What is the significance of the setting of Romeo and Juliet?

The most important thing about the setting of Romeo and Juliet, from a dramaturgical perspective, is the fact that the play takes place in Italy. Shakespeare’s source material is an Italian story, and Italians were thought of as especially passionate in the Elizabethan imagination. In fact, for a writer of that era who wanted to tell a story about hotheaded, violent, passionate, irrational people, the easiest way to make the characters credible would be to set the story in Italy. Elizabethans thought it the perfect place for a story about love at first sight, easily-provoked street brawls, murders for family honor, and passion-driven suicides. The stories about Italy made it seem as though those sorts of things were a daily occurrence. Shakespeare would turn to Italy for many stories about people behaving rashly or violently, not only in this play but also in both comedies and tragedies such as The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Othello, and The Merchant of Venice.

On what page of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is the quote "I seen him goin' in your house?"

The quote -- "I seen him goin' in your house" -- can be found on page 16 of the electronic version of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, the link to which can be found below. The passage in question occurs late in Chapter Two of Steinbeck's novel, and occurs in the context of Curley's attractive but exceedingly promiscuous wife's entry into the men's bunkhouse ostensibly while searching for Curley. The wife, never named, has a reputation among the ranch-hands as someone prone to infidelity, and that fact that she is married to the boss, Curley, makes her appearance foreboding. George, the diminutive but intelligent and tough newcomer, senses danger when Curley's wife comes sniffing around the bunkhouse, and knows she is not there for her stated reason. As George curtly responds to her presence, Slim, the confident, handsome and competent leader among the men, happens along, prompting the following exchange:

Slim’s voice came through the door. “Hi, Good-lookin’.”

“I’m tryin’ to find Curley, Slim.”

“Well, you ain’t tryin’ very hard. I seen him goin’ in your house.”

George, of course, is grateful for her departure, and her brief appearance has confirmed the warnings about the hazards she poses if the quick-to-anger Curley assumes the worst about her interactions with any of the ranch-hands.

How did the field of psychology develop?

Many trace the development of psychology to diverse philosophers that date back to over a thousand years before the common era and encompass traditions that stretch from Greek, to Persia, to China, to Egypt, to India. However, the history of psychology as an institutionalized discipline in the (modern) academy has a shorter history and is conventionally affiliated with the experimental studies of Wilhelm Wundt in the year of 1879 - who started the first psychology research lab at the University of Leipzig in Germany. Along with experimental psychology the emergence of the field was closely knit with a particularly applied practice and the specific space of the clinic beyond the research lab of the academy. Early goals of the field were both to generate explanations of mental differences (associated with the practices of classification and quantification - e.g. anthropometrics and psychometrics- such as the work of Sir Francis Galton) and to cure/heal/treat abnormal or pathological psyches or mental dispositions (associated with the practices of interpreting the unconscious - e.g. psychoanalysis - such as the work of Sigmund Freud). By the 20th century new schools of thought rose to prominence, such as behaviorism (and the work B.F. Skinner and Ivan Pavlov) - which prioritized empirically observable behavior -- e.g. what the body did -- over speculations on the mind. The next wave of thought that transformed the field is known as humanistic psychology (associated with the work of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers), which concerned itself with understanding the human experience -- and the power of free-will and self-determination. Today, the field has a range of faces from developmental to cognitive to social psychology, all of which are layered on top of and interpenetrated by the rich traditions and legacies that proceed them and laid the foundation of the discipline.  

What is t to the negative 4th power

Hello!

By definition, the negative power of something is the inverse of the positive power with the same magnitude:

This definition is essential because it preserves the properties

and

So the answer is:

Why did Jem destroy Mrs. Dubose's flower garden?

One day, Scout and Jem walked by Mrs. Dubose's house. She was sitting on her front porch and she called to them. First, she accused them of playing hooky from school. Then she accused Jem of damaging Miss Maudie's scuppernong arbor. She also told Scout that she should be wearing a dress. Jem encouraged Scout to ignore Mrs. Dubose and go home.

Mrs. Dubose then called out again, talking about Atticus defending Tom Robinson. She used a derogatory term to describe Tom. Jem became enraged that anyone would say such a thing and speak of his father negatively. He stormed off.

Later, Jem walked down the street with Scout's baton. They walked by Mrs. Dubose's house. Then Jem did something that shocked Scout. It was something she knew Atticus would be appalled by:

We had just come to her gate when Jem snatched my baton and ran flailing wildly up the steps into Mrs. Dubose's front yard, forgetting everything Atticus had said, forgetting that she packed a pistol under her shawls, forgetting that if Mrs. Dubose missed, her girl Jessie probably wouldn't. He did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose owned, until the ground was littered with green buds and leaves.

How does Harper Lee presents ideas about society in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird?

Harper Lee explores the fictional county of Maycomb throughout the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, and portrays the various levels of society in unique ways. As a whole, the community of Maycomb is filled with helping citizens who treat others with respect. Despite their innocent demeanor, Harper Lee exposes their deep seeded prejudice towards African Americans and lower-class white citizens. The majority of society receives its news via gossip and rumors. Several characters throughout the novel are discriminated because of their different lifestyle choices. Boo Radley and Dolphus Raymond become victims of negative rumors because they stand out from the status quo.

Harper Lee portrays the upper-class female citizens of Maycomb as hypocritical Christians. During Aunt Alexandra's missionary circle, several ladies share their views on race and religion, which happen to be both ignorant and hypocritical. Lee uses these characters to suggest that tolerance is not associated with affluence. Lower class citizens of Maycomb are portrayed as both hard-working and lazy. Lee uses the Cunningham and Ewell families to suggest that integrity is learned and passed down from father to child. Lee portrays the African American community of Maycomb to be closely knit and supportive of each other. The congregation's donations to Helen Robinson and their appearance at Tom's trial depict their support for each other. In many ways, the black community of Maycomb is more tolerant than the white community, which suggests that race and character are not related.

Harper Lee also shares her ideas on the education system throughout the novel. Scout's teacher, Miss Caroline, does not facilitate and encourage Scout's enthusiasm for reading and writing. Instead, Miss Caroline adheres to the rigid education system that impedes learning, rather than supports it. The judicial system in Maycomb's society is seriously flawed and affected by prejudice. Tom Robinson is wrongly convicted, and Lee suggests that injustice is commonplace throughout the South in the 1930's. Harper Lee portrays Macomb's society to be steeped in traditional beliefs and resistant to change.

What does Emerson think of people who call for consistency in thought and action and who fear being misunderstood?

In his essay "Self-Reliance," Ralph Waldo Emerson repudiates those who desire acceptance and who want consistency of thought and action. 

Very much the individualist, Emerson holds the mantra of "trust thyself" rather than surrendering oneself to conformity. For, to conform because of fear of being misunderstood and the need to be accepted is to surrender one's individuality. 

Trust thyself....Accept the place the divine Providence has found for you....Great men have always done so.

Asking such questions as "Is it so bad to be misunderstood?" Emerson points to great men who were misunderstood by their contemporaries: Jesus, Pythagoras, Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, etc. (Herman Melville once said, "Failure--one's writings not being accepted--is the true test of greatness.") Because they were stalwart in their beliefs and the value of their discoveries, these famous men contributed invaluably to the world. 

Emerson terms those who seek conformity as "cowards," while those who maintain the "integrity of [their] minds" are to be admired because they hold what is truly sacred. Thus, in order to retain one's manhood, one's self-respect, individuals must never surrender themselves to the "joint-stock company" of a society that would take away individual liberties and demand imitation and conformity. Clearly, then, Emerson rails against a person's consistency with others in thought and action from fear of being misunderstood.

From what point of view is this story told?

Shirley Jackson's short story "Charles" is told from the point of view of the mother. This point of view is third-person limited. 

This particular point of view is perfectly suited to the dramatic irony that is the main literary feature of the narrative. For, while the mother narrates the story, it becomes apparent to the reader that the "sweet-voiced, nursery-school tot" as she calls Laurie, her son, who says good-bye to her on the first day of school is not what his mother believes him to be. For instance, when he tells her that his teacher said they were not to take the name of the Lord in vain, the mother does not ask Laurie what he has said that has prompted the teacher to this admonition; instead, she herself is "mindful of the Lord's name" when she exclaims, "Good heavens" in response to Laurie's tales of Charles's getting spanked two consecutive days.

While Laurie may have exaggerated some of the exploits of Charles, he is obviously not a respectful or well-behaved little boy as there is certainly language that he uses when he speaks to his parents that indicates his disrespect. For example, while he tells his mother of Charles's misbehavior, he turns to his father and says, "Hi, Pop, y'old dust mop." (The father says nothing, nor does the mother comment on Laurie's disrespectful name for his father.) Nevertheless, it is not until the mother accompanies Laurie to the PTA meeting that she discovers there is no Charles in the kindergarten. It is then that she learns that her perspective of her son has been very subjective and her point of view quite limited.

During the first Republican presidential debate of 2015, one of the candidates said, "The purpose of the military is to kill people and break...

B is not the correct answer here.  Framing happens when the media influences the way people think about an issue.  If a media commentator had said what this candidate said, we could say that they were engaged in framing.  But this was something that a candidate said so it cannot be framing.

It is more accurate to call this a sound bite.  A sound bite can be defined as a very short snippet that is spoken by a candidate.  It is meant to convey something about the candidate’s position in a very short time.  Because it is meant to be short, it cannot really be very in-depth or complex.  It has to be a very simplistic exposition of a point of view.

The quote that you give here meets this definition.  It is a very brief statement of the candidate’s opinion that really cannot be very complex or in-depth.  Instead it is more like a short slogan that the candidate thinks will help him in the election.  Therefore, I would call this a sound bite rather than an example of framing. 

According to the speaker in the "Much Madness is Divinest Sense," what are the main criteria for "madness" and "sense"?

Those who comply with society's dictates are those of "sense," while individuals who think for themselves are considered "mad" as they are a threat to the compliance of the majority, who follow the dictates of society.

Emily Dickinson's paradoxical statement that "Much Madness is Divinest Sense" is predicated upon the concept of individualism in opposition to what Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his essay "Self-Reliance," called "the joint-stock company" of society. Those individuals who think for themselves are labeled as mad or shunned because they threaten the status quo. 

Assent--and you are sane--
Demur--you're straightway dangerous--
And handled with a Chain

One real-life example of this reactive action by society upon someone who dissents is in the biography of the poet Ezra Pound. During World War II, Pound lived in Italy for a time, and he spoke out against the American military and expressed anti-semitic views. Consequently, he was charged with treason, but his case was worked out so that he could be committed to a mental institution.

In Dickinson's own life, her father's Calvinistic insistence upon perfection and compliance conflicted with Emily's clear-eyed scrutiny of the world; as a result, she grew more and more reclusive, feeling "straightway dangerous" as she rejected the rigidity of her father and the insanity of following the dictates of society.

Tell me about the game of Ombre in The Rape of the Lock .

In Canto III of the Rape of the Lock, Belinda challenges the Baron to Ombre, a popular card game among wealthy people at that time. Ombre, meaning man (hombre in Spanish) is an ancestor to our modern game of Bridge and was usually played with three people. The second link below leads to a powerpoint with a detailed explanation of how the game is played and some commentary of The Rape of the Lock.

In the poem, the card game becomes another example of the mock-heroic. Pope uses his poem to make fun of the way privileged people of his era had given up pursuing goals that took genuine courage, resolution and energy. Instead, they wasted their time on trivial pursuits. The idea that a card game takes up 82 lines of this Canto, from 18-100, indicates how much time people in this world spent on recreation.  

Pope likens Belinda and the Baron's face off in a card game to two armies meeting in a field of battle. But in this case, the armies are merely decks of cards, though Pope personifies them into behaving like real kings, queens and generals. That Belinda and Baron invest so much competitive spirit into a mere card game critiques the way the upper classes use their gifts.

How is Gatsby ignorant?

Narrator Nick Carraway has a great deal of fun with Gatsby's ignorance, hinting at the novel's satiric roots: Fitzgerald initially based his most famous novel on a Roman satire about an upstart slave named Trimalchio who becomes rich and gives lavish feasts. In fact, to his editor's great alarm, Fitzgerald wanted to call the book Trimalchio, a reference most people would not understand.

Vestiges of this satire remain in chapter IV, as Nick and Gatsby drive to New York in Gatsby's "gorgeous car." Nick asks Gatsby what part of the midwest he comes from and Gatsby answers San Francisco. Gatsby goes on to tell Nick of living "in all the capitals of Europe--Paris, Venice, Rome--collecting jewels, chiefly rubies, hunting big game ..." As Nick drily notes, he has to "restrain ... laughter," for people don't hunt big game in European cities. Nick, with derision, imagines Gatsby as a "turbaned" character chasing a tiger through Paris's Bois de Boulogne. Gatsby, we see, doesn't know Paris from India. 

Gatsby shows his ignorance of upper-class ways by calling people "old sport," a British affectation that drives Tom, in particular, crazy. We see too, that though Gatsby has real books in his library (something Owl Eyes notes) he hasn't cut the pages, meaning he doesn't actually use the library as more than a prop to make him look like a cultured member of the learned class. 

Explain three challenges of democracy.

One modern challenge to democracy is one especially prevalent in the United States--voter apathy and low voter participation. In the 2012 presidential election, only 54 percent of Americans turned up to vote. This number, fairly typical, of recent elections, reflects a degree of disillusionment with the democratic process that is dangerous to any government that claims to rule by the popular will. In local and "midterm" elections, the turnout numbers are even lower, sometimes in the single digits. 

Another challenge is balancing the will of the majority--the basis for democratic society--and the rights of minority populations. Alexis de Tocqueville, who harbored deep reservations about American democracy, called this the "tyranny of the majority," and it has proven a very difficult philosophical problem. What does one do, for example, when one believes the majority is morally wrong? Slavery, segregation, and many other practices seen as immoral today once had the support of democratic majorities. 

Finally, another problem confronting modern democracies is the influence of special interest groups and especially very wealthy donors. Many people argue that these forces can, by donating large sums of money (a practice more or less tolerated under American election law) gain too much influence over politics. The candidates most able to raise money are the ones with the best chance of success, and some believe that large donors, through their influence on elections, might also gain influence over policy as well.

I need to compare the presentation of those in power in MacBeth and in An Inspector Calls for an assignment.

Some of how you approach this depends on the length and type of assignment and the level of the class for which you are writing. For an advanced undergraduate or graduate class, you should begin by introducing a theoretical framework. One of the most common approaches to power in literary studies is that of Michel Foucault, which emphasizes it ubiquitous and impersonal nature within modern society, and the way it inheres in institutional structures.

This means that the first element you should compare is the institution of power in the two plays. Macbeth is set in medieval Scotland where the main power structure is feudal. The King is an absolute monarch, but powerful nobles, such as the Thane of Cawdor or Macduff can incite rebellions. Even when we see the two changes of power in the play, Macbeth overthrowing Duncan and Macduff overthrowing Macbeth, the fundamental power structure does not change. You can point out, however, that while Macbeth is a tyrannical ruler, Duncan appears somewhat more kind and just; Macbeth admits to Duncan's virtues when he says that Duncan:

"Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been

So clear in his great office, that his virtues

Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against

The deep damnation of his taking-off"

A second type of power we see in Macbeth is that of Lady Macbeth and the three witches. Because women have no significant rights or powers in patriarchal society, their power lies in the way they influence men. 

In An Inspector Calls, we have a modern system of power which in Foucault's understanding is based on ubiquitous systems of surveillance. Although power in modern Britain appears democratic (people elect their leaders, the hereditary monarchs are legally figureheads), in fact power becomes diffused through mechanisms such as the police force, which in its personification as Inspector Goole seems omniscient and omnipresent. 

Was Odysseus a good or a bad man?

Like all humans, Odysseus (as portrayed in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey) exhibited both positive and negative qualities. On the positive side, Odysseus was a pious man who respected and honored the gods. He was also brave and cunning; his idea for the Trojan Horse assured the Greeks victory in the Trojan War. Finally, he loved his family and risked his life to return home to them. 

Nevertheless, Odysseus had some negative character traits. His cunning at times made him arrogant. One example of this is when he could not resist taunting Polyphemus the cyclops. Moreover, Odysseus cheated on his wife, Penelope, with the goddesses Calypso and Circe. His affair with Circe delayed him from returning home for an entire year.

As you can see, Odysseus is a dynamic character, which is part of what makes him such a great hero. I, personally, would consider him a good man, but--based on the information above--you may judge him differently.

What is the main idea in chapter three of The Sign of the Beaver?

By chapter three Matt has been alone at the cabin for some time. He has learned to adapt to his situation and become somewhat comfortable with his solitude. Though survival will be difficult, he feels that he can succeed with the resources that he has. One of the most important ones for survival and food is his father's rifle. This is important to the main idea of chapter three because it disappears. 

Matt notices a stranger approaching the cabin and an old trapper named Ben boldly approaches and looks around while chatting with Matt. While Matt is uneasy, he sees nothing outwardly dangerous right away and since Ben seems intent on staying the night, Matt makes the best of it and treats him like a guest. However, Matt remains alert and uneasy so he intends to stay up all night. He does not succeed at staying awake, falls asleep and Ben steals Matt's father's rifle right off the wall. Immediately Matt realizes that eating and survival will be more difficult. 

The main idea of this chapter is that Matt warily trusts a stranger who visits for the night but his rifle is stolen making survival that much more difficult. 

What does Rikki do when Nagaina asks him to spare her last egg in "Rikki-tikki-tavi"?

Rikki tells Nagaina that he is not going to spare her egg and he will kill her.

The mongoose is the natural enemy of the snake.  As soon as Rikki shows up, the cobras Nag and Nagaina immediately feel threatened.  They know that Rikki is a danger to them.

Nag was thinking to himself, and watching the least little movement in the grass behind Rikki-tikki. He knew that mongooses in the garden meant death sooner or later for him and his family, but he wanted to get Rikki-tikki off his guard.

Nag tries to fight Rikki by targeting the family.  This backfires because Rikki is quick and clever.  Once he kills Nag he goes after Nagaina.  First, he kills all of the little baby cobras in their shells.  He leaves one to use as leverage.

When Nagaina learns what has happened she fixates on the one member of her family she has left, just as Rikki suspected she would.  She begs Rikki to let her keep her last baby, telling him that she will go away and never come back if he just gives her the egg.

Rikki refuses the offer.

“Yes, you will go away, and you will never come back; for you will go to the rubbish-heap with Nag. Fight, widow! The big man has gone for his gun! Fight!''

Rikki is probably thinking that Nagaina is trying to trick him again.  He forgets about the egg, though, and she grabs it and runs.  He follows her—into her hole.  The other animals assume that he is dead.  You just don’t follow a cobra into her hole and be the one who comes out again.

Rikki does succeed though.  In doing so, he has killed the last of the snakes and ensured that there will be no new ones.  Nagaina was just trying to defend her family.  It was possible that she was telling the truth about taking her baby and not coming back, but unlikely. Rikki could not take that chance.

The incident with the egg is a perfect example of how this story is not one of clear-cut heroes and villains.  While we are tempted to root for the mongoose, Rikki kills innocent baby cobras in their shell.  Nag and Nagaina do target the family and Rikki, but their actions are designed for self-preservation.  Both sides have to defeat the other in order to survive.

With reference to Mike Royko's Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago, how did Mayor Richard Daley maintain his tight control over the city of Chicago...

The late Chicago reporter and columnist Mike Royko was what one could consider “old school.” He covered Chicago politics, a notoriously corrupt and vicious form of politics, for many years. His 1971 biography of the quintessential Chicago politician, the long-serving and enormously powerful mayor of that city, Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago, is, as it could only be, a pointed description of what it took for one person, Richard J. Daley, to serve at the pinnacle of Cook County politics for 20 years, and what it took was a combination of patronage and payback, the former to help allies and friends while adding to both categories, the latter to exact a measure of vengeance against anybody who sought to oppose him. In other words, it was a bit of a ‘carrot-and-stick’ approach to politics and governing that was hardly unique to Chicago and Cook County but which was most vibrantly manifested in those particular locales, and Richard Daley was the master. Royko’s biography is replete with discussions of the role of patronage in maintaining control of Chicago, and the late reporter’s discussion of Daley’s predecessor in office, Martin Kennelly, served to illuminate the manner in which Daley would come to control Chicago politics for so many years. Kennelly, who served as mayor from 1947 to 1955, was popular, but not known for being particularly effective. He was neither the reformer his supporters had envisioned, but neither did he make matters worse with respect to corruption and incompetence in city government. At one point, Royko quotes a Chicago Police Department captain as stating about the then-incumbent mayor who had earned his fortune in the furniture moving business before the city council, “[t]he trouble with Mayor Kennelly is that the only thing he ever learned in the moving business is never to lift the heavy end.” Kennelly, Royko notes, made insufficient use of the patronage system that was key to controlling the city and to advancing one’s agenda. As Royko wrote, this was “deadly for a political machine that lives through patronage.”

The flip side to patronage, and the “stick” wielded by Daley, was the threat: The threat to withhold lucrative contracts for city projects and the threat to ignore pressing needs in communities that failed to support him politically. Royko’s biography makes clear that threats were a part of the natural order of business, and that Daley was adroit at issuing ultimatums that helped preserve his and his allies’ positions.

Royko’s biography is, as any good biography should be, a study of context as well as a depiction of the life of its subject. The context in which Richard Daley served as mayor was one of endemic corruption in city government, including in the police department, a major problem about which the mayor did nothing. The police under such a regime serve almost as a praetorian guard for the master that enriches it, and Daley’s control over the city owned more than a little to his willingness to countenance police corruption.

In conclusion, Mayor Daley survived for so many years at the pinnacle of Chicago and Cook County politics because he played the game as much of that city expected of a strong leader. Chicago is series of political fiefdoms, with aldermen and councilors wielding power within their respective fiefdoms. To succeed as king of Cook County for so many years, Daley had to prove adept at manipulating these officials through the system of patronage and threats that he mastered.

Why was Jefferson hesitant to make the Louisiana Purchase?

Thomas Jefferson was hesitant to make the Louisiana Purchase even though it was a great deal for the United States. The United States originally offered France $10 million for New Orleans and West Florida. Napoleon, who had plans for a big war in Europe and no longer had a need for land in North America, countered with an even better offer. He would sell us the entire Louisiana Purchase for $15 million. If we agreed to this purchase, the size of the United States would double.

There are two ways to interpret the Constitution. Those who believe in a loose view of the Constitution believe it is acceptable to interpret the meaning of it. Those who believe in a strict view of the Constitution believe a person can only do what the Constitution specifically says you can do. Thomas Jefferson was a believer in the strict view of the Constitution. Since there was no wording in the Constitution that says that a President can buy land, Jefferson hesitated to make the Louisiana Purchase. Fortunately, Jefferson was persuaded to make the deal, doubling the size of the country in 1803.

Why was slavery so important to the economies of South Carolina and Georgia in the 1700s?

Slavery was so important to the economies of South Carolina and Georgia in the 1700s because rice was the main crop raised in those colonies during that time.  Planters felt that it was not possible for them to raise rice as profitably with paid labor as with slave labor.

Rice was a crop that required a great deal of labor.  However, labor was not plentiful in the colonies of the South.  Immigrants to the American colonies in general were not eager to go to the rice planting areas of Georgia and South Carolina.  They preferred to go to other areas where the climate was more to their liking and where they could make a living working their own small farms.  They did not want to do the hard work of cultivating rice in the climate of Georgia and South Carolina as wage laborers.

What this meant was that it was hard to get enough labor to successfully cultivate rice in South Carolina and Georgia.  Therefore, people who wanted to plant rice needed to find unfree labor. They preferred African slaves because many slaves had come from areas where rice was grown in Africa and knew the job.  They also preferred Africans because they believed Africans were better suited to the climate in the region.

For these reasons, African slaves were seen as necessary for the cultivation of rice.  Since rice was vital to the colonial economies of South Carolina and Georgia, slavery was very important to those colonies’ economies.

What is the time period of "Rip van Winkle?"

"Rip Van Winkle" spans a 20-year period of massive change in America. While we don't get exact dates, when the story opens, Rip lives as a colonial, under the rule of Great Britain. He likes to go to the Inn in the village, where a portrait of King George III hangs. Rip considers himself a loyal British subject. 

After Rip Van Winkle awakens after having been asleep for 20 years, he finds out that the United States is an independent nation and that it has fought a revolution. He enters his old Inn only to discover it is now the Union Hotel. He learns that an election is going on, and is surprised when people accuse him of being a "Tory" and a "spy" when he asserts his allegiance to the king. 

So while we don't know exactly the dates of the story, we can image them to span a period of, very roughly, 1770 to 1790. 

What is a good sentence showing the overconfidence of Macbeth?

Macbeth is consumed with anxiety as well as confidence, a balance of opposites. However, towards the end of the play, his overconfidence increases and his fear diminishes. We can blame this fatal flaw on his increasing confidence but it is really the result of him becoming more and more delusional. Note that before he kills Duncan, he is quite apprehensive. His superego (conscience) and his id (desire) are battling in his own mind. He feels anxiety and potential guilt but his desire (with Lady Macbeth's encouragement) eventually overrules his more reasonable side. After killing Duncan, that anxiety never really goes away, but he does become more confident in his determination to protect his power and position as king. As his greed grows, so does his confidence. 

Macbeth's delusional confidence reaches the pinnacle in Act 5. With his simplistic and overconfident interpretations of the witches' latest messages, he feels unstoppable. In Act 5, Scene 1, he repeats that he has nothing to worry about unless Birnam Wood comes to his castle. He can not conceive of a forest coming to attack him, so he feels there is nothing to worry about. He doesn't take the time to consider how these messages might be interpreted in other ways. When he is informed that thousands of soldiers are marching against him, he says, "Bring it after me. / I will not be afraid of death and bane. / Till Birnam Forest come to Dunsinane." (V.iii.67-69) Even though the odds are increasingly against him, he basically says, "Bring it on." 

In the next scene, even though some of his own men have deserted him, he is resolute. He says "Our castle's strength will laugh a siege to scorn." (V.iv.3) 

Discuss what you think of government involvement in the marketplace. Should we have government intervention? How far should government go in...

This question shows us why it is so hard to get people to agree politically.  We would almost all agree that government should be involved in the marketplace to some degree.  We would all say that it should not intervene too much and it should not intervene too little.  The problem is that there is no way to quantify how much government intervention is too much and how much is too little.  Therefore, we all say that we agree that there should be some government intervention, but we cannot agree on what government interventions are acceptable.

A free marketplace definitely fits with my definition of democracy.  Economic freedom is important just as things like personal freedom are.  I ought to be able to have the right to believe what I want and to say what I want in a democracy, but I also ought to have the right to do what I want with my money and my property.  In other words, the government should not generally have the right to tell me what to do or not to do with my property since that infringes on my right to (in the words of the Fifth Amendment) “life, liberty, or property.”

But this does not mean that the government should completely stay out of the marketplace.  There will be bad economic times when it might make sense for the government to step in.  For example, if millions of people are going to lose their homes because the economy goes bad and they can’t pay their mortgages, the government should intervene.  If the unemployment rate goes sky high, it might be a good idea for the government to step in and create jobs as it did during the New Deal.

But this returns us to our original problem.  How much should the government regulate and/or provide?  My own view is that it should provide important things that cannot be provided by the private sector.  My own view is that it should regulate to prevent serious harm from coming to people or to the community.  But saying this does not solve the problem.  One person might think that serious harm comes to the community when green space is lost in a city while another might think that is a minor thing and that the government should not regulate to preserve the green space.  It is simply not possible to get everyone to agree on when the government should intervene.  It is also not possible to have a clear discussion of the topic because we cannot make rules that would cover every (or even most) of the possible arguments that would arise over this topic.

What is the central conflict of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho?

The central conflict for a story revolves around the main protagonist achieving a specific goal. The plot rises as the main character encounters obstacles that get in the way of him or her solving the problem, finishing a quest, or achieving said goal. The main character in Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist is Santiago, a young shepherd who must find his treasure and fulfill his Personal Legend. With these goals in mind, many obstacles arise to meet him as he journeys to Egypt where his treasure supposedly lies. Santiago first goes to a gypsy to help him interpret the dream that told him about the treasure and he discovers the central conflict through her as follows:

"You came so that you could learn about your dreams. . . And dreams are the language of God. When he speaks in our language, I can interpret what he has said. But if he speaks in the language of the soul, it is only you who can understand" (12-13).

After he tells the gypsy of his dream, she determines that it actually is in the language of the soul; this then sets the conflict within Santiago himself. Thus, the central conflict is man vs. self. Santiago must overcome his doubts and fears while also learning about the Soul of the World. He must decipher omens in order to interpret the next move to make on his journey. And all the while, he must not stop, turn back, or give up on finding the treasure and fulfilling his Personal Legend.

Melchizedek, the King of Salem, also informs Santiago that the central conflict is within himself as follows:

"Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is. . . But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their Personal Legend. . . To realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation" (21-22).

No one but Santiago can discover his Personal Legend. No one can keep him on his path to discovery except himself. Only he is on this personal journey, so only he must fight the doubt, fear, or temptations to end the journey in order to achieve his goals.

In Of Mice and Men, what type of figurative language is used in Chapter 5 when Steinbeck says, "In panic he shoveled hay over the puppy with his...

The sentence "In a panic he shoveled hay over the puppy with his fingers" is not an example of figurative language. Lennie is literally trying to cover up the dead puppy with hay. Figurative language is used to make writing or speech more interesting or persuasive. It often uses a comparison between two unlike things to enhance the meaning of one of those things. Figurative language used in chapter five of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men includes simile, metaphor, personification and onomatopoeia. 

In the first paragraph, Steinbeck uses a simile when he writes: "The hay came down like a mountain slope to the other end of the barn." The mound of hay is compared to a mountain using the word "like." In the next paragraph the reader is given personification when Steinbeck calls the afternoon lazy. Lazy is a word that is usually applied to people. Personification is when non-human things are given human qualities. Another example is later in the chapter when  Steinbeck says, "the sun streaks climbed up the wall." And right after Curley's wife is killed Steinbeck writes, "gradually time awakened."

Onomatopoeia is when words mimic a sound. For example, Steinbeck uses the words "humming," to describe the sounds in the barn, and "clang," for the sound the horseshoes make hitting the stake. Curley's wife's hair being compared to little sausages is an example of a metaphor.

An extended metaphor in the chapter is much more subtle. Steinbeck mentions the horses rattling their halter chains four times in the chapter. Steinbeck wants to compare the fate of George and Lennie to that of the horses. They are not free. Circumstances always intervene to prevent them from living the dream of owning their own farm and exerting free will. Like the horses they are chained to a fate they cannot change.  

What are the teaching strategies used in Pat Conroy's book, The Water is Wide?

The teaching methods Conroy employs are unconventional to say the least. The students whom he encounters were unfamiliar with standard written and spoken English, thus he had to adjust his methods accordingly. Rather than utilizing outdated textbooks, or corporal punishment, Conroy offered his students an experiential education. While the students were won over by this approach, their parents and the administrators at the school were far from pleased.

Ultimately, Conroy's approach challenged the divide between the islanders (the students) and those who lived on the mainland because he dared to question the power dynamics at play. One of the most liberating examples in the text happens when Conroy had his students memorize significant classical musicians and their compositions, and then invited inhabitants from the mainland to the classroom so that the students could explain what they had learned. Such an unorthodox approach proved to be successful in that the students were encouraged to enter into a dialogue with otherwise inaccessible people. 

In Pride and Prejudice, what effect does Lydia's elopement have on the other characters?

The effect of Lydia's elopement with Wickham has an impact on everyone in her family, but most profoundly upon Elizabeth. Elizabeth learns of the elopement in a letter from Jane. Jane is newly married to Bingley, but knows Elizabeth, as the next oldest sister and still unmarried, will bear the brunt of the social stigma of her younger sister's foolishness. Elizabeth worries that Lydia's actions will bring disgrace both upon Lydia herself (because she initially has run away with Wickham without being married) and upon her parents.

She is also worried that Mister Darcy will no longer be interested in marrying her, because Lydia's behavior will unfortunately reflect upon her sisters' prospects for marriage. Elizabeth later learns that Darcy arranged for the two to be married quickly, and improves their financial predicament considerably. Mrs. Bennet is overjoyed by this news, because her main goal in life is to see her daughters married to wealthy husbands. Her mother's attitude in these matters is almost as embarrassing to Elizabeth as Lydia's deciding to run away with Wickham.

There is also a sting of jealousy present, in that Elizabeth had felt fondness for Wickham when they first met; and Elizabeth realizes that Lydia's seduction of Wickham must in part be based in a sort of childish game of competition with her sister. 

Why did Federalists oppose the Louisiana Purchase and what did they plan to do about it?

Some of the Federalists did not like the idea of the Louisiana Purchase because it was likely to help their political enemies and hurt themselves.  However, we should not overstate the opposition to the purchase.  Major Federalist figures like Alexander Hamilton and John Adams actually did support the purchase because they wanted to strengthen the nation as a whole.  However, there were some Federalists who felt that the purchase was a bad idea because it would strengthen Thomas Jefferson and his political party.

The main reason why the Federalists did not like the Louisiana Purchase was that it would add more land to the South.  The South was not an area with many Federalists.  Because of this, the purchase was likely to add to the political power of the Jeffersonians.  In the short term, it was also likely to get Jefferson reelected.  Finally, the Federalists were worried that the purchase would bring in huge new areas of land that could be settled by the small farmers that were major supporters of Jefferson’s party.

Some Federalists talked of secession over this issue, but the talk really did not get very far.  So, to the extent that Federalists disliked the Louisiana Purchase, it was for political reasons and they did very little to try to prevent the purchase.

Compare and contrast Ralph and Jack's leadership roles?

Ralph is a selfless leader who is focused on the essential elements of survival and rescue. Ralph is constantly reminding the boys of the importance of maintaining a signal fire. Ralph uses the conch to organize and call assemblies. Throughout the assemblies, Ralph allows others to speak and takes into consideration their ideas and feelings. He cares for each child on the island, even the littluns, which he builds shelters for so they feel a sense of comfort during the night. Ralph exercises good judgment in times of adversity. He stands up to Jack at critical parts throughout the novel and firmly believes in civility over barbarism. Ralph leads by example, but is not able to convince the majority of the castaways to follow his tribe. Ralph's leadership is undermined by Jack, who advocates for hunting and pleasurable activities.

Jack is a charismatic leader similar to Ralph. He possesses the ability to rally the boys and convinces them to follow his leadership. Jack's agenda differs from Ralph's as he proposes that the boys hunt and swim instead of maintaining the signal fire and constructing shelters. Jack uses intimidation and punishment to motivate his tribe, unlike Ralph. Jack's leadership can be described as tyrannical because he seldom takes other people's thoughts into consideration. Jack's tribe is the epitome of savage brutality. Ralph's tribe is the epitome of civility and structure.

Both boys understand the importance of bravery and intelligence. There are several scenes throughout the novel where both Jack and Ralph display courage in the face of adversity which gains them favor in the eyes of their followers. Although Jack overlooks several essential elements of survival and rescue, Jack is the one who suggests they use Piggy's glasses to start a fire and teaches the boys how to hunt. Both boys use objects that represent their tribes' allegiance. Ralph uses the conch as a symbol of authority while Jack uses the Lord of the Flies as a totem.

How do chlorofluorocarbons affect the environment?

CFCs affect the ozone layer of the environment.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are a class of compounds that contain chlorine, carbon, and fluorine. They are often used in aerosol sprays, refrigerators, blowing agents in foam manufacture, and in air conditioning. When CFCs are exposed to ultraviolet radiation in the upper ozone layer, they release chlorine atoms. Ozone is made of three oxygen atoms. When chlorine breaks away from a CFC in the ozone layer, the chlorine replaces an oxygen from an ozone molecule to form chlorine oxide. In this way, CFCs reduce the protection that the ozone layer gives the Earth from the harmful UV rays that are produced from the Sun. CFCs are also thought to be greenhouse gases that contribute to Earth’s global warming.

Is McMurphy a Christ figure? Expain.

When we talk about Christ figures in literature, we are not necessarily talking about the historical Jesus or any sort of religious connection, but rather we are talking about an archetype, or common character pattern where newer characters exhibit similar traits to previously established characters. Rather than an exact template, archetypal characters exhibit enough traits from the pattern to establish a connection, but there may be some variations from other versions. So, if we set aside religion and spiritual belief for a minute, what are Christ's traits as demonstrated through his biblical narrative? He sacrifices himself for the good of others, he resists tyranny and oppression, he has disciples or followers, he performs miracles, etc.

So, while there are certain traits of Christ's which don't apply to Randal P. McMurphy (like being good with children or literally walking on water), there are many that do. For example, some of Christ's well-known parables are about fish and fishing (i.e. "I will make you fishers of men), and many of his followers are fishermen. McMurphy arranges an illicit fishing trip for the residents of the ward. Many of these residents have come to follow McMurphy and be inspired by him (his "disciples"). McMurphy performs some "miracles" (like making the paralytic Ellis walk), and he continuously resists the tyranny of Nurse Ratchet and the oppressive ward staff (as Jesus resisted the tyranny of the Romans).

McMurphy is a self-professed degenerate gambler and womanizer, and he readily admits petty crimes like the ones that got him locked up. At first glance, Christ does not resemble a criminal like McMurphy, but remember that many of Christ's actions (organizing followers and preaching to them) were considered blasphemous and illegal by the governing Romans at the time. Christ was an outlaw too.

The biggest sign of a Christ-figure archetype in literature is a character sacrificing oneself for the greater good. This one's not quite as clean in McMurphy's case since he is not necessarily "sacrificed," but he does give up a chance to escape in order to attack Nurse Ratchet, who he blames for Billy Babbit's suicide. McMurphy's resulting lobotomy and vegetative state inspires The Chief to escape. The Chief smothers McMurphy in an act of mercy and to carry his spirit along to freedom (a sort of resurrection?), and he lifts the tub room controls which McMurphy could not previously budge (a miracle?) in order to make his escape. So, it could be argued that McMurphy sacrificed himself for the good of The Chief.

While certainly not a one-to-one correlation, a strong argument can be made for McMurphy demonstrating a number of traits which would make him a Christ-figure archetype.

What does the narrator feel about the raven's previous owner?

The speaker does not really know that the raven is a tame bird that has somehow escaped and is seeking shelter with another human. He is only speculating in the following pertinent stanza:

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
“Doubtless,” said I, “what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore—
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore,
Of ‘Never—nevermore’.”

The speaker guesses that the raven's previous master was dogged by misfortune, not unlike Edgar Allan Poe himself, and that he must have kept saying or singing something which included the word "Nevermore," until the bird began repeating it. This often happens with parrots, Mynah birds, parakeets, and other birds capable of imitating human speech. They will surprise their owners by uttering a word or phrase without the owners realizing that this word or phrase was so commonly used in the household, or that the bird would be find it appealing out of all the other words it heard. It may be that some words are picked up by birds because they are easier for them to imitate than others. But in any case, the speaker is correct in thinking that birds do not really understand what they are repeating and that this raven is only saying "Nevermore" because it was living with a very unhappy man like the speaker.

Poe himself was an unhappy man because of numerous misfortunes. He was always dogged by financial problems. He was disowned and disinherited by his wealthy foster father. His wife Virginia, whom he married when she was only thirteen, was in extremely ill health at the time he wrote "The Raven," and she died about two years after it was published. He died of alcoholism at the age of forty. Many of Poe's poems and stories reflect his own feelings of melancholy and despair. No doubt the many references to "Lenore" in "The Raven" are to Poe's wife, whom he expected to die of tuberculosis and leave him all alone. 

So the speaker evidently feels empathy for the bird's hypothetical previous owner, assuming he must have been a lonely, melancholy man like himself. In the opening stanzas and elsewhere, the speaker presents glimpses of his own existence:

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,

Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore

The speaker identifies with the man he imagines having been the bird's previous master and assumes that man was hopelessly depressed. The former owner must have had a naturally melancholy temperament to have wanted such a black, croaking, "ominous bird of yore" for a pet. The ebony bird capable of uttering only one word is, of course, a symbol of hopeless depression. 

Why did Lyddie give Ezekial the money? What character traits does this show?

In one of the most moving passages in the book, Lyddie gives the $25 she received from selling her calf to the fugitive slave, Ezekial, whom she finds hiding out in her cabin. While working at Cutler's Tavern, she previously heard some men discussing the fact that turning in runaway slaves could result in a cash reward of $100. With how desperate Lyddie is for money and how hard it is for her to accumulate it, she is tempted for a moment to turn the man in. But after getting to know the kind and eloquent man, she tells him, "Now I know you, I couldn't ever." As she is wishing him a safe journey to Canada, she reaches into her pocket and pulls out "the calf-money bag," offering it to him "without even thinking." Thus in a moment of unabashed generosity, she offers him the cash because he may need it along the way. She knows it will be more beneficial to him than it will be lying buried in the ground for "seed money," which is what she had intended to do with it.

One of the things that makes Lyddie bond so quickly with Ezekial is that, when he speaks of how he is "totally dependent on the kindness of others for everything," she thinks that her father could be somewhere saying the very same thing. Not only that, but she realizes that she has something in common with Ezekial. Although she is nominally a free citizen, she has in a sense been sold into servitude and has little control over her own life or the fruits of her own labor. She has a sense of what it feels like to be a slave. This shows empathy on Lyddie's part.

When Ezekial says he has no way to thank her, she tries to "diminish for both of them the enormity of what she had done" by saying that half the money was actually the Stevenses'. This shows that she is not only generous and empathetic, but also humble.

Who is more heroic, Sir Gawain or the Green Knight?

I would argue that Sir Gawain is the more heroic of the two. One of the key themes of this tale is to take pride in our humanity, including our imperfections. This theme is why even though Sir Gawain fails to a certain extent by accepting the girdle, he earns the right to wear this partial failure with pride. He is only a man, filled with imperfections, and yet he still chooses to live up to his values.

This point is crucial to a comparison between the two characters. Gawain continues the challenge with the full knowledge that he could be killed. He knows that he is mortal and he suffers from all the same fears and insecurities that all of us must endure. And yet he continues with the challenge out of a sense of honor.

The Green Knight, while obviously an honorable character, takes no such risk. He fully knows that Gawain's attacks will not harm him. He is also a moral character in that he helps the hero learn a valuable lesson, but he never has to undergo the heroic ordeal of risking his own life for his values. Heroism is about overcoming basic human shortcomings for the sake of a greater ideal. This is not possible for a supernatural character such as the Green Knight.

Because Gawain is able to continually make the right choices despite his mortality and imperfection, I would say he is the more heroic character.

What items do Yingying and her family put into the picnic hampers when they go to the lake for the Moon festival?

When Yingying awakes, her amah informs her that the whole family will go to Tai Lake for the Moon festival.

When the time comes to depart, Yingying observes that everyone in her family is dressed in great finery for the occasion. For the day, the servants have packed all the family's provisions into picnic hampers. One hamper holds zong zi; these are sticky rice dumplings that are wrapped in lotus leaves. These dumplings can have a variety of fillings; Yingying explains that the ones the servants have packed contain either dumplings filled with sweet lotus seeds or roasted ham.

In another hamper, the servants include cups, bowls, chopsticks, and a small stove for boiling tea water. Yet other hampers contain stacks of red boxes holding four mooncakes in each box; fruits like apples, pears, and pomegranates; sleeping mats for the family's afternoon naps; as well as earthen jars of preserved meats and vegetables.

Identify your impressions of Dill, Calpurnia, Jem, Scout, Atticus, the Radleys, Miss Stephanie Crawford, and Miss Caroline Fisher from To Kill a...

Dill Harris-Dill is a talented, imaginative child who seems like a lot of fun. Throughout the novel, Dill is able to play any character in Jem's skits during the summers, and he comes up with fanciful plans to get Boo Radley out of the house. Dill is continually making up stories to try to impress Jem and Scout. His home life is rather sad, and all Dill really wants is attention. I feel that he is a sympathetic character who keeps Scout and Jem occupied each summer.

Calpurnia-Calpurnia seems wise and understanding throughout the novel. Her unique ability to read and write conveys her intelligence.
She has the ability to interact easily in the Finch household, as well as around her community members. She disciplines the children, but also shows them support and wishes them the best. She is a strong female role model for Scout, which makes her an important character throughout the novel.

Scout Finch-Scout seems like the prototypical "tomboy." She has a short-temper, loves playing with the boys, and occasionally curses. I feel that Scout has a pure heart because she listens to Atticus' advice and tries to please him. Her naive viewpoint makes the novel interesting and fun. Scout matures and gains perspective on life throughout the novel without becoming jaded. Her positive attitude and charismatic personality make the novel a classic.

Jem Finch-Jem is a smaller, younger version of his father. Jem has a conscious and looks up to Atticus throughout the novel. He has a love-hate relationship with Scout that is typical of most siblings. Jem has a good heart and encourages Scout when she needs it the most. He is loyal to Atticus, enjoys school, and matures during the novel. Jem was once naive until he witnessed injustice during Tom's trial.

Atticus Finch-Atticus is the morally upright character throughout the novel. He is the epitome of a gentleman and treats his neighbors with tolerance, respect, and hospitality. Atticus lets his actions speak for himself, and displays character and courage throughout the novel. Atticus does not compromise his beliefs to fit in with the majority and willingly defends Tom during the trial. Atticus cares deeply about his children and tries his best to raise them with morals.

Mr. Radley & Nathan Radley-Mr. Radley is a "foot-washing Baptist" who believes in a strict interpretation of the Bible. He is rather callous and harsh towards his neighbors and family. Mr. Radley is wrong for confining Boo inside the house all those years as punishment for Boo's youthful pranks. Nathan is similar to his father, although he is a bit more open. He is also strict and takes part in Boo's abuse by filling the knothole with cement, effectively ending Boo's communication with the children.

Boo Radley-He is the misunderstood, shy neighbor throughout the novel. Boo has a bad reputation because of the many rumors and lies spread about his life. In reality, he is a kind, caring, fun type of individual. He gives Jem and Scout gifts in the knothole of the tree, laughs as the children play, and even saves their life at the end of the novel. Boo is an innocent character who becomes a victim of Maycomb's prejudice.

Miss Stephanie Crawford-Stephanie is the town gossip. She is continually spreading false rumors about Boo Radley throughout the neighborhood. She is partly responsible for Boo's bad reputation.

Miss Caroline Fisher-Miss Caroline is the innocent, attractive first-grade teacher who is new to Maycomb. She is not very creative in regards to her teaching practices and seems to know little about her students. Miss Caroline is fresh out of college and tries to teach the children from the curriculum template...no exceptions. She is quickly finding out how difficult teaching first-graders really is.

If one candidate won only five most populous states and another candidate won all the other states, who would win the election?

Good question! Because of the way our Electoral College is set up many people have this type of question. The short answer to your question is that the person who won the other 45 states would become president.

Technically, we do not directly vote for president. We have electors from each state that do so. The number of electors from each state depends on its population. Each State gets two, equal to the number of Senators, plus a number based on population--the number of members of the House of Representatives. The current possible total of Electoral College votes is 538. It takes 270 in order to become president. At this time, the five most populous states are California (55 electoral votes), Texas (34), New York (31), Florida (27) and Illinois (21). The total votes that these five states have is 168--not enough to win the presidency. If you added in the next six largest, however, the person could win with eleven states. Adding Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, and New Jersey would give a total of 271 electoral votes.

Describe the setting in the story. What does the interior of the Younger house tell you about the family that lives there?

The Younger home is one that once was attractive, but now shows signs of wear and age because too many people have occupied it for too long without any changes to the furnishings. Evidently, they are also rather poor.

The furnishings that were once carefully selected and arranged attractively are visibly aged despite the crocheted doilies and couch covers meant to disguise the upholstery. The carpet is worn and chairs and a table have been moved to cover thinning areas; other furnishings have been arranged to accommodate an ever-growing family. Hansbury's stage directions state that "weariness has, in fact, won the room," and all "pretenses but living itself have long vanished."

From these stage directions which describe the Younger home, the reader can infer that the family lives in near-poverty. Even with the several family members, there must not be enough income to provide more than the necessities. Obviously, many of the Younger family are not working because they are too young or too old.

What is the most important crop on the Baxter's land?

In Chapter 28, the reader is informed about all the crops that will go in that season on the Baxter's farm. Penny is preparing the ground for tobacco, cotton and various other crops that they will put in as soon as the time is right.

But corn is by far the most important crop and is given more land that spring. It is vital because it is feed for the chickens, for the hogs, for the cow, and for the Baxters themselves. If they run short of corn, they have no chance to get ahead of the constant demands their livestock and their own lives place on them. Penny decided to plant extra corn in the hopes that they might get themselves a little farther away from the edge of starvation and ruin, a very real possibility in their situation.

What social, political, and economic impact did the Declaration of Independence have on Native Americans?

The Declaration of Independence and subsequent creation of the United States destabilized and weakened many Indian nations near the thirteen colonies. The British Empire had largely prevented colonists from moving westward over the Appalachian mountains and into Indian territory. This didn't stop many from trying, and border conflicts between land-hungry colonists and various Indian tribes were common occurrences in almost all of the colonies. The reason the British tried to prevent colonists from expanding into Indian territory was because the British Empire relied on Indian allies for maintaining valuable trade routes through the interior of North America. 

When the colonists declared their independence, Jefferson wrote in the Declaration that the British had “endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.” Colonists saw British alliances and trade with Indians, who many colonists viewed as savages and enemies, as another form of oppression from a distant king. 

Most Indians viewed the American Revolution as, basically, a British Civil War, and remained mostly neutral, with a few tribes siding with the colonists and a few more with the British. But once the Americans secured their independence, they removed all colonial prohibitions on westward expansion. Thousands of colonists began to pour into what is now considered the Midwest, and the native groups there quickly fell to disease and violence. The British no longer had the sovereign power to mediate these conflicts or protect Indians from colonists, so violence ensued. Over the next half century, nearly all Indians east of the Mississippi lost their political independence, saw massive declines in populations (which brought social instability), and lost the lucrative trade with England that was now monopolized by Americans. 

Overall, American independence hastened the decline of Indian political independence, destabilized their societies by displacing them from traditional homelands, and ruined valuable commerce with the British that had sustained local Indian economies for a few generations.

Each integral represents the volume of a solid. Describe the solid.

The formula provided represents the volume of the solid obtained by rotating the region enclosed by the curves , about y axis, using washer method:

You need to find the endpoints by solving the equation:

Hence, evaluating the volume of the solid obtained by rotating the region enclosed by the curves  about y axis, using washer method, yields

What are some barriers to communication in the hospital environment? How can they be overcome?

Ideally, a patient's chart exists to prevent mistakes and complications that stem from miscommunication in a hospital setting. Unfortunately, the methodical and detailed documentation of symptoms, medications, and procedures often fails to make up for human error.

Most people employed at hospitals work long, exhausting shifts. They juggle responsibilities in a high-stress setting where their decisions literally mean life and death. Whether it is a nurse, doctor, specialist, surgical tech, or janitor, each person plays a critical role in solving problems and saving lives. The combination of stress and exhaustion can often mean mistakes not only in documentation, but also in communication between professionals. This challenge can also extend to communication between patients, their loved ones, and professionals in the health field. Quite often the responsibility lies on the shoulders of patients and patients' family members. If a professional records the wrong dosage, medication allergies, or medical history, it is often the person in the hospital bed or their loved ones who catches the error.

Vigilance and patience are key to overcoming communication challenges in a hospital whether you are a patient, loved one, or professional.

What does the spider's web image mean in "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"?

In Edwards's "Application" section of the sermon, he gives the following image of the spider: 

if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf, and your healthy constitution, and your own care and prudence, and best contrivance, and all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell, than a spider's web would have to stop a falling rock.

Edwards uses this image of the spider's web, an object that even today's reader would understand in its simplicity, to reveal to his audience how insignificant their lives are. Just as we might wipe away a spider's web or swat at it in the woods, so, too, will God in His power be able to swipe all of humanity away in a single stroke. Humanity's "healthy constitution...prudence...best contrivance...righteousness" would act as the spider's web and be unable withstand a rock (humanity) from falling through.

Edwards again uses the image of the spider thus: "The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect, over the fire, abhors you." This image refers not the spider's web but to the spider itself, which many saw as a pest even in Edwards's time. So, too, does God view humanity; we are pests to be exterminated or even tortured in the fires of Hell.

In Animal Farm, what is foreshadowed after Snowball's expulsion, when Squealer tells the animals that they will eventually learn that Snowball's...

This statement not only foreshadows Snowball's demonization but also predicts Napoleon's tyrannical rule which is vested in brutality, manipulation, exploitation, abuse and propaganda.  

With Snowball out of the way, Napoleon can achieve sole leadership of the farm without being contested. Snowball had been a thorn in Napoleon's side. The two could never agree on anything and were consistently at loggerheads during meetings. Furthermore, Snowball had made a greater impression on the other animals especially with his plans for the erection of a windmill. He had also worked very hard at establishing committees and educating the animals. In essence, Snowball was working towards a greater good, whereas the sly Napoleon had only his own interests at heart. This was most aptly illustrated by his removal of Bluebell and Jessie's pups soon after they had weaned. He kept them in hiding and later used them to brutalise and execute any animal that dared oppose him. 

Snowball became the scapegoat for everything that went wrong on the farm. It was put out, for example, that he had been in cahoots with Jones from the very beginning. After his expulsion, it was also said that he had surreptitiously been visiting the farm, destroying all the animals' hard work. Napoleon even went as far as sniffing out his scent and indicating signs of his so-called secret visitations. Snowball was thoroughly demonized through a process of propaganda and misinformation. 

In pursuing this deceitful tactic, Napoleon had cleverly destroyed the animals' faith in Snowball and what he had stood for. By offering rewards for Snowball's capture and pronouncing a death sentence upon him, he created the illusion that he had all the animals best interests at heart. Although some animals had expressed misgivings about what they were told, the propaganda was so convincing that the unintelligent animals were easily swayed.

In addition, demonising Snowball and making him the enemy ensured that Napoleon could also purge the farm of all those who stood against him. So it was with the hens who refused to lay eggs for sale and a number of other animals who confessed to having secretly assisted Snowball. They were all executed when the dogs tore out their throats at Napoleon's instruction. This brutal act drove fear into the animals and they meekly and unquestioningly followed instructions.  

Napoleon later assumed total control of the farm and was referred to as 'Our Leader, comrade Napoleon.' He and the other pigs practised human vices such as drinking alcohol and they became more human in their actions and demeanour. The pigs adopted a supercilious attitude and changed the commandments to suit them. Although there were murmurs of discontent at each alteration, these were soon suppressed by propaganda and lies as well as the threat of Jones coming back. it is no wonder then that the animals were even more enslaved, abused and exploited than in Jones' time. 

A further point for consideration is the fact that the statement, 'Snowball's heroism is much exaggerated' also alludes to the animals own heroic attempts at achieving utopia. The grand purpose of their attempts was much exaggerated since their efforts ended in utter failure. They had not achieved their ideal and instead replaced one tyrant with another. Worse, still, is the fact that their new master was one of their own. Their current oppressor could not care less about their situation and used them to ensure privilege for himself and his own breed. Napoleon and the pigs lived lives of luxury and privilege, whilst the other animals suffered.

Tragically, life on the farm had gone full circle and the majority of the animals found themselves in an even worse situation than they had been under Mr Jones' rule.  

Find the volume of the solid obtained by rotating the region bounded by the given curves about the specified line....

You need to find the volume of the solid obtained by rotating the region enclosed by the curves , about y = 2, using washer method:

You need to find the endpoints by solving the equation:

Hence, evaluating the volume of the solid obtained by rotating the region enclosed by the curves  , about y = 2, using washer method, yields

What was the state of Europe in the early to mid-Fourteenth Century?

If you were born in England in 1300 AD, it was likely that you believed the apocalypse was upon you. Conditions were truly that bad in Europe during the early part of what historians call the Late Middle Ages. The Thirteenth Century saw a warming of the climate of Europe that resulted in significant increases in agricultural production. This increase in the availability of food led to exponential population growth.

The climate of Europe in the early 1300's began to cool again, however, which shortened the growing season. Less food was produced to support that larger populations. Europeans also had created an ecological problem by exhausting the soil. In the best of years in the early part of the Fourteenth Century, there were food shortages. In lean times, famines claimed the lives of thousands of Europeans.

The problem of food production and starvation is strongly correlated to health problems. A hungry person has a weakened immune system. Epidemics devastated Europe during this period and took the lives of thousands of people annually. The crescendo of these series of epidemics arrived in the form of the Black Plague in 1347. The Plague devastated the populations of urban centers. No class of person was insulated from the Bubonic Plaque. In some areas, as many as 60% of the population were killed by the Black Plague.

Adding to the spectre of death caused by famine and plague was the introduction of a major war between France and England. The 100 Years War started during this era and also had devastating effects on the populations of these European countries. The war was primarily fought in France which even further damaged their agricultural output.

How can we find the angle formed between two plane mirrors if the number of images formed is given?

When two plane mirrors are placed edge to edge at an angle to each other, multiple virtual images are formed. 

The number of images formed by two plane mirrors at an angle is given by this formula:

number of images = where  is the angle formed by the two mirrors. 

Rearranging this equation gives a formula for the angle:

 = 360/(number of images -1)

The smaller the angle between the mirrors, the more images that will be formed. If the mirrors are parallel an infinite number of images will be formed. You've probably observed this in a room with mirrors on opposite walls, such as a department store dressing room. You can see the effect of changing the angle if you have two flat mirrors.