In The Kite Runner, how do the political events in Afghanistan shape the lives of Amir, Assef, and Hassan?

The political climate shapes all three of these characters
quite differently in The Kite Runner. In the case of Amir, he is
one of the privileged members of Kabul society--the son of the wealthy, philanthropic
Baba, whose family has socialized with past rulers of Afghanistan. When the Russians
arrive, however, Baba must flee for his life, leaving his fortune and social status
behind. Baba and Amir begin a new life in California, a lower middle class life much
different from what they had experienced in their homeland. Assef's family is also a
wealthy one who stays in their country and suffers at the hands of the Russians;
however, when the Taliban come to power, Assef joins them and rises in the ranks. He
takes to the murderous eradication of Taliban enemies, and thrives in this new
atmosphere of terror that rules Afghanistan. Hassan's life is a better one while Baba
lives there. Although the Hazari are the lowest in Afghan culture, they are able to live
in relative peace. Things really do not change for him during the Russian rule, but when
the Taliban take over, they attempt to purge the Hazari. Hassan and his wife eventually
become just two of their many victims.

what is the meaning of e=mc(square)?

E = mc^2 is popularly known as Einstein's Theory of
Relativity.  Although he did not come up with the formula, he was the first scientist to
put it to practical use.

E = mc^2 is mass-energy
equivalence.  E is for energy, m is for mass, and c is the speed of light in a vacuum. 
The speed of light (c) is a constant 299,792,458 miles per second.  Energy and mass
vary, depending on the object.

Mass-energy equivalence
means that an object has the same amount of energy regardless of motion.  Keep in mind
that an object that is not in motion has potential energy, while an object in motion has
kinetic energy.  As the speed of an object increases, the mass decreases and the energy
increases at an equivalent ratio.

The basic goal of
mass-energy equivalence is mass conservation and energy conservation.  Nature is
designed to waste nothing.  Energy can neither be created nor destroyed.  It only
changes form.  Following this line of logic, you can determine that mass also can
neither be created nor destroyed.

A prime example of E =
mc^2 is a nuclear reaction.  When two hydrogen atoms are united through fusion,
resulting in a helium atom.  The resulting helium atom has less mass than the two
original hydrogen atoms.  Thus, the missing mass gets converted into energy.  This
concept is also demonstrated through the thermal energy of the sun.  Hydrogen is
continuously being changed to helium through the process of fusion.  The energy is
released to warm the earth, and the mass of the sun is compensated by generating more
hydrogen.

Describe how the trial affects Scout, Jem, and Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Although the trial of Tom Robinson is alluded to on the
first page of the novel, the subject is not mentioned again until Chapter 9 when Scout
gets in a fight with Cecil Jacobs after he claims that Atticus "defended niggers."
However, the trial quickly becomes the primary focus of Part Two of the novel. Atticus'
decision to take the case turns the family's life upside down. Scout is forced to defend
the family name at school, usually by fighting, and the children have to endure the
gossip they hear on the streets of Maycomb. Atticus takes the case only because he knew
he wouldn't be able

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"to face my children otherwise. ... I'd hoped to
go through life without a case of this kind, but John Taylor pointed at me and said, '
You're It. '"

It is a case
Atticus knows he cannot win, considering the fact that Mayella Ewell is white and Tom
Robinson is black, and how a white man's word is always accepted over the word of a
black man. Jem is mightily affected by the guilty verdict, and he questions the validity
of a jury that can allow jurors to overlook the evidence they are presented. Scout
understands about the "secrets courts of men's hearts" who have made up their minds
before the trial begins. The death of Tom Robinson doesn't end the matter, since the
children  nearly forfeit their lives at the murderous hands of Bob Ewell, who Atticus
disgraced on the stand.

How might one analyze the essay "A Dialogue on Democracy," by A. S. Hornby?

A. S. Hornby’s “A Dialogue of Democracy” is a brief work
in which a young couple, Jack and Anne, discuss the different ways in which the word
“democracy” can be (and has been) defined. Among those ways are the
following:

• The American system of government,
  with a President and Congress. This system gives the President great
  powers.


• The British system of government, with a
  Prime Minister and Parliament. This system limits the power of the Prime
  Minister.


• The ancient Athenian system of
  government – a democracy in which free persons nevertheless owned
  slaves.


• A system, such as that in Britain, in
  which civil servants seem both powerful and limited in their
  power.


• A system, such as that in Britain, in
  which Members of Parliament are elected by the people but are told how to vote by party
  leaders.


• A system, such as that in Britain, in
  which the people can replace one government with another if they choose but in which
  elections can be delayed for years by the party in
  power.


• A system in which people often vote in
  their own self-interests, even when they do not understand many issues on which they are
  voting.


• A system in which at least two parties
  compete against each other.


• A system involving
  “People’s Democracies,” in which much property is owned by the
  state.


• A system in which the people are free to
  criticize the government.


• A system in which all
  people can vote but in which various kinds of inequalities still
  exist.


• A system in which people regard one
  another as equals and address one another as
  equals.

As Jack appropriately exclaims
in the very last sentence of the work,

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How difficult it is to get a definition
for this word!

Two ships leave from the same port. One ship travels on a bearing of 157º at 20 knots and the other on a bearing of 247º at 35 knots. After 8...

The first ship travels with a bearing of 157 degrees at 20
knots. Let the bearing be with respect to a ray pointing towards the east. After 8 hours
the ship has traveled 20*8*cos (157) towards the east and 20*8*sin (157) towards the
north.

Solving, we get the position of the ship as 147.28
nautical miles west and 62.51 miles north.

Similarly, the
position of the second ship is 35*8*cos (247) towards the east and 35*8*sin (247)
towards the north.

This gives the position of the ship as
109.4 miles towards the west and 257.74 miles towards the
south.

The distance between the two ships is
sqrt[(147.28-109.4)^2+(62.51+257.74)^2] = 322.48 miles.

The
bearing of the second ship is 247-157 = 90 degrees with respect to the
first.

The bearing of the second ship is 90
degrees with respect to the first and it is 322.48 miles away from it after 8
hours.

Can Human sperm fertilize animal eggs?We hear about animals producing human-like creatures, how do their ovules get fertilized by human sperm, is...

Well, the short answer is no. Both animals and plants have
evolved extensive mechanisms which prevent this from
happening.

First, sperm have to find their way to an egg.
In mammals, when the egg is released from the ovary it is surrounded by a loose group of
follicle cells. These cells release a chemical signal that the sperm swim toward. If the
signal is not correct, the sperm won't find the egg.

While
the sperm are swimming up the female's reproductive tract, ions that her body secretes
are absorbed into the sperm cells, causing internal changes that are referred to as
capacitation. In humans, capacitation takes 5 to 6 hours and must
be completed before the sperm can accomplish its next job, which is to penetrate the
zona pellucida, or egg coat. The zona pellucida has proteins that
are similar to the proteins used by the immune system, and these proteins make
cross-species fertilization nearly impossible.

Once the
sperm has successfully penetrated the zona pellucida, the acrosome
reaction allows the sperm to fuse with the membrane of the egg so that the
male's DNA can enter the egg cell. The acrosome reaction requires specific proteins that
again prevent hybridization between species.

In order for
cell division to occur and create an embryo, the paternal and maternal DNA must line up
- another block to hybridization, as DNA varies from species to species enough for this
to be unlikely to work.

An interesting side note is that
fertility clinics sometimes use enzymes to strip the zona pellucida away from hamster
eggs, and then use the stripped eggs to test human sperm for penetrating power. Although
healthy sperm can penetrate the hamster eggs in this case, the DNA alignment fails and
the fertilized eggs die without undergoing mitosis.

Which nerve controlles adductor pollicis in the hand ?

The adductor pollicis muscle has two heads both on the
palmar side of the hand. The transverse head has its origin at the volar crest of the
third metacarpal of the hand. The oblique head is attached to the ligaments of the
capitate bone at the base of the second or third metacarpal. These heads join into an
insertion on the ulnar side of the proximal phalanx of the thumb. Its motions have to do
with the adduction of the thumb.

The adductor pollicis gets
its innervation from the ulnar nerve, which has its origin at the eighth cervical
vertebra. The functioning of the innervation of the adductor pollici is tested by
looking for Froment's sign. In order to perform this test, the patient is asked to hold
a piece of paper in a pinch grip between the thumb and forefinger. The test is to try to
pull the paper out. In a normal hand there should be reasonable resistance, whereas in
palsy of the adductor fromis the paper will pull out very
easily.

Refering to "Composed upon Westminster Bridge," show why the speaker feels so awestruck and amazed at his first sight of London so early in the...

You might want to focus on the way that the poem
personifies the city of London, making it seem human. Note that we are told that London
"like a garment" wears "the beauty of the morning," the river has "its own sweet will"
and the houses are said to "sleep." Lastly, the entire sight is personified in the last
line as being a "mighty heart":

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Dear God! the very houses seem
asleep;

And all that mighty heart is lying
still!

If we examine all of
these characteristics, what seems to amaze the speaker so much is the city's beauty and
tranquility on this morning. The city throughout the poem is presented as being peaceful
and beautiful, as these three lines make clear:

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Never did sun more beautifully
steep

In his first splendour, valley, rock, or
hill;

Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so
deep!

It is the sight of this
"mighty heart lying still" in the beautiful morning sunshine that produces this sense of
calm and peace in the speaker, which makes him feel more calm than he has ever felt in
his life. This is a very novel perception of the city, for in Romantic literature they
were normally depicted as ugly and enchaining men rather than liberating them.
Wordsworth in this poem re-envisions the city, showing that it to can be a sight of
natural beauty and exploring how it can bring peace to the soul.

What are the internal conflicts in The Most Dangerous Game?

Rainsford faces many tough decisions throughout his
adventure on Ship Trap Island.  First, it was his original opinion that hunters are all
important and have no need to consider the feelings of their prey.  This is put to the
test, however, when he becomes the prey and realizes that fear rushes through the body
throughout the chase.  Though it's not revealed, the reader assumes Rainsford will
reconsider his position on hunting in the
future. 

Rainsford is also confronted with the dilemma of
playing "the game" with the General or having to fight off Ivan.  Though Rainsford is
disgusted with the whole concept of "the game", he realizes he stands no chance in hand
to hand combat with Ivan, but he can use his hunting skills and knowledge to beat the
General at his own game. 

Finally, upon returning to the
General's chateau after jumping off the cliff to avoid being captured, the General
congratulates Rainsford for beating him at the game.  He says he will arrange for
Rainsford to be sent home.  Rainsford must choose whether to trust that the General will
follow through with his promise or fight him to determine a real winner.  Of course,
Rainsford chooses to fight and comes out the winner.

Analyze the character of the elderly man in the story "Dusk" by H.H. Munro (SAKI).

The story "Dusk" by H.H. Munro (known as Saki) tells us
about a man named Norman Gortsby, who wanders around the city at dusk to take a look at
the people who come out at this time of day. Gortsby claims that only those who need to
hide from society, those who are miserable, and those who are in trouble are the ones
who would go out during dusk.

While he is at the park
sitting, he spots an elderly man who sits next to him. Instantly, Gortsby concocts a
profile about this man based solely on his looks. The impression that the elderly man
causes in him makes Gorstby believe that the man must be a loner, an angry man, and
someone who is ignored. This, he bases on the fact that the elderly man is not showy,
nor dressed to impress.

The story describes the elderly man
in the following manner:

an elderly gentleman with
a drooping air of defiance that was probably the remaining vestige of self-respect in an
individual who had ceased to defy successfully anybody or anything. His clothes could
scarcely be called shabby, at least they passed muster in the half-light, but one's
imagination could not have pictured the wearer embarking on the purchase of a half-crown
box of chocolates or laying out ninepence on a carnation buttonhole. He belonged
unmistakably to that forlorn orchestra to whose piping no one dances; he was one of the
world's lamenters who induce no responsive
weeping.

What we actually see is the figure of a
simple man. He is not flashy, petulant, nor asks for anything. He is the typical social
figure that seems to dissappear in the crowds precisely because of its simple and
transparent nature. However, to Normal Gorstby, these characteristics are symbols of a
weakness of character. As a result, he feels repulsed by the
man.

Contrastingly, when the flashy youth shows up and
tells him the lies that he invents (to get money from Gortsby), Gortsby immediately
feels a tendency to believe him and even identifies himself with the youth. When the
young man tells him that he needs money because he has lost the address to his hotel,
AND a bar of soap from the chemist shop, Gortsby does not believe him. However, when a
bar of soap happens to show up underneath the sit where the youth was sitting, Gorstby
resolved to loan him money and send him on his way.

In the
end, we know that the elderly man is the actual owner of the bar of soap, that he is
probably the one who lost it, that the youth may have even stolen it from him, and that
Gorstby has been duped. This is the lesson to be learned: Age, demeanor and appearance
do not dictate morals nor character. One cannot judge a book by its
cover.

What writing technique is used by Mark Twain in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer?

The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer is written in an episodic, humorous
way.

More than a single storyline, the book
is written in an episodic way with multiple separate storylines.  Once the story begins
moving along to the climactic incidents of the cave and the treasure, we start to have a
longer plot line.  However the beginning of the book is made up of several brief plot
lines lasting a chapter or two.

By using episodes, Twain
keeps the story light and humorous.  It is not until the end that things really seem
serious, but even serious events like the murderous Injun Joe are treated with humor. 
When Tom fakes his death, there is a pang of sorrow, but the story is still funnier than
it is sad.

How are the themes of knowledge of self and rhetorical power used in Shakespeare's Othello?

The themes of self-knowledge and rhetorical power can be
seen in many places throughout Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, and
indeed Shakespeare’s treatments of these themes are so complex that they cannot easily
be discussed here. One passage, however, invites particular
attention.

In that passage, Othello has been summoned
before the aristocrats of Venice and has been accused by one of these men, Brabantio,
with the crime of using witchcraft to seduce and marry Brabantio’s daughter, Desdemona.
Othello answers these charges in one of the most famous and rhetorically powerful of his
speeches in the entire play. Othello begins by addressing the assembled
aristocrats:

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Most potent, grave, and reverend
signiors,

My very noble and approved good
masters,

That I have ta’en away this old man’s
daughter,

It is most true; true I have married her.
(1.3.76-79)

Othello speaks
with quiet authority and genuine eloquence, even though he later wrongly claims, “Rude
am I in my speech” (1.3.81). His rhetorical power derives from his strong
self-confidence and his strong sense of self-knowledge.  At this point in the play, he
knows who he is in particular and also the kind of person he wants to be. He knows his
values; he knows his history; he knows his strengths; and he knows that Desdemona loves
him. The speech that begins “Her father loved me” is extremely powerful rhetorically,
partly for all the reasons just mentioned (1.3.127-169). Indeed, the speech is so
powerful that when it concludes, the Venetian Duke comments, “I think this tale would
win my daughter too” (1.3.170).  In this scene, therefore, Othello demonstrates the
strong tie between self-knowledge and rhetorical
power.

Ironically, another character in the first act who
also demonstrates a strong tie between self-knowledge and rhetorical power is Iago. 
After cleverly using rhetoric to manipulate Roderigo, Iago congratulates himself on his
self-knowledge and worldly wisdom:

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Thus do I ever make my fool my
purse;

For I my own gained knowledge should
profane

If I would time expend with such a
snipe

But for my sport and profit.
(1.3.372-75)

Iago is such a
rhetorically powerful figure throughout the play because he knows himself so well and
can therefore manipulate others so easily. His absolute self-assurance and
self-knowledge allow him to use rhetoric to control others, especially those who are
less and less sure of themselves, as later becomes true, ironically, even (or
especially) of Othello.

Solve for x : 3^(2x-1)=5^(x+1)

The equation 3^(2x-1)=5^(x+1) has to be solved for
x.

It is only possible to solve the given equation by the
use of logarithm and an approximate result can be
obtained.

Take the log to base 10 of both the sides of the
equation.

log(3^(2x-1))=log(5^(x+1))

Use
the property of logarithm log a^b = b*log a

(2x - 1)*log 3
= (x + 1)*log 5

(2x - 1)/(x + 1) = log 5/log
3

Now the value of log 5/log 3 is approximately
1.464973521

2x - 1 = (x
+1)*1.464973521

x*(2 - 1.464973521) = 1.464973521 +
1

x*0.5350364793 =
2.464973521

x =
2.464973521/0.5350364793

x =
4.60711300325

The solution of the equation is x =
4.60711300325

What is the difference between cytoplasm and protoplasm

cytoplasm 
Cytoplasm is a homogeneous, generally
clear jelly-like material that fills cells. The cytoplasm consists of cytosol and the
cellular organelles, except the cell nucleus. The cytosol is made up of water, salts,
organic molecules and many enzymes that catalyze reactions. The cytoplasm plays an
important role in a cell, serving as a "molecular soup" in which the organelles are
suspended and held together by a fatty membrane. It is found within the plasma membrane
of a cell and surrounds the nuclear envelope and the cytoplasmic
organelles.

Function
The cytoplasm plays a
mechanical role, that is, to maintain the shape and consistency of the cell, and to
provide suspension to the organelles. It is also a storage place for chemical substances
indispensable to life, which are involved in vital metabolic reactions, such as
anaerobic glycolysis and protein
synthesis.

protoplasm 
Protoplasm is the living
substance inside the cell. At the simplest level, it is divisible into cytoplasm and
nucleoplasm. It is also sometimes termed "bioplasm", (Beale: meaning the essential
substance of living matter within a cell) and is distinct from non-living cell
components lumped under "ergastic substances". Ergastic substances can occur in the
protoplasm. In many plant cells most of the volume of the cell is not occupied by
protoplasm, but by "tonoplast": a large water filled vacuole enclosed by a
membrane. 
The idea that protoplasm is divisible into a ground substance
called "cytoplasm" and a structural body called the Cell nucleus, reflects the more
primitive knowledge of cell structure that preceded the development of powerful
microscope of organic and inorganic substances, mysteriously directed by the nucleus and
controlled by the cell membrane. Today, it is known that the cytoplasm is structurally
very complex, and that protoplasm is living because of the complexity of the
"cytoplasmic organeles" and their careful separation and orchestration of multiple
chemical processes. 

Charles Darwin and his contemporaries viewed
"protoplasm" as the sole content of a cell, in other words, cells were nothing but
simple blobs composed of protoplasm. This simplified view of "cells biology"
circumvented the problem of the origin of life that Darwin and others struggled with.
However, that problem was later introduced in the 1950s when the complex structure of
DNA was discovered. 

The concept of protoplasm is the essence of life,
being something nearly sacred, induplicable by man. Organisms are able to ingest
chemicals produced by nature and made in a laboratory. It can evolve into quite a number
of other living creatures. 

Protoplasm exists in three forms: solid
state, liquid state and sometimes a combined solid and liquid
state. 

Whether the protoplasm is in either of the three forms depends
upon the physiological state of the cell. 

Please explicate the following lines from Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale." O for a draught of vintage! that hath been Cool'd a long age in the...

In these lines the speaker, Keats himself, is only
expressing the wish that he had something to drink and that he could get thoroughly
intoxicated. Keats was a young man, but he was developing a strong liking for
intoxicants. Many creative writers have a liking for alcohol and drugs which can be
dangerous, as I believe Emerson noted in his essay "The
Poet."

In the beginning of this poem Keats mentions hemlock
and an opiate, which would probably be a mixture of opium and alcohol. Later in the poem
he thinks of the musk rose as "the murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves"--in other
words, as a sort of pub where the flies hang out and get drunk on the nectar the flower
produces.

Keats was troubled by thoughts of death. Several
members of his family had died, and he himself expected to die of consumption. A number
of his poems deal with thoughts of death, including "Bright star, were I as steadfast as
thou art," and "When I have fears that I may cease to be." There was no cure for his
disease, so he tried to escape from thinking about it by at least two ways--drinking and
writing poetry. In "Ode to a Nightingale," which he wrote while listening to one of
these melodious birds late at night in a friend's garden, he is simply saying that he
would like to get drunk and escape from his morbid thoughts--but he just doesn't have
anything to drink. So he decides that he will try to escape in his imagination, which he
calls "the viewless [invisible] wings of poesy."

Keats
excelled in sensuous descriptions. He was not a deep thinker, but had a powerful visual
imagination. The lines quoted in your question are nothing but a description of the kind
of wine he wishes he had. He would like a whole beaker (about a quart). It would be a
red wine from the south of France. No such wine is produced in England; it would have to
come from the wine country of Europe.

The best lines in
this stanza are:

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O for a beaker full of the warm
South!
 Full o the true, the blushful Hippocrene,
  With beaded
bubbles winking at the brim
     And purple-stained
mouth.

The warm south held a
strong attraction for Keats. He felt that the warmth of southern France or Italy might
heal him, or at least make him suffer less than he did in cold, damp England. He
actually went to Itay to try to recover his health. He died there and is buried beside
another great English poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley, with whom he is often compared. The
Merriam-Webster online dictionary gives the followiing definition
of Hippocrene:

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:  a fountain on
Mount Helicon sacred to the Muses and believed to be a source of poetic inspiration

Evidently Keats like to
drink for poetic inspiration as well as for escape from his thoughts of death.

Everyone must have noticed how the little
bubbles collect at the top of a glass of wine and cling to the rim and could be said to
be strung together like beads. These little bubbles pop and might be said to be winking.
A person's tongue does become purple-stained when drinking red wine. This type of
imagery is characteristic of Keats' poetry and is the best thing about most of it. The
entire poem is full of vivid visual descriptions that will take the sensitive reader
along with the poet into the world of the immortal nightingale. F. Scott Fitzgerald
loved Keats and borrowed the beautiful phrase "tender is the night" from the fourth
stanza for the title of his best novel.

What does Ralph do to the pig's head at the end of the story Lord of the Flies? Thanks.

At the beginning of Lord of the
Flies there is a definite attempt by the boys to create their own community
which will function in a way that "grown ups" would expect. Even Jack acknowledges the
need in chapter 2 for "rules" reminding the boys that they are "not savages. We're
English..." Although reluctant at first, Jack has accepted Ralph's position as chief and
discusses how he will ensure that the choir boys who are now his "hunters" will take
care of the signal fire.  

By the end of the novel, the
order and good organization of the boys no longer exists. The conch which represented
the closest thing to democracy for the boys and which had been so significant when Ralph
was voted as chief is no more than "a thousand white fragments" (ch 11). Simon and Piggy
are dead and Ralph is alone.

When he comes across the pig's
head there is little hope for rescue or even for Ralph's survival as Jack hunts him like
he would a pig. It is ironic that as Ralph considers the possibility that Jack's hunters
might leave him alone, he compares the "lifeless" skull which is all that is left of the
pig's head, to the conch as it "gleamed as white as ever the conch had done" (ch 12).
The power has shifted and now lies with Jack.  

Ralph
wonders about the skull and is filled with "a sick fear and rage" upon which he punches
the skull but to no real purpose except that now that it has broken into two pieces its
grin is "six feet across." Ralph takes the stick which Jack had so proudly instructed
Roger to "sharpen... at both ends" (ch 8) and now it is Ralph who holds it as he would a
spear. Ralph does not turn his back on the skull as he backs away from it and continues
in his quest to protect himself. 

How is Mosca presented as a parasitic figure in Volpone?

Clearly, the way in which Mosca's name is derived from the
Italian for fly presents us with the theme of parasitism in the play at its very
beginning. Most importantly, however, is Mosca's soliloquy in Act III scene 1, where he
praises the position of being a parasite, and also argues that everyone is actually a
parasite, to a lesser or a greater extent. Consider what he says about the role of being
a parasite:

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O! your parasite

Is
a most precious thing, dropt from above,

Not bred 'mongst
clods, and clodpoles, here on earth.

I muse, the mystery
was not made a science,

It is so liberally profest!
almost

All the wise world is little else, in
nature,

But parasites, or
sub-parasites.

Mosca's view
of the world, with everyone feeding off others in some way of course is borne out by the
action in the play. All the characters are shown to attempt living off the riches of
other characters, avoiding hard work themselves. Clearly, the three death-bed suitors
are perfect examples of people "sucking" wealth from others, but let us also remeber
that Volpone is only rich because of his ability to extract wealth from
others.

What is key to realise however is the way that
parasitism is presented in an extremely positive light. As Mosca shows and discusses, it
takes considerable intelligence and skill to be a successful parasite. It is not about
laziness. Consider how Mosca presents the "art" of being a "true"
parasite:

But
your fine elegant rascal, that can rise,

And stoop, almost
together, like an arrow;

Shoot through the air as nimbly as
a star;

Turn short as doth a swallow; and be
here,

And there, and here, and yonder, all at
once;

Present to any humour, all
occasion;

And change a visor, swifter than a
thought!

This is the creature had the art born with
him;

Parasitism is therefore
depicted as a form of superiority, as the successful parasite "feeds" off other
characters through their abilities to manipulate and deceive.

Do Greek myths offer one cohesive vision of the role of women in Greek society, or is there different roles women play?

Women play different roles in Greek myths, suggesting that
women played various roles in Greek society.

Among the most
famous female goddesses are Aphrodite, the goddess of love; Athena, the goddess of
wisdom and war; and Artemis, the virgin goddess of the hunt. By just comparing these
three female figures, we see startling differences in their roles: Aphrodite is a
sensual being interested in the erotic and has many lovers, Athena is revered by heros
and philosophers and is depicted as a counselor in myth, and Artemis is revered for her
purity as well as her skill in hunting and is thereby depicted as an Amazonian-type
goddess.

Greek myths offer various prototypes of women that
have propagated in subsequent western literatures, and are often invoked by poets. The
very passionate Aphrodite and the chaste Artemis may be seen as a binary within both
Greek myth and later literatures, presenting women as one of two extremes. However, as
can be seen by Athena and others, there is nuance Greek myth's depiction of
women.

What is the main difference between Night and Dawn?

I think that the main difference between both works is
that one is a narrative of what happens during the Holocaust and the other one deals
with the implications of consciousness after it.  The premise of
Night is Eliezer's struggle to survive in the midst of absolute
horror.  The ending of the narrative is Eliezer surviving, staring in the mirror with
the incapability to recognize the figure staring back at him.  In
Dawn, the focus is more along the lines of how the survivor deals
with the anger and hatred that results when considering what happened during the
Holocaust.  Elisha's involvement in a terrorist organization whereby murder of those in
the position of power over atrocities committed.  In this case, Elisha is discharged
with the killing of Dawson, a British officer.  In such a narrative, Wiesel is exploring
the psychological implications of the post- Holocaust emotions that envelop the
individual.  This would include anger, regret, revenge, as well as how the role of
violence is a part of the post- Holocaust narrative.  In this, the scope and focus of
Dawn is different than that of
Night.

How did the Industrial Revolution change the way people lived at home.I get that it made life easier because products became much cheaper and...

To understand how the Industrial Revolution changed life
at home, you need to understand how manufacturing worked beforehand.  Taking the textile
industry as an example, the processes of carding wool, spinning and weaving were all
done in the home.  The weaver (for it would often be the head of the household) would
either employ his family or even have apprentices on
hand.

Naturally, the Industrial Revolution and the
introduction of mechanization changed all that, moving manufacturing out of the home and
into the factories.  There emerged a strong interupt between the world of work and what
went on in the home.  For the working classes this represented a great change, and
whilst the Industrial Revolution produced cheaper goods, the people who produced them
were not necessarily the ones who were able to afford them right
away.

For the middle classes, cheaper goods meant a
tremendous change in lifestyle.  If you put in today's terms, think about the products
of certain big box stores which are able to provide cheap consumer goods for low-waged
families and you have a very good idea of how middle class families were affected. 
There you have the effect.  The increase in consumer goods allowed the middle class to
ape the lifestyles of the upper classes.  So, instead of china from China, immitation
china from the English midlands adorned the table (now it is the other way around
again).

As a society we are always interested in acquiring
those things that will make life either easier or even give the impression of
affluence.  Therefore, when studying this topics it is important to note that changes to
the home came at different stages for different groups in society.  Our
great-grandmothers washed laundry by hand and continued to do so until mechanical and
then later electrical appliances were affordable.  What has been the sum effect?  Who
does the laundry in the house?  How much time is freed up?  What is done with the
balance?  These are the questions you need to consider and by looking at other household
activities and their effects you can chart the effects of the Industrial Revolution on
households.

Please give a summary of Doctor Faustus by Marlowe.

The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus,
by Christopher Marlowe, is an English play based on Faust by Johan
Goethe. It is well worth reading, and I highly recommend that you do so. In summary,
Faustus is a professor of sorts who believes that he has reached the end of all
available knowledge and determines to study magic. This leads him to make a deal with
Mephistophilis, the servant of Lucifer, that he is to have all power for twenty four
years; however at the end of the twenty four years his soul is damned forever. This
arrangment is the origin of the term "Faustian deal" when one makes a very poor decision
for short term gain, thus figuratively selling one's soul to the
devil.

During his twenty four years, Faust is given
frequent opportunities to repent, but refuses. Instead he uses--and abuses-- his power
by summoning the spirit of Alexander the Great and even Helen of Troy. When he sees
Helen, Faust utters some of the more famous lines from the
play:

Was
this the face that launch'd a thousand ships,
And burnt the topless towers of
Ilium--
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.--
Her lips suck
forth my soul: see, where it flies!--
Come, Helen, come, give me my soul
again.
Here will I dwell, for heaven is in these lips,
And all is
dross that is not Helena.
I will be Paris, and for love of
thee,
Instead of Troy, shall Wertenberg be
sack'd;

There is much more
detail than can be related here; and again, you are strongly urged to read the entire
play. However, at the end, when his time is up, Faust at last repents, but it is too
late. Faustus is carried away by devils to hell. The play ends with a solemn admonition
by the chorus, an admonition that many students, seeking to make a "Faustian deal" might
do well to heed:

readability="13">

Cut is the branch that might have grown full
straight,
And burned is Apollo's laurel-bough,
That sometime grew
within this learned man.
Faustus is gone: regard his hellish
fall,
Whose fiendful fortune may exhort the wise,
Only to wonder at
unlawful things,
Whose deepness doth entice such forward wits
To
practice more than heavenly power
permits.

In The Picture of Dorian Gray, how do Dorian and Sibyl differ in their views of art?

It is Chapter Seven that you need to refer to in answering
this question which features the conversation between Dorian and Sibyl after her
disastrous performance and also the end of their relationship. The answer also relates
explicity to one of the central conflicts or relationships that run through the entire
novel: the relationship between art and real life. Sibyl, in a very moving piece of
dialogue, talks about how her love for Dorian has changed her ideas and concepts about
art and life. Note what she tells him:

readability="14">

I believed in everything. The common people who
acted with me seemed to me to be godlike. The painted scenes were my world. Iknew
nothing but shadows, and I thought them real. You came--oh, my beautiful love!--and you
freed my soul from prison. You taught me what reality really is. Tonight, for the first
time in my life, I saw through the hollowness, the sham, the silliness of the empty
pageant in which I had always
played.

Thus we can see that
before Dorian entered her life, Sibyl's art was her reality. It was this that ironically
made her attractive to Dorian in the first place, as he makes clear straight after
Sibyl's speech:

readability="9">

I loved you because you were marvellous, because
you had genius and intellect, because you realised the dreams of great poets and gave
shape and substance to the shadows of art. You have thrown it all away. You are shallow
and stupid.

Through her love
for Dorian, Sibyl has exchanged art for reality, and as a result is now no longer able
to act. Dorian, it is shown, clearly prizes art above reality, and therefore now can no
longer Sibyl now she has become Sibyl, a real person, rather than just an actress who
has no concrete identity.

In Guns, Germs and Steel, how do hunter-gatherers control their population size?

A key element of the answer to Yali's question which
dominates the book is the fact that hunter-gatherers are necessarily limited societies.
The way that their lack of farming and agriculture necessitates the involvement of all
of its peoples in hunting and gathering has the following impacts on societies, as
demonstrated by the Chatham Islands as explained in Chapter Two of this great
non-fiction work:

1) Population density is
low

2) There are no developed
economies

3) There are no expert
craftsmen

4) There is no big system of
leadership.

The difference between hunter-gatherer
societies and societies that relied on agriculture to supply its needs are very notable,
as the dispersed bands of hunter-gatherers were never able to settle in one location and
thus this impacted population size. The number of people that can be supported by such a
style of life compared to the number of people that can be supported by an
agriculturally based society is much smaller.

In regardst to The Prince, why is Machiavelli considered the first political realist?

Macchiavelli has to be considered as one of the first
political realists because he was able to tear the veil off of politics and reflect its
true nature of power.  Prior to Machiavelli, rulers and leaders were seen as agents of
the divine, and their successes and failures were attributed to the graces of God. 
Machiavelli is honest enough to argue that the successes and failures of the prince or
political leader is dependent on their judgment, or the counsel they receive from their
advisers.  Church attendance, divine revelation, and their own spiritual base are not as
important as how the leader judges their body politic and their reactions to policies
and initiatives.  The base of all Machiavelli's logic is power and how to keep and
develop it. This is the ultimate in realism.  Machiavelli is considered to be a
political realist because he argues that the political ruler is responsible for the
success or failure.  It is not the will of fate or destiny or even God.  For
Machiavelli, if one wants to use those elements to win over the support of the people,
it makes sense to do so.  Yet, in the end it is the ruler, themselves, the prince, who
is in the ultimate position to be a success or failure.  In this, he has to be seen as
the first political realist, as he changes the scope of what constitutes
ruling.

What appropriate literary theory should we use to analyse "Games at Twilight" and the interaction among the children?

I would suggest that approaching this story from a
psychological standpoint would be most appropriate. Although Anita Desai is an author
whose fiction can be analysed from the viewpoint of postcolonialism, at the same time, I
think this story lends itself more to a psychological approach, as the epiphany that
Ravi experiences at the end of this story makes clear. Consider what Ravi learns about
himself:

He
had wanted victory and triumph--not a funeral. But he had been forgotten, left out, and
he would not join them now. The ignominy of being forgotten--how could he face it? He
felt his heart go heavy and ache inside him unbearably. He lay down full length on the
damp grass, crushing his face into it, no longer crying, silenced by a terrible sense of
his insignificance.

Such a
description reveals that the prime focus of this short story is Ravi's own psychological
awareness of his own lack of significance. Note too the way that, ironically, Ravi
refuses to play the funereal game yet he has experienced a kind of death that he becomes
aware of--the death of his innocence. His personal concerns, although so important to
him, are disregarded by everybody else. This is an important psychological stage that we
all have to go through as humans.

Describe the character of Sir Roger de Coverley in The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers?

Sir Roger de
Coverley, an old bachelor in his mid-fifties, is a fictional character created by Joseph
Addison as an author of letters and papers published in the periodical, The
Spectator, launched in the early 18th century by Addison and his friend,
Richard Steele. Sir Roger has been portrayed as a country gentleman, the benevolent
autocrat, the baronet of a large Worcestershire estate. The knight possessing  exemplary
humaneness, sympathy, moral sense and sense of responsibilty  serves as an ideal country
squire of the 18th century. In London, Sir Roger presides over the "Club,” an informal
 group of men of divergent interests and personalities. He pursues in a harmless way his
Tory politics. On the whole, Sir Roger is a fine literary portrait of a an affable
gentleman.

Can entrepreneurship solve the unemployment problem in india?

This is, of course, a matter of opinion.  My argument is
that more entrepreneurship would be a help, but that the government of India is enough
of a problem that it must be fixed before India's economy can truly take
off.

As can be seen in the link below, there are still
major problems with corruption in the Indian government.  This comes about in part
because of the continuing prevalence of the "licence Raj" which makes potential
entrepreneurs get all sorts of official permissions before they can act.  This red tape
gives many opportunities for corruption.

So, I would argue
that more entrepreneurship would help, but that India must also reform its government to
reduce red tape and corruption if it wants to solve its unemployment
problems.

What is history?

The commonly accepted (although not entirely accurate)
definition of history is the study of the past of human beings. This explanation is too
simple, as one's breakfast is part of one's "past." History is more precisely defined as
the "study of change over time." Many events happened in the past, people are born,
live, and die, but this is not "history." History is rather the study of those events in
the past which evoked change, from the time early man learned the use of fire and
developed settled architecture until the more recent events such as the War in
Afghanistan. An integral part of the study of change is also the study of continuity; a
true story of history must involve both the changes that have occurred and the customs,
practices, beliefs, etc. that have continued unchanged.

Is Alexander the Great the only person in history to have been given the title "the Great?"In class we are studying Alexander the Great and it got...

Alexander the Great is certainly the most famous person to
be called "the Great," but he is by no means the only
one.

There have, for example, been at least three rulers of
Russia who have come to be known as "the Great."  These are Catherine the Great, Ivan
the Great, and Peter the Great.  There have also been rulers of other countries, such as
Frederick the Great of Prussia, who have been given this
title.

Since there is no criteria for who gets to be called
"the Great," there is a great deal of variation in how famous and how important the
people are.  Whether or not they "deserve" it, many people other than Alexander have
been called "the Great."

How do selection pressure affect the isolated gene pool in terms of allele frequencies?

An isolated population is more likely to undergo
allopatric speciation. The isolated group may be under different environmental pressures
than its parent population, and over time an isolated group will be subject to random
mutations which will create unique attributes.

If the
isolated population is small in numbers, then it is subject to additional pressures. The
first of these is the founder effect. If the frequency of any allele is different
between the isolated group and the parent population at the time the isolation occurs,
then the isolated group experiences genetic changes from a different starting point than
the parent population, and is likely to follow a different path over time, resulting in
different allele frequencies.

Very small populations are
also prone to the bottleneck effect, which results in a loss of genetic diversity. Small
populations are also prone to inbreeding, which again may reduce the diversity of
alleles.

Can someone please explain this quote from "The Metamorphosis" and what it has to do with alienation?"Likewise the ash can and the garbage can from...

There is tremendous importance in this quote and the way
that it describes how the room where Gregor dwelled became used by the family as time
passed and as they took in lodgers. Note the full quote that is given in my translation
of this classic work:

readability="13">

For this reason, many of the family's belongings
had become superfluous; but while they had not prospects of selling them, they did not
want to throw them out either. All these items wound up in Gregor's room--as did the ash
bucket and the garbage can from the kitchen. If anything was unusable at the moment, the
charwoman, who was always in a mad rush, would simpley toss it into Gregor's
room...

Clearly, Gregor's
room, and therefore Gregor, is associated with objects that the family now no longer
need and are "superfluous." As time goes by, Gregor is more and more alienated by the
attitude of his family as he becomes unnecessary to their lives and forgotten by them.
That these forgotten, unnecessary items are thrust into Gregor's room along with the
garbage is a strong indication of how Gregor is being treated. He is now nothing more
than a piece of detritus to the family, like an extra bit of furniture that has no
purpose or function and is thrust into a room and forgotten
about.

Describe Freud's view of development as progression through psychosexual stages. What are some major criticisms of this theory?

Freud believed that nearly all human behavior could be
understood as a function of human's innate pleasure-seeking tendency. He posited that
during different developmental phases, humans fixated on specific areas of the body in
order to derive pleasure. The first developmental phase was the oral stage, lasting from
birth to age 1. During this stage, a person derives pleasure from his mouth, through
suckling on his mother's breast. The second stage, called the anal stage, lasts from
ages 1 to 3. During this stage, people derive pleasure from learning to control and
master their bodily functions. Freud posited that healthy individuals are those who pass
through these stages successfully, without becoming stuck in any one of them. He
believed that people who become stuck ("fixated") in one particular stage would not be
able to achieve healthy social and sexual maturity.

This
developmental schema is subject to a number of critiques. Cultural anthropologists point
out that these stages represent a culturally relative timeline and thus can't be
universalized. For example, in some cultures, the weaning stage lasts up to 4 years old.
Cultural differences in child-rearing are not adequately addressed in the psychosexual
theory of development.

Many psychologists believe Freud's
theory to be over-simplified and reductionist. Young people and adults alike derive
pleasure from a number of sources: bodily, emotional, social and cognitive. It may not
be useful to attempt reducing all pleasure-seeking activity to a function of latent
sexuality.

Social psychologists also point to Freud's
normalization of heterosexual male sexuality as a limiting factor. According to the
psychosexual theory of development, those who do not adopt heterosxual, male-oriented
sexuality are mentally ill. Thus, Freud's theory limits our ability to recognize the
validity of different sexual identities and expressions.

How many local maxima and minima does the polynomial y=x^4-9x^2+7 have?

To determine the local extrema of a function, we'll have
to find out first if the function does have any critical
values.

The critical values are the roots of the first
derivative. We'll differentiate the given function with respect to x, to determine the
1st derivative of the function.

f'(x) = 4x^3 -
18x

Now, we'll cancel the 1st derivative to determine it's
zeroes:

4x^3 - 18x = 0

2x(2x^2
- 9) = 0

We'll cancel each
factor:

2x = 0 => x1 =
0

2x^2 - 9 = 0 => 2x^2 =
9

x^2 = 9/2

x2 =
3/sqrt2

x2 = 3sqrt2/2

x3 =
-3sqrt2/2

We'll determine the monotony of the function over
the intervals (-`oo`; -3sqrt2/2 ) ; (-3sqrt2/2 ; 0) ; (0;3sqrt2/2) ; (3sqrt2/2 ; `oo`
).

The function is decreasing over the interval (-`oo` ;
-3sqrt2/2) and then it increases over (-3sqrt2/2 ; 0), therefore the point f(-3sqrt2/2)
represents a minimum local point.

The function is
increasing over the interval ( -3sqrt2/2 ; 0) and then it decreases over (0 ; 3sqrt2/2
), therefore the point f(0) represents a maximum local
point.

The function is decreasing over the interval (0 ;
3sqrt2/2 ) and then it increases over (3sqrt2/2 ; `oo` ), therefore the point
f(3sqrt2/2) represents a minimum local
point.

Therefore, the local minima of the
function are represented by the values f(-3sqrt2/2) and f(3sqrt2/2) and the local maxima
is represented by the value f(0).

What level does Gilgamesh belong in Dante's Hell?I'd like to know where and why he belongs there.

The level to which one is committed to in Dante's Hell is
based upon the character of the person and how they lived their life. based upon the
characteristics of Gilgamesh, he could be placed in many different
levels.

First, Gilgamesh could be placed in either Dante's
Fifth Level of Hell or Seventh Level of Hell. In the forest journey, Gilgamesh is faced
with making a decision about ending Humbaba's life. Although Humbaba pleads with
Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh refuses to hear his pleas and takes the head of the giant. Based
upon these actions, Gilgamesh could be "sentenced" to either the fifth level (belonging
to the wrathful and gloomy) or the seventh level (belonging to the
violent).

Another level of Dante's Hell which one could
place Gilgamesh into is Level Six (heretics). Depending upon ones own religious
theology, the fact that Gilgamesh does not believe in God could insure his fate of
spending his afterlife in the level deemed for the unbeliever.

A circle has the circumference of 40 cm. What is the radius of the circle ?

The formula that gives the circumference of a circle
is:

Circumference = `pi` *2r, where r represents the radius
of th circle.

We'll replace the known values within the
formula of circumference:

40 = `pi`
*2r

r = 40/2`pi`

r =
20/`pi`

We'll take `pi` =
3.14

r = 20/3.14

r = 6.36
cm

The requested radius of the circle is of
6.36 cm.

Chapter 3: What feelings does Jack get when he hunts?Lord of the Flies by William Golding

In Chapter Three, the emergence of the savage nature of
Jack becomes apparent. As Jack sniffs the undergrowth and humid earth, he seeks like an
animal the feral pigs that roam the island.  When a roused bird screams, he shrinks at
the cry "with a hiss of indrawn breath."  He crounches and becomes little more than "a
furtive thing, ape-like among the tangle of trees." Clearly, Jack is reverting in his
behavior to a primitive creature as he pushes his way through the forest and nears the
lagoon where Ralph stands by a shakily-built shelter, the other is
dilapidated. 

When Ralph remarks that the other hunters
have already returned, Jack tries to explain his compulsion to track down and kill, a
compulsion "that was swallowing him up."  And, there is a "madness" in his eyes as he
speaks.  "I thought I might kill."  Clearly Jack has become consumed with the primitive
excitement of hunting and killing; he is quickly regressing into a savage, rather than
the civilized boy that he was back home. He talks of putting a barb on his spear to more
easily snare the pig when he casts his spear.  However, when Ralph tells him that the
lill'uns are frightened at night and, therefore, shelters need to be built, Jack
confesses his uneasiness in the forest, saying that he sometimes feels as though
something is behind him in the jungle. "Of course there's nothing to it," he adds when
Ralph looks at him.  "Only I know how they feel. See?  That's all," he excuses his
weakness.   Then, when Ralph mentions getting rescued, Jack "had to think for a moment
before he could remember what rescue was" because he has regressed so far in his mind
from civilization.

By comparing the novel, The Killer Angels, to the movie, Gettysburg, how did Hollywood take a fictional novel and change it?

There is little documentation to the thoughts of the main
characters  during the days leading up to the Battle of Gettysburg, so author Michael
Shaara fictionalized this aspect of his Pulitzer Prize-winnning novel. As for the film
version of Gettysburg, the screenplay actually maintains most of
the characters, dialogue and scenes found in The Killer Angels.
Much of the dialogue, particularly several of Chamberlain's speeches, are word-for-word
from the book. Though the end result of the movie was a far cry from the outstanding
novel from which it originated, the film did maintain the general tone and feel
of Shaara's book. My biggest complaint about the film was the casting of Martin Sheen as
Robert E. Lee and the terrible, fake beards worn by many of the characters, particularly
that of Tom Berenger, who played James Longstreet. 

What inference can you draw from the pearl buyers appearing as a group, with only one physically described?The Pearl by John Steinbeck

As a socialist, John Steinbeck was very concerned with
class struggles; and, Kino's encounter with the pearl buyers is most illustrative of the
oppression of the wealthy.  Described much as a corporation is today, "there was only
one pearl buyer with many hands," so the representative who talks with Kino is not the
real buyer, but merely his representative.  With this monopoly on pearl buying,
Kino must go to perhaps to the capital city in order to find another offer.  For, the
representatives are in collusion with one another, each saying that the Pearl of the
World is merely a curiosity, valueless because it is too large.  But, when Kino snatches
back the pearl in anger, they know that they have "played too
hard."

While the town of LaPaz is fictionalized, the
practice of the one pearl buyer "with many hands" is characteristic of the power of
monopolies that easily manipulate and subjugate people.  Kino has no choice but to deal
with the representatives as long as he is in LaPaz.  This is why he declares that he
will go to the capital in Chapter IV of The
Pearl. 

In Matthew Arnolds poem, Dover Beach, what does the speaker have in common with Sophocles?

I think that Arnold mentions Sophocles because he was an
ancient playwright who understood the tragedies of the characters in his plays much like
the speaker understands the tragedy of the loss of religious faith. Both Sophocles and
the speaker are deep thinkers who can all too clearly see the problems around them and
seek solace from them in either love or art.

In general the
poem is a very Victorian one which is concerned with the withdrawing of religious faith
in Britain with the advent of modern science. Britain is being compared to Greece with
the speaker imagining Sophocles gazing out to sea thinking, much as he is himself.
 

In Lord Jim, where is there an example of stream-of-consciousness?

Lord Jim is written with two distinct
narration styles; the first four chapters are narrated by an omniscient third-person,
not a character but the faceless voice that describes event. From the fifth chapter on,
the narrator is Marlow, who appears in other works by the same author. Marlow is given
to moments of introspection and philosophizing, and so his narration contains many
stream-of-consciousness moments.

readability="16">

"And it's easy enough to talk of Master Jim,
after a good spread, two hundred feet above the sea-level, with a box of decent cigars
handy, on a blessed evening of freshness and starlight that would make the
best of us forget we are only on sufferance here and got to pick our way
in cross lights, watching every precious minute and every irremediable
step, trusting we shall manage yet to go out decently in the end -- but not so sure of
it after all -- and with dashed little help to expect from those we touch
elbows with right and left."
(Conrad, Lord Jim,
gutenberg.org)

Seen in the
above excerpt are standard examples of this writing style; Marlow, speaking to a group
of men, goes off on tangents about the meaning of life and its value. He does not stick
to the straightforward story of Lord Jim's life, but instead takes the opportunity to
explain some of his own personal philosophy. This is similar to Marlow's narration in
Heart of Darkness, but on a much larger scale; where the earlier
novella had a strict three-part format and a short narrative, here Marlow has many
chapters to ramble. The result is a story that is partially hidden by the subjective
views of the narrator; some of the conclusions and judgements reached by the reader are
bound to be affected by Marlow's own views. However, as it stands, Lord
Jim is one of the best examples of the emerging Modernist style in the early
1900s.

What is a good theme statement for the Lord of The Flies?(evidence to support it)no cliches please>>:)

A good theme statement for Lord of the Flies would be as
follows: innocence is an illusion and human nature tends toward evil.  Children are
thought to be innocent and good, but when the kids from the novel are stranded, they end
up tormenting and murdering each other.  While they start out in an organized way, the
ever important power struggle erupts between the two leaders (Ralph and Jack) and then
quickly effects all the other boys.

Readers must remember
that Golding wrote LOTF in response to horrible things that he had experienced in the
Navy during WWII. Golding's novel serves as a harsh commentary on the weakness of
humanity and the rotting effect of power.  Golding's young characters crash land on a
virtual garden of Eden, but by the time they leave they have turned the island into a
gutted, flaming Hell.

What is a possible theme statement for the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding?

William Golding's Lord of the Flies
is a symbolic novel. It is set on an uninhabited tropical island, so immediately Golding
has made the world of this novel a microcosm (small world) for something bigger. In
other words, what happens on this small island is a picture of what is happening in the
rest of the world on a larger scale. 

The characters of
this novel are English schoolboys who are the sole survivors of a plane crash. These
characters are all young (and therefore closer to innocence) and presumably well
disciplined (as proven by Jack and his choir boys); they are not hooligans who are
accustomed to causing trouble. These boys know how to follow rules and obey authority,
qualities which should keep them "civilized" longer than
most.

What happens throughout the novel, though, is that
these civilized boys quickly divest themselves of their uniforms and their respect for
the authority they elected (Ralph). Soon--much, much too soon for a group of disciplined
children--things on the island turn into a fight for survival. Golding refers to the
boys as savages, and their behavior fits his
description.

Simon and Piggy are murdered, and Ralph is the
next to be targeted. If help, in the form of a naval commander, does not arrive, Ralph
would not survive. In the final chapters, it is clear that there is someone even more
inclined to savagery than Jack; if the boys are not rescued, Roger would probably have
established a horrific reign of cruelty and death.

While
there are many potential sub-themes to this novel, Golding is clearly making the
statement that human nature, without the restraints of civilization or authority, will
devolve into savagery. Rather than being elevated by freedom, human nature becomes more
base and evil. Every character and every movement of the plot serve to advance this
theme, and the fact that is a microcosm suggests Golding's view that this is a universal
truth.

What does Friedman's work teach about geography in Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution?

One of the most interesting elements out of Friedman's
work is its recasting of geography.  The idea of geography used to encompass vast
distances of worlds that are not known.  There was a sense of the separate that
encompassed geographic study.  "X was here" and "We are there."  However, Friedman
recasts this in a variety of ways.  Initially, because of the vast progression of
information technology and the massive proliferation of technological contact between
people, there is a growing interconnectedness between people and nations.  Geography is
being seen as a more "closely" defined realm, whereby distance is not the focal point,
but rather the togetherness that is shared.  Geographic distances are now only seen as a
source of amazement as to how our world is actually smaller.  Borders are only made to
be overcome.  At the same time, geography has changed in emphasizing the interdependence
that is present.  In emphasizing how connected all individuals really are, Friedman
makes the point that geography has to focus on how destruction of resources in one area
of the overcrowded world impacts others nearby.  In this recasting of geography,
closeness over distance is emphasized.

In Book 3 of the Iliad, where is the duel fought?

In Book 3, there is a duel between Alexandros (also known
as Paris) and Menelaos.  The duel happens in an area in the open space between the
armies of the Trojans and the Achaians.

At the beginning of
Book 3, the two armies are about to fight a battle.  As they march rapidly towards one
another, Paris comes out of the Trojan side as their champion to challenge any Achaian
to a duel.  Menelaos accepts the challenge.  After some negotiations between the leaders
of the two sides, a space is measured out and the two men fight in that area between the
two armies.

What is derivative of f(x)=ln(x^3+1)?

Since the function f(x) is a result of composing two
functions, w'ell have to use the chain rule to find out the derivative of
f(x).

f(x) = u(v(x))

f'(x) =
u'(v(x))*v'(x)

Let u(v(x)) = ln(`x^(3)`+ 1 ) and v(x) =
`x^(3)` + 1

f'(x) = [ln(`x^(3)` + 1)]'*(`x^(3)` +
1)'

f'(x) = [1/(`x^(3)` + 1)]*(3`x^(2)`
)

The requested derivative of the given
function is f'(x) = 3`x^(2)` /(`x^(3)` + 1).

What are the dangers of high protein and low carbohydrate diet to young active sportsperson.

High protein diets carry a number of risks, especially to
someone who is still growing. One serious risk is kidney damage. High protein
consumption causes an increase in pressure in the glomeruli of the kidneys, which can
cause kidney stones and chronic kidney disease. Proteins are also typically low in
fiber, and fiber is known to be important to the health of the digestive tract as a
cancer preventative. The digestion of protein creates a need for pH buffering in the
blood, which causes the body to pull calcium from the bones; excess protein consumption,
particularly during a growth spurt, could lead to prematurely weakened
bones.

Another important thing to note is that not all
proteins are alike. Many animal based proteins add saturated fats to the diet. Processed
meats such as cold cuts have many preservatives and may present a cancer risk. Many
brands of protein powder sold specifically for bodybuilders have recently been shown by
Consumer Reports to be contaminated with dangerous amounts of heavy metals such as
cadmium and lead.  For young athletes, as for everyone else, the safest and best diet is
one with a good variety and a balance among the food groups.

In Chapter 10 of Lord of the Flies, why does Ralph continue to dream about home and the bus station as comforting thoughts to him?William...

While Jack holds court with Roger and the others and
frightens them with the threat of the beast returning, Ralph and Piggy are down on the
beach lighting a fire with Piggy's glasses.  Ralph wants them to gather firewood so they
will have a comforting "hearth" through the night.  However, the task is too difficult
as Piggy will have an asthma attack if he "pulls logs." Same and Eric grow weary, so
Ralph abandons the idea.  As they gather in the shaky shelter, Ralph feels "defenseless
with the darkness pressing in."  Settling down, Ralph begins his nightly "game of
supposing" that they could be flown home by a jet and land in Wiltshire where they would
go by car, then train all the way to Devon.  Ralph ponders a safe town that is "tamed"
where no savagery exists.  "What could be safer than the bus center with its lamps and
wheels?"

Suddenly, he awakens as Sam and Eric are fighting
each other in their fear.  Piggy remarks, "If we don't get home soon we'll be barmy." 
Ralph agrees, saying "Round the bend," which means crazy.  Clearly, Ralph and Piggy both
want a return to their old life, lit by electric builbs like the bus center, and fires;
a life that is safe and warm, a life that is civilized.

How does Pip's relationship with Jaggers change when Pip comes of age?Great Expectations by Charles Dickens When Pip turns twenty one and...

On his twenty-first birthday, Pip is summoned to Little
Britain to meet with his guardian, Mr. Jaggers, who congratulates him on becoming a man,
"I must call you Mr. Pip today."  Mr. Jaggers asks Pip how much money he calculates that
he spends; Pip answers that he does not know.  When Mr. Jaggers asks Pip if he has
anything to inquire of him, Pip wonders about his benefactor's identity, and if he has
anything to receive.  At this point, Jaggers hands Pip a five hundred pound note, and
tells him that he will receive this per year until his benefactor arrives. 
Mr. Jaggers then informs Pip that he no longer is the agent for Pip's
benefactor.

He also is circumspect about the
identity of Pip's benefactor.  But after Pip persists in his
asking, 

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“Come!” said Mr. Jaggers, warming the backs of
his legs with the backs of his warmed hands, “I'll be plain with you, my friend Pip.
That's a question I must not be asked. You'll understand that, better, when I tell you
it's a question that might compromise me. Come! I'll go a little
further with you; I'll say something
more.”

He then tells Pip that
when that person discloses him/herself, that will be the end of his business with Pip.
"And that's all I have got to say!"  Pip, then, departs with his yearly income and yet
no knowledge of who his benefactor is.

How do the characteristics of Rev. John Hale and Rev. Samuel Parris differ in Act III specifically?

Act III reveals some basic differences in both Reverends. 
Hale is shown to be one who begins to questions what is happening in Salem.  When he
explains to Danforth how he possesses ambivalence about signing Rebecca Nurse's death
sentence as well as how he begins to openly object to how Abigail and the girls are
manipulating their ability to lauch accusations, there is a revelation of how Hale is
losing faith in the Salem justice system.  This is in fairly stark opposition to
Parris.  As Hale's doubt increases, Parris' zeal also increases.  He is of the mindset
that any questioning of the process results in a questioning of his own position,
helping to explain his own sense of certainty in the system.  At the same time, Parris
begins to see that Proctor's motivations are divergent, and in the midst of his moral
and ethical anguish, there lies an opportunity to silence one of Parris' most vociferous
critics once and for all.  Parris recognizes this and starts to increase the poison in
the trials and in the Act, itself, in order to consolidate his own power and strengthen
his own position.  Whereas Parris sees a self- serving opportunity present, Hale sees
hypocrisy evident, and this helps to explain why both Reverends proceed in different
directions and trajectories in Act III.

How does the fact that writing systems developed differently in Eurasia than other continents fit into the thesis of Guns, Germs, and Steel?

Diamond argues that Eurasian countries had much more
widespread writing.  These countries had literate bureaucracies and generally had a
significant portion of the general population that was literate.  This meant that
writing allowed these societies to advance more than others in terms of political
structure, economics, technology, and other things.

This
fits well with Diamond's thesis because it shows the importance of having discovered
writing early.  Societies that did so were able to spread writing among their population
and really use it to make themselves more powerful.  This allowed them to use writing to
help dominate other countries that did not become literate as
soon.

Diamond's major thesis is that the earlier adopters
of technology (chosen by geographical factors) were the lucky ones.  These were the
societies that became powerful and dominated the others.  Writing was one of these
technologies whose early adoption helped make Eurasian societies
dominant.

How did the development of atomic technology affect life in the United States?

I assume that you are asking about the time when atomic
technology was relatively new.  This was the time during the early parts of the Cold
War.  During this time, the main impact of atomic technology was to make life seem
precarious and to make Americans feel threatened with possible nuclear
war.

During the early parts of the Cold War, there was a
great deal of fear of nuclear war.  Americans were taught how to "duck and cover" in
school.  Many Americans had fallout shelters in their back yards.  There was a pervasive
sense that atomic technology might lead to destruction.  This made Americans feel that
their lives were less secure than they had been in the days before atomic technology had
been developed.

(a) Find an equation for the family of linear functions with slope 2 and several members of the family.(a) Find an equation for the family of...

a) We'll use the slope- intercept form of the equation of
linear function:

y = mx + n, where m is the slope and n is
the y intercept of the line.

In the given case, when the
slope m = 2, we can write the equation:

y = 2x +
n

To identify several members of this family, we'll plug in
values for n:

n = 1 => y = 2x +
1

n = 2 => y = 2x + 2

n
= `sqrt(2)` => y = 2x + `sqrt(2)`

Therefore, the
number of members of the family of linear functions whose slope is m=2 is infinite,
because the number of real values of n is infinite, too.

b)
To find an equation of a linear function, respecting the given condition f(2) = 1, we'll
recall the form of a linear function:

f(x) = mx +
n

If x = 2 => f(2) = 2m +
n

If f(2) = 1 => 2m + n = 1 => m = (1 -
n)/2

We'll write the linear function in terms of x and
n:

f(x) = (1-n)x/2 +
n

Therefore, the number of members of the family of linear
function f(x) = (1-n)x/2 + n is infinite, because the values of n belong to the real set
of numbers.

c) To discover a member that belongs to both
families of linear functions, we'll have to impose the following constraint: the slopes
must be equal and the y intercepts must be also equal.

2 =
(1 - n)/2

4 = 1 - n

n = 1 -
4

n =
-3

Therefore, the member that belongs to both
families of linear functions is y = 2x - 3.

What are examples of external and internal conflicts in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream?

An internal conflict is the
type of conflict that takes place within a character. It refers to the character's
thought process, or the decisions the character must make. An internal conflict is also
spurred on by a motive and the resolution is central to the plot. In contrast,
external conflict takes place between characters. It is
usually a "fight, argument, disagreement, or simply opposition" between two characters
or two opposing sides ( href="http://www.leasttern.com/LitTerms/literary_terms.htm">Least Tern, "Literary
Terms for English"). Below is an example of both types of
conflict.

One example of an internal
conflict we see in A Midsummer Night's Dream is Hermia's internal
conflict. At the beginning of the story, Hermia is faced with the decision of saving
herself from punishment by marrying Demetrius, as her father is commanding, or risking
punishment by continuing to refuse, even daring to marry Lysander against her father's
will. We see a glimmer of the resolution of this internal conflict when, in the opening
scene, Lysander persuades Hermia to leave Athens with him so that they can be married in
a neighboring aunt's home, thereby escaping the harsh Athenian laws, as we see in his
lines:

There,
gentle Hermia, may I marry thee;
And to that place the sharp Athenian
law
Cannot pursue us.
(I.i.162-165)

Hermia's
defiance of her father can also be seen as external
conflict. Hermia's father, Egeus, wants her to marry Demetrius and is
threatening her with death if she continues to refuse, but Hermia opposes this idea. As
Hermia states, she does not want to "choose love by another's eyes" (I.i.142). Instead,
she wishes to marry the man she actually loves, Lysander. Since Hermia and Egeus both
have opposing perspectives on what Hermia should do, we can see that their argument is a
perfect example of external conflict.

How is love shown in Carver’s story “What We Talk about When We Talk about Love?"

Like so much in Carver's work, love is shown to be a
complex issue.  I think that one of the fundamental distinctions made is that within its
complexity lies different experiences.  Certainly, the experience of love is seen
differently between both couples.  Nick and Laura are at a different point in their
relationship and their lives that Terri and Mel.  On one hand, Nick and Laura feel that
their relationship and their conception of love is a fine one.  Yet, there is a lack of
depth to their feelings and sensations, one that indicates that there is an uncertainty
about the nature of love present.  At the same time, Mel and Terri probe into the more
frightening depths of love.  This is a subject that Mel continually drives back the
conversation to at different points.  The reality is that as the conversation continues,
Mel and Terri reflect an antagonism towards one another where there is an uncertainty
about what love is.  Yet, at the same time, there is a dislike and a sense of disconnect
about the fact that what their experience is with love is a painful one.  In this, one
sees that love has little definition and little means to define it, but the painful
experiences within it are real.  Carver might be suggesting that if there is a
definition to love, it can only be defined by the pain and misery that is a part of it. 
These experiences can be seen as "real" because they help define the reality of those
who experience it.  Laura and Nick are not there, and they have not been able to accrue
the experiences that might allow them to have a better idea of what love is.  However,
as the evening wears on, the alcohol ends, and the silence is all there is, the reality
is that the discussion of Terri and Mel might be something that Laura and Nick could be
revisiting later on in their own formulation of experiences and understanding of what
love is.

In the story The Lord of the Flies, what are three major complications that take place in and throughout the book?

The major conflicts that arise in Lord of the
Flies primarily occur between the boys as they try to survive their ordeal on
the island. Perhaps the prime complication comes between Ralph and Jack in their battle
for leadership supremacy. Although Ralph is elected leader of the stranded boys, Jack
refuses to accept the democratic decision, and he eventually takes control through force
and fear. Another conflict arises in the boys' perception of Piggy. The most intelligent
and scientifically adept of the boys, Piggy's outward appearance--he is pale, overweight
and has poor vision--is all the boys seem to see. His suggestions are usually denounced;
even Jack, who knows that Piggy is his most loyal and trusting ally, takes him for
granted, and Piggy is eventually killed. Another conflict comes in the form of the
beast, which represents evil and which instills fear in the boys. Eventually, as Jack's
hunters slowly grow less fearful, they decide to kill the beast and hang his head on a
pole. This act completes the boys' total collapse into
barbarism.

define pipi =3.142

Pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its
diameter.

For example if the circumference was 22 and the
diameter 7, pi would be calculated by 22/7.

It was observed
by the ancient Greek mathematecians that this number would always be 3.14, thus you can
call it a constant.

The number is also in irrational
number. The numbers right of the decimal go on indefinitely and do not repeat
themselves.

What is the most important aspect in Ender's Game?

This is a very broad question, and clearly in any novel or
play there are going to be plenty of events that are very important to the overall plot.
However, for me, one vital element of this excellent story lies in the way that we
discover, as Ender does at the end, that the "game" he has been playing has not, in
fact, been a "game" at all, but has been a real life and death struggle against the
buggers, and that Ender's winning of the game actually represents the end of the war
against the buggers and also the annihilation of an entire species. This of course
raises the level of abuse that the military carry out on Ender to a new level, as
keeping him in ignorance meant that he committed a crime he never wanted to perpetrate.
Consider what Ender says the day after his victory:

readability="10">

I didn't want to kill them all. I didn't want to
kill anybody! I am not a killer! You didn't want me, you bastards, you wanted Peter, but
you made me do it, you tricked me into
it!

This fact takes the
title, Ender's Game, to an entirely new level of meaning, as not
only was Ender under the impression that he was playing just a game, but also he was
being played with by the military.

What are the thoughts in the mind of Coleridge as he muses beside a fire on a frosty night in the poem "Frost at Midnight?"

In Coleridge's poem, "Frost at Midnight," several thoughts
come to the speaker. The author (Coleridge) is sitting by the fire, in solitude that
allow him to pursue " href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Abstruse">abtruser musings."
While his thoughts may be hard for others to follow, he sees a connection between his
own past and the future of his child—a son who sleeps in a cradle next to him, while the
rest of the household has retired for the evening.

One
thought that arises in the author's mind is how disturbingly quiet it is. The
"silentlessness" rather than calming Coleridge, makes him agitated. He notes how unusual
this lack of sound it, when the town is generally overrun by
noise.

He sees the "stranger" (a flap of sooty film) on the
fireplace's grate and recalls his years as a student away from home. The "stranger" was
superstitiously supposed to announce the arrival of an absent friend. The author alone
at school was still young enough to believe the superstition, and lonely enough to look
for a friend or family member (such as his sister—who he dearly loved) to appear
mystically at his school during these times of
isolation.

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How oft, at school, with most believing
mind,

Presageful, have I gazed upon the bars...and as
oft

With unclosed lids, already had I
dreamt

Of my sweet birth-place, and the old
church-tower...

As the author
sits looking at his sleeping child, he hopes and anticipates (as does every parent,
perhaps) that the future will hold so much more for his little boy than was offered
Coleridge. While Coleridge (the Romantic poet, with a love for nature) only saw the sky
and stars between buildings as he grew up, he hopes his son will wander over the face of
the earth, "like a breeze," by lakes, along shorelines, around mountains, and beneath
clouds. He expects God will grant him these things.

It
occurs to Coleridge that with this kind of familiarity with nature, his son will
perceive "all seasons [to] be sweet," wherever he goes and whatever the time of
year.

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Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to
thee,
Whether the summer clothe the general earth
With greenness, or
the redbreast sit and
sing...

These are the main
ideas that occur to the poet as he sits by the fire while their is "frost at
midnight."

Where are the Achaians at the opening of Homer's Iliad and why did Apollo send “deadly arrows” against them?

Homer's Iliad opens in the Greek camp
on the beach near the town of Troy (also called Ilium or Ilion). Troy is located in the
northwest corner of what is today the country of Turkey.

At
the beginning of the poem, Chryses, a priest of Apollo, comes to the Greek camp with an
offer of ransom for his daughter, Chryseis, whom the Greeks have taken captive. Chryseis
is now in the possession of Agamemnon, commander-in-chief of the Greek forces. Agamemnon
treats Chryses rather rudely and refuses to ransom
Chryseis.

Rejected by Agamemnon, Chryses prays to Apollo
for assistance and Apollo responds by striking the Greeks with a plague (Iliad
1.50-51):

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First, the god massacred mules and swift-running
dogs,

then loosed sharp arrows in among the troops
themselves.

(Ian Johnston
translation)

Thus, Apollo's
arrows are blows of illness that afflict the Greek army. This plague eventually prompts
Agamemnon to return Chryseis to her father.