In Nightjohn, what are some things Mammy and Sarny do for Alice after Waller whips her?

You will find the answer in Chapter Four of the book. Remember that, in the book, Alice is a designated 'breeder.' In the 19th century, slave breeding was the despicable practice of using fertile, young black women to increase a slave owner's labor supply. Many breeding sessions were forced upon unwilling male and female slaves; in the story, Waller has a crude breeding shed set aside for the breeding sessions.

Alice does not take well to being used as a sexual asset. The experience affects her badly, and she takes to wandering in the yard and in the white house. When Waller catches her, he is furious and proceeds to shackle her to the walls of the spring house. The cruel slave owner whips Alice until her back is torn and bleeding; then, not content with this, Waller orders Mammy to rub salt into Alice's wounds.

After the beating, Waller leaves Alice shackled. As the flies land on Alice's back, Mammy puts a cloth over her back to prevent maggots from thriving in the raw wounds. When Alice is taken down the next morning, Sarny helps Mammy clean Alice up. As Mammy rubs grease on Alice's back, Sarny holds the suffering girl's hands. The main reason Sarny has to hold on to Alice's hands is because Alice keeps pushing Mammy's hands away. The pain is so excruciating that Alice does not want to be touched, even though it is necessary.

Later, Mammy makes some root tea for Alice, but she refuses to drink it. After three days, the desperate Alice runs away.

`sinh^-1t = ln(t + sqrt(t^2 + 1))` Prove

To prove

`sinh^-1 t =ln(t+sqrt(t^2+1))`

let

`sinh^-1 t = x`

`t=sinh(x)= (e^x -e^(-x))/2 =(e^x - (1/(e^x)))/2= (e^(2x) -1)/(2(e^x))`

let  ` t= (e^(2x) -1)/(2(e^x))`

=> `2e^x t = e^(2x) -1`

=> let ` e^x = u` so,

`2ut=u^2 -1`

=> `u^2 -2ut -1 =0`  is of the quadratic form `ax^2 +bx+c = 0` so finding the roots using the quadratic formula 

`(-b+-sqrt(b^2 -4ac))/(2a)`

here in the equation `u^2 -2ut -1 =0`

`a=1 , b=-2, c=-1`

`u=(-(-2t)+-sqrt(4t^2-4(1)(-1)))/2 `

`u=(2t+-sqrt(4t^2+4))/2 `

=`(2t+-2sqrt(t^2+1))/2`

=`t+-sqrt(t^2+1)`

Since`u = e^x > 0` then  `t+sqrt(t^2+1)>0`

So` e^x=t+sqrt(t^2+1)`

`x=ln(t+sqrt(t^2+1))`

Since

`sinh^-1 t = x`

it follows that

`sinh^-1 t = ln(t+sqrt(t^2+1))`

`dy/dx = x+3` Solve the differential equation

`(dy)/dx = x + 3`

This differential equation is separable since it can be rewritten in the form

`N(y)dy = M(x) dx`

So separating the variables, the equation becomes

`dy = (x+3)dx`

Integrating both sides, it result to

`int dy = int (x+3)dx`

`y+C_1 = x^2/2+3x+C_2`

Isolating the y, it becomes

`y = x^2/2 +3x+C_2-C_1`

Since C1 and C2 represents any number, it can be expressed as a single constant C.

`y = x^2/2 + 3x + C`

Therefore, the general solution of the given differential equation is `y=x^2/2 + 3x+C` .

Daiches says: "Moonlight for Arnold does not go with roses and romance, but with melancholy, meditation, and sometimes even despair." Elaborate...

In Dover Beach, Matthew Arnold describes a moonlit scene that at first appears peaceful, and with the right treatment, could certainly be romantic. In the first six lines, we learn that "The sea is calm," "the moon lies fair," the bay is "tranquil," and the night air is "sweet." But, beginning with the warning "Only" in line seven, the poet's thoughts quickly start to take him down a darker path, one that will end, in the last two lines, in confusion and chaos.

First he evokes the "spray" thrown up from the waves. Spray is not calm or tranquil. It might still be romantic, but it can also be shocking and cold. Then he refers to the "moon-blanched land." The word "blanched" evokes something that has had the color leached out of it. We might think of ghosts, driftwood, or even old bones. Then there is the "grating roar/Of pebbles, which the waves draw back, and fling." Grating and roar are both unpleasant words and give us a sense of disquiet. Finally, at the end of the first stanza, Arnold comes right out and says that sound of the waves and pebbles "bring[s]/The eternal note of sadness in."

The second stanza gives us an explicit reason why the sound of the waves should make a person feel sad: Socrates once compared the rhythm of the waves to the "turbid ebb and flow/Of human misery." This is not just arbitrary. There are good reasons that waves, with the way they keep coming at the shore with pauses in between, and the way they batter and erode, might remind people of the troubles that keep coming back to beset us in this sad world.

There are also good reasons that waves observed by moonlight might have an even more melancholy effect. People tend to be thoughtful and introspective at night, as the bustle of the day retreats and the mind limbers up before sleep. People's fears also seem bigger at night. Things look different by moonlight than by sunlight: more beautiful and romantic, perhaps, but also a bit surreal. Besides romance and roses, moonlight is also associated with ghosts and graveyards, not to mention nighttime fevers, storms, raids, and ambushes. Clearly, Arnold feels all this as he looks at the beach.

In the third stanza, Arnold speaks of another sea, the "Sea of Faith." This was a good sea, one which protected and beautified the edges of the world. But unlike the physical sea, which rises and lowers with the tides, the Sea of Faith is only retreating, leaving the world (especially at its "edges," which might represent the realm of the spiritual or the unknown), abandoned ("drear") and unprotected ("naked"). This extended metaphor expresses Arnold's sense that the world is steadily becoming less magical, less spiritual, harsher and more dreary. And he does not see an end to the process: "I only hear/Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar."

By the last stanza, Arnold has left behind all references to the actual sea or moonlight, and is completely consumed by the vision of human suffering to which they have led him. "This world .../Hath really neither joy.../...nor peace, nor help for pain." Arnold is describing a world which has been abandoned by God. By the last three lines, the world does not even seem to offer the beauties of nature, such as beaches or moonlight. All that is left in Arnold's vision is human evil and confusion: armies chasing each other on a "darkling plain": a plain over which the light is rapidly dying.

Please include comments and analysis of the character Obi Okonkwo in No Longer at Ease.

In a character analysis, it is important to explain the character role in the book as well as the character's traits. Obi Okonkwo (who has the full name of Michael Obiajulu Okonkwo) is the main character of No Longer at Ease.  He is vastly different from his ancestor, the Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart. Obi is passive while the elder Okonkwo was active. Obi is full of indecision and constantly at odds with the people and events around him.

Obi is very smart in that he receives a scholarship from the Umuofia Progressive Union. In this way, Obi is able to receive a quality education and even graduate with honors. It is when he returns from London that his troubles begin. Suddenly the European values he has learned clash with the Nigerian values of his homeland. He is discouraged with Lagos and upset that he cannot find the homeland he speaks of in his own poetry. Obi has his own ideas that are not accepted: he studies the humanities instead of law, does not adopt the mannerisms of the educated, and plans to marry a girl who is "osu" (and, therefore, "taboo").

Obi changes throughout the book. At first, Obi shows perseverance in that he gets a job and sticks to it, even when life gets very hard. Obi shows honor in that he works to pay off his loans and help his family financially. Unfortunately, Obi's honor and perseverance do not last. It is sad to see Obi's original morals crumble as the book progresses. Eventually, the public arena wears Obi down. Obi gives in to the corruption and participates in the usual bribes. Unfortunately, Obi turns his resolve into acquiescence.

Retell an episode in the story which is a good example of irony in a situation?

After several failed attempts to get himself arrested, Soapy spots what looks like an ideal opportunity.

In a cigar store he saw a well-dressed man lighting a cigar at a swinging light. His silk umbrella he had set by the door on entering. Soapy stepped inside, secured the umbrella and sauntered off with it slowly. The man at the cigar light followed hastily.

“My umbrella,” he said, sternly.

“Oh, is it?” sneered Soapy, adding insult to petit larceny. “Well, why don't you call a policeman? I took it. Your umbrella! Why don't you call a cop? There stands one on the corner.”

Soapy would not have taken the umbrella if he hadn't seen the policeman standing on the nearby corner. To Soapy's surprise, it appears that the man who claims to be the owner of the umbrella doesn't want to have anything to do with policemen. He must have stolen the umbrella out of a stand inside some restaurant or bar. All men's umbrellas look pretty much alike. They are always black, and in O. Henry's time women would also carry black umbrellas. This is one of many examples of how Soapy can't get arrested when he wants to. There is one example of how he finally does get arrested when he doesn't want to.

As the title "The Cop and the Anthem" suggests, Soapy has an epiphany at the end when he hears the church anthem and thinks about his former life. He decides to become a new man. He will get a job and climb back into the respectable world he left behind. But ironically a cop approaches him at that inspirational moment:

“What are you doin' here?” asked the officer.

“Nothin',” said Soapy.

“Then come along,” said the policeman.

“Three months on the Island,” said the Magistrate in the Police Court the next morning.

So Soapy gets the three months on Riker's Island he originally wanted—but only after he doesn't want it anymore.

What year did the Romans defeat the last Etruscan king?

509 BC (in the Roman calendar 244 ab urbe condita), is the year usually attributed to the overthrow of Tarquinius Superbus, the last Etruscan king, and the establishment of the Roman Republic.

However, there is some debate among historians over whether Tarquinius (also known as Tarquin the Proud) was actually a historical person, and if so, the precise date at which he was overthrown. This is a traditional tale and a best guess.

And as for the reasons for the revolution, there are a number of myths about the triggering event (most famously the Rape of Lucretia), but basically none of them are historically credible. We simply don't know what exactly inspired people to rise up against Tarquinius, topple his government, and establish the Roman Republic.  Unless we find new information (perhaps from archaeological finds), we may never know.

In Speak, what is Heather's resolution?

In Speak, Heather's resolution is to find social acceptance.

Heather is new to Merryweather High School.  She has relocated to Syracuse from Ohio.  She befriends Melinda because she is new, cannot find anyone else, and desperately seeks social acceptance.  Early on in their friendship, Heather lays out her "plan" to establish popularity, much to Melinda's horror:

Heather hops on the treadmill and resumes scheming. She isn't finished with her survey of Merryweather's social scene, but she thinks the International Club and the Select Chorus will be a good place to start. Maybe we can try out for the musical. I turn on the television and eat her popcorn.

After surrendering herself to the school spirit of pep rallies and the newspaper, Heather's resolve to find social acceptance leads her to join "the Marthas."  She becomes "a social member on probation" in order to socially establish herself.  Endearing herself to the Marthas is difficult.  She has to enlist Melinda's help to make posters for the canned food drive and other tasks because failure would mean excommunication. However, Heather makes these sacrifices because of her desire to be accepted.

As the year progresses, Heather's resolve for social acceptance leads her to sever her friendship with Melinda. Social advancement is her justification:

This is really awkward. I mean, how do you say something like this? No matter what . . . no, I don't want to say that. I mean, we kind of paired up at the beginning of the year when I was new and didn't know anyone and that was really, really sweet of you, but I think it's time for us both to admit that we . . . just. . . are . . . very . . . different.

Heather's resolution towards social acceptance can be seen in how she "walks to the Martha table" and allows herself to be "swallowed whole" while "never looking back" at Melinda.  Heather's fervor towards the resolution of social acceptance is intense.  She does not see her actions towards Melinda as disloyal.  She simply sees it as part of the sacrifice needed to be popular.

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, when Atticus reacts to Jem's game about Boo Radley, what can be noticed about the way he disciplines his...

The children are caught playing the Boo Radley game by Atticus in Chapter Five. Atticus gives them a lecture about people's right to their own privacy and how the kids should mind their own business. Then he draws an analogy for them by asking how they might feel if he barged into their bedrooms without knocking. By drawing a mental picture for the children to understand, they could then connect how they might feel in a similar situation with how they were acting towards their shy neighbor. This way of teaching the children goes back to Atticus's motto and something he said to Scout just a couple of chapters earlier. When Scout was upset about how her first day of school went, Atticus told her the following:

"First of all, . . . if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it" (30).

Atticus uses this advice all throughout the book in different situations. When he lectures the children about playing a game about Boo Radley, he applies this teaching in his analogy. Then he teaches them to remember their manners and not go to someone's house unless they are invited; and, they are not to play that "asinine game" any longer (49). Therefore, what can be noticed by the way he disciplines his children is the way he uses an analogy to teach a lesson about understanding life from other people's perspectives.

`int sqrt(5 + 4x - x^2) dx` Evaluate the integral

`intsqrt(5+4x-x^2)dx`

Rewrite the integrand by completing the square: 

`=intsqrt(-(x-2)^2+9)dx`

Now apply the integral substitution,

Let u=x-2,

`=>du=dx`

`=intsqrt(9-u^2)du`

Now using the standard integral:

`intsqrt(a^2-x^2)dx=(xsqrt(a^2-x^2))/2+a^2/2sin^(-1)x/a+C`  

`intsqrt(9-u^2)du=(usqrt(3^2-u^2))/2+3^2/2sin^(-1)u/3`

`=(usqrt(9-u^2))/2+9/2sin^(-1)u/3`

Substitute back u=x-2,

`=((x-2)sqrt(9-(x-2)^2))/2+9/2sin^(-1)((x-2)/3)`

Add a constant C to the solution,

`=((x-2)sqrt(9-(x-2)^2))/2+9/2sin^(-1)((x-2)/3)+C`

Is Luke O'Neill in The Thorn Birds more like Amir in The Kite Runner or Rasheed in A Thousand Splendid Suns?

Luke O'Neill in The Thorn Birds is more like Rasheed in A Thousand Splendid Suns. Luke is a heartless man who romances Meggie and gets her to marry him. Once married to Meggie, he is heartless and cold. He leaves her to harvest sugarcane and hires her out to be a housemaid to another family. Luke thinks mainly of money, and refuses to have a child until he is well established with a station (a ranch). Even after Meggie tricks him into having a child, he is not interested in raising the child and is loveless toward his wife.

Rasheed in A Thousand Splendid Suns marries Mariam out of expedience rather than love, similar to the reasons Luke marries Meggie in The Thorn Birds. Like Luke, Rasheed is loveless and impatient towards Mariam. Also like Luke, Rasheed sees women as sexual objects but not as objects deserving of love, and is impatient and abusive towards Mariam after they marry. Unlike Luke, Rasheed wants to have a child and is displeased when his wife has several miscarriages. After his second wife, Laila, gives birth to a daughter, Rasheed abuses the daughter and eventually gives her to an orphanage. He shows the same disregard for his daughter that Luke O'Neill shows toward his daughter. At first, Amir in The Kite Runner is an unethical boy who betrays his friend, Hassan. Unlike Rasheed and Luke, who are unredeemed, Amir eventually rescues Sohrab, Hassan's son. In the end, Amir is loving toward a child and redeems himself, unlike Rasheed and Luke. 

Where does most of the action take place in Black Beauty by Anna Sewell?

Anna Sewell's classic is set in 19th-century England and revolves around the life of a horse, Black Beauty.  The story is a first-person narrative of his life from the perspective of a horse including confusion about the ways of humans.  Most of the action in the story revolves around Black Beauty's various stables. 

His first and perhaps favorite housing is at Birtwick under Squire Gordon.  Throughout his life however, Black Beauty is sold a number of times and treated poorly by many of his owners.  Lady Anne of Earlshall Park is one aristocrat who poorly manages her stables leading to a high turnover and many injuries to the horses.  The cab companies in London also mistreat Black Beauty, save for Jerry Barker.  At the conclusion of the story, Black Beauty arrives under the care of James Howard, once a groom at the neighboring Birtwick estates, who almost killed Black Beauty when he was younger.  Black Beauty spends the remainder of his days happily ensconced at the Blomefields estate.

The earlier chapters detailing Black Beauty's exposure to the world hold most of the action.  This is when he was still stabled at the Birtwick estates.  Black Beauty witnesses the death of his brother Rob Roy, was nearly killed by the stable boy James, saved the life of a man foolishly trying to cross a dangerous bridge at night and almost succumbed to a fire.  Although the events take place away from the estate, Black Beauty always details his pleasure at arriving home.    

In Lois Lowry's The Giver, what are the characteristics for Jonas?

In chapter 8 of Lois Lowry's The Giver, the Chief Elder informs the community that Jonas has been selected as the next Receiver of Memory. Intelligence, integrity, courage, wisdom, and the ability to See Beyond are the qualities that Jonas has exhibited during his childhood that qualify him for the most honorable job in the community. Jonas has demonstrated intelligence in school; he has shown integrity by owning up to his mistakes and accepting the consequences; then, he has shown some courage, but will need to show more as he trains to be the Receiver. Finally, the Chief Elder is confident that he will be able to handle wisdom and the ability to See Beyond as he learns news skills in this new assignment. Jonas isn't exactly sure what all of this means during the Ceremony of Twelve, but he responds by telling the Chief Elder the following:

"I think it's true . . . I don't understand it yet. I don't know what it is. But sometimes I see something. And maybe it's Beyond" (80).

Jonas later finds out that to See Beyond means that he is starting to see color and the reality of the world around him. This is in direct contrast to Sameness which keeps the people in the community free from pain and suffering. Unfortunately, Sameness also keeps people from seeing colors or being able to make choices based on their own unique preferences. All of these things Jonas learns when he starts his training as the next Receiver. During the Ceremony of Twelve, though, Jonas experiences what it is like to be singled out and separated from others because of all the good characteristics he demonstrates on a daily basis. 

How do you know a song is a march without reading the title?

Well, recognizing a march is not that hard when you know the ways they are distinct, making the march one of the easiest forms to recognize. 

First is the time signature. Almost all marches are in cut time, 4/4, 2/2, 1/2, or 2/4. These are all identical, even though they may sound different. Most marches are at a brisk tempo, and have a strong rhythmic pulse. Tubas or sousaphones are use in marches to provide an ohm-pah sound, so if the tuba or sousaphone part has quarter notes going up and down, you are likely looking at a march.

The percussion in a march is usually a snare drum and glockenspiel. As time went on, marching tympani, crash cymbals, and bass drum. Snare will play something rudimentary, with rolls and taps and a little syncopation. Bass and tympani will have quarter notes and eighth notes. Crash cymbals may have unison with the bass drum, or a unique rhythm alongside it.

The basic form of the march is an exposition, a trio, and a repeat of the exposition. The exposition will be in 16 or 32 measure strains, and the trio will modulate to the sub-dominate key. The repeat of the exposition concludes the piece, or the piece will loop ad-nauseum.

The instrumentation often includes piccolos or flutes to carry the melody, while lower instruments play a harmony. This is because early marches were used in war, and high instruments cut through the loud sounds. Drums imitate marching feet, and keep troops steady.

How would you explain the statement "Daisy tumbled short of his dream"?

Nick makes that observation at the end of the evening when Gatsby and Daisy are reunited for the first time in five years (Chapter 5).

Gatsby and Daisy were in love years ago, but she married Tom.  Gatsby, apparently, has spent the entire five years trying to get back to Daisy.  He "earned" the money to buy a mansion across the water from hers, and he has been throwing lavish parties, hoping she would come to one.  And all this time, he has been looking over at Daisy's house, and thinking of Daisy, and imagining what it would be like when they finally meet again.  In his mind he has built up this moment to an impossible height.  

It is this dream that (Nick suspects) Daisy fell short of a few times that evening.  The actual sentence is, "There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams -- not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion."  His dreams are the way he has remembered Daisy -- her beauty, her personality, her love for him, and so on -- and the way he has imagined their reunion would go.  After five years of embroidering these dreams, no actual person, however lovely, could live up to them perfectly. 

`dy/dx = x/y` Find the general solution of the differential equation

`(dy)/dx = x/y`

This differential equation is separable since it can be re-written in the form

• 
  `N(y)dy = M(x)dx`

So separating the variables, the equation becomes

`ydy = xdx`

Integrating both sides, it result to

`int y dy = int x dx`

`y^2/2 + C_1 = x^2/2 + C_2`

Isolating the y, it becomes

`y^2/2 =x^2/2+C_2-C_1`

`y^2=x^2 + 2C_2 - 2C_1`

`y=+-sqrt(x^2+2C_2-2C_1)`

Since C2 and C1 represents any number, it can be expressed as a single constant C.

`y = +-sqrt(x^2+C)`

Therefore, the general solution of the given differential equation is `y = +-sqrt(x^2+C)` .

Do you think the rising action begins with Rainsford's fall from the ship, or does it begin later in the story when he finds out about the hunt?

Ultimately, this question is up to you.  I have seen both answers adequately defended.  In my person opinion, I believe that Rainford's fall from the ship is the start of the rising action.  

The inciting incident of a story is the point in a plot when an event or decision begins that story's problem. Everything before this moment is introductory backstory.  I believe that Rainsford's problem begins the moment that he must go to Zaroff's island.  That occurs when he falls off of the ship.  The rising action continues to rise as Rainsford realizes that Zaroff is trapping and hunting people.  The action continues to build until the story's ultimate climax.  

In To Kill a Mockingbird, what does Jem think the verdict will be?

Throughout the trial, there are several moments where Jem comments that he thinks Atticus has won the case. Jem believes that the verdict will find Tom Robinson not guilty of assaulting and raping Mayella Ewell. Jem has faith that his father has presented a compelling argument to prove Tom Robinson's innocence. Jem thinks that Atticus has proven that Bob Ewell had the motivation and capacity to strike his daughter on the right side of her face. Atticus proved that Bob Ewell was left-handed by having him write his signature, which was significant because Tom's left arm was crippled. Jem also takes into consideration the Ewell's conflicting testimonies and lack of evidence. When Scout returns from her visit with Dolphus Raymond outside of the courthouse, she asks Jem what happened, and Jem says, "He's just gone over the evidence...and we're gonna win, Scout. I don't see how we can't" (Lee 124).

In Chapter 21, while the jury is deliberating, Calpurnia walks into the courthouse to tell Atticus that the children are missing. After Cal and Atticus spot the children, Jem and Scout walk down from the balcony to meet them. Scout mentions that Jem is jumping with excitement, and he asks Atticus, "We’ve won, haven’t we?” (Lee 127). Atticus tells him that he has no idea, and the children go home to eat with Calpurnia. They eventually come back to hear the verdict, and right before it is read, Jem says to Reverand Sykes,

"He’s not supposed to lean, Reverend, but don’t fret, we’ve won it...Don’t see how any jury could convict on what we heard—” (Lee 128).

Unfortunately, Atticus loses the case, and Tom becomes a victim of racial injustice. Jem loses his childhood innocence and is emotionally scarred after witnessing Maycomb's ugly prejudice.

In The Merchant Of Venice, did Portia help Bassanio in choosing the lead casket?

No, Portia could not have assisted Bassanio in any way. Before he goes to make his choice, she tells him, in part, at the beginning of Act 3, scene 2 (lines 10-14):

...I could teach you
How to choose right, but I am then forsworn;
So will I never be: so may you miss me;
But if you do, you'll make me wish a sin,
That I had been forsworn.

She means that she could give him a clue or tell him which casket to choose, but she would then be breaking an oath. It is a condition of her father's will that she may not provide any assistance to a suitor for she would then lose her inheritance. Portia says that she will not commit perjury (lie under oath). She also says that if Bassanio should choose the wrong casket, he would make her wish that she had helped him, which would be a sinful thought.

Some interpreters suggest that the introductory lines of the song being played just before Bassanio makes his choice, are supposed to give him a clue since the last word in each of the first two lines rhymes with 'lead':

SONG.
Tell me where is fancy bred,
Or in the heart, or in the head?

This, however, is highly unlikely firstly, for the reason mentioned above - there is just too much at stake for Portia: she will not only lose a fortune if such an indiscretion is reported but will also, as she would have believed, compromise the sanctity of her soul. She would be committing a sin since she had made a sacred vow to not help anyone to make the right choice.

Furthermore, the singers most probably only sing this ditty to add a pleasant mood to what must be a very tense atmosphere if one considers both Portia and Bassanio's wish that he should choose correctly. In addition, Bassanio is too preoccupied with his own thoughts to even listen to the lyrics. He would have no reason to look for extraneous clues anyway for Portia had told him that she would not provide any. 

Interestingly, though, Shakespeare might just have written the first lines to tease the audience and make them believe that Portia was just that bit dishonest. 

How does Shakespeare's interest in human nature refers to Macbeth?

Shakespeare's plays can indeed be viewed as studies of human nature and human behavior. The main characters of his plays (his heroes and heroines) are very complex characters, and their complexity can often be seen in the soliloquies. 

Macbeth is a study of the corruption of human nature. The transformation of our tragic hero Macbeth from a valiant and loyal fighter to an evil and cold-blooded murderer is a striking one. Shakespeare delves deep into human nature and explores Macbeth's hidden desires and ambitions. We realize that Macbeth's tragic flaw is his unrestrained ambition which makes him commit various atrocious acts like killing the king of Scotland and many other innocent people. 

Nevertheless, Shakespeare is also great at showing us the complexity of human nature. Although Macbeth accepts evil and wants to reject the goodness inside him, we see traces of his guilt-ridden conscience, manifested in his hallucinations. In addition, his soliloquies reveal that he has many doubts and fears, so to view him only in terms of the crimes he committed would be utterly wrong. Because of his complexity, Macbeth appears sympathetic to the readers at times. He tells us all about his fears and doubts and seems to be struggling with issues not so different from ours. 

The play implies that one must be moderate and aware of the moral principles if one is to live a meaningful life. Despite gaining all the power he desired, Macbeth realizes that his life is futile, and without a doubt, he is the one responsible for ruining his own life and the lives of many others.

How did political and economic life change during the Cold War years in the United States?

After World War II, the United States was one of two superpowers that emerged.  Unfortunately, the other superpower was vastly different in terms of political and economic ideology.  The Soviet Union, a communist state with a party dictatorship, was a nuclear power by 1950 and emerged as America's new enemy.  Politics of the era were dominated with containing communism.  

With the war coming to an end military spending should have decreased. This was not the case, however as American political leaders spent more.  To succeed in politics at the time, you needed to be viewed by the public as a staunch supporter of the effort to destroy communism and the Soviet Union. Also in the political realm, women and minorities fought for and secured a number of rights and freedoms throughout the Cold War years.  

Manufacturing experienced a boom in the United States.  The economy was robust in the early years of the Cold War.  Defense industries benefited from the increases in defense spending.  The strong industrial economy meant a stronger reliance on fossil fuels.  This led to a greater American presence in the Middle East.

The economy also benefited from the emergence of a stronger middle class. The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act provided returning soldiers with the opportunity to attend college.  This helped the American economy by providing lower class Americans the opportunity to pursue professions that paid more money.  This led to the rise of a larger middle class during the years of the Cold War.  

Other political and economic themes to consider during the Cold War:

• The space race and advances in science


• Involvement in proxy wars (Korea, Vietnam, Granada, Cuba)


• Construction of Interstate Highway System


• Cold War politics in sports


• McCarthyism


• Levittown and the rise of the suburbs

What shocked Jonas when he viewed his father "releasing" one of the newborn twins?

In The Giver (Lowry), as Jonas watches his father release one of the newborn twins, he finally comes to understand what release is, and the horror of this, seeing a newborn put to death by his own father, disposed of like trash, makes him feel "a ripping sensation inside himself, the feeling of a terrible pain clawing its way forward to emerge in a cry" (151).  Up until this point, Jonas had believed that those released went somewhere else, to live out their lives peacefully. He understands now that Rosemary, the previous Receiver, had committed suicide, rather than live with the memories she had been given.  He sees that all of the elderly who had been "sent off" with such charming ceremonies had been sent to death.  He realizes that the punishment for breaking the rules can be a death sentence.  We can almost see all the wheels turning in his brain as he grapples with this new understanding and how it fits in with his prior understanding of release. This shock and horror are a pivotal point for Jonas, who cannot bear the thought of returning home to his father, who is an executioner.  It is after this "viewing" that Jonas understands he must leave the community, so that the community will be forced to regain memory and feelings. This is going to be a struggle for them, but it is the only way they can become fully human again. 

Why does Daisy tell Nick "the best thing a girl can be in this world" is a "beautiful little fool" in The Great Gatsby? Why does Nick feel as if...

That conversation takes place near the end of Chapter 1. Nick has just come over to Tom and Daisy's house after not seeing them for a few years. During the course of the dinner party, it becomes obvious there is a lot of tension in Tom and Daisy's marriage. Tom has a mistress, and she has called Tom at the house during dinner. Tom and Daisy snipe at each other, but try to pretend everything is fine to the guests.

Afterwards, Daisy and Nick go out on the front porch, and Daisy tries to tell Nick how miserable she is. With her words about girls being fools, she is implying all men are rats, women will always be cheated on, and it's best for a woman if she is fool enough not to realize what is happening. 

Nick does not doubt Daisy is unhappy in her marriage. She then goes on to say,

You see I think everything's terrible anyhow. Everyone thinks so—the most advanced people. And I know. I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything.

Nick recognizes this "everything is terrible" mentality as a pose Daisy puts on, or exaggerates, to underline how worldly and rich she is, "as if she had asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret society to which she and Tom belonged."

In other words, Daisy is unhappy, but she is trying to elevate her garden-variety martial tension into a worldly cynicism she can be proud of.

Should the boys in the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding be held accountable for their actions on the island?

In my opinion, I feel that the older boys should be held accountable for their actions on the island while the littluns should be exempt from assuming responsibility. With the exception of the unfortunate death of the littlun with the mulberry-colored birthmark, the boys were consciously aware that they participated in murdering Simon, and Roger intended to kill Piggy when he hurled the boulder towards him. Even Ralph and Samneric should be held accountable for killing Simon, but the majority of the accountability should fall on Jack and the older savages.

Jack encourages violent behavior and controls the boys through intimidation. In Chapter 9, he incites the frenzy by leading the savages in their ritual dance and rallies the boys to kill the "beast," which happens to be Simon. Roger, the sadist, also planned on harming others and had every intention of killing Piggy when he hurled the boulder towards him. His actions were premeditated, and Roger was guilty of committing first-degree murder. At the end of the novel, Jack gives the orders to detain Samneric and hunt Ralph. Jack led the savages on the manhunt with the intention of finding and killing Ralph. The biguns were old enough to understand Jack's violent plans and willingly followed him on the manhunt. The littluns were simply mimicking the older savages' actions and should be not held accountable for attempted murder.

What is Julian's point of view in Wonder?

Julian is mean-spirited towards Auggie from the beginning of Wonder, and he doesn't change throughout the course of the book. Right after he meets Auggie, Julian asks him, "What's the deal with your face? I mean, were you in a fire or something?" (page 29). Auggie was born with a facial deformity, and he is just entering a new middle school after having been homeschooled. Clearly, Julian is unwelcoming and nasty, and he begins to bully Auggie. Later, Julian asks Auggie if Darth Sidious is his favorite character in Star Wars. While the teacher seems oblivious to Julian's nasty intent in asking this question, it's clear to Auggie that Julian asked this question because Darth Sidious's face has been disfigured by a fire. Later, Julian wears the Darth Sidious costume to school on Halloween (page 76), which is clearly a way to harass Auggie. Julian also nicknames Auggie the "Zombie Kid" and commands people not to be friends with Jack if Jack is friendly to Auggie. However, Julian does not generally show his nasty side to adults, as he is very two-faced. In short, he is a seemingly heartless character who is intent on making Auggie's life difficult.

I need help with an English essay on The Odyssey and I don't have a copy to read. I need to discuss evidence of Odysseus showing leadership,...

The first issue of your not having a copy to read can easily be remedied. There are several free versions of the text available on the web. Some links to free versions of the text are:

• http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/odyssey.html


• https://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/odysseytofc.htm


• http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1727

On finding evidence of Odysseus displaying leadership and self control, a good starting point would be Book 9, in which Odysseus describes his capture by the Cyclops Polyphemus and the complex stratagems he devised and executed to blind Polyphemus and escape from his cave.

The Nausicaa episode in book 6 shows diplomacy and self-restraint on the part of Odysseus, in the way he treats the young girl with respect rather than taking advantage of her and dishonoring her. 

In the episode on Circe's island, Odysseus shows leadership and self-control in rescuing his men and insisting on Circe freeing them before agreeing to become her lover. 

In Book 12, Odysseus holds a steady course in the episode of Scylla and Charybdis, letting Scylla swallow six sailors so the rest can survive, and leading his men so they do not panic.

Finally, in leaving the land of the lotus-eaters, Odysseus displays leadership and determination. 

What are similarities between hunters/gatherers and early farmers?

I do not know if this question is meant to refer to Jared Diamond’s book Guns, Germs, and Steel, but it is certainly possible to find an answer to the question in that book.  Diamond specifically addresses this issue on pages 106 and 107.

On these pages, Diamond argues that there are more similarities than people think between hunter-gatherers and early farmers.  He says that people tend to think that early farmers broke completely away from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle but that this idea is not correct.  Instead, he says, there are three important ways in which the two groups were often similar to one another.

First, Diamond says that many hunter-gatherers in the days before agriculture were actually sedentary rather than nomadic.  In those days, there were no farmers taking up the best land so hunter-gatherers could find many places where they could settle in one place and still thrive using their economic system.  He cites the Pacific Northwest (US), along with Palestine, coastal Peru, and Japan as places where this happened.

Second, Diamond says that there are examples of people who farmed and yet were nomadic.  He says that some groups in New Guinea, Africa, and Asia (as well as the Apache of the Southwest US) who raise plants and/or animals and still live a nomadic lifestyle.  These first and second points show that hunter-gatherers and early farmers were sometimes similar in that they could both be sedentary and they could both be nomadic, depending on local circumstances.

Finally, Diamond argues that both hunter-gatherers and early farmers could be “active managers of their land.”  He says that people tend to think that farmers changed the environment while hunter-gatherers simply used it as it was.  This, he says, is not true.  He talks about people who modified their environments to allow the kinds of plants that they gathered to grow better.  This, he says, is similar to what farmers did.

In all of these ways, Diamond says, hunter-gatherers and early farmers could be rather similar to one another instead of being (as we often think) completely different.

What is the significance of the final passage in "Araby" by James Joyce?

The final passage of James Joyce's "Araby" explains the epiphany the narrator had as a young boy that "vanity" caused him to believe his feelings mattered in the world. The young boy had been keenly aware of the little light in the overwhelmingly dark world he inhabits; when he plays outside in the dark, his body "glowed," and Mangan's sister is always "defined by the light" or "lit up" in some way. This light seems to be representative of his hope that Mangan's sister could return his love for her. When the boy is on his way to Araby, he notices only the lights "glaring with gas," the "twinkling river," and even the "lighted dial of a clock."  Araby is mostly dark when he arrives, however, and he realizes he has arrived too late. The boy was delayed by his uncle, his need for money, the terribly slow train, and his desire to locate a cheap entrance so that he could save his money to buy Mangan's sister a gift. He then discovers there is nothing worth purchasing anyway, and the remaining lights go out. Now in darkness, the narrator realizes his feelings for Mangan's sister do not matter to anyone or anything but him, and he loses his innocent hopefulness.

Which federal agencies manage the Social Security and the Medicare programs?

The Medicare and the Social Security programs are two very important social programs that exist today. President Johnson and Congress created the Medicare program. It provides health care for those people who are 65 or older. This program is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. It is run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Medicare program is funded by a payroll tax on employees and on employers.

The Social Security Act that was passed during the Great Depression created the Social Security program. President Roosevelt was concerned that liberal people in his own party felt he wasn’t doing enough to help the people. When Francis Townsend proposed giving people a pension at age 60, President Roosevelt and Congress responded with the Social Security Act. The Social Security Administration runs the Social Security program. It is funded by a payroll tax on workers and on employers. While this program helps people who are retired, it also helps children and disabled workers. Children who have lost a parent receive benefits from the program. So do workers who have become disabled.

The Medicare program and the Social Security program are two very important programs on which many people rely.

How does the setting of Tom's real life compare with the setting in his dream in The Prince and the Pauper?

While there are many sharp contrasts between Tom Canty's real life and the life he leads in his dreams, surprisingly there are some comparisons. 

Although Tom is abused, starved, and fairly miserable in his real life, he retreats into dreams where he lives "the charmed life of a petted prince in a regal place." One similarity between Tom's real and imaginary life is that he takes lessons in Latin and other subjects from a priest. Also, Father Andrew tells charming old tales and legends that are filled with giants, dwarfs, and fairies and genii. In these fairy tales, there are enchanted castles, handsome princes and kings. Such tales are similar to those which a child of royalty would listen.

Additionally, a strange change occurs in Tom after he has heard so many charming stories, and having read so much about royalty: he begins to speak and act as though he were princely. This behavior amuses the other residents of Offal Court, but after time the residents grow older and begin to perceive Tom as superior to themselves. Reacting to this perception, Tom begins to act even more like a prince, and his speech and manners take on the courtly and ceremonious gestures of one who is royalty. 

He seemed to know so much and he could do and say such marvelous things....

After some time, Tom's effect upon his fellow paupers increases, and they begin to perceive him with "a wondering awe" because he somehow seems to be their superior in knowledge. So impressed are these paupers that they tell their parents, who begin to talk among themselves about Tom Canty, and they, too, begin to regard Tom as a very extraordinary creature. Soon, even the adults begin to afford Tom respect and adulation because they are impressed with his wit and wisdom.

The peak intensity of radiation from Mars is about 14,000 nm. In what spectral band is this?

You say peak intensity, but a more appropriate term is peak wavelength. Intensity is in watts per square meter; power on a surface. The unit nm is a length, specifically the length of an electromagnetic wave. 

A wavelength of 14,000 nm is in the far-infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum. 

Being that Mars is cold, its peak radiation wavelength is going to be fairly long. Compared to stars with much more energetic photons, colder planets tend to release light of longer wavelengths. 

This is important because when scientists use telescopes to view Mars, they can get brighter images in the infrared spectrum, which can reveal different things than a visible light, or bolometric spectrum would.

The best way to classify light on the electromagnetic spectrum is to find a nice chart with wavelengths and frequencies next to their respective bands.

This website has a chart of the spectrum you can use.

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What question is Benjamin Barber trying to answer in Jihad vs. McWorld?

One of the most important questions that Barber tries to answer in Jihad vs. McWorld is what can be done to prevent the undermining of democratic institutions around the world.

The world after the Cold War intrigues Barber. While democracy was valorized after the Soviet Union was disintegrated, Barber sees it as under siege. He sees two new ideologies competing for the hearts and minds of the modern setting.  

Barber defines the forces of "Jihad" as elements that cling to cultural identity. This force suggests that individuals are not bound by nation-states as much as they are bound by "cultures. . . parts, not wholes; sects, not religions, rebellions, factions, and dissenting minorities." These elements seek to emphasize their cultural notion of the good over any other. They are also a direct response to the rise of socio-political structures that minimize differences into larger entities. Barber sees these factions as a major threat to the democratic system because they seek "smaller worlds within borders that will seal them off from modernity."

Positioned against this is the threat from "McWorld." Barber sees this reality as predicated upon consumer consumption. In a "McWorld" setting, there is peace, but it is a result of the mass media world. The insistence of being closed off in Jihad is repudiated with the unlimited openness in McWorld. Cultural identity is pushed aside in favor of a world where everyone is defined by "passivity, consumerism, vicariousness, impulse buying, and an accelerated pace of life." Given how technology has increased the "access to every other person" on the planet, McWorld is homogeneous and ubiquitous. Inescapable, it renders everyone the same. Barber believes McWorld's corporate power on a global scale threatens democratic sensibilities.

Barber sees the danger in both realities to liberal democracy. He suggests that Jihad and McWorld “make war on the sovereign nation-state and thus undermine the nation-state’s democratic institutions.” Barber's primary motivation is to understand how new democracies can be supported and how established democracies can grow through understanding the necessary elements in both paradigms.

Who are some people who influenced Scout's life in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Scout was influenced both positively and negatively by the people in her life. Here are some of those people:

Positive Influences:

Atticus: Scout admired and trusted her father. He taught her about honesty and empathy. He also influenced her on her ideas about compassion. Scout loved reading because of her father.

Calpurnia: Calpurnia served as a mother figure to Scout. She influenced Scout as she taught her how to be polite and treat everyone with respect.

Miss Maudie: Scout's kind neighbor became a dear friend to her. With Miss Maudie's influence, Scout learned to view her father in a new light. She also learned to understand her brother.

Jem: Scout's brother influenced her to take risks and face her fears. He sometimes pressured her to do things she did not want to do.

Boo Radley: Boo taught Scout how to appreciate people who were different. He also influenced her to become a more compassionate person.

Aunt Alexandra: Scout's aunt influenced her because she encouraged the girl to embrace her own femininity.

Walter Cunningham: Though Scout was angry at Walter, he taught her to walk in someone else's shoes. She eventually came to understand that Walter was a just person in different circumstances than her own.

Negative Influences:

Miss Caroline: Miss Caroline temporarily caused Scout to dislike school. She made Scout's first day at school miserable.

Bob Ewell: Mr. Ewell had an influence on Scout as his actions caused her to question the safety of Maycomb and her life.

Mrs. Merriweather: Scout's eyes were opened to the hypocrisy within Maycomb when Mrs. Merriweather cared more about the Mrunas than the people in her own community.

How is there interdependence in The Giver by Lois Lowry?

The concept of interdependence means relying on someone else.  In Jonas’s community, it is related to the concept of Sameness.  Everyone is the same, everything is controlled, and people need to learn to rely on the community.  This means that as children they need to learn to rely on other children. 

The community teaches interdependence by making children rely on each other.  From the age of Four to Six, the children’s jackets have buttons in the back so that they will have to help each other dress.  When they are Sevens, they are considered old enough to button their own jackets. 

The little girl nodded and looked down at herself, at the jacket with its row of large buttons that designated her as a Seven. Fours, Fives, and Sixes all wore jackets that fastened down the back so that they would have to help each other dress and would learn interdependence. (Ch. 6) 

In addition to clothing, the people of the community rely on each other in different ways.  Mostly, everyone relies on the community.  Spouses, children, and jobs are all provided by the community.  Individual choice is not really a concept.  Everyone dresses alike, and due to genetic manipulation they even look alike.  With rare exceptions they all have the same skin, eye, and hair color. 

Everyone in the community also depends on the Receiver of Memory.  This is the person who holds the community’s collective memories and history, of which all other community members remain ignorant.  There are not even books in the community other than instruction manuals. 

The Giver shook his head. "Jonas," he said, "the community has depended, all these generations, back and back and back, on a resident Receiver to hold their memories for them. I've turned over many of them to you in the past year. And I can't take them back. There's no way for me to get them back if I have given them. (Ch. 20) 

Since everything in the community is collective, and the community takes care of everyone’s needs, it never occurs to anyone to question anything.  Things just are the way they are, and if you are a citizen of the community you follow the strict rules.  To not do so is socially unacceptable and can result in grave consequences, such as release.

How did Gulliver reach Lilliput, and how was he treated by the Lilliputians?

Gulliver reaches Lilliput by swimming ashore after a shipwreck. After being blown off course near "Van Diemen's Land" (Tasmania, an island south of Australia) his ship hits a rock, and the small boat he and several others attempt to use to escape is swamped by waves. He seems to be the only survivor, and is left to swim, which he does until he reaches a small island. "I swam as fortune directed me, and was pushed forward by wind and tide," Gulliver tells us, and he swam until the water was shallow enough to walk. After walking for nearly a mile in shallow water, he reaches a beach, where he lies down to rest in the grass. He wakes up to find himself tied to the ground by his limbs and by his hair, and he quickly discovers that the tiny Lilliputians, "not six inches high," have made him their prisoner. When he removes the ropes that secure him to the ground, they shoot him with tiny arrows. Eventually they relent and, after their leader greets him formally with a speech, they give him food and drink. He is briefly accepted into Lilliputian society, with the understanding that he will serve them in war against their mortal enemy Blefescu, but eventually angers them by putting out a fire with his urine, violating an imperial decree that "whoever shall make water within the precincts of the royal palace, shall be liable to the pains and penalties of high-treason." He escapes punishment by fleeing to Blefescu.

What is the purpose of the short story "The Open Window" by Saki?

When determining author's purpose, think about the acronym P.I.E., which stands for "persuade, inform, entertain." A story's purpose can usually be understood from these three points. The purpose behind Saki's short story "The Open Window" is to entertain. Vera, a young and mischievous girl, sets up an unassuming and sickly man, named Nuttel, for a practical joke. She tells him a story of a family tragedy only to pull off an ironic twist that frightens the man out of his wits. Not only is Vera a great storyteller, but she is also a great actress. She doesn't just tell the "facts" about the family tragedy that supposedly cost the lives of her aunt's husband and brothers, but she dramatically displays sorrow, and then believable horror, when the men return from hunting. When Nuttel runs from the home without a word to the hostess, the joke is successfully executed, and the intended entertainment is accomplished.

In the book Chains, why would the brewing of the tea be an issue for the Colonies at the time?

Chains takes place in the time of the Thirteen English Colonies in the 18th century.  Isabel is owned by the Lockton family, who are Loyalists.  Loyalists were loyal to King George III and to England.  The Rebels, or Patriots, challenged the laws imposed on the Colonies by King George and his government.

The Townshend Revenue Act imposed a tax on tea, which was a popular beverage in the Thirteen Colonies.  Other items were also taxed under the Townshend Revenue Act.  Boycotts caused some of these taxes to be removed by 1770, but the tax on tea remained.  Many Patriots chose to boycott tea in protest of the tax.  The British East India Company had a monopoly on tea sold in the Thirteen Colonies.  The company was heavily in debt, and they benefitted greatly from the tax on tea.  This was one of the main reasons why the tax on tea was not repealed.

Most Loyalists continued to drink tea.  Many Patriots refused to buy or drink it.  This caused tensions between the Loyalists and Patriots.  In Chapter 8 of Chains, Mrs. Lockton, a Loyalist, continues to request "a tray of cookies and a pot of tea upstairs late in the afternoon."  Her Patriot neighbors, however, choose other beverages instead of tea.

Why did Bud put a rag over the fish heads?

After Todd, Bud's new foster brother, wakes him up by shoving a pencil up his nose, the two get into a fight; enraged by this, Mrs. Amos decides that she will send Bud back to the group home and make him spend the night in the shed in their backyard. 

A very scared Bud is sent out to the shed and locked in by Mr. Amos. Bud looks around and thinks that he sees three "little flat monster heads" (actually, just fish heads!) hanging on the door; their round, bright yellow eyes are the only thing in the shed that aren't gray, and they appear to be staring right at Bud. Their mouths have very sharp, pointy teeth and "lips smiling back ready to bite." Bud panics, feeling that the shed is shrinking around him and that those frightening mouths are closing in on him. Thus, Bud puts a rag over the fish heads to comfort himself, reasoning that this way, "I couldn't see them and they couldn't see me." 

How have motives and circumstances figured into The Great Gatsby and to what effect?

To best answer this question, it might make sense to start by listing different examples of motivation and circumstances. Of course, these will naturally differ from character to character, and situation to situation. It could be said that motivation and circumstance are the two primary elements that move the plot forward in The Great Gatsby.

Gatsby's motivation is primarily centered on winning the love of Daisy. He believes that becoming wealthy will ensure her devotion to him, and this belief motivates his actions, from working with bootleggers to amass wealth, to acquiring his opulent mansion near Daisy's home, to throwing elaborate parties full of the kind of decadent people he thinks Daisy will like.

Daisy's motivation seems to be her own happiness and comfort; therefore, she rejects Gatsby's marriage proposal, because he is too poor to provide her with the kind of life she wants, and marries Tom Buchanan, whose wealth can provide her with the comforts and sophisticated lifestyle she hopes for. But these two are also motivated by the passionate love they shared in their youth, and this love motivates them again when they meet after five years apart.

Circumstance plays heavily into what becomes of these lovers. If Nick Caraway had not rented a house next door to Gatsby, and had not been a cousin to Daisy, Gatsby and Daisy might not have been reunited. If Daisy had not been unhappy about Tom's infidelity, she might not have been tempted to have an affair with Gatsby. More complicated circumstances, such as Tom's affair with Myrtle, and the mistaken identity that occurs when Myrtle's husband wants revenge for her accidental death, all contribute to the novel's eventual outcome.

Why did English migration slow in the late 1600s?

Starting in 1620, with the arrival of the Pilgrims in the New World, much of English migration was motivated by the Stuart kings' persecution of English Puritans (the Pilgrims were separatists, meaning that they wanted to separate from the Church of England, while the Puritans wanted to remain within the church and purify it from within). During the Great Migration of 1620 to 1640, about 80,000 English people, many of them Puritans, left England for New England and the West Indies (particularly Barbados). In 1688, the last Stuart monarch, James II, was deposed, and the Glorious Revolution replaced James II with William and Mary. While James II was Roman Catholic, William and Mary were Protestant monarchs who ended forever the idea that there would be a Catholic monarch in England. The Puritans felt less persecuted, and there was a less acute need for them to immigrate to the New World. In addition, many English people came to the New World as indentured servants to find jobs, but increasing industrial output in England made this type of migration less necessary by the late 1600s and 1700s. 

What are some specific, direct quotes that people have stated about why Donald Trump is unfit to be President?

Firstly, instead of relying on second-hand information, it might be helpful for you to look up statements that Donald Trump himself has made. From those quotes, you could -- depending on your political leanings, of course -- assess what makes him fit or unfit to be President of the United States. 

To help you, here are a couple of statements that several people have made regarding Donald Trump's unfitness for the U.S. Presidency. Hillary Clinton, his opponent, has offered the following:

"This is a man who said that more countries should have nuclear weapons, including Saudi Arabia."

Since the 1980s, the United States, along with other developed nations, has made an effort to discontinue the use and development of nuclear weapons. Given the persistent conflicts between Sunnis and Shiites in the Middle East, Clinton is implying that encouraging the use of nuclear weapons in this region would be disastrous.

Here is another:

"He says climate change is a hoax invented by the Chinese, and has the gall to say that prisoners of war like John McCain aren't heroes. (Pauses for boos) Exactly."

Trump's antagonism of McCain is subjective. Yet, it is also an example of bad public relations, given the respect that many people have for military service members and veterans. The first part of this statement, however, is grossly untrue. While scientists have nuanced disagreements about climate change, most assert that climate change has been exacerbated by human activity. All would assert that it is not "a hoax invented by the Chinese."

I would be remiss if I did not address Donald Trump's attitudes toward Latinos and women. Here is a quote from political organizer Alida Garcia:

"It’s clear Donald Trump has no intention to move away from his frightening immigration policies of deporting 11 million people in 18 months and revoking the citizenship of U.S. citizen children, which would tank our economy and create a modern day police state."

She neglects his popular insistence on building a wall to keep out Mexicans, but clearly expresses her concern about the humanitarian impact of his policies, as well as the likely economic fall-out.

After the Democratic National Convention aired, Trump criticized Ghazala Khan, the mother of a slain soldier, arguing that, because she is Muslim, her husband had not allowed her to speak at the convention. She responded soon thereafter, not only to explain her reason for not speaking, but also to address Trump's unfounded and prejudiced critique:

"Sacrifice - I don't think he knows the meaning of sacrifice, the meaning of the word. Because when I was standing there, all America felt my pain. Without saying a single word. Everybody felt that pain."

Though this quote is not a direct attack on his fitness for the Presidency, it is an attack on Trump's character, particularly his wisdom and ability to empathize with a mother in mourning. 

How do I make a comparison between Macbeth and The Godfather?

Macbeth and The Godfather are both about power. In each case, someone rose to power quickly and not necessarily expectedly. The road to power became increasingly bloody, and it had consequences for the protagonist's loved ones.

In Macbeth, Macbeth hears a prophecy that he will become king. Until this point, he was just a loyal soldier.  Since he was not a son of King Duncan, being king was probably not on his radar. Once the possibility was there, however, Macbeth became obsessed with it.

MACBETH

[Aside] The Prince of Cumberland! that is a step
On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap,
For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;
Let not light see my black and deep desires (Act 1, Scene 4).

Macbeth was advised to try to become king by Lady Macbeth, who was bloodthirsty and ambitious enough to talk him into killing Duncan. Her plan was successful, and Macbeth became king. They had to kill Duncan and the guards, which affected both of them. Over the course of the play, they slowly succumb to guilt. 

Michael Corleone’s rise to power was similar in that it was unexpected. When his father was attacked, he seemed to be the most qualified to lead. A gang war had erupted, and Michael wanted to kill a corrupt policeman to save his father. He also had to retaliate against the gangsters who targeted his father and cement himself as the head of his family. 

Both Macbeth and Michael were faced with escalating violence. Macbeth had to kill first Banquo and then Macduff’s family to maintain his position as king. Michael had to kill the corrupt policeman and rival gang members. Both men went from fairly normal lives to thinking murder was not a big deal. Both had to kill people close to them. Macbeth feared Banquo would betray him, and Michael found out that Tessio and his sister’s husband both betrayed him, meaning they had to die. 

There are differences in the stories, of course. Michael’s girlfriend had no idea what he was. Even after she married him, she didn’t realize he had become a Mafia kingpin. Lady Macbeth was completely complicit in Macbeth’s rise to power, but Kay was an innocent bystander in Michael’s. 

Macbeth lost his power by the end of the play, but Michael cemented his. Malcolm came after Macbeth; Barzini came after Michael. Michael had good advisors, intelligence, and a strong survival instinct. By the end, he lost his brother and his father, but he was on top. Macbeth lost his will to live as he became more and more unstable. When facing Macduff, he gave up when he found out that the prophecy about bewaring Macduff was relevant since Macduff was not born of woman.

How does Blake portray people in the poem 'London'?

His view of humanity in this poem is, to say the least, bleak and desperate. Blake seeks to provide a portrait of Londoners, particularly members of the lower-class, struggling to survive in the Industrial Age.

The narrator is walking through the streets and regarding the faces of other passersby:

I wander thro' each charter'd street,

Near where the charter'd Thames does flow,

And mark in every face I meet

Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

"Chartered" could indicate private property, or a space (e.g., city, street, school) that has been established. For the purpose of the poem, Blake seems to use the word to remind us that we are in a civilized space, but that civilization has not made us any more humane or content. Perhaps our discontent is rooted in our growing too distant from nature. Notice, too, how the Thames, a natural formation, has also been "charter'd." 

Every face has "marks of weakness" and "woe." The use of the word mark, as both a verb and a noun, indicate that the strangers are stained or sullied. One thinks of marks of soot or oil that one would see on the body of a factory worker.

Though he does not describe any of these strangers, but instead gives us a catalog of types, Blake accounts for the singularity of everyone's anguish:

In every cry of every Man,

In every Infant's cry of fear,

In every voice, in every ban,

The mind-forg'd manacles I hear:

With the use of the adverb "every" he gives distinction where there is otherwise none. The distinction, for humans, lies in the pained sounds they produce. "Ban" has several meanings. It could indicate social and legal prohibitions, public condemnation, or be a play on "banns," which were marriage proclamations. What all of these "bans" have in common is that they are institutional restrictions placed on people -- hence, "mind-forg'd manacles." The narrator hears the clanging of the shackles with which each person has locked down his or her mind in the interest of being a member of society.

The last two stanzas more specifically address people who are representative of political concerns. "The Chimney-sweeper" is a figure about whom Blake had written several poems. Here the chimney sweeper cries, which echoes the "cry of every Man" and "every Infant's cry of fear," but also alludes to the chimney-sweeper advertising his services:

How the Chimney-sweeper's cry

Every blackning Church appalls,

The misery of a boy sweeping out chimneys to live is an outrage or shock to the Church, or should be. Blake's use of the present participle "blackning" suggests a Church that is implicit in this. Churches, too, require the services of chimney-sweeps to clear out soot, which could blacken the space. "Blackning" also suggests guilt or shame for the Church's lack of action on this matter.

The next two lines take issue with the state:

And the hapless Soldier's sigh

Runs in blood down Palace walls.

The soldier is a victim ("hapless") of political maneuvering. He takes his last breath ("sigh") and the reverberations of his death are felt in the palace, for they are guilty -- stained with his blood. There is some alliteration in these lines as well, with the repetition of the "s" sound both at the beginning and end of various words. The effect here is like that of a hush.

The last stanza looks at a prostitute and the effect her desperate actions have had on her child. This is the figure on whom Blake focuses: "But most thro' midnight streets I hear." "Most" indicates that the sound she produces from her "curse" are all too familiar to the narrator. "Curse" has a double-meaning here. It is both profanity and probably venereal disease:

How the youthful Harlot's curse

Blasts the new-born Infant's tear,

And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.

The blast on "the new-born Infant's tear" indicates that the child is blind. Untreated gonorrhea can have this effect on newborns. Moreover, her ability to spread this disease, and possibly others, to her married customers results in the deaths, both spiritual and possibly literal, of those men's marriages. Untreated syphilis can result in death; and realizing that one's husband has been with a prostitute can destroy the marriage bond. Thus, the marriage coach becomes a "hearse."

I know what the answer is (r^2+6r+4), but I don't know how I got it! Can someone help, please. Original Problem: (r^3+5r^2-2r-4)/(r-1)

We are asked to perform the operation `(r^3+5r^2-2r-4 )/(r-1) ` :

Since the denominator is a monic (leading coefficient 1) linear function, we can easily use synthetic division:

1  |  1   5   -2   -4
    -----------------
       1   6    4     0

Reading the quotient and remainder from the bottom row we get `r^2+6r+4 ` with remainder zero.

If you are unfamiliar with synthetic division, or the problem has a nonlinear divisor, you can use long division:

      r^2   +   6r   +   4
      --------------------
r-1| r^3  +5r^2  -2r  -4
      r^3   -r^2
      -----------
               6r^2  -2r
               6r^2  -6r
               ---------
                         4r  -4
                         4r  -4
                         ------
                               0

Finally, if you do not know either division method you can factor the numerator and divide out any common factors:

`(r^3+5r^2-2r-4)/(r-1)=((r-1)(r^2+6r+4))/(r-1)=r^2+6r+4 `

One way to factor the numerator:

`r^3+5r^2-2r-4=(r^3-1)+5r^2-2r-4+1 `  add/subtract 1

`=(r-1)(r^2+r+1)+5r^2-2r-3 `  Factor the difference of cubes

`=(r-1)(r^2+r+1)+(r-1)(5r+3) ` Factor the quadratic term

`=(r-1)(r^2+r+1+5r+3)=(r-1)(r^2+6r+4) ` using the distributive property.

In Book XIII of The Odyssey, what does Poseidon do to Odysseus's ship?

In this book, the Phaeacians return Odysseus to Ithaca.  He's fallen asleep on board, and so they pick him up and place him on shore, surrounded by all the treasure he's been given by the Phaeacian chiefs; then they set back off for their own home.  Poseidon is angry at them for interfering because he wanted Odysseus to die while trying to reach his home because he is still angry about Odysseus blinding his son, Polyphemus, the Cyclops.  Poseidon speaks with Zeus about wanting to punish the Phaeacians, and Zeus suggests that he wait until the ship has almost made it home; then, when everyone on shore can see, Poseidon should turn the ship to stone and make it sink.  This will sadden and scare them, causing them to refrain from helping people like this in the future.  This is what he does, and they, believing a prophecy has been fulfilled, vow to discontinue assisting others and they make a big sacrifice to Poseidon.

How is the theme of coexistence between good and evil portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Evil coexists with good in the town of Maycomb, particularly the evil of racism. Despite Atticus's best efforts, Tom Robinson, a black man, is found guilty of a crime he didn't commit simply because of his race. The people in the town are shown to be hypocrites who put upholding racial codes ahead of mercy.

Yet, the book argues, the people of Maycomb aren't wholly evil and part of what Jem and Scout have to learn is that the world isn't split into "good" people and "evil" people. Almost everyone is a mixture of both. It's important to Atticus that the children learn this lesson and learn to be tolerant rather than judgmental. 

One example of a person who is a mix of good and evil is Mrs. Dubose. Jem and Scout hate because she is portrayed as an evil, ugly old woman, the neighborhood witch, who is always criticizing and insulting them. Yet when Jem knocks the heads off of her camillias (the state flower of flawed Alabama and a symbol of Mrs. Dubose, who is as racist as her state) with Scout's baton, Atticus makes them read to her. The children learn to admire her for courage in fighting off her morphine addiction: they learn she is a mixture of both good and evil.

Likewise, good and evil coexist in Mayella Ewell. She is evil to lie about Tom making sexual advances to her, but she is also a person we feel sorry for, struggling to survive in poverty with an abusive father.  

By offering such a full account of Maycomb and its people, Harper Lee attempts to help us understand how complicated humans can be. Lesser works of literature have what are called "cardboard characters," characters who are all good or all evil. While this may be more comfortable for us than a mix of good and evil in the same person, Lee challenges us to see that the world and the people in it, in reality, consist of this mix. 

What are the common themes between The God of Small Things and Song of Solomon?

The major theme that Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things and Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon share is that of incestuous relationships. In Song of Solomon, the protagonist, Milkman Dead, is nicknamed so after one of his father's employees sees him nursing from his mother. The reason the incident sparked such a nickname is the fact that Milkman is four years old at the time. He and Ruth are meant to feel shame that Milkman wasn't weaned from the breast long ago. Because his nickname sticks, the shame of the incident also sticks to Milkman throughout the novel. Additionally, Milkman's father (Macon Dead II) grows suspicious of his wife's relationship with her own father. While it's not clear whether Ruth's relationship with her father was ever incestuous, she does idealize her father; the suspicion of incest with him affects her family relationships.

Incest is the engine of the plot in The God of Small Things. Rahel and Estha, twins and co-protagonists, are very close in their childhoods and seem to have the extrasensory perception often ascribed to twins. When Rahel marries, she and Estha are apart for several years, though their fondest memories are of each other. When they reunite, as adults, they have consensual sex and are happy about it, when up until this point they have both been unhappy. A symbolic reading of this act in the novel could suggest that the world can only be in balance through the harmony of yin and yang. 

Other themes that both novels share are themes around ghosts of the past, violence, the legacy of ancestors, oppression, and the bonds of shared culture.  

Frost typically ends his sentences at the end of a poetic line, but four times he punctuates the end of a sentence in the middle of a line. What...

In the poem “Mending Wall,” Frost uses iambic pentameter with no rhyme scheme and a single continuous verse without separate stanzas as his form. With this pattern, he mirrors both the imperfections of the stone wall and the casual conversation the two neighbors have as they walk along their property line. The mid-line sentence breaks come in lines 9, 22, 31, and 36. The poem can be broken into five thematic or focal sections in this manner: lines 1-4, lines 5-11, lines 12-24, lines 25-38, and lines 38-45. Therefore, the sentence breaks are not used as section breaks—again, perhaps as indications of the conversational style used to tell the story. With a little imagination, one could also make the case that the mid-line breaks feel like stones falling off the wall itself.

In "The Umbrella Man," what do the girl and her mother find out about the gentleman after he enters the pub?

The mother and daughter learn they have both been deceived about the little old man with the umbrella.

The man's deception of the woman is rather cleverly accomplished: He tells the narrator's mother that he has forgotten his wallet and he needs the fare for a taxi because he has walked too far and his "old legs" are tired. He offers to sell his twenty-pound umbrella for just one pound for the taxi-fare.

The mother feels it wrong to purchase a silk umbrella for twenty pounds, so she suggests she just give the little man a pound. She tells the old gentleman that she does not feel right about taking his umbrella. The little old man insists that she take his umbrella, saying,

But now it’s of no importance so long as I can get home and rest these old legs of mine.

The mother provides the old gentleman with the pound he desires. Afterwards, the mother congratulates herself on judging the man's character correctly. Just then, her daughter sees the man scurrying down the street. The mother decides to follow him as he dodges in and out of places where people stand. Finally, the mother and daughter see him enter a pub where he lays down the pound note given him and orders a "treble whisky," a whisky that is three shots. The daughter and her mother realize the mother has been tricked. Then she watches as the man departs. He goes to the hook where his coat is hung, but while doing so, he grabs an umbrella. He then goes out of the building with his new prize.

Why shouldn't the United States have dropped the atomic bomb on Japan? Please answer with three criteria.

There were reasons for and reasons against the United States dropping the atomic bombs on Japan. I will focus on why we shouldn’t have dropped the atomic bombs on Japan.

One reason why we shouldn’t have dropped the two atomic bombs on Japan was that it would kill many innocent civilians. Many Japanese people would die from the radiation and/or would suffer long-term consequences. This weapon wouldn’t just affect the Japanese soldiers. It would affect many Japanese people for generations to come.

Another reason for not dropping the atomic bombs was that it would usher in the atomic age. There would be other countries that would try to get the atomic bomb. If one of these countries got the atomic bomb and believed in different ideologies and philosophies than we believed, it could cause serious worldwide problems. Back in the 1940s as well as today, we worry about the “wrong” countries getting atomic or nuclear weapons.

A third reason for not using the atomic bomb is that we didn’t give Japan enough time to respond to the Potsdam Ultimatum. It was only one week after we issued the warning that the first atomic bomb was dropped. Then we dropped the second bomb just three days after the first atomic bomb was dropped. Many people believe we should have waited longer before dropping the first atomic bomb and then dropping the second atomic bomb.

Finally, some people believe Japan was near defeat in 1945. If we used conventional warfare involving the air force, the army, and the navy, Japan may have surrendered without using these devastating bombs.

There were several reasons why the atomic bombs should not have been dropped on Japan.

Compare and contrast the French Revolution (1789) and the Russian Revolution (1917). How did leaders use nationalism and propaganda to gain...

The French and Russian revolutions both had multiple causes, economic, social and ideological. Although they were separated in time by over a century, they actually occurred in relatively similar internal developmental contexts, as Russia in the early twentieth century was still an agrarian economy led by a monarch, unlike western Europe which underwent the industrial revolution in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. 

In both countries, similar economic factors contributed to the revolutionary impulse. First, there was a dramatic degree of economic inequality. The was exacerbated by the way wealthy monarchs and nobles created extravagant displays of their wealth. Second, both countries were heavily indebted and their monarchs kept increasing taxation to sustain their own extravagant lifestyles. Third, both some of the French peasants and the Russian bourgeois were beginning to acquire some wealth engendering what Marx called a "revolution of rising expectations." Socially, the upper classes had many freedoms and acted with impunity while the lower classes were restricted from roles of power and a voice in running their country, breeding resentment. 

In both cases, ideology played a role in the revolutions, but while the ideology behind the French one was Enlightenment liberalism, that behind the French one was Marxist, and valued the collective over the individual. Both revolutions were strongly anti-clerical and anti-religious. The Russian Revolution, though, was the more radical of the two, addressing gender and class in a more critical fashion. 

Finally, in both revolutions, the original collectivism and ideological purity succumbed to the attractions of charismatic leaders, who used forces of propaganda and nationalism to create authoritarian states.

What hard lesson does Jem learn from Mrs. Dubose's medical problem?

In Chapter 11, Atticus punishes Jem for destroying Mrs. Dubose's camellia bush and makes him read to her ever day for two hours, except for Sundays, for an entire month. Later on in the chapter, Mrs. Dubose passes away, and Atticus explains to his children that Mrs. Dubose suffered from a chronic disease and was addicted to morphine. Atticus tells Jem that his reading occupied Mrs. Dubose's mind and helped her beat her morphine addiction. Atticus then tells his children that he wanted them to see what real courage looked like. Atticus says,

"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting that idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what" (Lee 69).

Jem learns an important lesson about "real courage." According to Atticus, Mrs. Dubose was the bravest person he's ever met for conquering her morphine addiction. Jem learns that Mrs. Dubose was courageous and had a strong will. He realizes that Mrs. Dubose's will to conquer her extremely painful illness demonstrated her integrity and courage.

In Lord of the Flies, why don't Jack and his hunters take the conch when they attack Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric?

After Simon is killed (Chapter 9), even Ralph starts to doubt the power and effectiveness of the conch. Simon's death is significant in that it shows Jack's tribe moving further into savage behavior. In Chapter 10, sitting with Piggy, Ralph stares at the conch and laughs when Piggy suggests they use it to summon a meeting. Ralph realizes that the symbol of reason (conch) now has no power over Jack and his followers. Jack rules by force and intimidation: not by using a tool of organization. 

By this point, most of the boys have defected or been scared into joining Jack's camp. They really have no use for the conch any more. Considering that the conch symbolizes order and civil behavior, it is fitting that Jack doesn't see a need for it. However, they could still use Piggy's glasses to start fires. Jack's primary concern, other than ruling like a tyrant, is hunting and meat. Therefore, the subsequent need is something to start fires to cook the meat. 

When they are attacked, Piggy thinks they have come for the conch. Piggy still thinks (or wants to believe) that the conch has some unifying and/or civilizing power. But Jack has made the transition to a savage ruler. Now, all he wants is the glass. 

Using examples from the story, how could the sacrifice of the nightingale be treated as unnecessary?

In "The Nightingale and the Rose," it can be argued that the nightingale's sacrifice was unnecessary because the red rose (which she dies for) does not bring about the student's happiness. At the beginning of the story, for example, the girl tells the student that she will dance with him if he brings her a red rose. Having fallen in love, the student dedicates himself to this pursuit. By the end of the story, however, the girl has completely changed her mind about the student because she has met the Chamberlain's rich nephew and he has won her over by giving her some jewels as a gift. The need for the rose is, thus, negated because the girl has already found another boy to dance with.

What was a difference between the North and the South as showed by Reconstruction?

Reconstruction showed how different the North and the South really were when the Civil War ended. One difference was in the attitudes of the people. Southerners resented Reconstruction and didn’t want to see a society with more equality between blacks and whites. Northerners wanted to see a society with more equality between the races.

Another difference was in the jobs that the people in each region did. The South was almost entirely agricultural. The North had many industries. One change that occurred as a result of Reconstruction was a diversification of the South’s economy. More industries developed in the South during and after Reconstruction.

A final difference was in the method of transportation. The South depended heavily on river transportation before Reconstruction. The North used the railroads as a main form of transportation. After the Civil War, the railroads expanded into the South. Railroad transportation grew in importance in the South as a result of Reconstruction.

In Tuck Everlasting, what three things happen that seem to have no connection between the Tucks and the Fosters?

The three things that the question is asking about can be found in the story's opening prologue.  It is there that readers are told that three things happened that appeared to have no connection to each other at all.  

The first thing that happened was Mae Tuck began to head toward the town of Treegap.  The narrator tells readers that this is something that she does every ten years.  This event happened at dawn.  

The second thing that happened was Winnie Foster decided that she would begin thinking about running away.  This event happened at noon.  

The third thing that happened was a stranger arrived at the Foster home looking for someone; however, he would not say who exactly he was looking for.  This event happened at sunset. 

The events are connected to each other because Mae is going to Treegap to meet her sons.  Winnie runs away and meets the Tucks, and the stranger follows Winnie and the Tucks in order to learn their secret.  

What warning does the nurse give Romeo?

The Nurse warns Romeo to not trick Juliet into thinking that he loves her more than he actually does. This action is in line with her usual behavior, for she always acts in the interests of Juliet throughout the play. This is because the Nurse is shown to have been Juliet's primary caregiver from the very beginning of her life, even rivaling and perhaps surpassing Juliet's mother in terms of influence. Evidence supporting this perspective can be found in Act 1, Scene 3, where Lady Capulet initial dismisses the Nurse so that she may speak to her daughter alone, only to quickly change her mind and request that the Nurse stay and provide counsel. This behavior indicates that the Nurse is valued by Lady Capulet and Juliet as a source of wisdom, and the Nurse clearly understands her influence as shown in her warning to Romeo. The Nurse wants the best for Juliet, and before she facilitates Juliet's relationship with Romeo, she must first ascertain that Romeo's intentions are pure. 

How does Marilyn want her family to remember her in "The Cold Equations"?

Marilyn wants her family to remember her in a positive light, as someone who has always loved them. She doesn't want her family to remember her with regret.

In the story, Marilyn is a stowaway who will soon be released into space because the EDS (Emergency Dispatch Ship) she is on doesn't have enough fuel to support the extra weight on board. Marilyn originally boarded the ship in order to be able to see her brother, Gerry, who is stationed on the frontier planet of Woden.

Before her release into space (which will kill her), Marilyn engages in conversation with the EDS pilot, Barton. She tells him she wants her family to remember her as a loving person, one who performed innumerable acts of love for them in her lifetime, just as they have for her. She also wants her family to remember her as she has always been: young, whole, and unmarred by death.

She imagines that she will die a gruesome death in space, and she doesn't want her family to think of her as having died in agony. For his part, Barton assures Marilyn that her family would never think of her in such a way. With great kindness and sensitivity, he assures her that she has nothing to worry about on this score, saying,

You’re their own, their child and their sister. They could never think of you other than the way you would want them to, the way you looked the last time they saw you.

What are some uncontrollable forces—for example, family—that play a role in Shakespeare's Hamlet?

Well, it certainly is true that we can’t pick our family.  Hamlet cannot change the fact that his uncle is corrupt and ambitious enough to murder his own brother for the throne.  However, Hamlet does try to influence his mother’s unvirtuous behavior with Claudius. After he berates her for her poor judgment in entering into what he sees as an incestuous relationship with her former brother-in-law, she admits to Hamlet that his words have cut her heart in two.  He tells her, “O, throw away the worser part of it, / And live the purer with the other half!” Gertrude, however, is right back in Claudius’ arms the minute Hamlet leaves the room, so his efforts are to no avail.

Tied with family is the concept that we can’t control the circumstances we are born into. Hamlet is the prince, whether he likes it or not. As Laertes warns Ophelia, Hamlet may not choose his own wife, “for he himself is subject to his birth.” He will be married to a woman of royalty who can politically strengthen Denmark. Ophelia is also subject to her birth. Besides the fact that she isn’t royalty and not considered worthy of the man she loves, she was born female. Women of the middle ages, in which the play Hamlet is set, weren’t considered capable of making most decisions for themselves, and were required to obey the men in their lives. Under the pressure of constant control, losing Hamlet, and burying her father without her brother’s presence, the only choice she is able to make for herself is to simply stop living.

Another uncontrollable force in Hamlet seems to be the supernatural world. As the guards and Horatio wait for the apparition to reappear, Horatio recounts past supernatural happenings that seemed to foretell ominous events, such as ghosts in the streets, a comet in the sky, and an eclipse of the moon just before Julius Caesar was murdered. The men feel powerless. They cannot make the ghost speak to them, yet they fear it foreshadows some disaster for Denmark. Hamlet himself is unable to command the ghost. Although it will speak to him, he feels bound by filial obligation to commit the revenge it requests, since it appears to be the spirit of his murdered father, the former king. He is also unable to make the ghost reveal itself to Gertrude, so that she decides Hamlet is completely insane and discounts all that he has labored to convince her of concerning Claudius.

Considering all that is beyond his control, it is no wonder that Hamlet is suicidal and so easily overcome by his own ruse of insanity. Yet in the end Hamlet takes control of his own attitude and makes peace with his fate. He tells Horatio, “There is a / special providence in the fall of a sparrow… / if it be not now, yet it will come. The / readiness is all.” He might not be able to control when his death comes, but he feels ready for it when it does.

How is Mr. Mead's house different from the other houses in the city in "The Pedestrian"?

I would say Mr. Mead's house is different from all the other houses in the city in two specific ways.  

The first way that Mr. Mead's house is different is that it is brightly lit. All the lights are on. At the very end of the story, Mr. Mead is arrested and driven past his house. We are told all the houses were dark except one, which has all its lights on. Mr. Mead tells the police car that the house is his.  

They passed one house on one street a moment later, one house in an entire city of houses that were dark, but this one particular house had all of its electric lights brightly lit, every window a loud yellow illumination, square and warm in the cool darkness.

The other way Mr. Mead's house is different is that it does not have a television, or "viewing screen," inside. All the other houses have that particular entertainment device, and that is why all the homes are darkened. People are watching television in the dark. Mr. Mead doesn't have a TV. He prefers to walk around the neighborhood by himself. That activity is considered so odd that the police arrest him and plan to take Mr. Mead to the Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies.

What words did the author use to describe the setting?

Usually when the author describes the terrain in Florida from Roy's perspective, he calls it flat. Having come from Montana where there were jagged mountain peaks, Roy can't get over how flat Florida is. When Roy ventures out of his residential neighborhood to the golf course to track down the running boy, he gets into a wild area that features Australian pines, scrubby trees, and thickets. When he walks back into the wooded area, he comes to a ditch that runs "like a tunnel through the thicket."

The construction site has rough ground pitted by sandy owl burrows. When Roy goes with Mullet Fingers to where the running boy catches mullet fish with his bare hands, the boys sit with their "legs dangling over the pale green creek." Roy is mesmerized by the quiet isolation there, a place where "the bushy old mangroves [seal] off the place from the honking and hammering of civilization."

Roy's trip to the Everglades with his family is even more awe-inspiring. Roy is amazed by "the immense flatness of the terrain, the lush horizons, and the exotic abundance of life." Taking an airboat across the "sawgrass flats" and down the "narrow winding creeks," Roy comes to appreciate the beauty of Florida. In the Epilogue, when Roy goes to Beatrice's soccer game, the author describes the Florida sunshine which Roy has finally come to appreciate. The sun lights up the soccer field "like a neon carpet," and the "high sun and the steaming heat" draw Roy back to the creek where he had spent time with Mullet Fingers. Again he enjoys an afternoon at the creek bordered by a "gnarly old stump," "tangled trees," and "dense knotted mangroves" under the "sun's glare." As Roy becomes more accustomed to living in Florida, the descriptions of the setting become more interesting, varied, and pleasant.

Why would the playwright choose to use Puritanism as a backdrop for a comment on hysteria in The Crucible?

Arthur Miller likely chose the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 in order to comment on the hysteria created by the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s because they have several elements in common. First, both populations feared an enemy they could not identify by sight: anyone could be a witch, according to the Puritans, and anyone could be a Communist. It was simply impossible to look at someone and know their motives and allegiances. Moreover, both populations feared terrible and immediate personal harm from these antagonists; both felt that their community's security was at risk as a result of their presence. In both communities, then, paranoia led to hysteria, and people began to turn on their neighbors. In the Salem Witch Trials, the testimony of children was used to condemn innocent men and women to death, and during the Red Scare, the testimony of schoolchildren might be enough to get a teacher believed to have Communist sympathies fired. Finally, during both episodes in American history, it was not enough to simply confess to wrongdoing; the convicted had to name names of other guilty parties in order to be considered credible. Though no one was put to death as a result of the McCarthy hearings, the rampant hysteria created an environment of fear that matched, in many ways, the emotional environment created by the girls' accusations in The Crucible.

When did the US enter the war?

In your question, you do not specify which war you are asking about.  However, this question is usually asked with regard either to WWI or WWII.  I will answer for each of these two wars.

The United States officially entered WWI on April 6, 1917.  At this point, the war had already been going for years, having started in late July of 1914.  The US had tried to avoid becoming involved in this war and had succeeded for years.  However, President Wilson eventually felt as if he had to bring the country into the conflict.  He did this largely because Germany decided to resume its unlimited submarine warfare even though the US had warned it not to do so.  Wilson also asked for war because of the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany had tried to get Mexico to enter the war on its side.  Germany had proposed that , in return for its help, Mexico would get back the land it had lost to the US in the Mexican-American War.  For these reasons, the US entered the war on April 6, 1917 when Congress gave final approval to a declaration of war on Germany.

The United States entered WWII on December 8, 1941.  In this war, too, the US was a latecomer as the war had been going in Europe since September of 1939.  The US entered the war as the result of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.  The Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941.  The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan and Congress complied.  On December 11, 1941, the day after Germany declared war on the US, the US reciprocated and declared war on Germany as well.

So, for the two major wars of the 20th century, the US entered WWI on April 6, 1917 and WWII on December 8, 1941.