What is the relationship between evolution, allele frequencies, and populations?

According to Swell Wright’s Synthetic Theory, evolution of a population takes place when changes in their allele (gene) frequencies occur and the population moves to a higher adaptive level in that particular ecological area.

A simple way of explaining this relationship between populations, their alleles and evolution was described by Philip McClean in his publication ‘Population and Evolutionary Genetics’ in 1997 (see resource link).

McClean referred to a population of peppered moth which existed in pre-industrialized central England. At that time, the peppered moth existed in white and dark coloured alleles with the white coloured allele predominating.

The reason the white-coloured allele peppered moth were more predominant was that they were able to avoid bird predators by hiding on white-barked trees in that area, which enabled them to mask their presence.

With the advent of industrialization, pollution from industries stained the white-barked trees, making them darker. The white-coloured moth no longer had hiding places and they became vulnerable to attack by bird predators.

Their population gradually reduced while the dark-coloured allele moth increased in number, gradually becoming the more predominant allele in that area. Changes in allele frequencies occurred by the creation of more copies of an already existing allele in that population and this brought about the evolution of that population of peppered moth to a higher adaptive level.

Is Delia a meek or strong character? Why or why not?

In Hurston's story, "Sweat," Delia is a complex character. She tolerates a lot of bad treatment from her husband Sykes. He speaks to her disrespectfully, throws pretend snakes (whips) at her, and walks around town with his girlfriend. Yet, Delia does nothing about these things. She seems to be afraid of him and too focused on her job to do anything about his behavior.

However, by the end of the story, after Sykes has brought a real live snake into the house, Delia has changed. She has decided not to put up with her husband's abuse any more. When he is bitten by the snake, she refuses to go in and help him. Even though she appears not to be doing anything, her resistance itself is a kind of strength. While we see her being meek in many ways, by the end of the story she proves herself to be quite strong in not going inside to save Sykes.

Three cranial nerves innervate the extrinsic muscles of the eye. The most severe loss of eye movement will result from damage to which of these...

The extrinsic muscles of the eye are made up of six muscles which control the movement of the eyeballs. They are described as extrinsic because they originate from points outside the eyeball and are attached to the outer surface of the eyeball.

They are very quick and precise in controlling eye movements and they are able to do so by the actions of three cranial nerves which control their activities.

The six extrinsic muscles of the eye can be sub-divided into three groups according to the role they play in the movement of the eyeball.

1. The superior and inferior rectus muscles which control the up and down movement of the eyeball.


2. The lateral and medial rectus muscles which control the left and right movement of the eyeball.


3. The superior and inferior oblique muscles which keep the eyeball focused while the head moves.

The cranial nerves which control the actions of these muscles are: Abducens, Trochlear and the Oculomotor nerves. The abducens nerve controls the lateral rectus muscle while the trochlear nerve controls the superior oblique muscle. The oculomotor nerve controls the four other extrinsic muscles.

Apart from controlling more of the extrinsic muscles than the two other cranial nerves, the oculomotor nerve exerts control on the muscles of the eyelid and pupillary constriction. Therefore, damage to the oculomotor nerve will lead to a severe loss of eye movement and in addition, it will cause drooping of the eyelid and dilation of the pupil.  

During the sixteenth century, Spain became the most powerful country in both Europe and the Americas. Explain how Spain rose to this position of...

Spain rose to that position of power in the 16th century largely because of the emphasis that previous rulers had placed on Roman Catholicism being the dominant religion. Europe was largely Roman Catholic whilst the countries just east of the Mediterranean were largely Muslim. Because of Spain's geographic location- it had access to both the Atlantic and Mediterranean oceans, Spain was uniquely qualified to wage a war against Muslim nations. This is what the reconquista in the mid 15th century was all about. The marriage of Ferdinand to Isabella in 1462 unified Spain and the granting of religious power to this union by the pope - who was himself a Spaniard- brought about a powerful linkage of Church and State. Thus Ferdinand and Isabella's daughter wed the heir to the Holy Roman empire which constituted a large part of Europe. This union produced a son Charles V who sought to conquer the entire region and bring it under Roman Catholicism. His sons Ferdinand and Phillip continued with this religious fervor and sought to attack protestant England ruled by Queen Elizabeth in 1588. The Spanish suffered heavy losses to its massive fleet of ships and this naval defeat coupled with an already burdened Spanish economy ultimately led to the demise  of the Spanish hegemony after 1588

How does Steinbeck present the character of Slim and his relationship with other characters in Of Mice and Men?

When George and Lennie first arrive at the ranch, they are told they will be on Silm’s team.  Slim is a “big tall skinner.”  They hear more about Slim’s reputation from Candy, as part of the explanation of why they should stay away from Curley’s wife.

"Nice fella. Slim don't need to wear no high-heeled boots on a grain team. I seen her give Slim the eye. Curley never seen it. An'I seen her give Carlson the eye." (Ch. 2) 

Therefore, by the time they meet Slim they have been told twice that he is tall, and once that he is a nice guy.  Despite all of the warnings about Curley’s wife, the men hear Slim talking to her easily. Slim’s character thus built up, he finally walks into the room. 

Slim is described as tall, of course, wearing a Stinson hat.  He is called “the prince of the ranch” because he runs the mule team, an important and difficult job.  We are told that “he moved with a majesty achieved only by royalty and master craftsmen.” 

There was a gravity in his manner and a quiet so profound that all talk stopped when he spoke. His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love. This was Slim, the jerkline skinner. His hatchet face was ageless. (Ch. 2) 

The reverential way Slim is described turns out to be fitting.  He is a nice guy.  He is impressed with the fact that George and Lennie travel around together.  Everything he does is done with dignity, but he is described as friendly. 

Slim has a bunch of puppies, which gets Lennie’s attention right away.  George tells him to ask for one.  Slim easily and graciously gives him one, and when George thanks him, he says, "It wasn't nothing," because he has too many anyway.

Does Mary's pregnancy have influence on the story?

Mary's pregnancy has an effect on the story in a number of ways. It naturally makes her a more sympathetic character, so the reader can continue to identify with her even after she commits a brutal murder. The fact that she is expecting the baby in a few more months makes her completely dependent on her husband Patrick emotionally, financially, and in every other way. Thus her reaction to his totally unexpected announcement that he is leaving her comes as a terrible shock and makes it more plausible that she should succumb to a sudden impulse to kill him with the frozen leg of lamb she just happens to be holding. Furthermore, her instinct to get away with her crime is more understandable in view of the fact that she wants to keep her baby. If she went to prison, the baby would be taken away from her and she would never see it again. Mary remains a sympathetic figure because she is thinking about her unborn child rather than about herself. After the murder:

It was extraordinary, now, how clear her mind became all of a sudden. She began thinking very fast. As the wife of a detective, she knew quite well what the penalty would be. That was fine. It made no difference to her. In fact, it would be a relief. On the other hand, what about the child? What were the laws about murderers with unborn children? Did they kill them both-mother and child? Or did they wait until the tenth month? What did they do?

The fact that Patrick decides to walk out on his wife when she is six-months pregnant reflects unfavorably on him. It makes Mary's enraged reaction more plausible and induces the reader to overlook the fact that Mary is technically guilty of something like aggravated manslaughter. Most readers want to see Mary get away with her crime because she is the innocent victim of gross injustice.

Would Mary have killed Patrick if she had not been pregnant? Probably not. She would have lacked the last elements of outrage that gave her the strength and motivation to wield the weapon.

At that point, Mary Maloney simply walked up behind him and without any pause she swung the big frozen leg of lamb high in the air and brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his head.

Did the My Lai Massacre affect the American people?

The My Lai Massacre affected the American people greatly. The event occurred at a time when there was a growing doubt about the government’s war effort and its honesty with the American people about how well the war was going. The government continued to tell the American people how well the war was going. The pictures and the news reports suggested something different. When the Tet Offensive occurred in January 1968, Americans were convinced the government was being dishonest with them.

When the news of the My Lai Massacre broke, this increased the anti-war spirit in the country and the distrust in the government. In this massacre, American troops killed hundreds of innocent civilians in the raid on the hamlet of My Lai. To make matters worse, the military covered up this event for about a year. More Americans began to demand that we get out of Vietnam. Soldiers began to wonder what other actions were being hidden from the public. Morale was very low, and drug use among the soldiers was high.

The My Lai Massacre had a great impact on the military and on the American people.

Please explain Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken," line by line.

The poem begins with the speaker saying that he is in the woods, at a fork in the road: "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood" (line 1).  He feels regret that he cannot, as just one person, take both roads: "And sorry I could not travel both / And be one traveler" (2-3).  So, he says that he stood there for a while "And looked down one as far as [he] could / To where it bent in the undergrowth" (4-5).  He followed the first road with his eyes as far as he could until he bent away into the forest.

Next, he looked at the other road, saying, "Then took the other, as just as fair" (6).  The second road is just as fair, just as pretty as the first, though it might, perhaps, be somewhat more desirable a path ("having perhaps the better claim" (7)) "Because it was grassy and wanted wear" (8).  In other words, the second road is grassier than the first.  However, he says, "Though as for that the passing there / Had worn them really about the same" (9-10).  This means that about the same number of people seem to have taken each road; they are each worn about the same amount (by the passing of feet) as the other.

And on this particular morning of his travels, the two roads "equally lay / In leaves no step had trodden black" (11-12).  No one had yet taken one of these roads today, and the leaves that cover them are untouched by anyone else's feet.  The speaker decides to take the second, grassier road, saying, "Oh, I kept the first for another day!" (13).  And he knows that he'll probably never get a chance to come back and try the first road: "Yet knowing how way leads on to way, / I doubted if I should ever come back" (14-15).  One road will lead to another, will lead to another, and he'll probably never be at this same fork in the road again.

Finally, he considers what he will say, many years from now when he tells this story: "I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence" (16-17).  He plans to say that "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference" (18-20).  In other words, he will tell people that, when he came to a fork in the road, he took the road that fewer people had taken.  However, we know that this will be a lie because he has already said that about the same number of people have taken each road and that they lay "equally" that morning.  The speaker, then, will lie and tell people that taking the road less traveled has made a big difference in his life, that it has impacted his life in some significant way, but this is not true because there is no road less traveled.

In the poem, the roads are symbolic of any decision that a person might make.  We often have choices, and we like to believe that those choices are unique and that they make a big difference in our lives.  However, this poem implies that such a belief is really only a fantasy, that there are no unique decisions because they've all been taken about the same number of times by others who came before us on these "roads."

In The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare, why does Daniel walk away from Jesus at the beach?

In Chapter 5, Daniel travels to Capernaum, where he sees a crowd gathering near the harbor. Daniel walks towards the harbor, where a woman feeds him and tells him that people are gathering to hear the teacher. Daniel then turns toward the man who is preaching and listens as Jesus speaks about the kingdom of heaven. Daniel is enthralled with Jesus' presence and speaking abilities, until he is distracted by the clinking of metal. When Daniel turns around, he sees two Roman soldiers standing in the crowd. Daniel is disgusted at the sight of the soldiers and immediately spits at the ground. Despite the soldier's presence, Jesus continues to preach as Daniel becomes increasingly angry. Outraged, Daniel turns around and leaves the crowd. Daniel's hate and bitterness towards the Roman soldiers make him leave Jesus' sermon. He is also upset that Jesus did not ridicule the soldiers and allowed them to listen to him as he preached.

Define the words "indigenous" and "patriarchal."

These two words are terms that are often used in sociology or anthropology.  They are not necessarily related to one another but can be used together at times.

The word “indigenous” means more or less the same thing as “native.” Indigenous people are those who are native to a place.  The major difference between the two words is that an indigenous thing or person has to be native to a place going back in time.  In other words, though I was born in the United States I am not an indigenous person because my distant ancestors are not from here.  Indigenous people in the US are the Native Americans, not just people who were born here. 

The word “patriarchal” refers to a society that is dominated by men.  Such a society is called patriarchal or a patriarchy.  The United States was much more of a patriarchy in times past than it is today because women have much more power in society now than they previously did.

These words can be used together as many indigenous cultures are patriarchal.  However, the words are not necessarily connected to one another.

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, what does Jem finally tell Scout about his pants that were retrieved?

Jem tells Scout that when he went back to find his pants, someone had sewn them up and left them for him. 

The incident with the pants is another turning point for the Boo Radley situation.  At this time, the children are still sort of afraid of Boo Radley, their reclusive neighbor, but they also are very curious.  They try to sneak onto his porch and leave him notes so that he will come out.  Dill is convinced that he is just lonely and needs good company. 

The incident with the pants occurred when Jem accidentally got his pants caught trying to sneak out of the Boo Radley lot.  He was afraid that Nathan Radley was going to shoot him, so he just left the pants there.  The children told Atticus and Rachel that they had been playing strip poker with matches.  They were expressly forbidden from bothering Boo Radley. 

Jem feels that he must go back and get the pants, despite the risk, because he does not want Atticus to know what really happened. 

He blew out his breath patiently. “I—it’s like this, Scout,” he muttered. “Atticus ain’t ever whipped me since I can remember. I wanta keep it that way.”

This was a thought. It seemed that Atticus threatened us every other day. “You mean he’s never caught you at anything.”

“Maybe so, but—I just wanta keep it that way, Scout. We shouldn’a done that tonight, Scout.” (Ch. 6) 

Scout is too young to understand that what Jem is really worried about is losing Atticus’s trust.  Scout is afraid that he will be shot if he goes back to get the pants.  Jem is concerned about getting the pants before anyone realizes they are gone.  

It is not until later that Scout finds out what really happened.  Jem went back to get the pants, and found that someone had left them there for him.  Not only that, but the person had actually tried, inexpertly, to sew up the damage. 

“When I went back, they were folded across the fence… like they were expectin’ me.”

“Across—”

“And something else—” Jem’s voice was flat. “Show you when we get home.  They’d been sewed up. Not like a lady sewed ‘em, like somethin’ I’d try to do.  All crooked. It’s almost like—”

“—somebody knew you were comin‘ back for ’em.” (Ch. 8) 

Jem finds this disturbing.  Someone knew he would come back for the pants.  However, when he thinks about it more, he realizes that it could only have been Boo Radley.  When they find the blanket on Scout’s shoulders during the fire, he begs Atticus not to return it, even telling him about the pants.  Scout is stunned, but Jem is more concerned about making sure Boo does not get in trouble.

When was gold discovered in the Yukon Territory?

Gold was first discovered in the Yukon territory on August 16, 1896. According to the National Park Service, there is some controversy over the identity of the person who first spotted the gold, but George Carmack is generally credited with its discovery.

Carmack was a prospector from California who spotted the gold on a riverbed while fishing salmon with his wife Kate, her brother Skookum Jim, and another man called Dawson Charlie. (See the first reference link provided.)

The news of this discovery sparked the Klondike Gold Rush, the last great rush of its kind, with prospectors traveling far and wide to stake their claims on any land in the Yukon they could find. For more information, see the second reference link provided.

In Tim O'Brien's novel The Things They Carried, what is the effect of O'Brien's movement back and forth from pure story to commentary about...

As your question implies, Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried is an exercise in relating the truth of the Vietnam War experience and telling the reader how to interpret that truth.  Several literary critics have noted that O'Brien's novel is an example of metafiction, loosely defined as writing that explores the relationship between writing about experience--in this case, war--and telling the truth about that experience in such a way that the reader feels the experience.

O'Brien deftly weaves narrative and commentary on that narrative in order to make the reader understand the difference between literal truth--that is, the actual sequence of events--and how the soldier perceives the sequence of events, which, in O'Brien's view, can be vastly different:

In any war story, but especially a true one, it's difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen.  What seems to happen becomes its own happening and has to be told that way ("How To Tell A True War Story").

He illustrates this different "reality" by telling us how Curt Lemon dies and how those who observe  Lemon's death "tend to miss a lot," a situation that creates "that surreal seemingness . . .but which in fact represents the hard and exact truth as it seemed."  In other words, the lens through which soldiers observe the brutality of war creates a picture based on perceptions which, for the observers, become their reality, a reality that may seem completely at odds with the occurrence as it happened in linear time.

This kind of "truth," because it does not reflect what may have actually happened, requires what Samuel Taylor Coleridge (in a much different context) called "the willing suspension of disbelief."  In other words, to understand the truth of a soldier's experience, the reader must be willing to accept the "surreal seemingness" of O'Brien's war story.  

In order, then, for O'Brien to convince us that what seems to happen, as opposed to what actually happens, is a soldier's realty, he must tell us how to understand a "true war story."  Our conventional view tells us that war stories can be moral, uplifting, reflecting the goodness of the human spirit, but O'Brien must convince us instead that 

A true war story is never moral.  It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior. . . . If it seems moral, do not believe it.

Without the constant interplay between narrative and O'Brien's instructions about how to interpret that narrative, we cannot understand--because most of us have not been in combat--that for soldiers whose daily life is haunted by brutality and sudden death, reality is perceived, felt, a truly visceral punch to the psyche.

How would you draw and describe the three layers of the earth?

Although each can be further sub-divided, the three major layers of the Earth are the crust, the mantle, and the core. Although I cannot draw them, the first link I have attached below will enable you to do so.

The crust is the outermost surface of the Earth. Its thickness on the continents varies from about 5 to 70 kilometers, and under the oceans is about 5-6 km thick. This is very thin compared to the diameter of the Earth and has been compared to the skin of an apple. It is made of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rock.

The mantle is below the crust. It is the thickest of the three layers — about 2900 km — and makes up about 80-84% of the total volume of the Earth. While mostly solid, it can "flow" if subjected to enough pressure.

The Earth's core is molten rock, mostly iron and nickel, with a solid center. It makes up about half the Earth's diameter.

For more detailed information, including specifics on rock types, see the second link below.

What factors were most significant in shaping a character’s attitude toward marriage in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice?

Fortune and status play a major role in shaping many characters' attitudes toward marriage in this text.  Consider Lady Catherine de Bourgh's high status and the way it affects her view of marriage: she longs to keep both her daughter's and nephew's fortune and status intact, and so she hopes they will marry one another.  Mrs. Bennet's lower status and fortune make her desperate to marry her daughters off, even to strangers, and to marry them off well (a.k.a. to men of fortune and status).  In any case, for many characters, including Caroline Bingley, the desire to retain or acquire fortune and status is the major factor in making a marriage match.

A character's sex (and the restrictions or opportunities provided by society for that sex) often plays a role in shaping their views of marriage as well.  For example, Mr. Collins wants to marry because he believes it will make him happy and is appropriate for a man of his profession.  However, his eventual wife, Charlotte, doesn't marry for happiness, but for security.  Her options, as a woman of 27, are extremely limited, and she fears becoming a burden on her family (something a man, who can make his own fortune, would be much less likely to fear).  Likewise, Mr. Bennet seems as though he couldn't care less about his daughters' marriage prospects, while the very same topic seems to occupy almost every one of Mrs. Bennet's waking thoughts.

What evidence shows that Doodle is a caring person?

There are two good examples from the text which reveal Doodle as both sensitive and caring despite his physical disabilities. In fact, these disabilities may be the primary reason why Doodle became a caring individual in contrast to his often brutish brother. First, Doodle reveals his sensitive nature when his brother takes him to Old Woman Swamp. Doodle is overwhelmed by the beauty of the place:

His eyes were round with wonder as he gazed about him, and his little hands began to stroke the rubber grass. Then he began to cry.

"For heaven's sake, what's the matter?" I asked, annoyed.

"It's so pretty," he said. "So pretty, pretty, pretty."

The best example of Doodle's caring nature comes when the scarlet ibis falls dead in the family's yard. Doodle, who may have sensed a kinship with the fragile bird that was so out of place in coastal North Carolina, insists on burying the bird and singing over its grave. The incident reveals a boy with a deep sense of the importance of life, and that there are more important things than the simple physical endeavors which his brother covets and are essentially meaningless to Doodle (except in his struggle to please his brother). Doodle has that rare ability to appreciate and cherish the beauty which surrounds him, a characteristic which his brother goes to great lengths to emphasize in the retelling of Doodle's short life from many years afterward. 

What are some ideas for an essay addressing the following question? "With reference to Frankenstein, discuss how physical locations are represented...

You might discuss the effects of nature on Victor (and on his creature); they respond with a great deal of emotion to their natural surroundings. After the deaths of William and Justine, the Frankenstein family goes to the valley of Chamounix, and Victor says that "These sublime and magnificent scenes afforded me the greatest consolation that I was capable of receiving. They elevated me from all littleness of feeling; and although they did not remove my grief, they subdued and tranquillized it." Again and again, he describes the natural beauty of their surroundings as "sublime," as having an effect on his mind and heart which is the result of nature's overwhelming grandeur and power. Further, he says, "The sight of the awful and majestic in nature had indeed always the effect of solemnizing my mind, and causing me to forget the passing cares of life." It is as though Victor's spirit and his heart are refreshed and renewed by nature.

However, the scene in which he next sees his creature is as volatile as the emotions the sight of him engenders. The "icy and glittering peaks shone" as the monster "bounded over crevices in the ice" with "superhuman speed." The "cold gale" blowing down from the mountains chills Victor's skin just as the sight of his monster chills his heart. Here, the violence of Victor's antipathy toward the creature matches the violence of the natural setting: it is harsh and bitter, just like Victor's emotions at this moment.

Back at home, in Geneva, Victor's health is "much restored," as it declined somewhat after his confrontation with the monster on the ice. He says that "the fresh air and bright sun seldom failed to restore me to some degree of composure [...]." His father pressures him to marry Elizabeth now, and Victor must beg for time so that he can fulfill his promise to create a mate for his creature. He leaves Geneva to travel, but as "the slave of [his] creature," he is insensible to the charms of the natural beauty around him as he and Clerval see Europe. When Victor is healthy, and unsaddled by grief, he is able to enjoy nature; more than that, nature seems capable of elevating him spiritually and emotionally. However, when he is burdened or guilt-ridden, the beauty of nature seems to only make him feel worse.

What quotes from Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities show Sydney Carton's physical appearance and socioeconomic status?

Sydney Carton is a 20-something “failure” in the eyes of well-bred British society. He proves a central impetus in the plot progression of A Tale of Two Cities. Despite his behind-the-scenes influence, he is regarded as a disappointment because of his dissoluteness and despondent outlook on life, especially when compared to characters like Lucie and Mr. Lorry. To enhance the image, Dickens orchestrates Carton’s appearance and socioeconomic status as aspects that complement his degraded inner state.

Some examples to highlight these characteristics:

“…the one wigged gentleman who looked at the ceiling…” (Book 2, Chapter 2). The first picture the reader has of Carton describes a man detached from those around him. The wig would suggest that Carton is fully integrated into proper society, but the aloof and persistent stare at the ceiling would argue that he doesn’t quite conform. However, the aloofness serves as a disguise – Carton ends up being the only one in court capable of acquitting Charles Darnay.

“Allowing for my learned friend's appearance being careless and slovenly if not debauched, they were sufficiently like each other to surprise, not only the witness, but everybody present, when they were thus brought into comparison” (Book 2, Chapter 3). Here are details on both Carton’s appearance and status; the two are interconnected. Because of his careless and disheveled appearance, the reader can infer that Carton does not have the status of a gentleman and likely has an ignoble background (orphaned, as a matter of fact).

Carton’s resemblance to Darnay only serves to emphasize the slovenly air about him, set against Darnay’s propriety and genteel dignity. The contrast between the two appearances makes Darnay seem like the “good” guy and Carton the “bad” guy.

“…this one man sat leaning back, with his torn gown half off him, his untidy wig put on just as it had happened to light on his head after its removal, his hands in his pockets, and his eyes on the ceiling as they had been all day. Something especially reckless in his demeanour, not only gave him a disreputable look, but so diminished the strong resemblance he undoubtedly bore to the prisoner…” (Book 2, Chapter 3). This quote emphasizes the one above. Torn gowns and untidy wigs suggest impoverishment, while the recklessness and disreputable aura point to a man who has been made bitter and hardened by life, and who could not be more different from his angelic doppelgänger.

“Looking gently at him again, she was surprised and saddened to see that there were tears in his eyes” (Book 2, Chapter 13). As the novel progresses, Carton’s expression changes. He becomes a man capable of tears; such a change in appearance can only be attributed to a change in heart, and a radical development in character.

How were the Articles of Confederation structured?

The Articles of Confederation were drafted by a committee of the Second Continental Congress in 1776 and were later ratified by all the states. Each of the 13 states had one vote in the Congress of the Confederation and could send 2 to 7 delegates to the Congress. The delegates were chosen by state legislatures. The federal government under the Articles of Confederation had no executive, and its powers included the ability to declare war and conduct foreign relations. The states, not the federal government, were required to keep well-maintained militias, and the state legislatures were responsible for raising money for the use of the federal government. This system led to a weak federal government that was constantly strapped for funds, as the federal government could not tax people and was reliant on state funds that often did not arrive or that arrived late. In addition, the lack of one chief executive made it difficult for the U.S. to conduct foreign affairs. The Articles were replaced by the Constitution in 1789.

How does Harper Lee use Jem and Scout to help deliver the key ideas and message of To Kill a Mockingbird?

Jem and Scout are Atticus's children.  The story is told from the point of view of Scout, who is the younger, more impulsive and less perceptive of the two children.

A Child's Perspective

For things pertaining mostly to the children, Scout is the best possible source of information.  For example, what is it like to be a kindergartner in Maycomb? What is Atticus like as a father? What is Calpurnia like as a caregiver? What are haints?  For these things, Scout's perspective as a child is unique, refreshing, and often unintentionally funny.

But the two main threads of the story are Boo Radley's relationship with the children, and the trial of Tom Robinson.  

Boo Radley

For the Boo Radley plotline, it makes perfect sense that we should know only as much as Scout knows at a given time.  Boo starts out as a creepy, legendary figure of rumor, he turns into a mystery, then he fades into the background as more urgent things take the stage, then finally he emerges as a surprise savior.  This mystery element to Boo's story could only happen if his story were told from Scout's point of view.  

The Trial

For the trial of Tom Robinson, the limits of Scout's perspective make the story trickier to tell, but also easier to hear, and sometimes more poignant. 

It is trickier to tell because Scout does not know the full story of what is going on.  For example, there is much in the trial that she doesn't follow (though she reads the emotional temperature right).  She does not really know what rape is.  She does not fully realize the threat that hangs over Tom and his family. 

Because of her childish ignorance, Scout is not as fully impacted by the trial as Jem is.  Her little misunderstandings make a very hard story easier to bear for the reader because they give us a little distance from it.  

Jem, on the other hand, is devastated by the outcome of the trial.  He is old enough to follow what is going on, but as an innocent child, this is his first experience with blatant injustice.  Through Jem's reaction, Harper Lee is showing us both the awfulness of racism and its commonness in Maycomb.  Jem responds to the awfulness because he hasn't yet acquired an adult's cynical filter. The fact that only Jem, and not Atticus, is crying, show us how much racism is a part of everyday life in Maycomb.   Atticus and Miss Maudie, though sad, aren't shocked and devastated by the trial's outcome, because they have had their whole lives to realize that this is the present reality of the world they live in. 

Because Jem is not the narrator, we as readers observe his emotions at second hand and can enter into them, or not, to the degree that we choose.  We are not forced to go through Jem's experience, because Scout is narrating.

One example of Scout's ignorance being poignant is the scene at the jail when Atticus is guarding Tom and a silent mob of men show up to challenge Atticus.  Atticus's life is on the line, and the scene becomes even more tense when Jem, Scout, and Dill barge into this silent circle.  Now the stakes of violence are even higher.  Scout, however, does not realize this.  She sees someone in the mob she knows, Mr. Cunningham, father of her friend Walter.  Trying to be polite, she starts to engage him in conversation.  As she chatters, everyone stares at her quizzically, but she does not know why.  Eventually her innocent goodwill dissolves the mob, and they go home.  

Scout has accidentally reminded Mr. Cunningham, and everyone else with him, that Atticus is not their enemy.  He is a man they know, and a man who has helped them.  But, when racial violence was on the line, this was not something they could remind themselves of without help.  

Racism in Maycomb

The fact that Scout and Jem are children also gives Harper Lee latitude to let them talk and speculate openly about race, class, and family.  Adult characters would not talk as openly about these things, but the kids are still trying to figure them out.  

For example, in Chapter 23, Jem has a conversation with Atticus about how the law could possibly be changed to prevent the kind of injustice that Tom suffered.  (Jem considers making rape not a capital crime, or doing away with jury trials in capital cases.)  

Later in the chapter, Jem and Scout have a conversation in which they try to figure out what Background (being from an "old family"), which is so important to their Aunt Alexandra, really means.  They cannot find a firm standard by which to differentiate their own family, from white families who are considered lower-class, or from black families or families of other races overseas.  Scout concludes, "I think there's just one kind of folks.  Folks."  This troubles Jem, who answers, "That's what I thought, too, when I was your age. If there's just one kind of folks ... why do they go out of their way to despise each other?"

This conversation is a rich commentary on class and race.  It shows how confusing the self-contradictory social rules can be to children, especially when they have also been given Atticus's common-sense remarks such as, "Every family is as old as every other family."  It also shows that, despite being nonsensical, such unwritten rules are a social reality that is very slow to change.  As the children get older and become more aware, they are forced to wrestle with social prejudices because the prejudices persist in being a feature of their world. 

What happened to Officer Delinko's car?

Officer Delinko volunteers to go out early to the site of the future home of Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House to see if he can catch the prankster who has been pulling up the survey stakes on the property. Unfortunately, because he isn't used to being awake at 5:30 a.m., he falls asleep in his car. He wakes up to the construction site foreman, Curly, banging on the window. He doesn't know what time it is because it's completely dark inside his car. He soon learns that it is 9:30 a.m., and while he slept someone came by and spray-painted all the windows of his Crown Victoria police cruiser with black spray paint. This is a severe embarrassment to Officer Delinko, and his superiors at the Department of Public Safety aren't at all pleased. They discipline him by assigning him to a desk job for a month. This makes Officer Delinko all the more determined to catch the perpetrator of the escalating pranks at the pancake house construction site.

What two names are used to identify the main character in "Raymond's Run" by Toni Cade Bambara? Why was she given these names? And, why do you...

In Toni Cade Bambara’s short story “Raymond’s Run,” the main character is initially identified as Squeaky. She receives this nickname from people in her neighborhood because she has a high pitched voice. Although she is small in stature with a distinctive voice, she is tough as nails.

I much rather just knock you down and take my chances even if I am a little girl with skinny arms and a squeaky voice, which is how I got the name Squeaky.

Squeaky’s given name is Hazel Elizabeth Deborah Parker. She uses this name when she checks in for the May Day race. Her given name is a matter of pride for Hazel. When Mr. Pearson attempts to call her Squeaky, she reminds him to use her real name.

“Well, Squeaky,” he says, checking my name off the list and handing me number seven and two pins. And I’m thinking he’s got no right to call me Squeaky, if I can’t call him Beanstalk.

“Hazel Elizabeth Deborah Parker,” I correct him and tell him to write it down on his board.

“Well, Hazel Elizabeth Deborah Parker, going to give someone else a break this year?” I squint at him real hard to see if he is seriously thinking I should lose the race on purpose just to give someone else a break.

She is planning to win the race and knows her name will be announced, which it is when she is declared the winner.

But of course everyone thinks I’m jumping up and down because the men on the loudspeaker have finally gotten themselves together and compared notes and are announcing “In first place—Miss Hazel Elizabeth Deborah Parker.” (Dig that.)

At this point she has an epiphany about her running career, and that of her brother Raymond. The name is symbolic of her growth from a spunky young girl who is willing to fight, to an introspective girl who sees her future in a new light. The long, stately name fits her positive new outlook.

Squeaky demonstrates her self-confidence in a number of ways throughout the story. In the beginning, her self-confidence is identified when she describes her toughness, her willingness to fight her principles, and her defense of her brother, Raymond. Later, in the story, prior to the race, she lets the starter know that she will not throw the race because she plans on winning. As the story comes to its conclusion, Hazel exhibits a new confidence when she gives Gretchen a genuine, woman-to-woman smile. The girls, who were arch enemies, find common ground with their running talents, but Hazel no longer feels the need to prove she is the best.

How does Shakespeare create tension in the opening scenes of The Tempest?

The tension in the opening scenes is created by the shipwreck, Prospero’s story, and the conflict with Caliban. 

Starting a play with a shipwreck is always a good way to get the audience’s attention.  When we find out that this storm was caused by magic as a way for Prospero to get revenge on the men who took his kingdom from him, the tension increases.  The storm is a major one, and during the storm Ferdinand jumps off the ship. 

All but mariners
Plunged in the foaming brine and quit the vessel,
Then all afire with me: the king's son, Ferdinand,
With hair up-staring,--then like reeds, not hair,--
Was the first man that leap'd; cried, 'Hell is empty
And all the devils are here.' (Act 1, Scene 2) 

A lot of information is given to us in the first two scenes.  We get the storm, and then learn about Ariel and Prospero’s involvement in it.  Then Prospero explains to Miranda, his daughter, how they came to be on the island.  During this conversation we also learn about the conflict between Caliban and Prospero. 

Prospero has conflicts left and right. He keeps Ariel in a strange sort of magical servitude.  He wants revenge against his brother Antonio and Alonso for conspiring to take his kingdom from him and for being the reason he is stuck on the island.  He also blames Caliban for attempting to molest or rape his daughter. 

PROSPERO

Thou most lying slave,
Whom stripes may move, not kindness! I have used thee,
Filth as thou art, with human care, and lodged thee
In mine own cell, till thou didst seek to violate
The honour of my child.

CALIBAN

O ho, O ho! would't had been done!
Thou didst prevent me; I had peopled else
This isle with Calibans. (Act 1, Scene 2)

So Caliban does not seem contrite about the situation with Miranda, but he is also very angry at Prospero.  By all accounts, the relationship with Caliban and Prospero was good at first.  He showed them around the island and they taught him their language.  Somewhere along the way, it soured and became very contentious.

Why do the words "what an idea" haunt Ratan in "The Postmaster"?

These words are spoken by the postmaster in answer to Ratan's question about possibly accompanying her employer back to Calcutta.

In the text, we learn that the postmaster's answer haunts Ratan "that whole night, in her waking and in her dreams." This is because his answer is an indication of his intentions, and as time progresses, Ratan's fears are confirmed when the postmaster prepares to leave without her. To Ratan, the postmaster's insensitive answer is also devastating proof that he doesn't view his relationship with her in the same light that she does. While Ratan has begun to think of the postmaster as family, he still remains emotionally detached from her.

Even on the day of the postmaster's departure, Ratan holds out hope that he will change his mind. However, he never does, and she is left devastated by his seemingly callous rejection. Rabindranath Tagore maintains that our "foolish human nature" causes us to hope beyond reason; this is why the postmaster's answer haunts Ratan. The truth of reality is sometimes incongruous with the perceived desires of the heart, and in Ratan's case, the contrast is devastating.

Discuss the economic conditions of poor blacks and whites during Reconstruction?

The early Reconstruction period in the South was a period of great optimism for the newly freed slaves. They were finally granted economic independence and an opportunity to climb the social ladder. This sense of optimism was unfounded, however, as racism was even more pronounced in the South after the Civil War. The federal government refused to grant slaves land under redistribution and the freedman did not have money to purchase land. Even if the former slaves could save money, most whites would not sell to them. As a result, a new system of subjugation was created in the form of tenant farming and sharecropping. In both systems, black families had to rent the land from wealthy white men, usually the same people that owned the slave plantations. A cycle of debt ensued because freedman did not own tools necessary for farming and had to borrow to purchase the necessities. Black people, for generations, were mired on the farms in poverty and debt.

Many poor whites saw the opportunity to profit from cotton production after the Civil War. They faced many of the same difficulties of the freed slaves. They did not have the capital to purchase land and the war had crippled the economy of the South. Even wealthy whites were having difficulty rebuilding. For the most part, poor whites stuck to farming and were in perpetual debt for decades after the war.

Can you please describe Lemuel Gulliver and provide a character sketch?

Lemuel Gulliver, the main protagonist of Jonathan Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels, is a middle-class Englishman who embarks on four different journeys throughout the novel. He is average in most regards, except that he is a surgeon (having been an apprentice to a surgeon in London, and having attended medical school), speaks multiple languages (High and Low Dutch, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and, of course, English), and has had some previous experience traveling throughout Europe and the West and East Indies.

Throughout his interactions with the various people he encounters, we learn to see Gulliver as quite lucky and incredibly resourceful. After all, he does survive multiple shipwrecks and is able to conduct himself well among giants, tiny people, and even horse-like creatures.

In terms of a character sketch, Gulliver is a male, thought to be in his sixties by the time he recounts his adventures, is of average height and build, and is worldly and learned enough to be aware of culture and political differences throughout the England, Europe, and the four places he visits. The novel takes place between the late 1600s and early 1700s--it's said he's born in 1661, begins his travels in 1699, and writes his recounting of his travels in 1720. So, during his travels he would be in his 40's. His clothing would be typical of the time.

Who ends up happy in the end of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and who is not happy?

Mr. Bingley and Jane end the novel quite happily, and they purchase a home in a neighboring county so as to be close to Longbourn, but not too close.  Kitty seems happy in the end, as she spends the majority of her time with her two eldest sisters, and they have a positive impact on her personality and character.  Mary is much the same as she ever was, sour and dour, and she remains at Longbourn.  Lydia and Wickham, however, find that their low income and extravagant habits do not make for a financially stable situation, and she is forced to ask Elizabeth for help (which Elizabeth does send, out of her own private money).  But, "[Wickham's] affection for [Lydia] soon sunk into indifference; hers lasted [but] a little longer [...]."  They are not particularly happy in the end.  The Collinses, we might imagine, are content, but I wouldn't describe them as happy; they aren't in love and don't seem as though they ever will be, and the love between equals seems to be what renders characters happy in this novel.  Miss Bingley, of course, is "mortified" by Darcy's marriage to Elizabeth, but gets over it soon enough so that she does not lose the power and pleasure of the friendship; although we can imagine that she isn't very happy to have to swallow her pride and resentment.  The Gardiners and the Darcys get the last words of the novel and seem to share a happiness peculiar only to the four of them because they are so well-matched with their partners.

Describe the reasons for soil degradation.

The United Nations Environment Program has defined soil degradation as the decline in the fertility of soil or its ability to produce future crops because of human actions. This process occurs when people overuse or misuse soil, and it has both natural and socio-economic factors. Some of the factors that lead to soil degradation are the following:

• Physical factors: water or wind erosion, resulting in the loss of the top layer of soil.


• Chemical factors: loss of nutrients or processes leading to toxicity, such as acidity or salinization. Salinity can be caused by poor irrigation practices that upset the normal water table. 


• Biological factors: these factors reduce micronutrients, making soil less fertile. This process can be caused by poor fertilizers or high-yielding crops. 


• Other causes include over cultivation of land; poor farming practices such as mono-culture or overuse or misuse of fertilizers; overgrazing; over irrigation; and mining.

It is estimated that about 22% of the Earth's land is currently degraded, and this statistic is much higher in countries such as India. 

In Macbeth, how does Malcolm's character change from the beginning of the play to the end?

Early in the play, Malcolm doesn't really say or do much.  He takes direction from his father and seems to try to be as loyal and obedient as possible to Duncan, his king and father.  Even when his father names him Prince of Cumberland, the heir to the Scottish throne, Malcolm says nothing, so we might assume that he is speechless.  In general, he seems young, naive, and inexperienced.

By the time Macduff comes to speak with him in the English court, however, Malcolm has clearly become much more worldly.  Malcolm wisely tests Macduff's loyalty to Scotland before speaking truthfully with him about the army with which the king of England has supplied him.  He says, "Devilish Macbeth / By many of these trains hath sought to win me / Into his power, and modest wisdom plucks me / From overcredulous haste" (4.3.136-139).  He has learned from his experience to be wary.  His suspicion and intelligence speak highly of his fitness to rule Scotland, especially compared to Macbeth's willingness to believe anything the Weird Sisters say, for example, and the way he privileges power over wisdom.  Malcolm longs to serve his country, not rule over and exploit it.  He has developed into a mature, virtuous, and thoughtful young man.

What are some ways in which Atticus protects his children in Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird?

Atticus protects his children throughout the novel by passively and tolerantly dealing with the prejudiced citizens of Maycomb. Instead of reacting with bitterness and hate towards the racist community members, Atticus maintains his composure by acting politely towards them. In Chapter 15, Atticus protects his children by telling them to go home when the Old Sarum bunch attempts to lynch Tom Robinson. Atticus also protects his children by sharing the message of tolerance with them. Jem and Scout both learn the importance of treating people with respect regardless of their fundamentally different beliefs. Atticus understands the importance of using love and kindness to oppose hate and violence. His tolerant demeanor, life lessons, and selfless behavior protect his children from the prejudiced community members of Maycomb. 

What were the five branches of the Protestant Reformation?

The Protestant Reformation, which grew out of widespread dissatisfaction with the greed of the Roman Catholic Church, was started by Martin Luther in Germany in 1517. It was an attempt to change some of the beliefs and practices of that institution, such as the selling of indulgences for the remission of sins, the sacrament, and the belief that salvation was sought by doing good works.

The five main branches of the Protestant Reformation come about through their different beliefs about salvation. They are:

(1) Anglicanism- The belief that God has chosen only an elect few to receive salvation and salvation is not available to all others regardless of their good works. They believe that Christians should follow the 39 articles of religion and practice the Sacraments.

(2) Methodism- The belief that salvation is sought by grace through faith.

(3) the Baptists- The belief that salvation was sought through baptism (full immersion, not sprinkling).

(4) the Calvinists- The belief in the sovereignty of God in salvation and in all of life. Thus, God knew beforehand who would be saved (predestination) or damned. Examples of the Calvinists are the Presbyterians, the Huguenots, the Puritans and the Pilgrims.

(5) the Pentecostals- The belief that salvation is sought by baptism with the Holy Spirit.

What details in Mr. Ewell’s description of the alleged crime are most important to Atticus? How does Harper Lee help the reader know?

Harper Lee uses Scout, the narrator, to let us know which parts of Bob Ewell's testimony are the most important. For example, when Ewell testifies that he saw "that black n----r ruttin' on my Mayella," Scout describes the turmoil that broke out in the courtroom, which caused Judge Taylor to hammer his gavel for more than five minutes (231).

Scout reveals in great detail how Atticus called into question Ewell's testimony by demonstrating that he was ambidextrous, meaning he could use both his right and left hand equally. Lee stretches Atticus's cross-examination of Ewell over several pages, including Scout's fear that her father had "gone frog-sticking without a light" (237) by asking questions that he does not already know the answer to. Once it is established that Ewell is ambidextrous, Scout explains why this detail is important: Mayella's bruises were on the right side of her face, suggesting that she was punched by someone using their left hand. Later Atticus shows that Tom Robinson's left arm is permanently crippled. He could not have caused the bruise on Mayella's eye, and Scout shows the reader what the jury is unwilling to rule: that Bob Ewell beat his own daughter.

In The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt, what problem does Holling encounter with his upcoming date? How does Mrs. Bigio solve his problem?

Holling's problem is that he doesn't have enough money to take Meryl Lee, his crush, someplace nice for their Valentine's Day date. His shortage of funds is no joke: he literally has only has $3.78. Wondering where he can possibly take Meryl that will be fun (and impressive), Holling consults his sister as well as his friend, but they only make him feel worse, reminding him that he'll look like a cheapskate if he doesn't pull off a good date.

Mrs. Bigio solves Holling's problem for him, offering him two free tickets to see Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet on stage. It's a perfect solution. Holling already knows that Meryl likes Shakespeare, particularly this play, and it's a love story--just right for a date, especially a Valentine's Day date.

Mery loves it, and Holling still has enough money to take her to Woolworth's after the show and buy a Coke for each of them. The date is a success: Holling describes the whole thing as "swell," hopes that Meryl's dad will forget to come pick them up, and notices how her auburn hair shimmers under the lights of Woolworth's.

What happens after a person is accused of a crime in the kingdom described in "The Lady, or the Tiger"?

In the kingdom of the semi-barbaric king, if a person is accused of a crime that interests the king in its importance, then public notice is given that the accused will be sentenced in the king's arena.

On the appointed day of the trial, the accused is placed in a secret vault and when the king gives a signal, the accused is released through a door into the amphitheater. Across from the accused are two identical doors that are right next to each other.  It is "the duty and the privilege" of this accused person to choose one of the doors and open it. If he opens a certain one, a beautiful maiden will emerge and he will be married to her in a immediate ceremony replete with bells, dancing maidens, and children strewing flowers as the people cheer. But, if he opens the other, a fierce tiger will rage forth, tearing the guilty subject apart, killing him "as punishment for his guilt." With the case decided for the subject, "doleful iron bells clang," hired mourners are posted on the outer part of the arena, and the audience makes their way home with bowed heads in grief for the fate of the accused.  

What are the major social and economic changes that have occurred since the social theories written by Emile, Marx, and Weber?

Karl Marx and Max Weber were the leading proponents of a sociological way of looking at the world called social conflict theory. This theory holds that society is in constant conflict  because  of inequality between various groups and competition for limited resources. Marx held that it is not the way people think that determines their social existence but rather the reverse that is people social existence that determines how they think.  Weber argued that classes develop in capitalist societies where people compete for economic advantages.

The major change that has occurred since their theories in the 19th century is globalization.  Globalization refers to the world becoming one giant market economy with goods, capital and services being freely exchanged across national borders. Globalization leads to social inequality because only a select few , called the global elite, control most of the world's wealth. It leads to monopolies and oligopolies where wealth and power are unevenly distributed.  It also creates conflict because it espouses consumerism - the acquisition of goods - and since goods are limited people will end up competing for goods. This creates a culture where there are said to be 'winners'and 'losers'.

Where is Rainy Mountain and why does Momaday return there?

Momaday tells us this in the first two paragraphs of his Introduction. Rainy Mountain is a special place to the Kiowa people, the author’s Native American ancestors. It is a rounded hill that stands alone but near the Wichita Mountains in southwestern Oklahoma. Below is a link to the nearby national wildlife refuge. Rainy Mountain is not part of this protected land; yet looking at the photographs on this site will give you an idea of the terrain.

The author goes back to Rainy Mountain one July, after his grandmother has passed away. She was his last living link to the traditional ways of the Kiowa. He wanted to honor and remember her as well as the many others who had gone on before. The cemetery is located near the mountain. Momaday’s return was part of his longer personal journey of tracing the historic migration of the Kiowa from the headwaters of the Yellowstone River in western Wyoming and Montana, east and south through the Black Hills and plains to Oklahoma.

An aeroplane flies due east along the equator with a speed of 300 m/s. Determine the magnitude and direction of Coriolis acceleration.

Hello!

Coriolis acceleration and Coriolis force appear in a rotating and therefore non-inertial frame of reference. Actually there is "no such force" (no body causes it), but it is convenient to describe motion in a rotating frame of reference. The centrifugal force has the same character.

The frame of reference connected with Earth is a rotating one. Its speed of rotation is small (one revolution per day), therefore Coriolis force is weak enough.

The formula for Coriolis acceleration is `-2 Omega xx V` , where `Omega` is the angular velocity vector, V is the velocity of the  in rotating frame and `xx` is for cross-product. `Omega` has the direction of the rotation axis.

In our case the direction of the flight is the same as the direction of rotation and the direction of Coriolis acceleration is upward (out of the axis). Its magnitude is `2*(2 pi)/(24*3600)*300` (we convert one revolution per day to radians per second). Numerically it is about `0.044 (m/s^2).`

In "Harrison Bergeron," what do people with above-average intelligence have to do?

In the world of Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron," equality is defined as the state in which no one can excel over anyone else in any way. This means people are subject to various kinds of handicaps. People who have athletic abilities are weighed down, while people with outstanding visual acuity have to wear glasses that interfere with their vision. People with above-average intelligence have their minds interfered with. For Harrison's father, George, this is accomplished with "a little mental handicap radio in his ear" (Vonnegut 1). This radio had to be tuned in to the government's transmitter, which transmits noises that interfere with George's ability to concentrate or to think. Harrison, whose intelligence seems to be even greater, poses a challenge to the Handicapper General's division. Instead of a small radio transmitter in one ear, he is forced to wear large earphones, presumably so he can receive interfering transmissions in both ears. These are probably louder transmissions, too. These, along with the other handicaps imposed upon Harrison, are not enough to prevent him from trying to overthrow the government. 

Imagine you are the Count's representative in Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess." Having met the Duke and listened to his story about his first...

My first instinct would be to warn the Count to take his daughter and run!  This dramatic monologue that the Duke has with the Count's representative sounds like a thinly veiled warning of what he does when a woman displeases him.  As an aristocrat, the Duke surrounds himself with the finer things in life, and he expects perfection in a wife. He openly says that he refuses to stoop to the level of having to tell his wife how she should change for him, but if he did, he would say, "Just this / Or that in you disgusts me."  He is clearly a jealous man who wants complete control of a woman.  She is not to smile at others nor even look at them.  She shouldn't even let joy show on her face for anything other than him. His last wife "had / A heart...too soon made glad," and so, according to the Duke, "I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together."  Spoken looking at the portrait of his dead wife, it is a chilling warning.

As if that weren't enough, I would be further alarmed by the issue the Duke makes about the dowry the Count is to pay him. Although he apparently did not suggest a high amount to the Count (it seems he would not stoop to this, either), he wants the message sent that he expects a generous amount.  It's all about the money and control; the woman is simply an object of material value, to be molded and displayed as a prize, much like the bronze statue of Neptune the Duke brags of after dismissing the painting of his dead wife. Certainly the Count should be warned about what kind of man he is giving his daughter over to.

As I said, warning the Count would be my first instinct.  On closer inspection, however, this is not a chance conversation.  The Duke clearly intends for the representative to relay his messages to the Count, and perhaps the Count is downstairs waiting for the message. This poor representative must carefully weigh his words, to convey the message as diplomatically as possible. After all, the Count is agreeable to basically selling his daughter, as was customary for those of wealth during the period. So what would be the best course of action? To pass the information along to the Count, who is hopefully a good enough man to take his daughter and run!

In The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt, why does Holling believe that Mrs. Baker is plotting against him?

At first, Mrs. Baker seems very annoyed that Holling Hoodhood is the only student who does not attend Hebrew school or catechism on Wednesday afternoons, so she has to stay with him in the classroom. He believes that she is plotting against him (though she turns out to be a very supportive teacher) because she is angry that he has nowhere else to be on Wednesday afternoons.

At the beginning of the year, Mrs. Baker is very hard on Holling. She gives him the most difficult sentences to diagram. Everyone else in the class gets fairly easy sentences, while she gives him very complicated sentences with a great number of clauses. In addition, she is at times curt with him, such as when she tells him to go to the office, where he receives the news that Mrs. Baker wants him to re-take sixth-grade math. She also makes him carry out tedious chores, such as washing chalkboards and pounding erasers, and then she decides to make Holling read Shakespeare--which he considers torture. In the end, however, Holling realizes that Mrs. Baker is really his friend and is trying to encourage him to learn. 

To what extent is globalization important to the world?

There are at least two ways in which to interpret this question.  Let me answer both briefly.

First, we can say that this question is asking how globalization has helped to improve our world.  If this is the case, we can say that globalization has given us more cultural choices and more economic opportunity than we had before globalization.  Because of globalization, practically every part of the world is connected to every other.  In the United States, we can easily get products made in Bangladesh or food grown in Chile.  People in those countries can watch movies made in the US, soccer games from the UK, or music videos from South Korea.  We can also say that globalization has helped to create a world where the poorer countries are not as poor as they once were.  China has become much less poor since it has opened itself to the world economy.  The link below tells us that 1 billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty in the last 20 years.  We can attribute this to economic gains brought about by globalization.  In these ways, globalization has been important in improving our lives.

Second, we can ask how globalization has been important in shaping our world, both for good and for bad.  The good has been discussed above, which means we would need to add in negative aspects to globalization.  We can argue that globalization has hurt people in specific industries in specific countries.  For example, blue-collar workers in rich countries have been hurt because they have lost their jobs to cheaper competition in poorer countries.  In addition, we can say that globalization has helped to keep developing nations down.  Because we have a globalized world, they focus on making cheap things to export to the rich world instead of building their own self-contained economies where they could make, for example, cars and computers that would bring more value.  We can also argue that globalization has reduced cultural diversity in the world.  Because the entire world can see South Korean music videos and Hollywood or Bollywood movies, the people of other countries become less interested in their own indigenous arts scenes. As more people adopt Western ways, unique cultural practices are lost.  In these ways, and others, we can also argue that globalization has shaped our world in negative ways as well as the more positive ways discussed in the previous paragraph.

Why would Marguerite's Easter dress have to be a white woman's throwaway?

In the book, Marguerite's Easter dress was made from a white woman's "faded purple throwaway." Initially, Marguerite remembers being excited about the dress as she watched her mother put careful stitches on it. However, in the light of the sun, Marguerite found herself greatly disappointed in the dress, as it presented her in an unattractive light.

Because of her family's poverty, however, this was the only way Marguerite could have something semi-decent to wear to the Easter celebration in church. Although she was resigned to her fate on that particular Easter morning, Marguerite remembers feeling greatly ashamed that the faded color of the dress shouted out her poverty for all to see.

To comfort herself, Marguerite remembers fantasizing that her hair was really long and blond, her eyes blue, and her skin white. She imagines that it was a "cruel magician" who turned her into a "too big...girl, with kinky black hair, broad feet, and a space between her teeth that would hold a pencil."

Who are the characters that would be considered friends?

Certainly, Odysseus is friends with Menelaus.  In fact, it was to recover and protect Menelaus's honor that Odysseus went off to fight in the Trojan War in the first place.  When Paris, the prince of Troy, stole Menelaus's wife, Helen, hers became the "face that launched a thousand ships," according to the playwright, Christopher Marlowe.  Then, when Telemachus travels to Sparta to see if Menelaus has any news about Odysseus, Menelaus tries to be as helpful as possible out of loyalty to his old friend.

It seems as though Odysseus and Agamemnon, Menelaus's brother, must have been friends as well.  When the two meet in the Underworld, Agamemnon attempts to give Odysseus some friendly advice about how best to handle his wife, Penelope.  Agamemnon is still pretty bitter about being murdered by his wife and her lover, and he seems to want to protect Odysseus from being betrayed himself.

In addition, Athena seems like a real friend to Odysseus.  She intercedes with Zeus on Odysseus's behalf, she helps him to find the assistance he needs in Phaeacia, she helps him vanquish the suitors, and on and on.  She even helps his son to begin to make his own name in the world, protecting him from harm, and comforts Penelope when she is upset.

Where did most immigrants to the "American Colonies" come from during the 1600s & early 1700s?

The vast majority of immigrants to the original thirteen colonies in the early 1600s came from England. Initially, these were primarily Puritans fleeing religious persecution, as well as some risk-tolerant merchants who wanted to set up commercial colonies. The former settled in what became the Massachusetts Bay Colony and then spread out over New England, while the latter started to settle in Virginia, and soon spread to the Carolinas.

Joining the English settlers in the 1600s were the Dutch, who settled what later became New York and New Jersey, when the British seized that land through military conquest in the mid-1600s. Originally, however, the fertile farming land settled by the Dutch in the Hudson River Valley was named New Amsterdam. Aside from the English and Dutch, Scottish and Irish laborers also came to the colonies in the late 1600s and early 1700s, often as indentured servants. Some of the more affluent Scottish settlers were Presbyterians (essentially Scottish Puritans), who had also fled religious persecution in their home country. Finally, in lesser numbers, there arrived French Protestants, called Huguenots, who had fled religious persecution in France. This latter group should not be confused with the French Catholics (Jesuits), who first settled in Quebec (Canada) in the late 1500s.

In Act 3 Scene 3 of Othello, Othello and Iago kneel down together and then rise. What does this symbolize?

This moment is perhaps the most important turning point in Othello, and the climax to the lengthiest scene in the play. In the space of 461 lines (from "Ha? I like not that" to "I am your own forever"), Iago infects Othello's mind with the previously unconceived notion of his wife's infidelity, and swiftly reduces him to the turmoil of baseless near-certainty. What we're witnessing here is not just a revelation of Iago's cunning and insight or of the Moor's fragile and contingent sense of self, but the gradual dissolution of the pure and loving (but imperfect and unstable) marriage of Othello and Desdemona, and the consecration, in its place, of the new, diabolical union between Othello and his ensign. One of the ironies involved here is that Othello, in his suspicion that Desdemona has committed adultery, is the one who irreparably violates their wedding pact by choosing to trust his ensign over his wife. (This also indicates the incompatibility of the military and domestic spheres of life, a recurring theme in the play; a chasm dividing the homosocial bonds of men from the heterosexual union of man and wife.)

The act of kneeling is traditionally associated with a vow of loyalty, devotion, or submission. The contexts in which one might kneel to another include prayer, surrender to a conquering enemy, an oath of service to a lord or commanding officer, the receipt of titles or honors from one's superior, a proposal of marriage, or a wedding ceremony itself, in which both parties are often expected to kneel before a priest or other representative of the church who blesses the union. All of these diverse and contradictory associations are invoked in this short but complex exchange.

Othello is the first to kneel, and he does so not in the context of a mock-marriage, but of a holy oath: "Now, by yond marble heaven," he says, "In the due reverence of a sacred vow / I here engage my words." (His words, in this case, are his preceding promise not to let his anger toward Desdemona abate until he has satisfied it with revenge.) But Othello's genuflection is also, inadvertently and ironically, an indication of his submission and surrender to Iago, representing visually the inversion of power in their relationship. The sight of Iago standing over his general is one of many verbal and visual signs in the play that Othello has been made lesser by Iago's plotting, and it will be echoed even more powerfully later on when, in the midst of a violent seizure, Othello collapses at Iago's feet.

This meaningful visual configuration then shifts. "Do not rise yet," says Iago. (It is worth noting that, although editors generally insert stage directions to specify the kneeling and rising, these directions are not Shakespeare's own, and the implied physical action is gleaned from the dialogue itself. At this point, most editors assume, Iago kneels alongside his general.) "Witness, you ever-burning lights above, / You elements that clip us round about, / Witness that here Iago doth give up / The execution of his wit, hands, heart, / To wronged Othello's service." In this instance, the kneeling takes on the dual context of both a deeply insincere address to the heavens (which blasphemously mirrors Othello's own vow) and an oath of fealty to Othello himself. A few lines later, Iago accepts the title of lieutenant, which he so coveted at the play's beginning.

Narratively speaking, this moment is important because Iago has now succeeded in his original goal: the disgrace of Cassio and securing his own promotion to the rank of lieutenant. But he is now embarking on his ultimate project of revenge, the complete moral annihilation of Othello himself. Iago, who is repeatedly associated with demonic forces throughout the play ("Hell and night must bring this monstrous birth to the world's light," etc.) profanes the sacrament of prayer and of marriage by kneeling with Othello; there is an implication that, like Satan, his corruption of Othello separates him irreparably from God (as well as Desdemona), diverting the Moor's pledge to heaven into a false and earthly union founded on murder. Religious, military, and domestic/romantic ritual are fused together in the act of kneeling, and when Iago and Othello rise together (as before a priest), it signifies the solidification of their new, fatal bond of "marriage," concluding with Iago's distinctly matrimonial line "I am your own forever."

What are five adjectives for the girl in the poem "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy?

First, let us review what an adjective is. Adjectives are words you use to describe nouns (or pronouns). If I write, "I just finished walking my noisy dog," the word "noisy" is an adjective telling you something about my dog (the noun).

In "Barbie Doll," Piercy uses adjectives to describe the girl she's writing about directly. She also uses adjectives to describe specific parts of the girl. Finally, she uses adjectives to describe objects belonging to the girl, which still end up describing her through implication.

Piercy describes the girl directly in lines like "She was healthy, tested intelligent." In that line, "healthy" and "intelligent" are adjectives describing the girl.

Piercy describes the girl's body parts in lines like "You have a great big nose and fat legs." There, "great" and "fat" are adjectives.

Piercy also describes the girl indirectly when talking about her possessions, with lines like "miniature GE stoves and irons/ and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy." In that excerpt, "miniature" and "wee" both describe the girl's possessions, thereby describing her as small or diminished.

Now, if you want to come up with your own adjectives about the girl, you would read the poem and synthesize the points Piercy makes. The girl would be, for example, apologetic in the second stanza. 

What other steps did the Birmingham protestors do prior to demonstrating?

The year 1963 was a pivotal one in the Civil Rights and Birmingham, Alabama was at the epicenter of the movement.  The Freedom Riders made a stop in the spring and were met with fierce resistance and violence.  The Birmingham Campaign was a very coordinated and organized effort to defeat racism and discrimination in the state of Alabama.  In addition to the protests that involved mostly young people, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference under the leadership of Martin Luther King organized a number of peaceful demonstrations to protest segregation.  Lunch counter sit-ins were organized as were marches on city hall.  Boycotts of local segregated businesses and institutions were also organized.  These efforts were met with violence, sometimes by the police officers themselves.  

If nerve cells do not undergo cell division, how they replicate themselves?

Nerve cells are very specialized cells. Their job is to send signals to and from the brain. Because of this, each nerve cell has a specific place in our nervous system for signals to follow the correct path to successfully get to and from the brain. If nerve cells were to reproduce or undergo cell division, it would cause a disturbance in the path of signals sent. This could potentially mess up the series of specific connections. This could disrupt signals being sent to and from the brain. In short, nerve cells do not reproduce. We get what we are born with. If nerve cells get damaged they cannot be replaced. With new technology and research, scientists are inserting stem cells in areas where nerve cells were damaged. Stem cells still have the ability to differentiate into several cell types. It is believed that if stem cells are injected into the damaged area, those cells could turn into nerve cells. This would allow the area to function as normal as the new nerve cells would make the connection whole again. There is also another area being studied. Scientists are looking at what they believe to be neuronal stem cells. These are believed to be found in mammalian brains. These stem cells replace the dead neurons.

What factor is most responsible for difficulties facing Romeo and Juliet?

We learn in the Prologue to Act One that Romeo and Juliet are "star-cross'd lovers," and that their love is doomed to end in death shortly after it blossoms. So it would seem that fate is really the factor most responsible for all of their difficulties. We see this throughout the play, and particularly once Romeo has been banished to Mantua, when the message Friar Laurence sent him alerting him of the plot to reunite him and Juliet failed to arrive (because of plague in the town.) So the lovers are struggling against fate. However, the other factor is the longstanding feud between their respective families. But for that, their love would not have been forbidden. Because Romeo is a Montague, he is the mortal enemy of Juliet's family, and this, of course, has tragic consequences. It forces them to marry in secret and it results in his killing of Tybalt. Indeed, there is a sense in which the two young lovers were sacrificed to bring peace to their families. So fate and the old family feud between their respective families are the sources of Romeo and Juliet's difficulties. 

What is Chernobyl like today?

The Chernobyl disaster occurred on April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. This and the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi incident in Japan are the only two level 7 (major accident) events on the International Nuclear Event Scale to have occurred. Level 7 is the most severe level of civilian nuclear accident. 

Chernobyl was a power plant located in Pripyat, a village in what was then the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union having collapsed in the interim, Ukraine is now a sovereign state. Pripyat is located in northern Ukraine near the border of Belarus. 

After the nuclear accident, the contaminated region surrounding the power plant was evacuated, creating the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, an area that is now a ghost town, visited only by a few intrepid tourists and scientists studying the long-term effects of radiation on the ecosystem. Much of it is now a wildlife reserve.

In the absence of human habitation, the ecosystem has proven surprisingly robust, with small animal populations recovering within a decade of the disaster. Although scientific studies are still in progress and long-term effects on animal genetics may only show up in future generations, wildlife now appears to be thriving in the area. The fear of radiation that keeps people (even poachers) from returning to the area—as well as the laws protecting it from trespassing—have proven a net positive for wolf and other predator populations.

According to the documents below, what evidence points to the idea that the United States' fear of the spread of communism was a possible cause of...

Not all of these documents show that the Cold War started because the United States was afraid that communism would spread around the world.  In fact, only two of these documents give evidence of this idea.  The other documents make different points about the Cold War.

The first document that gives evidence of this idea is Document B.  In the second paragraph of this document, Churchill warns that the Soviets are trying to expand.  He warns that they have “fifth columns” in every society ready to whatever Moscow wants.  He explicitly says that the Soviets want to spread communism across the world, that they want the “indefinite expansion of their power and doctrines.”  To the extent that Americans agreed with Churchill’s analysis, this document shows that fear of the spread of communism helped cause the Cold War.

The other document that supports this idea is Document D.  Here, President Truman is explaining why he is giving aid to Greece and Turkey under the Truman Doctrine.  He says that Greece is under attack by communist rebels and that it needs help so that those rebels do not win.  If the communists win in Greece, he says, they might win in Turkey and then spread through the Middle East.  Clearly, Truman is giving aid to foreign countries (part of what the US did in the Cold War) because he fears that communism will spread.

Between them, these two documents show that Churchill had warned the Americans that the Soviet Union wanted to expand its power and that President Truman instituted the Truman Doctrine (that the US would help any country threatened by communism) because he did not want this to happen.  This is evidence that the Cold War started because the US feared that communism would spread around the world.

What is it about Montresor that makes him an especially effective enemy to Fortunato?

Montresor is an especially effective enemy of Fortunato for a few reasons, not the least of which are his intense pride and ability to manipulate. As he says early on, "I must not only punish but punish with impunity." He feels the need not only to avenge the wrongs done and insults given to him by Fortunato, but also to exact his revenge without having to endure some punishment for it. His family motto translates to "You will not harm me with impunity"—in other words, no one can harm a Montresor and get away with it. His personal and familial pride make him especially relentless and ruthless when it comes to Fortunato.

Further, Montresor clearly put a great deal of thought into his revenge, and he manipulates his staff and the public, as well as Fortunato, to achieve it. He tells his servants he will be gone all night and that they must remain at home, knowing they will all go to the festival as soon as he leaves (and will claim they were home all night to avoid trouble). He makes sure his costume covers his face so he will not be seen with Fortunato in public, and he concocts an elaborate story about a pipe of Amontillado, knowing Fortunato's pride will compel him to risk his own health in order to prove Montresor has been had. He is so thoughtful and manipulative, which makes him a perfect enemy for the relatively simple and straightforward Fortunato.

What is an explanation of the differences in Europeans' views of the elephant killing in "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell?

The denouement of "Shooting an Elephant" describes the quibbling over the death of the elephant and the justifications for its shooting. The Europeans disagree about the outcome; some think the killing a wasteful act, while others think it was the proper thing to do.

The owner is furious his elephant has been shot, but has no recourse because he is an Indian. Orwell is relieved the coolie died because the death puts him legally in the right. Among the Europeans, there are different viewpoints:

• An older man contends Orwell has done the right thing. (Appearances are important.)


• Younger men feel it is a pity an elephant was shot only because it killed a coolie; an elephant, they reason, is worth far more than an Indian. (Practicality is important.)

While the disputes take place, Orwell feels shame because he knows he shot the elephant because he did not want to appear weak or frightened in front of the natives.

For it is the condition of his rule [the imperialist] that he shall spend his life in trying to impress the "natives," and so in every crisis he has got to do what the "natives" expect of him. He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it.

Orwell feels shame that he has shot the elephant because he thought if he did not shoot it, "[T]he crowd would laugh at me." Furthermore, he is disturbed because he realizes being an imperialist is one long struggle not to appear weak or foolish. The idea of empire has become incompatible with Orwell's moral analysis of the ordeal.

What sort of moral philosophy does Silas Marner present in George Eliot's novel Silas Marner?

Overall, the character of Silas demonstrates, through his vicissitudes, a series of moral philosophies.

First, life is never certain. No matter how well we do unto others, or how righteous our paths may be, we will forever be at the mercy of wrongdoers and evil. Our actions alone cannot save us. We need to be mentally, spiritually, and morally ready to withstand the circumstances that come our way.

Silas was a very naive man. His daily existence was at the mercy of outside influences: his church, friends, reputation in Lantern Yard, and relationship with his former fiancée. When his supposed best friend frames Silas and ruins his life, Silas is left a broken man. Rather than having the internal strength, the moral power, to lift himself up and go beyond his circumstances, Silas moves to Raveloe only to do the same thing: depend on outside factors for his happiness. This time, his work and his gold are his safety net. Yet, once again we see Silas falling apart when this, too, is taken from him.

His second fall was significant, however, in that he learned to connect with others. For the first time in years, he had to let go of his neurotic self-control and let the charity and care of outsiders enter his heart. It was his only way to survive the fall.

This leads to a second moral philosophy, which is that we need to experience love and companionship to learn to be better humans. As human beings, we have the responsibility of communicating and being open to interact positively with others. While meditation and solitude are ways to achieve self-love, the total isolation Silas maintained in Raveloe took away a lot of his humanity. People told rumors about him, he was misunderstood, and he always had an aura of unnecessary enigma.

Notice that, after the theft of the gold, Silas surrounds himself by those he shunned once and, for once, he allowed their compassion toward his pain to touch his heart. What the townspeople discovered was a very normal, loving man living behind his unique looks and quirky behavior. They learned to tolerate and accept Silas while he learned to open himself to others. He even became a loving parent to Eppie!

Therefore, had Silas not accepted love and companionship first, he likely would have never learned to give it. It is arguable that Silas felt love and companionship once in Lantern Yard; however, his life was more of a routine, and not a personal discovery, than it should be. Perhaps Silas had to endure those events in order to bring the true human out of him. That is the biggest moral philosophy in the entire novel.

How were towns and cities in the fifteenth century different from the Middle Ages? ` `

During the Middle Ages, towns and cities were usually small in population.  For example, the population of London reached just above 50,000 by the end of the Middle Ages.  Many towns and other cities were even smaller.

Death and disease were common in the Middle Ages and this also caused populations to fluctuate.  Poor disposal of human waste led to diseases.  Chamber pots were often dumped out of windows and onto the streets.  When it rained, the waters would wash the waste into rivers.  During periods of less rain and during the winter, waste lingered in the streets.  The bubonic plague killed millions of people throughout Europe during the Middle Ages.  Statistics say that approximately 60% of people in Europe perished from the plague.

Most structures in towns and cities during the Middle Ages were small.  Typically, churches and guild halls were the largest structures in a Middle Ages town.  Merchants who sold the same types of goods or provided the similar types of services tended to set up shop on the same street.  Many streets were named after a particular type of trade.  Fire sometimes destroyed cities and towns, as houses were constructed out of wood.

Population increased in the 15th century.  The population of London doubled and even tripled during the 1400s.  There were some developments in the study of medicine, and less death caused by the bubonic plague.  More people moved to cities from the countryside.

As cities grew and became more sprawling, more structures were built.  Most houses remained small.  More churches and other structures were constructed.  Trade increased as explorers and merchants began sailing farther distances.  

Who had the greatest impact on ending the Great Depression during Franklin Roosevelt's presidency ?

Certainly some of the credit for ameliorating the effects of the Depression, as well as constructing a regulatory apparatus to manage the American economy to minimize the risk of further depressions, must belong to Roosevelt himself. His New Deal was the most significant package of legislation passed in American history, completely altering the relationship between the federal government, the economy, and the American people themselves. On the other hand, the people who did the most to bring about the end of the Depression were the leaders of the Axis nations who started the Second World War. It was the outbreak of this conflict, and not the New Deal, that brought about the end of the Great Depression in the United States. In 1938, the American economy still faced high unemployment and stagnant economic growth, the results of the "Roosevelt recession" that commenced when FDR rolled back spending on many New Deal programs. By 1940, however, the United States was in the process of mobilizing for war, spending billions on military preparation, and unemployment neared record lows. Even before Pearl Harbor, the United States had become what FDR termed the "arsenal of democracy," supplying the British in particular with war materiel and funds to sustain its fight against the Nazi war machine. It was this tragic event that shocked the American economy out of the Great Depression.