What is the author's attitude toward the characters in the story, "The Sniper?"

I would say that the narrator's overall attitude toward the characters is aloof ambivalence.  The reader never gets the sense that the narrator cares for the characters all that much.  One key piece of evidence that supports the author's all around neutral attitude toward the characters is the fact that none of the characters have names.  Each character is more or less described.  "The Sniper, The Enemy Sniper, The Old Woman, and The Soldier in the Turret" is the closest that the author gets to giving characters names.  Not having names makes each person the equivalent of any other named object on the battlefield.  To the narrator, the people are simply parts of a battle.  They are things to be used, killed, and cast aside.  

Sketch the region enclosed by the given curves. Decide whether to integrate with respect to or . Draw a typical...

You need to determine first the points of intersection between curves and , by solving the equation, such that:

Hence, the endpoints of integral are x = -6 and x = 2

You need to decide what curve is greater than the other on the interval [-6,2]. You need to notice that on the interval [-6,2],hence, you may evaluate the area of the region enclosed by the given curves, such that:

, where f(x) > g(x) for

You need to solve using substitution , such that:

Hence, evaluating the area of the region enclosed by the given curves, yields

The area of the region enclosed by the given curves is found between the red and orange curves, for

What are some traits in Julie of the Wolves, part 1?

As a character in part one ("Amaroq, the Wolf"), Julie exhibits the character traits of determination, patience, and brotherhood.

First, Julie exhibits determination.  Even though Julie is lost on the Alaskan tundra with winter approaching, Julie is determined to live.  She builds a sod hut for shelter and immediately begins relying on her wits in order to find food.  Seeds and grasses, however, are not enough.  Julie, again, is determined to find more sustenance.  It is at this point that Julie finds the wolf pack and begins to exhibit the next character trait of patience.

In her observation of the wolf pack, Julie must be very patient.  Of course, the wolves are not of Julie's same species, so it takes time to learn the subtle nuances of their behaviors.  Julie simply hides, for days and days, watching wolf ear-movement and other postures.  Through this patience, Julie learns that flattened ears mean friendship while pointed ears mean aggression. Julie patiently learns to use her hands as wolf ears.  It is also patience that allows Julie to determine the structure of the wolf pack.  There is a leader, a wife, a second, an outsider, and pups.  Julie, through her patience, decides to become a "pup."  Julie finally is brave enough to go belly-up in submission to Amaroq and becomes part of the pack which introduces Julie to her last trait of brotherhood.

In conclusion, we cannot neglect the character trait of brotherhood.  Julie becomes part of the pack, first accepting regurgitated food for sustenance and eventually accepting raw meat at the end of a kill.  Julie eventually returns the many favors by nursing Kapu back to health after he is shot by  hunters.  Through it all, Julie remembers her father's advice:

Wolves are brotherly. ... They love each other, and if you learn to speak to them, they will love you too.

Calculate the opportunity cost of additional capital of terms of fewer consumption goods at points A, B, C, and D Capital Goods: 0 10 20...

In economic terms, the opportunity cost of something is the value (or the amount) of things that you give up in order to have that thing.  In the scenario you present in this question, we can have capital goods or consumer goods.  If we want to have more consumer goods, we have to give up some capital goods.  When we get more consumer goods, our opportunity cost is the number of capital goods that we have to give up in order to get those additional consumer goods.

In order to find the exact opportunity costs of getting more capital goods, we have to use the numbers that you have given us.  When we move from having 0 units of capital goods to 10 units, we gain 10 units of capital goods but we lost 10 units of consumer goods.  Thus, our opportunity cost is one unit of consumption for each unit of capital goods.  When we move from 10 to 20 units of capital goods, we once again gain 10 units of capital goods, but this time we lose 20 units of consumer goods (we go from 90 to 70).  Now, our opportunity cost is 2 units of consumer goods for each new unit of capital goods.  When we move from 20 to 30 units of capital goods, we again gain 10 units of such goods, but we lose 30 units of consumption (we go from 70 to 40).  Now our opportunity cost is 3 units of consumer goods for every new unit of capital goods.  Finally, we gain 10 more units of capital goods when we go from 30 to 40 units, but this time we lose 40 units of consumer goods.  Here, our opportunity cost is 4 units of consumer goods for each unit of capital goods.  These are the opportunity costs of getting more capital goods, stated in terms of the amount of consumption that we have to forego in order to get those additional units of capital goods.

What is Phillip's personality like in Theodore Taylor's The Cay? What are his ambitions? What is his appearance? What are his relationships with...

In Theodore Taylor's The Cay, the first thing we learn about Phillip's personality is that he is very stubborn and prone to put his own desires above anything else.

We see his stubbornness the morning after German submarines torpedo the oil refinery on Aruba at midnight. The morning after the midnight attack, his mother tells him to stay close to home, but instead he wanders off with his friend Henrick. First, they go to look at the old fort; then, they make their way to the Queen Emma pontoon bridge to see what war-related activities are going on there. His mother, always fearing for his safety, is very upset to discover he wandered off. Yet, one reason why Phillip wandered off is because he put his own desires to satisfy his curiosity above his mother's fears.

A second time in which he puts his own desires above others is when he first finds himself on the raft with Timothy. When he is awakened from being knocked unconscious due to a severe blow to the head, he is very hot and thirsty and asks Timothy for water. When Timothy only gives him a tiny amount and refuses to give more, Phillip begins crying. Phillip's tears are a result of his inability to understand Timothy's caution that "we mus' be wise 'bout what we 'ave," which is a direct result of Phillip's inability to value others' needs as well as his own. If he was able to value Timothy's needs as well as his own, he would see the need to share and conserve.

Yet, as the novel progresses, Phillip learns a great deal from Timothy that significantly affects his personality. Phillip learns how to be independent, strong, courageous, and even how to sacrifice one's self for the sake of others, just as Timothy sacrificed his life by protecting Phillip from the hurricane.

Why didn't the police officer tell Bob he was the real Jimmy Wells?

Jimmy Wells fully intended to meet Bob at ten o'clock and to identify himself. He was a little early, so he was taking his time about patrolling his beat and trying all the shop doors to make sure they were securely locked. Bob knows he must look suspicious to a cop because he is standing inside the entranceway to a closed shop in the dark. So he never gives Jimmy a chance to say anything or to ask anything. Bob thinks he knows what this cop would ask, so he tells him before he can do so.

“It's all right, officer,” he said, reassuringly. “I'm just waiting for a friend. It's an appointment made twenty years ago. Sounds a little funny to you, doesn't it? Well, I'll explain if you'd like to make certain it's all straight. About that long ago there used to be a restaurant where this store stands— ‘Big Joe’ Brady's restaurant.”

“Until five years ago,” said the policeman. “It was torn down then.”

The man in the doorway struck a match and lit his cigar. The light showed a pale, square-jawed face with keen eyes, and a little white scar near his right eyebrow. His scarf pin was a large diamond, oddly set.

Before Jimmy can identify himself to his old friend, Bob lights a match. Jimmy sees immediately that Bob is the man who is wanted by the Chicago police. The telegram from Chicago could not, of course, contain a photo or even a sketch, but is must have given an elaborate description of the wanted man, including the white scar near his right eyebrow and the diamond scarf pin. O. Henry states that the pin was "oddly set." The telegram, however, would have been more detailed. For instance, the diamond might have been surrounded by little rubies. It would have been a one-of-a-kind ornament and a dead giveaway of Bob's identity.

Jimmy doesn't want to arrest Bob himself, but he feels duty-bound to have him arrested. He makes sure that Bob is going to be standing there for a while.

“I'll be on my way. Hope your friend comes around all right. Going to call time on him sharp?”

“I should say not!” said the other. “I'll give him half an hour at least. If Jimmy is alive on earth he'll be here by that time. So long, officer.”

Bob will wait for a half-hour. He has just lighted a cigar and it will take him that long to smoke it. He won't want to leave the shelter of the doorway until he is finished with his cigar. It is drizzling outside the doorway. Jimmy knows he has time enough to go back to the precinct station and find someone else to make the arrest.

Jimmy does not tell Bob who he is because he intends to have him arrested once he sees by the light of Bob's match that he is the wanted man. Bob doesn't recognize Jimmy for several reasons. One is that it is dark. Another is that Bob is blinded by the light of his own match. Another is that he never suspected that Jimmy would become a cop. And yet another reason that Bob doesn't recognize Jimmy is that people change a lot in twenty years. Jimmy was twenty when they parted and now he is forty. He has changed from a youth to a middle-aged man (and he has probably put on a lot of extra weight during his years as a beat cop). Jimmy might not have recognized Bob either, after twenty years, but he knows he must be his old friend because he is waiting at the appointed place. Jimmy must be dismayed to realize that his old friend is a fugitive from justice. They couldn't remain friends, but Jimmy still doesn't want to arrest Bob personally, which is what he would be forced to do if he told Bob he was Jimmy Wells. By remaining incognito, Jimmy has time to get to the precinct station and send a substitute to make the arrest.

Why did the characters have varying points of view in Nothing But the Truth by Avi?

In Nothing But the Truth by Avi, the story is told by several different people, so the reader is given many different points of view. We have Philip, Miss Narwin, Dr. Palleni, Jennifer Stewart and others. Avi uses this method to show us that different people often perceive the same events very differently. We all have "our side" of the story, whatever that story may be. Philip feels persecuted by Miss Narwin, who in turn feels she is doing her job as a teacher by holding Philip accountable. The news reporter, Jennifer Stewart, picks up Philip's side of the story and runs with it, without digging very deeply for the entire story. The principal and vice principal never follow up with Miss Narwin and Philip, so things get worse for everyone.

Research shows that even two witnesses of a crime will often have a different story as to what actually happened, and that witnesses are unreliable because their perception gets in the way of the facts.  Avi does an excellent job of showing this phenomenon in his book.

Evaluate the integral

2∫(-2excos(2x))dx+2exsin(2x)-1excos(2x)=2(-2∫1excos(2x)dx)+2exsin(2x)-1excos(2x)

Use integration by parts:

Then,

Thus,

Use the constant multiple rule

Use integration by parts again for the first part

Let

Then,

Integral becomes

Apply constant multiple rule

Simplify

In "The Minister's Black Veil," who is Mr. Hooper and what is he like?

Mr. Hooper is a Puritan minister who has a significant realization that compels him to wear a black veil that covers most of his face.  When he begins to wear this veil, his congregation starts to think of him very differently from the way they did before, and they treat him differently as well.  He becomes a rather terrible presence, despite his gentleness and reputation for goodness. 

Mr. Hooper's first sermon after putting on the veil addressed "secret sin, and those sad mysteries which we hide from our nearest and dearest, and would fain conceal from our own consciousness" if we could.  His congregation feels as though he has "discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought."  Now that they feel vulnerable, they neglect to return Mr. Hooper's greetings in the street or invite him to Sunday dinner as they used to do.  He becomes somewhat of an outcast because he has essentially admitted to everyone that he has a secret sinful nature as well as insinuated that they do as well, and this makes people extremely uncomfortable.  However, he feels that he must continue to wear the veil, likely because it is the only way to attempt to tell the truth about the thing we all try to hide: the fact that we are sinful.  In wearing the veil, he at least admits this truth about himself where everyone else tries to hide it.

From Arthur Rowe's book The Essence of Jesus, in chapters 5 and 6, what is the significance of the Sacraments?

Rowe has little to say about the sacraments in chapter 5, although he does mention that showing the sacramental bread during processions was one way the medieval church offered people "real contact" with Jesus. In chapter 6, however, Rowe turns his attention to the sacramental issues.

In chapter 6, Rowe shines a light on the sacraments. He defines them as "the use of something material like bread, wine or water as a sign of God's blessings to those who received them." Sacramental objects had to be properly authorized and bear some resemblance to what they represented. For example, the wine used in the Eucharist looked like the blood of Jesus, the bread somewhat like Jesus' body.

During the Reformation, when the Protestant church broke from the Catholic Church, controversies about the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, moved to center stage and became far more intense. Different groups fought, sometimes violently, over whether the sacraments were literal or symbolic. Catholic doctrine had long held that the bread and wine of the Eucharist actually became the body and blood of Jesus. The Protestants, such as Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin, interpreted the blood and wine as symbols of Christ's body and blood rather than the thing itself. Martin Luther, while moving in the direction of symbolism, insisted that "Christ was mysteriously present" in the Eucharist elements.

Protestants also emphasized that the entire congregation be allowed full participation in the Eucharist, whereas the Catholic Church had restricted the sacramental wine only to the priests. The Protestants also reduced the number of sacraments: in most Protestant denominations, only baptism and the Eucharist were considered sacraments while the Catholics had five more. The Anabaptisms rejected infant baptism as a sacrament. 

As Rowe points out, these intense debates over the exact nature of the sacraments can seem trivial or unimportant to us. However, they lay at the heart of how Christians in the 16th and 17th center understood the nature of God's presence in the world.

Which house tradition did Thomas Jefferson end?

Thomas Jefferson was our third president. He had many issues with which to deal while he was president. Most people give Thomas Jefferson good reviews on his two-term presidency.

Thomas Jefferson ended a house tradition that was common. George Washington and John Adams believed in bowing to other people as a way to greet them. Some people didn’t like that idea because it reminded them of bowing to a King. Thomas Jefferson ended this tradition and, instead, used the tradition of shaking hands as a way to greet people. This tradition continues to this day.

Another practice that Thomas Jefferson stopped was giving the State of the Union speech in person. One of Thomas Jefferson’s strengths was that he was a very good writer. He was not a strong speaker. Thus, he sent a copy of his State of the Union Address to Congress. The tradition of giving the State of the Union Address to Congress resumed in 1913 with Woodrow Wilson.

What is the external conflict in Beverly Cleary's Dear Mr. Henshaw?

There are a couple of different external conflicts in Beverly Cleary's Dear Mr. Henshaw. The greatest external conflict concerns Leigh's difficulties in coping with his parents' divorce. He feels extremely sad and lonely, especially because he feels completely cut off from his father. As the book progresses, Leigh feels sadder the more his father breaks his promises to him; Leigh feels heartbroken to the point of thinking that his father doesn't really love him. Since Leigh is struggling so much with his father, we can call this an external character vs. character conflict, which is a conflict between two characters.

Leigh's external character vs. character conflict begins reaching its greatest point of intensity in early February of his sixth-grade year. That Christmas, Leigh received a gift from his father but didn't hear from him until the 8th of January. Though his father promised to call again in a week, Leigh doesn't hear from him for the rest of the month. Leigh begins feeling so lonely and desperate to hear from his father that, on February 4th, Leigh phones his father's trailer, not expecting his father to be home. The phone call is extremely upsetting to Leigh because he realizes his father actually was at home, sitting around not calling him. He also learns that his father lost Leigh's dog, Bandit, on the highway in a snowstorm. Worse yet, Leigh hears a strange boy asking, "Hey, Bill, Mom wants to know when we're going out to get the pizza?," which makes Leigh realize he is just not a part of his father's life anymore, making him feel unloved ("Sunday, February 4").

On top of Leigh's external character vs. character conflict with his father, Leigh is experiencing a second external character vs. character conflict at school because someone is bullying him by stealing from his lunch. Leigh feels that if his father were around, he would be able to handle the lunch thief better. Both character vs. character conflicts reach their climax when Leigh feels so angered by both his father and the lunch thief that he nearly kicks any random kid's sack lunch down the school hallway as an act of revenge. However, luckily, Leigh is stopped by Mr. Fridley, who tells Leigh he needs to stop being so absorbed with his own problems, start noticing everyone has problems, and start thinking positively.

Leigh resolves both character vs. character conflicts through positive thinking because positive thinking allows him to make friends, no longer care about who the lunch thief is, and to accept the fact his father will let him down. But Leigh also comes to realize that just because his father disappoints him doesn't mean his father doesn't love him. Leigh grows so understanding of his father's difficult job and loneliness that Leigh suggests his father keep Bandit once Bandit has been found.

Compare/contrast female emancipation between "The Use of Force" and "The Horse Dealer's Daughter".

While both heroines in The Use of Force and The Horse Dealer's Daughter struggle to maintain their courage in the face of challenges, there are marked differences between the two.

The heroine in The Use of Force is a little girl who finds her wits pitted against that of an adult doctor. As the story begins, we realize that the child is sick, and her parents are beside themselves with worry. The doctor needs to take a throat sample to decide whether the little girl has diphtheria, but she will have none of his meddling ways. She refuses to open her mouth for the doctor's intrusive examination; like a cornered animal, she fights courageously and viciously against the doctor's valiant attempts to collect a throat sample. On the other hand, the heroine in The Horse Dealer's Daughter is a grown woman. Although her fortunes are affected by the death of her horse-dealer father, she refuses to give in to the vicissitudes of life.

Now, for Mabel, the end had come. Still she would not cast about her. She would follow her own way just the same. She would always hold the keys of her own situation. Mindless and persistent, she endured from day to day.

Although both refuse to concede defeat, the little girl in The Use of Force is  physically subdued by the doctor's superior strength and resolve towards the end of the story. At the point of her defeat, she lashes out in helpless fury. In The Horse Dealer's Daughter, the heroine, Mabel, decides to commit suicide. However, before she drowns in the pond, Fergusson, the doctor's assistant, saves her life. In saving her life, deep emotions surface, and the two find themselves embroiled in a mysterious attraction of sorts. One can argue that Mabel manages to transcend the difficult circumstances of her life by appropriating a man's chivalry for love.

However far-fetched the attraction may be between Fergusson and Mabel, Mabel's ability to expose her vulnerabilities and inadequacies inspires Fergusson's strange, sexual preoccupation with her. We don't know the final fate of these two heroines, but one gets the idea that the tenacity of both heroines will serve them well regardless of future challenges in their lives.

In "The Road Not Taken," do the colors in the phrases "yellow wood" and "trodden black" have any special significance?

"The Road Not Taken," by Robert Frost, is a gorgeous poem that has many twists and turns. There are not many colors represented in the poem, and so examining the two colors mentioned (yellow and black) is a quick way to identify some of the ideas in the poem.

"Yellow" wood could mean a few things. First, yellow could be telling of the season. It may be fall in the poem and leaves are beginning to turn colors. Yellow could also point to a specific type of plant, and a region that Frost is describing. Birch sometimes yellows, and so Frost could be talking about birch trees.

"Black" describes rotting leaves. In the third stanza, Frost writes "And both that morning equally lay / In leaves no step had trodden black." Leaves that have been stepped on and worked into the ground are black. Frost's narrator claims that both of these trails are equal and that neither has been worn down to being black. This statement will come into conflict with the narrator's final lines, which state the path he chose made all the difference, because in these lines he states the paths are equal. 

What is the tone of Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est"?

Wilfred Owen's poem, "Dulce et Decorum Est", takes its title and ending from Horace's phrase "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" (it is sweet and proper to die for the sake of one's country), a phrase that would have been familiar to any reader of the period, as Horace, in the original Latin, was a standard secondary school text. The Horatian tag leads to reader to expect a calm, stoical, Horatian tone, extolling the aristocratic virtues of courage and self-control. Instead, the picture we are confronted with in the first line is neither calm nor noble:

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,

Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge ...

The tone of the poem, as it describes the horrors of trench warfare and the effects of mustard gas, is bitter and angry, resenting the noble lies that led young men to sacrifice their lives in such a fashion. 

How is it possible for a mother and father with O+ blood type produce an A+ blood type baby?

It is not possible for parents who both have O blood types to have an offspring with a blood type other than O.

Blood types are due to the presence of agglutinogens on the surface of a blood cell. There are two types - A and B. There are four possible blood types, then, depending on the presence of these agglutinogens - A if only A is present, B if only B is present, AB if both are present, and O if none of the two are present. 

An offspring's blood type is determined by the parents'. Each parent has two genes determining which agglutinogens are present. For instance, a parent with a blood type O can only have genes that don't have any of the agglutinogens (because if one expresses A, then the parent will have a blood type A, which is the phenotype, and a genotype AO, in this case, O can be seen as a recessive trait -- AB blood type is possible because A and B are "co-dominant"). If a parent has a blood type B, on the other hand, two possible genotypes are possible - BB or BO (again, because O is recessive).

Hence, if a father and a mother BOTH have blood type O, they're genotypes are both OO - that is, none of them can carry an A or a B gene because the O blood type is a recessive trait. Hence, the offspring cannot have a blood type other than O. 

(A table in the first reference shows the possible offsprings given all possible combinations of genotypes of parents. Note that under OO for both, the only possible outcome is an OO -- which results into the phenotype blood type O).

What 5 important events occur in Milkweed?

There are absolutely more than five important events in Spinelli's Milkweed, but I will name (and explain) the five most important for you.  First, we must consider the importance (and Misha's innocence) when he is asked his name by Uri.  Because Misha is an orphan boy with no identity, he says his name is "Stopthief," which is a reference to what people call him in his pursuit of survival (stealing).  Second, Uri (the leader of the group of boys) gives "Stopthief" his new identity:  Misha Pilsudski.  This is the first time this orphan has an identity and he clings to every detail of his new "story."  Third, Misha eventually meets Janina and becomes friends with her.  This friendship helps to establish more of an identity for Misha as Jewish (instead of being a Gypsy). Fourth, Misha travels with Janina's family into the Warsaw Ghetto as they are "relocated" during the Holocaust.  This innocent decision by Misha to remain with his friend compromises his safety.  Fifth, and possibly most importantly, is Misha's meeting with his granddaughter, Wendy, who finally bestows true identity (unknowingly) upon her grandfather by giving him the first family name he has ever known in his entire life:  Poppynoodle.

Why does royalty have to suffer in Shakespearean tragedies like Macbeth?

To answer this question, we need to look at (1) what Shakespeare based his aesthetics upon and at (2) how royalty was perceived in this time period.

Shakespeare's aesthetic was derived from and largely adhered to the essentials of Aristotle's philosophy of drama/poetry (called aesthetics of drama/poetry and usually described in relation to an individual author). Shakespeare's contemporaries, Sidney and Spenser, similarly built their poetic aesthetics upon Aristotle's poetic philosophy as did their forerunner, Chaucer. One point that Aristotle makes about drama/poetry and that Shakespeare adheres to is that drama/poetry needs to feature noble characters who are flawed but not because they are reprehensible, merely because they are human, and who suffer terrible consequences and suffering as a result of their human flaws. Kings, such as Oedipus Rex, Antigone, Macbeth, Lear, are seen as the most noble of characters, and each is flawed in some way of other by human nature and each suffers terribly. (Wordsworth radically altered this aesthetic with his collection of Lyrical Ballads as described in the Preface to Lyrical Ballads.)  

Regarding how royalty was perceived in this time period, remember that this is before the establishment of the democracies that are so important in today's culture. Most countries were ruled by some sort of monarchy. These monarchies were often considered, at least in public, to rule by "divine right." As such, they ruled because God wanted them to rule.

In Macbeth, when Duncan, the proper king, is murdered by Macbeth, the audience feels that right has been thwarted. This creates a desire on the part of the audience to see how the action unfolds—how wrong will be defeated and society restored to its proper (and God-given) order.

Since Macbeth has highly questionable qualifications for the position of king, the audience is even more interested in seeing him defeated. He is not the rightful heir to throne (that would be the king's son, Malcolm). This is an affront to their sense of divine right.

When royalty suffers in Shakespeare's plays, the audience is drawn into the play emotionally, Since royalty is involved, it is though the entire fabric of English society affected, not just one person. The monarchy was such a revered aspect of most people's lives that suffering on their part was probably easily transferred to the audience members. Shakespeare is tapping into what is probably the most important shared aspect of English life in this time.  

In "The Rocking Horse Winner," what connection do Paul and the author have?

D.H. Lawrence uses many themes in this story, one being the relationship between a mother and her son. Lawrence's interest in writing about a mother-son relationship comes from his own personal relationship growing up with his mother.

D.H. Lawrence grew up as a witness to his mother's regrets and frustrations in life. Her biggest regret was being married to Lawrence's father and much of her unhappiness and frustrations in life were seen and felt by her children.

Paul, the young character in the story, strives to feel his mother's love and see happiness among his family. However, the adults around him are more concerned with money, success, and materialistic possessions.

Both D.H. Lawrence and Paul wanted love and affection from their mother and wanted to feel the joys of childhood.

Evaluate the integral

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

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

Using the above integration by parts,

Let 

and let 

again applying integration by parts,

again applying integration by parts,

adding constant to the solution,

Where is the foreshadowing in "The Use of Force"?

Though the story is a very short one, we can find plenty of foreshadowing within the first few paragraphs. Let's take a look at each instance of foreshadowing in the order in which we encounter them:

"They were new patients to me, all I had was the name, Olson."

In this opening line, the fact that the family tends to withhold information foreshadows the daughter's eventual revelation that she has been keeping her sore throat a secret.

"The child was fully dressed and sitting on her father's lap near the kitchen table."

If the child is very sick, then why is she dressed like it's a normal day? Wouldn't she wear pajamas, or something comfortable, if she's running a high fever? Wouldn't she be lying down instead of sitting up? Why is she trying to present herself as a normal, healthy child? What is she hiding? Well, by the end of the story, we of course find out.

The fact that she's sitting on her father's lap is also a bit of foreshadowing: she's too big to be doing that on a regular basis, so is she manipulating her father with her affections somehow? Yes. If she's sitting in her father's lap, does that mean that she's subservient to him? No. All this is foreshadowing and invites us to consider the child's relationship with her parents and where the power lies in those relationships. Let's keep moving through the first few paragraphs of the story:

"...they weren't telling me more than they had to, it was up to me to tell them..."

Above is some more foreshadowing for that idea that at least one person in the family is withholding information from the doctor.

"The child was fairly eating me up with her cold, steady eyes, and no expression to her face whatever."

In the description above, it's clear that the child is like a master poker player: she's got secrets, and she's not telling them. Plus, she's analyzing the doctor, figuring out how their power struggle might occur.

"...an unusually attractive little thing, and as strong as a heifer in appearance."

As that description above continues, the description of the girl's strength provides a hint about how she might exert it later in the story.

"She had magnificent blonde hair, in profusion. One of those picture children often reproduced in advertising leaflets and the photogravure sections of the Sunday papers."

Here, when the narrator describes the child's physical beauty and compares her to a typical model child, we're invited to consider how and why she might diverge from the image of a "model" child. How will she misbehave? We'll see in a moment as she gets into the fight that makes up the story's conflict.

"No, she says her throat don't hurt her."

The parents say this in response to the doctor's questions. Why are they reporting what their daughter said instead of what their daughter felt? Do these parents know from experience that their daughter lies about her symptoms?

After that, the exam devolves into the fight, and we find out that Mathilda was hiding her sore throat that indicated she might have diphtheria.

During the Era of Good Feelings: a. James and Dolly Madison restored the White House. b. the Whig Party disappeared. c. the Democratic...

The correct answer to this question is E. This, in fact, is why the decade or so following the end of the War of 1812 became known as the "Era of Good Feelings." A major effect of the war was the decline of the Federalist Party, which had opposed it. The country experienced a surge of nationalistic sentiment, and the Democratic-Republicans, led by President James Monroe (whose tour of the nation during this period occasioned the phrase "Era of Good Feelings" by a newspaper editor) dominated national politics. This turned out to be a bit of a misnomer, as old rivalries involving sectionalism, the size and scope of the federal government, and other issues emerged. The latter part of the 1820s was characterized by bitter partisan strife and the expansion of American democracy and the "market revolution". These forces, along with the divisive presidency of gave rise to what historians call the "Second Party System" as the Whigs formally split from the Democratic-Republicans. So the "Era of Good Feelings," if such a thing ever existed, was quite short-lived.

Immediately after the Big Bang, list the order of the following components in the universe from biggest to smallest? Dark Energy, Normal...

The correct order you have requested, from largest to smallest, is as follows:  1.) dark energy, 2.) dark matter, 3.) normal matter, and finally 4.) radiation.

It is amazing to think, as much progress we have attained within the last few centuries, there is still relatively much that is unknown about space.  The farthest we have ever been, as far as a manned mission, has been to our own moon, which you could easily hit if you had a good "cosmic slingshot."  Most everything else is still unknown, as the original Star Trek opening line stated:  "Space...the final frontier..."

The energy known as dark energy composes 68% of everything in the known universe.  After that, the matter known as dark matter takes second place at 27%.  What is termed "normal matter" is less than the remaining 5%.  Normal matter would be the stars, the earth, all the planets, moons, meteors, asteroids, and comets.  Maybe 1% would represent radiation, which is the smallest division of energy in the universe.

100 grams of water at 80 degrees Celsius comes in contact with 100 grams of water at 40 degrees Celsius. Show that energy is conserved if the final...

Energy is conserved if the amount of heat lost by one fluid is the same as the heat gained by the second fluid. The heat loss may result in a decrease in the temperature of a fluid while temperature of the second fluid may increase after gaining the heat.

The heat lost by fluid 1 = mass of fluid x specific heat of fluid x temperature change 

= 100 g x specific heat of water x (80 - 60) J

Similarly, heat gained by fluid 2 =  mass of fluid x specific heat of fluid x temperature change 

= 100 g x specific heat of water x (40 - 60) J 

A comparison of the two equations show that they are basically the same (ignore the sign, since heat loss is considered negative). Since the values for temperature change, grams of water, and specific heat are the same in the equations, the amount of heat lost by fluid 1 is the same amount as the heat gained by fluid 2. Since the heat lost by fluid 1 is same as the heat gained by fluid 2, there is no loss of energy in this system and hence the total energy of the system is conserved.

Hope this helps. 

Why does the poet want to go Innisfree?

Normally one needs to be careful not to attribute the words of a poem to the poet's own feelings because the poet could be writing in the voice of a "persona," a character whose feelings he or she steps into when speaking in the poem. However, we know from William Butler Yeats' own explanation of this poem that the feelings described in the poem were those he actually had at the time he wrote it. Without taking into account that explanation, but only looking at the lines of the poem, we can surmise the poet's motivation.

In the last stanza, he states that when he stands in the roadway or on the gray pavement, he hears lake water lapping. This suggests that he now lives in the city, far away from the beautiful sights of nature described in the first part of the poem. He hears this water lapping "in the deep heart's core." This means that something deep inside him is calling him to return to the country and to the lake where he can experience first-hand the pleasurable sensations he can only imagine while he is in the city.

Although it the island is beautiful, that is not its primary draw. Beyond the beauty of the flowers, birds, and water; beyond the rhythmic and soothing sounds of waves and bees; beyond these sensual pleasures is an emotional experience that the Lake Isle offers him. That experience is peace. Living a solitary life in nature will set his mind and his heart at rest in a way he is unable to achieve in his current urban setting. That is why he wants to go to the Lake Isle of Innisfree.

(In the link below, you can listen to W. B. Yeats explaining how he came to write this poem. It's wonderful!)

How can I analyze Pygmalion through the critical lens of feminism?

Feminism looks at how women are perceived and what kind of opportunities they have in life. One of Henry Higgins' problems is that he can't see Eliza as fully human. Part of this is her class, but part of this is also her sex. For example, Higgins has an easier time not talking to Eliza's father, who is from Eliza's same lower class background, as if he is a child than he does Eliza. He insults Mr. Doolittle, but doesn't, for example, threaten to "wallop" him with a broom.

The play also takes aim at the way middle- and upper-class society denies "ladies" the opportunity for a career by making a key element of ladyhood not working for a living. At least the lower-class Eliza could earn her keep, poor as that keep was. As she so aptly says near the end of the play, "I sold flowers. I didn't sell myself. Now you've made a lady of me I'm not fit to sell anything else." Why, the play asks, are so many women not trained for anything other than marriage?

How did Matthew Arnold in his poem 'Dover Beach' portray the real world which we live in?

The use of the first person plural here is somewhat puzzling. Matthew Arnold does not portray the world in which "we" live, as both of us, your instructor, and all possible readers of this response were born long after the poem was written. None of us live in the world of the mid-nineteenth century.

The setting of "Dover Beach" is realistic, in the sense that rather than being set in an imaginary world, such as the fantastic quasi-medieval setting of Keats' "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" or the hallucinatory environment of Rossetti's "Goblin Market", "Dover Beach" portrays a situation that could have happened to an average middle class person of the period and geographical location.

In the poem, a man is looking out over the English Channel, seeing the lights of the French coast glimmering in the distance. He describes in some detail the appearance of the cliffs and the sea, descriptions that are quite accurate in such details as the color of the cliffs and the sound of the waves. From Dover, on a clear night, it is possible to see lights on the French coast as the strait is only slightly over two miles wide at this point.

The basic dramatic situation of a man talking to a woman he loves before a voyage is also one within the realm of ordinary experience. In the nineteenth century, British journeys to the Continent would normally start at Dover, as opposed to the twenty-first century in which we are just as likely to start journeys from airports. 

Finally, the metaphor of a place where "ignorant armies clash by night" reflects not only the confusion of actual warfare but also a recollection of the previous wars between France and England.

How did the CIA play a role in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan?

After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, a number of rebel groups, including one faction known as the mujahideen, rose up to oppose the invasion militarily. They mostly engaged in what can best be described as guerrilla or partisan warfare, and suffered heavy losses due to Soviet technological superiority. The United States wished to hinder Soviet progress, to make Afghanistan as terrible a quagmire as Vietnam had been for the American military. The CIA was tasked with this responsibility, and they supplied funding and weapons to the Afghani fighters, using the Pakistani military and intelligence agency to funnel the aid in such a way as to obscure direct intervention. Many other nations, including Iran and China, supplied aid, but US surface-to-air missiles were especially important in countering Soviet air superiority. In short, the CIA was responsible for funding and to some extent orchestrating what has become known as a "proxy war," where the United States contested Soviet foreign policy without doing so directly. 

1. Suppose a person earning £100 gets an additional £100 in benefits. Their marginal tax rate is 25 per cent and for each extra £10 of take-home...

In order to answer this question, you have to understand the idea of marginal tax rates.  These are tax rates that apply not to money already earned but to money earned after the present.  In the scenario you have presented, the person has already earned £100.  In the future, they are going to earn a further £100.  Their marginal tax rate of 25%, then, applies only to the second £100.  They will lose £25 in taxes from that £100.  This means that their take home wages will be £175. 

Now, we also have to look at how much their benefits will drop.  If their take home pay has gone from £100 to £200, they will lose £40 in benefits (£6 for each £10 increase in income).  When we combine these two things, we see that they got £200 total in wages and benefits when they made £100 in wages.  When they made £200 in wages, they only got £235 in total wages and benefits.  This means that they worked enough more to add £100 to their income but they only realized a gain of £35.  This problem with the combination of progressive taxation and means-tested benefits is sometimes known as the poverty trap.

In The Great Gatsby, does anyone know on what page I can find this quote: "He must have looked up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves...

In my kindle version, this shows up on page 161, four paragraphs from the end of the chapter, in a graf that begins "No telephone message arrived ..."

At this point, we are heavily into Nick Carraway's romantic conjectures about what Gatsby was thinking and feeling in these last fraught moments before he was shot and killed, as he finally floated in his pool for the first time all summer as summer ends.

Carraway imagines Gatsby waiting for the phone to ring or the message to come from Daisy, gradually realizing it never will, and then feeling the chill of his dream being lost. Nick thinks that Gatsby recognizes in his last moments of life that he paid too high a price for his dream and that the world becomes sickly and ghostly to him. Of course, we don't know what Gatsby thought: we only have Nick's filter.

I need to compare a movie to the play Trifles. I just can't think of a movie. I saw someone compared it to A Doll's House, but I've never watched...

From the comparison that you provide, the assignment asks that your compare the play Trifles with a movie that has the subject matter of subjugated women. The reason why this is the rationale of the assignment is because the play A Doll's House has nothing to do with the play Trifles, except for the use of the topic of women being marginalized, or pushed down, by a male-dominated society. In this case, society is microcosmically represented in the marriage dyad, where the male dominates and subjugates the female.

If what you need is a movie,like your question states, and not another play, you may want to watch Sleeping with the Enemy with Julia Roberts, or Enough with Jennifer Lopez.

These two movies are about the effects of domestic violence on battered women. They also explore issues such as the "battered woman syndrome", "post traumatic stress disorder in domestic violence (DV) victims", and "women who snap". 

In Sleeping with the Enemy  the main character comes into a manipulative marriage as a willing participant, as she does not know any better. The husband uses her feebleness and naiveté to push her down further by not allowing her to engage in a number of activities. In the end she manages to escape, only to have him chase her again, until she no longer can play the "cat and mouse" game; one of them definitely needs to go.

In Enough, the same topic is used, except the main character has a child who she has to defend, as well. In the same way, the main characters snap at the prospect of going back into the submission of abusive men. In both movies, the men meet their ends at the hands of the women that they abused. 

When conducting a search of movies depicting battered women, it is surprising to find out that modern movies seem to shy away from the topic. Instead, they are trying to instill stronger, more initiator-type female leads into the overall psyche of worldwide audiences. The idea that a woman enters a relationship to be mistreated is something Hollywood cannot glamorize, therefore, it is hard to get those movies to hit the silver screen successfully.

Regardless, think how Minnie Wright is also a victim of a man who uses her feeble nature, her naiveté and her kindness to his complete advantage. Rather than bringing out the best out of two people, a chaotic and toxic DV relationship will plunge the couple down altogether, with one using the other as an scapegoat for all sorts of abusive behaviors. Poor Minnie was no different than a punching bag where John would release his anxiety, anger, and violent emotions in a dangerous way. This is why, when he kills the canary, he actually kills the very last nerve standing in Minnie's soul. And, she lost it. 

Compare and contrast Nixon and Kennedy in The Age of Great Dreams.

Farber suggests that the American Presidential Election of 1960 is a study of comparisons and contrasts between Nixon and Kennedy.

A strong comparison between both politicians is their emphasis on an economic agenda.  Farber argues that Kennedy wanted to out -"Ike" Eisenhower's Vice- President.  The growth and economic progress so central to the Eisenhower administration had slowed in the late 1950s.  Kennedy seized upon this.  He made it central to his campaign for President. Kennedy stated that he would increase American economic growth by five percent, if elected.  Vice President Nixon supported a platform of business growth.  He argued that he would continue Eisenhower's pro- business policies.  Both candidates were similar in their supportive attitudes towards commercial development.

Upon receiving the nominations of their respective parties, both men essentially articulated the same campaign message of hope. This similarity can be seen in their nomination speeches.  Nixon spoke of the importance in inspiring the American people to "meet the danger" of worldwide Communism.  He also affirmed how the next President must be able to tell Americans "not what they want to hear, but what they need to hear."  In his "New Frontier" speech, Kennedy "asks of Americans"  to embrace "more sacrifice instead of more security."  In the speeches that would initiate their Presidential campaigns, Kennedy and Nixon featured a shared message of hope through sacrifice.

A significant difference between both men was in their understanding of the media.  Senator Kennedy and his team were keenly aware of how the media could be used to enhance his image to the American public.  This could be seen in the 1960 debate.  Farber describes Senator Kennedy's physical appearance as "tan" with eyes that "sparkled."  He stood "calm, and poised, and very confident."  He communicated a "presidential" impression.  Vice- President Nixon did not convey this, as he looked "haggard" and "exhausted from relentless campaigning."  The suit he wore was "bunched up and it was the wrong color" as it "made him appear to fade into the studio backdrop." The "Lazy Shave makeup" that was applied to him "made him look worse." Understanding the role of the media in presidential elections was a sharp point of differentiation between both candidates.  Farber points out that his "incompetent use of the media" lingered in Nixon's mind up until he ran for President in 1968. 

What school of thought in anthropology can apply to "The Gift" theory by Marcel Mauss?

Marcel Mauss is one of the most important writers of modern French anthropology, and in his book The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies, he outlines the social and economic importance of gift exchange in pre-Capitalist societies. Central to his thesis are the ideas that the exchange of gifts creates a bond between giver and receiver, the receiver incurs a debt or obligation to the giver (including an obligation to return a gift), and the competitive nature of some gifts, such as the conspicuous consumption of the potlatch, which serves to display the wealth and power of the person hosting it.  Gifts thus have a sort of power, which Mauss illustrates with the Polynesian term mana, and their exchange is a central part of what creates and maintains the networks of relationships in and between societies. The exchange of gifts is therefore not just a substitute for money in societies that do not engage in trade/buying/selling. Instead, the exchange of gifts is what French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss calls symbolic exchange, and gift economies are those in which the values of objects are negotiable and in flux--their symbolic values are often distinct from their use values or exchange values, and their value and meaning are constantly shaped via their exchange. (For instance, the costume jewelry your mother keeps in her jewelry box is worth something to her not because of its monetary value but because of all the associations it has with her relationship with her mother, who gave it to her. Similarly, when a coworker always gives inappropriate or too-costly gifts at the office Christmas exchange, it can be read as him flaunting his money or as trying to assert financial superiority over or create a sense of obligation in his peers.)   

Mauss's work on gift exchange theory forms an important foundation for Levi-Strauss's structuralism, and it has influenced Marxist and post-structuralist scholars as well as the field of economic anthropology.

For more information, see:

Mauss, Marcel.  The Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies, 1990.

Levi-Strauss, Claude. Introduction to the Work of Marcel Mauss. 1987.

Baudrillard, Jean.  Symbolic Exchange and Death. 2004.  

Who is Nicholas in "The Lumber Room" by Saki?

In "The Lumber Room," Nicholas is the story's protagonist, a boy who is creative and imaginative. He engages in acts of rebellion because he finds life with his aunt tedious and stultifying.

Clearly, Nicholas has a mind that differs greatly from that of his self-styled aunt, who reacts to his creative threat to her authority by arbitrarily rewarding the other children, his two cousins and little brother, with a trip to Jagborough sands. Undaunted by his punishment for having proven her wrong in her authoritative insistence that there is not a frog in his bread-and-milk--he knows because he put the frog there--the observant Nicholas informs his aunt of the reasons that the other children will not enjoy their day at the beach as he remains at home. (Later, Nicholas's predictions prove true.)

During the day, as Nicholas is prohibited from the gooseberry garden, he tricks his aunt into believing that he will try to defy her by sneaking into this garden.

It was clear to his aunt that he was determined to get into the gooseberry garden, "only," as she remarked to herself, "because I have told him he is not to."

Therefore, she spends her time guarding of this spot while he sneaks into the lumber room. There he delights in a tapestry and other works of art and pictures of nature's beauty that appeal to his own creative nature.

Later, Nicholas prevails further in his creative authority over his aunt because she has fallen into an empty rain trough in the forbidden garden and cannot get out. When she calls for help, Nicholas demonstrates his mental superiority as he reminds her that he has been told that he cannot enter this garden and, so, her voice must be that of the Devil tempting him. Thus, Nicholas leaves his aunt stranded, and she must wait hours until a kitchen maid in search of parsley comes to the garden and then rescues her.

What are some theme statements for Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson? Isolation and friendships are prominent subjects but I'm having trouble coming...

One thematic statement from Anderson's Speak is that isolation can allow people to better understand themselves.

Melinda goes through a horrific event the summer before her freshman year. She is unable to fully process it and its impact until she isolates herself from the rest of the world.   She is not able to do this when she is in the company of others.  Cutting herself from others  enables Melinda to understand the implications of what happened to her.  Melinda's isolation is what allows her to figure out what is important and how to "speak." 

Isolation is what enables Melinda to grow.  The outside world does not "get" her.  As Melinda becomes increasingly isolated from others, she endures their scorn.  Yet, Anderson is suggesting that being apart from the clamor of the outside world can allow the individual to get in touch with who they are and their belief systems.  Isolation is a means for Melinda to find herself spiritually and emotionally.  It also enables her to have the courage to challenge "It" and to finally open up to Mr. Freeman.  Melinda experiences pain in her isolation. However, Melinda is fundamentally changed from the start of the novel to its end.  Isolating herself from other people is the catalyst for this change.

What was the name of the town in which Miss Emily lived?

William Faulkner's story takes place in Jefferson, Mississippi, one of several towns in Faulkner's fictional Yoknapatawpha County that he used in many of his short stories and novels.  

Jefferson is a typical Southern town from the 1930s when Faulkner wrote this story.  Through the character of Miss Emily, the reader can see that Jefferson was once a prosperous town in the late 1800s, with Miss Emily's family living in one of the largest houses in town: "a big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies, set on what had once been our most select street."  However, as generations passed, so too did the industry of the town, and Miss Emily's house is soon in the shadows: "garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated even the august names of that neighborhood."  

The reader also sees the division of blacks and whites in this town at the time.  Miss Emily still has a black man working for her like a servant, and even after the Civil War, Colonel Sartoris, the leader of the town, had once declared that "no Negro woman should appear on the streets without an apron."  

There is also a division between the South and the North.  The townspeople are shocked when Miss Emily is courted by Homer Barron, a Yankee.  The townspeople gossip, "'Of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer.'"  Not only is there a division between North and South, but there is still a classist division between those with money and those without.  

Overall, the town of Jefferson reveals much about the character of the South in the 1930s.

What is your personal take on the poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"? Why does it appeal to you?

It is difficult for anyone else to help you with this question, because it asks your own personal opinion.  This means there is no right or wrong answer – it is simply what you think about the poem.  There are a thousand different reasons the poem might appeal to any one individual, and no one can tell you what you like about it but you. 

That being said, I can outline some of the more striking characteristics of the poem.  First, the image the poet conjures of thousands and thousands of yellow daffodils swaying in the breeze along the shores of a bay is stirring, to say the least.  And it is a beautiful concept, the idea of simply stumbling upon such a sight as one wanders through nature – an example of how life can reward you when you least expect it.  The field of daffodils is also a good example of how the smallest pleasures and surprises can have the strongest lasting effects on us, as human beings.  The speaker notes, “I gazed – and gazed – but little thought/What wealth the show to me had brought;” he was very taken with the sight of all the flowers, but he could not have predicted the extent to which it would affect him, for much later, “in vacant or in pensive mood” – in those little idle moments of the day – he would think back to that sea of daffodils and the thought would make him happy.  This is a wonderful, calming thought – that such small events can leave such lasting traces on our hearts.

This is a poem about the beauty and the healing benefits of nature, about how it never ceases to surprise and delight.  Even in the midst of our most vacant wanderings, we may stumble upon some bit of life that has a positive effect on us.  The poem is very hopeful, full of vivid imagery that, much like the daffodils themselves for the speaker, becomes imprinted on the brain, and can often be revisited for a smile or a thought of peace.

How did imperialists think of the people in the countries they were taking over?

Imperialism is defined as the practice of extending a country's power and influence by the process of colonisation. While there are many reasons for its emergence, the imperialists were often driven by the same cultural and social motivations and beliefs. First of all, imperialists often viewed themselves as being racially and culturally superior to other races. This 'ethnocentric' view, as it is known, means that imperialists believed 'inferior' races should be conquered in order to civilise them. The 'White Man's Burden' by Rudyard Kipling, written in England in 1899, is a great example of ethnocentrism. 

Imperialists also believed that people they colonised needed to be converted to Christianity. In other words, they were 'heathens' who could only be saved by the grace of God. Christian missionaries taught the imperialists' language, and built churches and schools in an attempt to impose their beliefs and values on the conquered people. Many of these missionaries were women who believed that their work could help to improve the lives of colonised women and, especially, improve the way they were treated by local men. 

In the novel Monster, is Steve a hero? If so, how?

Steve Harmon could be viewed as a hero throughout the novel Monster because he overcomes adversity and makes a valiant effort to understand himself. Throughout the novel, Steve struggles to understand his own morality while being on trial for the robbery and murder of Aguinaldo Nesbitt. Steve made a terrible decision to associate himself with such criminals as James King, Osvaldo Cruz, and Richard "Bobo" Evans, and decides to analyze himself while in prison. While Myers does not explicitly state whether or not Steve participated in the crime, Steve was able to avoid conviction. While Steve is in prison and on trial, he keeps a running record of the events that transpire in hopes of one day making a film about his experience. Despite being terribly depressed in jail and anxious about the outcome of his trial, Steve courageously attempts to learn more about himself. He is not a hero in the classical sense, but is an individual who overcomes an adverse situation and betters himself by analyzing his own conscience and values. At the end of the novel, Steve continues to make films in order to understand his true identity and does not try to be a thug in order to fit in anymore. Steve Harmon's ability to distance himself from the other convicts during the trial and his search to understand his own morality is what makes him a hero throughout the novel.

How can I write a creative conversation between two ghosts that occupy the house in "The Listeners"? The dialogue should explain the story behind...

This sounds like a really fun writing prompt. There is a lot of freedom for you to write about various things. The poem itself reads a bit creepy. A lone traveler arrives at a house at night. He knocks on the door and is greeted by silence. The poem mentions "phantom listeners" within the house, which is definitely eerie.

But only a host of phantom listeners   

   That dwelt in the lone house then 

Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight  

The poem doesn't explain why the traveler is at the house. All readers know is that the man made a promise to show up.

‘Tell them I came, and no one answered,   

   That I kept my word,’ he said. 

For your dialogue, I first recommend that you choose a genre. Is your dialogue going to mirror the creepy and eerie mood of the poem, or is your dialogue going to go a completely different direction? The prompt says to be creative. I believe that gives you the freedom to change the mood of the dialogue completely. I would write a comedy. Have your ghosts crack jokes about the traveler. They know why the traveler is there, but perhaps they are hiding from him in order to play a joke on him. The traveler doesn't state that he has been prompt in keeping his promise. Perhaps it is years later that he finally shows up. The listeners have grown tired of waiting for him, and they decide that the man deserves some payback. They will make him wait.

To make your ghosts funny and realistic-feeling, I would base them in reality. Pick your two funniest friends. Imagine that they are the ghosts, and write the conversation while thinking about how your friends would actually speak and act in that situation. You could even use the names of your friends for the names of the ghosts; although, I prefer Casper and Sir Simon for the names of the ghosts.

Why does Buck go willingly with Manuel in The Call of the Wild?

Up until the point where he is dog-napped, Buck has no real reason to distrust humans. He has been treated exceedingly well and has established himself as the king of the Judge's household and grounds. He knows everyone who is a regular on the grounds and so is very familiar with Manuel. Just like any other human, at that point, Buck has no reason to be fearful of him.

In the passage where Buck is sold to a man at the railroad station, London writes that Buck had learned to trust men and to believe that they had a wisdom that "outreached his own."

After he is sold he is quickly subjected to growing levels of mistreatment from the choking rope to the club of the dog trainer. It is never sufficient to completely break his will but it changes his outlook on humans forever.

What connection do Paul and the author of "The Rocking-Horse Winner" have? What in the story can be used to answer the above question?

Indeed, there do seem to be several connections between D.H.Lawrence's life and his fable-like story, "The Rocking Horse Winner."

For both D.H. Lawrence and his character Paul there is a desire for the approval and love of their mothers. There is also an awareness of financial deprivation in the families. In both the author and his character, there is a certain absence of a father, although in differing ways. In Lawrence's story there is a profound message about wasted lives, a message that seems to emanate from his familial experiences. Furthermore, Paul's death is a cautionary comment on what Lawrence felt was the "misdirection of the life force" caused by social constraints of his time.

Financial deprivation

• During D. H. Lawrence's childhood, his father worked as a coal miner, and his mother, who was from a middle-class family that had fallen into financial ruin, supplemented the family income by working in the lace-making industry. 


• In "The Rocking Horse Winner," there is "an anxiety in the house. There was never enough money."

Absence of paternal influence

• It was Lawrence's mother who exerted the most influence upon him, inspiring in him a love of books. Like Paul, he had a desire to please his mother.


• In the short story, the father goes "to town to some office," but is, for the most part, absent from the narrative.

Desire for the mother's approval

• While Lawrence's mother dearly loved him, he still desired her approval and was greatly influenced by her love of books. However, when he was twenty-five, his mother died and Lawrence was devastated.


• Paul becomes obsessed with winning money so that his mother will be satisfied and happy. When she tells him that she has married an unlucky husband, Paul strives to be lucky. He tells his Uncle Oscar why he rides his rocking horse to win,

"I started it for mother. She said she had no luck because father is unlucky, so I thought if I were lucky, it [the house]might stop whispering."

Message about wasted lives

• Lawrence became increasingly bothered by his society that he felt was too occupied with money. As he wrote in Apocalypse (1931), “What we want is to destroy our false, inorganic connections, especially those related to money.” But, when in the early part of his career, Lawrence was subsisting on borrowed funds, and his wife characterized him as "a walking phenomenon of suspended fury" because he needed money.


• Paul's death and the huge sum of money that he wins --£80,000 in the time of the narrative (1930's) would be worth over $2 Million now--are used to demonstrate the futility of a preoccupation with money, as well as the author's revulsion for the materialistic English society that kills values. Paul's mother, represents a member of this English society, and it is her materialism which destroys Paul.

He neither slept nor regained consciousness, and his eyes were like blue stones.

His mother, who from the beginning of the story "has always felt the centre of her heart go hard," sits at the bedside of her dying boy at the end of the story, "feeling her heart had gone, turned actually into stone." Certainly, her life has been wasted, having gained nothing from Paul's fantastic efforts to provide her with financial comfort.

"Misdirection of the life force"

• D. H. Lawrence felt that there are forces in the natural world accessible to humans, but they restrain themselves from tapping into these because of adherence to cultural and social conventions. By tapping into these forces, people could more readily attain meaningful relationships that bring them happiness and love.


• Paul taps into other forces; however, his motivation is wrong and, so, he is defeated in his efforts. His mother's preoccupation with materialism certainly excludes her from fulfilling relationships with her children, as her life force as a mother is certainly misdirected. Without the normal relationship of mother/child, Paul has gone beyond social constraints to seek to fulfill his needs, but he has tapped into some forces that are also misdirected.  One critic writes that Paul's death is an indictment of London's "staleness, its walking dead, its mechanized ugliness."

How do atomic characteristics predict an element’s location on the periodic table?

A knowledge of the atomic characteristics can give us an idea of the prospective location of element in the periodic table of elements. This is because elements in periodic table have certain trends in their characteristics. For example, metals are generally placed in the left and center of the periodic table. If the unknown element readily gives up electron/s, has a small number of valence electrons, has a positive valency, has high boiling and melting points; then, it is likely to be a metal and will be placed either on the left side on in the center of the periodic table. If the atom has a fully filled electronics configuration, then it is a noble gas and will be placed in the last column of the table. 

Similarly, we can use the characteristics of the unknown atom and figure out its potential location in periodic table.

Hope this helps. 

When Penny lies crippled with rheumatism and worries about the spring planting, Ma Baxter says he spared Jody from the work for too long. Do you...

I think it depends entirely on your perspective. From Ma Baxter's perspective, she is absolutely right. More than anyone else she feels the fear of starvation as she knows it too well. She understands that Penny's weakness combined with Flag's destruction could lead to their utter ruin. From her perspective, Jody's love of nature and willingness to sacrifice to take care of Flag is evidence that he doesn't understand his own role in making sure the family has enough to eat. If Jody had been forced to deal with the work sooner, he would be more proficient and that would ease her worries about how things would turn out.

From Penny's perspective, he was probably right to allow Jody to nurture his love of the natural world and everything he finds so fascinating. He felt the same things when he was a boy and he knows the value of those memories and feelings. Penny is also a bit more confident that things will work out so he feels that Jody can afford to be a boy a bit longer before he has to become a man and forego all the things that he loved as a little boy.

Need to write letter for The Great Gatsby from Tom to Nick.

In writing a letter from Tom to Nick, you will want to consider the various dynamics that mark Tom's perceptions of his relationship to Nick in The Great Gatsby. 

In a letter to Nick, Tom might address ideas like these: 

• Why Nick should still admire and respect Tom for his successful evasion of responsibility in the wake of three deaths. 


• Why Tom is unshaken in his faith in himself even after nearly losing his wife to another man then helping to cover up his wife's role in a hit-and-run accident. 


• Why Tom is possibly sorry that things went so wrong that summer and that Nick was caught up in it all. 


• Why Nick might be seen to be somehow just as guilty and responsible as anyone else for these deaths. 

Tom is arguably, after all, a shallow materialist who is interested in exercising his own power more than anything else. These traits color his relationship to Nick and would most likely appear in any letter he would write to the less wealthy, less experienced and less callous cousin of his wife (Nick). 

In writing the letter, you might think about expanding upon or exploring the central dynamics of the relationship between Tom and Nick and look at them from Tom's point of view. Considerations of both Tom's character and his actions in the narrative might help shape the content of your letter.

Patronizing and Arrogant -- Early in the novel, Tom relates to Nick in ways that can be described as patronizing and condescending. Tom recognizes that Nick is new to the east coast and to the environs of the very wealthy and he brings Nick along with him to New York City with the apparent expectation that Nick will not have judgmental or negative feelings about Tom cheating on Daisy with Myrtle. 

Nick does not agree to meet Myrtle. He is forced to meet her. 

"I went up with Tom on the train one afternoon and when we stopped by the ashheaps he jumped to his feet and, taking hold of my elbow, literally forced me from the car. 

'We're getting off,' [Tom] insisted. 'I want you to meet my girl.'"

This is an example of Tom's arrogance, which is perhaps Tom's most enduring and characteristic trait. 

Guilt -- Tom is aware that Daisy is responsible for Myrtle's death, yet he deflects blame from his wife onto Gatsby. He effectively turns the man he has cuckolded into a murderer and a suicide when he gives Wilson Gatsby's address late in the novel. 

Nick is left as the only person to deal with the aftermath of the tragedy (which includes Myrtle's death, Wilson's death and Gatsby's death). 

Given Tom's sense of entitlement and sense of exceptional-ism, we might wonder if he would write to Nick to explain why he does not (and should not) feel guilty. Perhaps Tom would expand on the idea he expresses to Nick regarding his sense that Wilson would have shot him (Tom) and would have shot Daisy if he did not provide Wilson with Gatsby's address. 

If we presume that Tom may have grown and come to accept some responsibility for the numerous deaths that occur, he might offer some qualified apology to Nick in his letter. 

In what ways does Stowe present the incompatibility of slavery with the Christian ethics of love and tolerance?

Intriguing question! In the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, Stowe utilizes several different techniques to illustrate the incompatibility of slavery with the Christian ethics of love and tolerance. For example, she utilizes the characters in the story and a direct address to her audience to illustrate this incompatibility.

Beginning with the characters in the story, Stowe utilizes multiple characters to demonstrate that slavery and Christianity’s ethics of love and tolerance are not compatible. For example, this is clearly seen in chapter nine. In this chapter, Senator Bird and Mrs. Bird discuss the issue of runaway slaves. Senator Bird illustrates that according to the law, people should not help runaway slaves. However, Mrs. Bird reveals that a Christian could not agree to such a law because the Bible illustrates that:

“I must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the desolate; and that Bible I mean to follow."

Thus, she would not listen to the law because of her convictions from the Bible.

Furthermore, Stowe also uses a personal and direct address to her audience (at the end of the book) to illustrate that slavery and Christian ethics of love and tolerance are not compatible. For example, Stowe illustrates her shock that Christians could agree with the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. As Stowe herself states:

"But, since the legislative act of 1850, when she [Stowe] heard, with perfect surprise and consternation, Christian and humane people actually recommending the remanding escaped fugitives into slavery, as a duty binding on good citizens,—when she heard, on all hands, from kind, compassionate and estimable people, in the free states of the North, deliberations and discussions as to what Christian duty could be on this head,—she could only think, These men and Christians cannot know what slavery is; if they did, such a question could never be open for discussion."

Lastly, she encourages Christians to help the slaves (at the end of her book). For example, she illustrates that Christians should open their doors to slaves, pray for them, and even help educate them.

Consequently, Stowe utilized her characters and her direct address to her audience to illustrate that Christian ethics and slavery are not compatible. Not only this, but she also encouraged her audience to act on this observation and help the slaves receive the help they deserved.

Where do the events depicted in Chinua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart unfold?

The novel is set in Nigeria, one of the largest and most populated countries on the African continent. The time-frame for the novel is, however, not modern and the events depicted are fictional (though based on actual incidents and events). The time frame is the 1890's after the colonists had arrived and were in the process of converting people through the use of missionaries. The missionaries were intent on converting the inhabitants to Christianity for they believed that they were heathen, uncivilised and savage.

Foreign governments (such as the English) believed that it was their duty to rescue the inhabitants from an uncivilised existence and educate them. The real purpose, however, was to oppress them and to exploit the country's natural resources. 

Most of the action occurs in Okonkwo's village, Umuofia, it being the main village of a group of nine. Okonkwo was also banished to his mother's village, Mbaino, for seven years after having accidentally killed the son of a villager during his father's funeral, so some of the events in Okonkwo's tragic life are also played out there.  

The villages and their names depicted in the story are fictional although the traditions, culture and descriptions of the villages are based on the factual information. The author, Chinua Achebe, is Nigerian and his father was one of the first in his village who converted to Christianity. Achebe's novel depicts the destructive and divisive nature of the colonists' and missionaries' influence in his country.   

How are mitochondria analogous to hydraulic dams?

If a eukaryotic cell was being compared to a city, the mitochondria of the eukaryotic cell would be analogous to a hydraulic dam because both the mitochondria and hydraulic dam produce energy.  

A mitochondrion is an organelle within a eukaryotic cell. Cellular respiration occurs within the mitochondria. Cellular respiration is the process by which oxygen gas and the sugar glucose are converted into water, carbon dioxide gas, and an energy source known as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Cells use ATP as an energy source.

Mitochondria have an inner and an outer membrane. There are three phases of cellular respiration. Each stage of cellular respiration utilizes a different part of the mitochondria.

The electron transport chain is the third and last phase of cellular respiration. The electron transport chain is located in the inner mitochondrial membrane.  At the end of the electron transport chain, protons travel down their concentration gradient through an enzyme called ATP synthase. The protons cause the ATP synthase to spin. As it spins, the ATP synthase phosphorylates ADP into ATP. In this way, ATP is synthesized for the cell.

Similarly, water that is stored behind a dam is used to spin a turbine. The turbine is connected to a generator that is used to create energy.  

What literary elements are used in Emily Dickinson's poem "There's been a Death in the Opposite House?''

Literary elements used in American poet Emily Dickinson's poem “There’s been a Death in the Opposite House” include the following:

Stanzas

 

A stanza is a poem unit. They’re typically “repeated in the same form--either with similar or identical patterns or rhyme and meter, or with variations from one stanza to another.” (McGraw Hill Learning Center – Glossary of Poetic Terms)

‘There’s been a Death in the Opposite House’ consists of seven stanzas. The stanzas vary, although most of them are four-line stanzas. However, stanza five is three lines and stanza six is only one line.

 

End rhyme

 

Emily Dickinson employs end rhyme in this poem. An example of end rhyme in the poem is in its very first stanza:

There’s been a Death, in the Opposite House,

As lately as Today —

I know it, by the numb look

Such Houses have — alway —

 

Notice that to achieve end rhyme in this stanza, Dickinson dropped the “s” from the last word of the final line of the stanza. It’s natural to want to read this line as “always”. Dropping the ‘s” achieves the goal of end rhyme and gives this particular stanza a finality – just like a cadence does in a music composition.

 

Alliteration

 

An example of Alliteration in the poem is in stanza two:

The Doctor — drives away —

The consonant “d” is repeated in fast succession in this short line. Alliteration adds a musical quality to a line as the consonants seem to effortlessly and elegantly roll of the tongue as the poem is read.

 

Tone

 

The tone of “There’s been a Death in the Opposite House” conveys the reflective, thoughtful thinking of the narrator of the poem. Tone is “the poet’s attitude toward his/her subject or readers. (http://www.bestlibrary.org/murrayslit/2009/09/poetic-devices.html; Mr. Murray’s Literature Page -Poetic Devices & Literary Terms Use In Poetry Analysis)

Emily Dickinson’s attitude towards the subject and reader is one of respect and of wanting to show readers what really occurs when there is a death in a neighborhood. Nonetheless, she does impart one thought of negativity when she talks of the undertaker/funeral home operator as “Of the Appalling Trade.” This shows her attitude toward this aspect of her subject.

 

Atmosphere/Mood

 

The atmosphere of the poem is a touch downcast. Emily Dickinson is highlighting how a certain pall descends on a community when of its members dies – no matter what the age of the person. The community is experiencing a loss, and essentially, will never really be the same. The community will move on, cognizant that one of its own is gone. This will always be in the backs of the minds of people who in the future go by the house of the person who died.

 

Simile

 

Simile is a comparison of two things that are unalike. An example of simile in Dickinson’s poem is in the second stanza third line:

 

A Window opens like a Pod —

The poet is comparing a window to a Pod and the comparison word here is “like”.

 

 

 

In The Freedom Writers Diary, how does Erin Gruwell influence her students?

In The Freedom Writers Diary, Mrs. Gruwell profoundly influenced her students.

Mrs. Gruwell influenced her students by inspiring them to value themselves. Throughout the book, many of the students did not believe that they were valuable, but rather saw themselves through their assigned labels of “problem students.”

However, Mrs. Gruwell challenged this belief by having her students read and relate to books that show how one individual can make a difference. Furthermore, Mrs. Gruwell encouraged her students to relate to (and even meet) heroic figures such as Miep Gies.

Lastly, Mrs. Gruwell encouraged her students to believe in themselves. By trusting her students and inciting their own appreciation for themselves, Mrs. Gruwell influenced her students. Many of her students went from being viewed as a “problem student” to a “star pupil.” As Mrs. Gruwell revealed:

“My once apathetic students seemed to transform themselves into scholars with a conscience.”

What are some quotes in Fahrenheit 451 about Mildred's laziness?

Mildred’s laziness is an example of the lack of engagement among people in Montag’s society.

In Montag’s society, people drive fast and watch a lot of television.  They do not form deep relationships with each other, and they certainly do not care much for each other.  Montag's wife Mildred is the perfect example of this.  She is lethargic and insensitive.

For example, every night Mildred lays in a stupor listening to her seashells.  She is completely unaware of the world around her.

The room was indeed empty. Every night the waves came in and bore her off on their great tides of sound, floating her, wide-eyed, toward morning. There had been no night in the last two years that Mildred had not swum that sea, had not gladly gone down in it for the third time. (Part I)

Montag feels disconnected from Mildred.  She is more interested in the comatose state than him.  She watches television or listens to the music.  They barely talk, and there is nothing like actual love between them.  She even tried to kill herself, but suicide attempts are common in Montag’s culture.  People see no reason to live.

Montag feels as if he has no connection to Mildred, because she is more interested in the imaginary television people than in him.

Well, wasn't there a wall between him and Mildred, when you came down to it? Literally not just one, wall but, so far, three! And expensive, too! … No matter when he came in, the walls were always talking to Mildred. (Part I)

The television is society’s way of keeping people controlled.  They are so entranced with the television people that they forget to live their own lives.  This is the way most people operate.  Books have been outlawed, but initially they were just no longer needed.  People had everything else, they did not need mental stimulation.  The government decided that thinking was dangerous.  People would be happier without it, and easier to control.

Unlike Mildred, Montag craves more.  She is perfectly happy to live with the fake families on the television and drown herself in music.  He wants to have actual interactions with people and experience the full spectrum of human emotions. It is what turns him into an outlaw.  He is curious about living with more.

What are the contributions made to aviation by a) William Piper b) Harry Houdini

William T. Piper, Sr. was an aviation industrialist early in the history of the industry.  He served in the Army during the Spanish-American War then returned to the oil business in Pennsylvania.  When the oil industry in that state began to wane, Piper ended up investing in an airplane manufacturing company.  He eventually owned the company and began manufacturing airplanes with the Piper Aircraft Corporation in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania in the 1930's.  During the second world war, his popular aircraft model "Cub" became popular with the military (the military models were nicknamed "Grasshoppers") in both Europe and the Pacific.  After the war, he became known as the "Henry Ford of the aviation industry" by mass producing affordable small airplanes and offering low cost flying lessons with the purchase of one.  He is credited with greatly expanding the personal aircraft industry in the latter half of the 20th century.

Harry Houdini is better known as a popular magician and escape artist at the turn of the century than as a figure in the aviation industry.  At the height of his career he was an avid fan of flying.  He got his pilot's license, purchased an aircraft, and even hired a full time mechanic to work on it.  He does hold the record for making the first controlled plane flight in Australia in March of 1910, completing a flight of about six miles in seven and a half minutes less than seven years after the Wright brothers made their famous first flight in the US.  He was the first pioneer aviator to capture his achievement with film cameras.

What is the "near libel" which Jem puts in the front yard? How do Miss Maudie and Atticus react to it?

When it snows in Maycomb, Jem and Scout decide to build a snowman in the front yard. They begin to build it, and then decide to model the snowman after Mr. Avery, their quirky neighbor. When Atticus sees their snowman, he can immediately tell it is supposed to be Mr. Avery. He tells Jem that he has "perpetrated a near libel here in the front yard" (Chapter 8). He lightheartedly implores his son to change the snowman's appearance to make him look less like Mr. Avery. Atticus suggests that Mr. Avery may be unhappy if he sees the snowman.

Jem has the idea to change the snowman into a snow woman. He runs over to Miss Maudie's house. He borrows her hat and hedge trimmers and puts them on the snowman. Miss Maudie sees what Jem has done, and scolds him with a smile on her face.

What topics did Edgar Allan Poe write about during his career?

Edgar Allan Poe was interested in many, many topics and wrote about them during his writing career. Though he did write about "death, gloom, despair, and mental illness," as you said, he also had other interests. His gothic or dark stories were about murder as in "The Tell Tale Heart," and revenge as in "The Black Cat and "The Cask of Amontillado." He wrote about the plague in "The Mask of the Red Death," and torture in "The Pit and the Pendulum." Probably Poe's most famous work was a poem, "The Raven," about the loss of his lover and questions about the afterlife. 

Few people know that Edgar Allan Poe wrote what we would call dark comedy. An example of this is "The Angel of the Odd," a story about a drunk. Additionally, he wrote "The Balloon Hoax," which was published as an article in the New York Sun in the mid 1800's. People thought it was true, but it was completely made up by Poe.  

Along with horror and mystery, Poe also wrote adventure stories!  "A Descent into the Maelstrom" was about three fishermen encountering a hurricane.

Then, there was a love story called "Eleonora," possibly based on his great love for Virginia, his wife.

Poe was a man of great talent, whose stories and poems inspired many other writers throughout the years.

Where is Michael Pollan's, the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma, farm located in Virginia? I want to plan a visit.

The author of The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, Michael Pollan, probably does not want drop-by visits by readers of his nonfiction book. As with most authors, however, you can contact him directly about potentially scheduling a visit or meeting, or maybe just a phone call, through his publisher, in this case, Penguin Publishing Group. Write to:

Michael Pollan

c/o: Penguin Publishing

375 Hudson St
New York, NY 10014

You can send a letter to Pollan at this address and there is a good chance he will respond. He is also a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and maintains an office there. The university website provides the following contact information for Professor Pollan:

121 North Gate Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-5860
USA

Email
pollan@berkeley.edu

Website
http://michaelpollan.com

Telephone
+1 510 642-8240

Fax
+1 510 643-9136

Finally, it should be noted that the farm in Virginia to which you are probably referring is the Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia, which sits in the Shenandoah Valley near the border with West Virginia. Polyface Farm is owned by Joel Salatin, who welcomes visitors to his spread where he specializes in sustainable agriculture. Below is a link to Salatin's homepage, where he provides detailed information on how to get to his farm:

http://www.polyfacefarms.com/

The address is 43 Pure Meadows Lane, Swoope, VA, 24479. 

What are possible titles for a thesis about how a single mother might ensure the future of her child?

There are a number of different formats for titles. When you write a title, the main thing to be sure of is that it reflects certain aspects of the thesis. One way to do this is to use a multi-part title. For example, a title for a thesis about mothers and children might be: "Mother and Child: The Bonds of Influence." A title like this can reflect the thesis and hint at the conclusion without saying too much about your findings. In other words, you don't want your title to close down the essay, but you want it to prompt your reader and drive them to continue reading. The title above might make the reader ask, "What are the bonds of influence? Where do these bonds lie?" and so forth.

In "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift, what are the different types of persuasive techniques used? Provide concrete examples from the text.

Any analysis of Jonathan Swift's “A Modest Proposal” must deal with the fact that the essay is first and foremost a satirical piece. Swift is using the essay to create a farcical situation in which the speaker (who is not intended to represent Swift himself) seems to be advocating the eating of children as a means to alleviate suffering, over-crowding, and a bothersome lower class.

Because Swift does not really mean what he is saying, the primary technique used in the essay is irony. Irony is something surprising or unexpected, often the last thing a reader would expect to encounter. When Swift opens the essay with a description of the problems associated with urban poverty, the reader is expecting some sort of logical proposal to improve the situation. That is not what he gets. 

The speaker takes his time to build his case, using other persuasive techniques such as 

• Statistics—in paragraph six the speaker calculates the number of children born annually to poor parents.


• Bandwagon—in paragraph two the speaker starts off with “I think it is agreed by all parties” and then goes on to state that there are too many poor children and a solution to the problem needs to be found.


• Logical Appeal—in paragraph four the speaker claims to have a solution that will not only save poor parents the expense of raising children, but will actually bring them money.

It is not until paragraph nine that the speaker finally unveils his grand idea:

I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricasie, or a ragoust.

From this point forward, everything becomes intensely ironic, as the speaker builds his case for this preposterous idea. Swift's intent is to use his speaker to highlight the dispassionate cruelty of the ruling British and the practical coldness of the scientific elite of the Enlightenment period.