Blog: November 2017

What was Encolpius' purpose in Satyricon by Petronius?

Satyricon, written by Gaius Petronius of Nero's court and narrated by Encolpius, is a fragment. The section featuring Encolpius' adventures is fragmented, with no ending: "the exit of the two principal characters is not fixed at the time our fragments come to an end" (W. C. Firebaugh, Translator). Consequently, there is some difficulty in attributing purpose to Encolpius' narrative and actions.

If it is true, however, that Petronius' story had a deep and lasting influence on literature, as Firebaugh posits ("[Satyricon's] powerful influence upon the literature of the world"), then we ought to be able to borrow a literary model and a Shakespearean technique to overlay what we do have in order to discover a purpose attributable to Encolpius.

The literary model is that of laying out in the early pages of a work the key elements that will take shape through the course of the narrative. The Shakespearean technique is that of putting wisdom into the lines of seemingly insignificant characters and speeches: Shakespearean Clowns and Fools often carry the lines, in seemingly insignificant speeches, that establish key elements of plot, characterization and theme; King Lear's Fool comes readily to mind.

By using this approach—by borrowing the model and technique as an overlay—we can say that Agamemnon's recitation of verse in the fifth paragraph (called Chapter the Fifth)—being a foundational speech early in the fragment and being seemingly insignificant verse—holds the clue to both the direction of the plot development and to Encolpius' purpose.

We find in Agamemnon's recitation that he warns young men against "riff-raff," "evil companions" in dining and drinking, "poetry" and "sirens." We go on to find through Encolpius' narration that these are precisely the things that Encolpius, Ascyltos and Giton pursue, engage in and run from in their adventures. We also find in Encolpius' opening speech that he decries false rhetoric of "empty discord" and admonishes a "dignified ... a chaste, style" that "rises supreme by its own natural purity" (Chapter the Second), which he associates with the learning and wisdom of Sophocles, Euripides, Plato and Demosthenes.

When we put these two together—Agamemnon warning against the things that deter a young man from acquiring clear thinking and Encolpius admonishing "supreme" rhetoric—we can deduce that a reasonable purpose attributable to Encolpius would be that of illustrating the need for pursuit of wisdom, such as Agamemnon admonishes, through the pursuit of clear thinking expressed in "supreme" rhetoric, such as Encolpius admonishes.

If this suggested purpose proves plausible, then we might expect the story would have ended, being a satirical comedy, with Encolpius, Ascyltos and Giton returning to where they began, sadder but wiser young men, having indulged in all Agamemnon warned against and now newly devoted to the right course, that which was followed by Socrates, Demosthenes and Cicero.

Agamemnon: ...later, [after] the lore
Of Socrates' school he has mastered, the reins let him fling,
And brandish the weapons that mighty Demosthenes bore.
Then, steeped in the culture and music of Greece, let his taste
Be ripened and mellowed by all the great writers of Rome.
At first, let him haunt not the courts; let his pages be graced
By ringing and rhythmic effusions composed in his home [not to the Court]
[...]
In eloquent words such as undaunted Cicero chose.
Come! Gird up thy soul! Inspiration will then force a vent
And rush in a flood from [the] heart... (Chapter the Fifth)

Can someone please help think of some topics for paragraphs for an essay about the Battle of the Cowshed in Animal Farm?

The Battle of the Cowshed is the first conflict between the animals and Mr. Jones since they have defeated him in the Rebellion.

Assuming that a five-paragraph essay will be composed, the student will want to build the topic sentences from the main points of the thesis statement which is probably about how the animals again defeat Mr. Jones and the men from Foxwood and Pinchfield.

**Since a five-paragraph essay has three main paragraphs, then the student will need three topic sentences. These may be constructed around the stages of the battle: the first skirmish, the second skirmish, and then the after-battle scene.

1. When the pigeons sweep over Animal Farm and land, they alert the animals about the approach of the men; also, the pigeons inform them that Mr. Jones has a gun in his hands.
But the animals have been prepared for battle by Snowball, who has even read about the conquests of Julius Caesar.
*So, the student can compose a topic sentence about how the animals are informed of the impending danger, but they are prepared.

2. During the first skirmish, the men drive off the geese who have come out aggressively. The farmers feel triumphant, but the clever Snowball has planned on this outcome, hoping it will give the men a false confidence. Now, he uses a tactic of Caesar's to wait for the enemy to advance. He first releases thirty-five pigeons, who let loose their droppings on the men's heads. While the men are dealing with this offensive occurrence, the geese rush them and bite fiercely at their legs. Averting much of the painful attack, the men drive off the geese with sticks.
Although they have been defeated in their attacks, the birds have succeeded in causing enough confusion to keep the men from advancing. This is just what Snowball has intended to happen. Feeling triumphant, the men enter the yard and the larger and stronger animals fiercely attack them.

They were gored, kicked, bitten, and trampled. There was not an animal on the farm who did not take vengeance on them. (Ch.4)

*For this second skirmish, the student can compose a topic sentence about how the men fall for Snowball's clever plan of battle as they are lured to the Cowshed.

3. After the animals win the fight against the men, they name the skirmishes the Battle of the Cowshed since this is the site where the ambush has occurred. Furthermore, the animals decide to award medals and to Snowball and to the sheep who have died. These will be worn on Sundays and holidays.

*The topic sentence about the conclusion of the battle can be formed around the excitement of the animals' having won and been victorious.

What does Ed mean when he says "I'm the message"?

After the ace of hearts, Ed believes himself to be finished with the deck. However, a surprise waits for him in the form of a joker with 26 Shipping Street written on it—Ed’s own address. Dumbfounded, Ed waits for the challenge to reveal itself.

After meeting with a man in a business suit who shows up at his door and tells him to make his way to the cemetery, Ed finds Daryl and Keith waiting at his father’s grave. The two men give him no answers, but tell him to wait longer.

Days later, a man steps into his cab, takes off his cap, and reveals himself to be the failed bank robber. The man directs him to all of the addresses at which he had fulfilled a message and tells him to look into a mirror, directing him to what he had said at the trial:

“Remember what I’m telling you. Remember it every day when you look in the mirror.” He almost smiles. “A dead man.”

Six months later, the bank robber asks Ed as he looks in the mirror: “Are you looking at a dead man now?” When Ed responds that he is not, the robber says “Well, it was worth it, then. . . .”

At this point Ed is directed to enter his own home, where a man waits for him on his couch and pets the Doorman. The man reveals himself to be the sender of the cards and more:

“I killed your father, Ed. I organized the bungled bank robbery for a time when you were there. I instructed that man to brutalize his wife. I made Daryl and Keith do all those things to you, and your mate who took you to the stone. . . .” He looks down, then up. “I did it all to you. I made you a less-than-competent taxi driver and got you to do all those things you thought you couldn’t.”

He reveals a faded yellow folder that contains every idea and conversation that Ed has had over the past six months. It is understood that he is the author of the story, placing Zusak as a character within the narrative and making Ed aware that his actions and indeed his life have been controlled by someone else. Ed, disbelieving, asks the man, “Am I real?”

The answer is in the notes:

Of course you’re real—like any thought or any story. It’s real when you’re in it.

The man leaves after telling Ed to keep on living, and the next day, Audrey comes by and asks if she can stay for good. Content and happy, Ed later thinks of something the man had said:

“If a guy like you can stand up and do what you did, well, maybe everyone can. Maybe everyone can live beyond what they’re capable of.”

This leads to his realization: if he was not merely acting of his own accord in fulfilling the cards, he was not merely the messenger. He himself was the message: he is an ordinary man who had done extraordinary things, and in doing so proved that he was capable of more than he had ever imagined.

Who is Meggie Cleary in The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough most like in The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini?

Readers who have read all three novels will all have differing views on the messages within them. In answering the question "Who is Meggie Cleary in The Thorn Birds most like in The Kite Runner?" students are being asked to identify and extrapolate similarities and challenges in common. For example Meggie and Baba are both parents so there's a simple place to start; a student could start by just looking at the parenting experience of each character. Was it difficult and disappointing at times? Or was the experience of the parent joyful and rewarding? In the case of Meggie and Baba, it would seem disappointment and even surprise are true. For example Meggie is unlucky in love twice over, once when Ralph leaves her in order to remain in the priesthood and also when her son by Ralph becomes a priest and drowns when still quite young—so there is bitter sorrow there and also unfulfilled dreams. Meggie's daughter Justine, who is fiercely independent but perhaps a disappointment to a mother who may have expected a more traditionally feminine daughter, takes up the unsteady career of acting and has total freedom as her goal. Many mothers want secure and lucrative careers for their daughters.

Some readers may see the disappointed parent character in Baba too in the way he is presented in The Kite Runner. They may even suspect that he actually rates Hassan more highly, because Hassan seems more masculine in his interests and pursuits. Baba doesn't seem to understand his own son, Amir, who is not a fan of aggressive Afghan sports. He wonders why Amir can't defend himself and give back as good as he gets. What both these parents are missing is acceptance of their child's right to be his/her own unique self and love them for who they are, not for who they want them to be.

In A Thousand Splendid Suns Rasheed is also a parent who has certain expectations of his children even though he does not set them a good example himself and is disappointed to have a daughter. He appears to feign fundamental beliefs but does not practice them properly. He only values sons and is disappointed with his daughter and mistreats girls and women. This contrasts sharply with his inflated sense of pride in his son. Rasheed also drinks alcohol, looks at demeaning portrayals of women, and during Ramadan he doesn't bother to fast.

What led to the transformation of Scrooge from a miser to a generous man?

Scrooge's change is the result of his being visited by the ghost of his old partner, Jacob Marley, as well as three spirits: the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and yet to come. Jacob's ghost sets the stage for the others, showing Scrooge that the purpose of life, really, is to help others. He allows Scrooge to see other spirits who mourn their inability to assist the living; these spirits want nothing more than to...

Then, the ghost of Christmas past shows Scrooge scenes from his youth, scenes that help him to understand how he began to change from a hopeful child into an embittered adult. The ghost also shows him how pleasant it was to have a generous boss. The ghost of Christmas present allows him to see Christmas at his employee, Bob Cratchit's, house, how meager the feast is and how grateful the family is for it. He also sees the dinner at his nephew's house, an invitation he'd refused, noting that his nephew seems to have a genuine concern for him. Finally, the ghost of Christmas yet to come shows him the death of Tiny Tim, Bob's sick child, as well as his own passing, mourned by no one, indeed, even robbed by his former servant.

All of these visitations help Scrooge to see that he has made decisions based on money, and those decisions have rendered him alone. He seemed to fear being abandoned, as he was as a child, and so he clung to something that could never leave him: his gold. Once he realized that sharing his money would result in happiness, not just for those whose loans he's forgiven but for himself as well, he determines to give generously.

Can I have a summary on hierarchy in Chapter 7?

Chapter Seven is titled “The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes.” The “hierarchy” concept is raised beginning in subchapter 7. One of the contributing factors to Korean Air’s high number of plane crashes in the 1990s was that the crew members used “mitigated speech.” Even in emergency situations, they addressed each other politely and deferred to their captains, abiding by strong cultural and administrative hierarchies. In a hierarchy, individuals in a group are arranged in a definite order by rank, grade, age, or some other kind of system. Uniformed personnel are usually trained to defer to the knowledge and experience of their top leaders, by rank. There are also cultures whose languages and customs permit much more ambiguity – with the use of highly mitigated speech and extreme politeness – than others. Some of the Asian countries have the highest tolerances for oral ambiguity in the world. These factors combined dangerously for Korean Air. Even when lower-ranked crew members saw potentials for life-threatening circumstances, they didn’t feel free to mention the problems to any higher-ranked officers. The airline’s solution was to teach English to its personnel and to conduct all communication in English, using individual first names instead of rank. These changes allowed everyone the freedom to leave behind their perceived hierarchies. They could be direct and honest, which are necessary features involved when flying planes over mountainous terrain.

What is Suzan-Lori Parks saying in Topdog/Underdog by naming her characters Lincoln and Booth?

In her play Topdog/Underdog, Suzan-Lori Parks draws many parallels between her two African-American characters Lincoln and Booth and the two historic figures they are named after. One parallel is socioeconomic.

In the play, Lincoln, as the older brother, is the provider of their two-person family. He is proud of his job as an Abraham Lincoln impersonator and of the little it can provide for himself and his brother. Meanwhile, Booth gets what he can through dishonest means such as robbing and attempting to pull con jobs. At the start of the play, Booth is trying to learn how to play three-card monte, a street con that has the potential to be lucrative. Booth wants to find enough economic means to be able to marry the girl of his dreams, Grace. However, Booth isn't making much progress in learning the con his brother is already very adept at. In the opening scene, Booth asks Lincoln to teach him the game, but Lincoln refuses, reminding his brother he had promised their mother to look after him and saying he would prefer to do "honest work." In reply, Booth shouts, "YOU STANDING IN MY WAY, LINK!"

One way in which the character Lincoln parallels the historic Lincoln is through the fact that the historic Lincoln saw himself as the provider and controller of the nation. Immediately after his inauguration in March 1861, seven states seceded from the union, and he denounced the states' entitlement to secede by asserting that, as the editor of "Abraham Lincoln: Domestic Affairs" phrases it, the "states had accepted unconditionally the sovereignty of the national government with ratification of the Constitution" (Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia). This shows that Lincoln saw the role of the federal government as being to protect the interests of the individual states while overseeing their actions, just as the character Lincoln feels it is his duty to protect and watch over his younger brother. In addition, such sovereignty as the historic Lincoln believed in and held on to required being in control of the federal government's purse, just as the character Lincoln was the breadwinner for his two-person family.

The character Booth parallels the historic Booth in that the historic Booth represented the desires of the South and the criticisms the South had of Lincoln's actions. The South desired to hold on to slavery because the free labor force was critical to the South's economy. Since Lincoln was an abolitionist, the South felt he was thwarting their economic security, just as the character Booth feels his brother Lincoln is thwarting his economic progress by refusing to teach him to play three-card monte. The character Lincoln echoes the historic Lincoln's sentiments when he says he wants Booth to do "honest work." In continuing to practice slavery, the South was acquiring wealth through immoral means, which can be considered dishonest work, just as pulling con jobs is considered immoral, dishonest work.

What distinguishes Montag's approach to life from those of most of the other characters in Fahrenheit 451?

Montag is different because over the course of the book, he evolves from being more or less a mindless drone like everyone else to being introspective and evaluating his job and his life.

When the story starts, Montag seems to be much like everyone else in his society. He is a fireman, and he doesn’t question his job or his life. He is enjoying being a fireman and likes burning books.

IT was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history. (Part I)

Mindlessness is part of this existence. It doesn’t occur to Montag to be introspective until he meets his teenage neighbor, Clarisse. She asks him if he is happy, and he never thought to ask himself this, so the question shakes him.

"Are you happy?" she said.

"Am I what?" he cried.

But she was gone-running in the moonlight. Her front door shut gently.

"Happy! Of all the nonsense."

He stopped laughing. (Part I)

However, Montag is not like everyone else in that he can change. The fact that Montag would even think about this question shows that he approaches life differently. Clarisse is unique, but obviously Montag is too. He is not like the other members of his community, who never question, never think, and never feel. They are empty shells. The fact that books have been banned is only the tip of the iceberg. People spend all of their time either watching television or listening to their seashell radios in a semi-comatose state. They drive too fast and never hold real conversations.

Montag begins to question his job, which is unusual as well.

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

"We haven't any books."

"But if we did have some."

"You got some?"

Beatty blinked slowly.

"No." (Part I)

Reflection and empathy are not common for firemen, or anyone from Montag's society. The fact that he begins to evaluate his job after Clarisse gets him to question his life really also puts him at risk, however. It is illegal to have books, and Beatty begins to be suspicious of him.

Another way that Montag is different is the fact that he is curious about books. Most of the others in his society do not even care what is in the books. Montag steals books. Beatty knows what is in the books and claims that he thinks they do not matter. He teases Montag with them. Montag, on the other hand, wants more. He wants to really understand what is in the books.

After stealing the books, Montag wants to know how to read them. This is why he seeks out Faber. Mildred, his vacuous wife, has had enough. She turns him in. Beatty gets his revenge, but Montag has the last laugh, so to speak. He turns his flamethrower on Beatty. Montag never wanted to kill a man, but he had no choice. Montag ran off and found the book people and a new society.

The value of 50! is the product of all the whole numbers from 1 to 50 inclusive, i.e. 50! = 1x2x3x...x49x50. Find the maximum number of divisions...

I assume we are asked to find the maximum number of times we can divide 50! by 2 and still get an integer, or how many times is 50! evenly divisible by 2:

This is equivalent to asking how many 2's are in the prime factorization of 50!.

There are 25 even terms each contributing a 2.There are 12 terms that are multiples of 4 contributing another 2.There are 6 terms that are...

I assume we are asked to find the maximum number of times we can divide 50! by 2 and still get an integer, or how many times is 50! evenly divisible by 2:

This is equivalent to asking how many 2's are in the prime factorization of 50!.

There are 25 even terms each contributing a 2.
There are 12 terms that are multiples of 4 contributing another 2.
There are 6 terms that are multiples of 8 contributing another 2.
There are 3 terms that are multiples of 16 that contribute another 2.
There is 1 term that is a factor of 32 contributing another 2.

Thus there are 25+12+6+3+1=47 2's in the prime factorization of 50! so we can evenly divide by 2 47 times.

What are some specific examples from George Orwell's 1984 that show Winston Smith is a hero?

Although he is fairly ordinary at heart, Winston Smith functions as the main hero in George Orwell's dystopian world. This fact might surprise some readers; after all, Winston succumbs to torture at the end of the novel and finishes the narrative as a devout follower of Big Brother. While his end might be tragic, Winston spends the vast majority of the novel exhibiting a quiet and inspiring heroism, so it would be mistaken to judge him solely on his miserable fate in the final pages of 1984. The clearest example of Winston's heroism occurs quite early in the novel: in the first chapter, he steals home to write his thoughts in a diary. This seemingly simple act is perhaps Winston's most heroic moment. Since Big Brother polices the minds of its citizens and punishes those who dare to think for themselves, the decision to record independent ideas in a journal is a rebellious act against the established order. As such, Winston's early decision to rebel by thinking (and writing) for himself is a clear example of his heroism.

In "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier, what are some details that suggest that an evil force might be directing the birds to turn on people?

We experience the story from the point of view of Nat, who is intimately aware of the normal rhythms of nature in his area. As we watch what is going on with him, we come to share his deep sense foreboding that the birds are behaving in unnatural ways. We see as he does that the gulls are massing, then that they are heading toward the farm, details which make it sound as if the birds are especially targeting people:

They were coming in now toward the farm, circling lower in the sky. The farm, then, was their target.

When they attack Nat, it also seems clear that they want to harm people in particular:

They kept coming at him from the air—noiseless, silent, save for the beating wings. The terrible, fluttering wings. He could feel the blood on his hands, his wrists, upon his neck. . . . With each dive, with each attack, they became bolder. And they had no thought for themselves. When they dived low and missed, they crashed, bruised and broken, on the ground.

The fact that the birds have no thought for themselves is especially ominous: most animals have an innate survival instinct. This detail suggests that they do not care how much damage they suffer as long as they inflict suffering on humans.

The birds also target Nat's neighbors, the Triggs, and have the intelligence to rip the phone from the wall:

Trigg’s body was close to the telephone. He must have been trying to get through to the exchange when the birds got him. The receiver was off the hook, and the instrument was torn from the wall.

At the end of the story, Nat apparently accepts that it is all over for his family as the hawks concentrate their attention on breaking down the door. The hawks are engaging in a planned and calculated action, not a random or inchoate attack:

Nat listened to the tearing sound of splintering wood, and wondered how many million years of memory were stored in those little brains, behind the stabbing beaks, the piercing eyes, now giving them this instinct to destroy mankind with all the deft precision of machines.

The final quote suggests that the evil lurks inside the brains of the birds themselves.

What are the themes found in Chapter 8 of Golding's novel Lord of the Flies?

Golding examines several themes throughout Chapter 8, including fear, leadership, manipulation, and inherent wickedness.Ralph's lack of leadership allows Jack to leave the group and start his own tribe without any repercussions. Ralph does not know how to effectively motivate the boys, while Jack skillfully promises them that they will only have to play and hunt. Seeking a better leader, the majority of the boys leave Ralph's camp to join Jack's tribe and indulge in...

Golding examines several themes throughout Chapter 8, including fear, leadership, manipulation, and inherent wickedness. Ralph's lack of leadership allows Jack to leave the group and start his own tribe without any repercussions. Ralph does not know how to effectively motivate the boys, while Jack skillfully promises them that they will only have to play and hunt. Seeking a better leader, the majority of the boys leave Ralph's camp to join Jack's tribe and indulge in their carnal desires.

Other prominent themes in Chapter 8 deal with fear and manipulation. It is the fear of the beast which acts as the catalyst of the boys' descent into savagery. Jack also uses the fear of the beast to manipulate his tribe into following his demands. Once they savagely kill a pig, Jack orders his hunters to severe its head and leave it as a sacrifice for the beast.

Golding also examines the theme of inherent wickedness throughout Simon's encounter with the Lord of the Flies. The Lord of the Flies confirms Simon's belief that the beast was actually each person's inherent wickedness.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho opens with Santiago thinking about his sheep. What does he observe about their existence? How might the sheep...

Sheep are usually thought of as mindless followers. They exist solely to produce wool and not much else. Sheep are also dependent on a shepherd to keep them together as a flock and to lead them to food and water sources. Santiago provides further insight into sheep in the following passage:

"Yes, their days were all the same, with the seemingly endless hours between sunrise and dusk . . . They were content with just food and water, and, in exchange, they generously gave of their wool, their company, and--once in a while--their meat" (7).

This description of the daily life of sheep can be linked to the way many people lead their lives. Humans get into monotonous routines as well. For example, people's lives revolve around daily, weekly, and monthly schedules that include waking up, going to work, eating, sleeping, and repeating the pattern. Santiago realizes that he and his sheep follow certain daily patterns as well. Consequently, he thinks of his parents who also work hard each day for their food and water, "just like the sheep" (8).

His thoughts about the sheep in connection to his parents are important because they prepare the boy for when he meets Melchizedek, the king of Salem. Melchizedek challenges the boy's daily and monotonous routine with the sheep by encouraging him to follow his Personal Legend. If Santiago decides to give up his boring life to seek something better for himself, then he will break the cycle of living like a sheep. Rather than become a mindless follower in life, Santiago has the opportunity to realize his full potential, which is something very few people do in life. Therefore, the contemplation of the sheep at the beginning of the novel is important to show from what point of reference the boy considers when deciding to follow his Personal Legend and give up a life of monotonous routine. Santiago's thoughts about the sheep also echo the way many people simply work in order to exist rather than to live more meaningful lives.

What is a passage from In Cold Blood that describes Capote's attitude towards Dick and Perry's relationship?

In the first section, "The Last to See them Alive," there is a passage in which Perry is waiting for Dick at a Kansas cafe called the Little Jewel. Capote writes from Perry's point of view, "Still no sign of Dick. But he was sure to show up; after all, the purpose of their meeting was Dick's idea, his 'score'" (page 14). Capote presents the Clutter robbery and murders as largely Dick's idea (though in this passage, Dick is contemplating going to Mexico).

Capote sees Perry as twisted and manipulated by Dick, who is unsympathetic towards Perry's needs. For example, later in this passage, Capote writes about the two large boxes Perry carts around with books, maps, and letters: "Dick's face when he saw those boxes! 'Christ, Perry. You carry that junk everywhere?'" Capote portrays Dick as hardened and unsympathetic, while Perry, whose history of abuse at the hands of his parents and foster caregivers Capote relates in harrowing detail, is presented as more sympathetic and as Dick's pawn. Later in this same passage, Perry romantically suggests prospecting for gold, and Dick dismisses the idea by referring to the movie Treasure of the Sierra Madre and saying, "Whoa, honey, whoa. I seen that show. Ends up everybody nuts" (page 15). Dick is clearly in control of their relationship, and he discounts Perry's ideas, dreams, and emotions.

What is the mood of "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne?

Mood refers to the general feelings created for the reader by the text. This story's mood is somewhat eerie and melancholic, even foreboding and tense. The story begins as Goodman Brown leaves his home "at sunset," just before nightfall; he even says his journey "must needs be done 'twixt now and sunrise." The story is set in Salem Village. Now, nighttime is often associated with mystery, dark deeds, and sinfulness, so it seems pretty shady that he has to do something that can only be done at night. Moreover, most readers have a general knowledge of the terrible witch hysteria that resulted in tragedy for so many in Salem in the late seventeenth century. Therefore, simply beginning the story with these details helps to set the mood.

Further, the fact that Brown's wife, Faith, is "troubled" with strange dreams and begs her husband to delay his journey foreshadows something terrible. Her anxiety for him and his safety prompts readers to feel a similar sense of apprehension.

As Brown leaves home, he takes a "dreary road" that is made darker by "the gloomiest trees of the forest." The path is "lonely" as he travels deeper into the forest. Like nighttime, the forest is often associated with evil and/ or temptation, especially in Hawthorne's works, and this is no exception. Brown even thinks, "What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow!" Again, this foreshadows the evil waiting for him in the woods, as well as those corrupt qualities within himself that allow him to believe "after this one night, [he'll] cling to [Faith's] skirts and follow her to Heaven." Brown is not planning a late-night prayer session; he is up to something bad, something he knows that he really shouldn't be doing (as a Puritan man), and that something turns out to be spooky and upsetting.

What have been Obama's contributions on the world?

President Obama has been one of the most popular recent US presidents on the global stage with approval ratings of over 70 percent in many countries. He has been an exponent of multilateralism, attempting to work with global leaders and institutions, repairing the damage done by the "cowboy" style of unilateralism of the Bush administration.

He has worked towards global nuclear disarmament and managed to sign the New START arms control treaty with Russia as well...

He has worked towards global nuclear disarmament and managed to sign the New START arms control treaty with Russia as well as negotiating for Iran to give up its nuclear weapons development in exchange for relaxing sanctions. He also ordered the strike that killed the terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden in 2011, and has participated in multilateral efforts to support the Arab Spring. He has opened up diplomatic relations with and visited Cuba, ending a long period of Cold War hostility between Cuba and the United States.

He has been active in working on international efforts to mitigate global climate change. He steered the US economy out of the worst recession in recent decades, a move that has contributed to a global recovery. He has also been a strong voice for human rights, gender equality, and LBGT rights.

Children have gotten sick in a daycare facility for children of employees where you work. The illness is attributed to an exposure to the...

Based on your background in public health, here are some headings I would recommend for use in promotional materials regarding the Rotavirus:

1) What the Rotavirus is and how it affects the health of your child.

Since this brochure is primarily intended for parents, the first heading should primarily address their main concern: the health and safety of their child at the daycare facility. You would mainly concentrate on utilizing the active voice and relying on shorter, concise sentences to get your points across. It's also a great idea to keep the segments in the brochure or promotional material short and to the point.

In this section, it is advisable to briefly explain that the Rotavirus is a contagious virus. Children who have been infected with the Rotavirus often exhibit symptoms such as vomiting, fever, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.

2) How dangerous is the Rotavirus?

Severe dehydration is a serious result of infection; therefore, infected children will need to be hospitalized so that the infection doesn't result in fatalities or deaths. Babies and young children are especially at risk and will need IV fluids to replace lost fluids.

3) How the Rotavirus is transmitted.

The virus is spread through the fecal-oral route. Infection of susceptible infants and young children can happen when hands or objects at the daycare are contaminated. In order to spread, the virus must essentially travel from the stools of infected children to the mouths of susceptible children. Thus, contaminated objects are the likely conduits (channels) for such an infection to spread.

Since young children often put their hands or fingers in their mouths, the risk of infection is very high.

4) How to prevent a Rotavirus infection.

Although good hygiene can go a long way towards safeguarding infants and young children, the best course of action for concerned parents is to have their child/children vaccinated.

5) Is the Rotavirus vaccine safe?

At this point, you will want to reassure parents about the Rotavirus vaccine. There are two vaccines at this point in time: the RotaRix and RotaTeq. Both vaccines have been tested on more than 70,000 volunteers.

They are given orally (it's important to let parents know how the vaccines are administered). The RotaTeq vaccine is usually given at the ages of 2 months, 4 months, and 6 months, while the RotaRix vaccine is administered in two doses (ages 2 months and 4 months).

Parents can decide on any two of the vaccines for their child/children. The vaccines are effective, meaning that they have between an 85% to 98% success rate (again, these would be important figures for parents).

There are, of course, side effects from being administered the vaccines. These are mild fever and/or diarrhea. Additionally, 1 in 100,000 infants experience what is called intussusception, which is a bowel blockage.

6) If my child is already infected, what is the best course of treatment?

There are currently no antiviral drugs to treat the infection. The best and only treatment is to ensure that all patients are well hydrated. Since constant diarrhea may lead to dehydration (and, eventually, death), it is of the utmost importance to ensure that such a risk is minimized.

Hope this helps! Using what public health experts cite as 'simply-put' language can also go a long way towards communicating with and reassuring concerned parents. Please refer to the links below for examples.

What is the theme of "Good People" by David Foster Wallace?

One theme in the short story "Good People" is the crisis of conscience.

The story's omniscient narrator focuses on the thoughts of Lane Dean and his perception of his relationship with his girlfriend. As they sit on the top of a picnic table with their feet on the bench, Lane watches Sheri sigh with the weight of deciding whether to have an abortion:

The whole thing felt balanced on a knife or wire; if he moved to put his arm up or touch her the whole thing could tip over.

As his girlfriend sits quietly with her thoughts, Lane wrestles with his conscience. He feels guilty for being so "frozen" about this matter. He is trying not to be involved in the consequences that he perceives as influencing his girlfriend's life much more than his.

He pretended it had no name. He pretended that not saying aloud what he knew to be right and true was for her sake, was for the sake of her needs.

Finally, after a lengthy examination of his conscience

...two great and terrible armies within himself, opposed and facing each other, silent—

Lane realizes that he shares responsibility for the situation as much as his girlfriend. So, her moral dilemma is his dilemma, as well. He realizes that he has been hypocritical and selfish to have considered things to be solely decided by Sheri. Watching his girlfriend, Lane recognizes his obligations to her. He knows that she may absolve him of them by declaring that she will have the baby, after all, and raise it by herself. However, he cannot let her do this; he must share with her the responsibility for their actions.

There on the table, neither frozen nor yet moving, Lane Dean, Jr., sees all this, and is moved with pity, and also with something more, something...that is given to him in the form of a question....Why is one kind of love any different? What if he has no earthly idea what love is?

Lane considers the possibility that he does love Sheri after all, and he simply has not recognized his feelings as just another kind of love from what he has imagined. As Lane acknowledges his feelings for Sheri, he takes her hand and prays for the courage to meet the truth.

If cigarette advertising is banned from most mass media, why can beer and alcohol advertisers use these venues?

There are two major reasons for this.

First, we can say that tobacco is more harmful to people than alcohol is. Smoking leads directly to serious health issues, including lung cancer. Moderate use of alcohol, by contrast, does not have any major impacts on people’s health. If tobacco is more harmful to people than alcohol, it makes sense to regulate ads for tobacco more strictly than ads for alcohol.

While the health factor may have...

There are two major reasons for this.

While the health factor may have something to do with the difference in how ads are regulated, it is more likely that political factors are a much larger reason. Since we live in a democracy, the government typically follows the will of the people. In this case, the will of the people says that drinking is much more acceptable than smoking. The vast majority of Americans (about 82%) do not smoke. In contrast, very many Americans drink. According to one of the links below, 71% of Americans drank alcohol in the past year and 57% drank in the last month. The government is not likely to ban advertisements for a product that a large majority of Americans use. If that many people drink alcohol, we can assume that a sizable majority of Americans does not think that alcohol is a particularly bad thing. Given this attitude, it makes sense that the government would regulate ads for alcohol much less strictly than it regulates ads for cigarettes.

What are the five continents that Jared Diamond refers to and what where the settlement patterns of each?

Most geographers assume that the world can be divided into six continents, corresponding to the six major landmasses of Africa, Antarctica, Eurasia, Australia/Oceania, North America, and South America. Diamond discusses five of these. The single exception is Antarctica, as it has no indigenous human life and is therefore not relevant to his work.

In terms of settlement patterns, Diamond emphasizes that the land mass of Eurasia is laid out to make east-west trade and travel relatively...

In terms of settlement patterns, Diamond emphasizes that the land mass of Eurasia is laid out to make east-west trade and travel relatively easy, so that civilizations could exchange resources and ideas, something that facilitated the development of advanced civilizations. Africa and the Americas, by contrast, are laid out primarily on north-south axes, with many barriers to trade. Australia and Oceania are surrounded by oceans, limiting cultural cross-fertilization.

Diamond also discusses how favorable conditions for agriculture led to early dense settlements in Eurasia, something that also fostered the development of advanced civilizations.

What does Austen mean by "sense" and "sensibility"?

The terms “sense” and “sensibility” are used to describe the personalities of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, the two sisters who serve as protagonists in the novel. “Sense” refers to common sense. Elinor is the level-headed one of the two, keeping her emotions in check. She maintains this control throughout the course of the novel, as she watches the man she loves, Edward Ferrars, stay true to Lucy, the woman he is secretly engaged to. Though...

“Sensibility,” which describes Marianne, is closer to our current usage of the word “sensitivity.” Marianne’s emotions are worn proudly on her sleeve. She falls in love easily but unwisely with the dashing Willoughby. He breaks her heart, choosing instead to marry a wealthier woman.

Both Elinor and Marianne must take on some of the characteristic of the other in order to resolve their relationships. In the end, Elinor marries Edward (after Lucy marries his brother), while Marianne marries the more stable Colonel Brandon.

What are four examples of inequality existing in a society?

In spite of the Emancipation Proclamation, in spite of a war fought and won, in spite of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, African Americans in the United States continue to suffer from inequality in every measurable dimension. Even if the American people gather up the will to solve this problem, it will take generations to solve it. Four dimensions that stand out in particular are housing, employment, education, and political representation.

As of 2010, 71% of white people owned their own homes, while only 45% of African-Americans did. There is no reason to think that the subsequent years, in the midst of a recession, have improved this statistic for African Americans. Certainly, the history of this inequality goes all the way back to the Jim Crow laws after the Civil War. Far more recently, though, this is the result of discriminatory lending practices, even by the United States government, which actively sought to limit African-American soldiers returning from World War II from purchasing homes through various government programs, the same loan programs white soldiers used to build the suburbs. African Americans were thus unable to build up any equity in real estate, unable to pass any of that wealth on to their children, and started out behind in the post-war boom.

At the end of last year, unemployment for African Americans was slightly more than twice as high as for white people: 9.5% compared to 4.5%. This substantial difference is the result of discriminatory hiring practices, lower average education levels, and the frequent lack of public transportation to a job. Most states have fair employment statutes, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces the Civil Rights Act. Still, this inequality persists, even as the economy recovers.

In education, the inputs and outcomes for African Americans are extremely unequal. They receive fewer resources, often have inferior teachers, attend poorly maintained physical plants, and are the victims of low expectations. They are punished more frequently and severely than students of other races, leading to the "pipeline to prison" people are finally starting to notice. They drop out at higher rates. Unsurprisingly, they do not perform as well as white students do. If I were treated this way, I probably would not, either.

In Congress, there are 46 African-American representatives or senators. Since Congress has 535 members, this is less than 10%, while the percentage of African-Americans in the general population is about 14%. This is as close as African-Americans have ever come to having representation in proportion to their numbers in the population, but it still falls short and happens at a time at which African Americans have little political sway because most of them are Democrats.

There are many other ways African Americans are treated unequally in the United States, including in longevity and in infant mortality. The four forms of inequality discussed above are striking, I think, and in combination, make every aspect of being African American an uphill battle.

What are some main events in Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson?

Jacob Have I Loved centers around Louise and her relationship with her twin sister, Caroline. Caroline was born sickly and gets more attention than Louise. Caroline takes voice lessons on the mainland and often gets out of doing chores. She belittles Louise, though sometimes unintentionally. She is admired around the island of Rass for her beauty and talent. Louise is often overlooked.

As Louise gets older, she starts to resent Caroline more and more. She...

As Louise gets older, she starts to resent Caroline more and more. She reflects on a change that occurs inside her when she is thirteen:

I was proud of my sister, but that year, something began to rankle beneath the pride. Life begins to turn upside down at thirteen. I know that now. But at the time I thought the blame for my unhappiness must be fixed—on Caroline, on my grandmother, on my mother, even on myself. (Chapter 2)

As Louise struggles with resentment toward her sister, the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor and the United States enters the war. Louise faces more adult problems and concerns. A strange man arrives on the island and Louise is suspicious that he is a spy. She is wrong and she befriends the man, who she calls the Captain. She spends time with the Captain and her friend, Call.

Call goes off to fight in World War II. Caroline leaves for music school. Louise feels alone on the island. She decides to leave and attend college herself. She becomes a midwife.

In "The Bet," does the bet resolve the issue for which the bet had been made?

The original issue was whether the death penalty was better or worse, more or less humane, than imprisonment for life. It somehow got confused with solitary confinement, which had not previously been discussed at all. This was evidently because the lawyer could hardly agree to be imprisoned for the rest of his life, and the banker could hardly be expected to propose such a thing. It might mean keeping the lawyer locked up somewhere for as long as fifty years. He would have to be dead to win the bet. Meanwhile, the banker, a middle-aged man, would certainly have died. A dead man would be collecting from a dead man! So the original issue was never resolved from the very beginning. For plot purposes, Chekhov had to change the terms of the bet, without any explanation, into solitary confinement for fifteen years. That in itself seems questionable, since the banker had only specified a term of five years.

"It's not true! I'll bet you two million you wouldn't stay in solitary confinement for five years."

"If you mean that in earnest," said the young man, "I'll take the bet, but I would stay not five but fifteen years."

No one has been able to explain why the lawyer should have gratuitously added ten years to his ordeal. It was a big all-male party and no doubt a lot of vodka was being drunk. The quoted dialogue sounds as if the two men were showing off for the others and then were too proud to call the bet off when they were sober. The story opens the night before the fifteen years is up, and the banker himself is reflecting that the bet was senseless and proved nothing.

"What was the object of that bet? What is the good of that man's losing fifteen years of his life and my throwing away two million? Can it prove that the death penalty is better or worse than imprisonment for life? No, no. It was all nonsensical and meaningless."

Technically, the banker wins the bet because the lawyer deliberately loses it by leaving his confinement before the full fifteen years is up. Morally, the lawyer has won the bet because he could easily have remained imprisoned for a few more hours. However, he would never have collected the two million rubles because the banker intended to kill him. So the unforeseeable ending has the winner losing and the loser winning. And the issue for which the bet had been made is left unresolved.

Describe Gulliver's stay in Blefuscu.

Gulliver helps save the Lilliputians during a battle with Blefuscu, their mortal enemies, by destroying Blefuscu's fleet. Nonetheless, Gulliver falls out of favor with the emperor of Lilliput because he refuses to destroy the Blefuscudians. After Gulliver is accused of treason in Lilliput, he escapes to the nearby island of Blefuscu, where two guides, who are expecting him, guide him to the capital city. There, the emperor and empress greet him, and Gulliver lies on...

Gulliver then sees an overturned boat off shore, and the emperor of Blefuscu lends him some vessels and a crew to tow the boat ashore. Gulliver receives the emperor's permission and materials to fix up the boat and use it to return home. The monarch also grants Gulliver protection when an envoy arrives from Lilliput and demands that Gulliver return there, as the monarch of Blefuscu is pleased with Gulliver for having brought about peace between the two nations.

The court allows Gulliver to borrow the labor of 500 workingmen to make sails from their linen, and Gulliver fashions an anchor from a stone and chains from the small ropes and chains he finds on the island. Carpenters on the island help him sand his boat, and he uses the tallow of 300 cows to grease the boat. When he is about to depart, the emperor gives him 50 purses and a full-length picture of himself, which Gulliver stores in his glove. Gulliver also loads the carcasses of sheep and oxen, as well as live cows and bulls, and drinks on board his ship, and the emperor bids him a fond farewell.

In The Giver by Lois Lowry, what are five rules of the community in which Jonas lives?

The Giver (Lowry) is a story about a community that is kept in order with many rules and few choices. We learn about some of these in the first few chapters, even on the very first page. Let's go over five of them.

First, this is a community in which it is against the rules for a pilot to fly an airplane overhead. We learn, in fact, that a pilot who does so is released, and while we don't know exactly what that means, we are privy to Jonas' thoughts, that this is "...a terrible punishment, an overwhelming statement of failure" (Lowry 3).

Second, there is a rule in school that requires students to apologize publicly if they are late. Jonas' friend Asher is late for school and he must stand up at his seat to tell his classmates he is sorry for "inconveniencing my learning community" (3).

Third, there are rules governing the justice dispensed in the community when people break the rules. Jonas' mother, who works for the Department of Justice, must follow the sentencing rules. She must release those who have violated the rules a third time, whether she wants to or not. At this point, we still do not know what release is, but we do know the very idea of it makes Jonas shiver.

Fourth, there is a rule regarding the naming of infants. They must not be named until it has been determined that they are to be kept and placed in a household. Before that point, they are given numbers. For example, Lily had been "Newchild Twenty-three" (13). Remarkably, Jonas' father breaks this rule for a child he is nurturing, by giving him the name Gabe.

Fifth, the children in the community are not, by rule, permitted to ride bicycles until they are nine years old. This rule, though, is frequently broken, since older siblings are always helping younger siblings learn to ride before they are Nines.

There are many more rules the community must adhere to in this story. These are just a few that the people must obey, a means of keeping the community under control in every facet of their lives, from public safety to the naming of children.

What worries were often prevalent in Robert Louis Stevenson's life?

Three major worries for the somewhat melancholic Stevenson were health, his career path, and religion.

Robert Louis Stevenson's health was poor throughout his life. When he was an infant and a young child, he came close to death many times. His family had to hire a nanny to be with him full-time. As a school-aged child, he missed a lot of school because he was confined to bed.

Stevenson made it to adulthood, but...

Three major worries for the somewhat melancholic Stevenson were health, his career path, and religion.

Stevenson made it to adulthood, but poor health continued to plague him from time to time. As young man, he lost a lot of weight, became depressed, and nearly had a nervous breakdown (more on that later). After Stevenson married, he and his family moved to the Pacific with the hope that the warmer climate would help his health. (He had tuberculosis, a wasting cough, which was not helped by the cold rainy climate in his native Scotland.)

Stevenson died of tuberculosis at age 44. Despite his poor health, he had lived a full life, had many adventures, and wrote prolifically.

Stevenson was a sensitive, intuitive type who seemed born to be a writer. This caused him some worries about the path he would take in life. He came from a family of engineers and lighthouse keepers, and it was expected he would follow in their footsteps. Stevenson could not make himself stay interested in engineering. To please his father (who was a loving parent but also put some pressure on Robert, his only child), Stevenson then earned a law degree. He had no enthusiasm for law either, and by his early twenties, he was writing full-time. His gift was so strong that it could not be restrained.

Finally, religion was a problem for the sensitive Stevenson. His loving parents were Calvinists, a sect of Christianity. Calvinism, with its emphasis on people's inherent sinfulness and inability to save themselves unless God changes their hearts, is considered by many to be a strict and gloomy form of Christianity. When Stevenson was a young man, he was forced into a confrontation with his parents in which he admitted he no longer believed in God. They were bitterly disappointed. The conversation resulted in a long-term strain on the relationship, and cast Stevenson into a depression. It was after this that he came near to having a nervous breakdown. He was saved by the support and listening ear of a few good friends.

Although Stevenson officially rejected the God of his parents, his outlook on life remained shaped by what he had been taught. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, particularly, shows Stevenson knew well the deceitfulness of the human heart. It is a book that could have been written by a Calvinist. Dr. Jekyll's experience in the book also suggests Stevenson was familiar with dynamics of addiction.

At what speed relative to the lab will a 0.641-kg object have the same momentum as a 1.30-kg object that is moving at 0.515c relative to the lab?

Hello!

Denote the given masses as `m_1^0` and `m_2^0,` and the speeds as `v_1` and `v_2.` I suppose the given masses are the rest masses, and they'll change with the changing of the speeds.

Relativistic momentum is defined the same way as non-relativistic momentum: `p=mv,` where `m` is the current (observed) mass depending of a frame of reference. Also we know that the mass `m` depends on the speed `v` as `m=m_0/sqrt(1-v^2/c^2),` so

`p_1 =...

Hello!

Denote the given masses as `m_1^0` and `m_2^0,` and the speeds as `v_1` and `v_2.` I suppose the given masses are the rest masses, and they'll change with the changing of the speeds.

`p_1 = m_1 v_1 = (m_1^0 v_1)/sqrt(1-v_1^2/c^2),` `p_2 = m_2 v_2 = (m_2^0 v_2)/sqrt(1-v_2^2/c^2).`

It is given that `p_1=p_2.` The only unknown quantity here is `v_1,` and we can find it from this equation. It is more convenient to express `v_1` in terms of `c,` i.e. to find `k_1=v_1/c` (`k_2=v_2/c` is given). The equation is then equivalent to

`(m_1^0 k_1)/sqrt(1-k_1^2) = (m_2^0 k_2)/sqrt(1-k_2^2),` or squared `((m_1^0)^2 k_1^2)/(1-k_1^2) = ((m_2^0)^2 k_2^2)/(1-k_2^2).`

Multiply by `1-k_1^2,` collect the terms with `k_1^2` and it becomes

`k_1^2((m_1^0)^2+((m_2^0)^2 k_2^2)/(1-k_2^2)) = ((m_2^0)^2 k_2^2)/(1-k_2^2),`

and finally

`k_1^2 = (((m_2^0)^2 k_2^2)/(1-k_2^2)) /((m_1^0)^2+((m_2^0)^2 k_2^2)/(1-k_2^2)).`

To find the number, first compute `((m_2^0)^2 k_2^2)/(1-k_2^2) = (1.30)^2*(0.515)^2/(1-(0.515)^2) approx 0.61.` Then `k_1^2 approx 0.61/((0.641)^2+0.61) approx 0.60.` And `k_1 approx sqrt(0.60) approx 0.77.` So the answer is: the first object must have a speed of about 0.77c.

In “And of Clay Are We Created” by Isabel Allende, where does the narrator spend most of her time while Rolf is with Azucena?

The narrator of “And of Clay We Are Created” by Isabel Allende is the partner of Rolf Carlé. They are together in their home when they are awakened by the news of a volcano eruption in Columbia that causes deadly mudslides in the hillside villages. Rolf hurriedly prepares to travel, as a reporter, to the catastrophic scene. She sat at the kitchen table drinking her coffee and contemplating how she would spend her time while...

Rolf Carlé was a prestigious news reporter, and therefore was able to quickly reach the scene of the disaster. While he was there, his partner was unable to stay in their home watching him on television. Instead, she went to the National Television station. It was a place she was familiar with because she and Rolf spent time there working on shows.

Many miles away, I watched Rolf Carlé and the girl on a television screen. I could not bear the wait at home, so I went to National Television, where I often spent entire nights with Rolf editing programs.

While being in a newsroom environment, she felt a connection to Rolf, as if she was at the scene of the disaster with him. In the newsroom, she was emotionally spent as she watched his three-day ordeal. In addition, while she was there, she was able to contact both local and national officials to obtain assistance for those affected by the mudslides. These efforts were met with shallow promises, but provided her with a diversion from staring at the news from the scene.

In The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, how does William Kamkwamba explore the conflict between magic and science?

William Kamkwamba, the author, writes about the way in which his childhood belief in magic, passed down to him by his father, gives way to a belief in science when his family is faced with starvation and privation. He writes about the sway magic held over him as a boy growing up in Malawi before he turned to science. He says, "Before I discovered the miracles of science, magic ruled the world" (page 3). His father teaches him to believe in magic and explains the way in which magic operates "as a third and powerful force" that intervenes in the world because gods and men have too many troubles (page 6). His father explains to him that while magic is invisible, it is still all around him. When William is little, he believes in many forms of magic, such as magic lions who are sent at night to kill debtors (page 13).

William begins to turn to science in part to help himself and his family. For example, William and his friend Geoffrey begin taking apart old radios so they can repair them. Radios are critical because "the radio is the only connection to the world outside the village" (page 68). The boys become very interested in finding out the mechanics that make things run, but they don't consider what they are doing to be science. When the village starts starving, William realizes that magic can be of no help to them. After finding some discarded science books, he begins to construct a windmill. He writes of the forest where he once thought magic ruled: "now I was back there to cut down trees to build a ladder to science and creation—something greater and more real than any magic in the land" (page 199). Hunger and his family's need for electricity cause him to discard his traditional belief in magic in favor of embracing science. The conflict between magic and science is the conflict between traditional and modern belief, and necessity causes William to embrace a belief in science to help his family and his village.

Why is being a good listener important?

Being a good listener can be helpful in many ways. In an educational setting, being a good listener can mean paying attention to a teacher's lesson and gaining a better understanding of the material. Socially, being a good listener helps us to engage with others in meaningful ways. When we are engaging with something like music, film, or nature, being a good listener can help us appreciate the complexity of the subject and become more...

Being a good listener doesn't just mean hearing every single sound that is presented to us. It is important that we think about the meaning conveyed and critically assess the information. For example, if your teacher says that Shakespeare was a genius, what is the meaning of this phrase? Does your teacher simply mean that he was very intelligent, or that his writing expressed his intelligence, creativity, and talent? Lots of genius people have contributed interesting and insightful things to the world, so what makes Shakespeare stand out among geniuses?

When we engage with others socially, it's important to "hear" the underlying meanings of a person's expression, because we often use indirect phrases to convey deeper meaning. For example, if a friend said to you, "I'm feeling under the weather," what does this really mean? Are they under some sort of personal rain cloud? Or is it more likely they are using an English turn of phrase to express that they are feeling sick, sad, or tired? Being a good listener can help you understand the real meaning being conveyed and respond appropriately.

Being a good listener helps you to understand many possibilities and perspectives. It can be helpful during conflict resolution, socialization, and of course, in our studies!

Though by the end of Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, the past glory of the Compson family—built on a bedrock of Southern values—has...

The short answer would be that her faith enables Dilsey to maintain her strength. She has, indeed, "seed the first and de last," whether that refers to the Compson children or to a more spiritual truth. But Dilsey is also a version of the Faulkner family's own servant, Caroline "Mammy Callie" Barr, whom, according to Jay Parini's Faulkner biography, One Matchless Time, Faulkner described as "'a fount not only of authority and information, but of affection, respect, and security.'" Faulkner went on to say that she had been "'born in bondage ... a dark and tragic time for the land of her birth,' and 'went through vicissitudes which she had not caused.' Through all of this, she 'assumed cares and griefs which were not her cares and griefs,' accepting whatever trials and trevails befell her 'without cavil or calculation or complaint.'" If Dilsey is the representation of Mammy Callie, who in many ways raised William Faulkner as his "second mother," and to whom he was quite devoted, it's only natural that Faulkner would depict her is a positive light amid all of the disillusion and decay of the Compson family and the South in general.

What is the democratization of science? How is this helpful in public health?

“Demos” is a Greek word that means people, or village, or the common people of Greece. Democratization is the process of making something available to people. So when we talk about the democratization of science, we are referring to the idea of making scientific knowledge, as well as the tools used in scientific pursuits, more available to people in general, as opposed to just scientists and researchers.

We can look at the democratization of science...

We can look at the democratization of science in a couple of ways. In at least a sense, the democratization of science involves the democratization of knowledge, which we have seen happening on a large scale in the last several decades. Computers were at one time only available to scientists and researchers. When I was in high school in the mid-70's there were only 5 computers in the building, and they were all in a lab to be used for teaching programming—nobody used them to do the actual work of running a school.

The development of the internet has taken the value of personal computers (and so many other devices now) to a new level. I can access an incredible amount of information, and some of that is scientific, that the ordinary person did not have access to a couple of decades ago. Plenty of this information is in the public health sector.

Let's look at a relatively common health issue in America. Mold that grows in houses can cause health problems, sometimes very serious health problems, for people. I can use the internet to research the issue, including practical methods for eliminating mold (in fact I'm including such a link below). That's democratizing information and science in a way that impacts public health—information is power.

The increased availability of scientific knowledge can also help the average citizen uncover and respond to some of the shadier elements sometimes found in society. The sugar industry has been under fire for decades for the negative effects of sugar on public health. So they go to great lengths to make sugar look less dangerous (sounds a lot like the tobacco industry). I am including a link below from a website that deals directly with this issue. I cannot personally vouch for its accuracy, but it is still a good example of how democratization has increased, through scientific progress, the availability of useful information to the public. The fact that the internet is free and anybody can post on it is the greatest example of democratization of all. We no longer depend only on what a publishing company produces or a newspaper prints or a tv station broadcasts.

Finally, we can also consider the systems and hardware involved in the democratization of science as it pertains to public health. All of the benefits mentioned above would be impossible for someone who did not have a computer (or similar gadget) and access to the internet. Some folks don't. So continued democratization depends on making tools and systems available to more people. We've witnessed one of the successes of a competitive economy with the tremendous drop in computer prices, and this is another case of democratization—our business system and has made it possible for the average person to own and use a much more powerful computing device than what even scientists had a few decades ago. But still there are countries that do not have widespread access to what we take for granted. Democratization will stall if less advantageous countries cannot gain access to basic technologies.

Communication is occurring between two satellites. The transmission obeys the free space law. However, the signal is too weak. The vendor offers...

From the free space law (more specifically from the Friis equation), we know that the received power is proportional to the gains of each antenna and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them:`P_{rec} / P_{trans} = G_{trans} G_{rec} (lambda / {4 pi R})^2` Where `P_{rec}` and `P_{trans}` are the power at receiver and transmitter respectively, `G ` are the gains,` lambda` is the wavelength, and `R` is the distance.Gain in...

Where `P_{rec}` and `P_{trans}` are the power at receiver and transmitter respectively, `G ` are the gains,` lambda` is the wavelength, and `R` is the distance.

Gain in turn is given by effective area and wavelength as follows:
`G = {4pi A}/{lambda^2}`

Where `A` is the effective area.

Thus, if we double the area of each transmitter, we will increase both gains by 2, and the overall power received by 4.

But if we double the frequency, we will cut the wavelength in half, which means we would reduce received power to 1/4 if gain remained the same; but in fact if effective area is held constant, gain will increase by a factor of 4, precisely canceling this effect out. Thus, the power received will be equal regardless of what frequency we choose.

The best option is therefore to increase the effective area, increasing received power by a factor of 4. Increasing frequency would not help.

What are the dangers of ideologies in The Crucible by Arthur Miller?

Ideologies play an important role in The Crucible.

The characters possessing ideologies, or a set of beliefs that influence decision making, use them to control others and consolidate their own power in Salem. For example, Hathorne and Danforth represent an authoritarian ideology. They believe that their power should be unquestioned. They demonstrate this power in the way they summon people to the trials and insist that names are given and that those accused accept...

Ideologies play an important role in The Crucible.

Another example of the danger of ideologies can be seen in Abigail. An ideology of emotional manipulation motivates her. Abigail seeks to increase her power over people in the town. She does this through deceit and by playing people against one another. For example, Abigail creates the fear of witches to distract from how she covets John Proctor. Abigail continues this when she sees that naming names increases her importance in the town. She uses the ideology of emotional manipulation to consolidate power over the town. Her ideology proves to be extremely dangerous.

Ideologies motivate Danforth, Hathorne, and Abigail. Others, such as the Putnams and Abigail's friends, follow their example. Ideologies are dangerous in The Crucible because they serve to justify unreasonable control and power over others.

What are some alliterative lines in Beowulf?

Beowulf is written in alliterative verse. The poetic unit of the poem is a single line that is divided by a strong pause (known as a caesura) and that employs alliteration in some of the line's stressed words. As such, basically any line in Beowulf uses some kind of alliteration (the same sound used at the beginning of words). A prime example of alliteration can be seen in the fourth line of the poem: "There was...

The was Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes...

The "s" sound repeated throughout the line is a clear example of alliteration. The use of alliteration was important for the structure of Old English poetry, and so the poet of Beowulf was following a common trend when structuring the verse of the poem. Once you get the hang of it, alliteration is easy to identify, so I'd encourage you to check out the rest of the poem and see what kind of alliteration you can find.

Hypothetically speaking, it has been five years since the trial in Monster. How has Steve changed?

At the end of the novel, Steve Harmon comments that he has been making films where he continually talks to the camera and tells it who he really is. Steve also mentions that he allows his younger brother, Jerry, to use the camera and says that his father moved away. Steve says that he understands the distance and mentions that the reason he makes films is to get to know himself. Steve also wants to...

Hypothetically, five years after the trial, Steve finally understands himself. After years of experimenting by making movies of himself and thinking deeply about his conscience and life decisions, Steve has realized that he is simply a flawed individual, like the rest of humanity, who has both positive and negative character traits. His self-examination has lead him to understand the complexities regarding the duality of human nature. Steve has explored his own morality and followed his mother's suggestion to read the Bible. After reading the scriptures, he has a developed a new perspective on life and has asked for repentance. Steve's love of film making and his drive to positively impact future generations has motivated him to make movies that inspire the youth to think and act independently.

What happened on the Western front during World War I?

The Western front existed in eastern France and Belgium between 1914 and 1918. At the beginning of the war, Germany launched a quick strike through Belgium into France to put France out of the war quickly — this was known as part of the Schlieffen Plan, which was Germany's plan to fight a two-front war with France and Russia. France checked the German advance at the Marne, and both sides lost thousands of men due to frontal assaults on elaborate defensive emplacements. Both Germany and the Allies dug in here, and they would remain in elaborate trenches for the next three-and-a-half years with little movement. Trench warfare consisted of sniping, artillery barrages, and horrifying attacks where soldiers would be ordered to go over the top. The trenches would be protected with several hundred yards of barbed wire, which created a "no man's land" between the trenches. Both sides tried to use tanks and poisonous gas to break through the lines, but the generals in charge did not fully utilize the new technologies, which contributed to the stalemate. There were several bloody battles on the Western front; Verdun and the Somme are some of the more famous ones, though there are quite a few others. The casualty rates for these battles are appalling; at the Battle of the Somme, the British lost 60,000 men in the first fifteen minutes of fighting, all to gain a few hundred yards. By 1917, the British and French armies were at their breaking points psychologically, and the Germans would face starvation if the war did not end quickly. America entered the war in April of that year and by early 1918, the American Expeditionary Front was in France. Americans fought bravely in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and the German lines started to break as hungry soldiers mutinied. The most famous scenes of the war are from the Western Front, and Germany's defeat was ultimately largely caused by its failures to end the war on the Western Front.

In the book Flowers for Algernon, how has Charlie changed at the end of the novel? Is he different from the person he is at the beginning of the...

At the end of the story, Charlie is different from the person he was at the beginning. He does not want people to pity him, and he decides to leave town. After the operation, he started to develop his cognitive abilities and became a genius. He also realized how people treated him before he changed, and their true intentions. He also got an opportunity to participate in the advancement of scientific knowledge.

Anyway I bet...

Anyway I bet Im the first dumb person in the world who ever found out somthing importent for sience.

Although the effects of the operation started to wear off, Charlie remembered some of the things he learned. His ability to read and write was fading, but he learned about friendship, respect, and self-worth among other aspects of life. Charlie did not give up on his wish to become smart again, but he understood his situation better than he did in the beginning.

What is the meaning of "seedy"?

As it's used in the first chapter of Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat, "seedy" means "unwell" or "poor," often as if you've been eating or drinking way too much:

We were all feeling seedy, and we were getting quite nervous about it. Harris said he felt such extraordinary fits of giddiness come over him at times, that he hardly knew what he was doing; and then George said that HE had fits of giddiness too, and hardly knew what HE was doing. With me, it was my liver that was out of order. I knew it was my liver that was out of order, because I had just been reading a patent liver-pill circular, in which were detailed the various symptoms by which a man could tell when his liver was out of order. I had them all.

As you can see in that paragraph from the story, the men are feeling "seedy," specifically meaning that they are feeling dizzy and otherwise sickly.

The Oxford English Dictionary actually cites Jerome's use of this "seedy" as one example of the word's meaning of "unwell, poorly, 'not up to the mark,' specifically as a result of excessive eating or drinking." The idea is that the seedy person is looking pretty shabby, like "a flowering plant that has run to seed," in the words of the OED. Imagine a flower that's already shed its seeds. It's becoming less colorful, less strong, and closer to death.

So, "seedy" is the perfect word for the men in this story. Even though most of their illnesses are imagined, they probably really do look all droopy, tired, and sallow as a result of how they constantly sit around doing nothing but trying to look sick.

In addition to describing what unhealthy people look like, "seedy" also describes what run-down, dirty places look like, and how their reputations are similarly icky. A seedy city street, for example, is clogged with garbage and full of cracks. By extension, a seedy restaurant or a seedy politician has a lowdown, dirty, slimy reputation.

It's good to know, however, that "seedy" can also simply mean "full of seeds," as in "Wow, this watermelon is delicious, but it sure is seedy."

What are the disadvantages of privatization ?

By privatization, I assume you are referring to the handing off of governmental functions to private purveyors, for example, the private prisons that now sometimes house sentenced criminals. The disadvantages of privatization flow from the fact that, in a capitalist economy such as we have in the United States, private entities are generally for-profit and thus have a completely different mission from the government. A for-profit company exists to maximize profit. A government exists to carry out government functions such as educating its citizenry, distributing various benefits to create a safety net, and providing safety and security. These missions are quite often at odds with one another. Let's look at two examples.

The privatization of prisons has for the most part meant that prisoners are not properly cared for and that there is an incentive to encourage more people to be imprisoned. The government, as it imprisons people, is responsible for not overcrowding, for proper meals, and for medical care, at the very least. Less could be considered cruel and unusual punishment. When the government runs its prisons, it takes care to do so properly. The buck stops there. But when a private entity runs the prisons, it wants to make as much money as possible, sometimes accomplishing this by cutting back on food or medical care and sometimes not having enough staff. There may very well be government inspections of the facilities from time to time, but in between, these places are inclined to do their very worst, so they can make more money. Furthermore, the government has no particular incentive to imprison more people, but the private prisons do. There was a horrific situation in Pennsylvania in which at least one judge was getting kickbacks from a privately run prison camp for juveniles, for those he sentenced to the camp, whether or not they were guilty. Situations like this cannot exist when a prison is government-run.

The disadvantages for a privately-run school are the same as they are for prisons. I am speaking now of K-12 education, which should be offered everywhere by government. We now have many charter schools that are for-profit institutions, and again, their bottom line is far more important to them and their investors than the education of children. These are particularly reprehensible, since each student who is attending a privately-run charter school is being paid for by the taxpayers, taking funds away from the children left behind in the public schools and helping these private schools profit. There are those who have argued that private charter schools are better at educating students, but there is little or no evidence over the years to demonstrate this. When government is educating students, its mission is to educate everyone to be a citizen who participates intelligently and critically in a democracy. It may not always succeed, for a myriad of socioeconomic reasons that I could write a book about, but at the very least, we need not worry about its focusing on profits.

Privatization might work for some kinds of situations in which the work being done is not an essential governmental function, for example, providing a swimming pool. But I am very skeptical about privatization generally, since its focus is always making money, not doing what the government is supposed to do.

Discuss two elements which reinforce to the audience that The Lion and the Jewel is an African play.

Lakunle's conflict with traditional society throughout the play reinforces the audience that The Lion and the Jewel is an African play. Lakunle is continually criticizing traditional African customs such as Sidi carrying water on her head, revering the Bale, and most notably paying the bride-price. These customs are specific to the Yoruba culture which developed in West Africa.

Soyinka's characters also mention a significant Yoruba god throughout the play.When Sidi beings to criticize Baroka,...

Soyinka's characters also mention a significant Yoruba god throughout the play. When Sidi beings to criticize Baroka, Sadiku says, "May Sango restore your wits" (Soyinka 23). Sadiku again mentions the Yoruba god Sango when she dances for joy that Baroka is impotent. Sadiku comments, "Oh Sango my lord, who of us possessed your lighting and ran like fire through that lion's tail..." (Soyinka 33). Later on, Lakunle witnesses Sidi run into the village and throw herself to the ground. Lakunle says, "This trial is my own. Let Sango and his lighting keep out of this" (Soyinka 60). Sango is the god of thunder according to traditional Yoruba culture which is another element that reinforces to the audience that the play is African.

Why is Mattie biten by a mosquito in the opening chapter? What might this foreshadow?

Matilda "Mattie" Cook is a young girl living in Philadelphia with her mother and grandfather if 1793. In the first chapter, which takes place on August 16th, Mattie wakes up on a very hot morning with a mosquito buzzing around her ear.

This opening scene provides significant foreshadowing of the events that are about to occur throughout the rest of the book. It is not long before Mattie's mother, Lucille, falls ill, as well as...

This opening scene provides significant foreshadowing of the events that are about to occur throughout the rest of the book. It is not long before Mattie's mother, Lucille, falls ill, as well as Mattie herself. The sickness they are afflicted with is Yellow fever, a viral disease which results in serious symptoms, including bleeding, kidney issues, fever, chills, muscle pains, and even death. It is spread through the bites of infected mosquitoes.

To provide a bit of context of how serious this epidemic was, consider that in Philadelphia (a city of 50,000 people in 1793), at least 5,000 individuals died. This is one of the worst outbreaks in the history of the United States.

What is the significance of the narrator's interaction with his uncle in the story "Araby" by James Joyce?

The dynamic between the narrator and his uncle in James Joyce's "Araby" is an interesting one, although it's touched on briefly. In the story, the narrator anxiously waits for his uncle to return from work, as his uncle promised to give him some money to go a local bazaar. The narrator is particularly anxious about making it to the bazaar on time, as he promised to buy a gift for Mangan's sister, the girl he has a crush on. When the narrator's uncle finally comes home (much later than he promised to), it's apparent he has been drinking and does not care about his nephew's urgency. The uncle's lateness is the main reason the narrator arrives to the bazaar too late to buy anything for Mangan's sister.

Unlike the narrator, who is anxious to prove his worth and love for Managan's sister, the uncle seems to care much less for the relationships in his life. Rather than supporting his nephew, for example, the uncle stays out drinking after work and seems oblivious to the harm he causes. This flippant attitude has a direct impact on the narrator, as it ultimately sets up his despairing epiphany at the end of the short story and the realization that his childhood fantasies are absurd.

While the narrator's dreams of love and adventure have a certain absurdity to them, the ruthless destruction of the character's dreams at the end of the story is somewhat tragic. Faced by the indifference of adults, the narrator has no choice but to amend his sensitive ways and harden his idealistic attitude. Thus, the relationship between the uncle and the narrator illustrates the way uncaring adults (who presumably have already been hardened by disappointment) shatter the idyllic worldview of children and force children to become hardened and cynical. Viewed from this point of view, it's clear the relationship between the narrator and his uncle is one of the most important aspects of "Araby."