How is the theme of discrimination prominent in the poem "The Ballad of the Landlord"?

In Langston Hughes's poem "The Ballad of the Landlord," an African-American tenant is complaining to the landlord about the repairs needed in his run-down apartment. The tenant has a leaky roof and broken steps, but the landlord does nothing to fix them. Instead, the landlord threatens the tenant with eviction, turning off the tenant's heat, and throwing him out on the street. These are all crimes on the landlord's part, but it is the tenant who is thrown in jail for threatening the landlord. The poem shows the effects of discrimination, as the African-American tenant is denied proper and well-kept housing but is jailed when he tries to complain. Society has deemed that the landlord, who is likely white, has the right to jail the tenant and does not have to provide sufficient housing to him.

How does Shakespeare use language for effect in Sonnet 18?

There are many ways in which Shakespeare manipulates language in Sonnet 18. The most obvious of these may be his extensive use of metaphor; that is, how youth and mortality are conveyed through natural motifs. Whereas "darling buds of May" (Line 3) and a lover who is "temperate" (Line 2) come to symbolize youth, "rough winds" (Line 3) and "shade" (Line 11) are associated with time, mortality, and death. Although the lover is like a spring day, s/he will eventually be "[shaken]" (Line 3) by the harsh reality of time. That is why the speaker decides to immortalize him or her in verse; in this way, the lover's "eternal summer shall not fade" (Line 9).

Another interesting use of language includes economic or financial metaphors. Indeed, the speaker notes that "summer's lease hath all too short a date" (Line 4), and that the lover will not lose all "possession" (Line 10) of his or her beauty. In this way, youth is compared to a commodity which is not infinite; ultimately, it will run out, and we will die. It is only through poetry that we have any chance of permanence in love. 

Thus, Shakespeare combines more esoteric metaphors (that is, from nature) with more practical or daily ones (that is, from finance). This clever intermingling of spheres adds to the uniqueness and power of the poem. Shakespeare reaches beyond the abstract, and brings his poetry into "real world" situations. 

We can also note that Sonnet 18, like all Shakespearean sonnets, is written in iambic pentameter, and consists of 14 lines. Its rhyme scheme (abab cdcd efef gg) creates musicality. Also, we should note that Sonnet 18 makes use of a volta, or turn; in the final couplet, the speaker reinforces his belief that love and poetry can be eternal ("and this gives life to thee" [Line 14]). This is just one example of how Shakespeare's structural choices enhance his poetic language.

What kind of information could you include in a news article about the arrival of Mr. Bingley in town in Pride and Prejudice?

In general, let me suggest that you're not limited to writing about only the details included in the text of the novel. For instance, you might start by describing how the neighborhood families are excited to meet Mr. Bingley and form a friendship with him, and about how his attendance is expected at the upcoming ball. You might also describe how Mr. Bennet has already gone out to meet Mr. Bingley and form a friendship with him. But then, you can freely imagine more about what the characters are thinking.

You know how news articles often include statements from people involved in the story? Try including some of these: just think about how each character usually talks, and make up some statements for that character. You can also include details about who that person is, and how that person moves as he or she speaks. Here's an example: "Asked what she thought about Mr. Bingley's arrival in town, Mrs. Bennet, a frazzled mother of five daughters and the lucky neighbor of Mr. Bingley, reported that she was 'overwhelmed with excitement' regarding the new neighbor. 'Yes, yes, my girls will certainly be getting to know Mr. Bingley very well in the coming weeks, I expect!' she said, shaking out her shawl and inspecting it for imperfections. 'And my youngest daughter Lydia, being so tall, will certainly capture Bingley's eye at the ball! Yes, you can write that down! The other ladies of Hertfordshire don't stand a chance!'"

Aside from writing about Mr. Bingley's arrival and the other characters' reactions, you can also give background information about him. You know how news articles often start by telling the immediate story, and then they get more general, giving background information about what had happened before or what else is related to the issue? Do that, too! You can include some details about Netherfield, the estate where Mr. Bingley lives. Or, describe the details of the upcoming ball which Mr. Bingley is expected to attend. Who else is rumored to be in attendance? Where will it be held? etc.

For more ideas, refer to the first three chapters of the novel, where you'll find more information about Bingley and the neighborhood's anticipation of, and reaction to, his arrival.

How does the Chief Elder describe Jonas's assignment?

The Chief Elder describes Jonas's assignment as a selection, unique from all the other assignments given that day. He has been selected to be the next Receiver of Memory. This is a very rare selection since the current Receiver of Memory will only have one successor.

She notes that the rule states that Jonas's training cannot be overseen or changed during the process by her or her colleagues on the Committee. Jonas will be set apart from the community while the current Receiver trains him to be the next Receiver. While training and becoming the Receiver is extremely painful, Jonas will be the most honored person in the community if he succeeds.

The chief Elder ends by detailing the five essential qualities a Receiver must have: intelligence, integrity, courage, the ability to acquire wisdom, and the Capacity to See Beyond. The Chief Elder is unable to describe the Capacity to See Beyond because she does not understand it, but she says that the Receiver has identified Jonas as someone who has this capacity.

What does Ken ask the oracle?

When the Egypt gang gets the idea for the Oracle of Thoth, there's a bit of competition between April and Toby regarding how the process will work. Toby's plan is selected by the children as the best way to go about it. According to his plan, a question for the oracle will be hand-written and placed in the beak of Thoth (the stuffed owl) without anyone else seeing it. The children will leave without finding out what the question was; the next day, they will see if Thoth has delivered an answer. The lot falls to Ken to ask the first question, which is ironic, because he is the one who is the least interested in the game and the oracle. However, he comes up with a question and leaves it in the owl's beak overnight. When the children assemble the next day, April acts as high priestess. She reads Ken's question, "Will I be a big league star someday?" Surprisingly, when she turns the paper over, an answer has been scrawled on the back. The answer is, "Man is his own star, and that soul who can be honest, is the only perfect man." The children are astounded and mystified as to how the answer came to be there. Later, Toby reveals that he sneaked back to Egypt overnight and wrote the answer--which he had found in a book of familiar quotations.

How does Mrs. Joe's tragic end represent the Victorians' abuse of women?

In Victorian England, the role of women was a bit of a paradox. On the one hand, they were seen as “the angel in the house,” a phrase from a poem of the same name by Coventry Patmore published in 1854. In this poem, the woman is presented as the center of the home, around whom both husband and children rotate. The woman is placed on a pedestal and always protected from the unpleasantries of life.

In reality, the role of a woman was one in which she was in constant labor, unless she was very wealthy and had servants to do all the hard work. She was viewed as physically and mentally unable to do much thinking, and so was relegated to being a wife and mother. If she failed to marry, she was placed under the “protection” of her nearest male relative.

Women in Victorian England were at the mercy of men and had few rights. While Dickens presents women of varying personalities, they were still subject to abuse by husbands and others with little recourse. Mrs. Joe and Estella are both victims of physical abuse. Mrs. Joe was beaten savagely, eventually dying from the consequences of her injuries. Though Mrs. Joe was unpleasant, Dickens grants her some measure of redemption in the change in her personality as a result of her tragedy. Estella was beaten by her husband, Bentley Drummle, a nemesis of Pip’s. Though this "discipline" might have been more common and acceptable in Victorian England than it is now, it is obvious that Dickens presents all such instances as the work of villains. Like his depiction of children, Dickens reveals women to be victims of the injustice of their time. It was one of many aspects of society that Dickens wished to see reformed.

Who are the main characters in The Wednesday Wars?

The protagonist of the book is Holling Hoodhood, a seventh grader at Camillo Junior High in Long Island during the 1960s. He thinks his teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates him, and he has to spend Wednesday afternoons with her because he does not go to Hebrew school or Catechism like the other students. Mrs. Baker is a strict teacher whose husband is sent to fight in Vietnam, but she turns out to be a very caring person. The other main characters are Holling's sister, Heather, who is an idealistic hippie, and his tuned-out parents, Mr. Hoodhood (an architect) and Mrs. Hoodhood. Holling's nemesis is Doug Sweiteck, a fellow student who is troublesome and has an older brother. Holling also spends time with Meryl Lee Kowalski, who has been in love with Holling for a number of years.

Why is it a sin to kill a mockingbird according to Miss Maudie?

Atticus tells the children that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Scout and Jem go to Miss Maudie's house to ask her about it. They would like to know what her opinion is on the topic. Miss Maudie tells the children that she agrees with their father. She explains that mockingbirds do good things. They do not bother anyone or anything. Instead of being bothersome like some birds, mockingbirds sing beautiful songs to bring joy to people. Miss Maudie talks about all the things that mockingbirds do not do:

"They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 10).

A mockingbird represents innocence in the story. Boo Radley is compared to a mockingbird by Scout because he does not harm anyone. Instead, he brings joy to the lives of Scout and Jem. In the end, he saves their lives.

Why does Eckels want to go back in time in "A Sound of Thunder?"

Eckels wants to be able to shoot and kill a dinosaur: something he could hardly do without traveling back in time. He has made arrangements with the business called Time Safari, Inc.., and is paying $10,000 for the experience. The year is 2055. This is Eckels’ first foray into time travel. It’s unclear whether or not he has hunted animals before. But obviously the chance to see and kill a Tyrannosaurus rex has grabbed his interest. As soon as he enters the Time Safari office, however, his nerves are already starting to get the better of him. Once the time machine takes the hunting group back to the prehistoric age and landscape, his apprehension quickly grows to terror. Killing a dinosaur isn’t quite as easy or as fulfilling as he expected.

What changes are associated with each ritual or milestone in The Giver?

Each December Jonas’s community celebrates the advancement of all children.  It’s kind of like everyone has a birthday on the same day.  During each ceremony, all children born during a year advance to the next year and celebrate some kind of milestone.  There is usually a gift involved.  The gift highlights the changes that the children will be undergoing.

For example, the first ceremony takes place during the first December of a child’s life.  Assuming the child makes it to December without being released, he or she will be given a name and assigned to a family.  All babies are created through artificial means and given to foster families to raise until they reach adulthood.  They are raised in an institutional setting until this first ceremony. 

The Ceremony for the Ones was always noisy and fun. Each December, all the newchildren born in the previous year turned One. One at a time--there were always fifty in each year's group, if none had been released --they had been brought to the stage by the Nurturers who had cared for them since birth. (Ch. 2) 

Most of the other early ceremonies are pretty boring, usually just involving new clothing.  As the children grow, they are given new clothing at the ceremonies that demonstrates their new level of development.  Jonas describes the ceremonies as boring.  At Seven, they get a jacket with a “row of large buttons” down the front instead of the back, to help them be more independent.  At Eight, children are given a jacket with pockets, so they can begin carrying their own possessions. 

At Nine, the children are given a bicycle.  This is one of the more significant gifts, because it is exciting and also symbolic of their newfound freedom.  No one in the community has cars.  All adults ride bikes, so the bike makes them more adult.  Children are not really supposed to know how to ride them, but they all secretly learn how before the ceremony. 

At Ten the children get more adult haircuts, to show they are growing up. The ceremony for Eleven is pretty boring too.  It consists of new clothing for the children’s developing bodies.  There is a hint of sexism here too, since the boys have pockets for calculators but the girls do not. 

The Ceremony of Twelve is very important.  At this ceremony, the children are assigned their job for life.  No one in Jonas’s community picks their own job. 

During the past year he had been aware of the increasing level of observation. … He knew, too, that the Elders were meeting for long hours with all of the instructors that he and the other Elevens had had during their years of school. (Ch. 2) 

Jonas is quite surprised during his own ceremony when he is skipped.  It turns out that his assignment is very rare.  He is to be Receiver of Memory.  This is the person who keeps all of the community’s memories and helps advise it on important decisions.

How can I write an essay in three paragraphs that describes and portrays Johnny Cade as being a hero in the novel The Outsiders?

I would begin your essay by describing the characteristics of a hero, and mentioning how those same traits are portrayed in the character of Johnny Cade from the novel The Outsiders. In the first paragraph, I would write about Johnny's troubled childhood and background, as well as comment on how he was viewed as everyone's younger brother in the gang. You could also mention Johnny's unique ability to listen and understand each person's struggles. I would suggest you connect his capacity to help others with a hero's goal to aid society.

In the following two paragraphs, I would discuss how Johnny specifically saves various people's lives throughout the novel. Begin by describing how Johnny saves Ponyboy's life by stabbing Bob Sheldon, which prevents Ponyboy from drowning. Then, discuss how Johnny plans on turning himself into the authorities. Johnny's selfless act and decision to do the right thing correlate with how a hero would make the morally conscious decision. I would then describe how Johnny courageously enters the burning church and saves the group children trapped inside. Also, comment on how the media portrays Johnny as a hero in the newspapers.

In the final paragraph, describe the scene where Johnny tells Dally that fighting is useless and says, "Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold..." (Hinton 126). Also, include what Johnny says in the letter he writes to Pony found in Chapter 12. Johnny mentions that saving the children was worth it, describes what he meant by telling Ponyboy to stay gold, and also encourages Ponyboy to tell Dally to look at a sunset. Johnny's message to Ponyboy is his way of attempting to save Ponyboy from a meaningless existence. In his letter, he also ventures to save Dally's life by sharing the positive aspects of the world with him. Johnny's selfless personality and willingness to risk his life for others can be described as heroic.

What are at least two traits of Hazel Grace?

Hazel Grace Lancaster, the protagonist of The Fault in Our Stars, is presented as a relatable yet profound character who is negotiating her relationship with life, death, and cancer. We gather that Hazel is intelligent, or at least very self-motivated, as she is already enrolled in college courses at the age of sixteen. Hazel is also very mature, but sadness ages a person in certain ways. Hazels' sense of self-awareness and morality is surprising to many people who meet her. For example, Augustus' parents are surprised when Hazel explains that she is a vegetarian because she wants to minimize the amount of suffering she causes in the world. I think that Hazel could also be described as brave. She is not afraid to speak up when she disagrees with someone and had the courage to go all the way to Amsterdam to meet her favorite author. 

How does the point of view in "Lamb to the Slaughter" change?

Over the course of Roald Dahl's "Lamb to the Slaughter," the point of view is always third person limited. We as readers are told about events from Mary's point of reference for the entirety of the story. She is spoken about in third person, but we learn about her emotions as though she is the one telling us how she feels.

As the story progresses, though, Mary's point of view does change. Initially, she is in disbelief over Patrick's announcement, but after killing him behaves very calmly as she goes about deciding her next steps. She wisely decides to go to the store and talk to the grocer about her plans for making Patrick dinner that night, which will give her an alibi for why she could not have killed her husband.

Upon returning home, though, Mary suddenly behaves as though she really is discovering Patrick is dead for the first time. She becomes very upset and cries. This is likely because Mary is just now fully realizing that she killed her husband. In that way, it could be argued that Mary's own perspective changes throughout the story.

How did Macbeth destroy Scotland?

Macbeth destroys Scotland, first, by killing the country's compassionate and noble king, Duncan. Under Duncan's rule, people were rewarded for their good services, and the country seemed to prosper, even seizing victory in two wars at once. After Macbeth takes over, however, people are made desperate by fear, hunger, and poverty, presumably because Macbeth hoards everything good for himself. The Lord with whom Lennox speaks in Act 3, scene 6, says that, with Malcolm's help, people might once "again / Give to [their] tables meat, sleep to [their] nights, and / Free from [their] feasts and banquets bloody knives, / Do faithful homage, and receive free honors, / All which we pine for now" (3.6.37-41). Therefore, we can understand that Macbeth's rule has devastated Scotland and her people in myriad ways.

Ross says something similar when he speaks with Lady Macbeth in Act 4, scene 2: "cruel are the times when we are traitors / And do not know ourselves; when we hold rumor / From what we fear, yet know not what we fear, / But float upon a wild and violent sea / Each way and move [...]" (4.2.22-26). He says that men are accused of treason and do not even know why, that so many rumors circulate that one knows not what to fear nor what is even true, and that the country feels adrift in every way. This was not so during Duncan's reign, and so Macbeth's corruption, greed, and paranoia appear to have devastated Scotland.

How were Buck's feelings for Thornton different from his feelings for his previous masters?

Buck feels a strong connection with Thornton, his final master, and is deeply devoted to him. This is new for Buck: toward his previous masters, Buck had felt a kind of angry revulsion. If Buck obeyed his previous masters, it was because he had to. But Buck obeys Thornton out of a genuine wish to please him and protect him.

As Buck's first real masters after he was kidnapped from the Judge's house, Perrault and Francois are reasonable with Buck. Still, they're the reason for Buck's harsh new lifestyle, and even if he holds a thin respect for these men, Buck certainly doesn't love or admire them.

Compared to Perrault and Francois, Hal and Charles are terrible masters: cruel and greedy, with unrealistic expectations of how far the dogs should run and how little they should eat. Toward these inexperienced and vile men, Buck feels only irritation and outrage. His entire experience with them leaves Buck more jaded and exhausted than ever:

Late next morning Buck led the long team up the street. There was nothing lively about it, no snap or go in him and his fellows. They were starting dead weary. Four times he had covered the distance between Salt Water and Dawson, and the knowledge that, jaded and tired, he was facing the same trail once more, made him bitter. His heart was not in the work, nor was the heart of any dog. The Outsiders were timid and frightened, the Insiders without confidence in their masters.

You can tell that things will be different with John Thornton when he steps in rescue Buck from the beatings that the cruel Hal and Charles are inflicting:

The last sensations of pain left him. He no longer felt anything, though very faintly he could hear the impact of the club upon his body. But it was no longer his body, it seemed so far away. And then, suddenly, without warning, uttering a cry that was inarticulate and more like the cry of an animal, John Thornton sprang upon the man who wielded the club.

Buck even licks John's hand on that day, a rare sign of affection. It doesn't take long for the bond between the dog and this man to grow into genuine love:

Love, genuine passionate love, was his for the first time. This he had never experienced at Judge Miller's down in the sun-kissed Santa Clara Valley. With the Judge's sons, hunting and tramping, it had been a working partnership; with the Judge's grandsons, a sort of pompous guardianship; and with the Judge himself, a stately and dignified friendship. But love that was feverish and burning, that was adoration, that was madness, it had taken John Thornton to arouse.

What narrative point of view is used in "Speaking of Courage" and what is a narrative point of view?

Narrative point of view refers to how the narrator (or person telling the story) is positioned in relation to the actual story itself. Narrative point of view is interesting to consider in The Things They Carried, as our narrator seems to be Tim O'Brien himself, recounting things that happened to him or his friends and comrades during and after the Vietnam War. Though the stories are sometimes far removed from O'Brien's personal experience (such as when he recounts a story he heard someone tell, which that person heard from a third person), the fact that the narrator claims to be the same person as the author suggests an authenticity and realism and allows the reader to consider O'Brien's life as part of the novel. 

In the story "Speaking of Courage," the narrative point of view is third person limited. The narrator is not a character in this particular story, and so uses third person pronouns (he, him, his) to talk about the story's protagonist, Norman Bowker. As narrator, he knows what Norman is thinking and feeling. This is interesting in this novel, because the narrator is not some outside character, but Bowker's friend (and author of the book) Tim O'Brien. Later in the book, O'Brien even talks about receiving a letter from Bowker asking him to write the story. By acting as narrator and character in his own book, O'Brien blurs the line between reality and fiction, contributing to a major thematic question of the novel: what is truth? 

Where did the people in the North work and live?

In the years leading up to the American Civil War and during the war itself, the eastern United States was generally divided into two regions.  These regions were the North and the South.  The North had big cities, industrialism, and a larger population.  The South was rural with smaller cities and less people.  Agriculture was the foundation of the South's economy.

In the North, there were many factories.  In the South, there were very few.  Manufacturing was important to the economy in the North.  Textile factories were common, but there were also manufacturers who produced leather, wagons, weapons, and other items.  Some towns and cities were centered around factories.

Many people lived in cities in the North.  Often, poorer people lived in crowded tenement buildings.  There were farmers in the rural North, but not as many as in the South.  Other people lived in small or large towns near large cities.  Some resided in rural towns.

In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, which rhetorical devices does Antony use in his funeral speech for Caesar?

Antony uses a rich variety of rhetorical devices to make a powerful and effective speech. The ones I list here are used not only in his initial address, but throughout his other disquisitions to the crowd as well.

Repetition and anaphora:

Friends, Romans, countrymen,

Instead of using just any one of the three forms of address, Antony uses all three at once. This affirms not only his kinsmanship but also his loyalty and faith in those whom he speaks to. It is a powerful tool and is also referred to as 'the power of three.' The repetition immediately grabs the restless crowds' attention and affirms his position as a friend and a leader.

The repetition is also aptly employed in his consistent referral to Brutus and the other conspirators as 'honourable.'

Synecdoche: A part of something which is used to refer to the whole

...lend me your ears;

Antony wants the crowd to pay attention and listen to him. By referring to their ears, he is actually alluding to them in their entirety.

Antithesis: The creation of a contrast

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

By creating a contrast in stating his purpose in making a speech, Antony is making the crowd aware that his act is one of humility and reverence. He does not want to offend the crowd so early in his speech, especially after the cynical statements Brutus had made about Caesar concerning why he had to be killed. His words are still fresh in their memories and Antony is careful not to contradict Brutus and earn the crowds' resentment for trying to defend what they believe was an unscrupulously ambitious leader.  

Zeugma: The application of a word to two others in different contexts.

it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it.

Antony cleverly uses the word grievous to, firstly, state that Caesar had made a terrible mistake and, secondly, that he had paid the ultimate price therefore. In the same instance, he also suggests his own grief that his friend had to suffer such harsh punishment. This, in itself, is a form of innuendo.

Sarcasm: meaning the opposite of what one actually says, in a bitter, resentful, or spiteful manner. 

For Brutus is an honourable man;
So are they all, all honourable men--

At first, the use of 'honourable' in Antony's references to Brutus and the other conspirators seems complimentary, but his repetitive use of the term after each moment in which he contradicts what Brutus has said, gives it a jarring and disturbing sense. The crowd gradually catch on to Antony's sarcastic tone and are soon swayed by his emotional rhetoric. 

Alliteration: A number of words which have the same initial consonant sound are used in a line or in a phrase or series.

He was my friend, faithful and just to me:

Antony utilises the repetition of the f-sound to emphasize the close relationship he had shared with Caesar, further suggesting that he trusted the murdered general and did not perceive him as a threat either as an individual or to Rome.

Fallacy by association or illogical conclusion: Stating that because someone has done something good or bad, implies that everything about him/her is the same. 

He hath brought many captives home to Rome
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?

It does not naturally follow that because Caesar had generated money for use by the general public, he was not also ambitious. The one does not necessarily exclude the other. 

Rhetorical questions: A question in which the answer is self-evident and, therefore, does not require a response.

I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?

Antony uses this device throughout his speech. It obviously sets the crowd wondering whether Caesar was really as bad as Brutus made him out to be. Antony creates doubt in their minds which finally turns into the conviction that the general had been wrongly accused and, therefore, his death was an act of murder. 

Apostrophe and metaphor:

O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,...

In apostrophe, Antony addresses judgment as if it is a real person. It is, however, an abstract concept. Using this device, he makes his speech sound more emotional and dramatic. The use of 'brutish beasts' is a direct reference to the horrific act performed by Brutus and his co-conspirators. It was a savage, malicious act all in the name of justice. He is questioning the conspirators' judgment and suggests that it was faulty.

The power of Antony's emotional speech drives the crowd into a frenzy and they later go out, thirsting for blood and revenge. Their desire to kill the conspirators is so overwhelming that they even kill innocents, such as the poet Cinna, who shares a name similar to one of the assassins. He is killed for his bad verses.

What are nine traumatic events in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian?

Among others, trauma is one of the major themes of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Trauma seems to be a reality of life for Junior, and everyone around him has had at least one traumatizing experience. 

Beginning with Junior, we know he was born with hydrocephalus and a number of craniofacial abnormalities. Though Junior survived his birth defect, it left him with lasting impairments. Junior's birth and resulting impairments have been physically traumatic for him and emotionally traumatic for both Junior and his parents.

Another example of trauma Junior faces is the harshness of poverty. In one particular event, Junior's father must kill the family dog because they cannot afford to take it to the veterinarian.

Junior is picked on for his physical appearance and introverted personality. At an annual powwow, a group of local boys attack Junior and beat him up. Later that year at Halloween, Junior is attacked for a different reason. Three boys beat him up because they consider Junior a traitor for choosing to go to the "white school" off of the reservation.

Junior's best friend Rowdy experiences regular trauma at home. His parents are addicted to alcohol and often fight. To escape the violence at home, Rowdy spends a lot of time with Junior.

Penelope, a girl at Reardan High who Junior has a crush on, has bulimia and vomits in the school bathrooms. Eating disorders are an example of ongoing and self-inflicted trauma.

Junior's sister Mary has moved away and become addicted to alcohol. One night, she and her boyfriend are so drunk that they do not wake up when their trailer catches fire. Junior and his parents are devastated.

In addition to Mary's death, Junior's family is dealing with the loss of his grandmother. Even though she never drank alcohol, his grandma was killed by a drunk driver.

In the growing list of deaths, Junior's father's best friend was shot by someone who was so drunk that they cannot remember the incident. The man hangs himself while in jail.

Though this seems like a very heavy and depressing list of events, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is woven with comedy and tells a very relatable story of life at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Author Sherman Alexie does a very good job of presenting a wide variety of traumas, from ten-second happenings to years of turmoil. Many authors present trauma as a one-off event that leads directly into recovery. In reality, our lives may be fraught with trauma.

What is a good thesis statement about To Kill a Mockingbird with the theme of racism?

A thesis is the main statement of an essay that controls the direction the writer will take while writing. It informs the reader about the specific theme and details to be discussed. One way to write a good thesis statement is to present the chosen theme by using direct language. Then, follow it up by adding three supporting details listed thereafter. For example, if the theme is racism as presented in To Kill a Mockingbird, think of three events that demonstrate racism or three characters who either dish it out or have to take it. Then, list those events or characters right after the thesis statement. The examples listed with the thesis statement will then be discussed in further detail in the body of the essay. Below are a few examples:

1. The people of Maycomb who exhibit racist behaviors are Mrs. Dubose, Mrs. Merriweather, and Bob Ewell.

With this thesis statement, the writer establishes that racism does exist in Maycomb, which is the theme, and then lists three examples of characters who demonstrate it in the novel. The essay would then explain in detail what those characters say or do.

2.  People in the town of Maycomb, Alabama show their racist attitudes by not hiring Helen Robinson when her husband is in jail, attempting to lynch Tom Robinson before the trial, and convicting him for a crime they know he didn't commit.

An essay written from the example above accuses groups of people for demonstrating their racist attitudes because a black man is charged with allegedly raping a white woman. However, these groups create specific events that can be referred to in the book as evidence for the essay. 

Why is Scout the narrator in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Scout is the narrator because having a child tell the story adds an element of interest and makes it a coming of age story.

Harper Lee used a child narrator because it allows for additional layers to the text.  The Scout that is telling the story is not the child Scout, but an adult version.  In this way, she can look back on how she felt as a child but also have the understanding of an adult.

Child narrators are known as unreliable narrators.  An unreliable narrator tells things from a slanted perspective.  We also consider narrators who are reflecting back over time unreliable.  Scout seems to have two marks against her.  However, as a narrator Scout is very entertaining.  She is humorous, precocious, and insightful.

Scout is the perfect narrator for this story because she is Atticus Finch’s daughter.  This gives her inside information on the trial, but also allows us to follow the Boo Radley plot line.  In many ways, Boo Radley is directly connected to the events of the trial.  In this way, it is good to have Scout narrating because as she grows up she comes to better understand Boo Radley.

Boo Radley is important because he rescued Scout and Jem.  This is related to the Tom Robinson trial because the reason the children were in danger was that Bob Ewell was angry at Atticus. If we had not had Scout’s perspective on Boo Radley as she was growing up, this incident would not be as meaningful.

Scout is the narrator instead of Jem because she is younger.  This makes her coming of age and growing consciousness more interesting.  For example, Scout is afraid of Boo Radley for most of the book.  After he saves them, she looks back at her life from his perspective.

Summer, and he watched his children’s heart break. Autumn again, and Boo’s children needed him.

Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough. (Ch. 31)

Scout is an excellent narrator because she is genuine.  She is not lying to the reader or trying to sugar-coat things.  The Tom Robinson case was the trial of the century for Maycomb.  Reading about it from the point of view of a young girl who happens to be the daughter of the lawyer is a great touch.

Why did Truman Capote write "A Christmas Memory"?

Truman Capote is known for powerful works of fiction and non-fiction, including his most famous investigative work In Cold Blood, which became a best seller. Capote's talent for observing sensory details and capturing characters makes his writing very compelling.

That talent is obvious in this short memoir, first published in a collection with the novel Breakfast at Tiffany's, Capote's second most famous work. In this story, Capote recounts memories of celebrating Christmas as a young boy with his elderly cousin. Like In Cold Blood, certain details in "A Christmas Memory" are embellished, and that is perhaps what makes the story even more interesting. It has been called "semi-autobiographical" and functions as a window into this interesting writer's background.

Because Capote was fairly openly gay during a time when homosexuality was often kept secret, his sensitive recounting of the events of his childhood helps us understand the writer's deep need to tell his own story. Despite growing up in poverty, Capote went on to know wealth and fame. This story conveys his humble beginnings and the loyalty he feels to his elderly cousin, who understood him better than his closer family members. The story may in part be a memory of this relationship, but also of a way of life that Capote left behind when he became a famous writer who lived a life of luxury and sophistication.

Define Alloy. Give an example for an Alloy and it's use.

An alloy is a homogeneous mixture of two or more elements. With at least one of the elements being a metal. Alloys are created to impart desirable properties such as hardness and corrosion resistance to a base metal.

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc and bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. Some other common alloys are carbon steel, stainless steel, white gold, sterling silver and pewter.

An alloy is not a compound because it doesn't have a fixed ratio of elements. Its composition can vary. 

An example of an alloy having properties not found in its constituent metals is the bronze bell. Bronze has been used to cast bells and cymbals since ancient times because of its acoustic clarity and resonance. A bronze bell, when struck, produces a lengthy tone.

Alloys are produced by heating metals to a temperature than mobilizes the atoms so that they mix. Molten mixtures of metals can then be cast into shapes or cooled and milled. 

What do the oxygen canisters symbolize in Into Thin Air?

The oxygen canisters are symbolic of life. 

Perhaps you have heard somebody use the phrase "breath of life" or "breathe new life."  In Krakauer's book Into Thin Air the oxygen canisters are not a metaphorical breath of life.  Those oxygen canisters are very literally a breath of life for the men and women climbing Mt. Everest.  

High altitudes are dangerous.  Mt. Everest definitely counts as a high altitude mountain.  That is especially true since the last little bit of the climb is through the "Death Zone."  That zone is anything above 8,000 meters.  It's known as the Death Zone because the oxygen amount in the air is so low that a human body is quite literally dying at that altitude from lack of oxygen.  The air at sea level contains roughly 20% oxygen, but at the top of Mt. Everest, the air holds less than 7% oxygen.  

With that little oxygen available, the human body runs all kinds of risks.  High altitude pulmonary edema and high altitude cerebral edema are two of the most severe risks.  Hypoxia is another common risk, and it is the risk that Krakauer and many of the climbers suffered from.  Hypoxia is oxygen starvation to the brain.  One of the early signs and symptoms of hypoxia is severe confusion.  I've attached a video of a hypoxia demonstration.  Watch how quickly confused the person becomes after less than four minutes at 25,000 feet without supplemental oxygen.  In the book, Krakauer wrote over and over again about how concerned he was about his oxygen consumption rate.  He knew that without supplemental oxygen being fed to his system, he would likely die on the mountain.  

By that point, entire sectors of my cerebral cortex seemed to have shut down altogether. Dizzy, fearing that I would black out, I was frantic to reach the South Summit, where my third bottle was waiting.

That's why it was such a huge blow to Krakauer and the other climbers when Andy Harris reported that all of the stashed oxygen containers at the South Summit were empty.  

But Andy Harris, still at the oxygen cache, in-the throes of his hypoxic dementia, overheard these radio calls and broke in to tell Hall-incorrectly, just as he'd told Mike Groom and me-that all the bottles at the South Summit were empty.

Unfortunately, Andy Harris was suffering so severely from hypoxia that he incorrectly read the oxygen gauges on all of those bottles.  They were in fact full.  Had Andy Harris not been suffering from oxygen deprivation, he would have been able to correctly tell the other climbers that oxygen was waiting.  Had that happened, Rob might have been able to successfully bring Hansen down the Hillary Step. But with no oxygen, there didn't seem to be much hope at life.  As I said earlier, the oxygen symbolizes life.  

How long ago did Mourad steal the horse in "The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse"? What was his response to Aram's question?

According to the story, Mourad stole the horse a month ago. However, Aram didn't find out about it until the morning Mourad showed up with the horse at Aram's bedroom window.

When Aram realized that Mourad had been taking early morning rides for quite some time, he began to question his cousin. Aram wanted to know when Mourad stole the horse. However, Mourad sidestepped the question with his own question: 'Who said anything about stealing a horse?' Basically, Mourad didn't want to admit his culpability for the theft of the horse. To him, it was imperative that a member of the Garoghlanian family should never be accused of theft.

We only find out that the horse has been missing for a month because of John Byro's visit to Aram's home.

Then another visitor arrived, a farmer named John Byro, an Assyrian who, out of loneliness, had learned to speak Armenian. My mother brought the lonely visitor coffee and tobacco and he rolled a cigarette and sipped and smoked, and then at last, sighing sadly, he said, My white horse which was stolen last month is still gone. I cannot understand it.

In the end, because of John Byro's magnanimity, Mourad and Aram quietly return the horse to the farmer's barn.

"The four functions of management in a health care setting are planning, leading, organizing, and controlling. These functions provide the basis...

1) Planning: Planning requires engaging in environmental scanning, or understanding the conditions of the organization, combined with setting long-term goals and/ or short-term objectives for the organization to meet based on these conditions and making plans for how to meet those goals. Whether working in a for-profit or non-profit setting, planning is needed to make sure the future of the organization remains bright. A good planner in the healthcare environment knows which areas it is most important to look ahead in. In the healthcare setting, goals could be created for better information systems, patient care, or office management—all of which should lead to greater efficiency, greater productivity, better optics/ PR, and ultimately more profits or funding.

2) Leading: Healthcare is a difficult profession, and medical professionals working in a managed setting need good leadership and guidance. Doctors need to be able to trust their needs will be met and that concerns about things like equipment, staff, or scheduling will be heard. It is absolutely critical for nurses and techs to feel heard and well-led in this setting, as they often feel overlooked. Having a strong and understanding leader guiding the "lower-level" employees will ensure they remain committed and attentive to their jobs. A good leader is one who will help make the long hours and difficult cases worth it.

3) Organizing: An organizer needs to be able to design their setting so their plans can be carried out properly. In healthcare management, this could include things like developing new jobs, redesigning current jobs to improve vertical integration, or increasing or reducing specialization of job assignments to improve productivity within departments. 

4) Controlling: Almost nothing is more important in healthcare than making and meeting standards. Standards are absolutely critical for the safety of both the staff and the patients. An effective healthcare manager must have a very, very strong understanding of both standards of patient care (including front office rapport, bedside manner, effectiveness with social workers) and basic standards of medicine itself, such as being able to understand if lab techs are getting sloppy or if a doctor is making a number of misdiagnoses. 

x^2+6x-7/x^2+1 greater or equal to 2

We are asked to solve the inequality `(x^2+6x-7)/(x^2+1)>=2`

We can multiply both sides by x^2+1 since it is positive for all x:

`x^2+6x-7>=2(x^2+1)`

`x^2+6x-7>=2x^2+2 `

`x^2-6x+9<=0 `

`(x-3)^2<=0 `

Since the square of a real number is nonnegative, this is true only at x=3.

The solution is x=3.

The graph:

``

Note that the graph approaches y=1 asymptotically"

Why were the US and the Soviet Union unable to agree on the number of warheads and strategic bombers and the disagreement about the way in which...

One of the central tools used for analyzing this kind of conflict is game theory. The central premise of game theory is that decision-making agents (in this case, national governments) are in competition and act in their own self-interest. This isn't always a good approximation of human behavior, but during the Cold War it seemed to fit the conflict between the US and USSR quite well.

Both the US and the USSR wanted their ideology and way of life to spread throughout the world, but more importantly they didn't want their people to be killed in nuclear war. So at first thought, one might think that both nations should agree to disarm nuclear weapons and thereby avoid the worst outcome for everyone.

But many leaders of both nations felt that getting rid of their own nuclear weapons would be bad, because it would undermine their secondary goal of spreading their way of life. Essentially, if one nation had vastly more nuclear weapons than the other, it would have the power to act with impunity in achieving its global ambitions. But since both nations were trying to have more nuclear weapons than the other, the result was that both nations had a huge and roughly equal number of nuclear weapons, making them strictly worse off than if they'd just somehow agreed to produce no nukes at all. This is what in game theory is called a Prisoner's Dilemma; each agent acting in their own self-interest results in an outcome that is worse for everyone than if all agents had somehow agreed to cooperate.

You can also extend this theory to the question of deception; if one nation  can make the other nation think they have far fewer nukes than they actually do, then they could establish a strategic advantage while pretending to disarm together. Then they could suddenly pull open the curtain and reveal their total nuclear dominance, forcing the other power to capitulate. So both nations now have an incentive not only to build more nuclear weapons, but to do so in secret. But conversely, they also have an incentive to conduct inspections and establish punishments for creating nuclear weapons in secret---because they want to do it, but they don't want the other side to do it.

As a result, it was in each nation's self-interest to push for disarmament and inspections, but also in each nation's self-interest to find a way to structure the disarmament and inspections so that they could get away with producing nukes in secret. This tension is why there was such fierce disagreement over the precise terms of the treaty and how they would be enforced. The US wanted to establish inspections that would be hard for the USSR to escape, while the USSR wanted to establish inspections that it could escape easily; and vice-versa.

Zaroff refers to the shipwrecked sailors as "specimens" instead of "men." Why would Zaroff do that?

Zaroff calls the shipwrecked sailors that he hunts "specimens," because he doesn't consider them human men anymore.  They are simply game targets to be hunted down and killed for his personal pleasure.  

Let's look at the definition of "specimen."  

an individual animal, plant, piece of a mineral, etc., used as an example of its species or type for scientific study or display.

That is a great definition when considering Zaroff.  A human being is an animal.  There are six kingdoms of classification, and humans have to fit into one of them.  We are not either of the bacteria kingdoms.  We are not fungi, protists, or plants either.  Humans are animals.  To Zaroff, a human just happens to be his favorite animal prey to hunt. 

The final part of the definition is also important.  A specimen is a single example of the entire species.  Its purpose is either for study or display.  Zaroff's trophy room has many specimens on display.  

About the hall were mounted heads of many animals--lions, tigers, elephants, moose, bears; larger or more perfect specimens Rainsford had never seen.

I am a little surprised that Zaroff doesn't have a human on display, because he most definitely is not using the sailors for scientific study.  The sailors are targets for him to kill and "hold up" as trophies on display.  Each sailor that he holds prisoner is a specimen to Zaroff, because each human prey is representative of the larger human species that he now enjoys hunting more than anything else. 

What are the similarities between Lincoln's, Johnson's, and Congress's plans for Reconstruction?

There were very few things that were similar about these three plans. Lincoln's plan had evolved by his death to include such measures as voting rights for African-American war veterans, so this was a major departure from Johnson's plan. Overall, Congressional Reconstruction featured a much greater emphasis on equality for freedmen in the South, and the federal government played a much more prominent role in making this happen. Such measures as the Freedmen's Bureau, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and the administration of the former Confederacy by military governors featured in Congressional Reconstruction, which was promoted by a faction of so-called "Radical" Republicans. Johnson vetoed congressional legislation aimed at establishing these measures. The main feature that these plans for Reconstruction all shared was an acceptance that slavery had to be abolished and that the Southern states, or at least their leaders, had to renounce the Confederacy and swear allegiance to the Union in order to regain admission. But Congressional Reconstruction was far more attentive to the rights of African-Americans than Johnson's vision for Reconstruction.

When inflation is perceived to be a greater problem than unemployment, the government can run a budget surplus, helping slow down the economy. Do...

While I agree with the statement in theory, I would argue it is unlikely to ever happen in real life. Let us examine the reasons for each part of this statement.

According to Keynesian economic theory, it is absolutely a good idea to run a government surplus in boom times.  When the economy is booming, it is much easier to run a surplus because tax receipts increase and the government does not have to spend as much on programs like unemployment benefits. In addition to it being easier to run a surplus, it is also a good idea. In good economic times, economists generally worry about the prospect of demand-pull inflation. In this situation, people have more money because they are working more. Since they have more money, they can demand more goods and services and can afford higher prices. These factors can lead the economy to “overheat,” which leads to excessive inflation.

If the government runs a surplus, it reduces the chances of rapid inflation. When the government runs a surplus, it increases taxes and/or decreases spending. This, in essence, takes money out of the hands of consumers. Now that consumers don’t have as much money, their demand for goods and services does not increase as much. This makes inflation less likely. For these reasons, it makes good economic sense for a government to run a surplus during boom times.

I do not think that this is very likely to happen, however.  Governments are typically not very willing to raise taxes.  Voters hate having their taxes raised, even in good times.  This restrains governments from implementing tax hikes. In addition, most people do not really want the government to spend less. People may think some government programs are wasteful, but they like the government programs that benefit them. This makes it hard to cut spending. Moreover, when times are good, government officials and others often feel the government should do more. Since there is plenty of money in that moment, they feel that the government should create more programs to attack more problems. People generally support this because those programs will help them in some way.

What all of this adds up to is a situation in which it is very difficult for the government to actually run a surplus, even if that would make good economic sense. Therefore, while I agree with the economic logic of this statement, I do not believe it is likely to happen very often.

What type of conflict does Brother experience as he battles with himself between love and hate for Doodle, and between longing for a normal brother...

In “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, Brother experiences internal conflict as he struggles with his relationship with Doodle. Internal conflict occurs in the psyche of a literary character. The resolution of the conflict creates suspense and purpose in the plot of the story. In comparison, external conflict pits a character against an outside force such as a natural disaster or another character.

Brother struggles with disappointment when Doodle is unable to live up to Brother’s vision of the perfect companion. Doodle is born with developmental disabilities severe enough for the family to question whether he will live. Brother goes as far as to plan ways to cause Doodle’s death. His pride interferes when he realizes Doodle is not going to die, and he is able to respond to the family.

To resolve the internal conflict, Brother pushes Doodle past his expected physical limits by teaching him to walk, row a boat, and swim. Unfortunately, the attempt to resolve Brother’s internal conflict ultimately leads to Doodle’s demise.

Was Julius Caesar too ambitious?

Julius Caesar had great political ambitions and also arrogance, and for this he was assassinated. 

Caesar created his fate through a variety of choices that caused his political opponents to worry that he was getting too powerful. The first and most obvious is the war with Pompey.  Caesar marched his army across the Rubicon and to Rome, threatening tradition and the political order.  Not only that, he succeeded.  Many senators and patricians were horrified that Caesar would cross that line (literally and figuratively). 

Shakespeare reminds us of all of this and sets the stage with the craftsmen and Marullus and Flavius.  They chastise the workmen for celebrating Caesar when he has defeated Pompey, another Roman. 

Wherefore rejoice? What conquest brings he home?
What tributaries follow him to Rome,
To grace in captive bonds his chariot-wheels?
You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!
O you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome,
Knew you not Pompey? (Act 1, Scene 1) 

The political campaign against Caesar gains ground with each authoritative move that Caesar makes.  Caesar is so powerful, bold, and arrogant that the senators begin to fear that he wants to make himself king.  Their fears seem confirmed with the small crown Mark Antony presents to Caesar during the Feast of Lupercal.  Caesar refuses it, but that does not lay the matter to rest. 

Was Caesar a tyrant?  Except for the act of war against Pompey, there really is not a lot of evidence to that fact.  The senate was placating Caesar with one hand and vilifying him with the other when he accepted statues, holidays, minted coins, and even demigod status.  The truth is that the senators were running scared.  Caesar had a strong following, especially among his soldiers.  He had the people’s support, and that made him dangerous.  It was enough to get him killed.

Did the French lose the Battle of Agincourt because of poor leadership?

Aside from poor leadership, there are a number of reasons why the French lost the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. According to the testimony of one eyewitness, Jehan de Wavrin, the son of a Flemish knight, the French occupied a poor position on the battlefield. As a result, it did not matter that there were considerably more French troops than English:

The French had arranged their battalions between two small thickets…The place was narrow, and very advantageous for the English, and, on the contrary, very ruinous for the French, for the said French had been all night on horseback, and it rained, and the pages, grooms, and others, in leading about the horses, had broken up the ground, which was so soft that the horses could with difficulty step out of the soil.

In addition, Wavrin tells us that the French wore so much armour that movement was almost impossible. (See the reference link provided).

Another reason for the French defeat comes from their choice of weapon. The French archers, for example, used the crossbow while the English used the longbow, a very different type of bow. The longbow could fire more arrows per minute, for instance, and reach a target over a far greater distance. This gave the English archers a considerable advantage on the battlefield and caused chaos among the French foot soldiers and horses. 

What are Richard Matheson's writing style, intention, and purpose in I Am Legend?

I Am Legend stands out in American literature because Richard Matheson manages to combine two previously separate genres in a unique and subversive style. He blends gothic horror (which was considered a dead genre at the time) and science fiction in order to comment on themes of societal change and evolution.

In developing this new “pulp” style, Matheson’s purpose seems to have many layers. On the surface, his purpose is to entertain his readers with engaging prose. Upon more careful examination, Matheson’s deeper purpose seems to be to tell a cautionary tale about what can happen when societies and individuals fail to adapt to changing times. This warning can be charted by following Matheson’s intent throughout the novel. Humanity caused the vampire mutation, resulting in a consumptive hive-mind that destroys the human race. Robert Neville fails in his efforts to restore the humanity of his vampire test subjects. When Ruth offers Neville a chance to be a part of a new society that manages its mutations with medication, Neville chooses death instead. It is implied that the new world order will be run by this “third” set of people evolved from humans and vampires.

On a meta-stylistic level, Matheson demonstrates that two separate genres can evolve into a successful “third” as well. He seems to ask his audience to embrace change and be willing to take risks in order to help literature and society evolve in a positive direction.

Why did Leigh write to Mr. Henshaw in the sixth grade in Beverly Cleary's Dear Mr. Henshaw?

Beverly Cleary's Dear Mr. Henshaw opens with Leigh in lower grades but mostly covers his whole sixth-grade year. Throughout his sixth-grade year, Leigh writes to Mr. Henshaw multiple times on multiple occasions.

The letter Leigh writes to Mr. Henshaw at the start of his sixth-grade year, dated September 20th, informs us that his sixth-grade teacher has assigned the class to write reports on authors. Since Boyd Henshaw is Leigh's favorite author, Leigh decided to write his report on Henshaw and has written to ask him interview questions. The problem is, Leigh should really be doing his research for his report in the library; therefore, Mr. Henshaw does not take his questions seriously and does not respond in time for Leigh to include Mr. Henshaw's answers in his report. When Mr. Henshaw does respond, all he gives Leigh are joke answers, such as that his "real name is Messing A. Round" and he doesn't "have kids because [he] doesn't raise goats." He also asks Leigh a series of his own questions, though. Even though Leigh doesn't want to answer Mr. Henshaw's questions because he is angry about Mr. Henshaw's responses, most of the rest of the letters Leigh writes to Mr. Henshaw throughout his sixth-grade year are answers to the questions.

Through the rest of his letters to Mr. Henshaw that year, we learn a great deal about Leigh, such as the following: Leigh is an average student of average looks and height; his parents have recently divorced, and he moved with his mother from a mobile home outside of Bakersfield, California to a small cottage in Pacific Grove, California, right by the beach; his father is a truck driver; his mother works part-time for a catering company owned by her friend and takes community college courses to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse; he is frequently lonely; and his father often breaks his promises to phone him.

How does the change in heat equal work done? In a numerical my teacher said that delta Q = W. How?

According to the first law of thermodynamics, heat, internal energy and work are related by the following expression:

Change in internal energy = heat added to the system - work done

or `DeltaU`  = `DeltaQ` - W

where W represents the work done by the system. 

In simple terms, when heat is added to a system, the internal energy of the system changes and/or it does some work. 

There can be cases where the internal energy is conserved and cannot be changed. In such cases, 

delta Q = W

That is, the change in heat is equal to work done by the system, since change in internal energy is zero. In other words, if we add heat to such a system, it will do work. On the other hand, if the system does work, it loses heat. 

An example of such a system is an ideal gas in an isothermal process (temperature is constant). In such a system, the change in internal energy would be zero and the change in heat will be equal to the work.

Hope this helps. 

What examples in the text show that Hally and Sam's relationship is unstable in "Master Harold". . .and the Boys?

In "Master Harold". . .and the Boys, the most forceful symbol of the instability in Hally and Sam's relationship is the moment when Hally spits in Sam's face.  This moment illustrates the racial privilege that Hally realizes he has over Sam.  When Hally was a young boy, he didn't appear to be aware of the racial separation required by law.  Hally frequently went to Sam and Willie's room to hide from his mother.  Sam acted as a father figure to Hally when Hally's own father was too ill, too drunk, or too mean to serve as an appropriate role model.  As Hally got older, the stable relationship between him and Sam slowly became shakier as Hally learned about his own privilege as a white person in South Africa.  In earlier parts of the play, Hally tells Sam and Willie that they need to stop fooling around and get back to work, which signifies the current instability in the relationship.  Hally is not the men's employer--he's just a seventeen-year-old kid who feels like he can boss the men around.  So, these are moments that suggest the instability in the relationship between Sam and Hally.

Why is the Louisiana Purchase so important?

The Louisiana Purchase was very important to the early history of the United States. The western farmers depended on using the port of New Orleans to ship their goods to market. They also needed to store their goods there until they could be shipped. When France cut off our right to use the port of New Orleans and to store goods there, the western farmers were very concerned.

The Louisiana Purchase accomplished several things. First, we were able to double the size of our country for $15 million. This helped our country grow and develop. Second, the Louisiana Purchase allowed our farmers to again use the port of New Orleans. This agreement sent a message to our people and to other countries that we would stand up for ourselves if another country tried to push us around. Third, the Louisiana Purchase sent a message to the people of the West that the government cared about them. Since many of these people lived in remote areas, it would have been easy for the government to ignore them and their needs. By working on their behalf to meet their needs, it showed them that the government cared Americans, no matter where they lived. This, in turn, helped the people in these regions remain loyal to our government.

The Louisiana Purchase was very important to our country for many reasons.

 

How is George Orwell's Animal Farm a satire of the Russian Revolution?

Looking at the characters in Animal Farm is important in understanding how the book satirizes the Russian Revolution. Orwell has deliberately created characters who are based on real figures from the Revolution and we can see this from the very beginning. Old Major, for example, who makes his stirring speech to the animals in Chapter One is based on Karl Marx, the revolutionary thinker and economist. Notice how the pigs transform the content of Old Major's speech into a social system called Animalism. This is a satire of Communism, the system created by Karl Marx which emphasises the exploitation of the working classes and argues that a revolution is the only way to bring about social and economic equality.

Similarly, consider the character of Snowball. One of the leaders of the Rebellion, Snowball is based on Leon Trotksy, a major figure in the Russian Revolution. Just like Trotsky, Snowball provided the ideological framework of the Rebellion. Moreover, his conflict with Napoleon mirrors that of Trotsky with Stalin. Trotsky was expelled from the Soviet Union by Stalin, just like Snowball was run off the farm by Napoleon after he declared his plans for the windmill. 

How does Elizabeth Proctor represent integrity in The Crucible by Arthur Miller?

Elizabeth Proctor is representative of integrity because, as her husband says, "In her life, [...] she [has] never lied."  There are people who can't sing or cry, he continues, but she cannot lie.  Therefore, we know her to be incredibly honest.  (Although she does, then, lie to the court, she does so to protect her husband's good name and preserve his reputation: as Hale says, "it is a natural lie to tell.") 

More importantly, however, is that in the end, when her husband is wrestling with his own soul, she remains silent on her own view or what she would do while he tries to make up his mind about whether to confess a lie and live or refuse to lie and die.  She does not attempt to coerce him either way because she understands that he has to make this decision, a decision that involves his own integrity, by himself.  She says, "It is not my soul, John, it is yours."  Further, she insists that "There be no higher judge under Heaven than Proctor is!"  She tries to hold John up emotionally, insisting that she will support whatever decision he makes.  Her loving and unconditional support of him in this moment shows her integrity.

Then, although it was John that was unfaithful to her, Elizabeth now claims some responsibility for the problems in their marriage.  She says, "I have sins of my own to count.  It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery."  Her willingness to take responsibility for her part in their issues shows her integrity as well. 

`int (x+5)/sqrt(9-(x-3)^2) dx` Find the indefinite integral

We have to evaluate the integral `\int \frac{x+5}{\sqrt{9-(x-3)^2}}dx`

Let `x-3=u`

So, `dx=du`

Hence we can write,

`\int \frac{x+5}{\sqrt{9-(x-3)^2}}dx=\int \frac{u+8}{\sqrt{9-u^2}}du`

                         `=\int \frac{u}{\sqrt{9-u^2}}du+\int \frac{8}{\sqrt{9-u^2}}dx`

    Now we will first evaluate the integral: `\int \frac{udu}{\sqrt{9-u^2}}`

Let `9-u^2=t`

So, `-2udu=dt`

Hence we have,

`\int \frac{udu}{\sqrt{9-u^2}}=\int \frac{-dt}{2\sqrt{t}}```

               `=-\sqrt{t}`

                `=-\sqrt{9-u^2}`

Now we will evaluate the integral`\int \frac{8}{\sqrt{9-u^2}}du`

`\int \frac{8}{\sqrt{9-u^2}}du=\frac{8du}{3\sqrt{1-(\frac{u}{3})^2}}`

                  `=8sin^{-1}(\frac{u}{3})`  since we have the identity

`\frac{d}{dx}(sin^{-1}(\frac{u}{a}))=\frac{1}{a}.\frac{1}{\sqrt{1-(\frac{u}{a})^2}}`

So finally we have the result as:

`\int \frac{x+5}{\sqrt{9-(x-3)^2}}dx=-\sqrt{9-u^2}+8sin^{-1}(\frac{u}{3})+C`

                         `=-\sqrt{9-(x-3)^2}+8sin^{-1}(\frac{x-3}{3})+C`

                          ``

How did America’s desire to make Japan an ally lead to the ANZUS Treaty?

Australia and New Zealand were very concerned about defense and security after World War II.  Communism was 'winning' in many countries of East Asia.  The United States seemed to focus on securing Europe and West Germany more than it was with interests in the Pacific.  Japan, in the eyes of Australia and New Zealand, was a threat to their interests and security.  The island nation of Japan had previously launched a campaign of aggression in the region and had bombed Australia.  For this reason, Australia and New Zealand were not completely in agreement with the conciliatory tone being presented by the United States towards Japan.  The United States, on the other hand, saw Japan as a potential ally in the fight against communism in the East and wanted to rebuild it with a Western-style government and economy.  To ease the fears of Australia and New Zealand after the United States ended its occupation of Japan in 1952, formal talks were held to establish a security alliance between the three countries.  

In Of Mice and Men, what does the death of Curley's wife foreshadow?

Lennie's final isolation is foreshadowed by Curley's wife's death. The young woman who shares her faded dreams with Lennie and her sense of frustrated solitude dies at the hands of a man who has his own dreams. As Candy realizes right away, that dream dies when Curley's wife dies and, for Lennie, this death will result in being cut off from society for good. 

We can see the idea of Lennie's impending exposure to a world outside of society at the end of the death scene in the barn. After Lennie partially covers Curley's wife with hay, he hears the sound of the horseshoe game and "For the first time Lennie became conscious of the outside." Immediately, he begins to recall the escape plan and tell himself to go hide in the brush, evoking his early notions of running away to live in a cave. Lennie is no longer part of society.

While this ultimate isolation takes the form of actual death for Lennie when he is killed by George, part of the power of this turn of events is in its surprise. So, although Curley's wife's death foreshadows Lennie's fate, it does not explicitly indicate Lennie's death. Rather, the murder foreshadows the death of a dream in a way that lets us see Curley's wife's "disappointment speech" as applying perhaps to the whole cast of characters in the tale. 

When she is killed, we know immediately that Curley's wife's death will trigger a few predictable responses and will shape Lennie's doom. The reader understands that George was aware something like this could happen. That is why the he and Lennie make a contingency plan early in the story, agreeing to meet by the Salinas River if anything should go wrong. 

Curley's animosity toward Lennie now is provided with legitimacy, making Lennie a real target of violence.

Lennie himself realizes that the hope for owning a ranch with George and Candy is now lost. This is what he worries about as he reaches the river and waits for George. 

In the odd conversation that Lennie has with himself in his fright (as he talks to a giant hallucinatory rabbit), Lennie worries that George will be upset with him and beat him. 

The rabbit speaks to Lennie's harsh, socialized awareness of what he has done, warning Lennie of the worst. 

"If you think George gonna let you tend rabbits, you're even crazier'n usual. He ain't. He's gonna beat hell outa you with a stick, that's what he's gonna do."

Lennie replies with self-reassurance, saying that George wouldn't do that because "he ain't never raised his han' to me with a stick. He's nice to me."

In this instance, we have a complex and ironic piece of foreshadowing that suggests George will do what is "nice" or right for Lennie when he arrives. In shooting Lennie, George is arguably proving Lennie right and proving the giant rabbit right as well. 

There is no more safe place for Lennie in society now. And this is effectively what Curley's wife's death means for Lennie. 

Rukmani describes her garden in vivid detail in the story. Why might she do this? What does this tell readers about how she feels about her garden,...

In the story, Rukmani reminisces about her young married days. She describes her garden in vivid detail and recalls how proud her husband was of her industry. In describing her garden in detail, Rukmani illustrates her diligent and persevering nature.

When Rukmani married, she was a young girl of twelve. Then, fearful of what marriage would hold for her, Rukmani remembers how lonely she had felt. She had married an impoverished farmer and had been disappointed when she first saw her married home. It was merely a mud hut and small for its size. However, her husband, Nathan, had been full of love for her. Rukmani remembers how grateful she was to have married a man who thought her beautiful despite her plain looks.

Under Nathan's loving care, Rukmani blossomed into a woman who enjoyed her nights of passion with her husband and who was thankful for the life she led. She describes her garden in great detail to illustrate how, under Nathan's encouragement, she was able to step beyond her comfort zone. Essentially, her garden became a symbol of her personal growth and of her contributions to their welfare. Her industry and tenacity were further exhibited through her ability to grow pumpkins, brinjals (eggplants), chilies, beans, and sweet potatoes for their own use. As she remembers, her garden was a point of pride for her, and it was partly made possible through Nathan's lavish praise and encouragement.

What are reasons to ban The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn aside from its use of the n-word?

Although the use of the n-word is a significant reason why many schools banned The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, one could offer several other valid reasons why the novel should be banned. There are many adult themes throughout the novel; for many young readers, Twain's portrayal of a violent, racist, and immoral society is too explicit. Pap is an alcoholic gambler who physically and verbally abuses Huck and dies a violent death. Several other characters also die violent deaths during the Grangerford and Shepherdson family feud. Also, Twain's satirical view of society can seem upsetting to various individuals. Twain portrays Southerners as immoral and unintelligent hypocrites. His satirical perspective on Southern life can be offensive to those who live in that region of the country.

Why was there no place for Native Americans in the West after the Civil War?

After the Civil War, more Americans went West.  Many Southerners, their lives ruined by the war, looked for fresh starts in the Western states.  Many African-Americans went North looking for factory jobs, but several also looked West of the Mississippi for a land that might possibly have less discrimination.  More Americans took advantage of the Homestead Act of 1862, which meant that someone could own land only by living on it and making improvements.  Congress allocated money for the Transcontinental Railroad project; the railroad was completed at Promontory Point in 1869.  Soon, there would be other branch railroads linking to this and other transcontinental railroads.  The railroads employed millions of workers and these workers often needed professional buffalo hunters.  In addition to killing all their food supplies, Americans moving West also looked at taking the West's resources.  Miners rushed from claim to claim, looking for silver and gold.  Cattlemen treated Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas as their own pastureland until homesteaders came and fenced the area for their own.  The U.S. also saw increased immigration from Europe after 1865--these new immigrants often preferred the West because the railroads sold them the land cheaply and advertised it heavily in the Old World.  Due to economic development and the growing U.S. population, the Native American lost land quickly.  

Why was the Battle of Gettysburg a turning point in the American Civil War?

The Battle of Gettysburg was an important turning point because it ended with the repulse of the final major invasion of the North by Confederate forces. General Robert E. Lee brought his Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania hoping to score a major victory on Union soil, a development that he thought would bring the war to an end and achieve Confederate independence. Of course, the Confederate forces were defeated at Gettysburg, and from then on, the Army of Northern Virginia was on the strategic defensive. 

Another reason the battle was such a significant turning point was that the Confederates, already stretched for manpower, suffered horrific casualties, particularly on the third and final day of the battle. Lee's army suffered over 28,000 casualties, over one-third of his pre-battle strength. These losses proved difficult to replace for the Confederacy, unlike the Union, which suffered similar losses but drew from a far superior base of manpower.

Finally, timing made this a particularly devastating blow for the Confederacy. The battle ended in Union victory on July 3, 1863. One day later, the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi surrendered to a Union force under General Ulysses S. Grant. This gave the Union Army complete control over the Mississippi River, severing the Confederacy in two. While there was still much bloody fighting to do, the fact that Gettysburg and Vicksburg occurred in such rapid succession made the defeat at Gettysburg all the more devastating, both in terms of morale and strategically.

Which characters die in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird?

Two characters die during Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird: Tom Robinson and Bob Ewell. Tom Robinson is shot while trying to escape the prison yard in which he's held after the trial, and Boo Radley kills Bob Ewell when the latter attempts to kill Scout and Jem in the school yard. Of the two, Tom's is the more tragic death. It's implied that he doubts that the white justice system will ever find him innocent, and so he tries to escape as a last effort to win his freedom. One of the most heartbreaking points in the book, Tom's death succinctly symbolizes the brutally unjust oppression of racism. Bob Ewell's death, on the other hand, is a little easier to handle. Ewell already proved himself to be a villain on the witness stand during the trial, and his attempt to murder Scout and Jem to wound Atticus solidifies his antagonistic status. As such, his death at the end of the novel seems relatively just, even if it's still grim.  

In Shakespeare's Macbeth, how do Macbeth and Lady Macbeth change roles?

Immediately after Duncan's murder, Macbeth seems overwhelmed by his guilt, while Lady Macbeth seems immune to it.  He begins to panic because he could not, physically, pronounce the word "Amen," and he interprets this as the result of his complete loss of God's blessing.  She tells him, "These deeds must not be thought / After these ways; so, it will make us mad" (2.2.45-46).  Lady Macbeth is afraid that if they dwell on the murder and all the possible repercussions, it will actually drive them insane.  Likewise, Macbeth fears that he will never be able to sleep peacefully again because he murdered Duncan while the king was asleep.  Finally, he claims that there is not enough water in the ocean to cleanse his hands of Duncan's blood: "this my hand will rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine, / Making the green one red" (2.2.79-81).  However, his wife claims that "A little water clears [them] of this deed" (2.2.86).  She seems utterly without guilt over what they have done.

By the last act of the play, though, Lady Macbeth is seen sleepwalking as a result of her guilty conscience.  Whereas Macbeth once thought that he would not be able to sleep peacefully, it is now she who cannot.  She said then that she only needed a little water to put the deed behind her, but now she says that "All / the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little / hand" (5.1.53-55).  She warned Macbeth not to dwell or else he would go crazy, and it becomes clear that she's been dwelling on the murder and it has driven her mad.  She imagines that Duncan's blood is still on her hands and that she cannot get the "damned spot" out (5.1.37).  Macbeth, on the other hand, has become as ruthless as Lady Macbeth once tried to be, even arranging for the murder of innocent women and children in a show of power.

Why does the family have a thanksgiving celebration on the island in The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss?

In The Swiss Family Robinson, the Robinson family has a feast of thanksgiving on the island as a way to celebrate the fact that they have managed to survive on the island for an entire year.  This happens about midway through the book, in Chapters 22 and 23.

Towards the end of Chapter 22, the father of the family has woken up early and is lying in bed thinking about how long they have been on the island.  He discovers that the next day will mark the anniversary of the day when they landed.  As is often the case in this book, the father’s thoughts turn to religion.  He says that

My heart swelled with gratitude to the gracious God, who had then granted us deliverance, and ever since had loaded us with benefits; and I resolved to set tomorrow apart as a day of thanksgiving, in joyful celebration of the occasion.

To celebrate the occasion, the family first listens as the father reads from his journal to remind them of some of the dangers they have been through and from scripture to remind them that they owe their survival to God.  After that, the boys engage in a number of contests. The boys compete in such things as shooting, archery, climbing, and running.  The parents give them gifts as prizes for their efforts and the father gives the mother a gift as well.  There was a feast of some sort, but it is not really described.

The Swiss Family Robinson is, in many ways, a book that is meant to inculcate the Christian faith.  The thanksgiving feast is one incident in which this is done.  The feast happens because the father wants to celebrate the anniversary of their arrival on the island and to remind them to be grateful to God for delivering them.

In Lyddie by Katherine Paterson, what happens when Lyddie goes to sign the petition? What is her reaction?

Lyddie goes to sign the petition for better working conditions in Chapter Nineteen.  By the time this chapter rolls around, Lyddie is already feeling fairly depressed.  In the previous chapter, Charlie tells her that their family farm has been sold.  He also tells Lyddie that the Phinneys want to take care of both Charlie and Rachel.  The result is that Lyddie is left feeling utterly alone.  Without her family and the farm, she feels lost.  She feels as if her work no longer has a purpose.  If Lyddie signs the petition, it offers her a goal and some purpose again.   

When Lyddie goes to sign the petition, she is told that she is too late.  The petition has been sent in.  Lyddie's reaction is utter devastation.  She feels that all of her efforts have been too late.  She wasn't able to sign the petition in time, she wasn't able to earn enough money to buy the farm back in time, and she wasn't able to provide enough care for Rachel in time.  Lyddie's general feelings of being lost and purposeless only increase after discovering that she is too late to sign the petition.  

What is a good thesis statement about social inequality in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird?

This is a great question, as social inequality is one of the most important themes in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. While it's important that you come up with your own thesis (as I'm assuming you're writing a paper on the topic), I'll get you started with some pointers. If I were writing a paper on social inequality in Mockingbird, I would focus on the ways in which poverty and race play into it. 

In the novel, there is plenty of inequality between white characters. Usually, this inequality is centered on income. The Ewells, for instance, are a family with a bad reputation, a history of poverty, and, as a result, a low social status. The Finches, on the other hand, have a history of wealth, land ownership, and a certain social respectability. It's true, of course, that Atticus Finch's family is not rich; however, they are relatively wealthy when compared with the Ewells, who are miserably poor. As such, we can see that social inequality in Maycomb is often based on the history of one's wealth. That said, even the poorest white citizens are regarded as socially superior to the most respectable black citizens. In that case, it's clear that social inequality is created not only through poverty, but also through systematic racism.

All in all, a thesis might be written as follows: Social inequality in Maycomb is reinforced by both poverty and racism, with poor, black residents being considered inferior to all other residents. That said, I would encourage you to think about the topic and create your own thesis statement based on your own analysis. Mockingbird is a tremendous novel, and reading it is a truly important experience.  

In "The Pit and the Pendulum," what happened to the narrator at the end of the first paragraph?

At the end of the first paragraph, the narrator swoons.  

If you are like my students, they do not immediately know what "swoon" means. It means to faint, to lose consciousness, to pass out, and/or to black out.  

The reader does not know for sure that the narrator has lost consciousness until the reader reads the first sentence of the second paragraph.  At the start of that paragraph, the narrator flat out announces that he "had swooned."

Swooning does carry a slightly different connotation than a simple passing out.  When a person swoons, it is often because of an emotional overload.  Having the narrator swoon at the end of the first paragraph makes perfect sense, because the narrator has just been sentenced to death.  From the moment that his death sentence is pronounced, the narrator starts to lose touch with reality.  He admits that he no longer hears specific words. 

The sentence -- the dread sentence of death -- was the last of distinct accentuation which reached my ears. After that, the sound of the inquisitorial voices seemed merged in one dreamy indeterminate hum.

By the end of the paragraph, the narrator is hallucinating and wishing for death. 

And then there stole into my fancy, like a rich musical note, the thought of what sweet rest there must be in the grave.

His mind simply can't handle everything that is going on, so he swoons.  

What words in the sermon's title suggest the emotional focus of Edward's message?

From what I can see, the words "sinners" and "angry" suggest the emotional focus of Edward's message.

Edwards is focused on drawing attention to the inevitability of divine wrath and the fate that awaits the wicked. So, on one hand, we have divine anger, and on the other hand, we have wicked men who choose to ignore warnings to repent. Edwards wants to address what he considers the righteous, divine anger of an offended God and also the people he considers in danger of igniting that divine wrath.

To underline his point, Edwards asserts that God will not long tolerate the devices of wicked men. He maintains that "there is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment, out of Hell, but the mere pleasure of God." Edwards points out that the hands of men can't protect them against the hand of God: "There is no want of power in God to cast wicked men into Hell at any moment. Men's hands can’t be strong when God rises up: The strongest have no power to resist him, nor can any deliver out of his Hands."

Edwards' sermon is a long one, and he uses extreme pathos to elicit an emotional reaction from his likely (cowering) audience. The words "wrath" and "fierceness" are used throughout his sermon. Edwards presents God as an instrument of judgment and vengeance. It is safe to say that the two words in the title ("sinners" and "anger") typify the two main themes in the sermon: God's wrath and the hellish torment that awaits wicked men.

Which countries colonized various regions in the New World?

The Spanish colonized what we now think of as the Southwestern United States, plus Florida, as well as Mexico and much of Central and Latin America, as well as Cuba. The Spanish explorers or "conquistadors" responsible for colonizing these areas were Christopher Columbus, Hernan Cortez and Francisco Pizarro, to name the most prominent among them. 

The Portuguese colonized Brazil, building enormous system of plantations there. The Dutch first settled what is today New York and New Jersey, which they named New Netherlands, and which they farmed very successfully for a time. The English settled what is today Virginia, and then Massachusetts, Road Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Vermont, the Carolinas, Georgia, Delaware and Connecticut. In the mid-1600s, the English fought and defeated the Dutch, and took New York and New Jersey for themselves.

In Canada, the French Jesuits settled what became Quebec. Both the British and the French also made early forays into the settling the Caribbean islands as plantations.

How does Portia and Nerissa's relationship depict their friendship in The Merchant of Venice?

Portia and Nerissa's relationship depicts their friendship throughout the play The Merchant of Venice. Portia feels comfortable discussing her inner feelings with Nerissa, and Nerissa offers encouragement to Portia by commenting on the positive aspects of her situation. Nerissa understands Portia's personality and reminds her about Bassanio while they are discussing potential suitors. Portia also trusts Nerissa throughout the play and shares her secret plan to travel to Venice in order to intervene in Antonio's trial. Nerissa loyally agrees to participate in Portia's plan and travels to Venice with her. Nerissa's willingness to dress up as a man alongside Portia illustrates the extent of their friendship. Nerissa understands the risks involved in impersonating a man and intervening in a court case, yet willingly volunteers to help Portia. Nerissa also seeks to get her ring back from Gratiano and joins in on Portia's hijinks. The two characters are very close and are willing to help each other in various ways throughout the play.

Why should Friar Laurence be pardoned?

Friar Laurence should be pardoned due to the fact that he was brave enough to stick around and tell the truth after Romeo and Juliet are discovered dead in the Capulet crypt by their families. Friar Laurence knows that he very likely could be held liable for the deaths of the two, as he was privy to Juliet's plan to fake her own death and even married the young lovers, aiding in their secret and forbidden relationship. Despite the risk to his career, his reputation, his freedom, and/or his life, Friar Laurence comes forth to defend the lovers' actions as extensions of the intended truce between the rivaling families. Friar Laurence states:

I am the greatest, able to do least,

Yet most suspected, as the time and place

Doth make against me of this direful murder;

And here I stand, both to impeach and purge

Myself condemned and myself excused.

He goes on to explain exactly what transpired, representing the lovers as noble and faithful spouses when he just as easily could have denied all knowledge of the situation in order to save himself. Friar Laurence welcomes the punishment that may come:

...and, if aught in this

Miscarried by my fault, let my old life

Be sacrificed, some hour before his time,

Unto the rigour of severest law.

Recognizing this act of bravery, the Prince acknowledges Friar Laurence as "a holy man" and does not seem to pass judgment on him; this new knowledge of the secret lives of their children compels the Capulets and Montagues to make good use of this tragedy, and they, thus, commit themselves to peace. Had Friar Laurence not come forward, this "ceasefire" may never have happened. Thus, he deserves to be pardoned for creating some positive outcome under incredibly sad circumstances and for risking his life to do so. 

Why is cooking a burger on a BBQ caused by radiation?

When a grill is heated, the heat energy is transferred between the grill and the hamburger patty.  This type of energy is known as thermal energy.

As the grill becomes hot, its molecules vibrate rapidly and bounce off each other. Heat is then produced and is transferred to the meat, thereby cooking it. As heat from the glowing coals strikes the food, infrared radiation--(a type of electromagnetic energy) will travel in any direction and will heat and cook the food.

Infrared radiation is part of the electromagnetic spectrum and lies next to the color red, which is in the visible light range of the spectrum. Infrared radiation is invisible to the human eye. These waves carry energy that can be used to cook food. When infrared radiation strikes the outer molecules of the food, they become agitated, causing some heat to be generated which then passes to the middle of the food and helps to cook it.

I have included a diagram showing the electromagnetic spectrum and its various wavelengths.

How can one calculate the purity of aspirin?

Aspirin has a chemical formula of 2-acetoxybenzoic acid (CH3COOC6H4COOH) and it is synthesized from salicylic acid or 2-hydroxybenzoic acid. If the synthesis reaction is incomplete, the unreacted salicylic acid is present as a contaminant and we have a less than 100% yield of aspirin. There are a number of methods to determine the purity or % yield of aspirin.

One of the methods is the titration of a given aspirin sample in a 50/50 mix of ethanol and water, against sodium hydroxide. The number of moles of sodium hydroxide used to neutralize the acid can be used to determine the molar mass of a given aspirin sample. It would be somewhere between the molar mass of aspirin (180 g) and that of salicylic acid (138 g), and this will give a measure of the % purity of the given aspirin sample. 

A spectrophotometer can also be used to determine the purity, since aspirin makes a violet complex with iron and this can be measured by using a spectrophotometer. Different concentrations of aspirin can be used to draw a calibration curve and a given sample can be checked against this curve.

Hope this helps. 

In Lyddie by Katherine Paterson, why does Lyddie feel envious in Chapter 18, and what does she do with that feeling?

At the start of Chapter 18, Charlie has come to visit Lyddie.  He tells Lyddie that he has a very good life living with the Phinneys.  He gets to go to school and live in a house with a mother and father of sorts.  He gets to be "normal," and he seems quite happy.  Additionally, the Phinneys would like to take Rachel on as their daughter, too.  The entire situation makes Lyddie feel jealous, because she has been working her fingers to the bone to try and scrape up enough money to keep the farm and pay off all of the family debt.  She's envious because she feels that she is doing all of the work and Charlie is the one getting the good life.  

Lyddie doesn't do anything with those feelings, though.  She quietly swallows her thoughts and allows Rachel to be taken back to the country with Charlie.  The feelings of jealously do not last long, but they are replaced with all around depression.  At the beginning of Chapter 19, the reader sees Lyddie struggling to find a purpose for herself at all.  

My heart is heavy, she thought. It’s not just a saying. It is what is— heavy, a great stone lodged in my breast, pressing down my whole being. How can I even stand straight and look out upon the world? I am doubled over into myself and, for all the weight, find only emptiness.

How do kite flying and kite fighting develop the themes in the novel?

In The Kite Runner, the kite is both a positive and negative symbol. As such, kite flying and kite fighting simultaneously trace the themes of betrayal, generational conflict, and redemption as the story progresses.

Amir, ever cognizant of his fragile relationship with Baba, takes up kite-flying in his childhood years; it is the one activity that allows him to relate to Baba on a personal level. As a former champion kite fighter, Baba is partial to the sport; Amir sees it as the only means by which he can redeem himself in his father's eyes for his lack of prowess in other, more tactile sports.

Baba and I lived in the same house, but in different spheres of existence. Kites were the one paper thin slice of intersection between those spheres.

Preparation for each year's kite-fighting competition can be surprisingly brutal on young hands. Amir relates how "by the time the snow melted and the rains of spring swept in, every boy in Kabul bore telltale horizontal gashes on his fingers from a whole winter of fighting kites." As a warring sport, kite-fighting also symbolizes the inner conflicts in Amir's life. For example, the blue kite represents Amir's abandonment and subsequent betrayal of Hassan (it is while acting as Amir's kite runner that Hassan falls into Assef's hands and is brutally raped). Later, Amir basks in Baba's applause and admiration rather than admit his winning kite is tainted by Hassan's blood and pain.

The kite also develops the theme of Amir's redemption. By the time he flies the kite with Sohrab at the end of the book, Amir has redeemed himself. He has retrieved Sohrab (Hassan's son) from the orphanage, and, however clumsily, done his part in freeing Sohrab from Assef's cruel custody. In teaching Sohrab the principles of kite-fighting, Amir is gifting Sohrab with Hassan's legacy of selflessness and courage and redeeming himself of his past sins.

I did it perfectly. After all these years. The old lift and dive trap. I loosened my grip and tugged on the string, dipping and dodging the green kite. A series of quick sidearm jerks and our kite shot up counterclockwise, in a half-circle. . . "Do you want me to run that kite for you?" His Adam's apple rose and fell as he swallowed. The wind lifted his hair. I thought I saw him nod. "For you, a thousand times over," I heard myself say.