Calculate the pH of the 0.30 M NH3/0.36 M NH4Cl buffer system. What is the pH after the addition of 20.0 mL of 0.050 M NaOH to 80.0 mL of the...

A buffer is a solution that resists changes in pH when small amounts of H+ or OH- are added. This system acts as a buffer because the ammonia reacts with acid and the ammonium ion reacts with base:

NH3 + H+ -> NH4+

NH4+ + OH- -> NH3

The pH of a buffer can be calculated using the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation. Here's the form of the equation for a base and its conjugate acid:

pOH = pKb + log [BH+]/[B], pH = 14.0 - pOH

In this case the base B is NH3 and the conjugate acid BH+ is NH4+.

You need to know the Kb for ammonia, which is 1.8 x 10^(-5).

The initial pH of the buffer is:

pOH = -log[1.8x10^(-5)] + log(0.36)/(0.30)

pOH = 4.74 + 0.079 =4.819, pH = 14.0-4.189 = 9.18

The NaOH that's added reacts the NH4+, converting it to NH3.

We can find the new concentration of NH4+ by subtracting the amount that reacted:

moles NH4+ reacted=moles OH- added =(0.050M)(0.0200 L)=(0.00100 moles)

moles of NH4+ originally in 80.0 ml = (0.36M)(0.0800 L) = 0.0288 moles

moles NH4+ left = 0.0288-0.00100 = 0.0278 moles

new [NH4+] = 0.0278 moles/(0.0200+0.0800)L = 0.278 M

Now we will find the new concentration of NH3 by adding the amount formed:

moles NH3 formed = moles OH- added = 0.00100 moles

moles of NH3 originally in 80.0 ml = (0.30M)(0.0800 L)=0.024 moles

moles of NH3 after addition of OH- = 0.024+0.00100=0.025 moles

new [NH3] = 0.025 moles/(0.0200+0.0800)L = 0.250M

Now plug the new concentrations into the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation:

pOH = 4.74 + log(0.278/0.250)

pOH = 4.74 + 0.046 = 4.786, pH = 14.0-4.786 = 9.21

Why is Miss Maudie Atkinson a static character in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Miss Maudie is a static character because she does not change; essentially, she remains the same in her attitudes and actions throughout the narrative of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Much like Atticus, who she describes as "the same in his house as he is on the public streets," Miss Maudie is genuine. She dislikes hypocrites whether they be Miss Stephanie Crawford, Mrs. Merriweather, or the Ewells. In fact, she refuses to attend the Tom Robinson trial because it is a "Roman carnival" in which hypocrisy will abound.

Always kind to the children, Miss Maudie honestly answers their questions and reaffirms their faith in their father as she explains to them at times his reasoning. Scout gives Miss Maudie the highest praise a child can when she narrates in Chapter 5,

She had never told on us, had never played cat-and-mouse with us, she was not at all interested in our private lives.

Miss Maudie's loyalty to the Finch family extends to Aunt Alexandra, as well, as she whittles away Mrs. Merriweather's veneer of Christianity, exposing her for the hypocrite she really is at the Missionary Tea. Afterwards, in her characteristic kindness, she consoles Alexandra, who is worried about her brother Atticus. She tells Alexandra that despite those who malign him, the town is paying him the highest tribute they can because Atticus is trusted to do the right thing.

Like Atticus Finch, Miss Maudie is an honorable character, steadfast and true to her beliefs. She is never afraid to speak out against hypocrisy, yet she is tender and loving toward those whom she loves, defending them fiercely at times. Always consistent in her behavior and attitude, Miss Maudie is a powerful static character.

What were the Founding Fathers trying to do?

"Founding Fathers of the United States of America" is a phrase used to refer to the leaders of the colonies during their rebellion against British rule  and those who then were involved in the creation of the government and constitution of the newly formed United States. 

The first objective of this group was to obtain independence from Britain. They felt that Britain exploited the colonies economically and also did not give the colonies an adequate voice in government.

In founding the new country, many of the leaders of the new United States attempted to implement the ideals of the Enlightenment. The first important principle was religious freedom and separation of state and church. Next, the founders wanted to create a republic, a system in which people did not directly vote on legislation (which would be a true democracy) but one in which they elected representatives to vote for them. Another important desire was to balance the powers of the central government with those of the individual states, in a system known as "federalism". 

What does Big Brother offer the citizens of Oceania in George Orwell's 1984?

In 1984, the party came to power in Oceania after a bloody revolution some time during Winston's youth. As it was not democratically elected, it has never purported to offer its citizens anything, in the way that modern political parties do. 

Looking deeper, however, the party does make some provisions for its citizens. It rations food, for example, to maintain an equal distribution of its resources. It protects Oceania from the military might of Eurasia, its enemy, and later, from Eastasia. It also provides committees and processions for the citizens to get involved in. Julia, for example, is a member of the Junior Anti-Sex League. 

But none of these offers are genuine. In contrast, these are distraction techniques employed to make the party appear as though it is acting in the interests of its citizens when it is, in fact, imposing a dictatorial regime upon them. In Part One, Chapter Four, for example, the reader learns that the party erases evidence of its earlier promise to not cut the chocolate ration. Similarly, through "the book," the very idea of war with Eastasia or Eurasia is exposed as providing the party's justification for the unequal distribution of wealth and resources in Oceania. In addition, the committees and processions are all designed to brainwash citizens into hating enemies of the party and upholding restrictive and repressive ideals of morality, which the party has imposed.

In sum, then, the party offers nothing to the people of Oceania. Instead, it has taken their freedom and independence and replaced it with subservience, poverty and control.  

What are examples of the education motif, both formal and informal, in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird?

The recurring motif of education certainly runs all throughout Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Members of Maycomb society are educated both formally and informally. Though, often, those who receive only an informal education are those in the lower classes of society.

One example of an informal education is seen when Calpurnia, cook of the Finches, references her son Zeebo. At one point, Jem asks Cal if she taught Zeebo, her eldest son, to read. Cal replies, "Yeah, Mister Jem. There wasn't a school even when he was a boy. I made him learn, though" (Ch. 12). She continues further to explain that she did not teach him to read out of a primer, like Scout is being taught in school though she already knows how to read; Cal instead taught Zeebo to read daily out of the Bible and a book given to her by Scout and Jem's "Granddaddy Finch" (Ch. 12). Even Cal herself did not attend formal school. Instead, Miss Buford, the aunt of Miss Maudie Atkinson, taught Cal to read. The fact that neither Cal nor her son received formal education shows that members of the lower class, like what citizens of Maycomb would call the Negroes, were denied formal education.

A second example of informal education is seen in the education of Atticus and his brother Jack. As Scout points out, both Atticus and Uncle Jack Finch were educated by Granddaddy Finch at home on the Finch family farm called Finch's Landing. However, unlike the education of the Negroes, Atticus and Jack learned a great deal, for, as Scout points out, "Atticus and [her] uncle, who went to school at home, knew everything--at least, what one didn't know the other did" (Ch. 4) What's more, though they were educated at home  for their primary and secondary education, they both received formal educations for their professions. As we learn in the first chapter, Atticus attended law school in Montgomery and supported his brother through medical school in Boston. The fact that both Atticus and Jack are very educated despite having been taught at home before attending school formally shows that they are in a higher social class than the Negroes; they are in the upper middle class.

From what materials are biodegradable plastics made?

Plastic that is not biodegradable is made from a polymer that is derived from petroleum. This type of plastic is an environmental concern because it is not recognized by most decomposers.  According to Kenneth Peters, a geochemist from Stanford University, decomposers do not have the metabolic pathways needed to break down plastics. As a result, plastic is accumulating on Earth.

By developing biodegradable plastics, this environmental concern is reduced. Below, several materials used to make biodegradable plastics and the use of each kind of plastic have been identified.

• Biodegradable plastics made from polylactic acid (PLA) are used for compost bags and packaging.


• Biodegradable plastics made from polyglycolic acid (PGA) used as parts that fix the placement of bones.


• Biodegradable plastics made from polyhydroxbutyrate is used to make bottles, bags, and wrapping films.


• Biodegradable plastics made from polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) are used to make laminates and adhesives.

Here is a fabulous table from ChemPRIME that outlines additional substances from which different types of biodegradable plastics are composed.

Whom does Macduff suspect of the murder?

Macduff has good reason to suspect Macbeth of murdering King Duncan. Macbeth was with him when he discovered Duncan's body. Macbeth had been acting very strangely ever since encountering Macduff when the Porter finally opened the gate and let him in. At the time Macduff did not understand why Macbeth seemed to stiff and cold. He thought it was merely because his pounding at the gate had awakened Macbeth from a sound sleep and made him angry. But Macbeth had never even been to bed. He had wanted to pretend to have been in bed asleep when the murder had been committed, but the unrelenting pounding at the gate had finally forced him to come down and find out what was going on. He could hardly pretend to be asleep with all that racket. Shakespeare invented the knocking at the gate because he wanted Macbeth to be present when the body was discovered.

Then there is the fact that Macbeth murdered Duncan's two grooms. He must have felt that he had to do it in order to prevent them from protesting their innocence. He also fears that one of them might have seen him in the king's bedchamber. Since there are two grooms, each of them could attest to the other's story. If the grooms had survived and the thanes had questioned them, the grooms would never have said that they were paid to commit the murder. Even under torture, which was sure to be used, they could not invent such a tale. The conclusion would have to be that someone had slipped into the chamber and killed Duncan while the grooms were asleep. Since Macbeth had murdered the grooms, it looks to Macduff as if he did it to silence them and protect himself. Macbeth knows that killing them looks suspicious. He says:

O, yet I do repent me of my fury
That I did kill them.

And Macduff immediately asks:'

Wherefore did you so?

Macbeth could only repent his act because it prevented everyone from questioning the grooms. Lady Macbeth sees that her husband is not doing a good job of lying. She pretends to have a fainting fit in order to create a distraction and cries:

Help me hence, ho!

Macduff is already suspicious of Macbeth. When Macbeth manages to get himself elected king, that is convincing proof that Macbeth was the perpetrator. It is a question of cui bono? (Who benefits?) The man who becomes king is probably the man who committed the murder. When Macbeth becomes king, everybody will begin to suspect him of being Duncan's murderer. Cui bono?

Macduff is more suspicious of Macbeth than any of the others because he was with Macbeth and observed his guilty behavior. He hates Macbeth for killing the king, and Macbeth hates and fears Macduff because he knows Macduff knows he is the guilty party. That is one of the reasons why he takes such a draconian reprisal against Macduff's entire family when the Thane of Fife flees to England. By wiping out Macduff's family and his entire household, Macbeth hopes to deprive Macduff of any reason for coming back. Macbeth knows he is a villain. He can't look Macduff in the eye because Macduff knows what he is. When they meet on the battlefield, Macbeth says:

Of all men else I have avoided thee.

And then he learns to his horror that Macduff "was from his mother's womb untimely ripped." No doubt the poor mother died as a result of that primitive operation, and now Macduff is motherless as well as having had his wife and all his children exterminated. Macduff is like a monster. He is Macbeth's worst nightmare.

What promises do you think the poet has to keep?

The poet is probably on a mundane, routine errand and only has simple promises to keep. It appears that he lives on a farm and has driven into some little village in a horse-drawn sleigh to shop for ordinary supplies. Since it is nearly Christmas, he probably picked up some gifts for his wife and children, and the gifts for his children would be things he had promised to get them. When he got married he made the usual promises to love and to cherish, and he still intends to keep those promises, or obligations, to his wife.

Presumably he has been to the village where he does his usual shopping and is now on his way back home. If he had been on his way towards the village, he would not have stopped to look at the woods. He would not have stopped because he had too many things on his mind. But now he has accomplished his errand and his mind is free.

His little horse would not have shaken his harness to ring the harness-bells if they were on their way out, but would have shaken the bells if they were on their way home, where the horse is looking forward to being unhitched and allowed to rest in a warm barn with plenty to eat. In saying that he has promises to keep, the poet is saying, in effect, that he has responsibilities to other people and cannot indulge himself by remaining longer to look at the beautiful woods filling up with snow.

Robert Frost made his poetry dramatic. He has been quoted as saying:

Everything written is as good as it is dramatic. It need not declare itself in form, but it is drama or nothing.

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" can be read as just a pretty winter snowscape, like on a Christmas card. But it is dramatic because the reader senses that there is more going on in the poet's mind than he tells us. There is something suspicious about the poet stopping. Why does he say:

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

Why should he care if anybody sees him? Why is he especially concerned about being seen by the owner of the woods? What is he planning to do? Many people have read a "death wish" into this poem. They think the poet is contemplating walking out into those dark, deep woods and lying down to freeze to death. His last repeated lines, "And miles to go before I sleep," can be interpreted as suggesting that he is travel-weary and weary of life but has many miles yet to go and many commitments to fulfill before he can enjoy the luxury of death. 
  

A hiker visited Rocky Mountain National Park several years ago. After departing from an airport at sea level in the eastern United States, he...

Pressure is usually measured in the unit of atmospheres. Another common unit of pressure measurement is millimeters of mercury or mm Hg. This unit corresponds to the height to which mercury will rise in a mercury column.

1 atmosphere of pressure will cause a rise of about 760 mm in the mercury. Thus,

1 atm = 760 mm Hg.

We can use this equivalence to convert the pressure from mm mercury to atmospheres.

760 mm Hg = 1 atm

1 mm Hg = 1/760 atm/mm Hg

454 mm Hg = 1/760 x 454 atm = 0.597 atm or 0.6 atm.

Thus, the hiker will only feel an atmospheric pressure of about 0.6 atmospheres at an elevation of 14,000 ft and hence will find it very difficult to exert much at this level. In simple terms, we often say that oxygen availability is decreased at high altitudes - this is what the hiker will feel, hence the difficulty in exertion.

Hope this helps. 

`1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1...` Determine whether the sequence is geometric. If so, find the common ratio.

You need to verify if the sequence is a geometric sequence, hence, you need to use the following property, such that:

`a_n = sqrt(a_(n-1)*a_(n+1))`

Replacing `1/4` for `a_n, 1/8` for `a_(n-1)` and `1/2` for `a_(n+1)` yields:

`1/4 = sqrt(1/8*1/2) => 1/4 = sqrt(1/16) => 1/4 = 1/4`

It also may be verified if `1/2 = sqrt(1/4*1) => 1/2=1/2.`

Since the given sequence is geometric, you may find the ratio such that:

`q = (a_(n+1))/(a_n) => q = 1/(1/2) => q = 2`

Hence, the given sequence is geometric and its ratio is q = 2.

Which elements on the periodic table would boil at only 1 degrees Celsius?

I assume you need a list of elements that will boil even at 1 degree Celsius.

There are 11 such elements on our periodic table. Here is a list of these elements with their respective boiling points:

1. Helium (He): -268.6 degrees C


2. Hydrogen (H): -252.87 degrees C


3. Neon (Ne): -246.1 degrees C


4. Nitrogen (N): -195.8 degrees C


5. Fluorine (F): -188.14 degrees C


6. Argon (Ar): -186 degrees C


7. Oxygen (O): -183 degrees C


8. Krypton (Kr): -153.4 degrees C


9. Xenon (Xe): -108.1 degrees C


10. Radon (Rn): -68.1 degrees C


11. Chlorine (Cl): -34.6 degrees C

Since all these elements have sub-zero (or less than zero) degree Celsius boiling points, they will all boil at 1 degree Celsius or less (depending on their respective boiling points). Interestingly, all the noble gases (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe and Rn) have a very low boiling point (less than 0 degree C in all cases). 

Hope this helps. 

What are some related poems, short stories, or graphics related to "The Bet?"

This is a challenging question. It is hard to think of any literary works that are directly related to or derived from "The Bet." But there are numerous works that have some resemblance to one or more of the themes in Chekhov's story. Those themes are solitude, study, and murder. 

In the first place, there are the four gospels in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The lawyer read many books during his period of captivity, but eventually he seems to have focused his full attention on the Christian message contained in those four books.

Then after the tenth year, the prisoner sat immovably at the table and read nothing but the Gospel. It seemed strange to the banker that a man who in four years had mastered six hundred learned volumes should waste nearly a year over one thin book easy of comprehension. 

The implication is that after the prisoner had looked for what he wanted to find out in six hundred volumes, he found it in the Bible. The best translation of the four gospels is still the King James Version because of its beautiful language.

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe is related to "The Bet" in that Crusoe was in a sort of solitary confinement on a deserted island for many years and became a philosopher as a result of the experience.

"The Prisoner of Chillon," a beautiful poem by Lord Byron, is about a man who was kept a prisoner in a dungeon for many years. During a large part of his captivity he was alone because the relatives he had been imprisoned with died off and left him in effect in solitary confinement. He too became a philosopher in his confinement.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet is about a man who spends a great many years in solitary confinement in the Chateau D'If on an island in the Mediterranean.

Poems about solitude include Edgar Allan Poe's "Alone" and William Butler Yeats' "The Lake Isle of Innisfree." Yeats said that his poem was inspired by his reading of Henry David Thoreau's book Walden. Thoreau loved solitude and read a great many profound books himself. Like the lawyer in Chekhov's story "The Bet," Thoreau was trying to solve the mystery of human existence. In the chapter titled "Solitude" in Walden he wrote:

To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. 

In a little-known short story by Jack London titled "The Star Rover," a prisoner in solitary confinement who undergoes frequent torture over the years learns to use his mind as an escape from his misery. He experiences past lives and other fascinating psychological phenomena.

In Leo Tolstoy's short story "God Sees the Truth But Waits," a man is wrongfully imprisoned for murder and spends many years in prison but develops religious enlightenment which gives him wisdom, patience and solace.

There must be many other literary works about the themes of solitude and religious enlightenment. A story that concerns a man like Chekhov's banker who plans to commit a murder to get out of paying a legitimate debt is the Sherlock Holmes classic "The Adventure of the Speckled Band." There are other Sherlock Holmes stories in which the villain's motive is to get out of parting with money.

Briefly explain how significant language features/textual conventions shaped your response to "Through the Tunnel."

The third-person omniscient point of view of this story helps to shape our understanding of it by exposing us to both Jerry's and his mother's internal conflicts. We see that Jerry's mother is encountering the struggle that all parents whose children reach a certain age must face. She wonders how much freedom to give him and how to keep him safe while still granting him some independence. Jerry, on the other hand, wants badly to grow up—as we see in his encounter with the older boys at the wild bay—but he feels a sense of loyalty and a responsibility toward his mother. The third-person omniscient narrator is able to provide this information that we might not otherwise have, and it allows us to quickly determine that this is not just a story about a boy at the beach.

Further, the imagery employed by the story foreshadows the danger Jerry is in as well as his relative immaturity compared to the maturity required to make good decisions at the "wild bay." The rock is "rough [and] sharp" and the water is "stain[ed] purple and darker blue," like a bruise. Rocks under the surface "lay like discolored monsters" as "irregular cold currents" shock him. This imagery is frightening and painful, and it connotes the dangers and lack of predictability associated with growing up. 

Moreover, the juxtaposition of this imagery with that of the "safe beach" where his mother relaxes helps us to identify the story as a coming-of-age for Jerry. She was "a speck of yellow under an umbrella that looked like a slice of orange peel." It was a "place for small children" as opposed to his bay, where the "older boys—men to Jerry" dive. We understand these places to be symbolic of childhood innocence on the one hand, and maturity, danger, and instability on the other.

What are the main reasons the Roman Empire collapsed?

The decline of the Roman Empire was more of a slow crumble than an instantaneous collapse- many events influenced each other and contributed to the demise of Roman culture in the West. When we talk about the fall of the Roman Empire, it's important to remember the sheer size of the territory that had come to be incorporated into the Empire. From Great Britain to North Africa to the Middle East, much of Europe (and Eurasia) became Roman not only in name but in culture. Even in the farthest reaches of the Empire, Roman goods, language, and public works were a vital part of shaping Roman identity in these lands. Unfortunately, the Empire and its power had become spread so thin that by the 5th century CE, Rome could no longer recover from the following conflicts.

One of the major factors, beyond a dispersal and weakening of power, was repeated invasion by "Barbarian" tribes from the North. Germanic tribes like the Vandals and the Goths invaded, raided, and dealt heavy blows to Roman cities and towns. In 410 CE, Alaric and his Visigothic tribes sacked the city of Rome, and in its weakened state was unable to prevent further attacks. In 476 CE, the Emperor Romulus Augustulus was deposed by the barbarian Odoacer, and most historians hold this date as the "end" of the Western Roman Empire.

Further compounding invasions by barbarian tribes were the weakened infrastructure and military troops. Rome sought to have troops throughout the entire Empire, especially in places where invasions occurred. Again, the size of the Roman Empire made this a challenge, and it became very expensive to maintain troops throughout the entire land. Military spending was so high that other areas, like infrastructure, suffered. Public works like roads fell into disrepair, causing trade networks and military upkeep to suffer.

In sum, the Roman Empire had grown too big too fast and was unable to maintain and defend itself.

How is the mechanical hound used by firefighters in Fahrenheit 451?

The mechanical hound is a modern, robotic version of the old fire mascot, the Dalmatian.  Dalmatians have been used in fire houses not only as a mascot but as dogs that run alongside horse-drawn fire engines of the past.  Dalmatians were also used to warn people when fire trucks were leaving the station; they would go out and bark to alert people to the emergency.

The mechanical hound in Fahrenheit 451 serves a purpose that is darker than the original Dalmatian mascot.  The mechanical hound is able to sniff out books and people who have books.  If it catches someone with books, it will inject the person with a sedate that renders one helpless.  It looks like a spider with eight legs and constantly “hums”.   The mechanical hound is used as a weapon for this modern fire department that destroys rather than saves unlike the friendly Dalmatian mascot known today.

Why does Mrs. Sleet "whop" her father, Lefty Lewis, on the head with a wooden spoon?

In Chapter 11, Lefty Lewis drives Bud Caldwell to his daughter's house in Flint, Michigan. Bud spends the night at Mrs. Sleet's house and joins her family for breakfast the next morning. Lefty Lewis makes fun of his grandchildren and daughter's cooking during breakfast, and the family jokes with each other throughout the meal. Towards the end of the meal, Lefty says that he once brought a friend back to Flint, and he ate four of Mrs. Sleet's pancakes. Lefty says his friend held his stomach the entire ride back to Grands Rapids, and his friend told Lefty that Mrs. Sleet made "paincakes," and not pancakes (Curtis 128). Mrs. Sleet laughs then goes into the kitchen. Kim urges her grandfather to tell Bud how many times his friend vomited on the ride back. Before Lefty Lewis can answer, Mrs. Sleet walks out of the kitchen and "whops" him on the head with a wooden spoon. Mrs. Sleet was sick of her father cracking jokes about her cooking and decided to hit him on the head with a wooden spoon to make him quit telling jokes.

Analyze the Poem "Inventing a Horse" By Meghan O'Rourke in detail

“Inventing a Horse” by Meghan O’Rourke is an eight stanza poem with no set rhyming pattern. Each stanza is four lines, and the author use enjambment at the end of each stanza. The last line runs into the next stanza making the reader move smoothly through the stanzas.

Using the horse as a subject, O’Rourke develops the theme of selflessness. In her poem, she describes the mindset that one must establish when carrying for an animal that cannot return the attention and love that it takes to care for it. She calls it “inventing.”

one must imagine love

in the mind that does not know love,

 an animal mind, a love that does not depend

on your image of it,

your understanding of it;

indifferent to all that it lacks:

She speaks of making the animal comfortable in its surroundings whether it be the city or country, and of the work that is required raise and train the animal. After riding, the horse requires attention as does its equipment, the rider cannot walk away after an enjoyable ride. The horse simply passes its days in the field while its human caretaker must give it what it needs to live.

Describe the poetic elements of Sonnet 73. What imagery and symbolism does Shakespeare use, and what is the central theme of the work?

This is perhaps Shakespeare's best sonnet, technically speaking. What makes it unique is the display of metaphors. Each of the three stanzas contains two metaphors. The first in each case is a metaphor for the speaker's age, and the second is a metaphor for that metaphor.

In the first stanza the poet, presumably Shakespeare himself, compares his aging condition to 

That time of year...

When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,

And then he compares those barren boughs to

Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.

The sound of singing birds is simulated by the "S" sounds in "sweet" and "sang." It should be noted that the concept of the boughs shaking because of the cold is a poetic conceit. The boughs cannot not feel the cold but are shaking because of the wind. What is interesting is that they look as if they are shaking because of the cold. And they look as if they are shaking because of the cold because they are nearly naked. Shakespeare makes the preceding line move slowly, breaking it up with commas

When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang

so that the words "shake against the cold" will convey that image more effectively by contrast.

In the second stanza he returns to his aged appearance and mood. He compares them with 

The twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west;

And then he compares the ensuing "black night" to

Death's second self that seals up all in rest.

The poet is equating death and night. It is a thought which must be familiar to his reader. Many of Shakespeare's metaphors and similes are characteristically familiar, homely, commonplace, unpretentious, and simple. That is one of Shakespeare's finest attributes as a poet. In Macbeth he has his protagonist compare sleep to "the death of each day's life." Everybody can understand that metaphor. Going to sleep is like dying, and waking up is like being reborn. In Hamlet he has the Prince compare humanity to a neglected garden:

How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on't! ah, fie! 'tis an unweeded garden
That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely. 

Everybody has seen such a garden by an abandoned house. The grass gets long and choked with weeds. This is "rank." Huge, ugly weeds spring up here and there. They are "gross." The rank vegetation represents most of the people in the world. The gross weeds represent people like Claudius and Polonius.

In the third stanza, Shakespeare compares his time of life to

the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,

And then he compares those ashes to a death-bed.

The central theme of Sonnet 73 is summarized in the final couplet.

This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well, which thou must leave ere long.

Shakespeare is expressing his appreciation for the fact that his paramour still continues to love him in spite of the fact that he is growing old. No doubt the person addressed in the poem continues to love him more or less the same as always. But the love seems "more strong" and more precious to the poet because he knows he is growing older, losing his vitality and whatever good looks he once possessed. 

In some of Shakespeare's sonnets he uses only one striking metaphor or simile, which stands out because of its placement and because it stands alone. For example, in Sonnet 29, which begins with 

When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,

he breaks into his morbid reflections with these lines containing a commonplace but dazzling simile:

Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;

The lark begins to take flight in one line and soars all the way up to heaven in the next. The lark's singing is simulated by all the "S" sounds in "arising," "sullen," "sings," "hymns," and "heaven's."

But in Sonnet 73, Shakespeare fills his poem with metaphors as if to offer a tiny sample of his unfathomed and inexhaustible creative prowess.

In The Story of My Life, how is the time Helen spent in New York City described?

Helen Keller spent two years living in New York City.  Miss Sullivan also lived there with her.  Helen went to New York City in 1894 to attend the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf when she was fourteen.  While living in New York City, Helen met many people.  She stayed in touch with some of her new friends for many years.  Helen described her years in New York as being a happy time in her life, and she reflected "back to them with genuine pleasure" (The Story of My Life, Chapter XVII).  She explored many places in and around the city.

Central Park was Helen's favorite place in New York City.  Taking daily walks through the park brought her immense pleasure.  Helen always walked through the park with a companion, who described the scenery to her using the manual alphabet.  Helen was delighted by what was described to her.

In "War" by Luigi Pirandello, what was the last message sent by the old man's son? Did he believe it?

The message that the old man's son sends to him justifies his participation in the war.  While his father believes the son's words, it does not ease the pain over his death.

The old man carries himself with a great deal of confidence as he speaks to his fellow train passengers.  He hears the sad discussion from the passengers about the sacrifices their children are making.  The old man affirms that "everyone should stop crying" because these are "good boys" answering the call of their country.  The old man references his own son as evidence.  He tells his fellow passengers that his son "before dying, sent me a message that he was dying satisfied at having ended his life in the best way he could have wished."  As further proof of this, he shows the passengers that he does not "even wear mourning."  The old man solidly believes that his son died for a proper cause.  The old man believes this sacrifice is not a source of sadness as much as it is a source of pride.

While the old man believes the words his son wrote, it is clear that he has not fully processed the boy's death. When the woman asks him if his son is "really dead," it triggers powerful feelings.  His "harrowing, heart-breaking, uncontrollable sobs" show that while the old man might believe the words his son wrote, they do not provide consolation.  He has lost his boy.  The war took his child.  No amount of justification can lessen that hurt. As a result, the ending to Pirandello's story speaks to the unending pain that is a part of the war experience.  While claims of nationalism and patriotic duty can be used to justify it, nothing can mask the pain that war brings on those who have to experience it, something the old man demonstrates.  

Please give 12 facts about the role of Elizabethan women.

In my opinion, the most interesting thing about Elizabethan women is that they have come to be represented by Queen Elizabeth I.  The irony is that Elizabeth I broke many of the traditional rules for women of the time.  In fact, she used her single status and, indeed, her sexuality to obtain further power for the British empire.  However, the life of Elizabeth I was vastly different from a peasant or even an upper class Elizabethan woman.  Here are twelve facts about Elizabethan women that might interest you:

1. They weren't allowed to perform in plays.


2. They were treated as second class citizens, especially if they were single.


3. They couldn't inherit any titles passed down in the family (except for royalty).


4. They were considered beneath their husbands.


5. They were always dependent of relatives.


6. They were considered criminals if they were disobedient to their husbands.


7. They were tutored at home and not allowed to go to university.


8. They were not allowed to be either lawyers or doctors.


9. They could not vote, enter politics, or the military.


10. They were expected to be housewives and mothers.


11. They often submitted to arranged marriages in order to attain security.


12. They were expected to bring a dowry to a marriage.

How did the Sons of Liberty respond to the movement of British troops?

The Sons of Liberty were originally created to oppose some of the tax laws of the British. They organized protests and boycotts of British products to try to pressure the British government to end these laws. As events in the colonies became more serious, the Sons of Liberty began to do things to prepare for war.

When the call for establishing militias was made, mainly in response to the Intolerable Acts, the Sons of Liberty were ready to form these militias in the colonies. They began to closely monitor the activities of the British army, especially in Boston. When they expected the British army to move from Boston, they developed a secret code to let the colonists know if the British were coming by land or by sea. The lanterns that would be placed in the steeple of the North Church would signify how the British army would be moving. One lantern meant the British army was coming by land. Two lanterns meant they were coming by sea.

Once the British army began to move, the Sons of Liberty sent Paul Revere and William Dawes to awaken the Massachusetts militia to get ready to fight. They also warned Samuel Adams and John Hancock to go into hiding because the British believed their capture would calm things down in Massachusetts. When the British moved to Lexington, the colonial militia was ready for them, thanks to the effects of the Sons of Liberty.

The Sons of Liberty played an important role in helping the colonists prepare for battle. Monitoring the actions and movements of the British army was one way they accomplished this.

`a = 3/5, b = 5/8, c = 3/8` Use Heron's Area Formula to find the area of the triangle.

The Heron's Formula is used to compute the area of the triangle when the three sides are known. The formula is:

`A = sqrt(s(s-a)(s-b)(s-c))`

where s is the semi-perimeter of the triangle, and a, b and c are the length of the sides.

The semi-perimeter of the given triangle is:

`s=(a+b+c)/2=(3/5+5/8+3/8)/2=(8/5)/2=4/5`

Plugging the values of s, a, b and c to the formula of area of triangle yields:

`A=sqrt(s(s-a)(s-b)(s-c))=sqrt(4/5(4/5-3/5)(4/5-5/8)(4/5-3/8))`

`A=sqrt(4/5*1/5*7/40*17/40) =sqrt(119/10000)`

`A=sqrt119/100`

Thus, the area of the triangle is  `sqrt119/100`  square units.

How did rapid industrialization encourage the U.S. to create an empire?

Rapid industrialization encouraged the acquisition of an empire in a number of ways. First, it created a demand for new markets for manufactured goods. The United States suffered a series of serious economic depressions in the post-Civil War era, and many contemporary observers feared that overproduction, caused by more efficient manufacturing techniques and machinery, would cause another one. Industries needed outlets for their products, and foreign markets, especially China, were very inviting. So American business leaders lobbied for the help of the US government in securing trade privileges in China. They did exactly this with the "Open Door Notes" at the turn of the twentieth century. In fact, the acquisition of islands in the Pacific, including the Philippines, was done in part to secure access to Asian markets. Markets were by far the main motive, but industrialization also created a demand for cheap raw materials such as rubber which could be acquired through imperialism. Also, industrialization was part of a larger process through which corporations grew and sought to expand their influence. As American businessmen acquired and set up factories, farms, and other assets overseas, or more often in Latin America, they demanded the protection of the US government. Revolutions and other social upheavals in Latin American countries often occasioned American military intervention, a form of imperialism that was driven by the urge to protect American business and industry.

Are there any examples of premise, persona, addressee, or enjambment in the poem "Lifeguard" by Claudia Emerson?

Claudia Emerson uses enjambment in her poem “The Lifeguard.” Enjambment is a literary technique in which one line runs on into the next without coming to an end. In “Lifeguard” the lines run-on from one stanza to the next. This is a technique an author employs to develop the meter or rhythm of a poem.  As you read “Lifeguard,” you will notice that when you come to the end of a stanza, the line is not complete but carries its thought into the next stanza. The second line of each stanza lacks an end mark such as a period or question mark.

She perches high on the stand, gleaming whistle

               dangling, on her suit a duitiful,

faded red cross. Mine her only life

               to guard, she does for a while watch…

In addition, in “The Lifeguard,” enjambment is used to add to the visual appearance of the poem. The lines are arranged in a similar pattern throughout. After the first two-line stanza, each subsequent stanza is composed of two lines in which the first line both finishes the prior stanza and begins a new sentence that will run into the next stanza. The reader must carry the thought or idea from one stanza to the next to comprehend the poem.

What are Romeo's feelings and actions toward Juliet?

Romeo is in love with Juliet, or at least claims to be. Their love, however, is problematic in the sense that Romeo has only recently been enthralled with another woman, Rosaline. It wouldn't be nonsensical to assume that if Juliet hadn't been around, Romeo would have fallen in love with another woman just as easily. It's important to remember that he's a teenager, and probably doesn't have a strong awareness with regard to what he wants. But offering him the benefit of the doubt, Romeo is so enraptured by Juliet that he's willing to risk his life to see her at her balcony window, to propose marriage to her and to go through with the deed, to die when he believes that Juliet is dead herself. It seems he is unable to live, or even function properly, without her. 

Explain how Night by Elie Wiesel speaks of the best and worst of human relationships in extreme circumstances.

Night brings out the best and worst of human relationships in varying proportions. Through some of his personal experiences and stories told in the book, Elie shows the complexity of human nature when exposed to extreme circumstances. The reader gets a glimpse of how people change depending on the situations they face. Night describes individuals who are steadfast to virtues expected of humanity in spite of the tough conditions that prevail. It also shows the flip-side of the situation, where some people allow their will to survive to override the expected human virtues.

Moishe the Beadle, who is described in the opening chapter of the story, paints a picture of an individual shunned by his community. However, this did not stop him from going back to Sighet to warn the other Jews of impending danger, after he survived a roadside extermination perpetrated by the German Nazis. In another example, the prisoner who saved both Eliezer and his father from the crematoria by asking them to lie about their ages was another instance of the best of human relationships in extreme circumstances. The prisoner had no reason to assist the two, after all, they approached danger without resistance.

On the other hand, some individuals were self-centered and focused on their survival. Despite Franek being a Jew, he wanted Eliezer’s gold crown for his own selfish gain. To force Eliezer into submitting to his wishes, he assaulted Eliezer’s father. He took advantage of the fact that Eliezer’s father was unable to march in step. In another instance, Rabbi Eliahu’s son left his father behind, during the march out of Buna. The son noticed his father slipping behind, but he did not slow down instead he let the gap between them widen.

What would you like to change in the novel The Great Gatsby?

If I could change something about The Great Gatsby, I would change the fact that Gatsby is still in love with Daisy. She is selfish and materialistic and she doesn't care who she hurts. She is unworthy of his devotion. If he did not still love her, he would not have bothered to return to her life, and he would not have been shot by George Wilson, Myrtle's husband. He would not have been with Daisy, Nick, Tom, and Jordan in New York City, and Wilson could not have seen his car. Daisy could not have killed Myrtle if she'd not been with Gatsby, and thus Wilson could not have assumed that Gatsby was his wife's lover and blamed him for her death.  

Certainly, Gatsby is not an innocent: he's told many lies, has plenty of shady business dealings, and the like. However, he is not a bad person (though he may do some bad things and know some bad people). His love for Daisy is innocent, and it unjustly crushes him because she cannot and does not love him back in the same way: she could never have let him take responsibility for Myrtle's death if she did. Therefore, his love for her is what I would change about the novel.

Why do the Cratchits have such a small goose according to the ghost in A Christmas Carol?

In Stave 3, the Ghost of Christmas Present takes Ebenezer on a tour of other peoples' Christmas celebrations.  He visits his nephew, Fred, where he gets to see firsthand the party that he opted not to attend. He also visits the home of Bob Cratchit, the worker we met earlier in Stave One.  Here, Bob welcomes his eldest daughter, Martha, home from work, as Bob's own meager salary (paid by Scrooge) requires that Martha work to support the family.  Peter, the oldest son, sports a shirt that is clearly a hand-me-down. Tiny Tim, the youngest, is crippled, and the family appears unable to pay for proper medical treatment for him. The small goose for dinner completes the picture of a loving family that has little money to support themselves with. We understand that Scrooge is meant to reflect that it is his own unwillingness to pay Cratchit a fair wage that has brought about this poverty.

In Bud, Not Buddy, what is an example of an instance where Bud uses rule number 3?

In the book Bud, Not Buddy, Bud has some great rules about life and getting by.  What's awesome about his rules is that they are funny most of the time.  In addition to being funny, they are truthful rules.  They aren't random sounding.  Each rule of Buds always reminded me of a familiar situation of my own.  Rule three is no exception.  Rule three deals with lying.  

"No. 3, If you got to tell a lie, Make sure it's simple and easy to remember."

The first time that the rule is introduced, it's not Bud telling the lie.  It's Todd Amos.  He lies about Bud wetting the bed.  It's a simple, straightforward lie that his mom is immediately likely to believe.  The lie works.  

In chapter ten, Bud uses the rule to his advantage.  Bud is trying to get to Grand Rapids, and he is walking along the road side in the dead of night.  A man pulls over and assumes that Bud is a runaway.  He asks Bud where he is from.  Bud lies.  

"I ran away from Grand Rapids, sir." See how perfect the lie was? Maybe this guy would feel sorry for me and put me on a bus to Grand Rapids and I wouldn't have to do any more doggone walking.

Bud's lie is simple and straightforward, because it doesn't involve a lot of details.  It's even partially true.  He is a runaway.  It's also immediately believable, because Grand Rapids isn't that far away from where Bud currently is.  Bud is hoping that the man will believe him and send Bud back "home" to Grand Rapids.  It's not home, but it is where Bud wants to go. 

What are some examples of symbolism in Chapters 12-14 of Lyddie?

One symbolic image is money.  Through this point in the novel, Lyddie has been extremely focused on money.  If anything, her obsession with money is increasing during these chapters.  Lyddie has become a great worker, and she refuses to complain about the speed up or working conditions.  She refuses to sign the petition, because she doesn't want anything interfering with her ability to earn money.  In chapter 12, Lyddie receives a request from her mother to send more money.  In chapter 14, Lyddie reluctantly encloses a single dollar in her return letter to her mother.  The act is symbolic of Lyddie's negative character development.  Early in the novel she gave all of her money to Ezekial, a man she barely knew, because it was the right thing to do.  Now, Lyddie can barely spare a dollar for her own mother.  

The other symbolic image in these chapters is the image of slavery.  In chapter 6, Lyddie saw parallels between her life at the tavern and Ezekial's life as a slave.  Lyddie feels that she has gotten away from being a slave because she is being paid so well in Lowell, but the girls that Lyddie works with feel differently.  Betsy is the most vocal about their treatment, and she even sings a song lyric that is about factory girls being slaves.  Lyddie will eventually see that Betsy is right about how the factory owners see and treat the factory girls.  

What happens when a star dies in battle with the Black Thing in A Wrinkle in Time?

The answer to this question can be found in chapter six of A Wrinkle in Time. Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin learn that a star often dies when it is in battle with the Black Thing, the evil enveloping planets and stars like a dark cloud. The three children witness this personally after staring into the crystal ball of the Happy Medium. The kids see the Black Thing enveloping a star. Suddenly, they see a very bright light cut into the Black Thing and begin to break it apart. As the light spreads, one small part of the Black Thing disappears. After the excitement of the small victory is complete, Mrs. Whatsit is quick to point out that the star loses its life in the battle. In this way, the Black Thing (a tiny bit smaller, but still massive) is able to move to other stars and planets in order to place them all under its power. The children are shown this scene because this time, they are to be that light shining through the Black Thing as they travel to Camazotz to rescue Meg's father.

What does the clock symbolize in "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe?

In the story, a huge black clock stands against the westernmost wall of the last room in Prince Prospero's hall.  The last room is shrouded in black velvet tapestries, and its window panes are painted red; this is unusual because the windows of all the other rooms are painted the same color as the walls.  However, this last room seems to represent human mortality and death's inevitability as its colors are associated with the mystery of death and blood, it is the final room of the seven rooms and death is our eventual finality, and it is the westernmost room (and the sun sets in the west, as the actual death of day as well as a symbol of death itself).  

Clocks are often symbols of mortality as well, representing the unstoppable passage of time, and the fact that the clock is black (symbolic of death) and that the revelers stay away from the final room and fear the chimes of the clock -- especially when it strikes midnight (the death of day) -- seems to confirm the fact that the clock symbolizes mortality.  Likewise, Prince Prospero's death in this room gives further strength to this interpretation.

What tone does the imagery in the first paragraph convey?

In short, the author's tone is one of reverence towards Rainy Mountain as well as of the natural world and of the Kiowa tribe.  This tone echoes throughout the entire novel.  The issue with your question is that this story has many beginnings.   Do you mean the first poem that precedes the entire book?  Do you mean the prologue?  Do you mean the introduction?  Do you mean the beginning of the first major part called "The Setting Out"?  I am assuming you mean the beginning of it all:  the poem called "Headwaters."  I believe it contains the imagery you are talking about.

Noon in the intermountain plain: / There is scant telling of the marsh-- / A log, hollow and weather-stained, / An insect at the mouth, and moss-- / Yet waters rise against the roots, / Stand brimming to the stalks.  What moves? / What moves on this archaic force / Was wild and welling at the source.

There is sight imagery, sound imagery, touch imagery, and even taste imagery here.  Sight has to do with the plain, the marsh, the log, the insect, the moss, the stalks, and the roots.  Sound imagery is found in the "scant telling."  Reference to the mouth connects sound imagery to taste imagery.  Even the word "roots" can be considered a taste image.  Touch imagery can be seen in the question, "What moves?"  Further, the idea that something is "welling" can also be seen as a touch image.

In conclusion, tone is an author's attitude toward his or her subject.  As you can see, all of these things amount to great reverence for the natural world that can encompass all five senses.  This idea reverberates throughout Momaday's book.

What is the length of a planetary day on each planet?

Though I cannot give you information about the length of a day on every known planet — many are too far away to be reliably observed in this respect — I can tell you the length of a day on each of the planets in our solar system. The length of a day is determined by the amount of time it takes for a planet to complete a full rotation on its axis.

Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, takes quite a long time to complete a rotation. One day on Mercury is 1,408 hours long — 58.7 Earth days! If you were to mark your calendar for a date two months from now, Mercury would experience just one day in that amount of time.

Venus is even slower in its rotation, taking 5,832 hours to complete a day! That's 243 Earth days.

Here on Earth, we experience days in the 23.9 hour rotation of our planet. 

Mars has a very similar rotation speed to our own planet, taking just 25 hours to complete one day.

Jupiter is speedy, taking only 10 hours to complete a day. That's less than half of one Earth day!

Saturn, too, has a quick rotation. Days on Saturn are just 11 hours long, just under half of one Earth day.

Uranus takes 17 hours to complete a rotation, which is nearly three-quarters of an Earth day.

Neptune's days are 16 hours long, two-thirds of an Earth day!

Though Pluto is no longer considered a planet, many people still have a soft spot for the celestial body. A day on Pluto is about 153 hours long, or over 6 Earth days.

How does circulation of blood in 3 chambered heart work?

Amphibians contain a three chamber heart that is made of two atria and a single ventricle. In a three chamber heart, the blood flows in the following order.

• The atrium receives deoxygenated blood from the veins. The oxygen has already been used by the body’s various organs.


• The left atrium receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and skin. Oxygen can pass through the skin of many amphibians. Thus, the skin of many amphibians serves as a gas exchange organ.


• Both atria empty into the single ventricle. The ventricle is divided into tiny chambers that helps to prevent the mixing of the oxygenated and deoxygenated blood coming from the two atria.


• Contraction of the ventricle sends oxygenated blood to carotid arteries and then the brain.


• Contraction of the ventricle sends deoxygenated blood to pulmocutaneous arteries that takes blood to the skin and lungs in order to become oxygenated.


• Blood that passes through the aortic arches after the heart contracts delivers oxygen to the rest of the body.

What were the consequences of the Atlantic Slave Trade?

While slavery existed in Africa long before the Atlantic Slave Trade, the escalation of the practice in the Seventeenth Century had a lasting impact on the continent.  The human costs of the trade were staggering.    While it is difficult to place a number on the carnage and estimates vary widely by source, the death toll of the slave trade is in the millions.  With the exception of a few powerful regional rulers, the slave trade had an inherent negative impact on the economy of West Africa.  Since male slaves were in the most demand, the continent lost a significant labor source as slaves were exported.  The social impact of the loss of males the patriarchal cultures led to a loss of cultural identity.  The slave trade also created competition between different groups in African that led to warfare.  Another legacy of the slave trade was that in introduced the concept of foreign intervention in the political affairs of Africans by more powerful outside forces.  This legacy would continue during the period of colonization and still is practiced in Africa today through large multinational corporations.  

Is Big Brother good or bad for Winston and the other residents of Oceania?

While the party maintains that it operates for the good of society, Winston and the people of Oceania suffer at the hands of the party on a daily basis. In the opening paragraphs of the book, for instance, we learn of the omnipresent telescreens which monitor the movements of every party member. For Winston, this constant invasion of privacy contributes to his rebellion against the party. For others, it simply becomes a way of life.

Daily life under the party also illustrates its negative effect on Winston and the citizens of Oceania. In Part 1, Chapter 2, we find descriptions of dilapidated and decayed accommodation: "the plaster flaked constantly from ceilings and walls, the pipes burst in every hard frost." Basic repairs could take years to carry out and had to be approved by a specially-appointed committee. 

The people of Oceania are also plagued by food shortages and rations. In Part 1, Chapter 4, we learn that the chocolate ration is to be reduced from thirty grams to twenty. Instead of being honest with its citizens, the party chooses to rewrite history so as to make it appear that a decline in the ration was always a possibility. This task falls to Winston who has become jaded by the constant manipulation of information. 

Furthermore, in Part 1, Chapter 1, we learn that basic items, like razor blades and shoelaces can only be obtained from the prole district, a place where party members are forbidden to go. This has created a thriving black market but any party member who uses it risks their liberty and life. 

Speaking out about these social evils can be a dangerous business. The party uses extreme violence to subjugate the people of Oceania and uses public executions as a warning to potential rebels. Nobody knows this better than Winston: In Part 2, Chapter 10, he is arrested with his girlfriend, Julia, and the pair are beaten, tortured and taken to Room 101. The number of people he meets in his cell illustrates the normalcy of this practice: it happens every day and nobody can do anything to stop it. It is only the love of Big Brother than can save a condemned man like Winston but this comes at a high price: at the expense of free-thought and free-will. 

How can I analyze the meaning of John Proctor’s speech? How does it relate to the central conflict of The Crucible?

In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, the protagonist, John Proctor, makes a speech at the end which reveals his hidden thoughts and also addresses the central conflict in the play. When he is asked to sign his name on the confession--one he gave that is not true and only to save his wife, Elizabeth--he becomes angry because he believes his word is enough. He says, "Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them you have hanged! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!" Proctor is concerned about his integrity and reputation because that is all he has. A central theme in the play is the loss or preservation of one's integrity. Abigail and the girls call into question the reputation of upstanding citizens by claiming they are in congress with the devil, and these people have no ability to stand up for themselves. Maintaining one's integrity and reputation in the face of slanderous accusations is difficult, especially during those hysterical times, and Proctor's speech illuminates how important it is to maintain it.

How does Boyne present attitudes and feelings in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas?

Because The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is written from the perspective of a young boy, the attitudes and feelings presented are naive, innocent, and uninformed. Bruno's parents shelter him from many facts of the war; therefore, he often feels irritated, lonely, and confused. For example, Bruno doesn't understand why he and his family moved to Auschwitz. And rather than explain the reasons for the move in detail, Bruno's father tells him to accept the move and give their new home a chance. This only leaves Bruno more irritated than before. As a result, Bruno says the following:

"Everything here is horrible . . . I hate this house, I hate my room and I even hate the paintwork. I hate it all. Absolutely everything" (56).

This passage demonstrates Bruno's attitude and feelings about moving to and living in Auschwitz, but it also shows the frustration he experiences due to a lack of information about what is really going on in the world and with his family.

During his time at Auschwitz, Bruno witnesses the attitudes and feelings that others experience, too. He watches his mother struggle to maintain a home with soldiers and servants traipsing around her house, for instance. Bruno also discovers that the servant Pavel is forced to be a waiter rather than the doctor that he is. And most importantly, Bruno witnesses the depths of the Holocaust through his friendship with Shmuel. He sees Shmuel's physical and mental strength diminish over the months that they know each other, and this causes him to feel more compassion towards his friend. Because of Bruno's feelings for his friend, he ultimately makes a fatal decision. Again, all of these experiences cause Bruno to feel confused because he doesn't understand the prejudiced feelings behind the discrimination and hate he witnesses at Auschwitz. The following passage sums up Bruno's naive feelings and attitude during his final moments:

"Bruno raised an eyebrow, unable to understand the sense of all this . . . And then the room went very dark and somehow, despite the chaos that followed, Bruno found that he was still holding Shmuel's hand in his own and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let it go" (213).

Even at his death, Bruno is naive and confused. If Bruno's parents would have been less protective, and more forthcoming, maybe he would have made it out of Auschwitz alive. Nevertheless, Boyne tells the story through the eyes of a young boy which helps to give the reader insight into Bruno's attitude and feelings. In addition, the attitudes and feelings of other characters are also shown to the reader, but only through innocent and confused eyes. 

What is the best way to write a letter from Banquo to one of his family members?

First, consider what you know about Banquo from the play. He is a great general, fearless in battle, and he lives to serve the king, loyal to the death. He has met the weird sisters on the heath on his way home from battle with Macbeth, and they have told both of the thanes' futures: Macbeth will be thane of Cawdor and king, and Banquo won't be king but his heirs will. Banquo was in the castle the night Duncan was murdered, and has his suspicions that Macbeth was behind it. Then Banquo has business elsewhere with his son, and leaves Macbeth's castle in a hurry with his son. That would be the last opportunity he'd have to write a letter. 

Think about what kind of man he is, who he might write to (his wife?), and what he might talk about, considering everything that has happened. 

If it were me, I'd write the letter in blank verse, too. Banquo is, after all, an aristocrat, and all Shakespearean aristocrats speak in iambic pentameter--rhymed or unrhymed.  

What are the difficulties in the relationship between George and Lennie?

As the lone, long-standing friendship depicted in Of Mice and Men, the relationship between George and Lennie is highly important to the text's interest in the American social fabric. The problems in this relationship may be as important as the strengths that it also bears.

Lennie requires a significant amount of care and patience from George, who has taken responsibility for Lennie. Lennie’s Aunt Clara, his former caretaker, is dead, and George is now tasked with watching out for Lennie.

The fact that this arrangement is voluntary for George speaks to George’s sense of honor and his generosity of spirit, but also casts a light on George’s occasional bitterness. Things could easily be different for George.

God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want. Why, I could stay in a cat house all night.

George is here acknowledging the burden that Lennie places on him as a caretaker. Lennie is not a fit companion for adult pursuits like bar-hopping, and so he keeps George from exploring these bachelor activities. Thus, Lennie functions as a semi-constant restraint on George's freedoms for as long as George agrees to the burden of acting as Lennie's caretaker.

The nature of this burden is two-fold and somewhat complex. First, Lennie has a significantly limited intellect. His memory is remarkably feeble and his social skills are undeveloped. Second, Lennie is very strong and physically imposing, causing those who do not know him to view him not as the childish character he is but instead as a fully mature and perhaps dangerous person. George has to act as Lennie's social advisor in many instances, mediating between Lennie and the rest of the world, explaining Lennie's strengths and weaknesses.

And Lennie is, indeed, strong. He is so strong as to be dangerous. He has little self-control and when he is afraid he grows angry. His intellectual limits coupled with his penchant for soft things cause him get into to trouble repeatedly, and George is the one who has to try to get Lennie out of that trouble, as he does in helping Lennie escape Weed.

Instead of living the free and easy life of a bachelor, George has Lennie as a responsibility. He comments on the burden that Lennie's particular traits engender.

I got you! You can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get. Jus’ keep me shovin’ all over the country all the time. An’ that ain’t the worst. You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out.

This dynamic describes the problems that exist in the relationship. George not only has to tell Lennie what to do, he has to tell Lennie what not to do. George has to comfort Lennie and coddle him and also keep Lennie in check so that he does not “do bad things” that might hurt others. Such constant vigilance wears on George, as we see when George lashes out at Lennie verbally early in the story.

The flip-side to this caretaker dynamic is important. While George describes a generic dream of staying in a cat house and spending his time and money freely, he later suggests that this is an empty dream. This vision of bachelorhood is substantially inferior to an alternative vision of friendship and meaningful work on a cooperative ranch.

George appreciates Lennie’s steady friendship even as he is burdened by it, and given the choice between keeping his friend or living the bachelor’s dream, George chooses to stand by Lennie for as long as he can.

In the end, when George goes off with Slim for a drink, we see that the generic dream of unencumbered bachelorhood looks like an empty solitude, something to be regretted instead of celebrated.

`10, 5, 0, -5, -10` Find a formula for a_n for the arithmetic sequence.

The given first few terms of the arithmetic sequence are:

`{10, 5, 0, -5, -10...}`

Take note that the nth term of an arithmetic series is `a_n =a_1 + (n-1)d` . Since the first term a_1 is known already, let's solve for the value of d. d is the common difference of the consecutive terms of an arithmetic sequence.

`d=a_2-a_1 = 5-10=-5`

`d=a_3-a_2 = 0 - 5 = -5`

`d=a_4-a_3=-5-0 = -5`

`d=a_5-a_4 = -10 - (-5)=-5`

So the common difference is d = -5.

Then, plug-in `a_1=10` and `d=-5` to the formula of nth term of arithmetic sequence.

`a_n =a_1 + (n-1)d`

`a_n=10 + (n-1)(-5)`

`a_n = 10 -5n + 5`

`a_n=15-5n`

Therefore, the nth term of the given arithmetic sequence is `a_n=15 - 5n` .

In Pygmalion, why does Mr. Doolittle consider his new social status a burden?

In Pygmalion, Mr. Doolittle, the former dustman who thinks he'll end up in the poorhouse, comes into 3,000 pounds a year from the Pre-digested Cheese Trust. As a result, he says, "I have to live for others ... that's middle-class morality." His new burdens include lecturing for the Wannafeller Moral Reform World League up to six times a year, marrying his common law wife, and tolerating servants doing things for him that he could do for himself. He discovers, or is discovered by, 50 relatives who need money, whereas when he was poor, his relatives had no interest in him whatsoever. Doctors and lawyers now take up his time, whereas in the past, they wouldn't bother with him because he couldn't pay. In a nutshell, coming into enough money to lead a middle class life means everyone is clamoring for a piece of his money, leaving him little peace of mind. 

What were the rules of Jonas' list?

Jonas is given a list of eight rules when he is chosen as the Receiver of Memory.  His reaction is some surprise and some concern.

First, he is instructed to go to a separate entrance behind the House of the Old each day after school and present himself to an attendant there.  He is not pleased about this because it seems that it means giving up all of his recreational time.

Second, he is told to go home at the end of his Training Hours as the Receiver. This, too, seems to eliminate any free time he would have otherwise.

Third, he is told he is exempted from the rules of the community to not be rude, that he may question anyone about anything, and that he will receive answers to his questions. This seems like a rule that involves not only Jonas, but also the entire community, since everyone will have to respond to any questions he has.  This is a surprising rule to Jonas because he is simply not in the habit of being rude or asking anyone an impertinent or overly personal question.  But he decides that since the rule does not require him to be rude, he won't trouble himself about it. 

Fourth, he is told he may not discuss any of his training with anyone in the community, including his parents and the Elders.  He does not seem to have any particular response to this rule when he first reads it.

Fifth, he is prohibited from dream-telling, which is a nightly ritual required by his parents and we can presume, required of everyone in the community.  He struggles with this a bit, not knowing how to handle it with his parents, whether to lie or to simply decline to share his dreams. 

Sixth, Jonas is no longer permitted to apply for medication, unless it relates to a need for medication from an injury or illness that is not related to his training.  This is troubling, since pain medication for injuries is routinely given, and Jonas has no desire to be in any pain. The other medication that he takes, for his Stirrings, he decides is unrelated to his training.

Seventh, Jonas is not allowed to apply for Release.  Since it has never occurred to Jonas to do so and he has no clue what awaits him, he doesn't think very much about this rule at all.

Eighth, remarkably, Jonas is now permitted to lie.  This is a horrifying idea.  Jonas has never lied. No one he knows has ever lied. But now he is concerned that others in the community, upon the Ceremony of Twelves, may have received this permission, too.  He could ask people, of course, if they lied, but he would not know if their responses were truthful.

These then are the rules that govern all of Jonas' training as the Receiver of Memories. This is a simple list of rules, but really, a very complicated one, too. 

Why do we have shorter and longer daylight hours?

The variation in daylight hours or duration of daylight hours is due to the tilt of Earth on its axis and Earth's revolution around the Sun. The Earth rotates on its own axis once every 24 hours, which is the duration of a day. This axis, which runs from the North Pole to the South Pole, is tilted at an angle of about 23.5 degrees with respect to the plane of orbit of Earth around the Sun. In the northern hemisphere, during the summer months, the axis is tilted towards the Sun and hence the northern hemisphere experiences longer daylight hours. In winter months, the north pole (and hence the axis) is tilted away from the Sun and hence, we have shorter daylight hours in northern hemisphere. 

A similar phenomenon is observed in southern hemisphere. It experiences summer when northern hemisphere is experiencing winter. However, southern hemisphere too experiences longer daylight hours during summer months. 

Hope this helps. 

"Although revenge forms a very destructive bond between the monster and Victor, it ultimately becomes their shared link to humanity and gives them...

In one way, this claim is true because, now that both Victor and his creature are totally alone in this world but for each other, they are all that the other has to connect them to anyone else.  In a way, the creature has acquired, in Victor, what he wanted all along: a companion.  Though Victor is hardly the loving companion for which the creature initially hoped, it is true that the creature is no longer alone now that Victor pursues him.  In fact, the creature even leaves him directions and food when he feels that Victor is losing the trail or growing too weak to continue.  He does not want to lose Victor because his creator is all that he has left.  Likewise, the creature has rendered Victor alone now that he's murdered his best friend, wife, brother, and caused the death of his father.  It seems likely that Victor, in an effort not to have to contend with his own responsibility for their deaths, decides instead to exhaust himself in pursuing his creature.

On the other hand, it seems like a stretch to classify their relationship as a "link to humanity."  As the creature has pointed out, the quality that makes us human is our capability to do both extreme good and extreme evil.  Neither the creature nor Victor is at all in touch with the "good" side of humanity at this point.  Each seeks only to exact revenge on the other, Victor by killing his creature and his creature by torturing Victor in forcing him to feel as alone as the creature has felt.  Revenge is not a sound foundation for life, and it cannot sustain either of them for long (as we see by the novel's end). 

What kind of character is Jeffery? (From Maniac Magee the book)

Jeffrey, better known as Maniac Magee, is one cool character.  He is that kid that can do anything and everything, make it look easy, but not make you jealous, angry, or spiteful while doing it.  The kid can run, jump, throw, hit, etc. better than just about anybody else, and on top of that, he doesn't have a judgmental bone in his body.  For example after showing up John McNab by hitting homerun after homerun, McNab tries to beat up Maniac with his gang of delinquents. But Maniac is not the type of person to hold a grudge.  In fact, in chapter 35 Maniac brings John's brothers back home and helps out John by showing him how to throw the stopball.  Further evidence for Maniac not being judgmental is his blindness to color.  No I don't mean that Maniac is colorblind.  I mean that Maniac is incapable of seeing how skin color on a person can make a difference.  Of course not everybody in the book is as gracious as Maniac, and that is why he is eventually forced to leave the Beale home.  Maniac is a very loving and caring character as well.  The best evidence for this is his relationship with Grayson.  Maniac gives Grayson friendship, and takes the time to teach the old man to read.  The book continually refers to Maniac as a sort of legend, and with how amazing he is at just about everything, it is easy to see why.   

What's the difference between a drama and a novel in the context of The Importance of Being Earnest?

Both drama and novels are a type of narrative; they have a story arc with rising action, a climax, and falling action. But each form has its own strengths and weaknesses. A drama is meant to be performed; it is an art form that includes visual and auditory elements. A novel, on the other hand, it strictly words and is "performed" only in the reader's mind. 

The strengths of drama are that live actors deliver the lines and by their delivery and physicality can make characters come alive. Little quirks of expression or movement can add humor or sentiment to a character beyond what the actual words of the script provide. Additionally, elements such as the set, lighting, sound effects, and choreography work together to make the drama an experience for the viewer. Within the space of an hour or two, the viewer enters into the world created by the drama, willingly suspends his or her disbelief, and can be not only entertained but often changed by the emotions aroused during the play.

A novel has its own strengths. Since the reader must imagine the action, settings, and how the characters look, a greater depth of experience can be achieved by taking the reader to a variety of locations and allowing the reader to get to know a variety of characters more deeply than a play would allow. A novel is usually not consumed all at one sitting but may occupy a period of days or even weeks. This allows the reader to contemplate and relive the action and dialogue of the novel many times as he or she considers the part of the novel already read while going about his or her day-to-day life. In this way a novel can produce a deeper, longer-lasting impact on the reader than a play might be able to do. A novel has another advantage over drama in that it allows the reader to get inside the head of a character or even multiple characters. In a play, we only learn what a character thinks from listening to what he says or watching what she does. Sometimes actors will perform soliloquies--speeches where they speak to themselves--but this doesn't occur that much in modern drama, and when it does, it can make a drama less believable. In a novel, we can follow a character's inmost thought processes seamlessly as the action of the story unfolds. Thus a novel has the ability to create more empathy in a reader because it more readily allows the reader to know what it "feels like" to be in another person's shoes.

In The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde's goal is to satirize and trivialize what his society thought was important, and the medium of drama was well-suited to that purpose because a deep, sustained intimacy with the characters is not necessary for his theme to come across. Indeed, in his portrayal of society as a place where everyone plays a role, drama created a perfect illustration of his point. This work would be much less effective as a novel, but as a drama, it is brilliant.

What might have been the source of the music that Jonas heard behind him in The Giver?

The music Jonas hears could be from a house in Elsewhere. 

The ending of the novel is ambiguous.  That means that, based on the evidence in the novel alone, it is not possible to tell what really happened at the end.  Jonas hears music.  It could mean one of two things.  Either the music is real, and he has reached Elsewhere, and a community that does not have Sameness, or the music is not real, and it is from a memory.  In that case Jonas is hallucinating and close to death.

There are three other books in the series, and Jonas appears in them. This means that, although they are not direct sequels, they take place after the events in this book and Jonas did indeed survive.  Based on that evidence, we can infer that the music was real. 

Jonas’s community has no music. Part of Sameness involves a quest to eliminate any kind of emotion.  It makes sense that they would not want music, because music is designed to make you feel.  Thus, the first time Jonas hears music is in a memory, where he experiences many of the things that used to be in the world before Sameness. 

Music is highly significant for Jonas.  He has what he learns is called the Capacity to See Beyond, but it turns out that when The Giver first experienced his special ability, it was not through seeing colors.  He heard something that did not exist, instead of seeing something that did not exist.  He called it hearing-beyond. 

Jonas frowned, trying to figure that out. "What did you hear?" he asked.

"Music," The Giver said, smiling. "I began to hear something truly remarkable, and it is called music. I'll give you some before I go." (Ch. 20) 

In this case, how can Jonas experience something that does not exist?  He takes Gabriel and flees, enduring a great deal of pain and suffering.  They almost starve to death, and almost freeze to death.  In fact, it is when they are at their lowest point that Jonas hears the music.  He is knee-deep in snow, and comes across a sled.  Is it a real sled, or the sled from the memories? 

Suddenly he was aware with certainty and joy that below, ahead, they were waiting for him; and that they were waiting, too, for the baby. For the first time, he heard something that he knew to be music. He heard people singing. (Ch. 23) 

We have to assume that Jonas has reached another type of world, where people still sing.  He hears music, but comments that it might just be “an echo.”  This is more of the ambiguous information.  Did he and Gabriel live?  We know they did only because there are other books in the series.  Based on this information alone, he could have been dying or dead.

Who will win the presidential election and why?

By this question, I assume you are asking about the process of determining who will win the 2016 presidential election and why.

Each candidate will go through the primary process in his or her party. The candidate that emerges from his/her caucus/primary process with the majority of that party’s delegates will represent that party in the general election.

In the general election, each candidate will try to win as many states as possible. Each state carries with it a certain number of electoral votes. Candidates will focus on winning states with a large number of electoral votes as well as focusing on certain swing states. Swing states are states that could go either for the Republicans or for the Democrats. The winner of the election will be the candidate that gets at least 270 electoral votes.

If you are asking which person will win the election, I will explain who may emerge from the primary process and what that person will need to do in the general election. This is not an endorsement of any individual or any party.

For the Democrats, either Hilary Clinton or Bernie Sanders will be the candidate. Some key questions for Bernie Sanders are if he has enough support from people of color and if he has more than one major issue on which to base his campaign. For Hillary Clinton, she needs to convince voters she is not tied to Wall Street and can represent the interests of the average person. She also needs to appeal to younger voters. My guess is that Hillary Clinton will get the nomination for the Democrats.

For the Republicans, the candidate will most likely be either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz. For Donald Trump, he will need to convince people that he can act presidential. Putting other people or down or insulting them wouldn’t work well if he was president. Ted Cruz needs to convince people that he is not too far to the right. If he is viewed as extreme, this could hurt him. It is hard to predict where Republican support will go once the field is narrowed, but I’m guessing it will be Donald Trump who gets the Republican nomination.

It is my belief the Democrats will win the election. Voter turnout will be key. It there is a big turnout of voters this will help the Democrats significantly. I also believe enough people will be frightened by the positions Ted Cruz will take on many issues. He may be viewed as too extreme. Some will be frightened by Donald Trump’s blunt responses. They will feel he won’t act presidential. Others will question whether the needs of the average person can be understood by either of these Republican candidates.

Please understand this is only a prediction. It is not saying that one candidate or party is better than another candidate or party. My answer is based on polls and comments from political analysts. The real result will be known on election night.

What are two references to disease or decay in Hamlet?

We learn that something's rotten in Denmark and we will all be food for worms.

Perhaps the most famous comment about decay is in reference to Hamlet’s ghost.  Marcellus and Horatio see the ghost of the dead King Hamlet and are not sure what to make of it.

MARCELLUS

Let's follow; 'tis not fit thus to obey him.

HORATIO

Have after. To what issue will this come?

MARCELLUS

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. (Act 1, Scene 4)

Marcellus appears to be commenting on the ghost, and also on the state of things in general.  After all, the kingdom seems to be in trouble.  King Hamlet was killed, and his brother Claudius married Queen Gertrude to become king.  There definitely seems to be some moral decay in the kingdom.

Another reference to decay occurs when Hamlet kills Polonius.  As part of his crazy act, he makes a comment about the dead man being food for worms.  When asked where Polonius is, he makes a macabre joke.

HAMLET

At supper.

KING CLAUDIUS

At supper! where?

HAMLET

Not where he eats, but where he is eaten: a certain
convocation of politic worms are e'en at him. Your
worm is your only emperor for diet: we fat all
creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for
maggots… (Act 4, Scene 3)

This is Hamlet's commentary on how we all end up decaying equally, and one’s status in life makes no difference in death.  It is designed to make Claudius think he is crazy, but it is also intended as a jab at his new stepfather.  Someday, Hamlet is saying, you too will be food for worms.

Hamlet has an interesting conversation with the clown when they are digging Ophelia's grave.  The clowns provide morbid comic relief as they make jokes about decaying bodies.

Why, sir, his hide is so tanned with his trade, that
he will keep out water a great while; and your water
is a sore decayer of your whoreson dead body.
Here's a skull now; this skull has lain in the earth
three and twenty years. (Act 5, Scene 1)

Hamlet sees the skull of his former jester, Yorick, and ponders the brevity of life.  Everyone dies, and everyone decays, and then everyone looks the same as bones.  Hamlet is considering his own impending demise, because he worries that he won’t make it out of his quest for vengeance alive.