell's theory, this is due to a culture that because of the main way of producing income, rice farming, has internalized the importance of extreme persistence and hard work. The persistence and hard work learned on the rice farm he theorizes, carries over into all aspects of life including math.

Does the play, Merchant of Venice, suggest that love and friendship can be stronger than money? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Yes, it certainly does. The first evidence of this is when Antonio, out of love for his friend Bassanio, is prepared to provide him with the security to obtain a loan from Shylock, the money-lender. Although Bassanio already owed him money, Antonio was generous enough to provide his friend with the necessary assistance, even though he had no ready cash available. He did this to ensure that his companion could woo the wealthy heiress, Portia on the isle of Belmont.

When Bassanio seeks his help, the magnanimous Antonio responds as follows:

Thou know'st that all my fortunes are at sea;
Neither have I money nor commodity
To raise a present sum: therefore go forth;
Try what my credit can in Venice do:
That shall be rack'd, even to the uttermost,
To furnish thee to Belmont, to fair Portia.
Go, presently inquire, and so will I,
Where money is, and I no question make
To have it of my trust or for my sake.

These lines pertinently indicate Antonio's unselfish love for his desperate friend.

Later in the play, when Bassanio informs Portia of the danger that Antonio faces because he cannot repay the loan of three thousand ducats, she declares:

What, no more?
Pay him six thousand, and deface the bond;
Double six thousand, and then treble that,
Before a friend of this description
Shall lose a hair through Bassanio's fault.
First go with me to church and call me wife,
And then away to Venice to your friend;
For never shall you lie by Portia's side
With an unquiet soul. You shall have gold
To pay the petty debt twenty times over:
When it is paid, bring your true friend along.

It is evident that Portia does not care about the money and would settle the debt many times over. Even though she does not know Antonio, her love for Bassanio urges her to make this commitment, for she does not wish to see him unhappy. She calls the debt a 'petty trifle' even though the amount is quite substantial. Furthermore, she makes an effort to travel to Venice disguised as a lawyer after she has sought legal advice from an experienced lawyer, Bellario, to defend Antonio.

In contrast, the Jew Shylock is obsessed with money. He lends out money at interest and denounces his daughter, Jessica when she runs away with Lorenzo and steals some of his money and jewels in the process. He even goes as far as saying that he would preferably have back his stolen jewels and money than his daughter. She should rather be dead for all he cares. 

... would my daughter
were dead at my foot, and the jewels in her ear!
Would she were hearsed at my foot, and the ducats in
her coffin!...

Although Shylock is obsessed with material possessions, he is driven by an even greater desire - revenge. He becomes so intent on taking vengeance on Antonio that he is not prepared to even consider accepting twice the amount of the debt when it is offered to him in settlement by Bassanio. It is this malevolence that finally leads to his destruction.

In the end, it is Shylock who is punished and Antonio who is released from his obligation and set free. For all his wealth, Shylock had no one to support him whilst Antonio was surrounded by loving and caring friends who came to his defence and succeeded in rescuing him from the Jew's malice. 

Discuss the conflict between good and evil in Macbeth.

On one level, the struggle between good and evil in Macbeth is a simple one. Macbeth, responsible for so much evil in the play, is destroyed by the good Macduff, allowing Malcolm, revealed as a sympathetic character, to rise to the throne of Scotland. So in the end, one might say, good prevails. But the real struggle between good and evil in this play is an internal one within Macbeth himself. Portrayed as a decent, honest, valiant nobleman at the beginning of the play, Macbeth becomes twisted beyond recognition by ambition. He commits, or conspires to commit, one murder after another to satisfy this ambition, driven early on by his wife, who is portrayed as a woman made thoroughly evil by ambition. So in this way, one might argue, evil wins. It destroys Macbeth and his wife as well as Macbeth's ties with his cousin Malcolm and friend Banquo.

The role of Hecate and the witches, or the "weird sisters" is also important here. We are left to debate whether Macbeth pursued his evil course of action out of free will, or whether the witches were able to exercise their malevolent influence on him, and events more generally, to cause chaos in Scotland. In any case, if there is a "good" force to battle the forces (if, perhaps, only the potential forces) of evil that the witches represent, we do not know about it in the play. Macbeth's conscience seems weak indeed in the face of the temptations their prophecies place in front of him. 

In "The Monkey's Paw," why did Mrs. White go "scurrying to the door at the postman's knock"?

The opening conversation in Part II of "The Monkey's Paw" shows that Mrs. White has very little faith, if any, in the powers of the monkey's paw. She seems to think that her husband was foolish to buy the talisman from Sergeant-Major Morris, although her husband never says how much he paid for it.

"I suppose all old soldiers are the same," said Mrs. White. "The idea of our listening to such nonsense! How could wishes be granted in these days? And if they could, how could two hundred pounds hurt you, father?"

From the author's perspective it was necessary for Mr. White to make at least a token payment in order to establish that he was the owner. Only the owner of the paw, according to Morris, can make the three wishes. Although Mrs. White shows her skepticism, this 

...did not prevent her from scurrying to the door at the postman's knock

She is obviously hoping against hope that the postman will be bringing a letter announcing that they have won a prize of two hundred pounds, or something of the sort. She certainly doesn't expect a representative of Maw and Meggins to arrive in person. When the only piece of mail delivered by the postman turns out to be a tailor's bill, she refers 

...somewhat shortly to retired sergeant-majors of bibulous habits when she found that the post brought a tailor's bill

The fact that the mail brought a bill instead of a surprise announcement that they had two hundred pounds coming from some source, Mrs. White is reminded of the household finances. She is resentful of the amount of whiskey the sergeant-major consumed the night before because of the expense. This will remind the reader that both Mr. White and Herbert were drinking more than usual along with their guest. Herbert's accidental death at the textile manufacturing plant could have been caused, somehow or other, by the monkey's paw, or it could have been due to the fact that Herbert stayed up late, drank too much, went to work with a hangover, and was caught up in the machinery because he was less attentive than usual.

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

The fact that the postman does not bring anything pertaining to an unexpected gift of two hundred pounds is also intended by the author to deceive the reader into believing that the monkey's paw was a fake. This makes the visit by the man from Maw and Meggins that much more ominous and dramatic. The author dramatizes the bad news by having this representative arrive in person. It would be far less effective, for example, to have the postman deliver a letter in a business envelope announcing with deep regret that the White's son had been accidentally killed in a factory accident and the company was presenting the parents with two hundred pounds compensation. The gentleman from Maw and Meggins is obviously the bearer of bad news and is extremely reluctant to do so.

She was watching the mysterious movements of a man outside, who, peering in an undecided fashion at the house, appeared to be trying to make up his mind to enter. In mental connection with the two hundred pounds, she noticed that the stranger was well dressed, and wore a silk hat of glossy newness. Three times he paused at the gate, and then walked on again. The fourth time he stood with his hand upon it, and then with sudden resolution flung it open and walked up the path.

Who is the main character in "Marriage is a Private Affair"?

The main character in "Marriage is a Private Affair" is Nnaemeka. The entire story is about Nnaemeka's love for Nene, Nnaemeka's decision to marry her, and Nnaemeka's altercations with his dad over this decision. At the beginning of the story, Nnaemeka and Nene are discussing what Okeke's reaction will be when he hears about the couple's engagement. Even though Nene remains optimistic, Nnaemeka feels that his father will be upset for many reasons, but mostly because Nene is not of the Ibo tribe in Nigeria. Nnaemeka has chosen to marry out of love instead of out of respect for Ibo tradition. His decision angers Okeke. Nnaemeka returns to Okeke in the rural Ibo village and discusses his engagement to Nene. Okeke gets more and more angry with every bit of information. Okeke is angry that Nnaemeka chooses a woman of his own liking and not the woman Okeke chose for him. Okeke is angry that Nene is a school teacher, which Okeke believes is against the Bible. Finally, Okeke is absolutely infuriated that Nene is not of the Ibo tribe. As a result, Okeke disowns Nnaemeka and Nene for eight years. Nene appeals to Okeke so as to bring his father and grandsons together; however, the story ends before the reader sees the reunion. As you can see, Nnaemeka is involved in every significant part of the story (either directly or indirectly); therefore, Nnaemeka is the main character.

In "The Most Dangerous Game," the General says, "And now I want to show you my new collection of heads. Will you come with me to the library?" What...

This is a great question. When reading a text, it is always important to look at the context.  Therefore, when we look at the context of these words, general Zaroff is explaining to Rainsford that he developed a new animal to hunt. At first Rainsford is perplexed—a new animal? 

As the conversation continues, Rainsford understands that Zaroff is hunting humans—according to Zaroff, animals that can reason. 

Here is the dialogue:

"I wanted the ideal animal to hunt," explained the general. "So I said, It must have courage, cunning, and, above all, it must be able to reason.:

"But no animal can reason," objected Rainsford.

"My dear fellow," said the general, "there is one that can."

"But you can't mean--" gasped Rainsford.

"And why not?:

"I can't believe you are serious, General Zaroff. This is a grisly joke."

After this, Zaroff goes into details about how all of this hunting takes place.  For example, he gives the huntee a good meal, a head start, and some supplies.  Rainsford is shocked, but unfortunately Zaroff is dead serious.  It is within this context that Zaroff wants to show Rainsford his collection of heads.  In light of this, the collection of heads is human.

What are the erosional features produced by valley (alpine) glaciers called? Moraines, Cirques, Eskers, Drumlins?

Erosional feature produced by alpine valley glaciers is called Cirque. These are formed at the head of glacier and are formed by glacier pushing back into the mountain top. A cirque is characterized by bowl shaped depression at the head of the glacial valley. When a mountain top is eroded and multiple cirques are present on its sides, a pyramidal peak is obtained, which is known as Horn. Some of the other erosional features created by alpine valley glaciers are hanging valley, arete, tarn, etc. 

For comparison, moraines are formed by deposition of material carried by glaciers. Eskers are formed by streams flowing within a glacier and are composed of sand and gravel. Drumlins are formed by movement of glaciers over  land and are composed of rock, sand and gravel.

Hope this helps. 

What is chapter 16 about in Lyddie?

Lyddie gets so exhausted from work and the stress of worrying about Rachel that she gets very ill, but she recovers.

Lyddie has to get her money out of the bank because now she has her sister to take care of.  Her little sister is very small and weak, and Lyddie knows that she will not be able to stay at the factory worker boarding house for long.  Children are not allowed.  Lyddie feels like she got the short end of the stick, with her aunt and uncle benefitting from the whole thing while she pays the price.

What could she do? Where could she turn for help? She couldn't keep Rachel here, and yet she, Lyddie, must live in a corporation house to keep her job. And without her job, what good could she do for any of them? (Ch. 15)

Lyddie has to buy her sister shoes, but she worries that she will lose her job and not be able to provide for her much longer.  Her frustration bleeds into her work, where she loses patience with Brigid.  However, when Brigid tells her that her mother is dying, Lyddie feels bad and gives her money for a doctor.

Trying to get Rachel to open up, Lyddie reads her poetry and makes some up for her.  Unfortunately, Lyddie is so tired that she gets sick.  The doctor tries to take advantage of her weakness and kiss her.

How hot the room seemed. Of course it was always hot and steamy, but somehow . . . Perhaps if she hadn't been burning up she could have kept her head, but she was so hot, so exhausted that Thursday in May, she wasn't prepared, she had no defenses. (Ch. 16)

Lyddie kicks him and leaves.  She misses several days of work, and when she finally awakes she asks Rachel to help her get ready for work.  Rachel is amazed that she’s not dead.

How has American Literature changed over its history and how has it remained the same? Support your answer

This question is certainly too broad to address satisfactorily in a few lines. American literature, like literature at large, has undergone a profound evolution from its origins in the Colonial period to our own times. And yet, there are certain themes and motifs that permeate the literary production from the different periods. One conspicuous theme is Nature and the relationship of humans with the environment. In Oh Pioneers!, Willa Cather's narrator encapsulates in a single sentence the essence of the American experience: "the great fact was the land itself, which seemed to overwhelm the little beginnings of human society that struggled in its sombre wastes." Even though Cather refers to the settlers of the Nebraska territory, the same words can be used to describe the struggles undertaken by all those early Americans who carved a civilization out of the primeval wilderness that they had to contend with. Anne Bradstreet’s “Contemplations” anticipate the poetry of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, as well as the writings of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, but also that of 20th-century authors such as William Carlos Williams or Wallace Stevens, to name just a few writers who share a similar contemplative attitude of the natural surroundings. Obviously, Native-American literature is an exceptional example of the intimate, or spiritual, relation of humans with the environment. William Faulkner in novels like Absalom Absalom! or Light in August, and Cormac McCarthy in novels like The Crossing or All the Pretty Horses convey a similar nostalgia for the once pristine nature that has been literally devoured by the “machine,” as Leo Marx would say in his seminal study The Machine in the Garden (1964). And yet, nature is not always viewed under a positive light but rather as a place of danger and death, as we can see in such disparate texts as Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative (1682) or Jack London’s tales such as “To Build a Fire” (1908).

How is blood spatter used in the field of forensics?

Blood spatter refers to the pattern made by blood when it is lost by the victim or the perpetrator during and after a crime. From looking at the size and shapes of the blood droplets, it is possible to tell whether a gunshot came from in front or from behind a victim, and what type of gun was used. Round blood drops on the ground may show that the victim or perpetrator was bleeding and dripping blood while moving through an area. If the drops are more tear-drop shaped, the drops probably had something giving them some velocity as they hit the ground, such as a bullet or a heavy object impacting the victim. The height above the ground where droplets are found can indicate whether the victim was standing or sitting. The patterns can also show whether the perpetrator swung a heavy, bloody object in the air. The degree to which the drops are dry can help pinpoint how long the blood has been on a surface. The link I have attached gives a lot of detail on how this type of evidence is analyzed. DNA analysis is also vital in blood/crime scene analysis although it does not fall into the blood spatter category.

Is the word frindle from the book Frindle actually a real word?

No, the word frindle is not a real word.  In the story, however, it becomes a real word.  The genre of the book is realistic fiction, and in the story the word frindle winds up in the dictionary. 

The main character, Nick, asks his teacher one day who invents words and how they end up in the dictionary.  "'Who says dog means dog?'" he asks.  His teacher asks him to research it, which he does.

Nick decides that he should invent a new word.  He decides to call a pen a "frindle."  He and his friends start calling pens "frindles" in class and at school.  This causes trouble, especially with his teacher, Mrs. Granger.  

A phenomenon began.  Soon everyone was talking about frindles.  Nick appeared in the newspaper, on television, and on the radio to tell about his new word.  Merchandise was sold.  Nick became rich.  Eventually, frindle became a word in the dictionary.

Through applying the sociological viewpoint toward the war on terrorism, do you think we have been successful in waging this war? Why or why not?

To answer this question, we first have to define what the “sociological viewpoint” is. This is often called the sociological perspective.  The relevant part of this perspective encourages us to look at things more broadly than we might be inclined to.  Instead of simply looking at how something affects us, for example, we should look at how it affects our entire society.  We have to do this because we have to realize that the rest of society affects us as well.  Therefore, to look at the war on terror through the sociological viewpoint, we have to ask how it has affected our entire country and also other countries or even the entire world.

Looking at the war on terror, we can argue that it has succeeded, but we can also argue that it has failed.  I will make both arguments and allow you to decide which one you find more persuasive.

From one perspective, the war on terror has succeeded.  From this perspective, we can say that it has been successful because the United States has prevented and further major terrorist attacks on American soil after 9/11/2001.  Since then, the US has severely weakened Al Qaeda.  It has not allowed major terror attacks on our homeland or on our property or interests abroad.  It has been so successful that we are left to criticize the government for failing to prevent the Benghazi attack that killed four people or the California terrorist shooting that killed 14 people.  These are tragic, but they are very small scale things.  The war on terror has prevented truly major attacks.

From another perspective, however, you can argue that it has failed.  You can argue that it has created more problems around the world.  You can argue that ISIS exists because of our war on terror.  You can argue that the war on terror has lessened sympathy for America among the countries of the world.  You can argue that it has radicalized many Muslims, meaning that there are more people who are willing to engage in terrorism against us now than before we started the war on terror.  Thus, by looking at the question somewhat more broadly, we get a different answer.  Which of these arguments do you agree with more?

Describe Gulliver's encounter with the dog and the eagle.

It is customary for Gulliver and his little nurse, Glumdalclitch, to go into the garden together, and she often leaves him for a time to be alone with his thoughts.  One day, she goes a little too far and cannot hear Gulliver cry for help when the gardener's little white spaniel picks him up in his mouth and carries him off.  The dog carried Gulliver straight to the gardener.  However, he was so gentle that Gulliver sustained no injuries, the gardener was mortified, and Glumdalclitch was scolded for leaving Gulliver alone.

Some time later, Gulliver's care is entrusted to a page while Glumdalclitch is ill, and he is taken to the seaside.  Leaving Gulliver to rest in his little box, the page must have wandered off, and Gulliver suddenly feels a strong pull at the ring on the top of his box.  He feels it lifted high into the air and then moving forward at a high rate of speed.  He hears the flapping of wings and assumes that an eagle has picked up his box.  A short while later, he is dropped into the ocean.

In Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice and Benedick are “tricked” into falling in love. How does it happen, and why is it so easy?

I would argue that the reason it is so easy is because they actually have very warm feelings for each other before the plot takes place. The game of wits between them is in fact a form of courtship. This is suggested later in the play when Benedick says, "We are too wise to woo peacefully."

Don Pedro and his friends plot to bring the couple together by making each of them believe the other is secretly infatuated with them. I think it is typical of human nature to warm to people we believe care for us. Additionally, it leads them to bring down their wits and be sincere with each other.

Once they start to treat each other kindly they become more convinced that what they have heard is true. This snowballs into what Don Pedro calls "a mountain of affection." The game of wits comes down and they can be honest about their affection.

How could a reader write a letter to Daisy as if they were Gatsby? The letter should be the one that Daisy reads just before her wedding and...

Wow, what a great assignment! 

Well, some important things to consider here would be voice, conflict, and themes. 

Voice: The tone, diction, and syntax that create a character
In The Great Gatsby, there is a lot of evidence you can use to write the way that Gatsby would have written. Look at the kinds of words and phrases that he uses regularly (Old Sport), his sentence types (are they long? short? questions? demands?), and even the evidence of his writing that we receive in the final chapter. This will make your letter read really authentically. 

Conflict: What disagreement or incompatibility exists between the two characters and their worlds?
Consider what sort of things might drive Daisy and Gatsby apart. Gatsby's letter should address those, and then prove that they don't matter or that, together, they can overcome them! Daisy is from old money, but Gatsby is poor; this should be a main point of the letter. 

Themes: The main ideas or concepts of the text
The Great Gatsby is a seminal work on the American Dream. A good point to consider is that having Daisy is Gatsby's American Dream; addressing this point might drive her to tears!

Good luck!

In the scandal of the missing food with Vladimir Putin, what crime was committed?

This is Russia we are talking about, so it is hard to say what happened with the "missing food" or if a crime was committed at all.  Russia is traditionally known as a closed government that is fraught with corruption and secrecy.  This scandal occurred in 1992 when Vladimir Putin was involved in city politics in St. Petersburg.  The city was faced with major food shortages and Putin brokered a deal in which he would send over one hundred million dollars in resources (oil, lumber, cotton) to other countries in exchange for food.  The materials were sent out, but the food never materialized.  In essence, $100 million of materials went missing.  It would seem on the surface, that Putin benefited from this exchange is some way, or, at least, would have knowledge of what happened. Investigations did not implicate Putin, however.  If Putin did benefit in any way from this deal, the crime would be embezzlement.  Embezzlement is when a politician, or a person that has responsibility for somebody else's property, steals the money or property.

What happens to Fleance in the play Macbeth?

Fleance is, of course, the son of Macbeth's friend and comrade Banquo. Macbeth comes to regard Banquo as a threat because he also saw the witches' prophecy and because the witches foretold that Banquo's descendants would be kings. Macbeth assigns assassins to murder Banquo and Fleance while they are out riding. The assassins are successful in killing Banquo, but Fleance escapes. We do know Fleance's sons will emerge to rule Scotland. Indeed, some at the time (including the King himself) traced the lineage of James I, king of England, to Banquo. Fleance's escape thus had modern relevance to Shakespeare's audiences. We are not told where Fleance went after escaping the murderers, only that he survived the attack.

Why would the Lucas' reaction to their daughter's engagement in Pride and Prejudice be considered socially inappropriate?

Little in the text indicates that Lucas's reaction to Charlotte's engagement was socially inappropriate, but we do get a hint of Lady Lucas crowing excessively over her success in the following line:

Lady Lucas ...called at Longbourn rather oftener than usual to say how happy she was.

This might be considered inappropriate because Charlotte's fiance, Mr. Collins, was heir to the Longbourn estate, meaning Charlotte and Mr. Collins would, upon Mr. Bennet's death, have the legal right to immediately cast Mrs. Bennet and her daughters out of their home. Reminding Mrs. Bennet of this fact could be seen as insensitive, certainly not of the highest order of social graciousness. On the other hand, Mrs. Bennet had, through the earlier part of the novel, dished out rudeness almost constantly to Mrs. Lucas, bragging insufferably about her own daughters' prospects and making condescending remarks about Charlotte, a person everyone had written off as an old maid. More to the point, following WD Harding in his Austen essay "Regulated Hatred," both Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Lucas used legitimate and socially acceptable conventions to savage each other without doing or saying anything overtly inappropriate. 

If we look past the socially acceptable to ethically acceptable behavior, however, we might take offense at the following:

Lady Lucas began directly to calculate, with more interest than the matter had ever excited before, how many years longer Mr. Bennet was likely to live.  

In other words, Lady Lucas is, privately, experiencing a certain glee or schadenfreude over the fact that her daughter will be mistress of her rival, Mrs. Bennet's, home. Using the terminology of our own time, we might say this is not cool. 

A mass of 0.34 kg is attached to a spring and is set into vibration with a period of 0.16 s. What is the spring constant of the spring? Answer in...

The natural frequency of a mass-spring system is given as:

where, fn is the natural frequency, k is the spring constant and m is the mass.

Here, m = 0.34 kg and time period = 0.16 s

Frequency, fn = 1/time period = 1/0.16 = 6.25 hz

Substituting these values in the equation, we get:

Thus, the given spring has a spring constant of 524.32 N/m.

Thus, given the mass of the object and time period, we have calculated the spring constant of the spring. Given the spring constant and say mass, we could have calculated the time period of the mass-spring system. Thus, if we are given with any 2 of the 3 parameters (spring constant, mass and time period), we can calculate the missing parameter value.

Hope this helps. 

Why is Neptune the coldest planet, even though it has stars close to it?

Neptune is the coldest planet within our Solar System because it is the furthest planet from the Sun.

The Sun is the ultimate source of energy for the Solar System. The temperature of a planet is affected by its distance from the Sun. Radiation from the Sun is lost to its surroundings as it travels through space. Thus, the closer a planet it is to the Sun, the warmer the planet is likely to be. Likewise, the further a planet is from the Sun, the cooler the planet is likely to be. This trend holds true for all planets except Venus.

Starting from the center of the Solar System that is closest to the Sun, the order of the planets is: Mars, Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The saying “my very educated mother just served us nachos” is often used to remember this order of the planets. Again, since Neptune is the furthest planet from the Sun, it is also the coldest.

In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, how does Romeo deal with prejudice? What example can prove that?

Romeo is a lover, not a fighter. For example, he gets upset at Benvolio in Act I when he sees blood on the ground and deduces that Benvolio was involved in another fight. The feud between the Montagues and Capulets creates prejudice between the two families, and since Romeo doesn't like the feuding, he would also hate the coinciding prejudice.

One example of Romeo facing prejudice is with Tybalt Capulet. Romeo offends Tybalt by crashing a Capulet party on the night he meets Juliet. Since there is a standing feud, Romeo and his friends make sure to keep their masks on during the party, but Tybalt overhears Romeo speaking and would have killed him right then if Capulet himself had not intervened. Capulet tells Tybalt to stand down because he does not want his party to be ruined by Tybalt killing a Montague. Tybalt withdraws until another time.

That other time comes after Romeo has married Juliet--Tybalt's cousin. This gives Romeo even more reason to befriend Tybalt in the face of prejudice. Unfortunately, Tybalt is determined to fight Romeo for crashing his family's party. Romeo tries to dissuade Tybalt by saying the following:

"Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee

Doth much excuse the appertaining rage

To such a greeting. Villain am I none.

Therefore, farewell. I see thou knowest me not" (III.i.57-60).

Romeo does his best to defend himself with words before the argument turns to blows. He also tries to explain to Tybalt that there is no reason for fighting even though he cannot disclose the reasons at that time. Some would argue that Romeo should have just told Tybalt he married Juliet at that time to diffuse the situation; but there's no guarantee that would have worked. In fact, Tybalt probably would have become more upset had he known about the marriage. Either way, Romeo was faced with Tybalt's prejudice against him as a Montague and there was no way out. Romeo does his best to end the fight, but in the end, Romeo kills Tybalt after Mercutio dies defending him.

What is the moral message of the poem "A Woman's Last Word"?

This poem is ambiguous, but one reading of it would interpret its moral as showing that the woman narrating it suffers because she would prefer to live in a false "Eden" of harmony rather than to communicate honestly with her lover. She appears to feel that the only way the two can get along is to "hush and hide the talking." She says that she wants to become one with her love:

Teach me, only teach, /Love As I ought /I will speak thy speech, Love, /Think thy thought—

While she believes that knowledge of good and evil—"shun the tree ... Never pry"—will keep her safe in her carefully constructed paradise, the fact that she is sad and crying in the last two stanzas calls into question her solution of brushing conflict in a relationship under the rug. She states that "I must bury sorrow /out of sight" and "Must a little weep." She notes in the last line that she is loved, but the reader might ask: at what price? Is it worth it if it makes her sad? The poem calls into question a kind of love based on one partner suppressing and stuffing down truth and emotion: the moral is that this path leads to unhappiness.

What does the mutual interest of the lamp for Kezia and Else signify in Katherine Mansfield's "The Doll's House?"

The lamp in the story “The Doll’s House, ” by Katherine Mansfield, stands out in the eyes of Kezia as something so unique that it is worthy of telling everyone about it. In turn, Kezia’s words pique Else’s curiosity and, after finally being able to catch a glimpse of the lamp, she feels a sense of joy,  personal satisfaction and triumph.

The fact that Kezia and Else are drawn equally to this one object, regardless of their different backgrounds, demonstrates that all individuals, regardless of race, creed, or origin, can still share the same values. This is also a symbol of humanity: All humans have the same capacity for appreciation, the same need for acceptance, and the same right to dream of a better life. Within their own circumstances, Else and Kezia embody those three principles. It is in the appreciation of the lamp that their differences in social and economic status also become null, and their essential humanity is further intensified.  

The lamp, Kezia and Else

“The lamp,” as a carrier of light that illuminates the world, has always served as a universal symbol of enlightenment, awakening, and truth. Kezia, a rich girl who still reaches out to the less fortunate, is obviously the only individual in her social circle who is aware of the reality of the world and enlightened with the knowledge that all people are created equal, no matter what their background is. Like the lamp, Kezia, too, stands out from her immediate environment.

On the other hand, Else also stands apart within her own set of circumstances. Her desire to see the lamp shows that, despite the meager conditions in which she lives, she still yearns to see the beauty and uniqueness of the lamp because she can recognize it and appreciate it. This is something that other people of her class, namely, her own mother, would not be able to do.  

Kezia and Else

A close analysis of Kezia and Else show that they are quite similar in their appreciation of the lamp because they both embody what the lamp symbolizes: Knowledge,  awareness, enlightenment, and truth. These two girls, through their appreciation of the small lamp, show that they are different from the people with whom they coexist. The mutual interest in the lamp is a way for the author to show that the love for knowledge, beauty, and life can exist within any heart, no matter how rich or poor it may be.

What were the overall messages Chopin wanted readers to understand by the end of the narrative of "A Pair of Silk Stockings"? (for an essay)

Two overall messages suggested in Chopin's "A Pair of Silk Stockings" are

1. Poverty imposes limits upon a mother that deny her expression of autonomy and some self-indulgence.


2. There is in every individual a desire for freedom in opposition to societal norms. 

In the thesis of the essay, the student should include both of these messages. For a five or six paragraph essay (2 paragraphs of the body may be needed for one point), there can be a thesis with 3 main points [See boldfaced words] which can, then, become the topic sentences of the body paragraphs.

Here, then, are some reflections upon the three main points which may assist in the composition of the support for the thesis:

As a mother, Mrs. Sommers has lost her individuality; for, she must consider the needs of her children first. After she has the windfall of fifteen dollars, she responsibly places it into her porte-monnaie and lays out plans in her mind for necessities; she is "absorbed in speculation and calculation." But, since she feels a sense of importance, also, there is the hint that she experiences an awakening of independence. And, the fact that on the day that she goes to town she feels "a little faint and tired" hints at her weakening will to a temptation to indulge herself so that she can again feel independent.
So, after she purchases the gloves and the stockings and gloves, Mrs. Sommers seems transformed from a mother to an individual lady who is able to fulfill her own desires. 

• Self-Indulgence

At the counter where there are gloves, "she grew aware that her hand had encountered something very soothing, very pleasant to touch." Because she feels light-headed and is overwrought with responsibilities to others, there is the temptation for Mrs. Sommers to indulge herself and recall those yesterdays when she was able to enjoy luxurious things. So, once she buys the gloves, she is, then, tempted by the silk stockings which remind her of "better days" that she once enjoyed.

• A Desire for Freedom from Societal Norms

The restrictions that a lack of financial independence place upon Mrs. Sommers cause her to desire freedom from her role as the dutiful mother and wife; indeed, she longs to escape her life of "enforced frugality." When the play that she has attended ends and she rides home on the cable car, Mrs. Sommers experiences "a powerful longing that the cable car would never stop anywhere...." and her dreamy day continue rather than return her to all her social and private responsibilities. 

Why was whaling good?

It depends on your meaning of "good"?  Whaling was great for the American Northeast because whale oil was quite valuable as a lubricant and a light source.  It gave young men a way to make money during the times they were not needed to work on the farm, as whaling season was often in the fall and winter when humpback and right whales migrated up the Eastern seaboard.  At its height in the early to mid-1800s, Nantucket and Bedford were two of the largest whaling cities in America and the town fathers indeed taxed this income, bringing other industries to town.  Whaling ships could also be commandeered in times of war--several Union vessels during the Civil War started their lives as whaling ships.  Whalers also charted new waters in the Pacific, as it was common practice to hunt all the whales in a particular area and then move on to better waters.  This is the reason I questioned how "good" whaling was, as it led to the near-extinction of the right and humpback whale.  

In Chapter Seven of Animal Farm, how does Squealer attempt to rewrite history?

One way that Squealer rewrites history is to declare that Snowball, who has become Public Enemy Number One on the farm, was responsible for a series of acts of vandalism. Indeed, Squealer tells the animals, he had never been a true revolutionary--he had been in league with Jones the whole time. He claims that Snowball had turned on the animals at the Battle of the Cowshed, a confusing interpretation of events for many of that battle's veterans:

They all remembered, or thought they remembered, how 
they had seen Snowball charging ahead of them at the Battle of the Cowshed, how he had rallied and encouraged them at every turn, and how he had not paused for an instant even when the pellets from Jones's gun had wounded his back. At first it was a little difficult to see how this fitted in with his being on Jones's side.

Boxer even protests that Squealer's account is wrong, and Squealer responds that all of Snowball's apparently valiant contributions at the battle were in fact part of a big hoax. After some persuasion, Boxer and the other animals are convinced when Squealer tells them that Napoleon has "stated categorically" that Snowball was always a traitor. Accepting Napoleon's words as truth, the animals go about their business. Later, Boxer's skepticism is punished when Napoleon sends his dogs after him. Boxer successfully fends them off (unlike several unfortunate pigs, hens, geese, and sheep who confess to be traitors in league with Snowball) but the message is sent. Boxer, for one, responds to these purges with a promise to himself to work harder.

I need help determining the summary, critical analysis, and character sketches of "A Fringe of Leaves" by Patrick White.

Let us begin with a summary of A Fringe of Leaves before we attempt either critical analysis or character sketches.  This is a very long novel (albeit still a page-turner) that is a historical romance with two parts:  the first is a love story brimming with guilt and the second is story of slavery and escape.  These two parts are connected by a shipwreck. 

First, to explore the love story full of guilt.  This is a true historical romance set in the Australia of the early 19th century.  (In other words, a newly settled Australia ripe with seedy characters originally from England and Ireland.)  Most of Australia, at the time, was not yet conquered and full of the native population: Aborigines.  Even the Irish and English settlers were a rough crowd, most of them being convicts and such.  What transpires is a romance between a strong young woman and a smart, more elderly man.  

Then comes the shipwreck of the Bristol Maid returning to England.  It wrecks on the Queensland Coast with Mrs. Roxburgh aboard.  She is immediately taken prisoner by Aborigines.  All Ellen Roxburgh wants is to escape, but she is ever so torn.  She feels loyalty to her dead husband, but now feels loyalty to her rescuer.  She also feels loyalty to her own class in England, but also to her new adoptive class of settlers.  This novel is the story of Ellen Roxburgh's survival.  It is about Ellen's inner struggles and how she overcomes them. 

In conclusion, we should also realize that even though this novel was written in the latter part of the 20th century, it reads like a Victorian novel (and is meant to).

What is the theme of Seamus Heaney's poem "Blackberry-Picking," and what poetic devices contribute to the theme?

At first blush, Seamus Heaney's "Blackberry-Picking" seems straightforward. As the title suggests, the poem is a nostalgic remembrance of the subject's youth, which he spent as a boy picking blackberries in the late summer. The poem chronicles the impatience with which he and his friends waited for the fruit to ripen, the greed with which they collected the ripened berries in makeshift containers, and the sadness they felt when much of what they harvested rotted before they could enjoy it.

Delving deeper, there is much more going on with this poem. Some critics have interpreted the poem to be about youth -- about how those who are young take time to "ripen" and to "grow" in experience, but that once they have, that youthful period is fleeting. Others have asserted that the theme is more about the impermanence of all of life. In that interpretation, all things come to an end, so it is best not to try to hold on to an experience (as the boy tries to hoard the berries), but rather to live in, and fully experience, the present moment before it passes.

Whether the theme of passing youth or of general impermanence resonates with you, Heaney uses several poetic devices to get his point across. His use of the metaphor of "summer's blood" for the blackberry juice and the accompanying bloodlust mentioned in the next line (lines 6-7) suggest something primal in the search for the blackberries, something that fulfilled a deep human need. Likewise, Heaney's careful use of action verbs like "scratched" and "bleached" (line 10) communicates the feeling that other elements in nature worked to prevent the boys from accessing the blackberries. The alliteration (repetition of an initial consonant sound) in line 21 serves to draw the reader's attention to the line: "The fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." This is important, as it is here that the lovely image of the blackberries changes to one of rotting fruit. In addition, Heaney's juxtaposition of "lovely canfuls" and "rot" (line 23) further drives home the transformation of the berries that has taken place over the course of the poem. Finally, while the poem has followed somewhat of a rhyme scheme, the last two lines not only rhyme, but also have strong-sounding endings. The author no doubt crafted the strong ending purposely to leave this final thought in the mind of the reader: although he always wanted the berries to last longer, in the end, they did not. No amount of his effort could make the berries live longer. By that final line of the poem, we realize that there is far more going on in this poem than a simple berry-picking session.

Why does Maleeka help John-John? Would you have done it? Why or why not?

The issue here is that John-John is actually one of the bullies that troubles Maleeka at school.  The irony is that John-John is actually Maleeka's same skin color which should make the reader wonder why the heck he is teasing her about being that same dark skin color.

The reason why Maleeka helps John-John isn't really stated, but it is implied.  Maleeka knows just how it feels to be on the short end of the stick, and isn't about to let another fellow student feel that.  Maleeka, of course, is simply a good person which is another, more general, reason why she helps John-John.

Due to her helping John-John, Maleeka learns the real reason behind John-John's misplace bullying:  when Maleeka first moved to the neighborhood when she was seven, she didn't want to sit by John-John.  This was enough to make John-John resort to teasing and bullying for a while.

The last two parts of your question are quite personal and must be answered solely by the person handing in the assignment.  As for me, I can't say for sure, but I would hope that I would have helped John-John.  Why?  In my experience, it is very important to show Christ-like love to anyone and everyone in any way that they need. 

Which two subatomic particles combine to give the atomic mass

The two subatomic particles that combine to give the atomic mass are protons and neutrons.

Atomic mass (sometimes called atomic weight) is the average mass of the atoms of an element. Atomic mass is calculated by taking the sum of the relative abundance of all the isotopes that occur naturally for that element. Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons.  

Atomic mass reflects the size of an atom. Technically, the atomic mass is the sum of the protons, neutrons, and electrons within an atom. However, electrons are so small that their masses are considered to not contribute to the mass of the atom.  

Therefore, the atomic mass of an element is close to the mass number of an element.  The mass number of an atom is the number of protons and neutrons contained within the nucleus of an atom.

How does a cell produce electricity?

A cell that produces electricity is known as an electrochemical cell or voltaic cell or more commonly as a "battery". The electricity production takes place because of chemical reactions that take place within the cell. 

In simplest terms, a voltaic cell consists of two metallic electrodes (known as cathode and anode), in an electrolyte solution and are connected to each other. The basis of electricity production is the oxidation-reduction reactions that take place at electrodes. For a simple cell consisting of copper and zinc electrodes, zinc will lose electrons more readily than copper and hence is the anode. Copper will receive the electrons lost by zinc and becomes the cathode (and gets reduced). This flow of electrons cause the current flow. 

There are also cells in which electricity has to be supplied to force a chemical reaction. Such cells are known as electrolytic cells.

Hope this helps.