In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, what is the psychology of either Tom or Laura? What internal conflict is the character dealing...

Laura's conflict is that she wants to be loved, but she also fears interaction with the world. She is emotionally fragile, as fragile as the glass collection she is always washing and polishing. She suffers from something akin to a social phobia and a form of anxiety, as she can't even stand going to the business class she was attending and instead prefers walking by herself. She blames her social isolation on being crippled, but her mother insists that Laura is not crippled. Instead of trying to connect with other people, Laura prefers, like the glass she cherishes, to be put on a shelf by herself. She looks back nostalgically on high school and one boy, Jim, who she used to like. 

When Jim shows up at the door with Laura's brother, Tom, Laura feels sick and refuses to open the door, again showing her retreat into social isolation. When Jim and Laura finally speak, he diagnoses her with an "inferiority complex," which is his way of saying that she needs more confidence in herself and needs to interact with the wider world. While dancing, Jim breaks Laura's glass unicorn, which is symbolic of the way that he convinces her that she isn't so fragile and can get out in the world. She refers to this accident as "a blessing in disguise" because for one moment, the unicorn, who is much like her, is just a normal horse and fits in with other creatures. At the end of the play, Laura's anxiety and social phobia cause her to probably always stay with her mother, Amanda, or to live a socially isolated life, after her brother Tom has left. 

What is the significance of the title "To Autumn" by John Keats?

This poem by John Keats, one of the most well-known Romantic poets, is in the form known as an ode, which is a type of poem that is usually intended to celebrate a particular person or thing. The textbook definition is usually a variation of the following: "a lyric poem in the form of an address to a particular subject, often elevated in style or manner and written in varied or irregular meter."

The title of this ode indicates the poem is dedicated to the season of autumn, and Keats writes a very lofty and moving ode to this season. Keats could have created any number of possible titles, but keeping it so simple and yet so wide open (as opposed to naming it after the month in which he was inspired to write it, or after a particular image or idea) allows the reader to meditate upon the entire season of autumn, its warm beginnings, journey through abundance and harvest, and then to its beginning of dormancy in preparation for winter. The imagery suggests humans are deeply tied to this season, as it embodies both fullness and life, as well as decay and death, in the sights and sounds of the cycles of nature. By giving the poem this title, Keats encourages readers to allow themselves to be as moved as he is by the beauty of this season, almost as if it is a love song or an admired person who deserves to be honored.

Keats crafted one of the most well-loved poems on autumn. It is a very sensual poem, with imagery that conjures sounds, tastes, smells, and textures, as well as visuals. The poem is the basis for the titles of the series of very popular "Sandman" graphic novels by Neil Gaiman, the first of which is called "Season of Mists," the first line of Keats's poem. In this way, Gaiman's work is a sort of ode to Keats's poem, which shows the relevance and significance of Keats' work centuries after he lived.

What is Banquo's importance in Shakespeare's Macbeth and how does his role affect other characters?

Banquo in many ways can be seen as a foil to Macbeth. Though Banquo also witnesses the prophecy of the witches, he does not choose to take matters into his own hands. This decision provides us with a marked contrast to Macbeth, who interprets the witches' prophecy as an invitation to murder his way to the throne of Scotland. Interestingly enough, though Banquo makes no effort to act on the prophecy, the witches' prediction still comes true, as it's suggested that Banquo's descendants will become a line of kings. This suggestion makes Macbeth's own actions even more evil, as it implies that individual action (and, by extension, Macbeth's murderous schemes) were not necessary to fulfill the prophecy. 

Banquo affects other characters, especially Macbeth, in significant ways. Appearing at a banquet in a grim and ghostly form, Banquo's spirit inspires dramatic paranoia in Macbeth and causes the king's mental state to unravel. Thus, Banquo's ghost is one of the primary forces that contributes to Macbeth's decline, and so it also sets the stage for the tyrant's downfall. 

From the chapter "Impacts of the Cold War: At Home and Abroad:" Based on your textbook reading, think about the history of the Cold War and how it...

I believe you are referring to the textbook U.S. History, Volume 2 by David Trowbridge. The conflict during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the U.S. is similar to the conflict between the Middle East and the Western world today because each side believed or believes the other wanted or wants global domination. 

Two events or issues that occurred during the Cold War were the American involvement in supporting countries that were rebuilding after World War II along capitalist lines through the Marshall Plan. This plan gave $12 billion to countries who participated to convince them that, as Trowbridge writes, the Americans were generous and wealthy, while the promises of economic wealth from communism were not true. Another event was the involvement of the U.S., through the United Nations, in the Korean War, which has been called the "Forgotten War." During the Cold War, the U.S. thought it was essential to become involved in Korea to prevent the further spread of communism. 

These two events are similar to events that have occurred recently in the Middle East. For example, the U.S., similar to the Marshall Plan, gives a great deal of foreign aid to countries it supports in the Middle East, including Israel and Afghanistan, and it uses aid to support allies in the region. In addition, American involvement in the Korean War is similar to the U.S. involvement in wars in the Middle East, including the first Persian Gulf War in 1990-1991 in reaction to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, and the 2003 Iraq War in which the U.S. ousted Saddam Hussein. The U.S. became involved in the Korean War in 1950 after communist forces occupied South Korea.

The issues of American involvement abroad are similar today to the issues during the Cold War, in that, as Trowbridge writes, Americans see foreign involvement as necessary to protect domestic interests. Americans also see their opponents as threatening in ways that go well beyond the immediate conflict at hand. As he writes about the USSR and the U.S., "What is clear is that both nations came to view the other as aggressive and committed to global domination by the early 1950s." The U.S. also sees its opponents in the Middle East today as desirous of world domination. 

What alliteration does Jaques use in his speech about the seven ages of man?

Jaques' "Seven Ages of Man" speech is fantastic, and one of my favorite Shakespearean speeches. There's a great example of alliteration toward the end of the speech, but, before we can look at the example, it's important to remember what alliteration is. Alliteration is the repetition of a particular sound at the beginnings of several words in a particular grouping, such as a phrase or sentence. It's worth pointing out that alliteration is based on the repetition of sound and not necessarily just letters; the phrase "fun philosophy," for instance, uses alliteration, as both "fun" and "philosophy" utilize an "f" sound at their beginnings.

With that definition in mind, take a look at the following lines toward the end of the "Seven Ages of Man" speech: "His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide, / For his shrunk shank" (22-3). This section of the speech employs two kinds of alliteration. First, there's the repeated "w" sound in "a world too wide"; then, there's the repeated "sh" sound in "shrunk shank." Alliteration is easy to spot once you get the hang of it, so I'd encourage you to read the rest of the speech to see if you can find any more examples of alliteration. 

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, how does Aunt Alexandra involve herself in Maycomb's social life?

In Chapter 13, Aunt Alexandra moves in with the Finch family and fits perfectly into the community of Maycomb. Scout comments that the ladies of Maycomb welcomed Alexandra with open arms, and she earned a reputation as an excellent hostess for her Missionary Society. Scout mentions that Aunt Alexandra served the refreshments and delicacies on her own, which implies that Alexandra took her social events very seriously. In addition to her church-related activities, Alexandra also became the Secretary of the Maycomb Amanuensis Club. Aunt Alexandra assimilates well into Maycomb by confidently socializing with the other ladies on Sunday afternoons. Aunt Alexandra freely shares her advice and judgments about various members and families in Maycomb County. Because of her refined personality and exceptional manners, Alexandra becomes very popular throughout the community.

Are there any strategies that could reduce the threat that the world's population may eventually not be able to sustain itself and its environment?

The issue you are concerned about was actually first raised by the English clergyman, the Reverend Thomas Malthus, who noted in the late eighteenth century that the population was growing geometrically but food supplies were only growing arithmetically, and predicted this would eventually lead to a crisis in which food supplies were inadequate to feed the world population. There are two possible solutions to this problem: reducing population or reducing the environmental impact of each person.

There are several ways to reduce the population. The first is government incentives ranging from the authoritarian (China's one-child policies) to various more subtle incentives, such as eliminating tax breaks and other forms of subsidies for bearing children and increased incentives or tax breaks for not having children. Access to free birth control, abortion, and sterilization also allows people to choose not to have children. Another major step in reducing population growth is educating women, increasing gender equality, and reducing poverty, as better-educated women in countries with less poverty and more equality of opportunity tend to bear fewer children.

There are several ways to reduce the environmental impact of individuals, including recycling, using renewable energies, reducing use of fossil fuels, and implementing other green initiatives. There are several strategies to increase agricultural yields in a sustainable fashion. One of the most obvious ways to increase food supply is for people to follow vegetarian diets, as it takes 8 to 30 pounds of plant food to create a pound of meat; it is much more efficient for people simply to eat plants rather than feed plants to animals and then eat animals. 

How do I get a Pokestop in my house?

Although Niantic is not currently accepting requests for Pokemon Go stops, many hope they will reopen the form at some point so that you can ask them to place one in your area.

Niantic originally used stops from another of their games, Ingress, as their Pokestops. This means that they directly imported that information into Pokemon Go. Because of this, many rural areas don't have Pokestops—which can be a real problem for people who want to play the game but don't live near any cities.

For a short period of time after releasing the game, Niantic accepted requests for Pokestops. You might want to check back periodically to see if they have reinstated the request box. The form is found on the Pokemon Go support page. You have to click on the "Submit a request" button and then select that you wish to add a Pokestop or Gym. The form then asked for additional information, such as name suggestions and an address.

While it might seem fun to have a Pokestop outside of your house, remember that you would not be the only person to use it. Do you really want people camped out in front of your house all day and night? Probably not. Niantic will not add Pokestops or Gyms to homes (unless there is a special needs case), so make sure to request a public location.

If, however, you are a special needs person or have a disability, rumors say that Niantic will consider adding a Pokestop or Gym within reach of your location.

What historical context can help me understand the line "So have I also, often in wretchedness" from "The Wanderer"?

You are right to seek out the historical context for this ancient, Anglo Saxon poem in order to understand the meaning of that line. First, let us put the line in context and then talk about its historical significance. The following is from the Old English translation from my own textbook:

So I,

often wretched and sorrowful,

bereft of my homeland,

far from noble kinsmen,

have had to bind in fetters my inmost thoughts

We learn from the first stanza that the speaker feels lonely, "wretched and sorrowful" because he seems destined to wander the open ocean on a sea voyage. During Anglo-Saxon times, sea voyages were common, long, and treacherous. There were no modern conveniences. Sails and stars were the useful implements. Sailors were at the mercy of the weather. Obviously, from the lines in the quote above, the wanderer is without his "noble kinsmen"—his friends and family. The wait to see family and friends again will most likely be "for a long time," as the speaker tells us in the poem.  

Another important part of the historical context (although not contained in the quote you mention) is the Anglo-Saxon transition from paganism to Christianity. Note that even in your quotation, old paganism does not provide enough hope for the wanderer. The only thing that does is hinted at in the first and the last lines of the poem. The first lines mention "the mercy of the Lord" while the last lines reveal the following:

It is better for the one that seeks mercy, consolation from the father in the heavens where, for us, all permanence rests.

As a last mention of historical context, we should note that the Anglo-Saxon life—especially an Anglo-Saxon sailor's—is one of uncertainty. Disease, weather, famine, and death are all realities for the Anglo Saxon. Mercy from God is all Anglo-Saxon wanderers can hope for.

What are your thoughts on the Obama Administration's decision to allow oil and gas exploration in the Arctic? What are the drawbacks to your position?

I am not sure of your opinion on this issue, so I will try to show you both sides of the argument and let you make your own decision. First, look at the positive aspects of this. There is projected to be 34 billion barrels of crude in the Chukchi region, over half of it less than 200 feet deep. By 2040, analysts project shale oil will not be enough to power the American economy; other sources will be needed.

Now, for the negatives. I am biased in my opinion, so this list may cloud your judgment. First, greater availability of oil will lead to less desire to develop alternate sources of energy, such as hydroelectric and solar. Global warming is becoming a worldwide issue, and America uses more oil than any other country — developing oil reserves is not a good example for nations that America criticizes for their pollution. Next, it's cold in Chukchi and supply lines are hard to create. While workers can be enticed with higher salaries, it would become more difficult to supply these workers with what they need given the current state of roads in the region. The region is also ecologically delicate in ways biologists are just starting to realize fully. The region is home to saltwater fish that are an important part of the world's food supply and ecosystem. Any potential spill would take a gargantuan effort to clean up — perhaps even larger than the Deepwater Horizon Spill of 2010.

I have enclosed an article that lists both the positives and negatives of America's Arctic drilling program. For your paper, I would take a side, and then argue the side I chose, then point out the drawbacks of my side, whether or not I decide to drill. You should also, however, make sure you point out that your side is correct in that its positives outweigh the negatives.

Why does Athena favor Odysseus in Book 1 of the Odyssey?

Athena's favor towards Odysseus is a major theme throughout the Odyssey. In fact, she is his "guardian goddess." As the goddess of battle and wisdom, Athena shows favor towards Odysseus because he exemplifies many of the qualities that are most important to her. Throughout the Odyssey, all of Athena's words and interactions revolve around Odysseus in some way, further illustrating the degree to which she favors him.

One of the primary reasons why Athena favors Odysseus is that she admires his character. Despite being a "mere mortal," Odysseus never gives up in the face of the many challenges presented to him. He is a strong leader and exercises wisdom on many occasions. Odysseus also appreciates Athena's favor and influence, which encourages her to grant him more favors in return. Athena's admiration is evident when she allows Odysseus to fight the suitors rather than intervening directly. This shows she trusts him and has faith in his skill as a warrior.

Another reason why Athena shows favor to Odysseus is his heroism. Despite the fact that he does many un-heroic things throughout the story, he is a strong character with an equally strong will. His reputation precedes him, so the goddess Athena is already well aware of his character by the time the story begins. Although he has the favor of the gods, Odysseus delivers justice with his own power.

What tone does McCourt use as he characterizes the conditions of his youth in Angela's Ashes?

McCourt uses a wry, sardonic tone as he outlines the miseries of his poor Irish youth with a stereotypically drunken father and a defeated, pious mother, and the miseries of his family's wet journey back to a rainy country. He calls a miserable Irish Catholic childhood the most miserable of all childhoods, but notes as well that a happy childhood is not worth having. He says that in Limerick, where his family ends up, clothes never dry and that people flock to church not out of religious impulses, but to avoid the rain. It is a perpetually gray, rainy place where people are chronically sick with colds and hacking coughs.

The dry, humorous, self-mocking tone McCourt adopts creates a distance from his suffering that allows him to describe the childhood miseries he endured in a way an audience can bear. He had a truly impoverished childhood in a repressed society, but he manages to find bleak humor in his situation that sustains both him and the reader. 

What are the new contemporary management challenges faced by businesses?

Different businesses face different types of challenges. A small family-owned antique store or restaurant in a small town faces far different challenges than a multi-national technology firm.

The first type of challenge faced by many larger businesses is globalization. This means that competition, which was once more localized, is now global. Manufacturers in rich countries need to compete with producers in countries with lower wages and fewer regulations. In developing countries, local industries need to compete with highly efficient and sophisticated multinational corporations. 

The next challenge is the rapid pace of technological change. New technologies are constantly appearing and being replaced, and businesses must learn to adapt to them. Even a small local restaurant, for example, might need a web presence and online ordering. Larger companies need fully integrated technology and media strategies for everything from hiring to supply chain management to customer relationships. 

Was Napoleon an heir of the Revolution?

Napoleon never claimed a connection to the French Revolution and even opposed worker's unions as "Jacobin institutions," but it could be argued that his empire was responsible for the spread of the revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity. The Napoleonic Code ended all feudal rights and privileges, promoted individual property rights, and replaced the traditional religious code of law with a more secular approach. It also banned secret laws and ex post facto laws to ensure equal enforcement of the law to all people. These legal reforms provided more individual legal and property rights to French citizens. Napoleon also attempted to create a social hierarchy based on merit rather than birth. He offered amnesty to the nobles who fled France during the revolution, but did not return their lands to them. Napoleon allowed those who acquired nobles' land after the emigration of the nobles to keep their personal property. While Napoleon was not a supporter of the revolution, his reforms created a society that was more equal and free than the birth-based nobility and feudalism of pre-Revolutionary France, in accordance with the ideals of the Revolution.

What are some examples of social structure?

Social structures are systems or relationships which organize the way individuals and groups of people interact with one another. We consider them to be fairly fixed, if not static, and to be understood by all members of a group. 

One example we can consider is the social structure of the family unit. Most people grow up with their families and experience power relations and responsibility in the form of older-younger. We can very easily see this in the relationship between parents and children. At the risk of being reductive, we could say that the social structure of the family unit works because parents provide for their child's wellbeing, and children obey and learn from their parents. Of course, in reality, it is far more complex than this statement captures.

Another example to consider is the concept of a class or caste system. Class and caste systems are a form of macro or societal structures-- rules which govern the functioning of an entire society based on relative access to power, prestige, and privilege. Class systems are often based on economic status but may also take into account racial or ethnic identity, heritage, gender, occupation, or health status. Caste systems are more dependent upon particularities of ethnic identity and a heritage of family members belonging to a particular class. Another difference between class and caste systems is that class offers a sense of mobility-- someone can increase or decrease their class status through particular choices in life. In contrast, caste systems offer no mobility, regardless of life decisions. 

The opposite of a stratified or differentiated social structure would be an egalitarian one. In egalitarian societies, all members of a group are valued equally and contribute their efforts and ideas for the benefit of the entire group. Early human groups were egalitarian, and some small still practice this today. Egalitarianism is not only a societal structure and may be practiced in groups of very small size. You may have experienced egalitarianism in your friend group when a decision-making opportunity arose and everyone participated in the process. 

What is one response to the end of "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut?

On one hand, when Harrison breaks free from his handicaps, it is a liberating moment. When he removes the dancer's handicaps and they embrace in a romantic display of dancing and grace, it is a triumphant moment. 

On the other hand, when Harrison breaks free, he names himself emperor and selects his empress. He doesn't speak on behalf of other people who have been handicapped. He doesn't inspire a rebellion or an uprising. He only talks about himself: 

"I am the Emperor!" cried Harrison. "Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once!" He stamped his foot and the studio shook.

Knowing that Harrison has been fighting the oppression of the Handicapper General, it is disheartening to see him assert himself as a tyrant. He doesn't say anything about changing the way society is governed. He just immediately becomes obsessed with power. 

So, when he and his empress are killed, it is tragic. But given the selfish way he deals with his brief freedom, it doesn't seem as though his society has lost a righteous savior. Harrison wastes his opportunity and because of everyone else's handicaps, he is quickly forgotten. 

What is the take-home message in The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch?

The "take home message" of The Last Lecture is that our dreams must play an active role in the lives we lead.

Pausch is confronted with a challenging reality as he decides to deliver his "last lecture."  He knows that he has only months to live.  He also knows that the summation he gives should not be about dying as much as how to live life even in the face of a defined end.  This understanding determines his message:

Whatever my accomplishments, all of the things I loved were rooted in the dreams and goals I had as a child…and in the ways I had managed to fulfill almost all of them. My uniqueness, I realized, came in the specifics of all the dreams—from incredibly meaningful to decidedly quirky—that defined my forty-six years of life. Sitting there, I knew that despite the cancer, I truly believed I was a lucky man because I had lived out these dreams.

Randy's "take home message" is that individuals should live their lives in accordance to their dreams.  He believes that a dream worth dreaming drives a life worth living.  

Randy employs several key moments to communicate this message. One such moment is when he recalls painting the walls of his room.  When he paints the quadratic formula and the elevator, it is clear that Randy's aspiration will fuel his hard work. His dream of utilizing math at an early age as well as the dream of smashing boundaries through the image of the elevator helped to fuel Randy's purpose in life.

Another detail that reveals the importance of dreams in Randy's life is when he was able to meet "Captain Kirk." Randy talks about how he "imagined a world where I actually got to be Captain Kirk."  It fuels his desire to build his landscape of virtual reality and share it with William Shatner, the actor who played Kirk on the television series.  Randy's dream fueled his work as an engineer. Randy's dream also played a role in how he faces death. This is seen when he received an autographed photo of Shatner playing Kirk with the line "I don't believe in the no-win scenario."  Randy's dream and "infatuation" with Star Trek kept him "in good stead" because it fueled his life's work and assisted him with how he would confront cancer.

Finally, Randy's dream of "making it" to the National Football League (NFL) was another instance where one's aspirations provides the blueprint for how to live life. Randy wanted to be a football player, a dream that never came true.  However, in this key detail, Randy's message is that there are instances where we can derive much from not accomplishing our dreams.  When Coach Graham treats Randy in a rough manner, he realizes that Coach won't "give up" on him.  Coach Graham taught Randy the value of hard work and that our work ethic must match our dreams.  He gave Randy "a feedback loop for life." Randy's experience with Coach Graham taught him the "head fake," where we learn a life lesson "well into the process" of doing something.  This provides the inspiration for Randy's last lecture.  It becomes a head fake for his kids, an instruction manual on what to do and how to live even when their father is absent.

In what sense are “memories forever” in Lois Lowry's The Giver?

In Lois Lowry's The Giver, memories are "forever" in the sense that they must be held by at least one person. They will not cease to exist. Released by one person, they inevitably will attach themselves to others. The community has found some means to place all memories in the Giver, where they stay until the Giver passes them on to the Receiver, who becomes the new Giver. Whoever is holding the memories must remain in the community. If the person who holds the memories goes Elsewhere, the memories return to the community. The Giver explains to Jonas that this "would mean that the community has to bear the burden themselves, of the memories you had been holding for them" (155). As Jonas begins to understand the horror of this community, he wants to leave, but there is no one ready to replace him as a new Receiver and the Giver cannot take back the memories he gave to Jonas. As a result, the permanence of memory creates a situation in which Jonas's leaving is likely to overwhelm the community with all the memories he already holds.  

This idea, the permanence of memory, seems fanciful, but Jung thought that humanity had a "collective unconscious," and people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suffer from the problem of traumatic memories they cannot make go away. For Lowry, this story is an exploration of how we might be mere automatons without memory, unable to properly feel, reason, or have control over ourselves.  

What is John Hersey's purpose in focusing on individual people rather than focusing on the entire city of Hiroshima?

In Hiroshima, published first in the New Yorker in 1946 and shortly thereafter as a book, John Hershey told the stories of people affected by the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Hershey interwove the stories of six people who survived the bombing--a seamstress, a Catholic priest (who was German), a factory worker, two doctors, and a Protestant minister. When Americans dropped the bomb, many people in the United States were glad that it, and the bomb that followed three days later in Nagasaki, forced the Japanese to surrender. After fighting a long war, they were relieved it was over and did not necessarily see the effects of the bombing on the civilians in Japan. By concentrating in detail on Japanese (or, in the case of the priest, German) civilians, Hershey emphasized the toll the bomb took on humans who were in its path of devastation. The description of what they endured, starting with the "noiseless flash" that occurred when the bomb was detonated, provided an account that allowed readers to empathize with their experience as fellow human beings. 

How does the conflict evolve in Fahrenheit 451 through the quote "We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren't happy. Something's missing....

When Montag seeks Faber's advice about the texts he has read, Montag begins to lament his situation. When Faber asks Montag why he is so shaken up, Montag says,

"I don't know. We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren't happy. Something's missing. I looked around. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I'd burned in ten or twelve years. So I thought books might help" (Bradbury 78).

Faber then explains to Montag that Montag wasn't simply craving books as physical objects, but rather the books' contents. Faber elaborates by telling Montag that books provide insight into the quality of life in a detailed, fresh manner. He says books provided readers with leisure time to examine life and search for truth. Faber also comments that the third necessary thing books provided was "the right to carry out actions based on what we learn from the interaction of the first two" (Bradbury 81). After hearing Faber explain the importance of preserving life experiences in literature, Montag decides it is worth taking action. The conflict evolves from Montag's decision to defy society and continue his search for truth in literature. Montag is clearly unhappy about his current situation and vows to change the direction of his life. Faber agrees to join the cause and provides Montag with a two-way communication device. Soon after, Montag proceeds to read poetry to Mildred and her friends, confront Captain Beatty, and become an enemy of the state.

In Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat, if wolves were not the cause of the decline in caribou and deer, then what was?

First, we should note that wolves and large herbivores such as deer and caribou have been coexisting with quite stable populations for many centuries and thus there are no grounds for arguing that wolves are responsible for population declines of caribou. Instead, wolves tend to prey on weak, sickly individuals, culling the herds. Even more important, wolves serve to keep herbivore populations in check. In areas where wolves have been exterminated, deer populations spiral out of control, leading to overgrazing, which eventually causes starvation and mass deaths. Large predators keep populations of herbivores at sustainable levels.

The two main causes of the decline in caribou found by Mowat were disease and human predation. Human hunters are quite efficient at killing caribou and much of the effort to claim bounties on wolves and reduce their numbers was instigated by hunters, especially sport hunters, who wanted to have more freedom to hunt caribou with modern weapons (as opposed to the Inuit, who take only a small number of animals at a subsistence level) and to blame declining numbers on wolves rather than to take responsibility for their own actions.

What are ten elements present in nature and their symbols? Where do we find them?

The periodic table of elements is a great way to visualize the elements and their symbols. 

The element Hydrogen with the symbol H is a nonmetal. It is the most abundant element in the universe. Hydrogen combines with oxygen to form water. Water makes up approximately 71% of Earth's surface.

The element Helium has the symbol He and is a noble gas. It is a product of radioactive decay and can be found in the lithosphere where it is dug up.

Lithium has the symbol Li and is an alkali metal. It can be found in igneous rock and as a component of chloride salts.

Beryllium has the symbol Be and is an alkaline earth metal. It is found in igneous rock within the Earth's crust.

Boron has the symbol B and is a post-transition metal. It combines with oxygen to form a chemical known as borate. Boron is found in the sea and in sedimentary rocks.

Carbon has the symbol C and is a nonmetal. It is a component of organic compounds including sugars, starches, proteins, and fats. It is exhaled as carbon dioxide. It is found in the bodies of plants, animals and is a component of fossil fuels. A diamond is a chunk of carbon after it has been compressed over a long period of time.

Nitrogen has the symbol N and is an important nonmetallic element which can be found in proteins like enzymes and hormones. It is found in nucleic acids. The nitrogen cycle on Earth recycles nitrogen between living things and the environment. Approximately 78% of Earth's atmosphere is composed of nitrogen gas.

Oxygen has the symbol O. Twenty percent of the atmosphere is composed of oxygen gas. It is also the most abundant element in earth's crust. It is a component of water and many organic compounds. Plants release oxygen gas as a product of photosynthesis. Ozone, found in the ozone layer of the atmosphere, is composed of oxygen. The ozone layer protects Earth from harmful rays from the sun.

Fluorine is a halogen. Its symbol is F. Fluorine can be found in the Earth's crust in rocks and clay soils. It may sometimes be found in the air with dust particles.

Neon has the symbol Ne and is a noble gas. It is the fifth must abundant element in the universe. It is colorless, odorless, and inert. It is rare on Earth, but can be found in small trace amounts in the atmosphere and crust.

I have included an excellent link to an interactive periodic table so more research can be done on the elements found on Earth.

What was the Red Scare's effect on the government, society, labor, and industry?

I'll address the Red Scare of the 1920s, since it was the one that involved the most change.  After Russia fell to the Bolsheviks in 1917-1918, America was afraid that Russian agents would seek to use labor unrest in order to topple the government.  A. Mitchell Palmer, Postmaster General under Woodrow Wilson and Attorney General under the Harding administration, began to round up anyone whom he thought was a Communist sympathizer.  This was a main reason that Progressive issues left the national political landscape--people were worried about anything that looked like too much government involvement in the private sector.  Palmer deported many suspected radicals whose only offense was having Eastern European or Jewish origins.  Politically, the U.S. put quotas on European immigration, limiting Eastern European immigration to a trickle at a time when millions of deserving refugees wanted to flee the Soviet Union.  Socially, it became popular to criticize leftist ideas as being "un-American."  Even though due process was not followed through with the deportations of suspected radicals, Americans began to look at recent immigrants from Eastern Europe suspiciously.  Labor union membership also dropped, and business began to actively ask government to get back to the laissez-faire practices of the late 1800s, which it soon adopted.  

In "Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas, what does the villanelle style do for the rhythm of the poem?

The villanelle is a poetic form that consists of nineteen lines: five tercets (or groups of three lines) and one quatrain (or a group of four lines).  The first line of the initial tercet is then repeated as the final line of the second and fourth tercets as well as the penultimate line of the quatrain.  The third line of the initial tercet is also repeated as the final line of the third and fifth tercets as well as the final line of the quatrain and poem.  You'll notice, as well, that these two lines that recur again and again also include an end rhyme: that is, their final words -- "night" and "light" -- rhyme with one another. 

In terms of rhythm, the poem is written in iambic pentameter (five feet per line, and each foot contains one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable, for a total of ten syllables per line).  Because of the repetition of these lines, as dictated by the villanelle form, as well as the regular meter, the poem maintains a fairly consistent rhythm, lending it a mood of inevitability, as though it is plodding toward an end that it cannot escape.  This plodding rhythm and mood is appropriate given the subject matter -- death -- which is certainly inevitable.  Although we might be able to hold it off for a while, as the speaker asks his father to do, it comes, as surely as Thomas's next end rhyme, as surely as the repeated lines.

In Chapter 3 of Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, what does the reader learn about the Ewell family?

In Chapter 3, Burris Ewell openly disrespects Miss Caroline when she asks him to go home and wash up. One of Scout's classmates informs Miss Caroline that the Ewells only come to school on the first day to appease their truancy officer. After Miss Caroline threatens to call the principal, Burris verbally insults her by calling her a "snot-nosed slut of a schoolteacher" (Lee 18). That night, Scout describes to her father her rough first day of school. Scout tells Atticus that she doesn't have to go to school because Burris Ewell only has to attend the first day of class. Atticus then explains the Ewell's family history to his daughter. Atticus tells Scout that the Ewells have been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations. Scout learns that the entire Ewell family lives like animals and Bob Ewell is a notorious alcoholic who spends all of his money on whiskey. The community also allows the Ewells certain privileges, like trapping and hunting out of season so that Bob's children don't starve.

What is the main conflict in the novel "This Present Darkness" by Frank E. Peretti ?

The main conflict in this novel is the supernatural struggle between good and evil as determined by an evangelical U.S. later-twentieth century Christian perspective. On the surface, the conflict occurs between the New Age Universal Consciousness Society that is plotting to take over the small college town of Ashton and the forces of Christian good represented by pastor Hank Busche. Using Christians and those who have been corrupted by New Age ideology, angels and demons fight it out: in other words,  the real conflict occurs on the supernatural or spiritual plane. The novel illustrates to its audience that one cannot be too vigilante in adhering to Biblical standards of purity and orthodoxy, for attacks arrive from those who twist the meaning of the Bible: demons come disguised as angels of light speaking words that on the surface, sound reasonable. For example, the demon of Complacency, a demon it could at first be easy to overlook, for what is wrong with (seeming) contentment?, gets its "taloned fingers" dug into the town's newspaper editor, Marshall Hogan.  Prayer thus becomes an important weapon for fighting the devious ways of the demons trying to infiltrate human souls: we all need spiritual guidance to help us discern good and evil. The book can be criticized as an imperfect work of literature but it has been influential in encouraging prayer and theological orthodoxy in the evangelical world. 

In Jeremy Lin’s "Model Minority Problem" the author outlines a multidimensional problem of cultural representation in the media. Traditionally...

The term "model minority" refers to a minority population that is seemingly characterized by positive traits rather than negative ones. In layman's terms, you might hear someone call a model minority group something like, "the good ones," or say that they're "not like those other groups." In the United States, this is particularly true of Asian populations, and especially East Asians (Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, etc.). Asian-Americans are often stereotyped as being high-achieving, hard-working, sometimes hyper-intelligent, quiet and uncomplaining, and usually good in a very narrow range of fields including math and certain musical instruments.

On the one hand, this means that Asian-Americans don't have to deal with some of the very negative steretoypes that other populations, such as African-Americans, do. For example, Asian-American men don't tend to be seen as threatening the way that African-American men do, which means that they are more rarely victims of police brutality and other reactive crimes. Asian-Americans are encouraged by society to aim high and don't have to hear how "lazy" or "greedy" they are. 

However, one challenge of being a model minority is that anyone that doesn't fit the fairly narrow set of stereotypes associated with it tends to be treated as alien. Jeremy Lin is an excellent example of this in that Asian-American men are typically not seen as being good at sports. When he began playing basketball, he was extremely Othered in the media and by both white and Asian viewers for not being the way he "should" be. "Linsanity," his extremely vocal fanbase, primarily began because no one could believe that an Asian-American was as good at basketball as he is. By exclaiming over his abilities while constantly referencing his ethnicity, the media continued to highlight the fact that Asian-Americans are not expected to do well in that area.

One way this can be remedied is by simply acknowledging that stereotypes are stereotypes and that it should not be remarkable that an Asian-American man is good at sports, just as it should not be remarkable that an African-American man is a CEO or scholar. If the media focused on Jeremy Lin's achievements without making hay over his ethnicity, they would not have contributed to the stereotype. 

What does the phrase "teach the torches to burn bright" suggest in Romeo and Juliet?

Juliet is so beautiful that even torches are not as bright as she.

This quote is from this line when Romeo first sees Juliet, before he knows who she is.

O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! (Act 1, Scene 5)

Basically, with this line Romeo is saying that Juliet is so beautiful that her beauty is brighter than a torch.  She is so bright, that the torches learn to be bright from her.  It is another metaphor on Juliet's beauty.

Romeo is infatuated by Juliet’s beauty and, blinded by her beauty, has not really stopped to consider anything else.  Romeo goes on and on with many beautiful lines about Juliet’s looks, but never once does he mention her personality.  He compares her to the sun, and a jewel, and says in this line that the torches get their light from her.  However, he is not talking about her glowing personality.  He is again talking about her looks.

Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!
So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows,
As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows. (Act 1, Scene 5)

Romeo proposes soon after.  Romeo has only just met Juliet, and he didn’t even have a real conversation with her.  They share a cute conversation that was all in metaphors.  What is she like?  Does she like roses?  Is she allergic to strawberries?  What does she do on weekends?  He has no idea!  He has spent no time with this girl.  He just took one look at her and fell head over heels in love with her.

Are Pokemon based on mythological creatures?

In many cases, yes! While a lot of Pokémon are based on animals from the real world, and all are at least the partial product of the creators’ vivid imaginations, many Pokémon are drawn from world mythology. Japan, where the Pokémon franchise originates, has a particularly rich tradition of myths and legends of kami—gods, deities, or spirits—and the spookier yokai—demons and ghosts. Worship of kami and tales of yokai and other supernatural beings have their origins in Japan’s native religion of Shinto, which predates the arrival of Buddhism in the islands. Shinto is an animist tradition, which means it teaches that trees, rivers, rocks, animals, and even inanimate objects are alive with spiritual energy. Much like the gods and spirits of Shinto belief, Pokémon inhabit the natural world, and can be won over with incense, food (or candy), and other offerings.

There are thousands of kami and yokai described in Shinto teachings and Japanese folklore, and they have served as a source of inspiration for art and literature for thousands of years—and, more recently, for anime and games like the brand-new Pokémon Go. Let’s take a closer look at some kami- and yokai-based Pokémon and their mythological counterparts.

Whiscash. The inspiration for Whiscash, the Water/Ground-type Pokémon who evolves from Barboach, comes from the myth of Namazu, a giant catfish said to live in the mud beneath the Japanese archipelago. Like Whiscash, Namazu has the power to cause earthquakes by thrashing in the mud—but on a much bigger scale. The only thing restraining this mythic fish’s immense power is the stone the thunder kami known as Kashima uses to pin him in place. The legend of Namazu may have evolved from a belief among Japanese fishermen that catfish became more active just before an earthquake, just like how in several of its Pokédex entries, Whiscash is reported to be able to cause tremors as well as warn of them. After a devastating earthquake shook Japan in 1855 (during what is known as the Edo Period), people began to worship Namazu as a god who could right the wrongs he and others had caused. Accordingly, artists began to depict Namazu in colorful woodblock prints—where the catfish deity is often shown wearing a big smile that looks a lot like Whiscash’s goofy grin.

Ninetales. Ninetales, the fox-like Fire-type that evolves from Vulpix, is the Pokémon version of a kitsune, or fox spirit. In Japanese folklore, foxes are considered intelligent, magical, and particularly long-lived beings able to shape-shift into human forms, and while they sometimes use this ability to make mischief, there are also stories of fox spirits befriending and even marrying ordinary humans. Similarly, Ninetales is intelligent enough to understand human speech, magical enough to control minds, and can live up to a thousand years—but like the kitsune in its role as a trickster, Ninetales can also be a vengeful creature. Kitsune are said to gain an extra tail every hundred years, and just like Vulpix when it evolves into Ninetales, a fox spirit “evolves” when its number of tails reaches nine, and its fur turns golden-white. When a kitsune gains its ninth tail, it supposedly reaches a state of infinite wisdom—pretty impressive! The prosperity kami Inari is considered their guardian, and has a fleet of nine-tailed white foxes for messengers.

Espeon. Tales of the yokai known as bakeneko, or “changed cats,” provide the inspiration for Espeon, the Psychic-type final form (or Eeveelution) of the lovable Pokemon known as Eevee. In yokai lore, a cat was sometimes said to change into a bakeneko when it lived to be a certain age, and/or when it developed a second tail—similar to the split tail Espeon sports. Also like Espeon, which uses its psychic abilities to protect its Trainer and predict the weather or its opponent’s next move, these cat spirits were said to possess supernatural powers similar to those of kitsune, including speaking Japanese, transforming into humans, cursing or possessing people, and—most terrible of all?—dancing with napkins on their heads.

Drowzee. If you’ve been playing Pokémon Go, you may have already encountered a few Drowzees in the wild. These Psychic-type Pokémon, which evolve into Hypno, are inspired by a type of supernatural creature—not a yokai, but not quite a kami either—known as the baku. According to legend, these beings were formed from the spare parts left over after the gods had finished creating all the other animals, leaving them with a tapir-like appearance similar to Drowzee’s, which has been depicted in Japanese art for hundreds of years. And just like their Pokemon counterparts, baku are known for eating people’s dreams. While Drowzee prefers good dreams and can become sick from eating bad ones, baku could traditionally be called upon to come and eat the nightmares of restless sleepers.

Frosslass, Jynx, Mawile, and Misdreavus. These unusual-looking Pokémon are all drawn from legends of spooky female yokai. Frosslass, the Ice/Ghost-type evolution of Snorunt, is based on Yuki-onna, a spirit who floats around on snowy nights (and in some versions of the tale, has no feet), freezing lost travelers dead in their tracks in her white kimono. Just like Yuki-onna, Frosslass can be found in snowy areas, hovers above the ground, has no feet, and freezes her opponents. Her body resembles a white kimono. Yuki-onna and Frosslass are both sometimes said to be the spirits of women who froze to death in the mountains—and if that doesn’t give you the chills, I don’t know what will!

Well, maybe this: Jynx, an Ice/Psychic-type that evolves from baby Smoochum, is based on another terrifying spirit: the yokai known as Yama-uba, who lives alone in the snowy mountains and, rather than freezing lost travelers, prefers to snack on them. And while Jynx’s signature dance moves are her attempt to communicate with humans, when Yama-Uba dances, watch out—that’s how she distracts her victims before turning them into her dinner! Interestingly, Jynx is also considered a parody of a certain Japanese fashion trend called ganguro and nicknamed yamanba by those who thought these trendsetters’ bleached hair, eye-catching clothes, and heavy makeup made them look like Yama-Uba, whose appearance and story were immortalized in the form of Japanese theater known as Noh drama.

The Steel/Fairy-type Pokémon called Mawile is based on another type of yokai called a futakuchi-onna, or “two-mouthed woman.” A futakuchi-onna looks like an ordinary woman at first—until you catch a glimpse of the second mouth on the back of her head, which, in stories, often demands an endless supply of food. Mawile, on the other hand, uses the powerful jaws on the back of its head to bite its enemies in battle, often using its otherwise cute appearance to distract them.

The equally creepy Misdreavus is based on the yokai known as nukekubi—disembodied women’s heads said to fly around at night shrieking and scaring people. Sound familiar? Like the nukekubi, Misdreavus resembles a bodiless head in a dress, floats through the air, feeds on fear, and enjoys a good shriek.

Manectric. On the less eerie side, the blue, wolf-like, Electric-type Pokémon called Manectric was inspired by Raiju, the mythic animal companion of Raijin, the Shinto kami of thunder and lightning. While Raiju, whose body is said to be made of lightning, can take several different shapes, he is commonly depicted as a blue wolf. Similarly, Manectric is supposedly born from lightning, which it also gathers in its mane and uses to create the thunderclouds it deploys in battle. One trait the two don’t share, however, is Raiju’s supposed penchant for sleeping in people’s belly buttons! This bit of lore may have arisen as a way to warn kids of the danger of going out to play during thunder and lightning storms.

Absol. This mysterious Pokémon is based on a mythical being known as the kutabe. Stories of this legendary creature came to Japan from China, where it was known as Bai Ze. Absol and the kutabe are both known for coming down from the mountains to warn humans of the oncoming disasters they are able to sense (in Absol’s case, through its horn), and the oval in the middle of Absol’s forehead echoes the third eye the kutabe is said to possess.

Many other Pokémon are either directly based on or draw some inspiration from Japanese folklore and Shinto belief: Ho-oh is based on Ho-o, the phoenix; Shiftry is based on a spirit known as a tengu; Sneasel is based on a kamaitachi, a weasel-like creature with sickle-like claws; Dunsparce is based on a tsuchinoko, or “bee snake”; Dusclops is inspired by the chochin-obake, or “lantern spook” yokai; Tornadus is inspired by Fujin, the wind kami; and the list goes on. So just remember: when going out to catch magical monsters with Pokémon Go, be careful you don’t get swept up by a band of marching yokai while you’re absorbed in the game. In Japan, the spirits have been said to congregate on summer nights in what is known as the hyakki yagyo—the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons!

What are the ethical issues Wal-Mart has faced?

Any large corporation is bound to have people unhappy with at least some of its practices, but Wal-Mart, it would seem, has received more than its share of complaints about what its critics would call unethical behavior.

Wal-Mart reportedly has had as many as an average of 17 new lawsuits filed against it each day. Many of these lawsuits focus on ethical issues such as inadequate health care for its workers, purported wage law violations, exploiting workers and being unwilling to work with unions.

In the last decade, Wal-Mart has been accused of closing a store in Quebec after workers there unionized; denying minimum wage and overtime to foreign workers; overworking employees without proper compensation; and not providing workers in California with the proper 30-minute lunch break required by law. 

In recent years, Wal-Mart has placed more emphasis on handling ethical problems. The company has created an Ethics and Integrity section of its website that details its ethical beliefs.

How is irony expressed in the story “One Thousand Dollars”?

There are three instances of irony in O. Henry's story "One Thousand Dollars":

1. It is ironic that Young Gillian does not grumble about inheriting only one thousand dollars when he has been entirely dependent upon his uncle's wealth.


2. It is ironic that Young Gillian is unselfish in his efforts to spend the money, rather than spending it on himself as has been his habit.


3. It is ironic that when seemingly self-gratifying Gillian learns that his act of being unselfish will earn him a larger inheritance, he falsifies his report so that the young woman he loves will be given the money instead.

1. After Gillian is told by the lawyers that he must "render...an account of the manner of expenditure of this $1000 as soon as you have disposed of it," he goes to the men's club and asks Old Bryson what he should do with the money, and Bryson suggests that he buy Miss Lotta Lauriere, an actress, a diamond necklace.

2. When Gillian asks her if she would like a pendant for a thousand dollars, Miss Lauriere alludes to another actress she knows who has received a necklace that is worth much more. Defeated, Gillian leaves, but he asks the cab driver what he would do with $1000. When he does not like the man's answer, Gillian then asks a blind man how he would spend the money. The man shows Gillian a bank deposit book with more than a thousand dollars in entries; Gillian returns the book and re-enters the cab.

He then goes back to the law offices and inquires if Miss Hayden has been left anything besides a ring and $10. Lawyer Tolman replies in the negative. So, Gillian has the cab take him to the house of his dead uncle where Miss Hayden is seated, writing letters in the library. Gillian tells
her that the old lawyers have found a codicil to the will and she is to receive one thousand dollars. Further, he tells her that he was driving this way and lawyer Tolman asked him to bring it to her. Blanching, Miss Hayden can only utter, "Oh!" and repeat "Oh!" Gillian declares his love for Miss Hayden, but she responds, "I am sorry," and takes the money.

Going into the next room, Gillian writes out the account of his expenditure:

Paid by the black sheep, Robert Gillian, $1000 on account of the eternal happiness, owed by Heaven to the best and dearest woman on earth.

Slipping this into an envelope, Gillian departs.

3. Gillian returns to the offices of Tolman & Sharp with his written accounting of how he spent the $1000. He tosses the white envelope upon the table before Mr. Tolman, saying, "You will find there a memorandum, sir, of the modus operandi [method] of the vanishing of the dollars."

Without looking in the envelope, Mr. Tolman calls his partner and together they explore the inside of a huge safe. Finally, they bring out a very large envelope sealed with wax; then they explain that there is a codicil to his uncle's will. When Bobby Gillian has spent his $1000, then this document is to be read. The lawyer reads,

"If your disposal of the money in question has been prudent, wise, or unselfish, it is in our power to hand you over bonds to the value of $50,000, which have been placed in our hands for this purpose....But, if....you have used this money as you have used money in the past—I quote Mr. Gillian—in reprehensible dissipation among disreputable associates,—the $50,000 is to be paid to Miriam Hayden....I will examine your account in regard to the $1000....I hope you will repose confidence in our decision."

As Mr. Tolman reaches for his envelope, Bobby Gillian grabs it first; he tears it into strips and places it into his pocket. He tells the old gentlemen they need not bother to read his account of his itemized bets. "I bet the thousand dollars at the races. Good-day to you, gentlemen." Mr. Tolman and Mr. Sharp shake their heads in disapproval as they watch Gillian depart, whistling happily in the hallway as he goes toward the elevator.

What type of novel is Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson?

Treasure Island is a coming-of-age story.

Treasure Island is also an adventure novel. While its genre is technically historical fiction because its setting is the 1700s, Robert Louis Stevenson wrote it with the intention of creating a narrative rich in action and suspense. Despite his suggestions of the ambiguity of morality with the character Long John Silver, Stevenson composed this coming-of-age story for his son.

A boy named Jim Hawkins discovers a sea chest containing maps and a journal. Since his father is dead, he takes the maps to the local physician, Dr. Livesey, who becomes very interested because it is a map for buried treasure on an island. The doctor then talks with the local squire Trelawney, who proposes buying a ship and searching for this treasure. Jim goes along as the cabin boy.

Once on the sea, Jim overhears the crew and learns they are pirates who intend to steal the treasure after the ship lands on the island. This is why Long John Silver, the "cook," has exerted more control over them than the captain of the ship. Once the ship approaches the treasure island, the crew becomes very rowdy, leading Captain Smolett to have half the crew go ashore and the other half remain on the ship. Jim smuggles himself along. He meets Ben Gunn, who was with Captain Flint when he buried the treasure. While this is happening, Dr. Livesay finds Captain Flint's stockade. When he hears the screams of a crew member being murdered by Long John Silver, Livesay decides to move the honest crew off the ship to the fort. A battle then begins.

During a hiatus, Jim sneaks away and borrows Ben Gunn's boat so he can go to the ship and cut the anchor rope, setting the ship adrift. His little boat gets smashed, so he jumps to the bowsprit of the ship and climbs aboard. He is attacked by Israel Hands. A knife hits Jim in the shoulder, but he manages to shoot the pirate. This is Jim's coming-of-age moment, and he makes other moral choices afterwards.

A certain moral ambiguity accompanies the pirates, especially Long John Silver. He kills one of the crew, but this pirate is really evil, and he later saves Jim from the pirates, saying,

You won't fight, as gentlemen o' fortune should; then, by thunder, you'll obey, and you may lay to it! I like that boy now; I never seen a better boy than that. He's more a man than any pair of rats of you in this here house, and what I say is this: let me see him as'll lay a hand on him—that's what I say, and you may lay to it.

Thus, Long John Silver becomes one of the "good-bad" villains compared to the others. In the end, Long John Silver slips away, so moral judgment never falls upon him. In this way, Stevenson avoids damaging an interesting character in literature.

How did colonial Spain develop and establish control over American territories?

A major European colonial power, Spain had an effective, strategic plan of influence, control and assimilation of native populations in its bid to amass wealth and acquire territory. Strategies included domination by superior weaponry through surprise attacks; the Columbian exchange, which opened up trade possibilities that maximized profits and resources for the mother country; and encomiendas, an economic and labor system akin to slavery in which Spain offered protection and education in exchange for labor and taxes.

Other colonial agendas that secured Spain's control over American territories were the successful propagation of Christianity and the inadvertent spreading of diseases, which significantly decimated native populations that had no natural immunity to foreign bacteria. 

Over time, a new bloodline was introduced, the Mestizos, referring to people of mixed Spanish or European and American Indian descent. Since colonial society was highly hierarchical, the emergence of mestizo culture allowed for another form of institutional control: racism. Greater social worth was ascribed to people with a higher percentage of pure Spanish blood. Similarly, access to better jobs, government positions and land was based entirely on racial consideration. Thus, Spanish rule institutionalized discrimination as part of its social structure.

The combustion of glucose (C6H12O6) with oxygen gas produces carbon dioxide and water. This process releases 2803 kJ per mole of glucose. When 3.00...

To answer this question, we must first identify how much oxygen is reacted with the glucose to make it burn. To start, I will write the chemical equation, but with variables for the unknown quantities.

C6H12O6 + xO2 => yCO2 + zH2O

Here, x, y, and z are the variables. I will start balancing with the carbon. Because there are 6 carbon in the glucose, there must be 6 carbons in the CO2.

C6H12O6 + xO2 => 6CO2 + zH2O

Now, I balance the hydrogen. Again, because there are twelve hydrogen in the glucose, there must be twelve on the opposite side. Notice that there are 6 H2O rather than 12.

C6H12O6 + xO2 => 6CO2 + 6H2O

Now we just add up the oxygen on the right, and subtract the oxygen in the glucose. I count 18 on the right, and 6 in the glucose, so there must be 12 oxygen atoms, or 6 oxygen molecules.

C6H12O6 + 6O2 => 6CO2 + 6H2O

Now, we can say that it takes six moles of oxygen to burn one mole of glucose. All that is left is a simple fraction and a unit conversion.

`(6 mol O2)/(2803 kj)=(3 mol O2)/x`

Solving for x gives 1401.5 kj, and converting to kcal gives 334.74 kcal.

Does UNICEF have any issues? If so, what are they?

UNICEF focuses on several key global issues, as outlined by the "What We Do" page on their website: intervention for child survival and development, advocacy for basic education and gender equality, prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in children, protection of children from exploitation and violence, and policy advocacy for all of the above. 

Despite these good intentions, UNICEF has been the subject of much criticism and controversy, including:

• 1987: the production of child pornography in a secret photographic studio in the basement of the UNICEF offices in Brussels and the charges of inciting minors to debauchery brought up against Jos Verbeek, the director of UNICEF's Belgian committee


• 1993/1994: revelations that the UNICEF office in Kenya lost $10 million due to fraud and mismanagement


• 2008: the German committee's loss of approval as a recommended charity by the German Central Institute for Social Issues due to mismanagement of donations 


• 2011: the suspiciously rapid departure of recently hired chief information officer Paul van Essche after an inquiry by Fox News 

As you can see, the organization seems to be riddled with issues, from criminal behavior on the part of its key members to enormous financial scandal. What I have outlined above is just the tip of the iceberg. More information about the various UNICEF-related allegations--including issues of inflated staff salaries, fraudulent use of donations, and supposed "mass sterilization"--can be found through a simple Internet search. 

What are the similes and metaphors in lines 103-112 of Robert Frost's poem "The Death of the Hired Man?"

In line 103 of "The Death of the Hired Man," there is a metaphor in which the moon is compared to a force that can drag down the entire sky to the west, creating the dawn. In line 107, the rays of light coming in through the window are compared, in a metaphor, to the strings of a harp. In line 109, there is a simile in which the woman is compared to someone who plays on the harp the tenderness that affects her husband. In a later metaphor (in lines 116-117, beyond the point you asked about), the dying hired man, Silas is compared to the dog that came out of the trail in the woods, tired from his wanderings, to Mary and Warren's house. Warren says that Silas means as much to them as that dog does. Of course, Silas does mean more to Mary and Warren than the dog, and that is why he comes to their house to die in the end. 

How did Social Security change the lives of people?

The Social Security Act was a major New Deal law that has impacted Americans to the present day. When this law was passed, it provided retirement benefits for people who were 65 years or older. It also provided unemployment benefits to those not working. The Social Security program also impacted people with disabilities. While there have been some modifications to the age when a person becomes eligible for full Social Security benefits, the premise of the program is basically the same now as it was when it was first created. The Social Security program is financed by taxes on the income of workers and by taxes on the payroll of companies.

This program has become a very important program in our country. Many retired people rely on the monthly benefit that they get from Social Security. For many people, this is their main source of income in retirement. Those who are unemployed or who have disabilities also rely on the monthly benefit to help pay for their living expenses. The Social Security program was another example of the safety net that was created by some of the New Deal programs. People have come to expect the government to help them during difficult times. This program provided some degree of security to the elderly and to those in need.

Schlosser concludes Chapter 8, "The Most Dangerous Job," recounting the trials of Kenny Dobbins. What is the effect of his placing the dramatic...

Schlosser presents the story of Kenny Dobbins, a worker in a slaughterhouse who was injured several times and then fired by his company, at the end of a chapter about slaughterhouse operations and how they work. Schlosser puts this story at the end of the chapter to illustrate the personal effect that the industry has on workers like Dobbins, an illiterate man who destroyed his body working in a slaughterhouse. Chapter 4 is set up in a similar way. In that chapter, Schlosser speaks about the promises of fast-food chains, and then, later in the chapter, he includes the stories of people such as Dave Feamster and his employees at Little Caesar's franchises, who show how hard it is to make a living as a franchise owner. Schlosser concludes Chapter 4 with a speech by Christopher Reeve that shows the hollowness of what the fast food industry is trying to achieve (as Reeve emphasizes caring and other humane values). In a similar way, Dobbins's story shows the hollow promises of the owners of the slaughterhouses.

`int (x^3 - 3x^2 + 5)/(x - 3) dx` Find the indefinite integral.

`int (x^3-3x^2+5)/(x-3)dx`

To solve, divide the numerator by the denominator.

`= int (x^2 + 5/(x-3))dx`

Express it as sum of two integrals.

`= int x^2dx + int 5/(x-3)dx`

For the first integral, apply the formula `int x^n dx = x^(n+1)/(n+1) + C` .

`= x^3/3 + C + int 5/(x-3)dx`

For the second integral, apply u-substitution method.

Let 

`u = x-3`

Differentiate the u.

`du = dx`

Then, plug-in them to the second integral.

`=x^3/3+C +5 int 1/(x-3)dx`

`=x^3/3+C + 5int1/udu`

Apply the integral formula `int 1/xdx = ln|x| + C` .

`= x^3/3 + 5ln|u| + C`

And, substitute back `u = x - 3` .

`= x^3/3+ 5ln|x-3| + C`

Therefore, `int (x^3-3x^2+5)/(x-3)dx = x^3/3+5ln|x-3|+C` .

Is the subject of history considered a narrative?

History is definitely a narrative, or story. In fact the word story is incorporated into this word history; interestingly, the word for history and for story are exactly the same word in French: histoire. 

Napoleon declared history as "a story retold"; that is, the history of events are retold usually by the victorious country or the country which holds power. Therefore, this history does become a story, a tale told according to the power in control. That this definition is true can be verified by an examination of history books that have a narrative in them about World War II, for instance. Certainly, the presentation of historical accounts differ greatly depending upon which side--Allies or Axis--that the account is written.

When Napoleon conquered a country during his drive for empire, one of his first actions was to gain control of the newspapers. In this way, he controlled history since the written word was essentially the only source of information. While documents are used to record history, many of them are written by those whose ideology matches that of the power in control. In Hitler's Germany, of course, the media was certainly controlled by the Nazi regime, so the record of historical events was altered greatly. Therefore, even historical writings of a later date must be, at least, somewhat affected by what has been omitted in such writings. 
In American history, for instance, an examination of older history books and certain social issues of years ago and the modern record of these issues provides support for the argument of Napoleon that the "story" of a country is retold.

How is family important to Ponyboy, Sodapop, and Darry in The Outsiders?

Family is extremely important to the three brothers in The Outsiders. Darry, the oldest boy, has custody of his brothers and together they are involved in The Greasers, a gang which is like an extended family for them. Without each other, they would have nothing, as they do not have parents anymore since they died in a tragic car accident. Sometimes, they show that family is the most meaningful thing to them in different ways. For example, there is one powerful point in the novel when Johnny kills the Soc that had been trying to drown Ponyboy, demonstrating that family is not just for blood relatives, and that family would do anything to save one another. Darry, on the other hand, slaps Ponyboy at one point in the book, but he does this because he cares about him and has a different way of showing it that the other "brothers" do. Ponyboy understands this, and knows that sometimes family isn't always perfect, even though it's something worth fighting for. Sodapop is the sensitive one, and shows his love through writing, such as when he writes Ponyboy a letter. There is also another poignant part in the book when Ponyboy is getting jumped and his brothers come to his rescue. Afterward, they take him home and care for him; this part really shows the strength and bond of the brotherhood that they feel for one another. 

Although diverse in their treatment and technique, many stories are about individuals struggling with a complex sets of external forces that...

In Jackson's "The Lottery" and Rushdie's "Imagine no heaven," external forces play a large role in regulating a person's identity.

The external forces that Jackson and Rushdie see as forming people's identity are all-encompassing. Jackson's lottery is inescapable in defining identity. The lottery determines people's opinions of themselves and of one another. Prior to the lottery's results, the entire town seems an ideal of community and cohesion. As the drawing takes place, Mrs. Delacroix and Tessie are chatting congenially with one another as friends do. However, once Tessie's name is chosen, Mrs. Delacroix immediately "selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands." There is no hesitation in Mrs. Delacroix's turning on a friend as she encourages Mrs. Dunbar to do the same. Tessie was a part of the community. Literally and figuratively, she stood with them. Yet, when it is clear that she has the paper with the black dot on it, they move away, surrounding her as she stands in the middle.

In "Imagine no heaven," Rushdie sees religion in the same way. Rushdie sees social construction around religion as culturally and individually defining identity. Rushdie believes that religions set in motion the "wars of the godly against the largely defenceless." Just as the lottery defines human identity in Jackson's short story, Rushdie sees "priests, and the fictions on whose behalf they claim to speak," regulating the way individuals see themselves and other people.

In both works, the external reality that defines individual identity is powerful because no one questions it. Jackson presents a community unwilling to "upset" the town's tradition. Old Man Warner condemns anyone for even suggesting that the lottery should be questioned. In the same way, Rushdie displays the reality of violence that accompanies unquestioned religious fervor:

They are wars of the godly against the largely defenceless—American fundamentalists against pro-choice doctors, Iranian mullahs against their country's Jewish minority, Hindu fundamentalists in Bombay against that city's increasingly fearful Muslims.

Jackson and Rushdie suggest that when external forces are not questioned, a potential for abuse results. Both works are similar in warning of the power of singular forces to regulate and control self-definition.

How is pathos relevant to the characters in West Side Story?

Maria is a character in West Side Story who evokes pathos, or strong emotion, in the audience. She is a sympathetic character who is newly arrived in the U.S. She says in Act I, Scene 3, "One month I've been in this country--do I ever touch excitement? I sew all day, I sit all night." Her diligence and suffering make her appealing and sympathetic to the audience. When she tells her brother, Bernardo, that she wants to have a good time at the dance that night, "because tonight is the real beginning of my life as a young lady in America!" she evokes strong feelings of compassion and warmth from the audience. Her innocence and idealism are easy to like. 

Bernardo, Maria's brother, also evokes strong feelings from the audience--though negative feelings--because he is a brusque know-it-all. When Anita tells Bernardo that Maria has parents to look out for her, he says, "They do not know this country any better than she does" (Act I, Scene 5). He comes across as arrogant and disdainful of his parents and sister. He later tells Anita, "Back home, women know their place." By putting down the lively and bright Anita, he comes across as rude and haughty. In Act I, Scene 9, he escalates the violence in the rumble between the Jets and the Sharks by telling his opponents, "Every one of you hates every one us and we hate you right back." With each of these argumentative, arrogant statements, he evokes strong feeling in the audience--of dislike. 

When you observe the motion of a ball (up and down), what do you notice about the path of the ball and its speed?

When a ball moves up and down, there is a gravitational force of attraction acting downwards in the vertical direction. The frictional force of air is being ignored and the impact of the ball with the ground is considered to be a perfectly elastic collision. The force on the ball accelerates it. As the acceleration is downwards, it increases the speed of the ball when it is moving downwards and decreases the speed when it is moving upwards. The force acting on the ball is proportional to the mass of the ball and as a result the acceleration of the ball is constant.

If a ball is dropped from a height h, its initial velocity is 0. As it moves down the velocity increases. After the ball has traveled a distance d, the velocity is equal to `sqrt(2*g*d)` , where g is the gravitational acceleration equal to 9.8 m/s^2. The ball strikes the ground with velocity `sqrt(2*g*h)` ; it then starts to move up with velocity `sqrt(2*g*h)` . The velocity of the ball after moving up a distance d is equal to `sqrt(2*g*h - 2*g*d)` . At height h, the velocity of the ball is 0 and it starts to move downwards again. Under ideal conditions, the ball would continue to move up and down alternately forever.

Is Shylock a villian?

This is one of the more interesting questions about Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice. Shylock certainly functions as an antagonist to the young lovers in the play. Although he obviously loves his daughter Jessica, he functions in the conventionally negative role of father as obstacle to a marriage. Shylock's choice of the pound of flesh as a penalty also seems cruel and barbaric.

How Shylock is viewed, though, depends on the question of whether we want to read the text in context or somewhat against its most likely historical interpretation.

In the play, Shylock is almost an anti-Semitic caricature typical of the period in which it was written. He is bitter, greedy, vindictive, and hates Christians. On the other hand, he has one of the most profound and moving speeches in the play, in which he asks:

Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?

As we listen to this, we begin to understand him as a victim of Christian prejudice. Thus most twenty-first century critics, especially in light of the Holocaust, see him as a complex character rather than a pure villain.

In general, unlike popular movies or comic books, serious literary works tend to have complex characters rather than simple heroes and villains. This is one of the differences between most literary works and most popular ones. 

In Shakespeare's Othello, why does Iago feel that he should have Cassio's job?

Iago is a complex and duplicitous character. That means we can never fully trust what he says, even when he is speaking a soliloquy. Part of his belief that he deserved the promotion is grounded in his own sense of entitlement.

He does, however, give a clear account of why he thinks he is better qualified than Cassio in the first scene of the play. 

The first and most explicit reason why he believes that he deserves the promotion is that he is senior to Cassio and has been serving longer. Next, Cassio is a Florentine rather than a Venetian. Also, Cassio is a "bookish theoric" rather than someone who has substantial battleground experience. Iago mentions that he has served in far more places than Cassio and had given proof of his skill as a soldier in that service while Cassio is basically untried. 

Finally, Iago believes in the value of an older tradition "where each second / Stood heir to the first" and he does not feel Othello should simply have the right to choose his own lieutenant "by letter and affection."

Which senses does the author appeal to with the description of the kitchen?

In his short story “A Christmas Memory,” Truman Capote appeals to the senses with his vivid, heartfelt descriptions. When Buddy and his cousin are in the kitchen shucking walnuts, Capote starts off by addressing the auditory sense, and progresses to addressing the sense of sight. We hear the sounds associated walnuts cracking, and see how the day is moving toward night as the pair works in the firelight.

The author uses onomatopoeia to appeal to the sense of sound with the word “Caarackle!” The reader can immediately hear the sound of the nuts cracking under pressure. As the pair works, the kitchen is filled with sounds of the nuts breaking open and the dog begging for a tasty morsel. While Buddy describes the scene, the reader can hear the crunching sound and feel the contentment the characters are experiencing.

A cheery crunch, scraps of miniature thunder sound as the shells collapse and the golden mound of sweet oily ivory meat mounts in the milk-glass bowl. Queenie begs to taste, and now and again my friend sneaks her a mite, though insisting we deprive ourselves.

As the paragraph progresses, Capote switches his emphasis from the sense of sound to the sense of sight. He describes how the kitchen looks as evening descends upon it. Outside the moon rises, while inside Buddy and his cousin can be seen in the reflections in the window. The pair continue their work by the glow of the fire until they finish shelling the final nut.

The kitchen is growing dark. Dusk turns the window into a mirror: our reflections mingle with the rising moon as we work by the fireside in the firelight. At last, when the moon is quite high, we toss the final hull into the fire and, with joined sighs, watch it catch flame.

Can we say India is a democratic country? Give one example.

India gained its independence from England in 1947 and adopted its constitution in 1950. It is the kind of democracy known as a “parliamentary democracy.” A parliamentary democracy differs from a presidential democracy in that its executive (usually a prime minister) is chosen from its legislative branch.

Obviously, in a democracy, voters select their political leaders. In India, there is universal suffrage for citizens above 18 years of age (meaning every citizen who is at least 18 can vote). The people vote for the representatives that make up the lower house of the legislative branch, called the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha then selects the Prime Minister, who is the head of the government.

India also elects its own state representatives, who then vote for the members of their national upper legislative body, the Rajya Sabha,

Finally, India has multiple political parties that offer voters different political ideologies to choose from.

So India is indeed a democracy, although it has been criticized for failing to adequately achieve the democratic goals of reduced poverty and illiteracy.

What details are revealed about Mayella Ewell during the trial?

Before Tom Robinson's trial at the courthouse, not much was known of the Ewells, and even less of Mayella. The only specific mention of knowledge of Mayella before the trial was the description of the beautiful geraniums she cared for in their ramshackle front yard. During her testimony, Atticus first asked questions to paint a picture to the jury of the Ewells' home life. From that, we learned that Mayella was 19 years old, the oldest of eight children. Their mother passed away when she was young, leaving Mayella to become her siblings' surrogate mother and (possibly) her father's surrogate wife. She only received two or three years of schooling, as her father decided that, with the two of them being literate, there was no need for the rest of the children to go to school. Even though the family received welfare checks from the county, there wasn't enough money to feed the whole family, especially after Mr. Ewell spent the money on alcohol. The children had to rummage through the garbage heap for food. We learn that Mayella doesn't have any friends, and Atticus suspects that Mr. Ewell abuses and possibly molests her, despite her assertion that “My paw’s never touched a hair o’my head in my life".

During the various testimonies, it became clear that there were discrepancies between the Ewells’ story and the apparent truth. Atticus got Bob to admit that, despite her being allegedly beaten and raped, no one thought to get Mayella a doctor. This was suspicious, because it meant there was no medical documentation of her original injuries. Mayella left holes in her testimony. At first she claimed the encounter in question was the first time Tom was in her yard, but then admits she “might” have invited him before, but couldn’t remember. Her memory was also unclear regarding whether or not she specifically recalled Tom hitting her in the face. She had no answer to why none of the other children were witness to the event. When Tom testified, he revealed that Mayella had hired him for “odd jobs” many times, that she had sent the other children out for ice cream, and that she had tried to seduce him against his will, only to be discovered by Bob, causing Tom to run away. The most damning discrepancy was that Bob was proven to be left handed, and that Tom Robinson’s left arm was lame. Scout observed: 

His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small shriveled hand, and from as far away as the balcony I could see that it was no use to him.

This evidence made it almost impossible for Tom to have been responsible for Mayella’s injuries.

What, if anything, would have been different if Friar Lawrence and Paris did not exist? Would the ending be different?

Without Friar Lawrence, perhaps no one else would have agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet; he only does it because he hopes that it will bring peace between the two families.  It is likely that a different friar would not have felt the same way.  Further, another friar would likely not have counseled Juliet to fake her own death, deceive her family, and run away.  It's a pretty sneaky thing for a man of God to suggest, so it seems entirely possible that another friar would not have advised it, and thus Romeo would never have believed she was dead and killed himself.  Moreover, if Paris did not exist, Juliet would likely not have been forced into a marriage so soon.  Her father said, in the beginning, that he thought she was too young to marry; it was only Tybalt's death and Paris's readiness that compelled him to move forward with the wedding plans so quickly.  Therefore, without a willing groom in Paris, Juliet would probably not have been urged to marry and would never have felt the desperation that causes her to fake her death.

Thus, it seems very probable that, without either character, the end would have been different.  Without Friar Lawrence to marry the couple or suggest that Juliet fake her death (which was meant to fool her parents but ended up fooling Romeo as well), it seems less likely that the play would have ended with the lovers' suicides.  Similarly, without Paris's waiting arms, Capulet would have had no one in particular to whom he could marry Juliet after Tybalt's death, and so she would not have been made desperate by the idea of having to marry again when she was devoted to her first husband.  Therefore, Romeo and Juliet would have, at least, had more time to figure out a plan, to take their time and make sure all communication was complete, and this would have prevented Romeo's misunderstanding; it seems unlikely that they would have killed themselves in this case either.

What are three objects that Atticus Finch might carry?

The day's newspaper: Throughout the novel, Atticus is constantly reading the newspaper. Scout even mentions,

I sometimes think Atticus subjected every crisis of his life to tranquil evaluation behind The Mobile Register, The Birmingham News and The Montgomery Advertiser (Lee 91).

I believe Atticus would most likely carry the day's newspaper around with him.

Glasses case: The reader knows from Chapter 10 that Atticus is nearly blind in his left eye, which is why he has to wear glasses. It would be reasonable to assume Atticus carries a glasses case with him in case he needs to protect his glasses when he takes them off.

Briefcase: Since Atticus is a lawyer, he is typically found carrying a briefcase. There are several scenes throughout the novel that depict Atticus carrying and looking through his briefcase. In Chapter 13, when he returns home from Birmingham, Jem is quick to grab his father's briefcase. In Chapter 20, Atticus searches for papers from his briefcase during the trial.

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 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.

"The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse" begins in a mood of nostalgia. Can you narrate some incident from your childhood that might make an...

William Saroyan begins his short story “The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse” with Aram looking back at an event from when he was nine years old. Nostalgia is when a person looks back wistfully on an event or occurrence from earlier in life. There is generally a yearning to return to that time or to remember it with great emotion, whether it was a time of great joy or sadness. In this story, Aram narrates the events while transporting the reader to a time of innocence and joy as he recounts the summer his cousin commandeered their neighbor’s white horse.

For this assignment you are being asked to examine your past for a memory of an event or time which was formative or evokes deep emotions in you. In essence, you are being asked to provide a flashback to a piece of your own history, and to expound upon it. Once you make your choice, you will determine how you want to take the reader back to that time. In this story, Aram speaks about events which occurred in his childhood. Life was good and it seemed to hold promise for the future. The author leaves the reader in suspense, wanting to know what will happen after the cousin arrives at Aram’s bedroom window in the middle of the night. The reader can predict different scenarios but must read on to see what events unfold. You can use a similar technique to tell your story.

One day back there in the good old days when I was nine and the world was full of every imaginable kind of magnificence, and life was still a delightful and mysterious dream, my cousin Mourad, who was considered crazy by everybody who knew him except me, came to my house at four in the morning and woke me up by tapping on the window of my room.

Another example of this type of story is “A Christmas Memory” by Truman Capote. You may want to read the narrative to increase your understanding of how to complete this writing assignment. In Capote’s story, a man reverently looks back on a poignant time in his life, and at the relationship he had with his cousin. It is a time of deep emotion and he shares both the pleasure and sorrow in his memoir of a unique holiday tradition.

What are the figures of speech used in the poem "Anthem for Doomed Youth" by Wilfred Owen?

Some of the figures of speech employed by this poem include simile, personification, and alliteration. In the first line, the speaker asks, "What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?" He compares the young men who die in war to cattle, via simile, in order to emphasize the way they seem to be slaughtered, thoughtlessly, and by the thousands. A simile is a comparison of two unalike things using the word like or as.

In the next few lines, the guns are personified as feeling a "monstrous anger" and the rifles are "stuttering" while they "patter out their hasty orisons"; orisons are prayers, and so these lines personify the rifles by stating that they can pray. Personification is when something nonhuman is granted human characteristics. Later in this stanza, the "wailing shells" are personified as "choirs" that possess a "voice of mourning."

Alliteration is the repetition of the initial consonant sound in words, and it is often used to mimic or enhance the words' actual meaning. In the third line, the phrase "rifles' rapid rattle" is an example of alliteration. We can read the repeated "r" sound as echoing the sound guns make when fired over and over.

What are the contributions of William Shakespeare?

Shakespeare's largest contribution, in my view, is his popularization of the language of the English language Bible, particularly in that he borrowed liberally from the first Bible printed particularly for study and scholarship, the Geneva Bible (the version that just predated the 1611 King James Bible -- the Bible eventually compiled for regular use for common people).  Shakespeare's use of language, his imagery, metaphors, and HUGE vocabulary, when seen and heard in action on the stage, connected people to words and their possibilities. Shakespeare knew he would make that connection even easier when he used phrases already familiar to his audiences, phrases they would have heard in church or at home from the only book that would likely have been in a home at that time before the printing press and before literacy was at all commonplace. 

In Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," what are some of the narrator's objectives?

Probably Robert Frost's most famous poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is famously ambiguous and hard to interpret. Though it's tough to discern whether or not the narrator has a definitive "objective," if you had to pick one, it's possible to argue that the narrator's main objective is to illustrate the conflict between the desire for rest and the need to fulfill one's commitments.

The most crucial stanza in the poem is the last one, which reads as follows:

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)

In this stanza, it's clear that the narrator is attracted to the woods, but also has commitments to fulfill before he can "sleep" or rest. Many scholars argue that the woods symbolize death and mortality, and that the narrator is struggling with the desire for rest in death and the need to continue living (hence the "miles to go"). This reading is persuasive and adds many layers of depth to the poem, but it is not the only possible interpretation. In any case, it's clear that the narrator is longing for some kind of rest, and whether that's the rest found in death, or merely the rest gained by pausing and enjoying a peaceful natural scene, is somewhat moot. Overall, the narrator's objective seems to be the illustration of the tension between the desire for rest and the responsibility to fulfill one's duty. This discussion could be expanded to the tension between the desire for death and the need to keep living, but that is only one possible interpretation of a short but highly suggestive poem. 

What are the two opposite attitudes towards tradition in the poem "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost?

In Robert Frost's "Mending Wall," the speaker and the speaker's neighbor meet each year to mend a stone wall that separates their properties. Through the speaker, the reader learns the annual maintenance is, in the speaker’s mind, unnecessary because the wall does not serve a practical purpose. The speaker also reveals the annual tradition of mending the wall is important to the neighbor not for the wall itself, but for what the neighbor believes the wall represents.

The speaker's attitude toward this annual tradition seems to range from bemusement to irreverence. The speaker questions not only the purpose of the shared annual labor, but also the neighbor's rationale for continuing the tradition in the face of the lack of practical need for the wall's continued existence. The speaker wants to make light of the tradition, even pondering suggesting that elves are responsible for the yearly damage to the wall, but in the end acquiesces to the neighbor’s determination to follow the tradition.   

The speaker's neighbor, on the other hand, does not seem to question the tradition. Rather, the neighbor dogmatically follows the platitude, “Good fences make good neighbors,” a saying the speaker attributes to the neighbor’s father. For the neighbor, the wall and the annual mending both represent traditions to be followed for their own sake, not for their practical purposes. Further, the tradition of annually mending the wall seems to represent to the neighbor a necessary tradition for maintaining their relationship as neighbors.

When Tom gets his paper back, does he finish his work?

Tom never finishes his work. When he breaks his own window and manages to get back inside his apartment, he decides not to stay there and rest as he has planned. Instead he gets his hat and topcoat and prepares to go to the movie-theater to find his wife. He takes the crumpled yellow sheet out of his pocket and lays it on his desk, weighting it down with only a pencil. But when he opens the door to leave his apartment, the warm air from the hallway rushes in creating a draft. The draft is much stronger now than it had been the first time it caused his precious yellow sheet to be blown out the narrow opening in the window. The difference is that now the whole window pane is gone. He broke it to get inside and had then crawled through to safety after

...picking away the protruding slivers and big wedges of glass from the window frame, tossing them in onto the rug.

Ironically, the draft picks up the yellow sheet again. This time Tom isn't even concerned when he sees his worksheet perversely following the identical route it had taken before. The story ends with these words:

He turned to pull the door closed and the warm air from the hall rushed through the narrow opening again. As he saw the yellow paper, the pencil flying, scooped off the desk and, unimpeded by the glassless window, sail out into the night and out of his life, Tom Benecke burst into laughter and then closed the door behind him.