What role does mistrust play in the narration of "The Black Cat"?

This is a highly perceptive question. Poe is a master of
using what is termed the "unreliable narrator," a first person narrator that we are
never sure is telling us the complete truth. This story bears considerable resemblance
to "The Tell-Tale Heart," another classic example of Poe's shorter fiction, where the
narrator is clearly insane, and his narrative is shaped accordingly. However, in "The
Black Cat," the narrator makes no such grandiose claims as the narrator of "The
Tell-Tale Heart" does. He appears to come across as a reliable narrator, one who seeks
to report what happened to him and his crime as simply and straightforwardly as he is
able to. Note the following example that suggests this quality of the
narrator:

I am
above the weakness of seeking to establish a sequence of cause and effect, between the
disaster and the atrocity. But I am detailing a chain of facts--and wish not to leave
even a possible link
imperfect.

Perhaps the
unreliability of this narrator lies in the way that he is so insistent on looking upon
what happened to him from his purely rational understanding of the world. It is this
that leads him to reject any supernatural explanations that force themselves upon the
reader, and which even his wife suggests, when, for example, she cites the belief that
all black cats are witches who have shapeshifted.

In regard to the following statement, how necessary is bureaucracy?If we can agree that individuals need rules and regulations to live together,...

Bureaucracy is the method of creating and insuring the
application of those rules and regulations that are needed in order for individuals to
live together. Bureaucrats are the writers, administrators, evaluators, and enforcers of
the policies and procedures established by society.

In an
ideal world, I suppose bureaucracy would not be needed because people wouldn't need
rules and regulations. If all people were willing to cooperate and share and respect
each other all the time, we could dispense with the need for creating and enforcing
expectations regarding how people should treat one another in all the situations that
arise in communities. Since we don't live in a utopian setting, we need the bureaucracy
that provides a framework of guidelines for coexistence.

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, how do the novel's first two paragraphs point towards differences in the language used by men and women?

The famous first two paragraphs of this novel immediately
establish the novel's perspective on gender difference and its importance to the story
as a whole. In particular, what is notable about this opening is the way that it
immediately draws reference to the differences between men and women rather than their
equality. These paragraphs introduce the theme of men and women being mutually
inter-dependent, as both need things from each other, and of course is developed in
Janie's quest as she looks for a man who can complement her and to whom she can offer
things as well.

If we look at the second paragraph, we can
see that it introduces a kind of general principle that foreshadows so much of the
action in the novel. Men apparently are never able to attain their dreams, but women
have the ability to pursue their dreams. Janie's unstinting and defiant quest in search
of her dreams shows this to be self-evident, in spite of the way in which this brings
her so much suffering. Regardless, she remains defiant in her
course.

A key theme of this novel is finding a voice, and
we can relate this process to the gender differences introduced in these first two
paragraphs by focusing on the process by which women gain their voice, as demonstrated
by Janie's example. Janie's quest in many ways is to find her voice, and this is her
dream, which makes her "act and do things accordingly," in contrast to the men of the
play, whose dreams remain unfilfilled and unachieved.

Please compare the theme of "Once Upon a Time" and "The Rocking-Horse Winner."

This is a great question as these two excellent short
stories offer many parallels, in regard to the way that the actions and preoccupations
of parents impact their children negatively. If we consider these two stories from this
angle, we can see that it is the dominance of one characteristic (fear and greed
respectively) that results in the parents actually gaining the death of their children
as thanks for their excess.

Let us consider how this
operates in "Once Upon a Time." What begins ostensibly as a fairy tale quickly becomes
something much more darker and more shocking. Even though the mother and the father were
"living happily ever after," it is clear that the mother in particular is ruled by fear,
which results in their ever more frenzied attempts to protect their house. As a result
of this fear, their house seems gradually to become more and more like a fortress than a
place to live:

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So from every window and door in the house where
they were living happily ever after they now saw the trees and sky throguh bars, and
when the little boy's pet cat tried to climb in by the fanlight to keep him company in
his little bed at night, as it customarily had done, it set off the alarm keening
through the house.

It is of
course this cycle of fear that causes the parents to install the infamous dragon's
teeth, that results in the mauled carcass of their child having to be hacked out from
the iron teeth. Their fear has resulted in the death of their most precious
possesion.

In the same way, we can see how the mother's
greed in "The Rocking-Horse Winner" actually resulted in her son's death, as he was
driven to ever-greater excesses on his rocking horse to try and win more money for his
mother, to whom even large amounts never seem to be enough to satisfy her thirst for
wealth and her greed. Note the way that this is explicitly refered to in the final
paragraph of the tale:

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And even as he lay dead, his mother heard her
brother's voice saying to her: "My God, Hester, you're eighty-odd thousand to the good,
and a poor devil of a son to the bad. But, poor devil, poor devil, he's best gone out of
a life where he rides his rocking horse to find a
winner."

Uncle Oscar is able
to pick up on the way that his sister's greed and the lack of love expressed towards her
children caused Paul, in an effort to gain his mother's love, to surrender himself to
supernatural forces so that he could gain information that would win money for his
mother.

Following sentence contained in close of business letter: Thank you for your anticipated cooperation. Can one be thanked for "anticipated"...

I would say one could be thanked for anticipated
cooperation. I have seen similar statements in business letters, for example, "Thank you
in advance for your cooperation."

The writer is trying to
put the reader in a position of being more likely to cooperate, particularly in a
situation in which that cooperation might be questionable.  Even in cases in which the
cooperation might be assumed, there is nothing wrong with thanking someone in
advance.

This reminds me of what I used to do with my
children, when they were younger and wanted them to do some chore I knew they did not
want to do.  I would say things like, "Thank you for emptying the dishwasher." Then, of
course, one of them would say, "But Mom, I didn't empty the dishwasher."  Then I would
explain that I was thanking them in advance.  It got to be our little joke, but the
dishwasher did get emptied!

At what point in the Shirley Jackson short story "Charles" did you figure out the ending? What led you to this conclusion at this point?

I was actually pretty clueless before the surprise ending
was revealed by Shirley Jackson in her short story, "Charles." I wondered about the
imaginary Charles and why he had never been seen by anyone but Laurie. After a
rereading, the clues given by the author become more obvious. Laurie's increasingly bad
behavior at home should have been one clue of the bad habits he was picking up in
kindergarten. The fact that Laurie seems to enjoy telling of Charles' exploits is
another clue. Laurie's laughing "insanely" should certainly be yet another clue that the
young boy was in need of some counseling, and that Laurie may actually be suffering from
a split-personality disorder. Since the story was told from the viewpoint of the mother,
who still saw Laurie as her innocent, little boy, it is no wonder that the ending was so
surprising to most readers.

How is Holden himself guilty of being a phony in The Catcher in the Rye?

In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden
denounces materialists--the rich, snobby prep-school types like Stadlater, Ernie Morrow,
and the headmaster.  He also says he hates movies, the Hollywood industry, and his
brother for sacrificing his short story writing career to be a "sell out" screen writer.
 And finally, Holden condemns the oversexed Stradlater because he brags about his
escapades.  Instead of these "phonies," Holden champions the innocent and uncorrupted:
children (Phoebe), nuns, and James Castle (who committed suicide rather than
conform).

When it comes to money, movies, and sex, Holden
is indeed a kind of phony.  When it comes to money, Holden is a bit of a hypocrite.
 Sure, he gives money to the nuns, but he also blows through it to go on his runaway
adventure, staying in hotels, paying for cab fare, buying drinks in nightclubs.  He also
goes to the movies more than a few times, even with Ackley.  And he proclaims himself
"sexy" throughout much of the novel, and he tries to pick up girls, even a classmate's
mother (Mrs. Morrow), every chance he gets.  But, don't forget, Holden is at least
admitting his phoniness to us through his actions in the novel.  So, he is a self-aware
phony even though he does not explicitly denounce his own
actions.

How true is Zeffirelli's film to Shakespeare's script?Compare and contrast with regards to author, audience,setting, genre and mode, plot and themes.

As a teacher who has used this films and others to
illustrate Hamlet, I can tell you that the director took some
liberties with the script and the staging.

Most obviously,
about half the play is missing!  The entire subplot concerning Fortinbras and his
impending invasion is left out.  As a result, there is no real return to order at the
end of the play.  Hamlet dies and that is it; this is uncharacteristic of Shakespeare
who always restores order in Act V.  In addition, several of the longer scenes are
shaved down, particularly the "closet scene" in Act IV.  Much of Hamlet's rambling
dialogue is shaved to move the scene along more swiftly to appeal to the attention spans
of modern movie-goers.

Next, some interpretations of the
text were extended and even exaggerated.  The subtle insinuation of the Oedipal complex
between Hamlet and his mother is made into a literal "near-sex" scene in which he lays
on top of her and she kisses him on the mouth.  The graveyard scene is less of a scene
of comic relief as it is in the text than it is a mere transition to the next scene in
the film.

Of course directors make decisions that they
believe will appeal to the widest possible audience.  These changes are meant to change
the text into a modern, visual experience.

How does Maupassant use irony to support plot and theme in the short story "The Necklace"?

The lovely Madame Mathilde Loisel "suffers incessantly"
because she does not own expensive jewels. When her husband brings home an invitation to
a ball, she becomes depressed even more so. She has nothing to wear to make her look
beautiful.

Then, Madame Loisel remembers her friend Madame
Forestier who owns jewels. Madame Loisel borrows what she believes to be an expensive
necklace. She is radiant at the ball. She has a magnificent evening. All the gentlemen
believe her to be the most beautiful woman there.

The irony
in this short story is that Madame Loisel believes she is wearing an expensive necklace.
In reality, the necklace is an imitation. It is a fake. Not knowing this, Madame Loisel
feels she is elegant in her false necklace.

If only Madame
Loisel had known that her beauty was exquisite because of her natural features, she
could have saved herself ten years of hard work. As it turns out, she loses the borrowed
necklace and works ten long years trying to pay off a debt she borrowed to replace the
necklace.

Ironically, Madame Loisel works ten long years to
pay for a genuine replacement necklace when the borrowed necklace was not real. The
irony is in the fact that she wore an imitation necklace that made her feel pretty. The
imitation necklace served its purpose although it did not cost a
fortune.

When Madame Loisel learns that the borrowed
necklace she lost was not real, she has already learned her lesson in humility. Her
appearance is haggard from ten long years of domestic work. Yes, she has worked ten long
years scrubbing floors to pay off the thirty-six thousand francs she borrowed to replace
the lost necklace.

The irony is that Madame Loisel looked
to be worth a fortune with the imitation necklace. Had she been contented with her
natural beauty, she could have saved herself years of toil to pay for a genuine
replacement necklace that substituted an imitation. Ironically, Madame Loisel learns a
lesson on humility from a necklace that was not even
real:

The
story's greatest irony, however, is embodied in the necklace itself; while it appears to
be a piece of jewelry of great value, it is really an imitation. The Loisels sacrifice
their humble but sufficient home to buy an expensive replacement for a cheap
original.

What three questions does Marcellus raise in the first act ,scene one?

Marcellus asks, "Who hath relieved you?" "What, has this
thing appear'd again to-night?" and "Is it not like the King?"
(I.i).

Marcellus is a guard of the court who arrives
outside the castle with Horatio, a friend of Prince Hamlet. They are on duty and discuss
a ghost that has appeared to them. Since Horatio is a scholar and only believes what he
is able to see, he has come to see the ghost himself. They are not sure if the ghost is
a warning or an evil spirit there to pull them into Hell. Since Horatio knows Latin, it
is believed that if the ghost is evil, he will be able to perform an
exorcism.

When the ghost appears, it looks very much like
the late King of Denmark, and it is wearing the King's armor. The ghost does not speak.
At the end of the scene Horatio decides that he must go tell Prince Hamlet of the
sighting. This act foreshadows Horatio's loyalty to Prince
Hamlet.

To what degree does the protagonist believe in and live by the social order he is a part of in Death of a Salesman?Give examples

Willy totally believes in the social order he is part of,
and tries vehemently to be a success within this system. Sadly, he cannot see that he is
not equipped to succeed in the system he chooses to be part of, and he refuses to accept
help to change the way he lives in order to survive.

For
example, Willy has always worked to be a self-made man. He is a salesman, seeking out
markets and striving for the commission which will help him support his family in the
way he wants to. Willy has never really been able to succeed in this environment. In Act
1, we see him reminisce over returning from a sales trip. He tells
Linda-

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WILLY:..I was sellin' thousands and thousands,
but I had to come home.

Linda
rushes to calculate Willy's commission, and as she does this his story begins to
change-

WILLY:
The trouble was that three of teh stores were half-closed for inventory in
Boston.

By the time we see
him as a man in his sixties, he is even less successful. He is working on commission
only and is 'borrowing' money from his friend Charley to give the illusion to Linda that
he is being paid. Unfortunately, Willy's desire to succeed in the societal system he
believes in means that he cannot take the job offer from Charley. This would be
defeatist, and Willy would have to admit that he was not a good salesman - something he
had striven to be for his whole working life.

Charley is
exasperated with Willy's actions, but he wishes to support his
friend-

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WILLY: I-I just can't work for you,
Charley.

CHARLEY: What're you, jealous of
me?

WILLY: I can't work for you, that's all, don't ask me
why.

Willy is contemplating
suicide as we know, and yet he is unable to accept Charley's offer. This would be more
of an admission of waekness than suicide? Willy seems to be conditioned to think so. He
must support his family by himself, even if he has to die to do
it.

How does Shakespeare present the family dynamic in Romeo and Juliet? For anyone that doesn't know, the family dynamic is how members of a...

From the most fundamental points of view, Shakespeare
depicts family dynamics as going well when children act like children and are obedient. 
As long as Romeo and Juliet follow the plans of their parents in terms of not straying
into the realm of "the other" and adhering to edicts and rules, no matter how arbitrary
or baseless, the parents are happy with their children.  The Montagues and the Capulets
reveal no dissatisfaction with their children at the outset of the play.  Lord and Lady
Montague might be concerned with why their son is so melancholy, but they do not feel
that he is a bad son or has dishonored the family.  The family dynamics become toxic
when the children break apart from the family and enter the realm of the forbidden
"other."  This is best seen in Juliet's home.  In Act III, Sc. 5, we get a glimpse of
how the family dynamics are actually constructed.  If Juliet agrees to marry Parris, all
is well.  Lord and Lady Capulet are happy with their daughter and could not find a
better one.  Yet, when she expresses her desire to not marry Parris, they cast her out. 
Lady Capulet "washes her hands" of her daughter, emotionally disowning her.  Lord
Capulet actually finishes what his wife started in literally disowning her to poverty
and a life where she does not have her family's support.  The dynamics of both families
are fine when their children are not questioning the rules of the household and are
obedient.  It is when they become critical thinkers, seeking to transform what is into
what can be, and going where their passions lead them do both children rightly see
themselves as outside the family system, renegades who will not be embraced by a family
dynamic that is predicated upon order and structure as opposed to life and vitality.  It
is only with the childrens' deaths do both sets of parents realize that their decisions
have been made without their respective families' interests at heart, setting the stage
for a more constructuve and healthy family dynamic.

identify at least two techniques used in a descriptive passage from My Antonia


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It had begun to grow dark when my household
returned, and grandmother was so tired that she went at once to bed. Jake and I got
supper, and while we were washing the dishes he told me in loud whispers about the state
of things over at the Shimerdas'. Nobody could touch the body until the coroner came. If
anyone did, something terrible would happen, apparently. The dead man was frozen
through, 'just as stiff as a dressed turkey you hang out to freeze,' Jake said. The
horses and oxen would not go into the barn until he was frozen so hard that there was no
longer any smell of blood. They were stabled there now, with the dead man, because there
was no other place to keep them. A lighted lantern was kept hanging over Mr. Shimerda's
head. Antonia and Ambrosch and the mother took turns going down to pray beside him. The
crazy boy went with them, because he did not feel the cold. I believed he felt cold as
much as anyone else, but he liked to be thought insensible to it. He was always coveting
distinction, poor Marek!

The above
passage illustrates techniques that are particular to Willa Cather.  First, Cather
utilizes imagery.  The idea of cold permeates this paragraph with references to the
frozen body and the chill in the air, but this relates, of course, to the cold,
stiffness of Mr. Shimerda's body and the cold cruelty of the prairie winters in
general.

Another technique is that of the metaphor of a
turkey.  His body is compared to the hanging out of a turkey to freeze.  This
comparison diminishes the importance of the body even though its proper burial is
necessary to the family. 

How do the tones and settings of Poe's stories affect the reader's response to the characters?

Edgar Allan Poe's regular use of darkness and late night
settings is a primary way in which he creates a sense of evil and danger in his short
stories. This is the typical setting in most of his classic tales, including "The
Tell-Tale Heart," "The Cask of Amontillado," and "The Pit and the Pendulum." The
mysterious aura that hangs over these stories helps to create characters who range from
distinctly evil to slightly sympathetic. The fact that many of the characters perform
their reprehensible acts in near total darkness helps to intensify their deviant
personalities, and the reader cannot help but be affected by this as well. Although
several of the main characters in Poe's stories not only narrate but commit murderous
acts (such as Montresor in "The Cask" and the madman of "The Tell-Tale Heart"), it is
hard to sympathize with them because of their deliberate and well-planned crimes. Even
the victims, such as the old man in "The Tell-Tale Heart" and Fortunato in "The Cask,"
are not completely innocent characters; the old man's eye is associated with evil, and
Fortunato has committed unknown crimes against his murderer. Unlike many other stories,
in which the protagonists and antagonists are easily identifiable and are usually more
one-dimensionally good or bad, Poe's characters all seem to possess a touch of
evil--easily identified by most readers.

To what extent did political problems contribute to the rise of Mussolini to power in 1922?

Mussolini's rise to power was caused largely by political
problems.

After World War I, Italian politics was in
complete turmoil.  It seemed to many Italians as if their parliamentary system had
completely stopped working.  They also blamed the parliamentary system for the fact that
Italy did not get as much as it wanted in the way of territorial gains at the Paris
peace conference.

The political turmoil was not the only
factor that helped Mussolini come to power.  There was also social turmoil as there were
many strikes in factories as well as examples of peasants seizing land from large
estates.  These sorts of problems worried people as well and helped Mussolini seem like
a good option.

All in all, then, political problems played
a major role in bringing Mussolini to power, but social issues were important as
well.

Should the United States take a more active role in support of universal human rights?

This depends on what sort of a more active role is
envisioned.  If we are envisioning a United States that uses military force or economic
sanctions to try to cure all of the human rights problems in the world, then the answer
is no.  If we are talking about putting more diplomatic efforts into supporting human
rights, then the answer may well be yes.

The US cannot
afford to be too aggressive in support of human rights.  For example, the US is in no
position to punish China either militarily or economically for China's lack of concern
for the human rights of Tibetans or of the Falun Gong, or of any political dissidents. 
It may be a good idea for the US to put more effort into persuading countries like China
to show more respect for human rights, but anything more than that is simply
impractical.

What are some of Prince Prospero's character traits ? "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe

Aptly named, Prince Prospero is prosperous, or wealthy. 
He is a "bold and robust" man whose wealth, strength, and power lead to his
self-deception that he is powerful enough to defy the Red Death.  While Poe further
describes Prospero as "dauntless and sagacious," his fearlessness and wisdom are,
nevertheless, no match for the darkness and decay that the Red Death issues, an evil
that holds "illimitable dominion over all."

When the
"happy" Prospero learns that half of his kingdom has been decimated by the plaque, he
summons to his "castellated abbeys" all the friends he has among the aristocracy of his
kingdom, knights and ladies of the court.  There, behind ramparts that have been bolted,
the guests and the prince seek sanctuary from the Red Death, and joyously hold a masked
ball in a voluptuous scene.  However, Prospero, who has disregarded the requirements of
good taste by creating rooms of dark and unusual colors, has given vent to the grotesque
and phantasmagoric, perhaps in defiance of the Red Death.  Into this atmosphere a
"spectral image" appears, and the prince at first shudders, but then being
dauntless, "his brow reddened with rage."  Outraged that this spectre should dare to
enter his fortress in what he believes is a "blasphemous mockery" of the Red Death,
Prospero orders the impostor unmasked so that he can later be hanged.  When the
courtiers hear this order of their prince, they hasten to see what is the cause, but
they stop in horror as the spectre advances through each of the colored rooms. Angered
at his momentary cowardice, Prince Prospero comes at this masked intruder with a
dagger.  Suddenly, however, he cries out and drops the dagger; and, immediately after
this, he falls in death, a victim to the invincible Red Death.  

What is the culture and customs like in the "Dogon" African Society?

The ethnic group known as the Dogon are citizens of the
impoverished African nation of Mali, where they have become one of the country's top
tourist attractions due to their famed mask dances, sculpture and practice of mythology.
The Dogon can trace their heritage back more than one thousand years, when they refused
to convert to Islam and began a series of migratory travels that led them to the central
plateau region along the Niger River. The Dogon number between 400,000-800,000, and they
speak at least a dozen languages--primarily tonal with the use of two and sometimes
three tones. Though the majority practice an animist religion, small minorities also
practice Islam and Christianity; festivals and mythology play a large part of their
religion. The Dogon have become famed for their artistic endeavors, especially known for
their coveted sculptures, usually hidden from public view due to their secretive,
symbolic meanings. Harmony is a central theme of the Dogon, and they practice several
rituals which include the praising and constant greeting of its
members.

In To Kill a Mockingbird what gifts are given in the knot-hole of the tree and what might they reveal in the unfolding of the plot?

At this point in the plot of Harper Lee's To Kill a
Mockingbird, Scout is now in the first grade. This means that she gets out 30 minutes
earlier than Jem and has to walk home alone past the frightening Radley property. One
day while walking home, she sees something shiny in the knot-hole of one of the huge oak
trees on the Radley property. The shine is coming from the wrapping around two pieces of
gum. On the last day of school, inside the know-hole of the tree Jem and Scout find a
box covered in gum wrappers and inside the box are two Indian-head
pennies.

What those gifts reveal is that somebody is aware
of their presence and has been watching them. That somebody is Boo Radley himself. This
is an attempt on his part to make contact with the kids and have some sort of
communication with them.

In The Things They Carried, discuss the narrator's attempted vengeance against Bobby Jorgensen in "The Ghost Soldiers."

This was actually one of the more disturbing stories that
I read in this excellent short story collection from Tim O'Brien based on Vietnam and
the experiences of so many soldiers. In this short story, the narrator decides to get
even on a fellow soldier for his mistreatment of the narrator's condition. What is
disturbing about this story is the way that it presents the Vietnam war as an
opportunity for soldiers such as the narrator to scare their fellow soldiers and settle
perceived wrongs in a violent and disturbing fashion. His attempt to "kill" Jorgenson
and terrify him actually reveals a lot about the narrator himself. Note what Azar, the
soldier who is helping the narrator, says and does to the narrator when the trick was
discovered by Jorgenson and he realised that he was the victim of nothing more than a
childish prank:

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"Well," he muttered, "show's over." He looked
down at me with a mixture of contempt and pity. After a second he shook his head. "Man,
I'll tell you something. You're a sorry, sorry case."

I was
trembling. I kept hugging myself, rocking, but I couldn't make it go
away.

What is interesting
about this story, then, is the way that pursuing vengeance against Jorgenson actually
reveals the kind of man that the narrator really is, and the way that vengeance actually
seems to impact the person pursuing that vengeance in some ways more than it does the
person who receives that vengeance. The narrator is revealed to be the "sad" person that
Azar kicks in the head as he leaves.

What are some key symbols found within The Reader?

I certainly think that illiteracy, as a concept, is a
symbol.  Hana's illiteracy, her inability to decode, is representative of so much in her
life.  It is the basis for her poor decision making in life and in love, and also
represents the myopia that guides her choices.  This illiteracy is also something that
represents a barrier of sorts, in that she does not have to fully understand the
implications of her actions.  When she does learn how to read, how to "decode," she
recognizes what she did and understands the full implications of her life and her
decisions.  In this, she cannot live with herself and what she has done.  In her life,
being illiterate is symbolic of many different conditions.  Michael also suffers from a
form of illiteracy in terms of his own failure to emotionally decode.  In this, Michael
cannot fully understand or comprehend his own sense of identity both away and with
Hana.  When he recognizes his critical moment of choice, in which he could speak to save
Hana, he fails to decode properly in a decision that haunts him.  Michael's own
emotional illiteracy forms the basis of his own character's narrative, and defines an
element of change and understanding throughout the novel.  Illiteracy and the inability
to decode properly serve as a specific symbol of so much in terms of failure amongst the
characters in the novel.

In chapter 29 of Great Expectations, does Estella really have "no heart, no softness, no sentiment"?

Yes this is true. Dickens created her character to never
have any capacity for tenderness or human emotion. As the conversation continues after
the line you recorded in the question, Estella goes on to tell Pip that she has never
had feelings for anyone and if the two of them were ever to be in a relationship, she
would continue to have no affection for him. Readers are led to believe that this line
of thinking comes from the bitter Miss Havisham who has trained Estella from a young age
to hate men. Part of this comes from Havisham's skewed idea of
love:

"I'll
tell you ... what real love is. It is blind devotion, unquestioning self-humiliation,
utter submission, trust and belief against yourself and the whole world, giving up your
whole heart and soul to the smiter - as I
did!"

Everyone defines love
differently, but I am confident that many people would agree that true love would not
require all of these sacrifices. Surely there is some sacrifice in love, but a companion
in such a relationship would likewise make sacrifices. Readers believe that Havisham's
experiences have affected how she trained Estella to live. It seems Havisham has worked
the soul and capacity for human care right out of Estella. Estella's character remains
true to these characteristics until the end of the
story.

Read the paragraph below. In the text box below, type each transition that shows order of importance.If your money for restoring your old house is...

This is a very straightforward recording of the order of
importance for the steps being described. The first and most important step is to take
care of any damage that could cause the entire house to collapse beyond repair. Once
structural damage has been remedied, the second step is to protect the house from damage
from a fire by reworking the house's electrical wiring and insuring that fire detectors
are installed and functioning. The third step involves installing new climate control
systems for the house - wait until after the electricity has been brought up-to-date
before installing a new furnace or air conditioning system. The fourth and final step
included in the paragraph addresses the water system for the house - plumbing for the
toilets, sinks, and other water uses.

Why are 'vital signs' called vital signs?

The term "vital" is sometimes used as a synonym for
"living", and that is what it means in this case. Vital signs are those which are
present in a living being, and all need to be within a certain range for life to be
sustained. A health assessment, no matter how basic or how intense, will usually start
with taking and recording these vital signs: resting pulse rate, blood pressure,
temperature, and respiratory rate. All of these are reliable indicators of
cardiovascular function and overall metabolic level.

If any
of the vital signs is not within normal range, that is an immediate indicator that the
body systems are under some sort of strain. If a person was under a physical stress such
as exercise, we would expect all of these signs to be high, but we would also expect
them to drop to normal when the person stopped exercising. If one or more of them failed
to do so, that would be a sign that further examination is
required.

Recording the vital signs and keeping them with
the patent's chart is a good way to discover subtle changes early on, particularly with
cardiovascular health. A reading that is still within the normal range, but that shows a
trend, can be an indicator that lifestyle changes are needed to slow or stave off a
chronic condition such as hypertension.

Assume that a population is normally distributed with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, would it be unusual for the mean of a sample of...

Your question is not very clear, I would recommend you
define what exactly you mean by "unusual." Here is my response to what I hope you want
to know.

The mean of the population is 100 and it is
normally distributed with a standard deviation of 15.

This
means that approximately 68.2% of the population has a value that lies between 85 and
115.

As normally distributed values have an equal
probability of being greater or lesser than the mean, approximately 15.9% of the
population has a value greater than 115.

If by unusual, you
mean a probability less than 15.9% it would be unusual for the mean of a sample of 3 to
be 115 or more.

Consider the quote below from Persuasion. Is this Anne’s perspective or Jane Austen’s?Anne's observations and reflections provide the serious...

One of the key aspects to realise about Jane Austen as a
writer is that she is a narrator who insists on being there right along with the action,
and putting a good or a bad word in for a number of her characters. This is an important
aspect of her style as an author, and one that we must be aware of. Other authors, for
example Hemmingway, is famous for remaining incredibly detached during their narration.
They remain distant from their characters and the action, and don't offer their own
responses or thoughts about characters or what is happening. The first quote you have
cited is an excellent example of Austen's role as an intrusive narrator, which of course
shows how opposite to a detached narrator that Austen is. She is definitely not afraid
to tell us what she thinks we should think about characters and situations, making her
sympathy for Anne clear from this initial quote.

The second
quote is an example of how Austen wins a level of trust and veracity for Anne, which
means that in the novel we accept the veracity of her impressions and ideas of others,
such as Captain Wentworth. Having been identified as such an excellent character, we can
only suspect her of being innaccurate if we are willing to distrust the
narrator.

Please summarise the main points of this article about the inequality of the London...

The article makes the argument that the sociological
understanding of the London riots is the only way to really grasp why the uprising
happened.  The article asserts that the core of the riots happened in areas that are
economically disadvantaged.  As reflective of the idea of a "Broken Britain," this state
of affairs is something that requires analysis and thought.  The article asserts that
the people in these communities are experiencing a combination of long standing
marginalization from the sociological, economic, and political reality of England, but
also are feeling the current hurt of cutbacks in providing social services to these
individuals.  This helps to further discontent in these
communities:

readability="8">

Long-term tensions between police and youth, a
dearth of opportunities for children from disadvantaged areas and visible inequalities
where the wealthy often live just yards away from run-down city estates have also been
highlighted.

The combination
of a fragmented past and a present that is being pinched even more with the current
economic crisis has contributed to a state of being wherein those who riot do not feel
connected to their social setting.  When the opportunity to riot presented itself, these
youth did not feel the need to oppose this because of this lack of connection; the
article asserts the real cause of the riot lirs present for all to see.  The
sociological and economic approach to understanding the riots is the critical point in
this analysis.

In Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, please identify the conflict of man vs. society conflict. Be specific please!

In Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist,
there are two specific situations that can be identified as man vs
society.

The first is when Santiago reaches the oasis. He
sees an omen in the desert that he believes indicates the approach of war, even though
the oasis is supposed to be a "neutral zone." Even with fear in his heart, Santiago
approaches the leaders of the oasis to tell them what he has seen and that he believes
danger approaches. Santiago is told that if he is wrong, he will be killed, but that
they will act on his advice and prepare...and war does come to the
oasis.

The second example is when Santiago goes with the
alchemist out into the desert and they are taken prisoner by a group of soldiers. This
is toward the end of the book. The alchemist tells the leader of their captors that
Santiago (the boy) can turn himself into the wind. At this point, Santiago cannot
believe that the alchemist would say such a thing: if the boy cannot turn himself into
the wind, he will be killed by the soldiers, and Santiago fully expects to die at the
hands of these men. Of course, Santiago ultimately does turn
himself into the wind, thereby being saved.

In both of
these examples, we see the conflict of man vs society.

Why does the boy has a nightmare about Father Flynn’s face in Dubliners?

The narrator of the first story in Dubliners,
"The Sisters", is a nameless main character who is also a young boy, perhaps
an acolyte. His best friend is an elderly priest of the Catholic Church who, at one
point, took the narrator under his wing and would spend hours with him talking about
religion, the faith, doctrine, and much more. This priest's funeral is taking place as
the story develops.

The actual tale begins when Old Cotter,
a family friend, visits the narrator's family (made of his aunt and uncle with whom he
lives) and begins to talk about the recently deceased priest. His conversation hints at
the possibility that the priest had an unhealthy relationship with the narrator, who is
a child, and that no elder man should be dealing with younger fellows. This is a big
deal because, as many of us know, James Joyce was extremely anti-Catholic and he used
every opportunity he had to expose the double lives, abuse, and secrets of the Church in
Ireland.  

Back to the
story..

When the narrator has this nightmare about the face
of the priest, he sees the paralyzed face of Father Flynn trying to move his lips as if
wanting to confess something. The narrator clearly has an inkling that Father Flynn
might have died as a result of a dangerous double life, and this is the reason why his
childish admiration for the priest slowly begins to change. He is not sorry that the
priest is dead, he has a hard time feeling grief, and he admits to it. He also begins to
detach from the story, as well as from his love for the priest. This is evident because
the story ends with the tales of superstition that Father Flynn's two sisters used as an
excuse to explain why their brother suddenly becomes insane, paralyzed, and
dead.

On a darker note, it is believed that Joyce hinted at
the possibility that Father Flynn diedof the tertiary stages of syphilis as a result of
his sexual debauchery, and that the boy had been somewhat enthralled by this priest the
way many abuse victims become lured to their abusers.

Why is the signal fire not important to Jack in Lord of the Flies? Why does he not want to be rescued?

It's evident, from early on in the novel, that Jack and
Ralph have very different approaches to surviving on the island.  Ralph, who is driven
by his need for order and his desire to get off the island, insists that the signal fire
is the most important thing on the island--that they have no hope of being rescued
without it.

On the other hand, Jack, who is in a constant
struggle for power with Ralph, argues that finding food is the most important thing that
the boys can do while they're on the island.  He seems to understand that the boys'
rescue is not immediately impending, and insists that tey must have meat in order to
survive. 

Upon closer examination, though, readers come to
understand that Jack's desire to hunt is not driven by the need to provide food for the
boys on the island.  Instead, Jack is possessed by an instinctual desire to kill.  In
chapter three, Jack is briefly unable to articulate his ideas because he is so consumed
by his desire to get a pig:

readability="5">

He tried to convey the compulsion to track down
and kill that was swallowing him
up.

It is this instinct
(Freud would describe it as the Id) that consumes Jack and makes him forget about
everything else.  He lets the signal fire go out, disregards the rules and order Ralph
has worked so hard to establish, and is ultimately so overtaken by the desire to hunt
that he kills humans.  In short, Jack is the boy whose descent into savagery is the
fastest.  It's not necessarily that he doesn't want to be rescued, as he never
explicitly states this; it's that his psyche is overpowered by the savage instinct that
Golding thinks exists in all of us but is controlled by rules imposed by
society. 

Please give a brief history of John Donne's use of imagery.

The imagery of John Donne varies throughout his writing
life. In the beginning, Donne's imagery was meant as a metaphor for the satires which he
wrote regarding common Elizabethan topics. These topics (politics, mediocrity in
writing, and arrogant court people) were described with language that typically alluded
to or blatantly depicted these topics with sickness and animal's
manure.

After facing multiple personal conflicts (illness,
financial problems, and deaths, Donne's poetry changed. The imagery took on a more calm
and sedate feeling.

Renowned for his conceits (use of an
extended metaphor which compares to completely different things into a singular idea),
Donne was the master of imagery. One example of Donne's use of conceit appears in his
poem "The Flea". Donne uses the biting and blood sucking of a flea to describe the union
of a marriage.

That being said, Donne's imagery was the
unchanging part of his poetry. While the message and satirised style of his early years
is far from the more personal and religious works later, Donne's use of imagery always
remained prominent.

Evaluate the role played by Squealer in making Napoleon's totalitarian rule a success.

[Students may ask only one question per
post.]

Squealer was able to trick the uneducated masses to
believe that everything Napoleon said was in the best interest of the farm and animals. 
He changed and eliminated commandments in the fashion that gave Naopoleon more power. 
For example, one important commandment in Animalism was no "No animal shall hurt another
animal."  When animals disobeyed him, Napoleon knew he needed to punish them with brutal
force in order to gain total power.  He was able to get away with it because Squealer
conjured up  elaborate stories that made the animals who suffered at the hands of
Napoleon look like enemies and threats to the farm's safety and, therefore, justly
punished.  This exonerated Napoleon and made the need to ammend the commandment seem
necessary.

He also used scapegoating techniques (techniques
to put blame on innocent individuals) to take the animals' attention away from all of
Napoleon's evils and focus them on Snowball.  By eliminating all political competition,
Napoleon stood alone as the leader of Animal Farm.

What does Scene 7 of Act I reinforce about Lady Macbeth's character in Macbeth?

The closing scene of the first act reflect Lady Macbeth's
strength and will.  She demonstrates herself to be someone of a steel- like stature, a
very pragmatic and calculating character.  She understands the opportunity that is in
front of both she and her husband.  She grasps the "urgency of now."  She also
understands that she needs to ensure that her husband can go through with the designed
plan.  In this, she ensures that Macbeth go ahead with the plan by questioning his
manhood.  Lady Macbeth knows very well that a soldier like Macbeth would not sit still
while his manliness is questioned.  She plants these seeds of questioning quite
deliberately and well:

readability="9">

What beast was't then
That made you
break this enterprise to me?
When you durst do it, then you were a man;(55)

And, to be more than what you were, you would
Be so much more the
man.

The idea of being "so
much more the man" is designed to attack at Macbeth's sense of self, something that she
knows will be the ultimate motivator if the promise of power and prestige are not able
to motivate her husband.  Earlier in the scene, Macbeth expresses a sense of ambivalence
about the murder of Duncan because of the loyalty he has shown to Macbeth, and expresses
a desire to "not bite the hand that feeds."   Lady Macbeth recognizes this and seizes
upon this weakness to motivate him:

readability="8">

Art thou afeard
To be the same in
thine own act and valor
As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that(45)

Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life
And live a coward in
thine own esteem,
Letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would”
Like
the poor cat i’ the
adage.

Here again, the idea
of "afeard" or "afraid" is brought out.  Additionally, she appeals to the idea that
Macbeth wishes to be a particular conception of man or manhood, something that is
reflective of his skill on the battlefield. In order to "be this man," she suggests that
he has to go through with the plan.  In this scene, she shows herself to be an extremely
shrewd judge of character.

What is the genre of Touching Spirit Bear?

A genre can best be described as a
category of something, usually art, music, or literature. In music, there are divisions
such as jazz, classical, and rap, and these are called genres. There are plenty of
categories subdividing art, as well.The young adult novel Touching Spirit Bear
by Ben Mikaelsen is a coming-of-age novel, and that is also its genre.

In this genre, the main character (protagonist)moves from
a place of innocence to a place of maturity in some form. In this novel, Cole Matthews
is fifteen years old and thinks he knows everything. He beats another boy nearly to
death--literally--and is put in prison. He is offered a rare opportunity to experience
Circle Justice, a Native American method of finding both healing and justice for
everyone involved. Cole is stubborn and has no interest in changing until he has an
encounter with a bear know as the Spirit Bear. Though it nearly costs him his life, this
encounter is the beginning of healing, understanding, and
forgiveness.

Through the course of this novel, Cole
Matthews grows from an angry, selfish, stubborn boy into a young man who recognizes his
sins, is willing to ask forgiveness for the wrongs he has done, and will go on to be a
better person for having had this experience. A character making that kind of
realization is the crux of a coming-of-age novel.

Expand the following: [(a+b^2)(a-b^2)]^5Show the complete solution to explain the answer.

Well, this polynomial first has a difference of squares
inside

Mutiplying them
out

(a+b^2)(a-b^2)=a^2-b^4

The
whole polynomial
becomes

(a^2-b^4)^5

Using
Pascal's Triangle and the Binomial Theorem:

1              
       first degree

1  2  1                  second
degree

1   3   3   1               third
degree

1  4   6  4   1             fourth
degree

1 5  10 10 5 1           fifth
degree

so the polynomial (a^2-b^4))^5= (a^2))^5-
5((a^2)^4))b^4 + 10
((a^2)^3)((b^4)^2)-10((a^2)^2)((b^4)^3)+5a^2((b^4)^4)+(b^4)^5

simplify
this huge expression

=
a^10-5(a^8)*(b^4)+10(a^6)*(b^8)-10(a^4)*(b^12)+5(a^2)*(b^16)-b^20

Actually,
for any polynomial to the exponent
5

(x+y)^5=x^5+5(x^4)*y+10(x^3)*(y^2)+10(x^2)*(y^3)+

5x*(y^4)+y^5

You
could see, the x-exponent is decreasing by one every term, and the y exponent is
increasing by one in every term.

The
coefficents are given by the Pascal Triangle.

What does Winston believe saves his humanity in 1984?Im stuck on this one! This question was asked on chapter three of book three. Thank you so...

His love for Julia. He believes that even though he has
utterly betrayed and renounced himself and everything he believes in, he has still held
on to his humanity because he never stopped loving her, even under torture. This makes
his final capitulation even more horrifying and symbolic. When O'Brien presents him with
the prospect of having his face eaten by rats (the thing he fears most), he "saves"
himself by screaming "Do it to Julia!" This illustrates the darkest, and perhaps most
ironic part of the novel: by saying these words Winston saves his physical life, but
O'Brien has succeeded in destroying everything in Winston that made him
human.

What is the genre of The Outsiders and why?

Susan E. Hinton's groundsbreaking 1967 teen novel,
The Outsiders, can best be described as young adult fiction or
adolescent (or juvenile) fiction. The Outsiders was one of the
first examples of adolescent fiction to display a realistic group of characters and
setting, avoiding the usual teen innocence and puppy love romance found in most teen
novels. Instead, Hinton created a group of street-wise teens who were far from innocent
and who practiced violence and unlawful conduct on a regular basis. The two gangs--the
greasers and the Socs--were very different but highly realistic groups of boys who came
from dysfunctional homes on different sides of the social scene (presumably in Hinton's
home of Tulsa, Oklahoma, although the setting is never specifically identified.)
The Outsiders became a critical bestseller that was particularly
appealing to teenage boys who were not regular readers. The resulting movie adaptation
(directed by Francis Ford Coppola) starred a host of rising young actors, including
Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez, and Rob
Lowe.

Critics have referred to the novel as having a
"fire-engine pace," with a "factitious" plot--fictional but factually relevant. Another
called it "rare-to-unique among juvenile books," and The Outsiders
won several awards upon publication. It has since sold more than four million
copies, earning it both a classic and cult status that few teen novels have ever
enjoyed.

Please list three materials or processes involving chemistry that have advanced our lives and explain your choices.

Three chemistry related materials or processes that have
improved our lives could include but are not limited to the
following:

The mass production of pharmaceutical drugs has
been groundbreaking. Through the wonders of chemistry, labs are able to create high
volume, relatively inexpensive solutions to treat people and their
diseases.

The production of agricultural fertilizers has
helped to improve crop production to feed the world's people. In third world countries
prone to drought and insect destruction, chemical fertilizers are absolutely
critical.

The explosion of chemically produced clothing
from synthetic fibers has allowed consumers greater choice and versatility in fabric
selection, longevity, and functionality. High tech fabrics are due to
chemistry!

In order to learn more about the significance of
chemistry, you may find it interesting to read about the work of famous Nobel Prize
Chemistry winners by following the link below.

What is ironic about the colony that is the setting of this novel?Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

In The Scarlet Letter, the Puritan
colony that has been intended to be, as John Winthrop said in 1630, "a city upon a
hill" setting an example of moral behavior for others, is instead a Massachusetts colony
that has as its first building a prison, whose rusted and ponderous door clearly
indicates that everyone in the colony does not live the exemplary life
expected. 

However, this exemplary life is one that is
fraught with denial, denial of the human passion that dwells in the human heart. Somehow
though, a symbol of this forbidden passion, a rose bush, ironically grows "out of the
stern old wilderness" outside the prison door, perhaps out of the dirt from the
"footsteps of the sainted Ann Hutchinson,"  Hawthorne writes.  A Puritan independent who
led Bible discussions for women that later appealed to some men, Hutchinson was later
tried and banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for being a dissident.  Ironically
also, her implicit rejection of state authority to prescribe religious interpretations
was later incorporated into the American Constitution.

In
another sharp irony, Hawthorne describes the Puritan Hester as beautifully resembling a
Papist (the foes of the Puritans) depiction of the Madonna with Child, an almost
sacrilegious depiction since Hester has had a child out of wedlock.  Then, too, the
Reverend Dimmesdale, a Puritan minister who should be unmoved by the scandalous sin,
seems emotionally moved by the appearance of Hester and child upon the scaffold as he
stands holding his heart.

What is cos x if cscx=4squareroot3/3 and x is in the interval (pi;3pi/2)?

Recall that sin(x) =
1/csc(x).

sin(x) = 1/(4sqrt(3)/3) =
3sqrt(3)/[4sqrt(3)*sqrt(3)] = 3sqrt(3)/(4)(3) = 3sqrt(3)/12 =
sqrt(3)/4

Now lets visualize this in a right triangle.  The
sine is opposite over hypotenuse.  So we can say that the opposite is sqrt(3) and the
hypotenuse is 4.

Using the Pythagorean Theorem, we can
solve for the adjacent side.  We need it for the cosine, which is adjacent over
hypotenuse. 

x^2 + sqrt(3)^2 =
4^2

x^2 + 3 = 16

x^2 =
13

x = sqrt(13)

cos(x) would
be adjacent over hypotenuse, so we have:

cos(x) =
sqrt(13)/4 but in Quadrant 3, the interval (pi, 3pi/2), the cosine is
negative.

Therefore, the answer is: 
-sqrt(13)/4

Explain your thoughts about the themes of The Crucible.

The very nature of this question is going to be
subjective.  I think that you should be ready for differing answers here.  I do like the
themes that come out of Miller's drama.  I think that he constructs a thematic
understanding that is quite relevant in the modern setting and speaks to the condition
in which individuals could find themselves.  The idea of redemption of one's name is a
powerful element in the drama.  Abigail does not care about this, and this is evident in
her starting all of the accusatory drama and then running away from it in the end. 
Proctor recognizes the need to be better than what is around him.  Proctor's recantation
of his "confession" and his closing speech about "his name" is a powerful one.  It helps
to bring to light that individuals do have the capacity and even the moral and ethical
responsibility to construct the world as it should be as opposed to how it is.  I find
this to be a compelling theme.  When Elizabeth speaks of "goodness," it is a notion that
exists in the world, but must be claimed by the individual.  She and John have done this
at the end of the drama.  While others around them have not been able to claim this,
they have and through their example, Miller stresses that we, as readers, can transform
the world as it should be as opposed to how it is.  I find this theme to be compelling
and powerful.

According to Guns, Germs, and Steel, what were the major factors limiting crop domestication among Native Americans in the Eastern US?

The answer to this can be found towards the end of Chapter
8.  Basically, Diamond argues that the plant species native to Eastern North America
were simply not very suitable for domestication.  They had advantages, but these
advantages were outweighed by their disadvantages.

Diamond
says that there were seven crops that could be domesticated in this area.  They were
squash, sunflowers, sumpweed, goosefoot, knowtweed, maygrass, and little barley.  All of
these were good plants in terms of nutritional value.  However, they all had major
problems.  The last four all had seeds that were much smaller than crops like wheat or
barley that existed in other areas of the world.  Sumpweed also makes people very
allergic and can cause skin irritation.

So, the only grains
that Native Americans in the East had were not very good for domestication.  There were
no really good grains and so the only crops that were really valuable were sunflowers
and squash, which are not enough to be the basis for an agricultural economy.  This was
the major fact limiting crop domestication in this area.

What are two incidences in which Friar Lawrence discusses the struggle between reason and passion.Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

A Franciscan monk who lives a simple life, Friar Lawrence
serves as an andviser to Romeo and Juliet.  As a monk, Friar Lawrence spends much time
in meditations; therefore, his soliloquies and speeches often have a philosophical tone
to them. 

In his first appearance in the play, Friar
Lawrence's soliloquy of Act II, Scene 3 expounds upon the delicate balance between
virtue, which comes of reasonable behavior, and vice, behavior dharacteristic of intense
passion:

For
naught so vile that on the earth doth live
But to the earth some special good
doth give;
Nor aught so good but, strain'd from that fair use,

Revolts from true birth, stumbling on abuse.
Virtue itself turns
vice, being misapplied,
And vice sometime's by action dignified.
(3.2.17-22) 

When Romeo
arrives at the friar's cell, he is greatly changed from the morose lover of Rosalind;
now, he is impassioned of Juliet.  Romeo tells the priest of his love, and Friar
Lawrence agrees to be Romeo's "assistant" by performing the marriage of the young
couple.  In doing so, he cautions Romeo, "Wisely and slow.  They stumble that run fast"
(3.2.97).

Later, in Scene 6, Romeo and Friar Lawrence await
the arrival of Juliet so that the marriage can take place.  Again, the priest cautions
Romeo in his exuberant passion to control his
feelings,

readability="12">

 These violent delights have violent ends

And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which, as they
kiss, consume. The sweetest honey
Is loathsome in his own deliciousness

And in the taste confounds the appetite.
Therefore love
moderately: long love doth so;
Too swift arrives as tardy as too
slow.(2.6.9-15)

The dramatic
irony of Friar Lawrence's words is that he himself fails to heed the wisdom of his own
words as in the final acts, he acts rather impetuously, passionately, as he aids Juliet
and then hastily abandons her at the Capulet catacomb.

Please answer me question#12 page#97 from following link https://tstuition.wikispaces.com/file/view/3+-+Mensuration.pdf many many thanks If...

Well, to calculate the area of the star it is more easier
to calculate the area of the pentagon and to subtract the areas of the small isosceles
triangles formed outside the star shape.

Since the pentagon
is regular, the base angles of the isosceles triangles measure 36 degrees each. The
bases of these isosceles triangles are the sides of pentagon and the measure 10
cm.

To determine area of each isosceles triangles, we'll
have to calculate its heights. We'll determine the height from any right angle triangle
formed when we draw the height within each isosceles triangles using tangent
function.

tan 36 = height (opp.)/(10/2)
(adj.)

height = 5*tan
36

height = 3.63 cm

We'll
calculate the area of isosceles triangle;

A =
base*height/2

A = 10*3.63/2

A
= 18.15 ` `

Now, we'll calculate the total area of these
isosceles triangles:

A total = 5*
18.15

A total = 90.75
`cm^(2)`

The area of pentagon is formed from the areas of
the three triangles fromed when drawing 2 diagonals of
pentagon.

To determine th length of diagonal, we'll
consider the isosceles triangle, whose equal sides are the sides of pentagon. The top
angle is one of the interior angles of pentagon and it measures 108
degrees.

Since we also need to calculate the height of
these triangles, we'll draw the height and we'll notice that inside isosceles triangle
there are formed two right angle triangles, whose hypotenuses are the sides of
pentagon.

We'll use the sine function to determine the
height and we'll use cosine fuction to determine the half length of
diagonal.

sin 36 =
height/10

height = 10*sin
36

height = 5.87

cos 36 =
(diagonal/2)/10

diagonal/2 = 10*cos
36

diagonal/2 = 8.09

diagonal
= 16.18 cm.

Area of the isosceles triangle
is:

A triangle =
5.87*16.18/2

A triangle = 47.48
`cm^(2)`

We'll determine the area of the middle isosceles
triangle.

A mid. triangle = diagonal*diagonal*sin
36/2

A mid. triangle =
`16.18^(2)`

A mid. triangle = 76.93
`cm^(2)`

The area of pentagon = 2*A triangle + A mid.
triangle

Area pentagon = 2*47.48 +
76.93

Area pentagon = 171.89
`cm^(2)`

The area of the star = A pentagon - A
total

The area of the star = 171.89 -
90.75

The area of the star = 81.14 `cm^(2)`

Using a case study, assess the effectiveness of population control as a tool to facilitate national development. I am using Singapore as my case...

Since 1950 it is estimated that the gross reproduction
rate increased, reached its peak of 2.21 in 1970-75 and has been steadily declining.
Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, the developed countries in Asia and the Pacific, have
estimated birthrates in the range of 15-18 in 1975-80. In contrast with the high levels
which prevail in Western and Middle South Asia, fertility declines of considerable
magnitude have been realized in some countries in East Asia and South
Asia.

As was the case with fertility, the largest gains in
mortality reduction have accrued among the less developed regions. A widespread feature
of recent mortality trends appears to be a recent slowdown in progress, which, in some
places, is manifested by a cessation in mortality decline. Data for Asia also indicate
that mortality declines have slowed during recent years. International migration
continues to show significant shifts in pattern and direction. The number of people
living in urban centers in Asia is increasing very rapidly, many of the larger cities
are doubling in size every 10 years. Meeting basic needs requires at least a dual target
for each less developed country an increase in gross national result of high fertility
in the past, a large presence of persons in the young ages in the education. It is
recognized that population is related to development, either as an acceleration or
impeding factor.

For director Ingmar Bergman, upon what is cinema based?

For Bergman, cinema is based on the idea of exploring the
philosophical condition of humanity.  Bergman played with the idea of the human
metaphysical state in his films.  He did not necessarily believe in the structure of a
direct narrative, but rather used film as a way to explore philosophy and the impact it
has on human relationships.  For example, in The Seventh
Seal, the chess game with death is often seen as a exploration
of the philosophical state of mortality with death.  In Autumn
Sonata, the focus was the philosophical state of emotional
connections between individuals, particularly family members. 
Wild Strawberries was set with the
questions of what is love and why one needs it.  It is philosophical introspection that
guides Bergman's work and becomes the frame for it.  Bergman used the idea of philosophy
in his work and from this, there is greater understanding of how individuals are
impacted by it. This is not a traditional approach to filmmaking, as the traditional
needs of a script, character development, and plot structure are set amindst
philosophical inquiry.

Is femininity “central” to Igbo culture? Is there evidence in Achebe’s use of images, stories, and dialogue in Things Fall Apart to support...

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart
presents such a strong depiction of manliness that his depiction of femininity largely
goes unnoticed.  Femininity is central to any culture, especially to the agrarian Ibo
culture.  But, the ways in which the 20th century Westerner defines femininity is very
different than the 19th century pre-colonial, tribal African.  As such, typical feminine
traits such as empathy, compassion, and sensitivity are not fully developed in the
novel.  Rather, the Ibo women are prized for their fertility, communal domestic roles,
and spiritual guidance.

In the agrian Ibo culture, survial
is key to life and agriculture.  Women must be able to bear and feed many children.
 Infertility and infant mortality are common.  Just as the yam is a tender and fickle
crop to grow, so too is a child in tribal Africa.  A famine, at any moment, could
destory a tribe.  Women also had to work within a family unit, serving the husband and
the other wives in rank order.  Preparation for guests, festivals, and feasts beckons
the Ibo woman to play her support role in the communal
culture.

The Ibo clan had segregated gender roles, which is
to say that the men do manly work (farm yams, govern, fight) and the women do womenly
work (raise the children, farm smaller crops, trade).  This is not to say that women are
not central to the culture; but, they do take on more domestic roles (stay within the
obi more).

Okonkwo's family has three wives and eight
children, with each wife living in a separate Obi with her children.  The first wife,
unnamed, was, when first married, the "vegetative goddess" (the most beautiful and
fertile woman of the tribe) who was won by the "vegetative god" (Okonkwo) after his epic
wrestling match.

The goal of Okonkwo's first wife is to
bear the future clan leader.  Ironically, the first wife bears a son (Nwoye) who is like
Okonkwo's father (Unoka), who is called "agbala" (womanly and weak).  It is Okonkwo's
second wife Ekwefi who bears a worthy clan leader in Enzinma.  However, because this is
a patriarchal society, Enzinma must take on a support
role.

The female who weilds the most power in the Ibo clan
is Chielo, priestess to the Oracle of the goddess Agbala.  In fact, she takes Enzinma on
her back in order to purify the sickly child and appease the gods.  Really, though, she
is likely grooming her to be the next priestess.  Only the priestess can "veto" the male
tribal leaders.  It is her spiritual powers which set her apart from the rest of the
domesticated women in the tribe.

What literary effects are in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen?

Interestingly, "literary effects" is used four different
ways in literary discussion. Literary effect
is:

1. synonymous with "literary
   devices"


2. the effects of something external on
   contemporaneous literature, e.g, war's effect on literature (For Whom the Bell
   Tolls, Hemingway)


3. the effects of literature on
   something external; e.g., on learning writing skills


4. the
   effects of the narrative on the reader's consciousness, reason or emotions; e.g., social
   action, enlightenment, depression.

The use of
the preposition "in" for "effects are in Pride and Prejudice"
strongly suggests you mean the first usage: literary effects: synonymous
with "literary devices." Therefore, I'll briefly describe some important
literary effects/devices Austen uses in Pride and
Prejudice.

Aside from Austen's famous ironic
narratorial voice, she employs situational irony to good
effect. In the first chapter, where a skilled author develops literary effects that
carry throughout the narrative, Mrs. Bennet ironically wishes one of her daughters to be
"happily settled at Netherfield" thus leading the way for "the others to be equally well
married." This is ironic because of all the nearby mothers who were wishing the
identical thing, Mrs. Bennet's wish came true.

readability="6">

To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards
falling in love; and very lively hopes of Mr. Bingley's heart were entertained [by
all].

Another situational
irony also involves Mrs. Bennet. In Chapter 2, Mrs. Bennet, ironically speculates that
it will be Lydia who dances with Bingley, suggesting it will be she whom he chooses for
marriage. This is ironic because Lydia ends up ill-married, not at Netherfield and not
to Bingley! She marries the villain Wickham.  

readability="9">

"Lydia, my love, though you are the youngest, I
dare say Mr. Bingley will dance with you at the next
ball."

Austen also uses Mrs.
Bennet's foolishness to help develop the plot through
foreshadowing. Ironically, both examples of situational
irony develop foreshadowing. The first instance above foreshadows that, indeed, one of
Mrs. Bennet's daughters will come to be "happily settled at Netherfield," although it is
not Lydia, who is later shown to be even more vainly foolish than Mrs. Bennet herself.
Mrs. Bennet's later wishes for Lydia turn out to be reverse foreshadowing: Lydia does
not wind up happily married to anyone, in fact, she barely escapes social infamy when
she throws her affections on Wickham's mercy and runs away with him, neither with any
intention to marry in Gretna Green.

Another very famous
literary effect is the participatory, subjective narrator
of Austen's narrative mode. Through this literary effect, the engaging ironic
narrator is introduced. Fielding uses this effect in Tom
Jones and Austen employs it in a similar vein here: her narrator makes
comments about characters to enlarge our perception of their inner qualities. An example
of this occurs at the Meryton assembly in Chapter 3. Austen's narrator censures both the
townspeople and Darcy at one blow. The narrator shows the townspeople to be vain and
changeable while simultaneously showing Darcy to be proud and aloof. An objective
narrator, refraining from value judgements against characters, could not have so easily
accomplished this with one sentence:

readability="11">

[Darcy's] manners gave a disgust which turned
the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud; to be above his company,
and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him
from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be
compared with his friend [in the town's
opinion].

What are the major differences between scientific realism, anti-realism, and irrealism?

Scientific realism is the belief that the theory or idea
being explained is either true or false, depending upon whether the entities talked
about by the theory exist and whether they are correctly described by the theory.  This
seems to be the popular position taken by most scientists in their attempts to explain
the physical world around them.  Support for this belief is that it is an inference to
the best explanation available at the time, based upon the observable evidence. 
Positions taken against this belief tend to point out the existence of theories that
were once considered successful, but are now regarded as
false.

Anti-realism, as the name tends to suggest, is the
belief that we should be skeptical about the physical world around us.  Anti-realists
embrace the following:  1) Nothing exists outside of the mind, and 2) We have no access
to a mind-integrated reality, even if it does
exist.

Irrealism, a metaphysical philosophy, seems to be a
combination of the two, a "blend", if you will.  The main belief here is that some part
of the theory or idea may be valid, while others may be invalid.  This belief relies on
intuition, more so than scientific fact as it challenges science as
fact.

What does the quote, "Believe me, everything looks like a noose if you stare at it long enough" mean?

Out of context, the following quote has a very defined
meaning:

readability="6">

Believe me, everything looks like a noose if you
stare at it long enough.

What
this quote means is that certain points in a person's life things begin to develop a
certain meaning, possess a certain image for the
interpreter.

For a person threatened by the noose, they
would come to see the noose as representative of the unimportance of their life.
Everything that they regarded they would do so with the thought that a bad decision
could bring an end to their life.

The noose represents the
"thing" which hangs over everyone. Every person has their own personal noose: money,
pain, solitude, and so on. People who look at life in this way see the visual
representation of their nemesis in every decision that they make in
life.

As for the noose, it represents the fact that no
matter where one turns, the noose represents the fact that another person holds their
life in their hands.

What is difference between fiction and literary fiction?

There is no definite line between fiction and literary
fiction. The distinction between the these two terms is very similar to the distinction
between "fine art" and "decoration".

Literary fiction is
probably best understood in contrast to genre fiction and pulp fiction. Detective
stories, fantasy novels, and espionage thrillers are all examples of genre fiction.
These books tend to rely on plot centrally and tend not to
employ poetic devices as heavily as literary fiction
does.

This means that, in general, when reading fiction you
would expect to see more use of metaphor, allegory, allusion, motif, and the whole
panolply of poetic devices than you would when reading genre or pulp
fiction.

Again, there is no firm or definitive line. Some
contemporary writers of literary fiction have eschewed use of metaphor to experiment
with "surface texture". These writers, however, remain deeply interested in character,
psychology, and many literary issues that have little to do with
plot.

What does kola nut represent in Okonkwo’s culture in Things Fall Apart?

In Things Fall Apart, customs and
traditions are a very important part of the Ibo culture. One such custom involves
breaking and eating the kola nut. The most distinguished person at a meeting would break
the kola nut:

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In the Ibo culture, the kola nut is broken by the
most celebrated person at an
event.

The kola nut itself is
filled with caffeine:

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Kola nut, which contains high amounts of
caffeine, helps combat fatigue and is most commonly used as a central nervous system
stimulant that focuses on the cerebrospinal centers. It also contains theobromine, a
stimulant found in chocolate as well as in green
tea.

Offering kola nut at a
meeting would be equivalent of being hospitable. If someone visited one, as a means of
being hospitable, one would offer them coffee, tea, or soda. In Okonkwo's culture,
showing hospitality meant offering kola nut and palm wine. Having good manners is
showing one's guest hospitality. It is a necessary part of Okonkwo's respectful cultural
traditions.

Also, no doubt the kola nut was used as a
stimulant since is has caffeine. It would be used the way one uses coca cola. In fact,
coca cola has properties of kola nuts:

readability="11">

Most people around the world are familiar with
kola; many have tasted it and do not even know it. In the 1800s, a pharmacist in Georgia
took extracts of kola, sugar and coca and mixed them with carbonated water. His
accountant tasted it and called it "Coca Cola." Today, Coca-Cola still uses kola in its
original recipe.

Most
importantly, when entertaining, it is necessary to show good manners. It is a sign of
respect. The proper custom is to show hospitality to a guest. In Okonkwo's culture,
offering kola nuts and palm wine is the same as showing good manners and respect for the
guest or guests.

do you think it is difficult to have sympthy for macbeth?

This is an interesting questions.  The answer truly
depends upon perspective.  First, it is always the role of the reader to "bond" with the
title character.  We see Macbeth early on as a loyal and wholesome subject of the king. 
Then, we see his mind manipulated by the witches and by his wife.  It is hard to NOT be
sympathetic to a man who has been so manipulated.

However,
beyond that, Macbeth is a murderer, a murderer of the king and kinsmen, a murderer of
his best friend, and a murder of an innocent woman and her children.  He puts his own
soldiers' lives in jeaopardy as he refuses rational thinking in favor of blind belief in
the second set of prophecies.  For this reason, the reader finds it difficult to be
sympathetic towards him.

What are the characteristics of Waiting for Godot?

The two main characteristics of this excellent play that
you need to know about are its black humour and the way it is an example of the Theatre
of the Absurd. This latter term relates to the despairing vision of the human condition
in life and also the style that is the vehicle that is used to give voice to that
vision. The principal concept of this play and of other works that are examples of the
Theatre of the Absurd is that human life is essentially meaningless and without purpose
and that we live in a universe that is profoundly indifferent or even hostile to
us.

Apparently in contradiction to this unyielding and
thoroughly depressing view of life and man's place in it is the intensely comic nature
of this play. If you look at the subtitle, for example, you will see that Beckett
entitled this play "a tragi-comedy in two acts," and many critics have written at great
length about the way in which the play manages to maintain a precarious and delicate
balance between tragedy and comedy. The comedy element is appealed to through the
numerous elements of slapstick comedy and humour, such as the wild hat-swapping scene in
Act II and the various examples of humorous dialogue between the two central characters.
The black comedy can be linked in to our understanding of the Theatre of the Absurd and
how this impacts our understanding of the play. After all, if we really do live in a
universe that is profoundly indifferent to us, if not hostile, the least we can do is
laugh at it.

What are some important/significant items to RALPH in Lord of the Flies?In this project, you will create a life box based on the text of Lord of...

It seems as if you have a good start!  I'm not sure
whether your teacher only wants you to include things that the characters could actually
have on the island (you chose a hammer, which is appropriate if you want to represent
Ralph's building of the huts--but Ralph didn't actually have a hammer on the island),
but I'll give you a few things to consider so you can decide what works for
you.  

1.  Ralph's tells Piggy, in Chapter 1, that his
father is a commander in the Navy--and that his father will certainly come to rescue the
boys when he gets leave.  Perhaps you could include a Naval ship; it could represent
Ralph's father and the cruiser that rescues the boys at the end of the novel.  (The
rescue itself connects to Ralph's character because Ralph is the one who tells the
officer that he is "boss" on the island.)

2) Ralph is
constantly upset by his dirty appearance; at the beginning of Chapter 7, he observes how
filthy his clothing, hair, teeth, and nails have become.  He wishes for a toothbrush,
wants to bathe with actual soap, and would like scissors to cut the hair out of his
face.  The fact that Ralph obsesses about these issues shows readers his need for order
and structure.  He feels helpless when things are out of his
control.

3) Ralph understands that the signal fire is the
most important thing on the island--and that the boys have no hope of being rescued
without it.  Look at Chapter 2 for more information on the signal fire.  Maybe you could
find a way to represent that. 

4) I'm not sure that I'd
include a spear, because a spear is more representative of Jack's character.  Ralph
really only hunts once in the novel, and his behavior during this hunt is out of
character for him. 

I hope this is
helpful. 

Please contrast Granny Weatherall in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" and Phoenix Jackson in "A Worn Path."

Both of these female characters are very memorable in the
way that they are described and presented and are certainly forceful personalities.
Phoenix Jackson in "A Worn Path" is notable for her determination in overcoming every
obstacle she faces to get to the surgery for her grandson, and is described as being a
small, old woman, but one who has a great inner strength apart from her age and
size:

Her eyes
were blue with age. Her skin had a pattern all its own of numberless branching wrinkles
and as though a whole little tree stood in the centre of her forehead, but a golden
colour ran underneath, and the two knobs of her cheeks were illumined by a yellow
burning under the dark.

The
way in which Phoenix is related to the mythical bird that burns up and then comes to
life again out of its own ashes is made clear through the "golden colour" that lies
beneath her skin and the "yellow burning" of her cheeks. Phoenix Jackson is shown to be
a character that metaphorically resurrects herself each year to complete her journey on
the "worn path" of love for her grandson, showing great fortitude and
resilience.

Granny Weatherall, too, is a character that
shows great fortitude and resilience. The way in which she brought up her children and
lived a difficult life makes this perfectly clear, as does the way in which she treats
the poor Doctor Harry who is trying to tend to her:

readability="6">

Leave a well woman alone. I'll call for you when
I want you... Where were you forty years ago when I pulled through milk leg and double
pneumonia? You weren't even
born.

However, we perhaps
most clearly see her strength and indomitable nature in the way that she chooses to blow
out the candle of her life in the final paragraph of the story in the face of the
ultimate "jilting" from God. Granny Weatherall's strength is shown in the way that she
is able to accept her own death and voluntary chooses to die in that
knowledge.

Both characters are therefore forces to be
reckoned with, and also real personalities that have endured much hardship in their
lives. The principal difference between them is of course the colour of their
skin.