Discuss the following statement from The Kite Runner: "In order for Amir to redeem himself, he needs to undertake a journey of atonement to...

I think that the statement is quite valid and represents
the most important elements of the book.  Amir introduces this to the reader when he
tells us that Baba Khan ended his phone call with the words, "to be good again."  This
mere inclusion helps us understand that Amir is plagued with a need for atonement,
something that comes out later on in the chapter.  The shadow of "unatoned sins" is
something that bothers Amir.  He understands it and the power of his narration helps us
understand that he himself is aware that some level of redemption is needed.  The call
to go back to Afghanistan helps to bring focus to Amir, and to us, that this journey has
to be physical.  The language that Amir uses to describe how he behaved on that fateful
day in terms of "crouching" and "the crumbling mud wall" helps to bring to light the
idea that he has done something in his past that reflected a retreat from embracing the
better angels of his nature and displays an action that requires a level of atonement
and reclamation.  It is through the very first chapter that the entirety of the text
helps to bring out the full force of the statement.  What Amir undergoes and what he
does is in his hope to represent the essence of the statement.

What is the significance of the poppet scene in terms of what it reveals regarding Abigail and Elizabeth in The Crucible?

I think that the poppet scene truly reveals the level of
antagonism that Abigail has towards Elizabeth.  It is also the moment when Elizabeth's
suspicions are no longer paranoia.  The poppet reveals the extent to which Abigail wants
Elizabeth gone, in order to accomplish her own ends of snaring John Proctor for
herself.  The significance of the scene reveals much about both characters.  For
Elizabeth, the poppet scene brings to light the fundamental "crucible" that she and her
husband must face.  Due to his own transgressions, John has endangered Elizabeth.  He
comes to recognize this as she is being arrested, as it is the first moment where we
start to see him take an active role in defending his wife and his own state of being in
the world.  The poppet scene is also significant because of Abigail, herself, and what
it shows.  There is a level of deviousness that is evident in Abigail's planning and
machinations in order to accomplish her desired end.  She planned the poppet, was able
to manipulate Mary Warren in order to accomplish her end, and proved skilled and being
able to take random events and link them in a sequence to make her the victim and
Elizabeth the aggressor.  It is through the poppet scene where Abigail's personality is
reflected to be quite an intense one, and one where she is quite
dangerous.

What is the theme of the poem "Precious Words" by Emily Dickinson?"Precious Words" by Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson's poem entitled "He ate and drank the
precious words" comes from her collection of poetry under Part One of "Life". It is
number twenty-one in the collection.

Please remember that
with any poem, the interpretation belongs to the reader. Therefore, the answer that I
provide is based upon my own personal interpretation of the poem and its
theme.

The poem refers to a man who is far past his prime.
The man is metaphorically drunk off of the words that he is
reading:

He
ate and drank the precious words

His spirit grew
robust

After, the poem speaks
to the fact that the new knowledge brought to the man allows him to forget that he is
poor and his fame has been forgotten by all:

readability="7">

He knew no more that he was
poor

Or that his fame was
dust

At the end of the poem,
the man is so intoxicated (by the words he is reading) that he is able to feel free from
any concerns which he may have had prior:

readability="5">

What liberty/ A loosened spirit
brings.

The theme of the poem
is freedom. The theme emerges from the fact that the man in the poem is able to break
free from his past based upon what he is reading.

One could
look at the book as being something spiritual (like the Bible) given the words in the
book freed him from his past.

What is the difference between malapropism and peripetia?

The term Malapropism refers to a
linguistic incongruity having derived its name from the character of Mrs. Malaprop in
Sheridan's comedy, The Rivals. French mal a propos
means "ill to the purpose", i.e. inappropriate. Mrs. Malaprop, an elderly
widow in Sheridan's play, was in the habit of using words inappropriately, e.g. "a nice
derangement of epitaphs" for "a nice
arrangement of epithets". Such inappropriate use of words/phrases is called
Malapropism.

The term
Peripetia owes its origin to Aristotle's
Poetics. It is a Greek word which means "reversal". Aristotle
refers to this term to suggest a reversal of fortunes for the protagonist in tragedy.
Peripety occurs in Sophocles's tragedy when the messenger from
Corinth comes to inform Oedipus that king Polybus and queen Merope are dead, and he
further tells the king of Thebes that Polybus and Merope were not his parents. His
father was Laius and mother was Jocasta.

Discuss how McCarthy's style of writing is impacted by the setting of The Road.

I think that McCarthy's style is able to mirror the
physical condition that faces the boy and his father, as well as the emotional bond that
exists between them.  In doing so, McCarthy is able to bring out the darkness and light
that exists in the post- apocalyptic world between the boy and his father.  McCarthy is
able to do something quite amazing in his work.  The very idea of a setting in a world
where there is no hope might trap the writer into only being able to convey this
element.  Yet, McCarthy transcends this in arguing that the bond between parent and
child, the love that is there can be present in any setting.  In ensuring that this
element is also present in his narration and style, there is an emotional chord that
causes affect in the reader.  There is horror and misery at what the father and the son
experience, but there is also a sense redemption in the love of a father saying, "I'm
here" or a son opening his eyes and saying, "Hello papa."  McCarthy does not lose these
moments in the immense bleakness of the physical setting.  Rather, he uses them to
accentuate how love is transcendent and bonds of loyalty can be felt in any setting,
ensuring that the constant in the world of humans is the feelings of love and devotion
experienced.

Evaluate the Darwinian theory of evolution through natural selection as a scientific theory.

1.) All organisms differ in traits such as size and
behavior.

2.) No two individuals are exactly
alike.

3.) There was a gradual change in each
species.

4.) Fossils were different from the living animals. However,
these fossils had many similarities to modern forms of life.

5.)
Species on the Galapagos Islands resembled species on the mainland but they were
different in certain characteristics.

6.) Some organisms became
isolated on many islands.

7.) Most organisms produce more offspring
that can survive.

What are the dates that the British, French, and Spanish claimed The New world?I pretty much need a time frame for each of the conquering groups...

The Portuguese and the Spanish made the first official
claims to lands in the New World through the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. The treaty
was ratified by the Pope, and Portugal and Spain split the continents of North and South
America among themselves. Primarily through the claims of Vasco de Balboa, Spain took
the lands bordering the Pacific Ocean; Portugal concentrated on Eastern South America
(Brazil).

The British, naturally, disputed these claims and
founded the settlement of Jamestown in 1607. The British had previously laid claim to
North America following John Cabot's discovery of Newfoundland in 1497, believed to be
the second exploration of the New World after Christopher Columbus'
voyages.

The French first claimed lands in North America
following the voyage of Giovanni de Verrazzano in 1524-1525. Verrazzano explored the
area between New York and North Carolina. Jacques Cartier claimed land for France during
his voyage to the St. Lawrence River in 1535. The French solidified their claims with
the founding of the colony of Acadia (Nova Scotia) in 1605.

In Never Let Me Go, how might Ruth's social behavior at Hailsham and later at the cottages, be explained?Why is she so eager to seek her "possible"?

Ruth, as her name suggests, has a ruthless quality that
drives her to behave in self-centered ways. Her understanding of her fate is driven by
strong feelings of self-preservation, and she is willing to manipulate her friends
(seducing Tommy when she knows Cathy loves him, and later telling Cathy she has no
chance with Tommy, for example) and adapt quickly to her surroundings (as when she
imitates the gestures and phrases repeated in an outdated popular television show, for
example) in order to ensure her survival. Seeking her original clone/parent is a way for
her to confirm the uniqueness of her own existence, perhaps to emphasize her desire to
fight to survive, and to justify her often drastic means.

I need help with an assignment to give a sketch of Puritanic society found in The Scarlet Letter. The assignment must cover 2000 words. Please, I...

A 2,000 word essay is lengthy, and will require quite a
bit of research at the beginning.  Certainly, your essay could be organized according to
the three inclusion points listed.  You might aim to write 2 paragraphs on each point
(though, logically, I would suggest you switch the order of point 1 and point 2).  Once
you add an introduction and conclusion to the paper, you should have about 8 paragraphs
total.  If each paragraph is 250 words in length, you'll have met your
goal.

In order to help you get started on this assignment,
I encourage you to brainstorm answers and ideas for each of the three inclusion points
listed.  Most of this information is readily available on the Internet by conducting a
basic search using keywords: Puritans, Puritanism, Puritanism in The Scarlet Letter. 
Some basic information includes:

• Puritans refers
  to a number of Protestant groups whose purpose was to “purify” the Church of
  England


• Their theology stressed humanity’s inherent evil;
  they believed that all humans were sinners and deserved eternal
  damnation.


• They also believed in the mercy of God and
  that “the elect” would be saved through the death of Jesus
  Christ.


• The question that ruled their lives: How do you
  know if you are “saved” or “damned?”


• Puritans lived in
  fear of God's wrath; they created several "Biblical" rules and the people followed them
  out of fear.


• Magistrates, ministers, and governors,
  however, hypocritically acted as judges of others and considered themselves already
  "saved."


• The characters in The Scarlet
  Letter represent different people in a Puritan society.  Hester is a sinner
  living in judgement and fear.  Dimmesdale is a minister pretending to be righteous (for
  the people) but hiding his sin in secret agony.  Chillingworth is an outsider
  representing ideas from "savages" and the outside world; he seeks to punish Dimmesdale
  through guilt and manipulation.  Other magistrates, the governor, and the townspeople
  act as hypocrites, judges, and societal influences on the main
  characters.

The links below will supply you
with additional helpful information in your research.

What does Estella tell Pip about her interactions with other men in chapter 38 of Great Expectations?

Now that Estella lives with Mrs. Brandley in Richmond, she
has so many admirers that Pip becomes extremely jealous.  When Pip returns her to Miss
Havisham, her foster mother hangs upon every word as Estella relates all her conquests. 
Pip who "never had one hour of happiness in her presence" yet continues to be around her
whenever he can despite her asking him, "Pip,...“will you never take warning?”  But, Pip
believes that Miss Havisham intends for him to marry
Estella.

Having returned to Richmond, much to Pip's dismay,
Estella allows Bentley Drummle to call upon her.  At an Assembly Ball, Drummle is around
her so much that Pip resolves to speak with Estella about this brute of a man.  When he
asks her to look at him "[F]or he has been hovering about you all night,” Estella
replies to Pip in allusion to her name which suggests
light,

"Moths,
and all sorts of ugly creatures...hover about a lighted candle. Can the candle help
it?”

When Pip insists that
Drummle is not worth her attracting, Estella replies,

readability="8">

Pip,...don't be foolish about its effect on you.
It may have its effect on others, and may be meant to have. It's not worth
discussing.”

As he continues
to press her about her flirtations with the other men, Estella then asks him if he wants
her "to deceive and entrap" him.  She insists that she deceives all the others but him. 
Nevertheless, Pip has a feeling of impending doom.

What is a nutritional assessment?

This would be a complete workup of a person's dietary
intake, dietary needs, and current physical status. A full assessment would begin with a
physical examination that recorded the person's weight, height, and overall physical
health. Blood would be drawn and a number of parameters examined, including red blood
cell status, blood proteins, and various ions.

Then the
person would be interviewed to explore their dietary basics; for instance if they are a
vegetarian, or have any food allergies. Then they would be asked to record everything
they eat or drink for some set period of time. Dietary intake can then be input into a
computer and the diet can be analysed to compare the person's average intake of calories
and nutrients to their needs. It's important that this be done as an average - what a
person eats in one day is not a fair basis to analyse their diet on. Generally at least
a week of records would be needed to make a fair judgement, and longer would be better.
There are a number of online services that can be used to assess your own diet, such as
www.mypyramid.gov and www.fitday.com.

I'm writing an essay on the qualities of a good leader in To Kill a Mockingbird and am using Miss Maudie as my model. I need some...

Perhaps you may wish to first consider what qualities Miss
Maudie has that are those of a leader, and then you can open your essay with a
definition that befits your model character.  Following this motivator, you can then
write your thesis which will state that Miss Maudie exemplifies the qualities of a
leader .....(Here you state at least three reasons that you will support with details
from the novel).  Here are her more sterling
qualities:

Miss Maudie as a leader -
individualism

Since a good leader is a
strong individual who thinks for him/herself. 

Miss
Maudie displays individualism on several occasions.  For instance, when the
fundamentalists ridicule her, she is undaunted and declares her beliefs. Never is she
afraid to express her disapproval of acts of injustice. When other disparage the
Radleys, she tells the children that they have a right to live their lives as they feel
they should; likewise, she defends Atticus's dislike for guns and his not having told
the children that he once was known for his expertise with a
gun.

When public opinion is against Atticus, Miss Maudie
defends him. At the Missionary Tea, as Mrs. Merriweather disparages the "misguided
folks" among whom she counts Atticus Finch, Miss Maudie, whose "grey eyes were as cold
as her voice," catches her in her hypocrisy of demeaning blacks, but allowing one to
cook for them.  For, she quietly asks Mrs. Merriweather if Mr. Merriweather does not
have trouble getting this food down.

Miss
Maudie as leader - integrity

A woman who
lives an exemplary life, Miss Maudie is strong and does not cry about her house which is
destroyed by fire.  She cheerily tells the children that she never liked it much,
anyway.

Whenever she talks with Jem and Scout, she credits
honor in others and is forthright herself, affording the children the opportunity to
question things.  For example, she explains to them that their father is an honorable
man who has had to "our unpleasant jobs for us."  When they question some of his actions
in the trial, Miss Maudie tells them that they will have to address their questions to
him.

How does "Break, Break, Break" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson support or negate that deep sorrow may intensify one's reactions to seemingly trivial...

This poem by the "great rhythmic teacher and prophet...of
a Spiritual Universe" is melancholic as were his early poems.  Also, it calls to mind
the reflection of Ralph Waldo Emerson that "Nature always wears the colors of the
spirit."  Truly, Tennyson's poem achieves its effect by the evocation of this mood of
melancholy that deals with one of life's salient issues.

In
the poem "Break, Break, Break" the rhythm of the title reflects the striking of the
waves against the rock as well as the striking of pain upon the heart of the speaker
that is breaking in sorrow.  And, when sorrow claims the soul of a man, his
perception--to quote St. Paul--is like "looking through a glass darkly."  Indeed, the
striking of the waves against the gray stone reflects the feeling of the speaker's soul
that mourns his loss of a friend. Like the waves that hit the rocks, the repeated
thoughts of loss each strike harder than those before them as the speaker ponders the
finality of death and the transience of life that is like the wave that breaks against
rock.

Solve for x the equation tan2x+1=1/cos2x if x is in interval (0,pi).

First, we'll re-write the tangent function as the ratio
sin 2x/cos 2x.

We'll re-write the
equation:

sin 2x/cos 2x + 1 = 1/cos
2x

We'll multiply by cos 2x all
over:

sin 2x + cos 2x =
1

We'll recall the double angle identities for sin 2x and
cos 2x:

sin 2x = 2 sinx*cos
x

cos 2x = ` cos^2 x - sin^2
x`

We'll recall the Pythagorean
identity:

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

We'll re-write the
equation:

`2sin x*cos x + cos^2 x - sin^2 x = sin^2 x + cos
^2 x`

We'll reduce like
terms:

`2sin x*cos x - 2sin^2 x =
0`

We'll divide by 2 and we'll factor sin
x:

sin x(cos x - sin x) =
0

We'll cancel each
factor:

sin x = 0

x = 0, but
the value doesn't belong to the interval (0,`pi` )

cos x -
sin x = 0

We'll divide by sin x both
sides:

cot x - 1 = 0

cot x =
1

The cotangent function has positive values within the
interval (0;`pi`), only in the 1st quadrant.

x =
`pi/4`

Therefore,
the only solution of the equation, over the interval `(0,pi)` is
{`pi/4`}.

Solve the equation sin2x+cos2x=1, if 0

We'll recall the double angle identities for sin 2x and
cos 2x:

sin 2x = 2 sinx*cos
x

cos 2x = `cos^(2)` x - `sin^(2)`
x

We'll recall the Pythagorean
identity:

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

We'll re-write the equation in terms of sin x and cos
x:

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

We'll remove like
terms:

2 sin x*cos x - 2`sin^(2)` x =
0

We'll factorize by sin
x:

sin x*(cos x - sin x) =
0

We'll cancel each
factor:

sin x = 0

x = `pi`
(we'll exclude the values 0 and 2`pi` )

We'll cancel the
next factor:

cos x - sin x =
0

-tan x = -1

tan x =
1

The tangent function has positive values within the 1st
and the 3rd quadrants, therefore the values of x are:

x =
`pi` /4

x = `pi` + `pi` /4

x =
5`pi` /4

Therefore, the solutions of the
equation, over the interval (0,2`pi` ), are: {`pi` /4 ; `pi` ; 5`pi`
/4}.

What is the significance of the names listed at the beginning of chapter 4 being written on a disintegrating timetable?The Great Gatsby by F. Scott...

Nick's record of the guests on a timetable that
disintegrates just as moral values disintegrate in the Jazz Age are testimony to the
sordid reality of Gatsby's quest for the grail.  In sharp contrast to the guests of East
Egg who of are prestigious names, Gatsby's guests are engaged in illegal activity.  In
fact, the timetable is little more than a tabulation of
criminality.

Among the guests are men who fight; another
man named Ripley Snells stays at Gatsby's for three days before being taken to the
penitentiary, so drunk in the driveway that Mrs. Ulysses Swett's automobile runs over
his right hand.  A G. Earl Muldoon arrives; he is the brother to the Muldoon who
strangled his wife.   Promoters and gamblers with epithets such as "Rot-gut" arrive at
Gatsby's.  One man, named Klipspringer is there so much and so often that he becomes
known as "the boarder."  People who later kill themselves by jumping in front of subway
trains, or suffer injury by having their noses shot off are also present. In short,
suspicious and corrupt people such as a senator who takes bribes are among the guests
recorded by Nick.

This tabulation of guests of questionable
morality points to the canard that Gatsby's mansion, background, and possessions
become.  Fitzgerald's satire is clearly present in this chapter as the sharp contrast of
all that is Gatsby with what is real comes into focus.  Like the disintegrating
timetable, Gatsby's American Dream will soon dissolve into what it has always been--an
illusion.

State the grounds on which Percy Bysshe Shelley defends poetry.

While Plato suggests that poets are irrational and
ignorant, Shelley considers poets to be speakers of universal truth and conveyors of the
motives of human nature. The large topic of how Shelly defends poetry can only be
briefly touched upon in this format, but this will get you
started.

Shelley defends poetry by asserting that "poetry
is a mirror which makes beautiful that which is distorted." Shelley's point here is that
poetry is "the very image of life expressed in its eternal truth." Shelley upholds the
mimetic principle espoused by Aristotle and contends that poetry produces analogies to
things of life through imagery that participates in mimesis, thus also participates in
"the life of truth":

readability="5">

words unveil the permanent analogy of things by
images which participate in the life of
truth;

Shelly further defends
poetry by attributing to poets "almost superhuman wisdom" and likening poets to
nightingales who sing in darkness and illuminate human, emotional, psychological
"darkness" by the sweet truth and sound of poetry. Shelly states that there is divinity
in poetry that works at a depth beyond that of
consciousness.

readability="6">

[poetry] acts in a divine and unapprehended
manner, beyond and above
consciousness

The defence of
poetry as the sweet song of truth by a nightingale might have a forced fit with today's
poetry, however Shelley has anticipated this in further defence of poetry. He stresses
that each poet, though a master of the traditionally prescribed form of poetry, must
adapt his poetic song and harmony to his particular versification in his particular
era.

How does the plot resolve in the book, Tex?

The two brothers, Tex and Mason McCormick, are often at
each other's throats in S. E. Hinton's novel, Tex. The conflict
stems from Mason's decision to sell both of the boys' horses early in the story, as well
as the stress brought on by their father's long absences. Mason, the older brother, is
forced to sell the horses because their father--a travelling rodeo performer--has been
away from home for a long time, and the bills have not been paid. Tex cannot forgive
Mason, however. Mason, a star basketball player at the local high school, hopes to earn
a college scholarship, but he develops an ulcer and comes to realize that his college
dreams are unlikely to come true. After both boys survive an encounter with a murderous
hitchhiker, Pop McCormick returns to see them. Although he promises to repurchase Tex's
horse, he is unable to do so, further alienating Tex and Mason. When Tex is wounded
during a drug transaction, Mason beats up the youth responsible and cries when he finds
that Tex will be okay. Mason announces that he will not pursue his basketball
scholarship, but Tex tells him that he should go. In the end, Tex realizes he is in love
with Jamie Collins, and the two brothers reconcile their
differences.

How did nationalism shape the development of Europe from 1789-1933?

Of course, the time frame you mention is very long and so
nationalism had a number of different impacts during this time.  One way to describe the
overall impact is to say that nationalism led to a remaking of the map of Europe and to
a number of wars.

Nationalism had the effect of remaking
the map of Europe as old countries broke apart and new countries came into existence. 
For example, the countries of Italy and Germany as we now know them came into existence
because nationalist impulses led to the amalgamation of a number of smaller states into
the countries we know today.

Nationalism also led to wars. 
Most notable among these was WWI.  World War I was caused in part by the nationalist
desire of various peoples to rule themselves. 

Was the Revolutionary War truly an American victory, or more of a British loss of the will to fight?

These two are not mutually exclusive.  The war was
certainly lost because the British lost the will to fight, but we should not minimize
the Americans' "contribution" to this loss of will.

In
order for the war to be won, the Americans were going to have to hold out long enough to
make the British lose the will to fight.  This was by no means a sure thing for the
Americans.  Think about the situations the Americans faced at times like the winter of
1776 or during the next winter while the army was at Valley Forge.  These were times, as
Paine put it, that "tried men's souls."  It was due to the dedication of the Americans
that they were able to continue to fight through these
adversities.

The British eventually lost the war because
they lost the will to fight.  But they would not have gotten to that point without the
heroism and determination of the Americans.

Explain the social consequences that Jem and Scout are facing because Atticus is representing Tom Robinson?

Because the town of Maycomb was segregated and still
viewed blacks as second class citizens, the fact that their father was defending a black
man against a charge of raping a white woman meant that anyone associated with Atticus
could be viewed negatively. It is the idea of guilt by association. Add to that the fact
that Atticus was raising his children as a single father, he let Scout dress in tomboy
clothes, he allowed Calpurnia, a black woman, to "mother them" even going so far as to
let her take them to her church, and several other "non traditional" behaviors condoned
in the Finch family and what you have is a recipe for ostracism. Scout tended to fight
back. She was not afraid to get in fistfights, as she did at school when the children
teased her for being Atticus' daughter. Nor was she afraid to speak her mind when the
lynch mob came after Tom and tried to get through Atticus. Scout had both a youthful
innocence and a wisdom beyond her years. She realized that Tom was innocent, saw the
injustice that was being perpetuated, and tried in the only way she knew to get the
people (in this case the men of the lynch mob) to realize that what they were doing was
wrong. Although she is unable to save Tom (not is Atticus able to), she still is able to
salvage some shred of hopefulness due to the fact that it is Scout who realizes that Boo
Radley was her savior, and because of what she has learned from her own time as outcast,
she is able to see him for the "mockingbird" that he is. Jem's understanding of it all
is a quieter understanding. This is due in part to the fact that he is older and wants
to be like his father in terms of the way that he handles things, but much of his
silence is a facade that he wears to deal with a reality that he views as morally wrong.

Dill's appearance in Maycomb offers Scout a neutral
outsider's perspective on the town and what is going on in it. What makes this summer
different from the last is that it marks an end of innocence. She has been sheltered
from the harsh truths of reality up until this point. Now, she takes her first step on
the road to adulthood as she begins to see what Maycomb is like, what expectations and
stereotypes she will have to fight against as she grows into what we can imagine from
the tone of the narrative is an independent woman. As an adult looking back, she sees
this summer as a time of transition and of growing up, perhaps too soon, and a first
step on the road to the woman she becomes.

what is absolute potential energy please explain it

We can define the potential energy of an object within a
conservative force field (gravitational,elastic, electromagnetic
forces).

To calculate the difference of potential energy of
an object, between two positions, we'll have to determine the work nedeed for the object
to move between these positions. Once we know the value of the work done, the potential
energy is the negative of this value.

In the gravitational
field of forces, the potential energy is:

PE =
m*g*h

m is the mass of the
object

g is the gravitational acceleration = 9.8[m/s^2]
approx.

h is the height measured from the surface of the
Earth to the position of the object whose potential energy has to be found
out.

If we want to determine the potential energy of a
spring, we'll have the formula:

PE =
k*x^2/2

k is the spring
constant

x is the displacement of the spring with respect
to the equilibrium position.

Identify the ordinary everyday annd horrific details in the poem "Out, Out--" by Robert Frost.

Robert Frost wrote the poem “Out, Out---“ based on an
event that he remembered from growing up. A neighbor boy had been killed in a farm
accident.  The title of the poem alludes to a quotation from the Shakespearean play
Macbeth.  When Macbeth learns of the death of his wife, he compares
her brief life to a burning candle:

readability="10">

Out, out, brief
candle!

Life's but a walking shadow, a poort
player

That struts and frets his time upon the
stage

And then is heard no
more...

A person’s life is so
precarious that it can be easily eradicated like snuffing out the flame of the candle.
In this poem, a young boy’s life is lost using a buzz saw.
 

The poem’s summary involves a young boy working with a
buzz saw that  he should not have been using. He was too inexperienced to be using this
dangerour machine.  As he is cuts the wood, his sister calls everyone in to supper.  The
call surprises the boy, and the saw goes out of control and nearly cuts the boy’s hand
off.  The family takes him to the doctor, who has to cut off the hand.  While a nurse
watches him,  he begins to breathe erratically.  He slowly stops breathing.  Frost
points out that the other people went on with their
lives.

Ordinary aspects of life mentioned in
the poem

• The surrounding area and
  setting are described. 


• The poem takes place in
  Vermont. 


• Five  mountain ranges can be seen in the
  distance. 


• The wind is blowing and bringing the smell of
  the sweetly scented wood.


•  The boy is cutting stove
  length stick of wood.


•  The sister calls out to the
  workers that it is time for supper.


• The young boy has
  worked all day.

The description
of the boy

• The poet wishes that
  the boy had been given thirty minutes   to play instead of working the same amount of
  time that the adults work.


• After cutting his hand, he is
  in shock and laughs rather than cries.The boy seemed to give his hand to the
  saw.


• He asks his sister not to let them cut off his
  hand.


• In reality, the boy knows that he has lost the
  hand. 


• His lips puff out as he
  breathes.

Five images of the buzz
saw

• Using onomatopoeia, the buzz
  saw makes the sounds of rattling and snarling.


• Dust from
  the saw fills the air as the wood is cut and falls to the
  ground.


• Again, in line 7, the sounds of the saw are
  mentioned.


• In connection with the sounds, the poet says
  that the saw runs either lightly or it had to bear a
  load. 


• The saw leaps out of the boy’s hand and cuts it
  deeply. 

The medical events

1. The saw almost cuts off the
   boy’s had.


2. The boy asks his sister not to let them cut
   off his hand.


3. The hand bleeds
   excessively.


4. The doctor gives the boy ether to
   anesthetize him.


5. At first,  his breathing seems normal:
   in and out, in and out.


6. The nurse takes his pulse and
   becomes concerned.


7. The boy’s heart slowly stops
   beating. 


8. The boy
   dies.

Theme

The
poem ends with the theme that since the people who were observing the death [which would
include parents, sibling, relatives, and friends] were not the one who had died that
there is nothing to be gained by focusing on the death of the young
boy. 

And
they, since they

Were not the one dead, turned to their
affairs.

Life goes on. 
Nothing can help the boy now; therefore, return to  each person’s own life and move
on. 

What are a few character traits of Amir from The Kite Runner?I cannot find exact words to describe Amir's traits. It would be best if the answers...

Amir comes from a privileged background in Kabul.
Amir's father, Baba, is quite wealthy, and his family has associated with the past
rulers of Afghanistan. Consequently, Amir is a bit spoiled, and he never forgets that
his closest companion, Hassan, is but a servant and a Hazari--the most ill-treated and
disrespected tribal group in the country. When Baba pays too much attention to Hassan,
Amir becomes jealous and vindictive. Amir refuses to spend much time in public with
Hassan, because his presence with a Hazari servant embarrasses him. Amir is often
condescending when telling him stories and explaining things he has learned in
school. Amir shows incredible disloyalty and cowardice when he refuses to help Hassan
when he is sodomized by Assef. Amir's deceit intensifies when he plants his birthday
gifts under Hassan's mattress because of his jealousy over Baba's attentiveness to
Hassan. Although intelligent, Amir feels incapable of living up to his father's
expectations, and he has an unquenchable desire to attain his father's love and
respect.

As an adult, Amir eventually matures into an
honorable man and loving husband. Still desperate to receive atonement for his
indiscretions, he willingly risks his life during a courageous return to Afghanistan to
hunt for his nephew, Sohrab.

How did the villiage's residents regard the forest and its Indian inhabitants in The Crucible Act 1?

The Puritan villagers saw the untamed forest as the
residing place for the devil.  Since they were unsuccessful in converting the Native
Americans to their religion, they believed all that lived there must be evil and a part
of the devil's world.  Painting the Native Americans as savages allowed the Puritans to
claim the land as their own without feeling guilty.  It was easier to take their land,
then to take the land of a fellow Christian. Young children were taught not to go into
the forest, most likely because of continuous fighting between the Puritans and the
Natives and because of the forest's association with
evil.

Because of this belief, the forest becomes one of
many symbols that show what the Salem Puritans do not know.  Like the witchcraft that is
to come, if the reason or cause behind an action is unknown, the devil quickly becomes
the problem.

What is meant by the "management philosophy" of a business?

The management philosophy of a firm is the same thing as
its managment style.  It is the set of ideas that governs how a firm will attempt to
manage its employees.

For example, in the past, management
philosophy tended to be rather authoritarian.  In a firm, higher level managers would
give orders and those below would follow them.  There was no attempt to try to show the
lower level employees that their ideas were valued or to try to build a team spirit
among workers.  Today, many firms have moved away from this management philosophy.  They
now opt for philosophies that emphasize making their employees feel like valued members
of a team.  In both cases, the management philosophy is a basic set of core values about
how the business should be run.  These values or philosopies dictate how the firms
attempt to manage their employees.

What three hints does Montresor give to Fortunato on what he intends to do in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado"?

The first hint of Montresor's plan is when he
says:

You are
rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy as once I
was.

Clearly, if Fortunato
were paying attention, Montresor is pointing out that he no longer is happy like
Fortunato, undoubtedly because of the insults he has endured from
Fortunato.

Later, Montresor discusses his family's coat
of arms - a huge foot crushing the snake who bit it in the heel along with a motto
above.  When Fortunato asks the motto, Montresor says it is "Nemo me impune lacessit",
which means  - Noone attacks me with impunity.  Again Montresor is hinting that
something bad is to happen to Fortunato.

Finally, Fortunato
give him a sign of the Masons.  When Montresor doesn't react to it and Fortunato asks
him if he is a Mason and to give him a sign of such, Montresor pulls out a
trowell.

"A
sign," he said.

"It is this," I answered, producing a
trowel from beneath the folds of my roquelaire.

"You jest,"
he exclaimed, recoiling a few paces. "But let us proceed to the
Amontillado."

Clearly this
play on words is intentional and offers yet another hint of Fortunato's fate, but the
man is too drunk or too unaware to pick up on the pun.

Combine each pair of sentences below into one sentence. Use a word or phrase that expresses the relationship shown in parentheses.A stamp's...

A word or phrase that expresses addition could be "also"
or "adds to" or "increases the value." So you could combine the given pair of sentences
and use the second sentence as an additional indication of value to what is stated in
the first sentence. Your combined sentence could read "A stamp's rarity affects its
value, and the way in which the perforations are made increases the value even more."
Another possibility could read "A stamp's rarity affects its value, and the way in which
the perforations are made also impacts the stamp's worth." Don't let the directions
scare you - combining the sentences is easy, and you will reflect the mathematical
process in the parentheses through the way in which the topics of the sentences relate
to each other.

Discuss if we should conserve economic resources/ use resources wisely.

From an economic point of view, I don't see any other
option but to conserve economic resources and use them wisely.  The globalized setting
of the marketplace would represent a reason as to why this is necessary.  As more and
more people enter the global marketplace, at some point, resources will be finite.  I
think that more people benefit in the long run if there is an ethic of conservation that
everyone adopts in ensuring that the marketplace is viable and sustainable for as long a
time as possible.  Globalization has had a transformative impact on people's lives and
the more people who can actively participate in this forum, the better we all are.  I
don't think that these ends are served if individuals waste economic resources or rig
the marketplace to allow themselves to consume everything at the cost of others.  While
self- interest does govern the marketplace of economic resources, there has to be an
ethic of respect for this forum where all participate.  Part of this would be to ensure
that economic resources are used wisely and conserved in a proper manner in order to
sustain viability for both the individual and the market that benefits them.  If
individuals wish to continue to have a free market configuration where external
intervention is not threatened, it will have to conform to a conservation and respect of
those economic resources.  When individuals abuse this ethic, the clamor and reality for
external intervention become more real and might end up hurting the marketplace from
which all benefit.

Summarize "Footnote to Youth" by José García Villa.

Dudong,17, is impatiently waiting for his father to return
home so that he can tell him of his love for Teang and his desire to marry her.  He
feels that at 17 he is a grown man and is ready for the next important step in his
life.  When he tells his father that he has asked Teang to marry him and wants his
blessing, there is a long and cruel silence. His father asks if he must marry her
because Dudong is very young. Dudong resents his father's question, and finally his
father gives his consent.

Nine months later, Dudong is
waiting outside while Teang gives birth to their first son, Blas.  He feels young and
inexperienced, a contrast to how he felt nine months ago. Dudong did not want any more
children, but they came anyway.  For the next six years, Teang gave birth.  Seven
children in all.

Teang did not complain.  However her body
was now shapeless and thin from bearing so many children and from the hard work of
caring for them and the household.  Even though she loved Dudong, she cried and wished
that she had not married so young. There had been another suitor, Lucio, who was nine
years older than Dudong. She chose Dudong because he was so much younger. Lucio had
married after she married Dudong, however, he was childless. She wonders if she had
married Lucio, would she be childless? She feels that would have been a better lot in
life.  But she loves Dudong, even though life has made him old
and ugly.

One night Dudong goes outside and thinks about
his life.  He wants to have the wisdom to know why life does not fulfill Youth's dreams.
Why did life forsake you after love?  He never finds the
answer.

When Blas turns 18, he comes home and tells Dudong
that he wants to marry Tena.  Dudong at this time is only 36 years old, but he is
portrayed as a much older man. Dudong does not want Blas to marry so young. He asks the
same question his father asked him.  Does Blas have to marry Tena?  He does not want him
to make the same mistake he did. Blas also reacts with resentment.   Dudong realizes
that he is dealing with Youth and Love, and they will triumph over this situation. 
After that, comes real life. He gives his consent, feeling sad and sorry for his
son.

He called this "Footnote to Youth" because a footnote
is an additional comment or reference on the content of the text. He is telling youth to
pay attention to the lesson of this story.

Explain the conflict that Scout and Jem undergo when they are amongst their friends in To Kill a Mockingbird.

In Harper Lee's To Kill a
Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Scout is something of a tomboy, and her only real
friend at the start of the novel seems to be her brother Jem. While she may play on the
playground at school, she never speaks of girl friends. She does not bring anyone home.
If she gets into a fight, as she does with Cecil Jacobs or Walter Cunningham, Jem pulls
her off.

Scout and Jem are very close. When Dill suddenly
appears one summer, his ability to role play and his knowledge of various books and
movies encourage Jem to accept Dill into their "family." For several summers during the
book, Dill, Scout and Jem are nearly inseparable.

In order
for Scout to play, she must be willing to follow the "laws" of the boys. It's a little
easier because for the longest time, she has always played the "secondary roles," for
there was no one else to do so. For a while after Dill arrives, the three greatly enjoy
each other's company. They even begin pretending to be the Radley family. However, as
the summers pass, Jem starts to mature, the boys get closer, and Scout increasingly
feels left out. Sometimes she and Jem argue.

For instance,
when Jem starts to tell Dill about "Hot Steam" (ghostly vapors hovering on the ground),
Scout calls him on it, saying the tale is nonsense. It is not until later that she
realizes how much Jem has resented her contradiction of him in front of Dill. So, as
they play a game where one climbs into a tire, rolled up in the center and is pushed—for
a ride—Jem pushes Scout extraordinarily hard, directly at the Radley house. When the
tire hits the side of the house and Scout pops out, Jem realizes what he has done and
screams for her to come out of the yard.

Another time, when
the boys plan to go out at night and visit the Radley house, Scout tries to dissuade
them. Jem tells her that if she doesn't like it, she can stay
home.

Whereas the two had a pretty close relationship, when
Dill arrives and Jem starts to grow up, the Jem and Scout are not has close as before
when they play, but as seen at the end of the book, they are still devoted to each
other.

In James Joyce’s anthology, The Dubliners (specifically, ‘The Sisters') what was the plot outline (what happened in the story)?

As with many of James Joyce's short stories
in The Dubliners, "The Sisters" seems to have little to no plot.
 On the surface little seems to happen.  We know from the beginning that Father Flynn is
dying. "There was no hope for him this time."   The narrator is his student, who has
been taking lessons in religion from the priest.  The narrator finds out from a family
friend Old Cotter that the priest has died.  The next day, the narrator goes to the
priest's house.  There he meets the title characters--the sisters.  These two women are
the sisters of the priest who have tended to his needs and from whom we learn much about
the priest's physical and mental decline.  From them we learn that he dropped the
chalice, an incident that seems to precipitate Father Flynn's collapse, and later he was
found laughing in the confessional.  The sisters declare that he was a "conflicted man"
but view his corpse as a "beautiful" one.

The narrator who
seems to be experiencing the death of someone he knows for the first time views the
priest through unfiltered eyes.  To him the priest was a friend. Yet, his death brings a
curious sense of relief  He seems focused on the priest's physical deterioriation both
in life and in death.  To him his corpse is anything but
beautiful.

Much, though, seems to be omitted from this
story.  Like the gnomon, one of the words that so fascinates the boy, parts are left
out.  We don't truly know the extent of the priest's interactions with the boy or the
reasons for the priest's mental decline.  But we, like the narrator, sense a certain
uneasiness when the priest is mentioned, as if his true flaws are not revealed--either
by the narrator who is too innocent to understand or by the sisters who seem to find
comfort in routine and ritual.

At the end of Act 1 Scene IV of Romeo and Juliet, what does Romeo tell Benvolio, foreshadowing future action in the play?

The incidence of foreshadowing is something that is
incredibly common in this excellent tragedy, as both Romeo and Juliet at various points
in the play predict tragedy is in the offing for them both. In this case, having decided
to go to the Capulet ball that night, Romeo tells Benvolio that he will go, but he fears
that events will be set in motion at this ball that will result in the loss of his life.
Note what he says to Benvolio:

readability="18">

I fear, too early; for my mind
misgives

Some consequence yet hanging in the
stars

Shall bitterly begin his fearful
date

With this night's revels and expire the
term

Of a despied life, closed in my
breast,

By some vile forfeit of untimely
death.

Note the way that this
speech makes reference to "the stars." In Elizabethan times, people felt that the
planets, or "the stars" controlled a person's fate or destiny. Thus it is that "stars"
are mentioned a lot in this play. Of course, this speech foreshadows the way that Romeo
will meet Juliet at the ball that evening and the way that the tragedy of the play will
develop as a result.

What is the author's universal statement on mankind in Ender's Game?

I think the overarching statement that this powerful novel
makes about humanity is the way in which the novel constantly shows that the boundary
between what is classified as "good" and what is "bad" is blurred. It is very difficult
to determine what action is "good," as even those actions that are done for the good of
humanity, like, for example, the training of Ender, is very bad, as is made perfectly
clear by the way that Ender is mistreated, isolated from those that love him and placed
into dangerous situations without any support or defence. Consider the conversation that
Graff has in the final chapter where these crimes are explored in further
detail:

People
were crazy for a while there. Mistreatment of children, negligent homicide--those videos
of Bonzo's and Stilson's deaths were pretty gruesome. To watch one child do that to
another.

Such hideous crimes
are justified, in the end, as Graff says by what was "necessary for the preservation of
the human race," yet one of the biggest questions that haunts us as we finish the novel
is whether such activities and blatant mistreatment of children can ever be justified,
no matter what the threat facing the human race is.

The
biggest example of this however is Ender's destruction of an entire species. He is lied
to throughout, thinking that it is just a game, whereas in fact he is committing
genocide to an extent that is unimaginable. The way that he is tricked into being a
murderer is again representative of the blurred boundaries between good and evil. He
saves humanity but only by being deceived into slaughtering an entire species, and this
is something that haunts him for the rest of his life. The message of the novel seems to
be that the two concepts of "good" and "bad" never exist by themselves. They are always
muddied or tainted, as good slips into bad and vice versa.

In Book 3, Chapter 15 of A Tale of Two Cities, at the execution, what do they say about Carton?

As the tumbrils pass, cries are raised against the
aristocracy, and they notice that the "leading curiosity" has his arms bound.  On the
steps of a church, "the Spy" Basard searches the group for Evremonde as a man shouts his
name and cries, "Down with Evremonde!"  Although Basard tells the man to be quiet, he
continues to call out, and as the prisoner turns, Basard looks intently at him, then
departs.

readability="6">

[Carton's] was the peacefullest
man's face ever beheld there. Many added that he looked sublime and
prophetic.

After
the executions, throughout the city people recall that Carton's face is peaceful because
he has recalled the words recited at the funeral of his father:  "I am the Resurrection
and the Life..."  For, Carton realizes that by dying for Charles Darnay he has redeemed
his dissipated life, he has endeared himself forever to Lucie, and he has attained
"sanctuary" in the hearts of his friends.

What is in the hallway of the air vent in Fahrenheit 451?

Montag has been collecting books for a year.  He doesn't
understand why he has stolen the books from the fires he has set, but he did it. He also
knows that if the governement --- or even his fire department buddies --- find out, he
will be reported, his house burnt, and he will be arrested. He is hiding the books in
the vent. On page 65 it says "Then he reached up and pulled back the grille of the air
conditioning system and reached back inside to the right and moved still another sliding
sheet of metal and took out a book".  He had a total of twenty books up
there.

Why HCl conducts electricity while Glucose doesn't conduct elecricity, though both contains the hydrogen ions.at least of 200-350 words

There are 2 types of basic compounds- ionic and covalent. 
Ionic bonds are formed when a metal gives up valence (outer level electron shell)
electrons to a nonmetal.  Covalent bonds form between 2 nonmetals (the same kind or
different) and they SHARE valence electrons instead of exchanging
them.

Hydrogen atoms only have 1 electron which means their
outer most shell is their valence shell.  This means that this electron is available for
transfer in the case of an ionic bond and sharing in the case of a covalent bond. 
Hydrogen is one of a few pesky elements that can behave differently than the standard
rules of the periodic table describe.  It is due to its simple and small
structure.

So, if hydrogen is in the vicinity of certain
nonmetals its electron will be pulled away from it to make the valence shell of the
nonmetal "happy" or filled to capacity.  If, on the other hand it is in the vicinity
of other nonmetals, it will share its electron and that nonmetal will share its outer
electron with hydrogen making its 1 electron shell filled or
"happy."

Electricity is the flow of electrons by definition
so a source of electrons would be needed to get electricity to flow through an object. 
When HCl is dissolved in water the ionic bond is broken and free electrons (electrolytes
or charged particles) or given off so electricity is allowed to
flow. 

If, on the other hand sugar (glucose) is placed in
water, the covalent bonds are not broken so no source of electrons (electrolytes) are
available for electrical flow.

Who were the Minoans?

The Minoans were a civilization that existed on the island
of Crete from around 3500 to around 1100 BC.  The Minoans were a forerunner of the
civilization on the Greek mainland that came later.

If you
are asking who the Minoans were in terms of what their ethnicity was, it is less clear. 
The Minoans appear to have been a fairly cosmopolitan people because of their geographic
location and the fact that they had contacts with peoples from around the Mediterranean
and beyond.  It is thought that the Minoans were probably not and Indo-European people
and were therefore not related by "blood" to the Greeks.  Their society, and presumably
their population, seemed to have a mix of influences from around the
region.

The Minoans, then, were a major Bronze Age
civilization that was centered on Crete and seems to have been rather diverse in terms
of its society.

What does the following quote mean? "Don't carry a grudge. While you're carrying the grudge the other guy's out dancing."

The point of this quote is that life is too short to spend
on anger.  There is no point in wasting your emotional strength on being angry. 
Instead, you should just be happy and let bad things sort of slide off your
back.

In this quote, the implication is that the person who
holds the grudge is the only one who ends up unhappy.  The other person does not really
care.  They are not worried about any grudge so they are able to be happy and "go
dancing."  The moral of the saying, then, is that it is better to be the person who lets
go of things and goes out and has fun.  This makes life more satisfying and less
stressful.

In Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee, what does the dog that Jasmine kills symbolize?

To a great extent, the death of the dog represents the
free will with which Jasmine is able to change the course of her life.  Faced with the
presence of the mad dog, death and harm seemed inevitable. Yet, Jasmine is able to show
and exercise her sense of freedom and choice, in order to take a stand and do something
that culturally, as a woman, she might not have been able to do.  When faced with threat
and danger, Jasmine acted in self- preservation.  This becomes something that Jasmine is
able to do quite a bit in the novel.  When confronted with rape and threatened by it,
she kills her attacker.  When danger comes perilously close, she is able to escape. 
When a sense of despair and hopelessness envelops her, she escapes out.  In the end,
this becomes a trademark of Jasmine and her character.  It is seen when she has to kill
the dog.  It is reflective of how she lives her life. It is also reflective of the idea
that women are able to assert their own choice and autonomy in living their life.  When
Jasmine's astrological chart reveals that she will live in exile and foretells of a sad
life, Jasmine does not capitulate and simply surrender her will to live and the need to
survive.  If so, she would not have acted against the dog as she did.  In the end, this
becomes one of the primary messages of the novel.  Women do have the capacity to impact
their own lives through freedom that can be used in any context.

Measure of central tendency help?I am wondering about the position of the central tendency of mean, median and mode for a symmetric distribution...

The measures of central tendency
are...

mean - the average of
the numbers in the data

median
- the middle number when the data is ordered from least to
greatest

mode - the number
that occurs the most often in a set of data

Data can have
symmetric distribution, a positively skewed distribution, or a negatively
skewed distribution.

symmetric distribution
- the mean, median, and mode are
equal

positively skewed
distribution - the mean is greater than the median, which is greater than
the mode

negatively skewed
distribution - the mean is less than the median, which is less than the
mode

In summary...

* in a
symmetric distribution, the mode is in the center

* in a
positively skewed distribution, the mode is on the left

*
in a negatively skewed distribution, the mode is on the right

Explain the evolution of Rome from republic to empire.

As the Republic expanded throughout Italy Rome needed to
manage territories and peoples that previously fought with Rome. The Republic began by
offering a tired legal status for these non roman people. Roman citizenship extended to
all living in Roman colonies which included the vote, expected military service,
allowance to marry other Romans. Latinum Nomen- latin rights was citizenship without the
vote. This status was obtained by moving to Rome. The Socii Italici-Italian allies were
those who were previously hostile to Roman influence but began to show interest in
becoming Roman.

While legal status didi keep subjects loyal
to Rome by 265 BCE Rome ruled all of Italy and continued to expand outside the Italian
mainland. This expansion would ultimately lead to the destruction of the Republic. The
imperial system required that a Roman governor be put in place for the purpose of
maintaing the political status-quo and coolect taxes and tribute. This led to corruption
from within and thus civil unrest within the city walls. Rome was severely overcrowed,
unemployment was high due to the amount to slaves within the
city.

Between 49-31 BCE the Gracchi brothers tried to
maintain stabilityby implementing a series of reforms but a series of slave rebellions
caused great havoc. This combined with the rise of the generals of the Roman army caused
the republic to fracture. Frankly, the Roman people and the Roman soldier began to have
more alligence to the generals of the army than the Senate. Generals Marius, Sulla,
Cinna, Pompey, Lepidus, and Caesar soon were elected as Consul, thus crossing the
politics of Rome with the military. Now elections went to the favor of the generals and
the generals began to consolidate power by the time of Octavian/Augustus the government
was a mere puppet, to the power of the Roman army.

Where would the Wife of Bath (from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales) be placed in Dante's vision of hell, in Dante's Inferno, by Dante Alighieri...

If I were to place the Wife of Bath, from Chaucer's
The Canterbury Tales somewhere in Dante's hell, it would be in the
second circle, that of lust.

We learn in The Prologue of
the Wife of Bath. She has been on several pilgrimages, having gone three times to
Jerusalem and once to Rome, among other places. She is first in line in her "parish" to
give her offering at church. While she goes through all the motions
of being a virtuous woman, and no one can fault her for her dealings with other people,
she is not "chaste" and demure, as a good wife or widow should
be.

The Wife of Bath has been married a number of
times:

She was
a worthy woman all her life;

Five times at the church door
had see been a wife...
(355-356)

Chaucer's
introduction of this character goes on to note...

readability="8">

Perhaps she knew love remedies, for
she

Had danced the old game long and cunningly.
(371-372)

What we learn in
The Prologue is that the Wife of Bath is no stranger to love or
marriage—long knowing that "dance"—and has been married several
times. However, the fact that these marriages do not include "other
company in youth," ...seems to indicate that not all of her
relationships have enjoyed the church's matrimonial
blessings.

In The Canterbury Tales, we
come to the Wife's tale. Before she begins to tell the story requested of her, she
informs her audience of fellow pilgrims that she married first when she was twelve. She
informs the company that she is looking for husband number six. (They have all died: the
inference is that she wore them out in the bedroom.) She says that God created people,
and created sex for them to enjoy. She enjoys it. As for marrying
again, she believes this is God's plan for her life: to marry. She also feels it is her
right to control the marriage, keeping her husbands off-balance by accusing them of
wrong-doings, in which case each does his best to convince her that she is wrong by
giving her many gifts. As a result, she is a woman used to getting her way, and is quite
wealthy as well.

The wife tries to illustrate the upside to
marriage. The Wife's story is about one of Arthur's knights who "ravishes" a woman and
is sentenced to die. The Queen intercedes and asks that she and the ladies of her court
deal with his punishment—and in doling it out, the youth must travel the land for a year
to find the answer to the question, "What is it that women truly
want?"

On the last day, he meets a hag who
will give him the answer if he gives her a wish. Agreeing, he
reports to the Queen that women want to have their own way, always,
with men. The hag wants the knight to marry her, which he does unwillingly. He complains
that she is old and ugly—he cannot bear it; but then his wife turns
into a beautiful young woman. There are several versions of this part of the tale: she
can be beautiful by day and ugly by night (or vice versa), or beautiful and unfaithful,
or ugly and faithful. Wisely, the knight leaves the choice to her, and he has a
beautiful and faithful wife all the time.

The Wife proves
(she thinks) that looks don't matter when it comes to
pleasing a man—her lure to securing another
husband.

Dante, dealing with a concept as tricky then as
now, characterizes that lust is not
love:

[For]
Dante the line separating lust from love is crossed when one acts on this misguided
desire...

As one of the
"capital" sins, the Wife of Bath would be sentenced to the second
circle of hell for the sin of lust, based on Dante's vision of
hell.

Help for how to handle untrained staff in the housekeeping department in the hotel industry. I mean, staff who are untrained and uneducated...

It sounds like you need to develop a training program or
procedure to address your concerns. Start by recording specific incidents - exactly what
happened, what is the complaint, what did the staff member do that was inappropriate? As
your list grows, you should be able to identify patterns that indicate the most common
problem areas.

Once you have an understanding of the most
frequent problems, you can start determining how to help your staff members respond more
appropriately to those situations. This may involve direct teaching of different ways of
acting; creating role-model demonstrations to help them see and hear other, more
acceptable approaches; providing advanced language instruction to help with
communication skills; giving more detailed orientation regarding the expectations guests
bring with them when they come to your facility; helping staff members to appreciate
that happy guests allow your hotel to continue to have business - which means they
continue to have a job!

integration of 1/t^3 square root of t^2-1 From square root of 2 to 2

We'll start evaluating the integral, using
substitution.

Let sqrt(t^2 - 1) =
u.

We'll differentiate both
sides:

2tdt/2sqrt(t^2 - 1) =
du

du =tdt/sqrt(t^2 - 1)

We'll
determine t:

u = sqrt(t^2 -
1)

u^2 = t^2 - 1 => t^2 = u^2 +
1

t^4 = (u^2 + 1)^2

We'll
re-write the integral:

`int` dt/t^3*sqrt(t^2-1) = `int`
tdt/t^4*sqrt(t^2 - 1)

`int` tdt/t^4*sqrt(t^2 - 1) = `int`
du/(u^2 + 1)^2

`int` du/(u^2 + 1)^2 = `int` (u^2 + 1 -
u^2)dt/(u^2 + 1)^2

`int` (u^2 + 1 - u^2)dt/(u^2 + 1)^2 =
`int` dt - `int` u^2dt//(u^2 + 1)^2

We'll integrate the
last integral by parts, using the formula:

`int` f*g' = f*g
- `int` f'*g

Let f = u => f' =
du

Let g' = u/(u^2 + 1)^2 => g = `int` udu/(u^2 +
1)^2

We'll determine g using
substitution:

u^2 + 1 = v => 2udu = dv => udu
= dv/2

g = `int` dv/2v^2 = -1/2(u^2 +
1)

We'll apply the formula of integrating by
parts:

`int` u^2dt//(u^2 + 1)^2 = -u/2(u^2 + 1) + `int`
du/2(u^2 + 1)

`int` u^2dt//(u^2 + 1)^2 = -u/2(u^2 + 1) +
(1/2)*arctan u + C

The result of integration of the
function is:

`int` dt/t^3*sqrt(t^2-1) = sqrt(t^2 - 1)
+  sqrt(t^2 - 1)/2t^2 - (1/2)*arctan [sqrt(t^2 - 1)] + C

To
determine the value of the definite integral, we'll use Leibniz Newton
formula:

`int`
dt/t^3*sqrt(t^2-1) = F(2) -
F(sqrt2)

F(sqrt2) = sqrt(2 - 1) +  sqrt(2 - 1)/4 -
(1/2)*arctan [sqrt(2 - 1)]

F(sqrt2) = 1 +  1/4 - (`pi`
/8)

F(2) = sqrt(2^2 - 1) +  sqrt(2^2 - 1)/8 - (1/2)*arctan
[sqrt(2^2 - 1)]

F(2) = sqrt 3+  sqrt 3/8 - (1/2)*arctan
[sqrt3]

`int`
dt/t^3*sqrt(t^2-1) = F(2) - F(sqrt2) =
sqrt 3+  sqrt 3/8 - (1/2)*arctan [sqrt3]- 5/4 + `pi` /
8

What is the general topic (theme) of The Color of Water?

I assume by "topic" you mean theme--in other words, what
is the primary message or focus of this book. The Color of Water by
James McBride is one man's journey to discover how, exactly, he fits into this world. He
is in search of his cultural identity. This is something most people kind of already
know or can generally figure out; however, James has many elements of his life which are
confusing to him until he is able to uncover his mother's life
story.

James grows up in the projects of New York, and his
identity as a black person is fairly well defined by the men in his life. His father was
a black man and so was his stepfather. There is no ambiguity to them. When it comes to
his mother, though, there are so many ambiguities and she flatly refusesto talk about
any of them with her children. It is James's nature that he needs to know her story in
order to make sense of his own.

First, she is not black but
presents herself as such in the way she talks, the way she behaves, and where she lives.
Despite being white, she clearly identifies herself with black women in ways that can be
seen. On the other hand, Ruth acts against the black stereotype by
insisting her children go to the best schools she can manage for them--almost always
white, and often Jewish. This does not fit with who Ruth appears to
be.

Second, Ruth is Jewish but raises her children as
protestants; her Jewishness is one of the ambiguities about her that James finds
unsettling. Third, she values family above all things and is adamant that her children
never speak about family matters outside of the family; yet, ironically, she never
speaks at all about her own family or about her time before marrying James's
dad.

All of these ambiguities are a consistent undercurrent
in James's life, and he is one of Ruth's only children to "act out" because of it. As he
finally gets his mother to speak to him, James is able to put the pieces together and
make some sense of his instincts and intuitions. Once he knows from where his mother
came, her rather odd behaviors make more sense to him and in turn help him make sense of
his own life.

All of these things are disconcerting to
James as he tries to understand his heritage; once his mother tells him the truths of
her life, James is able at last to reconcile his feelings with his
experiences. 

What is the importance of Manuela in The Elegance of the Hedgehog?

The importance of Manuela in Muriel Barbery's
The Elegance of the Hedgehogis that she serves as the connection
between the reader and the main character of Renee (Mdme Michel).  It is clear that
Renee holds a secret that intrigues just about everyone from Ozu, to Paloma, to us as
the reading audience. Manuela is the only person who knows that secret. She has been the
one person who has faithfully remained by Renee's side since prior to the death of
Renee's husband. After all, she is the typical matron maid of a lot of families in the
building.

The secret, as we know, is that Renee's sister is
violated by an employer of the upper class, and dies after giving birth. This situation
not only shamed the family, but increase and solidified Renee's prejudices against the
upper classes. The class system in France at this time is extremely snobbish and
separatist. Renee belongs to the lower part of the system. She feels as if she cannot
win for even trying. Manuela's support is the factor that eases Renee's inner
fears.

Therefore, Manuela is the link of Renee to her past,
her present, and her future.

What are the extremes of the function f(x)=x^3-3x^2+6?=

To determine the extremes of the function, we'll have to
verify if the function has critical values. The critical values of a function are the
zeroes of the derivative of that function.

We'll
differentiate the function with respect to x:

f'(x) = `3x^2
- 6x`

Now, we'll cancel the derivative's
equation:

`3x^2 - 6x =
0`

We'll factor 3x:

3x(x - 2)
= 0

We'll cancel each
factor:

3x = 0 => x =
0

x - 2 = 0

x =
2

The critical values of the function are x = 0 and x =
2.

Between these values, the function is decreasing,
therefore, the function will have a maximum point at x = 0 and a minimum point at x =
2.

We'll calculate the maximum and minimum
points:

x = 0 => f(0) =
6

x = 2 => f(2) = 8 - 12 + 6 =
2

Therefore, the extreme points of the
function are: minimum:(2 ; 2) and maximum:(0 ;
6).

What is the correlation between child abuse and crack cocaine use in the 1980s?

It is unlikely that there is a single number associated
with this phenomenon. Several studies have suggested that women who use cocaine are more
likely to harm or neglect their child. It is important to note that, particularly during
the 1980's, some states  prosecuted woman for child abuse when they prenatally used
cocaine, which could skew the results. If these cases were analyzed exclusively, the
correlation would be 1, because every case of prenatal cocaine use would result in child
abuse conviction.

However, this question refers to a
specific study or book chapter, it is unlikely that a consensus correlation estimate is
available.  Such estimates should be evaluated with extreme caution, as this data is
subject to numerous design errors and confounds.

Please translate Balthasar's speech from Act 5 scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet (lines 16-23).

Whenever you have to paraphrase certain parts of
Shakespeare plays, it is a really good idea to make sure you use an edition of the play
which provides a key to some of the more antiquated expressions or uses of words that
are difficult for the modern audience to understand. For example, in this speech of
Balthasar's, he says that he "presently took post to tell" Romeo about what happened
with Romeo, which refers to taking a post horse, that was a horse kept at an inn and
rented out to travellers. A good edition of this play will help explain such
anachronisms. Here is my translation of the lines you have
indicated:

She is well, so nothing can be
wrong.

She sleeps in the
mounment

But her spirit is now in
heaven.

I saw her placed in the tomb of her
family

And presently tried to go to tell you of
it.

Forgive me for bringing you this bad
news,

As you told me to do this for
you.

Hope this helps!

How is faith shown in Bless Me, Ultima in Chapters 9-12 and 17-20?

You might like to consider the following quote from
Chapter Nine of this great novel, when Samuel tells Antonio the story behind the golden
carp and reveals his own faith in this alternative deity to the Catholic God that
Antonio has been brought up knowing. Note how Samuel responds when Antonio asks him if
the golden carp is still here:

readability="10">

"Yes," Samuel answered. His voice was strong
with faith. It mademe shiver, not because it was cold but beause the roots of everything
I had ever believed in seemed shaken If the golden carp was a god, who was the man on
the cross?

In addition,
Chapter 17 includes reference to Antonio's faith in his God, but also the way in which
his faith is tempered by doubts in the form of questions regarding the existence of evil
in the world:

readability="9">

I sat on the hard, wooden pew and shivered. God
knows everything. Man tries to know and his knowledge will kill us all. I want to know.
I want to know the mysteries of God. I want to take God into my body and have Him answer
my questions. Why was Narciso killed? Why does evil go unpunished? Why does He allow
evil to exist?

Both of these
quotes relate to the theme of faith in this novel through exploring faith in alternative
deities. What shakes Antonio so much about Samuel's faith is that it is equal to his own
faith in Catholicism, and yet is a different religion and belief system. What does
Samuel's unshakeable faith mean about the identity of Jesus for Antonio? In the second
quote, Antonio expresses faith in God's ultimate knowledge, and yet his faith is
characterised by the limits of his own understanding of God. Faith in this incredible
novel seems to present us with alternative belief systems and different deities that we
are able to turn to as we choose in order to fill in the gaps of any one religion or
belief system. Faith is shown to not be something that must be placed in one religion
alone.

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, in what way is Huck's plan to escape from Pap a shrewd one?

The chapter in which Huck enacts his escape is Chapter
Seven, so you would do well to re-visit this chapter to remind yourself of the central
facts of Huck's plan. Let us just remind ourselves that Huck manages to escape the hut
where Pap has locked him, then conceals his manner of escaping. He then fakes a violent
entry and his own death to ensure that Pap and others will think he has been killed and
that nobody will bother looking for him, so he can be left in peace. Note how he does
this:

I took
the axe and smashed in the door. I beat it and hacked it considerable a-doing it. I
fetched the pig in, and took him back nearly to the table and hacked into his throat
with the axe, and laid him down on the ground to bleed; I say ground because it was
ground--hard packed, and no boards. Well, next I took an old sack and put a lot of big
rocks in it--all I could drag--and I started it from the pig, and dragged it to the door
and through the woods down to the river and dumped it in, and down it sunk, out of
sight. You could easy see that something had been dragged over the
ground.

Thus we can see that
the shrewd nature of Huck's plan lies in the way that he has conveniently done away with
himself, making it seem that he has been murdered and killed, therefore allowing him to
escape and to finally gain the freedom that he has desired for so long. Huck, after all,
could have just left the hut and ran away, but doing it this way means that he will not
be bothered by his father any more.

What is the meaning of the repeated words in the poem "When Words Don't Fit"?When Words Don’t Fit – A Multiple Meaning Words Poem I have such...

What a fun poem - it's new to me, and I thank you for
introducing me to it.

"Fit" means a tantrum, a period of
being upset, the first time it is used; the second time it refers to words that don't
follow a pattern. "Spring" first refers to a season of the year, then is used as a verb
to describe the deer bouncing about. "Might" indicates that perhaps the lions will want
to show their strength and power. "Swing" is first a verb for monkeys hanging and
swaying from a vine that acts like the playground piece of equipment children ride to go
back and forth. "Bear" is first a large animal, then something that cannot be tolerated.
"Pet" is the verb meaning to stroke something with your hand, then a general name for a
domesticated animal. "Mean" first is used to say the speaker does not want to be unkind,
then asks for the definitions of these words!

How do acids and bases affect a cell’s environment?

Chemical reactions happen in some conditions. Some
chemical reactions require acidic environment, while other chemical reactions need basic
environment.

We know that acid are donors of hydrogen ions,
while bases accept the hydrogen ions.

The acid-base
equilibrium is important to be kept to create the optimum biological environment for
living cells.

How can John Proctor's death serve to illustrate the meaning of the concept of The Crucible?

Proctor's death represents a couple of levels of meaning
that can apply to the play, in general.  Miller deliberately designed the drama to
center on Proctor.  He is to be the embodiment of the tragedy of Salem, the entire
premise of the "crucible."  Indeed, Proctor's test under which the most searing of heat
is applied resides in what he values.  Proctor's death makes it clear that one's name
and reputation is the only constant in a world of complete mutability and
change:

readability="8">

Because it is my name! Because I cannot have
another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the
dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my
soul, leave me my
name!

Proctor's death also
demonstrates how sacrifice for social change is an inevitable condition in the modern
setting.  Proctor reverses course in his "confession" because he understands how his
evasion of sacrifice will be twisted and manipulated by those in the position of power. 
He understands that while he is no martyr, he wishes to be in some level of control over
his name and identity.  In a setting where the corrupt have ascended power, Proctor
understands that compliance with such authority is a form of emboldening it.  It is here
where his death represents one of the strongest form of dissent and protest.  Proctor's
death is the embodiment of "the crucible," the test to which individuals are to face in
conditions where injustice masquerades as justice.

I think
that Proctor's death also represents a personalized form of "the crucible," as well. 
Proctor's death is the first time he acts with complete confidence and a sense of self-
assurance in his marriage.  His action is done to ensure that he can be seen as a good
husband to his wife.  The "goodness" to which Elizabeth speaks at the play's conclusion
is something that only arises from his death.  Proctor's death represents the ultimate
in sacrifice that a husband makes for his wife, his marriage, and the sense of dignity
with which spouses must see one another.  It is another "test" that burns marriages if
one fails it.  It is one that Proctor's death ends up upholding his at the end of the
play.

When the story opens, what are the forces acting upon Montag in Fahrenheit 451?

Montag is besieged by several forces at the outset of the
novel.  A couple of them are external.  The most evident force is one where Montag's job
is a force acting upon him.  As a fireman, Montag feels pride in acting in the name of
the state and burning books, whose possession the state deems illegal.  In this, the
force that is acting against Montag is the suposedly illegal activities of citizens who
harbor books.  To a certain extent, Beatty is another force acting on Montag, ensuring
that he is diligent in his work and believing in its authenticity.  As the novel opens,
Montag finds himself subected to an internal force of wanting to do the best job he
can.  Montag takes pride in his work and this becomes a force to ensure that what he
does is done well.  Once Clarisse enters the narrative, she becomes another force that
instantly acts upon Montag's purpose and what he does.   Clarisse's presence also is one
where an internal force is activated in Montag, wondering if what he is doing is
actually right or just.  Finally, Millie is a force that acts upon Montag in terms of
being able to conform to the standards of society.  Her desire to assimilate into
society as opposed to being separate from it is another force that acts upon
Montag.

Does this sentence about Flannery O'Connor have any grammatical errors? Does the sentence below have any grammar errors? I feel like it's a...

The first part of the sentence it seems to have words
missing; the first clause, "The factor of violence always presents in Flannery
O'Connor's stories," clearly is missing its predicate.  Perhaps, it should read, "The
factor of violence is always present in Flannery O'Connor's stories...." In addition,
you may wish to add a noun before the word which, thus providing an
antecedent for this relative pronoun.  Here is how that clause can be
revised:

The
factor of violence is always present in Flannery O'Connor's stories, and these acts of
violence contribute to the salvation or redemption of the main character, a action which
gives the message that for some people, salvation comes at a devastating
cost.

There is, of course, no
problem with the verity of this sentence. For, so often in O'Connor's stories, salvation
does come at "a devasting cost."  For instance, in O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to
Find," the grandmother must pay for her salvation with the lives of her son and his
family let alone with her own as she finally recognizes that she, like her captor, is a
sinner.  When she does recognize the Misfit, it is too late, as she is
shot.

Are the phrases "people are dumb" and "mean as hell" types of figurative language from In Cold Blood and are they adequate?

Metaphors and similes both compare two unlike things. 
However, metaphors use words such as, “as”, “was”, or “were”.  Similes compare the two
unlike items using the words, “like”, or “as”.

Therefore,
“she is mean” is not a metaphor.  However, “she is as mean as a snake” would be a
simile.  “She is a snake,” would be a metaphor.

These are
only two examples of figurative language.  There are other forms of figurative language,
such as hyperbole (extreme exaggeration), allusions (reference to something well-known),
and alliteration.

Best of luck!