What inferences can be made about Gratiano's character in The Merchant of Venice?

Gratiano has a subordinate role in the play, but his presence helps establish the theme of rollicking bachelorhood. In addition, his voice speaks for the larger society of Shakespeare's time.

One of the first scenes in which we get a sense of Gratiano's character is during his discussion with Bassanio regarding a trip to Belmont. Gratiano has broached the topic, suggesting his assertive character, but Bassanio frustrates his intention to travel to Belmont by questioning the Venetian's character:

But hear the Gratiano; / Thou art too wild, too rude and bold of voice. (2.2.180)

Gratiano responds by promising to confine himself to good behavior (2.2.191-198). Thus, he comes across as playful and earnest in obtaining his desires. At the same time, he is revealed through Bassanio to be a bit of a knave.

In the engagement scene between Bassanio and Portia, we see Gratiano's impetuous character. Upon seeing his good friend hitched, Gratiano points to Portia's maidservant, Nerissa, and requests a marriage as well (3.2.210). In this impulsive act, we also see emphasized the theme of fraternity insofar as Gratiano wants to follow his "brother" into the married state.

Finally, in the court scene, we see the mockery Gratiano is capable of bringing against the minority character, Shylock:

A second Daniel! a Daniel, Jew! (4.1.333)

Just previously, Shylock had hailed Portia (disguised as a lawyer) as like the prophet Daniel, who was known for his sagacity and judgement. But the tables were quickly turned on Shylock, who suddenly found himself on the wrong side of the law. Gratiano's repetition of Shylock's triumphal use of this comparison mocks the money-lender and reveals Gratiano's inclination to strike when his opponent is weak. His voice in this scene melds with the sentiment that England at that time in history felt toward Jews, who, on account of their race, were denied the ability to earn an income in the guided trades, and consequently had to take up usury as their livelihood.

Ernest Rutherford's experimental results greatly surprised him. What do you think Rutherford had been expecting to find? Imagine that you lived in...

Rutherford discovered the proton, and he also discovered that the atom is mainly empty space.

He noticed that a beam of alpha particles was scattered back where it came from by gold atoms, and, since it was known that alpha particles were positive, it was deduced that there was a dense positive core in the nucleus. This dense positive core was called the protons.

Rutherford deduced that the electrons were arranged in concentric shells around this positive core, and this was in stark contrast to the model of the atom that was previously put forth by J.J. Thompson - the plum pudding model - which held that the electrons were scattered in a blob of positive charges like plums in a pudding. Rutherford expected to find the J.J. Thompson model with positive and negative particles - electrons and protons - all mixed together. 

A solar system model in which the electrons were arranged in concentric shells would cause wide angle scattering of x-rays whereas a plum pudding model would not because the positive charge would be more diffuse and allow the alpha particles to pass through. Clearly, anyone who was contemporary with Rutherford would have been (and was) surprised by his model altering discovery.

In Ayn Rand's Anthem, the author uses color as a symbol, how is this interpreted?

Just like many other authors, Ayn Rand uses color to suggest to the mind images for the reader to understand. There are colors that are associated with seasons, for example. If an author describes the setting where the trees have red and yellow leaves, then the reader can know that the time is set in autumn without the author explicitly saying so. Literary devices such as these entice the reader to participate in the story by interpreting the author's descriptive language. One of the first colors that Rand uses in Anthem is black, as in the following passage:

"The walls are cracked and water runs upon them in thin threads without sound, black and glistening as blood" (18).

Equality 7-2521 is writing in the tunnel that he found and describes the walls in an interesting way. At this point in the story he is desperate for knowledge and fulfillment. He lives in a society that is dark intellectually, but also generally because they only have candles and no electric lights. Life for him is dark and frustrating and so the character associates the water running down the walls as having dark qualities such as "black" and "glistening as blood".

Another example of Rand's use of color is when Equality describes the carved out words over the Palace of the World Council, as follows:

"These words were cut long ago. There is green mould in the grooves of the letters and yellow streaks on the marble, which come from more years than men could count" (19).

The green mold symbolizes that no one has bothered to clean up the exterior of the building, or they simply don't have the resources to do so. Both the yellowing marble and the green mold also symbolize age--that this society has existed for a very long time. These are simple devices used to give added hints to the reader as to the characteristics of the community. 

Another color associated with the community is within the sleeping halls. At least the place that Equality sleeps is clean. White can symbolize purity, but in this case, it symbolizes cleanliness and the demand for the citizens to be clean as well. That's not a bad thing, necessarily, but it also means that Equality's life does not have vibrant or happy colors. It's the absence of color in this case that symbolizes a bland, boring, and unfulfilling life.

Finally, and probably the most important color used in Anthem is gold. Out of all of the white (clean and boring), black, green, and yellow (dirty) colors, comes the most radiant one. Equality uses the word "golden" to identify with a woman he falls in love with. The golden images come from the first time he meets her, and with subsequent meetings, as follows:

"Their hair was golden as the sun; their hair flew in the wind, shining and wild, as if it defied men to restrain it" (39).

"The Golden One were kneeling alone at the moat which runs through the field. And the drops of water falling from their hands, as they raised the water to their lips, were like sparks of fire in the sun" (42)."

Golden is the color of his love's hair and the light of the sun associated with everything about her! Before meeting Liberty, Equality sought the light of knowledge; but now, he also seeks to have the light of love in his life and the color that represents that love is gold.

In Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, what are the mental states of Anne's mother and sister?

Mrs. Frank and Margot seem to be fairly fragile women when it comes to anxiety or stress. For example, when the Franks first get to the Secret Annex in July of 1942, Mr. Frank and Anne keep busy unpacking boxes and setting up their living quarters while Margot and Mrs. Frank need to relax and sleep. Anne also explains the following on that first day about her sister and mother:

"Mummy and Margot were not in a fit state to take part, they were tired and lay down on their beds, they were miserable, and lots more besides . . . Mummy and Margot were too tired and keyed up to eat, and Daddy and I were too busy" (19).

Although Mrs. Frank and Margot are prone to experience a sense of heightened anxiety, they are always in control of their emotions and manners. For example, there are a few times when Anne mentions that Mrs. Van Daan blushes but Mrs. Frank does not. Mrs. Frank can hold her own in an argument and not show a bit of frustration or anger if she so chooses. On the other hand, she does get very frustrated with Anne at times because she is a mother who wants to take care of her daughter. Mrs. Frank doesn't need to worry about Margot, though, because Anne characterizes her sister in the following way:

“I might tell you I don’t want to be in the least like Margot. She is much too soft and passive for my liking, and allows everyone to talk her around, and gives in about everything. I want to be a stronger character!” (66).

In this passage, Anne says that Margot is soft and passive, which might suggest that she isn't as strong-minded as Anne. It might also mean that Margot is simply well-mannered and shy. Nevertheless, based on Anne's perspective, Margot and her Mother are not as independent or strong-minded as she is. For the most part, though, Margot and Mrs. Frank hold in a lot of their anxiety and try not to impose their states of mind on anyone else.

Why do we still have the Electoral College? Why not not use the popular vote in each state? Voting machines and computers, are they vulnerable...

There has been some discussion about why we still have the Electoral College formally choose the President and the Vice President. The Electoral College was originally created because the Founding Fathers didn’t trust the common man to make good decisions. The Electoral College was established in the Constitution as a safeguard against the common people making poor choices for their leaders.

Today, the Electoral College exists mainly because of tradition. It has been a part of our system from the beginning of the Constitution. As a result, efforts to consider changing it meet with opposition from traditionalists. It also would require a constitutional amendment that isn’t easy to achieve. While there is little fear today that people will make poor choices when electing their leaders, and, therefore, letting the popular vote decide the results of presidential elections may sound like a good idea, it would total change the whole primary system and go against the historical precedent used in the country since the Constitution became our plan of government. Further, there have been very few elections where the popular vote winner didn’t win the vote in the Electoral College. As a result, there hasn’t been much movement to change the system we use to choose our President and Vice President.

What is the solution and conclusion in the book "Fahrenheit 451" ?

At the end of the novel, Fahrenheit 451, Montag has joined the group of book hobos where each member of the group has memorized an important work of literature or history.  Montag has memorized two parts of the Bible, Ecclesiastes and Revelations.  There is no real solution to the story because we don’t know what happens to society and Montag after he witnesses the nuclear bombing of the town where he lived and was a fireman.  Bradbury doesn’t give us any hints or clues as to what is to happen to the small group of men other than perhaps a little bit of hope that once the oppressive government is destroyed, knowledge will be born again through the memorization of the books.  By Montag memorizing Ecclesiastes, Bradbury suggests that there is a “time for everything” and the rebuilding of the society will come.

Here is the excerpt Montag memorizes suggesting that a new world is yet to come for the oppressed citizens of Fahrenheit 451.

Ecclesiastes

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

Can a country with a fixed exchange rate pursue an independent monetary policy to eliminate a recession?

It is possible for a country to have a fixed exchange rate and an independent monetary policy.  However, it is only possible if the country does not also allow for the free flow of capital in and out of the country.  If the country allows capital to enter and leave, it will not be able to engage in expansionary monetary policy while still having a fixed exchange rate.

Let us say that a country is in a recession.  In order to solve this problem, it will want to lower its interest rates.  When it does this, it will increase its money supply and will thereby stimulate its economy.  However, when it lowers its interest rates, it will become less attractive as a destination for investors’ money.  People will want to take their money and invest it in other countries where they are likely to get higher returns on their investments.  This will mean that money will leave the country.

This is where the problem sets in.  If money leaves the country, the exchange rate will have to drop.  People are selling the country’s currency as they rid themselves of assets from that country.  This increases the supply of the country’s currency and drops the demand for it.  Together, these factors cause the value of the currency to drop. 

If the country wants a fixed exchange rate, it cannot let this happen.  It will have to buy up its currency to reduce supply and maintain demand. If a great deal of money leaves the country, the government will have to spend a great deal of money buying up its currency.  It may well run out of foreign currency to use to buy back its own currency. 

Because of this, it will be impossible for the government to maintain an independent monetary policy while also maintaining a fixed exchange rate.  The only way it can do this is by preventing capital from entering and leaving the country.  However, this is a bad thing to do because it limits the country’s ability to expand its economy.