What does the term comrade mean in Orwell's Animal Farm?

In George Orwell's novel Animal Farm, the term comrade is first used by Old Major in his speech defining his philosophy of what would later be called animalism. He calls the animals comrades and urges them to treat each other equally and to work together to overthrow Farmer Jones. He says,

"And among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals are comrades."

The term comrade simply means friend, mate or ally. Its use suggests equality. Rather than using terms such as sir, madam, lord, lady, king or queen, which relate to class or status, the animals are now simply comrades and share everything equally. The term is closely related to the Communist revolution in Russia where the leaders referred to each other as comrades in their struggle to remake Russia into a Communist state like the one first envisioned by Karl Marx. The novel is usually seen as an allegory of the Russian Revolution, so it is fitting that Orwell should have the animals address each other as comrades. By the end, of course, this sense of comradeship is lost as the pigs become just as ruthless, if not more, than the humans in running the day to day activities of the farm. The original ideas of equality are lost and by the last chapter, the term comrade is not mentioned as the pigs change the name of the farm from Animal Farm back to Manor Farm. 

What government group did President Thomas Jefferson consult before buying the Louisiana Purchase?

Thomas Jefferson had trouble deciding whether to make the Louisiana Purchase. President Jefferson hoped to buy West Florida and New Orleans from France for $10 million. He wanted to secure the Port of New Orleans so we would be able to use it to trade. When Napoleon offered to sell the entire Louisiana Territory for $15 million, President Jefferson wasn’t sure he had the authority to do this.

Thomas Jefferson believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution. A person who believes in a strict view of the Constitution believes the government can only do what the Constitution specifically says it can do. Since the Constitution didn’t say the President could buy so much land, President Jefferson was hesitant to make this deal.

President Jefferson consulted with his Cabinet. The Cabinet is a group of people who provides advice to the President. His Cabinet recommended that he make this purchase. As a result, the Louisiana Purchase was made by President Jefferson and approved by the Senate.

What happened at the end of the book Hoot by Carl Hiaasen?

Carl Hiaasen's novel Hoot consists of twenty-one chapters and an epilogue. In chapter twenty, the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Mother Paula's pancake house is taking place. Mullet Fingers, whose real name is Napolean Bridger Leep, has been trying to stop construction through various tricks. He wants to stop construction in order to save the burrowing owls on the property. During the groundbreaking ceremony, Mullet Fingers has buried himself in one of the owl dens with only his head sticking out. He has a bucket of "snakes" with him that he threatens to let out if they go forward with construction. Chuck Muckle, the vice president of the Mother Paula's organization, calls his bluff by taking his gold-painted shovel and hacking the snakes to pieces. They are made out of rubber. 

Roy tells the crowd that there are owls on the property and the pancake house will destroy their habitat. He tries to prove his point, but the pictures they took to prove the owls lived on the property were grainy and dark. The students who are at the groundbreaking ceremony join hands to prevent the bulldozers from beginning the groundbreaking. At the end of chapter twenty, a burrowing owl lands on Mullet Fingers's head, proving their existence. 

In chapter twenty-one, the press, present for the groundbreaking ceremony, reports the entire story in the newspaper the next day. Roy's family meets Kelly Colfax, a reporter Chuck Muckle assaulted during the groundbreaking. Roy's dad gives Kelly Colfax an envelope that contains the file for the Mother Paula's project. Roy's father got the file from the courthouse and had it examined by lawyers who were experts in environmental law. The file was missing the environmental impact statement, which proves Chuck Muckle and Curly Branitt knew about the owls and tried to cover it up. 

In the epilogue, the Gazette reports that the environmental impact statement turned up in the golf bag of Councilman Grandy, along with an envelope containing $4,500. This scandal permanently shuts down construction of the restaurant on the property at East Oriole and Woodbury. Chuck Muckle was demoted to Assistant Junior Vice President and was court-ordered to take an anger management class. Mother Paula's company pledges to create an owl sanctuary on the property. 

Mullet Fingers ends up in juvenile detention when his mother reports that he stole her valuable toe ring. He manages to escape juvenile detention by using his cell mate, Dana Matherson, as a decoy.

In The Chrysalids, how do the births given by David's mom and aunt explain how it is a patriarchal society?

David’s mother completely supports his father in rejecting babies who do not conform to the True Image. 

A patriarchal society is one dominated by men, where women are subservient.  Waknuk is a very strictly religious society, dominated by David’s father.  The True Image is supposedly a representation of what all people, animals, and plants should look like.  Anyone or anything that does not conform to the True Image is cast out. 

David describes the birth of his little sister, Petra.  The birth of the baby is very odd. No one will even acknowledge there is a baby until it has been certified.  It is as if it does not exist. 

One did not dare to announce a birth until the child had been officially examined and approved; and the longer the formal announcement was delayed, the more time the malicious had to invent reasons for the delay. A man of standing looked to having the certificate granted at the earliest possible moment. (Ch. 7) 

When David’s mother’s sister brings a baby by that does not have its Normalcy Certificate, she refuses to support her sister.  David’s aunt is horrified, because she has not been able to have a baby that can be certified as normal.  We are never told what is wrong with the babies.  Whatever was wrong with this one was just a “little thing.”  She asks to borrow Petra in order to get the certificate.  This horrifies David’s mother. 

'In all my life I have never heard anything so outrageous. To come here suggesting that I should enter into an immoral, a criminal conspiracy to ... I think you must be mad, Harriet. To think that I should lend —' She broke off at the sound of my father's heavy step in the passage. (Ch. 7) 

She asks her husband to send her sister away.  She knows that he would never approve, and she doesn’t want to do anything to upset him.  The baby’s father rejected it too.  The inspector is also a man.  The men are the ones who determine if the babies can be kept or not, and there is nothing the women can do about it.

For a stormwater drain and was wondering if you would be able to separate two liquids (underground) by boiling off the one at the lower temp rate....

Assuming the two (or more) liquids have different boiling points, you could indeed separate them by boiling, but you would probably want to collect the liquids first so that they could be properly separated. This process is called distillation. The liquid with the lowest boiling point will boil off before the others at this temperature. By collecting the vapor using laboratory equipment, this liquid can be separated out. This requires a still of some kind. Otherwise, unless there were a sufficient system for allowing the vapor to escape, boiling the liquid underground would probably result in a large amount of vapor in the chamber, which would re-condense into liquid again when it cooled and mix back in with the liquid in the drain. 

Another way of separating out two liquids from a mixture is centrifugation. This is a process of spinning liquids of varying density in a centrifuge so that they separate out into layers by density. 

Both of these would work for separating out components of a mixture; however, it would probably require isolating or collecting the mixture first so that the proper equipment could be used.

When did Jem and Scout get out of school in the book To Kill a Mockingbird?

The novel covers about three years of Scout's life. When the story begins, it is summer. She and Jem meet Dill in Chapter 1 and he leaves in Chapter 2, when Scout starts school for the first time.

Scout's first year of school is over in Chapter 4. Coming home from school, Scout and Jem find another gift in the oak tree. Dill arrives two days later. This summer the kids are still fascinated by Boo Radley. On Dill's last night in Maycomb, the three of them try to get a look at Boo at night. Jem loses his pants in the attempt and Dill leaves for the next school year. 

Scout's second year of school starts at the beginning of Chapter 7. Scout and Jem continue to find things in the oak tree, noting that the mysterious giver must be setting things out while they are at school.

Chapter 11 marks the end of another school year and the beginning of the next summer: 

There was a hint of summer in the air—in the shadows it was cool, but the sun was warm, which meant good times coming: no school and Dill. 

This summer, during which the trial occurs, extends from about Chapters 11 through 24. The trial is one of the most significant parts of the novel and therefore takes up a large portion. 

A car travels at an average speed of 50km/h to reach its destination which is 17km away. How long did it take a car to reach its destination?

Since you know the average speed is 50km/h, this means that:

if the car travels for 60 minutes, then it travels 50km. We can write this as 60n=50km

then we solve for n, which is 5/6.

Next, we want to find the blank for: if the car travels for x minutes, then it travels 17km. so we can write that as x(5/6)=17km. x=17/(5/6). x=20.4.

Therefore, it takes 20.4 minutes to travel 17km.

In The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss, how does the mother react when she realizes that the ship is sinking?

In The Swiss Family Robinson, when the ship is in mortal danger from the storm, the wife of the family is initially afraid but she soon rallies and tries to calm and cheer her children.  This can be seen in a passage only a few paragraphs into the book.

At this point in the book, it is clear that the ship is doomed. The father tells his children that they need to put their trust in God and that, no matter what happens to them, they will turn out okay (either on earth or in Heaven).  These words have a good effect on the wife. The narrator says that

 At these words my weeping wife looked bravely up, and, as the boys clustered round her, she began to cheer and encourage them with calm and loving words.

The wife was afraid.  That is why she was “weeping.”  But then she is inspired by her husband’s words and starts to try to help the children to feel less afraid.

This is very typical of this book.  The book is full of instances in which the family relies on their faith in God to get them through their problems.  It is also full of instances in which the father acts as the leader of the family. In this way, this incident shows us some of the major themes in this book.

Edgar Allan Poe is famous for using symbolism in his stories and poetry. How could the raven be a symbol in his poem? What clues does Poe give you...

For the first half of the poem, the raven seems to be a literal bird that comes into the narrator's chamber when he flings open his window. The man is able to take some pleasure from the unusual visitor, enjoying its flirting flutters and its aristocratic attitude. When he realizes the bird can speak, he begins to consider how it gained that ability, and he sits down to watch the bird as if to enjoy it as entertainment.

But in the twelfth stanza, as the narrator begins "linking fancy unto fancy," the bird becomes for the first time "ominous." In stanza 13, the bird suddenly has the ability to burn into the narrator's "bosom's core" with its "fiery eyes." As the man begins losing touch with reality, thinking he hears the footfalls of angels, he attributes greater powers to the bird, calling it either a prophet or a devil.

When the bird seems to say that the narrator will not see his lost Lenore in the afterlife, the man commands it to "take thy beak from out my heart." This is clearly metaphorical or symbolic language, not literal. In the final stanza, the statement that the raven "never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting" must also be symbolic because a literal bird would not remain motionless in one place for such an extended period of time. The description of the raven's eyes as "seeming" like a demon's again points to a symbolic meaning, while the narrator's soul being held captive by the bird's shadow is the final proof that the bird is no longer merely a bird. The raven morphs from a real bird into a representation of the dark recesses of the narrator's own mind, filled with sorrow, grief, and despair.

How or why are Lilliputians known as good mathematicians?

Gulliver describes the Lilliputians as "most excellent Mathematicians" because they have constructed machines that are capable of carrying huge trees and performing other great feats.  They use these machines to build giant ships called Men of War that are some nine feet long (huge, considering that each Lilliputian is only six inches tall).  It is through the use of such a machine that they manage to transport Gulliver, a human man who is six feet tall, from the beach to their town.  It takes nine hundred of the strongest Lilliputian men three hours to raise and sling him into the machine, where they tie him down again.  Then, fifteen hundred of the emperor's horses drag both the machine and Gulliver the half mile to town.  The precise calculations required to complete such an endeavor is quite impressive to Gulliver, and he attributes their ability to do so to their excellent mathematical skills.

Please provide three good reasons why Tybalt is the antagonist in Romeo and Juliet.

1. An antagonist is the person who opposes the protagonist in some way; the antagonist can even be the protagonist's adversary.  Tybalt is certainly the one who most opposes Romeo.  He becomes irate that Romeo dares to show up at Lord Capulet's party, even when Lord Capulet says that he's heard that Romeo is a pretty good kid and that Tybalt should "take no note of him."  Regardless of his uncle's wiser, calmer words, Tybalt remains enraged at what he perceives as Romeo's audacity.

2. Then, the next day, Tybalt challenges Romeo to a fight, a move that definitely positions him as Romeo's adversary.  Though Romeo first refuses, when Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo becomes enraged and kills Tybalt.  This results in Romeo's banishment from Verona, an event that makes it quite difficult for the pair to be together.

3. It is Tybalt's death, then, that causes Lord Capulet to change his mind about marrying Juliet to Count Paris at her age.  He decides, in order to pull her from what he thinks is her terrible grief over her cousin, that Juliet and Paris should be married immediately.  This is what results in Juliet's desperation and the plan for her to fake her own death. 

Therefore, without Tybalt's opposition to Romeo, his positioning of himself as Romeo's adversary, and then his violent death, the result of the fight to which he challenged Romeo, it is possible that this play would not have ended with such tragedy.

`int (dx)/(sqrt(x^2 + 16))` Evaluate the integral

`intdx/sqrt(x^2+16)`

Let  `x=4tantheta`  for `-pi/2<theta<pi/2` . 

`dx/[d(theta)]=4sec^2theta`

` ` `dx=4sec^2thetad(theta)`

`sqrt(x^2+16)=`

`sqrt((4tantheta)^2+16)=`

`sqrt(16tan^2theta+16)=`

`sqrt[16(tan^2theta+1)]=`

`sqrt(16sec^2theta)=`

`4|sec(theta)|`

`intdx/[4sec(theta)]=`

`int(4sec^2(theta)d(theta))/(4sec(theta))=`

` ` `intsec(theta)d(theta)=`

`ln|sec(theta)+tan(theta)|+C_1=`

`ln|sqrt(x^2+16)/4+x/4|+C_1=`

`ln|(sqrt(x^2+16)+x)/4|+C_1=`

`ln|(sqrt(x^2+16)+x)|-ln4+C_1=`

`ln|sqrt(x^2+16)+x|+C`

where `C`  is the constant `C_1-ln4` .

The final answer is 

`ln|(sqrt(x^2+16)+x)+C`

where `C` is the constant `C_1-ln4`.

What is Jem's relationship with Aunt Alexandra in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Jem isn't attacked by Aunt Alexandra like Scout is, so Jem doesn't have many complaints against her. In fact, Jem finds a little humor in the way Aunt Alexandra gets excited about heredity, gentle breeding, and defining "fine folks." For example, when Aunt Alexandra comes to live with the children in chapter 13, the discussion about who is considered "fine folks" comes up. Aunt Alexandra's definition includes a family who has lived on one plot of land for many generations. Jem cleverly, and possibly teasingly, says that according to his aunt's way of thinking, that would make the Ewells "fine folks" (130). The Ewells, as described by Atticus earlier, are the biggest disgrace to Maycomb County, so for Jem to point out that Aunt Alexandra's line of thinking would include the worst family in the county is a bit funny.

Then, in chapter 14, Jem seems to side with Aunt Alexandra against Scout. Jem is growing up and starting to understand the stresses of adulthood. He can see how Scout frustrates their aunt to the point of exploding, so he takes Scout aside and says, "Scout, try not to antagonize Aunty, here?" (137). Jem notices that if Aunt Alexandra gets frustrated because of Scout, then she frustrates Atticus. He's trying to keep the peace by helping Scout understand that she doesn't need to fight with Aunt Alexandra all of the time. Therefore, Jem doesn't hate his aunt, but he doesn't absolutely love her like a mother, either. He accepts her as part of the family and respects her accordingly. That doesn't mean he won't tease her once in awhile, though.

In Macbeth Act IV scene 1, how is Macbeth isolated mentally, politically and socially?

Throughout the course of the play, Macbeth deteriorates as a character. He plunges deeper and deeper into sin and manipulation. When Macbeth began making these poor choices, he began isolating himself from his wife, his friends, and himself. Overwhelming ambition can cause individuals to draw inward into isolation. In Act IV Scene 1, Macbeth is confronting the witches. He is tired of living in constant fear, and he wants answers no matter what the cost. At this point in the play, he has isolated himself from his wife and from the other nobles of Scotland. His isolation is clearly seen in this scene. As the witches reveal the prophecy, we as readers understand that he is isolated mentally. He is not thinking clearly. He is solely focused on himself and how he can maintain his kingship. He is also isolated politically. No one wants him to be king. The witches tell him that Banquo's descendants will become kings. This prophecy causes Macbeth even more distress, which causes him to further isolate himself politically. Finally, Macbeth is isolated socially. He stops sharing his plans with his wife. He doesn't want any advice from anyone. He says, "From this moment The very firstlings of my heart shall be The firstlings of my hand. And even now, To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done" (Act IV Scene 1). Essentially, Macbeth is saying "I am going to do what I want to do no matter what." This line of thinking caused him to be isolated socially. Act IV Scene 1 highlights just how far Macbeth has gone off the path.

What is a word in Lois Lowry's The Giver that starts with q?

I am going to give you two answers because I am not sure if you are looking for a vocabulary word that you might not know, or if you are looking for a word of special significance to the book. 

A vocabulary word that starts with q is “quizzically.” This means to ask questioningly because something is puzzling or confusing. 

There was a question bothering Jonas. "Sir," he said, "The Chief Elder told me—she told everyone—and you told me, too, that it would be painful. So I was a little scared. But it didn't hurt at all. I really enjoyed it." He looked quizzically at the old man (Chapter 11). 

The context of this word’s use is that Jonas is asking The Giver about his training. He has only been training for a short time, and he understands the basics about the memories but not what is really happening. Jonas has been told he needs to be brave and will face physical pain, and he is wondering when and how. 

Although “quizzically” is an interesting word, it does have relevance to another important q-word in the book, “question.” No one in Jonas’s community asks questions about the way things are. When Jonas begins his training, he has many questions because sees many things he has never seen before, such as the books in The Giver’s annex. 

In his mind, Jonas had questions. A thousand. A million questions. As many questions as there were books lining the walls. But he did not ask one, not yet (Chapter 10).

Thus, the word “question,” while related to the word “quizzically,” is a word of symbolic meaning to the book.  The moral of the story is that we need to ask questions. If we just accept things as they are, we are allowing life to pass us by and possibly permitting atrocities to happen.

What are three historical references from The Help by Kathryn Stockett that lend depth to the understanding of African-American culture in the...

Historical references in The Help illuminate the intensely difficult struggle for equality African-Americans waged in the deep South.

The novel's opening shows the historical condition that gave birth to the Civil Rights Movement.  Hilly wants to enforce the law of segregation in the homes of Jackson's residents.  Her insistence on separate bathrooms for African-Americans and whites highlights segregation's degrading reality.  People like Aibileen who tended to the children of white families were not permitted to use the same restroom. The intensity of Hilly's desire is evident in how she wants to criminalize owners of public facilities who do not utilize segregated restrooms. Hilly's zealousness shows what Southern African-Americans had to confront.  The Supreme Court's decision in Plessy v. Ferguson made segregation "the law of the land."  African-Americans had to battle Southern whites' insistence on preserving this practice. 

As Skeeter's book is taking form, her publisher insists that she quickly finish. Skeeter protests, arguing that she needs time to collect evidence.  However, her publisher tells her about the March on Washington, suggesting to Skeeter that the struggle for racial equality is going to occupy national significance. The March on Washington is where Dr. King delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech.  As a result, national consciousness begins to pivot towards the need for equality.  A heightened awareness of the Civil Rights Movement develops as a result of Dr. King's efforts at the March on Washington.  This historical detail shows how life for Southern African-American culture changed when the nation began to develop a greater understanding of civil rights.

Finally, the shooting of Medgar Evers is a historical event in The Help that demonstrates the full extent of the struggle that Southern African-Americans faced in their fight for equality.  Evers was a prominent figure in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP.)  An activist that demonstrably challenged racism and discrimination, Evers was shot in the driveway of his home.  His assassination showed to Aibileen and Minnie the intense dangers of speaking out against injustice in the South.  They recognized that if members of hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) could kill Medgar Evers right outside his home, in front of his family, they were taking great risks in writing the book with Skeeter. The shooting death of Medgar Evers is a historical event that depicts the risks that African-Americans in the South faced when speaking out against injustice.

How did government policies impact the cattle industry boom?

The cattle industry began to grow significantly in the 1800s. The Civil War played a role in this growth. The demand for meat increased during this time, helping profits increase for the cattle ranchers.

There were other government actions that helped the cattle ranchers. As people moved to the West, in part to raise cattle, the government worked to protect the people living in the West from attacks by the Native Americans. Soldiers were brought to the West to protect them. For example, in 1849, the government bought Fort Laramie and stationed soldiers there. Other battles were fought with the Native Americans to help protect the Americans living in the West.

The government also worked to improve transportation to and from the West. More railroad lines were built in the South and in the West. Eventually, the transcontinental railroad was built. These improvements made it easier for cattle ranchers to get their herds to the slaughterhouses and to get needed supplies to the West.

The cattle industry grew in the 1800s, and the government played a role in that growth.

Who is the Big Man and the President in A Bend in The River? Are they the same person? What are their roles?

The Big Man and the President are the same person in V. S. Naipaul's A Bend in the River; "The Big Man" is just a more colloquial, casual phrase that people use to refer to the President.

In this novel, which explores postcolonial identity crisis and the circular crisis of exile, The Big Man becomes the President of Africa after Africa achieves independence. In order to rebuild Africa after years of having suffered under European colonial influences, the President drives out all non-African residents and orders that their structural creations be vandalized; this effort is intended "to wipe out the memory of the intruder." In reality, these actions cause Africa to suffer even more.

The President/The Big Man is an unstable leader for the country and has little trust in those who surround him, discarding his advisors or staff when they cease to be of use--or even worse, appear to be a threat. He eventually implements policies of radicalization, which force the main characters of the novel (including Salim) to ironically flee to the land of those who first colonized Africa in search of civilization and sanctuary: that is to say, Europe.  

In the Broadway performance Wicked, what are the gender breakdowns and what appeals to the audience?

In the Broadway version of Wicked (as in the original Wizard of Oz), the main characters driving the action of the story are female.  In Wicked, the focus is on the relationship between Elphaba (Wicked Witch) and Galinda (Glinda the Good Witch), as well as Elphaba's political views.  

In my opinion, audiences enjoy Wicked because it offers a layered interpretation of the Wicked Witch.  Not only is Elphaba "different" (her green skin), but she stands up for what she believes in, even if others are against her.  This attitude endears her to the audience.  Young women who may be self-conscious about their looks or their opinions can be encouraged by Elphaba.  Elphaba's story is driven by her intention to do the right thing, even if it gets her in trouble.  This is reinforced in her most famous song, "Defying Gravity." Elphaba sings a heartfelt song about not letting anyone keep her down.  This hopeful, determined attitude appeals to audiences.

What are Vasco Da Gama's achievements?

Vasco de Gama was an explorer of Portuguese ancestry. He was born in Sinnes, Portugal in 1460, the son of an explorer, and died of malaria in 1524, shortly after he arrived in India following his third voyage.

Due to the difficulty of traversing the overland route to India, it was important to Europeans to find a more proficient way to access the spices and riches of India. The overland route was a long, arduous journey fraught with the dangers of war and pillage.

In 1497, King Henry of Portugal commissioned Vasco de Gama with four ships, and sponsored a sea expedition from Portugal, around the Cape of Good Hope, and northward along the coast of Africa, across the Indian Ocean to Calcutta, India. The expedition was a success in that the ships reached India, but they had little to trade so were forced to return to Portugal; a journey which proved to be problematic. Many sailors were lost to disease, and the time it took to return to port was much longer than the original trip. Despite its shortcomings, the expedition was hailed as de Gama's greatest achievement.

Vasco de Gama made two more voyages around the Cape of Good Hope. The first was to demonstrate that the Portuguese navy was a formidable force against Arab ships. The second one was successful in reaching India but Vasco de Gama died of disease soon after arrival.

How would you compare Ibo marriage traditions to Western marriage norms?

The Ibo marriage traditions Chinua Achebe presents in his seminal debut novel Things Fall Apart are noticeably different from Western norms surrounding marriage. For one, the Umuofians in Achebe's tale practice polygamy; the men take multiple wives in Umuofia, while it is more standard in Western culture to remain monogamous.

Next, marriage for the Ibo is more centered as a show of wealth and virility for the men of the culture. In other words, the more wives a man takes, the more this demonstrates his financial stability. Early in the novel, Achebe shows how successful Okonkwo is by listing his various achievements and holdings:

Okonkwo was clearly cut out for great things. He was still young but he had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages. He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams, and had just married his third wife (8).

Western marriage norms, meanwhile, have shifted toward emphasizing romantic love.

With that said, however, the two cultures do share one key trait: both traditions have grand feasts and rituals centered around marriage. Food, wine, and elaborate ceremonies mark both cultures' marriage rituals.

What is a summary of "The Road not Taken" by Robert Frost?

A traveler comes to a fork in the road.  He looks at one path and follows it with his eye as far as he can until it bends into the forest.  Then he looks at the other path, noting that it is grassier, a fact which may make it a little more appealing, though it looks like about the same number of people have taken each path.  He comments that both of the paths are covered in fresh leaves, and he decides to take the second path (the grassier one), and he wonders if he'll ever be able to come back and take the first path (but he knows that it is really unlikely because of the way choices work).  He considers the future, when he will, at some point, describe this choice: he plans to say that, when faced with two paths (or two options, symbolically), he took the path that fewer people have traveled and that this choice has made a big difference in how his life turned out.  (In other words, he plans to lie.)

What do we know for certain about Boo Radley?

Boo Radley was primarily known to those in Maycomb by the rumors about him.  Miss Stephanie Crawford was notorious for spreading sensational rumors about Boo.  Miss Stephanie told the children the story about Boo Radley and the scissors:

Boo was sitting in the livingroom cutting some items from The Maycomb Tribune to paste in his scrapbook.  His father entered the room.  As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent's leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities (To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 1).

Stories like these created fear in the minds of Scout, Jem, Dill, and other Maycomb children.  There were few people who offered any real information about Boo Radley.  Atticus was sensible about Boo, but he preferred not to talk about the Radley family.  Scout asked Miss Maudie for information, and she shared what she knew.  Scout asked if Boo were still alive, and Miss Maudie told her that yes, he was.  She also informed Scout that Boo's real name was Arthur.  Boo stayed in the house all the time, but Miss Maudie recalled him as a young boy.

Later in the novel, it was revealed that Boo Radley was kind.  He mended Jem's pants and covered Scout with a blanket on a cold night.  He even rescued the children from Bob Ewell.

Why didn't Atticus tell his children that the court assigned him to the case? What is he trying to teach them?

Atticus wants his children to understand that even when something is hard, you should do it if you believe in it. 

Scout in particular does not understand why Atticus would defend Tom Robinson when it is so unpopular.  She gets into fights at school and with her cousin, and has to listen to neighbors insulting her.  From her perspective, things would be so much easier if he didn’t have to do it. 

Atticus tells Scout that he couldn’t hold his head up in town or represent the county in the legislature if he did not defend Tom Robinson.  He tries to explain to her that this case is important to him morally and personally. 

 “You mean if you didn’t defend that man, Jem and me wouldn’t have to mind you any more?”

“That’s about right.”

“Why?”

“Because I could never ask you to mind me again. Scout, simply by the nature of the work, every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally. This one’s mine, I guess. …” (Ch. 9) 

In truth, Atticus was appointed by Judge Taylor.  He tells his brother Jack this. 

“… You know, I’d hoped to get through life without a case of this kind, but John Taylor pointed at me and said, ‘You’re It.’”

“Let this cup pass from you, eh?”

“Right. But do you think I could face my children otherwise? (Ch. 9) 

Atticus does not tell Scout that he is being forced to take the case because that is not the point.  The point is that he is taking it and plans to defend Tom Robinson to the best of his ability.  He wants her to learn that even if something is impossible, you still have to try. “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win,” according to Atticus.

In the poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" how does the poet describe the gas attack?

The poet, Wilfred Owen, emphasizes the sudden nature of the gas attack, and the confusion, the "ecstasy of fumbling," that follows. Most of the men get their gas masks on in time, but one poor soldier could not, and the horrific scene that follows is both gripping and horrifying. Owen describes how the unlucky man begins to writhe around as if in "fire or lime," and says he appears to be drowning. The man staggers toward his helpless comrades, who are forced to watch him "guttering, choking, drowning" after breathing in the poisonous gas. As the body of the dying man is thrown unceremoniously on a cart to be borne away from the field, Owen observes that if people back home could have seen this scene, they would no longer claim there was anything glorious about dying in war. So Owen uses the gas attack to illustrate the horrors of war.

What is the message that Jerome wants to convey in his novel, Three Men in a Boat?

I believe that Jerome set out to write a fictional spoof of the traditional travel narrative. Such boating outings along the River Thames were becoming quite popular at the time. Why couldn’t someone write a fictional travelogue, set along a fairly tame and well-developed waterway, and infuse it with a lot of humor and storytelling? He succeeds at these goals. Critics could say that the book is hardly action-packed and that very little actually happens here, but real life is like this. What we see and do reminds us of past stories that we must share with those around us. Examples would be when we got mixed up with our daily schedules because we didn’t know what time it was, or when someone we know had a lot of difficulties doing simple tasks, like hanging a picture on the wall, or when we took care of a package for someone that turned out to be much more of a burden than we originally thought. I think Jerome shows that even seemingly commonplace experiences are worth telling. Our daily lives can be filled with humor, if we only allow ourselves the chances to see it.

Sectionalism, states rights and slavery led to which event in American history?

The answer to this question is "secession and the Civil War." Southern secession was the result of a longstanding struggle over the issue of slavery, and especially the issue of slavery's expansion into the western territories. Long simmering, this issue first became truly divisive with the Missouri crisis over the admission of that state as a slave state in 1820. Resolved, like other crises involving slavery, by a political compromise, the crisis in many ways set the stage for future showdowns over the issue. The addition of the modern American Southwest through the Mexican War led to a new crisis, this time over the issue of California's admission as a free state (i.e., without slavery). The compromise that resolved this crisis included a very unpopular fugitive slave act. This act added momentum to the already rapidly-growing abolitionist movement in the North. Abolitionists had come to believe that slavery was irreconcilable with a free republic and especially with their religious principles.

In the aftermath of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which opened the door to violent conflict in Kansas over slavery's expansion, the Republican Party was formed. Its main issue was the expansion of slavery, and when its candidate for President, Abraham Lincoln, won the national election in 1860, the state of South Carolina left the Union, followed over the next six months by 10 other slaveholding states. As we have seen, this was the culmination of a series of sectional disputes in which the South, a slave society, thought that its sectional interests were threatened by the North, where slavery was illegal. By 1860, when South Carolina left the Union, its politicians claimed that they had the right, as a state, to secede. What followed was a bloody four-year civil war in which the issues of slavery (but not really states rights) was decided once and for all.

Mr. Smith has six children in his family. The list below tells you about the ages of his children. a. No child is more than 10 years old and none...

Hello!

I suppose that the age of each child is a natural (whole) number.

Then from (b) we get that Alejandra's age is a natural number greater than 8 but less than 10. There is the only such number, it is 9.

Next, from (c) we know that Debra is older than Alejandra and from (a) that her age is no more than 10. So the only possible option is 10.

Now use (d), David is 4 years younger than Debra. So his age is 10 - 4 = 6.

After this, (e) "Dexter is 3 years younger than David" also helps us: his age is 6 - 3 = 3.

What can we do with (f)? Denote the real Cristina's age as `x,` then 5 years older she would have the age `x+5,` and it would be equal to Debra's age 10. So `x+5=10,` subtract 5 from both sides and obtain `x = 10-5` = 5.

And finally, from (g) the age of Joey is greater than 3 but less than 6. The possible values are 4 and 5, but 5 is already "used" by Cristina, so the answer is 4.

The resulting chart is:

Name        Age
Alejandra  9
Debra       10
David        6
Dexter      3
Cristina     5
Joey          4

What is the difference between a tree and a shrub?

Trees and shrubs both have wood parts, while other kinds of plants, such as herbs, do not. A tree has a single perennial straight trunk that is, at the height of 4.5 feet above the ground, is at least three inches in diameter. In addition, a tree must reach at least 13 feet at its stage of mature growth (some definitions state that the tree must reach 20 feet and that its trunk has to be two inches in diameter at 4.5 feet above the ground). A shrub, on the other hand, has several perennial trunks that may either grow straight up or may grow near the ground.  A shrub can also have several stems coming from its base. The trunk of a shrub is less than three inches in diameter and its height is lower than 13 feet (or 20 feet, according to some definitions) when it is fully grown. 

Why do criminals want Jabez Wilson out of the pawnbroker's shop in "The Red Headed-League?"

In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story, “The Red-Headed League,” the criminals want Jabez Wilson out of his pawnbroker’s shop because they want to use that shop in a criminal enterprise.  Specifically, they want to use it to rob a branch of the City and Suburban Bank.  We do not find this out until Sherlock Holmes reveals it to us and his colleagues at the end of the story.

In the story, Holmes and Watson go to Saxe-Coburg Square to get a look at Wilson’s establishment.  The square is a quiet little part of town.  However, when they turn the corner, they see something very different.  As Watson relates,

The road in which we found ourselves as we turned round the corner from the retired Saxe-Coburg Square… was one of the main arteries which conveyed the traffic of the City to the north and west.

On this road, there were a number of businesses.  One of them was the Coburg branch of the City and Suburban Bank.  With this information, Holmes knows everything he needs to know and he proceeds to plan his trap.

The bank has just borrowed a large amount of gold from the Bank of France.  The thieves are going to try to steal the gold, so Holmes invites Watson, the police, and a bank official to wait with him in the bank’s vault for the thieves to strike.  They have dug a tunnel from Wilson’s basement to the basement of the bank, where the vault is.  They wanted Wilson out of the pawnbroker’s shop so they could have the privacy they needed to dig their tunnel between the two cellars.  

What are the origins, immediate causes, course of phenomenon and consequences of the Nazi rule?

The origins of the Nazis, also known as National Socialism, lie in the 1920s. The ideological origins of Nazism in part can be traced to the eugenic theories of the day that posited that white northern Europeans were superior in intellect and physical qualities to people of other ethnicities and backgrounds. The belief in eugenics also went along with a sense of wounded German nationalism. This sense of nationalism arose in Germany in the 18th century with thinkers such as Johann Gottlieb Fichte and others. In part a reaction to the horrors of World War I and the sudden growth of urbanization and industrialization in Germany, German nationalism called on traditional folk culture to reinstitute vigor and pride in the country. One strain of nationalism emphasized restoring the purity of the German people through expelling elements of what made Germany a cosmopolitan, modern culture, including the Jews. Hitler adopted the anti-Semitic nature of this aspect of German nationalism.

In addition, Nazism was a reaction to Germany's defeat in the World War I, including the abdication of the Kaiser and the provision in the Treaty of Versailles of 1919 that Germany accept responsibility for the war and pay reparations. As a result of this war guilt clause, Germans felt that their pride as a nation had been wounded. In addition, Germany lost a great deal of land and had to reduce their armed forces, adding to their injured sense of nationalism. In the early 1920s, political and economic instability also led to massive inflation  in Germany. Finally, the Russian Revolution of 1917 caused a feeling of anti-communism in Germany that was also absorbed into the Nazi program.

By 1921, Hitler became head of the Nazi party. In 1923, his coup attempt in Munich led to his imprisonment, during which time he wrote the book Mein Kampf, or My Struggle, about his anti-Semitic and fascist ideas to restore a sense of pride in Germany. In 1933, the Nazis gained control of the Reichstag, or Parliament, and Hitler became Chancellor. His belief in restoring German pride led to his attacking and conquering land that Germany had lost in World War I, including the Rhineland and the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. Eventually, Hitler joined the Axis powers, along with Italy and Japan, and fought in World War II. His "final solution" to exterminate Jews and other "undesirable" people led to the Holocaust in which over 6 million people were exterminated in ghettoes, concentration camps, and other places. 

As a consequence of Germany's defeat in 1945 by the Allied powers, many of the ideas of Nazism were widely discredited, including eugenics. West Germany was rebuilt in the western model, and East Germany was rebuilt in a communist model. They were reunited in 1990.

What is the formula for kolmium hydroxide?

There is no element that has been named kolmium. And kolmium hydroxide is the name of the hydroxide of the element kolmium.

Maybe you have made a typo and intended to ask for the formula of holmium hydroxide. Holmium is a rare earth element with the atomic number 67. The metal was isolated in the year 1878 and has been named after Stockholm, a city in Sweden.

Holmium has unusual magnetic properties that make it an ideal element for use in making magnets and ferromagnetic substances. It is also used to regulate nuclear reactions and as a coloring agent for glass.

The hydroxide of holmium is hydrated and the chemical formula of holmium hydroxide is `Ho(OH)_3.xH_2O`

In "Rappaccini's Daughter" by Hawthorne, what is the unusual relationship between Beatrice and the purple shrub?

In the hour of Beatrice's birth, as she tells Giovanni, her father successfully created this plant with the purple flowers.  It sprouted from the earth just as she was born.  It is an incredibly poisonous plant that Beatrice explains as having sprung from her father's intellect, while she was but the child of his physical body.  She calls the plant her "sister," and because she was raised along side it, its poison has no effect on her (though it could kill others).  Because she's become sort of imbued with the poison, it means that her presence has become poisonous to others just as the plant is.  In fact, because Giovanni and Beatrice have been spending so much time together, he has become immune to the plant's poison too, so her father tells her to "'Pluck one of those precious gems from thy sister shrub, and bid thy bridegroom wear it in his bosom. It will not harm him now!'"  

How could it be argued that guilt is the most important theme?

In the end, it is the narrator's own heart that he hears, not the old man's.  The old man has been dismembered and buried beneath the floor boards, and so the sound cannot be coming from him.  Instead, when the narrator hears the terribly loud heart beat as the police sit calmly in the room, you could argue that it is the result of his own anxiety and guilt.  Further, the narrator tries really hard to attempt to explain the necessity of committing this murder throughout the entire story, and it seems like a situation where he is somewhat defensive because he knows what he did was wrong.  Sometimes, when a person feels guilty about something, they go out of their way -- consciously or not -- to prove that whatever action they took was somehow justified.  It is entirely possible that this is what the narrator is doing.

Who does "she" refer to in "she is like most artists" in "The Nightingale and the Rose" by Oscar Wilde?

In the passage you reference, "she" refers to the Nightingale. Here's the passage in full:

“She has form,” he said to himself, as he walked away through the grove, “that cannot be denied her; but has she got feeling? I am afraid not. In fact, she is like most artists; she is all style, without any sincerity. She would not sacrifice herself for others. She thinks merely of music, and everybody knows that the arts are selfish. Still, it must be admitted that she has some beautiful notes in her voice. What a pity it is that they do not mean anything, or do any practical good.”

In the story, the young student cannot understand what the nightingale is saying to him; he only knows what he reads in books, and the language of the nightingale's song appears strange to him. While professing to be a student of logic, he is blind to the logic of true self-sacrifice.

In reality, the nightingale has already consented to sacrifice her life's blood for him, but the young student is unaware of this. He accuses the nightingale of being selfish, but it is he who lacks true discernment. What he considers as the vain song of a bird is in reality a song of self-sacrifice. All the nightingale asks in exchange for forfeiting her life is that the young student will be a "true lover."

Ironically, the young student can appreciate the "beautiful notes" in the nightingale's song but fails to recognize the "feeling" and "sincerity" in her anthem of love.

1. A test contains 5 multiple-choice questions, each question has 4 choices. If Rachel answer all of the questions at random, in how many different...

There are 5 multiple-choice questions, each with 4 choices and we are asked the number of different ways to answer the questions.

We assume that each question is independent of the others as she is answering randomly. So we use the multiplication principle -- the number of different ways to perform a series of tasks is the product of the number of ways to perform each task.

Here there are 4 ways to answer each question, so we have 4*4*4*4*4 or `4^5=1024 ` different ways to answer the test.

Did the U.S. start the Cold War?

Some sources suggest that the United States was the main aggressor in starting the Cold War at the end of World War II. A source written by a Soviet ambassador to the United States in 1946 states that American desire for capitalist world expansion led the U.S. to establish naval and air bases, start a competitive arms race, and stockpile weapons. The ambassador suggests that the United States has put the Soviet Union in a defensive situation to combat the American desire for expansion. Another source provides a similar view of American plans for expansion from the point of view of an American academic writing about American diplomacy in 1959. The views of this academic, Williams, are consistent with those of the Soviet ambassador. Williams believes that the U.S. pursued an "open-door" policy that had missionary and economic components. Williams believes that the American policy of expansion, particularly after the detonation of the atomic bomb, left the Soviets no choice except to give in or confront the Americans with their own hostile forces. Both of these sources lay the blame for the development of the Cold War with the Americans.

Other sources suggest that the blame for the beginning of the Cold War rests with both the Americans and the Soviets. The cartoon, from an American newspaper in 1947, shows both Uncle Sam and Stalin, the Soviet leader, ready to carve up the world between them. Therefore, this source suggests that both American and Soviet plans for post-war power and expansion were the source of the Cold War. 

What does the quote "He had never slept in a better bed..." from "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell refer to?

This quote is part of the last line of Richard Connell's short story "The Most Dangerous Game." The rest of the sentence reveals that it is Rainsford who is enjoying the bed. This means Rainsford finally defeated and killed General Zaroff. Earlier, Rainsford came ashore on Zaroff's private island, which Zaroff uses to hunt men. Throughout the deadly contest between the two men, Rainsford only barely staved off the relentless Zaroff in their cat-and-mouse game across the length of the island. In the end, Rainsford jumped from the cliffs across from Zaroff's chateau. Zaroff believed Rainsford to be dead, but Rainsford was able to swim ashore and hide in Zaroff's bedroom, where he confronts the general. As soon as he discovers Rainsford, Zaroff promptly congratulates his foe on winning the game, but Rainsford is not satisfied and says he is "still a beast at bay." Pleased by the game will continue, Zaroff says,

Splendid! One of us is to furnish a repast for the hounds. The other will sleep in this very excellent bed. On guard Rainsford.

Since Rainsford is comfortable in the bed in the final line, he ultimately defeated the general. The reader might also assume Zaroff was then fed to the dogs ("a repast for the hounds"), but this is never explicitly stated.

Is the following an accurate description of "Thank You, M'am" by Langston Hughes? The woman is not a physically strong person; the would-be thief...

No, not quite, although you're getting close! Try reading the story a few more times, focusing on the details and imagining the characters in your mind. 

Let's take a close look at each of your descriptions:

1. "The woman is not a physically strong person."

No, this is not accurate. The woman in the story is described as "large," with the ability to pick the boy up by his shirt and shake him. This description hints that the woman is strong, able to lift a teenage boy up off the ground. The woman is also able to hold onto that boy even while he's desperate to get away, as well as drag him behind her as she walks. It's another hint that she's strong while he's weak.

2. "The would-be thief is a strong, tall person."

Strong, no; tall, maybe. Although the boy might be tall--the text doesn't seem to say for 100% certain whether he is or not--he's definitely not strong. The narrator describes the boy like this: "He looked as if he were fourteen or fifteen, frail and willow-wild, in tennis shoes and blue jeans." That word "frail" indicates that the boy is thin and weak, and "willow-wild" means he's like a moving willow tree, all thin and wispy. "Willowy" often means "tall," but that's not exactly the word that the author chose, so we can't be sure. But we do know that the boy must not weigh very much, since he fell over backwards when he grabbed onto the heavy purse.

3. "The story is about how the would-be thief becomes a good person."

Not quite, although that's pretty close. The story is more about how the would-be thief gets a chance (and the inspiration) to become a better person. The woman whose purse he tried to steal takes him home with her and gives him a good meal. She talks with him kindly, gives him enough money to buy the shoes he wants, and then lets him go home. That's when the story ends.

We do see some hints that the boy has decided to try being a better person: he listens to the woman, offers to run an errand for her, and thanks her for the money. He also thinks to himself that "he did not want to be mistrusted now." He wants to become a trustworthy person instead of someone who tries to steal from strangers.

How much acetone is added to Jones reagent?

Jones Reagent

Jones reagent is prepared by dissolving chromium trioxide or potassium dichromate in concentrated sulfuric acid. The reagent is added to the test substance and diluted with acetone.

It is used to test for primary and secondary alcohols. A positive reaction will also be seen with aldehydes. Enols may also give a positive reaction. Tertiary alcohols do not react. 

A positive reaction is characterized by a change in color from orange-yellow to green within 15 seconds. The green color is due to the formation of chromium sulfate precipitate.

Procedure

1. Dissolve 10 mg (solid) or 2 drops (liquid) of the unknown substance in 0.8 mL to 1 mL of pure acetone.

2. Add 1 drop of Jones reagent and shake. 

3. Look for a color change from orange-yellow to green.

In the story "Ramond's Run," who challenges Squeaky?

In "Raymond's Run," a girl named Gretchen P. Lewis challenges Squeaky in the May Day races. At first, Squeaky feels competitive towards Gretchen, as Gretchen is going around telling everyone she is going to win the race. In turn, Squeaky makes fun of Gretchen's freckles. Before the race, the girls don't even smile at each other in a real way because, as Squeaky says, "girls never really smile at each other." She says there is no one to teach girls to smile at each other because grown-up women don't know how to smile at each other, either. Gretchen runs very close to Squeaky during the race, and they both overshoot the finish line. Both girls wonder who actually won the race. It turns out Squeaky wins, meaning Gretchen comes in second. In the end, they smile real smiles at each other out of mutual respect and admiration, and Squeaky thinks Gretchen might help her coach her brother, Raymond, in running.

What are the most important things to know about the political realm in the Young Republic/New Nation (1783-1815) period?

Perhaps the first thing to know about politics in this period is that this was when the United States moved from the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution.  Under the Articles of Confederation, the US was a confederacy.  The state governments had essentially all of the power in the country and the national government was very weak.  After Shays’ Rebellion in 1786 and 1787, American elites believed that this system had to go.  They set up a Constitutional Convention that was supposedly going to amend the Articles of Confederation but which, instead, wrote a new constitution.  This new constitution, which we simply call the Constitution, set up a federal system with a much stronger national government.  This was perhaps the most important political event in this time period.

The second thing to know about the politics of this time is that it saw the creation of the first two political parties in the country’s history.  These were the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republicans.  The Federalists were, in general, the party of wealthy merchants in cities.  They believed in a strong national government.  They wanted the US to have a mixed economy with farming and manufacturing.  The Democratic-Republicans, by contrast, were the party of less wealthy people, particularly in the countryside. They wanted the American economy to be based almost exclusively on small farms. The Federalists were strong in New England while the Democratic-Republicans were strong elsewhere.  The main figures associated with the Federalist Party are George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and John Adams.  Thomas Jefferson is seen as the leader of the Democratic-Republican Party.

The third thing to know is that these parties were further divided by the French Revolution and the war between the UK and France.  The Federalists supported England.  They did this partly because they depended on trade with England and partly because they thought that the English system of government was better than the French system that arose after the Revolution.  The Democratic-Republicans supported France.  They believed in the radical democracy of the French Revolution.

A fourth thing to know about this time period is that the Federalists held power at first but were then replaced by the Democratic-Republicans.  While this changeover was bloodless, it was marked by considerable struggle.  The Federalists held power when George Washington was president for the first two presidential terms under the Constitution (1788 and 1792 elections).  They continued to hold power when John Adams was elected as Washington’s successor.  However, people started to see them as the party of the elites and started to turn against them because of this.  This led to the election of Thomas Jefferson in 1800.  While there was no bloodshed, there was the conflict around the Alien and Sedition Acts.  The most important of these laws made it illegal to criticize the government.  The Federalists passed and enforced this law to try to suppress Democratic-Republican newspapers.  This was extremely controversial and led to a great deal of bad blood between the two parties.

A final thing to know is that the US went to war with Great Britain in 1812.  This is political because the US went back and forth as to whether it should fight against France or against Britain.  With the Democratic-Republicans in power, the country eventually decided to fight Britain.  In political terms, this war was most important because it led to the death of the Federalist Party, which opposed the war.

While there is much else to know about politics during this era, these are the most important facts.

What are three quotations that pertain to the three main points I have made for an essay on "The Lottery"? [My thesis explores the potentials of...

Perhaps, you may wish to revise your three main points so that they are parallel in construction. For, these points are the "blueprint" of your thesis and, as such, they need to be written in a parallel structure which will allow readers to better understand.

Here are suggested points based upon what you have written; they are also put into the order that is more in keeping with the chronology of the story:

1. The blind adherence to tradition


2. The arbitrary nature of man


3. The natural proclivity in humans for violence.

1. Blind adherence to tradition

While Jackson deceives her readers as she describes the annual gathering for the lottery, it is clear that this lottery is an old tradition. Even though it is a cruel one, the townspeople seem to be subjected to what Emerson called "the opium of custom." When, for instance, Mr. Summers suggests that the community get a new box to replace the shabby black box, nothing is ever done about it:

 No one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box.

No one better exemplifies this phrase of Emerson better than Old Man Warner who retorts after hearing that some villages have done away with the lottery, 

"Pack of crazy fools....Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work any more....Used to be a saying, 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.'...There's always been a lottery...."

2. The arbitrary nature of man

As the people gather for the beginning of the lottery, there are shifts in opinions as well as exhibitions of hypocrisy. For example, before Mr. Summers arrives with the black box, the men stand around and share quiet jokes; later, they engage in stoning a victim. Parents, who purport to love their children, call them sharply, but soon allow them to witness a heinous act. 

When Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson hurries along the path to the village square, she slides into place in the crowd next to her friend Mrs. Delacroix, "and they both laughed softly." "Clean forgot what day it was," Tessie says, but Mrs. Delacroix assures her, "You're in time, though. They're still talking away up there."
However, later she scolds Tessie when her name is drawn from the black box:

"Be a good sport, Tessie....All of us took the same chance."

Then, when everyone gets ready to stone Tessie, Mrs. Delacroix seems eager to stone her as she

...selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs. Dunbar. "Come on," she said. "Hurry up."

3. The natural proclivity of humans for violence

In the beginning of the story, the boys gather stones quickly;

Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones.... 

Mrs. Dunbar has stones in her hands, but cannot hurry fast enough. She calls out "....I'll catch up with you" to the others.

Once the drawing of the name is made, Old Man Warner calls out, "Come on, come on, everyone."

What is an example of foreshadowing in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet?

In Act 1, scene 4, Romeo's friends attempt to convince him to attend the Capulets' party with them.  He doesn't particularly want to go because he is feeling quite depressed as a result of his unrequited love for Rosaline.  By the end of the scene, however, they've convinced him to go and try to have some fun.  However, he says,

my mind misgives
Some consequence yet hanging in the stars
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date
With this night's revels, and expire the term
Of a despised life closed in my breast
By some vile forfeit of untimely death. 
But he that hath the steerage of my course
Direct my sail.  (1.4.113-120)

In other words, Romeo has a feeling that going to this party will be the beginning of a fateful chain of events that will end with his death.  However, whoever (or whatever) is in charge of his life's path is directing him to the party nonetheless.  Romeo's words foreshadow his eventual tragic death and the fact that the path to it does, indeed, begin tonight, when he meets Juliet Capulet.

Another example of foreshadowing comes when Romeo and Juliet are saying goodbye to one another after their one night together as a married couple.  Juliet says,

O God, I have an ill-divining soul!
Methinks I see thee, now thou are so low,
As one dead in the bottom of a tomb.  (3.5.54-56)

As Romeo climbs down from her window, Juliet feels as though her soul is predicting something terrible: with him below her, she feels as though he seems like a dead person at the bottom of his grave.  This foreshadows the fact that Juliet will never again see Romeo alive.  The next (and last) time she will see him is just after he has poisoned himself in her tomb, believing that she is dead.

What were the living conditions and the diseases in the 19th century in the United States?

The United States experienced a growth in its population in the 1800s. People came from North and West Europe in large numbers between 1820 and 1860. Many people came from South and East Europe in the late 1800s. The growth of our population presented some challenges.

Many of the immigrants ended up settling in the cities. Because many of the immigrants came to hopefully find a better life for themselves economically, they didn’t have a lot of money. As a result, these immigrants lived in overcrowded apartments called tenements. The living conditions were poor due to the overcrowding. This led to various problems including disease, pollution, and crime.

Two very deadly diseases found in the United States during this time were cholera and yellow fever. Both of these diseases appear to be connected with the overcrowding in the cities and the transportation of people from one continent to another. There is also some thought that the increased trade that occurred as ships traveled from one continent to another played a role in the spread of these diseases.

Poor living conditions and fighting the spread of diseases were a constant battle for many Americans, especially those who lived in the overcrowded cities in the 1800s.

What is the humour in the poem "The Mending Wall?"

The poem tells of the annual walk of the narrator and his neighbor, as they put back the rocks that have fallen from the wall that marks their property line. Some stones have been dislodged by gravity, some by weather, and some by hunters or other folks. The poet seems to find more humor in this activity than his neighbor does. The other owner merely keeps saying, “Good fences make good neighbors.” But the rocks are irregularly shaped, and sometimes it takes a bit of work to get them to stay put. The narrator jokes:

We have to use a spell to make them balance:

"Stay where you are until our backs are turned!" (lines 18-19)

He sees this rock-replacing task not as work, but as something interesting and fun, like a sport:

Oh, just another kind of out-door game,

One on a side. (lines 21-22)

At a point where the wall disappears, and where his apple trees and the neighbor’s pines make another kind of natural border, he says:

My apple trees will never get across

And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. (lines 25-26)

He makes a bit of fun of his neighbor’s repetitive remark. Evidently neither one of them owns farm animals that need to be kept behind such a wall:

Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder

If I could put a notion in his head:

"Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it

Where there are cows? But here there are no cows. (lines 28-31)

As for how the rocks have fallen off in the first place, the poet has an additional theory he thinks he could pose to his friend, in jest:

I could say "Elves" to him,

But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather

He said it for himself. (lines 36-38)

He would like his friend to be having as much fun as he is. When the poem is read with an eye to look for such humorous statements, it turns out that the verse is much funnier than you may expect it to be, at first. You get the impression that this annual walk means much more to the poet’s serious neighbor than to the poet himself.

In "The Possibility of Evil," give two ways that Miss Strangeworth's roses represent her.

In "The Possibility of Evil," Miss Strangeworth's roses represent her in a number of ways. First of all, like Miss Strangeworth and the rest of her family, the roses are a constant and historic feature on Pleasant Street:

"My grandmother planted these roses, and my mother tended them, just as I do."

As such, the roses have become a permanent feature of the town, just like Miss Strangeworth herself. She has never left the town nor does she ever intend to. 

Secondly, the roses look sweet and appealing, just like Miss Strangeworth. "Massed" along the outside of Miss Strangeworth's house, the roses are so pretty that people come from outside of town to admire them. Moreover, wherever they are planted or picked, they leave a sweet smell. Miss Strangeworth, too, has the appearance of being sweet and attractive: she has a "pretty little dimple" on her face, for instance, and "blue eyes." Wherever she goes, people greet her enthusiastically because she seems so sweet and innocent. 

Appearances, however, can be deceptive and, just like the thorn of a rose, Miss Strangeworth has a dark side which is expressed through her desire to rid her town of evil. 

Explain Coleridge's presentation of the relationship between man, the supernatural, and the natural world in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." ...

In Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," although men attempt to act as free agents, they are at the mercy of both natural and supernatural forces. The men in the tale begin their voyage cheerfully, although the purpose of their journey is not clear. Still, they sail under their own volition. Soon, however, a "tyrannous" wind blows them into frozen waters. The men, even though stuck in the ice, find pleasure in the albatross and befriend it of their own free will. However, the mariner, for no good reason, kills the bird. The men's reaction to his act shows that the men base their emotions and beliefs on the state of the natural world. When the breeze stops blowing, they blame the mariner for killing the albatross, "the bird that made the breeze to blow." But when the fog clears, they change their minds and say that it was right to kill the bird "that brings the fog and mist." Thus they allow their moral choices to hinge on the vagaries of the weather. 

At line 131 the supernatural realm is introduced; the ship being stuck in the doldrums is attributed to "the spirit that plagued us so." In Part 3 the ghost ship appears; the men instinctively know that they will be at the mercy of the unearthly duo aboard the ship. To make their dominance clear, Life-in-Death shouts as they cast dice: "The game is done! I've won! I've won!" Thus the spirit world is shown as a realm that plays games with the lives of men. Indeed, "four times fifty living men" drop down dead as a result of this "win." 

Only the mariner lives on. He is able to exercise some glimmer of free will at last, but even that is more instinctive and completely intertwined with the supernatural world and nature. As he watches the beautiful water snakes,

"A spring of love gushed from my heart,

And I blessed them unaware:

Sure my kind saint took pity on me,

And I blessed them unaware."  

The spirit world, in the form of the mariner's "kind saint," influences the mariner to "choose" to bless the snakes rather than curse them, even though that blessing is subconscious, and he is then freed to pray--and the albatross falls from his neck, indicating his redemption. His journey home is still controlled by spirits as the dead men rise to sail the ship and the voice of the Polar Spirit and his fellow demons discuss the penance the mariner must pay. The Pilot and his son are moved to a fit and madness, respectively, indicating they have no free will regarding their response to the mariner. Only the Hermit seems able to withstand any negative effect from the mariner, but he is a "holy man," so he no doubt has spiritual protection. The mariner himself must live on under the direction of the supernatural "agony" that seizes him when he finds the person who needs to hear his tale, such as the "Wedding-Guest."

Thus Coleridge's poem presents man as fully subservient to both nature and, more importantly, the supernatural realm.

How does Ralph lack self-confidence in Lord of the Flies?

Ralph lacks self-confidence with his hesitancy to assert the values that he initially represents.

When Ralph first blows the conch and the boys assemble, they afford Ralph respect because he looks like a leader; for, he is the handsome golden boy. Ralph encourages the boys to build a rescue fire and maintain it at all times, and he urges them to build shelters from storms. But, somehow, Ralph does not possess the forcefulness to ensure that tasks are completed. 

Further, as the group gradually yields to their savage instincts, Ralph’s position declines while Jack’s rises. And because Ralph possesses some of these savage instincts himself--he is gratuitously cruel to Piggy in the beginning, for instance--he participates in some activities and finds himself in a quandary, at times.
In Chapter Eight, for instance, he stands on the platform and reiterates the importance of the fire:

"Without the fire we can't be rescued. I'd like to put on war-paint and be a savage. But we must keep the fire burning."

However, he is ineffective in keeping the boys directed toward doing what they should, especially as Jack gains power. For instance, in Chapter Nine, Ralph again urges the boys to keep up the fire. He accuses them of running after food, instead. Interrupting him, Jack accuses Ralph of running himself. When Ralph says he has the conch, Jack derisively tells him, "You haven't got it with you...And the conch doesn't count at this end of the island--"
As the boys run with Jack, Piggy warns Ralph that there is going to be trouble.
Then, it is not long before Simon comes down from the mountain to tell them that there is no visible beast. Ignoring Simon in their ritual frenzy, the boys perform their hunting dance, and this time they beat Simon who wants to tell them what he knows about evil. Sadly, they kill him before he can explain that there is no visible beast. Moreover, Ralph and Piggy have been on the outer ring of this dance when Simon dies.

Ralph's participation in the rituals of the evening have short-sighted him, also, but the next day he confronts the truth. Piggy tries to excuse their participation by saying that they were frightened although Ralph scolds him, "Don't you understand, Piggy? The things we did--"
At this point Ralph's self-confidence is gone as the memory of the dance "that none of them had attended" shook him and Piggy. After this tragic knowledge, Ralph, who has lost his confidence, must simply try to survive against the savagery to which the others have descended since chaos and anarchy reign over the island.

What are some examples of paradox in Saki's short story "The Open Window?"

A paradox is defined as anyone or anything that is self-contradictory. A paradox can also be something that seems absurd but might express a possible element of truth. Saki's short story "The Open Window" has a few examples of paradox when a nervous man named Mr. Nuttel meets a clever young trickster named Vera. One example of a paradox can be seen when Vera first mentions her aunt's "tragedy" to Mr. Nuttel, and he thinks to himself, ". . . somehow, in this restful country spot, tragedies seemed out of place." Mr. Nuttel feels as though a tragedy taking place in a peaceful spot is contradictory to its nature and purpose

Finally, Vera is a paradox because she exhibits a contradictory nature. For example, she seems like a sweet, innocent girl who is concerned about her aunt's welfare. She also seems to be interested in telling Mr. Nuttel about the "tragedy" so he will be sensitive to her aunt's state of mind when he meets her. On the contrary, Vera's true intentions are to deceive her guest and make a fool out of him. As a result, she reveals the truth about herself, which is the fact that she is more of a trickster than just a young, sweet, innocent girl.

What did Mae hit the stranger with in Tuck Everlasting?

Mae hit the man in the yellow suit in the head with the shotgun.

The man in the yellow suit is looking for the spring that made the Tucks immortal.  He heard the story passed down through his family, and he believes it.  When he hears the music box in the woods, he is convinced that it is real. 

The man meets Winnie outside her house, and he sees her being carried away by the Tucks.  She is therefore really worried about him finding her.  She does not want her new friends to be found out.

"He knows me, though," said Winnie. She had forgotten, too, about the man in the yellow suit, and now, thinking of him, she felt a surge of relief. "He'll tell my father he saw me."

"He knows you?" said Mae, her frown deepening. "But you didn't call out to him, child. Why not?" (Ch. 11) 

Mae Tuck is very nervous.  She is not a violent person, but she has tried so hard not to let anyone find out about her secret.  The man in the yellow suit does not seem well-intentioned.  Mae is concerned about what he will do know that he has found the Tucks.  He tells them that the Fosters gave him the woods, and he is to bring Winnie home. 

Things take an ugly turn when the man in the yellow suit threatens Winnie.  He tells the Tucks she will drink from the spring water and be his demonstration.  This horrifies Mae, and she acts.  She hits him in the head with a shotgun. 

With a dull cracking sound, the stock of the shotgun smashed into the back of his skull. He dropped like a tree, his face surprised, his eyes wide open. And at that very moment, riding through the pine trees just in time to see it all, came the Treegap constable. (Ch. 19) 

Unfortunately, she seems to have hit him hard.  As far as the constable is concerned, it was murder.  They will try Mae, and then she will be hanged.  This is terrible enough, but Mae cannot die so hanging her will give away the family secret.

What is the difference between sterile and aseptic techniques?

"Sterile" and "aseptic" are synonymous terms in the sense that they both describe environments, objects, or practices which are free of microorganisms. That being said, there is some difference to their precise meanings and practice. Sterilization seeks to totally cleanse an object or space of any contaminants in preparation for medical procedures. For example, surgical tools like clamps and scalpels are sterilized in order to decrease the risk of infection in a patient. The aseptic technique, on the other hand, is intended to maintain the sterile quality of an object or space. Many medical implements, such as needles, are sterilized by the manufacturer and then packaged in special aseptic plastic to prevent any contamination until the time of use.

In short, sterile techniques are used to make objects or spaces clean, while aseptic techniques are used to prevent future contamination.

What are two reasons that explain how Macbeth is in control of his own life?

Macbeth is in control of his own life because even though he received prophecies, he is the one who chose to act on them.

Macbeth is definitely influenced by others. The witches made prophecies that he would be Thane of Cawdor and king. He could have ignored them, as Banquo did. Instead he chose to tell his wife about them. She then encouraged him to pursue the opportunity, even if it meant killing the king.

When Macbeth found out that Malcolm was named the king’s heir, he was upset. He made a comment in an aside, which reinforces the fact that Macbeth wants to be king no matter what. It demonstrates his anger at being passed over, and his ambitions.

[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 chose to act on what the witches told him. He did have a hard time making up his mind. His wife was more strongly in favor of the idea. Yet, Macbeth listened to her and chose to follow her lead. When he suggested that it might not work, she told him he just needed to be strong enough.

MACBETH If we should fail?

LADY MACBETH We fail! But screw your courage to the sticking-place, And we'll not fail. (Act 1, Scene 7)

Lady Macbeth was persuasive, but it was Macbeth who eventually made the choice. More importantly, once he was king he stopped listening to anyone. He was the one who chose to kill Banquo and Macduff's family. Once king, he was desperate to remain king.

For the second set of prophecies, Macbeth was convinced that they were unrealistic and contradictory. How could a forest come for him? How could he be not harmed by man born of woman, but still beware Macduff? How could Banquo’s sons be king, if he killed him? He did not kill Fleance, Banquo’s son. Malcolm brought the forest to Macbeth’s door. Macduff turned out to not technically be born of woman. Yet it was Macbeth’s reliance on prophecy that muddled everything and made his reign unsuccessful.

What is the conflict in Siobhan Dowd's The London Eye Mystery?

There are two central conflicts in Siobhan Dowd's The London Eye Mystery. The first is a character vs. character conflict that puts Salim in a situation in which he goes missing; the second is a character vs. environment conflict that entraps Salim.

In the story, Salim is in conflict with his mother for a couple different reasons. First, she has accepted a job in New York City and insists on uprooting Salim from his school to move. Salim doesn't want to leave his school because he has just become close friends with Marcus, is doing well in his drama class, and has managed to make himself and Marcus what they call "top moshers," meaning "casual, cool," popular kids (39). Another important reason why he doesn't want to leave for New York with his mother is because he sees her as being a bit on the wild side. In fact, the Spark family considers her to be like a hurricane and even calls her "Hurricane Gloria" (5). For these reasons, Salim would prefer to stay in Manchester with his father, but his father declines.

After pulling off his escape con adventure with Marcus, Salim changes his mind about running away to remain in Manchester. He decides he wants to stay on good terms with his mother and can't stand the thought of his cousins, Ted and Kat, getting into trouble for his having gone missing on their watch. So, he decides to return to the Sparks' home. It is on his way back to the Sparks' home that Salim encounters his character vs. environment conflict that keeps him locked away for three days.

As Ted figures out by chapter 38, on his way back to the Sparks' home, Salim would have passed the Barracks. Since he loves tall buildings and wants to be an architect, plus was willing to stall before receiving a scolding from his mother, Salim would not have been able to resist going into the abandoned building. Mr. Spark was responsible for locking up the building that night, and the building is set to be demolished within a few days. Mr. Spark unknowingly locks Salim in the building, leaving Salim to battle with his environment for three days until Ted figures out what happened to him and he is saved.

In Dickens' David Copperfield, what does Peggotty tell David about Yarmouth?

Peggotty told David that he was going to see her family in Yarmouth and it would be fun, and nothing about his mother's wedding.

Peggotty did not tell David that his mother was getting married; she just told him that it would be fun to visit Yarmouth with him.  Yarmouth was where Peggotty’s family was.  David’s mother wanted Peggotty to take him there so that she could be alone with her new husband, Mr. Murdstone, for a while. 

'Master Davy, how should you like to go along with me and spend a fortnight at my brother's at Yarmouth? Wouldn't that be a treat? … Oh, what an agreeable man he is!' cried Peggotty, holding up her hands. 'Then there's the sea; and the boats and ships; and the fishermen; and the beach; and Am to play with—' (Ch. 2) 

David thinks this sounds good, but he worries about his mother.  Peggotty tells him that his mother has the neighbor and plenty of company.  David doesn’t know what she means, and off they go to visit Peggotty’s colorful family.  This includes Daniel Peggotty, Ham, and little Em’ly, as well as the grumpy Mrs. Gummidge. 

When David returns from this fun little trip, he finds his mother married to the tyrannical Mr. Murdstone.  Murdstone is very controlling, and David’s weakling of a mother cannot stand up to him or his overbearing mother.  Murdstone is soon abusive to David as well. 

‘David,' he said, making his lips thin, by pressing them together, 'if I have an obstinate horse or dog to deal with, what do you think I do?'

'I don't know.'

'I beat him.'

…

'I make him wince, and smart. I say to myself, "I'll conquer that fellow"; and if it were to cost him all the blood he had, I should do it. …’ (Ch. 4)

After beating David, Mr. Murdstone sends him off to a school where they abuse and neglect the boys.  David's mother does not fair much better, and she eventually dies.  Murdstone sends David to work in one of his factories.

In Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, in what ways is Higgins' behavior uncivilized by his mother's standards?

Mrs. Higgins says her son has no manners. He is uncivilized, first, from his inability to make small talk, such as when, at her home, he says, "what the devil are we going to talk about until Eliza comes?" Second, he is cynical, criticizing her guests by calling them uncivilized and asking of the guests, what do they know of science, art, poetry or anything else? Third, he curses: Mrs. Higgins says Eliza will never learn to speak like a lady around him because his language is fit only for a "canal barge" and not a garden party, and he threatens the furniture: he sits on the edge of the writing table in a way that worries Mrs. Higgins, he stumbles into the fireplace fender and he throws himself so hard on the divan that he almost breaks it. But his behavior might be most uncivilized in her eyes in terms of what he has done to Eliza: fitted her up to be a lady, which means she can no longer earn her own living, without providing her with the income that will allow her to live as a lady. When Higgins says he has given Eliza advantages, Mrs. Higgins gets upset and asks, what advantages?

The manners and habits that disqualify a fine lady from earning her own living without giving her a fine lady's income! Is that what you mean?

Mrs. Higgins might not like the lack of small talk, rude, cynical  comments, curses or battering of the furniture, but using Eliza as a doll to play with incenses her more than anything else. "Oh, Men! Men! Men!!" she says.

How are mockingbirds significant to the novel To Kill a Mockingbird?

Mockingbirds represent innocent beings and are a significant symbol throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. In Chapter 10, Jem and Scout are playing with their air rifles and Atticus says, "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (Lee 119). Miss Maudie elaborates on Atticus' rule by telling Scout,

"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (Lee 119).

Mockingbirds can also symbolically represent any innocent beings, like Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. Both Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are kind, helpful individuals who do nothing to bother or harm anybody. After Tom is shot dead trying to escape from jail, Mr. Underwood writes an interesting piece in his editorial. Scout mentions,

"Mr. Underwood didn't talk about miscarriages of justice, he was writing so children could understand. Mr. Underwood simply figured it was a sin to kill cripples, be they standing, sitting, or escaping. He likened Tom's death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children..." (Lee 323).

In the previous passage, Harper Lee draws the connection between killing mockingbirds and killing innocent beings. They are essentially the same thing. Later on in the novel, Scout applies Atticus' lesson about not killing mockingbirds to Boo Radley's situation. When Atticus asks Scout if she understands why Sheriff Tate is not going to tell the community about Boo's heroics, Scout says, "We'll, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" (Lee 370). Scout learns the importance of defending and respecting the lives of innocent beings from Atticus defending Tom against the prejudiced community of Maycomb and telling her that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird.

What advice does Catherine give to Raina? Why?

Catherine is status-conscious and eager to keep up with the latest fashions of genteel society. She wants her daughter to marry someone with high social prestige and wealth, and her advice -- explicit and implicit -- is that Raina shouldn't let a "good catch" get away. Raina should waste no time accepting Sergius; she should play the straightforward role of a dutiful, devoted fiancé.

At the end of the play, when it appears to Catherine that Bluntschli is a very high-status, wealthy man, she tries to pressure her daughter to accept him as a husband.

It's perhaps surprising how little Catherine attempts to advise her daughter, given what we learn about her commanding, opinionated personality. As we're told in the stage directions, she is "imperiously energetic." She is a controlling influence on her husband, manipulating him easily. She has more sway over Nicola than her husband does, and in Act III her husband recognizes that she is better able to issue compelling commands to his men:

They'll be far more frightened of you than of me.

But Raina is a forceful character in her own right, and so we get the impression that maternal lectures would do little good. The most explicit advice Catherine ever gives Raina happens in the first act, when she urges Raina to embrace her position as Sergius's betrothed. She tells Raina of Sergius's victory, noting he's "hero of the hour," and implies that Raina has shown a foolish hesitancy about the match -- he's the most eligible bachelor possible:

And you! you kept Sergius waiting a year before you would be betrothed to him. Oh, if you have a drop of Bulgarian blood in your veins, you will worship him when he comes back.

We suspect that Raina is worried Sergius will get away. He's an especially hot prospect now. Later, in Act II, Catherine questions Raina about what really happened that night with the Swiss soldier. She urges her daughter to be discreet, so as not to endanger the engagement:

Oh, Raina! Raina! Will anything ever make you straightforward? If Sergius finds out, it will be all over between you.

Finally, in the last act, Catherine tries to pressure her daughter into accepting Bluntschi. She doesn't offer any explicit advice to her daughter about this; rather, she presumes to speak for Raina in front of everyone:

Then, Captain Bluntschli, since you are my daughter's choice, I shall not stand in the way of her happiness. [Petkoff is about to speak] That is Major Petkoff's feeling also.

What is the relationship between Europe and Africa in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness?

The relationship between Europe and Africa is central to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Essentially, Conrad shows that the relationship between the two continents is based on the exploitation of resources. More specifically, Conrad illustrates how European colonial powers venture into the territory of African countries in order to harvest raw materials and resources and enslave native populations. Thus, in exploring the relationship between Europe and Africa, Conrad is also exploring the ways in which a colonial power exploits other countries for material and/or economic gain. That said, it's important to point out that Conrad suggests colonial excursions don't always work out well for European powers, as he also shows how the evil nature of colonialism corrupts those involved with it. Indeed, several characters (such as Kurtz) end the novel as broken shells and hollow individuals. As such, if Conrad shows how European cultures oppress African natives through colonialism, he also shows how this endeavor irreversibly corrupts the Europeans involved with it.