Yann Martel says in his introductory note, "This book was born as I was hungry." What sort of emotional nourishment might Life of Pi have given to...

The opening line of Martel's introduction says, "This book was born as I was hungry," but the next line says, "Let me explain" (vii). Martel then describes how he faced failure as a writer in the 1990s. This failure left him hungry for success for a very long time. As with any dream that seems to fail, a person will either give up or fight harder to achieve it. Failure also breeds discouragement, which Martel describes as follows:

". . . the whisper that has been pestering you all along from the back of your mind . . . speaking the flat, awful truth: it won't work" (viii).

Martel further explains that he felt as though an element was missing from his work. He compares this missing element of his story to a missing ingredient that makes a particular recipe work just right. Because of this missing ingredient, the author says that his story felt "emotionally dead," and it left him "with an aching hunger" (ix). Not only was Martel hungry for success, but he was also hungry for a secret ingredient for a novel--something original. When the idea of Life of Pi presented itself, Martel realized its unique value and pursued it. As a result, Martel was emotionally fed because he knew he had finally found a good story worth writing. Furthermore, the success that he found from Life of Pi drove away discouragement so he could finally feel emotionally satisfied with his career.

Use your knowledge of heat transfer methods to explain how under floor insulation reduces the loss of heat through the floor. I understand that if...

There are three methods of heat transfer that come to mind.

The first is conduction. Conduction is when the excited particles of one atom or molecule touch the excited particles in the atoms or molecules of another substance. This is how heat goes from one solid to another, or from single particles to other single particles, in typical usage.

The second is convection. Through convection, energy is transferred in the same way as conduction, but instead of a solid absorbing the energy, a fluid, such as a liquid or gas, absorbs the energy. In addition, the absorption of energy causes the fluid to move about, generating convection currents. These convection currents are common in ovens, the ocean, and even the earth's mantle.

Finally, radiation is a way that heat is transferred. This is when the atoms and molecules of the substance eject energized parts of themselves to increase entropy. Common radiation includes alpha, beta, and gamma decay. This radiation is physical, and can be stopped by hitting other particles.

To conclude, the floor insulation prevents the escape of heat through all of these methods. The floor is a good insulator, as you mentioned, and is resistant to conductive heat loss. The floor separates the heat in the home from the air outside, which slows down the convection currents beneath the flooring. The floor blocks the radiation emitted in the building, sending it back before it can escape.

As far as your question on what in particular makes the flooring a good insulator, there are a few reasons. The first is that the insulation has molecules that are separated from each other with distance. The second is that the insulation has layers of material. Heat transfers from one object to another and across thin films slower than across single materials. Third, the structure of the material may be lattice oriented in a way that increases resistance to heat transfer. This means amorphous materials, like amorphous silicon, will be more resistant than an aligned block of silicon. Even little things, like the Thermal Hall Effect, can make a difference in the insulation a material provides.

What are some important quotes spoken by the character Macbeth in Shakespeare's play?

It is difficult to choose only a few lines to pull out of the play for Macbeth, but here are some examples that indicate Macbeth’s journey and are important to showing who he is as a character, his state of mind, and the direction of the plot.

The first important one is Macbeth’s reaction to Malcolm being named successor to the throne.  The witches indicated that Macbeth would be king, and he really wants to be king.  He does not take Duncan’s announcement that his son will be king well.

MACBETH

[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 1, Scene 4) 

This shows that Macbeth is ambitious, and that he is worried about the effects of his ambitions.  He does not want to show others how much he wants to be king, and how disappointed he is in not being chosen.  This is especially true because no one probably expects him to think he will be king, since it makes more sense for the king’s son to be king. 

Another significant quotation from Macbeth comes from when he is trying to decide what to do about this discrepancy between his wishes and Duncan’s.  He imagines a fantasy dagger, and wonders where it came from.  Does this mean that he is meant to kill Duncan and become king himself?

Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? (Act 2, Scene 1)

Macbeth’s wife wants him to be a man and swallow his doubts, but he is grappling with the moral and practical questions of killing the king.  When he sees the dagger, it is partly a manifestation of his ambition.  It gives him the courage to do the deed, but it does seem to add to the impression that he is hardly sane!

Another significant quote is Macbeth’s reaction to his wife’s death.  He seems to ponder his own mortality along with hers.  She has succumbed to her own guilt at their deed, and he is getting more and more unstable.

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing. (Act 5, Scene 5)

Macbeth has seen nothing turn out as he hoped.  He did become king, but he had to hold on to his power with more and more bloodshed, always fearing to lose it.  As he makes this speech, his wife is dead and Malcolm’s troops are storming the castle.  Macbeth’s power is threatened, and his own mortality is on his mind.

What is the electron configuration of a chlorine atom?

In order to know the electron configuration of any atom, a person needs to know how many electrons are in the atom. The atomic number of chlorine is 17, which tells us there are 17 protons in the atom. The atomic number also identifies how many electrons are in the atom.  

I'm not sure how detailed of an electron configuration the question is asking for, so I'll provide a broad configuration and a detailed configuration.

The electrons of an atom exist in different levels known as shells. The first shell can hold 2 electrons. The second can hold up to 8. The third can hold up to 18, and that is all that is needed for chlorine. Chlorine will hold 2 electrons in the first main level, which leaves 15 electrons remaining. Eight more will be in the second level, leaving 7 to go. Those 7 will be held in the third level.  

Within those main levels are sublevels. For chlorine, sublevels s and p are needed.  Using those, chlorine's electron configuration is as follows: 1S^2, 2S^2, 2P^6, 3S^2, 3P^5.

What were the events related to Charles Van Doren that happened in the 1950s?

Charles Van Doren was the son of famous literary scholar Mark Van Doren, a Columbia University English professor. Starting in January of 1957, Charles Van Doren began appearing on the television quiz show Twenty One, and he went on to win a large amount of money and to defeat the long winning stretch of Herbert Stempel. The show's producers were concerned that Stempel was not very telegenic, and they fed Van Doren the questions and answers ahead of the show so that he could defeat Stempel. Stempel began to raise questions about fraud, which Van Doren at first denied. Eventually, the charges led to a House subcommittee that uncovered the fraud. As a result, Van Doren had to resign from his job as an assistant professor at Columbia. Van Doren's story was told in the feature film Quiz Show, which came out in 1994. In 1960, Congress changed the Communications Act of 1934 to prevent future cheating on quiz shows. 

Where does Circe tell Odysseus to go upon leaving her?

When Odysseus is preparing to leave Circe's island for the first time, she tells him that he must travel to the Underworld in order to seek the guidance of the blind prophet, Teiresias of Thebes, who -- though dead -- still has his mind because Persephone has granted him reason and understanding.  He does so and Teiresias tells him what his way home will be like.

After Odysseus returns from the Underworld, he goes back to Circe's home in order to retrieve the body of Elpenor, a young crew member who died just as his men were preparing to leave before.  Circe receives him, and he and his men spend the night.  She tells Odysseus that he will have to go past the sirens, and she tells him how to handle them.  Further, she explains that his ship will have to pass either Scylla or Charybdis, and she advises that they sail closer to Scylla (because the monster can only kill six of his men at once whereas Charybdis could, theoretically, sink the ship and kill them all).  Finally, she says that they will have to pass Thrinacia and must be sure not to eat any of the Sun God's sheep there.

How are we supposed to answer if the question asks for the theme of the poem?

In literature, whether it be a novel, a story, or a poem, there is not necessarily just one correct answer to the question of what the theme is. A literary text can have more than one theme, and many do. What I think might be helpful is for you to have a better understanding of what a theme is.

A theme is a timeless and/or universal message that the author wants you to come away with after reading the literary work. A successful author will be able to put you in a frame of mind to keep thinking about that message and its importance. Authors seldom state directly what that message is, so it is up to you to figure it out from your reading. We do this by looking at the setting, the characters, and the plot. We do this by noticing symbols and by examining the point of view in the text. We take note of the kinds of words and imagery the writer uses. All of this can add up to a theme.

For instance, when I read the novel The Kite Runner (Hosseini), I see a few themes. I see the theme of redemption. I see what is called a "coming of age" novel, which has a theme of the main character gaining maturity. I see the timeless conflict between fathers and sons. There is a theme of ethnic and religious injustice. Notice that these are all ideas that are important to most people in most times and places. All of them are themes that I see by nature of my analyzing the text itself, finding examples of each in the story.

I do not know what poem you are expected to name a theme for, so read it carefully and ask yourself what message or messages you think the author wants you to understand after your reading. Read the poem more than once, to be sure you understand every line, and if you do not understand something in the poem, get some help, from or perhaps from a teacher. Try to paraphrase the poem in everyday language that you would use to share the ideas in the poem with a friend if it is written in an old-fashioned way. Once the poem is yours this way, it will be much easier for you to see what themes there might be.

In Chapter Nine of Animal Farm, how does Orwell present Communism through Boxer's death?

In Chapter Nine of Animal Farm, Orwell uses Boxer's death to present Communism as a betrayal of the working class. This is shown through the murder of Boxer when Boxer (and the other animals) believe that he is going to see a vet, but, in fact, he is sold to a glue manufacturer called Alfred Simmonds. What is most important about this betrayal is that Boxer and the other animals do not realise what is happening until it is too late. We see this through the reaction of Benjamin, who is the first to notice:

"Fools! Fools!" shouted Benjamin, prancing round them and stamping the earth with his small hoofs. "Fools! Do you not see what is written on the side of that van?"

Through Boxer's death, then, Orwell presents Communism as a bad idea for the working classes. While, at first glance, Communism appears to offer hope and prosperity (like Boxer's trip to the vets), it is nothing more than a ruse to keep the working classes in a position of submission.

Are the protagonist and antagonist of the Gospel of Matthew dynamic or static, round or flat characters? How do these characters change or remain...

First, one should note the Gospel according to Matthew is not a literary work, but instead a religious text in the form of a biography. This means it doesn't really follow the conventions of traditional literary works and many of the terms of literary criticism are inappropriate to it. Instead, Biblical scholars tend to prefer rhetorical analysis, as biography, in the period in which this work was composed, was considered part of epideictic rhetoric. 

The protagonist of the work is Jesus. Although he appears as a baby in the beginning of the work and an adult at the end, he is not a traditionally dynamic character, as he is treated as the incarnate logos, who exists eternally, takes human form, and then returns to his heavenly origins. Although as the Son of Man, he does exhibit human form and occasional elements of humanity, his divine nature makes him neither a fully rounded nor flat character in a conventional literary sense, but rather something different than either because he has a divine or metaphysical interiority rather than a human psychology. His choices are ordained in advance by various prophecies, and as such are not really choices; they are often accounted for simply as necessary to fulfill prophecies. Since Jesus has complete and perfect foreknowledge of all of the events in the text, one can't really think of his being affected by experiences in the way a purely human character would be. 

The series of antagonists Jesus encounters, including Herod and Satan, are mainly flat characters, emblems of pure evil. Pilate is an interesting character, neither fully good nor evil, but rather an overworked bureaucrat. Pilate appears too briefly to be considered fully rounded, though. Peter is among the most fully rounded of the disciples in the way he struggles with doubt and pride.

Which character is most psychologically flat in Trifles by Susan Glaspell?

In Trifles, George Henderson, the County Attorney, is the most psychologically flat.

As such a flat character, Henderson remains the same throughout the story, "Trifles." For, all the way to the end of the narrative, he retains his original attitude that the things with which women occupy themselves are insignificant and mere "trifles." He also cuts off Mr. Hale when this neighbor of the Wrights tries to relate what he has said to Harry about not knowing "as what his wife wanted made much difference to John Wright," a statement which could lead Henderson to find a motive.

Because of Henderson's arrogant dismissal of anything that might be found in the kitchen of the Wrights' house (he gives only a cursory look in one cupboard), and because he does not listen carefully to things that may at first seem insignificant, he misses the incriminating evidence for which he and the other men have searched everywhere else in the house. 

Ironically, it is the evidence discovered in the kitchen--the place of mere "trifles,"--that could have brought him a conviction of Mrs. Minnie Wright, who is being held in the jail and due to go on trial. Furthermore, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters hide the evidence from Henderson and the sheriff partly because of the men's dismissal of the "little things" in which only women are interested and because of Henderson's sarcasm when Mrs. Hale mentions that the Wright home was not cheerful:

No--it's not cheerful. I shouldn't say she had the homemaking instinct.

Also because of his flippancy, Henderson misses the significance of Mrs. Hale's pondering about the quilt she has been sewing that they discover, "I wonder is she was goin' to quilt it or just knot it?" For, this is a question whose answer could be a clue. Instead, he jokes, "Well, ...at least we found out that she was not going to quilt it. She was going to--what is it you call it ladies?"

What problems arise from excessive ethnocentrism?

Ethnocentrism causes problems both for individuals and for societies as a whole, especially in our contemporary highly globalized world.

In much of our work and even daily lives we encounter people from many different ethnic backgrounds with different cultural assumptions and mannerisms. To work with them, we must understand their cultures. For example, in Navajo society, looking people directly in the eyes is considered rude. Knowing this means that you will not be offended if Navajos look at the sky while speaking to you and you also can not stare directly into their eyes as a sign of respect. The more you know about other cultures and their manners and beliefs, the more you can work well with people from many different cultures and avoid offending them. Perhaps even more important, this sort of sensitivity to other people's cultures allows you to make friends with people of very different backgrounds from your own. Your own personal world is enriched by your ability see things from other points of view.

On a global level, not understanding cultural differences can lead to diplomatic incidents or even wars. Often behaviors accepted in one society are considered unacceptable in others. On a level more serious than just manners, western ethnocentrism and ignorance of cultural issues in the Islamic world reflected in the Sykes–Picot Agreement of 1916 led to many of the current tensions in the Middle East. 

What is the atmosphere of The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown?

I would say that most of the novel's atmosphere is foreboding and tense.  Those won't work for the entire novel, because the concluding chapters bring a return to normalcy and calmness when Peter Solomon explains a bunch of details regarding the Lost Symbol to Robert Langdon.  

The rest of the novel, in typical Dan Brown style, is paced quite quickly and an overall tense and foreboding atmosphere is created.  Mal'akh helps establish the foreboding atmosphere because the guy is equally dangerous and scary.  He has tattoos covering his entire body, and he shows no reservations about killing people.  The sequence when he locks Langdon in the sensory deprivation tank is incredibly tense because readers know that Langdon suffers from extreme claustrophobia.  Another extremely tense part of the book is when Mal'akh is hunting Katherine Solomon through the absolute darkness of her Noetic Science research facility. Darkness has a way of creating tense atmospheres to begin with.  Now add being hunted to it.  It would be terrifyingly tense.  

What are the kennings used during Beowulf's battle with Grendel?

Beowulf's battle with Grendel begins on line 750 when Grendel seizes Beowulf's arm, not knowing that it is Beowulf, nor knowing anything of his strength. However, he immediately realizes that Beowulf is not like the other men, nor any man he has ever encountered. The battle ends on line 823, when Grendel flees, and is concluded on line 836 when we are told that Beowulf has fully ripped off Grendel's arm.

Kennings are compound metaphors common in Old Norse and its derivative languages and literary cultures. One of the first encountered in "Beowulf" is "whale-road" in line 10, a metaphor for the ocean. At first glance these might seem frivolous and unnecessary to the casual reader—why not just say "sea"? Part of the answer lies in the fact that "Beowulf" originated as oral poetry, and thus it would serve the poet to have an array of imaginative phrases, with different sounds and length, to drive the telling more in the direction of art than a simple relaying of facts. Some translations attempt to preserve the extensive alliteration present in the original text, some of which is supported by kennings. For example,

syndolh sweotol·      seonowe onsprungon·

burston bánlocan·      Béowulfe wearð

gúðhréð gyfeþe·      scolde Grendel þonan

feorhséoc fléön      under fenhleoðu,

This section from lines 817-819 employs frequent kennings to construct a "s - b - g/th - f" alliterative scheme with one sound dominating each line.

Kennings used in the battle include:

• bone-adorned (probably meaning "armored")


• life-days and day-count (lifespan)


• sin-scather (using an archaic form of "scathe", meaning injury)


• bone-locks (muscles)


• slaughter-storm (massacre or gory battle)

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

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

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

Thus, one road is no better than the other.

List these items in order from largest to smallest: organelle, cell, tissue, organism, population, molecule.

Let's reason our way through this.

Organelles are the substructures (such as mitochondria and chloroplasts) inside cells that perform particular functions. They are therefore smaller than cells.

Cells are self-contained self-reproducing pieces of living matter, which form the makeup of all living organisms. They are therefore smaller than organisms.

Tissues are groups of cells that perform a common function, such as skeletal muscle tissue or fat tissue. They are therefore larger than cells.

Organisms are made up of organs which are made up of tissues, and are therefore larger than tissues.

Populations are groups of organisms living in a particular region. They are therefore larger than organisms.

Finally, molecules are the tiniest possible form of a given chemical substance that maintains its chemical properties. Chloroplasts contain molecules of chlorophyll. Therefore molecules are smaller than organelles.

Combine all of these things and this is our ordering from largest to smallest:
Population, organism, tissue, cell, organelle, molecule.

What is the difference between being innocent and being found not guilty?

When a person is accused and tried for a crime, the prosecution, the state, must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused's actions have met all the requisite elements of the crime for a finding of guilt, generally that a crime has actually been committed by the accused and that the accused had the requisite intent.  When a person is found "not guilty," this means that the requisite elements have not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, which is the standard in the United States in a criminal trial. This does not mean the person did not commit the crime.  It means there is insufficient evidence in some way, perhaps no physical evidence to connect the defendant to the crime or no means of establishing intent, for example, some sort of reasonable doubt.   But a finding of "not guilty" does not necessarily imply innocence.  A judge or a jury is in no position to judge that a person is innocent of a crime because the evidence presented by the defense need not prove that at all. The burden is on the state to prove that a defendant did commit the crime. There is no burden on the defense to prove that the defendant did not commit the crime.  The finding of "not guilty" speaks only to the evidence presented, not to the fact of innocence or guilt.  In Scotland, there is actually a distinction made in criminal trial verdicts such that the verdict may be "not guilty" or "not proven."  While I am by no means an expert on Scottish jurisprudence, it is my understanding that "not guilty" is meant to signal something closer to what might be considered innocence, while "not proven" signals that only that the prosecution could not make its case.      

How does First Purchase church express To Kill a Mockingbird's themes of innocence, resistance, and courage?

We'll find that description of the church in Chapter 12, when Calpurnia is getting ready to take Scout and Jem with her to attend a service. After Scout's initial description of the building, she describes the furnishings inside:

The churchyard was brick-hard clay, as was the cemetery beside it. If someone died during a dry spell, the body was covered with chunks of ice until rain softened the earth. A few graves in the cemetery were marked with crumbling tombstones; newer ones were outlined with brightly colored glass and broken Coca-Cola bottles. Lightning rods guarding some graves denoted dead who rested uneasily; stumps of burned-out candles stood at the heads of infant graves. It was a happy cemetery.

The warm bittersweet smell of clean Negro welcomed us as we entered the churchyard — Hearts of Love hairdressing mingled with asafoetida, snuff, Hoyt’s Cologne, Brown’s Mule, peppermint, and lilac talcum. [...]

First Purchase was unceiled and unpainted within. Along its walls unlighted kerosene lamps hung on brass brackets; pine benches served as pews. Behind the rough oak pulpit a faded pink silk banner proclaimed God Is Love, the church’s only decoration except a rotogravure print of Hunt’s The Light of the World. There was no sign of piano, organ, hymn-books, church programs — the familiar ecclesiastical impedimenta we saw every Sunday. It was dim inside, with a damp coolness slowly dispelled by the gathering congregation. At each seat was a cheap cardboard fan bearing a garish Garden of Gethsemane, courtesy Tyndal’s Hardware Co. (You-Name-It-We-Sell-It).

The first thing you'll notice in Scout's description of the church is that it was literally purchased with the money that former slaves had earned. That makes the church itself a powerful symbol of Maycomb's black community's devotion to their faith.

To find evidence of the themes of courage and resistance, we'll have to look at the details of the church building itself. The building is old and in poor repair. The church is "ancient." The paint is peeling off of it. Inside, everything is rough, faded, and sparse. The yard is made of clay, not grass. Still, the interior is welcoming, inviting, full of the spirit of community and the faith that unites it. It smells good. It's lively. Even the cemetery, with its graves for dead infants, is "happy."

All these details speak to the idea that for these churchgoers to continue in their beliefs and gather as a community to support each other takes courage and strength. The people, like the church building itself, resist abrasive forces of society and nature, respectively, that are working against them. For the people, it's the bitter, deep-seated racism of Maycomb that the First Purchase congregation resists. For the building, it's the forces of nature and time that the building resists. It's still standing. So are the people.

The theme of innocence in this novel usually focuses on Scout and her initial lack of knowledge about the world. You can also consider Tom Robinson's literal innocence in that he hasn't committed the crime he's accused of. If we're looking for evidence that the congregation at First Purchase is "innocent" in the sense that they're ignorant about the realities of the world, like Scout, or that they're somehow all perfect or free from sin, we won't find it.

If we're looking for evidence that they're "innocent" in that their devotion to their faith is true and pure, that's something we will find. The church doesn't have any prayer books or hymnals. Tellingly, Scout calls these items the typical "impedimenta" found in the white church she usually attends, suggesting she thinks these items impede rather than aid worship. First Purchase doesn't have them, and indeed, they don't need them: the congregation is mostly illiterate, as we find out later in that same chapter. This congregation also does not need much decoration or even comfortable seating in their church. They're there to worship and come together as a community, not to admire the artwork or architecture or relax in luxury. The church is also damp and a bit cool inside, but the presence of the fans reveals that it will quickly become uncomfortably warm. The churchgoers' willingness to sit through this discomfort is evidence of their devotion, purity of faith, and commitment to their community. Whether you call this theme "innocence" is a matter of interpretation. I probably wouldn't.

What is a quote from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein about technology in the Victoria era?

When Victor goes to the University of Ingolstadt, he is alarmed and embarrassed to be told by his first professor, Professor Krempe, that all of the books and philosophers he's been studying are widely known to be fantastic and fictitious.  Quite discouraged, he eventually turns to another teacher, Professor Waldman, who is not interested in embarrassing Victor but, rather, in educating him.  He explains to Victor that the old philosophers promised things that could never be possible, and so they were unable to deliver on those promises.  However, modern scientists promise very little, but they are actually able to make good on their promises. 

"But these philosophers, whose hands seem only made to dabble in dirt, and their eyes to pour over the microscope or crucible, have indeed performed miracles.  They penetrate into the recesses of nature, and shew how she works in her hiding places.  They ascend into the heavens; they have discovered how the blood circulates, and the nature of the air we breathe.  They have acquired new and almost unlimited powers; they can command the thunders of heaven, mimic the earthquake, and even mock the invisible world with its own shadows."

Professor Waldman says that the modern teachers know that the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone are not real.  Instead, they focus on other things, smaller goals, and they are able to make real advancements that might actually benefit humankind.  He describes their technologies to explain what it is that they are capable of.

If the main character in a story struggles against the cold Arctic weather, is the conflict internal or external?

In a sense, this is a false dichotomy with respect to Jack London's story "To Build a Fire." While an external conflict is a struggle against something outside oneself and an internal conflict is a struggle against one's own emotions, desires, beliefs, or habits, often the two work together. 

In the case of "To Build a Fire," in one sense, the narrator is engaged in an extended struggle for survival against the Arctic cold. This would be an external conflict.

On the other hand, the narrative focuses to a great degree on how the cold saps the man's willpower and thus that much of his struggle is an internal one to summon up the reserves of will and character necessary for survival and how he ultimately fails.

Many of these sorts of survival stories set in the wilderness emphasize how a harsh external environment leads to people developing–or failing to develop–inner strength. 

In Chapter 5 of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, what problem does Gatsby begin to have as his secretive meetings with Daisy continue?

Gatsby begins to have a problem with Daisy as his dream of recapturing her is effectively over and he must now work to sustain her interest in him.

For years Jay Gatsby has worked and planned for the attainment of his "grail," Daisy Buchanan. So nervous and excited is he on the day of their meeting at Nick's cottage that he runs out into the rain and walks around Nick's house. When he re-enters, he is wet and awkward, knocking over Nick's clock on the mantel, a symbolic gesture that signifies the end of time.

Having rekindled the love of Daisy and impressed her with his wealth and splendid possession--such as his gold bathroom fixtures and his custom-made English shirts, which bring tears to her eyes as she buries her head in them--Gatsby must now try to maintain Daisy's interest and desire for him. For, it is obvious that the quantitative value of money is what rules Daisy's desires, as evinced by her change of heart in marrying Tom after he sent her a $350,000 pearl necklace.

Indeed, it is "the colossal vitality of his illusion" (Ch.5) that Jay Gatsby must maintain in order to keep his hold on Daisy. He may love her, but Daisy's passion is ignited by the charm of money and social ambition.

What were the major foreign policy objectives of the United States between 1815 and 1824? In what ways did the transportation revolution...

In your post, you have asked five questions. The policy at is to respond to one question per post. I will respond to your first question.

Between 1815 and 1824, the United States had several foreign policy objectives. One of the main objectives was to support the independence movements in Latin America. Many countries in Latin America were becoming independent from Spain and Portugal during this time. We supported the desire of these people to be free from the rule of the Europeans. There was some thought that the Europeans would try to return to the Americas to reestablish their colonies. As a result, President Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine in 1823. This major foreign policy statement told the European countries that they would not establish any new colonies in the Americas. This statement, backed by the British who wanted to weaken their European rivals, helped to show the Europeans that the United States was growing as a force in world affairs.

The United States also pursued a policy of controlling more land in North America. We signed the Adam-Onís Treaty with Spain in 1819. This treaty gave control of Florida to the United States. In return, the United States would pay any claims the Spanish had against Americans who rebelled against Spain. This amount was about $5 million. Spain also agreed to drop its claims to the Oregon Territory, and the United States acknowledged the Spanish control of Texas.

What is a symbol in A Good Man is Hard to Find? How does it advance or reinforce the plot?

One salient symbol in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is the shape of a cross into which the grandmother's legs contort after the Misfit shoots her.

This cross made by the grandmother symbolizes her redemption and moment of grace as she has looked at the Misfit and recognized him as one of her children. That is, she has come to know herself as a sinner through what is termed a "redemptive catastrophe." She dies for her sins just as Christ died for the sins of man, and she is redeemed. O'Connor's approach here recalls the idea of the philosopher Martin Heidegger, who was a strong influence upon her. Heidegger, who held a concept called Dasein, or "being-there," felt that death represents the moment when a man's existence becomes complete.

Certainly, for the grandmother grace comes to her in her epiphany at the moment of her brutal death. This is why the Misfit says, "She would have been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life." At the moment of her death, she is redeemed because she finally has enough humility to recognize that she, too, is a sinner--she is "there" with the Misfit--and she abandons her self-righteousness displayed in the car and at Red Sammy's, and thereby receives grace.

This redemptive death acts as the denouement to a plot in which her hypocrisy has been exemplified in her criticisms of others (e.g. her racial remarks when she has set herself up as honest and righteous woman). At the end, she finally recognizes that it is she who has been the greatest sinner and hypocrite.

Should important decisions be made by parents for teenage children?

This is something that will vary by household.  Every situation is unique, and every culture has its own approach to growing up.  We usually view growing up as a gradual release of responsibility.  This means that at some point along the way the parents will relinquish some responsibility to the children.  When that happens depends on the parents and the children.

Children need to learn how to make decisions on their own.  If they do not learn how to make small decisions, and then larger ones, they will not be successful adults.  The rise of “helicopter parenting” in our culture has brought attention to parents who try to protect their children from all possible harm and make all decisions for them, but parents making decisions for their children is nothing new.  Again, it depends on the culture and the time period.

Legally, parents have the right to make decisions for their children while they are still minors and under 18.  However, responsible parents will teach their children how to make good decisions from a young age.  Teenagers often have other influences in their lives that lead them to lose perspective.  Parents sometimes need to intervene and make better decisions.  The teens may not realize until later that their parents saved them from disaster.

Are Supreme Court Justices allowed to vote in presidential elections?

Supreme Court Justices have the right to vote in presidential elections. They also have the right to vote in any other election in which citizens are eligible to vote. This is a precious right that should not be taken away because a person is in the judiciary or has any other governmental position. The president, vice-president, members of the cabinet, senators, and representatives all have the right to vote. 

What Supreme Court Justices should not do is express their opinions publicly about presidential candidates, or for that matter, about presidents. They have been known to make remarks at private events from time to time, but they should be careful. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg realized this after she commented on Donald Trump and then apologized for her remarks. The Supreme Court should at least appear to be above the fray of politics, even if it is not.

What is the main conflict in My Side of the Mountain by Jean George?

I would say the main conflict of My Side of the Mountain is an external man vs. nature conflict. In the beginning of the book, Sam Gribley decides to live on his own out in the wilderness. He does this in a manner befitting an extreme survivalist because when he leaves civilization, he has minimal supplies. Sam doesn't take food or a lot of tools. He leaves New York in May with “a penknife, a ball of chord, an ax, and $40,” as well as flint and steel for making fires.

That is an exceptionally small amount of gear. I like camping, but Sam puts me to shame. Throughout the novel, he is continually in conflict with the nature that surrounds him. Not only does he have to deal with the challenges of finding decent shelter, but he also has to hunt and forage for food. Because his diet is so meager, Sam struggles with vitamin deficiencies and very low calorie intakes. As winter approaches, Sam discovers his meager supplies cannot adequately deal with winter conditions.

Toward the end of January I began to feel tired, and my elbows and knees were a little stiff. This worried me. I figured it was due to some vitamin I wasn't getting, but I couldn't remember which vitamin it was or even where I would find it if I could remember it.

As the book moves toward its conclusion, Sam's conflict turns into an internal conflict. Sam must decide to continue living on his own or return to his family.

Please explain the notion of ontology as an alternative to culture within Anthropology.

Culture, as we know it today, has been defined for us from an epistemological perspective: what we know about reality (or truth) can be realized either through empiricism (experience) or through rationalism (reason). From an epistemological perspective, culture is what we know of the world, where there is only one human reality supporting a plethora of worldviews.

The ontological turn to anthropology, on the other hand, favors the perspective that there are many worlds and multiple realities (beyond that of human reality). The ontological strategy is an effort to approach these other realities with an open mind. In other words, the epistemological approach favoring either empiricism or rationalism (culture as defined by humans) can be invalidated in the search to embrace new realities.

Consider that in How Forests Think: Toward an Anthropology Beyond the Human, Eduardo Kohn proposes the idea that the native Amazonian Runa people should engage with the sylvan realities within their midst, namely the spirits, animals, and ghosts that dwell in the tropical forests. The ontological approach basically seeks to readjust our human perception of reality to include non-human perspectives and analyses.

In Eduardo Viveiros de Castro's ontological approach to anthropology, he aims to encourage scientists to embrace the Amerindian concept of perspectivism, where reality is based on multiple concepts, and all are equally permissible. For example, he claims that manioc beer is to humans what blood is to jaguars. In other words, the jaguar does not 'believe' that blood represents manioc beer to them, but rather, blood is beer to them. For more on the ontological approach to anthropology, please refer to the links below.

Do you think that Canterville Chase in Oscar Wilde's "The Canterville Ghost" is haunted?

Canterville Chase is indeed haunted, as we learn in the opening chapter of "The Canterville Ghost." The former resident of the house, Lord Canterville, for example, tells us that his great-aunt, the Dowager Duchess of Bolton, was "frightened into a fit" after a ghost appeared to her while she dressed for dinner.

We also know that Canterville Chase is haunted because, in Chapter Two, the Canterville ghost makes his first appearance in the story. He tells us that he has enjoyed a  "brilliant and uninterrupted career of three hundred years" and, during this time, he has scared numerous residents of Canterville Chase. In one incident, for example, a butler shot himself in the pantry after seeing a green hand tapping on the window-pane. In another, Lady Stutfield committed suicide after being strangled by the ghost. 

Even the sceptical Otis family cannot refute the evidence of their eyes and ears. While they are not frightened by the Canterville ghost, he appears to them on several occasions. Furthermore, in Chapter Five, Virginia Otis becomes the ghost's ally when she helps him to rest eternally in the Garden of Death. 

Would you consider the nymph a realist or romantic in "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" by Sir Walter Raleigh?

I find the nymph much more realistic than romantic.

Let's first clarify the difference between realists and romantics.

Those with realistic perspectives, like the nymph speaking in the poem, see things as they are. They don't imagine fanciful versions of reality; they just accept it the way it is and recognize the sad realities of life. In the words of the Oxford English Dictionary, realists "regard things as they really are, rather than how they are imagined, or desired to be, sometimes to the point of cynicism."

On the other hand, those with romantic perspectives, like the shepherd to whom the nymph in the poem is speaking, see the world in a more sentimental, optimistic, and imaginative way. They like to interpret the world in a wondrous, even magical way. The Oxford English Dictionary says romantics are "responsive to the promptings of imagination or fancy regardless of practicality."

Next, let's take a look at how the nymph reveals herself as a realist in this poem. What does she say that shows how she sees the world in a practical and even unimaginative or cynical way?

1. In the first stanza, the nymph basically says, "Sure, I'd come live with you and be your love, IF the world were forever young, and IF all shepherds like you always told the truth." Her implication is that the world, and love itself, are not as youthful and pure as the shepherd thinks—plus, she knows that the shepherd might be lying. She's not willing to be swept away in the beautiful promises and offers he's made to her.


2. In the second, third, and fourth stanzas, the nymph talks about how all things die, even someone's love for someone else. Nothing lasts.


3. In the fifth stanza, the nymph basically says she won't be persuaded to be the shepherd's lover, no matter how lovely the things are that he offers her.


4. In the sixth and final stanza, the nymph comes back to the idea that IF we lived in a world in which youth, beauty, love, and joy could last forever, THEN she might agree to be the shepherd's lover.

So as you can see, the nymph is a realist. She recognizes all things fade away with time, even love. She doesn't put faith in the shepherd's implied promises to love her forever.

As Scout looked out from the Radley porch, she regretted that she and Jem never gave Boo anything in return for his gifts, but they did give Boo...

The main thing the children give to Boo Radley is friendship. Boo Radley had been very lonely. He never left his house, and no one ever seemed interested in caring about him except for Dill, Jem, and Scout, who attempt to reach out to him.

Dill is the one who pushes the hardest for getting Boo to come out of his house. Dill understands loneliness, so that is probably why. He appreciates Boo’s situation and does not consider him a monster.

“All right then. What’d you write him?”

Dill said, “We’re askin‘ him real politely to come out sometimes, and tell us what he does in there—we said we wouldn’t hurt him and we’d buy him an ice cream” (Chapter 5).

Boo Radley really responds to these small acts of friendship. He does not mind the children reenacting his story. He seems to find them amusing and appreciates the attention. This is why he begins leaving the Finch children gifts in the tree. In Boo Radley’s lonely life, Scout and Jem are a breath of fresh air.

Summer, and he watched his children’s heart break. Autumn again, and Boo’s children needed him.

Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough (Chapter 31).

Boo Radley is childlike in his own way. He relates to the Finch children because they are kind to him. They reach out to him, so he reaches back. They give him the courage to come out of his house, which he had not done since he was a teenager. He gives them the gift of their lives when he saves them from Bob Ewell, and they give him the gift of friendship.

In Roald Dahl's "Lamb to the Slaughter," why don't we get any details of the conversation between Patrick and Mary Maloney in which he tells her...

There is no conversation. Roald Dahl deliberately avoids any dialoguing between Patrick and Mary Maloney. Instead, Patrick does all the talking and Mary merely listens. She is so astonished by what she is hearing that she is speechless. Dahl's reason for handling this critical part of the story in the way he does is a matter of speculation. It seems likely that the author did not want Mary to participate in any conversation about the subject because that would have made Patrick's decision less settled, less definite, less final. She is--at least at this point in the story--the kind of woman who would have begged and pleaded if she had had an opportunity to do so. She probably wouldn't have contradicted her husband, but she would have been likely to say such things as, "I'm sorry. I can change. I will. I promise. Please give me a chance. What about our baby?"

Instead of presenting a two-way conversation, the author illustrates what Patrick is saying by showing how Mary might be annoying him and suffocating him with her mothering. To Patrick, Mary might come across as too devoted, too loving, too dependent, too attentive. Here are a few examples:

"I'll get it!" she cried, jumping up.

"Darling, shall I get your slippers?"

"Darling," she said. "Would you like me to get you some cheese?"

"Anyway," she went on, "I'll get you some cheese and crackers first."

"But you must eat! I'll fix it anyway, and then you can have it or not, as you like."

The author must have wanted to make it clear as quickly as possible that Patrick's decision was final. His apparent coldness and brutality make Mary's extreme reaction more plausible. He doesn't give her a chance to protest or ask for clarification. When she clobbers him over the head with the frozen leg of lamb, the reader can understand and sympathize with her abrupt change of character. At the same time, the fact that she has always been so loving and devoted help her to avoid suspicion. Both Patrick and Mary are well known to the investigating officers, and they believe the Maloneys had an ideal marriage. 

How is it that Romeo and Juliet is part of the modern canon?

Romeo and Juliet contains a universality of thought and feeling that transcends time, culture, and political thought; therefore, I would argue it should remain part of the modern canon.

Works of art developed in a medieval Italian city can affect us too. What does this require? . . . That these feelings and moods shall have received such broad, intense, powerful expression as to have raised them above the limitations of the life of those days. 

Interestingly, these words are those one of the first leaders of Marxist Communism, Leon Trotsky. He argued in 1924 against a number of Soviet writers who contended that the "reactionary culture" of the past should be excluded from their "new society." 

Literature is the recording of the human heart; therefore, it is timeless. As long as human beings walk the earth, there will exist among them antipathy, erotic desires and love, generational problems, and emotional and psychological weaknesses. Indeed, William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy of two "star-crossed lovers," includes all of these thematic traits found universally in people. So, because of these universal elements in this work of literature, it is as relevant today as it was during the Elizabethan Age.

When, for instance, Friar Laurence counsels Romeo— 

These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder
Which as they kiss consume (Act II, Scene 6, lines 9-11)

—these words could issue from any parent or spiritual adviser of any time or place. The universality of literature transcends any age, culture, and race because it is the recording of the human experience.

How would you explain the four chief elements of Canada's political culture: community, freedom, equality, and attitude toward and expectation...

According to Chapter 3, "Canadian Political Culture" by Stephen Brooks, in James Bickerton's book Canadian Politics (5th edition), the four crucial dimensions of Canadian politics are community, freedom, equality, and attitude towards the state (page 46). With regard to community, the author states that the "search for national identity unites successive generations of Canadians" (page 46). He believes that Canadians' constant search for a national identity helps to define the country. Canadians define their national identity based on a political culture rather than in an ethnic or racial way. He believes that this political culture has resulted in a modus vivendi that exists most of the time between anglophone and francophone Canadians.

Canadians' conception of freedom is different than that of Americans, in that they believe that it requires more frequent government interference with the market and with individual liberties. Canadians have a more positive conception of freedom, which requires the government to act, than a negative conception of freedom (as Americans do), which requires the government not to get involved in people's lives. Canadians also support equality to a greater extent than Americans do, including a publicly funded healthcare system. Canadians support government intervention to make their society more egalitarian. Canadians value equality of results, while Americans tend to value equality of opportunity. Finally, as mentioned earlier, Canadians tend to expect more government intervention and help than Americans do. The Canadian government is more active in wealth redistribution than the American government is, and it also provides more social services and collects a higher percentage of people's income as taxes than does the government in the U.S. 

How can I write an essay on the play The Miracle Worker that addresses whether or not the Kellers were right in showing Helen pity, and the...

A three paragraph essay will have only one strong point in its thesis; in other words, there should be a topic sentence written as the last sentence of the introductory paragraph. This introductory paragraph should begin with an observation relevant to the topic before moving into the thesis statement. The next paragraphs develop the thesis with statements that have supporting details from the text, along with examples, and explanations. 

In other words, the body paragraphs develop and support the thesis; also, in the last paragraph there should be a concluding sentence that is a summation of the thesis and main points of the essay. 

Regarding the questions on pity:
Here is an earlier passage in the play as Annie Sullivan speaks with Mr. Anagnos at the Perkins Institute before she leaves for Alabama and the Kellers' home:

ANAGNOS: Annie, be humble....You will need their affection, working with this child.
ANNIE: I hope I won't need their pity.
ANAGNOS: Oh, we can all use some pity.

Perhaps, then, the pity that is given to a person should be only enough that causes the giver to become patient in his or her behavior management and teaching. When Annie declares that she wants no pity, she means that she does not want people to feel sorry for her. But, when Mr. Anagnos says that all people can use some pity, he implies that they need compassion. For, by exercising compassion, a person will have patience with others; therefore, if Annie has this understanding and compassion for Helen, she will be a more effective teacher of this girl. 

In the narrative of Gibson's play, Annie never pities Helen for being blind and deaf; instead, she demands that Helen behave. On the other hand, she does pity Helen's condition that causes the girl such frustration; so, Annie is stalwart and patient as she continues to spell out words for Annie in the girl's hand. And, she perseveres in her compassion for Helen. Eventually, Annie breaks through the barriers of Helen's handicaps and reaches Helen's brain, as it finally makes the connection between things and their names.

In Shakespeare's Henry V, what is the bill that Ely and Canterbury are talking about, and why are they against it? In what way is Henry dependent...

In Act 1, Scene 1, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Ely are discussing an old bill that has resurfaced in King Henry's court. Both the Archbishop and the Bishop are against this bill because it will reduce their land holdings and overall wealth.

Essentially, if the bill passes, all the land that "devout" men have bequeathed to the church will be confiscated and appropriated for the king's use. The confiscated wealth will allow the king to maintain fifteen earls, fifteen hundred knights, and six thousand two hundred squires.

Aside from this, the lepers, the aged, and the poor will be "well supplied" with their needs from this confiscated treasury. To add insult to injury, the Archbishop maintains that the bill provides for a yearly sum of a thousand pounds to be paid into the king's coffers. This will, in all effect, dilute the Church's wealth, power, and political influence; so, the Archbishop and the Bishop are against the bill.

The Bishop of Ely questions whether King Henry is amenable to what the House of Commons proposes, and the Archbishop confides in him that he's already proposed a way to thwart the king's purposes. Essentially, the Archbishop has offered Henry more money than the Church has ever given any of his predecessors. He means to tempt Henry with financial support from the Church to bolster Henry's claim to the throne of France. With Henry thus occupied, the king will have no reason to confiscate the Church's property.

When the two clerics later meet with King Henry, the Archbishop and Bishop reassure the monarch that there is no valid legal obstacle to thwart his claim to the French throne. They flatter him and tell him that he is "in the very May-morn of his youth, / Ripe for exploits and mighty enterprises." Upon hearing this, Henry is persuaded that he does indeed deserve the French throne and that he can mount a military campaign successfully.

We must remember that Henry is dependent upon the Church for its material and social support in his campaign to take back the throne of France.

Without the Church's coffers, Henry cannot mount a successful military campaign on two fronts. When he invades France, he will also need an army to push back against Scotland (which always attacks when England is at war with another power). Henry is not only dependent on the Church for material support, but he must also rely on the clergy to justify his French invasion to the people. Since the Church's coffers are filled by the populace, the people must be convinced that the king is acting in England's best interests. So, the Church and the king have a precarious relationship that's predicated on the ability of both to leverage wealth and power to protect their political interests.

What is an important topic featured in Spinelli's Stargirl?

One of the most important topics featured in Stargirl is whether people should conform to social expectation. 

Stargirl is a nonconformist at Mica Area High School.  Leo and the other students "did not know what to make of her."  Stargirl does not conform to any of their expectations.  Her uniqueness is not immediately understood. Her displays defy expectation.  For example, Stargirl incurs public scorn when she comforts an injured athlete from an opposing basketball team.  Her dress and quirky behaviors such as signing "Happy Birthday" at lunch are not enthusiastically received.  However, Stargirl is going to be herself.  She represents how people can be different if they have the courage to embrace this part of their identity.  There is a part of Leo that wants to do this. However, his actions show that he is not able to live a life based on nonconformity.  His lack of faith in himself leads him to reject Stargirl.

Leo's reflection about Stargirl shows that he regrets his embrace of conformity.  As the narrator, Leo does not reflect fondly on the people who  embodied the social landscape of Mica Area High School.  Rather, he reflects on Stargirl, the person who challenged social reality. Spinelli endorses the nonconformity topic on two levels. Stargirl's personality repudiates conformist notions of the good.  At the same time, Leo's fond reflection about Stargirl underscores the importance of challenging social conformity.

List of all difficult words from The Story of My Life by Helen Keller with their meanings.

Here are some vocabulary words that may be unfamiliar to some readers of The Story of My Life, though there may be other words as well:

• poignancy: the quality of calling forth sadness.


• untainted: not dirtied or sullied.


• tyranny: an oppressive form of government.


• retribution: punishment to avenge a wrongful deed.


• oculist: an eye doctor or ophthalmologist or optometrist. 


• langour: the state of feeling tired or exhausted. 


• idioms: turns of phrase, popular ways of expressing a concept or idea (such as "raining cats and dogs").


• vivid: having clear and lively images. 


• wily: deceitful. 


• portended: served as warning sign.


• repose: a state of rest or to rest.


• epigrams: short and clever sayings.

As you are reading through The Story of My Life, you should circle or otherwise note unfamiliar words and then look them up online or in a dictionary. This process not only helps you better understand the book, but it also helps you build your vocabulary.