What symbols best represent the idea of regret in "The Necklace"?

In symbolizing the life which Madame Loisel desires, there are several things that represent her regret that she does not possess the luxuries she desires.

Because she has no dowry, Mme. Loisel marries a minor clerk in the Ministry of Education. Disconsolate that she does not possess the finer things in life for which she feels herself deserving, she "grieves over the shabbiness of her apartment" and the chairs and the draperies that are worn...

In symbolizing the life which Madame Loisel desires, there are several things that represent her regret that she does not possess the luxuries she desires.

Because she has no dowry, Mme. Loisel marries a minor clerk in the Ministry of Education. Disconsolate that she does not possess the finer things in life for which she feels herself deserving, she "grieves over the shabbiness of her apartment" and the chairs and the draperies that are worn and unattractive.

The sight of the little Breton girl who did her humble housework roused in her disconsolate regrets.... 

These regrets roused by the appearance of the meager servant are for luxurious material possessions. She regrets not owning

• Oriental tapestries on the walls


• large, overstuffed armchairs


• stylish sitting rooms "just right for the four o'clock chat with friends"


• "gleaming silverware" on a lovely dining table


• "delicious dishes served on wonderful china"


• evening clothes and jewels such as a diamond necklace


• lovely wraps to throw over her dresses

Mme. Loisel no longer visits a well-to-do friend from her schooldays because she has always felt so "distressed" whenever she returns home. "And she would weep for days on end from vexation, regret, despair, and anguish."

Of course, the necklace is the greatest item of suffering and regret. For, it becomes the instrument of revenge that fate sets upon Mathilde Loisel for her pettiness, vanity, and hypocrisy as she has to cheat the grocer, do the heavy housework and cooking herself, and live in a garret apartment in order to repay the loan for the replacement of the necklace she has lost.

What does darkness suggest in the poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost?

Before answering this question, it helps to check out the final stanza in Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening":

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleep,And miles to go before I sleep. (13-16)

Many scholars, critics, and readers have proposed that this seemingly simple poem is actually a depiction of an individual contemplating death and/or suicide. One of...

Before answering this question, it helps to check out the final stanza in Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening":

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep. (13-16)

Many scholars, critics, and readers have proposed that this seemingly simple poem is actually a depiction of an individual contemplating death and/or suicide. One of the factors that points to such an interpretation is this final stanza, especially the first line: "The woods are lovely, dark and deep." The darkness Frost references, especially when combined with the reference to sleep, seems to symbolize a kind of death. Moreover, the idea that the speaker of the poem eschews such darkness based on the fact he has "promises to keep" suggests that he has some control in choosing whether or not to give into the referenced darkness. This fact could be seen as a suggestion of suicide and, once that idea comes into one's head, it becomes difficult to read the poem and its suggestion of darkness as anything else but a contemplation of death.

That's not to say that this is the only way to read the poem. The meaning of darkness remains fairly ambiguous and, while it certainly could refer to death, it could just as easily refer to something else entirely. Some readers, for instance, point out that the speaker could be talking about rest in general, and so one might not need to wrestle with death at all. In short, there are many readings of this poem, and many interpretations of its "darkness." That said, the idea that darkness suggests death or suicide has proven to be one of the poem's most long-lasting interpretations. 

In your opinion, which road in Frost's "The Road Not Taken" is better and why?

Neither is better.  They are, essentially, the same.

The speaker says that he comes to a fork in the road, and he examines one road and then the other.  When he looks at the second, he says that it is "just as fair" as the first, and he claims that "the passing there / Had worn them really about the same [...]."  In other words, then, the roads -- although they are not identical and...

Neither is better.  They are, essentially, the same.

The speaker says that he comes to a fork in the road, and he examines one road and then the other.  When he looks at the second, he says that it is "just as fair" as the first, and he claims that "the passing there / Had worn them really about the same [...]."  In other words, then, the roads -- although they are not identical and do look somewhat different from one another -- have been traveled approximately the same number of times.  To say that they have been worn about the same amount means that there simply isn't one road that has been more or less traveled than the other.  They have been traveled equally.  In fact, on the morning on which the speaker encounters the fork, he says that the two roads "equally lay" in the leaves, and so they are really not significantly different from one another.  Therefore, when the speaker says that, when he's old, he's going to tell others than he took the road "less traveled by," he basically admits that he's planning to lie.  Everyone wants to believe that their choices are significant and that they are original and unique, but, this poem suggests that there really are no such unique choices.  They have all been made hundreds, thousands, of times before, and these decisions are really not as momentous as they seem at the time.

Thus, one road is no better than the other.

What did President Franklin Roosevelt do to lift America out of the depression?

Just after being inaugurated as the new president of the United States in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the American people, telling them he would "wage a war" on the economic emergency of the Great Depression just as he would if the country were being attacked by a foreign foe.

Roosevelt's commitment to help the American people caused them to be confident in his plans, which collectively became known as the New Deal. The New...

Just after being inaugurated as the new president of the United States in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the American people, telling them he would "wage a war" on the economic emergency of the Great Depression just as he would if the country were being attacked by a foreign foe.

Roosevelt's commitment to help the American people caused them to be confident in his plans, which collectively became known as the New Deal. The New Deal was made up of several projects and initiatives that were designed to bring the country more financial stability. Some of the more significant achievements as part of the New Deal included the following:

• A four-day bank holiday to keep people from taking money from shaky banks. This began the process of stabilizing the banking industry.


• Asking congress to end Prohibition, making the sale and purchase beer legal again.


• The establishment of the National Industrial Recovery Act, which guaranteed workers the right to unionize and bargain as a collective group for increased wages and improved working environments.

Roosevelt's initiatives and plans didn't resolve all the United States' economic problems, but they did allow the American people to have more confidence in their government's ability to help in a financial crisis.

Does Amir redeem himself at the end of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini?

Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner revolves around the sins and guilt of its protagonist, Amir. In his childhood, and at the beginning of the text, Amir witnesses the rape of his friend Hassan during a kite running contest. Hassan is raped because he refuses to give up Hassan's kite to the local bully when he is running it in the kite running contest. Amir says and does nothing to prevent the rape. In his confusion and shame, he rejects Hassan. Amir lives with this guilt for the rest of his childhood, and it ends up shaping many of his adulthood decisions. 

At the end of The Kite Runner, Amir has rescued Hassan's son, Sohrab, from sexual slavery. This rescue causes Amir significant physical, mental, and fiscal sacrifices. It's not until the final scene, in which Amir runs the kite for Sohrab, that Amir finally redeems himself. By making the decision to assume Hassan's role, Amir absolves himself of his childhood prejudices and sins. 

An electric clothes dryer is rated at 2,800 W. How much energy does it use in 35 min?

You can use the following formula to solve this problem: Electric Energy = Power x Time.  

You have already been given the power. It's 2,800 watts. 1 watt of power is equivalent to 1 Joule of energy per second.

That means you need to convert 35 minutes into seconds. Multiply 35 minutes x 60 seconds/ minute and you get 2,100 seconds.  

Now multiply that answer by the 2,800 watts of power being used....

You can use the following formula to solve this problem: Electric Energy = Power x Time.  

You have already been given the power. It's 2,800 watts. 1 watt of power is equivalent to 1 Joule of energy per second.

That means you need to convert 35 minutes into seconds. Multiply 35 minutes x 60 seconds/ minute and you get 2,100 seconds.  

Now multiply that answer by the 2,800 watts of power being used.  

2,800 x 2,100 = 5,880,000 Joules

The electric dryer in question is using 5,880,000 Joules of energy during that 35 minute time period. Compared to anything else in the house, that clothes dryer is probably the the highest electric energy consumer on the property. I've attached a link below that explains a few other formulas regarding electricity consumption, usage, and how the power company uses kilo-watt hours instead of joules.   

What are the different ideas about the way the law operates and the different views expressed in Chapter 23 of To Kill A Mockingbird?

After the trial and conviction of Tom Robinson, Jem talks with his father about the laws and conditions that relate to this trial.

• Jim Crow and the law

When Jem objects to the severe penalty imposed upon Tom Robinson--

"It ain't right. He didn't kill anybody even if he was guilty. He didn't take anybody's life"--

Atticus informs his son that in Alabama rape is a capital offence. Still Jem objects to the jury's severe sentence, and Atticus points to the one deciding factor that exists in their time: 

"Tom Robinson's a colored man, Jem. No jury in the part of the world's going to say, 'We think you're guilty, but not very' on a charge like that....It was either a straight acquittal or nothing."

Later in his conversation with his son, Atticus explains that the jury of white men who served at the trial are reasonable men, but during the trial something came

"...between them and reason....they couldn't be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins."

• Circumstantial Evidence

Then, Atticus tells his son that he has no argument against rape being a capital offence, but he does have deep disapproval of the jury's having found Tom guilty on what was purely circumstantial evidence. When Jem points out that many others have been convicted on circumstantial evidence, Atticus qualifies his disapproval as he objects to the fact that judgments are made upon the basis of "reasonable doubt." He believes that when there are no eye witnesses, there should not be a conviction if there is even a "shadow of a doubt."

• Judgment by juries

Jem feels that juries should be done away with; Atticus feels that the law should be changed, not to eliminate juries, but to have the law state that only judges have the power of fixing the penalty in capital cases. [Interestingly, Alabama now allows for judge override of a sentence given by a jury.]

He does point out, however, that people often carry resentments into the jury box, subtly alluding to Bob Ewell who lied and made Tom Robinson a scapegoat for his daughter's conduct.

• Selection of juries

Jem wonders aloud why there are rarely residents from the town who serve on juries in Maycomb, and why someone like Miss Maudie is never on a jury. His father tells him that women are not allowed to serve on a jury, and the townspeople rarely serve because they would have conflicts of interest many times. Atticus illustrates this last point by saying that if a resident of Maycomb such as Mr. Link Deas, who owns a store in town, were called to be a juror in a case involving two townspeople, he would wish to exclude himself because he would not want to lose either person's business. For, a verdict against one of them may cause resentment by that person, and this feeling could spread to other customers.