What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation? What were its achievements and failures?

The plan of government created by the Articles of Confederation had strengths and weaknesses. It was the weaknesses that eventually led to a movement to replace this plan of government.

The strengths of the Articles of Confederation dealt mainly with getting our country running after the Revolutionary War ended. This period of time was going to be a difficult period no matter what plan of government was created. The Articles of Confederation allowed our people to elect their leaders. It also allowed the leaders to make laws that helped run the country.

Two laws that represent significant achievements of the Articles of Confederation were the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. The Land Ordinance of 1785 allowed the government to develop an organized plan to deal with the western lands and to sell those lands. This was one way the government was able to raise money. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 created a plan that became a model for how a territory could become a state. After certain population thresholds were met, the territory could apply for statehood.

There were several weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. One weakness was that the government couldn’t levy taxes. This made it hard for the government to raise money and to pay its debts. The government also couldn’t require people to join the military. This made it difficult for our government to deal with issues we had with other countries or with issues within our own country. For example, when Spain and Great Britain interfered with our trade, there wasn’t much we could do about it. When some of our people rebelled against our government, as with Shays’ Rebellion, the federal government didn’t respond to this threat. The federal government also had financial problems. Since both the state government and the federal government could print money, inflation was a concern. People often lacked confidence in the value of our paper money. Another weakness was there was no federal court system. Thus, there was no place for states to take their disputes in order to resolve them.

As the weaknesses became more obvious, a decision was made to hold a meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 to discuss changing our plan of government. This led to the development of a new plan of government, which is known as the Constitution.

Why is Saint Augustine so important to western civilization?

Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430) was one of the most important Church Fathers. He was extremely influential on medieval Christian thought, and later among thinkers of the Protestant Reformation. His theological contribution to these great movements in Christian history is the primary reason for his importance to western civilization.

Augustine’s years as a priest and bishop involved copious amounts of intensely thoughtful writing. Accordingly, his personal psychological and spiritual journey is well-documented in his...

Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430) was one of the most important Church Fathers. He was extremely influential on medieval Christian thought, and later among thinkers of the Protestant Reformation. His theological contribution to these great movements in Christian history is the primary reason for his importance to western civilization.

Augustine’s years as a priest and bishop involved copious amounts of intensely thoughtful writing. Accordingly, his personal psychological and spiritual journey is well-documented in his literary works. After experimenting with philosophical theories and different religious traditions—such as Manicheanism, Neoplatonism, and Gnosticism—he realized his struggle in understanding the origins of human evil and the truth behind the Gospels.

In his most influential work, Confessions, Augustine addressed three religious problems in this regard: the problem of evil; the relation between body and soul; and the Christian understanding of sin and redemption. All of these are aspects of the same problem. Augustine’s method of inquiry involves many elements similar to traditional Greek philosophy, which broadened the scope of Christian thought.

Further reading: Slocum, Kay. Medieval Civilization. London: Laurence King Publishing, 2005.

What figurative language is used in "The Interlopers" by Saki?

Saki uses figurative language in "The Interlopers" to expand meanings, generate imaginative ideas, depict scenes artistically, and intensify emotions.

Here are some examples of this figurative language:

• ImageryIn describing the animosity between von Gradwitz and Znaeym, Saki employs sensory imagery: "as boys they had thirsted for one another's blood."Auditory imagery is also used, as there is "a splitting crash" of the beech tree that "thundered" down upon the two men.


• ...

Saki uses figurative language in "The Interlopers" to expand meanings, generate imaginative ideas, depict scenes artistically, and intensify emotions.

Here are some examples of this figurative language:

• Imagery
  In describing the animosity between von Gradwitz and Znaeym, Saki employs sensory imagery: "as boys they had thirsted for one another's blood."
  Auditory imagery is also used, as there is "a splitting crash" of the beech tree that "thundered" down upon the two men.


• Metaphor
  Rather than calling the men Ulrich's enemies, Saki uses a metaphor that describes them as "the prowling thieves."


• Simile
  After the men lie pinioned under the huge branches, Ulrich takes a drink from his flask of wine, which warms and revives him. He then glances at Georg "with something like a throb of pity." Here a simile, a stated comparison using like or as, is used.


• Synecdoche
  As the two enemies come face to face, they hesitate because they can only kill instantly "for an offence against... hearth and honor." "Hearth" is an example of a part of the home being used for the whole idea of family. (Synecdoches are a figure of speech in which a part represents a whole.)


• Figures of speech
  Each of the foes has "hate in his heart" (This is also an example of alliteration with the /h/.)
  Ulrich asks Georg to help him "bury the old quarrel."
  When he sees the wolves, Ulrich speaks with the "idiotic chattering laugh of a man unstrung with hideous fear."

In "The Old Man at the Bridge," does Hemingway tell you directly what you should think about the old man?

In the story, Hemingway does not tell us directly what we should think about the old man. He does, however, hint indirectly that the old man will die if he chooses to stay in the area.

The narrator tells us it is his job to "cross the bridge, explore the bridgehead beyond and find out to what point the enemy had advanced." From his words, we can deduce the narrator is a soldier or army...

In the story, Hemingway does not tell us directly what we should think about the old man. He does, however, hint indirectly that the old man will die if he chooses to stay in the area.

The narrator tells us it is his job to "cross the bridge, explore the bridgehead beyond and find out to what point the enemy had advanced." From his words, we can deduce the narrator is a soldier or army scout who has been sent out to determine the direction of the enemy's advance. When the narrator notices the old man, he questions him.

The old man says he was the last to leave his hometown of San Carlos. In the rush of leaving, he was ordered to leave behind the animals under his care. The old man admits he worries about the safety of the cat, two goats, and the four pairs of pigeons he had to leave behind. The narrator, a little distracted, assures him the animals will probably come through fine. He strongly advises the old man to move on if he can.

Meanwhile, the old man tries to stand up but finds he cannot quite keep his balance. At this stage, we get the impression that the old man is too worn out to travel any further. We recognize the inevitability of his death, as he mutters to himself about taking care of his animals. The last paragraph indirectly reinforces our immediate verdict and intuition about the old man's possible fate:

There was nothing to do about him. It was Easter Sunday and the Fascists were advancing toward the Ebro. It was a gray overcast day with a low ceiling so their planes were not up. That and the fact that cats know how to look after themselves was all the good luck that old man would ever have.

In his acceptance speech for the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, Martin Luther King Jr. likens his experiences in the Civil Rights Movement to traveling on...

In his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Martin Luther King Jr. used the timeless metaphor of a road in order to both make a powerful impact on his audience and to make it easy for people to get the meaning of his statements about the Civil Rights Movement. In his speech, he says,

"The tortuous road which has led from Montgomery, Alabama to Oslo bears witness to this truth. This is a road over which...

In his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Martin Luther King Jr. used the timeless metaphor of a road in order to both make a powerful impact on his audience and to make it easy for people to get the meaning of his statements about the Civil Rights Movement. In his speech, he says,

"The tortuous road which has led from Montgomery, Alabama to Oslo bears witness to this truth. This is a road over which millions of Negroes are travelling to find a new sense of dignity. This same road has opened for all Americans a new era of progress and hope. It has led to a new Civil Rights Bill, and it will, I am convinced, be widened and lengthened into a super highway of justice as Negro and white men in increasing numbers create alliances to overcome their common problems."

In many ways, this is a metaphor that anyone can understand, whether from Alabama or Oslo. All of us as human beings have walked down a road or a path or a highway, and thought to ourselves that whatever comes along, we have to deal with it; no matter how difficult, we have to keep moving, keep fighting, keep surviving. Because of this shared experience, we are able to connect with Dr. King on a deeper level, and this was his intention for comparing his real-life journey to a metaphorical road.

If we think of the characteristics of a road, we can see clearly Dr. King's motives for choosing this metaphor. Roads become easier to walk down, to navigate, when people walk them together. The same is true for Dr. King's journey. When he was joined by others, he and the millions of blacks fighting for equality in the United States didn't have to fight alone; they had each other. It is torturous at first, yes, and difficult, but because so many people traveled down it first, others will be able to follow more easily. This simple comparison effectively demonstrates to an open audience the power of people working together, walking together in the same direction. The subsequent "widening" and "lengthening" of the road makes room for others to join in the crusade, making it a "super highway of justice." This is both an incredibly powerful and simple to understand metaphor. 

What are the supernatural elements in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"?

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is, among other things, the tale of a town obsessed with superstitious accounts of the supernatural, and much of Washington Irving's narrative focuses on descriptions of the rich folklore that's so popular in the region. Take, for instance, the following passage in the third paragraph of the story (which can be read in full by using ' delightful online library of texts):

The whole neighborhood abounds with local tales, haunted...

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is, among other things, the tale of a town obsessed with superstitious accounts of the supernatural, and much of Washington Irving's narrative focuses on descriptions of the rich folklore that's so popular in the region. Take, for instance, the following passage in the third paragraph of the story (which can be read in full by using ' delightful online library of texts):

The whole neighborhood abounds with local tales, haunted spots, and twilight superstitions; stars shoot and meteors glare oftener across the valley than in any other part of the country, and the nightmare, with her whole ninefold, seems to make it the favorite scene of her gambols.

By Irving's description, we can assume that many legends of the supernatural haunt the region, and that the inhabitants of Sleepy Hollow love telling tales of all manner of ghosts and ghouls. 

The supernatural elements of the story stop with these folk tales, however. While the story is full of accounts of the supernatural, there are never actually direct experiences with the supernatural. Indeed, the only encounter we get with the Headless Horseman occurs when the specter supposedly chases the terrified Ichabod Crane through the woods on horseback. Later on, Irving strongly suggests that this horseman was simply Brom Bones trying to run Crane out of town, and so it seems as though the main supernatural element of the story, the Headless Horseman, does not even exist. As such, the supernatural elements of "Sleepy Hollow" abound in accounts of local legends and folklore, but they do not actually exist in real life. 

In The Cask of Amontillado by Poe, why does Montresor, the narrator, seek revenge against Fortunato?

Montresor, the narrator, seeks revenge on Fortunato because he feels that Fortunato has insulted him.  He says, in the first line, "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge."  Thus, Montresor seems to feel that Fortunato has wounded his honor a great many times, and when Fortunato finally insults him, he can no longer stand by and take it any more.

Further,...

Montresor, the narrator, seeks revenge on Fortunato because he feels that Fortunato has insulted him.  He says, in the first line, "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge."  Thus, Montresor seems to feel that Fortunato has wounded his honor a great many times, and when Fortunato finally insults him, he can no longer stand by and take it any more.

Further, Montresor's family motto is "Nemo me impune lacessit," which means No one harms me with impunity, and his family arms show a human foot stepping on a snake which is, in turn, biting the foot.  It seems that it isn't just Montresor's personal honor that Fortunato has wounded, but also Montresor's sense of family honor, since this family prides itself on avenging any crimes done to it.  So, in order not to dishonor either himself or his family, Montresor seems to feel that he must exact revenge on Fortunato for whatever "injuries" and "insult[s]" Montresor has inflicted on him.

Why doesn't Jimmy reveal himself to Bob in "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry?

The narrator's description of the as-yet-unidentified cop makes him look like a man who has been on the police force for many years—perhaps as long as twenty years. Bob's description of Jimmy to the cop (who he doesn't recognize as his old friend) makes Jimmy appear to be the kind of "staunch" man who would be devoted to his duty. Once Jimmy recognizes Bob as the man who is wanted by the Chicago police, he knows it is his duty to have Bob arrested. If Jimmy had been a different kind of man, he might have introduced himself to Bob and then told him to get lost. Jimmy couldn't do that. If he introduced himself, Jimmy would have had to make the arrest himself, and, as he says in his note,

Somehow I couldn't do it myself, so I went around and got a plainclothesman to do the job.

Jimmy could only see two choices: arrest Bob himself or have another cop arrest him. There were no other options for a man with Jimmy's character. If Jimmy identified himself and made the arrest, there would have been an emotional scene, with Bob pleading for mercy on the basis of their old friendship. O. Henry didn't want to write that kind of scene.

It is interesting that Dashiell Hammett writes such a scene in the final chapter of The Maltese Falcon. Brigid O'Shaughnessy begs and pleads and uses all her sex appeal to persuade Sam Spade not to turn her over to the police for murdering his partner Miles Archer. Spade is adamant, though. He tells her in beautiful American vernacular:

I don't care who loves who I'm not going to play the sap for you. I won't walk in Thursby's and Christ knows who else's footsteps. You killed Miles and you're going over for it.

What techniques has Allende used to discuss the central ideas in "Eva Luna"?

Throughout her novel Eva Luna, Allende explores many topics and ideas which have cultural and historical significance for South and Central American women. For example, her portrayal of Eva's relationships with men and her sexual exploitation represents a struggle that many Latin American women go through. It is quite common for women to feel oppressed by men, both sexually and socially, and Allende communicates these frustrations and explores this gender imbalance through Eva's storytelling.

...

Throughout her novel Eva Luna, Allende explores many topics and ideas which have cultural and historical significance for South and Central American women. For example, her portrayal of Eva's relationships with men and her sexual exploitation represents a struggle that many Latin American women go through. It is quite common for women to feel oppressed by men, both sexually and socially, and Allende communicates these frustrations and explores this gender imbalance through Eva's storytelling.

One technique that Allende uses is to bless her character with the ability to tell beautiful stories. As a storyteller, Eva is able to escape her reality and better cope with her difficult existence. Through the use of magical realism, Allende combines supernatural elements and realistic themes to show the powerful, mysterious qualities that women possess, as well as to reflect her own struggle as a female in a male dominated society. In the story, Eva could be compared to a modern-day Scheherazade, the protagonist in 1,001 Arabian Nights who is gifted with the incredible ability to charm men and tell beautiful stories. This talent ultimately saves her life, as it does Eva's. 

Allende also uses the structure and techniques of a "picaresque" novel to tell Eva's story. This type of novel is told in a realistic style with elements of comedy and satire and usually features a hero or heroine of low morals and social class who get by only by using their wits. The upside to using this style to tell Eva's story is that it is both entertaining and popular, yet it is also written in first person with an autobiographical tone. This allows these difficult themes to be introduced to the reader in a sneaky manner. Allende does this in order to create an empathetic reader as opposed to a judgmental one. 

What is the rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution of The Chocolate War?

The rising action of Cormier's The Chocolate Waris Jerry's interactions with The Vigils and Brother Leon.  Brother Leon wants Jerry to sell the chocolates.  The Vigils want Jerry to refuse selling any chocolates for ten days.  It is a tense ten days, but the rising action continues to climb once the ten day period ends.  After the ten day period ends, Jerry continues to refuse to sell the chocolates.  This single action upsets Brother...

The rising action of Cormier's The Chocolate War is Jerry's interactions with The Vigils and Brother Leon.  Brother Leon wants Jerry to sell the chocolates.  The Vigils want Jerry to refuse selling any chocolates for ten days.  It is a tense ten days, but the rising action continues to climb once the ten day period ends.  After the ten day period ends, Jerry continues to refuse to sell the chocolates.  This single action upsets Brother Leon further, and it upsets The Vigils.  It upsets The Vigils because they see Jerry's action as a refusal to submit to their authority.  They begin tormenting and bullying Jerry in horrible ways.  

The climax occurs when Jerry is attacked by Emile Janza and multiple other boys.

The falling action is the special assembly that features the boxing match between Jerry and Emile Janza.  Jerry is beaten to a pulp by the end of the assembly.  He is taken to the hospital and thinks that his war wasn't worth it.  

The final conclusion is a chilling one.  The reader doesn't hear from Jerry again and is left wondering if he survived.  The novel ends with Archie and Obie showing no remorse.  The reader is left with the feeling that things at Trinity will continue as usual. 

What does each family in People of the Book teach us about the impact of families on individuals and society?

The various families presented in People of the Book affect the individuals around them as well as their communities. In this work, family dynamics are explored through the lens of culture as well as religion.

Lola's Family

Lola's family life is exemplified in her love for her younger sister and the Kamals, who become her surrogate family. Familial love motivates Lola and gives her the strength she needs to fight in the resistance. While she...

The various families presented in People of the Book affect the individuals around them as well as their communities. In this work, family dynamics are explored through the lens of culture as well as religion.

Lola's Family

Lola's family life is exemplified in her love for her younger sister and the Kamals, who become her surrogate family. Familial love motivates Lola and gives her the strength she needs to fight in the resistance. While she is living in the mountains among the other resistance fighters, she realizes that family bonds can be created between unrelated members of a community. Through Lola, we realize family is one of the primary factors that allows people to remain kind in the face of abject cruelty and violence. It is also family that allows a sense of community to survive throughout the Nazi invasion.

Hanna's Family

Despite the fact that Hanna never knew her father, her love for him is explored throughout the book. She wishes she had known him and longs for the closeness other parents and children share. Her interactions with Ozren show the other side of the family dynamic. Ozren is devoted to his ailing son to the point where it consumes him. Through the lens of Hanna's broken family relationships, the author shows family often strengthens the individual, but some individuals can be strong without close family ties.

The Kamal Family

The Kamal family is headed by Stela and Serif, a Muslim couple who save Lola after she flees to the mountains to escape the Nazi Invasion in 1940. The Kamals illustrate the importance of family in a multi-cultural setting. Their concern and compassion for Lola are products of their faith as well as their strong family ties. Their family bond not only saves Lola but gives hope to the community around them.

Rita's Family

Rita is shown the importance of family to the individual when she delivers her sister-in-law's baby and decides to keep him. Although her sister-in-law asks Rita to drown him, she instead chooses to take responsibility for him and discovers the significance of maternal love.

What is a senior accountant? How do you become one?

A senior accountant is responsible for reporting on an organization's or department's margins, expenditures, productivity, and reporting costs. Once one becomes a senior accountant, that person is often no longer required to complete some of the administrative tasks — such as gathering data or inserting information into balance sheets — that he or she may have completed as a junior accountant.

One of the major responsibilities of a senior accountant is to participate in company...

A senior accountant is responsible for reporting on an organization's or department's margins, expenditures, productivity, and reporting costs. Once one becomes a senior accountant, that person is often no longer required to complete some of the administrative tasks — such as gathering data or inserting information into balance sheets — that he or she may have completed as a junior accountant.

One of the major responsibilities of a senior accountant is to participate in company audits. Companies trust senior accountants to provide meticulously researched and vetted information to ensure the company's leaders are able to make important financial decisions based on accurate numbers and recommendations.

In larger organizations, senior accountants are frequently given managerial positions in which they oversee the work of other accountants. This added responsibility requires a senior accountant to be skilled in interpersonal communication and group problem-solving as well as good with numbers and data.

To become a senior accountant, one must have a four-year accounting degree from an accredited university. Many senior accountants continue their schooling to obtain master's degrees. They also often become certified public accountants (CPAs). 

There is no specific time frame in which an accountant becomes a senior accountant, but it typically takes around four or five years on the job to reach senior accountant status within an organization.

An accountant increases his or her probability of being promoted to a senior accountant if he or she can show proficiency and growth in a number of skill areas. For example, a senior accountant must be highly organized and detail-oriented. The accountant also must have proven he or she is able to work collaboratively with many different types of employees. The accountant's problem-solving and analytical skills should be highly regarded and the accountant must stay up-to-date on accounting software and programs.

A senior accountant can expect to earn higher wages than a junior accountant, but the exact wage earned often depends on the organization's size and its commitment to compensating talented employees. Organizations that highly value the skills of a senior accountant may pay as much as $90,000 per year. The low end of the pay scale for senior accountants is between $60,000 and $65,000 per year.

In Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, why is Dill so upset during Tom's cross examination? How does this show his true character?

Dill Harris is an innocent child who shows his true sweetness of character by being overwhelmed to the point of tears by the way Mr. Gilmer treats Tom Robinson in court. Mr. Gilmer talks down to Tom in such an evil and mean way that Dill picks up on it internally. The tension increases for Dill as Mr. Gilmer continues to speak disrespectfully to Tom; yet, Tom continues to speak calmly and respectfully to Mr....

Dill Harris is an innocent child who shows his true sweetness of character by being overwhelmed to the point of tears by the way Mr. Gilmer treats Tom Robinson in court. Mr. Gilmer talks down to Tom in such an evil and mean way that Dill picks up on it internally. The tension increases for Dill as Mr. Gilmer continues to speak disrespectfully to Tom; yet, Tom continues to speak calmly and respectfully to Mr. Gilmer. This goes on for some time, at which point Dill's emotions pour out of his eyes. Jem tells Scout to take Dill outside for a break from the trial, at which point Scout tries to calm her friend by telling him that's just how court proceedings go. Dill's response is as follows:

"I don't care one speck. It ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way. Hasn't anybody got any business talkin' like that--it just makes me sick" (199).

This comment shows that Dill is able to empathize with the way Tom might feel when being spoken to with such rudeness. This is a characteristic that Scout is not exhibiting at the moment. Dill shows that he is sensitive to the plight of others' negative circumstances no matter if they are white or black. Dill isn't prejudiced, he just knows what feels right and what feels wrong; and, he identifies correctly that the way Tom is being treated is completely wrong.

Are refracted waves faster or slower than incident waves?

Refracted waves can be faster or slower as compared to the incident waves, depending on the optical density of the medium.

Refraction defines the bending of a light ray when it moves from one medium to another. Each medium has a certain optical density and this determines the speed of light rays through it. Light rays travel slowly in a denser medium, while they have higher speeds in a rarer medium. Thus, the transition from...

Refracted waves can be faster or slower as compared to the incident waves, depending on the optical density of the medium.

Refraction defines the bending of a light ray when it moves from one medium to another. Each medium has a certain optical density and this determines the speed of light rays through it. Light rays travel slowly in a denser medium, while they have higher speeds in a rarer medium. Thus, the transition from one medium to another causes light rays to bend. Lights rays will either bend towards the normal (drawn to the surface) or away from it. When light rays move from a fast medium to a slow medium, they bend towards the normal. In comparison, when light rays move from a slow medium to a fast medium, they bend away from the normal. 

We can use Snell's law to determine the speed of the light ray in any medium. The law is given as:

(sin i)/(sin r) = v1/v2

where, i and r are the angles made by incident and refracted rays (with the normal) and v1 and v2 are the velocities of light rays in medium 1 and 2.

How do I write an essay on why Lyddie should not sign the petition in Lyddie?

If you were writing an essay about why Lyddie should not sign the petition, you would want to include information on how Lyddie felt about the petition.  This shows her state of mind, and the information about the consequences of signing it.  Support your arguments with quotes from the book.

Lyddie is afraid to sign the petition because she values her job at the factory. She needs the money to pay off her family’s debts. ...

If you were writing an essay about why Lyddie should not sign the petition, you would want to include information on how Lyddie felt about the petition.  This shows her state of mind, and the information about the consequences of signing it.  Support your arguments with quotes from the book.

Lyddie is afraid to sign the petition because she values her job at the factory. She needs the money to pay off her family’s debts.  She hopes that one day she will be able to get the farm back and get all of her family back together.

Lyddie got her information about the petition from the other girls in her boarding house.  The petition is for a shorter work week for the girls.

"Time is more precious than money, Lyddie girl. If only I had two more free hours of an evening-what I couldn't do." 

"Should you sign the petition, Betsy, they'll dismiss you. I know they will." Amelia folded the handkerchief and handed it back to Lyddie with a nod. (Ch. 12) 

Lyddie also agrees with Amelia.  She does not want to risk signing the petition.  Lyddie is a hard worker, and money is more important to her than time.  She has not been at the factory long enough to be tired. 

Lyddie feels strongly about protecting her job, and she does not want any of the other girls to make trouble either. 

She wasn't a slave. She was a free woman of the state of Vermont, earning her own way in the world. Whatever Diana, or even Betsy, might think, she, Lyddie, was far less a slave than most any girl she knew of. They mustn't spoil it for her with their petitions and turnouts. They mustn't meddle with the system and bring it all clanging down to ruin. (Ch. 13) 

Eventually, Lyddie does decide to sign the petition and support Diana.  By then it has already failed.  She is more concerned about Diana, because she is pregnant and has to leave.

What role has voters’ frustration with Republican and Democratic “politics as usual” played in reshaping the party system in the past decade?...

Although voter frustration with politics as usual may end up changing our party system, it is not clear how it will do so.  At the moment, both parties seem to be in some degree of flux.  The Tea Party on the right and the Bernie Sanders supporters on the left appear to be creating splits in both parties between populists and people who are relatively pleased with the status quo.  This may lead to a change in the party system.

Since the end of the Civil Rights Movement, the party system in the US has been relatively stable.  The Democrats have been the party of racial minorities, of unionized workers, and of social liberals.  The Republicans have been the party of middle and lower class white people who are not in unions and of social conservatives.  While some changes have occurred, this system has largely remained stable.  This, however, seems to be changing.

Beginning with the economic crisis of 2007-8, many voters seem to be angry about politics as usual.  They appear to believe that the governmental system does not work for them and for people like them.  We saw this with the Tea Party and the Occupy movement.  This year, we are seeing it with the rise of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders.  These two politicians embody populism in which the people who feel that they are “regular Americans” are extremely angry at the elites who have been in control of our government.

The question, then, is where this will lead.  Will Trump and Sanders supporters somehow find a way to cover over their differences and unite in a party that will be populist?  Will the rest of the current Democrats and Republicans unite in a more establishment party?  If this happens, we will stop having a liberal party and a conservative party and will, instead, have a populist party and an elite/establishment party.  This would be tremendously different than what we have now.  Alternatively, will this populist anger prove to be a flash in the pan and will we soon return to politics as usual?  It is impossible to know the answer to this.  Only time will tell. 

What are some slogans about how we can protect our environment?

Environmental issues have continued to gain traction, especially with regards to global warming and wildlife extinction. Animal poaching is globally at an all-time high, with wild animal products increasing in value in the marketplace. Weather patterns are increasingly becoming unpredictable, and environment-related disasters are also increasing due to environmental degradation. Institutions, groups, and individuals have taken steps to try and eliminate the challenges facing the environment. To rally people to their cause, these initiatives often...

Environmental issues have continued to gain traction, especially with regards to global warming and wildlife extinction. Animal poaching is globally at an all-time high, with wild animal products increasing in value in the marketplace. Weather patterns are increasingly becoming unpredictable, and environment-related disasters are also increasing due to environmental degradation. Institutions, groups, and individuals have taken steps to try and eliminate the challenges facing the environment. To rally people to their cause, these initiatives often have slogans to communicate their goals and objectives clearly. Below are some slogans associated with environmental protection and conservation:

Tree plantation is the best option against pollution

This slogan seeks to address the issue of illegal logging and forest encroachment where people are mostly destroying forests for commercial gain.

Silence is the best tool to combat noise pollution

This slogan seeks to address the issue of noise pollution by asking people to maintain some level of silence because noise is also considered a pollutant.

Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute

This slogan asks people to care about their environment by not polluting it.

Sensitize people on harms of pollution

This slogan is aimed at creating awareness and informing people about the dangers of pollution

Other slogans include the following:

Always use public transport to reduce air pollution

Avoid using plastic bags

Dispose of industrial effluent in a safe manner

Discuss the idea developed by the text creator about how significant experiences can affect our lives.

In "Two Kinds," both the daughter, Jing-mei, and her mother have significant experiences that impact their lives. The mother's backstory reveals a significant event in her past that would shape the way she tried to raise her daughter. Jing-mei's mother left China in 1949 when the Communist Revolution occurred. In that event, she lost her parents, her husband, and "twin baby girls." But she didn't let those losses bring her to despair; instead she used...

In "Two Kinds," both the daughter, Jing-mei, and her mother have significant experiences that impact their lives. The mother's backstory reveals a significant event in her past that would shape the way she tried to raise her daughter. Jing-mei's mother left China in 1949 when the Communist Revolution occurred. In that event, she lost her parents, her husband, and "twin baby girls." But she didn't let those losses bring her to despair; instead she used that tragedy to spur her on to a new life, and she grabbed hold of America as the vehicle of all her hopes and aspirations for a better life. These dreams she forced on Jing-mei. She tried to create Jing-mei as a child prodigy; she wanted her to be famous and to capitalize on the new land of opportunity she had come to embrace as her country. However, when Jing-mei defied her, and especially when she shouted the hurtful words, "I wish I'd never been born! ... I wish I were dead! Like them!"--then Jing-mei's mother stopped pushing her to achieve. She gave up her hopes for Jing-mei, and "the lid to the piano was closed." 

That same incident changed Jing-mei as well. Just before that outburst, Jing-mei defied her mother's command to practice the piano. As she did so, she felt "as if my true self had finally emerged." This was the experience that solidified in the girl's mind that she would not tailor her life to please her mother, but that she would be herself. She would not live her life to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of her mother, to make up for what her mother had lost in China. Thus she disappointed her mother many times over the years, but Jing-mei did not seem to regret her decision. She was content to "only be me." Her experience of being the "Pleading Child" with her mother resulted in her coming to terms with who she really was, apart from her mother, a state which caused her to be, in the end, "Perfectly Contented." 

In Life of Pi by Yann Martel, why are there thousands of meerkats on the floating carnivorous island?

Pi led an interesting life since childhood. At one point he simultaneously observed three religions (Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam). Unfortunately, he lost both his parents and his brother in a tragic accident at sea. He survived the ordeal and provided different accounts of his situation at sea. One of his accounts seemed factual. However, it was plain and uninteresting. His other account was exciting and presented with attention-grabbing myths. The meerkats and the carnivorous island...

Pi led an interesting life since childhood. At one point he simultaneously observed three religions (Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam). Unfortunately, he lost both his parents and his brother in a tragic accident at sea. He survived the ordeal and provided different accounts of his situation at sea. One of his accounts seemed factual. However, it was plain and uninteresting. His other account was exciting and presented with attention-grabbing myths. The meerkats and the carnivorous island appear in his exciting version. Thus, the existence of the meerkats can be explained as an aspect of symbolism.

In my opinion, the meerkats represented people, and the island represented the world. During the day, the meerkats fed on fish provided by the island and at night they sought the safety of the tree and avoided the base of the island, which turned toxic. The day symbolized life and the night symbolized death. The meerkats symbolized people/souls trapped between the two cycles. Pi refused to be trapped and decided to leave the island. Thus, the meerkats on the island were an attempt by Pi to express his view of the world and the people in it.

Why did the American ambassador Mr. Otis purchase the Canterville Castle, although people told him it was haunted?

Mr. Otis, an American ambassador, purchases Canterville Castle, even though everyone tells him that it is haunted. His reasoning is that the United States has everything that money can buy, and if there really were ghosts in Europe, there would surely be one in a museum in America. The family takes a very commonsensical approach to the presence of a ghost. When Mrs. Otis finds a blood stain in her living room, the housekeeper tells...

Mr. Otis, an American ambassador, purchases Canterville Castle, even though everyone tells him that it is haunted. His reasoning is that the United States has everything that money can buy, and if there really were ghosts in Europe, there would surely be one in a museum in America. The family takes a very commonsensical approach to the presence of a ghost. When Mrs. Otis finds a blood stain in her living room, the housekeeper tells her it's the blood of Lady Eleanore de Canterville, whose husband, Sir Simon de Canterville, killed his wife in 1575. The eldest son, Washington, immediately applies stain remover to the spot, but when the blood stain disappears, there is a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder. The next night, Mr. Otis sees the ghost and offers it some lubricator to make its chains less noisy.

From chapters 22-27 of To Kill a Mockingbird, how is suspense built?

Chapters 22-27 in Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird come after the trial of Tom Robinson is over. These chapters chronicle the effects of the trial on certain people who were involved in it. For example, Tom Robinson's death is reported in chapter 24, which ends any possibility for Atticus to make an appeal on his behalf. Another character who doesn't recover from the trial is Bob Ewell. As a result, he seeks revenge on people...

Chapters 22-27 in Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird come after the trial of Tom Robinson is over. These chapters chronicle the effects of the trial on certain people who were involved in it. For example, Tom Robinson's death is reported in chapter 24, which ends any possibility for Atticus to make an appeal on his behalf. Another character who doesn't recover from the trial is Bob Ewell. As a result, he seeks revenge on people whom Ewell feels disgraced him during the trial, such as Helen Robinson, Judge Taylor and Atticus Finch. Helen doesn't do anything to Ewell except becomes Tom's widow; but since Tom dies in prison, Ewell takes it upon himself to harass her just because he thinks he can. He follows her to work, chunks at her, and shouts obscenities at her. It takes Link Deas to threaten him for Ewell to back off.

Then, Ewell threatens the Judge by slicing the Taylors' backdoor screen with a knife one Sunday night. Ewell doesn't like Judge Taylor because he appointed Atticus to defend Tom in the trial against the Ewells. This proves to Ewell that Judge Taylor isn't exactly on his side, so Ewell threatens him a little to spook him. He doesn't dare do much more where Judge Taylor is concerned, though.

Other events in these chapters show Ewell blaming Atticus for his losses in life, spitting in Atticus's face in chapter 23, and also threatening to kill him. Ewell is most offended by Atticus because it is Atticus who proves to the town that Ewell is a liar. Therefore Ewell can't let things go because he feels his has been completely insulted and must seek revenge.

All of these minor events follow one upon the other in chapters 22-27 in an effort to build suspense leading up to the night when Atticus's children are attacked in chapter 28. Lee shows her villain grow progressively worse in his behavior with each chapter until Ewell's attack actually gets himself killed rather than the kids. 

Who is punished, and who is rewarded in Macbeth? What is punishment, and what is the reward?

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are punished by their guilt.  Both of them succumb to guilt in different ways.  Macbeth slowly loses his mind, and eventually his nerve, as a result of his actions.  Lady Macbeth also goes mad, and kills herself.  Malcolm is rewarded for being brave and loyal to his kingdom, because his army defeats Macbeth’s and he becomes king. 

Macbeth’s madness started right when he killed Duncan. He said he thought he heard one of the guards say “Glamis hath murder'd sleep.”  This is the beginning of his paranoia.  He has Banquo murdered, and then sees his ghost at the banquet.  Macbeth shouts at the ghost. 

MACBETH

Thou canst not say I did it: never shake
Thy gory locks at me. (Act 3, Scene 4) 

Macbeth does not stop there though.  He has Macduff’s wife and children murdered.  When he hears the second set of prophecies from the witches, they tell him to beware Macduff.  He is so concerned about this that Macduff is able to easily confuse and upset him when the two face off in battle. 

MACDUFF

Despair thy charm;
And let the angel whom thou still hast served
Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother's womb
Untimely ripp'd.

MACBETH

Accursed be that tongue that tells me so,
For it hath cow'd my better part of man! (Act 5, Scene 8) 

From there, Macduff beheads Macbeth and ends his reign of tyranny.  Macduff will presumably be rewarded by Malcolm, who is himself rewarded for going against Macbeth with the throne of Scotland. 

Lady Macbeth was just as much at fault as her husband.  He may have been the one who wielded the knife, but she pointed him to the king.  She was the one who encouraged him to do it.  She goaded him and called him a coward.  Yet, she felt that Duncan looked like her father and she could not kill him herself.  Later, the full weight of the murder hits her. 

LADY MACBETH

Out, damned spot! out, I say!--One: two: why,
then, 'tis time to do't.--Hell is murky!--Fie, my
lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need we
fear who knows it, when none can call our power to
account?--Yet who would have thought the old man
to have had so much blood in him. (Act 5, Scene 1) 

Lady Macbeth basically screams and dies, off stage.  She killed herself because she could not handle the guilt, and she lost her mind.  She thought she saw blood on her hands that she could never wash off, because it was metaphorical!

How does Mrs. Joe's tragic end represent the Victorians' abuse of women?

In Victorian England, the role of women was a bit of a paradox. On the one hand, they were seen as “the angel in the house,” a phrase from a poem of the same name by Coventry Patmore published in 1854. In this poem, the woman is presented as the center of the home, around whom both husband and children rotate. The woman is placed on a pedestal and always protected from the unpleasantries of...

In Victorian England, the role of women was a bit of a paradox. On the one hand, they were seen as “the angel in the house,” a phrase from a poem of the same name by Coventry Patmore published in 1854. In this poem, the woman is presented as the center of the home, around whom both husband and children rotate. The woman is placed on a pedestal and always protected from the unpleasantries of life.

In reality, the role of a woman was one in which she was in constant labor, unless she was very wealthy and had servants to do all the hard work. She was viewed as physically and mentally unable to do much thinking, and so was relegated to being a wife and mother. If she failed to marry, she was placed under the “protection” of her nearest male relative.

Women in Victorian England were at the mercy of men and had few rights. While Dickens presents women of varying personalities, they were still subject to abuse by husbands and others with little recourse. Mrs. Joe and Estella are both victims of physical abuse. Mrs. Joe was beaten savagely, eventually dying from the consequences of her injuries. Though Mrs. Joe was unpleasant, Dickens grants her some measure of redemption in the change in her personality as a result of her tragedy. Estella was beaten by her husband, Bentley Drummle, a nemesis of Pip’s. Though this "discipline" might have been more common and acceptable in Victorian England than it is now, it is obvious that Dickens presents all such instances as the work of villains. Like his depiction of children, Dickens reveals women to be victims of the injustice of their time. It was one of many aspects of society that Dickens wished to see reformed.

A train moves from rest to a speed of 25 m/s in 20 seconds. What is its acceleration?

Hello!

Acceleration is the measure of the changing speed of a body over time, in the same manner as speed is the measure of the changing position of a body.

If we know the speed `V_1` for some initial time moment `t_1` and the speed `V_2` for some other moment `t_2,` and if we know also that the change of speed was uniform, then this change is the (uniform) acceleration

`a = (V_2 - V_1)/(t_2...

Hello!

Acceleration is the measure of the changing speed of a body over time, in the same manner as speed is the measure of the changing position of a body.

If we know the speed `V_1` for some initial time moment `t_1` and the speed `V_2` for some other moment `t_2,` and if we know also that the change of speed was uniform, then this change is the (uniform) acceleration

`a = (V_2 - V_1)/(t_2 - t_1).`

If we don't know that the change was uniform, then this formula gives us the average acceleration. Note that only a difference between times is required, so we may set a reference point for time anywhere.

For this problem, we know `t_2-t_1 = 20 s,` `V_1 = 0` (moves from rest) and `V_2 = 25 m/s,` so the acceleration, uniform or average, is  `25/20 = 1.25 (m/s^2).` This is the answer.

What is Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Necklace" about overall? What is the story's meaning?

Having been born into the upper class but raised in the middle class, Guy de Maupassant is the perfect author to write about middle class materialism during the Second Empire in France. De Maupassant's short story is a protestation against the materialistic mindset.The Second Empirebegan under Napoleon III in 1852, about the time de Maupassant was born, and lasted until 1870, brought to an end by the Franco-Prussian War, which de Maupassant...

Having been born into the upper class but raised in the middle class, Guy de Maupassant is the perfect author to write about middle class materialism during the Second Empire in France. De Maupassant's short story is a protestation against the materialistic mindset.

The Second Empire began under Napoleon III in 1852, about the time de Maupassant was born, and lasted until 1870, brought to an end by the Franco-Prussian War, which de Maupassant served in. Just as modernization brought wealth to all nations, modernization also helped France increase in wealth during this time period, inspiring the lower classes to become much more materialistic (Kelly, M., 1992, "Materialism in Nineteenth-century France," French Literature, Thought and Culture in the Nineteenth Century).

In de Maupassant's short story, Mathilde is characterized as materialistic because she is unhappy with her middle class surroundings and instead longs for expensive furnishings, multiple course meals, clothes, and jewels, feeling that "she was made for them" (p. 2). Her intense, obsessive desire for material possessions leads her to induce her husband to give her all of his 400 francs in savings so she can buy a new dress to wear to a ball. Her materialism further leads her to ask to borrow what she believes is a real diamond necklace from a wealthy friend to wear with the dress. Yet, instead of Mathilde being made happy by these possessions, she is made even more miserable. When Mathilde loses the necklace, she and her husband must move to an impoverished garret flat and work endlessly to pay off the debts they acquired to replace what they thought was a real necklace. The result is that, while at the start of the story she saw herself as poor and miserable in comparison to the upper class though she truly wasn't, by the end of the story, she has fallen into the lowest state of poverty possible, all because of her materialistic desires.

Through having Mathilde fall into such a dire state of poverty, de Maupassant shows the dangers of a materialistic mindset.

What quotes show that the mother and daughter are alike in "Two Kinds"?

I believe this quote shows how Jing-mei and her mother are alike.  

In fact, in the beginning I was just as excited as my mother, maybe even more so. I pictured this prodigy part of me as many different images, and I tried each one on for size.

This quote shows that both mother and daughter desire the fame and uniqueness of the child prodigy concept.  Jing-mei likes the idea of being great at...

I believe this quote shows how Jing-mei and her mother are alike.  

In fact, in the beginning I was just as excited as my mother, maybe even more so. I pictured this prodigy part of me as many different images, and I tried each one on for size.

This quote shows that both mother and daughter desire the fame and uniqueness of the child prodigy concept.  Jing-mei likes the idea of being great at something in order to show off, and her mother likes the idea of having a daughter than she can show off to the world too.  The similarity is pride.  If Jing-mei winds up being a child prodigy, then both ladies will be proud of that fact.  

Another quote that shows a similarity between the two family members is this next quote.  

The girl staring back at me was angry, powerful. She and I were the same. I had new thoughts, willful thoughts - or rather, thoughts filled with lots of won'ts. I won't let her change me, I promised myself. I won't be what I'm not.

This quote shows Jing-mei's stubbornness.  Jing-mei resolves to undermine every single one of her mother's attempts to make her a prodigy.  For every doomed attempt, Jing-mei's mother resolves to find another way to make her daughter successful.  Jing-mei's mother pushes harder and harder to make her daughter great, and Jing-mei pushes back equally hard.  Both ladies are incredibly stubborn, and their attitudes eventually cause a complete break in the relationship. 

What type of legislature did the Articles of Confederation set up, and how did this differ from the legislature set up by the Constitution?

The legislature set up by the Articles of Confederation was different than the legislature set up by the Constitution. In the Articles of Confederation, there was one house of Congress. Each state had one vote on issues regardless of its size. Congress also had limited power. It couldn’t tax, it couldn’t control trade, and it couldn’t force people to join the military.

The legislature set up by the Constitution had more parts and more power....

The legislature set up by the Articles of Confederation was different than the legislature set up by the Constitution. In the Articles of Confederation, there was one house of Congress. Each state had one vote on issues regardless of its size. Congress also had limited power. It couldn’t tax, it couldn’t control trade, and it couldn’t force people to join the military.

The legislature set up by the Constitution had more parts and more power. There were two houses of Congress. These were the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the House of Representatives, large states had more representatives and votes than small states. In the Senate, each state had two senators regardless of the size of the state. Congress also had more power. Congress could levy taxes, print money, control interstate trade, and require people to join the military.

Why does Helen Keller say that the happy days of her life did not last for long?

Helen says that the happy days did not last because she became very ill and almost died, and was left blind and deaf.

The happy days that Keller speaks of are the early days of her childhood. She lived with her mother and father in a little house on her family land. As a toddler, little Helen was thrilled by the simplest things. Life was great. Then she became very ill. 

Then, in the dreary...

Helen says that the happy days did not last because she became very ill and almost died, and was left blind and deaf.

The happy days that Keller speaks of are the early days of her childhood. She lived with her mother and father in a little house on her family land. As a toddler, little Helen was thrilled by the simplest things. Life was great. Then she became very ill. 

Then, in the dreary month of February, came the illness which closed my eyes and ears and plunged me into the unconsciousness of a new-born baby. They called it acute congestion of the stomach and brain. The doctor thought I could not live. (Ch. 1) 

The doctors did not know exactly what she had, so they did not know if she would survive it or what it would do to her.  She ended up both blind and deaf. This was a big blow at such a young age. Because she was barely walking or talking, she did not really have much communication and was plunged into a scary world of darkness.

I especially remember the tenderness with which my mother tried to soothe me in my waking hours of fret and pain, and the agony and bewilderment with which I awoke after a tossing half sleep, and turned my eyes, so dry and hot, to the wall, away from the once-loved light, which came to me dim and yet more dim each day. (Ch. 1) 

Since she was so young, losing her sight and hearing was very frightening. There was little her mother could do to help make her feel better or explain what was happening, because she was so sick. Poor Helen was in a great deal of pain in addition to losing more and more of her sight and hearing each day.

What is a summary of the poem "The Listeners"?

"The Listeners" (De la Mare) is a poem in which there is not a great deal of tangible action, but there is a great deal of mysterious atmosphere that allows us to speculate and imagine a story behind it.

Simply put, a man traveling by horse on a moonlit night approaches a house in a forest, knocks several times on the door, gets no answer, shouts at the house, and then departs. If I broke that up into a few lines and recited it to you, your response would most likely be "So what?" A summary takes all the joy out of a poem, but there are reasons this poem has held up for over a hundred years.

There are "listeners" in this old, seemingly deserted house with its turret and ivy growing up the sills.  These are ghosts of some sort, which we know because of their "strangeness" (De la Mare line 21) and their characterization as "phantom" (line 13).  They listen only and say nothing, unable to reply to the horseman.

Finally, after the horseman pounds on the door a final time,

‘Tell them I came, and no one answered,   

   That I kept my word,’ he said (lines 27-28).

The horseman turns then, gets on his horse, and gallops away, leaving the house to the listeners, the forest, and the silence. 

There is a story here, a story about the horseman's promise to someone or someones in this house.  He may have waited too long to keep a promise to a woman he loved.  Perhaps he had pledged to protect the people in the house, he took too long, and they all died.  Maybe he was a prodigal son who waited too long to go back home to his family. We can imagine what might have delayed him, a war, perhaps, or an imprisonment. He may have delayed himself with drink, gambling, or women.

The poem sets for us a mysterious little scene, with wonderful sensory details about the forest, the man, the house, and even the horse. We can see the scene. And then we can pour meaning into it.  You might want to try to write the "prequel" to this lovely little poem.    

What type of music was used in Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House?

The only music Henrik Ibsen wrote into his play A Doll's House is the music to the tarantella, which Nora practices dancing to in preparation for the costume party she and Torvald attend on Christmas Eve. However, when the play is performed, different directors may add other music to further develop the play and their interpretation of the play as they choose.

The tarantella is an Italian folk dance that symbolizes a person being bitten by the poisonous wolf spider of the region. The poisonous bite causes hysteria in its victims. The dance became a means of trying to exorcise the poison and its symptoms. The dance also evolved into a courtship dance, danced by couples; however, since Nora is dancing a solo, she is most likely dancing the original dance representing hysteria.

The scene, found in Act 2, is an extremely emotional one. In order to distract Torvald from discovering the letter Krogstad has put in his letter box, Nora asks Torvald to direct her while she rehearses her dance in the presence of Dr. Rank. As Helmer plays, Nora dances faster and faster until Torvald begs her not to dance "so violently." Dr. Rank then takes over playing the piano so Torvald can coach her, but Nora only continues to dance "more and more wildly." Nora's wild dancing, as well as the dance itself, symbolize Nora's emotional torment. The poisonous wolf spider symbolizes Torvald and the rest of society, two aspects of Nora's life that are preventing her from fully living her life as a complete individual, thereby poisoning her existence.

Other than the inclusion of the tarantella, director Carrie Cracknell included an entire musical score to emphasize her own interpretation of Ibsen's play. Cracknell's performance is the most recent production of the play, first performed in 2012 in the Young Vic, a theater near South Bank in London. In America, the play premiered at the Harvey Theater of the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2014. The play's script was was written by playwright Simon Stephens; the music was composed by Stuart Earl, and reflected director Cracknell's much more deeply psychological interpretation of the play.

Cracknell's version focuses on presenting Nora, performed by Hattie Morahan, as having a psychological awakening about the extent to which she can be a deceitful, even duplicitous person, an awakening that causes severe inner turmoil. Cracknell's interpretation of the play is rather reminiscent of an Alfred Hitchcock psychological horror film. As such, composer Stuart Earl's music is also very reminiscent of music found in Hitchcock's films. The New York Times play critic Ben Brantley states, "Stuart Earl’s music exudes an anxious air of festivity spiraling out of control" ("A Caged Wife, Desperately Spinning Her Wheel"). Music such as the overture and song played during the scene that takes place on Christmas Eve, titled "Christmas Night," sounds festive while also containing suspenseful motifs reminiscent of motifs found in the soundtracks of such Hitchcock films as Psycho. A more specific example might be motifs found in "Flight," composed by Bernard Hermann.

In Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, how do Bruno's experiences cause him to change throughout the story?

Bruno changes his perspective about friendship because of his interactions with Shmuel. He learns the meaning of loyalty, sacrifice, and courage.

When Gretel (his sister) demands information about his friend, Bruno pretends that Shmuel resides in his imagination. As Gretel taunts him for having an "imaginary friend," Bruno decides that he will tell her about Shmuel. He isn't worried about exposing his secret friendship with Shmuel because he has already convinced Gretel that Shmuel is imaginary.

As Bruno tells Gretel about Shmuel, we can see how Bruno has changed. He is no longer the peevish boy who complained bitterly about leaving Berlin and his best friends (Karl, Daniel, and Martin) behind. Now, he is Shmuel's friend, and he shows obvious concern for Shmuel's welfare. During his conversation with Gretel, Bruno quietly relates Shmuel's grief at discovering that his grandfather is missing. 

He recounts how sad Shmuel was when the latter told him the story of his missing grandfather. After Bruno finishes speaking, he suddenly realizes that he neglected to comfort Shmuel or to offer him words of encouragement. Bruno is horrified at his seeming insensibility to Shmuel's emotional anguish, and he privately berates himself. He decides to apologize to Shmuel for his insensitivity the next day.

Bruno's behavior shows that his interactions with Shmuel have changed him. He has become more sympathetic in nature and is less absorbed with his private grievances. Before he returns to Berlin, Bruno offers to help look for Shmuel's father (who is now missing).

At the camp, Bruno is devastated by what he sees: soldiers in uniform mistreating unhappy, crying prisoners in "striped pajamas." The scene destroys his previously composed mood, and he tells Shmuel that he wants to leave. However, Shmuel reminds Bruno of his promise to help look for his father. In the end, Bruno stays. He keeps his promise, despite his fear.

Presumably, the boys die after a group of soldiers corral them into a gas chamber. Bruno's last words testify to how he has changed. Even though he senses that something is wrong, his focus is on comforting Shmuel. No matter what happens, Bruno insists that he will be by Shmuel's side.

'...when you come to Berlin, that's what we'll do. And I'll introduce you to ... Oh, what were their names again?' he asked himself, frustrated because they were supposed to be his three best friends for life but they had all vanished from his memory now...'Actually,' he said, looking down at Shmuel, 'it doesn't matter whether I do or don't. They're not my best friends any more anyway.' He looked down and did something quite out of character for him: he took hold of Shmuel's tiny hand in his and squeezed it tightly. 'You're my best friend, Shmuel,' he said. 'My best friend for life.'

What is the main conflict in Jeanne DuPrau's The City of Ember?

The central conflict in Jeanne DuPrau's The City of Ember can be identified as a character vs. environment conflict.

In the story, the city of Ember was designed by scientists and builders as an underground refuge in hopes of preserving humanity in the case of an apocalyptic event such as a nuclear war. However, the builders designed the city in such a way that it would only last long enough for Earth to recover from the apocalyptic event. The builders speculate that the citizens of Ember should only remain in Ember "for at least two hundred years ... perhaps two hundred and twenty" ("The Instructions"). Therefore, the builders stocked the city with only enough provisions to last approximately two hundred years. The builders also left instructions for the citizens detailing the way out of Ember so that they can return to Earth's surface and begin repopulating Earth. However, since the builders did not want to create any panic or a premature mass exodus from Ember, they also kept the instructions a secret to be maintained by the mayor until the two hundred years had passed. Unfortunately, due to corruption, the instructions were lost, and the time to leave the city is now past due. Ember's power generator is failing, and the city is dangerously low on supplies; both of these problems put Ember in jeopardy of having its own apocalyptic event. Most of the characters in the story are willing to passively do nothing about the situation beyond hoard supplies for themselves and hope to be rescued. Lina and Doon, the protagonists, are the only two characters willing to actively pursue a rescue plan by searching for a way out of the city. As they search, they run into a conflict with the mayor, whom they discover is hoarding supplies for himself and not finding a solution to Ember's problem. They also run into a conflict with many members of society who are willing to keep waiting to be rescued rather than actively pursue solutions like Lina and Doon. Since Lina and Doon are at odds with their failing environment and at odds with the rest of society, we can clearly see that the central conflict in the story is character vs. environment.

But, as Lina and Doon pursue finding a way to save Ember, they battle with their own internal conflicts as well. Once Lina finds what is left of the important-looking paper that had been in the special box, she must battle being frustrated by others who don't see the document as important. Similarly, Doon must battle controlling feeling angry about the situation because, as his father says, anger can lead to "unintended consequences," and Doon must be more constructive if he is going to find a solution to the city's problem (Ch. 6). Both Doon and Lina must also battle with feelings of disappointment when they fail at first to find the door the instructions speak of and feelings of doubt that the instructions are important. All of these are character vs. self conflicts that Lina and Doon must overcome to bring the story to a successful resolution.

What is a good thesis statement about freedom in The Giver by Lois Lowry? What are three examples to support the statement?

I like to recommend thesis statements that force writers to discuss polar opposite topics.  It should go something like the following: "Such and such seems to indicate this and that, but the reality is that this and these are really this and that."  

Regarding freedom in The Giver, you should decide if the society has lots of freedom or not.  That will shape which part of the thesis statement comes first.  For example: "Although Jonas's society purports the freedom of its members, it is actually a very controlled and strictly ruled society."  You could reverse the statement, which would then cause your thesis to support the concept that the rules of Jonas's society actually help the people be more free.  Personally, I disagree with that one, but it is up to you.  

For either statement, you need support that focuses on freedom and/or control.  Use the Sameness.  It is an ever present societal system in the book.  There are things about the Sameness that I like, and there are things that I don't.  Not seeing color is a negative, but no hate is nice a bonus.  In general though, I think the Sameness removed a lot of freedom from society members.  

"Our people made that choice, the choice to go to Sameness. Before my time, before the previous time, back and back and back. We relinquished color when we relinquished sunshine and did away with difference. We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others."

Further freedom or oppression evidence is found in the concept of choice.  I should say the lack of choice, actually.  Nobody makes choices in Jonas's society.  If a choice or change has to be made, it is done through painfully slow bureaucratic procedures.  The freedom of individual choice has all but been eliminated.  Now you could argue that is a good thing.  There are times when I really like it when somebody else makes a decision for me.  It frees me from the burden of making the decision in the first place.  

Lastly, use the yearly ceremonies as evidence.  Each child is told what he/she can do when he/she can do it.  Even the child's future career is chosen.  He/she is not free to choose a desired path, which sounds terrible, but then again the Sameness removed any possibility of hate and anger against those decisions.  

Give me some samples of questions that come in exams.

I am going to assume that you mean science exams because the question is in the science category. Unfortunately the question doesn't specify which branch of science the exam questions should focus on. Here are some questions that might appear in a basic physics course exam.

1. Acceleration of an object

     a. decreases as the mass of the object increases.

     b. increases as the force on the object increases.

   ...

I am going to assume that you mean science exams because the question is in the science category. Unfortunately the question doesn't specify which branch of science the exam questions should focus on. Here are some questions that might appear in a basic physics course exam.

1. Acceleration of an object

     a. decreases as the mass of the object increases.

     b. increases as the force on the object increases.

    c. is in the same direction as the force on the object.

    d. All of the above

2. A ball is dropped from a rooftop. What is the ball's velocity after 3 seconds? (Assume that there is no air resistance.)

       a. 0 m/s        

       b. 9.8 m/s

       c. 19.6 m/s

       d. 29.4 m/s

3. Newton's Third Law of Motion states that if a force is exerted on an object, another force occurs that

      a. is equal in size and opposite in direction.

      b. is in the same direction and size.

      c. is equal in speed and opposite in direction.

      d. is in the same direction and speed.

4. Explain the difference between mechanical advantage and mechanical efficiency.

5.  A dock worker lifts a 375N crate a distance of .5m over his head in 2.3 seconds.  How much work did he do?  What was his power output?

What are some character traits of Stargirl Caraway?

Since Spinelli's Stargirl is written from Leo's perspective, readers see Stargirl from the narrator's point of view. For example, many of the students, including Leo, do not believe that Stargirl is authentic. Hillari tells everyone, "She's not real," but they are in for a surprise because she turns out to be the only "real" person at Mica Area High School (7).

Some of Stargirl's character traits that the students witness are her friendliness,...

Since Spinelli's Stargirl is written from Leo's perspective, readers see Stargirl from the narrator's point of view. For example, many of the students, including Leo, do not believe that Stargirl is authentic. Hillari tells everyone, "She's not real," but they are in for a surprise because she turns out to be the only "real" person at Mica Area High School (7).

Some of Stargirl's character traits that the students witness are her friendliness, kindness, and originality. She is friendly because she sings to others in the lunchroom on their birthdays. She is kind because she not only cheers for the high school's team, but for the opposing team as well; more importantly, her originality shines because of the way she dresses; she does not act like other teenagers—at least not at first. When she does try to conform in order to keep her relationship with Leo intact, she discovers that she cannot be happy acting like anyone other than her true self.

A few other characteristics to include with the above might be that she loves animals and that she is not prejudiced in this regard because she has a pet rat. (Something most girls would not even touch!)  She is also naive to vanity or pettiness. For instance, when the whole school is mad at her in chapter 25, not only is she clueless to that fact until Leo tells her, she also does not understand why people are so upset. Leo tells her something has to change and she thinks she has to change a bike tire! She is very childlike.

What examples of compromise led to the ratification of the Constitution?

There were many different interests and views on government represented at the Constitutional Convention, and the document that emerged to a large extent reflected a series of compromises between these. Let us look at a few of these. 

One key divide was between the delegates from states with large populations and those with smaller populations. This divide emerged as a key conflict at the convention when James Madison's so-called "Virginia Plan" called for a two-house...

There were many different interests and views on government represented at the Constitutional Convention, and the document that emerged to a large extent reflected a series of compromises between these. Let us look at a few of these. 

One key divide was between the delegates from states with large populations and those with smaller populations. This divide emerged as a key conflict at the convention when James Madison's so-called "Virginia Plan" called for a two-house legislature in which each state's representation would be determined by its population. This clearly favored larger states (like Virginia). An alternate plan, known as the New Jersey Plan, included a unicameral legislature where each state, regardless of population, would have a single vote. The compromise that emerged from this debate, sometimes known as the "Great Compromise," included elements of both plans. It featured a House of Representatives where representation was based on population and a Senate where each state received two representatives. 

Another divide in the convention was between states with large slave populations and those without. This question also revolved around the issue of representation. Southern states wanted their enslaved populations to count for population when determining representation, and Northern states did not. (Incidentally, the two groups took opposite positions when it came to determining population for a direct tax that Congress could impose on the states). This question was resolved by the so-called "Three-Fifths" compromise, which counted that percentage of the enslaved population for each state to determine its representation in Congress. 

Other compromises included the stipulation that Congress could not tax exports as well as a stipulation that the slave trade would remain untouched for twenty years after the establishment of the Constitution. In fact, almost every aspect of the document reflects some sort of compromise. The principle of federalism, which divides powers between states and the federal government, was a compromise between those who sought a powerful centralized state and those who wished to retain the essential relationship between states and the national government that existed under the Articles of Confederation. The election of senators by state legislatures reconciled the views of those who wanted a more democratic government and those who wanted senators to be appointed by others. The electoral college represented a similar compromise. Ultimately, the Constitution was a political document, hashed out between politicians with a variety of different interests, and the "horse-trading" that characterizes the political process, as much as high-minded political theory, helped shape it and the American government it established.

What quotes would best show Jonas has changed through out The Giver?

Jonas changes from an obedient and immature child to an independent, strong-willed and sensitive young man.  When the book begins, Jonas doesn’t question his society. He is the same as everyone else, and doesn’t even know that he is different.  When he is given the special job of Receiver of Memory, Jonas realizes that his community is very different than what he thought it was.  He can’t tolerate the reality, and leaves. 

Jonas shares the time when he was frightened by a jet plane flying over his community.  Like the other citizens, he reacted with mindless obedience to the incident.  When told to go inside by the community’s omnipresent speaker, Jonas went inside. 

Instantly, obediently, Jonas had dropped his bike on its side on the path behind his family's dwelling. He had run indoors and stayed there, alone. His parents were both at work, and his little sister, Lily, was at the Childcare Center where she spent her after-school hours. (Ch. 1) 

Jonas notes the tone of dry amusement when the Speaker tells everyone the pilot will be released.  Like everyone else in his community, he has no idea what release means.  He knows the pilot made a mistake and is being punished.  He thinks nothing else about it at this time.  

When Jonas begins his training, you see him slowly begin to change as he learns that a different life is possible.  His community embraces the concept of Sameness, which means that no one makes choices.  No one feels emotions.  Differences are not tolerated.  In the memories, Jonas sees that people used to care about one another. 

The Giver shares with Jonas his favorite memory, involving a family with grandparents in it.  Jonas is impressed and overwhelmed with the feelings in the memory.  His community has no families, and no closeness.  Family units exist temporarily, and only for practical child-rearing purposes.  There is no attachment. 

Jonas blurted out what he was feeling. "I was thinking that ... well, I can see that it wasn't a very practical way to live, with the Old right there in the same place, where maybe they wouldn't be well taken care of, the way they are now, and that we have a better-arranged way of doing things. But anyway, I was thinking, I mean feeling, actually, that it was kind of nice, then. (Ch. 16) 

Jonas confesses that he liked the feeling of love.  He even asks his parents if they love him.  They react with amusement.  They chastise him for using outdated language.  He realizes that no one in his community can ever understand love.  It may not be practical, but that doesn’t make it right. 

When Jonas finally learns what release means, you can definitely tell that he has changed.  He has seen death, in the memories.  When he watches a video of his father releasing a newborn twin, he knows that he is killing it.  Jonas finds out that Gabe, the toddler who has been staying with his family, is going to be released to.  He cannot be obedient anymore. 

He pushed firmly again at the pedal with his foot and continued riding along the road. It was not safe to spend time looking back. He thought of the rules he had broken so far: enough that if he were caught, now, he would be condemned. (Ch. 21)

Jonas leaves to save the baby, but also to save his community.  He knows that if he leaves, the memories will return to them.  He wants the community to have the opportunity to live a full life, with feelings and emotions, and the choices humans are meant to have.

How can I find "scholarly" research articles, with the aim of looking at what the researcher's objectives and methods were?

Universities and colleges have subscriptions (or a general subscription) to 'scholarly' (or 'academic') journals. In some cases, the journals will be available as paper copies in the college library, but all should be available online via the online research portal to which the college subscribes. Ask your lecturer or tutor how to access this.

If you are not in an academic institution, you can search on Google Scholar (scholar.google.com).

Some research papers listed on Google Scholar are free to download in full. Others will just have the 'abstract' (summary) available to view, and perhaps some other details. In the case of those that aren't freely available in full, a small payment is usually required to download the entire paper. If you identify a paper that looks like the sort of thing you are looking for, it is possible to search for the authors on the internet and email them for a private copy of their paper. They may take some time to respond, however.

If the summary (usually called the 'abstract') of the paper is written in a detailed enough way, you might be able to determine the research objectives and methods from that alone. That would be the quickest most efficient way to choose between papers.

Articles, or research papers, fall into two general categories: review papers and new studies. Review papers review previous papers about the topic of interest and summarize the opinions and findings in those papers in a critical way. Papers about new studies are based on collected data from various sources. This could be numerical data or survey data. The study would have a research question it is investigating. The researchers would identify what resources or data they could examine and collect to investigate that question. Based on what they have observed, researchers then draw conclusions to try to answer the original question.

If you are expected to criticize the paper you choose to look at, the things to look at would be

• how sensible the original research question is


• whether the resources collected are adequate and unbiased for asking that question (for example, are they collected at random from the target population of interest?)


• whether the conclusions are accurate and appropriate (was the best method used for analyzing the data, and was the analysis carried out correctly?)


• whether the strength of the conclusions is justified based on the amount of data examined


• whether the results are of practical interest (that is, the effects observed are large enough to be important)

Bear in mind that if the paper has been published in an academic journal, it should achieve all of the above, otherwise (hopefully) it would not have been published. Papers are usually 'peer reviewed' by other researchers and experts in the same or a similar field to ensure the paper is of good quality. Even so, many badly conducted studies slip through the net.

The typical format for an academic paper (particularly in the hard sciences) is

1. hypothesis (research question)


2. method (how the data, once obtained, will be analysed)


3. results


4. conclusions (meaning of the results and an acknowledgement of the results' quality and relevance)

Finally, many research projects find their original hypothesis was wrong. This is still useful, however, because something has been learned from the data. Many researchers also find they did not collect enough data to conclude anything definite regarding the question asked (research in this situation is known as a 'negative' or 'under-powered' study). Under-powered studies in particular suffer from 'publication bias' in that they are not published because they failed to say anything of interest or anything exciting. This is unhelpful because lack of information is still, in its own way, information, but it is understandable because researchers who repeatedly fail to find anything interesting are unlikely to receive a lot of financial support or resources for later work.

What disturbs Lockwood and makes him get out of bed in Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights?

Toward the beginning of Wuthering Heights, a raging snowstorm strands Mr. Lockwood at Heathcliff's estate, forcing him to spend the night. Already disturbed by the strange goings-on at Wuthering Heights, Mr. Lockwood sleeps fitfully and experiences a series of strange dreams. He gets up during his last, particularly creepy nightmare. In the nightmare, Lockwood hears a noise at the window, rousing him from his slumber to investigate the disturbance. To his horror, he encounters...

Toward the beginning of Wuthering Heights, a raging snowstorm strands Mr. Lockwood at Heathcliff's estate, forcing him to spend the night. Already disturbed by the strange goings-on at Wuthering Heights, Mr. Lockwood sleeps fitfully and experiences a series of strange dreams. He gets up during his last, particularly creepy nightmare. In the nightmare, Lockwood hears a noise at the window, rousing him from his slumber to investigate the disturbance. To his horror, he encounters the ghostly form of a girl begging to be let inside. The child says she is Catherine Linton, and Lockwood desperately tries to keep her out of his room. This occurrence is not only absolutely terrifying, but also serves as a brilliant example of foreshadowing. The ghostly apparition immediately puts us on our guard and encourages us to expect some truly dramatic history to be revealed, and we're not disappointed. Indeed, the ghostly child who disturbs Lockwood on a stormy night immediately sets the tone for the rest of the novel, as it tells the reader that the plot will be both dramatic and disturbing.   

In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, is Okonkwo a hero figure that represents the community and carries with him it's hopes and fears?

Okonkwo is both representative of the values of his community and a rebel against them at different times in the novel. The obvious point in the novel when Okonkwo's role and position in his society change is when he is exiled by the tribe. 

Before his exile, Okonkwo is a leader and a well-respected man of the tribe. He is renowned for his hard work, as noted in his success in growing yams; his physical strength, beginning with his famous wrestling victory over Amalinze the Cat; and his respect and reverence of most of the beliefs and traditions of the tribe. Okonkwo does set himself apart a couple of times, though. For one, he beats his wife during the Week of Peace. The narrator notes that the beating was a result of Okonkwo's "justifiable anger," but the tribe's tradition does not allow for violence of any kind during the Week of Peace. Even more importantly, Okonkwo's actions are called into question when he kills Ikemefuna with his machete. Ikemefuna was destined to be killed by the tribe, as required by the Oracle. However, other respected leaders see Okonkwo's actions as too extreme and as violating the tribe's beliefs about family.

Finally, the act that results in Okonkwo's exile is seen as going against the values and practices of the clan. At the mourning rites for an elder tribesman, Okonkwo fires a gun and accidentally kills one of the dead man's sons. The narrator says that "nothing like this had ever happened." Clearly, Okonkwo's actions do not represent the values of his community. Thus, he is exiled for a span of seven years; his crime as seen as even worse because it was accidental and, so, a female crime. The Umuofia believe in a fundamental difference between masculinity and femininity and as a leader of the tribe, it would be expected that Okonkwo be a pillar of masculinity. 

During Okonkwo's exile, missionaries infiltrate the villages, and when Okonkwo returns, he sees it as his duty to reestablish the older traditions of the clan in the face of this new religion (Christianity). However, too many of the people have converted and the missionaries have had too great an influence. When Okonkwo acts violently against these men, whom he considers usurpers, he knows he is not supported by his community and he commits suicide. This is also a shameful practice in his clan.

One could say that over the course of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo reflects the values, hopes, and fears of his community less and less. 

In "Lumber Room" by Saki, how does the aunt try to prevent Nicholas from entering the gooseberry garden?

In “The Lumber Room” by Saki, the aunt spends her day attempting to keep Nicholas out of the gooseberry garden.

The aunt had many other things to do that afternoon, but she spent an hour or two in trivial gardening operations among flower beds and shrubberies, whence she could watch the two doors that led to the forbidden paradise.

After Nicholas outwits the adults, he is left at home with his cousins’ aunt while the...

In “The Lumber Room” by Saki, the aunt spends her day attempting to keep Nicholas out of the gooseberry garden.

The aunt had many other things to do that afternoon, but she spent an hour or two in trivial gardening operations among flower beds and shrubberies, whence she could watch the two doors that led to the forbidden paradise.

After Nicholas outwits the adults, he is left at home with his cousins’ aunt while the other children are treated to an expedition to the beach. The aunt is intent on teaching Nicholas a lesson, but her plans backfire. As part of the punishment for being “in disgrace,” Nicholas is forbidden from entering the inner walls of the garden. To insure he does not find his way into the garden, the aunt guards both of the garden doors by doing simple outdoor tasks. 

Nicholas has no intention of entering the area, but he tricks the aunt into thinking his intent is to defy her ultimatum. She stays vigilant until Nicholas seems to disappear. He is in the house exploring “The Lumber Room.” Eventually, she realizes he is gone, and thinks he scaled the garden wall. She runs into the garden and falls into the water trough.

In the end, who is punished, Nicholas or the aunt?

In Chapter Nine of Animal Farm, how does Orwell present Communism through Boxer's death?

In Chapter Nine of Animal Farm, Orwell uses Boxer's death to present Communism as a betrayal of the working class. This is shown through the murder of Boxer when Boxer (and the other animals) believe that he is going to see a vet, but, in fact, he is sold to a glue manufacturer called Alfred Simmonds. What is most important about this betrayal is that Boxer and the other animals do not realise what...

In Chapter Nine of Animal Farm, Orwell uses Boxer's death to present Communism as a betrayal of the working class. This is shown through the murder of Boxer when Boxer (and the other animals) believe that he is going to see a vet, but, in fact, he is sold to a glue manufacturer called Alfred Simmonds. What is most important about this betrayal is that Boxer and the other animals do not realise what is happening until it is too late. We see this through the reaction of Benjamin, who is the first to notice:

"Fools! Fools!" shouted Benjamin, prancing round them and stamping the earth with his small hoofs. "Fools! Do you not see what is written on the side of that van?"

Through Boxer's death, then, Orwell presents Communism as a bad idea for the working classes. While, at first glance, Communism appears to offer hope and prosperity (like Boxer's trip to the vets), it is nothing more than a ruse to keep the working classes in a position of submission.

What figurative language does Andrew Marvell use in "To His Coy Mistress"?

Marvell's narrator uses hyperbole or exaggeration in this poem to try to persuade his beloved to sleep with him. He refers to his beloved as coy, meaning shy, but with the added twist of faking the shyness, of holding back to play games with him. He uses exaggeration to indicate how much time he would love spending wooing her—if that amount of time existed:

A hundred years should go to praise 

Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze; 

Two hundred to adore each breast, 

But thirty thousand to the rest;

The narrator uses this instance of hyperbole to suggest to his beloved that, as mortal human beings, we do not have all the time in the world before we grow old and die. Hyperbole—two hundred years to praise each breast—is meant to showcase to the beloved how ridiculous she is being in holding out on him. Of course, he does not literally expect (or want) to spend centuries praising her body—this is figurative speech. 

The narrator uses figurative language to describe death in order to persuade his beloved to seize the day. He paints a vivid picture of the beloved in death. He never uses the word death, instead relying on imagery to describe it: her "marble vault," will be silent, and worms will crawl through her corpse:

Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound 

My echoing song; then worms shall try 

That long-preserved virginity

Finally, he personifies the sun, which stands for time in this poem, saying we will "make him run."

What was the purpose of the Viking voyages?

The primary purpose of the Viking voyages and exploration was for trade.  Viking society depended heavily on trade.  Viking merchants sought to trade with people in both existing areas and new areas.  They traded a large variety of goods, especially with other merchants in Asia.  Ships sailed by Viking merchants traveled to many places in the world, both east and west.  Vikings had developed seaworthy ships, so they were able to travel farther than other...

The primary purpose of the Viking voyages and exploration was for trade.  Viking society depended heavily on trade.  Viking merchants sought to trade with people in both existing areas and new areas.  They traded a large variety of goods, especially with other merchants in Asia.  Ships sailed by Viking merchants traveled to many places in the world, both east and west.  Vikings had developed seaworthy ships, so they were able to travel farther than other explorers in that time.  This gave them an advantage in both trade and exploration.  

Some historians believe that the Viking explorers were also looking for more land to house some of their expanding population back home.  Evidence of Viking settlements can be found in many places today.  

Some Viking explorers wanted to discover new lands.  The Vikings explored Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland.  These were areas previously unexplored by Europeans.