What did the British mean by virtual representation?

The concept of virtual representation was meant as a
rebuttal of the American colonists' claim that they were being taxed by Parliament
without being represented in Parliament.  The idea of virtual representation was that
the members of Parliament were representing the colonists even though the colonists
could not vote for them.  Parliament, it was argued, had the colonists' best interests
in mind and was, therefore, representing them.

The
colonists did not like this idea.  They wanted actual representation.  They argued that
no one could truly represent them unless they had the right to vote for or against that
person.

Today, we still have virtual representation in some
ways.  We tax minors who work, for example, before they are able to vote.  We say that
their interests are being protected even though they cannot yet vote.  The problem in
colonial times was that the British wanted to treat all colonists in this
way.

What is the difference between the narrator's attitude and the author's tone?Also what is the narrator's attitude, in "yellow wallpaper"

Narrator's attitude is the attitude that the narrator
takes towards events and characters in a literary work.  Note that this has to do
specifically with only the narrator and events that happen in the story.  For example,
as I see you have read "The Yellow Wallpaper", the narrator in this work is the woman
who is writing the journal entries.  Her attitude towards her husband and the situation
she is in is anger and frustration.  She is fearful and paranoid about her husband
analyzing and diagnosing her.

Author's tone, on the other
hand, is the author's attitudes towards the subject and audience in a litary work.  We
could also say that this is the point that the author is hoping to make by writing this
story.  For example, the author's tone in "The Yellow Wallpaper" is full of anxiety and
depression.  This is used to make a point about how dependent women were on men in the
time period this story takes place in (late 19th
century).

I hope this helps!

What is the theme to Shutter Island by Denis Lehane?

As with any piece of literature, there is not "a theme"
for Shutter Island. Rather, several themes are interwoven through
the text. One of those themes is appearance vs. reality. Is Teddy really a US Marshal,
or is he a patient in the asylum who has delusions of being a marshal and solving the
mystery of a missing patient? Another theme is the effects of war and trauma on a
person's psyche. As a soldier in World War II, Teddy helped to liberate the
concentration camp Dachau. Throughout the story, he has flashbacks to that time and has
hallucinations of a girl he was unable to rescue. A third theme may be the use of
mind-altering drugs on unknowing patients. Are the patients in the asylum really
mentally ill, or do the drugs they are given make them that
way.

Although it is difficult to follow at times, this is a
fascinating story. I hope this answer helps you.

Does "After Great Pain a Formal Feeling Comes" by Emily Dickinson suggest that after a certain amount of sorrow, the human mind no longer...

Yes.  Dickenson recreates the suffering we go through
after a terrible shock.  She does not say what the specific pain is --- but it really
doesn't matter, it is a terrible psychological pain. She is talking about the reaction
to the pain.

Many people go into a terrible depression. 
She talks about "nerves sit ceremonious like tombs"  --- like places for the dead.  The
heart is stiff, not pumping; the feet mechanical and wooden, operating without
thought; and she compares contentment to a stone.  None of these images have a life of
their own.  The human mind has become lifeless and
distant. 

She terms this the hour of "lead".  Lead weighs
you down. If you outlive this part of the trauma, you will remember it as a freezing
person remembers the snow, first the chill (the initial feeling of pain), then the
"stupor" --the anguish of the pain at its worst.  Notice she uses the word "stupor"
which is defined as "mental dullness, apathy, stupefaction" (see below), and then the
"letting go" or the reemergence into the world of the living.

One of the proles reacts negatively to the exposing of children to this kind of violence. Why does Winston believe nothing will happen to her?in...

Winston understands the distinction between the proles and
the Outer Party and the Inner Party. The proles are not of a concern to Big Brother.
Winston is on the outskirts of the Outer Party having the privilege of working at the
Ministry of Truth. Winston knows nothing will happen to her because she is not strong
enough in thought to revolt. Therefore, the Thought Police will not worry about her. The
people of concern to them are those in Winston's position. These people have enough
knowledge to question the purposes of Big Brother and
they have the will within them somewhere to revolt should they choose.
This prole woman is not worth it.

What according to you does Aristotle mean by 'pleasure proper to tragedy"?

I would like to see this moved to the Literature
Discussion Forum so we can hear other peoples' interpretations of Aristotle's
comment.

To me, Aristotle is adopting a somewhat cynical
attitude, indicating his belief or theory that it is not possible to experience pleasure
without experiencing tragedy. Further, I think he is saying that the greater the degree
of pleasure, the more serious the related tragedy must
be.

Personally, I don't think there has to be a direct
correlation between positives and negatives in our lives, so I don't agree
wholeheartedly with Aristotle's idea. On the other hand, our appreciation of the good
things in life is heightened when we contrast them with hard times, so there is some
basis for his viewpoint. Maybe the use of the words "pleasure" and "tragedy" adds extra
layers of meaning, but, in my humble opinion, there is some truth to what he
says.

Why does Grover want a searcher's license in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief?

Grover, or the "G-Man" is Percy's best friend in this
series of books by Rick Riordan.  He's an unlikely hero, because in his "human" life,
he's bullied and misunderstood, cries easily, is physically inept--actually, crippled
might be a better word (except when the lunchroom is serving a meal he likes, at which
time he ignores the muscular disease which makes mere walking painful, and gets into
line rather quickly).  Grover is kind, perceptive, and a tree hugger of sorts, which is
consistent with his heritage as a satyr.  Getting a "searcher's license" will be
necessary if Grover wishes to search for Pan, the god of wild places, as he tries to
redeem himself after failing to keep Percy safe, as required by his role as a
Keeper. 

In Coleridge's poem, "Frost at Midnight," identify the stranger twice referred to, and explain if the poet is speaking of the same stranger both...

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was raised in a time when the only
heat provided came from a fire—in this case, in a fireplace that is covered by a grate
(or cover), to keep stray sparks from flying out to start a fire, which was a grave
concern with fireplaces during that time. (Fires started easily and were hard—or
impossible—to battle.)

In his poem, "Frost at Midnight,"
Coleridge is alone in a room (at his cottage), except for the company of his infant son,
sleeping in a cradle next to him: everyone else has gone to bed. It is so quiet, that
the silence disturbs him. He is in a pensive or thoughtful mood, and his eyes are drawn
to the fireplace, where he sees a "film of soot fluttering on the bar of a grate." After
writing the poem, Coleridge attached a note to explain his use of the word "stranger,"
which was common in that day to refer to this film made up of soot: it was traditional
in England to believe that seeing such a thing (superstitiously) announced the arrival
of "an absent friend" and the sooty films were called
"strangers."

The second reference also speaks of
"strangers," but these sooty films were those he often saw in the
fireplace grates at his school. In those days, Coleridge still believed in the power of
the "strangers" in the fireplace. He would watch them at night and they would "lull" him
to sleep—where he would see the familiar sights of home in his dreams; the "strangers"
would be there—accepted by his "believing mind" that seeing the "fluttering" soot would
bring those he loved to him there at school; "presageful" meant that such a sight
(seeing the "strangers") had the power to foretell a coming event ("the arrival of an
absent friend"). So this was when he was still a
"believer."

readability="14">

How oft, at school, with most believing
mind,

Presageful, have I gazed upon the
bars,

To watch that fluttering
stranger!

The next day when
he should have been paying attention to a "stern preceptor's face," (teacher), he was
only pretending to listen to the lesson for every sound in the room would grab his
attention: he was homesick and desperately wanted "an absent friend" to show up at the
door, most especially his deeply-loved sister:

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For still I hoped to see the stranger's
face,

Townsman, or aunt, or sister more
beloved,

My play-mate when we both were clothed
alike!

How is Ponyboy shown to be immature at the beginning of The Outsiders?

Ponyboy is unaware of the real pressures on those around
him at the beginning of the novel. He feels that his older brother, Darry, doesn't
understand him and is too hard on him. It is only by the end of the story that he
realises that Darry has a constant fear for his brothers' welfare after the death of
their parents, and he has given up his own potential success to support and nurture
similar skills in Ponyboy.

Ponyboy does not appreciate the
danger that isolation can bring. Although he is aware of the attack on Johnny, he goes
to the cinema alone in Chapter 1 and is jumped by the Soc's. He has always been
protected by the members of the gang and his family, and has to learn the value of this
support.

Ponyboy summarises his understanding of his
brothers in chapter 1-

readability="7">

Darry's gone through a lot in his twenty years,
grown up too fast. Sodapop'll never grow up at all. I don't know which way's the best.
I'll find out one of these
days.

In the course of the
novel he goes some way to tackling this question. He also finds out that Soda did indeed
have grown up responsibilities as he had proposed to Sandy and believed he was to be a
father. Ponyboy ultimately has to learn to look outside himself in order to
mature.

What is the main message of The Travels of Marco Polo?

From a historical point of view, the message seemed to be
one of self- glorification and spiking the age of exploration that ended up defining
much of world history.  Polo's writing reflects the interest in the exploration of "the
Orient" and the areas that were not located in Europe.  His work was read by the likes
of Christopher Columbus and other explorers.  The message that comes out of it is the
idea that there is a world to be discovered and can be discovered.  To some extent, Polo
was able to help capture an imagination around exploration, a sense of wonderment that
horizons could be expanded and that vistas were limitless.  On the other hand, the
book's primary message was one of domination and control.  Polo's work does not speak to
the idea that the lands being sought were actually inhabited by indigenous people who
had been there longer than the Europeans who landed there.  There is little discussion
regarding respect and tolerance for these individuals.  Yet, this is not the primary
concern or message out of Polo's work.  Rather, it is one that stresses the
possibilities of looking outward, fostering a spirit of wonderment that feeds
expansionist tendencies and hopes.

In Macbeth, what are the indications that Macbeth has recovered a sense of nobility about himself? From Act 5 Scene lines 40-52 to his death.

You might want to focus on the way in which Macbeth
responds to the increasing worsening of his situation. As the full extent of the forces
ranged against him becomes clear, and as he realises how few troops have actually stayed
with him, he is bestowed with a certain sense of dignity as he realises how outnumbered
he is. Note the way he uses a famous image to describe his
situation:

readability="10">

They have tied me to a stake: I cannot
fly,

But, bear-like, I must fight the
course.

There is nobility in
the way that Macbeth determines to "fight the course" even though he is "tied... to a
stake," and therefore his defeat is inevitable.

However,
for me, what gives Macbeth true nobility is the way that even after he finds out that
Macduff is "not borne of woman," and therefore will kill him according to the
prophecies, he refuses to surrender and decides to go down fighting to try his chance
against the powers of fate that have conspired against him. Consider his last speech
before he is killed by Macduff:

readability="20">

I will not
yield,

To kiss the ground before young malcolm's
feet,

And to be baited with the rabble's
curse.

Though Birnam wood be come to
Dunsinane,

And thou oppos'd, being of no woman
born,

Yet I will try the last: before my
body

I throw my warlike shield: lay on,
Macduff...

Macbeth recognises
the fulfillment of the prophecies, but shows his nobility by refusing to fight
nonetheless. He will show his customary bravery and nobility in this fight, when he
knows his defeat is certain and fated.

Calculate the distance between points (-1,7) and (-2,3)?

Recalling the distance formula derivatived from the
Pythagorean theorem,

d=
sqrt((x1-x2)^2+(y1-y2)^2)

between two points
(x1,y1),(x2,y2)

in this case, x1= -1 x2=-2 y1=7 y2=3  
 (You can change x1 and x2 around and y1 y2 around since squares cancel the
negatives)

d=sqrt((-1+2)^2+(7-3)^2)

=
sqrt(1+4^2)

= sqrt 17

The
distance of the given two points is  sqrt 17 units of length, or in decimal form, 4.12
units away from each other.

In this case, we omit the
negative value since distance could NOT be negative.

How does Curley's wife relate to the themes in Of Mice and Men?

In the novel Of Mice and Men,
Curley's wife does not relate well to the themes in the novel. She does not desire the
lonely life she lives. She does not enjoy the isolation. She has always desired the more
exciting life. She dreams of acting. She dwells on the past when she was observed by
some who thought she could make it acting:

readability="5">

But she is pathetically lonely and once had
dreams of being a movie
star.

The ranch hands are
gone all day working. They play games at night. Curley's wife feels left out. She
obviously desires companionship. She has no interaction with
society.

She lives out on the ranch, away from women her
age. She is all alone on the ranch. She feels alienated from society. She has no one to
confide in. She is basically without a friend.

For this
reason, she reaches out to the field hands. She has no choice but to talk with Lennie.
She uses him to get the attention she is so desperate for. Because she played with
Lennie's emotions, she winds up with a broken neck. It was an
accident.

What is the cultural implication of this novel?Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

A social reformer, Charles Dickens employs the characters
and situations in his novel, Oliver Twist, to expose the hypocrisy
and flaws of government institutions and laws such as the Poor Laws of 1834 which dealt
great injustice and suffering.  For, these laws mandated that people who could not
support themselves live in workhouses, where they were mistreated and underfed.  The
object of this plan was to make public assistance so unattractive that people would try
to find jobs or refuse assistance.  Instead, it created a terrible underbelly to English
society as people turned to crime in order to support
themselves.

Thus, Oliver Twist, while a poignant and
interesting narrative, acts as an expose of the social ills, especially the plight of
the orphaned.  Fleeing poorhouse and apprenticeship, Oliver makes his way to London in
hopes of a better life, only to be kidnapped by the heinous Fagin, who exploits him by
forcing Oliver into being a thief.  An interesting point is made by J. Hillis
Miller,

readability="13">

Fagin's den is both a dungeon and a place of
refuge.  It is...absolutely shut off from the outside world, but it is also a parody, at
least, of a home, that place where one live safely...Fagin's den [says Dickens] is a
'snug retreat,' and inside its walls we find a society leagued for common protection
against the hostility of the outside
world.

Without question, like
so many of Dickens's day, Oliver Twist is a poor boy struggling against the inhumanity
of his government. Indeed,  Dickens' novel shows to his country the worst shades of the
land.

A train passes a pole in 10 secs & a bridge of length 2km in 110 secs. What is its speed?

While train is passing
pole

Let length of train
=x

Length of pole is
negligible

=> Total
distance=x

Time = 10
secs

=> Speed = Distance/Time= x/10
m/s

While train is passing
station

Total distance = x + 2000
metre

Time = 110 sec

Speed =
(x + 2000)/110

Assuming the  speed of train to be
constant

=> x/10 =
(x+2000)/110

=> 11x =
x+2000

=> 11x -x =
2000

=> x = 2000/10 = 200
metres

=> Speed = x/10 =
200/10

=> Speed = 20 m/s

Explain what is phenomenological interpretation?

According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,
href="http://home.earthlink.net/~potterama/Michele/projects/hyper/phen.html">phenomenology
is defined by the following:

readability="10">

Phenomenology is the study of structures of
consciousness as experienced from the first-person point of view. The central structure
of an experience is its intentionality, its being directed toward something, as it is an
experience of or about some object. An experience is directed toward an object by virtue
of its content or meaning (which represents the object) together with appropriate
enabling conditions.

Based
upon this definition, interpretation of a text can be studied phenomenologically by
looking at the experience which a character finds them self in and tying it to what has
happened previously in the text. To example, a character who has been violated in the
past would typically be shy to environments which are similar to the current situation
they find themselves in. A common way to bring forth phenomenology is to define an
object by a previous experience with it. If a character has been in a car accident, a
fear of driving or riding in a car could form. The character, then, would consciously
make a decision about the object (a car) and their feelings about
it.

This is typically very important for an author, to find
a way for a reader to realte to the text and, more specifically, to a character. By
doing this, the author is insuring that the reader will get the most out of the text-
will come away having learned something about themselves or the world around
them.

This effect also allows a reader to become engaged
and active while reading the text. If a reader has experienced situations similar to
that of a character, it allows the reader to relate to the character and, therefore,
creates a relationship between the reader and the
character.

readability="8.71875">

href="http://www.julielorenzen.net/readerresponse.html">Eagleton writes,
“The text itself is reduced to a pure embodiment of the author’s consciousness: all of
its stylistic and semantic aspects are grasped as organic parts of a complex totality,
of which the unifying essence is the author’s mind”
(51).

What sort of person is Walter Mitty in terms of his relationship with his wife, and how does his personality differ in his two worlds?Include...

In reality, Walter Mitty is a clumsy, absent-minded
henpecked middle aged man. In his dreams, he is brave, commanding, debonair,
resourceful, talented, respected and revered. It is te contrast between these two
personas which highlights the tragedy of Walter Mitty’s
existence.

In reality, Walter is chastised by his wife for
driving too fast, and is ridiculed by the parking attendant for being unable to park his
car. Whilst concocting a plan to disguise his inability to fit snow chains to his car,
Mitty imagines himself to be a crack shot and a
hero.-

readability="6">

…suddenly a lovely, dark-haired girl was in
Walter Mitty’s arms.

He is
immediately ridiculed in the real world for talking to
himself-

A
woman who was passing
laughed.

His wife challenges
Mitt’s dreaminess as a symptom of sickness and decline, and the great ideas he hatches
in his daydreams contrast with her criticism:

readability="7">

“Does it ever occur to you that sometimes I am
thinking?” She looked at him. “I’m going to take your temperature when I get you home,”
she said.

Critical appriciation of sita by toru dutt? explain the theme

Among the early English writers of Indian Renaissance who
gave independent outlook, right direction, original subjects, the name of Toru Dutt
stands first. Her best work has depth of human motives and emotions and an abiding faith
in Indian values. Besides writing in French and English, she turned to Sanskrit
literature to get the sacred touch of India's Muse and introduced to the world about her
splendour beauty and rich treasure-house of ancient wisdom. It was a matter of deep
sorrow that she died so early when her talent was blossoming under the vast auspicious
knowledge of Indian myths, legends and folklores. She fascinates us for her personal
life as well as due to her creative genius. Like Bronte sisters and Keats, her family,
too, became a victim of consumption and she died in the prime of her youth, only at 21.
Before her sad and slow death, she lost her elder brother Abju aged only 14 and sister
Aru only at 20. Edmund Gosse writes, "It is wonderful to grasp of a girl who at the age
of twenty one had produced so much of lasting worth."1 The great Indian critic Amar Nath
Jha also writes ," There is every reason to believe that in intellectual power Toru Dutt
was one of the most remarkable women that ever lived."2 She belonged to a very rich,
respectable and intellectual family of Calcutta. Her father Govin Chunder Dutt was a
cultured man steeped into the deep knowledge of the West and the East. Her mother was
also a woman of very modest and loving disposition and from her mouth the young Toru had
listened the immortal stories of ancient Indian heroes and heroines. The other family
members too were highly learned and pursuing the great tradition of music and
literature.  Toru's father embraced Christianity and afterwards left Calcutta and
settled at Nice, in the south-east of France. Here Toru and her sister learnt their
first lessons in French and soon they excelled in this language and used it effectively
and proficiently for their literary leanings. Their first literary fruit came out with
the title Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields with admiring maturity and depth. Of the 165
pieces, 8 were by Aru and remaining by Toru. Though it was a translation from French to
English, but it was marked by a great original genius as Toru's selection and rejection
has made it almost a new creative work. No wonder, Edmund Goss read it with 'surprise
and almost rapture'. He declared, "If modern French literature were entirely lost, it
might not be found impossible to reconstruct a great number of poems from this Indian
version."5 Keeping and maintaining the original rhythm, sense and meaning, Toru's
translation has almost touched the beauty and glory of newly creative work, pouring her
bleeding heart out of the family tragedy in willingly chosen works of French Romantics.
Here, in them, she gave free play to her soaring imagination, unchecked and unbounded,
loneliness, dejection, ardours and agonies of life. Likewise, her French novel 'Le
Journal de Mademoiselle d'Arvers' which was published posthumously, has captured the
eyes of the public both at home and abroad. She has captivated the music of French
language and life./p/

Would you expect all animal and plant cells to look the same when observed under a microscope?So lets say you have an animal cell that is a cheek...

This is an excellent question. Since we categorize cells
into tissues based on similarities of both appearance and function, it stands to reason
that all the cells of a certain tissue would look the same, and they do, to certain
extent. However a closer examination would reveal that, despite the similarities among
cells of a given tissue, no two cells are exactly
alike.

This is true because of the many steps required to
differentiate a cell. Every cell in an animal or plant body traces its ancestry back to
a single, undifferentiated, fertilized egg cell. As that cell multiplies, its daughter
cells begin to follow different developmental paths, which are guided by a variety of
different factors.

Factors that help to drive cell
differentiation include hormones, crowding, and surface attachment or lack thereof. Most
cells do not function totally independently, and must create physical connections to
other cells nearby, adjusting themselves to fit between their neighbors; this results in
variability in size and shape. Due to their location some cells may have better access
to nutrients, oxygen, or sunlight, and this could cause structural or size
differences.

Over the past decade the studies of chaos
theory and of fractal geometry have opened up new avenues of study, and many tissues in
the human body are now known to show a fractal-based cell
structure.

Why is plasticine a solid? (3 Marks)A plasticine has a definite volume but no definite shape as it can be moulded to take different shapes. But it...

By definition solids have their own shape and volume,
whereas liquids have only their own volume. Liquids take the shape of the container in
which they are poured, solids do not do this. This happens because of the strength of
the intermolecular forces that are present in both solids and liquids. In solids the
intermolecular forces are extremely strong, whereas in liquids these forces are somewhat
smaller. Thus the distance between molecules that compose a liquid is higher than in
solids. Because of this the molecules in liquids have some degrees of freedom (they can
rotate, vibrate and also translate one with respect to the other). This is why the
liquids take the form of the recipient that contains
them.

Plasticine although it can be modeled changing easily
its shape, it has its own particular shape when left alone, shape that it keeps over
time. When placed into a container it does not change its form on its own to take the
container shape.

In Up from Slavery, what did Booker T. Washington consider the cause of the race problem?

In this book, as in his entire life, Washington felt that
the most important thing for black people was to be educated and hard-working.  The
education that he felt was important was mostly vocational education that would allow
blacks to be good workers.  From this, we can infer that Washington felt that the cause
of the race problem was the fact that blacks were insufficiently trained and
insufficiently industrious.

To Washington, the only real
solution to the race problem was hard work.  He wanted blacks to "cast down their
buckets" where they were.  He wanted them to accept that their place (at that point in
history) was to do the hard work of agriculture and mining and domestic service.  He
felt that blacks who were properly educated and properly hard-working would win the
respect of whites.

Washington does not explicitly say what
he thinks the cause of the race problem is.  But we can infer it from what he encourages
blacks to do.  He clearly feels that the cause of the problem is that whites do not
respect blacks and that this lack of respect comes from blacks' lack of education and
industriousness.

What tone is created through Maupassant's use of third person limited narrotor?"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant

Guy de Maupassant's employment of the third-person point
of view used in his short story 'The Necklace" provides the perspective of Mathilde
Loisel solely. Thus, the story is told in a subtlely ironic tone as Maupassant writes a
social criticism of the bourgeosie, especially the weak and unimaginative M. Loisel, who
is a minor clerk in the ministry office. For, he is completely manipulated by his wife,
who complains of not having a dress and jewels; then, when she loses the necklace, he
never criticizes, but meekly accepts the unfortunate life they must
live.

Maupassant's characteristic irony is certainly
evinced in his use of the third-person vantage point with Mme. Loisel. For, her
hypocrisy in social pretenses costs her many a miserable year, and, then, she has
acquired no humility as she proudly refuses to inform Madame Forestier that she has lost
the necklace.  Even when she encounters Mme. Forestier, Mme. Loisel's pettiness is
exhibited as she blames her old school friend for her misfortunes.  This pettiness
backfires in great ironic proportions when Mme. Forestier informs her that the
necklace was faux.

Clearly, the use of third-person point
of view affords Guy de Maupassant the vantage point for ridicule, both of the
bourgeoisie in the person of Monsieur Loisel and of the pettiness and hypocrisy of
Madame Loisel.    

What are the top inequalities in Animal Farm?

Although the last and most important of the Seven
Commandments of Animal Farm declared that "all animals are equal," such was not the
case. The pigs soon set themselves apart from the others, first absconding with the
daily milk to mix with their mash. The pigs do no work, instead supervising the labor of
the other animals. They learn to read and take over the harness room as their
headquarters. Napoleon takes nine puppies, and they soon grow into his ferocious
enforcers. When work on the windmill begins, all of the animals are forced to endure on
reduced rations--except the pigs. The work week grows longer for the non-pigs, while the
pigs soon move into the farmhouse and begin sleeping on beds. The hens are forced into
giving up their eggs, which they consider murder. Another commandment is broken when the
pigs order the death sentence for any animals suspected of having collaborated with the
unseen Snowball. The animals are forced to address Napoleon as "our Leader, Comrade
Napoleon." Soon, the pigs discover Mr. Jones' stash of whisky, which they consume until
drunk.

When the pig population grows, the other animals
recognize that Napoleon, the only boar on the farm, must be the sire. Boxer, instead of
receiving his overdue retirement, is sold to the horse slaughterer--perhaps the greatest
indignity to occur on Animal Farm. In the final chapter, the pigs exert their power by
walking upright on two legs as they prepare to join forces with the humans, and once
again the farm returns to its original name, "Manor Farm."

How does the setting of the Battle School affect the conflict in Ender's Game?

The Battle School is constructed for the sole purpose of
training children to fight in outer space. The children are not coddled or protected,
but allowed to fight among themselves. The teachers deliberately set up the rules to pit
the children against each other, in order to teach them strength of character and to see
how they react.

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"...you will get pushed around. And when you do,
don't come crying to me. Got it? This is Battle School, not nursery school... If you
don't like getting pushed around, figure out for yourself what to do about
it..."
(Card, Ender's Game, Google
Books)

Battle School is
isolated and far from parents. The only authority figures are more interested in seeing
how the children adapt than in protecting them, and so the children who don't get
expelled become hard and cynical. Ender avoids cynicism for the most part, but the
constant brutality makes him very pragmatic, which sometimes comes across in violence.
Without the Battle School, which taught persistence through adversity through never
playing fair, Ender would never have learned the lessons and the determination necessary
to win the Bugger War.

How can Willa Carther's "Paul's Case" relate to Joseph Conrad's "The Secret Sharer"?

This is a very interesting question to consider. I suppose
one of the major thematic links we could establish between the two texts is that of the
search for identity.

Let us consider the captain in "The
Secret Sharer" to begin with. It is clear that the story focuses on his own development
and maturity as he faces the realities of the role and responsibility of his position.
He is constantly looking for some sign that he is doing the right thing from his crew.
Of course, a major influence on his process of growing into the role of captain is his
friendship with Leggat, who teaches him that he must be more direct and aggressive to be
a good leader. We see that in the story the captain is exploring and experimenting with
different ways through which he can define
himself.

Similarly, Paul is trying to establish his own
identity, even if the identity he wants to establish is based on fiction rather than
fact. Even though Paul emerges from a middle-class background, which is said to be
"perfectly respectable, Paul sees the lives that his parents lead as boring and
meaningless. He desperately wants to be rich and worry-free. Note how he refers to his
home neighbourhood as he returns there:

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Paul never went up Cordelia Street without a
shudder of loathing. His home was next to the house of the Cumberland minister. He
approached it tonight with the nerveless sense of defeat, the hopless feeling of sinking
back forever into ugliness and commonness that he had always had when he came home. The
moment he turned into Cordelia Street he felt the waters close above his
head.

The way in which Paul
describes his home clearly indicates his attempt to define himself in opposition to his
roots, even if such attempts are based on fantasy. His visits to the opera show
themselves to be nothing more than escapism, and Paul is able to achieve his goal, but
only for one week, as he ventures out to New York to acheive the ultimate escape. Paul's
week in the Waldorf Hotel and his enjoyment of the luxury that surround him reinforce
Paul's impression that "money was everything." We are significantly told that Paul's
"surroundings explained him." However, tragically, Paul is so fixated on this false
identity that when the game is up and his escapism is due to end, he is unable to return
to real life, and kills himself.

Why is the marginal cost curve U-shaped?

Marginal cost is defined as the change in total cost of
production if the number of units being produced is increased by one. The total cost of
production for one unit has two components, one is a fixed cost and the other is a
variable cost. Variable cost is the amount spent on labor, raw materials, etc. for each
item. This does not change with an increase in the number of items produced. The fixed
cost for each item is equal to the capital expenditure which includes construction of
the facility, purchase of machinery, etc. per unit.

As the
number of units produced increases the fixed cost per unit decreases as the same figure
is being divided by a larger number. It should be noted that there is no change in the
variable cost. This leads to a decrease in the marginal cost and is referred to as
economies of scale. The decrease in marginal cost does not go on forever; at a
particular stage to increase the number of units produced it would be essential to
expand the facility, buy new machinery, etc. which requires more capital expenditure. At
the point where this happens the marginal cost curve starts to slope upwards. This is
referred to as diseconomies of scale.

The marginal cost
curve is U-shaped due to an initial decrease in cost due to economies of scale followed
by an increase in cost when diseconomies of scale set in.

What kind of diction dominates McBride's work The Color of Water?

Diction is the language and vocabulary an author uses. In
the case of The Color of Water, by James Mc Bride, there are two
distinctly different voices which tell the story. That means there are also two distinct
dictions used in the book.

Half of the chapters are written
in the voice of Ruth, and her diction is indicative of who she is. Though she is white,
she chose to assimilate herself and her family into the black community and her language
reflects that. Even when she tells the story of growing up as a white Jewish girl, she
speaks in the dialect of a grown Negro woman of her time--lots of contractions,
colloquialisms, and informal language, such as "do right
by."

The other half of the chapters are in the voice of
Ruth's son, James. His mother worked hard (and craftily) to see that he had a proper
education, and his diction is different from his mother's. He is more educated and
speaks with less of a dialect. He uses effective figurative language and his voice is
more formal; it stands in sharp contrast to some of the other characters with whom he
interacts. (For example, the man who lives in his mother's family home describes the
woman James's grandfather ran off with as “one of the sorriest, trashiest,
poor-as-Job’s-turkey white women you ever did see.”)

In a
book like this one in which the storytelling alternates, diction is one way for readers
to clearly know which chapters are told from which point of view. Ruth's voice is quite
different from James's voice.

Define three segments of comparative litrature.Answer in at least 400 words, or please refer any book in which I can find an answer to this.

Comparative literature is a specific academic field in
which the literature of two different languages, cultures, or arts. Typically, people
who study Comparative Literature possess a mastery of language outside of their own
natural tongue. This enables the person to compare texts of the same category in each of
the original languages with reliance on third-party
translations.

The purpose of Comparative literature is to
examine different cultures positions on similar ideas. For example, one could look at an
American text regarding the Rights of women and compare it to Afghanistan, Iraq, or
Sudan.

To complete this comparison, a Comparatist would
tend to be fluent in both languages focused upon and have experience in cultural and and
religious studies.

A few books which examines the idea of
Comparative literature is The Princetion Sourcebook for Comparative
Literature, Comparative Literature: A Critical
Introduction, and The Translation Zone: A New Comparative
Literature.

As for three distinctly different
segments of Comparative Literature are:

1. The French
School: Looking for where an idea originated (lets say the idea of an apple representing
original sin) and how it is used in other cultures over time
periods.

2. The American School: This movement looked at
the use of "universal truths" as accepted and used over vast time periods and many
cultures.

3. Cross-Cultural: This movement refuses to look
at any nations as all encompassing and simply looks at the
globalization.

What is the landscape behind the Mona Lisa?La Jaconde by Leonardo da Vinci [Musee de Louvre]

Image credit: Leonardo da
Vinci


 

Historian Carla Glori may
have identified the location shown in Da Vinci's Mona Lisa painting.

Carla
Glori, an Italian art historian, believes that the landscape behind Mona Lisa is known
as the Ponte Gobbo or Ponte Vecchio (the Old Bridge) identifiable by the
three-arch-bridge which can be seen behind Mona Lisa's left shoulder.  This bridge,
contends Glori, is a structure that was located south of Piacenza in northern Italy;
however, the bridge was later destroyed in a flood.  Bobbio is a village which lies in
rugged hill country south of Piacenza, in northern Italy.  Da Vinci was born in Vinci in
Tuscany; however, he travelled extensively throughout Italy during his lifetime working
in Venice, Rome and Bologna, so he could easily have come across depictions of this
bridge.
As documentation, Glori says, "Leonardo added in the numbers 7 and 2
[for 1472] beneath the bridge to record the devastating flood of the River Trebbia and
to allow it to be identified."  These numbers were discoverd by art historian Silvano
Vinceti.  Obviously, the bridge was destroyed before DaVinci's painting was even begun
in 1503 or 1504.

If the saying, "Health is wealth" is true, why are wealthy people always sick?

I guess I disagree with the premise of the question.  I am
not sure it is scientifically accurate to suggest that wealthy people are always sick. 
I think that one can go to any public aid clinic and see that this is the not the case. 
One of the most profound elements of sickness is that it impacts everyone, rich and
poor.  Given how the current health care system in America is one that favors wealth, I
would actually argue that wealthy people can afford to receive the best of health care
in such a system, thereby ensuring that health and wealth do go together.  Yet, I do not
think that a reasonable argument can be made to presume that wealthy people are "always"
sick.

I would actually flip the statement and use something
that Virgil and many others have used in articulating the connnection between wealth and
health.  The great writer once said, "The greatest wealth is health."  I think that this
might strike more at your implication.  While wealth acquisition is wonderful and
needed, I think that the previous argument that states health illnesses know no
boundaries is a vital point.  I am reminded of the Hyman Roth
quote in The
Godfather, Part II regarding this
condition:

I'd
give four million just to be able to take a piss without it
hurting.

I don't think there
is a better way to articulate how wealth and health go together.  It is not that wealth
people are "always sick" and, conversely, poor people are always healthy.  Rather, it is
an understanding that health is the ultimate form of wealth, something that is taken for
granted when not evident, but something sorely needed when
absent.

In That was Then, This is Now, what was Mark up to?What would you do if you were Bryon and you found out what Mark was up to?

Although it is obvious that the two foster brothers, Bryon
and Mark, love and depend upon one another, they find themselves growing apart as they
get older. Active in gangs for years, Bryon finds himself tiring of the lifestyle. After
the death of his friend, Charlie, and taking a severe beating by the Shepard gang, Bryon
decides to make changes in his life. He begins dating Cathy and gets a job. Mark,
however, wants no part Bryon's new ways. According to
Bryon,

We just
couldn't get through to each other. He didn't understand why I didn't dig fights
anymore; I didn't understand how he could accept everything that came along without
question, without wanting to change
it.

Unable to get a real job
because of his past record, Mark turns to selling drugs. Bryon finds Mark's stash one
night shortly after a visit to see M&M--who had overdosed on LSD--and decides to
call the police. Although Mark claims never to use drugs himself or having sold the LSD
to M&M, he admits to selling after

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"I met this guy on the Ribbon--he set me up. I
figure I don't have to take it to sell it, so what's the
worry?"

Why did the patriot movement wane in the early 1770's?

To the extent that the patriot movement did wane in the
early 1770s, it was because things seemed to be getting out of hand.  The violence of
the early '70s, seen in such things as the "Boston Massacre" scared many people and
caused them to pull back somewhat in terms of the radicalism of their beliefs.  At the
same time, the British Parliament did some things to ease the
tensions.

During the time from the Boston Massacre to early
1773, things were relatively calm.  Parliament repealed all of the Townshend duties
except for the one on tea.  Even then, legal tea was cheaper than the illegal tea had
been and was actually cheaper than tea in England.  These sorts of things led many
colonists to feel they could get along with England and that they should tone down their
protests after the violence of 1770.

Of course, this did
not last long and 1773 saw another eruption of tensions, one which eventually led to
war.

How can I paraphrase this paragraph from "The Most Dangerous Game"?"Watch! out there!' exclaimed the general, pointing into the night. Rainsford's...

Paraphrasing involves rewording others' speech or the
words of their texts without changing the general import of these words.  Therefore, in
order to reword accurately phrases and sentences taken from narratives, for instance,
the reader will also need to examine the context of the
phrases and sentences to be paraphrased.

Regarding the
passage quoted above, the context of these words of General
Zaroff are early in the short story "The Most Dangerous Game." On the first night of
Rainsford's arrival on Ship-Trap Island, he has mistakenly sought refuge at the castle
of the general; later, after having bathed and dressed for dinner, Rainsford is
conducted by Ivan to the dining room.  There, the general, who has "an almost bizarre
quality to his face," entertains Rainsford.  In the course of their conversation, the
general explains that he hunts "more dangerous game" than the big game that Rainsford
seeks which for the general has lost its challenge.  So, the general says with great
import, he now hunts the "idea quarry" that has courage, cunning, and "above all, it
must be able to reason."  Horrified, Rainsford understands the implications of Zaroff's
declaration.

When Rainsford tells Zaroff that his actions
are "cold-blooded murder," the general laughs; he insists that he is a hunter, not a
murderer, rationalizing that "life is for the strong....Why should I not use my gift?" 
With equal sang-froid, he then explains how his prey arrives on the
island.

Taking Rainsford to the window, he exclaims, "Watch
Out there!"  At first Rainsford can see nothing but blackness; however, after the
general presses a button, there are beckons of light far out on the sea.  These lights,
the general laughing explains, are the types of lights that normally indicate a
channel for ships to enter safely at night.  However, once the ships head in the
direction of the lights, they soon strike razor-sharp rocks that crush their hulls,
sinking them.  Then, in order to demonstrate the tremendous crushing action of the
monster rocks, the general drops a walnut on the hardwood floor and grinds it with his
heel.

According to Guns, Germs, and Steel, what does the following have to do with the fates of human societies?According to diamond agricultural...

What this has to do with the fate of human society is that
it did a great deal to help Eurasian societies to have advantages over other societies
in the form of guns, germs, and steel.

Because Eurasia had
a long east-west axis, the invention of agriculture could diffuse.  This meant that many
civilizations could spring up instead of only a few, isolated ones.  The fact that there
were many civilizations meant that they could all invent various things and then trade
them with one another.  This meant that they moved ahead much more quickly than any
isolated society could.

So, diffusion led to the presence
of more civilizations.  More civilizations led to more innovation and sharing of
innovations.  These things led to advantages in technology as well as to the presence of
epidemic diseases.  The technology and the diseases helped the Eurasians conquer other
societies in modern times.

What is the role of the sea and all its inhabitants in The Old Man and the Sea?Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea

Interestingly, the sea acts both as antagonist and ally in
Ernest Hemingway's novella, The Old Man and the Sea, as it is a
force against which Santiago must reckon, but at the same time it provides for him and
gives him solace.  His knowledge of the sea insomuch as how to navigate, where to catch
fish, and how to survive upon its waves and how to maintain his hold upon a fish plays a
keen role in Santiago's venture to catch a big fish after eighty-four days.  Still,
unlike the other fishermen who use buoys and motors in order to conquer the sea and call
the water the masculine el mar, Santiago perceives the ocean as
la mar with the Spanish denotation of the noun as being feminine. 
While he may speak badly of the sea, it is always as a woman that he speaks of her
because he loves her.

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They [the other fishermen] spoke of her as a
contestant or a place or even an enemy.  But the old man always thought of her as
feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favours, and if she did wild or
wicked things it was because she could not help them.  The moon affects her as it does a
woman, he
thought. 

Essentially, for
all the villagers who live off the sea, it is part of their lives, and in this sense,
the sea is a measure of their lives.  For, when they are successful on the sea, the
villagers prosper and have respect; on the other hand, when they fail at sea, they
suffer domestically and lose the respect of the other villagers.  Perhaps, Santiago
considers the sea as a woman because men are often measured by their relationships with
their wives.  If he no longer has her love, he loses; if he no longer loves her, his
life lacks imagination and dreams.  He is truly
alone.

Santiago is defeated at sea, but his love for la mer
will take him out to sea again, for he yet retains the ability to love and to
dream:

Up the
road, in his shack, the old man was sleeping again.  He was still sleeping on his face
and the boy was sitting by him watching him.  The old man was dreaming about the
lions.

Defeated by the
sharks, disrespected by the fishermen, Santiago, like the sea, will return to the shore
and venture forth again because he yet loves la mer and he yet has
the imagination to dream.

In "The Cold Equations" what questions keep you turning the pages?

Your question relates to the role of suspense in the story
and how it is created and sustained throughout to make us literally sit on the edge of
our seats and want to keep on reading right up until the very end of the short story.
What adds greatly to the suspense is the way that the opening of this futuristic short
story makes it precisely clear what the pilot must do with the stowaway on his ship. The
harshness of the situation is made clear by the narrator, who
states:

The
stowaway had signed his own death warrant when he concealed himself on the ship; he
could not be permitted to take seven others with
him.

The cold and precise
equations of space travel mean that there is no other option but to jettison the
stowaway. Yet what crucially changes the picture is the way in which this stowaway is
shown to be a young girl who is completely ignorant of the seriousness of her
predicament. This makes both us and the pilot begin to hope against hope that there
might be someway in which the life of this girl can be saved and not ended so cruelly.
This is the biggest question that keeps us turning the pages as we want there to be a
way out.

How does Lady Macbeth describe her husband?In Acts 1 and 2

Lady Macbeth, from Shakespeare's play
Macbeth, is very direct when speaking about what she thinks of her
husband.

In Act I, Scene v, Lady Macbeth has the following
to say about her husband:

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What thou art promised; yet do I fear thy
nature;/ It is too full o'the milk of human kindness/ To catch the nearest
way.

Here, Lady Macbeth is
saying that she does not think her husband it strong enough to take the crown by doing
what needs to be done (murdering Duncan).

In the same act
and scene, Lady Macbeth states that she knows she is going to have to convince Macbeth
before he will take action on his own:

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Hie thee hither,/ That I may pour my spirits in
thine ear,/ And chastise with the valour of my
tongue.

Lady Macbeth knows
that she must be the one to convince him to murder Duncan in order to gain the crown.
What she is saying here is that Macbeth is weak enough to be
swayed.

One last time in Act I, Lady Macbeth, when speaking
to Macbeth, tells him how to act. She states:

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Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent
flower,/ But be the serpent
under't.

Here, Lady Macbeth
is worried that Macbeth will not be able to put on the mask of the innocent. She, again,
finds him too weak to pull off the murder of Duncan without accusations being made
against him.

In Act I, scene vii, Lady Macbeth  calls
Macbeth a coward. She tells him that he will

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live a coward in thine own self-esteem,/ Letting
'I dare not' wait upon 'I
would.'

Macbeth rebuffs her
by saying that everything he does is to prove to her so that "he may become a
man."

In Act II, Lady Macbeth becomes even more relentless
against her husband. After he murders Duncan, and he breaks down, Lady Macbeth
states

You do
unbend your noble
strength.

She proceeds to
belittle him stating that he has not finished to job. Macbeth tells her that there is no
way he could re-enter the bedroom of the guards so as to frame them for the murder of
Duncan. She takes it upon herself to plant the evidence.

In
the end, Lady Macbeth still seems fearful of Macbeth's weaknesses. She tells
him

be not
lost/so poorly in your
thoughts.

Basically, Lady
Macbeth finds her husband very weak. She knows that she must take control so that he
does not lose the crown due to his mental weaknesses. Basically, Lady Macbeth is not
very supportive or sure of the character of Macbeth. She finds him too
weak.

Prove that the expression (sin2x-cos2x)^2+(cos2x+sin2x)^2 does not depend on x.

We'll raise to square both binomials, using the special
products:

`(a+b)^2 = a^2 + 2ab +
b^2`

`(a-b)^2 = a^2 - 2ab +
b^2`

`(sin2x-cos2x)^2 = sin^2 (2x) - 2sin 2x*cos 2x + cos^2
(2x) ` (1)

`(cos2x+sin2x)^2 = cos^2 (2x) + 2sin 2x*cos 2x +
sin^2 (2x)`  (2)

We'll add (1) +
(2):

`(sin2x-cos2x)^2 + (cos2x+sin2x)^2 = sin^2 (2x) - 2sin
2x*cos 2x + cos^2 (2x) + cos^2 (2x) + 2sin 2x*cos 2x + sin^2
(2x)`

We'll eliminate like
terms:

`(sin2x-cos2x)^2 + (cos2x+sin2x)^2 = sin^2 (2x) +
cos^2 (2x) + cos^2 (2x) + sin^2 (2x)`

We'll use Pythagorean
identity:

`sin^2 (2x) + cos^2 (2x) =
1`

`(sin2x-cos2x)^2 + (cos2x+sin2x)^2 = 1 + 1 =
2`

We notice that the result of the sum of
squares is a constant
value:

`(sin2x-cos2x)^2 +
(cos2x+sin2x)^2 = 2`

How is social constructivism associated with scientific realism, anti-realism, and irrealism?

Social constructivism is a social theory of knowledge that
applies the general philosophical constructionism of a culture into a social setting. 
When this knowledge is absorbed by the members of a culture, it is a shared common
knowledge by the members of that culture, generally held to be
true.

Social constructivism associates very well with
scientific realism.  Scientific realism is a direct attempt by the science community
at-large to explain the things occurring in the physical world.  The attainment of this
body of knowledge, of how and why things work, are passed on in our homes, our schools,
and generally regarded to be true.

There are always
multiple ways of explaining things and this is where the anti-realists come in.  They
believe it would be a serious mistake to make the claim that all the answers we come up
with as realists are correct.  At one time, the Earth was believed to be flat; how true
is that belief today?

Last, but not least, the metaphysical
irrealistic philosophy tends to combine the "best of both worlds" by asserting each is a
world version.  Parts of the knowledge base of each are generally acceptable while parts
are not so.  The position might be summarized in colloquial terms as "Keep the part that
works and let's fix the part that doesn't."

What are two character traits for the son in The Road?

I think that the son features a couple of distinct
character traits.  The first is that he is dependent on his father.  The son does not go
against the father's warnings or instructions.  He is shown to be absolutely devoted to
his father, whom he recognizes is his only world in this post- apocalyptic setting.  It
is this dependence that allows the boy to gain strength, internally and physically, in
terms of being able to cope with the challenges posed to he and his father.  As the
story progresses, he begins to assert his own strength, capable of taking care of both
his father and himself.  It is here where I think we can find another trait of the boy. 
He shows maturation in both his physical composition and his emotional frame of
reference.  This maturation causes him to be able to control his own fears when his
father becomes ill and assume the status of a man in a world where those who are not
savvy and mature are victimized.  Part of this maturation involves being able to care
for others and recognizing that this does not trade off with his own well being.  It is
in this growth that we see another aspect of the boy's character displayed throughout
the course of the narrative.

The poem by Carl Sandburg is "The Harbor." The question is below. Can someone please help me?Explain the contrasting ideas...

The two sections of this poem simply contrast the view of Chicago
while in the city to the harbor.Lines one through six focus on the images urban
Chicago.  A very vivid description of the inner city provides strong pictures:  "Huddled
and ugly walls" evoke an image of confinement where worn out, hungry women stand in
doorways.  These images certainly create images of darkness, ugliness,  and
hopelessness.

The speaker steps out of the oppressive city in line
six and looks out onto the harbor of Lake Michigan.  The description is now one of
beauty, freedom, and hope.  Everything seems fresh in lines 7-13:  The lake is a "blue
burst", waves "break" under sun, gulls "flutter", there are "white
underbellies...veering and wheeling free in the open."  The fresh, clean images all
evoke hope.

What are eight examples of metaphor in A Tale of Two Cities?

As in all great works of litearture, A Tale of Two Cities
contains many figures of speech, not the least of which is metaphor.  Here are some
 examples:

1. In the opening chapter, Book the
   First, Chapter I, Dickens compares the kings of England and of France as "those two of
   the large jaws."  The queens of England and France are metaphorically described as "the
   other two of the plain and fair faces."


2. Chapter III of
   Book the First is entitled "The Night Shadows."  While a description of how people
   appear to Mr. Lorry as he rides in the Dover mail carriage, this phrase is also a
   metaphor for the inscrutableness of human nature; that is, the idea that "every human
   creature is constituted to be that profund secret and mystery to every
   other."


3. The title of Chapter VII of Book the Second,
   "Monseigneur in Town," is metaphoric for the French aristocracy who have become so
   effect that they are no longer able to feed themselves.  For, the hands are too delicate
   and cannot perform the task of bringing a cup of chocolate to his
   lips.


4. In Chapter XII of Book the Second ironically
   entitled "The Fellow of Delicacy" a misappropriated metaphor for Mr. Stryver, Mr. Lorry
   speaks in metaphor when he tells Styver, "you know there really is much too much of
   you!"  The metaphoric phrase compares Mr. Stryver's lack of finesse to "too much,"
   suggesting too much crassness on Stryver's part to not understand Mr. Lorry's delicate
   innuendoes that Lucie does not wish to marry him.


5. Chapter
   XIII of Book the Second entitled "The Fellow of No Delicacy" is an ironic metaphor for
   Sydney Carton, who declares his love to Lucie Manette with great care in contrast to
   Charles Darnay's rather banal declaration of love for her when he speaks with Dr.
   Manette. 


6. In this chapter, Carton himself speaks in
   metaphor, comparing his insecurity to  "my
   degradation."


7. He tells Lucie "I have had unformed ideas"
   in a comparison to his uncertainty. 


8. He continues, saying
   that he has shaken off sloth and "fighting out the abandoned flight."   His "abandoned
   flight" is a metaphor for his inability to grasp fully his deep feelings for
   Lucie.


9. In Chapter XIV Jerry Cruncher is referred to as
   "An Honest Tradesman" and he refers to himself as "a resurrection
   man."


10. "The Echoing Footsteps" of Chapter XXI of Book the
    Second is the marching revolutionaries and those that will affect Lucie and her
    family.

stanza two describes the gloomy landscape how does this represent hardy and what images does he use to support this impression and what images are...

The landscape is what T.S. Eliot would discribe as a
"linguistic objective correlative" of the poet's mood. It's very difficult to accurately
describe an emotion -- we cannot directly apprehend the emotions of others, but only
their external manifestations in language, behaviour, etc. Thus for a writer to portray
emotion, he needs to discuss not the emotion itself, but some apprehensible thing,
creating a vivid image that will evoke the emotion in the
reader.

Hardy uses images of winter in many poems to evoke
notions of old age, impotence, despair, and death. In the second stanza, the end of the
season (death oif plants, animals hibernating, etc.) seem to mirror the century's end
(Hardy was writing at the fin de siecle, the end of the 19th century) and the end of
Hardy's own youth and hope. The land, stripped of foliage by winter, seems like a
skeleton, stripped of flesh by death and decay.

In the
third stanza, the thrush heralds hope for renewal after winter, signalling the seeds
that will spring to life with the return of the warm weather, the return of migrating
flocks, and wakiing from hibernation of the animals -- and, by analogy, the potential
renewal of Hardy himself, a reminder of a Hope of which Hardy is only aware second
hand.

This theme of renewal after winter echoes a
well-known poem by John Donne, written on St. Lucy's Day, Dec. 23, which is the shortest
day of the year.

I must write a quadratic equation and i know only one zero. What is the quadratic whose zero is 2-2i?

We'll recall the fact that a quadratic equation has two
zeroes. We notice that the given zero is a complex number and we know that the complex
roots come in pairs. Therefore, we'll determine the other zero of the quadratic to be
found as being the conjugate of the given zero, namely 2 +
2i.

We'll write the factor form of a
quadratic:

(x - x1)(x - x2) = 0, where x1 and x2 represent
the zeroes of the quadratic.

We'll substitute x1 and x2 by
the given roots:

x1 = 2  -2i and x2 = 2 +
2i

(x - 2 + 2i)(x - 2 - 2i) =
0

We notice that the product above represents a special
product that returns a difference of two squares:

`(x - 2 +
2i)(x - 2 - 2i) = (x-2)^2 - (2i)^2`

We'll expand the
binomial:

`(x - 2 + 2i)(x - 2 - 2i) = x^2 - 4x + 4 -
4i^2`

But `i^2 = -1`

`(x - 2 +
2i)(x - 2 - 2i) = x^2 - 4x + 4 + 4`

`(x - 2 + 2i)(x - 2 -
2i) = x^2 - 4x + 8`

The requested quadratic,
whose roots are 2 - 2i and 2 + 2i, is `x^2 - 4x + 8 = 0.`

How is the marginal product of a unit of labor determined?

The marginal product of a unit of labor is the added
amount of product that can be made when that extra unit of labor is used.  In other
words, let us say that I have three workers in my shop and we make 10 shirts per hour. 
Let us then say that I hire a fourth worker and we are then able to make 15 shirts per
hour.  In that case, the marginal product of the labor of the fourth worker is 5 shirts
per hour.

As can be seen here, we obtain the marginal
product of a unit of labor by taking the amount of the product made with
that labor and subtracting from it the amount of the product made
without that labor.

What is ironic about the face that Julia saw Winston's rebellion from his physical expression?This is a question for chapter two of book two in 1984.

The major irony is that Winston thought that he could hide
his journal, writing, thoughts, hatred of Big Brother, whatever, by hiding his
activities and putting on the proper face at the "Two Minutes Hate."  he irony is that,
no matter how you hide your actions, you can't hide from the thougt police because they
can read your rebellion in your face.  Probably the best example of this is Mr.
Charrington.  Winston goes into his store and purchases trinkets and finally rents his
room, always thinking that Charrington was unaware of what he was "up to" because he
hide his intentions while Charringon knew quite well by reading his expression, much as
Julia did, that he was rebel.  The same is initially true of his relationship with
O'Brien; although he misread O'Brien, Obrien had him pegged from the
beginning.

Makes me wonder about all the pictures that are
being taken of each of us every day ... are these a bad idea?  They seem harmless in the
possession of a benign government, but do I really want people in power knowing
everything, or as much as they do now, about where I am and what I'm doing?  And what if
this government changes ... the information doesn't go away
....

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."  [Thomas
Jefferson]

How would you describe the mood in the First Act of Wilson's Fences?

I would say that the mood of the first act is one of
conflict.  The emotional state of the first act is rife with conflicts that Troy faces. 
Down the line and throughout the act, this mood presents itself as a part of the first
act.  Troy feels conflict about his work, where he feels racism and discrimination
against him is evident.  The discussion about his affair with Alberta creates another
setting where conflict is evident, in that he denies the presence of the affair to
Bono.  Another conflict is the presence of Lyons and his need for money.  This only adds
to the mood of conflict and tension that Troy faces in his emotional world.  Gabriel's
presence is another aspect of the emotional conflict and tension that Troy experiences,
adding to the conflict present in the act.  The mood of conflict reaches its zenith at
the end of the act when Cory and Troy battle over the son's dreams of playing football
at the father's objection.  This triggers in Troy's own discussion of his internal mood
of pain and conflict at his being imprisoned as a youth.  The entire emotional feeling
of the first act is one of conflict and tension as we are introduced to Troy's world and
the pain that exists within it.

Define “sin” as it is set forth in The Scarlet Letter.Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet
Letter, has its theme centered uponthe Puritan theology.  Within the Puritan
community in which Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale live, Adam and Eve's sin
parallels that of Hester and the minister.  For, in both cases, their sins effect
expulsion and bring about knowledge of what it means to be human.  The Puritans believed
that all humans felt the effects of Adam and Eve's sin, but there was an "elect" who
were chosen to be saved.  However, it was difficult to know if one were saved or damned;
therefore, the Puritans tried to behave in an exemplary manner although a superiority of
faith exceeds any good works that one performs.

Oddly
enough, however, although the Puritan theology admits no redemption by good works,
Hester, who aids the sick and elderly comes to be viewed much more positively than
before when the emblem of her sin of adultery has been placed upon her bosom.  New
interpretations of the A come into being; some say it stands for
"Able"; others perceive the letter as representing "Angel."  And, with her performance
of charitable works, Hester attains some degree of redemption, and, certainly, she is
given passage into regions where other women are not allowed, thus permitting her to
think of herself more boldly as she does in Chapter XIII.  On the other hand, because
Dimmesdale keeps his sin secret from fear of condemnation and expulsion by the Puritan
community, his sin becomes a great burden to him.  Yet, it affords him an empathy for
his fellow man which, ironically, endears him to the congregation.  Decidedly, Hester
and the Reverend Dimmesdale both essay to reconcile their sins with their experiences. 
These actions indicate  Hawthorne's disapproval of Puritanism as in the end he calls to
all to

"Be
true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the
worst may be inferred!" 

Of
course, it is the hypocrisy attached to secret sin that Hawthorne most strongly
attacks.  In Roger Chillingworth, evil is truly found in his heart.  Whereas the sin of
Hester and Arthur Dimmesdale is one made in love, Chillingworth's actions are driven by
hatred and a desire for revenge, the antithesis of love.  Thus, he is the greatest
sinner of all, as Dimmesdale does repent before he falls and dies on the
scaffold. 

Conclusively, while the Puritans insisted on the
perception of sin as an obstacle on the path to heaven, Hawthorne calls to all to reveal
their secret sins and atone, for through confession and atonement one achieves
redemption--a very unPuritan precept.

How is the theme of knowledege of self and others used in Othello?

Perhaps the most identifying quote of the play "Othello"
is spoken by Iago:

readability="5">

I am not what I am.
(1.i.65)

Here readers, or
watchers, of the play can recognize the fact that knowledge of self is very important.
Here Iago is defining the difference between how people can portray themselves to others
while hiding the reality of who they truly are.

This being
said, another way of looking at this is through ones own interpretation of who others
really are. What this means is that if a person can recognize the fact that they can
hide, or not know, who they really are what keeps others from doing the
same?

The fact that "ocular proof" is deemed as the end all
for the characters of the play is simplistically ironic. Too many times what people see
in others can be the public mask which they choose to show to the
world.

In the end, the theme of trust and perception
heighten the truth behind self knowledge and the knowledge of others. The statement
always remains: "I am not what I am."

Do you think Portia is really "unlessoned and unschooled" in The Merchant Of Venice? Explain

No, no, no, no NO! Can I be any more emphatic?! It is very
important to look at the origin of this quote and see who says it and to whom it is
uttered and in what context. If we find out this information, this will help us
understand what is really being said. The quote you refer to comes from Act III scene 2,
which is the scene when Bassanio picks the right casked, thereby winning the hand of
Portia and the wealth of Belmont that he has sought. The quote is said by Portia to her
new husband, Bassanio, straight after he has "won" the strange competition her father
created. Let us note what she said and the description she gives of
herself:

Is
sum of something, which, to term in gross,

Is an unlessoned
girl, unschooled, unpracticed;

Happy in this, she is not
yet so old

But she may learn; happier than
this,

She is not bred so dull but she can
learn...

Now, let us think
about Portia's description of herself in the light of the role her character plays in
the entire play, remembering in particular the way in which she disguises herself as a
learned lawyer and manages to do something that her husband is unable to do: save
Antonio from the bond of Shylock through a loophole. She clearly shows that she is
anything but "unschooled, unpracticed." She does not show that she needs to "learn"
anything. Therefore it is most appropriate to view this quote as an example of female
modesty towards her new husband rather than actual truth. In anybody looks as if he has
to learn something and is "unschooled," it is Bassanio himself.

In Judith Viorst's poem, "A Wedding Sonnet for the Next Generation," what does she mean when she writes “you are writing your own poem,”...

In Judith Viorst's poem, "A Wedding Sonnet For the Next
Generation," the line that reads "you are writing your own poem" can be taken two
ways.

The first obvious meaning of this line, based upon
what has come before in the poem, is that the bride (or groom or both) is writing her
own vows, rather than borrowing from the poetry of classic poets such as Shakespeare,
Yeats and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

However,
figuratively, "writing your own poem" could also mean that the
person that the poem is directed to is starting a life uniquely her (or his) own. Rather
than following the path others have taken before her, this woman has the opportunity to
not only write her own poem, but write her own life story. She can
decide upon the dreams and desires she wants: not copy or mimic those of a long-dead
poet, who lived in a world and time so unlike her own.

With
this said—that the woman writing her "poem" is creating her own future in some
fashion—the last two lines support this idea. The first six lines of the poem allude to
three famous poems by three equally famous poets. Viorst's point throughout the poem has
been to find a "sonnet" or poem that is not tied to the distant
past; instead she advises—strongly encourages—the reader to make his or her own way in
this new world. And in saying this, while she reminds the writer that the "poem" may not
be as perfect or as "studied" as those constructed in the past by "professional" poets,
there will be something of the " href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sublime">sublime"—"supreme" or
"outstanding" in creating a new kind of vow, a new set of standards for happiness. And
those standards, rather than raving over eternal beauty or fond remembrances from one's
lover, will be...

readability="5">

Respect. Trust. Comfort.
Home.

Describe three different theories of why Stargirl was at Mica Area High School.One is the conspiracy theory, but I can't find the other two.

Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl is a novel
about being an individual in a world of conformists. When Stargirl shows up at Mica Area
High School (MAHS), no one can quite believe she is for real. MAHS is a place where
being an individual is not a good thing. In fact, Leo
says:

We all
wore the same clothes, talked the same way, ate the same food, listened to the same
music. Even our dorks and nerds had an MAHS stamp on them. If we happened to somehow
distinguish ourselves, we quickly snapped back into place, like rubber
bands.

Into this world of
conformity comes Stargirl, who sings "Happy Birthday" to people in the cafeteria and
wears outlandish outfits. Her most outspoken and openly antagonistic critic is Hillari
Kimble--snobbish cheerleader and leader for the "elite" group at MAHS. She is the one
who espouses the theories about Stargirl's presence at Mica
High.

I'm not sure what, specifically, you mean by
"conspiracy theory," but in chapter two of the novel Hillari speculates that Stargirl is
part of a government plot. She continues her ridiculous and outrageous speculation by
saying she was sent to shake up the student body and dispel the apathy which is so
rampant at MAHS. In other words, she will give students something to actively rally
around--or, in this case, against. Hillari is adamant that Stargirl is a fraud, and
others believe what she espouses.

I see many similarities between Nazism and fascism, and some some sources say that Nazism is just a form of fascism. What are the differences...

Nazism certainly is a form of fascism.  However, Nazism
had aspects that are not necessarily part of fascism.  One
way to put it is to say that Nazism was a form of fascism that emphasized racism and
anti-Semitism.

Fascism is an ideology that emphasizes that
people's first loyalty must be to the state and the leader, not to the individual.  It
is an ideology under which all people must see themselves as essentially similar.  This
is where the term "fascism" comes from.  It comes from the idea of
"fasces," which were bundles of sticks tied together with an
axehead protruding from among them.  They symbolized how things that are weak on their
own (the sticks) can be very strong when united with others like them.  In a fascist
system, the individual people must band together unquestioningly and must make
themselves identical with one another.  In this similarity and commonality of purpose
comes power.

As you can see, this does not necessarily
assume racism.  People can feel that they are identical and can owe loyalty to a state
even if they are of different races.  The same goes for religion.  In Nazism, however,
the idea was that people could not be identical unless they were racially identical. 
This led to a very virulent form of racism and
anti-Semitism.

Nazism is a form of fascism because of its
emphasis on the idea that people should be identical and should be completely loyal to
the state.  However, it is different from other forms of fascism because it believes
that people of different races and religions cannot be identical enough to form the
metaphorical fasces.

Why is the town in The Crucible so stirred up by events?

During the period in time which "The Crucible" takes
place, Puritanism was the predominant religious
following.

The
government of Salem in 1692 was a Puritan theocracy. In other words, the town was under
the unbending authority of the
church.

Witchcraft was
heavily frowned upon by the church. It was looked at as being an alliance with the
Devil, something the Church looked upon with
hatred.

Therefore, given that Salem was a God-fearing
state, any questionable activities which would lead one to believe that there were
persons involved in behaviors associated with the Devil were looked upon with
fear.

The work itself plays upon the idea of hysteria. Once
the initial accusations were made against one, the ability to accuse others in order to
force payment for personal wrongdoings was inevitable. The town burst at the seams with
accusations made simply to force the courts to, unknowingly, clear personal
feuds.

Compare and contrast Joy/Hugla and Laura Wingfield. How are these characters a like and how are they different."Good Country People" by Flannery...

While both Joy/Hulga of Flannery O'Connor's "Good Country
People" and Laura Winglfield of Tennessee Williams's The Glass
Menagerie are two young handicapped women entrapped in lives of discontent
and they do share some other similarities, there are yet many differences between
them.  

Disabilities

Both
Hulga and Laura have something wrong with their legs that affects many of their
attitudes.  Hulga compensates for her disability by acquiring an education so that she
can be superior intellectually.  However, Laura lets her crippled leg make her feel
inferior.  She is always self-conscious and is submissive to her mother and
uncomfortable with others such as Jim O'Connor as she feels inferior because her
leg.

Personality and family
relationship

Clearly much more of an
individual than Laura Wingfield, Joy renames herself Hulga to express her disdain for
her mother; with her education--a PhD.--she feels herself superior to her mother and
Mrs. Hopewell.  Her arrogance, however, makes her vulnerable to Manley Pointer, who
subtly manipulates her.  When he steals her artificial leg, he takes her identity. 
Nevertheless, Hulga's experience leaves her open to believe in something else besdes the
nothingness that she has embraced.  For Hulga, faith is simple when she is open to it as
she can be at the end of the story. 

Laura, too, has an
identity problem, but she withdraws in her paralyzing shyness into the past, listening
to the records of her father and cleaning and toying with her fragile glass menagerie. 
She is unable to acquire any education beyond high school as she is so timid that she
cannot learn to type at the Rubicund Business College.  Totally dominated by her mother,
who refuses to recognize her attempts at self-expression when Laura explains that she
enjoyed going to the museums and zoo instead of the business school,  Laura lives at
home subjugated to the desires of her mother and conflicts of her brother. However, when
Jim O'Connor, the gentleman caller, recognizes her as the girl in whom he was interested
in while at high school, he gives Laura some hope as he mitigates her problems by saying
that all she needs is confidence.  But, when Tom abandons the family, poor Laura is
unlikely to find love and fulfillment.  Looking in at her, Tom bids her goodbye, telling
her "Blow out your candles,
Laura...."

Religiousness

The
hostile Hulga rejects all belief in anything and finds solice in her vain
intellectualism.  Ironically, she is saved as her moment of ephiphany comes when Manley
Pointer, the bible salesman proves himself evil.  As is typical of O'Connor's stories,
the moment of faith is often accompanied by the
grotesque.

On the other hand, the meek and conciliatory
Laura achieves no salvation from her life although she is dressed for the "gentleman
caller" as though she were the Madonna with Amanda, her mother, kneeling adjusts the hem
"devout and ritualistic."   For, the "holy candles in the
altar of Laura's face have been snuffed out" [Williams's stage directions]
when Jim reveals that he is engaged, but comes to dinner because Tom has invited
him.

What are some similarities and differences between Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby and Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart?

Both Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby
and Okonkwo from Things Fall Apart stubbornly pursue courses of
action that lead to their deaths.  Jay Gatsby sees only Daisy's green light and commits
adultery in order to obtain her.  Quite simply, he is living in denial of the fact that
she is a married mother who will never leave her husband.  Gatsby's single-minded focus
blinds him and eventually leads to his death.  Okonwko too lives stubbornly, beating his
wives during Peace Week, killing Ikemefuna and the messenger, and shooting a clansman,
although accidentally.  Not so much a romantic dreamer like Gatsby, Okonkwo is blind to
his own pride and cruelty, one who spitefully practices male aggression instead of
patience and wisdom.

Both Gatsby and Okonkwo live in exile,
but Gatsby's exile is by choice and Okonkwo's is by decree.  Gatsby chooses to forsake
his family in favor of a playboy lifestyle.  Okonkwo, on the other hand, is forced into
exile after his accidental shooting.  Whereas Gatsby reinvents himself during the exile,
Okonwko remains the same stubborn alpha-male while living with his wives's
clan.

Both Gatsby and Okonkwo shamefully deny their
fathers.  Gatsby changes his name and moves away from his family after the war, a
socio-economic separation.  Okonkwo lives with shame that his father is an
agbala, a womanly male who refuses to work or repay his
debts.

Okonkwo is a warrior for and leader of his people,
whereas Gatsby is a solitary figure, full of mystery.  Obviously, the African tribal
culture is much different than the Western individualism, but, in general, Okonkwo takes
on more responsibility and ownership of his culture (maybe too much); Gatsby, by
contrast, actually subverts his culture's values by indulging in crime.  In other words,
Okonwko works his way to the top of his culture honestly, and his has more vested in it
(several wives, children, and obis), while Gatsby becomes successful through black
market crime (bootlegging and gambling), using his gangster connections to subvert the
law.