What is King Duncan's relationship to Macbeth while at Dunsinane?

While Duncan is visiting the Macbeths early in the play, his relationship with Macbeth, Thane of Glamis and now Thane of Cawdor, is incredibly friendly and familiar.  Duncan and Macbeth are kinsmen as well as friends, and Macbeth has always been so loyal to the king that Duncan has recently awarded him with the new title.  They have always had a good relationship and Duncan has no reason now to think that anything has changed. 

Macbeth, however, has received the prophecies from the Weird Sisters that he would become Thane of Cawdor (which has already happened) and then king, and so he is considering committing the terrible crime of regicide, killing the man who is his king, friend, kinsman, and guest.  So, while Duncan imagines that their relationship is a loyal as it has always been, Macbeth is busy planning Duncan's murder with his ruthless wife. 

What are two incidents that reveal how other members of society treat Walter Mitty and convey their attitudes toward him in "The Secret Life of...

Two incidents that reveal the treatment of Walter Mitty by other members of society and their attitudes toward him are the following:

1. Mitty takes his car to a garage in order to have the snow chains removed. Walter feels that the attendant is "so cocky" as he orders Walter out of the car so that he can properly place it in the designated spot.


2. While Mitty is walking on the sidewalk past the buildings of Waterbury, a woman passes him and starts to laugh. "That man said 'Puppy biscuit' to himself." She thinks Walter is saying nonsensical things to himself.

• Incident #1

Walter Mitty is daydreaming after his wife has gone to the hairdresser and he is on the way to an automotive garage to have the winter chains taken off his car's tires. He is not aware of what he is doing as he pulls into the garage. The attendant shouts at him, "Back it up, Mac! Look out for that Buick!" Startled, Mitty slams on the brakes. "Wrong lane, Mac," calls the attendant this time. Finally, he tells Mitty to just leave his car where it is and he will put the car away. Quickly, the attendant jumps in and backs up the car with "insolent skill."

• Incident #2

As Walter Mitty walks out of the garage, he reminds himself of "overshoes" and goes into a shoe store. After purchasing the overshoes, he treks along the street toward the A & P grocery store, and this time he quietly says to himself, "Puppy biscuit" in order to remind himself. However, a woman hears him talking to himself, and she laughs aloud. She tells her companion that the man who just passed "...said 'Puppy Biscuit' to himself."

It is apparent that in real life Walter Mitty seems ridiculous to others. However, in his daydreams, Mitty is a hero, "Undefeated, inscrutable to the last."

In Night, what is a quote that shows how cultural understanding is essential to the growth of an individual within a community?

In Night, cultural understanding in the form of religion is essential to Eliezer's growth within the Jewish community.

Night highlights the important role that religion plays in the Jewish community's culture.  The narrative's opening shows this through Eliezer's relationship with Moshe the Beadle. Moshe serves as Eliezer's spiritual teacher.  He guides Eliezer to understanding the importance of religion in the Jewish culture:

There are a thousand and one gates allowing entry into the orchard of mystical truth. Every human being has his own gate. He must not err and wish to enter the orchard through a gate other than his own. That would present a danger not only for the one entering but also for those who are already inside.

These words have a profound impact on Eliezer:

And Moishe the Beadle, the poorest of the poor of Sighet, spoke to me for hours on end about the Kabbalah's revelations and its mysteries. Thus began my initiation. Together we would read, over and over again, the same page of the Zohar. Not to learn it by heart but to discover within the very essence of divinity.

Religion defines Eliezer's culture in Night.  They help to carve out Eliezer's place in the community.  While people like his father embrace commerce and less spiritual notions of the good, Eliezer is content with the place that religious worship affords him in the culture of the Jewish community of Sighet.   Eliezer's growth is based on religious understanding.  At thirteen years old, Eliezer sought to better understand how "question and answer would become one."  Religion was the cultural lens through which Eliezer's growth in the community took place. 

The force of religion on Eliezer's growth can be seen as he endures the Holocaust.  His experiences in the camp compel him to change his view of religion. He begins to ask questions to God, demanding to know where he is as Eliezer and his community suffer. Eliezer is unwilling to see questions and answers as one. He is not able to embrace the divine's mystical complexities.  Instead, he wants answers about the pain he and his community experience in the Holocaust: 

What are You, my God? I thought angrily... why would I bless Him? Every fiber in me rebelled. Because He caused thousands of children to burn in His mass graves? Because He kept six crematoria working day and night, including Sabbath and the Holy Days? Because in His great might, He had created Auschwitz, Birkenau, Buna, and so many other factories of death? How could I say to Him: Blessed be Thou, Almighty, Master of the Universe, who chose us among all nations to be tortured day and night, to watch as our fathers, our mothers, our brothers end up in the furnaces? Praised be Thy Holy Name, for having chosen us to be slaughtered on Thine altar?

Eliezer's cultural understanding through religion plays a critical part in his transformation.  Initially, he embraces a profoundly personal view of spirituality.  He is content with his place that religion affords him in the culture of the Sighet community.  Through Moshe's guidance, he believes that individuals must find their path to universal truth through the "orchard of mystical truth." However, as a result of his experiences in the Holocaust, his view of religion changes. He becomes angry and insists on answers.  He is unable to reconcile the cultural view of God as merciful with what he sees in places like Auschwitz, Birkenau, and Buna.  He is no longer able to participate in community services such as Rosh Hashanah and Passover fasting.  These quotes show the role that cultural understanding in the form of religion plays in Eliezer's development within the community.  They show how he changes from one who is an active participant in the cultural lifeline of the community to one who is estranged from it.

What does Calpurnia say to Miss Rachels's cook about Tom's despair in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Calpurnia tells Miss Rachel's cook that after the trial as Tom Robinson was being taken to the prison camp, he was overcome with despair. He said good-bye to Mr. Finch, and told him that there was nothing he could do now to help him, so there was no reason for him to try.

Tom's greatest fears have been realized. Ever since the charge of the rape of a white woman has been made against him, Tom has worried about how he would receive a fair trial. He admits to these fears in the courtroom when he tells Atticus that he would run also if people were after him in the way that Bob Ewell was after him. Later, Tom's worst fears have come to pass, and he finds himself in a prison. There, he completely despairs, according to what Calpurnia has heard. 

        She said Atticus tried to explain things to him, telling him that he must do his best not to lose hope because Atticus was doing his best to get him free.  But, presently, as Atticus arrives at the Missionary Tea, he explains that poor Tom has lost all hope as evinced by his escape attempt. Told to stop by the guards, Tom disobeys and is caught by seventeen bullets as he tries to go over the fence.

In Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, what is the difference between Calpurnia's and Lula's views on white people?

In chapter 12 of Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout to her church because Atticus is out of town on business. Most of the people in the African American congregation accept the two white children as their guests with genuine hospitality, but Lula does not. As Calpurnia guides Scout and Jem up the path towards the church, she hears Lula's voice from behind her: "What you up to, Miss Cal?" Scout recalls that Calpurnia is nervous at this moment because her hands seem to dig into the little girl's shoulders. Lula confronts Calpurnia by saying the following:

"I wants to know why you bringin' white chillun to nigger church" (119).

Calpurnia explains with confidence that the children are her "comp'ny," which should set Lula at rest, but it doesn't. Usually, when someone has guests, or company, the rules of hospitality should take precedence over any petty concerns. However, Lula is not satisfied with Calpurnia's response, and she interrogates Cal further as follows:

"You ain't got no business bringin' white chillun here--they got their church, we got our'n. It is our church, ain't it, Miss Cal?" (119).

Calpurnia responds by saying that both races worship the same God, which implies that race shouldn't matter when it comes to attending church. Lula eventually backs down, but the children feel unwelcome and want to go home. Calpurnia won't let Lula's prejudices against whites affect her decision to take the children to church, though. From the conversation between the two women, it is evident that Lula is prejudiced and Cal is not. That doesn't mean that Calpurnia is pro-white or against her own kind. 

Consequently, Calpurnia demonstrates that both races should be able to coexist, especially when it comes to attending church. Just because the white population of Maycomb won't allow black people to enter their churches, this doesn't mean that Cal has to return evil for evil in her life. Lula, on the other hand, believes that if she isn't allowed in a white person's church because of the color of her skin, then she should not have to allow white people into hers. Again, Calpurnia believes that since they all worship the same God, the color of one's skin shouldn't matter where they worship. 

What were the attempts made by the Canterville Ghost to scare the Otis family?

The Canterville Ghost first decides to reapply the blood stain that the Otis family has removed from the carpet. This happens three times, and then the ghost appears in chains to menace Mr. Otis. In response, Mr. Otis tells him to oil his chains. In the meantime, the blood stains keep reappearing on the floor. Then, the ghost knocks over an old suit of armor and sits upon the high-backed chair. However, the twins shoot at him, and then the ghost decides to rig up another ghost to scare the Otis children. They disassemble the other ghost, and the Canterville Ghost decides to become the "Headless Earl" to scare the Otis twins once and for all. Unfortunately for the ghost, the twins greet him by rigging up a pitcher to pour water on his head, and he takes to his bed with a bad cold, disheartened about his ability to scare the Otis family. 

Consider the various types of love featured in The Merchant of Venice: friendship, love between father and child, romantic love, as well as love of...

This is an intriguing question to apply to this complex play. I think that the answer is somewhat complex as well: and that friendship and romantic love are the strongest forms of love in the play. This is revealed in the play's climax, wherein Shylock is readying to perform his own perverse form of justice upon Antonio (exacting his "pound of flesh"). Portia poses as a lawyer to try and defend Antonio, who is her lover Bassanio's best friend. It is love for Bassanio that prompts her to try and help his friend; but it is Bassanio's love for Antonio that inspires her to do what she does. 

Portia's famous speech in which she says "the quality of mercy is not strained" refers to compassion, a crucial component in any friendship. She admires Bassanio's noble qualities, and understands that a man worthy of being his closest friend would be a good friend to anyone. Her point that Shylock's contract does not allow for any drop of blood to be shed when he extracts his pound of flesh speaks to her compassionate nature as well: just as Shylock says, "Come, prepare!" (in some productions, Shylock raises a knife or sword at this moment) she stops him. She is visualizing the sight of Antonio under Shylock's weapon and knows there will be blood. In this visceral moment of pity and compassion, she gets the idea for how to save Antonio's life. Friendship between Antonio and Bassanio, and Portia's romantic love for Bassanio, are shown here to be the play's most significant forms of love.

Does Suzanne Collins justify the use of violence in the novel "The Hunger Games"?

Collins presents the use of violence in several different ways in her novel, but most importantly, she uses other elements to show how differently violence can be perceived when it is combined with different motives.

For example, Collins presents what violence looks like when it stems from a misuse of power. The Hunger Games themselves are an example of this: an annual televised fight to the death among children, provided namely for gruesome entertainment among the country’s sovereign district The Capitol, but also to ensure that their position of power over Panem remains intact and undisputed.

Collins clearly never tries to justify the Capitol’s use of violence, but instead completely villainizes it so that it becomes a horrific and unjustifiable obstacle in her heroine’s way.

However, Collins also presents violence in a way that doesn’t seem so belligerent and horrific, and would understandably stir up questions like yours.

When Katniss is put into situations in which she feels forced to use violence as her only way out of a high-stakes situation, Collins presents it in a way that can help a reader sympathize with her heroine’s hard decision. For example, in Chapter 14, in the arena, Katniss is trapped at the top of a tree while the Careers – a group of her opponents – rest below, waiting until morning to kill her. In this situation, her thoughts reveal the following:

“Darkness has given me a brief reprieve, but by the time the sun rises, the Careers will have formulated a plan to kill me. There’s no way they could do otherwise after I’ve made them look so stupid. That [tracker jacker] nest may be the sole option I have left. If I can drop it down on them, I may be able to escape. But I’ll risk my life in the process.” (Collins, pg. 486)

Her hopelessness is especially apparent when she knows that injuring or killing the Careers with the tracker jackers could result in her own death as well. She truly believes in this moment that a violent attack on the Careers is her only option.

After she follows through with this plan, Katniss is delirious from tracker jacker stings and is thinking only about one thing:

“The swelling. The pain. The ooze. Watching Glimmer twitching to death on the ground. It’s a lot to handle before the sun has even cleared the horizon. I don’t want to think about what Glimmer must look like now. Her body disfigured. Her swollen fingers stiffening around the bow . . .” (pg. 488)

Katniss’s attitude toward violence is not to justify it in her own hands, or to relish a successful violent attack against her enemies. She does not dismiss her targets, even if they never had her interests at heart, and she never appears to enjoy or revel in hurting or killing others.

This is shown in almost symbolic ways throughout the novel, such as in Chapter 18, when Katniss places flowers around her friend Rue’s body in the arena after she was wounded with a spear and killed. By doing this, Katniss is trying to find a way to soften the blow that is seeing Rue with a bloody hole in her abdomen. She surrounds her with nature, trying to bring peace to the aftermath of a gory death. This event is supposed to touch readers emotionally. It’s supposed to make them feel the grief that Katniss feels and stoke anger toward her situation. It's supposed to remind them of the consequences of violence.

It is also shown in the few moments before Katniss’s mercy killing of Cato in Chapter 25, after he was attacked by the Capitol mutts. She’d thought beforehand:

“The cold would be torture enough, but the real nightmare is listening to Cato, moaning, begging, and finally just whimpering as the mutts work away at him. After a very short time, I don’t care who he is or what he’s done, all I want is for his suffering to end.” (pg. 790)

And that last line is one of the most important points to note in this answer, because it proves that Katniss does not enjoy the suffering of her most troubling enemy in the arena. The violence is never something she believes anyone deserves.

And in the end, when Katniss decides to rebel against the Capitol instead of killing Peeta, she doesn’t veer toward violent thoughts or plans of gruesome revenge toward others, but instead decides to threaten the Capitol with a strategic double suicide that would ultimately overthrow the power they’d held over Panem with the Games. It was, in her situation, probably the least violent thing she could think of.

Ultimately, it is shown through her main heroine that Collins’ goal was never to justify the use of violence in her novel but rather to condemn it. She manages to create such effective tension in her novel with violence only because she’s managed to create a world where violence is not meant to be satisfying, like in Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club. It’s not meant to be an anticipated expression of vengeance, like in Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad. Violence in The Hunger Games is never an effort to prove that violence itself can be justified, but instead it is trying to uphold a character’s moral integrity by defining a justifiable motive when violence becomes the only way out. The novel is, by all means, an indictment of violence and the damage that it can create in a world where it is the most present evil of all. 

What are Anne's dreams and wishes?

Anne Frank was a young woman who was filled with hope.  She had many wishes and dreams for her future.  Despite the isolation and fear of living in the Annex, Anne tried to keep a positive attitude and to never give up hope.  She acknowledge the difficulty of the times she lived in.  She knew that if the Nazis discovered herself, her family, and her friends that they would be arrested or worse.  Yet she never gave up hope that she would live to see the end of the war and the defeat of Nazism.  She longed for peace.

One of Anne's dreams was to someday be a famous professional writer or journalist.  She hoped to one day achieve one of these goals.  Anne thought of publishing a book on her experiences in the Annex when the war was over.  Anne wanted a career when she grew up.  She did not want to live like other women:

I can't imagine having to live like Mother, Mrs. van Pels, and all the women who go about their work and are then forgotten.  I need to have something besides a husband and children to devote myself to! (Anne Frank:  The Diary of a Young Girl).

Sometimes Anne's dreams and wishes changed.  At one point, she wanted to go to Hollywood.  She even wrote a short story about it.  One central wish that never changed was that she always believed in the goodness of people:

It's difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.

The three friends think they have a problem to discuss. What is the problem?

At the beginning of Chapter I, the three friends—George, Harris, and the narrator, J.—are sitting in J.’s room, smoking and talking. The subject matter turns to medical maladies; and each man chimes in with his own symptoms and ailments, as people are apt to do among friendly company. It turns out that they are “all feeling seedy” or listless, and that both George and Harris have experienced “fits of giddiness.” These are the problems they decide to address: their states of physical and emotional health. After J. regales them with a few lengthy medical stories of his own, the three men decide that they are indeed at least suffering from overwork, and that they all need a rest. They need to get away from the city and to go somewhere. It is unlikely that the men are suffering from any real illnesses; and whether or not they are actually overworked is only left for them to say. By the end of the chapter, however, they decide to take a boat trip up the River Thames. This will be their remedy for what ails them.

To whom would you recommend the book Hope was Here by Joan Bauer?

Hope Was Here is recommended for readers in the seventh grade and above. Readers who have advanced skills but are in lower grades may also enjoy the book. The protagonist in the story is Hope, a sixteen-year-old girl who lives with her aunt. Together, they work at diners. Hope had been a bus girl, but she was promoted to the position of waitress. Being that Hope faces the challenges of being sixteen, Hope Was Here could be recommended for teenagers. Teenage girls would likely enjoy the book because of the female protagonist. Teenagers who have part-time jobs in particular may relate to Hope.

When Hope moves to her new town and job in Wisconsin, she becomes involved with the local mayoral race. This book would be recommended for readers who have an interest in local politics, or politics in general.

In summary, this book is recommended for:

• Readers in the 7th grade or above, or who read at an advanced level


• Teenagers who have part-time jobs


• Teenage girls


• Readers interested in local politics

What does Billy dream of when he is on morphine?

In Chapter Five of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, Billy has a very strange morphine dream in which he sees a garden with giraffes wandering around on gravel paths in it. In this dream, Billy is also a giraffe, and he is accepted by the other giraffes as one of their kind. Two of the female giraffes approach Billy and then kiss him on the lips.

This dream seems to play off of the theme of alienation that is present within the novel. Due to his time-traveling tendencies, Billy is constantly out of sync with the rest of the world and is, thus, a bit of an outcast. However, in this dream, Billy is able to find a group of his own, albeit one consisting of very strange, odd-looking creatures! He may never be accepted by normal society, but in his dream he finds there is a "tribe" for him out there somewhere.

Why did the Jews of Sighet choose to believe the London radio reports rather than Moishe?

Moishe is the first character Wiesel introduces, thus setting up the ultimate struggle of the novel: maintaining faith through in the face of senseless evil.  This struggle begins when Moishe's credibility is stripped from him when he returns from being deported; his news is ignored for more reassuring news from the London radio. Wiesel suggests that people believe what they want to believe and ignore what scares them.   

Moishe is the spiritual foundation for the protagonist, Eliezer (based on Wiesel himself), guiding him through his studies of the Talmud and the Kabbalah (Wiesel, 21-23).  Wiesel juxtaposes Moishe's spiritual leadership with his lack of standing in society in the first two paragraphs.

"He was poor and lived in utter penury. As a rule, our townspeople, while they did help the needy, did not particularly like them.  Moishe the Beadle was the exception.  He stayed out of people's way.  His presence bothered no one.  He had mastered the art of rendering himself insignificant, invisible." Wiesel, 21

Wiesel continues to character Moishe as "awkward" and "waiflike"—elements that make him accessible and sympathetic to both the reader and his young student, Eliezer.  So far, he is simply a pitiable outcast with great faith. 

As the plot moves forward, we learn that Moishe, along with many others, is deported from Sighet (Wiesel, 24).  When he returns, he tries his very best to relate the horrors of the killing in the forest, but fails to elicit any sympathy from the content townspeople. 

"But people not only refused to believe his tales, they refused to listen.  Some even insinuated that he only wanted their pity, that he was imagining things.  Others flatly said that he had gone mad." Wiesel, 25

Eliezer admits that even he "did not believe [Moishe]" (Wiesel, 25).  These horrible things were happening far away and people often choose to turn a blind eye to evil because they are afraid. 

Therefore, Moishe, a once tolerated, humble, spiritual man, becomes the town madman, ignored.  He is passed over for a more reassuring source of news, the London radio, simply because that is human nature.

How could the themes from Dostoyevsky's The Grand Inquisitor and Notes from Underground be compared and contrasted with those from Huxley's...

All three works raise questions about the intersection of suffering, freedom and rationality in society and all three reflect a world in which, for the first time, it was considered possible to engineer a society without suffering. In "The Grand Inquisitor," Ivan tells a story of Christ returning to earth, arriving in Spain during the Inquisition. Instead of embracing Christ as one would expect a representative of the Church to do, the Inquisitor sentences Jesus to death. Visiting him in his jail cell, the Inquisitor tells Jesus that the people don't want or need the freedom Jesus has offered them. Jesus' freedom has caused suffering: instead of rejecting the temptations in the desert, he should have turned the stones into bread to feed the people, allowed himself to saved by throwing himself from the tower, thus giving the people miracles to impress them, and sought earthly political power in order to help people. Jesus kisses the Grand Inquisitor, who lets him quietly escape, telling him not to come back.

Like the Inquisitor, Mustapha Mond in Brave New World believes people are happier without freedom and has engineered what he believes to be a Utopian world in which there is no pain or suffering. This world has no religion, no great literature, no great art, and no deep relationships either, but on a superficial level people enjoy plenty of material goods, have been conditioned to like their lives, have lots of sex, and have soma, a narcotic, available in case they should feel any pang of discontent. The Savage in this novel acts as a Christ figure of sorts, arguing that he would rather experience pain and suffering than live the shallow, narcotized existence provided by Mond's planned, rational world. However, as the novel ends, unlike the Inquisitor's Christ, the Savage does not reach out in reconciliation to kiss his enemy. Yet, like the Christ figure, he is a potentially disruptive force in the society: his ideas are unwelcome. Unlike the Christ figure, he does at one point actually try to disrupt this world by throwing out a supply of soma, wanting to free people from their mindlessness. We don't see Christ in "The Grand Inquisitor" disrupting the world, but we have to imagine he will.

The Underground Man in Notes from the Underground also questions rationalist utopias and, like the Savage, believes pain and suffering are necessary for people to be truly happy and free. He believes that people will not necessarily behave rationally and in their own best interests but will do irrational and destructive things simply in order to feel free. Unlike the Savage, who never loses his passion, the Underground Man feels paralyzed, and unlike in Brave New World, Russian society has not been engineered and conditioned into mindless obedience. Although disruptive towards society, as Christ is, and a believer in freedom as well, the Underground Man is often spiteful rather than loving.

In business, what is the differences between infrastructure and superstructure?

In business, infrastructure refers to underlying components of necessary elements that make business activity possible. Infrastructure is exemplified by such things as roadways and waterways; transportation; telecommunications; waste removal and processing; and power. Some definitions include human resources as part of infrastructure.

In contrast, superstructure refers to the overlaying construction of business activity supported by the infrastructure. The difference between the two is that the infrastructure forms the base or foundation of business activity, while the superstructure forms the facilities and operational procedures of business activity.

An infrastructure (the base or foundation upholding business activity) is that which of necessity must be gone through to achieve business activity, while a superstructure has optional and alternative route-ways for conducting business activity.

As an illustration, business needs the infrastructure components of communications connections in order to communicate with buyers and suppliers. It also needs the infrastructure component of transportation via road-, rail-, air- or waterways in order to deliver goods and receive resources. In the superstructure, a business can optionally employ telephone or Internet communications. Also in the superstructure—when more than one transportation infrastructural component is at hand—a business can optionally employ trucking, railway lines, airfreight or shipping for delivery of goods and receipt of resources.

What method Did the Spanish use to change native American culture

The Spanish used a number of techniques to change the culture of the indigenous peoples of the New World. Most obviously, they used conquest to exert their will and claim lands. The Spanish had superior tools and weapons, but also benefited from the natives being decimated by new diseases the Spanish inadvertently introduced. In conquering the lands of the natives, the Spanish instituted European economic, political, and justice systems over the Indians.

The Spanish also attempted to subvert the culture of the Indians by converting them to Christianity. They abolished the traditional religions of the Native Americans and forced them to worship a monotheistic God. Churches and missions were constructed throughout the New World to achieve this.

Another way that the Spanish abolished traditional native culture is through intermarriage. Unlike the English, who remained separated from the Indians, the Spanish intermarried and established a new ethnicity of people that would be called mestizos. This intermingling with the native population resulted in a blending of Spanish and Indian cultures which further destroyed ancestral native knowledge.

`2^(3-z) = 625` Solve the equation accurate to three decimal places

For exponential equation:`2^(3-z)=625` , we may apply the logarithm property:

`log(x^y) = y * log (x)` .

This helps to bring down the exponent value.

 Taking "log" on both sides:

`log(2^(3-z))=log(625)`

`(3-z)* log (2) = log(625)`

Divide both sides by log (2) to isolate (3-z):

`((3-z) * log (2)) /(log(2))= (log(625))/(log(2))`

`3-z=(log(625))/(log(2))`

Subtract both sides by 3 to isolate "-z":

`3-z=(log(625))/(log(2))`

-3                            -3

------------------------------------

`-z=(log(625))/(log(2)) -3`

Multiply both sides by -1 to solve +z or z:

`(-1)*(-z)=(-1)* [(log(625))/(log(2)) -3]`

` `

 `z~~-6.288 `       Rounded off to three decimal places.

To check, plug-in `z=-6.288` in `2^(3-z)=625` :

`2^(3-(-6.288))=?625`

`2^(3+6.288)=?625`

`2^(9.288)=?625`

`625.1246145~~625`   TRUE

Conclusion: `z~~-6.288` as the final answer.

Why is Lennie with George instead of at home?

Lennie is mentally challenged and definitely unable to take care of himself. In chapter one, he threatens to go off in the woods to find a cave to live in. George scoffs at the idea and questions what Lennie would get to eat. It seems Lennie has traveled with George since Lennie's Aunt Clara died. The two men grew up in the small northern California town of Auburn and after Aunt Clara died, George took Lennie with him. In other words, Lennie really doesn't have a home. His home is with George and the two men are migrant farm workers traveling through California looking for work. The book is the story of their experience on a ranch near the central California town of Soledad. In chapter three, George explains his relationship with Slim as the two hang out in the bunkhouse:

“Him and me was both born in Auburn. I knowed his Aunt Clara. She took him when he was a baby and raised him up. When his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just come along with me out workin’. Got kinda used to each other after a little while.” 

Through his use of juxtaposition, Fitzgerald contrasts two worlds--East Egg and West Egg, and, consequently, the lifestyles of Daisy and Myrtle,...

Nick first describes the division between East and West Egg in the following way: "Twenty miles from the city a pair of enormous eggs, identical in contour and separated only by a courtesy bay, jut out into the most domesticated body of salt water in the Western hemisphere" (page 5). East and West Egg are identical physically, and the water that separates them, tame in nature, is described as a "courtesy bay" because the two identical areas of land want little to do with each other. In the immoral and snobbish 1920s society that Fitzgerald describes, the old money of the East Egg was not eager to touch the new money of the West Egg, so it's almost as if the bay is doing East Egg a favor by keeping them apart from West Egg. Nick says that the physical similarities between the two eggs "must be a source of perpetual confusion to the gulls that fly overhead" (page 5). However, to the "wingless," by which he means people, the two Eggs are remarkably different. The fact that birds cannot tell them apart means that the differences between the two Eggs are stem from fine distinctions that the snobbish society of the 1920s drew between people like Tom and Daisy, who had inherited wealth, and people like Gatsby and Nick, who didn't. 

In Chapter Two, the land between West Egg and New York City is described as a barren area known as the "valley of ashes" (page 23). As Nick describes it, this is "a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat" and where "men...move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air" (page 23). This is a kind of no man's land where Myrtle Wilson lives at the gas station her husband owns and where "a small foul river" flows (page 24). The imagery describing the valley of ashes is in great contrast to the sparkling waters of East and West Egg, which abut the glistening Atlantic. Instead, the lifeless, ashen world is similar to hell. This landscape represents the barren hopes of working-class people like George and Myrtle Wilson, who simply wait for the passing cars of the rich who travel back and forth from the Eggs to New York City. In the unfair society of the 1920s, they were shut out, physically and financially, from the opulent lifestyle of the rich people who lived in places like the Eggs.

The immorality of the 1920s is reflected in the differences between the two Eggs because old money people like Daisy and Tom don't try to bridge the gap between themselves and others. They rely on the "courtesy bay," which has deeper metaphorical meanings, to keep themselves separate from other people and their troubles. This bay stands for the way in which the old money rich, like Daisy and Tom, don't consider in the ways in which they are connected to other people. For example, Daisy leads Gatsby to think that she is again in love with him, but then she quickly retreats to East Egg and Tom, leaving Gatsby bereft. Tom, for his part, has a meaningless dalliance with Myrtle, who clearly wants Tom to help her escape from the valley of ashes, but he doesn't try. The people of East Egg separate themselves from the needy, much as the society of the 1920s celebrated wealth without truly trying to affect social or economic change in society. Instead, the 1920s celebrated people who could be successful in society, such as the rich, without reforming society to help the poor or otherwise needy. 

How does Shakespeare compare his friend's beauty with the summer's day in "Sonnet 18"?

"Sonnet 18" is a Shakespearean sonnet, a genre typically used for love poetry. It is usually structured to set up a major theme in the first three quatrain and then to have a surprising or paradoxical twist in the couplet.

Shakespeare begins by arguing that his lover is in every way superior to a summer day. One should note that the poem is set in England, which tends to have cool, rainy summers. The narrator points out that summer days are inconsistent; they can be windy or hot and humid or cloudy. The beloved's characteristics are more constant, though. Also,  the summer will eventually fade into autumn.

In the third quatrain, the narrator suggests the beauty of the beloved is eternal, suggesting: "But thy eternal summer shall not fade." At first, this statement appears paradoxical, as all humans are mortal, but the couplet resolves the paradox by saying that as long as people continue to read this sonnet, the lover will be remembered.

In what ways do the quilts hold different meanings for Dee and for Maggie in "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker?

The quilts hold different meanings for Maggie and Dee because heritage means different things to Maggie and Dee.  For Maggie, heritage is something living, something that exists in the present: Maggie and Mama routinely use various items that were handmade by family members living or dead.  Heritage is about remembering the grandparents and aunts and uncles that have passed on, who have stories to keep passing down.  It isn't tied up in keeping things nice, or putting them on a shelf; it's about using the benches and the dasher and the quilts, even if that means they wear out and fall apart (because those people made those things to be used).

For Dee, heritage is about preserving things, not using them.  Heritage is something past for her, and she wants to acquire the quilts so that she can hang them on the wall.  She isn't connected to her heritage at all; she doesn't know the stories, and she doesn't care to.  The quilts seem to be something to show off, to hang up, not to enjoy or to use.  They represent Maggie's connection to her heritage and her family, and they represent Dee's alienation from them.

In My Brother Sam Is Dead, what does Tim's father die from on the prison ship?

My Brother Sam is Dead is a work of historical fiction by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier that targets young adult readers. The book traces the life of Tim Meeker, a boy living in Connecticut just before the dawn of the American Revolution, who must deal with the wildly different political views of his father, Eliphalet "Life" Meeker, (who is loyal to Great Britain) and his brother Sam (a member of the Continental Army). Tim watches as the conflict between these two--and between the countries they believe in--continues to escalate to the point of senseless violence. 

Eventually, Tim's father, is captured by Rebels who believe that he has been selling beef to New York loyalists. He later dies on a prison ship after an outbreak of cholera. 

In Act III of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, does Mary Warren actually admit that she lied even when she knew innocent people would hang by her...

In Act III of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Mary Warren does, indeed, admit to having lied before the court. Act III is occupied primarily by the proceedings, the outcome of which will result in the deaths of many innocent people. When Mary is again questioned regarding her role in the chain of events leading up to this point by Judge Thomas Danforth, the presiding judge during the trial, who has traveled to Salem for the sole purpose of purging this community from all traces of sorcery, she recants her earlier damning testimony:

Danforth: Then you tell me that you sat in my court, callously lying, when you knew that people would hang by your evidence?

She does not answer.

Danforth:  Answer me!

Mary Warren, almost inaudibly: I did, sir...

As with Abigail, but lacking Abigail's vindictiveness and guile, Mary Warren has trapped herself in a web of deceit from which she cannot escape. Having perjured herself earlier in the trial, she is now hard-pressed to be perceived as honest by a panel of men determined to find somebody guilty of witchcraft. Judge Danforth responds to Mary's attempt at recanting her earlier testimony by noting the difficulty of determining which testimony to believe:

Danforth, containing himself: I will tell you this - you are either lying now, or you were lying in the court, and in either case you have committed perjury and you will go to jail for it. You cannot lightly say you lied, Mary. Do you know that?

In a trial in which virtually every figure has attempted to extricate him- or herself from the morass of lies and conjecture in an attempt at being spared the hangman's noose, or stoning, Mary Warren's attempt at reclaiming her integrity through an admission of perjury lacks the credibility she so desperately needs to help not only herself but the innocent individuals against whom she has earlier testified. Mary is a weak, pathetic figure who has been content to merely observe the foibles of others, but her weaknesses have dug her into too deep a hole from which to climb out.

In the novel Lord of the Flies, describe the "beast" that appears to come out of the sea.

In Chapter 5, Ralph holds an assembly to discuss why the boys are not following through with the tasks agreed upon during the meetings. He then begins to address the existence of the "beast." Ralph, Jack, and Piggy firmly believe that the "beast" does not exist. Then, a littlun named Percival mentions that the "beast" lives and comes out of the sea. Percival does not go into detail about the "beast" because he passes out after commenting that it lives in the sea. The boys then begin to argue about its identity before Jack and his hunters decide to leave the meeting. While Piggy attempts to rationalize its existence by thinking scientifically, only Simon understands its true identity. The "beast" in the water is only a figment of the boys' imagination. It represents the inner fears that they feel on the uninhabited island at night. The true nature of the "beast" is the inherent wickedness in each individual. It is a not a tangible being, but rather a symbol of their inherent evil. 

How is gender constructed in Bollywood movies and Indian cinema?

Gender construction in Bollywood films and Indian cinema is as complex an issue as gender-based identity is in India today.

We need to define some terms before delving into the issue of gender construction. "Bollywood movies" reflect the lucrative film industry for which India is known. These films are distributed out of Mumbai. Hindi is their primary language. "Indian cinema" reflects the regional filmmaking industry that represents a significant portion of Indian filmgoers and filmmakers. For example, "Indian cinema" reflects Tamil-, Telegu-, and Malayalam-speaking populations. It is more regional, localized in specific Indian states. For example, most Tamil films are distributed out of Chennai, the state capital of Tamil Nadu in the Southern part of India. These distinctions are important to understand what is being discussed when we talk about the Indian film industry.

As with most media, gender construction is related to commercial profit. For example, both Bollywood and Indian cinema utilize "item songs." These are songs where a woman performs for an audience of men. The item song represents a particular construction of feminine identity. The woman featured is dressed in a provocative way, dances for men, and does not speak outside of the lyrics she sings. She has no depth to her presentation. Women in these songs are seen as objects for men. They are designed to elicit a specific response both in the film's scene and in the audience. Item songs are employed because of their commercial marketability. They are a way to generate "buzz" and publicity for a specific film. In other words, commerce dictates one way in which women are presented in Bollywood films and Indian cinema.

Commercial expectations further affect gender construction in Bollywood films and Indian cinema. Films aimed at mass appeal are designed to generate profit and feature a more conventional and/ or objectified depiction of women. This is based on commercial expectations. A significant number of areas India tend to view women in a "traditional" way. In these areas, a more conventional depiction of women on the screen will generate greater sums of money. In many instances, the filmmakers and producers are not inclined to put forth a message that preaches universal empowerment for women if it cuts into a film's profits. These individuals are more likely to present women in a particular way through particular roles in order to maintain the film's commercial viability.

At the same time, there are examples of films that view themselves as "art" over a vehicle for commercial production. For example, filmmakers like Deepa Mehta are willing to depict a relationship between two women in Earth or a film about the mobilization of widows in Varanasi in Water. These are examples of films that might not experience a wide distribution because they are not intended to profit substantially. Profit is not these films' primary motivation. They are intended to make a statement about social conditions in India. The people who would watch either of these films are fundamentally different than a more traditional Indian film audience member. These audiences are more likely to embrace a challenging of existing social attitudes about gender identity. These audiences will be found in metropolitan centers like Bangalore, Hyderabad, or Calcutta. They are less likely to exist in the small villages that comprise so much of India. Commercial viability plays an important role in gender construction in both Indian cinema and Bollywood films. There is also a growing subsection of artistic films in India that want to challenge how gender identity is perceived, though.

Part of the reason for this divergence is because India is in the midst of questioning its understanding of gender identity. Indian society is wrestling with issues like domestic violence and sexual assault. For a very long time, these issues were seen as "private issues." They were realities that women had to confront silently, away from public view. Through social media and emerging markets, however, globalization has brought different cultural attitudes. As India has become a very active participant on the world stage, new attitudes have entered into the Indian social mindset. This has prompted previously held mores and values regarding gender identity to be challenged. There is an emergence of organizations and collective attitudes which argue that violence against women must be a public issue. It must be legislated in the public arena and should no longer be relegated into silence. It is for this reason that when Bollywood actor Salman Khan compares a difficult film shoot schedule to a "woman being raped," he provoked intense reactions from different parts of society. It is also why Amitabh Bachchan, quite possibly Bollywood's biggest star, makes news when he takes the role of a lawyer defending girls who have been sexually assaulted in the upcoming film, Pink. Gender depiction is a complex reality in Indian films because it is a complex issue in Indian society.

What is a summary of The Diary of A Young Girl?

The Diary of a Young Girl is a book of the journaled writings of Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl who went into hiding with her family (The Franks--Otto, her father; Edith, her mother; and Margot, her older sister), the Van Daan family (Hermann, Otto's business partner; Auguste, his wife; and Peter, their son), and a dentist, Mr. Dussel (whose real name was Fritz Pfeffer) in a secret annex in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. All entries in this journal are addressed to an unknown person or character named Kitty, who is intended to serve as Anne's most trusted friend and confidante. The diary begins on June 12th, 1942, with Anne's first remarks: 

I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support. 

The first formal entry occurs two days later, in which Anne describes the events of her birthday and her excitement at receiving the gift of this journal. The entries continue for the next two years, as Anne details the triumphs and tribulations of living in the annex. She describes the extremely mundane, noting everything from her limited daily routine to the bathroom habits of the other occupants. She also takes great care to note the evolution of her relationships with the others, including her tensions with her mother and Margot, her conflicted feelings and eventual attraction to Peter, and her deep respect for her father. Anne also acknowledges many of the other difficulties of spending her teenage years in confinement, from the scarcity of resources to learning to understand herself (her personality, her sexuality, her identity, her means of communication) under the watchful eyes of others. The final entry occurs on August 1, 1944, in which Anne keeps "trying to find out what I'd like to be and what I could be if... if only there were no other people in the world."

Ultimately, The Diary of A Young Girl is a stirring portrait of a family driven to desperate measures by a senseless war, but also of the budding adulthood of a very sensitive young woman with a complex internal life. 

Explain why acid rain is unevenly distributed across the world.

Acid rain is rain that has a slightly more acidic pH level than normal.  Pure water has a pH level of 7.  Rain is generally slightly acidic to begin with, so "acid rain" is rain that tends to have a pH of 5.0 - 5.5.  The acid rain itself can be created through a combination of natural and man-made sources.  For example, volcanic eruptions give off elements that help to produce acid rain.  Human sources come from car exhausts and various fossil fuel burning activities.  

Both of the above natural and man-made sources of acid rain are not evenly distributed across the globe.  Population densities vary across continent to continent.  Additionally, natural soil compositions differ as well.  Lastly, prevailing winds can carry acid rain and its components far away from their source regions.  All of those reasons combined explain why acid rain is not evenly distributed across the globe.  In the United States for example, acid rain tends to occur most in the Northeastern United States.  This is because of the high population density, the number of large cities (with their power plants), and the winds tend to carry Midwest pollution to the Northeastern United States.  

What sensory details does the narrator use to build suspense during the scene when the children try to look in the Radleys' window in Harper Lee's...

In Chapter Six of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, the author makes excellent use of imagery, especially in the form of sensory details, to create suspense and foreboding when the Finch children and Dill try to look in the Radleys' window.

As the children enter the yard, descriptions heighten a feeling of anxiety for the children's safety, making this one of the story's most exciting chapters.

At the rear of the property where "we stood less chance of being seen," there is "a narrow wooden outhouse." The kids have to wiggle under the wired fence. "It was a tight squeeze for [Jem]." In these descriptions, we have a sense of trying not to be caught, but there is also the sense of confined spaces, something that frightens many people.

When Jem warns, "Don't get in a row of collards whatever you do, they'll wake the dead," Scout moves cautiously and, obviously much too slowly, for as she looks up, she "saw Jem far ahead beckoning in the moonlight." This brings to mind a ghost, especially with the words "beckoning" and "moonlight."

When the kids arrive at the gate that separates the yard from the garden, "the gate squeaked" when Jem touches it.

As they move forward, Scout complains.

"You've got us in a box, Jem," I muttered. "We can't get out of here so easy."

A description of the house is given:

The back of the Radley house was less inviting than the front: a ramshackle porch ran the width of the house; there were two doors and two dark windows between the doors.

Above a Franklin stove, "a hat-rack mirror caught the moon and shone eerily."

Creeping to the side of the house, there is a "hanging shutter." While it may only be a sign of disrepair, it brings to mind a haunted house. As they try to raise Jem up to look in the window, he says,

Hurry. . . we can't last much longer.

Time is running out. A need for speed creates tension.

When the boys decide to try the back window, Scout's fear is palpable.

When Jem put his foot on the bottom step, the step squeaked. He stood still and tried his weight by degrees. . . He crawled to the window, raised his head and looked in.

In a split second, the entire mood of the scene changes:

Then I saw the shadow. It was the shadow of a man with a hat on. At first I thought it was a tree, but there was no wind blowing, and tree-trunks never walked. The back porch was bathed in moonlight, and the shadow, crisp as toast, moved across the porch toward Jem.

Dill. . . put his hands to his face. . . Jem saw it. He put his arms over his head and went rigid.

At that point, the kids dive off of the porch. Scout explains,

As I tripped the roar of a shotgun shattered the neighborhood.

The reason that sensory details are so effective is because they appeal to our senses, which are very sensitive. When the author appeals to the senses, words on a page come to life. The senses in this chapter are mostly of sight, sound, and touch: visual, auditory, and perceptual.

Whether general imagery is used that evokes mental pictures or feelings that cause fear and suspense, or the specific use of sensory details are employed, Lee has a true gift to be able to transport the reader into that dark backyard, on a hot summer's night—when kids are apt to be up to something thrilling—and frightening—in Maycomb, Alabama.

How does the change in Laurie's clothing on his first day of school signal a change his behavior?

The change in Laurie's clothing is described in the first paragraph of Shirley Jackson's short story, "Charles." It foreshadows the behavioral changes in Laurie, as manifested through the character Charles, whom Laurie invents. 

Here is the paragraph: 

The day my son Laurie started kindergarten he renounced corduroy overalls with bibs and began wearing blue jeans with a belt; I watched him go off the first morning with the older girl next door, seeing clearly that an era of my life was ended, my sweet-voiced nursery-school tot replaced by a longtrousered, swaggering character who forgot to stop at the corner and wave good-bye to me.

Jackson's word choice and description of Laurie's new attire foreshadow the behavioral changes to come. First, she uses the word "renounced." Synonyms for this word include shun, reject, and disown. This shows that Laurie is asserting his independence with his clothing choice. One can infer that his mother made the clothing choices up to that point. Now Laurie is casting aside the clothing he used to wear and choosing blue jeans with a belt, a more grown-up choice. His mother, the narrator, describes him as "swaggering," which suggests Laurie feels more grown up and impressive in his new attire.  

The mother describes watching her sweet-voiced preschooler being replaced by a child who swaggers. He also wears clothing that shows he is leaving behind a part of his childhood. He even forgets to turn around and wave to his mother, showing that he doesn't think he needs her as much as he did previously.

What is Bob Ewell's testimony in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird?

Bob Ewell testified that he saw Tom Robinson with his daughter Mayella.

Bob Ewell’s testimony is colorful and fanciful.  He tries to convince the jury that Tom Robinson raped Mayella.  However, he admits that no one went to get a doctor for her.  Atticus tries to establish that Mayella was never attacked at all by having Ewell demonstrate that he is left handed.

“Well, Mayella was raisin‘ this holy racket so I dropped m’load and run as fast as I could but I run into th’ fence, but when I got distangled I run up to th‘ window and I seen—” Mr. Ewell’s face grew scarlet. He stood up and pointed his finger at Tom Robinson. “—I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!” (Ch. 17) 

Mr. Gilmer tries to show that Mr. Ewell saw Tom Robinson attack Mayella.  However, when Atticus questions him on cross-examination, he asks Bob Ewell if he went for a doctor.  Ewell says he never thought to. 

“Didn’t you think she should have had a doctor, immediately?”

The witness said he never thought of it, he had never called a doctor to any of his’n in his life, and if he had it would have cost him five dollars. “That all?” he asked. (Ch. 17) 

Atticus also has Mr. Ewell describe her injuries and point out that they were on the left side of her face.  He has Mr. Ewell write his name so that the jury can see that he is left-handed.  He is trying to show that Mayella’s injuries were caused by her father. Later, he will demonstrate that Tom Robinson has no use of his left arm.

Atticus hopes that people will understand that Bob Ewell was lying when he said that he saw the rape, because Mayella did have injuries, but not caused by Tom Robinson.  No one got her a doctor.  If she really had been raped, wouldn't a doctor have been called?

Which will feel hotter to touch: holding 10.0 g of aluminum at 95 degrees Celsius, or 10 g of lead at the same temperature? Assume each material is...

The substance that will release more heat as it cools down from 95 degrees Celsius to the skin temperature of 34 degrees Celsius will be hotter to touch. We can calculate the amount of heat released for each of the two materials, aluminum and lead, using specific heat capacity. The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance by 1 degrees Celsius is known as its specific heat capacity. The specific heat capacities of aluminum and lead are 0.9 J/gm/K and 0.128 J/gm/K. Since the specific heat capacity of lead is less than aluminum, it will release less heat as it cools down.

We can also calculate the amount of heat released as the materials cool down by using the following equation:

Heat released = mass of substance x specific heat capacity x change in temperature

Heat released in the case of aluminum = 10 g x 0.9 J/g/K x (95 - 34) C = 549 J

Heat released in the case of lead = 10 g x 0.128 J/g/K x (95-34) C = 78.08 J

Thus, aluminum will release more heat than lead when it is held until it reaches the skin temperature. And it will feel hotter to touch as compared to lead.

How do you critique / evaluate the book ?

At its simplest level, critiquing or evaluating a book means explaining your opinion of said book. Since I assume you'll be doing this evaluation for class, however, your critique needs to be a little more involved. It's not enough to simply say what you think of the book; you also have to explain why you've developed such an opinion, usually by using examples from the novel. This means that you have to have a good understanding of what the book is about, and this includes knowing how its important themes work within the context of the plot.

For Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, there are many main ideas/themes that you could include in your critique. However, no matter what you thought of the book, it would probably be a good idea to discuss the theme of prejudice in your evaluation. Prejudice resurfaces time and again in Mockingbird, and is explored in many different ways. There is, of course, the exploration of racism through the Tom Robinson trial, but Lee looks at prejudice in other ways too. She examines prejudice in gender roles by depicting the unequal opportunities for men and women. Additionally, she looks at the prejudice developed within a system built on unfair class hierarchies. These are all major themes in the book and, if you're having trouble starting your critique, it would be worth using these as starting points to begin talking about not only what you think of the book, but why you think that way. 

What are a topic statement and statement thesis?

Thesis statements and topic sentences are your guide to writing your essay, and they are also a guide for the reader in reading your essay. They both have the same essential purpose, but have different placements in an essay, so we will examine them one at a time.

When you write an essay, you have some main idea you want the reader to take away after reading your essay. We call that your thesis. In a persuasive or argumentative essay, your thesis might be that we all need to start doing something about global warming and climate change.  In your thesis statement, you need to let the reader know that, but you also need to let the reader know how you are going to support your main idea and what points you will discuss about it. Those points for an essay on global warming and climate change could be that rising sea levels will destroy many places on earth, extreme weather events will cause more and greater death and destruction, and food sources will be severely compromised. Here is a thesis statement I could write:

It is vital that we all pitch in and stop or slow down global warming and climate change because the rising seas will destroy occupied land, more extreme weather will harm more people and property, and we will not be able to raise enough animals and grow enough plants to feed the earth.

This thesis statement would be at the end of my introduction, where it acts as a kind of table of contents for the reader, a guide to the entire essay. You are also going to use it as your guide to write your body paragraphs, which is where the topic sentences come in.

Using my hypothetical example, I will write three body paragraphs in my essay, one for each of the points named in my thesis statement, and these will be in the same order as the points in my thesis statement. My first body paragraph will be about the rising sea levels. My second will be about the extreme weather, and my third will be about animals and plants.

The first sentence I write for each of these body paragraphs is a topic sentence, which is a sentence that lets the reader know what point I am going to discuss to support my thesis. This acts as my guide, too, as I write. Having a topic sentence keeps me on track so I do not write about animals and plants in my paragraph about rising sea levels.  Everything I put in the body paragraph will be focused just on that topic, that point. Here is a topic sentence I could use for my first body paragraph:

If we do nothing to stop the warming of the earth, the seas will rise enough to place islands underwater and to overrun coastal areas.

Now I can stay focused on providing evidence to support that, and the reader will understand right away what point I am making.

Once I have written my three body paragraphs, I will write one more paragraph, a conclusion, and in that paragraph, I will remind the reader what the thesis is and what the supporting points are, but not in the same exact words as I used in my thesis statement.

You can see how important it is to have a thesis statement and topic sentences when you write. It keeps your writing focused, and it guides the reader beautifully, increasing the chances your writing will be remembered and prompt action. 

What can people infer by reading the last line of a Midsummer Nights Dream?

Puck’s final line asks for applause and references his earlier statement that if the audience didn’t like the play, they can pretend it was just a dream.

Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends. (Act 5, Scene 1)

Puck, or Robin Goodfellow, is breaking the fourth wall, or the invisible barrier between the audience and the actors.  He directs his speech to the audience as a way of bringing up again the concept of dreams.  

If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream … (Act 5, Scene 1)

In other words, a play is like a dream.  The action in this play in particular has many elements of fantasy.  It does seem like something one might dream.  A play is a dream shared by the actors and audience.  It is a real magic, because plays entertain us and bring us to a place we would not otherwise be.

Throughout the play, Puck does silly things for Oberon’s benefit and probably was one of the audience’s favorite characters.  Elizabethans believed in sprites and fairies, and Shakespeare often used them to add a magical element to his plays.  Prospero makes a similar speech at the end of The Tempest.

Let me not,
Since I have my dukedom got
And pardon'd the deceiver, dwell
In this bare island by your spell;
But release me from my bands
With the help of your good hands ... (Act 5, Scene 1)

Prospero implies that the audience releases the actors with their applause.  When Prosper says, “Now my charms are all o'erthrown” it is a reference to his character, as a wizard, and also to the spell the actors have during the brief time that they are on stage.  Puck and Prospero both are telling the audience that they can thank the actors and go, because the spell is broken.

At the end of his sermon, Edwards says, "Haste and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed." How...

The way Edwards concludes his sermon strengthens his overall argument.

Edwards's primary concern is to galvanize people to change their sinful ways. He believes people need to be aware that their transgressions deny them of the chance to fully receive the words of the divine. While the imagery employed might be scary, his primary responsibility is to move people towards believing that they can change their ways through accepting divine teachings.

The conclusion to the sermon emphasizes this possibility for change. Edwards underscores how people need to embrace immediacy in the line "Haste and escape for your lives." This idea reminds people that it is not too late for change. Edwards wants his followers to absorb the idea that the only real transgression is to believe that they cannot be saved. They can make significant changes and "look not behind" as they do it. There is a spiritual summit, or "mountain," that people scale as they seek to be more than what they are. The sooner people embrace the struggle of climbing it, the sooner God's anger will be placated.

Edwards reminds his followers that if they do not embrace this change, they will "be consumed." The conclusion of the sermon helps people accept their own agency. God might be angry, but people can be active agents of spiritual evolution. Edwards's conclusion allows people to believe they can avert spiritual degradation, underscoring the sermon's primary motivation.

What are some themes of Roald Dahl's "Royal Jelly"?

While the themes of this short story by Roald Dahl can be difficult to identify, there are two which are the most evident. First, it is clear that the father loves the baby very much, which is why he begins to experiment with feeding the undernourished child royal jelly. At first, it seems to have only a positive, nourishing effect on the child, but then as time goes on, the baby seems to be morphing into a sort of larvae-like version of her former self. The mother loves the child as well, which is why she nurses a healthy skepticism for how the father is going about taking care of the child. She doesn't want anything to happen to her and because she feels that she doesn't know enough about this "treatment," she can't really say if it's the best thing for her child. This disparity in the way that the mother and father express their love and concern for the child leads us to identify this theme: that two people can express love for someone in very different ways, and it is often impossible to know who is in the right. 

Toward the end of the story, the mother begins to take a closer look at both her husband and child. She realizes the toll that this royal jelly fanaticism has taken on both of them. Her husband's shape has a peculiar bee-like quality to it and he's sprouted dark hairs, and her daughter has become very chubby and cherubic, just like a little grub. At first, they had both seen positive benefits from the use of the jelly. The husband used it to treat his infertility, which is how his daughter was conceived, and the daughter had begun to be healthy again because of the nutrients found in the jelly. Over time, however, the husband began to increase the amount of the jelly until he was giving large quantities of it to his daughter, and that is when the wife began to become estranged from them. This leads me to the next theme of the story, which is that too much of a good thing can sometimes have negative effects. This could be love, it could be devotion, and it could be material things or food.

How is power used for evil in A Tale of Two Cities?

Two groups are shown to use power for evil in the French Revolution as related in A Tale of Two Cities. The nobility is represented by the Marquis of Evrémonde, Charles Darnay’s uncle. His estate is his sole concern, not the people who live and work in it. He has no compassion for the poor, despite his great wealth. He uses the power of his money to crush them and then thinks that a little money alone will satisfy them. He throws a coin at Gaspard after his carriage runs over Gaspard’s son.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is Madame Defarge, who represents the peasants who are trying to overthrow the nobility. Her method is murder, killing many people herself and turning others over to the tribunal for execution. She uses her power of persuasion to rouse the people to revolt. In the process, many people die.

Charles Darnay, in contrast, relinquishes his power, giving up his title of marquis, as well as his estate, in favor of living in peace in England. He tries to use that power for good, to save his former servant, even though it is dangerous for him to return to France. As a result, he is captured by the revolutionaries and is imprisoned. It is only the power of self-sacrifice of Sydney Carton that saves him.

In the book The Art of Racing in the Rain, what are the turning points or significant events that affect the development of the plot?

When a reader talks about "turning points and significant events" he or she is speaking specifically about plot development.  The plot of a story is comprised of six different parts:  the exposition, the inciting incident (or conflict), the rising action, the climax, the falling action, and the resolution.  The Art of Racing in the Rain is a perfect novel to speak about these plot points as "turning points and significant events."

In the exposition, the reader learns about our narrator, Enzo, who is a dog.  Even though the crux of the story centers around Denny (the race car driver and Enzo's owner), Enzo's thoughts as narrator are very important. It is not long before Enzo begins to run into serious issues that affect the humans around him.  As Eve (Denny's wife) gets sick and begins to die of cancer, we have experienced the inciting incident or conflict of the book. Immediately, we enter the rising action as Eve's parents take Zoe (Denny's child) from Denny.  The tension rises as the trial looms.  Denny visits Zoe on weekends, and Enzo listens instinctively. Throughout all of the rising action, we learn all about Enzo's thoughts about humans.  Enzo's dreams continue when he sleeps during the trial.  Enzo dreams that he participates in the trial (with the help of a voice synthesizer) and helps everything turn out okay.  The climax (which is sometimes called the "turning point") of the story is the end of the trial when Annika recounts the events, Denny is freed, and Zoe is given back to her dad. During the falling action, we learn of Enzo's hip troubles and other issues that prove he is getting old.  It is not a surprise when Enzo dies in Denny's arms, promising to come back as a human.  The resolution of the story happens when Denny gives a very young fan an autograph.  The young fan's name is Enzo.  The reader infers, of course, that Enzo's dream of becoming "a man" has come true.

How does the work "Lady Lazarus" by Sylvia Plath use the theme of death?

The poem "Lady Lazarus" reflects Plath's obsession with death and suicide. There are several ways the theme of death is evoked, some direct and some reflecting Plath's own prototypical imagery and obsessions.

The title itself evokes the Biblical figure of Lazarus who died and was raised from the dead by Jesus. The narrator is someone who has been rescued after a failed suicide attempt and is lashing out at the people who saved her life. The poem is "confessional" in that Plath herself attempted to commit suicide multiple times until finally succeeding in 1963.

She addresses the audience in a bitter, sardonic tone, resenting that they have dragged her back from the brink of death and also speaking angrily about the way people seem to view the failed suicide as a freak show or spectacle. She describes herself as like the revived corpse of Lazarus or a victim of the Holocaust.

She feels a special sense of identity with the Jews slaughtered by the Nazis (despite herself being raised in the Unitarian Church as a middle-class daughter of a professor and attending the elite Smith College and Cambridge University). She evokes the theme of death in the Holocaust by mentioning the image of a Nazi lampshade made of human skin; one should note that the rumor that Ilse Koch had lampshades made from the skins of human victims at Buchenwald concentration camp was actually an urban myth.

The reference to "a bar of soap" which is part of the poem's death theme is based on an urban legend that the Nazis made bars of soap from the bodies of murdered Jews. The rumors themselves may have been propagated by some of the Nazis to frighten prisoners in concentration camps.

Which countries formed the allied side in World War II?

The countries who formed the Allies during World War II (1939-1945) included the major powers of the United States (starting in 1941), the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union (the Soviets had aided the Nazis in the partition of Poland and then joined the Allies after the Germans invaded them in 1941). The Allies were joined by the British Commonwealth countries, including Canada, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. Other countries on the allied side included China, Poland (which was defeated by the Nazis in 1939), France (defeated by the Nazis in 1940; later, the Free French fought with the Allies), British India, Yugoslavia, and Greece. The other side, the Axis powers, included the countries in the Tripartite Pact: Nazi Germany, Italy, and Japan. They were joined by other countries, including Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania. 

Would the Biblical allusions in "Ransom of Red Chief" be ironic or just further describe the ironic situation that a child is terrorizing his...

The biblical allusions that O. Henry employs in "The Ransom of Red Chief" do reinforce the overall irony of the story's plot—a child getting the better of his kidnappers—but also feature delightful irony in their own right.

Comparing Red Chief's flinging the stone at Bill to the story of David and Goliath is ironic because by this time in the story, readers likely already feel sorry for Bill and dislike Red Chief. It's the most natural thing in the world for people to take the side of the underdog (the David against the Goliath), yet readers know Red Chief is no hero. He has already pitched rocks at a kitten, after all. As a result, we're tempted to take Goliath's side.

When Bill asks Sam if he knows who his favorite Bible character is, it's ironic on a couple of levels. First, we don't expect an outlaw to have a favorite Bible character. Even Sam thinks the question is a result of Bill's being temporarily knocked senseless. Second, though, Bill's choice of a favorite is one of the worst villains in the Bible—King Herod. Herod tried to kill the Christ Child. Once readers get the joke, though, they can understand Bill's choice. If King Herod had been around at the right time in Summit's history, Bill's tormenter would never have been able to launch the rock that could have killed Bill. 

The third allusion isn't strictly biblical, but it is religious. Bill compares himself to "martyrs in old times. . . that suffered death rather than give up the particular graft they enjoyed." This passage is ironic because it presents martyrs as if they were petty criminals, like Bill and Sam. Bill correlates the tortures he has endured at the hands of Red Chief with the persecution stalwarts of the faith endured for their commitment to God. Bill is no saint, but Red Chief does seem to possess "supernatural" ability to wear down his enemy.

The clever, multi-layered irony of the biblical allusions adds to the humor of "The Ransom of Red Chief."

While solving questions based on electricity, how will we determine the correct direction for calculating the resistance if there are many resistors?

Resistors are components that have a linear change in current flowing through them when the voltage applied across them is changed. The flow of current through a resistor is possible in both directions and the magnitude remains the same irrespective of which direction the voltage is applied in.

In a circuit with many resistors, all the resistors are configured such that some of them are in series and some of them are in parallel.

For two resistors, R1 and R2, that are in series, the equivalent resistance is equal to R where R = R1 + R2. If the resistors R1 and R2 are in parallel, the equivalent resistance R is given by 1/R = 1/R1 + 1/R2.

To determine the equivalent resistance when there are many resistors in a circuit, the resistors should be grouped as sets of resistors that are in series and which of these sets are in parallel. Using the formula for equivalent resistance provided earlier, the equivalent resistance of each set can be determined and this can then be used to determine the equivalent resistance of the entire circuit.

As resistors behave in the same way irrespective of which direction current is flowing in and the direction the voltage has been applied across the resistor, there is no correct direction as far as finding equivalent resistance is concerned.

Why is Things Fall Apart a post-colonial novel?

One purpose of post-colonial literature is a consistent correction of the false perception that colonized people had no true culture of their own or were uncivilized before the arrival of the colonial power.

Achebe’s Things Fall Apart goes to great lengths to demonstrate that the Ibo have a rich heritage of cultural traditions and a fully-developed civilization that includes courts of law, formal religion, and systems of diplomacy and trade. When the English arrive, they do not bring a previously-missing light of civility with them. By detailing the highly-developed cultural institutions of the Ibo, Things Fall Apart calls into question existing stereotypes regarding the peoples of the African continent as uncivilized. 

A substantial portion of the novel is dedicated to depicting these aspects of Ibo civilization and culture and this fact alone is enough to qualify the novel as a work of post-colonial literature. This is especially true considering Achebe’s expressions elsewhere about his intentions with the novel and his feeling that Nigerians and Africans in general had been too often shown as uncivilized savages in Western literature. Far from being uncivilized, the people of the nine villages in Things Fall Apart possess the same civil and religious institutions that the English claim to bring to them to save the Ibo from a brutish or uncivilized state.

The English presumption that the Ibo are without civilized principles (lacking religion and law) is at the heart of the novel’s conflict, as the native people who rely on the integrity of their culture struggle to maintain their identity when a powerful and determined colonizing culture attempts to uproot and replace that identity.

While individuals like Okonkwo’s son Nwoye are served in positive ways by the colonizing cultural norms, many people like Okonkwo are deeply compromised and, in the case of Okonkwo himself, powerfully damaged by the loss of cultural identity.

He saw himself and his fathers crowding round their ancestral shrine waiting in vain for worship and sacrifice and finding nothing but ashes of bygone days, and his children all the while praying to the white man’s god.

Thus the novel articulates a response to the presumption that Nigerians like the Ibo had no civilization or culture prior to the arrival of the English colonists. In doing so, it suggests the questionable ethics of the colonial mindset. If the colonists’ rationale for occupying and dominating this region is based on the notion that the Ibo need to be saved from a lack of law and order and a lack of religious principle, Things Fall Apart presents an idea that fundamentally undercuts the basic validity of that rationale and in doing so posits a post-colonial critique of the colonial mindset.

In Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, why does Mrs. Rudder come to Fudge's birthday party?

In the story, Mrs. Rudder comes to Fudge's birthday party by accident. Because she lives in the apartment downstairs, she can hear all the commotion above her.

Meanwhile, up at the Hatcher apartment, Peter (Fudge's brother) has just blown up a lot of balloons. He hands each of Fudge's little guests balloons and then proceeds to dance around with his balloon. Fudge's friends, Ralph, Jennie, and Sam, soon follow suit. All the children dance around with their balloons to the record player's tunes. They even jump on the furniture and run around the apartment; in general, they make so much noise that Mrs. Rudder is forced to come up and investigate the reason for all the ruckus.

In fact, Mrs. Rudder tells Peter's mother that it felt as if "her ceiling was about to crash in on her any second." Meanwhile, Peter's mother explains that Fudge is having a birthday party. She invites Mrs. Rudder to stay and to eat a piece of birthday cake. This is how Mrs. Rudder comes to attend Fudge's birthday party.

What happens in Chapters 14-15 in To Kill A Mockingbird?

Chapter 14 

The townspeople are getting ready for the Tom Robinson trial.  Scout and Jem can’t even walk around town without comments being made.  Scout asks her father what “rape” means, because the trial is the talk of the town.  He tells her “carnal knowledge of a female by force and without consent,” and she obviously has no idea what he means or why everyone is talking about it (except Calpurnia, who didn’t answer Scout when she asked). 

Scout tells Atticus that they went to church with Calpurnia and were invited to her house.  Atticus is amused, but Alexandra is horrified.  Scout gets upset and talks back to Alexandra, and Atticus tells her to mind her aunt.  Alexandra tells Atticus that he has to do something about her; he’s “let things go on too long.” She doesn’t think Scout acts like a lady. 

Alexandra also wants Atticus to fire Calpurnia.  She says she isn’t needed with Alexandra living in the house.  Atticus disagrees, saying they need her as much as they ever did and Alexandra has enough to do with social obligations. 

“Alexandra, Calpurnia’s not leaving this house until she wants to. You may think otherwise, but I couldn’t have got along without her all these years. She’s a faithful member of this family and you’ll simply have to accept things the way they are….” (Ch. 14) 

Jem asks Scout not to antagonize their aunt, and they get into a fight.  In Scout’s room, she notices something move under her bed.  It turns out to be Dill, who has run away from home because his mother spends all of her time with his stepfather and he feels left out.  Again acting grown-up, Jem tells Atticus.  He agrees to let Dill stay, but tells Rachel. 

Chapter 15

Some men come over and tell Atticus that there is trouble.  A mob is gathering.  They do not want Atticus to get involved, but he insists.  He tells them that his client is going to get a fair trial. Atticus takes a lamp and goes and sits outside the jail.  The Cunningham mob arrives, ready to lynch Tom Robinson.  Scout, Jem, and Dill are watching because they followed Atticus. 

The Cunningham mob tells Atticus they have sent Sheriff Tate on a “snipe hunt” and no one can help him.  Atticus asks them, “Do you really think so?” Scout knows this is a dangerous question and Atticus has something up his sleeve. Jem confronts the mob.  Atticus tells him to go home, but he refuses.  Scout recognizes Walter Cunningham’s father and strikes up a friendly but awkward conversation.  It brings Mr. Cunningham to his senses. 

Atticus said nothing. I looked around and up at Mr. Cunningham, whose face was equally impassive. Then he did a peculiar thing. He squatted down and took me by both shoulders.

“I’ll tell him you said hey, little lady,” he said.

Then he straightened up and waved a big paw. “Let’s clear out,” he called. “Let’s get going, boys.” (Ch. 15) 

Mr. Underwood tells Atticus that he had him covered with a shotgun all along.  Atticus tells Tom it’s all right and leaves with Scout, Jem, and Dill.

What is the most important biomolecule of life?

A biomolecule is, by definition, any molecule present in a living being. There are 4 main biomolecules: proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates and lipids. All these have their own unique functions and necessities. Proteins, made up of amino acids, are responsible for enzymatic actions and other structural necessities of a cell. Nucleic acids, made up of nucleotides, are responsible for genetic information. Carbohydrates, made up of monosaccharides, are the energy source of cells and have other structural responsibilities. Lipids are the responsible for energy storage in a cell and are the major component of the cell membrane. 

Among all these biomolecules, I would pick nucleic acids as the most important for life. There are two types of nucleic acids: DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid). DNA molecules contain the genetic information and RNA molecules convert this genetic information into amino acid sequences. DNA and RNA, along with proteins, are key to the survival and existence of life forms.

One may also want to study the double helical structure of DNA and RNA molecules and also the bases that make them up.

Hope this helps. 

What state of matter does conduction and convection take place in?

Heat transfer can take place through three different mechanisms: conduction, convection and radiation. In conduction, heat is transferred through direct contact between bodies. Since direct contact is possible in solids, liquids as well as gases, conduction can take place in all of them. However, solids are more tightly bound than other forms of matter and hence conduction is better in the solid state, as compared to other forms of matter. If we heat one end of a metal stick, the other end will also feel hot after a while, due to conduction.

Convection is the transfer of heat energy through the movement of fluid particles. Hence, convection cannot take place in solids, since the solid particles are not fluid. Thus, convection only takes place in liquids and gases. The boiling of water in a pan happens because of convective heat transfer between water molecules.

In comparison, radiation does not require any medium for heat transfer. Solar radiation is an example of radiation or radiative heat transfer.

Hope this helps. 

What do readers indirectly learn about the home life of the Ewell family in To Kill a Mockingbird?

The Ewells are very poor and live outside the law, eschewing school and society.

From Burris Ewell, we learn that proper hygiene is either not available or not a priority for the Ewell household.  He has head lice and is generally unclean in his appearance and his manners.

He was the filthiest human I had ever seen. His neck was dark gray, the backs of his hands were rusty, and his fingernails were black deep into the quick. He peered at Miss Caroline from a fist-sized clean space on his face. (Ch. 3) 

The Ewells also do not value education.  This is why their children cannot read or write, and only go to school on the first day of school and then stay home for the rest of the year.  Burris doesn’t even make it through the whole first day.  He gets into a fight with the teacher when she wants him to go home and wash his hair and calls her a “snot-nosed slut” (Ch. 3).  It is his third first day of first grade.

Atticus has his own perception of the Ewells, which he describes to Scout when she is impressed with the fact that they do not have to go to school or obey the laws.

They were people, but they lived like animals. “They can go to school any time they want to, when they show the faintest symptom of wanting an education,” said Atticus. (Ch. 3) 

Atticus says that Bob Ewell hunts for his food even when hunting is out of season because he spends his relief checks on alcohol.  He hasn’t had a job.  He can’t keep a job.  After the trial he is said to be the only person Maycomb has heard of who has been fired from the W.P.A. for laziness. 

When Bob Ewell and Mayella Ewell testify, the sad state of their lives is described.  Bob Ewell beats Mayella, and may possibly sexually abuse her.  He leaves her in charge of the many children (how many is never clear), with hardly anything to feed them, and never lifts a hand to help her take care of them.  She doesn’t seem to understand what Atticus means when he asks her if she has any friends.  There is no beauty in her life except for the flowers she keeps, and the only person she has to keep her company is Tom Robinson.  Unfortunately, being around him is considered wrong by Maycomb society, because he is black and she is white.

After Macbeth murders King Duncan he agonizes over something. What is it?

Macbeth agonizes over the fact that he is unable to say "Amen," when one of the sleeping groomsmen had said "God bless us" just after Macbeth murdered the king. These men are asleep, and it does not seem that they actually knew Duncan was murdered. But Macbeth wonders:

...wherefore could not I pronounce “Amen”?
I had most need of blessing, and “Amen”
Stuck in my throat.
It is clear that Macbeth is stricken with guilt at the murder of Duncan, and that this is what really bothers him. He is so guilty that he is unable to voice a prayer to God. His wife, still at the point where she has to push him toward carrying out the evil deeds necessary to gain and keep power, tells him to "consider it not so deeply," and that thoughts like these will surely drive him mad. But Macbeth persists, saying that he heard a voice saying that "Macbeth doth murder sleep!" Macbeth, who needed to be encouraged to carry out the murder in the first place, is overcome with guilt.

What are some external and internal conflicts that Montag has in Fahrenheit 451?

Montag’s internal conflict results from his job. He is a fireman, which means he burns people’s houses — sometimes while they are still in them. He develops this internal conflict when he meets his neighbor Clarisse. Clarisse tells him that, unlike most people, she is not afraid of firemen. She also asks if he is happy. This prompts him to think,

Of course I'm happy. What does she think? I'm not? he asked the quiet rooms. He stood looking up at the ventilator grille in the hall and suddenly remembered that something lay hidden behind the grille, something that seemed to peer down at him now. He moved his eyes quickly away. What a strange meeting on a strange night (Part I).

When Montag steals a book, he does not quite know what to do with it at first. The book is not allowed, of course. No books are allowed in this society. He has grown up with this and it is all he knows. Clarisse and the lady who burns herself with her books prompt him to question his beliefs.

Montag’s external conflict is mostly with Beatty, his captain, but also a result of the character vs. society conflict that results from having a very restrictive society. Books are not allowed, and people seem to exist without emotions. Everyone focuses mostly on television, radio, or drugs.

Beatty arranged his cards quietly. "Any man's insane who thinks he can fool the Government and us."

"I've tried to imagine," said Montag, "just how it would feel. I mean to have firemen burn our houses and our books."

"We haven't any books."

"But if we did have some."

"You got some?"

Beatty blinked slowly.

"No" (Part I).

Beatty knew Montag was hiding something. As Montag became more involved in the book idea, it was clearer and clearer that Beatty know what was going on and was just waiting for a chance to get Montag. Eventually, the conflict is resolved when Montag's wife turns him in and Montag is called to his own house and Montag attacks Beatty with a flamethrower.

What are Jess's feelings for May Belle?

Jess loves May Belle dearly and feels a strong sense of connection to her. As her big brother (in fact, her only brother) he is eager to protect May Belle, and although he sometimes feels annoyed by her constant attentions to him, there's no denying that Jess and May Belle adore each other. She loves to be in on his secrets, like his habit of getting up early to practice running, and she looks to Jess to get even with Janice, the bully who stole May Belle's Twinkies from her lunch box.

In a family crowded with sisters, May Belle is Jess's most companionable, likable sibling. Joyce Ann is just a baby and hasn't really developed a personality yet, and the two older girls, Brenda and Ellie, always seem selfish and irritating to Jess. That leaves May Belle for his playmate and companion, at least until his friendship with Leslie blossoms.

To find text evidence for this loving relationship, let's look first to Chapter 1, when May Belle and Jess are introduced:

May Belle was another matter. She was going on seven, and she worshiped him, which was OK sometimes. When you were the only boy smashed between four sisters, and the older two had despised you ever since you stopped letting them dress you up and wheel you around in their rusty old doll carriage, and the littlest one cried if you looked at her cross-eyed, it was nice to have somebody who worshiped you. Even if it got unhandy sometimes.

Then, let's also look at Chapter 5, when Jess most notably tries to protect May Belle from the bully, Janice:

"She stole my Twinkies."

"I know she did, May Belle. And Jess and I are going to figure out a way to pay her back for it. Aren't we Jess?"

He nodded vigorously.

Here's May Belle reveling in the secret knowledge that Jess has gotten even with Janice on her account:

"I know," said May Belle, her eyes shining. "I know."

Finally, after Leslie is gone, notice how Jess finally decides to share Terabithia with only one special person: May Belle.

In The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois, why do you think Professor Sherman didn't resent taking orders from the Captain of the Day? ...

On the island of Krakatoa, where twenty families have settled, the children are all between ten and fifteen years of age in The Twenty-One Balloons (Dubois).  There is no formal schooling on the island, and the children plan projects for themselves, to learn and be meaningfully engaged in activity.  They have planned an amusement park, and the first "ride" is the Balloon Merry-Go-Round, which is a collection of small boats linked up in a circle, attached to balloons that will lift all the boats and take them out to the sea.  For this activity, the children take turns being "Captain of the Day," the person responsible for organizing the ride. 

Since the children have built this ride, thoughtfully and carefully, Professor Sherman, who is a perpetual guest on the island, has no reason not to follow orders.  The children are clearly competent at what they have done and are doing, and there would be no reason for him not to pitch in.  In fact, Professor Sherman finds this to be "amusing" (Dubois 132): having spent all these years ordering students about in his classroom, to be ordered about now by someone young enough to have been one of his students is quite the change.  He likes this turnabout because he is so very tired of teaching, and he has no desire to order about any student ever again. 

Comment on Helen Keller's view that a blind man is neither a genius nor a freak nor an idiot.

Helen Keller was just like anyone else.  The fact that she was blind and deaf did not make her less of a person, and it certainly did not make her an idiot.  This quote is Helen Keller's commentary on how people perceive the blind inaccurately.

For the first part of the statement, just being able to get around in the world on the same level or a similar level to everyone else does not automatically make you a genius.  This is a frustration with the idea that we should make accommodations for people with disabilities to the point where we do not treat them like everyone else.  You can be intelligent or not intelligent, and it has nothing to do with your sight.

For the second part of the statement, a blind person is not a freak because we should not stare at or be fascinated with a blind person because he or she is different.  This person is just managing the world differently, but going through life on his or her own terms.  The fact that the person is blind is just one aspect of the person.  The person is still a human being and wants to be treated and interacted with just like everyone else.

Finally, blind people do experience the world differently.  A blind person probably wants to be independent, but the world is set up for the seeing.  Sometimes a person might need help finding something or doing something if the right accommodations are not available.  This does not make the person dumb. For example, in her autobiography The Story of My Life, Helen Keller describes how she had to fight to get into college, but once there many of her books were not available in braille and so she had to have someone spell them into her hand.  This made things take much longer for her.

Very few of the books required in the various courses are printed for the blind, and I am obliged to have them spelled into my hand. Consequently I need more time to prepare my lessons than other girls. The manual part takes longer, and I have perplexities which they have not.  (Ch. 20) 

The fact that Helen Keller took longer to learn her lessons or read her books because they had to be spelled into her hand does not make her less intelligent.  It was a limit of accessibility, just like the lectures that had to be spelled into her hand.  Despite this, Helen Keller was still able to attend college and take a variety of subjects.