What are some of the long-term impacts of environmental problems, and how can some of these be solved?

There are many long-term effects of environmental degradation, many of which have serious global consequences.

The most worrisome long term issue at the moment is global climate change. A rise in average global temperature of over 2 degrees centigrade is considered by most experts a tipping point. The effects of global warming include melting of polar ice caps and an accompanying rise in sea levels which will put at risk many coastal cities such as New York and Miami and possibly submerge some island nations. Changing global climate will also cause massive species migrations and extinctions, and change the latitudes at which many food crops are viable, leading to problems in many agricultural areas. Increased temperatures are also correlated with more frequent extreme weather events. The main way to solve this is to reduce carbon footprints to slow global warming.

Another major issue is the degradation of water supplies and depletion of aquifers. Many countries and regions are polluting and depleting aquifers by intensive farming. Two possible solutions are organic farming which does not pollute water as much and fair market pricing of water.

Finally, deforestation is a major issue contributing to climate change and soil erosion. This can be countered by providing economic incentives to preserve forests.

Why did the Mongol invasions of Japan fail?

The most common answer to this question is probably to say that the Mongol invasions of Japan failed because of typhoons.  Most history texts emphasize that the Mongol invasions were repelled by massive typhoons.  These storms gave rise to the idea of the “kamikaze,” the divine wind that protected Japan.

The Mongols tried to invade Japan twice.  One invasion was in 1274 and one was in 1281.  According to most history books, these invasions were repelled when typhoons hit, scattering or destroying the Mongol fleets and causing the invasions to fail.  However, as you can see in the article in the link, some historians believe that the role of the typhoons is overstated, particularly in the repulse of the first invasion.  They emphasize that Japanese resistance to the attacks was important.  They argue that Japanese warriors played a major role in fighting the Mongols.  In fact, they point out that contemporary accounts of the first invasion do not even mention a typhoon.

However, most history texts still tell the story of the divine winds.  Therefore, it is likely that this is the answer that you are supposed to give.  You may want to check your textbook to make sure.

What are the different significances of each character in Salvage the Bones?

There are many characters in Salvage the Bones, and the author Jesmyn Ward employs some stereotypical characters in the interest of plot and thematic development.  An example of one of these stereotypical characters is Manny's girlfriend Shaliyah--she is only present in the story to provide a complication in the relationship between Esch and Manny.  So here are some points that highlight the significant aspects of a few of the major characters in the novel. 

The protagonist and narrator Esch has been compared by many literary critics to the Greek character Medea.  In Greek literature, Medea was scorned by her husband Jason and killed her own children as a way to both posit a voice for herself and to avenge the wrongs that she felt were done against her.  Esch feels that Manny has wronged her by taking advantage of her for sex, and when she finds out that she is pregnant and that Manny wants nothing to do with her pregnancy, she considers methods of abortion.  Esch's character is significant because through her character, Ward is able to explore both the harsh and harmonious aspects of motherhood.  

Another significant character is Esch's brother Skeetah.  He is raising dogs for fighting, and although he basically sacrifices these dogs to the pits, at home, he takes fierce care of them.  It is Skeetah in the end who saves Esch from being swept away in the flood, so Skeetah's character is symbolic of a savior.  

Finally, although not as dynamic of a character as Esch and Skeetah, Manny is important to the story because his character represents a harsh patriarchal factor that Esch must learn to overcome.

Faust re-translates the Gospel verse “In the beginning was the Word” as “In the beginning was the Act.” What is the significance of this...

Striving and action drive the plot of Goethe's Faust, making the re-translation absolutely appropriate for the character and the story. These values lie at the heart of Faust's character from the beginning of the narrative, when Faust sits in his study, ruminating over the mysteries of the universe. Despite all his scholarly knowledge, he feels that the inner workings of nature will forever be beyond his reach and, after the Earth Spirit he summons mocks his ignorance, he prepares to kill himself. Though he fears he has done all he can to advance his knowledge and understanding of the world, he is quickly dissuaded by the Easter morning bells – a reminder that this character is not one to give up actions so easily.

One way in which this theme of striving and struggling plays out in the narrative is through the struggle between opposites. From the deal between God and Mephistopheles (literally, "without light" – so the polar opposite of a God who is synonymous with light) to the earthly struggles between man and woman, opposite forces are constantly striving against one another in Faust. What makes Faust the ideal man, for Goethe, is that he continues to strive, despite everything. As God says in the Prologue, "For while man strives he errs." Goethe, through the character of God, believes that it is not the constantly good and righteous man who should be held up as the ideal, but the one who is constantly working towards something greater, even though his striving will inevitably lead to mistakes. Addressing the "why" of your question, then, one could say these are central values for Faust because they are character traits that Goethe wishes to promote as central to the ideal man. 

At the end of the Prologue, we get more of an understanding of Faust's, and by extension, mankind's, need for action. God claims that "the Devil makes them do it"; literally, that is the Devil's purpose, according to God:

"I have never hated the likes of you. 
Of all the spirits of denial 
The joker is the last that I eschew.
Man finds relaxation too attractive—
Too fond too soon of unconditional rest;
Which is why I am pleased to give him a companion
Who lures and thrusts and must, as devil, be active."

The Devil is not an evil demon to be feared, but a necessary piece of the universe. Both opposites are needed: God to show the right path and the Devil to incite humanity to push boundaries. Again, the idea of activity for the sake of struggle is celebrated here. This God doesn't want blind obedience from humanity. He wants them to struggle and strive for something greater. 

In Part One of the narrative, Faust's striving has a particular aim: to seek fulfillment through his own personal gratifications. Here we see Faust's actions taking a decidedly unrighteous turn. Following the logic of God, however, Faust remains good at heart, knowing right from wrong even as he engages in terrible deeds that result in several deaths and plenty of torment. 

In Part Two of the narrative, Faust's actions have a different focus. Chastened (one would hope) by the consequences of his actions in Part One, he now strives to gain gratification through altruism towards humankind. Though his union with Helen of Troy ends in tragedy, he continues to strive for a moment of perfect satisfaction. Expanding his altruism to the poor, Faust plans a public housing project by reclaiming land from the sea. Faust declares his moment of perfection the one when he hears digging that he assumes is the beginning of his project.

The fact that his moment of perfection is one of perfect altruism, with no particular benefit to himself, shows he is fit for heaven. Thus, Faust's striving for knowledge and a moment of perfection is mirrored through the story with his own inner struggle between selfish evil and selfless good. Though both exist in humankind, it is the struggle that is critical. Any human striving for goodness is, inherently, good.

Do you think Polonius is a protective or overbearing father?

Both are possible. In fact, you can be be protective and overbearing at the same time. It certainly seems overbearing to hire someone to spy on your son while he's at college, for instance, but maybe Polonius's fears for him are genuine. He's certainly very rigid on the subject of Ophelia's relationship with Hamlet; it's easy to argue that she's old enough that having her father forbid her a relationship seems a bit much. But he is, in his way, looking out for her, and really, he turns out to be right: Hamlet is ultimately very bad for her indeed.

In fact, it's also possible to argue that Polonius isn't terribly protective of his children at all: he doesn't seem to care if Laertes's reputation is ruined with reports of his visits to prostitutes and he allows Hamlet to abuse Ophelia terribly and doesn't intervene; he's more interested in what information she can get from him. Polonius is a complicated, contradictory parent.

Why does Victor choose Orkney Islands as the place where he will work?

Victor's entire project of creating the monster is one that he toils over mostly in isolation from the very beginning. When he became consumed by the occult science he was studying and the progress he was making in his work, he noted in Chapter 4:

"I knew well, therefore, what would be my father's feelings; but I could not tear my thoughts from my employment, loathsome in itself, but which had taken an irresistible hold of my imagination. I wished, as it were, to procrastinate all that related to my feelings of affection until the great object, which swallowed up every habit of my nature, should be completed."

Since he knew that his father (and likely other friends and family members) would dismiss his work as crazy, obsessive, and dangerous, he hid his work away from them in order to complete it.

Later, once the monster has come to life and begun to exact its revenge after being abandoned by systematically murdering Victor's loved ones, the monster demands that Victor create for him a partner, and then the monster and his wife will seclude themselves never to be seen by mankind again.

To create the monster's bride, Victor chooses a remote spot. In Chapter 19, he explains:

"Having parted from my friend, I determined to visit some remote spot of Scotland, and finish my work in solitude. I did not doubt but that the monster followed me, and would discover himself to me when I should have finished, that he might receive his companion.

With this resolution I traversed the northern highlands, and fixed on one of the remotest of the Orkneys as the scene of my labours. It was a place fitted for such a work, being hardly more than a rock, whose high sides were continually beaten upon by the waves. The soil was barren, scarcely affording pasture for a few miserable cows, and oatmeal for its inhabitants, which consisted of five persons, whose gaunt and scraggy limbs gave tokens of their miserable fare. Vegetables and bread, when they indulged in such luxuries, and even fresh water, was to be procured from the main land, which was about five miles distant."

While there is some evidence at this point that Victor, knowing the monster is following him, is trying to create some distance between it and his family and loved ones (including his best friend Clerval who he was just travelling in Scotland with), but I'd argue that his picking such a remote and secluded spot mirrors the isolation in his early attempts.

Victor knew others would judge him harshly and try to interfere with his work, so his pride and obsession compelled him to keep it secret. Now, he still hasn't admitted to anyone what he's done, and the shame and guilt at the consequences of his actions (the death of his loved ones at the hands of his creation) continue to force him to work in seclusion because of fear of being found out and, therefore, having to truly admit the evil of what he's done.

How did George Washington die?

On December 13, 1799, Washington was outside during a winter storm at Mount Vernon.  Not wanting to be late to dinner, he did not change out of his wet clothes, and that night started complaining of a sore throat.  His situation worsened, and his doctors practiced bloodletting on him.  His throat became inflamed, which caused the doctors to put "blister of cantharides" on Washington's throat due to the medical idea that blisters would draw out the inflammation.  Since disease back then was considered an imbalance of humors, more blood was taken from Washington, and he was given enemas and made to vomit at a time when his body needed fluids in order to balance electrolytes.  Washington died the next day, and doctors and historians have debated the cause of death, with theories such as diphtheria, strep, and pneumonia, but the leading cause of death is an inflammation of the epiglottis, a flap that prevents food from going down the trachea.  This is consistent with contemporary doctor reports of Washington not being able to swallow, worsening to an inability to breathe.  Even today, an inflammation of this nature is still dangerous.  

Why did people move to the West in the 1800s?

People moved west for a number of reasons in the nineteenth century, but by far the most prevalent motive was the availability of land. Beginning with the Northwest Territory after the American Revolution and ending with the closure of the frontier on the Great Plains in 1890, Americans sought the cheap land that would afford them (so they hoped) economic independence. The federal government did much to encourage these hopes, most notably with the passage of the Homestead Act in 1862, which parceled out 160 acre homesteads to people who would settle and farm there. This sparked a large wave of settlers on the Great Plains, formerly inhabited by Native Americans, in the aftermath of the Civil War. Other motives were primarily economic in nature as well. Many Americans moved west to work for the mining companies that formed to exploit the vast mineral resources of the West. Others became loggers, ranchers, or especially railroad workers. Still others came west to take advantage of the business opportunities afforded by this large-scale migration. A minority of people--most notably the Mormons--came west seeking religious freedom, and some others came as missionaries and teachers who worked with Native Americans. But the vast majority of Americans who came west were seeking land to farm. 

What happens to scarlet ibis in the bleeding tree?

Doodle spots the ibis first and when Brother goes out to investigate, he notes that the bird is perched "precariously" (unbalanced) and that its wings were hanging loosely. The ibis is on the highest branch. As a feather drifts down from the bird, Mama notes that it looks scared and Daddy adds that it might be sick. Then the ibis begins to flutter, moving its wings awkwardly until it plummets to the ground, landing with a loud thud. The ibis makes one more desperate motion and then dies on the ground: 

Its long, graceful neck jerked twice into an S, then straightened out, and the bird was still. A white veil came over the eyes and the long white beak unhinged. Its legs were crossed and its clawlike feet were delicately curved at rest. 

Using the bird book as a reference, Daddy determines that it is an ibis and that a storm must have blown the ibis off course. Following the ordeal with the storm and faced with this new, foreign environment, the ibis is too weak to fly and the fall finally is too much.

The ibis is a parallel character to Doodle. Both Doodle and the ibis do not quite fit in their respective environments. They struggle and suffer. Both will endure hardships and a storm. The color "red" (scarlet) of the ibis and the "bleeding" tree are symbolic and foreshadowing elements of what will become of Doodle. 

In "The Tell-Tale Heart," how does the narrator profess to feel about the old man? What is one thing about him that the narrator hates and why?

In the opening paragraph, the narrator tries to convince his listener that he is not mad (crazy). He admits to having a disease but he claims that the disease has made his senses sharper. We have a narrator who claims to be reliable but his anxious insistence makes him seem crazy indeed. It therefore comes as no surprise when he says that he loves the old man but then endeavors to kill him. 

The narrator says he loved the old man, the old man had never wronged him, and that he did not covet the old man's money ("gold"). Illustrating his mental instability, the narrator claims that it is the old man's eye that drives him to insane thoughts. 

I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture—a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees—very gradually—I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever. 

From here, the narrator again tries to prove his sanity by describing how strategically he went about killing the old man. But what was it about the eye that drove him to murder? 

The narrator claims that it is not the man himself who he has the problem with. It is only his eye, his "Evil eye." The narrator clearly has some insane, superstitious notion that the old man's eye is evil and is therefore some kind of threat to him. Approaching the old man, the narrator describes his unreasonable fear and terror of the eye: 

It was open—wide, wide open—and I grew furious as I gazed upon it. I saw it with perfect distinctness—all a dull blue, with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow in my bones; but I could see nothing else of the old man's face or person: for I had directed the ray as if by instinct, precisely upon the damned spot. 

The narrator has a self-destructive impulse. If it is not suicide, it is the desire to commit the murder and then be caught. Indeed, this does occur. The guilt manifests when he hears the man's heart beating through the wall. Note the pun of "eye" and "I." In killing the "eye," the narrator symbolically wishes to destroy himself as "I." So, part (or perhaps all) of his desire to destroy the old man's "Evil eye" is actually a subconscious attempt to destroy himself. 

Towards the end of chapter 15 of To Kill A Mockingbird, Mr. Underwood and Atticus talk. What could they have been talking about?

Chapter 15 of To Kill a Mockingbird details the scene when Atticus goes to the jail and sits out in front of Tom Robinson's cell in an effort to protect him from a possible lynch mob. When a mob actually does show up, the kids stay to help protect their father. Little did they know that Atticus did have backup by way of Mr. Underwood and his shotgun in the window of The Maycomb Tribune office building. From the children's perspective, as they are about to go home for the night, Scout says the following:

"It was long past my bedtime and I was growing quite tired; it seemed that Atticus and Mr. Underwood would talk for the rest of the night, Mr. Underwood out the window and Atticus up at him. Finally Atticus returned, switched off the light above the jail door, and picked up his chair" (155).

Atticus and Mr. Underwood must have been doing a few things in this situation. First, the mob had just left, but they could have waited for the children to go home and double-backed. Atticus and Mr. Underwood may have been discussing if they thought the Cunninghams were through for the night or thinking of coming back.

Next, Atticus did not go home immediately, suggesting that maybe he didn't want to leave Tom or Mr. Underwood alone if they still needed him. Also, with the Sheriff out running down another case, Atticus and Mr. Underwood may have been going over the names of the people in the mob. If the situation ever got out of hand, or came up again somehow, Atticus and Mr. Underwood would want to have a list of names ready for the sheriff. The text doesn't say if the sheriff was privy to Atticus and Mr. Underwood's plans that night, either, so they may have been discussing their side of the story so it would be polished and ready if the sheriff ever asked what happened.

Finally, Atticus and Mr. Underwood may have discussed how to handle the next day, which was the trial day. Not knowing Scout's effect on the Cunninghams that night, (if she had truly humbled them or not) they may have been discussing how to handle any possible craziness before, during, or after the trial as well.

What is the literal meaning of Langston Hughes' poem, "Let America be America Again"?

Langston Hughes is crying out that America should become the country it had promised to be. His poem is an appeal to all members of American society, without distinction, to make America great again. It is an almost desperate plea rooted in the strife and struggle that he has suffered and witnessed throughout his beloved country since birth.

Hughes is speaking about an America that was the idealised country the pioneers dreamt about. A land where everyone is free, not only in a political or societal context, but also free from exploitation, greed and all the other human foibles which have become so commonplace. The freedom which he speaks about is untainted by idealism or linked to any ideology. It should be a natural freedom, as free as the air we breathe, a freedom that creates limitless opportunities, equally for all.

Hughes uses the jarring images of people who have become the victims of an uncaring and selfish society, driven by greed and a lust for power. His references are very specific and inform about the ignominious treatment he and others have suffered. In the poem the speaker stands for everyone who has felt the lash and abuse of such a society - from the slaves, the poor whites, the indigenous inhabitants, to the modern day labourers, factory workers and farmers.

The poem encapsulates almost a historical account of suffering and abuse, where no one seems to be free and/or equal. Everyone bears some kind of a burden, all are shackled.

What stands out is that the dream of an ideal America has not died.

Except the dream that's almost dead today.

The speaker asserts that the dream is what brings hope. He passionately desires that the dream for an America free from prejudice, hatred, abuse, exploitation and all the evil that these bring, should be revived. Throughout the poem the speaker has stated that the America had never been the America he had wanted it to be, but he swears that it will be the America that he has idealised. This emphatic faith is in contrast to all the negativity the speaker has focused on throughout the poem.

The speaker (and also the poet) believes that:

We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain--
All, all the stretch of these great green states--
And make America again! 

In these last few lines he emphasises that there is only one route by  which America can become its true self again, and that is through a process of redemption. All that is natural must be cleansed of the taint of human malfeasance. All Americans must be prepared to sacrifice and participate in this act of atonement, for that is the only way in which it can become the country that everyone, from past to present, has always wanted it to be.  

In "The Sniper," how is the armored car personified?

Liam O'Flaherty's short story "The Sniper" is about the action between Republican and Free State snipers on the rooftops above Dublin during the Irish Civil War. The reader follows the story from the point of view of the Republican sniper.

Scanning the streets below, the sniper sees an armored car coming across the bridge over the River Liffey through the central section of the city. O'Flaherty uses both personification and metaphor to describe the armored vehicle.

Personification is when a non-human thing is given human qualities. In this case the motor of the car is compared to a person breathing heavily: "The sniper could hear the dull panting of the motor." It is like a person panting or breathing because of the thick, raspy sounds it makes as it advances up the street. The heavy noise alerts the sniper to the approaching danger.

A metaphor is a comparison of two unlike things to reveal the quality or appearance of one of those things. O'Flaherty compares the armored car to a "gray monster."

His bullets would never pierce the steel that covered the gray monster.

What happens when the supply of energy-rich molecules in a muscle is used up?

Fermentation takes over.  The energy-rich molecules you are talking about are glucose molecules, C6H12O6.  They are what is normally used for energy production in animal cells.  The normal process of energy production is called cellular respiration.  Glucose, which is secured from the food we eat by the digestive system, is chemically combined with oxygen from the air we breathe.  The glucose is broken apart, releasing free energy, which is stored in molecules of ATP (adenosine triphosphate).  Carbon dioxide and water vapor are manufactured in the process as waste products. 

Sometimes, a person (such as an athlete) can't get enough oxygen in to facilitate cellular respiration.  Energy needs do not stop, so a process called fermentation  takes over.  Fermentation breaks down glucose, to form free energy in the form of ATP.  Compared to cellular respiration, fermentation does not produce as much ATP.  It is used for emergency situations.

When the glucose supply in cells is exhausted, energy needs do not stop.  Stored glucose, usually stored in the liver, is released into the bloodstream, where it is taken directly to the cells.  Stored fat is also broken down to supply energy to cells.  That is what fat is, stored caloric energy.

Although Uncle Jack, himself, is a racist, why does he stand up for Atticus when Scout recounts the tale of Francis accusing Atticus of being a...

This question is a bit hard to answer directly, as it requires making logical inferences through an understanding of the text as well as the context. The scene in question comes in chapter 9, when Uncle Jack disciplines Scout for beating up Francis after he calls Atticus a "nigger-lover" (83). When the full story comes out, Uncle Jack sides with Scout, becomes immediately angry at Francis, and believes the child must be punished for what he said.

Scout stands up for Atticus here, but Uncle Jack is merely standing up for what is right.

In order to understand this, it is important to understand the context. What we currently understand and define as "racism" is any unequal treatment of people who are a different race. This was not the same definition during the time the book takes place. There were social and legal gaps between black people and white people that were not only present, but expected, and to maintain or respect those gaps--at the time--was not considered racist. It was considered normal.

This means that tension between blacks and whites was not the only racial tension. There was also plenty of racial tension between whites and other whites, as society was constantly redefining what was "appropriate" when it came to the inequality gap between blacks and whites.

While many white people at this time would not have directly disrespected a black person to his face, they might have been disappointed that Atticus was defending one in a murder trial. 

So, with that in mind, understand that it isn't so much that Uncle Jack is a racist. He is more conservative than Atticus when it comes to the societal division between blacks and whites. He is more old-fashioned, also, when it comes to progress in that area. He is obviously not out fighting for the rights of black people, but he isn't stopping his brother from doing that either. In the discussion between Atticus and Uncle Jack that follows (at the end of chapter 9) it is clear that Uncle Jack does believe Atticus is doing the right thing, despite the fact that it is very difficult. Ultimately, this scene shows that Atticus and Uncle Jack, while very different, do seem to share a similar sense of integrity. Uncle Jack, in his way, stands up for what is right in this case.

What is a quotation that shows Macbeth receiving little support from those who once were closest to him?

In Act 5, Scene 3, when a Servant reports that ten thousand English troops are approaching, Macbeth expresses his extreme depression and disillusionment in a soliloquy which includes the following.

My way of life
Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf,
And that which should accompany old age,
As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends,
I must not look to have; but, in their stead,
Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honor, breath,
Which the poor heart would fain deny and dare not.

(Shakespeare uses the image of yellow leaves to represent old age in his sonnet #73. "That time of year thou mayst in me behold / When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang / Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, / Bare ruined choirs where late the sweet birds sang.")

Macbeth does not seem concerned that a huge enemy army is on the march and he has lost many of his own cohorts. He calls for Seyton, and significantly has to call three times before Seyton responds. This suggests that even the household servants are abandoning Macbeth and that Seyton, who is evidently in charge of the household staff--a butler, head steward, or majordomo--is one of the few loyal ones left. Nobody wants to be caught inside the castle if it is swarmed over by enemy soldiers, who might slaughter everyone with or without orders to do so. There are only remnants of the original inhabitants of the huge castle--Seyton, Lady Macbeth, a Doctor, a Nurse, a Servant, and presumably a few guards.

The above soliloquy rather strangely recalls another one Macbeth spoke much earlier in the play in Act 2, Scene 3, when he had to stand outside Duncan's chamber while the totally unsuspecting Macduff went inside to wake the king and discovered his bloody body instead. On that occasion Macbeth spoke these words:

Had I but died an hour before this chance,
I had lived a blessed time; for from this instant
There's nothing serious in mortality:
All is but toys; renown and grace is dead;
The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees
Is left this vault to brag of.

Can you help me out regarding my thesis? I still cannot choose a topic, but I have already an idea: I like to link the learning styles of a...

Actually, learning style and motivation are closely linked in any discipline. In language learning, for example, whether the student learns from a grammatical or from a vocabulary standpoint will depend on why the student is learning a language. If the motivation is to read in that language, the syntax, declension, conjugation, etc. is vitally important, but if the motivation is to travel in another country, it might be enough to build a vocabulary of useful words with a mere touch of grammar – Where is the train station? Can you recommend a good restaurant? What does the word ---- mean? Etc. For your thesis statement, then, postulate two (or more) learning styles and parallel them to two ( or more) motives. If a person has a learning style of intense concentration but short attention span, his motivation should be to pick up a lot of a language’s vocabulary. But if a person’s learning style is to examine the structure and interactions of things, then he/she should have as a motivation the translation and interpretation of pieces of literature in the language. Make your thesis statement articulate the important relationship between the two elements – learning styles and motivation – then illustrate some combinations, in several disciplines. Hope this helps.

What are some examples of figurative language in Romeo and Juliet, Act 3: Scenes 3-5?

There are several important instances of figurative language within scenes 3-5 of Act 3 of Romeo and Juliet.  When Romeo curses his banishment, he uses hyperbole in his cry, "There is no world outside Verona walls" (line 17).  Hyperbole, an exaggerated or overdone statement that is not intended literally, is evident here.  Clearly, there is a world outside Verona walls, one that Romeo himself will visit when he moves to Mantua shortly thereafter.  It is simply that it does not feel that way to Romeo.  

Later in the same act, Shakespeare makes intentional use of alliteration (repetition of an initial consonant sound) when he writes, "Stand up, stand up. Stand, and you be a man / For Juliet’s sake, for her sake, rise and stand" (lines 88 and 89).  Here the initial "s" sound is repeated in "stand" and "sake."  There is an additional "s" sound in "Juliet's" as well, so that when the lines are performed, the "s" sound is quite prominent.

Act 3, Scene 4 is short, and largely furthers the plot.  As the scene changes to Scene 5, however, instances of figurative language reemerge.  In line 9 of Scene 5, Romeo uses personification in the lines, "... jocund day / Stands tiptoe on the misty mountaintop."  Personification, the attribution of human characteristics to something not human, is evident here, as Romeo conjures an image of the day waiting on tiptoes to approach once night has left.  

Finally, in the same act, Juliet uses a simile (direct comparison using the words "like" or "as") when she bids Romeo goodbye, "Methinks I see thee now, thou art so low  / As one dead in the bottom of a tomb." Here, she uses a simile to compare Romeo to someone dead and in a tomb.  This is a true instance of foreshadowing, as Romeo will soon be dead.  Thus, figurative language abounds both in the general play and, more specifically, in the latter half of Act Three.

Death and dying are major components of gothic literature. "The Raven," "The Masque of the Red Death," and "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" all show...

Both Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne, the authors cited here, are well known for themes of death and mortality occurring in their works. Poe's approach tends to be one exploring the atmospheric horror and emotional anxiety surrounding death, while Hawthorne often explores moral and social issues connected to dying. In his poem "The Raven" the protagonist who narrates the poem in the first person is grieving the loss of his lover Lenore. The raven appears and seems to mock the narrator's grief and loneliness. He speaks to the raven, asking if he will see his beloved again, asking if there is peace after death; but every question is met with the answer "Nevermore." The raven continues to haunt the narrator, and in the final stanza he states that his soul will never be lifted; he expects to grieve Lenore the rest of his days, and to (presumably) meet his own death with fear and dread. "

"And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor 

            Shall be lifted—nevermore!"

Poe's short story "The Masque of the Red Death" takes a very different tack: the protagonist, Prince Prospero (whose name connotes wealth), far from brooding on death, decides to defy it with an ostentatious party. The disease ravaging the countryside is known as the Red Death: it causes victims to bleed horribly from facial wounds and die suddenly, and is causing fear in all the residents of the kingdom, and so the prince decorates his castle for a decadent ball and invites everyone to attend. Each room is decorated in a different color, and these descriptions make up a large part of the story. The final room is decorated with blood-red walls, draperies and furniture, with an enormous ebony clock. Every time the clock strikes the hour, its tone disturbs the partygoers and musicians, and they are overcome with a feeling of discomfort and dread:

"it was observed that the giddiest grew pale, and the more aged and sedate passed their hands over their brows as if in confused reverie or meditation."

One party guest arrives who is dressed as the Red Death, and shortly thereafter the guests fall ill and die, including the Prince. Two themes emerge: one, that it is conceited folly to assume that anyone can cheat Death when their time has come (the clock is a potent reminder of this). Two, that decadence and revelry are an inappropriate way to acknowledge the horror of sudden death by illness. 

In Hawthorne's short story, "Dr Heidegger's Experiment," the protagonists are invited to consume an elixir said to be from the Fountain of Youth. Dr. Heidegger conducts the experiment with elderly friends, who briefly regain their youthful vigor. But just as quickly as youth arrives, it fades away and they are old once again. The metaphor of the drink serves to remind readers that youth is fleeting and can never be regained. Death is inevitable and seeking to deny aging means that one will not be ready to meet one's own death when it comes. The doctor sees the wisdom of refusing to try such an experiment again, but the subjects insist they will travel to Florida to try and find the legendary fountain of youth (once sought by explorer Ponce de Leon). 

Why were Australians and Americans so terrified of Communist infiltration after World War II?

Not just Americans and Australians, but many people around the world feared Communist infiltration because they saw what they viewed as the relentless expansion of communism around the world. In the immediate aftermath of World War II, the Soviet Union had more or less installed communist governments throughout Eastern Europe, an "iron curtain" that stretched from Poland to Yugoslavia (a nation that had established a communist state independently of the USSR.) The Soviet Union successfully detonated an atomic bomb in 1949, and Americans became aware that they had gained much of the intelligence they needed to develop this weapon by the use of spies within the Manhattan Project. This brought fears of communism home in ways that nothing else had. Moreover, communism seemed to be spreading. The most populous nation in the world, China, "fell," from a western perspective, to communism, as Mao Zedong and the communists emerged victorious from a bloody civil war. This especially concerned Australians, and their fears that communism would spread to their front door, as it were, seemed realized when communist North Korea invaded the western-backed South in 1950. All of this, of course, was based on the assumption that communism and Western-style governments, rooted in political democracy and capitalism, were incompatible on a global scale. So bearing this in mind, people in places like the United States and Australia saw communism as a real and immediate threat in ways that are difficult to understand today.

A rancher has 2000 ft. of fencing to enclose three adjacent rectangular corrals as shown in the figure at the right. What dimensions should be used...

Hello!

Unfortunately you have no drawings attached, but I can envision.

I suppose all three corrals has one common dimension, denote its length as Then there are 4 walls with this length and 2 walls with another length, denote it as

So we have to use (ft) of fence while the enclosed area to maximize is

Express from the equation, and substitute it into the formula for the area:

Of course and so

The graph of this function is a parabola branches down. It has a maximum at a point (ft). The corresponding (ft).

The answer: the bounding walls will have a length of 500 ft and the separation walls will have a length of 250 ft.

I believe you can now solve this problem for corrals with a different mutual arrangement.

What is the moral proposition of Blake's poem “A Poison Tree"?

Suppressed anger could lead to spiritual degeneration—this is the central moral proposition of Blake’s “A Poison Tree.” According to the poet, it’s always good to disclose one’s anger instead of suppressing it. Expression of anger doesn’t allow it grow into a malicious force. Instead, it paves the way for a better understanding and healthier relationship between two persons.

On the other hand, if one buries anger within oneself, it gets planted like a seed. With time, it grows into a destructive and malicious force.

The poet has beautifully expressed this idea by using an extended simile of a seed. The seed of anger gets planted once we suppress our wrath instead of acknowledging it. Behind our fake smiles and gentle demeanor, we keep it hidden.

And I sunnéd it with smiles
And with soft deceitful wiles.

Meanwhile, the seed is nourished and grows into a big tree. Its growth suggests the gradual corruption of the mind. It means the spiteful evil thoughts grow stronger in us.

Blake stretches the simile further and says that, with time, the seed develops into a fruit-bearing tree.

And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright,

The fruit the tree bears is highly poisonous. The enemy of the speaker dies as soon as he plucks the fruit and tastes it. We see that the suppressed anger represented by the apple has grown into a malevolent force, powerful enough to destroy a life.

So, the poet is suggesting that if wrath is suppressed, it will corrupt one’s mind and thoughts. Suppressed and buried, it will grow sinister and dangerous. Thus, one should acknowledge one’s anger immediately in order to avoid one’s spiritual degradation.

Whose conversation does Percy overhear in Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief? What are they discussing?

In Chapter Two, Percy overhears a conversation between Mr. Brunner and Grover. From all indications, they appear to be discussing Percy and his fate.

As the chapter begins, we discover that Percy's grades have slipped at Yancy Academy. When he hears that he will not be allowed back to school the next year, Percy experiences both positive and negative emotions. While he looks forward to seeing his mother again, he knows that he will miss Grover and Mr Brunner's Latin class. Above all else, he realizes that he will miss being around a teacher who believes in his ability to excel; that teacher would be Mr. Brunner.

Despite his misgivings, our young protagonist decides that he will make a last-ditch effort to prepare for his Latin final, both because of his teacher's faith in him and his teacher's admonishment that Latin would be a 'life-and-death' necessity for Percy. As he approaches Mr. Brunner's office, however, he realizes that his Latin master is having a private conversation with Grover.

Even though he feels a bit guilty, Percy can't help eavesdropping. In the conversation, he hears that Grover is worried about him being alone during the summer. Apparently, in both Grover and Mr. Brunner's eyes, the discovery of a 'Kindly One' at school is a worrisome development. However, Mr. Brunner advises that Percy should not be rushed into knowledge and that he should be given a chance to mature at his own pace.

Upon hearing this, Grover argues that time is not on their side and that they have the summer solstice deadline to meet. Mr Brunner's definitive answer is that the matter will have to be resolved without Percy's participation. Grover, still hesitant, voices his concern that Percy now knows who Mrs. Dodd is. However, at this point, Percy really does not know that Mrs. Dodd is actually one of the Furies (also called Kindly Ones) who serves Hades, the god of the Underworld. All he knows is that he fought Mrs. Dodd to the death after she revealed herself to him in her monster incarnation. Yet, curiously, no one seems to remember the existence of any teacher named Mrs. Dodd at the school.

Meanwhile, when Grover worries that he will fail at his efforts to protect Percy, Mr. Brunner encourages him by saying that they will only have to keep Percy alive until the following autumn. This statement disconcerts Percy so much that he unwittingly drops his mythology textbook in the hallway. The loud sound alerts Mr Brunner and Grover, and they become suspicious. However, Percy quickly manages to evade discovery by hiding in a nearby room. Eventually, Percy manages to make it back to his room after Grover leaves Mr. Brunner's office.

What is a thematic statement for "The Cask of Amontillado"?

In order to write a a thematic statement, you first need a theme. There are a few themes in The Cask of Amontillado, such as the mortality of man or the violation of trust; but the one that I will use is the theme of hubris. (For a fuller explanation of the other themes, I have included a link.) Hubris, as defined by dictionary.com, is "excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance." In literature, another part is generally added to the meaning: the arrogance leads to a downfall of some kind. This happens to both characters: Montressor's hubris leads him to a moral downfall by means of murder, and Fortunato's hubris leads him to death (which is the ultimate downfall). With all of that in mind, one example of a thematic statement for The Cask of Amontillado could be something like:

In the short story The Cask of Amontillado, Poe explores the reality of hubris: how the pride of man will lead to their downfall.

What is an example of Jack using savagery in Lord of the Flies?

There are numerous points in the book where Jack behaves with what one could term savagery, and these savage behaviors become more intense as the novel progresses. One of his first savage acts is when he plows into Piggy's stomach and breaks his glasses. Although he is actually mad at himself, to some extent, for letting the signal fire go out just as the ship was passing the island, and he is mad at Ralph for being in the right and for having reprimanded him, he takes out his anger on Piggy--someone who is less respected by the group and weaker. By violently targeting a weaker person, he is behaving with savagery.

Later, when he has separated from Ralph's group and needs fire for his own tribe, he raids Ralph's camp during the night, and he and his boys beat up Ralph's group and steal Piggy's glasses. This was unnecessary because Ralph would have shared fire with Jack's group, but Jack chooses violence as his way to get what he wants.

During Jack's frenzied feast, Jack and all the other boys murder Simon in a savage mob attack.

When Jack sets up his camp on Castle Rock, he has the boys keep Wilfred tied up all day, and then he beats him, which is another act of savagery--this time against his own followers.

Finally, after Piggy's death, Jack plans to hunt Ralph and kill him. He sets fire to the island to smoke Ralph out of his hiding place. He is ready to commit bold premeditated murder--his greatest act of savagery.

Write the form of the partial fraction decomposition of the rational expression. Do not solve for the constants.

To decompose this fraction, consider the factor in the denominator. The factor is repeated three times. So the partial fraction of this will have denominator in increasing exponent of the factor. 

, , and

Add these three fractions and set it equal to the given fraction.

To solve for the values of A, B and C, eliminate the fractions in the equation. So, multiply both sides by the LCD.

Then, group together the terms with x^2, the terms with x and the constants.

Set the coefficient of x^2 at the left side equal to the coefficient of x^2 at the right side.

      This is the value of A.

Then, set the coefficient of x at the left side equal to the coefficient of x at the right side.

   (Let this be EQ1.)

And, set the constant at the left side equal to the constant at the right side.

     (Let this be EQ2.)

To get the value of B, plug-in A=4 to EQ1.

And to get the value of C, plug-in A=4 and B=40 to EQ2.

So the partial fraction decomposition of the given rational expression is:

To check,  express the fractions with same denominators.

Now that they have same denominators, proceed to add them.

Therefore,   .

In Act 1 of the play The Diary of Anne Frank, how do Anne's words reveal aspects of her personality?

The play The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett premiered in 1955 and is based on the book Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. Many aspects of Anne’s personality are revealed through the script’s dialogue and stage direction.

The audience first sees Anne in scene two when she enters the stage running. The stage direction describes her as “quick,” “interested in everything, mercurial in her emotions.” Mercurial means that, like mercury in a thermometer, Anne’s mood can quickly change. In her first interaction with Peter, Anne acts friendly and outgoing. She also reveals a sensitive side. She can’t burn her Star of David as Peter does because, while it has become a symbol of hate, it is still a symbol of her Jewish heritage.

Anne also shows that she is an optimist. Rather than complaining as her family first moves into the attic where they will be hiding, she tells her father, Otto Frank, that she will think of it as “a very peculiar summer boarding house.” She also shows appreciation for Miep Gies and Mr. Kraler, “our protectors.”

Anne resists traditional female standards of behavior. When her mother protests against her playing with Peter, she replies, “Who cares if it’s dignified? I don’t want to be dignified.” This contrasts with the more reserved, ladylike behavior of her older sister, Margot. Later, this contrast comes to a head when Mr. Van Daan criticizes Anne for not being more like her sister. Anne responds aggressively, saying, “I’d cut my throat first! I’d open my veins!” and goes on to describe her dreams of becoming famous in music or the arts.

Overall, Anne is a free-spirited, high-energy character who also has a softer, sensitive side, which we especially see in her interactions with her father.  

What is the resolution of the novel Frankenstein?

The novel resolves, or ends, with these three events:

• Victor Frankenstein dies on Robert Walton's ship


• The Monster finds Victor dead and then jumps off the ship and into the cold arctic to go off and supposedly die


• Walton decides to go home to England

1) Victor Frankenstein has worn himself, physically and emotionally, searching for the Monster. As a result, he is near death when he arrives on Walton's ship. He shares his story with Walton, but then dies before ever finding his creation again.

2) The Monster finds Victor, but he is already dead. Walton walks in on the Monster talking to Victor's corpse and lamenting their complicated relationship. The Monster is remorseful and sad, but also still a bit angry. Victor's death is bittersweet, because as much as the Monster wanted Victor dead, he has no one else in the world who knows him. He is now truly alone. 

"He sprung from the cabin window, as he said this, upon the ice-raft which lay close to the vessel. He was soon borne away by the waves, and lost in darkness and distance."

3) After hearing Frankenstein's story, Walton sees too many parallels to his own life and ambitions and decides he better head home before he becomes too much like Victor. He turns the ship around and goes back to England.

Is there a moment in Wolf Hall where Cromwell is portrayed as a hero in contrast to accurate historical evidence?

Wolf Hall is told from Cromwell’s point of view and thus there are many moments where the reader views him much more sympathetically than has history. One touching scene which is perhaps not in concert with historical evidence is Cromwell’s final visit to Thomas More on the eve of his execution. Thomas More’s Utopia called for religious tolerance and humane views towards the poor and his adherence to his religious convictions pitted him against King Henry VIII, making him a martyr.  Cromwell, who helped to bring an end to Catholicism in England and maneuvered two of the King’s marriages as well as Anne Boleyn’s execution, is seen as a scheming, cruel man. But in Wolf Hall, the roles have changed. In the prison conversation with More, Cromwell unsuccessfully tries to persuade More to beg the King’s mercy so that he might not die a horrible death. Cromwell has been More’s enemy throughout the novel, but these moments in the prison show his attempts to save More from a grisly death as courageous and compassionate, while More is inflexible. At one point in the scene, a reversal of historical roles occurs where Cromwell appropriates More’s utopian vision for his own, saying to More, “I realize you see no prospect of improving this [world].” When More replies back, “And you do?”, Cromwell responds with his vision of a better world even amidst the “spectacles of pain and disgrace I see around me, the ignorance, the unthinking vice, the poverty and the lack of hope…” The scene ends with More weeping pathetically in fear of his execution and Cromwell ineffectively trying to comfort him with language borrowed from religious rituals: humility, mystery, and a call for wine. Ironically, Cromwell, an adversary of the Catholic Church, takes on the position of the merciful confessor who tries to save More from himself.

In "Still I Rise," what are the inherited "gifts" that the writer brings with her?

While this poem is noted for its rousing singular voice, Maya Angelou does not forget to give credit where credit is due. Through the following quote from "Still I Rise," she pays homage to her ancestors, who struggled much more than she does and helped enable Angelou's own freedom.

I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

The main theme of this poem is triumph over oppression. Through the above lines from the poem, Angelou connects her struggle--and ultimate triumph--to the pain and struggles of her ancestors. They survived through insurmountable and inhumane circumstances when activism was not an option. When it became possible to act, they worked tirelessly to ensure that she and the rest of their people would be free and have equal rights. The author recognizes that without these gifts inherited from her ancestors, she wouldn't be here as a free woman. Angelou creates a metaphor here, calling herself "the dream and the hope of the slave." This shows that as a free black woman with equal rights, her existence is the actualization of her ancestor's hopes and dreams.

How does Dickens present the character Oliver Twist as an innocent character in Oliver Twist?

Oliver Twist is innocent because he is incorruptible.

The subtitle of this book is “The Parish Boy’s Progress” for a reason.  A progress is a type of story where the main character is not influenced by the events that happen to him.  In other words, the character is completely static, rather than dynamic.  Dynamic characters grow from their experiences, while static ones do not.

Oliver is pure good.  There is no evil in him, and he is completely unaffected by evil.  He is naïve to the point of incredulity.  Dickens did this on purpose.  He wanted people to understand that children are born good, and only corrupted by influences out of their control.  Oliver represented all of the poor orphans whom society ignored.

Monks puts it very succinctly when he complains to Fagin that Oliver was not turned.

I tell you again, it was badly planned. Why not have kept him here among the rest, and made a sneaking, snivelling pickpocket of him at once?' (Ch. 26)

Monks, Oliver’s half-brother, wanted desperately for Fagin to turn Oliver to the dark side so that he could be disinherited.  It was useless though.  Although Fagin tried to teach Oliver to be a pickpocket, the boy was stubborn.  He spent his early days actually believing that Fagin’s boys made their own handkerchiefs and wallets!

That Oliver is good is evident in that he sees the good in others.  For instance, Oliver feels sorry for Nancy, a prostitute.  It is because Nancy recognizes that Oliver is not like the others that she risks her life to save him.  If Oliver had been corruptible, she never would have done that.

When Oliver is left behind during the robbery, it is his innocent looks that save him.

'But, can you—oh! can you really believe that this delicate boy has been the voluntary associate of the worst outcasts of society?' said Rose. (Ch. 30)

Oliver’s goodness saves him in the case of Brownlow.  Brownlow believes, despite the small likelihood, that Oliver is a good person.  He also takes a chance on Oliver.  In the end, Oliver proves him right.

If Dickens had a mission in life, it was to help suffering children.  His targets were workhouses, schools, and street gangs.  He was well aware of the dangers to poor children, and he constantly personified the social ills of England in kids like Tiny Tim, David Copperfield, and Oliver Twist.  Readers may be able to look away from beggars on the street, but they could not shield their hearts from these innocent waifs.

Evaluate the integral

 

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

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

Now using the above method of integration by parts,

Now let's evaluate by using the method of substitution,

Substitute 

substitute back 

C is a constant

In the final chapter of The Great Gatsby, who do you believe is responsible for Gatsby's death? Why?

Tom Buchanan's confession in this chapter makes it clear that he is responsible for Jay Gatsby's murder. When the two meet, Nick is reluctant to take his hand and when Tom asks about it, Nick tells him : 

You know what I think of you.

Tom tells him that he's crazy and that he does not know what is wrong with him. At this point Nick asks him:

what did you say to Wilson that afternoon?

Nick is referring to the day after Myrtle Wilson's death. Tom replies without a hint of remorse or regret:

“I told him the truth, ... He came to the door while we were getting ready to leave, and when I sent down word that we weren’t in he tried to force his way up-stairs. He was crazy enough to kill me if I hadn’t told him who owned the car. His hand was on a revolver in his pocket every minute he was in the house ——” He broke off defiantly. “What if I did tell him? That fellow had it coming to him. He threw dust into your eyes just like he did in Daisy’s, but he was a tough one. He ran over Myrtle like you’d run over a dog and never even stopped his car.”

By implicating Jay, Tom set in motion the events which led to his death' 

Mr Wilson had been very distraught after Myrtle had been run over and killed by Daisy. He had an idea that Myrtle was having an affair and had told Michaelis the following:

“I told her she might fool me but she couldn’t fool God. I took her to the window.”— with an effort he got up and walked to the rear window and leaned with his face pressed against it ——” and I said ‘God knows what you’ve been doing, everything you’ve been doing. You may fool me, but you can’t fool God!’”

Just before this, Wilson had shown Michaelis the dog leash that Tom had bought Myrtle for the puppy he had purchased for her in New York. This convinced Wilson that he had been cuckolded. However, he did not know who it was his wife was with. He had expressed his suspicions about who had killed his wife though, by telling Michaelis:

“I’m one of these trusting fellas and I don’t think any harm to nobody, but when I get to know a thing I know it. It was the man in that car. She ran out to speak to him and he wouldn’t stop.”

Wilson suspected that he was the same man Myrtle had been seeing. When he confronted Tom Buchanan he wanted to know who had been driving the yellow car and Tom had given him all the details. Once Wilson knew who he thought it was, he went on an enquiry and on discovering that it was Jay Gatsby, he went and shot him.

It is not entirely clear whether Daisy had confessed to Tom that she had actually killed Myrtle and that he then decided to lie about it to protect her or whether Daisy had been dishonest and denied responsibility. All we know is the following that Nick witnessed soon after the accident:

Daisy and Tom were sitting opposite each other at the kitchen table, with a plate of cold fried chicken between them, and two bottles of ale. He was talking intently across the table at her, and in his earnestness his hand had fallen upon and covered her own. Once in a while she looked up at him and nodded in agreement.

They weren’t happy, and neither of them had touched the chicken or the ale — and yet they weren’t unhappy either. There was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture, and anybody would have said that they were conspiring together.

If Daisy had lied to Tom, then she is, in fact, responsible for Jay Gatsby's death. 

In the story "Thank You, Ma'am," Mrs. Jones says, "I have done things, too." Imagine that she had a "Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones" who was...

This is an interesting question that will allow you to do some creative thinking about the kind of life Luella led before the present day in the story. When she comments to Roger that she herself had "done things too", she is letting him know that because of her personal experiences, she understands why a boy like him would feel that theft was necessary. But she declares that she will not tell him the things that she has done, which indicates that the secrets of her past are ones that she is not proud of. Later in the story she graciously gives Roger the money he had previously hoped to steal, and we are left with hope that one day Roger will stop trying to be a thief, grow up, and show similar grace some day to another youth in need of guidance like Luella did for him.

The task you have been given seems to be to imagine what those dark secrets are that Luella is currently not willing to explain to Roger, and also who stepped into her life to steer her toward a more righteous path. It might help if you think of the secret first before trying to think of a character that would likely have been there to pull Luella out of it.

For example, maybe she too had been a thief like Roger when she was a teenager. If so, maybe a shopkeeper or other person she tried to steal from would be the best kind of character to invent to go along with that crime. Or maybe she did something like bully somebody, and a wise person like a teacher, counselor, or other trustworthy adult took her aside and showed her why she needed to stop. Maybe she did other criminal things like arson or illegal drugs. Whatever it was, it had to have been something she now finds shameful since she implies that she would even be too ashamed to tell God about it. After you decide what problem behavior(s) she may have had when she was Roger's age, then you need to imagine a character who changed Luella's life by an act of kindness, mercy, or similar technique. Pretend that character is the role model who Luella now tries to be like.

You did not mention whether you have been asked to develop this into a story idea or a shorter type of answer, but in either case the two main things to decide first are the type of "things" she has done and the type of person who pulled her out of that type of lifestyle. Then you can fill in as much other information about the situation as needed depending on the length of answer you are being asked to compose.

What different kinds of conflict appear in The Giver?

There are multiple conflicts in the book The Giver by Lois Lowry in both of the categories you mentioned. For person versus society Jonas ultimately rebels against his society's restriction of choice. While he recognizes that without choice people are safer as they are unable to make wrong choices, he grows to feel that this restriction also restricts people from experiencing positive choices and the pleasure that comes with those choices. Examples of choices that are restricted in his society are the choice of occupation, the choice to marry a person based on love, and the choice to raise a family in the way that you want. Additionally, in order to control the citizens, Jonas' community controls the emotions of the people. Jonas takes a stand against this by refusing to take the daily pill for Stirrings, and he allows himself to have real emotions.

For person versus technology, you can look at the surveillance that happens at all times in the community. Someone is always watching, and whenever a citizen does anything, it is recorded and known by the elders. Jonas feels trapped by this, and ultimately he decides to set out for Elsewhere to escape the watchful eye of the elders. Another example of this conflict occurs when Jonas learns about climate control in the community, a component of Sameness. While the elders have developed a way to keep the weather and temperature moderate to avoid crop failure or drought, Jonas recognizes that they have also robbed the citizens of the experience of snow or sunshine. This "advancement" in weather control, while positive in some regards, becomes another technological advance that Jonas resents.

Given a bar magnet, how will you find the west direction?

A bar magnet can be used to create a compass in order to find the west direction.

A compass is an instrument that is used to find direction. A compass is created by placing a lightweight magnet on a nearly frictionless pivot point. The magnet is generally called a needle. One end of the needle is often marked "N," for north, or colored in some way to indicate that it points toward north. West would be the direction that is perpendicular and to the left of the North needle.

 A compass works because Earth is thought to have a gigantic bar magnet buried inside. Opposite poles of a magnet attract to one another; much like opposite charges of an atom attract to one another. Therefore, in order for the north end of the compass to point toward the North Pole, it is thought that Earth's buried bar magnet has its south end at the North Pole.

Earth's core of molten iron is thought to contribute to the magnetism of Earth. Convection caused by heat that radiates from the Earth's core, along with the rotation of the Earth, causes the liquid iron to move in a rotational pattern. It is believed that these rotational forces in the liquid iron layer lead to weak magnetic forces.

I need help finding short stories that are based on the American Dream. I need to find brief descriptions of the stories with the authors' names...

This is a somewhat difficult question to answer since there are virtually thousands of short stories that could be said to contain the theme of the American Dream! However, to help you I will mention a few authors and titles that fit this description.

The American Dream is a somewhat complex theme in that it may be addressed via the exploration of many sub-themes, such as provincialism, social class, colonialism, and gender (for example, the role of women in the home is related to the classic picture that illustrates the American Dream). The term was first coined by historian James Truslow Adams in 1931 to describe the expectations and aspirations of Americans at the dawn of a very difficult and turbulent area, the Great Depression. While the concept was meant to be hopeful and aspirational, in more recent years the term has come to be viewed with irony and disdain by many cultural critics.

The economy began to boom again just after the Second World War. In the post-war years (1950s) the rapid expansion of cities into suburbs was considered one way the American Dream could be fulfilled, since the suburbs at the time represented a quiet, cleaner, and healthier life than that found in the cities. Over time, however, suburban life came to be seen as stifling and shallow, and this theme is written about by many authors.

One author who wrote extensively about life in suburban America, whose work could be said to examine the theme of the American Dream at times, is John Updike. His short story "A & P" is found in many anthologies, and is a coming-of-age tale about a young man who works in a grocery store and a fateful day when he decides to change his life. His decision is catalyzed by the arrival of three teenage girls who come to the store and an incident that takes place involving one of them. The story considers the awareness that the young man has of the importance of work, and there are issues of social class and suburban snobbery that occur as well. Updike wrote many other short stories and novels about suburban life, including a best-selling series of four novels about a man named Harry whose nickname, Rabbit, occurs in the title of each one.

Another American author who wrote about the stifling quality of suburban life was John Cheever, whose stories often explored darker themes such as infidelity and alcoholism as well as mid-life crisis, particularly among men.

Author Pamela Zoline is an experimental writer whose short story collection The Heat Death of the Universe contains several stories on this theme as well, and the title story in particular explores the daily life of a woman who believes her suburban existence as a housewife and mother is slowly driving her insane.

How does Elizabeth judge Darcy?

In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet allows her first impressions of Darcy--that he was snobbish and proud--to prejudice her against him. Consequently, she draws false judgments about his character and motivations. This prejudice is best manifested by her assumptions about Darcy's actions related to two events: the Bingley's courtship of Jane and his falling out with Wickham.

Darcy convinces Bingley to abruptly break off his budding romance with Jane. When Elizabeth discovers this, she assumes Darcy's intentions to be wholly nefarious and stemming only from class snobbery. She refuses (at first) to recognize that Jane appeared somewhat disinterested toward Bingley and that Darcy feared she would break his friend's heart. Likewise, Elizabeth misjudged Darcy's conduct toward Wickham. She accepted Wickham's gossip about Darcy (that he had swindled Wickham out of an inheritance) wholesale, not recognizing until later how improper it was for him to discuss such a matter with a new acquaintance. Due to her prejudice against Darcy, she is unable to see the flaws in Wickham's character until Darcy later tells her the truth about Wickham (and offers witnesses to corroborate his story).

Briefly describe the process during mitosis called anaphase.

Anaphase follows metaphase in the process of mitosis. Mitosis is the process by which a cell divides into two identical daughter cells. 

At the conclusion of metaphase, the chromosomes have been replicated and have been lined up across the center of the cell.

In anaphase, the chromosomes are pulled apart towards the two poles of the cell. In successful mitosis, one copy of each chromosome ends up on either side of the cell. Significant cell lengthening also occurs during this phase (the cell becomes less circular and more oval shaped). 

Both the chromosome migration and cell lengthening are accomplished by different actions of the cell spindle. The chromosomes are pulled to the poles by the shortening of kinetochore microtubules, while the cell is lengthened by the action of non-kinetochore microtubules lengthening.

Anaphase is followed by telophase. 

What are factors that affect one's culture?

There are so many factors that affect one's culture that entire books are written on this subject. I will discuss a couple here: geography and proximity. 

Geography has a profound effect on one's culture because one's surroundings and the raw materials one has to work with strongly influence the attributes of any culture. For example, an island society is quite likely to have a culture in which the sea plays a great role. There might be rituals associated with placating the sea or rituals to ensure successful fishing. The dishes of such a culture are going to be largely seafood. Art and music will likely be influenced in some way by the sea. Japanese origin mythology posits that gods in the sea created the earth. The sea is a central feature in an island culture. In an area that has a great deal of land that can be cultivated, there are likely to be rituals based on the importance of the harvest. Art and music are likely to reflect the importance of the land. The architecture and art of a culture are going to reflect the materials available to create with. A place with no trees will have more stone architecture. A place with little natural clay will not have so many brick buildings. A culture that has no raw materials to make pots and dishes is not going to have that form of decorative art, but woven baskets may be a prominent feature. We work and create beauty with what we have at hand. The geography and raw materials play a central part in any culture.

Proximity is important because all cultures that are not completely isolated are influenced by surrounding cultures.  In the United States, for example, to our south we have a Mexican culture that has strongly influenced the states that are closest to Mexico. Many Americans enjoy Cinco de Mayo; a great deal of Mexican food is available and popular. Mexican music has drifted here, as well as Mexican art. I live in Pennsylvania, and in the past few years, at least three shops with Latino art and jewelry have opened in my neighborhood. I don't think that any culture can withstand the influence of a proximate culture completely. In Canada, there is one French province, Quebec, and it is unable to withstand the prevailing Anglo culture of Canada; in Spain, there is a strong North African influence on the arts. Certainly, Spain was conquered by the Moors, but even had they not been conquered and simply very close to North Africa, their art, their architecture, their food, and their music would have been influenced by the North African cultures. As the world gets smaller and smaller through the ease of travel and the internet, it seems that all cultures can be proximate in some ways. I hope this does not flatten out all cultures, causing them to lose their individual beauty. 

How can George Orwell's Animal Farm be used to teach students about democracy, communism, socialism, capitalism, and dictatorship?

George Orwell's Animal Farm can be used to teach students about both economics and types of government because Orwell wrote the novel as a fable for the Russian Revolution of 1917 and its aftermath. Orwell intended the humans in the book to represent capitalists. Students can discuss how they represent capitalism and whether or not Orwell's depiction is accurate. Animalism and the Revolution were intended  to represent communism, but the government quickly descended into dictatorship once Napoleon took charge. Classes might discuss why this happened, how it compares to the historical Russian Revolution, and whether or not socialism will always result in dictatorship. Moreover, students should examine whether or not a democratic form of government--rather than a dictatorial socialist system in which the pigs hold all the power--would result in a communistic (or, using the story's term, Animalistic) society.

How do the differences between the Socs and Greasers portray the social and class divide that exists in town?

The Greasers are tough kids who grow up in lower-class neighborhoods and typically come from broken homes, while the Socs are privileged members of society who reside in upper-class neighborhoods. Cherry describes the Socs as being superficial and obsessed with material things. Unlike the Greasers, the Socs are impersonal and are only concerned about maintaining their social status. Since the Greasers are poor, they are not as concerned with material possessions and value personal relationships. The members of the Greaser gang are considered family and they are not afraid to express their feelings with one another. Generally speaking, the majority of Socs value personal possessions and appearances over relationships. Since they come from wealthy homes, they take material objects for granted. The Greasers are jealous of the Socs and view them with contempt because of their affluence, while the Socs look down on the Greasers because they are poor.

What was poet D. H. Lawrence's aim in the poem "Piano"?

Poet D. H. Lawrence's aim in the poem "Piano” was to convey to his readers’ the joys of childhood. The narrator in this poem talks of being transported in his mind to a time when he would sit comfortably and joyously under the piano in his home. Now a mature man, the narrator reminisces about times past when he sat under the piano “pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings.”

This is a happy memory. However, this man is fighting this memory somewhat. He knows that this is a time long gone and that he cannot create this time again. It hurts him to reminisce here, so he tries to temper these memories that are welling up in him.

He knows if these memories take hold of him he will long for this time with his mother and his family once again and it will be painful as probably many of these people are not around for him to enjoy life with anymore. Therefore, it is just easier in his mind to suppress these memories.

Nonetheless, he can’t. He says that “In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song Betrays me back,” He wants the safe, peaceful Sunday evenings of his youth and the piano and the soft hymns that were very comforting to him.

The narrator, this adult man, now gives in to this tidal wave of memories. He is crying for days of old, his childhood. Now, he is not thinking as a man does – he is thinking as a child. He is fully steeped (in his mind) in the memories of his youth. He desires this way of life again, living wonderfully with his mother as he is soothed by the piano and the voice of his mother who is happy as she embraces life fully and sings.

What is the event that could lead to the "falling action" of "A Jury of Her Peers"?

In a short story, the rising action continues to build until the climax, and after the climax, the action falls till the end in a portion of the story called the denouement. In a longer work of fiction like a novel the denouement can be rather lengthy, whereas in a short story it can be quite brief. In this story, the falling action is only a few paragraphs. The climax occurs when Mrs. Peters comes to an agreement with Mrs. Hale to protect Mrs. Wright by hiding the evidence they have found, namely the abused canary. 

For a moment Mrs. Peters did not move. And then she did it. With a rush forward, she threw back the quilt pieces, got the box, tried to put it in her handbag.

The climax is the highest point of tension in the story, or the point where the character makes a decision that sets in motion the resolution of the conflict, leading to the falling action. In this story, the conflict is whether Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters will act as "a jury of her peers" to Mrs. Wright or whether they will be "married to the law" and submit themselves to an unjust male-dominated legal system. Mrs. Hale makes up her mind first to side with Mrs. Wright, but Mrs. Peters, as the sheriff's wife, has a harder decision to make. Her decision occurs between the two bold sentences above. That is the climax. Having made the decision, both women need only to "get away with" hiding the evidence, which they do in the last few paragraphs of the story.

List three (3) major aspects of industrialization between 1865 and 1920

Industrialization is broadly defined as the shift from an agrarian (or rural) society to an urban, industrial-based society. The Industrial Revolution in the United States traces its roots from 18th century Britain. As one of the most powerful countries, Britain needed a way to more efficiently meet the marketplace demands. This led to an increase in mechanization (the use of machines). Industrialization spread from Britain into Europe and by the mid 19th century into the United States. In the United States, three major aspects of Industrialization between 1865 and 1920 can be seen. These include: the shift from agrarian societies to industrialized societies, urbanization, and the role of the assembly line.

One of the major aspects of industrialization was the shift from an agrarian based society to a factory based society. In agrarian communities, in general, families would have to make what they needed. They grew their own food, made their own clothing, and generally used hand tools to fix or create furniture or make repairs to their houses. Once the Industrial Revolution hit the United States, consumerism began to take over. People would buy a new piece of furniture, they would go to a general store, and buy a new dress that they could order from a catalog. As people moved away from farming communities and into urban areas, they were forced to purchase food.

Urbanization, the shift of a population from rural communities to the cities, was another major aspect of industrialization. While the general shift from an agrarian society towards an industrialized society forced people into the cities, large numbers of immigrants were entering the United States at the same time. Statistics show the population of the United States quadrupled between 1814 and 1860. Between 1880 and 1890, the U.S. population increased by 15 million people. Yet, this same decade, migration to the city reportedly accounts for a nearly 40% decrease in township (rural) populations. This is a lot of movement into certain areas by a lot of people. Unfortunately, the urban areas could not keep up with the pace of growth, which led to overcrowding, disease, and general unsanitary living conditions.

The third aspect of industrialization is the importance of the assembly line and mass production. Henry Ford’s automobile assembly line production is one of the more famous examples of mass production. Production using an assembly line system was seen in factories. Instead of building one car at a time, welding each piece unique to that car, interchangeable parts could be produced. A factory full of workers would each be assigned a specific task. One worker may have been assigned the task of installing a bolt, the person next to him was required to flip the piece, and then the person next to that person would install another piece. And so on down the line. In 1913 and 1914, Henry Ford introduced the moving assembly line with a mechanized belt that would move at a set pace. With this, Ford was able to decrease the amount of time to produce one car from 12 hours to 2 ½ hours. Mass production also allowed for each part of the vehicle to be made individually. This is known as interchangeable parts. With this, if one piece of the car broke (for example a bolt holding the engine cracked), that one piece could be replaced instead of replacing the entire car. 

In the Crisis, No 1 by Thomas Paine, who was his intended audience

Thomas Paine wrote The American Crisis--a 16-pamphlet series published primarily during the early years of the American Revolution--to bolster support for the American colonists' efforts to gain independence from Great Britain. His intended audience was primarily American patriots.

When "Crisis no. 1" was published in December 1776, patriot morale was low, and there was much uncertainty about whether the Americans had the strength and fortitude to defeat the mighty army of Great Britain. Paine sought to increase their morale; thus he used simple language which commoners could understand. "Crisis no. 1" was read to the Continental Army prior to the Battle of Trenton and helped to rally the troops.

While disheartened patriots were his primary audience, Paine also hoped this pamphlet would convince people still loyal to Britain to turn and fight for the Americans.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, why do you think Mrs. Dubose was so vicious to the children, yet so polite to Atticus?

Mrs. Dubose is a haggard, two-faced old nag who bullies little children because she can; and then when it suits her, she turns polite for Atticus because he's respectable and kind. However, that does not stop her from gossiping behind his back and calling him terrible names. Mrs. Dubose tells the children that their father should have remarried after their mother died because Atticus just lets them run wild. She did, however, say that their mother was lovelier than any that ever lived; so it's a wonder why she would treat the children with such hatred and vice! Mrs. Dubose is mostly disappointed with the way the children, particularly Scout, run around getting dirty all day long. She also disapproves of the children calling their father by his first name and says they are disrespectful to do so. 

Atticus, on the other hand, is always respectful, polite, and courteous to Mrs. Dubose. The kids are respectful and polite, as well, but Jem contradicts her when she is incorrect sometimes. But even then, that's no reason to completely hate the kids.

Another reason Atticus is treated better than the children is because it would be very difficult for any woman to be unkind to a man who does the following:

"Atticus would sweep off his hat, wave gallantly to her and say, 'Good evening, Mrs. Dubose! You look like a picture this evening.' I never heard Atticus say like a picture of what. He would tell her the courthouse news, and would say he hoped with all his heart she'd have a good day tomorrow" (100).

A lady, no matter how old, can't be disrespectful to a man who is so courteous in her presence. She eventually asked Atticus to draw up her will for her, which also put her on a more even playing field with him.

Finally, Atticus knew about her morphine addiction and that could have humbled her when she was in his presence. There's just something about showing respect for authoritative, but kind people like Atticus, too. Jem and Scout did their best to speak to her with the most kind words they could muster. Nevertheless, Mrs. Dubose treated them the way she must have felt about them. She had no filter and no guilt associated with telling children where they went wrong. But again, as it came to Atticus who was an established and respected leader in the community, she had to be nice to his face.

What point of view is Gary D. Schmidt's Okay for Now written in?

Gary Schmidt's Okay for Now is narrated in what we call first-person-protagonist point of view. This point of view is told from the perspective of the main character who relays his/ her own story using first-person pronouns like I and me.

We can tell the story is written in first person protagonist because the protagonist Doug relays what happened to him as the story unfolds. To do so, he uses pronouns like I and me. Examples are seen all throughout the story, but one interesting example is the moment he starts to become friends with Lil at the end of the first chapter. After Lil challenges him to try to drink the coke she brings him in an uninterrupted series of gulps, she makes him laugh by commenting on his Adam's apple. Doug then relays the following events using first-person pronouns:

The fireworks exploded—and I mean exploded.
Everything that was fizzing and bubbling and sparkling went straight up my nose and Coke started to come out all over the library steps and it wasn't just coming out my mouth. I'm not lying (Chapter 2).

What's fascinating is that Doug, as a narrator, treats his reader as an audience by occasionally addressing his reader using the second-person pronoun you. He has multiple purposes in doing so, but one of those purposes is to invite the reader into the story by creating a dialogue between himself and the reader. He particularly creates a dialogue whenever he challenges the reader to be interested in or believe his story. Multiple examples can be seen throughout, but one example is seen when he relays the outcome of the fights he was bullied into during the month of October:

Twelve near-fights. Probable record: Eight wins. Four losses. You don't believe me? So what? So what? (Chapter 5)

As we can see, by occasionally using second-person pronouns, Doug becomes a very interactive narrator; however, since he is still relaying his story from the perspective of I and me, he is still a first-person narrator.

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

You need to use the following substitution, such that:

Replacing the variable yields:

You need to use the formula of integration by parts, such that:

Replacing back the variable for t, yields:

Hence, evaluating the integral, using substitution and integration by parts yields

Does Paul solve his mother's problem?

Although Paul wins his mother 80,000 pounds betting on the derby, an extraordinary amount of money at that time, we can assume that this won't be enough for her, because her problem really isn't money. Money is what the mother uses to try to fill an empty space in her heart. We learn from the start of the story that she "could not love" her children and that she is disappointed in her husband, for whom her love "turned to dust." She is empty inside and this emptiness manifests itself in the need for more and more money that fills the house.

Lawrence is at pains to show that this need is emotional, rather than real. In reality, the family has enough money:

 They lived in a pleasant house, with a garden, and they had discreet servants, and felt themselves superior to anyone in the neighbourhood. 

When Paul wins 5,000 pounds for his mother in a race, she spends it quickly. Rather than solve the sense of "grinding" shortage the family feels, the extra money makes everything worse than ever. The house "trilled and screamed" that "there must be more money ... now." The money simply whets his mother's appetite for more.

We can assume from this that even 80,000 pounds will not fill the inner emptiness his mother experiences, and in fact, will make it worse. 

What is a Keggin Unit?

A Keggin unit (also known as a Keggin structure) is the naturally occurring form of various oxo-metallic acids.  The acids in question are not simple acids like HCl or HBr, but complex chemical acids that contain a transition metal like molybdinum or vanadium, oxygens, acidic hydrogens, and a heteroatom like P or Si.  These types of acids will self assemble in aqueous solution to form Keggin structures.  The Keggin structure consists of a central heteroatom bonded to four oxygen atoms.  This central chemical species is surrounded by a cage-like structure consisting of twelve repeating units of the transition metal bonded to six separate oxygen atoms.  This complex structure is drawn in the link below.  Chemist J.F. Keggin first elucidated this structure in 1934 using x-ray diffraction analysis.

Discuss how the poem reflects social hierarchy and patriarchal views.

Robert Browning's dramatic monologue "My Last Duchess" is set in Italy, probably in the 1500s. It exhibits a social hierarchy that was in place then and patriarchal views that were common not only then, but also in Victorian England, when Browning wrote the piece. Regarding social hierarchy, we see characters in the poem who fall into various strata. At the top, we have Duke Ferrara, the speaker in the poem. He is in the process of negotiating a marriage between himself and the daughter of an unnamed Count. In ranks of nobility, a Duke ranks highest, followed by Marquess, Count, Viscount, Baron, and Baronet. The Count would need to pay a generous dowry for the Duke to marry beneath himself in this way, thus Ferrara's reference to "the Count, you master's, known munificence." The other characters in the poem--the Count's servant to whom Ferrara is speaking, the last Duchess, and the Count's daughter--would be somewhat equal on the social scale. Although the women are from noble lines and seem to have privileges, in reality they are nothing more than property that can be bought and sold, which is happening here. The servant, then, although he is not nobility, actually has more rights of self-determination than the noblewomen. 

Patriarchal views are rife in the poem. As previously mentioned, the ability of a father to "sell" his daughter via marriage leaves no room for a woman's choice. Selling isn't even the right term, for the father must pay the future husband a dowry to take on the responsibility of his daughter for the rest of her life. The absolute control Ferrara wielded over his last Duchess is the sobering and appalling theme of this poem. He felt he should be able to control whom she spoke to, what she looked at, and even what made her blush. Because she did not yield to his control, he did away with her. Although it isn't explicitly stated and Browning, probably facetiously, later gave a different interpretation, most readers assume that Ferrara murdered his last Duchess. That she even knew she was displeasing her husband is unlikely. He tells the Count's servant that he felt he was above giving her lessons in proper behavior. She should have known the proper role of a wife--to look only to her husband's wants and needs and never to her own or others'. Reading between the lines, we get a picture of a young woman who was kind, expressive, and innocent. The attitude and actions of Ferrara and anyone else who knew of the situation and didn't oppose it represent the far extreme on the spectrum of patriarchal dominance. We get one glimmer that not everyone functions under that extreme view. The servant appears to want to make a mad dash away from the Duke once he realizes the fate of the last Duchess, but the Duke restrains him, saying, "Nay, we'll go together down, sir." Finally, the Duke points out a sculpture of Neptune taming a sea horse. This is symbolic of the unassailable patriarchal rule Ferrara embraces: His last Duchess (and any future Duchess) must be as submissive to and easily controlled by him as a seahorse would be to Neptune, the god of the sea.

What is the quantitative effect on a person's heart rate as time elapses after exercise?

Immediately following exercise, the heart is beating the at the fastest rate it will pump for that physical activity.  If one were graphing the number of heartbeats per minute, it would represent the starting point on the graph.  As time progresses, minute, by minute, the heart will slow in the number of beats per minute.  Each one of these could be plotted on a graph.  This time is known as the recovery time for the heart.  The recovery rate is an indication of the level of fitness for the person doing the exercise.  Athletes tend to recover much faster than nonathletes, primarily because they have conditioned their bodies to such strenuous physical demands.  Ultimately, after 15 to 20 minutes have elapsed, the heart will have returned to what is called it's resting heart rate, which would represent the bottom numbers on the graph.  A quantitative graph of this data should correctly show an indirect relationship between the number of heartbeats per minute and the time elapsed after exercise.

Six rectangles, each with the common base width of 2, have lengths of 1, 4, 9, 16, 25 and 36. What is the sum of the areas of the six rectangles?

Hello!

The area of a rectangle with sides a and b is a*b. Here we have six rectangles, all of them have a=2 and the second sides are 1, 4, 9, 16, 25 and 36. Therefore the sum of the areas is equal to

2*1+2*4+2*9+2*16+2*25+2*36.

By the distributive law this is equal to

2*(1+4+9+16+25+36).

Note that the lengths have a form of n^2 for n from 1 to 6. There is a formula for such a sum, but in this case it is simpler to sum directly.

1+4+9+16+25+36=(1+9)+(4+16)+(25+36)=10+20+61=91.

And 2*91=182 (square units). This is the answer.

In the play, The Merchant of Venice, what sorts of traits would Portia be looking for in a husband ?

We can only judge what sort of traits Portia looks for through a careful reading of what she divulges to her confidante and lady in waiting, Nerissa, as they discuss the wealthy heiress's various suitors. 

It is easy to gauge that, firstly, she would prefer a husband who is not obsessed with some or other pastime or indulgence. One can assume that she would prefer to be her partner's only interest. In Act 1, scene 2 (lines 44 - 48), she mocks the Neapolitan prince's obsession with his horse when Nerissa mentions him - a clear indication of her preference:

... he doth nothing but
talk of his horse; and he makes it a great
appropriation to his own good parts, that he can
shoe him himself. I am much afeard my lady his
mother played false with a smith.

Secondly, she makes it quite obvious that she prefers a husband who has a pleasant, cheerful disposition. When Nerissa mentions the County Palatine, Portia expresses her disdain for his sombre demeanour in lines 50 to 55:

He doth nothing but frown, as who should say 'If you
will not have me, choose:' he hears merry tales and
smiles not: I fear he will prove the weeping
philosopher when he grows old, being so full of
unmannerly sadness in his youth. I had rather be
married to a death's-head with a bone in his mouth
than to either of these.

Furthermore, Portia's husband should be a man who is assured of his own identity. She wants a man who knows himself and what he wants. Nerissa's reference to the French lord, Monsieur le Bon makes it evident that she does not want a man who does not display these traits. She states, in lines 59 to 70:

God made him, and therefore let him pass for a man.
In truth, I know it is a sin to be a mocker: but,
he! why, he hath a horse better than the
Neapolitan's, a better bad habit of frowning than
the Count Palatine; he is every man in no man; if a
throstle sing, he falls straight a capering: he will
fence with his own shadow: if I should marry him, I
should marry twenty husbands. If he would despise me
I would forgive him, for if he love me to madness, I
shall never requite him. 

Added to that, Portia wants a partner with whom she can communicate. He should speak her language. She obviously also prefers a man who is good-looking. Furthermore, her beloved should have dress-sense. All this is revealed when she speaks about the young baron Falconbridge from England in lines 73 - 81:

You know I say nothing to him, for he understands
not me, nor I him: he hath neither Latin, French,
nor Italian, and you will come into the court and
swear that I have a poor pennyworth in the English.
He is a proper man's picture, but, alas, who can
converse with a dumb-show? How oddly he is suited!
I think he bought his doublet in Italy, his round
hose in France, his bonnet in Germany and his
behavior every where.

In her response, to Nerissa's mention of the Scottish lord, Portia's sarcasm about his habit of borrowing money, is pertinent. She clearly does not want a husband who goes around creating debt. Ironically, this is exactly what her eventual husband, Bassanio, had been doing quite regularly. She mentions in lines 85 to 89:

That he hath a neighbourly charity in him, for he
borrowed a box of the ear of the Englishman and
swore he would pay him again when he was able: I
think the Frenchman became his surety and sealed
under for another.

Portia will definitely not consider a drunk. She wants a man who remains sober and does not imbibe alcohol. Her rejection of Nerissa's suggestion of the young German, nephew to the Duke of Saxony, in lines 91 to 97, makes her sentiment pertinently obvious:

Very vilely in the morning, when he is sober, and
most vilely in the afternoon, when he is drunk: when
he is best, he is a little worse than a man, and
when he is worst, he is little better than a beast:
and the worst fall that ever fell, I hope I shall
make shift to go without him.

When Nerissa refers to Bassanio, it is most evident that Portia wishes her husband to be a Venetian, learned and soldierly, for she agrees with Nerissa that such a man 'was the best deserving a fair lady.' Later, when she is informed about the arrival of the prince of Morrocco, she also displays a somewhat racist preference, stating:

... if he have the condition
of a saint and the complexion of a devil, I had
rather he should shrive me than wive me.

She would most definitely wish her partner to be of her own race than not.

And there we have it. Whether Bassanio, whom she later weds, fits Portia's idealised version of a man, is another story.