How does the phrase "Literature That Rings True" apply to the "Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini?

The phrase "literature that rings true" indicates that readers see in the text something that they can relate to their own lives. Although The Kite Runner depicts characters and events in Afghanistan starting in the 1970s, contemporary readers of all cultural backgrounds can relate to the human story at the heart of Hosseini's novel.

The plot of The Kite Runner follows the friendship of Amir and Hassan, two Afghani boys who are of different religious, ethnic, and economic backgrounds. In fact, Hassan and his father Ali work as servants to Amir's family. The boys are raised like brothers despite these differences, and Hassan, although he has none of the advantages Amir was born with, is very protective of Amir. Hassan is unfaltering in his loyalty to Amir and Baba (Amir's dad). Amir, however, sometimes feels ashamed of his friendship with Hassan because Hassan is Hazara and a servant and should, socially speaking, be considered "below" Amir. This causes Amir to sometimes be unnecessarily cruel to his friend. The pivotal moment in the plot comes when Amir and Hassan, as a team, have won the kite-running contest, and Hassan goes to run down the kite. When Amir finally finds Hassan, he witnesses Hassan being sexually assaulted by the bully Assef. Amir does nothing and tells no one. He pretends he does not know what happened to Hassan in the alley; however, the guilt eats at Amir. He eventually plants a birthday gift (a watch) that he had recently received in Hassan's room, framing Hassan for theft. Although Baba forgives Hassan and Ali for their supposed transgression, Ali objects to the treatment he receives from Baba and Amir (it is implied later that Ali knows about the assault and know that Amir witnessed it) and Ali and Hassan leave. Amir never sees Hassan again.

After some time, Amir and Baba move to California to escape the turmoil in Afghanistan. Eventually, an old family friend and father figure to Amir (Rahim Khan) contacts Amir when he is an adult (actually this happens at the start of the start of the novel and then Amir goes back and narrates his childhood) and tells him "there is a way to be good again." Amir embarks on quest to rescue Hassan's son Sohrab, who has fallen into the hands of the Taliban and Assef, after Hassan's death (which Amir learns about in a letter). Along the way, Amir is told that Baba was Hassan's father and that he and Hassan were actually half-brothers, making Sohrab Amir's nephew. This raises the stakes for Amir, who already feels like he owes Hassan for the betrayal when they were children. Amir eventually, after a long and complicated process, adopts Sohrab and brings him back to the U.S., achieving some measure of redemption.  

This story of guilt, regret, and ultimately, redemption, is one that almost any reader can relate to. Even though the experience of reading about Amir's betrayal of Hassan can cause readers to lose sympathy for Amir, we also see him struggle and suffer so much as a result of that decision that he ultimately becomes sympathetic again. Readers want to see him redeem himself and exorcise the ghosts of his past. 

Why does Jem scream "Why can't she leave me alone?" after Mrs. Dubose dies?

In Chapter 11, Jem ruins Mrs. Dubose's camellia bush after losing his temper, and is forced to read to her each day, including Saturdays, as his punishment. Towards the end of the chapter, Mrs. Dubose passes away and leaves a candy box with one white camellia inside of it. Atticus explains that Mrs. Dubose was terminally ill and became a morphine addict to numb her pain. He tells Jem that his reading distracted her between doses of morphine which helped her overcome her addiction. When Jem opens the candy box and sees the "Snow-on-the-Mountain" flower, he says, "Old hell-devil, old hell-devil!...Why can't she just leave me alone?" (Lee 148) Jem misinterprets the purpose of her gift and Atticus explains that it was her way of telling Jem that everything is alright. Jem is a naive child who doesn't understand the duality of human nature. Jem can only view Mrs. Dubose as a mean old lady, and lacks the ability to understand her softer side. Jem asks the important question, "After all those things she said about you, a lady?" (Lee 149) This question illuminates Jem's innocent psyche. Things are black and white in Jem's mind. When he opens the candy box, he automatically assumes Mrs. Dubose is playing a dirty trick on him "from the grave." Everything he associates with Mrs. Dubose is negative which is why he reacts indignantly towards her gift. 

What are some characteristics of Zeus?

Zeus is the King of the Gods, and the most powerful god in the Olympian pantheon. He is married to Hera, his sister, and the Queen of the Gods. They both were children of Cronus and Rhea. Zeus was notorious for his infidelities with both men and women.

One of the most important of Zeus' affairs was with the mortal woman Leda, by whom he fathered Helen. 

Zeus is extremely powerful and is a sky god who wields thunderbolts. He is often portrayed as fighting with Hera. 

At the start of the Iliad, when Achilles feels that he has been dishonored by Agamemnon, he asks his mother Thetis to intervene on his behalf by asking Zeus to aid the Trojans until the Greeks repent of their ill-treatment of Agamemnon and give him the honor he feels he deserves. Because Zeus is indebted to Thetis, he agrees to this request.

Zeus is often shown as the final arbiter in cases when the gods disagree. 

Are "dank memes" considered an art form?

The answer to this question may differ from person to person. First of all, one must define both dank memes and art. According to the website knowyourmeme.com, "dank memes" is an "ironic expression used to mock online viral media and in-jokes that have exhausted their comedic value to the point of being trite or cliché." Merriam-Webster defines art as "something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings."

Now, if one believes that trite and/or cliché viral jokes are created with imagination and skill or express important ideas or feelings, then dank memes can be considered an art form. Take, for example, the following "dank meme" popularly known as "Pepe the Frog"

Is this picture of a rather anthropomorphic frog created with imagination and skill? Possibly - after all, somebody had to create, draw, and color it. Does it express an important idea or feeling? Again, it is possible - perhaps the artist chose this particular color scheme to reflect his/her feelings towards frogs. Maybe, the choice of a frog as the subject is indicative of a deeper meaning. 

Whether or not "dank memes" can be considered an art form is really left up to the individual to decide. It is truly possible to find beauty and meaning in the mot unexpected places, and dank memes may be just one of them.

In “A Rose for Emily,” why was it difficult for Miss Emily to meet suitable men in her youth?

Although the narrator of Faulkner’s story does not reveal much information about Miss Emily as a young girl, there are several hints that indicate that finding the right beau would have been a challenge. First and foremost is the looming presence of the overbearing father who raised her alone. Although she had some relatives in Alabama, her father had feuded with them and communication had been cut off, leaving him to be young Emily’s sole parental figure. There is also her social status to consider: the Griersons were one of the best families in her generation, and it was often thought that no boy would be quite good enough to be her suitor.

In addition, reports of a great-aunt’s insanity had filtered into town. Amidst these rumors that insanity ran in the family, it is possible that any potential suitor who deemed himself worthy of Miss Emily's hand might shy away from becoming involved with a family considered “tainted.” A final consideration would be her finances: at the time of her father’s death, it became known that she was a pauper. It is likely that their financial situation had been dwindling for some time, a factor that would certainly affect the younger Emily’s prospects for a good marriage.

How Is Scrooge Presented As An Outsider

In Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge is presented as a miserly old man, who is a social outcast and is quite happy to be one, at least in the beginning. His only concern is the amount of money he can make for himself. Near the beginning of the book, as we are being introduced to Scrooge, we read,

Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, 'My dear Scrooge, how are you? When will come to see me?' No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge. Even the blind men's dogs appeared to know him, and when they saw him coming on would tug their owners into doorways and up courts, and then would wag their tails as though they said, 'No eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!'" (Dickens 3)

Ebenezer Scrooge obviously has a reputation, and nobody wants to be around him. He is cold and greedy, not the kind of man people want to befriend. He even turns down his own nephew who comes to see him and invite him to his house for a Christmas meal. His answer is, "Bah! Humbug!" Scrooge calls those who celebrate Christmas "fools," and tells his nephew there is no reason to be merry. Though his nephew tries to convince him to join his family, Scrooge replies, "Nephew, keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in mine!" (Dickens 6)

Scrooge is an outsider because that is the way he likes it. He prefers his own miserable company to that of anyone else.

How many radioactive elements are found in nature?

Thirty-nine radioactive elements have been identified by scientists, but there may be others not yet discovered. Some of the elements below are suspected to be radioactive but are very rare and therefore hard to study. Radioactivity was first noticed in 1895 by Wilhelm Roentgen, but he mistook the fluorescence he observed as a form of X-rays. The discovery of radioactivity is attributed to Antoine Becquerel, who identified and described the differences between radioactivity and X-rays. Pierre and Marie Curie are the scientists most famous for their work on radioactivity. Marie coined the term "radioactivity" and discovered two of the twenty-nine radioactive elements. She and her husband did many experiments to uncover how radioactivity functioned.

Most radioactive elements are Rare Earth Metals, though others are Transition Metals, Alkali Metals, Metalloids, Halogens, and Noble Gases. The identified radioactive elements, alphabetically, are: 

• Actinium (Ac)


• Americium (Am)


• Astatine (At)


• Berkelium (Bk)


• Bohrium (Bh)


• Californium (Cf)


• Copernicium (Cn)


• Curium (Cm)


• Darmstadtium (Ds)


• Dubnium (Db)


• Einsteinium (Es)


• Fermium (Fm)


• Flerovium (Fl)


• Francium (Fr)


• Hassium (Hs)


• Lawrencium (Lr)


• Livermorium (Lv)


• Meitnerium (Mt)


• Mendelevium (Md)


• Neptunium (Np)


• Nobelium (No)


• Plutonium (Pu)


• Polonium (Po)


• Promethium (Pm)


• Protactinium (Pa)


• Radium (Ra)


• Radon (Rn)


• Roentgenium (Rg)


• Ruthorfordium (Rt)


• Seaborgium (Sg)


• Technetium (Tc)


• Thorium (Th)


• Ununhexium (Uuh)


• Ununoctium (Uuo)


• Ununpentium (Uup)


• Ununseptium (Uus)


• Ununtrium (Uut)


• Ununquadium (Uuq)


• Uranium (U)

What theme can I use on my essay about Crooks being the best example of isolation and loneliness in Of Mice and Men?

Even Lennie is at least provisionally accepted as part of the crew on the ranch. George has to watch him and speak for him at times, but Lennie is never ostracized from the men the way that Crooks is. Why is Crooks ostracized in this way? He is segregated because he is black. So, the clear theme here is racism. 

Crooks is also physically handicapped. He was kicked by a horse and his back became crooked. He rubs ointment on it every night. This nightly ritual symbolically underscores his scapegoated position. Every night, he tends to his ailments. In other words, every night, he is reminded of his ailing physical condition and this, perhaps, also reminds him of his segregated social position. 

The narrator says Crooks is "proud and aloof." He is aloof because he has been separated from the others. Therefore, he is also selfish and protective of that space. He thinks that since he can not go to the bunkhouse, why should he allow others into his shed. When Lennie befriends him and asks why he isn't playing cards with the others, Crooks says: 

“’Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink to me.” 

Crooks spends most of his nights reading alone. As proud and despondent as he sometimes is, he is not without hope. When Lennie (and Candy) start talking about the dream of the farm, Crooks actually shows some interest. However, when Curley's wife puts him down with racist justifications, he forgets this hope and returns to his lonely state. 

Which spirit was the most frightening to Scrooge? Why?

Ebenezer Scrooge seems to be the most frightened and disturbed by the third spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Future. There are a two primary reasons for this: the spirit does not answer Scrooge's increasingly frantic questions about his own future and the spirit shows Scrooge his own tombstone.

In Stave Four the Ghost of Christmas Future shows Scrooge several upsetting scenes including Tiny Tim's death and people who are in debt to Scrooge and are relieved upon hearing he has died. Scrooge is most disturbed, however, when he asks about his own future and the spirit takes him to a churchyard and points to a tombstone.

“Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you point,” said Scrooge, “answer me one question. Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May be, only?”

Scrooge suspects it might be his tombstone, and that is why he asks the spirit this. But the spirit does not answer Scrooge and this causes him to become more and more frantic and upset. He is genuinely frightened by the spirit's lack of response. The other two spirits answered his questions. Even if he did not like the answers, there was some comfort in having a response. We see how agitated Scrooge becomes when the spirit does not reply.

“Spirit!” he cried, tight clutching at its robe, “hear me! I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse. Why show me this, if I am past all hope!”

The spirit returns Scrooge to his home without confirming whether Scrooge's changes will matter.

When did the Kiowas surrender?

In short, the answer to your question is July 20, 1890. Just keep in mind that the organization of The Way to Rainy Mountain must be understood before the answer can be easily found.  The major parts of the book are called "The Setting Out," "The Going On," and "The Closing In."  These major parts are also separated into twenty-four sections with each section divided into three separate voices:  one having to do with myth, one having to do with history, and one having to do with Momaday's personal story.  Your question has to do with the historical voice (always found in the middle of the three).

One particular historical section deals with Aho (Momaday's own grandmother) and her experiences with the Sun Dances in her young life.  Aho participated in the last, full Sun Dance in 1887 above the Rainy Mountain Creek along Washita River.  It was when Aho was ten that she witnessed the Kiowa people both surrender and disperse during a Sun Dance without being able to complete their important religious rituals.  Why was the Sun Dance left incomplete?  The soldiers from Fort Sill showed up on July 20, 1890 and stopped all proceedings.  This, then, is the date of the Kiowa surrender.

How do you interpret the end of Zeitoun in regard to pages 273-325? Is Zeitoun a comedy or a tragedy?

While there are suggestions of a dark comedy, particularly the bumbling justice system and FEMA's asinine attempts to help the family, the end of Zeitoun clearly demonstrates the book is a tragedy as all of the characters in the book had their lives change dramatically for the worse after Abdulrahman is released from prison. Zeitoun, a man who let his pride interfere with logic, is the tragic character. Author Dave Eggers explains it best:

"He had risked too much in the hopes that he might do something to match the deeds of his brother Mohammed. No, it had never been a conscious part of his motivation — he had done what he could in the drowned city because he was there, it needed to be done, and he could do it. But somewhere in his gut, was there not some hope that he, too, could bring pride to his family?"

After he is released from being wrongfully imprisoned, Zeitoun is haunted by images and memories of his time in prison and his wife Kathy suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Eggers explains that Kathy, who spends the entire book searching for her husband, "lost her memory ... The wiring in her mind has been snapped in vital places..." In addition, Eggers explains that "Some nights Zeitoun struggles to sleep" and his children "fear water."

While the book ends with Zeitoun being hopeful about the future of New Orleans, the aftermath of the book, which can't be ignored, indicates that this is a tragedy.

Footnote: Although the above answer focuses on just the text, the true-life epilogue of Abdulrahman Zeitoun truly reads like a tragedy. After the events detailed in the book, which Kathy confirms are accurate, Zeitoun, whose struggle with PTSD is documented in the book, suffers from anger and abused his wife and is currently in prison.

Why is it fitting the way that Beowulf defeats Grendel?

Beowulf and Grendel fight without weapons, and Beowulf, of course, defeats Grendel by ripping his arm out of its socket through sheer strength.  

In this warrior society, a leader's skill and strength in war are all important--in part because a leader like Beowulf, still young and untested as a king, must show his retainers that he cannot be defeated by arms (that is, the sword or axe) or by a failure of his strength.  Beowulf's decision to avoid using weapons, however, is based on his belief that Grendel is immune to the weapons the Geats normally carry.  As he says to Hrothgar:

I have also heard that this wretch/in his rashness recks not of weapons. . . . I therefore disdain to bear a sword or broad shield. . . . (Walton, trans.)

In other words, Grendel is so fierce that he doesn't even need weapons to defeat men, so the use of weapons is, in Beowulf's view, futile.

More important, though, is that during the fight, as Beowulf's men draw their weapons in an attempt to protect him against Grendel, we learn

. . . that no war-blades . . . could even scathe that sinful wrecker;/for he had cast spells against all edged weapons whatever. (Walton, trans., ll. 801-805)

Beowulf's desire, then, to fight Grendel with only his strength--initially because he thinks Grendel is not skilled with weapons--becomes Beowulf's salvation in the battle.  Since no weapon forged by man could harm Grendel, man's strength, Beowulf's physical power, is the only weapon by which Grendel can be defeated.

What was the last point of Wilson's 14 points?

Woodrow Wilson proposed a peace plan at the end of World War I that was called the Fourteen Points. The plan can be divided into several topics. The last point or topic was very important to President Wilson. It was the creation of a League of Nations.

President Wilson believed that one way to avoid war was by creating an organization where nations could take their disputes and try to work through them and solve them by discussing the issues. President Wilson believed that by using diplomatic methods, an organization such as the League of Nations might be able to avoid war. The League of Nations was included as part of the Versailles Treaty and formed after World War I ended.

Unfortunately, the League of Nations was not successful in accomplishing its goals. One reason was because the United States didn’t join the League of Nations. There was a group of U.S. Senators who believed the League might be harmful to American foreign policy. We might have to support actions, including possible military ones, which would have little benefit or interest to the United States. Ultimately, the League of Nations didn’t have enough power to successfully accomplish its goals and, as a result, it failed.

The idea of a League of Nations was a good idea which went on to help inspire the creation of the United Nations. However, due to various reasons, it wasn’t successful in accomplishing its goals.

According to Taft what had happened by 1946?

Robert Taft was a co-sponsor of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947. This law is regarded as anti-labor law because it significantly reduced actions that unions could use.

Robert Taft wasn’t against unions. However, he felt the balance of power between unions and management of companies had swung too far in favor of unions. He felt the provisions of the National Labor Relation Act had given unions too much power. He felt workers who didn’t believe in unions were put at a disadvantage by this law. He also felt that the National Labor Relations Act went too far in restricting business actions and not far enough in restricting the actions of unions. There were a lot of strikes after World War II, which also had many people concerned.

The Taft-Hartley Act did several things to try to restore the balance of power between businesses and unions. The Taft-Hartley Act made unions shops illegal. This made it illegal for a company to only hire union workers. Closed shops were also illegal. A closed shop required a person to join a union upon being hired. States were also allowed to pass right to work laws. Unions were prevented from using their money for political activities. While President Truman vetoed this law, Congress overrode it.

Robert Taft tried to restore a balance of power between unions and management with his sponsorship of the Taft-Hartley Act.

In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" story and BBC film adaptation, what would you say were some of Sherlock Holmes' motivations?

Sherlock Holmes has at least three principal motives for getting involved in Helen's Stoner's case. In the first place, he frequently helps young ladies in distress out of sympathy and chivalry. This motivation can be seen in such stories as "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," "The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist," "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches," "A Case of Identity," and "The Adventure of the Dancing Men."

Another motive is professional curiosity. Watson repeatedly informs the reader that Sherlock Holmes has a compulsion to use his analytical powers and that he will only take cases that interest him. He is not particularly concerned about money because he has become so famous that wealthy people pay him large sums for his help. An example is "The Adventure of the Priory School" in which the Duke of Holdernesse writes Holmes a check for six thousand pounds, which would be the equivalent in buying power of at least a million dollars today.

A third motive in "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is the challenge presented by Dr. Grimesby Roylott, who bursts into Holmes rooms shortly after his stepdaughter Helen Stoner has left and issues the following threat.

“I will go when I have said my say. Don't you dare to meddle with my affairs. I know that Miss Stoner has been here. I traced her! I am a dangerous man to fall foul of! See here.” He stepped swiftly forward, seized the poker, and bent it into a curve with his huge brown hands.

“See that you keep yourself out of my grip,” he snarled, and hurling the twisted poker into the fireplace he strode out of the room.

This is the only time Dr. Roylott is seen alive, but he seems to haunt the remainder of the story, making it, as the author intended, a conflict of man against man, Holmes against Roylott. Holmes is doubly motivated to interfere in this half-mad bully's affairs just because Roylott has warned him not to do it. 

So in "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," Sherlock Holmes has three strong motives for solving the problems brought to him by Helen Stoner. The great detective not only saves Helen's life but clears up the two-year-old "locked room" mystery of the death of her sister Julia--all in less than twenty-four hours. His conflict with Dr. Roylott is resolved when the villain is killed by his own poisonous snake. 

What are the two theological themes of the book of Joshua?

There are number of themes one can extrapolate from the book of Joshua. This short paper from Bethel University lists seven which are predominant: "(1) the land, (2) God's promises, (3) the covenant, (4) obedience, (5) purity of worship (holiness, (6) godly leadership, and (7) rest." Of these, the land and God's promises are perhaps most evident.

The book of Joshua begins as the Israelites are about to enter Canaan, the "Promised Land." The book describes their entry into the land and conquest (at at times, lack of conquest) of the native inhabitants, as God had commanded them.

Closely connected to "the land" is the theme of God's promises. Israel's entry into Canaan served as the fulfillment of the promise God made Abraham in Genesis 12 (that he would make him a great nation). The Israelites had clung to this promise for numerous generations, and finally they were able to see it come to fruition. Likewise, God promised he would drive out the inhabitants of Canaan so the Israelites could possess it; according to the book of Joshua, the Israelites were able to conquer any Canaanites they actively tried to eradicate.

What are some ways in which capitalism inflicts corporeal pain onto bodies?

Capitalism inflicts corporeal pain on the body in several ways. Foremost, its logic demands maximizing profit to the greatest degree. This means, in a variety of forms, subjecting and subordinating the natural rhythms of the human body to the dictates of the machine. In essence, Marx said, profit came through dehumanizing the body by making it a part of the machine.

This led to pain as human bodies, which Marx said were naturally set to work eight hours a day, were forced into ever longer work days to accommodate the rigidities of the 24-hour factory. Work days stretched to as long as 15 and 16 hours. Marx, in Capital, quotes several observers:

 "Cruelty was, of course, the consequence...In many of the manufacturing districts, but particularly, I am afraid, in the guilty county to which I belong [Lancashire], cruelties the most heart-rending were practised upon the unoffending and friendless creatures who were thus consigned to the charge of master manufacturers; they were harassed to the brink of death by excess of labour...were flogged, fettered and tortured in the most exquisite refinement of cruelty;...they were in many cases starved to the bone while flogged to their work and...The beautiful and romantic valleys of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lancashire, secluded from the public eye, became the dismal solitudes of torture, and of many a murder. The profits of manufactures were enormous; but this only whetted the appetite that it should have satisfied, and therefore the manufacturers had recourse to an expedient that seemed to secure to them those profits without any possibility of limit; they began the practice of what is termed "night-working," that is, having tired one set of hands, by working them throughout the day, they had another set ready to go on working throughout the night; the day-set getting into the beds that the night-set had just quitted, and in their turn again, the night-set getting into the beds that the day-set quitted in the morning. It is a common tradition in Lancashire, that the beds never get cold."

... Mr. Broughton Charlton, county magistrate, declared as chairman of a meeting held at the Assembly Rooms, Nottingham, on the 14th of January, 1860, 'that there was an amount of privation and suffering among that portion of the population connected with the lace trade, unknown in other parts of the kingdom, indeed, in the civilized world...Children of nine or ten years are dragged from their squalid beds at two, three, or four o'clock in the morning and compelled to work for a bare subsistence until ten, eleven, or twelve at night, their limbs wearing away, their frames dwindling, their faces whitening ...'

Division of labor also dehumanized the laborer, according to Marx, leading to a withering of mental and physical attributes as people performed repetitive tasks over and over without producing any specific thing, only one tiny part of a larger whole. He deplored the loss of the artisan, who controlled the fruits of his labor. Once again, profit and the machine dictated that human bodies became separated or alienated from what they were producing.

What is the difference between the Krebs cycle that takes place in animals and the Krebs cycle that takes place in plants?

The short answer to your question is that there is no difference, and here's why:

The Krebs Cycle is the second set of reactions in cellular respiration (in between glycolysis and chemiosmosis). The Krebs Cycle occurs in the mitochondria and produces a small amount of ATP (the main energy-containing molecule directly usable by cells), but mainly it creates the NADH and FADH2 that are needed for oxidative phosphorylation and chemiosmosis where large amounts of ATP are produced. An often misunderstood fact is that both plants and animals have mitochondria that produce ATP using cellular respiration. 

Plants, though, also create ATP (along with NADPH) during the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis, which occurs in the chloroplasts of the cell. This ATP and NADPH go on to help power the reactions of the Calvin cycle, which produces glucose (and other products the plant can use). Plants use this ATP and also the ATP produced from cellular respiration in the mitochondria. In this way, plants have two ways of getting ATP while animals only have cellular respiration.

What is an IS/IT strategy?

The abbreviation IS/IT stands for "Information Systems/Information Technology." It is defined as a long term planning process that creates comprehensive ways to manage information and technology as part of the overall business plan, which aims to create shareholder value. What an IS/IT strategy does is explain how IT should not be handled on an ad hoc basis but rather according to long-term planning that ensure company wide use of information as a strategic business resource in support of the company's business plan.

In practical terms, this means that rather than each division or person implementing software and hardware strategies as needed over the short term, implementation of database design to network infrastructure come under a CIO or other centralized IT department as standardized and coordinated IS planning. Consequently, the various departments, such as the sales, marketing, and development departments, of a company will share data seamlessly. An IS/IT strategy can also save a company considerable amounts of money by coordinating purchasing, support, upgrades and tracking of information technologies. 

In Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, what further details do we learn about the incident in Weed? How do we find out?

The first information about the incident in Weed comes out in Chapter One when George's suppressed anger at Lennie explodes and he tells him--and the reader--everything he feels about their relationship in a page-long tirade:

"Jus' wanted to feel that girl's dress--'jus wanted to pet it like it was a mouse--Well, how the hell did she know you jus' wanted to feel her dress? She jerks back and you hold on like it was a mouse. She yells and we got to hide in a irrigation ditch all day with guys lookin' for us, and we got to sneak out in the dark and get outta the country."

Then, in Chapter Three, George tells Slim about the Weed incident, and we readers get a few further details. George was not with Lennie when the incident started. He came running but had to hit Lennie over the head with a fence picket before he could make him let go. George explains that Lennie became confused and "scairt" when the girl started screaming. 

"So he reaches out to feel this red dress an' the girl lets out a squawk, and that gets Lennie all mixed up, and he holds on 'cause that's the only thing he can think to do."

The Weed incident foreshadows what will happen in the barn when Lennie can't or won't let go of Curley's wife's soft hair. Only, this time, George is not present to interfere. What happens to Curley's wife in the barn might have happened to the girl in Weed right on the main street of town if George hadn't been there to force Lennie to let go of her red dress. 

When George sees the dead body of Curley's wife in the barn, he realizes that he can't trust Lennie out of his sight anymore.

"I should of knew," George said hopelessly. "I guess maybe way back in my head I did."

The word "hopelessly" tells how George feels. He is worn out with looking after this giant with a child's brain. We do not understand how he resolves his inner conflict until the last chapter, when it turns out that it was he who took Carlson's Luger, and not Lennie, as everybody else assumes. We realize at this point that George had made a decision to kill his friend rather than let him be tortured and killed by Curley's lynch mob. 

How did Nativism affect American attitudes toward foreigners?

The term “nativism” can be defined in somewhat different ways.  For example, one of the links below defines nativism as the

belief that protects or favors the interest of the native population of a country over the interests of immigrants.

The other link puts things more bluntly.  It says that nativism is “anti-immigrant sentiment.”  I tend to lean toward this second definition.  Nativism is an attitude that prefers natives of one’s own country and which, importantly, is hostile to immigrants.

Nativism, then, is itself an attitude towards foreigners.  Americans have, at many points in our history, held nativist views.  This was especially true in the mid-1800s, when the Know-Nothings were strongly opposed to Irish immigrants and around the 1920s, when the KKK and others were opposed to immigrants, particularly those from Southern and Eastern Europe.

It is hard to say that nativism affected American attitudes towards foreigners because nativism is actually an attitude towards foreigners.  We can say, however, that nativist attitudes led many Americans to oppose immigration and to have very negative views of foreigners and immigrants.

The level of the solution in the hollow at the top of the potato rose. Use your knowledge of water potential to explain why.

Water potential is a ratio, a comparison of water per unit volume in relation to pure water.  When water is in a solution, as is the case in living cells, like those of a potato, its potential takes on a negative quality.  If I am reading this question correctly, a hollow spot in the potato experiences a rise in solution level.  The hollow would be a lower concentration of water, so even the lowered potential of water in solution would enter the hollow.  The tendency is for an area of high water potential to flow to an area of low water potential.  So it would make sense to expect to see the hollow collect solution from the cells of the potato, where the water potential is higher.  This is the governing principle behind osmosis, which is diffusion of water from an area of high water concentration to an area of lower water concentration.  It also determines capillary action, water's tendency to move within the structure of plants vascular systems.

Where is DNA located in prokaryotic cells? Eukaryotic cells?

Prokaryotic cells are very small cells found in bacteria and archaea. Archaea are similar to bacteria however they are extremophiles, meaning they are found in extreme environments on Earth where it seems unlikely for life to exist. A characteristic of prokaryotic cells is that they lack membrane-bound organelles. Their DNA is located in the cytoplasm but not enclosed by a membrane-bound nucleus. A plasma membrane separates the cell from its surrounding environment. The organization inside these cells is fairly simple.

Eukaryotic cells are larger and contain various membrane-bound organelles that perform different functions necessary to maintain the life of the cell. Some organelles include the mitochondria, vacuoles, and endoplasmic reticuli among many others. A plasma membrane encloses the cell and the DNA is found inside the nucleus, a large membrane-bound organelle inside the cytoplasm. Organisms that are eukaryotes include plants, animals, fungi and protists.

In a side by side comparison, Eukaryotic cells appear much larger and more complex than Prokaryotic cells. I have attached a link with an excellent chart and diagram of each type of cell.

What is density of a mineral?

Density (also known as specific gravity) is an important physical property of minerals (physical properties are measurable and apply to the characteristics of a substance). The formula for density is as follows:

Density = mass / volume

Units that are usually used for density are grams per milliliter (g/mL) and grams per centimeter cubed (g/cm^3).

The density of a mineral can be measured using different apparatuses and techniques. Besides using a simple balance (to determine the mass) and water displacement (to determine volume, these techniques include the jolly balance or psychnometers.   

The jolly balance and beam balance methods are best suited for mineral specimen work. The pycnometer is best suited for the density measurement of fine and small particles. The steps for each method are identified via the links listed below:

Jolly Balance instructions: http://davehirsch.com/other/Jolly%20Balance.htm 

Psychrometer instructions:  https://staryweb.fpharm.uniba.sk/fileadmin/user_upload/english/Fyzika/Density_determination_by_pycnometer.pdf 

In the short story "Thank You M'am" what is a theme I could use and how?

Theme is the underlying message of a literary work. Langston Hughes communicates the theme of dignity and trust in his short story “Thank You M’am.” When Roger attempts to steal the imposing Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones’ purse in order to get money to buy a pair of blue suede shoes she has the choice of calling the police or teaching him a lesson herself. She decides to take him home to teach him a life lesson he will long remember.

Mrs. Jones is a hard working, dignified woman who understands what it is like to be young, poor, and uncared for. She wants Roger to realize that in spite of life’s obstacles he will fare better if he maintains his dignity and trustworthiness. In their short encounter, she provides him with that lesson by taking him to her small room where she shares her supper with him. She has him wash up, and gives him opportunities to take her purse and run off. He seems to surprise himself by demonstrating that he can be trusted. He does not leave with her purse instead he stays and eats with her while she tells him a bit about her life. In the end, Mrs. Jones provides him with money for the new shoes. She does not lecture him or yell at him, instead she allows him to have self dignity and to demonstrate that he can be trusted. He is so overcome by her kindness that he has a hard time thanking her. In this short story, theme is exhibited in the dialogue and actions of characters.

How can a new car salesperson use what he/she knows about cognitive dissonance (sometimes called buyer’s remorse) to make a customer more content...

In order to understand how a car sales man or woman can use the idea of cognitive dissonance theory to make a customer more content with their purchase, one must understand what cognitive dissonance theory is. Cognitive dissonance theory was purposed in 1957 by Leon Festinger. Cognitive dissonance can be defined as acting different from your beliefs, leading to feelings of anxiety, guilt, or other negative emotions. In this example, a customer, when buying a car, may believe that it is better to have a large amount of money saved, rather than spent. Counter to this belief, buying a car requires spending a lot of money. Upon buying the car (i.e. spending, the action, rather than saving, the belief) cognitive dissonance occurs. 

Part of Festinger's theory states that in some way the person will resolve dissonance. One such way, would be to simply change their action, and return the car. Something the car dealer is looking to avoid.

The car salesman can intervene before the sale however, to promote other strategies for the buyer in dealing with cognitive dissonance after the purchase. One such way would be for the car dealer to convince the customer that it's ok to spend money. This strategy may be difficult for the salesmen because it requires convincing the other party to change their beliefs. 

Alternatively, a more effective strategy the salesman may use is to rationalize to the buyer the effects of their decision, and focus on how the aspect of spending the money to buy a car would actually be beneficial to stronger held beliefs such as protecting their family with the newest safety features. In this example, spending the money, while creating dissonance, would also be fulfilling the belief of keeping ones family safe. In this way, the purchaser is able to fulfill another stronger need, justifying keeping the car despite the dissonance created by spending the money. 

Hope this helps!

What is the metaphor in the poem "Lines Written in Early Spring" by William Wordsworth?

In this poem, the speaker is resting in nature in early spring, “In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts/Bring sad thoughts to the mind.”  And so he contemplates the beauty of the flowers and birds around him, personifying nature and imbuing it with peace and serenity and balance, and contrasts this with the imbalance of humankind – all the ills imposed upon man, by man. 

The metaphorical quality of the poem can be difficult to spot, for it is not a one-off comparison but rather one that embodies the entirety of the piece itself.  We can find it referenced in the line "To her fair works did nature link / The human soul that through me ran."  The poet is comparing the “fair works” of nature to the human soul  -- the natural world without to the natural world within.  This further underscores the dismay felt by the speaker at the actions of man toward mankind, for if the two are comparable, how can it be that there is so much peace in nature, and yet so little peace among men?

This is further expressed by the human characteristics given to elements of nature – “every flower” that “enjoys the air it breathes,” the pleasure felt by the playing birds and the “budding twigs” in their effort “to catch the breezy air.”  By using these human actions and feelings Wordsworth emphasizes the metaphor of man’s internal feelings being like nature’s instinctual actions, and by extension the speaker can only assume that each human being feels pleasure just from being alive.  And therefore the speaker laments, again, man’s inability to let this pleasure lie.

How does Emerson feel about isolation for the sake of isolation in "Self-Reliance"?

Emerson thinks personal isolation can be good from time to time. See what he says in paragraph 29:

I like the silent church before the service begins, better than any preaching. How far off, how cool, how chaste the persons look, begirt each one with a precinct or sanctuary! So let us always sit. . . But your isolation must not be mechanical, but spiritual, that is, must be elevation. At times the whole world seems to be in conspiracy to importune you with emphatic trifles. . . But keep thy state; come not into their confusion. No man can come near me but through my act.

Emerson's point is that individuals need time away from the mob, society, and even their families. Only then can they discover their own identities and what matters to them. Only then can they successfully allow other people to come into their lives. Interestingly enough, Emerson published this essay in a compilation volume that came out shortly before his friend Henry Thoreau asked if he could build a small house to live in alone on the Emerson wood lot next to Walden Pond. Thoreau ended up living out the tenets Emerson speculated on in both “Self-Reliance” and “Nature.” While the writer-philosopher wrote down and publicized the ideas, the practitioner-philosopher went out and fulfilled them.

Please explain the main ideas in the "Reform" chapter of Joyce Appleby's book- Inheriting the Revolution: The First Generation of Americans.

Below is an explanation of the main ideas in the Reform chapter:

1)After the American Revolution, secular and religious forces formed an alliance that shaped the 'cultural innovations of the first generation' of newly independent Americans. Those who supported and fought for the right to be free from English rule further reinforced the need for self-improvement and social progress. The result of their concerted efforts saw a proliferation of volunteer organizations such as literary societies, Masonic chapters, professional associations, debating and study clubs, and charitable organizations within the American public sphere.

2)Parallel to the secular changes in society, the Great Awakening signaled the new growth of independence within the realm of religion. Challenges to the old hierarchy turned the state-supported Anglican church into the American Protestant Episcopal Church. Likewise, the Methodists and Unitarians paved new ground in efforts to bolster the emerging spiritual independence of worshipers. Preachers commenced teaching a new gospel of self-reliance and dependence upon God instead of upon religious authorities and entrenched 'Calvinist doctrines of predestination and damnation.' The new revivalists sought not only to revolutionize religious faith in America, they also sought to proselytize the larger public. In other words, reformers sought to impress the need for evangelical zeal in missionary work into the consciousness of the average American.

3)In due time, the emphasis on a personal faith experience led to further splinters within mainstream Christianity. New denominations quickly formed to supply the demands of spiritually inquisitive adherents. Among these were the Quakers, Seventh Day Baptists, Disciples of Christ, Free Will Baptists, Universalists, and Mormons. The Second Great Awakening also ushered in new African-American worshipers into congregations. The challenge of assimilating these new worshipers into churches also highlighted the larger debate of slavery within white communities. Subsequently, the inability to reconcile entrenched prejudices with new doctrines of equality forced many denominations to accept segregated congregations.

Because of slave revolts, some reformers welcomed the idea of colonizing free blacks in far-flung countries such as Haiti and Africa. They reasoned that relocation was necessary to reconcile the entrenched views of both Southern and Northern white communities with abolitionist views. While Southern whites feared that free blacks would threaten their sovereign right to own slaves, Northern whites viewed free blacks as competition for jobs.

4)In order to produce a populace that valued the self-discipline necessary to support a system of 'limited government and economic enterprise,' revivalists concentrated efforts on bolstering Sabbath observance, temperance activities, missionary work, and religious education. Efforts to support sobriety became a main priority in the 19th century, as even American ministers and school-masters were not immune to excesses in this area. Alcoholism was a pervasive, cultural problem which posed a threat to societal integrity. The efforts of reformers proved crucial and subsequently laid the foundations for a national temperance movement which led to Prohibition.

5)The Sabbath observance issue favored by reformers raised concerns about abuses within the sphere of religious authority. Questions also arose about the need to maintain the separation of church and state.

6)Reformers also sought to combat the pervasive problem of 'ritualized violence such as duels and staged fights...' in America.

What simile does Captain Keller use to describe Annie teaching spelling to Helen?

In Act 3 of The Miracle Worker, Annie has been teaching Helen in a place apart from the family. When the Captain and Mrs. Keller arrive early to pick Helen up, Captain Keller sees Annie finger spelling with Helen.

When Helen realizes her dog is in the room, she tries to teach the dog to finger spell. Captain Keller notes, "Teaching a dog to spell. The dog doesn’t know what she means, any more than she knows what you mean, Miss Sullivan. I think you ask too much, of her and yourself."

Helen's parents don't believe she can have any real understanding of language any more than the dog can. Her overall behavior has improved: when she was with Annie, she stopped the tantrums, ate without throwing food, and bathed herself.

But at this point in the play, Captain Keller has a point. Helen hasn't had the breakthrough yet to really understand what the movement with her fingers means. That comes later.

Margie's car can go 32 miles on a gallon of gas, and the gas costs 4 per gallon. How many miles can margie drive on $20 worth of gas

For this type of word problem, the given conditions can act as conversion factor or ratio.

 Let us list the given conditions:

Condition 1: 32 miles on a gallon of gas.

As conversion factor:  32 miles = 1 gallon gas

              32 miles               1 gallon gas

As ratio:  ---------------  or  ----------------------

              1 gallon gas            32 miles

Condition 2: Gas costs 4 per gallon of gas.

As conversion factor:  $ 4 = 1 gallon gas

              $ 4                       1 gallon gas

As ratio:  ---------------  or  ----------------------

              1 gallon gas              $ 4 

 Given:  $20 worth of gas.

 We can use conversion table to convert $20 = ? miles

 using the given conversion factor or ratios. The units will serve as a guide

 on how the conversion factors/ratios will be plug-in the table.

 In the conversion table, same units should be on the opposite sides to cancel out.

$20   |   1 gallon gas    |    32 miles   |

        |---------------------| ---------------|   = 160 miles.

        |      $ 4               | 1 gallon gas|

Note: The $ and gallon gas units can be cancelled out and we will be left with the unit of "miles".

Answer:  Margie can drive her car a distance of 160 miles to consume the $20 worth of gas.

How does Decius persuade Caesar to attend the Senate?

Decius understands how to play Caesar like a proverbial fiddle in Act 2 of “Julius Caesar”. Seeing that Calphurnia has convinced Caesar to stay away from the Senate, Decius without missing a beat plays on Caesar’s ego using several tactics that manipulate Caesar brilliantly. First he reinterprets Calphurnia’s dreadful (and prescient) dream of Caesar’s murder, saying that it should be interpreted only symbolically, that in the dream Caesar’s blood represents the new life and vigor he will infuse all of Rome with. For good measure, he also deploys two other strategies: tempt Caesar with the promise of a coronation in the Senate, and imply that he will be seen as cowardly if his wife’s nightmare is enough to keep him home. It’s a multi-pronged attack on Caesar’s ego, and Caesar falls for it completely, striding toward the Senate where the conspirators – and his doom – are waiting for him.

What could have happened to the littlun with the mulberry-coloured birthmark in Lord of the Flies?

The littlun with the birthmark probably died in the fire.

The smallest boys on the island are referred to as little ones, shortened to littluns.  There are many of them, and no one but Piggy ever seems to bother to get their names.  They live a pretty anonymous existence, taking a backseat to the larger boys.

When the littleun with the birthmark is first mentioned, he is a frightened little boy who does not want to speak before the group about the beast.

There was a group of little boys urging him forward and he did not want to go. He was a shrimp of a boy, about six years old, and one side of his face was blotted out by a mulberry-colored birthmark. (Ch. 2)

One day there is a huge fire, which gets out of control through the older boys’ carelessness.  The boys try to maintain a signal fire, but they did not intend to burn down the island.  It seems that the mulberry-faced boy might have died in the fire.

The death of this litteun is sort of a footnote for the older boys.  There is a description of how Henry, one of the bigger of the younger boys, is related to the mulberry-faced boy but doesn't seem to understand that he is gone.

He was also a distant relative of that other boy whose mulberry-marked face had not been seen since the evening of the great fire; but he was not old enough to understand this … (Ch. 4)

The boy is never seen again after the fire.  No one really asks any questions about him.  The older boys assume he died in the fire, and the younger ones seem to not understand that he is missing.  This is one of the first serious incidents in the book, and it shows how careless and callous the boys are about death.

The boy with the mulberry-colored birthmark on his face might have been the first to die, but he is not the last.  The deaths of Simon and Piggy can be more directly attributed to the descent into savagery of the tribe.  The littleun's death was an accident.  If he had not had such distinctive markings, they probably would not have noticed he was gone.

How does aunt Alexandra remind Scout of Mount Everest?

Your question is asking about my favorite line of text in the entire book.  

Had I ever harbored the mystical notions about mountains that seem to obsess lawyers and judges, Aunt Alexandra would have been analogous to Mount Everest: throughout my early life, she was cold and there.

The line cracks me up every single time that I read it.  It is just so blunt.  On top of that, it is one of the most completely unflattering lines of text written about a woman that I have ever read.  What woman wants to be compared to a mountain?  Scout does that with her Aunt Alexandra, but she doesn't choose just any old mountain.  She chooses the largest and most daunting mountain the world.  

I just finished reading John Krakauer's book Into Thin Air, and it retells his experience climbing Mt. Everest.  As terrifying as the mountain is, there is no doubt that the mountain itself is beautiful and awe inspiring.  But again, Scout doesn't relate Aunt Alexandra to the nice parts of Everest.  Scout simply says that she is "cold and there."  Like a giant lump of cold heartlessness.  

The reason Scout compares her Aunt to a giant, immobile mountain is because Aunt Alexandra is a strict household ruler.  Atticus has her come to Maycomb to help out with the house while he is working the Robinson case.  She comes, but she immediately brings her domineering and mountainous spirit to bear.  She tries to control what Scout does, says, and wears.  Aunt Alexandra is a giant mountain blocking Scout off from everything that she is used to doing.

Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn't supposed to be doing things that required pants.

What is Atticus's quote about seeing the world from a different point of view and its page number?

In my copy, the page is 33. It's in chapter 3. 

Scout has just completed her first day of school, in which she is told to tell Atticus to stop teaching her to read and how to write. She's seen Burris Ewell cuss out the young schoolteacher and leave her in tears, and attacked Walter Cunningham for not having money for lunch--which subsequently, in Scout's view, got her into trouble because she tried to explain to Miss Caroline that she was shaming Walter without knowing it. She went home dejected and determined to never go to school again, and when Atticus finally asks what the problem is--because he asks her if she wants to read and Miss Caroline has told her to stop--she goes to the front porch. She explains what happened, and he says, "First of all, if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view--...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." 

He's explaining how both she and Miss Caroline learned things today, and how life is a learning experience. You can't just write people off when they don't understand you--or you, them. You have to try to see things from their point of view. 

What are the different types of pencils used for sketching?

The best pencils for sketching depends on the type of drawing being made, the the type of paper being used, as well as the artist's preferred technique. For quick sketching, such as those done in a figure drawing class, softer pencils are best. Harder pencils are best to use for finer drawing and things like crosshatching. Most pencils are made of graphite, and there are a number of different levels of hardness that  create a different kind of mark on paper; this softness to hardness scale is indicated by letters on the pencils themselves, such as 4H for very hard to 9B for very soft; 2B is in the middle and is the usual "school pencil" we are all familiar with. The softer the pencil, the darker the mark it makes, and the easier it is to blend that mark with one's fingers or a gum eraser. The softer pencil makes a slightly thicker mark too, if not sharpened to a point constantly. Rougher paper surfaces will accept the pencil's mark more readily than smoother paper; but for more precision, smoother paper works better. These are all decisions the artist makes in creating the desired effect, and experimenting with different materials is part of the joy of making art.

Colored pencils can be used for sketching too, but normally artists use these in a layered effect to create colorful forms and shading, and colored pencils are not usually used for quick sketching. For one thing, they tend to cost more than graphite pencils, because they are made with pigments which can be quite costly. Some colored pencils are made with oil pigments and can create very painterly effects.

Before writing "The Most Dangerous Game," Richard Connell began his career working for the school newspaper. Write a newspaper article that...

Late last evening, Sanger Rainsford, a big game hunter from New York City, came ashore at a small village in South America. Rainsford claims he escaped from an island, which sailors call "Ship-Trap" Island, owned by a former Russian military officer named General Zaroff.

"He hunted me, but I won," said Rainsford. "Zaroff hunted men on his island, and when I didn't want to hunt with him, he gave me a hunting knife and a head start."

Rainsford accidentally fell off his yacht as it went by Zaroff's island. He survived by swimming to shore. When he met the general he was quite impressed by the beautiful chateau and the excellent manners of the Russian. Zaroff treated Rainsford to an excellent meal and they talked at length about hunting. When the general suggested to Rainsford that they hunt men together, Rainsford refused.

"I thought his idea was barbaric," Rainsford said.

The general tracked Rainsford through the jungle and, while the general succeeded in coming close, Rainsford eluded Zaroff and even injured him. Rainsford also set a trap which killed Zaroff's servant and one of his dogs.

"I finally jumped from a cliff into the sea in order to avoid being killed," said Rainsford. "I swam back to his chateau and waited for the general to return."

Rainsford says he hid out in Zaroff's bedroom and confronted the general. They fought and Rainsford succeeded in killing Zaroff. Rainsford claims there are no remains because dogs ate Zaroff's body.

"I'll never hunt again. It was a horrible experience and I now know what it's like to a be a beast at bay," concluded Rainsford.

Authorities are investigating Rainsford's story. Rainsford has cancelled his hunting expedition in Brazil and will be returning to New York City in the next few days. 

Use a graph to find approximate x-coordinates of the points of intersection of the given curves. Then...

We can see that these graphs intersect at x = 0, and around x = 1. A little greater than x = 1.

In order to approximate the area of this region we take the integral of the top function minus the bottom function from x = 0 to x = 1.

We can use u sub to find the integral of the first part, which will equal 

And the second part is just a simple power rule. So we get:

  from 0 to 1.

When evaluated gets us 7/12, or about .5833

In "The Masque of the Red Death," what underlying truth or message is Poe trying to convey to the reader?

One of the main messages of this text is that nothing can render a human being immune to death; we simply cannot escape it. Prince Prospero has the financial means to simply pick up and leave the areas of his country most affected by the Red Death. He has the ability to control the people with whom he associates, only inviting the healthiest and most carefree. Further, he has built an isolated abbey, surrounded by stone walls and iron gates, and his guests have brought furnaces and hammers so that they can weld all the bolts and secure themselves that much more. There is enough food and drink, entertainment and diversion to last them a very long time. However, in the end, none of this is sufficient to protect them from death. Neither money nor exclusivity nor preparedness can prevent the inevitable end for all of us.

In the story "The Revolt of 'Mother'," what might the qualities of Mrs. Penn's house say about her?

The house that Sarah Penn was living in at the beginning of the story is old and rundown. It is stated early on in the story that Mrs. Penn had been living in that tiny house for forty years even though her husband, Adoniram, had promised shortly after they were married that he would build her a better one. If the house was difficult to live in when they'd just moved in, then clearly it must have become even more cramped and disheveled over time and as more people began to occupy it. 

Mrs. Penn says that the bedrooms are too small, the cheap wallpaper is dirty and peeling, the pantry is tiny, and that some rooms, if not all, have no carpet. This dismal living space represents how patient and submissive Mrs. Penn has been for forty years. Her children grew up and she grew old in a house that even her own husband had declared not fit for them to live in. Her submission to her husband's stubborn refusal to build a better home or to even spend any decent amount of money on making the one they have cozy is literally reflected in the bleak state of their house. 

However, it is also a symbol of how amazingly resilient, loyal, and hard-working she is. Mrs. Penn keeps her rundown home clean, tidy and in the best shape she is able, despite the horrible disrespect her husband shows her every day. She considers her job as a mother and a wife is to take good care of the house and all who live in it. 

"She was a masterly keeper of her box of a house. Her one living-room never seemed to have in it any of the dust which the friction of life with inanimate matter produces."

Even her husband's mistreatment cannot keep her from performing her job impeccably. Later on in the story, she moves her things and her children into the new barn and this house also becomes symbolic of her character.

She describes the new barn as nicer than their old home, which subtly clarifies that her husband, although perhaps unknowingly, treated her and their children as worth less than animals. The barn was built for beasts of burden that serve Adoniram and that is, essentially, what the mother has been doing for forty years. She says that their new home will need partitions and furniture, symbolizing how open and honest she is finally being, but also how she'll need to create new boundaries in their lives and that she'll require better treatment. 

Ultimately, their new home represents the better possibilities in their lives now that Sarah Penn finally got her husband to really listen to her.

What are some examples of imagery in The Catcher in the Rye?

Imagery is descriptive language to produce mental images. Using imagery is one of the best tools an author can use to engage readers in stories. One way to identify imagery is to look for when an author uses one or more of the five senses to create those mental pictures. Taste, touch, smell, sight, and the sense of hearing are tools most everyone can use to relate to a situation or a character. If a reader understands how it feels to walk through a snowstorm, for example, then when a character does the same thing, that reader can pull from his/her own experiences and become more engrossed in the story. Since The Catcher in the Rye is written from a 16 year-old's perspective, many of the imagery is laced with profanity; but, that also gives the story more authenticity. The following are a few lines that use the sense of sight and similes to help describe snow falling:

"There were about three inches of snow on the ground, and it was still coming down like a madman. It looked pretty as hell, and we started throwing snowballs and horsing around all over the place" (35).

One might have to stop and think for a minute to realize what Holden means by comparing a madman to the snow falling because they are two very dissimilar things, but it works. He also uses contradictions suchs as "pretty as hell" which make the reader stop and notice the image. The next quote uses sound in an fun, adolescent way:

"I mean I can't remember exactly what I was doing when I heard his goddam stupid footsteps coming down the corridor" (40).

How footsteps can be "stupid" might be unrealistic, but the wording is hilarious! Another good image is one that uses sight as he describes how the prostitute enters the hotel room:

"She came in and took her coat off right away and sort of chucked it on the bed. She had on a green dress underneath. Then she sort of sat down sideways on the chair that went with the desk in the room and started jiggling her foot up and down. She crossed her legs and started jiggling this one foot up and down. She was very nervous, for a prostitute" (94).

The quote above chronicles the girl's movements, the color of her dress, the coat and the bed, the chair and the desk, as well as how nervous she was. The reader can picture perfectly how the scene moves from one point to the next because the descriptions are precise for the sense of sight.

How can I determine whether or not an intervention is implemented successfully and what lessons public health practitioners can learn from that...

Once a public health intervention is implemented, the program, or intervention, should then be evaluated to determine its effectiveness.  When conducting a program evaluation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends following a framework for program evaluation. 

In the first step of program evaluation, the reviewer would like to engage stakeholders.  This can be accomplished through personal interviews and focus groups, for examples. Second, the evaluator should describe the program. In order to describe the program, the evaluator may wish to observe the program in action or, if feasible, participate in the program to gain a better understanding of the intervention. Third, the reviewer should focus the evaluation design. The focus should determine what parts of the program specifically should be improved, removed, or stay the same. Fourth, the reviewer should gather credible evidence, or data.  Data can be gathered through analysis of existing data or collecting new data points through qualitative and quantitative surveys. Fifth, the evaluator should have a means to justify conclusions made. Typically, statistical analysis of valid data will demonstrate conclusions and areas for improvement. Finally, the evaluator should ensure use and share lessons learned. Sharing lessons learned may be done through presenting information to a leadership team or creating a report to be utilized by the program evaluated. 

When conducting the program evaluation, however, the reviewer should recognize that each step is not mutually exclusive of the next and many of the steps do overlap. 

I'm doing a project for my English 7-8 class and I need 8 different kinds of archetypes.

According to Merriam-Webster, an archetype is  "the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies :  prototype; also :  a perfect example".  I would be happy to provide you with eight different types of archetypes.

1. The hero (or heroine), one who is the epitome of goodness and perseveres to defeat "the bad guy"- Wesley from The Princess Bride. 

2. The innocent youth, one who needs protection because of their naivety or weakness - Snow White from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

3.  The doppelganger, someone who mirrors a character and fulfills their evil desires - Mr. Hyde from The Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

4.  The villain, the character who does bad things because they are essentially warped - Mr. Potter from It's a Wonderful Life. 

5.  The scapegoat, the poor individual who takes the fall for all of life's mishaps - Snowball in Animal Farm. 

6.  The mentor, their purpose is to protect the main character - Korbin Dallas in The Fifth Element. 

7.  The sidekick, a complement to the main character - Tonto in The Lone Ranger. 

8.  The parent, someone who protects, guides, and nurtures - The Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. 

Examples of barriers of communication

According to the Business Dictionary, barriers of communication are obstacles in the workplace that prevent the effective exchange of thoughts and ideas.  These barriers can include:  status differences, gender differences, cultural differences, racial and ethic differences, prejudices, and the work environment.

Status differences, especially with regard to the interaction between subordinates and superiors, can create a barrier to communication by making and employee feel intimidated and hesitate to share his or her opinions and ideas.  Furthermore, superiors often fail to ask for these opinions and ideas not realizing the value that they may have.

Different types of biases can present a barrier to communication.  They often dictate the way one interprets a message as well as one's willingness to communicate with those toward whom they are biased.

The work environment can also create a barrier to communication.  Employees and supervisors may not be situated where they can easily interact with each other.  In addition, certain job functions can get in the way of effective communication.

What was the American reaction to President Roosevelt securing of the canal zone?

American reaction to President Roosevelt securing the Panama Canal Zone was quite positive. The United States was in an imperialistic mood in the early 1900s. The United States wanted to spread its influence worldwide in the late 1890s and early 1900s. We had just gained Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. We were also interested in building a canal in Central America.

The United States wanted to be the country that built the Panama Canal. People from other countries had tried to do this, but they weren’t successful. We offered Columbia $10 million for the land to build the canal, plus a yearly rent of $250,000. When Columbia refused this offer, we supported a rebellion in Panama against Columbia. When Columbia tried to end the rebellion, our military wouldn’t allow them to end the rebellion. We quickly recognized the independence of Panama and offered them the same deal with Panama that Columbia had refused. The Panamanian government accepted the offer. By building the Panama Canal, we could significantly shorten the time it took to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. It also showed American ingenuity at work.

Since the building of the Panama Canal helped reinforce the idea that our country was a world power as well as showing the capability of American business, industry, technology, medicine, and creativity, many Americans were very supportive of our effort to secure the Panama Canal Zone as well as our building of the Panama Canal.

Who is the best character in the story "The Last Leaf," and why?

There are only three main characters in "The Last Leaf." Johnsy is either listless or asleep most of the time, so she cannot be considered the best character. Sue and Old Behrman are both good characters, and it is interesting that O. Henry made them such strong contrasting types in so many ways. Behrman is an old man, Sue is a young woman. She is a native-born American, he speaks broken English with a thick German accent. Of the two, Behrman seems to be the most unique and complex character. O. Henry had to introduce a painter who liked the two girls, but the author did not want to jeopardize his surprise ending. He misleads the reader by bringing the German painter into the story because Sue needs him for a model; and O. Henry has Behrman express his contempt for the notion that Johnsy could die simply because she identifies with the last ivy leaf on the nearby vine.

“Vass!” he cried. “Is dere people in de world mit der foolishness to die because leafs dey drop off from a confounded vine? I haf not heard of such a thing. No, I will not bose as a model for your fool hermit-dunderhead. Vy do you allow dot silly pusiness to come in der prain of her? Ach, dot poor leetle Miss Yohnsy.”

The dialect and broken English make it a little hard to understand Berhman's thoughts and feelings. This is an advantage to the author because it makes it easier for him to mislead the reader about the old man's intentions.

Behrman is the best character because he is more complex than the two girls. He is much older and experienced. He has accepted his failure. He drinks to excess. He pretends to despise fantasies and feelings, and yet he sacrifices his life because of his feelings for both Sue and Johnsy. He is a failure as an artist, and yet he creates a masterpiece when he climbs the tall, steep ladder in the icy weather and paints a single leaf on the well as a gift which imparts his courage to the sick girl who has been watching and waiting for it to fall.

if DNA sequence is GATTCGAATCGATTAG, what is the mRNA sequence?

When mRNA transcribes DNA, it follows base pairing rules as follows:

If DNA contains Thymine, the mRNA complement is Adenine. If DNA contains Adenine, the mRNA complement is Uracil. This is because RNA doesn't have the base thymine as found in DNA. If DNA contains cytosine, the mRNA complement is guanine. Finally, if DNA contains the base guanine, the mRNA complement is cytosine.

With those rules in mind, if the original DNA template is:

the mRNA template is:        C U A A G C  U U A G C U A A U C

Remember follow the base pairing rules when you need to show the mRNA transcript, produced from the DNA blueprint.

In the Lord of the Flies, how do the "painted faces" liberate the boys?

The "painted faces" liberate the boys by allowing them to engage in savage behavior without feeling self-conscious or guilty about their actions. Initially, Jack paints his face to blend in with the environment in order to camouflage himself while hunting pigs. In Chapter 4, Jack uses white and red clay, along with charcoal, to paint his face. Golding describes Jack's reaction after he looks at his reflection in the water and writes,

"He looked in astonishment, no longer at himself but as an awesome stranger...He began to dance and his laughter became bloodthirsty snarling. He capered toward Bill, and the mask was a thing of its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness." (Golding 64)

The face paint allows Jack to let his inner beast loose without feeling ashamed. The other boys follow suit and descend further into barbarism. Face paint is described as a mask. A mask covers the identity of the individual wearing it, essentially altering their physical appearance. However, in the novel, this change in external appearance is paralleled internally. As the boys begin to paint themselves, they lower their inhibitions, and become increasingly savage.

The boys' face paint correlates with native African warriors who were described as barbarians by early European colonists. This association with barbaric warriors adds to the unnerving imagery surrounding the boys' masks. Golding mentions that the boys were "freed" by paint, which meant they had the liberty to do anything their primitive human instincts desired. Behind the cover of face paint, the boys felt unrestricted.

Later on in the novel, when Ralph and his followers are discussing how they will approach Castle Rock, Eric mentions that the boys will be "painted." Golding writes, "they understood only too well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought." (Golding 172) Golding continually addresses the savage tribe of boys as the "painted group," and Ralph refers to them as "painted fools." (Golding 178) The unrecognizable and unidentifiable boys engage in primitive tribal rituals and oppose Ralph's attempt to solidify a civilized society.

What is a blood culture?

A blood culture is a test that may be ordered by a doctor when it is suspected that someone has an infection caused by either a bacteria or a fungus. The circulatory system is one of the few places in the human body where it is NOT normal to have either bacteria or fungus. Humans live in symbiotic relationships with various types of microbes; many are helpful, or at least not harmful. 

However, the blood stream is one area where bacteria or fungus are potentially very dangerous. When an infection is suspected, a sample of blood is drawn using a needle inserted into a vein. The sample is placed in a culture dish and observed for growth of any foreign microorganisms. All equipment must be kept sterile, in order to ensure that if any bacteria or fungus is found that the only possible origin is from the blood of the patient. If bacteria or fungus is found in the blood, it is referred to as a sepsis, and is a very serious condition. The microbe may be tested further to determine exactly what type it is, and what treatment is required--for example, a speciic antibiotic. Unless treated with the proper drugs a sepsis can be fatal.

Can someone describe the general look of the Finch house from To Kill a Mockingbird using direct quotes?

They live on the main residential street of Maycomb (6). They had a tree house between giant twin chinaberry trees in the back yard (8). There's a dining room that separated from the kitchen by a swinging door (27). They have a front porch and a back porch; the back porch is screened in and latches (38). It has three bedrooms--one each for Jem and Scout and Atticus. There's a carhouse (this a garage) (113). There's a folding cot in the kitchen where Cal sleeps when she stays overnight for any reason (134). There's apparently a "front bedroom" where Aunt Alexandra has her luggage placed when she comes to live (144). Of course, there's a living room with a fireplace and sofa and a chair where Atticus relaxes and reads in the evenings (and where Aunt Alexandra has her missionary society meetings) (149).