How would you take care of a generic plant?

It depends on the plant, how I have to start, and the conditions around the plant.

Starting a seed is usually the same for all plants. Place the seed in soil about 1 inch down, and keep the soil damp and in sunlight until the seed sprouts. This can take anywhere from a day with commercial grass seeds to weeks with wild seeds. Some exotic seeds need to be exposed to heat or high humidity to grow. Others can only be started by planting sections of the plant itself, like violets or potatoes. Some plants are unable to reproduce, like seedless fruits, so they must be grafted onto a living plant instead.

Next, when the plan has grown a bit, I transplant the seedling into an environment more suitable for it's species. For example, in Texas I can leave my pet cactus outside unless it rains, but when I raise seeds gathered in Colorado, I have to keep them inside with a grow light so they stay cool and dry. Some plants need large containers, such as bushes and trees. Others are good with tiny pots or little planters. Some, like beans and peas, need trellises to climb.

As the plant grows further, you may need to keep growth in check. It is normal to prune rosebushes, or cut off sections that may be draining energy from the plant. Drooping branches over power lines should be cut. 

Eventually, you may want to replicate your plant. When this day comes, you can read about how to harvest the seeds, as it can be a lengthy process for some plants, or attempt a cutting from the plant. This can be achieved with root hormone and a sharp blade.

What prior knowledge do readers have when they begin Anne Frank's diary?

Many readers have heard of Anne Frank.  In many ways, she is a human symbol of the Holocaust.  She is considered one of the most famous Holocaust victims.  The basic information of her story is known throughout the world, even by those who have not read her diary.

In addition to information about Anne Frank herself, most readers will also have prior knowledge about Nazism and the Holocaust.  In the study of world history, World War II, Nazism, and the Holocaust are important topics.  People who have not read Anne Frank's diary will most likely know about Hitler's rise to power and Nazi Germany.  They will know that the Nazis had a platform of antisemitism, and this led to them restricting the lives of German Jews.  Jews were banned from schools and public places, and they were eventually removed from their homes and sent to concentration camps.  World War II began, and the Nazis started invading other countries.  The Nazis invaded Holland, where Anne and the Frank family lived.  They placed restrictions on Jews in Holland, and eventually they sent many of them to work camps.  Anne and her family went into hiding to escape being sent away by the Nazis.

"Popova's and Smirnov's attitudes towards each other change rapidly." Discuss this statement with examples from The Bear.

In The Bear, Popova's and Smirnov's attitudes towards one another change over the course of the drama.

Both characters are distant when they first meet.  Popova is in mourning. She has remained so for some time, refusing to even go outside in deference to her husband's memory.  When Smirnov enters, Chekhov writes that he "speaks with respect" to her.  He approaches Popova with courtesy when he says that he is "compelled" to call upon her because of a "very pressing affair."  Their attitudes are distant because of their different priorities.  He is concerned with collecting his money and she is focused on her mourning.  

As they settle into familiarity, their attitudes change.  Smirnov is convinced that his judgments of Popova are accurate.  He questions the validity of her mourning because of her gender and believes that he has figured her out when no one else could.  For her part, Popova cannot fathom that someone would disturb the intensity of her mourning with such rudeness.  It is for this reason that she calls him a "boor," a coarse bear," and a "monster."

Their mutual acceptance of a duel confirms the intensity of their dislike.  He believes that to "fight it out" with her is the only way to prove himself right and shed her label as a "poetic creature."  Similarly, Popova feels intense joy at being able to "put a bullet" into Smirnov's "thick head."  When Popova retrieves her dead husband's pistols, it is clear that the distant attitudes they once held towards one another have been replaced by shared disdain.

Their attitudes go through one more change in the drama's conclusion.   Smirnov has become smitten with Popova:  "I absolutely like her! Absolutely! Even though her cheeks are dimpled, I like her! I'm almost ready to let the debt go... and I'm not angry any longer.... Wonderful woman!"  The intensity of their interactions has caused him to change his view: "God, what a woman! I've never in my life seen one like her! I'm lost! Done for! Fallen into a mousetrap, like a mouse!"  His infatuation catches Popova by surprise.  She is unable to quickly process the feelings he has for her, what she might hold towards him, and the mourning of her husband. However, it is clear that her feelings have changed when she shares in his kiss.  Given the drama's one act, Popova's and Smirnov's attitudes have rapidly changed.  From distant to antipathy to infatuation, Popova's and Smirnov's attitudes towards one another highlight the drama's comedic nature.

What are the characteristics of Shakespearean sonnets?

The Shakespearean or English sonnet is a form that includes a fixed meter and a typical structure. 

The Shakespearean sonnet consists of fourteen lines. It is divided into three open quatrains followed by a couplet. The quatrains are rhymed ABAB CDCD EFEF. The following couple is rhymed GG. Although most English sonnets are written in iambic pentameter, Shakespeare's Sonnet 145 is written in iambic tetrameter, and it is also possible to use alexandrines (iambic hexameter lines) for the couplet. 

Typically, each quatrain has an individual theme or focus and the couplet expresses an unusual, unexpected, or paradoxical twist, although sometimes an English sonnet can have a Petrarchan turn after the first two quatrains and a second turn or counterturn before the couplet. 

In terms of subject matter, Shakespeare's sonnets are typical of the genre of the whole in his period in focusing mainly on love or close friendship. Later poets expanded the variety of themes addressed in sonnet form.

How much mortgage interest can be claimed on taxes in the following scenario:Donald and Daisy owned their house in Disrepair (that they lived in...

Tax deductions vary by jurisdiction, but I'm assuming you mean the IRS federal income tax deduction for mortgage interest. The IRS has detailed guidelines on how to handle various living situations, but they can be quite complex and often confusing.

The key here is that to be deductible, the interest must be paid on a loan collateralized by a qualified home; generally, this means one primary home and possibly one secondary home. Only homes you actually live in can be used as qualified homes, so the pond for Donald's mother wouldn't qualify.

Donald and Daisy didn't mortgage the pond, though; they took out a home equity loan on their own residence, which is a qualified home. Therefore, the loan is collateralized by a qualified home, and is therefore tax deductible.

There's another caveat, which is that home equity debt is only deductible up to $100,000 per household, so only the interest paid on $100,000 of that $140,000 is deductible. It's 5% interest, so that's $5,000 deductible and $2,000 not.

There is also a $1 million per household cap on acquisition mortgages, but they're well under that limit.

Thus, the deductible interest is $18,500 for the acquisition mortgage and $5,000 for the home equity mortgage, for a total of $23,500. The remaining $2,000 on the home equity mortgage is above the cap and therefore not deductible.

Who is Adri, Pearl, Peony, and Linh-jie?

In the novel, Adri is Linh Cinder's step-mother, while Pearl and Peony are Linh Cinder's step-sisters.

As for Linh-jie, this is a reference to Adri in the second chapter of the book. In this chapter, when Cinder returns to her apartment, she sees her step-sisters, Peony and Pearl, clothed in beautiful gowns. Meanwhile, a seamstress is fiddling with the neckline on Peony's gown. Linh Adri, Peony's mother, has just given the seamstress the order to lower Peony's neckline. Adri also orders the seamstress to take in Pearl's dress at the waist. When the seamstress objects, stating that the gown is already too tight and that it would be very difficult to dance in it, Adri ominously proclaims that the purpose of the dress is to find Pearl a husband.

In response, the seamstress mentions that, at seventeen, Pearl is too young to get married. However, Adri coldly answers that she expects results from the gown, meaning that she expects the dress to earn Pearl a husband. Obsequiously, the seamstress assures Linh-jie (Linh Adri) that Pearl will be as beautiful as the morning dew, when she's finished with her dress. So, Linh-jie is just a respectful way for the seamstress to address Linh Adri.

In Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise," what techniques are used to express inequality?

One technique that Angelou uses in "Still I Rise" is a tone that confronts inequality in a direct manner.

Upon reading "Still I Rise," it is clear that the poem's speaker does not accept inequality.  The speaker wants to bring attention to inequality, challenging it directly. The poem's first word is reflective of this confrontational tone.  The use of "You" makes it clear that the speaker is addressing an imbalance of power. Those who perpetuate this unfairness are called into question.  When the speaker says, "You may write me down in history / With your bitter, twisted lies," the only suitable path that the speaker sees towards inequality is to directly call it out.  The confrontation is heightened when the speaker asks if their "sassiness," "haughtiness," or "sexiness" causes discomfort.  Finally, challenging the forces of inequality with figurative language like "I walk like I’ve got oil wells / Pumping in my living room" or meeting power imbalances with "You may kill me with your hatefulness, / But still, like air, I’ll rise," Angelou suggests that when inequality persists, confronting it with immediacy is the only suitable response.  

The closing of the poem affirms that confronting inequality without hesitation is the only way to move past it.  In order to achieve a realm whereby "nights of terror" can be "left behind, " or the hope of seeing a clear "daybreak," and the joy in reveling in the ancestral "gifts," Angelou argues that one cannot run away from inequality.  It must be challenged in order to be defeated.  Only through its defeat can we hope to say, "Still I Rise."

I'm having a lot of trouble writing the thesis for this critical analysis of Macbeth essay (1500 words). The teacher has instructed us to use...

A macro-level analysis just means to stay more broad in the analysis than narrow.  I like writing macro stuff more than micro stuff because it lets me use more than one character and more of the plot.  

Your prompt is a basic conflict analysis.  What's great about your prompt is that it even tells which conflict that you are supposed to analyze.  You are to analyze the duty vs. desire conflict.  I would stick with using Macbeth and Lady Macbeth for this analysis.  You could use additional characters, but you don't want to get too broad.  It will sound like rambling then.  

For Lady Macbeth, there isn't much conflict between duty and desire.  She chooses desire every time.  She wants more power and fame, and being the wife of the king will give her that.  Her duty is to honor her husband and her king.  She doesn't honor her king, because she plots to kill him.  She doesn't honor her husband either.  At one point Macbeth tells her that he will not kill Duncan, and she badgers him in to doing it anyway.  Macbeth is the character that really struggles with desire and duty.  It's what makes him a tragic hero according to various experts.  His rampant ambition is his tragic flaw.  Everybody has ambition, but Macbeth is unable to control his; therefore, he is willing to reap incredible violence on friends and rulers that he has a duty to protect.  

For your thesis statement, you could use a simple statement and reason thesis style.  Something like the following:  "The central conflict of duty versus desire is most clearly seen in the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth."  That thesis states your opinion about the conflict being central and most evident in two particular characters.  Your job following that statement will be to prove it.  

What topics related to the following quotes can I discuss in my essay on Lord of the Flies by William Golding?"You can feel as if you're not...

You have a good start here with a selection of important passages. In your introduction, you might want to discuss how the narrative arc of the novel is reflected in the intensification of fear and violence from one quotation to the next. At first, the boys feel a formless fear of the primitive, reacting on a primal rather than rational level. The destruction of the conch represents a violent break with civilized values. The final call for murder completes the descent into primal terror and ensuing violence. 

For themes, you might start with talking about how the act of hunting, although intended to obtain food, also stimulates a sense of insecurity, and that efforts of the boys to make their lives more secure in terms of survival also expose them to the raw insecurity of primitive existence in the absence of a civilized safety net providing food and shelter.

For the second quotation you should look at how both the conch and Piggy represent the civilized, rational intellect, and how their destruction represents the disintegration of the superego.

The boys' final descent into murder of "the beast" portrays the boys trying to silence their fears by externalizing them and then killing a scapegoat. This reification of formless fear, however, seems to intensify fear and rage rather than removing it. Had the rescuers not arrived, it is likely that the boys would have descended into a downward spiral of violence and superstition. 

What is a good question to ask when preparing to write a paper about the short story "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway?

In Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants," most of the narrative bubbles below the surface of the actual writing, and it takes a thoughtful and insightful question to bring this bounty of meaning to the surface.

Though I can't write your paper for you, I can give you some direction. If I were writing the paper about this short story, I would ask the following question: "What is the essence of the relationship between the man and the woman in the story?" This question is vital to a proper analysis of the narrative, as much of the tension relies upon the relationship between the man and the woman (named "Jig"). While the man wants the woman to get an abortion, the woman seems reluctant to go through with the operation, and a fundamental tension in the relationship is revealed: the man seems to want nothing to do with the responsibility involved in having a family, while the woman appears to to see some benefit in settling down and sobering up. This contrast is central to the story and so, as you prepare to write your paper, it's important that you ask questions about the nature of the man and the woman's relationship.  

What are the benefits of studying poetry?

This is a great question! There are definitely many benefits to studying poetry for many groups of people. Here are some:

1) Language learners can greatly benefit from a concentrated immersion in poetry. As poetry emphasizes rhythm and stress patterns, many ESL (English as a Second Language) learners can hone their pronunciation skills by reading poems aloud. Reading-aloud sessions can provide the requisite practice to increase the confidence of language learners.

Additionally, in studying poetry, language learners and other students can begin to appreciate and discover the history behind the poems they read. For example, Shakespearean poems provide a wide context from which to discuss relevant topics such as gender relations, human sexuality, and cultural norms during the Elizabethan era.

The Elizabethan era, as we all know, heralded the golden age of the Renaissance as well as the new age of English exploration and expansion. Therefore, an appreciation of the historical context of the poems can lead to an enriched and stimulating experience in the classroom. For example, students can compare and contrast the differences in gender relations between the modern age and the Elizabethan age.

2) There are emotional and intellectual benefits to studying poetry. For example, a poem may lend itself to many different interpretations. A discussion of these interpretations can help students hone their logic and reasoning skills.

Additionally, an appreciation for the metaphorical or figurative language used in poems can inspire students to view familiar objects in imaginative new ways. Students can increase their emotional and verbal intelligence by immersing themselves in the spirit of the poems they study; thus, the practice of exploring the possible, hidden meanings behind different poems can inspire an openness to new ideas. This approach can only increase a student's sensitivity to the language of poems, a sensitivity that may very well be carried into his/her own writing. Thus, studying poetry can conceivably improve a student's diction immeasurably.

3) In the business world, reading poetry in one's spare time can do one of three things. It can aid in inspiring creativity, improving empathy, and simplifying complexity. For example, reading a complex poem can be frustrating as well as rewarding. Making sense of a poem can be a consuming process, but it can also hone our ability to simplify the kind of complexities that intimidate others. Sometimes, this ability can be a good thing, especially when deadlines loom and solutions are needed.

Poetry also teaches one how to empathize with others. Through poetry, we can begin to appreciate the different perspectives of others. This appreciation can lead to constructive dialogue and perhaps, understanding between different social groups. Last, but not least, poetry inspires the kind of creativity that is unique and often revolutionary, especially if applied to the business world.

Clare Morgan, in her book What Poetry Brings to Business, cites a study showing that poems caused readers to generate nearly twice as many alternative meanings as “stories,” and poetry readers further developed greater “self-monitoring” strategies that enhanced the efficacy of their thinking processes. These creative capabilities can help executives keep their organizations entrepreneurial, draw imaginative solutions, and navigate disruptive environments where data alone are insufficient to make progress. (from The Benefits of Poetry for Professionals by John Coleman).

A great article to read: Why Teaching Poetry is So Important.

Hope this helps!

How is a democratic government run?

In a democratic government, people elect their leaders. There are elections held to determine who will represent the people at the local, state, and national levels. The candidates running for office will  campaign by telling the people what they believe and what they hope to accomplish when they get elected to office.

Since the elected representatives are supposed to represent the people that elected them, they need to listen to what their constituents want them to do. They should represent the viewpoint of the majority of the people they represent. These leaders can gather information by holding meetings, talking phone calls, receiving letters, and sending out surveys.

Depending on the office, elections are held for various lengths of time, usually ranging from two to six years. If the elected representatives are doing a good job in the minds of the people they represent, they should have a good chance of being reelected. In a democratic government, the people have the power because they choose their leaders.

In Chapters 35-38 of Far From the Madding Crowd, what imagery does Hardy use to integrate landscape within that context?

The pivotal event in Chapters 35-38 relating to landscape is the severe storm that would have obliterated Bathsheba's hayricks had Gabriel not thatched them. The chapters are full of nature imagery, such as sheep "crowded close together," a slug found indoors, and a toad on the path, all of which Gabriel successfully interprets as signs of impending foul weather; the storm is a metaphor for the conflicting agendas and relationships Bathsheba has with the three men in her life: Gabriel, Troy and Oak. As the storm rages and lightning strikes, Gabriel struggles -- initially alone -- to cover and protect the ricks. At that moment, all the other, principal characters are at a party indoors organized by Troy, so the image of Gabriel contending with the elements outside creates a powerful, contrasting landscape featuring man versus nature. His earlier premonition of the storm through sighting sheep "....grouped in such a way that their tails...were toward that half of the horizon from which the storm threatened" visually depicts the scope of the landscape and the intensity of the impending storm approaching from afar. Out of Bathsheba's three love interests, Gabriel is the most attuned to the natural world, so it is fitting that he becomes part of the landscape of destructive and chaotic nature, contributing a taming influence.

When writing an essay, do I end a paragraph with a question or begin the next paragraph with a question?

Your question suggests that you want to know how to transition smoothly from one paragraph to the next, which is an important concern.  However, there is more to this skill than just the placement of questions in paragraphs, so let's go over transition generally.

First we need to make a distinction between the transition from an introduction to the first body paragraph and the transitions from one body paragraph to the next.  For the former, we usually rely on the thesis statement at the end of the introduction to provide a smooth transition to the first body paragraph, a way of saying to the reader, "Here are my position and supporting points, and the first point I mention will be the basis of the next paragraph." What we do from one body paragraph to the next is a bit different.

When we are moving from one body paragraph to the next, we need a "bridge" for the reader to go over, from one topic or point to the next topic or point. That bridge need not be a question at all. It can be, but too many questions in an essay can be annoying to the reader, who has questions but probably wants answers!  What I like to do is construct a sentence that I place at the end of my body paragraph that acts as my bridge. In that sentence, I mention the topic of the paragraph I am in and the topic of the paragraph that is to come next. It is almost like foreshadowing in a way, preparing the reader for the next idea I'm going to discuss.  It could be a question, but it certainly does not have to be a question. 

Let me give you an example. Let's suppose I am writing an essay on The Kite Runner (Hosseini) and am discussing the reasons that Amir feels superior to Hassan.  I have a body paragraph in which I am discussing Amir and Hassan's ethnicity, and in my next body paragraph, I am going to discuss their religious differences.  Here is a sentence I could use at the end of my body paragraph on ethnicity to move to the next paragraph on their religious differences:

While it is clear that the ethnicity of the boys made Amir feel superior, it is also clear that Amir's version of Islam made him feel superior, too.

That is the bridge that will take the reader from the ethnicity paragraph to the religion paragraph. 

Some writers have a preference of placing their bridge sentences at the beginning of the new paragraph, and that can be effective, too.  Once you have mastered this technique, you can try either way and also can try either way with questions.  For example, I could also write this:

While ethnicity contributed to Amir's feeling of superiority, did religion play a role in this as well?

That question could be at the end of the ethnicity paragraph or at the beginning of the religion paragraph.  If a question works well, that can be a good variation for a bridge statement.  However, again, using many questions is usually not a good technique in writing.  Practice using statements and questions and see which is more effective for the essay at hand. Using this formula in writing will serve you well as it becomes more a more natural part of what you do, more like an instinct after you've been doing for it for a while.   

What can I write about the character I liked the most in the novel Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea?

The first thing you need to do to write about the character you liked most in Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne is to read through the book carefully and decide which character you like. You do not need to restrict yourself to major characters, as you might find yourself sympathizing most with a minor character.

One example of the contrast among the characters is the following dialogue:

Conseil: If that is the case, this dugong may well be the last of its race, and perhaps it would be better to spare it, in the interest of science.

Ned Land: Perhaps it will be better to hunt it, in the interest of the kitchen.

As you think about choosing a character, you might ask yourself whether you support the scientific conservationism of Conseil or the pragmatism of Land. 

Next, you should give a basic description of who the character is and the role of the character in the plot. Such a description would include age, gender, nationality, profession, and what we know of the character's past history. Next, you should focus on why you like the character. For example, you might admire the drive and philanthropy of Nemo, the scientific curiosity of Aronnax or identify more with Conseil, with his flexibility and loyalty.

You should support your discussion with quotations which exemplify the characteristics you most admire of the character you have chosen. 

What were the results of bombing Nagasaki and Hiroshima during World War II?

Long-term, the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima showed the world the power of an atomic weapon.  The Soviet Union distrusted America for using the weapon to end the war and the Russians started to capture nuclear scientists all over their sector of Germany in order to work on their own version of "the bomb."  After the Soviets developed nuclear weapons, both sides sought to increase their nuclear capacity, because in a nuclear war, it was understood that whoever fired first would win, and that nuclear warfare would most likely cause destruction all over the world.  The Soviets and Americans soon developed bomber fleets, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and nuclear submarines in order to bomb cities.  Politicians in both countries used nuclear preparedness as a rallying cry, and John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960 because the previous administration created an alleged "missile gap" which did not exist.  The Cuban Missile Crisis was sparked by the threat of a nuclear war, and it opened up negotiations between the White House and Kremlin.  The United Nations took an active role in deciding which nations could have nuclear weapons after the fall of the Soviet Union, and this fear of nuclear proliferation has meant economic sanctions for North Korea and regime change in Iraq.  

There were some peaceful things to come out of the nuclear arms race, however.  Scientists developed nuclear power, and "nuclear" became a positive buzzword of the 1950s.  The ideal family was said to be "nuclear" if it had a mom, dad, and children.  Through developing intercontinental ballistic missiles, scientists also developed the rockets needed to go into space.  America poured more money into teaching children math and science in order to create a new generation of scientists.  

Short-term results of the bombing are that Nagasaki and Hiroshima were wiped off the face of the Earth, thousands died due to radiation poisoning and the blast itself, and imperial Japan surrendered, thus making unnecessary the invasion of Japan slated for November 1945.  America became the sole occupier of Japan, tried its war criminals, and assisted with the creation of the new Japanese constitution that was more liberal than America's at the time.  

Why was the Declaration of Independence written?

The Declaration of Independence was written for two reasons. First, as the name suggests, it was intended to declare the independence of Britain's North American colonies from their mother country. The colonies had been at war with Britain since April of 1775, and after much debate, the advocates for independence in the Second Continental Congress at Philadelphia had won out. The Declaration was thus a statement of the intent of these delegates, and the assemblies that chose them, to set out on their own as an independent nation. It transformed the Revolutionary War from a struggle over the rights of Englishmen to a war to free the colonies from British rule. The Declaration, however, had another major purpose. It was to state the ideological principles and the perceived British abuses that motivated the colonists in the first place. In the first part of the document, Thomas Jefferson outlines the purpose of government, which, he says, echoing John Locke, is to protect the unalienable rights of man. He goes on to say that, when governments abuse these rights, people have the right to "alter or abolish" the offending government. This, the document explains, is why the colonists took up arms, and why they are declaring independence. The document goes on to list a series of "injuries and usurpations" suffered by the colonists that, the signers asserted, justified their actions. For these reasons, the Declaration was written, signed, and promulgated throughout the colonies.

Why did the Estates General fail to solve France's problems?

It's hard to say for sure, but a very likely reason the Estates General failed to restore order to France and prevent the Revolution from continuing is that the Estates General was not very representative of popular opinion, being heavily slanted in favor of the interests of the rich.

We often talk about how democracies are slanted toward the rich now, and this is not entirely baseless, given the way campaign contributions, lobbying, etc. work; but at least in France and most other countries today each person's vote actually counts the same regardless of their income. This was not true of the Estates General.

The Estates General was broken into three sections, the First Estate, representing clergy (about 1% of the population), the Second Estate, representing nobility (about 2% of the population), and the Third Estate, representing... everyone else (about 97% of the population). Each Estate got an equal vote, based on the result of its internal votes; so someone from the nobility or clergy respectively had a vote that counted 48 or 97 times as much as someone from the general population. It was common for policies that 95% of French people wanted to be overruled by the 5% who didn't, provided that most of those 5% were nobility and clergy. And all this, of course, only if the monarchy willingly convened the Estates General in the first place, which they almost always chose not to do, only convening it during times of crisis. Before it was convened in 1789, it had not been for over a century.

Even beyond that, the convening of the Estates General in 1789 was intentionally slanted to silence republican voices within the Third Estate, to make it seem as though the unrest was just a handful of radicals rather than a broad swath of public opinion. As a result, the Estates General was widely considered illegitimate and unrepresentative of the French people, and did little to quell the desire for rebellion against the monarchy---and thus, violent revolution occurred soon after.

What is the distance between the sun and the moon during a solar eclipse?

During a solar eclipse, the Moon is in between the Earth and the Sun, but much, much closer to the Earth than the Sun.

The precise distance would depend upon where the Earth is in its orbit; at perihelion the Earth is about 146 million kilometers from the Sun, while at aphelion the Earth is about 152 million kilometers from the Sun. The average is precisely one AU, or about 149.6 million kilometers.

Then, it depends where the Moon is in its orbit around the Earth. At perigee the Moon is about 363,000 kilometers from the Earth; at apogee it is about 407,000 kilometers from the Earth. On average, it is about 384,000 kilometers away.

As you can see, the distance from the Moon to the Sun really doesn't depend all that much on where the Moon is relative to the Earth; it depends almost entirely on where the Earth is relative to the Sun. In this sense, the "during a solar eclipse" part is kind of redundant; even during a lunar eclipse the Moon would only be about 800,000 kilometers further away from the Sun, while the Earth's orbit can shift the distance by some 6,000,000 kilometers.

The minimum possible distance between the Moon and the Sun during a solar eclipse would be when the Moon is at apogee but the Earth is at perihelion; this would be 146,000,000 - 363,000 = 145.7 million km

The maximum possible distance would be when the Moon is at perigee but the Earth is at aphelion; this would be 152,000,000 - 407,000 = 151.6 million km

And the average distance between the Moon and the Sun would be 149,600,000 - 384,000 = 149.2 million km

What is the difference between Jane Austen and William Shakespeare's novels? I need the answer for a power point project.

The question leads us to a discussion of literary kinds (further broken up into genres).  Technically, Shakespeare didn’t write “novels,” if we look at the definitions given us by Aristotle:  epics (the forerunners of novels) have several narrators (the classic example is The Odyssey); poetry has one narrator (often in the first person – “I think that I shall never see…”); drama has no narrator – this is where Shakespeare’s work (excluding for this discussion his poems) fits in – his stories are told by the characters themselves with no interloping narrator.  Jane Austen wrote “novels,” defined as full-length stories told by a narrator (omniscient) and including dialogue, which is another narrative form (sometimes called an “unreliable narrator.”  Of course, the literary works of these two authors differ in many other respects, also.

What are some conflicts in The Red Badge of Courage? What type of conflict is each?

The Red Badge of Courage takes place during the American Civil War. The Union and Confederate armies are battling against each other. That is one conflict, and the type would be a broad-scale man vs. man conflict.

Another conflict type in Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage is a man vs. self conflict. I would say that this is the main conflict type that appears throughout most of the book. Stephen Crane presents readers with the character of Henry. His main conflict is the warring emotions within himself. His survival instinct tells Henry that standing and fighting while getting shot at is ridiculous. On the other hand, Henry also wants to prove to himself and others that he is a man and a brave soldier.

Mark Antony, not Julius Caesar, is the true hero in Julius Caesar. How far do you agree with this statement?

Readers have long noted that, despite the fact that the play is named after him, Julius Caesar is not really about Julius Caesar, and in fact focuses on the deeds of other characters. In that case, I could agree to a certain extent that Mark Antony is the true hero of the play. After all, Antony takes over a significant amount of power after Caesar's death, and he essentially leads the efforts to rise up against the conspirators and punish them for murdering Caesar. Based on these details, it is possible to see Antony as the hero, especially if you see the conspirators as evil.

However, you also have to take into account that much of what Antony does in the play is motivated by self-interest and the desire for power, rather than a desire to do good or to help Rome. As such, it's often hard to see him as a hero. Instead, many critics have noted that Brutus seems to be the tragic hero of the play. Only Brutus acts out of the selfless desire to protect Rome and its citizens, and he loses his life because he is noble, heroic, and trusting. Indeed, Brutus originally is reluctant to kill Caesar in the first place, and he only agrees to join the conspirators when he believes that common Romans want him to. Thus, if we're going to talk about heroes in Julius Caesar, it makes more sense to me to call Brutus the hero, rather than Mark Antony. 

Who is the ''I'' in the line ''I met a traveler from an antique land'' in Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "Ozymandias"?

This device (which we might call “the poet/narrator”) allows a story-telling element into the “lyric” process, thereby removing the single narrator (a requirement of Aristotle’s division of “Poetry” into three types – Epic, Lyric, and Dramatic –  differentiated largely by their narrative techniques).  By utilizing a first-person pronoun, Shelley allows the narration of a third party, the actual witness to the ruined statue of Ozymandias.  A contemporary equivalent might be your telling an anecdote which you heard from a third party, rather than an anecdote involving you directly.  Another famous poem that uses this technique is Coleridge’s Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner.  The technique allows the poet to condense and edit the actual recital of the anecdote, changing the order and the intensity of the original story as told to him as he had heard it, in other words to give it a creative form.

In The Silver Sword, who gave Jan the wooden box with his name burned into it?

Jan received the new wooden box from Ivan, a Russian soldier who worked at a command post in Warsaw. Ruth took Jan in after she found him in a desperate state. Jan introduced himself and Ruth helped him recuperate in the shelter. Jan later met Ivan, who was delivering supplies for the children. He confronted the soldier because of his hatred towards them. A scuffle ensued between Jan and Ivan and after Ruth calmed Jan down the boy noticed that his wooden box was broken in the brawl. Ivan delivered the supplies and informed Ruth of Edek, who was held in Posen. The children decided to travel to Posen to locate Edek. Ivan provided them with shoes and gave Jan a new wooden box that he had made to replace the broken one.

In The Glass Menagerie, how does the Wingfield household adhere to the power dynamics of the period? In what ways do the female characters...

In some ways, the Wingfield house adheres to the social norms of the time period regarding gender. The father of the family, a telephone man who "fell in love with long distances," left them a long time before. As a result, the mother of the family, Amanda, relies on her son, Tom, to support the family by working at a soulless job at a shoe warehouse. Amanda expects Laura, her daughter, to "stay fresh and pretty--for gentleman callers!" Amanda wants her daughter to find security by marrying, following traditional ideas about what a woman was supposed to do at that time. 

However, Amanda is not simply a weak woman, and she challenges traditional gender ideas of the time. She tries to do everything she can to get her daughter married, and she tries to control her son's movements, even down to monitoring and questioning what he does at night. Amanda is a force to be reckoned with, and she is not above using guilt to control her son. For example, she tells him, "You're my right-hand bower!" She uses the guilt that Tom feels about his father's desertion of the family to control her son. She is also able to survive without much money, and she insists on charging butter at the store, even though the owner, Mr. Garfinkel, won't like it. She is a survivor, hardened by years of having to scrape by without much money, and she is tough.

At the end of the play, it's clear that Amanda must be more autonomous, as Tom leaves the family. There is an image of her comforting Laura after Tom leaves, and it is clear that gender roles have changed. Though Amanda wants Laura to seek security through marriage, it is clear that she, as Laura's mother, must be her rock and protector. The result of these changes is that women are becoming more independent and their reality does not conform to traditional gender roles. 

Give much information as possible on Marxism from the book "The Dispossessed." Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the economic...

An Overview of Marxism in "The Dispossessed"

Marxism receives a mostly favorable treatment in "The Dispossessed," by author Ursula Le Guin. The author is quoted as saying that the anarchism espoused by Marx is "the most idealistic" among all political theories. This sentiment is echoed throughout "The Dispossessed," which uses Anarres as an example of a society that was founded upon many Marxist principles. Elements of Marxism are also illustrated by contrast in the decadent, vaguely capitalist society of Urras, which loosely corresponds to the United States.

Marxism as a Prospective Future

One of the primary roles of Marxism in "The Dispossessed" is its presentation as a viable mode of living. Despite the fact that Marxism failed to take hold in the 20th century, Le Guin posits through Shevek's observations that Marxism could thrive under the right conditions. While the people of Anarres inhabit a mostly barren desert moon, their Marxist ideals of communal living and shared labor allow them to thrive under harsh conditions. On the other hand, the capitalist ideals of A-Io and the nation of Urras are shown to result in conflict and corruption.

Shared Prosperity

A central doctrine of Marxism is that all who are able should contribute and all should benefit from the spoils of labor. This concept is illustrated in the social system on Anarres, which is indeed "An Ambiguous Utopia." Despite the many flaws presented in the Anarresti way of life, the ultimate message of the story is that individual progress must complement the success of the group. This Marxist ideal is heavily contrasted with the runaway success the wealthy on A-Io have achieved by crushing the poor.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Urrasti Economy and Superstructures

The nation of Urras has a thriving economy full of innovation, luxury goods, and variety. Because of the freedom of innovation the wealthier members of Urrasti society enjoy due to their privilege and lifestyle, the arts and sciences have flourished. As Marxism predicts, the superstructure created from the Urrasti economy plays a determining role in all aspects of life in the nation. The competition within the nation has led to competition without as well. Urrasti, which serves as a proxy for the United States, is engaged in hostile tensions with Thu, a rival nation that serves as a proxy for the USSR. In this sense, the benefits Urrasti gains from its superstructure are also weaknesses. No matter how much wealth is accumulated, they will always be engaged in competition and there will always be the risk of having it taken away. This fulfills Marx's prediction that a society built on competition will never be at peace and will never work for the good of the group.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Anarresti Economy and Superstructures

The Anarresti superstructure presents its own challenges and strengths. This superstructure fosters a sense of cooperative ownership and the relinquishment of possession. An example of this superstructure, based significantly on Marxist principles of shared ownership, can be found in the Anarresti language itself. Children learn to refer to their mothers as "the mother," relinquishing ownership even of their closest social contacts. Self-sacrifice is the basis of the Anarresti economy and it is what allows the superstructure to survive.

A Summary of Marxism in "The Dispossessed"

In one particularly emotional scene of the book, Shevek learns that his partner, Takver, has been sent away to work on a solution to the hunger crisis. He uncharacteristically uses singular pronouns to reason that she has gone off "to work against hunger-hers, his and Sadik's hunger." While deeply personal and emotional in nature, this scene is a powerful example of the Anarresti superstructure at play. Shevek comforts himself by reasoning that his partner, with whom he naturally feels a sense of mutual ownership, has gone to work not only on behalf of all of Anarres but for their family as well.

This scene is a powerful summary of the way Marxism is perceived and illustrated throughout "The Dispossessed." It is at this point in the novel that Shevek's break from Anarresti social programming becomes apparent. An Anarrestian who is conforming to the superstructure and the demands of communal living would be comforted by the fact that his partner is helping the collective. There would be no need to personalize the event in such a manner. By showing Shevek's internal struggle with the self-sacrifice necessitated by Marxist ideals as well as contrasting the sacrifices he must make with the gross injustice on Urras, Le Guin proves that she has taken a nuanced approach to the topic. While the author clearly prefers Marxism as the basis for a civilized society under the right conditions, the ideals of Marxism are presented in a practical context which shows their strengths as well as many of their weaknesses.

Is Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice a successful romantic comedy?

This is an interesting question, and a tough one to answer. On the one hand, it would appear that the play is something of a comedy, and a romantic one at that: there's the courtship between Portia and Bassanio, humorous sequences (such as the ring prank during the end of Act 4 and in Act 5), and a seemingly happy ending without any loose ends. By all accounts, these seem to be the qualities of a romantic comedy.

On the other hand, we have Shylock. A controversial character, Shylock is tough to characterize. Is he a bloodthirsty villain rendered with blatant anti-Semitism, or is he a tragic victim, an individual assailed by the racism of his fellow Venetians? However you see him, one thing is clear: it's difficult to avoid sympathizing with Shylock. For example, in Act 3, Scene 1, Shylock struggles to establish his status as a human in the face of the prejudice that oppresses him, saying, "I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew / eyes?" (51-2) and "If you prick us, do we not bleed?" (57-8). This poignant speech is one of the most famous points in the whole play, and it helps the reader understand that members of the Jewish community in the play are viewed as more or less subhuman. With this idea in mind, Shylock becomes the most sympathetic and relatable character in the play, and it becomes very difficult to rejoice in his humiliation during the later courtroom scene.

To put it simply, there are elements of romantic comedy in the play, but there are also much darker layers hidden beneath the glittering, comedic facade. As such, one would be hard-pressed to call The Merchant of Venice a successful romantic comedy, as Shylock's complex character consistently destabilizes such an easy reading.  

What is the mood of the story "The Cask of Amontillado"?

The narrative of "The Cask of Amontillado" by Poe generates a mood of dreadful suspense that leads to horror.

In this disturbing story of deranged revenge and terror, the reader is in suspense from the beginning because of the ambiguities of the offense that Fortunato has purportedly committed against Montresor, and of the "redress" that Montresor has outlined. These ambiguities are created by the circuitous plan of Montresor that prolongs any definitive action as he seduces his victim with psychological tricks and provokes him with perverse puns. 

The inebriated Fortunato is certainly no match for the devious Montresor. For, this man who prides himself as a connoisseur of wine is led deeper and deeper into the catacombs as he is deceived by Montresor who feigns concern that the niter is bad for Fortunato's cough. As they turn and twist through these chambers of the catacombs, the reader fears what will be the result of this subterranean venture. Furthermore, these winding movements of the men are often halted by Montresor's sinister puns such as the double meaning connected to the trowel and a mason as well as Montresor's agreeing with Fortunato that he will not die of a cough.

The dark and horrifying mood of Poe's psychologically disturbing story continues to the very end as Fortunato is walled in without the reader's ever having been informed of Fortunato's actual offense. Added to this, Fortunato foolishly laughs and incongruously urges Montresor, "Let us be gone," suggesting that Lady Fortunato and others are waiting for him. But, of course, Montresor has no intention of disassembling all the tiers of bricks that he has so carefully laid in what one critic calls "a profane rite." Perhaps, then, the real horror lies in what men themselves are capable of doing to others.

How did the Sighet Jews fail to anticipate Nazi brutality?

When Moishe returns to Sighet with stories of the Nazi brutality he witnessed and experienced firsthand, the Jews do not believe him. "They think I'm mad," he tells Elie (page 7). After foreigners are expelled from the town and witness the madness of the Nazis, life returns to normal. In the spring of 1944, as news of the Russian victories arrive in the town, the Jews believe that the Russians will soon defeat the Nazis. The Jews also believe that it's impossible for Hitler to exterminate an entire people and that such brutality is unthinkable in the 20th century. Most of the Jews speak about possibly emigrating to Palestine, though they do not do so, and they believe that the Nazis will never invade Hungary. Once the Nazis invade Hungary, the Jews believe that the Nazis will never reach their town. Even once they reach the town, the Jews believe the Nazis are polite until they start passing anti-Semitic laws. The Jews of Sighet react with disbelief to every bit of news and live in denial until they can't do so any longer.

Respond to the items below. Briefly describe four (4) of the barriers to effective communication, and provide one (1) original example of each....

The four main barriers to effective communication are as follows:

• Semantic barriers: this refers to the words and signs that people use to communicate. For example, the speaker might use jargon that other people don't understand, or the speaker might express him or herself badly or use words that have more than one meaning. In addition, the speaker might assume that the listener understands or shares the same assumptions about word use or body language (as body language can also vary by culture). A person might nod his head, thinking it means yes, while the other person, from another culture, thinks this gesture means no.


• Psychological barriers: this refers to the emotional state of the speaker and listener and their relationship. For example, there might be distrust among the people speaking, or the listener might not pay attention or might jump to conclusions. All of these emotional states affect communication. If one person distrusts the other, he or she will not likely listen to the other person. 


• Organizational barriers: this refers to barriers that the organization puts up that interrupt communication. For example, some organizations do not allow certain members to communicate directly and require them to communicate through another person. 


• Personal barriers: this refers to personal variables that get in the way of conversation. For example, some people are unwilling or frightened to speak with people of higher status, such as their boss.

Oral communication in a downward flowing direction is from someone higher up in an organization to someone lower down, provided orally (not in written format). For example, a boss could give his or her employee directions orally about how to complete a project. Written communication in an upward flowing direction could be an e-mail or memo sent from an employee to a supervisor reporting his or her progress on a project. Non-verbal communication in a lateral direction could be a situation in which colleagues who are at the same level of an organization both roll their eyes in a meeting when someone else is speaking and they look at each other to convey their thoughts. 

Why is the movie titled Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee?

The HBO film Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is based on a book by the same name.  The book is by Dee Brown and was published in 1970.  Dee's book and the film center around the injustices that the Native Americans endured.  The title comes from a line in a poem by Stephen Vincent Benét.  The poem is called "American Names."

Wounded Knee was the site of a massacre in what is today South Dakota.  During the massacre, American Calvary troops shot and killed over one hundred Lakota.  The massacre stemmed from a disagreement over a rifle.  In the Benét poem, the last lines read:

You may bury my body in Sussex grass,

You may bury my tongue at Champmedy.

I shall not be there.

I shall rise and pass.

Bury my heart at Wounded Knee.

This last line of the poem is where the title of the book and movie come from.  It is also said that the family of Crazy Horse buried his heart and bones in the area of the Wounded Knee massacre.

In Candide, describe one instance in which Voltaire is criticizing the government and one in which he is criticizing the church of the 18th century.

There are several instances in which Voltaire criticizes religion. For example, in Chapter 14, the character Cacambo, Candide's footman in Paraguay, is described as having been a "singing boy, sexton, sailor, monk, peddler, soldier, and lackey" (page 35). The fact that Cacambo has tried and given up being a monk implies that religion is just like a pair of clothes that one tries on and takes off without much thought. In addition, in El Dorado, Cacambo is very surprised that there are no monks. He says, "What...have you no monks among you to dispute, to govern, to intrigue, and to burn people who are not of the same opinion with themselves?” (page 49). Cacambo suggests that monks mainly practice cruelty and intolerance rather than kindness, and the man who answers him says that they would be foolish to have monks in El Dorado, since they all get along. Again, the idea is that monks are only necessary to create discord.

There are also several instances of Voltaire satirizing government. For example, in Chapter 3, the troops representing the King of the Bulgarians fights the troops of the King of the Abares. The battle that the kings assemble is greeted with great fanfare, including "trumpets, fifes, hautboys, drums, and cannon [that] made such harmony as never was heard in Hell itself" (page 6). Then, as cannons are discharged, 6,000 soldiers immediately perish on both sides. Then,  bayonets causes the death of about 30,000 more men, as the kings have people recite hymns in their camps. The kings appear to be merciless and unconcerned about the bloodshed that they are causing among their own people and among the other side. 

What is a character sketch of the six suitors in The Merchant of Venice?

In Act 1, Scene 2 of The Merchant of Venice, Portia gives her assessment of each of six suitors who have come to woo her.  Each suitor comes from a different country.  (These six do NOT include the suitors whom we meet later: the Prince of Morocco in Act 2, Scenes 1 and 7; the Prince of Arragon in Act 2, Scene 9; and Bassanio in Act 3, Scene 2.)

This is a short passage (lines 34 - 103), and wickedly funny.  It shows Portia's wit, her ability to judge character, and also her humility, for even as she jokes about these suitors' shortcomings, she admits, "I know it is a sin to be a mocker."  Yet she has too much foresight and self-worth to marry any of them.

The passage is worth reading for the humor alone.  Here is a list of the six suitors and of Portia's problem with each of them.

• 
  The Neapolitan prince.  He only talks about his horse.  Portia says, "I am much afeared ... his mother played false with a smith."  (!) 


• 
  The County Palantine.  He is gloomy, always frowning.


• 
  Monsieur Le Bon.  He is flighty, with no consistent character.  "If I should marry him, I should marry twenty husbands."


• 
  Falconbridge, the young baron of England.  He is good-looking, but he speaks no Latin, French, or Italian, and Portia speaks no English.  Also, he dresses oddly.


• 
  The Scottish lord. Immediately fought with the Englishman.


• 
  The young German, the Duke of Saxony's nephew.  He is drunk every afternoon, and vilely rude even when not drunk.

Portia wraps up her assessment with the hilarious and quotable line,

... there is not one among them but I dote on his very absence; and I pray God grant them a fair departure.

In Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, what was Nora's power in her relationship with Torvald?

Throughout A Doll's House, playwright Henrik Ibsen shows Nora is only able to wield power in her relationship with Torvald when she acts independently through deception.

Ibsen begins to develop Nora's exertion of power through deception in the opening act. Nora enters the scene having returned home from Christmas shopping without her husband's knowledge — or, at the very least, he is completely unaware of the extent of her shopping. We see his lack of awareness when she asks him, "Come in here, Torvald, and see what I have bought," to which Torvald replies, "Bought, did you say? All these things? Has my little spendthrift been wasting money again?" Torvald's surprise shows us he was either completely unaware Nora intended to do any shopping or at least unaware of the extent of shopping she planned to do. He tries to control her by telling her not to "spend money recklessly," but she is still able to buy what she wants behind his back. By buying what she wants behind Torvald's back, she exerts power by deceiving him, despite his efforts to control her.

Nora commits a second act of deception by secretly purchasing and eating macaroons. After paying the porter and telling their maid Helen to hide the Christmas tree, Nora takes off her coat and hat, laughs to herself, fishes a "packet of macaroons from her pocket and eats one or two." She then goes to the study door of her husband and listens to confirm he is at home before busying herself with opening her new packages. Later in the scene, we learn Nora was intentionally secretive about the macaroons because her husband forbid her from eating sweets. When asked by Torvald if she had "been nibbling sweets," Nora continues her deception by saying, "I should not think of going against your wishes." Yet, the very fact that she has gone against his wishes shows she has the ability to wield power through deception by doing as she pleases, despite his efforts to control her and leave her powerless.

In Poe's "The Raven," what is the narrator doing at the beginning of the poem? What actions disturb him in the first stanza?

At the beginning of the poem, the narrator is poring over "many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore." The mood of the poem is "dreary" from the very first stanza; we are told that it's midnight, and the narrator is feeling "weak and weary." There's a dark, gnawing discomfort in the atmosphere. In the midst of this melancholic state of mind, the narrator is poring over volumes of old, forgotten stories. He's restless, alternating between nodding off to sleep and reading the strange volume of old stories.

We get the impression that the narrator's mind isn't really on what he's reading; he struggles to stay awake but is soon interrupted by a knock on the door. He tells himself that "Tis some visitor...Only this and nothing more." It's as if he's trying to convince himself about something. The second stanza sheds a little more light on the true reason for the narrator's despondency. He's reading to try to distract himself from the grief of losing a "rare and radiant maiden" named Lenore. From his books, he hopes to find a "surcease of sorrow," but his efforts are in vain. Perhaps the gentle knocking on the door causes him to hope that it's Lenore, and he has to tell himself otherwise in order to quell the likely disappointment that reality will bring him.

`y = x^2 ln(x/4)` Locate any relative extrema and points of inflection.

Locate any extrema and points of inflection for the graph of `y=x^2ln(x/4) ` :

The domain for the function is x>0.

Extrema can only occur at critical points, or where the first derivative is zero or fails to exist.

`y'=2xln(x/4)+x^2((1/4)/(x/4)) `

`y'=2xln(x/4)+x ` This is continuous and differentiable for all x in the domain so we set it equal to zero:

`2xln(x/4)+x=0 ==> ln(x/4)=-1/2 `

` x/4=e^(-1/2) ==> x=4e^(-1/2)~~2.43 `

For 0<x<4e^(-1/2) the first derivative is negative, greater it is positive so there is a minimum at `x=4e^(-1/2) ` which is the only extrema.

Any inflection points can only occur if the second derivative is zero:

`y''=2ln(x/4)+(2x)(1/4)/(x/4)+1 `

`y''=2ln(x/4)+3 `

`2ln(x/4)+3=0 ==> ln(x/4)=-3/2 ==> x=4e^(-3/2)~~.89 ` so there is an inflection point at `x=4e^(-3/2) ` as the concavity changes from concave down to concave up.

The graph:

What was George Washington's lasting impact?

Perhaps George Washington's most significant lasting impact is that, through his actions, he set important precedents for the presidency of the United States. He was, of course, the first President, and unlike all of his successors, he had no model to look to (except, perhaps, the negative model of European monarchy.) He was also aware that his decisions would, in turn, set precedents for what the leader of a republic should look and act like. Some of his decisions while in office were very important in this respect. First, he established the Cabinet, now crucial to the operation of the executive branch. This institution is not specifically called for, or at least not outlined in any detail, in the Constitution. So when Washington appointed Secretaries of State, War, Treasury, and an Attorney General, he established a precedent that would be followed by all of his successors. Presidents would be assisted by formal advisors. Washington also began a practice of staying out of European wars that would last until the United States entered the First World War in 1917. First in his Neutrality Proclamation in response to the outbreak of war between Revolutionary France and Great Britain, and then in his famous Farewell Address, Washington asserted what would become the most important principle in American foreign policy until the twentieth century. Finally, Washington, by refusing to run for a third term, established a precedent that would be observed until 1940, when Franklin Roosevelt was elected a third time with World War II looming.  This informal tradition was made law in the Twenty-second Amendment. 

At its heart, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is interested in the question of nature vs. nurture: are people blank slates that are formed by...

Frankenstein suggests that our experiences and environment determine what we become. 

The monster is the best example of this, of course, because he goes from being a rather innocent being to a murderer. From his very first instances of knowing movement and action, he merely goes up to Victor and smiles. 

. . . I beheld the wretch—the miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks.

The monster obviously has no ill intentions toward Victor. As well, later on in the novel, the monster actively tries to get to know people and to somehow be what they might want him to be.

People scatter and scream at just the sight of the monster. The monster only ever wanted to have companions and to escape loneliness. He goes to great lengths to get people to like him, even attempting a convoluted plan to educate himself and then befriend a blind man. The entire plan fails and that starts the monster on his path to being a murderer. Even so, he continued to do good things for others despite having been scorned once more in his attempt to befriend a blind man. 

I rushed from my hiding-place; and, with extreme labour from the force of the current, saved her, and dragged her to shore. She was senseless; and I endeavoured by every means in my power to restore animation, when I was suddenly interrupted by the approach of a rustic, who was probably the person from whom she had playfully fled. On seeing me, he darted towards me, and tearing the girl from my arms, hastened towards the deeper parts of the wood. I followed speedily, I hardly knew why; but when the man saw me draw near, he aimed a gun, which he carried, at my body, and fired. I sunk to the ground, and my injurer, with increased swiftness, escaped into the wood.

However, after this incident of being injured in return for saving a young girl, his heart hardened and he, "vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind." He never wanted to hate humankind and had always done everything he could to gain the friendship of humans. The monster was never driven to commit acts of violence or revenge before he had been so harshly scared, emotionally and physically, that his internal moral compass broke. 

Even after murdering Victor's younger brother, William, the monster does not want to outright kill Victor. The monster simply asks Victor to make him a companion so he will never be lonely and can happily live in the wilderness away from human settlements. 

The monster never wanted to kill others but was led to when faced with the hatred of everyone, including his creator, and the prospect of being alone forever. 

In "Civil Disobedience" by Thoreau, "On the Eve of Historic Dandi March" by Gandhi, and "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela, how is the...

In Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," Gandhi's "On the Eve of Historic Dandi March," and Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom, identifying with other people is the way to bring about social reform. 

There are many connections between Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," Gandhi's "On the Eve of Historic Dandi March," and Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom. Each emphasizes a collective notion of the good. They suggests that when we identify ourselves with something larger than our own identity, we are compelled to take action. We are driven to bring about social reform because we value the importance of helping others.    

In Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," taking action to bring about social change is seen through a collective lens. Thoreau sees social reform as only possible when individuals band together.  The true success of civil disobedience is only visible when people take action as one to achieve social reform:

If the alternative is to keep all just men in prison, or give up war and slavery, the State will not hesitate which to choose. If a thousand men were not to pay their tax-bills this year, that would not be a violent and bloody measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood. This is, in fact, the definition of a peaceable revolution, if any such is possible.

Thoreau's "peaceable revolution" of social reform happens when "all just men" take action together.  Thoreau believes that an individual's power increases when they see past their differences and work together towards a common goal.  They might be as different as "the fugitive slave, and the Mexican prisoner on parole" or "the Indian to plead the wrongs of his race."  Thoreau sees a person's power increasing when they unify with others in the cause for social reform.  

Gandhi's Dandi march was collective action in order to achieve social reform. Gandhi wanted to achieve change and marched with others in order to do so. He wanted people to be unified in their action, and to see their interests as interlinked with others.  In his speech, Gandhi argues that his task "shall be done if I perish and so do my colleagues."  He envisions social reform as individuals sacrificing themselves for something greater.  Gandhi repeatedly talks about how he, as an individual, is not as important as the cause of challenging an unjust authority through civil disobedience. Gandhi stresses how he and his volunteers are unified in this purpose.  Adding to their unity is their faith in civil disobedience.  In Gandhi's mind, the "stream of civil resisters will flow unbroken" when people take action together. Gandhi sees social reform as possible when individuals yield to a larger cause that encompasses more than just their own interests.

Finally, Mandela believes that the power of the individual to bring about social change happens when people keep an eye to maintaining the social order. Mandela believes that when people are optimistic, they identify with others in the struggle for social change:  

I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. 

Mandela views excessive individualism with "despair" and "dark moments."   In his own narrative, social reform was visible when he saw his interests rest with others' happiness:  "There was no particular day on which I said, Henceforth I will devote myself to the liberation of my people; instead, I simply found myself doing so, and could not do otherwise."  Mandela sees individuals' power towards social reform increase when they see "the chains" on" one person as "the chains on me."  Collective identity is the only path through which a wide level of change can happen. His writings and life underscore the importance of seeing beyond oneself in order to create change.

In "The Sign of the Beaver" by Elizabeth George Speare, what is Matt's response when invited by Saknis and Attean to join them on the hunt?

When invited by Saknis and Attean to join them on the hunt, Matt is initially ecstatic. If he joins them on the hunt, he will not need to spend the long winter by himself.

However, Matt soon realizes that, if he chooses to leave, his father won't know of his whereabouts when he returns. Even though he wants to go with Saknis and Attean, Matt understands that he has given his word that he will stay and tend to the cabin faithfully until his family returns.

When Saknis argues that Matt's father may not return at all, Matt defends his father. He tells Saknis that his father would surely send someone to let Matt know if he couldn't make it. Basically, Matt defends the integrity and loyalty of his father. Saknis then tells Matt that he is a good son and repeats his invitation, but Matt is resolute that he must stay.

So, Matt initially responds with great joy when Saknis and Attean extend their invitation, but he soon becomes sad when he realizes that he cannot in good conscience go with his beloved Indian friends.

Do you think ''Maniac'' is an appropriate nickname for Jeffery?

Feel free to answer this question with your own opinion. If you think "Maniac" is a good nickname, then explain why. If you think it is a poor nickname, then explain why you think that.

I think it is an appropriate nickname in a couple of ways. I like the fact that it is alliterative. Jeffrey's last name is Magee. It starts with the letter "M." Maniac starts with the same letter, so the two words feel like they "fit" together. 

One dictionary definition of "maniac" is the following definition: "a person who behaves in a very wild way." A second dictionary definition is this one: "a person who is extremely enthusiastic about something." Using both of those definitions, I still feel that "Maniac" is an appropriate nickname. Maniac is passionate and enthusiastic about sports and running. He is passionate about helping people, too. The fact that he ran away from home could be considered wild as well.

But if I take a third definition of "maniac"—"someone who is violent and mentally ill"—then I do not think that the nickname is befitting Jeffrey. Jeffrey is neither of those things, so I believe that the nickname "Maniac" might misinform some people about what his true character is like. In that regard, I don't think it is a good nickname.

What is the claim in the story Marigolds by Eugenia W. Collier?

There could be many claims (themes) identified in "Marigolds" by Eugenia W. Collier, but one that is stated explicitly is that innocence and compassion cannot co-exist. In order to be truly compassionate toward someone's suffering, a person needs to have personally suffered, too.  

The story is told by an adult first-person narrator—Lizabeth—who is looking back on an act of childish cruelty that took place when she was fourteen. Lizabeth and her younger brother, Joey, are frustrated by circumstances they cannot control: the summer heat, their family's poverty, their mother's absence, the "formlessness of [their] summer days." To alleviate their boredom, they decide to annoy their neighbor, Miss Lottie, because "annoying Miss Lottie was always fun." Miss Lottie has a lot of misfortune in her life—her home is described as being "the most ramshackle" one in an already-destitute town, and she has a "queer-headed" (handicapped) adult son named John Burke—but despite her hardships, Miss Lottie plants marigolds on her property. The marigolds are tangible evidence that Miss Lottie defiantly refuses to give in to her misfortunes.  

As the story develops, Lizabeth and her brother (as well as some other neighborhood children) throw rocks at Miss Lottie's marigolds and damage a few. Later, Lizabeth's frustration spills over into envious violence, and she destroys Miss Lottie's flowers. Instead of appreciating Miss Lottie's efforts to bring a small bit of beauty to an otherwise ugly place, Lizabeth strikes out at the flowers in misplaced rage. The narrator realizes after her rage is spent that she

could not express the things that I knew about Miss Lottie as I stood there awkward and ashamed. The years have put words to the things I knew in that moment, and as I look back upon it, I know that that moment marked the end of innocence. . . In that humiliating moment I looked beyond myself and into the depths of another person. This was the beginning of compassion, and one cannot have both compassion and innocence.

By the end of the story, the narrator has gained hard-earned adult perspective. She still feels a sense of remorse for what she did to Miss Lottie's marigolds, which is evidenced by the last sentence, "And I too have planted marigolds." Younger Lizabeth's innocence was lost as she destroyed the small patch of beauty in Miss Lottie's yard, but this loss of innocence is what gives the narrator the ability to be a compassionate adult.

A car covers the first half of the distance between two places at a speed of 40 km/hr and the second half at 60 km/hr. What is the average speed of...

Hello!

By the definition, the average speed is the total distance traveled divided by the total time spent. In our problem the total distance and the total time consist of the two halves.

Denote the first half of the distance as `L,` then the second half is also `L.` The time spent during the first half is `L/V_1,` where `V_1` is the speed of the first half. The time corresponding to the second half is similarly `L/V_2.`

Thus the average speed is  `(L + L)/(L/V_1 + L/V_2) = 2/(1/V_1 + 1/V_2).`  It doesn't depend on `L` and numerically is equal to

`2/(1/40+1/60) = 2/((3+2)/120) = (120*2)/5 = 48 (km/h).`

This is the answer. That said, the expression `2/(1/a + 1/b)` is called the harmonic mean of numbers `a` and `b.`

Why does the community get mad when Junior makes the decision to change schools?

When Junior decides to attend the affluent white school in Reardan (twenty-two miles away from his reservation), his parents are happy for him but also anxious about his future. First, they are concerned that no one on the reservation will understand their son's decision. Second, they are worried that Junior will be stigmatized by his determination to go against the prevailing public opinion on their reservation. Third, Junior will be the first person to leave the reservation for anything.

For an indication of why the community reacts negatively to Junior's decision, let's take a look at Rowdy's reaction when Junior talks to his best friend about attending Reardan together. Remember that Rowdy and Junior have been best friends for fourteen years; they are almost like brothers and have been involved in the football, baseball, and basketball teams at Wellpinit for many of their years in school together. When Junior breaks the news to Rowdy, Rowdy is initially incredulous. However, when he realizes that Junior is serious, he becomes violently angry. His anguish is expressed in a terrible and prolonged scream. Junior states that his best friend's scream is the worst thing he's ever heard.

To make matters worse, Rowdy accuses Junior of thinking that he's better than everybody else on the reservation. Junior denies this, but Rowdy refuses to be placated by his friend's assurances. Grieved beyond measure at what he thinks is Junior's betrayal, Rowdy punches Junior in the face before walking off. Rowdy's reaction highlights his fear of the unknown and his anguish at losing his best friend. Perhaps there is the fear too that Junior will forget his Indian roots and the great relationship the two friends have shared for many years. More than anything, Rowdy's reaction highlights the prevailing Indian belief that only white people are destined for success in life.

So, any Indian who tries to change his destiny is immediately perceived to be arrogant and presumptuous. Perhaps, on a deeper level, Junior's community is merely afraid that there isn't any real possibility for someone from their reservation to be successful in life.

Because of their fears, they feel threatened by Junior's determination. Additionally, Junior's community may also feel betrayed by the fact that he has chosen to attend a white school in lieu of a reservation school. For his part, Junior knows that he must overcome his community's disapproval in order to be successful; because of his goals, he's willing to travel to where the opportunities are, even if this means attending a white school and upsetting his community.

How did society shape and influence Aunt Alexandra in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird?

Aunt Alexandra is the quintessential Southern Belle, who believes that females should act mannerly and engage in social events with other ladies throughout the community. She takes pride in her family background and understands the intricacies of Maycomb's caste system. Aunt Alexandra views African Americans as inferior beings despite the fact that she is a proud Christian. Aunt Alexandra's views and personality were greatly impacted by Southern society. Many of Alexandra's beliefs are congruent with the antebellum South, which is essentially the time period before the Civil War. In the antebellum South, white citizens were considered a superior race and strict gender roles were practiced. Females wore dresses, engaged in social events, and stayed away from physical activities. Aunt Alexandra shares those same beliefs and lives like a traditional Southern woman. 

In The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, does Bailey merge into the tree?

No, Bailey does not merge into the tree at the end of The Night Circus.

Bailey is a great character.  It's through him that the reader learns to really feel the power and pull that the circus has on people.  Readers know that the circus is held together and made magical by the romantic overtures of Celia and Marco, but knowing that fact doesn't do the circus justice.  Readers need Bailey in order to feel and understand that the circus is as mystical and magical as we are told it is.  Bailey simply cannot resist the circus.  He is drawn to it.  He is drawn to sneak into it the very first time, and he is drawn to follow it across large distances with the other Reveurs.  He is so drawn to it that he willingly commits eternity to the circus. 

Bailey plays an important part in the story's ultimate climax.  The purpose of the circus is equivalent to a duel.  Marco and Celia are supposed to use the circus as their magical battle arena, and only one is supposed to come out alive; however, the two characters fall in love with each other.  In order to preserve their love and the circus, the circus's power must be merged/tied to a new individual.  Bailey is that individual.  Marco asks Bailey if Bailey is willing to be the circus's new caretaker, which is a permanent position.  It's permanent because everybody involved with the circus is immortal.  Bailey weighs his options, but he wants to be a part of the circus more than anything else in his life, so he agrees to be the person that the circus's magic is tied to and through.  Marco gives Bailey a ring and binds it to Bailey's finger.  Bailey's final step is to ignite the circus fire that has always stayed ignited.  He does this successfully, which guarantees the survival of the circus, Celia, and Marco.  Bailey continues to be the caretaker, in his human form, through the novel's end.  

How and where does the battle between good and evil take place in Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

In Chapter 8, entitled "The Last Night," Poole, Jekyll's butler, calls Utterson to Jekyll's house because he is so concerned about his employer.  Poole fears that someone has murdered Jekyll, and that it happened some eight days ago, he says, "'when [the household] heard him cry out upon the name of God; and who's in there instead of him, and why it stays there, is a thing that cries to Heaven [...].'"  Poole imagines that whoever hurt his employer is still in the room, though he cannot imagine why such a person would stay.  He says that for the last week, this person or "'whatever it is that lives in that cabinet, has been crying night and day for some sort of medicine and cannot get it to his mind.'"  Further, he's been sent all over town to try to find a particular drug, and nothing he's brought back has been what is needed. 

We find out that Jekyll/Hyde is desperately attempting to recreate his mixture during this time, that Jekyll has really lost control over his experiment and over his evil nature, though his goodness has struggled with it for quite a while.  Now, however, the struggle has come to a head, as the final battle between good and evil takes place in his rooms: Jekyll, the good, ultimately cannot suppress Hyde, the evil, and now Hyde has nowhere to hide, and the man "'Weep[s] like a woman or a lost soul.'"  Utterson breaks down the door, despite Hyde's pleas, but by the time they enter the room, Hyde has taken his own life.  They find, by the fireside, another piece of evidence of the struggle and of evil winning over good: "a pious work, for which Jekyll had several times expressed a great esteem, annotated in his own hand, with startling blasphemies."  Evidently, Hyde had chosen one of Jekyll's favorite virtuous texts and had passed the time writing obscene notes in the margins.