What would be a major turning point in the beginning of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird?

A turning point in a story is the moment the rising action becomes falling action, leading to the story's resolution. The turning point is the most intense moment of the story, also called the climax. In the beginning of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, all action is still considered rising action. There are, however, two central plots in To Kill a Mockingbird, and it is in the middle of the book that one plot reaches its turning point, while the other does not reach its turning point until the end.

The main plot concerns the children's coming-of-age story. While Scout and Jem reach their greatest points of maturity in different parts of the book, it's not until the very end of the book that Scout, the main protagonist, reaches her greatest point of maturity; therefore, the turning point concerning the children's coming-of-age story does not occur until the end of the book. The second plot concerns Atticus's decision to defend Tom Robinson, a decision that significantly influences the children's maturity.

The turning point concerning Atticus's defense of Tom Robinson occurs in Chapter 22, at the trial, the moment Judge Taylor reads the jury's guilty verdict. Prior to that moment, the reader hopes as Jem hopes, which is that all circumstantial evidence Atticus revealed during the trial pointing to Robinson's innocence and Bob Ewell's guilt is enough to convince the jury. The evidence that is most damaging for the Ewells is the fact that Mayella had been bruised in her right eye by a left-handed man standing before her; Robinson is completely crippled in his left arm and hand, whereas Ewell is left-handed. Jem expresses his confidence that Robinson will be acquitted when he says to Reverend Sykes, " ... but don't you fret, we've won it ... . Don't see how any jury could convict on what we heard--" (Ch. 21). Yet, the jury returns with a guilty verdict, sealing Robinson's fate. While Atticus hopes there is a chance at appeal, all action upon hearing the verdict turns to falling action, culminating in the resolution of Robinson being killed attempting to escape prison, desperate to take matters of justice into his own hands. Since all action concerning Robinson's trial turns to falling action the moment we learn the verdict, we know this is the turning point or climax concerning this particular plot line within the story.

Are there any similarities between William Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth I, and Mary Queen of Scots?

All three lived during roughly the same period in Britain, although Shakespeare was born more than two decades after the birth of the two queens and survived into the rule of James I. All were influential, although Shakespeare was known primarily for his writing and the two queens for their actions as rulers. Elizabeth I was highly educated and wrote a small number of preserved poems as well as letters and speeches. All three were literate and Christian and would have known Latin as well as English.

Mary, Queen of Scots, or Mary Stuart, was born on 8 December 1542 and was executed on 8 February 1587. She reigned in Scotland from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567. She was a Roman Catholic and eventually executed by Elizabeth I for treason.

Elizabeth I was born on 7 September 1533 and died on 24 March 1603. She was a Protestant and reigned from 17 November 1558 until her natural death in 1603, a long and prosperous reign. 

William Shakespeare lived from 1564 to 23 April 1616. The evidence concerning his religion is limited, with some scholars arguing that he was Protestant and others for Catholicism. Unlike the two queens, he was not royal or even an aristocrat, but the son of a moderately prosperous middle class family.

In The Merchant of Venice, what reasons are given by Salarino and Salanio for Antonio's depressed state in Act 1, scene 1?

Antonio's two friends suggest a variety of reasons for his somber mood. A condition he, himself is at a loss to explain. He tells them at the beginning of the scene:

In sooth, I know not why I am so sad:
It wearies me; you say it wearies you;
But how I caught it, found it, or came by it,
What stuff 'tis made of, whereof it is born,
I am to learn;
And such a want-wit sadness makes of me,
That I have much ado to know myself.

He admits that his sadness is wearisome for both he and his friends but he does not understand why he feels as he does and that he is at sixes and sevens and needs to learn much about himself to understand his melancholy.

Salarino proposes that Antonio might be concerned about his merchandise at sea. Since he is a sea-merchant, he should surely be concerned about the vagaries of the oceans. Salanio adds that if he were in the same situation, he would be constantly anxious about the direction of the wind and that he would be so worried about every possible risk that, indeed, he would be sad as a result.

Salarino then continues in the same vein, stating that he would be apprehensive about every possible weather condition. He would want to know which way the wind blows or if there is a stillness at sea which could hamper a speedy journey. He would want to know whether there are dangerous rocks or shallow waters which might further impede the delivery of his obviously precious cargo. He asks a rhetorical question in which he expresses the idea that it would only be natural that if one is in such a state of bother that one would obviously be sad.  

Antonio, however, assures the two gentleman that it is definitely not his ventures at sea which worry him. He mentions that he is very fortunate in this regard since he has not invested his entire fortune in only one ship or one destination, but that he has a number of ships sailing to a variety of ports. He is confident that his ventures will be a success since he has not placed all his eggs in one basket.

Salarino then suggests that Antonio then might be in love but the merchant rejects the idea as nonsense. Salarino then cleverly and cryptically suggests that if Antonio is not in love either, then he must be sad because he is not happy. It is just as easy as it would be to say that he is laughing and jumping with joy because he is not sad. The suggestion is, of course, meaningless and is obviously an attempt to lighten Antonio's mood.

Salarino then alludes to Janus, the two-faced god and suggests that there are some people who have the strange nature of laughing at practically anything, whilst there are others who will remain sour and not even produce as much as a hint of a smile even though Nestor (a character from Greek mythology who was wont to give advice) would have said that there is much to laugh about if a joke had been told.

Antonio's discussion with the two indicates his naive confidence in destiny. He emphatically believes that fortune will smile in his favor. It is this belief that later drives him into freely signing a bond with extremely punitive conditions with the moneylender Shylock, as a favor to his friend and confidante, Bassanio. Central to this agreement is that Antonio will have to forfeit a pound of his flesh to Shylock if he should not meet the terms of the bond. Unfortunately, it later seems that Antonio might have tempted fate too much and things go horribly awry. But that is another story. 

Why can the components of a mixture keep their identities but those in a compound cannot?

"Keep their identities" is a vague concept, so let's try to be a bit clearer about what we're saying here. Components of a mixture keep their chemical composition, while components of a compound do not.

The reason for this is quite simple:

Mixtures are just a bunch of stuff put together in the same place. Their molecules have very weak bonds between them, just enough to keep them in their current solid, liquid, or gaseous state.

Compounds are substances made when different atoms or molecules chemically bond into larger molecules. They also have the intermolecular bonds holding them in their solid, liquid, or gaseous state, but they also have much stronger chemical bonds within their molecules.

Actions like stirring and filtering generally can separate mixtures, but not compounds, because they are not fine-grained enough to break the tight chemical bonds within the compound.

In "Aner Clute," a poem from Edgar Lee Masters's Spoon River Anthology, what hypothetical story does she tell?

The story of Aner Clute is the story of a woman whose reputation came undone due to a few bad choices. Her choices became known, which led to social opprobrium and, ultimately, ostracism. The hypothesis posed by this poem is, What would happen if people, particularly women, were allowed to err without being marked for life by one error in judgment? 

Aner's life is marked by simultaneous redundancy and instability:

Over and over they used to ask me,

While buying the wine or the beer,

In Peoria first, and later in Chicago,

Denver, Frisco, New York, wherever I lived. . .

Her buying of wine and beer is an allusion to her association with leisure. She started in a small town (Peoria), then goes on to larger cities, moving from one to another. The tone of the poem conveys world weariness because her use of the indefinite pronoun "wherever" expresses no attachment to any of these cities.

Everyone wonders "how [she] happened to lead the life, / And what was the start of it." They take a voyeuristic interest in her transgression, but no interest in her specifically, only the "start of it." 

She tells us how she explained her behavior.

Well, I told them a silk dress,

And a promise of marriage from a rich man--

(It was Lucius Atherton).

Lucius's poem directly succeeds Aner's in the anthology. His is the story of a vain playboy—a man who relied on his money and looks, though mostly his looks, to curry favor. He becomes a sad joke in old age. Unlike Aner, Lucius's flaw was not bad judgment, but a lack of self-awareness and wisdom.

She told others what they wanted to hear: that she was a woman easily fooled. She tells us, though, "that was not really it at all." She provides an allegory to explain what went wrong for her:

Suppose a boy steals an apple

From the tray at the grocery store,

And they begin to call him a thief,

The editor, minister, judge, and all the people—

"A thief," "a thief," "a thief," wherever he goes.

And he can't get work, and he can't get bread

Without stealing it, why the boy will steal.

It's the way the people regard the theft of the apple

That makes the boy what he is.

From Aner's telling, it is unclear whether or not she is an actual prostitute. She is clearly a woman who lives off of men. She embraced this lifestyle and its accompanying reputation because she could not escape it. She could not find work doing anything else because people would not allow her to do anything else, just like the boy who steals the apple in her story. Instead of lashing out and blaming her community for what she became, she allows them their myth of the "fallen woman." Their distant and disapproving regard for her, and whatever they believe her life to be, makes them feel good and righteous in comparison. This was her gift to Spoon River, and her burden.

What would be some good points to discuss in an essay on the theme "fair is foul and foul is fair" as it concerns Macbeth and Frankenstein?

Your general themes are appearance versus reality and good versus evil. Frankenstein and Macbeth approach these themes quite differently, so you might want to structure your essay to compare and contrast them.

Macbeth shows the transformation of an admirable character into an evil one through a combination of the blandishments of the three weird sisters and his own ambition. Over the course of the play, Macbeth degenerates from a "fair" hero whose ambition, bravery, and energy have caused him to be a powerful and admired supporter of King Duncan into a "foul" tyrant and murderer. Although Macbeth himself changes over the course of the play, readers are not asked to think about the nature of our own moral judgments. We are expected to share a moral stance that regards murder and treachery as evil. In the play, fair becomes foul and Macbeth's own perceptions distort.

In Frankenstein, we are confronted with the dilemma of whether, our perception of fair, as seen in the educated European Victor, and foul, as exemplified by the monster, should be reversed. We need to consider whether the fair and civilized scientist is in fact more foul than his monster, who appears hideous on the surface, but is really as much a mistreated innocent as a source of evil. The novel also asks us to question whether we should blame mistreated outcasts for lashing out at society or whether the society that has mistreated them is really the "foul" entity that is morally culpable.

Why were vertical integration and horizontal integration so significant?

Vertical integration allowed a company to control the businesses related to supplying the product for that business. For example, Andrew Carnegie developed vertical integration related to his steel company so that he also controlled mines from which he could extract iron, and he bought railroads on which to transport his steel. This made his process cheaper, and it allowed him to develop an even vaster monopoly. Today, Apple practices vertical integration, as it controls many processes related to producing and selling its products, including retail stores. 

Horizontal integration refers to the process of controlling an entire industry at the same point in the supply chain. For example, today, many media companies own television, radio, print, and internet companies. This allows them to repackage content for different media without needing to gather it again. Both of these processes were significant because they fostered the increased growth of monopolies during the Gilded Age in American history, leading to great power concentrated in the hands of a few business owners. 

What is a theme of Helen Keller's The Story of My Life?

One theme of Helen Keller's The Story of My Life is perseverance. Despite being disadvantaged by her blindness and deafness and frustrated by the limitations of her sign language, Keller maintains her memories of speech and works to regain her ability to communicate effectively. Even after learning how to communicate with her teacher, Miss Sullivan, and read Braille, Keller is determined to regain her ability to speak and works toward it until she accomplishes her goal. As an adult, Keller decides to attend Radcliffe College, which was not specifically for blind or deaf students. She perseveres through the difficulties of attending a college unequipped to accommodate her. Keller ultimately graduates with honors. Throughout the book, Keller perseveres through the limitations of being blind and deaf and manages to accomplish her goals of communicating, regaining speech, and attending college through hard work and dedication.

According to your reading in Literary Criticism, Bressler notes that “Marx believed that the history of a people is directly based on the...

In Marxist theory, the economic base consists of the relationship between the producers and the laborers (essentially the employer-employee relationship). The superstructure, on the other hand, consists of the society's culture and governmental power players. Depending on which Marxist perspective we look at, the economic base can influence the superstructure and vice versa.

In Le Guin's novel, despite his Marxist Anarresti views, Shevek is still shocked by the Urrasti economic system. Essentially, in Urras, the power players or ruling elite exist in a world wholly separate from that inhabited by the working classes. The working classes are the dispossessed; their talents are used and exploited by the producers for material gain. Because society is so stratified on Urras, individual citizens often experience alienation within their own culture. On the other hand, in Anarres, citizens co-exist on an egalitarian basis; the practice of mutual reliance and tolerance (at least on the surface) largely powers Anarresti existence on a daily basis.

For his part, Shevek is shocked by the sterilized detachment that characterizes the Urrasti economic system. In Anarres, the practice of interdependence fosters an atmosphere of camaraderie and trust. However, in Urras, Shevek learns that he must keep to himself and learn to distrust those around him. Interestingly, alienated as he is by the culture of "human solidarity" and "mutual aid" in Anarres, Shevek finds himself equally alienated from a culture that trusts no one (as is the case in Urras). Despite his own predilections and inclinations, Shevek finds it difficult to accept the degree of mutual aggression and detachment needed to thrive in a competitive society like Urras.

Meanwhile, the Urrasti superstructure reinforces its hegemony by supporting and maintaining the divide between the producers and the working classes. The power players in the economic sphere are essentially the buyers and the sellers. Shevek notes that the workers who produce the items are systematically erased from public consideration:

The strangest thing about the nightmare street was that none of the millions of things for sale were made there. They were only sold there. Where were the workshops, the factories, where were the farmers, the craftsmen, the miners, the weavers, the chemists, the carvers, the dyers, the designers, the machinists, where were the hands, the people who made? Out of sight, somewhere else. Behind walls. All the people in all the shops were either buyers or sellers. They had no relation to the things but that of possession.

The people he sees on the streets demonstrate disturbing attitudes of impatience and angst. The main concern of everyone seems to be to earn enough to maintain life at subsistence levels. Shevek finds it difficult to accept the surface pleasantries "propertarians" subject their customers to during the course of commercial business; it seems obnoxiously hypocritical to him. He wonders how polite an Urrasti shopkeeper would have been "if he had come in as an Anarresti came in to a goods depository: to take what he wanted, nod to the registrar, and walk out."

Essentially, the superstructure is able to maintain its relevance and hegemonic influence through maintaining its ruling elite's elevated social status as well as reinforcing consuming distrust and latent animosity among its working populace (the dispossessed). With their consuming interest being the need to survive, the working populace has little interest in confronting the superstructure that presides over them.

What are some examples of imagery in Chapter 4 of The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros?

In Chapter 4, "My Name," Esperanza says her name is "a muddy color" (10). This is an example of imagery, providing visual images or other sensory details to describe something. Another example of imagery is Esperanza's comparison of her name to "the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing" (10). This example of imagery uses the sensory details of the sound of a song to describe the sadness of Esperanza's name. Later, Esperanza says, "At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth" (11). She adds, "But in Spanish my name is made out of a softer something, like silver" (11). These two sentences are also examples of imagery, as they use sensory details, such as the sound and feeling of tin and the softer feeling of silver, to describe Esperanza's name.  

What do you think Nick felt he had to warn Gatsby about?

At the beginning of Chapter VIII, the night after the accident that killed Myrtle Wilson, Nick feels he needs to warn Gatsby about the probability that he'll be blamed for Myrtle's death. He actually tries to go to sleep, but when he feels as though morning will be too late, he goes over to Gatsby's house and finds him still up, having just returned from his vigil outside Daisy's house. Nick tells him "to go away" because "It's pretty certain [the police] will trace [his] car." Gatsby won't even consider leaving now, and tells Nick the entire story of his and Daisy's past relationship and what happened between them. Nick tries to encourage him to leave town, to go to Atlantic City or even Canada, but to no avail. 

According to Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond, how do our assumptions about the transition from hunter gatherers to farming differ from...

The answer to this question can be found in Chapter 5 of Guns, Germs, and Steel.  There, Diamond discusses a number of ways in which this transition differed from our assumptions.

First, Diamond says that farming would not necessarily have been better than hunting and gathering.  We tend to assume that farming is much easier than hunting and gathering, but that is because few of us farm, and even our farmers do not have lives as hard as early farmers would have.  Diamond says (on p. 104 and 105) that “most peasant farmers and herders … aren't necessarily better off than hunter-gatherers.”  This goes against our assumptions.

Second, Diamond says (on p. 105) that we assume that farming was discovered or invented all at once.  We believe that people figured out how to farm and decided to do so.  According to Diamond, this is incorrect.  Instead, hunter gatherers gradually did new things that slowly evolved to the point where they found themselves farming.  They did not consciously decide to start farming and they did not transition to farming all at once.  It was a slow evolution that they probably did not really even notice all that much.

Third, on p. 106, Diamond says that we assume that there is “necessarily a sharp divide between nomadic hunter-gatherers and sedentary food producers.”  Again, Diamond says this is not true.  Instead, he argues that many societies are or have been hybrids.  There have been sedentary hunter gatherers and there have been nomadic farmers.  These are not clear cut boxes that we can put societies into.  Instead, there can be many different economic systems with various mixes of farming and hunting and gathering.

In these ways, Diamond says, the transition to farming did not really happen in the way that we think it did.

What is Gregor's goal in life?

Gregor's goal is to finish paying off his parents' debt so that he can take charge of his own miserable life and try to find a way to be happy. He considers the other traveling salesmen who are, for some reason, able to enjoy a hearty breakfast when he's expected to be working all the time. He thinks that he'd love to sit and eat such a breakfast right in front of his boss. Gregor promises himself, "once I've got the money together to pay off my parents' debt to [my boss] -- another five or six years I suppose -- that's definitely what I'll do. That's when I'll make the big change.'" He vows to walk up to his boss and quit on the spot. He wants to take control of his life because, as it is now, he has no time for fun or relationships or anything that really seems to make life worth living. Even the picture he has framed in his bedroom is one of a beautiful woman that he cut out of a magazine. Gregor's goal, then, is to get a life, something he expects to do once he's paid off his folks' debt.

Why is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens a bildungsroman novel?

A bildungsroman is often called a coming-of-age novel because it is usually a story about the mental and moral growth of a young person into adulthood. Great Expectations is definitely a bildungsroman because it is mainly concerned about the experiences that form Pip's character until he is twenty-three. The novel begins when he is ten years old and meets the escaped convict in the churchyard. The climax is in Chapter XXXIX when Pip is twenty-three years old and meets that same convict again. During these thirteen years, Pip has become a London gentleman. There has been some improvement in his character because he has worked assiduously to educate himself. An illiterate working boy in Chapter I, Pip now he has the manners of a gentleman. His early years as the foster son of an honest working man give him a moral foundation unknown to the typical London gentleman. Pip is the narrator of the entire novel, and it is credible he has the ability to write a novel like Great Expectations and that his extensive reading gave him taste, values, and understanding. Unfortunately, Pip's acquired understanding and sensitivity make him realize that, like many gentlemen and ladies, he has also become a fop and a parasite. He didn't mind that so much when he thought Miss Havisham was his secret patron and that he would be able to marry Estelle, but his world collapses when he finds out his patron was Abel Magwitch, the escaped convict, who supported Pip and now feels he owns him. Pip has not become a true gentleman, just Magwitch's idea of a gentleman. This discovery is part of the bildungsroman. Pip's decision to stay with Magwitch and help him escape from England is the culmination of his coming of age. In the end, Pip achieves maturity, humility, self-reliance, and an understanding of himself and humanity. One of the important things Pip finally comes to understand is that fine gentlemen and ladies are sustained by the humble working men and women of this world.

What is the plot of the novel Three Men in a Boat?

Three Men in a Boat has a simple plot as its foundation. Three friends decide that they need to take a trip to improve their mental and physical health, collectively. They choose to travel along the River Thames in southern England. We follow their planning and packing processes, and then accompany the men and their dog on the journey itself. We are told the story in first person by a narrator who is referred to as “J.” He tends to be reminded of other stories by just about any activity or scene that comes his way; and so he often digresses from the main topic in each one of the 19 chapters. Although the trip is based loosely on actual outings that author Jerome K. Jerome took along the Thames, this book is a work of fiction, and not a strict memoir or a travel guide. River trips became popular in England in the late 1800s. Jerome was therefore writing about a fad when this book first came out in 1889. Its appearance helped to further promote such adventures.

Why does Conan Doyle entitle the story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"?

The key to the solution of the mystery of Julia Stoner's death is the poisonous snake which Dr. Roylott sent through the ventilator between their rooms and had trained to come back up the bell-rope and through the ventilator when he blew on a whistle. The author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, obviously did not want, to use the word "snake," however, especially in his title. That would have given everything away. The big question in this "locked room murder mystery" is: How could a girl be murdered when she is sleeping inside a room with the door locked and the window sealed by iron shutters? Doyle coined the term "speckled band" to avoid using the word "snake" in the title and in the text. In fact, the word "snake" is only used near the very end.

“It is a swamp adder!” cried Holmes; “the deadliest snake in India."

"The discovery that this was a dummy, and that the bed was clamped to the floor, instantly gave rise to the suspicion that the rope was there as a bridge for something passing through the hole and coming to the bed. The idea of a snake instantly occurred to me, and when I coupled it with my knowledge that the doctor was furnished with a supply of creatures from India, I felt that I was probably on the right track." 

Julia Stoner must have seen the snake that bit her and caused her to die in agony in her sister Helen's arms. But Julia was dying, and her speech was incoherent. Instead of using the word "snake," she told her sister:

‘Oh, my God! Helen! It was the band! The speckled band!’ 

The term "speckled band" not only enables the author to avoid using the word "snake" but it serves as a red herring to keep the reader guessing. Dr. Roylott is obviously the prime suspect, but there seems to be a possibility that the "band" of gipsies may have been somehow responsible for Julia's death. The "band" of gipsies still spends some time on the land around Stoke Moran, so they might conceivably have some reason for wanting to kill Helen Stoner too. Dr. Roylott might still be involved, but he might have hired the gipsies to do his killing for him. The mystery is not completely resolved until Holmes and Watson hide in Helen's room and Holmes drives the snake back through the ventilator by whipping it with his cane.

Holmes confesses his mistake to his friend Watson near the end of the tale:

“I had,” said he, “come to an entirely erroneous conclusion which shows, my dear Watson, how dangerous it always is to reason from insufficient data. The presence of the gipsies, and the use of the word ‘band,’ which was used by the poor girl, no doubt, to explain the appearance which she had caught a hurried glimpse of by the light of her match, were sufficient to put me upon an entirely wrong scent.

How do modern politics and the political system impact the government's ability to serve its citizens?

The primary responsibility of a government is to provide for the safety and well-being of its citizens.

Different parties have different beliefs about how to accomplish those goals. The more unified and cooperative a political system is, the more it can accomplish. Sometimes, however, the political process gets in its own way, which can lead to problems for citizens.

We have seen several very good examples of this kind of political dysfunction in recent years with the budget struggles between the two chambers of congress and the president.

In 2015 Congress could not agree on a budget so the government had to shut down for awhile. In 2014 it also shut down when the Affordable Care Act led to conflicts that temporarily prevented passage of that year's budget. This has also happened in the deeper past—Ronald Reagan once vetoed a budget that didn't contain the tax cuts he wanted, leading to a shutdown in the 1980s. These shutdowns were not a disaster, but they did lead to the disruption of some services for some citizens. They occurred because the Republicans and Democrats could not reach an agreement without first pushing their debate as far as it could possibly go.

Most politicians and news analysts feel that these kinds of party showdowns happen more often these days. Supposedly the opposing parties used to be more cooperative in the interest of getting things done. With the fragmenting of voters' political allegiances has come a degree of political gridlock that makes it tough to get things done sometimes.

We also see problems with local governments when public employees, like sanitation workers or teachers, go on strike. This usually happens when the workers are dissatisfied with their pay or benefits. Sometimes it's the fault of whatever party is in power in that area at that time, but sometimes the workers' dissatisfaction builds up over time, and probably across administrations of both parties. The problem with the political process in this situation is how to balance the public's desire for low taxes with their employees' desire for good working conditions.

Sometimes government services do not appear to be equally distributed. In education, for example, school districts in poor areas generally have to make do with less—less money, fewer supplies, less qualified teachers, less motivated students. This is because much of education is funded through local property taxes, which are generated at a higher rate in affluent areas. While this aspect of the political system allows for local control of education, it also makes it more difficult for poorer areas to rise out of poverty. It is both an economic issue and a political one, since politicians could, if they chose, find a way to allocate funds equally.

In a democracy filled with diverse political groups, inequities and conflicts are going to arise. Parties want to solve these problems in different ways. These differences can, and often do, lead to inaction or marginally effective action by governments.

How do you put the copyright information into MLA format?

MLA or Modern Language Association format is a style of formatting and source citation that is usually used when writing papers within the humanities and liberal arts disciplines, such as literature, philosophy, and the like. MLA provides guidelines that are regularly updated, on issues such as margin size, spacing, source citation, and bibliographic information. When listing the works cited or bibliographic source information for a paper that you are writing, all of those sources should be listed on a separate page under the title “Works Cited.” The title “Works Cited” should not be in quotes or italics and should be centered at the top of the page. Specific information from the particular edition of the book cited in the paper will be needed to write each works cited entry. The proper format for listing bibliographic information for a book with one author is this:

Last name, First name of author. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

When citing To Kill a Mockingbird, your bibliographic entry should look like this (depending on your edition of the book, of course):

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Harper Collins, 1960. Print.    

For more information about MLA style and how to cite other types of sources, see the Purdue Owl website.

What is the 10,000-Hour Rule? What is the main claim of the chapters problematizing the concept of genius?

Malcolm Gladwell discusses this concept in the second chapter of Outliers. Even people who appear to have innate talent have to practice or work at their crafts for a long time in order to become proficient. It turns out that 10,000 hours is the amount you will need to put in to become an expert. According to neurologist Daniel Levitin, “It seems that it takes the brain this long to assimilate all that it needs to know to achieve true mastery.” Other attributes will no doubt factor into the person’s success as well.

The whole premise of Outliers is to debunk the stereotypical myth of the person who comes from nothing to claw his or her way up to the top of the field. The most successful people, even “geniuses,” are not just smart or talented. They don’t just put in the hours. They also often have cultural, historical, or linguistic advantages. Some of these are hidden and beneficial circumstances that they (and we) may not have even been aware of—until Gladwell brought the relevant research together for this book.

Were working conditions a significant issue in organizing Pullman car porters?

This question, I assume, refers to the time in the 1920s, when African American porters on Pullman cars (sleeping cars on trains) tried to create a union.  Their effort to unionize was led by a man named A. Philip Randolph.  Working conditions were one of the issues that drove the porters’ desire to organize and form a union.

Sleeping car porters were all African American.  The passengers who they served were almost all white.  The black porters were treated very poorly by the Pullman Company.  They were not paid much, as they were expected to make money on tips.  They were not allowed to move up and become conductors.  They had to pay if their passengers stole items from their compartments.  They had to pay for their own food and uniforms.  They had to spend a good deal of time working without pay to prepare the trains before trips and to clean them after.  All of these things angered the porters greatly and made them want to organize. 

How is "The Tiger in the Tunnel" by Ruskin Bond a story of the extraordinary courage of an ordinary watchman?

The Tiger in the Tunnel is a story of extraordinary courage because it depicts the strength of human resolve in the face of extreme odds.

In the story, Baldeo is the night watchman at the signal station; his job is to light the signal lamp and to make sure that there are no obstructions in the tunnel to endanger the safe passage of the night train. Baldeo courageously performs his tasks without fear, despite the presence of dangerous predators in the surrounding countryside.

Fearlessly, he ignores the rumors about a famous tunnel tiger, confident that he can rely on his trusty axe to defend himself. When he is eventually faced with the forbidding animal, Baldeo does not shrink from the task at hand. The author makes clear that the tiger is swifter on foot and far stronger; he depicts Baldeo as "puny" compared to the mighty animal. Yet, the author also describes Baldeo's determination to fight the tiger to the death, despite the incredible odds against him. In the end, despite Baldeo's brave stand, the tiger kills him. It is this indomitable courage in the face of terrible odds that makes The Tiger in the Tunnel a story of the extraordinary courage of an ordinary watchman.

Where Helen Keller's family lived, there were no resources for the blind and the deaf. Where did Helen's parents take her to see a famous eye doctor?

In Chapter III, Keller writes that her father heard about a famous doctor named Dr. Chisholm in Baltimore and took her to see him in the summer of 1886. The doctor, who was an oculist, said he could not help, but that he knew that Keller could be educated. He sent the family to Dr. Alexander Graham Bell in Washington, D.C. for a referral to a school. Keller's father felt disappointed with Dr. Chisholm's message but brought his daughter to Washington to see Alexander Graham Bell. Bell then referred the family to Mr. Anagnos, who is the director of the Perkins Institution, a school for the blind in Boston. Helen Keller's father wrote to the Perkins Institution, and they sent a teacher, Anne Sullivan, to teach Keller at her house in March of 1887. This is the beginning of her education. 

In "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury, how did the kids misbehave?

The children, Peter and Wendy, generally misbehave in a manner that we would expect; they act contrary to their parent's wishes when they aren't being directly observed, deflect blame, and then complain when they receive a punishment. Their key "misbehavior," if it can be called that, is the fact that they lock their parents in the nursery at the end of the story and allow them to be consumed by lions. Furthermore, this is foreshadowed throughout the story, such as when Peter and Wendy's parents hear screams and discover their personal items in the nursery, in retrospect obviously having been mauled by the lions; we are meant to understand the children used the nursery to visualize, in graphic detail, their parents being murdered, which is arguably a much more severe misbehavior than lying or whining.

The first misbehavior we can be fairly certain of is Peter manipulating the nursery so it no longer accepts commands from adults. This is not actually evident until the end of the story, although evidence for it accumulates throughout. Second, Wendy is suspected to have changed the settings of the nursery in order to deflect suspicion. Finally, the tantrum the children throw when their father finally shuts the nursery off is a remarkable reflection of the earlier statement, that the children live for the nursery; indeed, it seems to be the only thing they care about, more so than even their own parents.

What is the role of money and gold in the life of Silas in the book Silas Marner?

Gold and money are the substitutes for love and companionship in the life of Silas Marner.

Silas was once a relatively happy man. He was well-known in his town of Lantern Yard, had a strong standing in his church, was engaged to be married, and enjoyed his life fully

His life, before he came to Raveloe, had been filled with the movement, the mental activity, and the close fellowship, which, in that day as in this, marked the life of an artisan early incorporated in a narrow religious sect.

Then, tragedy struck. Silas was framed by his so-called best friend, William Dane, and accused of robbery. The sadness that accompanied the accusation was made worse when Dane also takes Marner's fiancée from him, prompting Silas to leave town a broken man.

Once in Raveloe, he discovers that the grief of the events of Lantern Yard were superficially soothed by working long hours and collecting the fruits of his labor. To Silas, money was not as important in Lantern Yard. He used it for the typical comforts of any citizen who works for a living. Since none of the daily happenings that filled his life existed anymore, however, money and gold became the substitutes of love and companionship that he really missed so much.

Chapter 2 tells us as much when it asks the question of what the guineas really meant to Silas.

It was pleasant to him to feel them in his palm, and look at their bright faces, which were all his own: it was another element of life, like the weaving and the satisfaction of hunger, subsisting quite aloof from the life of belief and love from which he had been cut off.

This is the evidence that money and gold were essentially substitutes of joy in the new life of Silas, one which was lonely and lacked the velocity of his life in Lantern Yard.

For twenty years, mysterious money had stood to him as the symbol of earthly good, and the immediate object of toil. He had seemed to love it little in the years when every penny had its purpose for him; for he loved the purpose then.

Hence, the former "purpose" that propelled Silas to live day by day is no longer there, and he needs a way to make up for the emptiness he feels in his life.

Finally, notice how money and gold also seem to move Silas away from his gloomy depression—or at least that is what he thinks. In a metaphorical way, Eliot explains that the money and gold shine in the darkness. This is an allusion to the state of mind of Silas, and of the false sense of joy that these material possessions bring him. 

Silas walked homeward across the fields in the twilight, he drew out the money and thought it was brighter in the gathering gloom.

Who claims to be the founder of Pip's fortune in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens?

In Chapter 58, after Pip has lost all his money, he goes back to his old neighborhood and stays at the Blue Boar. There, he finds Mr. Pumblechook, who wants Pip to go to Joseph and tell him, "Joseph, I have day seen my earliest benefactor and the founder of my fortun's [sic]" (476). Mr. Pumblechook has long believed he was responsible for helping Pip come into a fortune because he was the person who brought Pip to Miss Havisham's house when Pip was young. Mr. Pumblechook thinks Miss Havisham was Pip's benefactress and does not realize that it was actually the convict Magwitch. It is very "Pumblechookian," which is the adjective Dickens uses to describe Mr. Pumblechook, for Mr. Pumblechook to take credit for things that he did not do, as he is arrogant and condescending. 

How would you characterize the essential differences between the Kowalskis' and the DuBois's worlds in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire?

The sharp contrasts between the Kowalski and DuBois worlds comprise the central conflict in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire. While Blanche DuBois has cultivated a careful facade of refined sophistication and old-world charm that masks her sordid personal history, Stanley Kowalski lives a grittier, blue-collar existence. Even the difference in their last names sums up the type of world to which each belongs: DuBois connotes the aristocracy whereas Kowalski is a Polish name that, in this context, connotes a working class background.

In her first appearance, Blanche wears "a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and hat, looking as if she were arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party in the garden district," reflecting her desire to appear of good breeding and wealth. However, Blanche's manicured appearance hides a deep insecurity about her fading beauty and prospects of upward mobility, as well as her past sexual indiscretions and drinking problem; believing marriage to be her best chance at salvation, she has crafted the outward manifestation of an ideal "catch."

In contrast, Stanley is described as "roughly dressed in blue denim work clothes," reflecting his lack of pretension. He easily sees through Blanche's deceptions and fundamentally rejects her insinuations that she is socially and intellectually superior to him because of her aristocratic heritage. However, in spite of his perceptiveness, Stanley is an animalistic, cruel character who beats his wife, ultimately rapes Blanche, and feels entitled to be chauvinistic and domineering; he acts instinctually and without remorse. He thus represents the opposite behavioral extreme to Blanche's surface delicacy and refinement. Their worlds are diametrically opposed and incapable of coexisting, and in the end, Blanche succumbs to Stanley's sadistic orchestration of her downfall.

The distance between the object and the eyepiece of a compound microscope is 25.0 cm. The focal length of its objective lens is 0.200 cm and the...

In the problem, the near point of the person using the microscope is 25 cm. And the object is located 25 cm from the eyepiece.

Since the object is located at the near point, the angular magnification is at its maximum.

The formula of maximum angular magnification of a lens is:

`m_(max) = 1 + 25/f`

where f is the focal length of the lens.

Since the focal length of the eyepiece is 2.60cm, plug-in f=2.60.

`m_(max) = 1 +25/2.60`

`m_(max)=10.6`

Therefore, the maximum angular magnification of the eyepiece is 10.6 .

Who is Mr. Keptor in Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl?

Mr. Keptor was Anne Frank's teacher before she and her family went into hiding in the Annex.  Mr. Keptor thought that Anne talked too much in class.  He assigned a composition for her to write as punishment.  This composition was to be called 'Quack, Quack, Quack, Says Mrs. Natterbeak.'

Anne decided to put a great deal of effort into creating this composition.  She decided that she wanted to write it as poetry.  She sought help from a friend, who had skill in writing poetry.  In the end, the poem was a funny one about a family with a duck as a mother and a swan as a father.  In the poem, "the baby ducklings were bitten to death by Father because they chattered too much"  (The Diary of Anne Frank). This was supposed to symbolize Mr. Keptor punishing Anne for talking too much in class.

When Mr. Keptor read Anne's composition, he was amused.  He was not at all offended, and saw it as a joke.  After this, he let Anne talk in class without assigning her any extra work for it.  He also referenced her poem on occasion.

How would you design an experiment to demonstrate the first law of reflection of light?

The first law of reflection says simply that the angle of the incident ray and the reflected ray are always the same, `theta_I = theta_R` .

To show this experimentally, we need three things: a laser, to give us well-defined incident rays of light, a mirror, to reflect off of, and some form of sensors or detectors that allow us to measure the angles.

Then, we point the laser at the mirror at various known angles, `theta_I` , and measure the angle of the light that comes off the mirror, `theta_R` . We can't actually see the rays, but we can measure where the light hits our detectors and extrapolate what the rays must have been, thereby determining the angle. (We could also put this whole apparatus in a cloud chamber and almost actually see the rays — what's really happening is we've essentially set up millions of detectors right in a row.)

If the first law of reflection is right (and it is), the reflected ray and the incident ray should have the exact same angle, within the margin of error of our experimental setup. In fact, this law is so thoroughly empirically supported that if we don't get that result, we can basically be sure there is something wrong with our experimental setup, and have no reason to actually doubt the first law of reflection.

What are some universal lessons learned from Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal?

Two lessons emerging from Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal relate to consumer vigilance.

Schlosser's work is designed to raise public awareness about "the All-American meal."  He does this in two distinct ways.  The first is in his display of the food preparation process.  An important lesson emerges through displaying situations like livestock care, health and safety issues, and the presence of chemical additives.  As consumers, we must be aware of what fast food corporations are doing in the name of profit to the food we eat:

The medical literature on the causes of food poisoning is full of euphemisms and dry scientific terms: coliform levels, aerobic plate counts, sorbitol, MacConkey agar, and so on. Behind them lies a simple explanation for why eating a hamburger can now make you seriously ill: There is s**t in the meat.

Schlosser demonstrates why it is so important to hold corporations responsible for the food products they generate.  There is a public health concern when we think about the mass consumption of such food.  For example, the "Happy Meal" cheerful packaging belies the chemicals used to prepare its food.  Children eating such products are unaware of the dangers.  When the most vulnerable of our society is at risk, the lesson is that consumers must be vigilant.  Consumers must be aware of food preparation practices that do not meet stringent health and safety standards. The public must hold corporations accountable for not meeting these standards.  After reading Schlosser's work, it is clear that simply trusting fast food corporations could be dangerous to our collective health.

Along these lines, Schlosser's work illuminates another lesson.  The world is no longer defined by political ideologies as much as it is defined by a globalized economic reality.  This materialist reality is far more insidious:

The history of the twentieth century was dominated by the struggle against totalitarian systems of state power. The twenty-first will no doubt be marked by a struggle to curtail excessive corporate power.

Schlosser suggests that we should be more mindful of the influence that corporations have in our world.  It impacts our lives on nearly every level. Schlosser's work details how millions of lives are changed as a result of corporate influence and power.  One of the most important lessons regarding this reality is that we need to be mindful of the excesses of corporate power. Public sector initiatives to safeguard public health and safety need to be developed and maintained.  Consumers and governments must ensure that corporations follow established rules.  Blind faith in corporations does not benefit consumers.  The need to carve out a public space where the abuse of corporate power can be effectively checked is one of the most important lessons from Schlosser's work.

How would you paraphrase "The Slave's Dream" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow?

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “The Slave’s Dream” paints the picture of an exhausted slave resting on the ground of a rice field with his “sickle” in his hand, his work unfinished. His head has been in the same place so long, his hair is covered by the sand of the field, which is a symbol for death encroaching on him. As he lays near death, he dreams of his life in his homeland before he became enslaved. His life flashes before him one final time.

When the author describes the Niger River flowing through the land, the reader learns the dying man’s homeland is Africa. The line “Once more a king he strode” indicates he was a leader in his former life before he became a slave. In his subconscious state, he hears the sounds of the “tinkling caravans” as they travel through his homeland.

As the poem progresses, he sees a woman, his “queen,” with his children who adore him. They hold him in great esteem by holding his hand, kissing him, and clutching his neck. This brings the dying man to tears. Although he is dreaming, the tears escape his eyes and flow to the ground around his head.

 He saw once more his dark-eyed queen

 Among her children stand;

The dream continues with him riding his horse with purpose and exhilaration. He carries his warrior’s sword as he guides his horse with “golden chains as bridle-reins.” The beautiful sight of flamingos in flight fills his view as he rides across the land to the sea.

Before him, like a blood-red flag,

The bright flamingoes flew;

The auditory imagery of the next stanza indicates what he is hearing in his dream. He hears cries of the animals, and hears himself thrashing through reeds along the river. Longfellow describes the scene as one of freedom and triumph with the “glorious roll of drums.” This tone of the slave’s dream continues with his dreams of being free. He experiences the sights and sounds of the forests and desert of his homeland. His subconscious thoughts bring a smile to his face.

And the Blast of the Desert cried aloud,

With a voice so wild and free,

That he started in his sleep and smiled

At their tempestuous glee.

Finally, he dies and no longer feels the constraints of slavery. Although he died a broken man, his soul is finally free.

For Death had illumined the Land of Sleep,

And his lifeless body lay

A worn-out fetter, that the soul

Had broken and thrown away!

Read The Story of My Life and answer the following questions: i. Helen had a great strength and courage which helped her come...

I will address one of your questions and give you some insight on where to find answers to your other four.  In the future, it is best to ask multiple questions separately when using Homework Help on .  

Question 5:  

Martha Washington was the daughter of the Keller family's cook.  Martha was Helen's closest friend before Miss Sullivan came.  The girl learned Helen's crude signs.  Unfortunately, Helen bossed Martha Washington around.  Martha was usually submissive to Helen's domineering ways.  Helen later described how this made her feel:

It pleased me to domineer over [Martha Washington], and she generally submitted to my tyranny rather than risk a hand-to-hand encounter (The Story of My Life, Chapter II).

The two girls enjoyed being in the kitchen, where they did everything from preparing ice cream to grinding coffee beans.  Sometimes they played outside, where they searched for eggs.

Helen and Martha Washington sometimes got into trouble.  One day, they were cutting out paper dolls with scissors.  Soon they began cutting other things.  Helen decided to cut some of Martha's hair.  Martha did the same to Helen.

You will find information to answer your first question in chapters 4-9.  You can find out about Helen and Miss Sullivan's relationship throughout most of the book.  It evolved from teacher to companion over the years.  You will also find information for the pen portrait throughout the book.  Helen's relationship with her sister changed over time.  You will find several examples of it throughout the book.

Why is Shakespeare the greatest writer of all time?

The first point one should make is that there is absolutely no way to prove this claim. There have been many great and influential writers across a wide range of periods and cultures, and there is really no way to measure who is the "greatest." To say Shakespeare is somehow objectively "greater" than Homer, Basho, Lady Murasaki Shikibu, Dante, Sophocles, Tolstoy, or the anonymous author of the Epic of Sundiata is to make a claim that one cannot really support without being narrowly ethnocentric.

What one can actually claim is that Shakespeare is one of the most innovative and influential figures in English literature. He was important for the development of two genres, poetry and drama. In drama, he was a pioneer of the "mixed" drama which blended comic and tragic elements, often by the introduction of "rustics" or "mechanicals" into a drama otherwise dealing with the travails of noble characters. He also is generally credited with inventing the device of the quarreling lovers (such as Beatrice and Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing). Many of Shakespeare's phrases have become part of the common currency of the English language. He was also quite important for his contributions to the evolution of the English sonnet. 

How did Coraline's journey redefine her concept of "home"?

Coraline's journey makes her realize the importance of home.

Coraline recognizes that "home" has limitations. Coraline's mother shows love for her, but has no time for her. While her father is good to her, the food he makes is not to her liking. A combination of curiosity and restlessness compels Coraline to unlock the door into the world of Other Mother and Other Father. Coraline finds herself entranced by Other Mother's love for her and Other Father's sense of humor. As the toys come alive, Coraline revels in how this setting contains everything that her real world lacks.

Over time, Coraline realizes the dangers beneath this alluring vision. She understands Other Mother's desire for control. Like so much of this world, she recognizes that Other Father is merely a part of Other Mother's plan. Coraline realizes she will be trapped if she stays. As a result, she recognizes the need to get back home.

Coraline understands that a flawed home is better than the world of Other Mother. Imperfection is better than imprisonment. Having buttons sewn on her eyes and becoming another member of the mournful parade of ghost children is no way to live. Coraline's aching to go back home helps her redefine it. She understands its real value. Ultimately, while it might not be perfect, home is where Coraline can be free.

What is the conflict and how is it resolved in The Call of the Wild by Jack London?

There are several conflicts in the book, but the main conflict is that Buck is kidnapped and held against his will.  It is resolved when he is rescued by John Thornton.  When John Thornton dies, Buck eventually joins the wild. 

At the judge’s home, Buck lived a life of luxury.  He was very happy because he had everything he needed and was never mistreated.  He was not really a working dog.  He sometimes accompanied the judge’s kids hunting, but that was it.  Then one day one of the judge’s employees walked him off, and he never saw home again. 

Buck was mistreated by most of the people he met.  These were various character vs. character conflicts.  Buck vs. Manuel (his kidnapper) was one conflict.  Buck vs. the man in the red sweater, who broke him, was another.  Buck vs. Perrault and François, the sled team drivers, was the next.  Buck’s worst conflict was with the incompetent group of sled drivers that consisted of Mercedes, Hal, and Charles.  With them he met neglect and abuse.  They did not know what they were doing. 

 In the nature of Arctic travel there was a reason why fourteen dogs should not drag one sled, and that was that one sled could not carry the food for fourteen dogs. But Charles and Hal did not know this. (Ch. 5) 

This group nearly got Buck killed, and they did get themselves and the others killed.  John Thornton rescued Buck.  They were beating Buck for resisting.  He was so exhausted he could not continue, and on some level he refused to let these people force him to pull the sled to his own death.  The people really had no clue, but Buck had instincts.  He was tired and hurt, but he was a strong dog.  He was more valuable to John Thornton than the people.

John Thornton stood over Buck, struggling to control himself, too convulsed with rage to speak.

"If you strike that dog again, I'll kill you," he at last managed to say in a choking voice. (Ch. 5) 

Ultimately, Buck does end up hearing and answering the call of the wild.  He joins the wolves, but only after he loses John Thornton.  He loved John Thornton, because he was the only human who ever loved him.  In the wild, Buck lives by instinct.

In Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, how does Launcelot bid farewell to Jessica? In this context, what are your feelings for Launcelot,...

In Act 2, Scene 3, Jessica is saying goodbye to Launcelot the clown, who is leaving his job as her father's servant to go and work for Bassanio.  She says she will miss him, because his jokes lightened the mood in their house, which is otherwise "hell."  

Launcelot, somewhat surprisingly, actually cries to say goodbye to Jessica.  In his trademark convoluted way, he explains, "Tears exhibit my tongue."  Then he adds, "Most beautiful pagan, most sweet Jew!"  Clearly he has developed some affection for Jessica during his tenure as her father's servant, and possibly even has a crush on her.

Then he adds, "If a Christian did not play the knave and get thee, I am much deceived."  Launcelot is speculating that perhaps Jessica is not Shylock's biological daughter, but rather that of a "Christian" who "played the knave" (seduced Shylock's wife) and "got" (begat) Jessica.  He means this as a compliment, but it is delivered in his typical ribald style.  We find this "compliment" coming from other characters in other places in the play.  It goes like this: "Jessica, you are such a wonderful person, you cannot possibly be a real Jew!"  Of course, it is hideously anti-Semitic. 

You will have to determine for yourself what your feelings for Launcelot, Jessica, and Shylock are in this scene.  Likely you will feel greater affection for both Jessica and Launcelot as they show their softer side.  As for Shylock, this scene is supposed to make him look horrible (makes his house hell for his daughter) and pathetic (people joke that he is a cuckold).  Perhaps, though, it will make you feel a bit sorry for him, or worried or defensive on his behalf. 

How did William Golding's life experiences influence the novel Lord of the Flies?

William Golding was an English and philosophy teacher at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury before he joined the Royal Navy in 1940 where he would eventually fight in WWII. Both experiences shaped Golding's perspective on life and served as inspirations for his novel Lord of the Flies. Golding's experience attempting to teach and discipline unruly children influenced the characters in his novel. Golding understood how children behaved and was aware of their disobedient, selfish personalities. Golding also witnessed atrocities and death during WWII when he fought in several battles. Golding commented that he witnessed what man was capable of doing to one another during the war. Golding is quoted as saying,

"Anyone who moved through those years without understanding that man produces evil as a bee produces honey, must have been blind or wrong in the head."

This pessimistic view of humanity influenced Golding's decision to represent the boys in the novel as being inherently evil. William Golding drew from his experiences as a teacher and soldier to create a novel that portrayed humanity's inherent wickedness. 

In George Orwell's 1984, is the telescreen mandatory? What about in Mr Charrington's antique shop?

In 1984, the telescreen is mandatory for Party members and, as such, telescreens are installed in the homes and workplaces of these people as well as in public areas. The telescreen is a useful tool for the Party because it enables the constant surveillance of the movements and conversations of Party members. It also acts as an effective deterrent against rebellion and thoughtcrime. 

There are, however, some exceptions to this rule. Proles, for example, are exempt from having a telescreen and this explains why there is no screen in Mr. Charrington's antique shop. Winston notices this when he goes to visit the shop to see about renting the room above in Part One, Chapter Eight.

In addition, Inner Party members, like O'Brien, have a telescreen but are allowed to turn it off for short periods. This is because Inner Party members are the most influential and important people in Oceania's society, and we see this when Winston and Julia go to O'Brien's apartment in Part Two, Chapter Eight.

How would you describe the themes of guilt, justice and lies within the novel "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie?

Agatha Christie wove several themes and motifs throughout And Then There Were None, and certainly the idea of justice, guilt, and lies permeates the entire story.

Judge Wargrave establishes himself as judge, jury, and executioner of the others on Indian Island. Each person on the island has committed a murder, so in one respect their deaths could be seen as a kind of justice. However the larger question is whether Wargrave had the right to promote himself to this position. Part of the problem lies in the moral choice of what constitutes murder. Emily Brent technically did not kill Beatrice Taylor. Should she receive the death penalty? Agatha Christie examines whether or not enforcing justice really makes someone good, or if unjust actions really make someone bad.

Christie also looks at what effect guilt has on a person’s conscience. No matter how dismissive someone may be in public about a situation, privately guilt may be plaguing them. Dr. Armstrong flatly denied any wrongdoing during the surgery he performed, yet he has nightmares about the woman who died in his care. The general brushes off the accusation about murdering his wife’s lover. But by the next day he is so overcome with guilt that he waits for his execution.

Interestingly, characters who admit their crimes feel less guilty. Marston never denies he ran over two young children. Lombard freely confesses he left men to die in Africa, and even says he would do so again in the same circumstances.

Lies abound throughout the novel. Of course murderers are liars, but so are seemingly righteous judges. Christie seems to imply that everyone lies at some point for some reason. Some characters lie to themselves to justify their actions; some lie to others to appear innocent of the accusations. The judge, who has decided he is the most moral of the group and has the right to judge and execute the others, lies the most of all.

“And Then There Were None” is a wonderful Christie classic because of the way she integrated a clever plot with meaningful themes.

How far should the government intrude on the free market choice?

The only possible answer to this is “to some extent.”  It is impossible to specify a rule that would tell us exactly how much the government should intervene in all cases.

Essentially everyone but the most committed libertarian would want the government to intervene in the free market in some cases.  If there is no intervention, then businesses could sell heroin and cocaine to children.  They could produce child pornography.  You could argue that even slavery would be legal if the government did not intervene at all in the free market.  Hardly anyone would want that.

On the other hand, essentially everyone would agree that we need to limit the degree to which the government can intervene.  Few of us would want the government to tell us that we could not eat meat, for example, or that we could only buy a certain amount of gas each month.  Few of us would want the government to tell us how big our TVs could be or how many hours per day we would be allowed to watch TV.  Practically everyone would agree that there need to be some limits on government intervention.

Thus, it is clear that we have to have some government intervention, but not too much.  Therein lies the issue.  How much is “too much” in any given case?  Let’s look at the issue of food.  Presumably it is okay for the government to say that our food has to be safe.  But how far can they go in defining what is safe? Most people would say that the government could ban foods that would poison us right away.  But what about foods like sugar that are bad for us in the long term but are not going to harm us very much in the short term?  Could the government actually tell us we can’t have food that it deems unhealthy?  Where do we draw this line?

This problem arises in practically every area you can think of.  We want some government intervention, but we do not want too much.  The issue is that not everyone agrees on what is too much.

What was the result of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941?

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese navy attacked the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, thus bringing America into WWII. The Japanese army was facing a shortage of fuel and material as America embargoed airplane fuel and scrap iron to Japan because of its aggressive role in China and Southeast Asia. Japanese leadership thought the best course of action to take would be to attack the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, crippling any American offensive action against Japan and potentially even convincing America not to get into the war. What the Japanese did not realize was that it made most Americans pro-war out of a desire to avenge the deaths of over 2000 American servicemen. While the Japanese damaged or sunk the majority of the cruisers and battleships stationed at Pearl Harbor, they did not damage the vital oil supplies on the island or the aircraft carriers, which were out on maneuvers that morning and not located in the harbor. America quickly replaced the battleships, and the aircraft carriers proved key in early conflicts with Japan such as Doolittle's bombing raid over Tokyo and the Battle of Midway, both of which happened in 1942 and played decisive factors in turning the tide of the war.  

When America declared war on Japan, Germany also declared war on the United States; by the end of 1941, all the key players of WWII were in place.  

Why isn't Salerio present in the Act III, Scene iii of The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare? Where is he?

In Act 3, Scene 3, Shylock stands in his doorway alongside Antonio, Solanio, and a Jailer. Antonio tries his best to reason with Shylock, but Shylock refuses to listen to him. Shylock insists that he will have his bond, and Solanio comments that he is an obstinate dog. Antonio then mentions that he only wishes that Bassanio will come see him pay his debt before leaving with the Jailer. The reason Salerio is not present in the Act 3, Scene 3 is because he traveled to Belmont to give Bassanio a letter from Antonio. In Act 3, Scene 2, Salerio arrives at Belmont with the terrible news that Antonio has lost all of his merchant ships at sea and Shylock plans to collect Antonio's flesh. Bassanio becomes extremely upset and explains the situation to Portia before leaving for Venice. During Act 3, Scene 3, Salerio is traveling with Bassanio to return to Venice before Antonio is forced to pay his bond.

Describe the significance of power in Audre Lorde's poem "Power."

In this poem, Lorde is reacting to white oppression. This comes from a real experience in which she reacted to the acquittal of a white police officer who shot and killed a ten-year-old black child.

In the first large stanza, the poet tries to explain the experience of being lost in a sea of white oppression. Rather than using the sea metaphor, she uses the desert. She feels lost in a white desert. The only fluid in the desert is the blood of the dead black child. She has no reason to thirst for this fluid; she has no loyalty to white dominance. Still, she does thirst, saying,

my mouth splits into dry lips

without loyalty or reason

thirsting for the wetness of his blood

This illustrates how Lorde is trapped in a society that continues to thirst for this blood. In other words, she cannot escape this world. Symbolized by the white desert, this world thirsts for this kind of violence because it stems from a history of white oppression. This world is powerful, as shown by how Lorde, a black woman, is trapped in it.

Lorde describes how the lone black juror was "convinced" by the eleven white jurors. This demonstrates the power of white influence and authority:

“They convinced me” meaning

they had dragged her 4'10'' black Woman's frame

over the hot coals

of four centuries of white male approval

In the final stanza, Lorde says she must learn how to deal with her rage. If she does not, her rage might cause her to act in the same violent and oppressive ways she is criticizing:

But unless I learn to use

the difference between poetry and rhetoric

my power too will run corrupt as poisonous mold

Lorde demonstrates the corrupting potential of power. She also shows how power is used in oppression, how it is used in rage and retaliation, and finally, how it might be used to work against powerful and oppressive entities.

What are free vibrations? Is it possible to attain free vibrations in an object?

Free vibrations are when a physical system undergoes and oscillating motion between different states, but is subject to no time-varying outside forces.

Many simple theoretical models are capable of free vibration modes, such as the simple harmonic oscillator ("mass on a spring"). They generally have a natural frequency at which they oscillate, and if they are perturbed from that natural frequency they will move back toward it over time.

In the real world, however, free vibrations are exceedingly rare. Most real-world oscillations are subject to some kind of time-varying outside forces, from subtle (gravitational pull of the Moon) to dramatic (earthquakes). Even far into deep space you couldn't really escape all time-varying outside forces--you'll still get hit by the occasional gravitational wave.

Still, many real-world systems exhibit approximate free vibrations, and thus will exhibit a natural frequency of vibration. If you pluck a violin string it is not quite a free vibration, but as long as you don't jerk the violin around it will be approximately one. And far into deep space you are removed enough from most external forces that for all practical intents and purposes vibrations will be free.

It is also important to understand that damping doesn't automatically exclude a vibration from being free--there are such things as damped free vibrations. The key is that the damping must be velocity-dependent, sometimes called "viscous" damping because it is the same as that caused by vibrating in a viscous fluid such as water. The natural frequency of a damped vibration is less than the natural frequency of the undamped system, by an amount dependent on the magnitude of the damping.

A balloon at the surface had a volume of 7 cubic meters. If the balloon is taken to depth of 40 meters, what is its new volume?

To answer this question, we need two pieces of information. First, how does pressure affect volume? Second, what is the pressure at a depth of 40 meters?

If we assume that the air in the balloon is an ideal gas, we can use the ideal gas law to relate temperature, pressure, and volume:
` P V = n R T = const`

At constant temperature `T` , for a fixed amount of air in the balloon` n` , the volume `V` will simply be inversely proportional to the pressure `P` . (Think about what happens if we put the balloon in vacuum: volume goes to infinity---in other words, the balloon pops!)

`P_1 V_1 = P_2 V_2`

To answer the second question, the formula for pressure within a given fluid is `d g h` , where `d` is the density of the fluid,` g` is the acceleration of gravity, and `h` is the height of fluid above us. Here we have to add both air and water pressure; the air pressure we can assume to be about 1 atmosphere, or 100 kPa. Then we need the water pressure (remember that the density of water is 1000 kg/m^3).

`P_{H_2O} = (1000 kg/m^3)(9.8 m/s^2)(40 m) = 392,000 Pa = 400 kPa`

Thus, the total pressure on the balloon at a depth of 40 meters is 500 kPa, the sum of the air and the water.

` P = P_{H2O} + P_{air} = 400 kPa + 500 kPa`

So, we have increased the pressure from about 100 kPa to about 500 kPa, a factor of 5. This means that we must decrease the volume by the same factor, so it will shrink from 7 cubic meters to 1.4 cubic meters.
`V_2 = V_1 P_1/P_2 = (7 m^3) (100 kPa)/(500 kPa) = 1.4 m^3`

Women are discriminated in India. Justify this statement with any three suitable examples.

One example of gender-based inequality in India is the gap in education between men and women, which is best illustrated by the difference in literacy rates between the genders. In 2011, the literacy rate for men was 82%, while only 65% of women were able to read. India also has above-average rates of gender-based abortions and infanticide due to a cultural preference for sons, who are viewed as having greater economic utility and social status compared to daughters. Lastly, there are economic inequalities between men and women in India. There is a wage gap between the genders, which varies widely between industries, and many women lack autonomy over their personal finances due to relative lack of access to credit and accounts at financial institutions.

What was Neely Crenshaw's philosophy in Bleachers by John Grisham?

Neely Crenshaw is obsessed with the divide between his current life as an ordinary real estate salesman whose wife has left him and his "past life" as a football captain and star adored by the entire town of Messina. His philosophy prior to his career-ending injury during a college game was that of an athlete: complete belief in the glory of the game, a misplaced sense that being a champion is eternal, and a willingness to win at all costs.

Back then, Crenshaw was trapped in his own hero's complex, one that set him at odds with the severe techniques of Coach Eddie Rake. After his career is over, Crenshaw seems to be paralyzed by his faded fame and the fear that the people of Messina resent him for never "making it big." This internal conflict serves as one of the major points of the novel, and is perhaps best described by one of Crenshaw's fellow players:

You count the years until you get a varsity jersey, then you’re a hero, an idol, a cocky bastard because in this town you can do no wrong. You win and win and you’re the king of your own little world, then poof, it’s gone. You play your last game and everybody cries. You can’t believe it’s over. Then another team comes right behind you and you’re forgotten.

What do you think Vic sees at the end of Gaiman's "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" that upsets him so much?

Throughout the story "How to Talk to Girls at Parties," there's a hint that the women at the party are not exactly women—or even human. This idea is foreshadowed early in the story and then the narrator, Enn, explains his run-in with these non-human "women" at the party. This is why we can guess as to what Vic means when he says, "She wasn't a—"

In the story, Enn explains his trouble talking to girls. He says that while Vic could get away with not actually talking to girls because he's good looking, Enn "did not know what to say to girls." The entire story is Enn trying to talk to girls. The first girl he speaks to is named "Wain Wain" and oddly says after a long speech, "Soon I must return to Wain, and tell her all I have seen. All my impressions of the place of yours." The next girl he speaks to calls herself a tourist and says that on her last tour she "went to sun, and we swam in sunfire pools with the whales." Finally, the last girl Enn speaks to at the party is named Triolet and she calls herself a poem. She says about her people,

There are places that we are welcomed. . . and places where we are regarded as a noxious weed, or as a disease, something immediately to be quarantined and elimated. But where does contagion end and art begin?

After Triolet recites a poem in Enn's ear, Vic comes into the kitchen in a panic and says they need to leave. When they leave, Enn looks back and sees Stella, who is staring at them. Enn's description of Stella is interesting and explains these non-women:

Her clothes were in disarray, and there was makeup smudged across her face, and her eye—

You wouldn't want to make a universe angry. I bet an angry universe would look at you with eyes like that.

All of these clues lead to only one conclusion: Stella, who Vic was with upstairs, was not human. This frightens him so much that he ends up "sobbing in the street, as unselfconsciously and heartbreakingly as a little boy."

Where is King Hrothgar and what is his response to learning that Beowulf has come to his kingdom in Beowulf?

King Hrothgar of the Danes is in his mead-hall, built as a monument to his success. There the king and his men are gathered to drink and be entertained by the songs of the bards. When the herald announces that Beowulf requests an audience with the king, Hrothgar feels that Beowulf's arrival is an answer from God.

When he is told that Beowulf requests an audience with him, Hrothgar, who sits "old and hoary, with his company of earls," says,

Holy God of His grace has sent him to us West-Danes, as I hope, against the terror of Grendel. I shall offer the good man treasures for his daring. Now make haste, bid them come in together to see my company of kinsmen. (VII)

He ends by telling Wulfgar to make haste and bid them to enter. So Wulfgar passes on the message to Beowulf and his company to enter, but leave their weapons and war-shields at the entrance. Beowulf enters and greets Hrothgar with respect. As he speaks, he boasts of his intention to slay Grendel, which is a customary exercise of heroic behavior.

In physics, what is defined as the product of an object's mass and velocity?

The product of mass and velocity is momentum.  

A good way to summarize momentum is to say momentum is mass in motion. All objects have mass, but not all objects are moving; therefore, not all objects have momentum. If an object is moving, though, it has momentum. Because the equation for momentum involves multiplication, increases in either mass or velocity will result in the increase of momentum. That means a football linebacker can increase his hitting power by gaining mass, becoming faster, or both. 

Some students occasionally confuse momentum and inertia. All objects always have inertia because inertia depends only on mass. Inertia is a resistance to changes in any motion. An object will have the exact same inertia whether it is moving or not, but an object will have zero momentum if it is stationary. That particular object's momentum will increase as it begins to increase its velocity. 

What is the reaction of the lover when he is rejected by his beloved in the poem "The Last Ride Together" by Browning?

The lover in "The Last Ride Together" knows that his relationship with his beloved is over, but his reaction is to ask for one last ride with her. He knows that he has failed to secure a future with her and says, "Since all, my life seem’d meant for, fails," (line 4) (in other words, everything he wants in life has met with failure), he wants the memory of one last ride with her.  As he waits for her answer, he thinks that "life or death [was] in the balance" (line 16). His beloved relents and goes on a ride with the narrator.

The narrator's reaction to this ride is to live for the day, or carpe diem. He says, "So, one day more am I deified. Who knows but the world may end to-night?" (line 16). In other words, he decides to make the most of every moment because he does not know what the future holds. In several stanzas that follow, he decides that he is better able to live than a solider, a poet, a sculptor, or a musician because he lives in a world in which "the instant [is] made eternity" (line 108). The narrator is content to live in the perfection of the moment with his beloved.  

What is depreciation and why is it included in GDP?

Depreciation is a way accountants try to create a monetary representation of the value of a tangible asset over time based on the way that one assumes the asset to have its value be consumed over time. 

Imagine, for example, that a city builds a bridge that improves transportation links and trade. This bridge makes a positive contribution to GDP. The bridge doesn't just remain in perfect shape forever, though. It has a fixed lifespan and requires ongoing repairs. Many tangible assets depreciate, including real estate, factories, tools, and IT equipment. Depreciation, therefore, acts as a form of net loss.

Unless one factors in depreciation, politicians and executives can make themselves look good by deferring maintenance and infrastructure work to inflate GDP or value artificially. A business using 10-year-old computers might have more cash on hand than a company that spent money to upgrade its computers, but realistically, a company using obsolete technology will need to upgrade, and the decline in value of the obsolete IT is actually a form of liability; depreciation is a way of measuring this.

What are the advantages of mass media?

Mass media are any ways of communicating intended to reach many people. Given technology today, that can mean reaching millions or even billions.  Radio, television, newspapers, and various internet sources such as Slate and even Facebook are considered to be mass media. On a smaller scale, newspapers and local television or radio stations might still be considered mass media if they reach thousands. A neighborhood newspaper would not be considered mass media, though. The advantages of time, money, coverage, and impact are powerful in mass media.

Imagine that you want to let everyone in the country know your thoughts about a bill in Congress.  You could write a letter to the editor of your local paper and to every other local paper in the United States.  You could write in your blog, which has fifty followers, on the bill.  Or you could put an advertisement on the local radio stations in fifty states.  However, if you post something to Facebook's public, write a letter to the New York Times that gets published, or place an advertisement on a national television network, you will save time and money, you will get national and even international coverage, and you will have a more powerful impact.  (While network advertisements are expensive, they still represent a savings over advertising in every single local market in the United States.)

You can see that you can write something once and have it reach thousands, millions, or even billions of people, with maximum coverage and impact, having saved considerable time and money.  There are disadvantages to mass media, too, of course, and perhaps that will be a topic covered in your course. 

What is the resolution for the book Anthem by Ayn Rand?

The resolution of a story usually comes at the end when the major conflict is resolved. In Anthem, the protagonist called Equality 7-2521 struggles against a society that prohibits individual freedoms. For example, Equality has a sincere desire to improve his education by studying with the scholars, own personal property, improve the quality of his life through scientific discovery, and live a private life with the woman he loves. All of these desires are denied him by the government. Therefore, the resolution comes when these desires are satisfied. 

Of course, Equality must first fight his way through social and government obstacles that are also mentally and physically challenging. Ultimately, Equality is forced to flee the only society he knows and enter the Uncharted Forest in order to save his life. Because his girlfriend (Liberty) follows him, Equality is able to venture out into the wilderness with a companion. Fortunately, they find a house filled with books that he can learn from. He learns how to harness and use electricity, create a better life for himself and family, as well as find out more about all of the many things and ideas denied him from society. 

One of the most important discoveries that Equality makes, however, is when he learns the word "I." This word is not allowed in the society from which he flees; therefore, learning it empowers him to live a life fulfilling his personal desires. This realization means more to him than anything forced upon him previously, and it also sums up the resolution of the story. For Equality, the freedom to think, feel, act, and lead a life based on his own desires is the resolution that he achieves. Equality sums up his desires as follows:

"I shall live here, in my own house. I shall take my food from the earth by the toil of my own hands. I shall learn many secrets from my books. Through the years ahead, I shall rebuild the achievements of the past, and open the way to carry them further, the achievements which are open to me, but closed forever to my brothers, for their minds are shackled to the weakest and dullest ones among them . . . The word which can never die on this earth, for it is the heart of it and the meaning and the glory. The sacred word: Ego" (99-100 and 105).

Why did Pip not enjoy the Christmas dinner in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens?

The Christmas dinner is described in Chapter 4 of Great Expectations. Pip does not enjoy it because all of the adults, with the exception of the kindly Joe Gargary, make derogatory comments about him. He tells the reader:

But they wouldn't leave me alone. They seemed to think the opportunity lost, if they failed to point the conversation at me, every now and then, and stick the point into me. 

Unfortunately, there are many adults who make mealtimes unpleasant for children by using these occasions to instruct them on good table manners and other aspects of deportment. The fact that Pip's sister permits and encourages this at the Christmas dinner characterizes her as a woman who aspires to social advancement. This will explain why she attaches so much importance to the fact that Pip has the opportunity to become acquainted with the wealthy Miss Havisham and her adopted daughter Estella. It also explains why Pip's sister is so unhappy about being married to a humble working man like Joe Gargary.

The following excerpts from the dinner-table conversation are examples of the way Pip's sister and her guests displayed their own bad manners by "sticking the points" of their moralizing into Pip.

My sister fixed me with her eye, and said, in a low reproachful voice, “Do you hear that? Be grateful.”

“Especially,” said Mr. Pumblechook, “be grateful, boy, to them which brought you up by hand.”

Mrs. Hubble shook her head, and contemplating me with a mournful presentiment that I should come to no good, asked, “Why is it that the young are never grateful?” 

In addition to suffering under the disapproving scrutiny of all the adults except his good friend Joe, Pip is not delighted with his dinner because his sister serves him the meanest portions.

I was regaled with the scaly tips of the drumsticks of the fowls, and with those obscure corners of pork of which the pig, when living, had had the least reason to be vain. 

Pip also has a guilty conscience because he stole so many things from his sister's larder to give to the convict, as described in Chapter 3, and stole a file from Joe for the same purpose. The poor boy is living in dread of the moment when his sister will discover the pork pie is missing.

It is no wonder that Pip is shy, sensitive, inhibited, and solitary, considering the kind of environment he has to grow up in. He is fortunate to have one good friend in Joe Gargary. Although Joe cannot protect Pip from all the cruel digs he receives during this unhappy Christmas meal, Joe does his best to soften them.

Joe's station and influence were something feebler (if possible) when there was company, than when there was none. But he always aided and comforted me when he could, in some way of his own, and he always did so at dinnertime by giving me gravy, if there were any. There being plenty of gravy to-day, Joe spooned into my plate, at this point, about half a pint.

What force is needed to slide a 250-kg crate across the floor at constant velocity if the coefficient of sliding friction between a crate and a...

Hello!

Newton's Second law will help us. It states that the (vector) sum of all forces acting on a body is the same as its mass multiplied by its acceleration, `vecF = m veca.`

There are four forces here: gravitational force `mg` downwards, reaction force `N` upwards, traction force `F_T` horizontally and friction `F_f` also horizontally but in reverse direction.

The acceleration is zero, because velocity is constant. So we obtain

`m vec(g) + vecN + vec(F_T) + vec(F_f) = vec0.`

Vertical forces must balance each other and horizontal, too, so in magnitudes we obtain

`N = mg`  and  `F_T = F_f.`

Also we know that `F_f = mu N,` where `mu` is the coefficient of sliding friction. Hence `F_T = F_f = mu N = mu m g.` This is the final formula, and numerically `F_T approx 0.25*250*9.8 =612.5 (N).`

The answer: the force of about 612.5 N is needed.

How does Atticus achieve justice through his actions?

Looking at the big picture, we might be tempted to say that Atticus fails to achieve justice.  Despite his brilliant defense of Tom Robinson, Tom is still convicted by the jury.  Atticus would like to appeal the case, but Tom (understandably) falls into despair, makes a suicidal escape attempt from the jail yard, and is shot dead. Tom's family are left without a provider.  Atticus' son Jem is disappointed and disillusioned.  Most of the white people in the town (e.g. Aunt Alexandra's tea ladies) go on in their cluelessness, baffled and irritated that the black community are so upset.  So, to all appearances, it is game, set, and match for the Devil.

However, as Miss Maudie points out to Jem in Chapter 22, 

"I thought, Atticus Finch won't win, he can't win, but he's the only man in these parts who can keep a jury out so long in a case like that.  And I thought to myself, well, we're making a step - it's just a baby-step, but it's a step."

Atticus was unable to get true justice for Tom, but through his examination of Tom, his cross-examinations of Bob and Mayella Ewell, and his closing statement, he made it completely clear to everyone in Maycomb what really happened in the Ewells' cabin.  Although the jury finally did the monstrous injustice of convicting Tom, Atticus had made it very difficult for them to do so, and that is clear by how long they deliberated. 

In a sense, Atticus cleared Tom's name, and everyone in Maycomb knows it.  The black community know it, and they shower gifts of food on Atticus the next day.  Bob Ewell knows it, and he also knows that Atticus has damaged his and Mayella's credibility forever.  That is why, despite having won the case, Bob Ewell keeps trying to get revenge on Atticus.

Atticus does many other things, large and small, that achieve justice in small ways.  He does pro bono legal work for those in the community who need it.  He stands up to his family when they say snobbish or racist things.  He works hard, and though a good shot, is almost a pacifist. 

But the other major way that Atticus achieves justice is in the way he raises his children.  Many pages could be written about the ways in which Atticus strives to pass on his values to his children - by living with integrity, by talking to them about it, by the questions he asks them and by the way he answers their questions.  He is not brainwashing, but training.  He respects their minds.  By the end of the novel it is clear that he is in the process of achieving justice by releasing on the world two intelligent, moral, courageous and compassionate human beings. 

What would happen if we eliminated the use of fire and the wheel from everyday activity?

With as far as technology has advanced, I would argue that it is possible to survive and have a good quality of life without fire or the wheel, but it's really not practical or sustainable. 

Some people manage to live their lives with no fire at all. Food may be cooked on an electric stove-top, water may be heated by electricity, and there are a number of energy sources which do not requite combustion. At least when we consider fire that occurs on Earth, it is possible to live without it. If certain fires-- like the Sun-- were to cease to exist, we would certainly die. With all of that being said, the number of people on this planet who could live without fire is significantly smaller than those who rely on fire on a daily basis. Much of the world uses fire on a daily basis to cook food, heat and sterilize water, and provide warmth in the home. If fire were to cease to exist, these people might not have a secondary course of action and would certainly suffer.

I think that the wheel would be much harder to remove from our lives while maintaining the quality we're accustomed to. Wheels aren't only vital to transportation, they are a simple machine incorporated in most modern conveniences. Wheels are a part of industrialized life, so unless people are willing to adopt a mechanically simpler and far more labor intensive lifestyle, I don't think that we could get by as easily without the wheel. 

When did WWII happen?

The accepted date for the beginning of WWII is September 1, 1939, when Hitler's armies invaded Poland.  Britain and France threatened war if Germany did not leave the conquered territory; within a week, Britain and France declared war on Germany.  WWII would not officially end until September 2, 1945, when Japan surrendered to the Allied forces on board the U.S.S. Missouri.  

While this is the accepted date for the beginning of the war, there are other dates that should be considered signposts on the road to true "world war."  In September of 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria.  While the League of Nations and the United States denounced this act of aggression, Japan was not threatened with force.  In 1936, Mussolini invaded Ethiopia.  In 1938 and 1939 Hitler annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia, respectively.  In all of these invasions and annexations, the world community was desperate to avoid war, so it did not even threaten the use of force.   

Why do we feel chilly after swimming on a warm and windy day?

The process described here is evaporative cooling. Evaporation occurs when liquid water absorbs heat energy and becomes a gas called water vapor. This energy is called the heat of vaporization. Water molecules are held to other water molecules by hydrogen bonds and a great deal of energy must be absorbed to allow a phase change to occur from liquid to gas.

The water on a person's skin on a warm and windy day would gain heat energy from the sun. Some of the liquid water molecules would be transformed to gas. This process requires heat energy to be absorbed by the liquid water in order for it to become water vapor. Therefore, the person's body would cool off as the water evaporates from their skin. 

This is the process of evaporative cooling which helps to stabilize the body temperature of organisms on Earth. Evaporative cooling allows the temperatures of the oceans to remain fairly stable allowing life to exist.

What are some quotations from Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodríguez?

This memoir containing different essays about Rodriguez's own experience growing up in a system without bilingual education has many important quotations about being educated within the United States.  I have chosen four quotations that connect to the important themes of the memoir.  

Memory teaches me what I know of these matters. The boy reminds the adult. I was a bilingual child, but of a certain kind: "socially disadvantaged," the son of working class parents, both Mexican immigrants.

I want to include this particular quotation first because it connects to the title:  Hunger of Memory.  It also introduces the reader to the author's upbringing, which is the main focus of the memoir.  It is important to realize that it is Rodriguez's memory that is both the focus and the teacher here.  It is also important to realize that Rodriquez grew up with a public language (English) and a private language (Spanish).  Even though he admits to being "socially disadvantaged," it is this distinguishing factor between public and private language that Rodriguez believes leads directly to his success.

The boy who first entered a classroom barely able to speak English, twenty years later concluded his studies in the stately quiet of the reading room in the British Museum. Thus with one sentence I can summarize my academic career. It will be harder to summarize what sort of life connects the boy to the man.

Here Rodriguez admits that summarizing a life is harder than summarizing success in education.  However, he immediately connects this idea to the importance of a public language vs. a private language.  Previously, Rodriquez admits that having Spanish as a private language did make him "socially disadvantaged," but his academic success speaks for itself.  

To many persons around him, he appears too much the academic. ... He has used education to remake himself. They expect—they want—a student less changed by his schooling. If the scholarship boy, from a past so distant from the classroom, could remain in some basic way unchanged, he would be able to prove that it is possible for anyone to become educated without basically changing from the person one was.

In case there is any doubt, here is a quotation that shows that Rodriguez is against bilingual education.  When he uses the word "they," he is referring to people who believe the fairly new idea of teaching children in their native language is preferable.  Rodriguez believes these people to be wrong.  They want to see an "unchanged" person to be academic.  Rodriguez's point is that change is imperative.  The most important change, says Rodriquez, is distinguishing between a public language and a private language (and never combining the two within the educational system).

Of all the institutions in their lives, only the Catholic Church has seemed aware of the fact that my mother and father are thinkers—persons aware of the experience of their lives. Other institutions—the nation’s political parties, the industries of mass entertainment and communications, the companies that employed them—have all treated my parents with condescension.

Along with Rodriguez's anit-affirmative action stance, he also believes that the changes in the Roman Catholic Church have not been good for the community.  The traditional Catholic Church empowered Rodriguez's parents and gave them a firm foundation.  Changes in the Church seem to water it down and negate the mystery found within it.  This is a good comparison to what Rodriguez says about language.  Any time English as a public language is "watered down" to include Spanish in an effort to pander to the minority, the result is a detriment to the privately Spanish-speaking population.  Similarly, any time the Roman Catholic Church is "watered down" to include changes in order to reflect the masses, the result is a detriment to the traditional Roman Catholic Population.