Compare and contrast Hamlet and Alexander the Great. How are they similar? How are they different?

These are two extremely different people. The similarities are somewhat shallow. Both men are royalty. Both rise to the occasion after losing a father. Both men are very well educated. Hamlet is one of the smartest characters in Shakespeare's work, while Alexander the Great received tutoring from Aristotle himself.

The main difference in my mind is that Alexander was a man of action while Hamlet was a man of contemplation and indecision. One of the core ideas of Hamlet is that throughout the play Hamlet is resolved to avenge his father, but he simply cannot make up his mind. He delays killing Claudius at first because he isn't sure, so he puts on a play to confirm his suspicion. Then when his suspicion is confirmed he delays again because he does not want to send Claudius to heaven by killing the king during prayers. Depression and possibility even insanity plague Hamlet. He debates whether life is worth living in his famous soliloquies, and cannot bring himself to act until the final moment.

Alexander the Great was the essential man of action. He used his knowledge and skills to realize his father's dreams of greatness by conquering enormous amounts of land, building an empire, and defeating his enemies in Persia. This might make him less interesting to read about, but it undoubtedly made him more effective.

What allusions, if any, are in "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson?

The main allusion in "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is where Old Man Warner makes the statement, "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon" (Jackson 3). Since the beginning of humanity, sacrifices have been made to make sure the harvest is good, or the rains come or for whatever reason. In Greek Mythology, people (usually young maidens) were sacrificed to appease the Gods. In the Bible, animals were sacrificed in honor of God. Human sacrifice was part of Aztec culture, who were afraid that without human sacrifice, their sun god would die. The Carthaginians supposedly sacrificed babies because they thought doing so would give them favor with their gods. The ancient Chinese also partook in human sacrifices as did several other cultures.

In "The Lottery," Mr. Warner alludes to the idea that if they give up the lottery, they will displease some god, and therefore their harvest will be poor. He looks at the lottery as something necessary for his community to continue to thrive.

What are some disadvantages and advantages of printed communication?

One advantage and disadvantage (at the same time) is that printed communication is a permanent record of the communication.  Perhaps that isn't necessarily always the case.  A person might burn a letter, but the main reason to write something down is in order to keep it for some kind of record.  That quality of printed communication is extremely helpful, especially for certain kinds of communications or transaction, such as during tax season for example.  On the other hand, some print-preserved communications could cause unintended negative, troublesome consequences.  For example, a message sent out in anger might prove detrimental to a relationship of the personal, political or business kind.  

One advantage to printed communication is that it gives the writer time to reflect and collect his or her thoughts.  There are times when communicating verbally or electronically that things can be said that out in a way not intended.  But with printed communication, more time and care is spent making sure what is written is exactly what is intended.  

A disadvantage to printed communication is that in order to reach a lot of people at the same time, a lot of it has to be produced.  That can be quite expensive.  The expense can be overcome by digital communication, but digital cancels the advantages of time and care.  

What were the political and social causes of the French Revolution?

The central motivation for the French Revolution was inequality, in a few different senses.

There was political inequality, as the monarchy granted extreme power to an individual family while denying political representation for the vast majority of the population.

There was economic inequality, as the distribution of wealth had become so extreme that a handful of people were enormously wealthy while the majority were in poverty.

There was social inequality, as the social classes (royalty, nobility, peasantry, merchants) were rigidly defined and often in conflict with one another.

During the same period, a rising educated middle class was forming, and they became involved in learning and spreading ideas of liberty and equality from what we now call the Enlightenment. They were growing increasingly intolerant of these long-standard injustices, and increasingly confident that they had the power to rectify them. (This is a general pattern, actually; revolutions happen not when oppression is at its worst, but when it just barely starts to get better. When oppression is at its worst, the inequality seems inevitable and revolution seems impossible. But when people see that things could have been better all along, they often rise up to make it so.)

But these inequalities might have found some resolution without a violent revolution were it not for two major triggering events.

The first was an economic crisis, triggered by irresponsible budgeting by the monarchy as well as poor crop yields that year. There was widespread unemployment and food shortages.

The second was the American Revolution, which actually had two major effects. The first was that it was very expensive---a lot of the irresponsible government spending by the monarchy was actually involved in supporting the war in the United States. The second was that it was successful---the US successfully broke away from the monarchy in Britain and began to set up a new democratic government. So, the French revolutionaries thought, "Why can't we?"

Recent new articles indicate that because of the current high price of oil, future availability of oil may be much greater then when your text was...

There are several aspects of the global oil crisis. One aspect is the price of oil. High prices force companies and governments to look for other alternatives, such as solar energy and wind power. Current level of prices is pushing many governments in that direction. Another aspect is the current oil reserves. The global demand may be slightly increasing, but the rate of new discoveries and reserves is higher, thus giving the hope of increased future resources. However, reserves may or may not be completely accessible or practically harvested. Also, think about the new technologies that may be developed (in next few decades) to help us harvest the oil fields more completely. One such technology is microbially enhanced oil recovery and it aims to increase the oil supply from oil fields that are considered exhausted (technically). Another interesting aspect is the global warming which is causing countries ot commit to reduced carbon production. This will encourage reduced oil production and consumption and more emphasis will be placed on cleaner and renewable energy sources. All in all, there is still hope for sustained oil production for a long time.

Hope this helps.  

What was President Carter's foreign policy?

There were several parts to President Carter’s foreign policy. One aspect dealt with the Middle East. President Carter was able to facilitate a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. These countries had been at war since Israel became a country in 1948. The Camp David Peace Agreement established peace between these countries. The United States also said it would use our military to protect our interests in the Persian Gulf. This statement, known as the Carter Doctrine, was issued to discourage the Soviet Union from expanding into this region after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.

Another aspect of his foreign policy dealt with Iran. The Iranian government, led by the Ayatollah Khomeini, had seized American hostages. The Iranian government held 52 Americans for 444 days. President Carter spent a good deal of the last part of his presidency trying to get them released. President Carter laid the groundwork for a deal that saw the hostages released as President Reagan was taking the oath of office.

President Carter wanted to show the Latin American countries that he wanted to have improved relations with them. The signing of the Panama Canal Treaty, which gave Panama control of the Panama Canal at the turn of the century, was a signal that we wanted better relations with the Latin American countries.

Finally, President Carter had to deal with the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union. We supported the rebels fighting against the Soviet Union. We also boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympic Games being held in Moscow.

In four short years, President Carter had an active foreign policy.

Why did Amanda find it especially unusual to find Jeffrey on her street?

On the day that Maniac Magee arrived in town, he went to the East End.  The East End in Two Mills was where almost all of the African American citizens lived.  Amanda Beale, who was black, lived in the East End.  When she saw Maniac Magee, a white kid, on the black side of town, she was both surprised and suspicious.  Amanda wondered to herself, "Who was this white stranger kid!"  It was rare that anyone who was white (the West End was where almost all the white people lived) visited the East End.  He greeted her first.  She let go of her hesitation and suspicion enough to greet him back.

Despite Amanda's initial suspicion, she and Maniac became friends.  They both had something in common.  They were both friendly people.

In Thomas Paine's The Rights of Man part 2, what is the main concept Paine is trying to convey?

By the magic of public domain, I have posted a link to Paine's The Rights of Man in its entirety, and even focused that page on Part 2. If you haven't read it all the way through, I strongly suggest that you do.

That said, it's fairly straightforward to summarize Part 2, which is entitled "Of the Origin of the Present Old Governments".

In Part 1, Paine was mostly going over a general overview of history and introducing his overall views on the nature of government. In Part 2, he tackles a very specific moral and historical question: Are any current governments legitimate? ("current", of course, being at the time Paine was writing, 1791.)

Paine concludes that they are not, with two major exceptions: Namely, the United States of America and the Republic of France, both of which had only just been established by revolutions at the time he was writing.

Pain goes through the history of how most governments are founded, which is of course through war and imperialism. He makes some broad-strokes guesses about how governments were formed in ancient times, which we now know to be oversimplified but not totally inaccurate. His basic vision is of the initial governments and property systems being established entirely by force, leading him to characterize them vividly as "Those bands of robbers having parcelled out the world". He argues that the violence in the world is largely attributable to the echoes of this ancient violence: "From such beginning of governments, what could be expected but a continued system of war and extortion?"

His ire is particularly aimed at the Government of England, with whom his countrymen have just concluded a war. He condemns monarchy and colonialism in no uncertain terms. And then in Part 3, he goes on to say why America and France are different, how their new system of government is fundamentally better.

What would a person wisely do if he was in the lawyer's place? Why?

Human beings are social animals, and solitary confinement can be a harrowing experience. It is used as a punishment in many prisons. In most cases, a prisoner is not kept in solitary confinement for a long period of time because he is apt to go completely insane. Solitude can be easier for some people to tolerate than for others. Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern:

O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count
myself a king of infinite space . . .      II.2

Hamlet is a scholar, an intellectual, a philosopher, an introvert. If he had to spend fifteen years in solitary confinement, he would probably spend most of his time reading books and perhaps keeping a journal. A man like Laertes would go crazy in a short time and would live up to the banker's prediction concerning the lawyer in "The Bet."

"Think better of it, young man, while there is still time. To me two million is a trifle, but you are losing three or four of the best years of your life. I say three or four, because you won't stay longer." 

A man with inner resources would probably do more or less what the lawyer does. He would improve his mind. He would see that there were advantages as well as disadvantages to being alone. He could concentrate on reading and thinking. No doubt the first year would be the hardest, but he would grow accustomed to solitude in time.

The only mistake the lawyer seems to have made was that he didn't try to keep himself in good physical condition. 

At the table a man unlike ordinary people was sitting motionless. He was a skeleton with the skin drawn tight over his bones, with long curls like a woman's and a shaggy beard. His face was yellow with an earthy tint in it, his cheeks were hollow, his back long and narrow, and the hand on which his shaggy head was propped was so thin and delicate that it was dreadful to look at it. His hair was already streaked with silver, and seeing his emaciated, aged-looking face, no one would have believed that he was only forty. 

There was no reason for this. He could have invented all sorts of exercises that he could do in his room. He was evidently getting gourmet meals, so there was no problem with nutrition. It would seem that Chekhov intentionally made the lawyer's condition deteriorate so badly over the years because he wanted to make it appear easy for the banker to murder him. After all, the banker is an old man and the lawyer is still relatively young. The banker thinks to himself:

And I have only to take this half-dead man, throw him on the bed, stifle him a little with the pillow, and the most conscientious expert would find no sign of a violent death.

It could only be easy for the banker to do this if the lawyer had allowed himself to become so emaciated. There is nothing about solitary confinement, or about a life devoted to study, that should necessarily make a young man turn into "a skeleton" in fifteen years of solitude unless, for some reason, he neglects his body completely. 

A wise man should follow the lawyer's example if he were in the lawyer's place, but he should take as much care of his body as he takes of his mind. Even if he is only interested in mental activity, it is a fact that the mind performs better if a person gets good, regular exercise. 

Describe the political and social revolutions that occurred in the Atlantic world between 1750 and 1850 and the ideas that inspired these changes.

The social and political changes of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries have their roots in the devastating religious wars that wracked Europe in the seventeenth century. With the rise of Protestantism and the fracturing of the old uniformity of religion, in which the Catholic Church allied with Christian monarchs to create a ubiquitous system of power, Protestant countries began to clash with Catholic ones and people within countries with official religions began to emigrate or demand the right to follow the dictates of their own consciences. This was expressed by John Locke in his  "A Letter Concerning Toleration: Humbly Submitted" as follows:

No peace and security among mankind—let alone common friendship — can ever exist as long as people think that governments get their authority from God and that religion is to be propagated by force of arms.

The demand for religious freedom was tied to the concept of political liberty. If the king was not an agent of God, part of an alliance of throne and altar, then the legitimacy of rulers was increasingly seen as a sort of contract with the citizens of a country. This notion of a contractual relationship between ruler and ruled, in which the ruler becomes an administrator who maintains order and other public goods in response to the wishes of the people, mandates mechanisms by which the ruler is constrained by the people's will in the form of elections to select parliaments or assemblies that express the people's will. 

These liberal political and religious ideas were the essence of a movement called the Enlightenment, which called for political and religious liberty and toleration of diverse views. The Enlightenment was a fundamentally optimistic movement that believed that reason and science could cure social ills and help construct a fair and just society. The major British thinkers of the Enlightenment included John Locke, David Hume, and Adam Smith. Among the notable thinkers of the French Enlightenment were Voltaire, Denis Diderot, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The "Founding Fathers" of the United States were also part of the Enlightenment. 

Political reform in Britain during this period was gradual. Although Britain was the earliest and perhaps most dramatic exemplar of the Industrial Revolution, and its ensuing economic changes and urbanization, rather than undergoing a revolution, it gradually passed a series of Reform Bills extending the voting franchise and a series of acts that allowed increasing religious freedom.

In France, the Ancien Régime remained allied with the Roman Catholic Church, and social change came in the form of the French Revolution of 1789 to 1799, which overthrew the king and established the foundations of a secular, liberal democracy. In the United States, the change to a modern, secular democracy occurred in concert with separation from British rule. 

What are two short stories with similar themes?

One way to tackle the problem of finding similar themes in different stories is to use the same author.  I would recommend Edgar Allen Poe.  He has written a lot of short stories, and the theme of death, mortality, and/or revenge is usually at the forefront.  You could compare "The Cask of Amontillado" with "The Tell-Tale Heart."  Both stories feature a narrator that tells the reader how he killed somebody.  

You could compare short stories that show man struggling against nature's seeming indifference to his existence.  Jack London's "To Build a Fire" works nicely.  You could compare that with John Muir's "Stickeen."  Those two stories offer a nice compare and contrast too, because in London's story the main character dies because of his overconfidence in himself.  Muir's story also has a confident leading character, but he seems to respect nature's power a bit more.  He lives.  Bret Harte's "The Outcasts of Poker Flats" also works with that theme, because it is about a group of people struggling to survive when a winter storm traps them in a mountain pass.   

Describe the king's system or justice, including both doors, in "The Lady or the Tiger" by Frank Stockton.

The so-called "semi-barbaric" king in Frank Stockton's short story "The Lady or the Tiger" has worked out what he thinks is the perfect system of justice. In the king's plan, the accused presents himself before the king and the townspeople in an arena. Inside the arena are two doors, and the accused is told to choose one of the doors.

He has no way of knowing which one to choose. What he does know is that behind one is a tiger, waiting to devour him, and behind the other is a beautiful lady who will become his wife.

If the accused chooses the tiger, he will, of course, be eaten, and iron bells will ring in mourning. Paid mourners will bow their heads and lament that the accused surely does not deserve such a horrible fate, and wails will be heard from the audience.

If, on the other hand, the accused chooses the lady, a priest comes out and marries the two on the spot even if the man is already married to someone else!  Dancing ladies and singers come out and celebrate, brass bells happily ring, and a big party ensues.

What are some examples of Romeo from Romeo and Juliet being emotionally immature?

There's ample evidence for Romeo's immaturity in Romeo and Juliet; in fact, it's arguably the flaw that leads to his ultimate downfall.

Romeo immediately "shows his cards" with his fickle behavior. In Act One, Scene One of the play, Romeo complains to his friend Benvolio that he is desperately in love with Rosaline, a woman who has decided to take up a vow of chastity. However, by the end of this same Act, Romeo has forgotten all thoughts of Rosaline in favor of his new obsession: the young, lovely Juliet. After spotting Juliet at the Capulet's ball, Romeo proclaims:

Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! / For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.

This moment is multilayered. First, the fact that Romeo is capable of shifting such significant emotions so quickly suggests that those emotions are lacking in true depth. Second, Romeo's claim that he had never loved until the moment he saw Juliet implies that he is not in possession of self-awareness. Finally, Romeo chooses two women who are quite plainly poor choices for him due to their unavailability. Rosaline is celibate, while Juliet is a member of Romeo's rivaling family.

Romeo can also be deemed immature because of his impulsive behavior throughout the rest of the play. He kills his love's cousin, Tybalt, in order to avenge the death of Mercutio, knowing that this action could create an enormous rift in his relationship and put his status in Verona at risk. Indeed, it does; although Juliet is able to forgive him, Romeo is banished from the city. When he returns to Verona to discover that Juliet is "dead," he is quick to take drastic action; he consumes poison, dying in her crypt before she can re-awaken. 

Ultimately, Romeo's immaturity is displayed through his persistently poor choices, his rapidly shifting emotional landscape, and his inability to contain his violent behaviors. 

Define phagocytosis and pinocytosis. Give examples of each process.

Phagocytosis is commonly called “cell eating”, whereas pinocytosis is commonly known as “cell drinking”.

During phagocytosis, cells engulf solid particle by surrounding the solid substance with a vesicle that is called a phagosome. The phagosome is then brought into the cell and its contents are utilized for energy. Phagocytes are organisms that undergo phagocytosis. Examples of phagocytes are some protists, such as amoebas, and white blood cells.

Pinocytosis is similar to phagocytosis, except the material that is being ingested by a cell is a liquid instead of a solid. Again, the liquid is surrounded by an invagination of a cell’s membrane. The invagination then pinches off to form a vesicle that is brought within the cell.  Body cells take in enzymes and hormones via the process of pinocytosis. Cells that have microvilli that are found along the intestinal wall also undergo pinocytosis in order to intake nutrients.

How does Holmes react to Dr. Roylott in "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"?

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Roylott only meet in person one time. Dr. Watson is present and describes the meeting. Roylott bursts into Holmes' sitting room and tries to interrogate and intimidate the detective. Holmes is perfectly cool and even mocks the intruder by totally ignoring his questions. For example:

“I am Dr. Grimesby Roylott, of Stoke Moran.”

“Indeed, Doctor,” said Holmes blandly. “Pray take a seat.”

“I will do nothing of the kind. My stepdaughter has been here. I have traced her. What has she been saying to you?”

“It is a little cold for the time of the year,” said Holmes.

“What has she been saying to you?” screamed the old man furiously.

“But I have heard that the crocuses promise well,” continued my companion imperturbably.

Holmes and Watson do not see Dr. Roylott again after he storms out of Holmes' living room until he is dead, having been bitten by his own poisonous snake. It was not absolutely necessary to the story to introduce Dr. Roylott after his stepdaughter Helen leaves. Holmes could have gone down to Stoke Moran, inspected the rooms, waited in the dark with Watson, and driven the "speckled band" back through the ventilator, where it killed its owner--all without ever having met his antagonist while Dr. Roylott was still alive. The purpose of the short and unproductive meeting between Roylott and Holmes was to introduce the element of conflict and drama. The story becomes a conflict between these two strong-willed men, and the menace of Dr. Roylott hangs over the remainder of the story. If this powerful and half-mad man were to catch Holmes and Watson snooping inside his country manor, he is quite capable to trying to kill them. A country gentleman like Roylott would certainly possess an assortment of guns. 

Fortunately, Roylott remains in London for the remainder of the day after threatening Holmes. And when Holmes and Watson see him again that night he is sitting dead. By driving the snake back into Roylott's room, Holmes had settled their conflict by causing the other man's death.

"Some of the blows of my cane came home and roused its snakish temper, so that it flew upon the first person it saw. In this way I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr. Grimesby Roylott's death, and I cannot say that it is likely to weigh very heavily upon my conscience.”

Are there any metaphors in the story "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway?

Since Hemingway was known for his use of the iceberg theory (or iceberg technique), his works are loaded with metaphors, including his short story "Hills Like White Elephants." Hemingway is known to have described the iceburg technique in the following way: “If a writer stops observing he is finished. But he does not have to observe consciously nor think how it will be useful. Perhaps that would be true at the beginning. But later everything he sees goes into the great reserve of things he knows or has seen. If it is any use to know it, I always try to write on the principle of the iceberg. There is seven-eighths of it underwater for every part that shows. Anything you know you can eliminate and it only strengthens your iceberg. It is the part that doesn’t show" (qtd. in Literautas).

Due to this, many of the themes of his works are only evident when closely examining the metaphors that serve as part of the 1/8 of the story that the reader is able to discern. 

Many metaphors emerge in "Hills Like White Elephants," including (but not limited to) the physical setting of a train station, the physical location of the two main characters and their relation to each other, and the reference in the title to "white elephants."

First, the train station itself serves as a powerful metaphor in the story. Train stations are considered to be a universal symbol representing a moment of change or the necessity of a hard decision. This symbol often shows up in popular movies as well as literature (think of the repeated use of the train station in the Harry Potter movies and books). For the American and Jig, the train station represents the decision that they are grappling with: whether or not Jig should abort her pregnancy.

Another metaphor in "Hills" is the characters' physical proximity to each other in the story. Throughout much of the narration, the couple is seated together at a table, drinking and talking. Once the conversation about the "simple operation" finally is broached, the couple argue and then physically move apart: "the girl stood up and walked to the end of the station." As she looks out at the fertile landscape (representing her own fertility, in contrast to the barren hills on the other side of the river), a "shadow moved across the field of grain." This, of course, represents her own struggle to decide if she should accept her own fertility or allow the American to persuade her to have an abortion. She rejoins the American at the table, and they continue to argue. At the end, the American gets up and leaves her, foreshadowing his own physical departure from her once she decides to go through with her pregnancy (as many critics believe she decides).

The most striking and obvious symbol is the "white elephants" themselves. Early in the story, Jig observes that the barren hills look like "white elephants." A white elephant often is defined as being "a burdensome possession, creating more trouble than it is worth" (Phrases). In this instance, the reader can infer that the "burdensome possession" might be the unborn fetus, in the view of the American and/or Jig. Of course, the hills themselves might be considered a metaphor for the maternal body, offering physical hills of breasts and pregnant belly. 

In sum, these are a few of the most obvious metaphors in this story; if you continue to study the story, you are likely to identify more!

What domestic policy issues did George Washington address?

George Washington faced several domestic issues while he was President. One was dealing with the national debt. Alexander Hamilton, his Secretary of the Treasury, proposed a plan that would combine state debts with federal debts. The government would issue new bonds to pay the debt as well as using tax revenues. This plan was somewhat controversial, but it eventually passed. Southern states that had paid their debts didn’t want to pay debts of other states. There was also the question if this was even legal for the federal government to do. As a compromise, the South accepted the plan, and the capital would to Washington, D.C. from New York City.

Washington had to deal with the internal rebellion created by Hamilton's tax plan. When farmers in western Pennsylvania rebelled about having to pay a tax on whiskey, President Washington sent the military to the area to end the rebellion. There would be no question about the power of the federal government in ending disputes such as this.

Washington also had to deal with attacks by Native Americans. Our military responded and fought the Native Americans at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. The Native Americans were defeated. In the Treaty of Greenville, the Native Americans agreed to give up land and to move west.

Of course, Washington had to get the government created by the Constitution up and running. He appointed capable people to his cabinet including Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. It was no easy task to get the new government operational, but Washington, using his knowledge and skills, navigated us through this demanding period of time.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, at whom is Atticus's final address to the jury aimed?

In many ways, Atticus' final speech is directed at the town as a whole, really at anyone who still harbors the desire to see certain people as less equal than others. He makes a very broad appeal by noting that there isn't a single person in the courtroom who hasn't done what Mayella Ewell has done, that there isn't anyone who hasn't done something immoral or looked upon another person with lust or lied. Atticus knows that he isn't just trying to convince the whole jury but that he is working against the prejudice and prejudicial history of an entire town in trying to help them acquit Tom Robinson of a crime the trial demonstrated that he did not commit.

This appeal is based on the hope that by connecting with these weaknesses that all humans have he can stir in them a desire to do their duty as humans rather than as citizens of a town that is liable to make decisions based on prejudice and ignorance instead of logic. In the end, when he asks them to "do their duty," Atticus is asking them to go against the culture of the town and their lives up to that point and to do the honest thing for Tom and for themselves as a society.

What would happen if the children (Jem, Scout, and Dill) hadn't arrived at the jailhouse when they did?

This hypothetical question is interesting because there could be numerous outcomes to the "mob scene" had the children not shown up when they did. One possible outcome could have resulted in Mr. Underwood saving Atticus and Tom Robinson from the mob. At the end of Chapter 15, Mr. Underwood is looking out of his window holding a double-barrel shotgun. He told Atticus, "Had you covered the whole time." (Lee 206) Mr. Underwood could have been forced to open fire, effectively killing the Old Sarum bunch and saving Atticus and Tom.

Another possible outcome could include Atticus reasoning with Walter Cunningham and his men. In the original scene, Walter displayed the ability to understand Atticus' perspective and was willing to leave. Had the children not shown up, Atticus could talk Walter and his men out of harming Tom Robinson. Atticus is a very persuasive individual and could mention that Tom was going to be convicted regardless. The Old Sarum bunch could agree with Atticus, and leave without harming anyone.

In the worst case scenario, Atticus could have been injured or killed by the mob, had the children not shown up. Walter Cunningham and his men were inebriated and could easily overpower Atticus to get to Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson would probably have been lynched by the mob if they were able to get passed Atticus. In the original scene, Sheriff Tate was off in the woods chasing a "snipe hunt" and would not have been able to respond. (Lee 202)

What are the strengths and weaknesses of each form of government?

As is evident for anybody who lives under government control, each type of government has associated strengths and weaknesses. Some of the strengths and weaknesses of the following traditional types of government include:

Monarchy

• Advantage: In a monarchy, decisions can be made quickly based on the opinion of the monarch.

• Disadvantage: A government in which there is one decision maker is often unsuccessful at protecting the rights of those who live under the government's rule.

Theocracy

Advantage: When a religious leader leads a government based on what he claims are God's words, there is a synergism between political and religious life for believers.

Disadvantage: Those who do not believe in the prominent religion find themselves in situations in which they may feel like their interests are not being considered.

Democracy

Advantage: A democracy allows for the people to feel like they have influence regarding those they choose to represent them in government.

Disadvantage: In many instances, a political leader in a democracy must seek compromise with other political leaders in order to take small steps toward progress. Passing laws can be a slow, arduous process.

Oligarchy

Advantage: Decisions are made quickly in an oligarchy, as those in power often have similar interests.

Disadvantage: Oligarchies are typically made up of upper-class individuals who rely on public obedience or oppression in order to exist.

What happens in the ballroom dance in "Master Harold". . .and the boys?

In the ballroom dance in "Master Harold". . .and the boys, Sam says that people play out their dream of having a world in which there are "no collisions." Sam and Willie think it funny when Hally asks how many points are deducted in the competition when people bump into each other because they know that the dancers are so polished and professional that a collision would never occur on the dance floor. Metaphorically speaking, Sam is encouraging Hally to learn to be one who doesn't "bump" into other people like a beginner would—he wants Hally to learn how to treat others with kindness and respect. And Sam says that sometimes the beginners do bump into each other and when that happens everyone needs to just get up and try again. So the dance works in the play as a metaphor for a world in which people learn how to treat each other humanely.

In the book Wonder, there is a ceremony at school. What happens at the ceremony that shows a change from the beginning to the end of the school year?

The answer to your question can be found in chapter 121 of Wonder. What happens at the award ceremony and graduation is that the student body gives August a standing ovation for winning the Henry Ward Beecher medal: a medal given to a “notable or exemplary” student in the class. This is different from the beginning of the year when no one except for Jack would sit next to August in homeroom.

As August walks up to the stage to receive his award, August feels like he is "floating," which is where the title of the chapter comes from. This is another difference. At the beginning of the school year, August thought no one would want to acknowledge his presence, let alone give him an award and honor him in front of the entire school. Now August realizes his self-worth. August realizes that he is called brave and extraordinary because he faces incredibly difficult challenges.

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

The volume of the solid obtained by rotating the region bounded by the curves y^2=x and x=2y about y axis, can be evaluated using the washer method, such that:

You need to find the endpoint of interval, hence, you need to solve for y the following equation, such that:

You need to notice that on [0,2], such that:

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

Is catharsis a necessary element of "tragedy"? If so, is there catharsis in Macbeth?

Is catharsis necessary to tragedy? It depends who you ask. Some people would say that tragedy creates such tension for its audience that there must be some moment of emotional release; the audience must experience a purging of these emotions. Others would argue that catharsis allows the audience to become too complacent: Bertold Brecht purposely wrote plays that left intense emotions intact rather than resolving them because he hoped it would compel his audience to take action. 

That being said, I do not think catharsis is necessary to tragedy, only to the audience's emotional satisfaction. To that end, I believe Macbeth offers catharsis. When Macduff kills the tyrant and presents his head to Malcolm, the new, rightful king of Scotland, all of the anxiety built up throughout the play is released and order is restored.

What is the name of the first stage of mitosis that involves the condensing of chromosome and the disappearence of the nuclear envelope?

The first stage of mitosis that involves the condensing of chromosomes and the disappearance of the nuclear membrane is called prophase.

Mitosis consists of four phases: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. The occurrences during each phase are identified within the link that is provided at the bottom of this answer.

Mitosis is a form of cellular division done by somatic cells. Somatic cells are body cells.  Examples of somatic cells are skin cells, the cells of the intestinal lining, or muscle cells.

During mitosis, one diploid parent cell is divided into two identical daughter cells that are also diploid. Cells that are “diploid” have the full number of chromosomes that is characteristic for that species. For example, humans have 46 chromosomes. During mitosis of a human somatic cell, one parent cell with 46 chromosomes makes two daughter cells that also have 46 chromosomes.

The number of chromosomes is maintained in mitosis because each chromosome replicates once at the end of interphase.  Thus, at the beginning of mitosis, the parent cell contains twice the normal number of chromosomes. The division of this duplicated number of chromosomes into two daughter cells assures that the correct number of chromosomes is maintained generation after generation.

What do other characters say about Charles in "A Visit to Grandmother"?

Charles's son, who is called Chig, makes observations about his father. Aunt Rose says very little about Charles; Mama says things directly to her son, Charles. GL finally arrives and asks where Charles is.

Before he and his father Charles visit his grandmother, Chig knew his father as a warm, friendly man:

...it took only a few words from him to make them relax, and even laugh. Doctor Charles Dunford cared about people.

Chig knows that his father has spoken little about his family. About his brother GL, Charles spoke as one would who indulges a "cute, but ill-behaved five-year-old."

When they arrive at his grandmother's house, Chig's father, Charles, grimaces when his old mother kisses him. Chig notices, too, that his father says little, speaking only if spoken to, and then only briefly.

Then, at dinner, after Mama tells the story about GL's swapping a chair for a horse, hitching it to some white people's buggy and going for the ride of their lives, she asks Charles about it. Charles tells his mother he was not there, having left that June.

Chig found his face completely blank, without even a trace of a smile or a laugh.

But, as they eat supper with Uncle Hiram, Rae, and Aunt Rose, Chig does hear his father laugh at some of the stories. 

Aunt Rose tells Mama that Charles has come from New York in order to see her in Nashville.

When Charles tells his mother he is there with her, she asks Rose if he is really Charles. She then starts to cry, and she says, "God have mercy, Charles."

After she relates the story of her and GL's buggy ride with the crazy horse, Grandmother asks, "You remember how tired we was, Charles?" But, he tells her that he was not there. 

Charles also tells her that he cried when he left home because "Nobody loved me, Mama." She feels badly; then Charles says that that was the last time he cried.

Further, Charles accuses her of loving GL more because he is light-skinned and has good hair. But she contradicts him: "I didn't love any one of you more than any other." 

After dinner, GL arrives, saying, "Say now! Man! I heard my brother was in town. Where he at? Where that rascal?"

Harry can paint a room in 55 minutes. Sal can paint the same room in 66 minutes. How long would it take them to paint the same room if they work...

The amount of work Harry can do in one minute =

(in 55 minutes he can paint 1 room , then in one minute 1/55 of room)

The amount of work Sal can do in one minute =

(66 minutes he can paint 1 room, then in one minute 1/66 of room)

The amount of work together they do in one minute=

Time taken to paint the same room by them =

(in one minute (1/55 + 1/66) of work, then in x minutes the entire room. by cross-multiplication we get x value)

minutes

Together they take 30 minutes to paint the same room.

How are Romeo and Mercutio different in Act 1 of Romeo and Juliet?

Mercutio is playful and Romeo is brooding.

Mercutio is a good friend to Romeo.  He tries to cheer him up when he sees that he is brooding over the loss of his girlfriend, Rosaline.  He wants to convince Romeo to go to the Capulet’s party, because he is trying to distract him.  He tries to get Romeo to enjoy himself and possibly find a new girl.

ROMEO

Not I, believe me: you have dancing shoes
With nimble soles: I have a soul of lead
So stakes me to the ground I cannot move.

MERCUTIO

You are a lover; borrow Cupid's wings,
And soar with them above a common bound. (Act 1, Scene 4)

Mercutio is able to convince Romeo to go to the party.  There, of course, he meets Juliet.  In the end, Romeo falls in love with Juliet and is very glad that he went to the party.

Mercuito likes to tell jokes.  He engages in playful teasing of Romeo and "locker room talk" about girls. He also gives an impressive speech about Queen Mab and dreams.

The difference between Romeo's and Mercutio's personalies is important because it will lead to Mercutio's death. He teases Tybalt in the marketplace.

Good king of cats, nothing but one of your nine
lives; that I mean to make bold withal, and as you
shall use me hereafter, drybeat the rest of the
eight. Will you pluck your sword out of his pitcher
by the ears? (Act 3, Scene 1)

It is because Mercutio is such a charismatic and playful person that he is not afraid to fight Tybalt.  He has a fiery personality to match Tybalt’s.  Unfortunately, Romeo does not.  He is more complacent and peaceful, and he tries to avoid fighting Tybalt.  As a result, Romeo actually causes Mercutio’s death when he gets in the way.  Mercutio fought to defend Romeo, because Romeo wouldn’t fight, and as a result Tybalt ended up dead.

Why do the members of the Board of Alderman pay a visit to Miss Emily?

The members of the Board of Alderman paid Miss Emily a visit in the hope of collecting the taxes that she had failed to pay for years. 

Colonel Sartoris, the mayor over a decade ago, freed Emily from paying taxes after her father's death. The new wave of officials running Jefferson were not in agreement with this decision and they were determined to get Miss Emily to understand that all citizens paid taxes. 

Miss Emily had no tolerance for the men, nor their ideas that she should be paying taxes. She continually interrupted them during their visit, letting them know that she had been excused from paying taxes long ago. Their explanation that there was no written documentation of this was still not good enough for Miss Emily. She continued to repeat "I have no taxes in Jefferson" to the men. 

What did Lazarus see and experience during the 3 days he was dead? Did these change his outlook upon coming back to life?

According to the eleventh chapter of the book of John in the Bible, Lazarus became ill and died in the town of Bethany.  He was wrapped in the traditional burial cloths and entombed for four days before Jesus came to raise him from death.

There is no record that Lazarus discussed anything about his experiences during the time that he was dead.  For the people, at the tomb, it was enough to see him raised up back to life.  

As the gospel of John proceeds into the twelfth chapter, Jesus returns to Bethany.  He goes to the home of Lazarus, and his sisters Mary and Martha.  It is less than a week before the Passover.  The house is full of family and friends who are gathering for the event.  While there is mention of Jesus sitting and having supper with Lazarus, there is still no discussion of anything that he may have seen during the time that he was entombed.

What is the valency of copper?

Copper is one of the transition elements and thus exhibits variable oxidation states. It has two valencies: +1 and +2 and the corresponding atoms are termed as Cuperous (+1 valency) and Cupric (+2 valency). These are also denoted as Cu(I) and Cu(II). 

Copper has an atomic number of 29 and its electronic configuration is 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p6, 3d10, 4s1. According to Aufbau Principle, 4s orbital is filled before 3d orbital and hence, the last electron (in case of copper) fills the 3d orbital. This gives the copper atom a choice to lose either 1 electron from 4s orbital to achieve fully filled 3d orbital or lose 1 electron each from 4s and 3d orbitals. In first scenario, we end up with cuperous or Cu(I) and in the second case, we have Cu(II), that is, +2 valency.

Hope this helps.  

In some people's lives, friends become more important than family. I want help from here. That is, I am debating so I need some points!

Your question is phrased in a way that I am not sure exactly what you want for your debate.  I'll suppose that you need brainstorming points that prove the assertion. 

It is true that in some people's lives, friends do become more important than family.  One reason friends can become so important is that the family is so dysfunctional that they are unable to help their child.  Perhaps the family has drug issues which means that the student would turn to friends for advice.  Perhaps the family has money problems which may mean that they cannot feed or take care of the student or spend time talking because they work two jobs.  Perhaps trust between members of the family no longer exists because of constant betrayals such as the alcoholic who never shows up as promised to the game or play.   When the family is this big a problem, students turn to their friends for advice and comfort.

Another reason friends become more important is that the family is too busy to take the time to talk to each other.  It's easier now to hide behind the video game, the iPhone, or whichever model is used, to ignore each other when the TV is on, or even when at a restaurant sitting so close to each other.  If this continues, friends take over that empty spot that the family is not filling. 

The biggest concern is what kind of friends is the person turning to.  Are they students who plan to drop out?  Are they already using chemicals?  Are they running away from home?  Do they have problems with the police?  Students need to be aware when they make their choices.  Sometimes their friendship group is truly a family which cares about them every bit as much as a traditional family which is in good shape.

I hope that this is sort of what you were looking for as ideas.  Jot down anything which my ideas bring up for you.  Good luck as a debate is a good way to learn material, learn to speak up, learn to defend a position, and above all, to do research and keep your cool in the debate.    

What are some connotations of the word "thane" in Macbeth?

Connotation is the idea or feeling that a word gives somebody in addition to its primary meaning.  

A "thane" is a feudal lord.  That immediately brings to mind some related connotations.  For one, I first think of a male.  Most feudal rulers were male.  I also think of power and nobility.  A lord rules over people, so they must somehow be powerful enough to do that.  A feudal ruler is also most likely a blood title.  Those kinds of titles aren't normally earned.  They are handed down from generation to generation because of nobility.  I also connote honor in the word thane.  It makes me think of a person filled with kindness and dignity, because I can't help but associate King Arthur with feudal rulers.  Of course Macbeth is nothing like King Arthur, despite the fact that Macbeth is a thane. 

Explain one of the obstacles Bud faces in Bud, Not Buddy.

Bud's parental situation is the overarching obstacle he faces throughout the novel. The other obstacles that come into his life are all connected to the fact that he had no father when his mother died. He was forced into the foster care system.

This obstacle leads to his placement with and abuse by a particularly cruel foster family. In fleeing that situation in order to find the man he feels is his real father, Bud faces many obstacles on the road. Eventually, he is able to convince a kind man to give him a ride to the place he believes he will find Calloway, his supposed real father.

Having overcome many obstacles on the road, perhaps the biggest obstacle Bud faces is winning over the man he thought was his father but who turns out to be his grandfather. Slowly, with the band's help, Mr. Calloway begins to warm up to Bud and value the connection to his long lost grandson.

How do Romeo and Juliet get married?

Romeo and Juliet are married by Friar Lawrence just one short afternoon after meeting.  They wed in secret, with the bulk of the major players in the story -- Benvolio, Mercutio, and Tybalt among them -- completely unaware that the wedding has taken place.  The wedding is primarily arranged by Juliet's Nurse, who serves as a go-between between the couple.

While Romeo and Juliet are among the most famous couples in all of literary history, we don't actually see or hear any wedding vows in the course of the play.  The scene itself (Act 2, Scene 6) is only 37 lines long, as compared with other scenes that run into the hundreds of lines.  What we do hear are warnings from the Friar that moderation is key, and that Romeo and Juliet should not plunge headlong and passionately into their romance, as the results could be explosive.  Unfortunately, Romeo and Juliet do not heed the Friar's warning.

What was sputnik?

Sputnik was the first satellite to launch and successfully orbit the Earth. It was launched on October 4, 1957 by the Soviet Union. Sputnik weighed 183.9 pounds and was able to complete an orbit around the Earth in 98 minutes. 

The launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union created a great deal of fear in the United States. Americans were afraid that the launch of Sputnik would lead to the Soviet Union being able to develop and launch nuclear weapons that could reach the United States. 

The launch of Sputnik marked the beginning of both the space age and the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. After the launch of Sputnik, the United States began to accelerate its space program. This led to the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958 and to man's first steps on the moon on July 21, 1969.

When Mary Warren appears in court, Parris is concerned. Why?

When Mary Warren enters the court room in Act Three, she is walking with John Proctor. This is the main reason Parris is uneasy when she enters. He and Proctor have always had a contentious relationship. In Act One, they argue over Parris's rhetoric and Proctor says that if there is a party against Parris, he would join it.

When Proctor enters with Mary, Parris immediately expresses his mistrust of Proctor, "Beware this man, Your Excellency, this man is mischief." Parris knows that Proctor is there to stand up for his wife, Elizabeth. John Proctor has brought Mary Warren to refute the girls' claims about witchcraft. Like Danforth, Parris does not want the court to be challenged. He thinks that if the court's credibility is challenged, then his credibility will be challenged and questioned as well. Parris is more interested in protecting his own reputation than he is in uncovering the truth. 

Parris also points out that John has not been coming to church. John responds that it has nothing to do with losing his spiritual path. Rather, John simply doesn't care or have any respect for Parris. So, Parris is concerned because he knows John is his enemy and he is afraid that John will use Mary to challenge the court's accusations. Parris will do nearly anything to protect his and the court's reputation. 

Could you provide a short synopsis on Robert Burns which includes his most famous poem and other poems which are well known?

Robert Burns, a Scottish poet, wrote in 18th century. He used Scottish dialect, and is now considered the national poet of Scotland. In 1785, he published a book of poems called The kilmarnock volume that catapulted him to fame. It includes what is probably his most famous poem, "To a mouse," which mourns the destruction of a mouse's nest due to a man's ploughing of a field. It conveyed sympathy for animals, and by extension, for poor, ordinary people struggling to survive.  It includes the famous lines, "the best laid plans o mice an men/gang  aft agley," meaning the best laid plans of mice and men often go wrong. Other famous Burns poems include the "A Red, Red Rose," and "Tom O Shanter." 

Burns is considered a Romantic poet because he wrote in everyday dialect and composed poems about ordinary people. The Romantics rebelled against classical poetry forms, such a rhyming couplets and poems based on Greek and Roman literature. The Romantics wanted to convey emotions "recollected in tranquility" and celebrate both common people and the natural world. 

Which President was an activist progressive and which one was more "hand's off and willing to let businesses solve the great depression on their...

There were two presidents who were in office during the Great Depression. They were Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt. They had different ideas for dealing with the Great Depression.

Herbert Hoover believed in laissez-faire economic principles. He believed our economy goes through cycles. We will have good times that will be followed by bad times. He believed the government should stay out of the economy and let economic events run their course. He was confident business owners could figure out ways to help get the economy going again when we were experiencing the bad times. He believed things would eventually get better. For the first year of the Great Depression, President Hoover did very little to help end the Great Depression. Eventually, as things worsened, he did take some government actions to stimulate the economy. The National Credit Corporation and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation are examples of programs developed by President Hoover. However, it was too late and not enough. President Hoover is characterized as a president who did very little to end the Great Depression.

President Roosevelt believed the government must be actively involved in trying to end the Great Depression. He helped to develop various programs that would ease the effects of the Great Depression and would try to fix the factors that led to the Great Depression. There were many job creation programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration. The Glass-Steagall Act and the Securities Act were designed to fix the issues with the banks and with the stock market. Money was provided to help farmers and homeowners. The Agricultural Adjustment Act and the Home Owners Loan Corporation are examples of these programs. President Roosevelt encouraged the businesses, the workers, and the government to work together as part of the National Industrial Recovery Act. President Roosevelt was very hands-on in trying to deal with and end the Great Depression.

Both Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt had ideas on how to deal with Great Depression. These ideas were very different. Hoover’s ideas weren’t successful while Roosevelt had some success with his ideas.

Why had Jessie been kidnapped in The Slave Dancer?

Good question! In the book The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox, Jessie does not initially realize why he has been kidnapped. However, after time on the ship, he soon ascertains his purpose—to play his pipe to make the slaves dance. Although he feels uncomfortable doing this, he fulfills his purpose due to his fear and his desire to return home.

Although Jessie also accomplishes other tasks, including killing rats, fetching items, cleaning, etc., his primary purpose is playing the pipe for the slaves. According to the crew, dancing to Jessie’s pipe will help the slaves stay healthy, which in turn will bring more profit. As Jessie’s thoughts reveal:

“It was to perform this service every other morning that I had been kidnapped and carried across the ocean.”

Thus, although Jessie does numerous activities and chores on the ship, his primary purpose is to play the pipe for the slaves.

Why does Uncle Judah bring Rachel to Lyddie?

Uncle Judah is Lyddie's mother's sister's husband. In chapter 1, Lyddie's mother decides to go live with her sister, and she takes Lyddie's two younger sisters to live with her at Uncle Judah's. When Uncle Judah appears at the boarding house with Rachel, he explains that he has put Lyddie's mother into an asylum for the mentally ill. After Lyddie's father had left the family, her mother "had gone somewhat queer in the head." Uncle Judah and Aunt Clarissa finally find that they can no longer handle taking care of Lyddie's mother, so they have her committed to the asylum at Brattleboro. They no longer want to care for Rachel, the only surviving little sister, and so they bring her to Lyddie. Judah also lets Lyddie know that they are selling the farm to pay for her mother's care at Brattleboro. Having Rachel with her presents a problem for Lyddie because only factory workers can stay at the boarding house. Although having to care for Rachel is a new challenge, Lyddie rises to meet it, and soon is very happy to have Rachel with her.

What are the strong images in the poem "London" by William Blake?

There are three strong images in "London." All of them are nearly surrealistic, like scenes painted by Salvador Dali.

How the Chimney-sweeper's cry
Every black'ning church appals

Chimney-sweepers were small children. They had to be small in order to be lowered down through chimneys in order to sweep off the accumulated soot. It was a terrible profession for children because breathing all that soot led to early deaths from lung disease. The churches in the image appear to be blackened by the soot of the chimneys because the clergy does nothing to help the children who are enslaved by brutal employers and doomed to die.

And the hapless Soldier's sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls.

Blake is referring to the plight of veterans who have been maimed in battles. They are destitute because they receive no pensions from an ungrateful government. Surrealistically, the sighs are turned into blood which runs down the walls of the royal palace where the aristocrats inside are indifferent to the despair of the veterans.

But the most striking image of all is the last one:

But most thro’ midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlot’s curse
Blasts the new born Infant’s tear,
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.

Very young girls were forced into prostitution because of poverty. It is bad enough to see them soliciting in the streets, but it is worse to hear girls who are still children learning to curse like hardened prostitutes. These girls are nearly certain to contract a venereal disease and to pass it on to their customers. If a man with syphilis gets married to a healthy young woman, he will pass the disease along to her, and then when she has a baby, her baby will inherit the disease from its mother. That is what Blake means by "Blasts the new born Infant's tear, and blights with plagues the marriage hearse." The infant is born with its body already infected, and the Marriage hearses often transport new brides to honeymoon havens where they are destined to become infected by their husbands (men who were infected by the "youthful harlots").

In each of the three images, a sound is translated into a visual image. A chimney-sweeper's cry becomes a soot-blackened church wall. A soldier's sign becomes blood running down the stone walls of a palace. A child-prostitute's curse becomes a disease-riddled infant and a germ-infested wedding carriage.

Give examples of firms that have a pure competition market structure.

Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as a perfectly-competitive market in the real world. The formal definition of perfect competition requires an infinite number of firms with perfect substitution and zero market power. That doesn't happen in real life.

However, there are some industries that get fairly close to perfect competition, where there are a very large number of firms, with very similar products, who operate at very small profit margins.

A good example is farmers. For most agricultural products, ranging from corn to soybeans to tomatoes, there are a large number of individual farms, each of which produces a very small portion of the global market. Each farmer has very little say over what price they can charge for their harvest; there is a market price they have to meet, and if they don't, no one will buy. As a result, farmers have very low profit margins, and it is not uncommon for farmers to have a bad year or two and be driven to bankruptcy.

Another example is gold. While gold itself is very expensive, gold mining is actually not a very profitable business, because there are so many different companies selling gold, all trying to undercut each other's prices. Gold markets are also so closely linked to financial markets that we can watch the global price of gold rise and fall minute-by-minute.

But perhaps the closest we ever actually get to perfect competition in the real world is currency. Currency exchange markets are constantly trading back and forth---dollars for Euros, Euros for yen, yen for yuan, yuan for dollars. Billions of dollars change hands every second. Theoretically it would be possible to make a profit by buying currencies when they are cheap and selling them when they are expensive (speculation) or by exploiting inconsistencies in the prices of different currencies (arbitrage).

Theoretically, it could turn out that $1 buys 0.8 Euros or 7 yuan, but 0.8 Euros buys only 6 yuan, so you could buy yuan with dollars, then buy Euros with yuan, then buy dollars with Euros and make a profit. But in practice, competition in the currency market is so fierce---and so fast---that these kinds of inconsistencies disappear in milliseconds.

Profiting from arbitrage in currency exchange is only possible if you are one of the few companies that has access to high-frequency-trading systems that can actually make trades in that short a time. Thus, currency exchange is almost perfect competition: Prices are the same for everyone, nobody has power over the price, and profits are zero.

What does Peter and Wendy's nursery have in common with Peter Pan's Neverland?

The nursery in "The Veldt" and Neverland in Peter Pan share some obvious characteristics. For one thing, they both represent places where the imagination can run free, without the need for adult rules. They both are places where the children -- specifically, boys named "Peter" -- are in charge. They both are places where fantasies are made real, and where children triumph over adults -- Peter Pan over Capt. Hook, and Peter Hadley over his parents. Both the nursery and Neverland are places of adventure and, to an extent, of wildness or the wilderness, lions and crocodiles. Both places represent, either figuratively (in Peter Pan) or literally (in "The Veldt") the connection between desire and fantasy. In each case the fantasy is the triumph of innocence over maturity, of escaping from the inevitability of growing up. In "The Veldt" Peter says that all he wants to do "look, listen and smell" -- by the end of the story, he has managed to do just that.

Why is death only related to men instead of having the death of any of the female figures in the play?

Riders to the Sea by  J. M. Synge is actually a relatively realistic play. Synge, at the urging of his friend William Butler Yeats, spent the summers from 1898 to 1903 staying in the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. The play itself is loosely based on a story Synge heard about the drowning of a fisherman.

The reason why the men in the play die but the women survive is that the men of the family were all engaged in fishing. They spent many hours every day in wooden boats in the rough and treacherous Atlantic Ocean, often taking great risks to bring in their catch out of economic necessity, and being shipwrecked or drowned. Maurya refers to this when she says:

There does be a power of young men floating round in the sea, and what way would they know if it was Michael they had, or another man like him ...

For women, the major danger was childbirth, but if they did manage to survive that, life at home taking care of livestock, cooking, sewing, and tending gardens was far safer than fishing. 

Evaluate the definite integral.

You need to solve the definite integral, using fundamental theorem of calculus, such that:

First, you need to solve the indefinite integral , using the substitution such that:

Replacing back for t yields:

Calculating the integral yields:

Hence, evaluating the definite integral, using the fundamental theorem of calculus, yields

What are 3 ways Esperanza learns to always remember where she came from?

In "Bums in the Attic," Esperanza relates how her parents take her to look at large houses on hills on Sundays. She criticizes people who live in those houses because they know nothing of the suffering of her people in the inner-city. They don't know about garbage or rats, for example. She promises that when she owns her own house one day, she will let bums stay in the attic "because I know how it is to be without a house" (87). Because of her own suffering, and the suffering of all living on streets like Mango, she vows never to forget those who are less-fortunate than her when she becomes successful and owns her own home.

Next, in "The Three Sisters," Rachel and Lucy's baby sister dies and three interesting women come to the funeral. While there, one of them calls Esperanza over and tells her to make a wish. The woman seems to know what Esperanza wished for because she tells her, "When you leave you must remember to come back" (105). Esperanza is shocked that the woman must have guessed that her wish is to move away from the inner-city and to buy her own home one day. Apparently, this is possible because the woman knows that Esperanza will escape the plague of poverty in her life, but reminds her not to forget Mango Street, what she's learned from it, and who she is because of it.

Finally, Alicia, the college student, tells Esperanza in "Alicia and I Talking on Edna's Steps" that she can run, but she can't hide from Mango Street. "Like it or not you are Mango Street, and one day you'll come back too" (107). Esperanza says that she won't come back until they make it better, but who will do that? How are things going to change for the impoverished people on Mango Street? They wonder if the mayor might do something; but that makes Esperanza laugh.

What ocean was crossed during the Middle Passage?

The Middle Passage was the voyage from West Africa to the Americas. For most enslaved people, the voyage began in one of several "factories" or slave fortresses on the west coast. Many of these people had been captured or kidnapped from inland towns and villages. They were purchased by slave traders and put onto ships. The conditions on board these ships were notoriously bad, as the captains had an incentive to cram as many people as they could below (and often above) deck. By some estimates, almost half of the people captured and enslaved died before they reached the Americas. After a lengthy voyage, the ships reached port cities, mostly in either Brazil or the Caribbean, where the people on board were purchased by slave buyers to be sold on to planters. This horrible journey was called the Middle Passage because it was part of a larger "triangle trade" that made up the Atlantic system of exchange connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Why is Mrs. Jones forgiving?

Mrs. Jones forgives Roger for trying to steal her purse because she sees herself in Roger.  She admits to Roger that when she was younger she did some things she wasn’t proud of as well.  She tells him that she understands how it feels to want something you don’t have like Roger wants a pair of blue suede shoes.  Mrs. Jones also tells Roger about her life so he can see how his life can be different if he chooses it to be.  Her ability to empathize with Roger leads to her forgiving him and giving him a second chance.  Giving him the ten dollars for the shoes shows that she trusts him to do the right thing and to never steal again.  Roger is somewhat dumbfounded by her kindness, and as readers, we can only hope that her gestures throughout the story affect him in profound ways.    

On page 8, Waverly says to her mother, "I wish you wouldn't do that, telling everybody I'm your daughter." Explain why Waverly says this, and...

In the story, Waverley is embarrassed when her mother introduces her to everyone they meet on market day. There are some emotional forces at play here, so let's examine them.

We can gather from the story that Waverley doesn't really enjoy accompanying her mother to market on Saturdays. Since her mother requires her company when Waverley has no chess tournaments to attend, Waverley likely sees this errand as an annoying chore which intrudes on her other desires. Here, we can see that this market day errand is a point of contention between Waverley and her mother.

Furthermore, Waverley also appears to be irritated because she thinks that her mother is using her as a way to show off. As the story tells us, Waverley is an accomplished chess player. By the age of nine, she is already a national chess champion and 'some 429 points away from grand-master status...' However, being used as a prop for bragging rights can prove an embarrassing experience especially if the intentions of the guilty party are blatantly obvious to all.

Waverley's mother is justifiably proud of her daughter, but she bristles when her daughter voices disapproval of her behavior. She fires back that Waverley is probably ashamed to be seen with her own mother and demands to know whether Waverley is embarrassed to be her daughter. Hence, the age old conflict between mothers and daughters play out in this little scenario. Neither Waverley nor her mother can be completely honest with each other, and this generational conflict is further exacerbated by entrenched cultural attitudes.

What are some examples of topic sentences and quotes that suggest the theme of civilization vs savagery in Lord of the Flies?

For the topic civilized vs. savagery, you could write your essay about how savagery overcomes civilization because the boys are so young. You can use the following topic sentences and quotes:

1. Though the boys try to establish some sort of system, it does not take a long time for the boys to quit listening to their chief.

Quotes #1: "We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything." (2.192)

Quote #2: "All this I meant to say. Now I've said it. You voted me for chief. Now you do what I say." 

They quieted, slowly, and at last were seated again. Ralph dropped down and spoke in his ordinary voice." (5,58-59)

2. When Jack goes to hunt, he immediately gets overexcited from the thrill of injuring and killing the pig.

Quote #3:"He [Jack] tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him up.

"I went on. I thought, by myself—"

The madness came into his eyes again.

"I thought I might kill." (3,37-40)

Quote #4: [Jack] began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling. (4,33)

3. Simon's and Piggy's deaths symbolize how savagery's wins over civilization:

Quote #5: "The sticks fell and the mouth of the new circle crunched and screamed. The beast [Simon] was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying out against the abominable noise something about a body on the hill." (9, 89)

Quote #6: "The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist." (11, 209)

I do not know which edition you are using, so the quotes are identified by (chapter, paragraph). 

What was the economic factor of American involvement in Latin America during the Cold War?

During the Cold War, the United States was deeply involved in the political and economic affairs of the countries of Latin America.  They often supported brutal dictatorships or helped rebels to overthrow stable governments.  The primary purpose of this involvement was to prevent other countries in Latin America from establishing communist governments.  These communist governments would inevitably be friendly towards the Soviet Union in the same fashion as Fidel Castro in Cuba.  The United States had a strong economic motivation for being involved in Latin America in that it was a source of vital raw materials and cash crops.  The United States always had a strong trade advantage when dealing with Latin American countries.  If a country was to establish a communist-style government, it would no longer be interested in trading with the United States.

Why did Zompro's discovery lead to the creation of a new insect order?

Thousands of new species are discovered every year, and many of these new-to-science critters are insects. But almost invariably these newly found species fit into one of the roughly 30 insect orders (I say roughly because the ordinal level taxonomy of some groups is still debated). Discovering a species that requires creation of a new order is a much more surprising event.

In 2001, Oliver Zompro received a 45 million year old insect specimen preserved in amber that stumped him. It showed characteristics of several different orders (including the Orthoptera, Mantodea and Phasmatodea), but he couldn't definitively place it in a single order. He eventually found similar specimens in a museum collection, and after leading an expedition to Namibia, a group of entomologists found several live specimens. By examining the anatomy of these "Gladiators," as they came to be known, Zompro and his colleagues decided that the insects were physiologically unique enough to warrant the creation of a new insect order. They named the group Mantophasmatodea, a combination of the ordinal names Mantodea (the praying mantids) and Phasmatodea (the walking sticks).

What specifically was so different about Mantophasmatodea that they could not be lumped into a pre-existing insect order? Zompro et. al concluded that the insects resembled the other Orthopteroid insects (a grouping including the orders Orthoptera, Mantodea, Phasmatodea and others), but had characteristics that prevented them from falling into any one described order.

Despite looking vaguely walking stick like (Order Phasmatodea), the Mantophasmatodea differ in that they have a hypognathous (downward pointing) head, they lack the defensive chemical releasing glands of Phasmatodea, there are differences in the female genitalia and the Mantophasmatodea have a separation between the sternites (hard plates on the ventral, or belly, side) or the thorax and abdomen.

Mantophasmatodea differs from Mantodea (the mantids) and the similar orders Isoptera (termites) and Blattodea (cockroaches) again by differences in the female genitalia and also the structure of the internal head "skeleton" (the tentorium) and the central ganglion in the abdomen.

While many strange and wingless Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets and katydids) exist, the Mantophasmatodea were excluded from this group because the structure of the pronotum (the first segment of the thorax) differed from all known Orthoptera. Again, differences in the female genitalia also provided evidence against placing the new species in the order Orthoptera.

After carefully scrutinizing the anatomy of their specimens, Zompro and his collaborators ultimately felt confident that these creatures differed enough from the known taxa to justify placing them in their own order and family (Order Mantophasmatodea, Family Mantophasmida). They separated the specimens into two species, which you can read more about if you dive into the paper referenced below. However, Zompro’s conclusions are hardly final. As genetic techniques become more available and affordable, researchers have been exploring the genetic similarities and differences between groups of insects to determine their evolutionary relatedness. While molecular evidence can solidify the relationships determined using phenotypic (physical) traits, in many cases it disputes these findings and suggests alternative organizations to the tree of life. Since Zompro’s discovery, other entomologists have argued to combine the Mantophasmatodea with another rare insect order the Grylloblattodea. It may take years of research and discussion before the scientific community comes to a consensus.

Adis J, O Zompro, E Moombolah-Goagoses and E Marais (2002). Gladiators: A New Order of Insect- A Six-legged discovery in Africa stuns entomologists and solves a mystery in amber. Scientific American, 287, no 5: 60

Klass, K. D., Zompro, O., Kristensen, N. P., & Adis, J. (2002). Mantophasmatodea: a new insect order with extant members in the Afrotropics. Science, 296(5572), 1456-1459.

The links attached may require special access, such as through a library or university. The reference information is provided above.