At the time this story was written, how much was 4 British pounds a week worth in American money?

There are several ways to try to evaluate how much money the phony Red-Headed League paid Jabez Wilson for copying pages of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

The exchange rate for American dollars to British pounds in 1891 was $4.86 to 1. Therefore, Jabez earned $19.44 per week for his skills as a scribe. That doesn't seem like much, but we have to consider the effects of inflation. A dollar in 1891 would buy much more than a dollar in 2016. Plugging $19 into an inflation calculator website (below) shows that the equivalent amount in 2016 is $487, so with rounding we can say Jabez was earning the equivalent of $500 per week in 2016 American dollars. He was working about 20 hours per week for the League, so that was a rate of $25 per hour. Thinking of that another way, he was earning about 3.5 times the current U.S. minimum wage, the wage one might expect to earn for unskilled labor such as Jabez performed. Jabez was sorry to see his gravy train end; if he had been able to keep up his duties for an entire year, he would have pocketed $26,000, a significant boost to his income.

Although significant, even that amount doesn't really convey the plush position Jabez thought he had landed by virtue of his red hair. One can also consider the "economic status value" of that amount in 1891. This measurement takes into account the comparative earnings of others in the society. According to Measuringwealth.com, the economic status value of 4 pounds in 1891 is equivalent to 2917 pounds today, which equates to $4053. That means that his economic status compared to those around him would be similar to someone in our society earning $210,000 per year--from part-time work. Now we can see why Mr. Jabez Wilson considered the loss of this employment a "grave enough" problem. 

Why does Amir not enjoy the lavish birthday party thrown in his honor?

The birthday party that Baba has for Amir, which occurs in Chapter 8, is for his 13th birthday.  This seems to be a kind of "coming of age" party, since it is so lavish and large.  There are at least three reasons that Amir takes no pleasure in this party, one being that it is not really for him, another being that Assef comes to the party, and another being that Amir's pleasure in anything is tainted by his guilt. 

Amir says, as he scans over the responses to the invitations, that he does not even know three-fourths of the people who are coming to the party. He realizes that they were not coming because of him, but because of Baba. He says, "It was my birthday, but I knew who the real star of the show was" (94). His father is an important man in the community, one of the ruling class, really, and this party is a means of demonstrating that.

When Assef appears at the party, it is truly ruined for Amir.  Assef is the bully who has raped Hassan, the bully that Amir was unable to face down because of his own cowardice.  Assef is also a neo-Nazi who torments Amir with his gift, a biography of Hitler.  Also contributing to Amir's unease at Assef's presence is the fact that Baba seems to find Assef to be an admirable young man, one he would like Amir to associate with.

Finally, Assef is a reminder of Amir's guilt in not trying to save Hassan, and this guilt taints any enjoyment that Amir might have otherwise had at the party. As the chapter ends, he sees Hassan serving some beverages to Assef and Wali, another bully who was present at Hassan's violation, and then "Assef grinning, kneading Hassan in the chest with a knuckle" (160), once again tormenting Hassan. 

All of these factors contribute to Amir's inability to enjoy this large and lavish party. It is not really for him at all, Assef is enough to ruin any party, and Amir is plagued by his guilt. 

Who was trying to rob the bank?

A notorious criminal named John Clay is plotting to loot the Coburg branch of the City and Suburban Bank's underground strongroom of 30,000 French gold coins worth 30,000 British pounds. Just before the climax of the story, Mr. Jones, the Scotland Yard detective, describes their quarry as follows:

“John Clay, the murderer, thief, smasher, and forger. He's a young man, Mr. Merryweather, but he is at the head of his profession, and I would rather have my bracelets on him than on any criminal in London. He's a remarkable man, is young John Clay. His grandfather was a royal duke, and he himself has been to Eton and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as his fingers, and though we meet signs of him at every turn, we never know where to find the man himself. He'll crack a crib in Scotland one week, and be raising money to build an orphanage in Cornwall the next. I've been on his track for years and have never set eyes on him yet.”

Clay has an accomplice who calls himself Duncan Ross when he pretends to be in charge of the offices of the Red-Headed League. Evidently his first name is Archie, because that is what Clay calls him when he realizes that the jig is up.

“It's all clear,” he whispered. “Have you the chisel and the bags? Great Scott! Jump, Archie, jump, and I'll swing for it!”

Clay has gotten a job with the pawnbroker Jabez Wilson in order to be able to dig a tunnel from Wilson's cellar to the bank. Clay is using the name Vincent Spaulding. When Wilson goes to Sherlock Holmes, he describes his new assistant as follows:

“Small, stout-built, very quick in his ways, no hair on his face, though he's not short of thirty. Has a white splash of acid upon his forehead.”

Vincent Spaulding pretends to be very interested in photography. This is to explain to Wilson why he is always going down into the cellar. He is supposedly developing photographs in the dark, but he is really working on the tunnel every chance he can get. After he and his accomplice have gotten Jabez Wilson out of the way for four hours each day plus the time it takes to get to and from the office, they can work on the tunnel together. Time is of the essence. There is a strong likelihood that all that gold will soon be moved elsewhere.

What has brought Jabez Wilson to Sherlock Holmes' flat on Baker Street is that he has just received notice that the Red-Headed League has been dissolved as of that day. Holmes deduces that the thieves must have completed their tunnel and are planning to loot the bank that night. They had invented the Red-Headed League to get Wilson out of the way for four or five hours every day but Sunday while they worked feverishly on their long tunnel. Now that they were ready to break through the flooring of the bank strongroom, they no longer needed Wilson's absence, so they dissolved the phony League.

To what degree could Locke’s theories as found in his Second Treatise of Government (chapters 1-5 only) support environmentalism?

In the first chapter of this treatise, John Locke argues that Adam was not actually given authority over the earth. Moreover, he claims that the notion of Adamic authority passing down to his heirs depends on being able to identify the heirs of Adam, but we cannot do so. Although this does not provide a clear pro-environmental argument, it can be used to counter the argument advanced by some evangelical Christians that as Adam's heirs we have an absolute right to do anything we wish to the earth and the animals living on it.

Next, we have the argument that rulers rule with the consent of the ruled. When we look at environmental issues such as habitat destruction and ensuing species extinction, we can argue that (given recent evidence that certain animals think and feel) we have no right to kill animals and destroy their habitat without their consent.

We can also look at environmental issues in terms of the right to private property. Locke argues that the natural rights of one person to act as he wishes end when such actions impinge upon the property or freedoms of other people. Damage to any part of the global environment can affect many other parts. For example, global climate change and rising sea levels may actually submerge inhabited low-lying islands such as Kiribati. If the private property of individuals is damaged or destroyed by the carbon emissions of certain other people, that infringes on property rights. 

How can we prevent the Holocaust from happening again?

There are lessons to be learned from the Holocaust. One of these lessons is to learn how to prevent an event like this from happening again. There are several ways to do this. One way is to prevent conditions from existing in countries where they feel they have to turn to a dictator to solve problems. Because of the heavy reparations imposed by the terms of the Versailles Treaty, Germany went into a severe depression in the 1920s. This gave Hitler the opportunity to rise to power. Since Germany had little experience in its history with a democratic government, Hitler was able to seize power relatively easily.

A second factor in preventing these events from reoccurring is to avoid severely punishing countries for their previous actions. The terms of the Versailles Treaty were very harsh for Germany. This allowed feelings of resentment and anger to build. Hitler used that anger to seize power and to get revenge for how the Germans were treated by the terms of this treaty.

It is also necessary for countries to stand up to a country like Germany when it began mistreating the Jewish people and violating the terms of the Versailles Treaty. Not much was done when Germany began violated the terms of the treaty. Not much was done when Germany passed the Nuremberg Laws denying basic rights to the Jewish people. Individuals and countries must act when actions like these occur. While it may appear to be easier to look the other way, it isn’t the right or the moral thing to do. Plus, it could lead to more serious and costly actions in the future. Imagine how things might have been different if countries responded to German aggression and the German mistreating of the Jewish people when it first began.

Finally, it is necessary for survivors to tell their stories and to videotape their stories so future generations will have primary source evidence of what happened in the Holocaust. Families of survivors must also do the same thing. There are people who want to deny the Holocaust ever occurred. If these stories aren’t told and preserved, they will be lost as fewer and fewer survivors remain alive. People must hear and see firsthand what happened during the Holocaust.

The sad thing is that since the Holocaust occurred, there have been other mass killings of people. The killing of the Tutsi in Rwanda and the Ethnic Cleansing of Bosnian Muslims and Croatians in the former Yugoslavia are examples of fairly recent mass killings of people.

Why do you think Dallas helps the two boys escape and does not encourage them to go the police in The Outsiders?

Dally did not recommend that Pony and Johnny go to the police because the greasers do not trust the police.

Pony goes to great lengths to describe the difference between Socs and greasers.  The Socs are rich kids, and they have everything handed to them.  They get all the breaks.  When Socs get into trouble, no one pays much attention.  The greasers have run-ins with the law all the time.

We're poorer than the Socs and the middle class. I reckon we're wilder, too. Not like the Socs, who jump greasers and wreck houses and throw beer blasts for kicks, and get editorials in the paper for being a public disgrace one day and an asset to society the next. (Ch. 1)

Johnny and Pony are considered juvenile delinquents.  That is just society’s impression of the greaser.  When Bob attacks them and they fight back, they know that the blame will be put on them and not Bob.  Bob was drunk and he was the aggressor, but he was rich and they are poor.  There is no way the cops will give them a fair shake.

Dally knows this.  Johnny and Pony go to him after Johnny kills Bob because he has had many run-ins with the law and knows what to do.  He takes charge immediately, helping Johnny and Pony skip town.

"Hop the three-fifteen freight to Windrixville," Dally instructed. "There's an old abandoned church on top of Jay Mountain. There's a pump in back so don't worry about water. Buy a week's supply of food as soon as you get there--- this morning, before the story gets out, and then don't so much as stick your noses out the door…” (Ch. 4)

It is a good plan.  Dally was going to meet with them as soon as he could.  The problem was that a group of kids showed up and the church caught fire.  Dally, Pony, and Johnny tried to rescue them.  The paper praised them as juvenile delinquents turned heroes.  They were all hurt, but Johnny was hurt the most seriously and never did recover.

In which chapter, and on which page, is the father killed by his son in Night?

Allowing that different versions of this text have different pagination, the story appears at the end of Chapter 7, on what is (in my text) page 96.

At this point, Elie and his father have walked a significant distance in order to move to another camp.  They have, thereafter, been loaded into a train for the remainder of the journey.  They are starving at this point, and when nearby crowds throw bread into the transport, another father on the train snatches a piece and hides it in his shirt, intending to share it with his son.  His son misinterprets the move and attacks the father, killing him despite protests from the father.  Soon after, others in the train car descend on the son, killing him as well.

What are some similes in Of Mice and Men?

A simile is a type of figurative language which makes a comparison between two things using the words like or as. Like a metaphor, a simile seeks to show the qualities of one thing by comparing it to something quite different. Steinbeck often uses figurative language in his novella Of Mice and Men and similes are spread throughout the text in the third person narration (much of the novel is told through dialogue).

In chapter one, Lennie is described as being like a horse. In fact, Steinbeck frequently uses animal imagery to portray the big man:

His huge companion dropped his blankets and flung himself down and drank from the surface of the green pool; drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse.

Also in chapter one, a simile is used to describe a snake which is part of the setting in the area between the Gabilan Mountains and Salinas River where George and Lennie camp:

A water snake slipped along on the pool, its head held up like a little periscope.

A little later in chapter one, Steinbeck uses a simile to reinforce the animal imagery in his description of Lennie:

Slowly, like a terrier who doesn’t want to bring a ball to its master, Lennie approached, drew back, approached again. 

At the beginning of chapter two, Steinbeck uses a simile when he describes the setting of the bunkhouse where George and Lennie come to live while they work on the ranch:

At about ten o’clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows, and in and out of the beam flies shot like rushing stars.

Also in chapter two he uses a simile to characterize Curley's wife:

Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. 

In chapter three, just before the fight between Lennie and Curley, Carlson makes a derogatory comment about Curley, suggesting he's a coward:

You’re yella as a frog belly. 

Later in that chapter, Lennie, under George's direction, goes after Curley, who has been mercilessly punching the big man. Lennie grabs Curley's hand and Steinbeck uses a simile to show the action:

The next minute Curley was flopping like a fish on a line, and his closed fist was lost in Lennie’s big hand. 

In chapter five, Steinbeck again uses the fish comparison when Lennie is accidentally killing Curley's wife:

“Don’t you go yellin’,” he said, and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish.

In chapter six, Steinbeck uses a simile in his description of the setting. The chapter takes the reader back to the area near the Salinas River which was also the setting of the first chapter. Steinbeck writes:

A far rush of wind sounded and a gust drove through the tops of the trees like a wave. 

Finally, Steinbeck once more emphasizes the animal imagery when depicting Lennie:

Suddenly Lennie appeared out of the brush, and he came as silently as a creeping bear moves. 

In the short story "A Rose For Emily," does the fact that Emily is a woman factor into the lonely aspect?

In my opinion, the fact that Miss Emily is a female is a major factor in her loneliness. This is because of the nature of the society in which she has been raised.  She has been raised to be a Southern belle, by a dominating father.  This means that her father was expected to approve or disapprove any suitors, choose with whom she could associate, and see to it that she was educated in a way that promoted her loneliness.

A male raised in this time and place would be more likely to choose his own mate. But Miss Emily's father disapproved of all the suitors who presented themselves, thus assuring that Miss Emily did not marry beneath her, but stayed at home instead, caring for her father, and living a lonely life.

Because the Grierson family was the wealthiest in town, the ruling class, really, Miss Emily was raised to avoid any association with the townspeople, who were not up to par socially.  A male would have had the freedom to associate with anyone, perhaps not inviting townspeople to dinner, but certainly having the wherewithal to come and go and befriend others outside the house. Males were accorded a great deal more latitude than females in setting.

We can infer that Miss Emily's education prepared her only to be a suitable wife for a wealthy man. It did not prepare her to get a job, which would have allowed her a whole new world of relationships.  A male would have been educated for employment, I would say, so he would have worked at something and been far less lonely.

This story could never have realistically played out the way it did if Emily had been a son instead of a daughter. It was only Miss Emily, the Southern belle, who could have been subjected to these conditions, conditions that caused her a lonely life and a lonely death. 

Margaret Whitman is an American business executive. What makes her the exemplar of good leadership?

Margaret "Meg" Whitman is an exemplar of good leadership, due in no small part, no doubt, to her exemplar education, having graduated from both Princeton University and Harvard Business School, where she was exposed to a variety of success stories from the business world and where she learned the principles and methodologies that have been proven to help executives excel. That academic background, however, can only partially account for her success. Many similarly well-educated business executives have failed in their professional endeavors or have simply failed to attain the levels of corporate leadership attained by Whitman.

The information technology sector was developed and largely led by men, so Whitman, in addition to the ordinary challenges facing prospective top-tier executives, had to confront social and cultural obstacles along the way. Overcoming such obstacles does not always sufficiently sensitize all women to the obstacles those following in their path confront, but Whitman is sufficiently wise, as well as intelligent, to understand and appreciate principles of leadership that encourage camaraderie, innovativeness, and the courage to challenge accepted norms. On the specific issue of gender and the problems unique to women executives, Whitman has been quoted as stating,

"I was just focused on how can I lead this young company (referring to eBay) the most effective way I can, and you know what I also over my career thought about is--you know there are lots of things I can change but my gender is not one them . . . I have to lead according to my personality, according to what I think is necessary under any set of circumstances."

Whitman's leadership style, her openness to change, her appreciation for the academic and professional challenges facing all prospective business executives, and her appreciation, in her own words, for the opportunities that this country offers irrespective of gender have all contributed to her success as an executive and as a leader.

What is a quote that shows Matt using dialect in Gathering Blue?

Lowry creates an interesting dialect for Matt. The people of the village, including Vandara and Kira, speak with typical grammar, although they use words unique to their society, such as cott and tyke. The people who live in the Fen, a slum-like area on the other side of the river from the village, speak with a dialect that uses different verb forms, uses pronouns differently, and adds endings to some nouns. Here are some examples:

"Here, I brung these."

Matt uses a different verb form for "brought."

"What this be called?"

Matt uses a different state-of-being verb than one would normally use. Annabella also had this way of speaking when she said, "There be no beasts." Thomas recognizes that as Fen dialect. 

"Me and Branch can wait."

Matt uses the objective form of the pronoun in the subject spot. "He. . . stab hisself through the heart" also shows a change of pronoun usage. 

Matt's dialect often adds "ie" to the end of nouns. Words like "buggie" for bug, "smearies" for smears, and "giftie" for gift show this aspect of Matt's dialect. 

Changes in verb and pronoun use and endings on nouns are some of the patterns one can see in Matt's dialect.

CH3CH2CH3, CH3CH2CH2OH, CH3CH2OCH3 List them in order from highest to lowest in terms of boiling points and highest to lowest terms of their...

We are given three chemical compounds: propane (an alkane), propanol (an alcohol) and ethyl methyl ether (an ether). Among these three, the order of boiling point is:

Boiling Point: Propanol > Ethyl methyl ether > Propane

The boiling point of alcohol is more than that of ether and the alkane due to the presence of hydrogen bonds, which results in higher intermolecular attractions in the propanol molecule. Ethers have dipole-dipole interactions, which are weaker than hydrogen bonds and hence have lesser boiling points than comparable alcohols. In the case of alkanes, there are no hydrogen bonds or dipole-dipole interactions and giving them the weakest bonds and thus, the lowest boiling points.

The order of polarity is the same as the order of boiling point. Since polar compounds dissolve in polar solvents, the order of solubility in the polar solvents is:

Propanol > Ethyl methyl ether > Propane

Alkanes and ethers are non-polar and practically insoluble in water (a polar solvent). Alcohols, in comparison, are readily soluble in water.

Hope this helps. 

How does war affect a country's political development?

War often has a profound effect on a nation's political development. Obviously this is the case when a country loses a war--this usually leads to regime change, either imposed from the outside or from within. When Germany surrendered at the end of World War I, for example, the Kaiser abdicated his throne, and his government was replaced by a republic. Sometimes a nation's participation in a war can lead to political turmoil. The United States during the Vietnam era is one example of this. In Russia, participation in World War I helped create the political atmosphere that led to a series of revolutions and civil war that toppled the tsar and established a communist government. Sometimes wars can lead to what we can call positive social and political change. Many historians have pointed out that World War I created momentum for women's suffrage in Great Britain and the United States. Similarly, some argue that World War II contributed directly to the Civil Rights Movement that emerged less than a decade after it ended. Of course, the American Civil War led directly to the emancipation of millions of enslaved people. During wartime, however, nations often engage in repressive policies that would not be pursued during peacetime. The United States Congress passed laws limiting speech critical of the government during World War I, and the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II is another infamous example of this trend. So war can affect politics in a number of ways, and perhaps the best way to generalize about its effects is to say that a nation rarely emerges from war with its political institutions unchanged.

What are some character traits for all three spirits in "A Christmas Carol"?

The spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come (future) play a major role in the story "A Christmas Carol." All three spirits visit Scrooge in his sleep with the apparent motive of making sure that Scrooge realizes the need to change his miserly, cruel way of living. While the three spirits share these motivations, they each possess unique characteristics.

The spirit of Christmas Past appears with a light coming from its head in most versions of the story. The spirit appears as an androgynous, small figure speaking in a soft voice. Though not overbearing and loud, this spirit firmly guides Scrooge to follow his lead and journey back in time to see the events of Scrooge's past.

The spirit of Christmas Present is huge, loud, and cheerful compared to the first spirit. This spirit too has a light but it comes from torch he carries. Dickens describes this spirit as genial, with sparkling eyes and a cheerful voice. This spirit guides Scrooge to see the Christmas that the Cratchits share.

Compared to the jovial spirit of Christmas Present, the spirit of Christmas Yet to Come is a dark and gloomy figure who spreads a sense of impending sadness and loneliness. He appears much more haunting and scary as he shows Scrooge what the future may bring if he does not change the way he lives his life.

How would John Rawls distribute wealth among five people? One among them is a blind person, the second is a poet, the third is politician, the...

Rawls would suggest that in order to determine how wealth should be distributed among the five citizens they would need to come to an agreement about how to distribute the wealth. The citizens would make their determinations from the standpoint of what Rawls refers to as the "original position". The idea is that the citizens would determine how to distribute the wealth prior to the formation of their society with limited information about their place in society and the place of others. Rawls calls this limitation on information the "veil of ignorance" and wants to ensure that citizens would make decisions about distribution without knowledge of facts about themselves and others such as race, disability, etc. He suggests that from this standpoint citizens would rationally agree to minimize the difference in the distribution of resources because they could be in the most disadvantaged category. Ultimately, Rawls suggests that from the standpoint of the original position rational individuals would distribute resources equally except in so far as inequalities resulted in higher resource levels for the most disadvantaged citizens.

What household task or process might Taylor describe if he were writing this poem today?

In “Huswifery,” Edward Taylor uses the activity of spinning thread on a loom as a metaphor for how he wants God to work in his life. He asks God to make him a “spinning wheel complete,” meaning that he wants God to use him to do his bidding and spread his message through his words and actions.

Obviously, spinning thread on a loom is a practice that doesn’t take place often any more, especially in the average household. To determine a household task that he might use if he were writing this poem today, you would want to think about something that could also be used as a metaphor for asking God to work through someone. The reason Taylor’s metaphor works so well is because each part of the process of spinning thread into a cloth fits with the idea of God working through someone. For example, when he says, “My conversation make to be Thy reel” he wants his words to reflect God’s will and for God to speak through him.

Simple tasks such as doing the dishes, then, might not be the best choice as the metaphor doesn’t exactly fit. You would want to think of something that involves many parts and ends in some kind of finished product, like the cloth in Taylor’s poem. One possibility could be gardening. Taylor might ask God to make him a seed that he can plant, grow, and cultivate according to his will. Another might be cooking, where each ingredient can be compared to a trait of a person’s soul, just like Taylor asks God to influence his “understanding, will,/Affections, judgement, conscience, memory.” The household task today that would make the best comparison would be one that involved great thought and care to create a product that the creator would be pleased with.

What is a physical description of Santiago from The Old Man and the Sea?

Santiago is an old man who has spent many hours on the sea trying to catch enough to make a living.  That much time in the sun and sea have taken a toll on his looks.  We first learn that, 

"The old man was thin and gaunt with deep wrinklies in the back of his neck." (pg 9) 

Because he was out in the sun so much, he was exposed to skin cancer.  People, however, were not as concerned about it in 1952 as we are today.  However, Hemingway appeared to be aware of it.  He says, 

"The brown blotches of the benevolent skin cancer the sun brings from its reflection on the tropic sea were on his cheeks.  The blotches ran well down the sides of his face and his hands had the deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords. (pg 10)

It is interesting that Hemingway describes the skin cancer as "benevolent" or kind. Much of his physical description as it is given in the book is due to Santiago's occupation.  Sun and sea weather the skin and increase the amount of wrinkles.  The sun causes brown blotches. However, there is one thing the sun did not damage. 

"Everything about him was old except his eyes, and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated." (pg 10)

What is Prince Prospero's fate in The Masque of the Red Death?

Prince Prospero decides to respond to the frightening epidemic of the Red Death sweeping through the kingdom by holding a lavish masquerade ball and inviting the wealthiest inhabitants of the region. One of the guests is cloaked and masked as the Grim Reaper. This angers Prince Prospero, who wanted his ball to be a festive occasion. This mysterious guest causes discomfort and a vague feeling of horror among the guests.

The Prince had arranged for seven chambers of his palace to be decorated in rich colors, with draperies and furnishings matching the singular wall colors, with the last chamber of the seven being two colors: black walls and draperies with blood red windows. This last room gave the guests a chilling feeling of dread and many of them cannot even enter it without feeling unwell. It is in this last chamber where Prince Proposer meets his demise.

This occurs after he pursues the mysterious cloaked and masked figure. He finally corners him in that seventh chamber and raises a dagger; but then the prince collapses and dies. The guests learn the the mysterious figure does not even exist under the cloak and mask, and they too collapse and die, all consumed by the Red Death which Prince Prospero had hoped to shelter them all from.

What GCSEs would I need to become a makeup artist?

For those on the site who aren’t from the UK, GCSEs refer to General Certificates of Secondary Education, which are the main qualifications taken by students leaving secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Makeup artists need to be flexible, able to create the specific look their client wants for any occasion. You could choose to specialize in everyday makeup, fancy dress, or on makeup for the cinema, which would require knowledge of prosthetics, etc. Tasks you might encounter in your daily work could include researching styles for a particular job, keeping current with popular styles, styling hair, applying makeup or special effects, and keeping work areas clean. If you’re operating independently, you might even want financial planning skills to keep your records straight.

Most universities offer degrees in make-up or related subjects. The UK government recommends five GSCEs (A-C), including maths, English and science, plus three additional A levels. Different universities will have different entry requirements, though, so check with the specific places you want to go.

The .gov.uk link below has some more helpful information on becoming a makeup artist and applying to university programs.

Explain the "good life" as reflected in Bhutanese and American culture.

What an interesting question! The good life as reflected in Bhutanese and American culture has been greatly influenced by changing political and socio-economic climates.

Happiness itself has had its own unique definitions throughout American history. After the two major world wars, for example, Baby Boomers led the way in contributing to an unprecedented rise in American marriage and birth rates. Those who had postponed marriage during the Great Depression and World War II were now eager to start new families. Rising investment in infrastructure aided the new paradigm; after the war, these new investments  led to massive increases in employment opportunities in American cities. Soon, happiness and the good life came to be defined in terms of the white picket fence (a house), a good job, a wife, two kids, and perhaps, a family dog or two.

As time has progressed, the good life in America has been further redefined. Consumerism, supported by the rise in American industrial and technological achievement, soon became the new definition of success. However, as Americans eventually discovered, material success has very little to do with happiness and the good life.

With full knowledge of the need to redefine success and the good life, Jigmi Thinley (Bhutan's prime minister from 2008 to 2013), originated the Gross National Happiness (GNH) Index as a function of four pillars:

1) Sustainable and equitable socio-economic development.

2) Conservation of the environment.

3) Preservation and promotion of national culture.

4) Good governance.

Jigmi Thinley's premise for the Gross National Happiness Index is that the pursuit of happiness that promotes the greater good is the most sustainable form of good living. For more, please refer to Jigmi Thinley's report on the GNH index to the United Nations. From this stance, the role of the government is to promote the necessary economic and social conditions that will support this definition of the good life. The Bhutanese GNH Index has so captured the American imagination that it has fostered the emergence of the happiness movement in many states. Maryland and Vermont have both instituted the Genuine Progress Indicator as a way to measure happiness and contentment:

In the United States, the states of Maryland and Vermont are using the Genuine Progress Indicator to measure happiness. They are factoring in the benefits of volunteer time, housework, educational achievements, and functional highways and streets while subtracting things like crime and the depletion of nonrenewable energy sources. By measuring these and other factors, a more complete picture emerges of real well-being. (A Brief History of Happiness).

Presently, the good life in America has come to be defined in terms of financial well-being and health. The happiest states in America today also report the lowest rates of unemployment and the highest rates of physical well-being. Read about America's happiest and most miserable states.

In adapting to the needs of the modern age, Bhutan's newest prime minister, Tshering Tobgay, has further redefined the meaning of the good life. Interestingly, he has abandoned the Gross National Happiness measure for what he considers are more pragmatic indicators of success. His stance is to work to reduce the 'obstacles to happiness.' To that end, he is working to tackle Bhutan's high unemployment rates, soaring national debt, and political corruption. Read all about Prime Minister Tobgay's efforts in the New York Times article here.

So, the good life as reflected in Bhutanese and American culture can and does change with the evolving needs of each emerging era. However, the basic definition of the good life has remained consistent throughout time and across cultures: from continent to continent, human beings desire economic and political stability as well as peace on their shores.

What are some repeated images or phrases in Macbeth and how do they affect Macbeth?

There are many, many different motifs throughout the play that represent important thematic elements within the story.  The most prominent references are to sleep, masculinity, blood and hands (birds also play an important but subtle role as well).  In the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth uses references to masculinity to suggest both violence in herself and others but also as a tool for manipulating Macbeth.  Macbeth in turn also uses references to masculinity throughout the remainder of the play in order to suggest that he is in control of the situation such as when Banquo's ghost appears in Act 3.  When Macbeth regains control of himself at the dinner table he states "I am a man again."  These references clearly play a large role in motivating Macbeth to commit the murder of Duncan and also continue to fuel his madness later in the play.  References to blood and sleep play a huge role in signifying guilt throughout the play after Macbeth commits the first murder.  For example, when Macbeth commits the murder he believes that someone in the adjacent chamber yells out "Macbeth shall sleep no more."  This motif is continued into Act 3 when Lady Macbeth yells at Macbeth that he must sleep in order to regain his sanity.  Finally, as Macbeth grapples with the murders that he has committed he continuously references blood over and over again throughout the remainder of the play.  At first he imagines a bloody dagger at the end of Act 1, then he talks about Neptune's great sea not being able to wash the blood from his hands in Act 2, and finally in scene 3 he speaks about being "steeped in blood" so far that he cannot possibly wade out of it.  This image of being covered in blood signifies Macbeth's deep guilt for the murders he has committed and also demonstrates that Macbeth slowly descends into madness.  

A car of mass 800 kg is at rest. The engine exerts a resultant force of 2000 N for a distance of 5 m. a) What is then the car's kinetic energy?...

a) This question involves the work-energy theorem, which states that the work of the external forces acting on a system equals the change of the kinetic energy of the system.

In this case, the external force is the force produced by the engine (even though the engine is of course inside the car, there are outside sources, such as an electric battery, that produced the force). The work of this force over the distance of five meters, assuming that the car moves in a straight line, will be

`W=F*d = 2000 N * 5 m = 10,000 J` (Joules.)

Then, the change in the car's kinetic energy is

`Delta K = K_f - K_i = 10,000` J.

Since initially the car is at rest, `K_i = 0` and then `K_f = W = 10,000 J` .

The car's kinetic energy at the end of 5 meters is 10,000 Joules.

b) The formula for kinetic energy is

`K = mv^2/2` , where m is the mass of the car and v is the speed of the car. Since we have found the kinetic energy, we can find the speed:

`v = sqrt((2K)/m) = sqrt((2*10,000)/800) = 5 m/s`

The speed of the car at the end of 5 meters is 5 m/s.

What is the main theme in Act 1, scene 3 of Romeo and Juliet?

The theme is marriage. More specifically, Juliet's marriage to the county Paris. At the beginning of the scene lady Capulet asks the nurse to summon Juliet to her chamber since she wishes to speak to her.

When Juliet arrives, her mother states:

Marry, that 'marry' is the very theme
I came to talk of. Tell me, daughter Juliet,
How stands your disposition to be married?

Juliet is fourteen and her mother wishes to know what she thinks of being wed. Juliet's answer is quite direct.

It is an honour that I dream not of.

Juliet's sarcasm is quite evident. She does not favour the idea at all. In an attempt to persuade Juliet to think differently, her mother uses two fallacies. Firstly, she uses an appeal to popular opinion:

... younger than you,
Here in Verona, ladies of esteem,
Are made already mothers:

In this, she asks that Juliet reconsider her point of view since many ladies of high rank and credibility, younger than Juliet, have already had children, obviously because they were married. Her second fallacy is an appeal to authority:

... by my count,
I was your mother much upon these years
That you are now a maid.

The point here is that as she was already a mother (and, therefore, married) for a time before she had even reached Juliet's age, she should therefore consider doing the same. Since she is her parent, Juliet should respect her authority and advice. Lady Capulet then informs Juliet that Paris had asked for her hand in marriage.

Lady Capulet and the nurse sing Paris's praises and paint a very attractive picture of the young man. He is good-looking and wealthy. Juliet will only benefit if she should become his bride.

Lady Capulet wishes to know from Juliet if she will be accommodating and consider Paris's proposal. Juliet replies as follows:

I'll look to like, if looking liking move:
But no more deep will I endart mine eye
Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.

Juliet is quite ambiguous in her response and says that she will look at Paris if her so looking will make her like what she sees or if the act of looking will please her mother. She, however, enedeavours not to look too deeply and will observe Paris for just as much as her mother permits her to.

In a parting remark, Lady Capulet reminds Juliet that the county Paris is waiting for her response and that she should keep him in her thoughts.

Juliet, the county stays.

What is Cleon's influence in The Wasps?

Cleon (ca. 475-422 B.C.) was an important historical figure in classical Athens.  He served as  an Athenian general during the Peloponnesian Wars and was distinguished by a strongly populist bent, including advocacy for the urban middle classes and newly rich (merchants and artisans) in opposition to the hereditary aristocracy and rural residents. Most of our historical knowledge of him, unfortunately, is from works by Thucydides and Aristophanes who strongly disliked him. Aristophanes, in particular, associates (probably accurately) the anti-aristocratic party of Cleon with hatred of Sparta (which was an aristocratic society); Cleon in particular is associated with warmongering and extremism, such as advocacy of killing all the men and enslaving all the women and children of Mytilene, a small state allied to Athens that wished to remain neutral in the war. 

The Wasps is a direct attack on an aspect of Cleon's political activities. The courts, with their citizen juries, were often associated with the democratic "rabble" in Athens. Cleon's associates were particularly notorious in using lawsuits or threats of lawsuits, often on vague or weak charges, to take down their political opponents. The character of Philocleon (lover of Cleon), combining a love of the courts and complete lack of social graces, is intended as a direct critique of the followers of Cleon, whom Aristophanes is portraying as in love with lawsuits for their own sake, and lacking human kindness and generosity, as well as only manipulating the "demos" (non-aristocrats) to advance their own agenda rather genuinely caring about the poor, as we can see in this speech by Philocleon about the power he wields as a jurist:

From the moment I leave my bed, men of power, the most illustrious in the city, await me at the bar of the tribunal; the moment I am seen from the greatest distance, they come forward to offer me a gentle hand -- that has pilfered the public funds

How many times a week did the slaves have to dance in The Slave Dancer?

In the book The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox, Jessie is forced to play his fife to make the slaves dance every other day. 

After the slaves are brought onto the ship, Jessie is forced to make the slaves dance by playing his fife every other day. Although Jessie does not initially realize his purpose on the ship, he soon ascertains that he was kidnapped to make the slaves dance.  As Jessie’s thoughts reveal:

“It was to perform this service every other morning that I had been kidnapped and carried across the ocean.”

Thus, although Jessie has other tasks as well, playing his instrument for the slaves every other morning is his primary purpose. Jessie has other duties as well. For example, he kills mice, fetches items for the crew, and helps clean the ship. However, his primary role on the ship is playing his instrument to encourage the slaves to dance.

Therefore, the slaves dance every other day. Although Jessie has other responsibilities and personally does not enjoy this activity, he is forced to play his pipe to encourage the slaves to dance.

What are three character traits of Tom Walker?

Washington Irving uses both direct and indirect characterization to portray the personality traits of Tom Walker in the short story "The Devil and Tom Walker." In the second paragraph Irving comes right out and says that Tom was "meager and miserly." By "miserly," Irving means that Tom was simply greedy, which may be his most prominent character trait. In an example of indirect characterization, Irving writes that Tom's house was miserable and starved because he spent no money on it. When Tom meets the incarnation of the devil in a dark forest, he is instantly intrigued by the idea that he could get from the devil all the riches he wanted. Thus, he enters into a deal with "old scratch," agreeing to become a usurious money lender in exchange for instant wealth. Tom is so greedy that when the devil suggests he lend money at two percent a month, Tom says he will charge four percent.

Tom is also grimly determined and eager. After his wife disappears Tom is dedicated to finding the "black woodsman" and making a deal with him. Irving writes,

He sought, therefore, to cultivate a further acquaintance with him, but for some time without success; the old blacklegs played shy, for whatever people may think, he is not always to be had for calling for; he knows how to play his cards when pretty sure of his game.

Not dissuaded, Tom eventually tracks down "old scratch" and makes his deal. As he grows older, Tom also becomes determined to avoid his fate. He takes up religion and Irving reports he was a "violent church-goer" always carrying a Bible and praying loudly during church services. As he has cheated his neighbors, he seeks to do the same to the devil.

Finally, Tom is downright mean spirited. He cheats his neighbors and starves his horses. Just before he is taken away by a "black man" on a "black horse" Tom is in the middle of foreclosing on the mortgage of a supposed friend. Even though the man claims he will be ruined and needs just "a few month's indulgence," Tom is unperturbed and refuses the man's pleas. Tom suggests that he has to take care of himself and cannot be providing charity despite the man's claims that Tom has made plenty of money from the mortgage. In a fitting ending to this episode, Tom says,

"The Devil take me...if I have made a farthing."

Just then he is "whisked" off to the dark forest and never seen again.

What escapes from magma during a quiet eruption?

Magma are the molten rocks beneath Earth's surface and escape during a volcanic eruption. The eruption can be quiet or violent depending on the gas content and viscosity. Gases are trapped in the magma and may form bubbles, depending on the vapor pressure of gas and the confining pressure of the rocks. Thee gases push the magma upwards in order to escape. Generally, quiet eruptions are observed for low viscosity magma containing less gases. Violent eruptions more common for high viscosity magma that contains more gases. When the magma reaches the Earth's surface, the trapped gases escape. This situation is very similar to the gas trapped with beverages (pepsi, coke, etc.). If you shake a sealed bottle and then open it, the pressurized gases will push the liquid along with them and rush towards the opening and escape. 

Thus, gases escape from the magma during a quiet eruption.

Hope this helps. 

In Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, what is the reason for Antonio's sadness?

The play opens with Antonio speaking of his sadness, and claiming he doesn't know why he feels this way. He is with two friends, and when three other friends come along (Lorenzo, Gratiano, and Bassanio, who is Antonio's dear friend), the first two friends depart, making comments that suggest they think they are somehow less worthy of Antonio's company than the friends who have just arrived. All of the men present joke about trying to make Antonio happy but not being able.

Some productions of the play have explored the theme of homosexual love that may explain Antonio's sadness; he has an unrequited love for Bassanio, and Bassanio is in love with Portia, who he wins by taking part in a mysterious contest for her affections. Antonio understands he cannot have more than a friendship with Bassanio, but when he believes he may die at Shylock's hand, he tells Bassanio:

Commend me to your honorable wife:
Tell her the process of Antonio's end;
Say how I lov'd you, speak me fair in death;
And when the tale is told, bid her be judge
Whether Bassanio had not once a love.

The suggestion here is that the love between the two men is deep and abiding, the source of their strong friendship, but Antonio suggests there is romantic love as well, by using the term "a love" to refer to himself, as opposed to a friend. 

How does Golding use characterization to present the theme of power in Lord of the Flies?

Golding uses characterization several ways to present the theme of power in this novel.

The first way he does this is through selecting characters who are themselves, but who also symbolize different positions in the debate.

Ralph represents the forces of civilization, restraint, and order. He's the son of a navy officer, and tries to convince the boys to keep a fire going, both as a symbol of civilization and to signal rescue.

Jack leads the other group of boys. Jack embraces the wildness of the island, and seizes power through violence and ritual. The novel essentially sets up a choice here: you can take the quick and easy route to power (like the dark side of the force in Star Wars) or be responsible and civilized.

The character of Piggy also plays a role in dramatizing the theme of power. Piggy's essentially an intellectual, not a leader. He's made fun of and his glasses are broken before he is killed. These actions show that in a struggle for power, the rational mind is diminished, blinded, and killed.

What experiences and circumstances from Cofer’s life are echoed in Elena’s life? Explain.

Judith Ortiz Cofer was born in 1952 and moved from Puerto Rico with her family when she was a toddler. Her family actually did live in El Building in Paterson, New Jersey just like her main character, Elena, in her short story "American History." Cofer knows first-hand what life as an immigrant is like. She says that her father encountered many types of discrimination, but that finding a place where other Puerto Ricans lived also helped him to keep on going.

El Building itself, Cofer says, had very thin walls and she could hear her neighbors arguing in Spanish, smell their rice and red kidney beans cooking, and hear their salsa music blasting down the hallways and out through the windows. Many of these same descriptions are in the story as well:

"El Building was like a monstrous jukebox, blasting out salsas from open windows as the residents, mostly new immigrants just up from the island, tried to drown out whatever they were currently enduring with loud music" (Lines 8-10).

The lifestyle and housing were not rich, but they were rich in culture and found strength as a community. The social and political circumstances of the time made it difficult to deal with prejudiced people when they encountered them for Cofer's family as well as Elena's. Cofer says that she doesn't consider herself a political writer, but that her characters experienced those realities. Of "American History" Cofer says the following:

"The story doesn't end with a speech on prejudice but with the heartbreak of a girl still unable to comprehend that it all comes together and affects her life" (Elements of Literature, Third Course, 572).

What was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's purpose in having Sherlock Holmes describe the methods of transportation that Helen Stoner used to reach his...

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle frequently has Sherlock Holmes make deductions about his clients in the opening scenes of his stories. Typically, the visitor is astonished by what seems like psychic powers, and then Holmes explains what he observed and what he deduced from those observations. Here is an example from "The Red-Headed League."

“Beyond the obvious facts that he has at some time done manual labour, that he takes snuff, that he is a Freemason, that he has been in China, and that he has done a considerable amount of writing lately, I can deduce nothing else.”

“How, in the name of good-fortune, did you know all that, Mr. Holmes?” he asked.

Holmes then goes on to explain each of his deductions with the exception of the snuff-taking, which the reader will assume is obvious from the quantity of snuff on Jabez Wilson's waistcoat.

Doyle's main reason for having Holmes make these apparently gratuitous observations in so many of his stories is partly to demonstrate his detective's keen deductive powers. They show that Holmes is always on the alert, always observing, always making deductions from force of habit. Sometimes Holmes' deductions will convey useful information to the reader. For instance, the fact that Wilson has spent some time in China helps to explain why an unusual event like the foundation of the Red-Headed League might have occurred without his having heard about it. Wilson explains that he was a ship's carpenter, which means he was out of the country for years. When his new assistant told him all about the wealthy American who founded the Red-Headed League, Wilson would naturally assume that he had never heard about it because he was far away from England when it happened.

Like Jabez Wilson in "The Red-Headed League," Helen Stoner in "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is astonished when Holmes describes the methods of transportation she used to get to 221B Baker Street. And, characteristically, Holmes explains his observations and deductions. This characterizes Holmes as keenly observant and highly intelligent. He doesn't miss a thing. It also serves to help the reader form a mental picture of the setting in which the story takes place. It extends from Baker Street to Stoke Moran on the western border of Surrey, from the crowded city to the sparsely populated countryside. The reader has to be given some idea of how a timid and sheltered Victorian maiden could travel to London so easily and so quickly. She can take a dog cart from the nearby Crown Inn to Leatherhead Station and get off at Waterloo Station, where she would take a cab to Baker Street. Doyle makes this exposition interesting through the dialogue, deductions, and explanations. 

So Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's purpose in having Sherlock Holmes describe the methods of transportation that Helen Stoner used to reach his residence in "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is to characterize the great detective and to convey some pertinent information to the reader in dramatic dialogue rather than in straight prose exposition. The interchange also helps the reader to visualize Helen Stoner and to become better acquainted with this extremely important character whose plight is central to the entire story.

What are some hero traits that Atticus Finch represents from the book "To Kill A Mockingbird"

Atticus Finch has many, many qualities that heroes usually have. Here are just a handful:

Integrity: Atticus takes on Tom Robinson's case when no one else will. It is a case he knows he will lose, but he also knows Tom is innocent and that he deserves as fair of a trial and defense as can be given. This episode alone shows what type of strong moral character Atticus has.

Bravery: Despite the risks that come with representing Tom Robinson, Atticus takes the case anyway. He is threatened outside of the jail by a mob ready to hurt Tom, and he even expects that his children might face some harsh criticism at school for his choice to represent Tom. Even so, he takes this case and he physically goes to the jail to prevent Tom from being hurt (brave!) and he encourages his children not to listen to any of the back-talk they might hear, which encourages them to be brave as well. 

Compassion: Atticus demonstrates this many times over in the book, but one clear example is when he allows the Cunnighams, and other families, to pay him in the form of food. This shows compassion for their dire financial situation in two ways: he is willing to provide them services knowing they cannot pay him with money and he is wiling to accept alternate forms of payment. It would have been easy to simply not help them, but that is not who Atticus is. He has compassion and feels everyone deserves to be treated as people - even those who are down on their luck.

Wisdom: In the beginning of the book Atticus tells Scout that being able to see something from someone else's perspective is a valuable thing. This shows that he is not biased, he understands that everyones' experiences are valid, and that his own perspective is not the only one to take into consideration. This shows wisdom because he recognizes that he is only one small part of a whole.

What is the relationship between atoms, elements, molecules, compounds, mixtures, and the periodic table?

Atoms, elements, molecules, compounds, and mixtures are all forms of matter. Matter is defined as anything that has mass and volume.

Atoms, elements, molecules, and compounds are all pure substances. A pure substance is made of only one type of particle. This contrasts mixtures, which are made of more than one pure substance that do not chemically combine.

An atom is the smallest unit of matter. An element is simply a type of atom that has a specific number of protons. The periodic table is a chart that displays all of the different known elements.

Compounds and molecules are composed of more than one atom. The atoms of compounds or molecules are chemically bound via either ionic, covalent, or metallic bonds. Molecules are composed of two or more atoms. Compounds consist of two or more atoms of different elements. Therefore, compounds are molecules. However, not all molecules are compounds.  

Where does Mr. Utterson live in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

Mr. Utterson, Dr. Henry Jekyll's lawyer, lives in London, England, in a "bachelor house" of his own. He must live relatively close to Mr. Edward Hyde's residence because, on one of his Sunday walks with his kinsman, Mr. Richard Enfield, they pass his home, which Enfield refers to as the "Black Mail House." Enfield knows that it is Hyde's home because he's seen this man use a key to get in. However, he recounts a story wherein Hyde essentially trampled on a young girl, and when pressed to offer the family some financial remuneration, he went into the house and returned with a check written out by Dr. Jekyll. Thus, Enfield comes to the conclusion that this horrid little man must have some dirt on Jekyll from his younger days that he is using to blackmail the good doctor.

Utterson also appears to live pretty close to Dr. Lanyon, another of Dr. Jekyll's oldest friends, because, on foot, he sets "forth in the direction of Cavendish Square" to ask Lanyon about Jekyll's relationship to Hyde. Cavendish Square is in London's West End.

After Mr. Radley died, what changes were made to the Radley place in To Kill a Mockingbird?

At the time of Mr. Radley's death, there were some "wooden sawhorses [that] blocked the road at each end of the Radley lot, straw was put down on the sidewalk, traffic was diverted to the back street" (12). After Mr. Radley's body was brought out of the house, the sawhorses and straw were removed. The only other change that was made was Boo's guardian. Mr. Nathan Radley left whatever he was doing down in Pensacola to come up and stay with his younger brother in the house. Scout says the following about Nathan Radley:

"The only difference between him and his father was their ages. . . Mr. Nathan would speak to us, however, when we said good morning, and sometimes we saw him coming from town with a magazine in his hand" (12).

People thought that maybe with the change of guards that Boo Radley would come out more. The rumor around town was that Boo's father may have chained him to the bed or left him in the basement because of how mean he was. But when his brother took over, nothing changed and Boo stayed in his house. Therefore, no changes to the structure of the house were made and nothing changed as far as Boo's behavior when Nathan Radley took over.

"The old house was the same, droopy and sick, but as we stared won the street we thought we saw an inside shutter move. Flick. A tiny, almost invisible movement, and the house was still" (15).

With reference to the story "The Kabuliwala" written by Rabindranath Tagore, discuss how the Kabuliwala's fatherly affection cements the...

The Kabuliwala hails from Afghanistan and in the Indian city of Calcutta (now Kolkata) he sells fruits going house to house. His family including his little daughter is in Afghanistan. Mini is the narrator’s daughter who must be of the same age as the Kabuliwala's daughter. In Mini, the fruit seller sees the image of her own daughter.

Hundreds of miles away from his own daughter, he grows a fondness for the little Mini. Regularly he visits her house and every time he brings her almonds, nuts and raisins. He never accepts the money offered to him by the narrator.

Mini too enjoys the Kabuliwala's company a lot. He will tell her jokes, exchang witticism and behave childishly in order to please her and make her laugh. She was no more afraid of the tall Afghan street trader rather considered him as a loving friend.     

Away from his own daughter, the Kabuliwala pours out his fatherly affection on Mini.  

But she is a small girl. Soon after the Kabuliwala is imprisoned, she almost forgets him and busies herself in the company of her friends. On the other hand, the Kabuliwala, a sensitive and tender-hearted man, misses both, her daughter and Mini, in the jail.

After a few years when he is released, he immediately rushes to the narrator’s house to see Mini. That she is going to get married surprises him. He has never imagined Mini would have grown up so fast. It reminds him of his own daughter. She too must have grown big, matured enough to get married.

Though the Kabuliwala and Mini are not blood relations, the bond of love between them is quite deep and strong. Very subtly, the story demonstrates how a man away from his own daughter grows a deep attachment to a little girl, who is just a stranger.

What physical changes took place in the Ghost of Christmas Present from when he first appears in the story to when he leaves?

In A Christmas Carol, the Ghost of Christmas Present comes to visit Scrooge in the third chapter. Physically, he is described as the very essence of Christmas: he wears a green robe, trimmed with white fur and a holly wreath on his head which was set with "shining icicles." He appears young and carefree, too: his "dark, brown curls hung loose and free," he has a "genial face", a "sparkling eye" and his feet and chest are bare. 

As he approaches the end of his visit, however, the Ghost of Christmas Present is much changed. Dickens says that he has "grown older, clearly older," and his hair has turned grey. Dickens does not, however, provide us with any additional details. 

These physical changes in the Ghost of Christmas Present not only signal the end of this chapter of the book but also the end of Scrooge's old life and the beginning of a new one. In this way, then, Dickens uses these physical changes to portray the theme of transformation. Through his experience with the ghosts, Scrooge begins to see the error of his miserly and misanthropic ways and is transformed as he begins to embrace a new way of thinking. Christmas is no longer an ordinary day but an opportunity for festivities and frivolities, as the physical presence of the Ghost of Christmas Past so strongly reminds him. 

What are John's special differences?

John explains how he is "special" in the very beginning of the story.  

First, John is the son of a priest.  By itself that is meaningless.  John has brothers, and they are not special.  But being the son of a priest means that John has the potential to be greater than other members of his society.

In the second and third paragraphs, John tells his readers that he went with his father to one of the Dead Places.  John was scared, but did not flee.  Next, his dad came out with a piece of metal.  People are not supposed to touch metal from the Dead Places, but John's dad hands him the metal.  John takes the piece of metal and does not die.  Now John can become a full priest.  

He gave me the metal to hold—I took it and did not die. So he knew that I was truly his son and would be a priest in my time.

So John's special difference is that he is the son of a priest and didn't die when he touched metal.

Once he begins priestly training, John is granted special privileges.  He is allowed to visit the Dead Places.  He is taught to read and write.  He gets the best food and the best sleeping spots closest to the fire.  

After that, they gave me the good piece of meat and the warm corner of the fire.

John is also taught basic first aid techniques, which members of his society think are special and magic.  

I was taught the chants and the spells—l was taught how to stop the running of blood from a wound and many secrets. A priest must know many secrets—that was what my father said. If the hunters think we do all things by chants and spells, they may believe so—it does not hurt them.

How would you describe the band members, the way they treat Bud? Use text evidence from Chapter 16.

In Chapter 16, Bud is initiated into band life. He gets to experience band camaraderie first hand when the band members decide to get him acquainted with band rules and christian him with a band-friendly nick-name.

To start, Miss Thomas, the band's singer, tells Bud that the band has decided to keep him with them for the time being. Bud is so happy that he can't help smiling widely at the news. However, Miss Thomas warns him that he has to pull his own weight by helping out with the chores if he's going to be part of the band. Mr. Jimmy also says that a good rule of thumb is to practice two hours a day.

Steady Eddie gives Bud his old saxophone case because Bud's own case appears to be in bad condition; later he also gives Bud a recorder so that he can practice on it. When Bud proudly announces to the rest of the band that he is now a member of the group, several members like Dirty Deed welcomes him kindly. Eventually, a band member,The Thug, tells everyone that it's time they give Bud a band name.

At this announcement, Miss Thomas leaves the room, as she says that the naming process is a 'mysterious and special' masculine enterprise she has no interest in intruding upon. After she leaves, Bud notices that the atmosphere becomes serious and sort of like being at school. Band members raise their hands when they wish to speak or to offer suggestions for Bud's new name. Meanwhile, Mr. Jimmy, the senior musician, presides over the naming process.

The first one to offer a suggestion is The Thug, who suggests the name Waterworks Willy. However, Mr. Jimmy shuts him down, saying that he is out of line for suggesting such a name. The next speaker is Steady Eddie, who proposes that they name Bud, Sleepy, because he seems to sleep a lot. Dirty Deed draws attention to how slim Bud is, and Doo-Doo Bug suggests the name, Bone. Upon hearing this, Steady Eddie says that the name isn't classy enough. Eventually, everyone compromises and they name Bud, Sleepy La Bone, because it has a French twist to it. The band members think that this lends the nick-name a classy character.

Overall, the band members treat Bud respectfully and kindly. They make him feel welcomed and included by giving him a band nick-name. Bud thinks that the trendy nick-name is just the sort of name to inspire anyone to practice four hours a day in order to live up to the designation.

What was the medieval Church's role in the economy?

As was true with seemingly every other phase of life during the Middle Ages, the Medieval Church played a significant role in the economy. After Pope Urban II urged Europeans to recapture Jerusalem from the Muslims in 1095, significant economic change came to Europe over the course of the next two centuries.

Wealthy Europeans were required to spend large sums of money on these expensive crusades. Those in the noble class funded these crusades through selling property and taking loans. This eventually resulted in a redistribution of wealth in Europe that created a middle-class that wasn't previously in existence.

This wealth redistribution also created a new group of extremely poor people. Though the government attempted to ban the poor from public places, the Catholic Church stepped in and asserted that even the poor should receive basic needs and provided to many free food and shelter.

How did Sylvia change after the lesson by Miss Moore?

In the beginning of Toni Cade Bambara’s short story “The Lesson,” Sylvia is an irreverent, pre-adolescent who is the product of her environment. Her use of colloquialisms and uncouth actions define her personality traits. In her opinion, at the time Miss Moore moved to the neighborhood, she and Sugar were the only ones who were “perfect.” In her eyes, everyone else is flawed, which makes them laughable. She lives in a section of Harlem where many of the people are related. There is little aspiration for a different life, and Sylvia sees no point in changing things.

The parents are happy to release their children to Miss Moore for summer lessons. Miss Moore is educated and worldly in comparison to the others in the neighborhood. Sylvia does not want to be bothered with Miss Moore’s summer lessons and unwillingly participates in the short field trip to Manhattan. Although it is a quick taxi ride to Manhattan, it is a world away from Sylvia’s neighborhood. Miss Moore is wise enough to let the children learn life’s lessons independently when she takes them to the upscale toy store F.A.O. Schwartz.

After Sylvia’s visit to Manhattan and F.A.O. Schwartz, she is introspective. Her cousin is happy to be back in their neighborhood. She challenges Sylvia to race to the store for treats, but Sylvia says Sugar can run ahead because she needs to be alone to ponder the events of the day. Realizing that there is more to life, she says that she will not be beaten down by anything.

Lincoln wanted to prevent Maryland from seceding because what would happen?

Washington, D.C. is our nation’s capital. It was created when Maryland and Virginia donated land as part of the compromise to deal with our nation’s debt. Since Maryland and Virginia were considered part of the South, there could be issues if the country ever split along regional lines.

When Virginia decided to secede from the Union, President Lincoln knew there could be an issue with our capital. Since Maryland had slaves, there was a very good possibility that Maryland could secede from the Union. If Maryland seceded from the Union, our capital would be cut off from the Union. It would have been located in the Confederacy. As a result, President Lincoln had to be sure Maryland stayed in the Union.

To prevent the Maryland legislature from voting to secede, President Lincoln ordered the arrest of those legislators that supported secession. This prevented Maryland from seceding. By keeping Maryland in the Union as a border state, our capital wouldn’t be cut off from the Union.

What is a simile that describes Calpurnia from To Kill A Mockingbird?

I’m not sure if you are asking for an original simile that describes Calpurnia or how Scout describes her in the book.  So, I’ll help you out with both!  In the novel, Scout describes Calpurnia as,

“She was all angles and bones; she was nearsighted; she squinted; her hand was wide as a bed slat and twice as hard.  She was always ordering me out of the kitchen, asking me why I couldn’t behave as well as Jem when she knew he was older, and calling me home when I wasn’t ready to come.  Our battles were epic and one-sided.  Calpurnia always won, mainly because Atticus always took her side.  She had been with us ever since Jem was born, and I had felt her tyrannical presence as long as I could remember.”

In this quote, the main simile is, “her hand was wide as a bed slat and twice as hard.”  It is a simile because Harper Lee is comparing two different things—a hand to a bed slat—and that comparison uses the word, “as”.  Similes use “like” and “as” to show a comparison between two things that are not alike.

So as I think about other possible similes for Calpurnia, I’m going to use other descriptions from the quote to help me out. 

For example,

Calpurnia is as tyrannical as a Russian czar.

Calpurnia is like an army sergeant ordering new recruits.

Calpurnia is as bossy as a mother hen.

Calpurnia is like an Olympic gold medal winner whenever she fights with Scout.

Calpurnia is like a cardboard Halloween skeleton, all angles and bones.

I hope this helps!

At the end of Langston Hughes' "Thank You, M'am," Roger has the $10 he needs to buy the blue suede shoes. How could a student write dialogue...

Langston Hughes' “Thank You, M'am” is a short (very short) story, often taught in ninth-grade, about a youngster named Roger who tries to steal the purse of Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. Little does Roger know that he has picked the wrong woman to rob.

The great irony of the story is the fact that Ms. Jones actually gives Roger the money that he tries to steal from her and then sends him on his way with a little advice: “Goodnight! Behave yourself, boy!”

When writing dialogue, it is important to keep your characters' dialect in mind. A dialect is a regional or cultural variation in language. These characters' dialects are shown in the following verbal exchange:

“The woman said, 'What did you want to do it for?'

The boy said, 'I didn't aim to.'

She said, 'You a lie!'”

When you write dialogue between Roger and his friend, you should assume that they employ a similar dialect in their conversation. You don't want to make them sound like someone else.

I would also recommend that you include some sort of reference by Roger about something important that happened other than the fact that Mrs. Jones gave him the $10. Maybe the fact that she fed him or made him wash up. That would show more about the impact that she had on him in their brief encounter.

"An if he will come to me" doesn't make sense to me. I understand that "an if" means "if," but the whole phrase? Duke Senior will find Jacues a...

If it do come to pass
That any man turn ass,
Leaving his wealth and ease,
A stubborn will to please,
Ducdame, ducdame, ducdame:
Here shall he see
Gross fools as he,
An if he will come to me.

Jaques gives his own ironic and bitter parody of Amien’s song at this point in “As You Like It”. It even includes the nonsense word “ducdame” which he claims is a magic Greek word but is in fact just nonsense and designed to sound ridiculous and pretentious. He’s mocking the situation that all the lords find themselves in, including himself, out in the forest and cold (many productions set this scene in the winter) having left the “wealth and ease” of their homes to support the exiled Duke Senior. It may have been the right thing to do, but that’s literally cold comfort when you’re freezing in a tent wishing you were back beside your own fireplace. Jaques says that if anyone is a big enough ass to also leave their wealth and ease and join them the forest, he’ll find someone who is just as gross a fool as he is (“gross” here means “big”) “an if he will come to me” – that is, if he’ll come meet Jaques himself. Jaques is making fun of himself and his decision to join the other lords; this whole “roughing it” thing is not treating him terribly well and he’s beginning to long for his own bed and some comforts.

In Freak the Mighty, what is it about Max that startles Gwen when she first sees him?

Gwen, Freak's mother, is startled when she first sees Max. Max was showing Freak his room in the down under when he heard his mother calling for him. Freak decides it's about time that he heads out, so Max opens the bulkhead door for him. Gwen was looking around the backyard for freak, but she became frightened upon seeing Max. Philbrick writes, "She catches sight of [Max] coming out of the down under and it's like someone shot her. Like she's scared out of her mind" (20). 

Max watches as Gwen pulls Freak away on the wagon and understands immediately why she is afraid of him. As a way to apologize, Gwen invites Max over for dinner, and even though Max originally doesn't want to go, he ends up really enjoying himself. 

While at dinner, Gwen attempts to explain her actions by saying, "Sorry, Max. That is, I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot. It's just, you know . . ." (25). She had a hard time putting it into words, so Freak interrupted and said, "What she means is, you're a spitting image of your old man" (25). 

In other words, Gwen was startled by Max because he looks exactly like his father. Max responds to her by saying that everyone says that. At this point, Max decides that Gwen is OK - she's the first person to apologize to him and now she doesn't seem to be so uneasy around him. 

What reason does Paris give for not having spent much time courting Juliet?

The answer to this question comes at the beginning of Act IV, Scene 1, when Paris is speaking to Friar Laurence in his cell. After the Friar speaks of his distaste for Paris’s hasty marriage to Juliet, concerned because Paris does “not know the lady’s mind,” Paris gives as reason:

Immoderately she weeps for Tybalt's death,
And therefore have I little talk'd of love;
For Venus smiles not in a house of tears.
Now, sir, her father... 
...hastes our marriage,
To stop the inundation of her tears

He has not spoken to Juliet of his love because she has been in mourning after Tybalt’s death (although she secretly weeps as much for Romeo’s banishment as for the death of her cousin), and it would be improper to bring up the subject during such a time. Despite this lack of communication, Juliet’s father has scheduled their marriage for that very same week, in order to, by a union of love, stem the flow of his daughter’s tears. Thus they will be married despite Paris’s lack of courtship, in order to lessen the pain of the tragedy that has fallen upon the family. Of course, little could they know that a greater tragedy is yet to come, stemming from these very same actions.

What are the important themes in Of Mice and Men?

In my opinion there are three major themes in Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men, including the importance of friendship, the pain of loneliness, and the idea of the American Dream.

The theme of friendship is exemplified by the relationship between George and Lennie. They travel together throughout California as migrant farm workers. They've been companions ever since Lennie's Aunt Clara died. George is somewhat of a caretaker for Lennie, who is mentally challenged. The reader may also assume that, even though Lennie is often a problem, George cares for him very much. In chapter one, George describes the friendship between the two men:

“With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.” 

George ultimately shows his true friendship to Lennie by killing him in a merciful act at the end of the novel. 

The pain of loneliness pervades the novel. The reader may focus on Curley's wife and Crooks as the two loneliest characters. Curley's wife seeks companionship throughout the novel and, unfortunately, is perceived as a tramp or a tart because she often tries to talk to the men on the ranch. Her husband, Curley, is both belligerent and insensitive. The two are never pictured together in any scene until the end when the girl is dead. She talks about her loneliness in chapter five when speaking to Crooks, Candy, and Lennie. She says,

“—Sat’iday night. Ever’body out doin’ som’pin’. Ever’body! An’ what am I doin’? Standin’ here talkin’ to a bunch of bindle stiffs—a nigger an’ a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep—an’ likin’ it because they ain’t nobody else.” 

In the end, Curley's wife's loneliness and search for companionship causes her death, as she is accidentally killed by Lennie.

Because he is black, Crooks is segregated from the rest of the men and tells Lennie it is hard to live alone in his room in the barn. He wishes he had someone to talk to. Crooks says,

“A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. I tell ya,” he cried, “I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick.” 

The American Dream is also relevant in the story. Americans have always strived for freedom, and having one's own house or piece of land is an extension of that. For George and Lennie, the dream of a "little piece of land" is something they always talk about. In chapter three, George describes the dream in some detail:

“Sure, we’d have a little house an’ a room to ourself. Little fat iron stove, an’ in the winter we’d keep a fire goin’ in it. It ain’t enough land so we’d have to work too hard. Maybe six, seven hours a day. We wouldn’t have to buck no barley eleven hours a day. An’ when we put in a crop, why, we’d be there to take the crop up. We’d know what come of our planting.” 

Having overheard George's plans, Candy offers to contribute money and become a part of the dream. For a time, with the money contributed by Candy, the three men have the dream almost within their grasp. When Lennie kills Curley's wife, George realizes the dream is dead.

What is the main point of "Eveline" by James Joyce? What does Joyce do to make this point?

As usual, it's difficult to pinpoint a single "point" in any work of literature. However, if one were to talk about the point of James Joyce's "Eveline," then it would be most accurate to say that the major point of the story is to illustrate the oppression of Irish women.

In Joyce's short story, Eveline is a young, working-class woman burdened with hardship. Her mother and one brother have passed away, and her father has fallen into alcoholism. Eveline works at a shop, but her money is largely devoted to supporting her family (or at least is given over to her father). Additionally, she has had to take care of her younger siblings now that her mother is gone. Though Eveline dearly wants to escape the tedium of her existence, the only way in which she can do so is to escape with a man, Frank, who wants to marry her and take her to Buenos Aires.

In analyzing Eveline's story, a few things become apparent. First, Joyce makes it clear that women are unfairly burdened with care of the family and household work. Furthermore, a woman must rely on a man to sustain herself. Indeed, Eveline's only hope of escaping her miserable life is to rely upon Frank, which effectively robs her of any agency. As such, if there's any point to "Eveline," it's that Irish women are unfairly oppressed and disadvantaged, and have little hope of advancing themselves or gaining independence.

Briefly summarize major ideas that appeared during the Industrial Revolution.

One major idea that appeared, or at least flourished, during the Industrial Revolution was laissez-faire capitalism. Emerging during the early Industrial Revolution in Great Britain through the writings of political economists like Adam Smith, the idea was that governments could best manage business and industry within their borders by essentially leaving them alone. Smith was referring mostly to mercantilist attempts to protect business through tariffs and other means, but by the late nineteenth century, many theorists believed that the government ought to steer clear of any type of regulation of economic activity, including workplace safety regulations, anti-monopoly laws, and minimum wage legislation. Many business leaders did, however, advocate government assistance for business, including railroad subsidies. 

Another major idea that appeared was Social Darwinism. Social Darwinists applied the theories of natural selection and survivial of the fittest used to explain the evolution of species in the natural world to human relations. They argued that the industrialists who had become wealthy due to the Industrial Revolution had become so because they were better suited than others to the cutthroat world of business. They also believed that the enormous poverty that was a consequence of industrialization was a result of the laziness and lack of moral fiber (the weakness, in other words) of the poor. Attempts to help the poor, they thought, would only encourage their weakness. 

A third influential idea that emerged during the Industrial Revolution was the ideological concept of socialism. There were a wide range of socialists, ranging from Karl Marx's revolutionary socialism to the utopian socialism of Saint-Simon and Charles Fourier, but all socialists agreed that the Industrial Revolution had ushered in an ethos that was contrary to humanity. Most also believed that it created the opportunity by which people could cooperate instead of compete, and that society could be structured in a way that would allow all people to benefit from the wealth generated by industry. From the central strains of socialism came other theories, including anarchism and communism.

There were many other ideas that emerged in response to the Industrial Revolution, but these three perhaps stand out as the most significant. 

What did Martin Luther King, Jr mean when he used banking metaphors in his speech at the March on Washington?

In his speech at the March on Washington, best known for his "dream," King described the United States as having "defaulted" on a "promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned." By this King meant that the United States was founded on the promise that all men were created equal, and that everyone in the nation, including African-Americans, was entitled to equality under the law and equality of opportunity. This "promissory note" was first issued in the Declaration of Independence and reiterated in the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. But it was one that was clearly not being honored, as Jim Crow laws, discrimination in voting, and de facto segregation in American cities effectively made African-Americans second-class citizens. So when King said at the March that "we have come to...cash a check" he meant that the purpose of the Civil Rights Movement was to force the federal government, and American society as a whole, to live up to its promise of equality for all Americans. It was a powerful rhetorical turn, because it emphasized that for King, the Civil Rights Movement was not about asking for charity. It was about claiming things that all Americans were entitled to, or forcing (not requesting) the United States to honor its obligations. In the context of the march, this meant passing federal civil rights legislation.

Who is the narrator of The Pearl?

The book has a third person omniscient narrator, but often follows Kino’s perspective.

In many ways, Kino is the main character of the story.  It is Kino who finds the pearl, and Kino who is the head of the household.  Kino has a fiery temper and great ambition.  He loves his wife and son, but does not appreciate being manipulated or looked down on by townspeople like the doctor or the pearl sellers.

There are many times in the book when he see things from Kino’s perspective through the third person omniscient narrator.  This type of narrator is not a character in the story.  The narrator is all-seeing, that’s what omniscient means.  It can switch from one character to another. 

Here is a section of the book told from Kino’s perspective.

Juana's eyes were open too. Kino could never remember seeing them closed when he awakened. Her dark eyes made little reflected stars. She was looking at him as she was always looking at him when he awakened. (Ch. 1)

The beginning of the book opens with Kino’s point of view.  It is still third person, because Kino does not say “I” in the narration, but we are inside Kino’s head.  We experience his thoughts and feelings as he watches his young family in the morning and sees the scorpion attack.  Juana reacts quickly, getting rid of the poison, but Kino is so angry that all he can do is crush the bug to dust after it is already dead.

We can tell the book uses third person omniscient because narration switches often.  For example, when Kino goes to enlist the doctor’s help, we are inside the doctor's head.

The doctor had once for a short time been a part of the great world and his whole subsequent life was memory and longing for France. "That," he said, "was civilized living" - by which he meant that on a small income he had been able to enjoy some luxury and eat in restaurants. (Ch. 1)

The doctor thinks nothing of Kino and his problems.  He can’t pay, so he is worthless.  The doctor prefers to hide away in his fine house, living a luxurious life.  He is not interested in helping people who cannot afford to further his lifestyle.

What are monopolies, and did Progressives object to them?

Many progressives were not in favor of monopolies. These people believed monopolies often acted in their self-interest, not in the best interests of the country or of the common person. Progressives like Teddy Roosevelt believed it was necessary to go after monopolies that weren’t considering the needs of the public. For example, when the Northern Securities Company formed, its formation nearly led to a financial panic. There was a big stock battle for control of a railroad company. This stock battle was led by E.H. Harriman, James Hill, and J.P. Morgan. President Roosevelt was so upset these men would only think of themselves that he took them to court. The Supreme Court ruled the Northern Securities Company violated the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Part of the reason why progressives didn’t eliminate all monopolies is that they couldn’t agree on how to handle the growth of big businesses. President Roosevelt felt that monopolies were acceptable if they acted fairly. He believed the government should regulate them instead of trying to eliminate them. Other progressives like Woodrow Wilson didn’t trust monopolies at all and supported eliminating them. Another issue with eliminating monopolies is that there were too many of them. It would have taken too much time and effort to go after every monopoly. It wouldn’t have been possible for the government to do this. Additionally, some monopolies were necessary. It wouldn’t make economic sense to have competing electric companies in an area. The set-up costs for these businesses are so high, it isn’t reasonable to expect there to be multiple electric companies. For the most part, progressive presidents were able to regulate monopolies but not eliminate them. Agencies like the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Bureau of Corporations, and the Federal Trade Commission all monitored the actions of big businesses. Laws such as the Hepburn Act and the Clayton Antitrust also helped to control the actions of big businesses.

An example of a monopoly would any public utility. People in an area generally get their electric power from the only power company in a region. The government regulates these companies so they don’t charge rates that are too high. A company like We Energies is an example of a monopoly in the Milwaukee area. Some people would say the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball are examples of monopolies. There is only one professional football league in our country. The same is true for baseball and basketball. These industries are free from competition and are able to operate without much fear of competitors.

Why does Macbeth continue to murder after the initial murder?

After the initial murder (of King Duncan and his two grooms), Macbeth first turns to the witches' prophesy that Banquo's sons will be kings while he himself will wear "a fruitless crown." He's angry about this. After all, he's just committed regicide in order to become king. Why should Banquo's progeny benefit from his crime? Also, he suspects Banquo is onto him (and Banquo is, having noted that everything has worked out just as the witches predicted, but he fears that Macbeth has "played most foully for it"). He goes back to the witches for more advice, and they tell him to fear Macduff, so he decides to take care of this "threat," even though he's now convinced that nothing can kill him and he'll die as a king in his old age. Macduff suspects something is amiss, and flees to England, so Macbeth murders his wife and child in his absence; we are not told why he does this, but left to assume that it is to punish Macduff for fleeing and perhaps to frighten him into not returning. When the Battle at Dunsinane begins, he kills young Siward simply because this is the man who first accosts him in battle. 

What were Copernicus' accomplishments?

Nicolaus Copernicus was a 15-16th century astronomer and mathematician. Copernicus was a true "Renaissance man"; in addition to being proficient in mathematics and astronomy, he was fluent in multiple languages, studied and translated ancient works, practiced church law and medicine, and served as a political diplomat.

Copernicus' greatest accomplishment was his famed work, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres. In this work, Copernicus proposed a heliocentric (sun-centered) model of the universe, which contrasted with the prevailing geocentric (earth-centered) view. Unlike Galileo, Copernicus did not mandate the scientific community accept his system as truth; rather, he merely presented it as a system which could successfully account for observable physical phenomena. 

Copernicus' theory was slow to catch on, but it began to gain notoriety after Galileo asserted that the earth and the other planets revolved around the sun. This theory is credited with helping to spark the Scientific Revolution.