What was the name of the conference at which the United States and United Kingdom promised the Soviet Union that they would invade France?

The conference at which the United States and the United Kingdom finally committed to invading Occupied France (and at which they set a general date for it) was the Tehran Conference.  This conference was held from November 28 to December 1, 1943 in Tehran, Iran.  The main result of this conference was the promise to open a western front in the European Theater of World War II.

Since Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June of 1941, the great bulk of all land fighting in the European Theater was done by the Soviets.  They suffered terrible casualties and devastation as they fought off the German invasion.  Because they were so hard-pressed, they badly wanted the Western Allies to invade Occupied France and open another front.  If the Allies would do this, it would significantly ease the pressure on the Soviets in the east.  However, the US and UK were reluctant to do this until they were sure the invasion would succeed.  They wanted to take the time to make sure they had enough men and materiel stockpiled on Britain to successfully invade the continent.  At the Tehran Conference, they committed to doing so and they set May of 1944 as the date for the invasion. 

Thus, the correct answer to this answer is the Tehran Conference.

What does Phillip mean when he says of Timothy, "His eyes were becoming mine," in Theodore Taylor's The Cay?

By the end of the fourth chapter in Theodore Taylor's The Cay, Phillip awakens with his head no longer hurting but his vision growing hazy. He awakens another time to find he has gone completely blind. After a moment of hysteria, he falls asleep again and awakens in the fifth chapter calmer and aware that he must now rely on his sense of sound and Timothy's own eyes to know what's going on around him. Towards the middle of the chapter, when Phillip comments that Timothy's "eyes were becoming mine," he means that he is opening up to Timothy enough that he can ask Timothy what he sees and rely on Timothy's vision as his own.

Phillip must first begin relying on Timothy's eyes to spot any planes or ships in the region. At the start of Chapter 5, they both hear a motor, and Timothy is the one who is able to see it is a plane and where it is located. But, soon enough, Timothy sees the plane fly off, and Phillip hears the sizzling sound as Timothy uses the ocean water to douse the torch he had lit to attract the plane's attention. Next, Timothy must be Phillip's eyes to warn him of the dangers of sharks as Phillip crawls too close to the edge of the raft.

By the middle of the chapter, Phillip asks Timothy, "Tell me what's out there, Timothy." Timothy reports seeing "miles o' blue wattah," a fish jump out of the water, a turtle that had passed by them a while ago, a clear blue sky, and a bird called a booby feeding on the flying fish; the booby Timothy saw was of a variety of boobies that have blue faces and blue feet, called blue-faced boobies. Though Phillip laughs at the name of the bird, Timothy remains serious and explains that the sight of the bird is a good sign because the birds nest on the shore; therefore, seeing a blue-faced booby means that their raft is close to shore.

How would you analyze the poem "Song" by Alun Lewis?

The poem “Song” was written by the Welsh poet Alum Lewis, who died in India during World War II.

The themes addressed in the seven stanza poem are love, loss, and ultimately, the acceptance of loss. The tone is melancholy and forlorn.

In the poem, which is spoken from the wife’s point of view, a young soldier leaves his wife to join the fight. His leaving makes her miserable enough to feel ill.  It is their hope that she is pregnant. Unfortunately, both are disappointed when she is not.

And where he's left his promise

Life did not turn or kick

The seed, the seed of love was sick.

In her grief, she misses him dearly, but the months of his absence pass until he dies in a shipwreck and is lost at sea. She explains that they never planned for life as it occurred but slowly, she learns to live without him and to accept her loss. The process of acceptance is slow and difficult but ultimately, it does happen.  

Each of the seven stanzas follows an ABCBB rhyming pattern, and contains vivid imagery and similes.

And my bed was like a grave

And his ghost was lying there.

The first stanza describes how the wife felt when her love left, and she discovered she was not carrying his child. The second stanza describes her grief and loneliness; while the third brings her to the realization his ship is lost at sea. In the fourth stanza, which corresponds with the fourth month of his absence, she imagines him to command her not to think of him in his permanent absence. In the fifth stanza, Lewis describes, with vivid sea life imagery, the soldier’s watery grave. Stanza six finds the wife lamenting life’s twists and turns, and it describes how the coral reef continues to grow while her husband lays dead in its midst. This is a metaphor for how life progresses even in the face of a loved one's death.  Finally, in the seventh stanza, as time passes, she, with great difficulty, comes to accept his loss.  

The turning seasons wither in my head;

All this slowness, all this hardness,

The nearness that is waiting in my bed,

The gradual self-effacement of the dead.

How would you describe Lewis's writing style?

Arguably the most important thing about Lewis' style as a writer is that he is always looking for a compelling story to tell. In both his books and his articles, he spends a great deal of time talking to people involved and searching for the most compelling ideas and stories that fit the narrative he comes up with. Sometimes this leads to people feeling like he does not quite cover a story or an idea perfectly. On the other hand, it very frequently leads to very easy to read, compelling writing that he has applied to a variety of complex and technical topics. His exhaustive research also makes it easier for the reader to trust his narrative style because it is generally very well informed and detailed.

This extends to the way that Lewis will address a topic like high-frequency trading or the way that baseball has come to depend heavily on statistical analysis. He finds a compelling story that will address the topic and uses the story (or stories) to make his points and exposition more compelling. By using the story of Billy Beane in Moneyball or Michael Oher in The Blind Side, he addresses the ideas of statistical analysis and the evolution of the left guard position in football in a dramatic and compelling fashion.

What would be a critical reading of "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Poe?

A critical reading of Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" differs from a plot summary in using the tools and techniques of literary criticism. As you complete such an assignment, you should begin by analyzing the narrative voice of the story. You should note that we see the story through the eyes of an unreliable first-person narrator and that as the narrator attempts to justify his claim that he is not mad, he inadvertently convinces us of his insanity. The unreliability of the narrator also makes us as readers speculate on the degree to which the old man was an innocent victim. You might also look at how the story fits the genre of "dramatic monologue."

Next, you might examine the implied audience or the "you" of the story and how the use of the second person draws the reader into the story.

Finally, you might look at how the very disjoint style of speech and tendency towards overemphasis and hyperbole helps construct the personality of the narrator for the reader. 

In Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli, where are Piper and Russell running away to?

In Chapter 34, we learn that Piper and Russell are running away to Mexico.

As the chapter begins, Maniac discovers both boys in the cabin next door. When he first sees them, Screecher and Missing Tooth (this is Maniac's first impression of them) are engaged in a brawl of sorts. Both appear to be enjoying the rambunctious fight. When both boys notice Maniac standing in the doorway, they address him and ask whether he's running away as well.

Maniac replies in the negative, and both boys readily show him their stash of stolen goodies. Eventually, Screecher and Missing Tooth (Piper and Russell respectively) become suspicious that Maniac might be a cop. They pat him down for a gun but discover nothing. For his part, Maniac pipes up that he's just a pizza delivery boy. He thinks that "someone somewhere must be worried sick" about Piper and Russell. So, he tries to bribe the boys to return to Two Mills with him by telling them that they've won a free pizza. He also promises Piper and Russell that, if they consent to return to Two Mills with him, he will also clue them in on a shortcut to Mexico.

After the trio finish their pizza meal, they try to make their way home. However, they are soon accosted by Big John McNab, the leader of the Cobras and the boys' big brother.

What details suggest Jim and Della are capable of sacrifice in "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry?

Della and Jim Dillingham are willing to sacrifice their most prized possessions to buy each other a Christmas present.

In the exposition of "The Gift of the Magi," Della counts over the little money she has saved, recalling with some shame how she saved money by "bulldozing the grocer and vegetable man and the butcher." Della bartered with them to try to save some money for Jim's Christmas gift. Della's loving intentions are apparent from the beginning. When she sells her luxurious hair of which she is so proud, Della's willingness to sacrifice whatever she can to give a nice present to her husband is even clearer.

Similarly, in order to purchase a gift for his beloved wife, Jim Dillingham is willing to relinquish his gold watch, his only prized possession, which is an heirloom passed from his grandfather to his father and now to him. Moreover, his unselfish love for Della is certainly evinced when he sees Della sold her hair; he does not become angry or resentful that he sold his watch unnecessarily, as Della can no longer use the hair combs Jim purchased with the money he received for the watch.

When they each receive their gifts, neither makes any begrudging remark. Instead, Della hugs the combs and says positively, "My hair grows so fast, Jim!" Jim, too, reacts positively, saying, "Della... let's put away our Christmas presents and keep 'em awhile." Their love for each other is worth any sacrifice.

How does Shakespeare represent Macbeth as an ambitious man?

Shakespeare shows Macbeth is ambitious because he wants to be king even though he has no right to be. 

When Macbeth hears the witches make their prophecies, he has a very different reaction than Banquo does. The contrast between the two men shows how much more ambitious Macbeth is than Banquo. 

Banquo is told that his sons will be king, and he seems not to care. If anything, Banquo is wary of the witches. Macbeth, on the other hand, takes the prophecies at face value and expects them all to come true once the first one comes true. 

When Macbeth is told that he is Thane of Cawdor, which was the witches' first prophecy, he seems to decide every other prophecy must be true, too. King Duncan seems to feel otherwise. He makes the perfectly logical move of naming his son Malcolm successor. Macbeth’s shows how ambitious he really is when he reacts by saying, 

[Aside] The Prince of Cumberland! that is a step
On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap,
For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;
Let not light see my black and deep desires (Act I, Scene 4).

Macbeth is worried about killing King Duncan. You can be ambitious and still be a coward. Macbeth doesn’t have many positive character traits, actually. He goes down the list of reasons why he should not kill Duncan in a soliloquy. In the end, Macbeth determines the only reason he has is that he is ambitious enough to do so. 

I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself
And falls on the other (Act I, Scene 7). 

Once Macbeth is king, he will do anything to keep it that way. He kills Banquo first because he is worried about Banquo having witnessed the prophecies, including one naming Banquo’s sons king. He then has Macduff’s wife and children killed. There is no end to the bloodshed Macbeth is willing to cause. He brings war to his country just to satisfy his own ambition.

What is the importance of value maximization in the theory of the firm?

It would be difficult to overstate the importance of value maximization in the neoclassical theory of the firm. Value maximization is essentially the core of neoclassical firm theory. It says that all firms do — or should (it's often vague on precisely that point) — seek to maximize their total market value, and maximizing social welfare as a result. There is a mathematical theorem that supports this, which rests upon extremely strong assumptions about complete markets, perfect information, and perfect rationality.

Of course, none of these assumptions are anywhere close to true, and if you relax them even slightly the whole theorem falls apart (as shown in the first linked paper), but this has not stopped value maximization from remaining the core of neoclassical firm theory. Its chief competition is stakeholder theory, which essentially argues that social welfare would be maximized if firms sought to maximize social welfare. Stakeholder theory has often been argued to be trivial and useless (as is argued in the second linked paper), but, unlike value maximization, it at least has the virtue of not being obviously and completely wrong.

At best, value maximization might be a useful descriptive theory of how firms do behave, and perhaps there is some way of showing approximate value maximization is approximately social-welfare optimizing under more realistic conditions, but surprisingly few economists have even attempted such an argument. Instead, there is this weird notion that if the math works in some idealized imaginary universe, this must actually be a good policy in the real world.

How would you summarize the poem "Imagination" by George Bernard Shaw?

George Bernard Shaw was a man whose work was compared to humorous and clever authors who were well-known at the time:

But by the turn of the century, Shaw’s smart, funny voice had emerged—a unique intersection of styles typified by writers like Oscar Wilde and Anton Chekhov. 

It is for this reason that Shaw's "Imagination" is something of an oddity. It is almost trite or juvenile. Since Shaw was an author who was not known for constructing anything so inconsequential, it might be assumed the simplistic nature of the poem has a deeper meaning—much more than the words imply.

Throughout the poem, the speaker notes that (as a youngster) he had an active imagination and alludes to childhood images of adventure similar to those of Mark Twain's character Tom Sawyer and Harper Lee's Jem, Scout and Dill inTo Kill a Mockingbird. Pretending was a daily staple of these characters' young lives.

The things the speaker pretended to be are clichés—the games little boys have played throughout numerous generations (during Shaw's time and still today), including a pirate and a cowboy. These roles were not sophisticated in nature, but the speaker says, "These simple things did please me."

In the second stanza, the speaker describes an abundance of time spent in magical worlds that he imagined; he then discovered reading, and in these ways he "escaped the daily grind." The use of daily grind is interesting because it is very different than the lifestyle and imaginings of a child.

In the next stanza, the speaker describes living with Eskimos in northern climates; the following stanza reports that he "went off to the moon" after reading Jules Verne (a popular science fiction writer of the day). The voice the speaker adopts is child-like, as seen in Shaw's use of a bare-bones, simplistic style.

And went off to the moon, 

It was just to take a look, 

Then it was time to return.

Consider the definition of voice:

[Voice] is a convention in poetry that the speaker is not the same individual as the historical [actual] author of the poem. . . Many students (and literary critics) attempt to decipher clues about the author’s own attitudes, beliefs, feelings, or biographical details through the words in a poem. 

The voice Shaw adopts is important to the poem's theme, especially in that such simplistic ideas and style of writing contrast with Shaw's superior stylistic capabilities in his other literary works.

In the fifth stanza, the speaker alludes to the famous explorer, Dr. Livingstone, and also speaks of Twain's character Huck Finn —the epitome of an adventuresome boy. The speaker is out of touch with reality as he becomes caught up in his imagined exploits during some especially dangerous and controversial situations.

Shaw also structures the poem's rhyme scheme with simple end-rhyme. The rhyme scheme of "Imagination" is singsong and unimaginative. For instance, he uses a, b, a, b in the fifth stanza. These simple kinds of rhyme, along with a basic syntax, also add to the child-like mood of the poem.

Toward the conclusion, the speaker notes,

In my world of fantasy and imagination, 

I performed such wonderful deeds.

In this statement, the speaker notes he was capable of doing more than is normal for most people, but only in his imagination. Perhaps this speaks to the difficulty of leaving a childhood where anything is possible and turning to adulthood, which is replete what is not possible.

The poem's last stanza provides a pivotal moment when the speaker turns away from the make-believe days of his youth:

Then I grew up my childish world at an end.

I had become serious it nearly drove me around the bend.

I still do like the mysterious, 

This is the message I am trying to send.

In order to give this masterful writer his due, we must look to a deeper meaning as opposed to the literal presentation of this poem. First, the last stanza is very much like 1 Corinthians 13:11:

When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things (NLT).

We know that "by the turn of the century, Shaw’s smart, funny [literary] voice" had emerged. We also know his work "enumerated various social and political concerns." With these details in mind, we can infer Shaw was making a statement, something beyond sharing details of the speaker's childhood imagination. When the speaker was a child, he behaved like one. When he grew up, he changed. Shaw's wit might well expose his personal political or social ideas by noting that, while the speaker almost went crazy, he still made the transition. Perhaps his inference is that many people of his day did not, instead choosing to live in a dream world rather than facing the realities of the modern day.

While he put away the imaginings of childhood, however, Shaw's speaker also notes he is still curious about the mysteries in life. Shaw might be telling his audience that just because life requires one to stop pretending, a life need not be one of drudgery or boredom if one can shift his or her attention away from things imagined, and search, instead, for meaning and excitement in those things yet to be understood.

Shaw's poem "Imagination" should never be taken at face value. The writer's mastery of the language itself must prove to the reader that there is more here than meets the eye.

inverse of x*e^x

We are asked to find the inverse of ` xe^x ` :

One way to find an inverse is to start with the equation y=f(x); then exchange x and y and solve the result for y.

`y=xe^x `

-----------

`x=ye^y `

To get rid of the exponent, take the natural logarithm of each side:

`lnx=ln(ye^y) `

Use properties of logarithms to simplify the right hand side:

`lnx=lny+y `

Note that we cannot write this as a function of x using elementary functions.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The inverse  is called the Lambert W-function. If we assume that x is real and x>-1 we get a single valued function. Without this restriction, y=xe^x does not have an inverse function as it fails the horizontal line test.

The graph of `y=xe^x ` :

We can draw the inverse relation by reflecting the graph over the line y=x.

What is the theme of Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech?

The theme of Walk Two Moons is dealing with the loss of a loved one. In the novel, three characters lose their mothers in different ways. How they deal with that loss is dealt with by interweaving their stories into one.

Ben’s mother has been placed in a mental health clinic. He does not reveal the whereabouts of his mother to the other characters until near the end of the story. Some foreshadowing is evident when Ben objects to the term “lunatic,” which Phoebe uses for the young man who comes to the door.

Phoebe’s mother disappears, leaving home to deal with the arrival of the son she gave up for adoption before her marriage to Mr. Winterbottom (this is Phoebe’s “lunatic”). Phoebe refuses to believe her mother would willingly desert her family, so she comes up with a story that her mother was kidnapped. She believes that the “lunatic” is somehow connected to her mother’s disappearance, as indeed he is, but not in the way she thinks.

Sal’s mother has been killed in a bus accident. Mrs. Hiddle had left her family, meaning it to be only temporary as she went to visit a cousin after the death of her baby. Sal believes that if she can reach the place where her mother is resting by her mother’s birthday, somehow she can bring her home.

Each of these characters must come to terms with their loss, but also the pain of growing up, finding out that their mothers are fallible and even mortal. While Phoebe’s mother returns, having acknowledged her son to her family, both Sal and Ben must live with the fact that their mothers are not coming home. This seems to draw them together as they both come to terms with their loss but also their discovery of each other.

How does Shakespeare create sympathy towards Cassius in Julius Caesar?

One of the main ways that Shakespeare creates sympathy for Cassius is that Brutus always ignores his advice. This leads to their destruction. When Cassius dies, Shakespeare creates sympathy for him by saying it was his birthday.

Cassius is the one who brought Brutus into the conspiracy, but he pretty much immediately abdicated leadership to Brutus. The shame of it is that Brutus really did not know what he was doing. He was the nominal leader because his name brought dignity to the cause, but he didn’t have the experience or expertise. He led them into destruction from the beginning.

First there were the decisions about the assassination itself. Brutus contradicted Cassius even in small ways, such as on the issue of swearing an oath. He also had lofty ideals that did not translate into reality. This is why they did not kill anyone other than Caesar.

BRUTUS

Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius,
To cut the head off and then hack the limbs,
Like wrath in death and envy afterwards;
For Antony is but a limb of Caesar:
Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius. (Act 2, Scene 1)

Brutus’s biggest mistake was not listening to Cassius when it came to letting Mark Antony speak at Caesar’s funeral. This was a devastating blow to their cause. Cassius was afraid that Antony would sway the people. Brutus felt that his own speech would be convincing enough. Cassius was right, and Brutus was wrong. Brutus and Cassius had to flee Rome.

Cassius also did not want to meet Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus and their armies at Philippi. He felt that it was a strategic mistake. Brutus again overruled him, and this cost them their lives. Cassius committed suicide, on his birthday, when he thought that he saw his army being captured. It was actually a victory he saw. His side lost shortly thereafter, though.

Why does William Wordsworth say "stop here, or gently pass" in "The Solitary Reaper"?

The line you're referring to occurs within the first few lines of Wordsworth's "The Solitary Reaper," and it helps to put it in context:

Behold her, single in the field, 

Yon solitary Highland Lass! 

Reaping and singing by herself; 

Stop here, or gently pass! (1-4)

At first glance, that fourth line is a little strange; who is Wordsworth talking to, and what is he trying to say? What's interesting here is that, depending on how you interpret the scene, Wordsworth is actually talking to the reader, and he's basically telling the reader to avoid disturbing the solitary reaper. By saying "Stop here, or gently pass," Wordsworth is telling us to appreciate the scene, or move along quietly. By addressing the reader more or less directly, he puts us into the poem in a very intimate fashion. As such, we get the sense that we're actually walking around the highlands with Wordsworth and witnessing the solitary reaper alongside him. Line 4 is a a deft technique that makes us experience Wordsworth's poetic vision in a vivid fashion. 

`int (x^4 + x - 4)/(x^2 + 2) dx` Find the indefinite integral.

In Substitution Rule, we follow` int f(g(x))g'(x) dx = int f(u) du ` where  we let `u = g(x)` .

Before we use this, we look for possible way to simplify the function using math operation or algebraic techniques.

For the problem: `int (x^4+x-4)/(x^2+2) dx` ,we expand first using long division.

`(x^4+x-4)/(x^2+2) = x^2-2+x/(x^2+2)`

Applying `int (f(x) +- g(x))dx = int f(x) dx +- intg(x)dx :`

` `

We get` int x^2 dx - int 2 dx + int x/(x^2+2) dx.`

`int x^2 dx = x^3/3`

`int 2 dx =2x`

`int x/(x^2+2) dx = 1/2 ln|x^2+2|`

We use u-substitution on int `x/(x^2+2) dx ` by letting `u = x^2 +2`

then` du = 2x *dx` rearrange into` x* dx= (du)/2`

Substituting  u =x^2+2  and x * dx = (du)/2, the integral becomes:

`int x/(x^2+2) dx = int 1/u *(du)/2`

                      ` = 1/2 int (du)/u`

                       `= 1/2 ln|u|`

 Substitute `u=x^2+2 `  then `int 1/2 ln|u| = 1/2ln |x^2+2|`

`int x^2 dx - int 2 dx + int x/(x^2+2)dx = x^3/3 - 2x+1/2ln|x^2+2| +C`

Why did Progressives believe society needed to be reformed?

Progressives believed there were problems in our society that needed to be addressed. They felt certain practices in our country were benefitting a few people while hurting many people.

John Spargo wrote a book that focused on child labor. He wrote about how children were working long hours in dangerous factories instead of going to school. These kids were paid very little. This helped business owners keep costs down. In part because of his book, child labor and compulsory school attendance laws were passed to correct this issue.

Lincoln Steffens wrote about how money was corrupting the political system. The common person seemed to be getting shut out of politics. To correct this issue, the initiative, referendum, recall, and direct election of U.S. Senators were reforms made to improve conditions in politics that would help involve the average person more in the political process.

Upton Sinclair wrote about unsanitary conditions in the meat industry. These conditions led to tainted meat being sold. Business owners were also falsely labeling food and medicine to increase profits. The Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act were passed to help correct these issues.

The Progressives believed there were problems in our society. By drawing people’s attention to these issues, they were able to bring about various changes to correct the abuses they believed existed in our country.

What is the verse form of the poem "The Solitary Reaper" by Wordsworth?

William Wordsworth's poem "The Solitary Reaper" has a mixed rhyme scheme, with the first and last stanzas following an abcbddee pattern and the middle stanzas following an ababccdd pattern. More importantly, the poem is written in iambic tetrameter. Similar to iambic pentameter, iambic tetrameter is slightly more compact, as it uses only four feet per line, rather than five. A foot is a group of two syllables, one of which is stressed and one of which is not stressed. Each line in Wordsworth's "The Solitary Reaper" contains four of these groupings, thus ensuring that a constant, reliable rhythm runs throughout the verse and holds the whole composition together. 

Understanding poetic feet can be difficult at first, so here's a trick to start figuring it out: when looking at a line of poetry, count the number of groupings of two syllables. The ending number will be the total number of feet. Once you get the hang of this, it will be much easier to also identify stressed and unstressed syllables, and also whether something is written in iambic pentameter or not. Try it out with the lines in "The Solitary Reaper," and aim to identify four feet per line. 

In "The Tiger in the Tunnel," why was Baldeo uneasy?

One reason why Baldeo is uneasy is because of what he might encounter in the jungle.

Baldeo sets out for the railway station late at night. As he walks through the jungle, the forest creatures are the only things that can be heard. Accordingly, the thoughts of the creatures he might have to confront triggers his uneasiness:

The eeriness of the place was increased by the neighbouring hills which overhung the main line threateningly. On entering the cutting with its sheer rock walls towering high above the rails, Baldeo could not help thinking about the wild animals he might encounter.

Baldeo is uneasy because he does not know what is out there in the vast darkness.  He walks to his night job alone, and there is no one else around to dispel his uncertain thoughts.  These ideas drift to what might be waiting for him in the dark jungle.  Baldeo's uneasiness is further amplified when he thinks about "the man-eating tiger" that roams in the jungle.  Baldeo does not know what is out there, but he knows that what is there will not friendly to him.  He knows that "there is no shelter" when he is amongst the natural elements.  This lack of certainty causes Baldeo's uneasiness.  

What are the changes that happen to the summer sun according to "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day" (Sonnet 18)?

In Sonnet XVIII, Shakespeare writes that the summer sun can be too short, too hot, and sometimes it only shines dimly.

In this sonnet of Shakespeare's, which is written in the Petrarchan form, the first four lines interrelate in order to form an argument that the last few lines will answer. In these first lines, the poet states that comparing his beloved to a summer's day lends his love only a temporal nature. So, in his argument against the summer sun, the poet states that

1. Summer does not last long enough since it "hath all too short a date."


2. Often the sun is unbearably hot when it shines upon the earth: "sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines."


3. The summer sun often loses its brilliance because of clouds and such: "and often is his gold complexion dimm'd . . ."

For these reasons, the poet decides to preserve his beloved's beauty, not in a comparison to the sun, but in the written verse: "when in eternal lines to time thou growest." As long as people live and read, the beloved's beauty will be preserved in the poet's verse.

In the book The Wednesday Wars, what was the author trying to achieve?

One of the author's points in writing The Wednesday Wars is to show the power of love and friendship. While Holling Hoodhood, the protagonist, originally thinks his teacher, Mrs. Baker, is out to get him, he realizes over time that she cares for him and that they have a friendship appropriate for a student and teacher. She helps introduce him to the power of Shakespeare, brings him to the hospital when he is hit by a bus, and coaches him in cross-country. He, in turn, supports her during a difficult time when her husband is fighting in Vietnam. Holling is also supportive towards his older sister, who runs away looking for the kind of contentment she doesn't find in their loveless house, which Holling ironically calls "The Perfect House." He is the person who brings her back home and shows her understanding, as he comes to appreciate the power of love and understanding over the course of the novel. 

What themes are linked in Athol Fugard's plays The Road to Mecca and My Children! My Africa!?

While Athol Fugard's play My Children! My Africa! more overtly concerns apartheid than his play The Road to Mecca, both very clearly concern the theme of being crushed by an oppressive social system.

The Road to Mecca is set in New Bethesda, a predominantly white village established by the Dutch Reformed Church, 1875, in the Karoo, South Africa's semi-desert. Being set in a predominantly white village, the play does not contain the same overtly racial tensions found in My Children! My Africa!; however, since Fugard was a strong critic of apartheid who wrote all of his anti-apartheid plays in exile, both plays certainly contain critical anti-apartheid tones.

In The Road To Mecca, since her husband's death, the protagonist Miss Helen has felt at liberty to pursue her true creativity. The result is that she has filled her yard with cement statues of animals and Wise Men--all facing towards Mecca in the east. Yet, all who live in the village think she has gone completely insane. People, like Marius, the minister, continue to try to imprison Miss Helen by insisting she move into an assisted living facility. Marius's belief that she should be in an assisted living facility, rather than continue to live independently and freely express herself, represents an oppressive social system and helps develop Fugard's theme concerning oppressive social systems. It represents a repressive social system because it shows how much society has a tendency to believe that those who move against the grain of society should be repressed.

In addition, Marius represents those in favor of apartheid, which further helps develop Fugard's theme concerning oppressive social systems. We see him subtly express a favorable opinion of apartheid when he makes the following comment to Elsa:

There are no hungry people, white of Coloured, in this village. (p. 43)

His comment reveals his blind optimism, an optimism fueled by racial prejudices. We further see his racial prejudices when Miss Helen bemoans the news that the Divisional Council is moving her African friend Katrina out of the village. Marius wrongfully interprets her comment as bemoaning the fact that she is losing a faithful servant, as we can tell when he says in reply, "I'll lend you my faithful old Nonna" (p. 53). His comment exposes his racism because it shows he only equates Africans with servitude, not friendship as Miss Helen does. Marius's racism further serves to develop the theme revealing the hardships and consequences that go hand in hand with oppressive societies.

Similarly, in My Children! My Africa!, Fugard develops the theme concerning the hardships of oppression through his plot and characters. Set in a Bantu classroom, the play much more overtly concerns the topic of apartheid. The star student, Thami Mbikwana, is involved in publicly protesting against apartheid and the Bantu Education Act of 1953, which segregated schools into white and nonwhite schools and permitted the government to stop funding nonwhite schools. While Thami's teacher, Mr. Anela Myalatya, called Mr. M for short, acknowledges the hardships segregation causes, he strongly objects to the violent methods of protest Thami is involved in, methods Mr. M refers to as "vandalism and lawless behavior." Fugard uses Thami's actions to develop the theme concerning the hardships and consequences of an oppressive society. In addition, though Mr. M and Thami both oppose apartheid, the ending of the play is tragic because Thami and his comrades murder Mr. M for having given to the police the names of his students who participated in the school boycott. The dramatic ending serves to illustrate that an oppressive society can even divide those who should be united, a further consequence of apartheid.

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

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

In Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, who is Mr. Keptor? How does he deal with Anne's talkative nature?

"Mr. Keptor, the old math master, was very annoyed with me for a long time because I chatter so much" (6).

In the above passage from Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne reveals that her math teacher is Mr. Keptor. Not only that, but Anne knows well that her constant talking during class annoys him. In an effort to quiet her, Mr. Keptor assigns Anne to write three pages of a composition entitled "Chatterbox." Anne quiets down for the moment and writes the assignment in her notebook. Later that night, Anne decides to argue in her paper for Mr. Keptor that she will try to do better in the future, but that since she is female and her mother's daughter, there is no cure. 

Mr. Keptor accepts her essay, but Anne still can't keep her mouth shut in class. As a result, she is assigned another paper to write. This next paper is called "The Incurable Chatterbox." However, Anne is still talking during class a few days after this second submission. Therefore, Mr. Keptor assigns a third composition to be entitled "Quack, quack, quack, says Mrs. Natterbeak" (7).

Anne is humiliated by the title of the third composition because the students all laugh when it is announced. She decides to write a playful poem about a father duck who bites his babies to death when they chatter too much. Mr. Keptor's response to the third assignment is as follows:

"Luckily Keptor saw the joke, he read the poem out loud to the class, with comments, and to various other classes. Since then I am allowed to talk, never get extra work, in fact Keptor always jokes about it" (7).

It seems as though Anne wins over her teacher with her unique personality. Mr. Keptor attempts to squash Anne's chattering three times, but to no avail. In the end, Anne is accepted for being a chatterbox, and Mr. Keptor leaves her alone.

In Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, what is the compromise that Atticus suggests?

In Chapter 14 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout becomes overwhelmed with all of the people in her life who are telling her what to do. Aunt Alexandra has recently moved in with them, and it is difficult for Scout to mind this new woman who openly disapproves of her. To add salt to the wound, Jem attempts to tell her what to do in order to bring peace to the household. This doesn't sit right with Scout because she sees Jem as her equal, not her superior. As a result, Scout provokes him into a fistfight that Atticus has to break up. Atticus asks the children who started the fight and Scout blames Jem because he was telling her what to do. She asks her father if she has to mind Jem from then on, too. Atticus makes the following compromise:

"Let's leave it at this: you mind Jem whenever he can make you. Fair enough?" (138).

This seems to satisfy Scout because it gives her some support for a time that Jem might tell her what to do in the future. In fact, Scout uses this during the Tom Robinson trial when Jem tells her to go home. Scout responds by saying the following:

"'You gotta make me first,' I said, remembering Atticus's blessed dictum. Jem scowled furiously at me . . ." (173).

Therefore, the compromise is that whenever Jem bosses Scout around, she doesn't have to obey him unless he can make her obey.

What smells affected Isabel? In other words, what smells reminded her of something?

Isabel smells a lot of different things throughout Chains.  Anderson does a nice job of hitting that sense for readers.  It's the second part of the question that greatly focuses this question.  The smell has to trigger some kind of memory in Isabel.  

The first time that a smell triggers a memory for Isabel is in chapter nine.  She has been asked to wait upon Master Lockton and his friends while they discuss how to best bribe Patriot soldiers.  Isabel is asked to bring the men some jam at one point.  As the men begin spreading the apricot jam, Isabel tells readers that the smell of apricots reminds her of the orchards near Miss Mary's house.  That's a nice memory for Isabel.  

The smell of rose-scented soap is not a nice memory for Isabel though.  That smell reminds her of Madam Lockton.  

Near the end of the book, Isabel tells us that the smell of fresh-cut hay reminds her of home.  

Who does Howard save at the end of Skippy Dies? Is it Carl? Is Ruprecht still with Lori when the school burns down?

The questions you are asking are purposely left unanswered; however, I will try to explain as much as I can about what you are asking.  First, we are not told the exact student that Mr. Howard Fallon (the history teacher) saves.  Mr. Fallon simply “raced back into the burning building and rescued a trapped student.”  Yes, the student certainly could be Carl.  The importance of the happening is not the particular student, but that both he/she and Mr. Fallon are recovering and that Mr. Fallon has behaved heroically.  Next, we learn about the status of Ruprecht and Lori only at the end of the book and are not told about their exact status as the school burns down.  In an earlier chapter, we learn that Lori is singing into her cell phone on the night of the concert (to try an experimental performance) and Ruprecht is backstage.  The call is eventually dropped which we can assume is because the school is burning down at the time.  Later, Ruprecht shows up at Lori’s window and throws pebbles to get her attention.  This is when they begin talking.  Again, we are not told exactly when the school was burning down.  We learn that it has burned down from a Christmas bulletin talked about later.  The school could have been burning down when Lori was singing on the phone and Ruprecht was backstage.  The school could have been burning down when Ruprecht was en route to Lori’s house.  The school could have been burning down after Ruprecht already arrived at Lori’s house.  The reader cannot be sure; however, what is important is that both Ruprecht and Lori surive.

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

Ideologies play an important role in The Crucible.

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

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

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

Can you give an example of how human decency is or isn't displayed in H.G. Wells's The Time Machine?

While the Eloi in The Time Machine are a beautiful race that the time traveler meets in the future, they are actually cruel in many ways and lack human decency. In order to live their lives of ease and relaxation, they rely on the unending exploitation of the Morlocks, the underground race that serves them. The Eloi appear to live in a utopia, but they are so unable to take care of themselves that they rely on the Morlocks. The time traveler also realizes that the Eloi are so ineffectual and weak that they are incapable of the sympathy and care that are the marks of human decency. He meets Weena when she is floating downstream in a current, and none of the Eloi seem to notice or care. He saves her, and, to his surprise, she shows him gratitude. While the Morlocks are carnivorous troglodytes bent on the destruction of the time traveler, the Eloi also lack human decency because they are so passive. 

What does “I came to the conclusion that people were just peculiar, I withdrew from them, and never thought about them until I was forced to"...

With the controversial Tom Robinson trial over, Scout tries to settle back into everyday life. She starts the third grade. Scout walks by the Radley house each day, hoping to catch a glimpse of Boo.

Despite the normalcy in life, Scout feels "the events of the summer [hang] over [them] like smoke in a closed room" (To Kill a Mockingbird, chapter 26). She senses people in Maycomb still disapprove of Atticus for defending Tom Robinson. She senses her peers are being polite to her and Jem because their parents order them to do so. She feels like parents pity Jem and her because they cannot help who their father is. They cannot help their father defended a black man against a white woman.

There is much disapproval in the town toward Atticus, but the citizens still re-elect him to serve in the state legislature. Scout finds this strange. People are suspicious of Atticus for defending Tom Robinson, but they trust still him to help pass laws for the state. She reflects on this:

I came to the conclusion that people were just peculiar, I withdrew from them, and never thought about them until I was forced to.

Scout does not understand why people do and say certain things. For example, her teacher strongly dislikes Hitler and his treatment of Jews, but is openly prejudiced against the black people in Maycomb. Scout observes hypocrisy, and she distances herself from it. It confuses her, and she chooses not to think about it unless necessary.

What laws have limited Americans’ (or certain groups’) freedoms?

American freedom has been checked by certain events in history. In 1798, John Adams signed The Sedition Act, which made it illegal to speak out against the government or print criticisms of the administration. The act aimed to remove anti-Federalist sentiment from the press. While this act was repealed before Adams left office, it damaged the Federalist party and made John Adams appear paranoid to voters.  

During the Civil War, Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus, meaning the Federal government did not need to have a reason to jail someone, only a suspicion that the person was engaged in anti-government activities. Lincoln also instituted martial law to keep Maryland in the Union.  

In 1917, Woodrow Wilson brought back the Sedition Act and also created the Espionage Act. Wilson's Postmaster General A. Mitchell Palmer created a system where international mail was highly scrutinized and made it illegal to speak out against the war, the draft, or war industries. The most notable person arrested in this sting was Eugene V. Debs, who ran on the Socialist ticket for president in 1916.  

In 2001, George W. Bush signed the Homeland Security Act into law. This Act allows the government to access cell phone records and internet searches to put people on terrorist watch lists. So far, the Act is controversial among privacy advocates and has sparked debate about cell phone and internet rights.

What kind of language style and literary devices are used in "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" by Ernest Hemingway?

"The Snows of Kilimanjaro" is one of Ernest Hemingway's most masterfully written short stories, and it has plenty of linguistic style and literary devices embedded in the text to keep even the closest of readers occupied for a long time. Hemingway's doing a lot in this story. For our purposes, though, I think it would be best to focus on two things in particular: economy of language and symbolism.

Economy of language: this trait is a classic characteristic of Hemingway's style. His writing is most commonly known for simplicity and lack of needless stylistic flourishes. Indeed, Hemingway's prose could be reasonably compared to a strong cup of black coffee, as both are robust, plain, and simple. Understatements are a particularly key trait in this story. Often, Hemingway writes about important things in an indirect fashion; he never directly says what's happening, but the reader can guess obliquely by paying attention. In "Kilimanjaro," Hemingway doesn't immediately tell us his protagonist is dying. Rather, we're allowed to figure this out for ourselves based on the characters' indirect, clipped dialogue and a few hints Hemingway throws our way. As a result, the story's deeper meaning unfurls indirectly, so we appreciate it much more once we finally understand it. 

Symbolism: all of "Kilimanjaro" can be summed up in Hemingway's brief description of a frozen leopard near the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro at the beginning of the story. The leopard can be seen as a symbol for seeking and struggling to reach a higher purpose or meaning, but ultimately falling short in the process. This same concept is what much of the rest of the story is about, as the protagonist Harry laments the literary talents he failed to develop to the fullest. As such, the leopard becomes a literary device that symbolically represents the idea of failing in the process of striving for great things, and so it also becomes the heart of the whole short story. 

Where is the speaker at this time:"The woods are lovely dark and deepbut I have promises to keepand miles to go before I sleepand miles to...

The speaker in the poem is on a journey, and he still has miles to go before he reaches his destination. He stops to observe the beautiful sight because "the woods are lovely, dark and deep." When he stops to observe, he is in the depths of the woods. He thinks he knows who owns this large property where the woods are located.  

The speaker's horse knows it is strange to stop there. Usually, if they stopped at night it would be at a farmhouse. A farmhouse would offer warmth and shelter on a frigid winter evening.  

Though the speaker enjoys the beauty of the snowy woods in the moonlight, he knows he must go on. He cannot dawdle in the woods on such a cold night. He needs to find shelter for himself and his horse. He still has miles left in his journey, and he cannot waste time. He promised someone he would arrive soon.

In what ways does the novel Dracula play upon fears of infection and contagion? How does it represent sexually transmitted disease? Can it be...

Dracula can easily be read as a cautionary tale about the dangers of infection and epidemic, particularly of sexually transmitted diseases. Dracula arrives in England like the plague, transported by a plague ship, finding in London anonymity and plentiful victims. The connection to STDs is pretty plain, too—after Mina is attacked by Dracula, she calls herself “unclean”—“’Unclean, unclean! I must touch him or kiss him no more. Oh, that it should be that it is I who am now his worst enemy, and whom he may have most cause to fear.’” (There is some speculation that Stoker himself died of syphilis.) Vampire stories remain popular in part because they dwell on the forbidden intersection of sex and death.

There is, I think, a real connection between the advent of AIDS in the 1980s and the prevalence of vampire stories (both novels and films) during this time. I would point you to Susan Sontag’s book Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors (New York: Anchor Books, 1990) for a fuller discussion of the complex relationship between cinema, vampirism, sexuality, death/AIDS.

Why did the two roads appear similar to the poet?

I believe you are referring to "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. As the poem begins, the poet is poised between two roads in the woods, and they at first look similar enough to the poet to both be appealing. He looks down the first road to the point at which it bends out of sight. He then looks at the second road, which looks grassy and untrod, as it "wanted wear."

However, at the point where the poet stands, "the passing there/Had worn them really about the same." In other words, at the point where the poet stands, there is a lot of foot traffic that has worn down both paths to the same degree. In addition, "And both that morning equally lay/In leaves no step had trodden black." That means that both paths presented the same amount of leaves that have not been stepped on. However, as the poet takes the second path, he says, "I took the one less traveled by." He realizes that this path is less trod on as he follows it further, and it has "made all the difference," meaning that taking this less used path has forever affected his future.