What is the difference between a natural disaster and a natural phenomenon?

A natural phenomenon is an event that occurs in nature without man’s input. For instance, the sun always rises from the east and sets in the west. The weather and weather patterns are also other forms of natural phenomena. Events such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, erosion, the decomposition of matter, and chemical reactions can also be referred to as natural phenomena. Most natural phenomena can be perceived by the senses and can also be studied.

Natural disasters, on the other hand, are events caused by the natural phenomena, but resulting in significant damaging effects including loss of lives, property and any other result that may be considered adverse. Earthquakes are a form of natural phenomenon; however, when they occur and cause buildings to collapse, leading to loss of lives and property, then the earthquake becomes a natural disaster. Thus, natural disasters are determined not by the occurrence of the natural phenomena, but the resulting effect.

How did the Berlin Conference affect various African people?

The effect of the Berlin Conference on African peoples was profound. This was because it played a major role in sparking the so-called "scramble for Africa" among European colonial powers that led to the colonization of almost the entire continent by the end of the nineteenth century. This was true for two reasons. First, by resolving a series of disputes about access to rivers and already existing colonial borders, the Conference created a international legal framework by which the powers of Europe could colonize new territories without worrying about going to war. Second, the agreement reached at the Conference mandated that European powers actually physically colonize territories they claimed by establishing a presence there. This caused countries to rush to build railroads, cities, and military installations in lands they had already claimed. The result of this was a much more intrusive European presence in Africa than had previously existed. So while in some ways the Conference only ratified a trend that had been going on for a long time, it did also encourage increased European presence in Africa, a process that was disastrous for millions of African peoples across the continent.

In Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, what do the boys do after the bird is rescued?

The short answer is that they hang out and become friends.

This happens in Chapter 3, right as Max sees Kevin leaping up, trying unsuccessfully to reach an object that has become stuck in a tree. It's a toy of Kevin's: a little birdlike object that really flies. Kevin clearly is upset; he wants his beloved toy back. But he's too short to reach it. Even his long crutch doesn't help.

Max, though, is very tall. After he helps Kevin by rescuing the toy from the tree, the two new friends talk about the bird toy (which is called an ornithopter) and Kevin impresses Max with his large vocabulary. Almost an hour goes by, and they have to stop playing with the ornithopter because its elastic part breaks. Kevin assures Max that it can be fixed later, and then Max wheels Kevin over to Max's house in the wagon to show him his room. That's when the chapter closes, as the friendship has begun.

This scene is important because it shows us how well Max and Kevin get along. They are instantly friends, even though they are so different--perhaps because they are so different. Max, with his enormous height, can get the toy down from the tree with no problem, and Kevin, with his enormous vocabulary, can dazzle and entertain Max.

How many moles of hydrogen gas would be needed to react with excess carbon dioxide to produce 99.1 moles of water vapor?

Hello!

The first step is to write and balance the chemical equation. it is

`X*H_2 + Y*CO_2 = Z*CH_4 + W*H_2O.`

To balance it, consider equations for `H,` `C` and `O:`

`H:` `2X = 4Z + 2W` (thus `X = 2Z + W`),

`C:` `Y = Z,`

`O:` `2Y = W.`

The irreducible solution is `Y = Z = 1,` `W = 2Y = 2` and `X = 2Z + W = 4,`

`4H_2 + CO_2 = CH_4 + 2H_2O.`

The second step is to create and solve a simple proportion: `4` moles of hydrogen gas `H_2` are required for each `2` moles of water, and `h` moles of hydrogen is required for `99.1` moles of water.

The proportion is  `4 : 2 = h : 99.1,` thus `h = 99.1*4/2 =198.2` (moles). This is the answer.

Note that this reaction also requires a catalyst and high temperature.

Why did Miss Moore take the students to F.A.O. Schwarz?

In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, Ms. Moore teaches the summer students through experience rather than explicit teaching. Ms. Moore understands the inequalities of the world outside of her students’ Harlem neighborhood. They lack the role models for, and the ability to see, the opportunities that are available outside of their tight knit community. The story is narrated by one of the young girls, named Sylvia.

Instead of simply explaining the disparities that exist in the world, Ms. Moore guides them on an expedition to F. A. O. Schwarz in Manhattan. The famous toy store is only a few miles from where they are growing up, but a world away from their lifestyle. In this way Ms. Moore engages the students in the realities of their lives, and forces them to think about the discrepancies in wealth and opportunity between what they see on a daily basis and what occurs in American society. Her main objective is to make them consider their current predicament of life in poverty as compared to that of the wealthy. F. A. O. Schwarz caters to a wealthy clientele who are able to purchase toys costing exorbitant amounts.

“Will you look at this sailboat, please,” say Flyboy, cuttin her off and pointin to the thing like it was his. So once again we tumble all over each other to gaze at this magnificent thing in the toy store which is just big enough to maybe sail two kittens across the pond if you strap them to the posts tight. We all start reciting the price tag like we in assembly. “Handcrafted sailboat of fiberglass at one thousand one hundred ninety-five dollars.”

“Unbelievable,” I hear myself say and am really stunned. I read it again for myself just in case the group recitation put me in a trance. Same thing. For some reason this pisses me off. We look at Miss Moore and she looking at us, waiting for I dunno what.

The students compare the price of the toy to the amount it costs to feed a family. They begin to see the monetary inequities for themselves. Ms. Moore is aware this is not something she could teach them; it is something they had to see, feel, and take to heart. Sylvia, for all of her bravado, begins to feel something stir inside of her when it is time to enter the store. 

But I feel funny, shame. But what I got to be shamed about? Got as much right to go in as anybody. But somehow I can’t seem to get hold of the door, so I step away for Sugar to lead. But she hangs back too. And I look at her and she looks at me and this is ridiculous.

Upon returning to their own neighborhood, the students and teacher participate in a discussion during which they make some prophetic statements.

“Imagine for a minute what kind of society it is in which some people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven. What do you think?”

“I think,” say Sugar pushing me off her feet like she never done before, cause I whip her ass in a minute, “that this is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough, don’t it?”

Ms. Moore knows the trip into town was a success. And, although Sylvia will not give Ms. Moore the satisfaction of talking about it, she becomes introspective as she thinks about the events of the day, and she declares to herself, “But ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin.”

How do we know that the house in which Helen Keller lived was beautiful?

We know that Helen considered the house where she grew up beautiful because of the gardens surrounding it.

Helen spent her early childhood in a little house on the Keller homestead.  In general, whether your question refers to that or the homestead in general, Helen’s childhood was full of beauty because she loved nature.

The Keller homestead, where the family lived, was a few steps from our little rose-bower. It was called "Ivy Green" because the house and the surrounding trees and fences were covered with beautiful English ivy. Its old-fashioned garden was the paradise of my childhood. (Ch. 1)

When she could see, she was enamored of the shadows and the beautiful flowers. Even after she lost her sight and hearing, nature was a refuge to her.  Nature was important to Helen Keller because you do not need to be able to see or hear in order to enjoy it.  You can still smell and feel it.

… I used to feel along the square stiff boxwood hedges, and, guided by the sense of smell, would find the first violets and lilies. There, too, after a fit of temper, I went to find comfort and to hide my hot face in the cool leaves and grass. … (Ch. 1)

Even after Helen Keller’s teacher Anne Sullivan came, she still enjoyed being out in nature.  They would have their lessons outside in the beautiful gardens, instead of in a classroom.  Helen loved those lessons, and felt everyone should learn that way.

When Helen was five years old, she moved from the little vine-covered house to the big house, but it made no difference to her because the beauty of nature was what mattered.  She could smell that beauty.  What the house actually looked like would not have mattered to someone who could not see and hear.

Briefly explain the association between the climatic conditions experienced in Australia and the population distribution in the country.

One has only to place a climate map of Australia next to a population density map of Australia to see that there is a significant association between the climate in Australia and where in the country people choose to live.

The population of Australia is about 24 million people, approximately 69% of whom live in major cities. The major cities in Australia are located on the southwest and southeast coasts, where the climate is temperate. People do live in the more remote areas of the country, but relatively few compared to the number of people residing in the major cities.

The remote areas of Australia are predominantly desert and grasslands, and only about 2.3% of Australia’s population lives there. Obviously, desert climates are known to have very hot weather in the daytime and very cold nights.  So you can see that population density in the country is heavily influenced by its climate.

I’ve included links to the relevant maps below. I hope this helps!

Give an example where the society in The Giver violates the Third Amendment to the United States Constitution.

There really are not any examples where the society in The Giver violates the Third Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.  The society in the book violates many of the other amendments in the Bill of Rights, but it does not seem to violate the Third Amendment.

 The Third Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is somewhat obscure.  It reads

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

This amendment is not particularly relevant as our government would not do this in modern times.  In fact, the Supreme Court has never had to decide a case based on this amendment.

In The Giver, it would be very hard for the society to clearly violate this amendment.  As far as we can tell, the society does not have any soldiers.  We know that they do not know about war because Jonas is overwhelmed by the memory of war that the Giver gives to him in Chapter 15.  They may have some sort of military since the jet in Chapter 1 sounds like a fighter airplane, but we never actually see any discussion of soldiers in the text.  If the society does not have soldiers (or if they are not discussed) we cannot find any clear violations of the Third Amendment.

I suppose that you could try to say that the society violates the Third Amendment by assigning people to live together as families, but even that does not really work for me.  In order to get a spouse, you have to ask for one, which means that you consent to have that person live with you.  The same applies if you want to have children live with you.  Since the people have to give their consent, this would not violate the Third Amendment, even if we were to say that the Third Amendment does not apply only to soldiers.

Because of this, I do not think there are any violations of the Third Amendment in this book.  Other amendments, like the 1st, 4th, and 5th appear to be violated, but not the Third.

Who wrote the United States Constitution?

No one person wrote the United States Constitution all by himself.  We do not even know who wrote any particular section of the document.  If your instructor expects you to actually give a name, it is likely that you are supposed to give James Madison as your answer.  Madison is often called the “father of the Constitution,” but this does not mean that he actually wrote the document.

As you can see in the link below from the US government archives, no single person is credited with writing the Constitution.  People sometimes say Madison did and sometimes say that Governor Morris did.  However, experts are not convinced.  As the link says,

The actual literary form is believed to be largely that of Morris, and the chief testimony for this is in the letters and papers of Madison, and Morris's claim. However, the document in reality was built slowly and laboriously, with not a piece of material included until it had been shaped and approved. The preamble was written by the Committee of Style.

So, we have to say that no single person wrote the US Constitution.  If you do have to give a name, I would suggest that you check to see if your textbook gives an answer to the question.  If so, that is probably the name your instructor expects you to give.

What is Jonas prohibited from doing in Lois Lowry's The Giver? Why?

In Chapter 9, Jonas discovers the rules he must follow while he is a Receiver-in-training. He becomes visibly dismayed when he realizes he will be prohibited from enjoying certain privileges he has always relished.

Accordingly, he is prohibited from sharing the secrets or events of his training with other members of the community, his parents, or any of the Elders. While in training, Jonas is prohibited from mingling with members of the community. According to the Chief Elder, no one can observe or modify Jonas' training. So, the reason for Jonas' seclusion is to prevent any interference from members of the community in Jonas' training.

Jonas is also prohibited from dream-telling, applying for release, or applying for any medication (except for illnesses or injuries unrelated to his training). He cannot apply for release because his selection as the next Receiver of Memory is a rare honor and one he is required to accept. Finally, Jonas must endure "indescribable" pain during his training without pain medication.

As a Receiver-in-training, Jonas cannot apply for medication because he must endure and receive all the painful memories of the past to be successful in his job as the new Giver.

Since Jonas must return to his quarters after Training Hours every day, he must forego his interactions with his friends and refrain from enjoying activities such as playing ball or riding his bike along the river. He definitely feels frustrated that, in his many hours of training, time has not been allocated for recreation.

What kind of relationship do Juliet and the Nurse have in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet?

Up until their parting in Act III, Scene 5, the relationship between Juliet and the Nurse might be compared to two very close friends or even sisters who share everything, including each other's private thoughts and secrets. Although tempting, it is not appropriate to say the Nurse was similar to a parental figure. Had the Nurse been like a parent (even though she literally nursed Juliet) she would have been more likely to be disciplinary in understanding the ramifications of Juliet's relationship with Romeo. Instead, the Nurse is a faithful confidante, who is only interested in the fact that Juliet is happy, and is willing to take part in Juliet's intrigues because of her devoted love for the girl. Like a trusted girlfriend, she acts as Juliet's surrogate in finding out Romeo's intentions in Act II, Scene 4. She shares this news with Juliet as if they are school girls talking about the boys in their class. Juliet's confidence in the Nurse is ultimately shattered in Act III, Scene 5 after being informed that Lord Capulet has arranged for her to marry Count Paris. When her refusals to marry the Count (she is already married to Romeo) are spurned by her parents, Juliet turns to the Nurse, who does a complete about-face in her opinion of Romeo and counsels Juliet to forget him and marry Paris because, as she says, "this match...excels your first." Juliet is shocked by this advice and vows that their close relationship is over.   

How did colonists' ideas about government differ from those of the British in the 1760s?

Colonists' ideas about government (or at least the ideas of many colonists) were beginning to differ from those held by Parliament in the 1760s primarily in that the colonists opposed the imposition of additional taxes and regulations by Parliament in the wake of the French and Indian War. For many years, the colonists had benefited from lax enforcement of imperial regulations, a practice referred to after the fact as "salutary neglect." However, in the wake of the war, the British government began to exert more direct control over the colonies, and the colonists argued that these changes represented a violation of their rights as British subjects. Particularly objectionable was the Stamp Act, passed in 1765, that essentially placed a tax on official documents by requiring a revenue stamp on them. The colonists, lacking representation in Parliament, claimed that this was a violation of their rights, and engaged in protests that eventually led to the repeal of the law. Parliament, however, continued to claim the right to legislate for the colonies in all cases, and this would be the major difference between the colonies and the British. So it could be argued (and indeed has been by many historians) that the colonists' ideas about governance and their proper relationship with the British Empire did not change, but that the British    approach to governance did. The colonists responded by asserting their time-honored rights, and only eventually turned to more radical ideas like natural rights and eventually independence.

What was New York City's involvement in the American Civil War?

Socio-political conflict in New York City during the Civil War mirrored the larger divide between North and South; New York City represented a complicated mix of agendas along racial, economic and class lines. Initially, the city's major, fiscal players (Wall Street, merchants and shipping magnates) supported the war because trading in Southern cotton was fueling the city's economy, which in turn inspired loyalty to the Confederacy. However, after the 1863 conscription law, the increase in wartime casualties, and the near collapse of the city's economy, marked opposition to the war increased exponentially in New York City.

At the time, New York City was the country's most populated city, so it served as a natural source of war supplies, equipment, manpower and troops for the Union Army. Furthermore, as an immigrant port, New York also became a recruiting site for the army as Europeans with little money and resources were offered employment and certain guarantees shortly after making the trans-Atlantic crossing. New York City also had the media resources to serve as an effective, Union propaganda machine through the various politicians and newspapers that espoused President Lincoln's policies. 

However, a major catalyst for internal violence and unrest in New York City occurred after Congress passed a conscription law necessitating military enrollment for men between twenty and forty five years old. This law provoked the Draft Riots of 1863, during which racially and economically charged violence was perpetrated against blacks by immigrants; since wealthier New Yorkers were able to buy an exclusion from the draft and blacks were automatically excluded because they weren't considered citizens, it fell to immigrants to swell army ranks. Naturally, this prompted tremendous resentment from the lower class -- primarily immigrant -- population, who caused havoc and destruction in protest.

Thus, New York City's involvement in the Civil War was complicated because of conflicting socio-economic interests among the various social strata of its population. 

Do you think leadership is more important or less important in today’s flatter management structures?

I do not think that one can make a blanket claim about all types of leadership in all industries or even assume that the management structures in all companies in the world are necessarily flatter than they were at some unspecified period in the past.

A good or bad CEO can either harm or hinder a business. A company founded on innovation or disruption requires leaders with innovative ideas and the willingness and power to pursue unconventional ideas. Amazon, for example, could not have achieved it current position without a leader willing to forego short term profitability to build market share. On the other hand, powerful executives who command huge salaries and sacrifice R&D investment for short term profits to boost their own stock options can harm a company. Both of these are equally true in more and less flat management structures.

On the level of middle management, flatter management structures mean more people reporting to a single manager, and thus the effects of bad and good management practices will impact more people. However, part of the philosophy behind flatter management structures is empowering workers and increasing collaborative rather than top-down management. Thus a good manager in such an environment should be less concerned with "leadership" and more concerned with being a facilitator. 

How does Edgar Allan Poe use darkness and gloom to make "The Tell-Tale Heart" a Gothic Story?

Gothic texts combine fiction, horror, and death to prompt readers to feel extreme emotion, and "The Tell-Tale Heart" employs darkness and gloom to this effect. When the narrator describes the way he approaches the old man's darkened room each night, just at midnight, slowly inserting his head and his "dark lantern" through the door, we know what his intention is. His obsessive repetition of these actions, undertaken in darkness, only adds to the growing tension. Further, on the night the old man hears the narrator and sits up wide awake in bed, we know the narrator is waiting in the gloom, increasing our anxiety and terror for the old man's well-being. It's quite terrifying when the narrator says the old man tried to comfort himself in vain "because Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim." The old man seems to know, intuitively, that he is in danger, and the fact that the narrator associates himself with Death (he is right at home in the darkness and gloom with which we often associate death) confirms the man is, indeed, in mortal danger. This all heightens our anxiety and horror, in parallel with how the old man's feelings of terror increase as well, and these feelings are the hallmark of Gothic literature.

What was Despereaux's goal in The Tale of Despereaux?

Despereaux's goal in The Tale of Despereaux is quite simple: to save the Princess Pea no matter the cost. After hearing of Roscuro's evil plan when traveling back up to the world of light in Mig's pocket, he falls asleep in the kitchen cupboard after running for his life from Cook and Mig. While he sleeps, Roscuro tricks Mig into using a knife to scare the Princess Pea into traveling down into the dungeon, and by the time he wakes up, the whole castle is in an uproar looking for her. The broken king has sent soldiers down to find his darling princess, but Despereaux knows all too well that there is only one creature on earth who can find his way through the twistings of the dungeon: a rat. And so, gathering all his strength and courage, he visits the threadmaster for a spool of red thread and traverses back into the dark of the dungeon. He knows the only way to find the princess is to trust the untrustable: a rat who would like nothing more than to devour him. Once he makes his way on the tail of the rat to his lovely princess, he must fight the evil Roscuro for her, which is an impossible feat for his small stature. Thankfully, Mig has a change of heart and even the Princess Pea helps him to convince Roscuro that it is not revenge his heart is longing for, but light. In the end, all the characters are able to experience happiness in the light of the banquet, which is, in the words of the final page of the book, "just so."

What does holism, as an ethnographic practice, permit the anthropologist to achieve; what are the weaknesses and strengths of such an approach?

Holism, first developed by Jan Christiaan Smuts (who was also the second Prime Minister of South Africa), is the idea that all systems should be viewed together rather than as separate parts. Just as physical systems are connected in the universe, so do human systems need to be examined together. 

As applied to anthropology or ethnography, holism means that cultures can best be understood by looking at the whole culture, not just its parts. Holism in anthropology usually involves taking a "four-field" approach that includes linguistics, physical anthropology, archeology, and cultural anthropology or social anthropology. All approaches should be used to understand a person or people.

The advantages of holism is that an anthropologist can get a broader view of a people or social structure in a more complex way that integrates different types of approaches. Cultures are complex, and this approach appreciates their complexity. The disadvantages are that such an approach may not be as rigorously scientific as other approaches because holism involves an element of subjectivity or judgment. In addition, holism results in observations that are at times uncertain and not conclusive, as holism produces theories. 

In the book Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, what is Isabel's first act of bravery?

This is a tough question because Isabel is brave throughout the book, and I'm not sure what the defining line for an "act of bravery" is in regards to this question.  

I have three possibilities that I feel work.  Each involves Isabel putting herself in greater danger than the previous act.  

The first occurs in chapter three.  The Locktons are deciding whether or not to purchase Isabel and Ruth.   Madam Lockton is fairly confident in purchasing Isabel, but she can see that Ruth is mentally handicapped.  Madam Lockton asks Mr. Robert about it, and Isabel answers before Mr. Robert can answer.  It's a bold, brave move for Isabel because she's a black slave.  Some people even consider blacks equivalent to animals.  By merely speaking out of turn, Isabel is risking a possible beating.  Madam Lockton even comments on it.  

"She's [Ruth] prettier than you," Missus said. "And she knows how to hold her tongue." 

The second act of bravery that I believe Isabel displays is when Ruth has a seizure in front of Madam Lockton.  Madam Lockton believes that Ruth is possessed by the Devil, and she begins to beat Ruth with a broom.  Isabel throws herself down on top of Ruth in order to take the blows for Ruth.  

''NO! I threw myself on top of my sister. The broom came down my back once, twice, but still it didn't matter. I had to keep my sister safe until the storm passed.'' 

Both of those previous acts are a bit reactionary on Isabel's part.  She is responding to a situation in order to immediately protect Ruth.  There really isn't a choice to be defiantly brave.  The first time that Isabel chooses to be brave through an act that she very easily could have chosen not to do is when she sneaks out of the Lockton house the first time.  She sneaks out in order to report to Curzon what she heard about Lockton's plans to bribe Patriot soldiers.  Slaves can be captured and killed for being out at night, and Isabel tells readers that she wants to be brave like Queen Esther from the Bible.  

How is the theme of love used in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens?

Love, in the form of great sacrifice, is more powerful than hate in A Tale of Two Cities. For example, Sydney Carton's great love for Lucie makes him sacrifice his own life to save her. Carton has always been a drunk wastrel, but Lucie's belief in him inspires him to the greatest sacrifice he can make for her. She says to him, "I am sure that you might be much, much worthier of yourself." By stepping in for Charles Darnay and volunteering to be executed, Carton becomes a Christ-like figure. At his execution, "They said of him, about the city that night, that it was the peacefullest man's face ever beheld there." In dedicating himself to love, he has found redemption and peace in a way he never did in life. On the other hand, characters who dedicate their lives to hate, such as Madame Defarge, meet with bitter ends. As Madame Defarge tries to kill Lucie, she is instead killed with her own gun. The symbolic meaning of this episode is that hate only hurts those who wish it upon others. Love is the more transformative force in the novel. 

In Of Mice and Men, will Curly get revenge against Lennie?

In Of Mice and Men, Curley is able to experience his revenge against Lennie.

From the start of the novella, it is clear that Curley does not get along with Lennie.  Curley initiates trouble between he and Lennie in Chapter 2, sizing him up and acting hostile towards him because Lennie is a "big guy." In Chapter 3, thinking that Lennie is laughing at him, Curley starts a fight.  It does not end well for Curley as Lennie's intense strength breaks "ev'ry bone in his hand." Curley seethes with anger after the public embarrassment. When he sees his wife's dead body in Chapter 5, Curley demands on obtaining revenge for what Lennie had done to her.  It is clear that Curley is "still sore over what Lennie did to his hand."  Curley organizes the lynch mob to find and kill Lennie.  When Slim suggests that Curley stay with his wife's dead body, Curley protests and insists that he wants to go after Lennie.  There is a tone of vengeance to his insistence.

At the end of the novella, Curley finds George standing over Lennie's lifeless body.  Curley seems to relish in the fact that he has been victorious over Lennie.  Curley remarks that George “Got him, by God" as he goes over to look at Lennie.  He is content with the fact that Lennie paid the ultimate price. While Curley could not deliver it himself, the end he intended for Lennie actually happened.  In this way, Curley is able to experience his revenge against Lennie.

In "The Seven Ages of Man," why does the speaker compare "reputation" to a "bubble"?

Jaques seems to be saying that reputation for valor is fleeting. It is something that looks impressive like a large bubble, but it can vanish in an instant like a bursting bubble. Shakespeare expresses a very similar notion in another play, Troilus and Cressida. In that play Achilles has refused to fight because he feels insulted by Agamemnon. Ulysses is trying to persuade Achilles to engage in battle again because he is such a great warrior and so badly needed by the Greeks. Ulysses works on Achilles' pride by getting the other leaders to ignore him and to pretend to be honoring Ajax as their great hero. Ulysses tells Achilles, in effect, that what you have done in the past is quickly forgotten; you have to keep accomplishing new deeds if you want your reputation to remain bright. That is the essence of what Ulysses tells Achilles in a long speech beginning with the following lines.

Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back,
Wherein he puts alms for oblivion,
A great-siz'd monster of ingratitudes.
Those scraps are good deeds past, which are devour'd
As fast as they are made, forgot as soon
As done. Perseverance, dear my lord,
Keeps honour bright. To have done is to hang
Quite out of fashion, like a rusty mail
In monumental mock'ry.      Act III, Scene 3

This is what Jaques is implying when he speaks of the "bubble reputation" in As You Like It. Reputation doesn't last. Therefore, according to Jaques, it isn't worth seeking. He believes that a soldier is foolish to look for something so fragile and valueless at great risk to his own life.

Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth.    Act II, Scene 7

In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, what's the resolution of the main conflict?

In Things Fall Apart, the main conflict is that Okonkwo can't accept the changes that Christianity and westernization have brought to his village. He has always gotten prestige and esteem from his village by being a strong wrestler and by being unfailingly willing to display traditional masculine behaviors. For example, he even kills his adopted son, Ikemefuna, whom he loves, because that is what the oracle of the village decrees. However, when he is in exile for killing a man at a funeral by mistake, the town changes, so that Okonkwo's values and traditions are no longer the accepted ways of doing things. Christianity draws the weaker members of the village, including his own son, and Okonkwo retaliates by burning down the church. In response, the white foreigners imprison the tribal elders, and it's clear that the whites have the upper hand in the conflict between traditional and new values. To resolve this conflict, Okonkwo hangs himself, in violation of his own traditions. This is, sadly, the only method he knows to extricate himself from the onslaught of western traditions in his village. 

What were the educational practices in North America in: *Pre-colonial Period- I'm certain that native North American Indians educated their...

According to Dr. Alberta Yeboah in Education among Native Americans in the periods before and after contact with Europeans: An overview (2005), Native Americans established a system for teaching their children the skills and values they would need as adults. This system is often referred to as aboriginal or informal in nature, as it wasn't the formal system of education that Europeans used. Instead, this system imparted skills, formation of physical abilities, and respect for nature to children. Storytelling was often used as a method of instruction. Both boys and girls received instruction. 

In the colonial period, education varied by colony. In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a law passed in 1647 required towns to establish primary schools. Most Puritan towns had schools that instructed boys and girls in writing, reading, ciphering, and religion. In the mid-Atlantic region, schools were generally private or religious rather than public as schools in New England were. In the south, there were fewer schools until after the Revolution, and wealthy people tended to study with private tutors. The poor and slaves were not generally formally educated, and literacy rates were lower in the south. Many of the fist colleges, such as Harvard (1636) were established in New England, as the Puritans deemed it important to educate men to become clergymen. The College of William and Mary in Virginia was founded in 1693.

During the Revolution and after the United States became a country, there was an increased effort to open schools to educate children and an increased effort to educate women, who were deemed important as future mothers of leaders of the new republic. This concept, referred to as Republican Motherhood, led to the founding of new women's schools such as the Litchfield Female Academy in Connecticut, founded in 1792. 

What are Helen Keller's memories of her illness?

In Chapter 1, Keller writes that her memories of her illness when she was 19 months old are "confused." The illness was called "acute congestion of the stomach and brain," and it resulted in making her blind and deaf. For a while, Helen's doctor thought she might not live. As rapidly as the fever came, though, it left her. Helen recalls being tended to by her mother, and the suffering she felt when she awoke from a half-sleep with dry and hot eyes. Her vision became dimmer and dimmer by the day. Other than these memories, her recollections seem to her to be like a "nightmare." She recalls eventually becoming acquainted with silence and darkness and not recalling when she had been able to see and hear. After her illness, Helen stayed with her mother and held her dress and learned about the objects around her by touching them. She also began to communicate with others using types of signs.

What motives does George Orwell give to shoot the elephant in "Shooting An Elephant"?

The narrator shot the elephant "solely to avoid looking a fool." After the elephant storms through the bazaar and kills a man, it calms down fairly quickly, and when the narrator, a British colonial policeman (a position Orwell himself held for a time) encounters the beast, it is peacefully munching grass. Still, the Burmese crowd demands the death of the elephant, and expects the narrator to do it. He does not want to, but he really has no choice. In the British Empire, he says, "a white man mustn't be frightened in front of "natives"; and so, in general, he isn't frightened." He must kill the animal to maintain appearances for the crowd. Orwell comments on the bitter irony of the situation, one which demonstrates the extent to which imperialism corrupts Great Britain: the crowd, who identify the British with violence and tyrannical behavior, expect the narrator to behave in that way. In this case, that means killing the elephant in order to live up to the expectations of the crowd. Afterwards, his supervisors approve his decision and say he did the right thing. Doing the "right thing" from the empire's standpoint requires people to act contrary to their own sense of right.

In Three Men in a Boat, why did the narrator remember his Uncle Podger and what was the condition when he tried to hang the picture on the wall?

J., the narrator of Three Men in a Boat, tells a lengthy story about his Uncle Podger in Chapter III. Here is a man who thinks he knows how to do something -- maybe he thinks he knows how to do many things -- when in fact, he’s quite helpless and needs the assistance, verification, and admiration of everyone else around him to do the simplest task. The incident J. recalls is when his uncle once decided to hang a picture on the wall. The task only required the framed picture, a nail, a hammer, a step-ladder, and perhaps a pen or pencil to mark the spot where the nail should go. But Podger made a big deal of the challenge. He called on all of his family members to bring him the tools. Then he kept “losing” some of them. He dropped the picture and cut his finger on the glass. He hit his thumb with the hammer. And on and on the ordeal went; until near midnight, when the picture finally hung crookedly on the wall, the room was in a state of shambles, and Uncle Podger commended himself on a job well done. He had sapped the strength of everyone around him.

Does the wall between the neighbors' farms serve a practical purpose? What evidence in the poem supports the view?

The wall between the neighbors' farms doesn't seem to serve a practical purpose, and the narrator tells us why in the poem.

In the poem, the narrator discusses how he meets with his neighbor every spring, in order to mend the wall that separates their property. He says that, without fail, the winter elements always cause the cleaving of the stone wall, leaving gaps in between "even two can pass abreast." Despite this, the narrator views the process of mending the wall as an "outdoor game" of sorts; he thinks that it's a waste of time to put up a wall.

To argue his point, he relates that his neighbor plants pine trees, while he plants apple trees. He cheekily proclaims that his "apple trees will never get across/ And eat the cones under his pines." Basically, since neither of them has any cattle (cows), there is no need to fear the unwitting intrusion of any animals onto private property. After all, trees are inanimate objects, as the narrator humorously points out, and cannot move themselves. Therefore, since neither neighbor has animals that can wander onto the other's property, there is no conceivable need for a wall.

In The Dispossessed by Le Guin, how would you analyze the discussion of the terms “higher” and “more central” in relation to Derrida’s...

Binary oppositions are a part of structuralist thinking that identifies with the human tendency to think in "opposites." Saussure defined binary oppositions as "means by which the units of language have value or meaning" with "each unit... defined against what it is not." Thus, the concepts of positive and negative associations were born: good/evil, male/female, and, in the case of The Dispossessed, superior/inferior.

Derrida believes that such oppositions ultimately overlap and become deconstructed due to their instability. We can clearly see this happening in The Dispossessed when Shevek notes that:

Each [of us] took for granted certain relationships that the other could not see. For instance, this curious matter of superiority and inferiority... they often used the word "higher" as a synonym for "better" in their writing, where an Anarresti would use "more central."

Thus, the binary approach of superior/inferior that was a value system inherent to Urras became one of the major causes of revolution against Urras; as a result, Anarres was formed as a "more central" community that attempted to centralize values between "superior" and "inferior." The trouble with this approach was that the concept of "more central" still operates as a binary in relationship to "less central." The term does nothing to avoid the problem because it still contains an ideological locus. 

What does the line "If all men count with you, but none too much" mean in the poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling?

The line in question is in the fourth stanza of the poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling. Kipling wrote the poem for his son as a means of teaching him how to be a righteous, virtuous man. The fourth stanza relays advice on how to deal with other people.

The line “If all men count with you, but none too much” is meant to help his son understand he should value all human beings but no one person or group of people should seem far more important than another. In other words, everyone, no matter what their station in life, has value. There are none who are not important in the grand scheme of life. Kipling is teaching his son not to think of those in higher stations to be more relevant or more in need of his attention. Basically, he is admonishing his son to seek an equal balance in his feelings for all mankind.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of rural industrialization?

The major advantages of industrialization in rural areas are employment, infrastructure, and education. Rural areas are often left behind when it comes to economic opportunities. For families that do not farm, rural areas can mean a lengthy commute to the nearest job sites, but more often, those in rural areas experience higher rates of unemployment. Industrialization can bring jobs to those remote areas, and with jobs, better infrastructure. Building a factory means building roads to the factory, ensuring quick shipping routes, and providing adequate housing for employees. Finally, with better infrastructure and job opportunities often come better schools. The tax base in a community increases around industry, small businesses come in to serve that industry (such as restaurants and hotels). As property values increase, the demand for and funding for public schools increase.

The major disadvantages of industrialization in rural areas are pollution, displacement of residents, and loss of natural spaces. Rural areas can be more susceptible to groundwater and/or freshwater pollution when industry moves in because they do not have the safeguards already in place in industrialized areas. The issue is compounded if the rural area is home to livestock and/or crop farming. When industry comes to a rural area, bringing jobs and tax breaks with it, it may need to displace homes, businesses, schools, and wildlife to set up operations. Finally, rural areas are marked by unspoiled acreage, which may not generate revenue, but preserves green spaces and wildlife.  Loss of green spaces is one of the major reasons rural residents protest industrialization.

Tort Law: In the following scenario, what framework should I go about using in identifying business/legal issues to identify, explain and provide a...

This case is simple: This is vehicular assault. It is entirely the driver's fault, there is no excuse for this behavior, and there is basically no chance the driver will be able to foist the liability off on the company or the other driver. Indeed, they may actually be subject to criminal penalties (in addition to civil penalties) for their reckless and harmful action. In fact, if anyone dies in the other vehicle, they could probably be charged with second-degree murder.

The fact that the light was actually green at the time the driver accelerated might mitigate their liability slightly, but not very much. Unless they can successfully argue that they thought the other vehicle was moving and were mistaken (and even then, the burden of proof would be on them, since it is generally the responsibility of drivers to ensure that they do not collide with vehicles that are stationary for any reason---including stalls and other emergency stops), they are going to be held responsible based on intent---they caused the collision willfully and on purpose.

In "The Road Not Taken," how might the two roads stand for two ways of life?

The two roads can really stand in for any two choices or possibilities, including two different ways of life.  Just as the speaker considers the two roads before him, he might consider two possible life paths which are open to him at a particular moment in time.  He claims that the second option is "just as fair" as the first, just as two possible ways of life might seem equally appealing (line 6).  Further, he says, "[...] the passing there / Had worn them really about the same" (9-10).  He means, here, that an approximately equal number of people have chosen each path, just as many numbers of people will have taken each of the ways of life which are open to us.  After the speaker chooses the second path, he engages in some wishful thinking, that someday he might return to that first path and see where it leads, but, he says, "knowing how way leads on to way, / I doubted if I should ever come back" (14-15).  Once one chooses a particular way of life, one cannot really switch gears and suddenly choose a different one, or, at least, it's extremely difficult to do so. 

How do I write 10 questions about these graphs on carbon emissions? ...

The first thing that I would recommend before writing the questions is determine which kinds of question you would like to ask. Do you want to ask multiple choice, true/ false, fill in the blank, or short answer questions? I would also figure out how difficult of a question you would like to ask. Based on the links, I am going to assume the questions need to be fairly simple and straightforward. The links contain "primary" and "grade5" in them, so I would make sure the questions are accessible for fifth graders. Don't ask anything beyond their cognitive abilities, and keep question vocabulary simple enough to be accessible to a fairly young reader. I will write a few sample questions in order to provide you with a start.  

1. Which country has the highest carbon emissions?


2. Which country has the lowest carbon emissions?


3. Do both graphs agree on which country is the highest and lowest polluter?  


4. Which graph is easier to read? Why? 

What are some quotes about women in World War I?

World War I saw many women occupy positions that had previously largely only been held by men. Some of these positions included bus conductors, postal workers, bank tellers, police officers, firefighters, and factory workers.

Kathryn J. Atwood, author of Women Heroes of World War I has said the following of women who lived during that time:

“During the conflict that was placed before them, they not only gained the gratitude of many in their own generation but they proved, for the first time on a global scale, the enormous value of a woman’s contribution, paving the way for future generations of women to do the same.” 

In Britain, women were instrumental in encouraging men to fight in the war. Posters and other propaganda were created to prod men into serving in the war. One of the best known quotes on these posters said:

"Women of Britain say go."

However, women's actions during World War I were more powerful than the propagandizing of their words. Author Belinda Davis' quote about the heavy burden placed on women during World War I was powerful:

"When her work day was done, she went looking for food to buy, often standing in line for hours for scarce basic goods, scrounged for hard-to-come-by fuel to feed the furnace and cooked dinner. She washed the children, put them to bed, cleaned up and wrote a letter to her husband, keeping her worry off the page, before sleeping a few hours. And then she got up and did it again."

I need help with writing a speech in response to the following prompt: Imagine you are a lawyer, defending Macbeth's crimes. Write the...

The first thing to note here is that you would need to go against the text of the play as it would have been understood by the original audience. There is no actual evidence that Shakespeare was portraying Macbeth as insane; instead, he is an example of a man corrupted by power and ambition. In order to complete your assignment, you would need to do an anachronistic reading of the play.

The first line of argument you might take (albeit a very anachronistic one) would be to cast doubt on the existence of the witches. You would argue that the story of the witches is inherently improbable, and that no rational person believes in magic and divination. From this assumption, you would then argue that Macbeth's belief in the existence of the witches was evidence that he was subject to hallucinations. Hearing voices that command a person to commit violent acts is a symptom of schizophrenia as is the grandiosity of what these hallucinations seem to be suggesting to him. 

Similarly, the appearance of Banquo's ghost, invisible to other people, could be seen to confirm a diagnosis of insanity. 

In "An Astrologer's Day," what details and techniques does Narayan use to describe the astrologer?

The astrologer is an impressive character. As the narrator says, if he had stayed in his village

...he would have carried on the work of his forefathers--namely, tilling the land, living, marrying, and ripening in his cornfield and ancestral home.

But when he was forced to flee the village, he was able to develop a whole new personality and survive in a densely populated urban environment by using his intelligence. The story suggests that many people who live in primitive rural conditions could likewise develop all sorts of hidden talents if they had the opportunities. 

The astrologer lives by his wits. He knows how to put on a show to attract passers-by, and he knows what to tell them, even though he is well aware that he has no mystical knowledge. He has no education and is probably illiterate. But he has "street smarts," "moxie."

He had a working analysis of mankind's troubles: marriage, money, and the tangles of human ties. Long practice had sharpened his perception.

He only collects small coins for his consultations, no doubt because most of the people who stroll in the park for recreation have little extra spending money. It is apparent that he must sit for long hours in order to collect enough to keep himself and his family alive from day to day.

...his eyes sparkled with a sharp abnormal gleam which was really an outcome of a continual searching look for customers, but which his simple clients took to be a prophetic light and felt comforted.

Money is of great importance to him in his precarious profession. In addition to his superior intelligence, he is courageous and determined. When he is dealing with Guru Nayak and his life is in imminent danger, the astrologer still insists on haggling over money. He brings every single coin home to his wife so that she can buy food for the family. Evidently he is a devoted husband and father.

"An Astrologer's Day" is a study in the vicissitudes of life and of one type of adaptation. The astrologer would have been an ignorant peasant if he had remained in his village, but the big city forced him to adapt to entirely new conditions, and he managed to find a niche in which to survive, marry, and reproduce. He is a survivor. We can identify with him because we all have to learn to survive in this world by adapting to our environment.

Based upon information in the text and through informed speculation, what does Miss Brill look like in Katherine Mansfield's story "Miss Brill"?

Miss Brill is probably a woman who is slightly past middle age because she seems rather old-fashioned, wearing a necklet that she has owned for some time. She also ranks other people that she sees as either "young" or "old."

In the story that is told from the perspective of Miss Brill, the reader notes when Miss Brill goes to the park to listen to the Sunday concert that she observes: "The young ones, the laughing ones who were moving together, they would begin...."
Later, Miss Brill alludes to the very "old invalid gentleman" to whom she reads the newspaper four times a week. This activity suggests that Miss Brill is older because usually young people do not want to read to really old people, nor do they have the time. Also, her association with this man suggests her connection to an era that is now obsolete. Further, when the old gentleman asks if she is an actress because of the way that she reads, Miss Brill smooths the newspaper as if it were a manuscript of a play and says with kindness, "Yes, I have been an actress for a long time." This remark may have the hidden meaning that for years she has pretended to be someone she is not because she has not married or has no children. She may even have called herself an actress because she has accomplished little that is significant in life.

After a while, as Miss Brill listens to the music and hears something "so beautiful--so moving..." her eyes fill with tears in her sentimentality, an emotion usually more reflective of a woman who is, at least, middle-aged. Also, she thinks to herself:

Yes, we understand, we understand, she thought--though what they understood she didn't know.

Then, when the "boy and girl" sit down where the "old couple" had been, the middle-aged Miss Brill notices that they are infatuated with each other. In her romantic mind, she thinks, "They were beautifully dressed; they were in love. The hero and heroine, of course...." as she sings along, soundlessly to the music being played.

Miss Brill then hears the girl tell her boyfriend, "No, not now....Not here, I can't." The boy asks her why not. "Because of that stupid old thing at the end there?" the boy asks. "Why doesn't she keep her silly old mug at home!" And, the two laugh at the little fur of which she has always been so proud.
Hurt by the young couple's remarks and giggles, Miss Brill returns to her "room like a cupboard" without stopping as she usually does for a "tiny present" for herself at the bakery. Once in her room, she sits for some time without moving. Finally, she puts away her obsolete little fur in the little box and she thinks that "she heard something crying." Such sentimentality is usually indicative of an older person who was young in another era. 

Would you argue that the areas (i.e. Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa) can properly be called non-western? Why or why not? Would...

Huntington defines Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa as non-western. He writes, "Civilizations are differentiated from each other by history, language, culture, tradition, and, most important, religion" (page 25). He states that economic modernization and social changes have weakened the nation-state and have made religion more important in helping people define their identities, leading to fundamentalist forms of religion. Asia, the Middle East, and Africa are partly non-western. It could be argued that they are also western in many ways, as parts of these regions also follow Christian religious traditions, which are western. In addition, their histories and languages are in part western, as the recent history of the world is interconnected, and western languages, particularly English, are now spoken almost everywhere. However, religious differences remain in these regions, particularly the Middle East. Latin America is more western in its orientation, as it has western religious traditions (mainly Catholicism), languages, and recent history.

The conflict between the western and Islamic world, as Huntington pointed out, has been going on for over 1,300 years (page 31). Increased immigration from the troubled Middle East to Europe and other areas of the west has only worsened this tension and increased forms of racism. Therefore, for the short term, it seems like the situation between civilizations will be one of conflict; however, it is difficult to predict if increased immigration to the west will eventually result in making the west more comfortable with Islam. Therefore, it is unclear whether conflict is inevitable in the long term. In addition, our relationships with China seem to be improving over time, resulting in more cooperation than conflict. 

What is the fate of Mrs. De Ropp?

Mrs. De Ropp dies when she is attacked by Conradin's polecat-ferret, Sredni Vashtar. The story of how she dies is faithfully described by the author and is presented as a case of poetic justice.

Accordingly, when Mrs. De Ropp demands to know if Conradin is keeping guinea pigs in the tool-shed, he doesn't apprise her of the truth. So, she marches down to the shed to see for herself, after she retrieves the key from Conradin's bedroom. It is clear that Mrs. De Ropp aims to clear out any offending articles she finds in the shed.

Meanwhile, Conradin watches her from the dining-room window. He prays that Sredni Vashtar will rise up against his oppressor. However, even as he prays, Conradin despairs that his nemesis will ever be defeated. He imagines that, after she finds Shredni Vashtar, her triumph over him will be complete. The gardener will be tasked with carrying away Conradin's prized pet, and he, Conradin, will once more be subject to Mrs. De Ropp's "pestering and domineering and superior wisdom" until he succumbs to an early death.

However, his hopes rise when he sees not Mrs. De Ropp emerge from the shed but the ferret:

Hope had crept by inches into his heart, and now a look of triumph began to blaze in his eyes that had only known the wistful patience of defeat. Under his breath, with a furtive exultation, he began once again the paean of victory and devastation. And presently his eyes were rewarded: out through that doorway came a long, low, yellow-and-brown beast, with eyes a-blink at the waning daylight, and dark wet stains around the fur of jaws and throat.

The "wet stains" allude to the fact that Mrs. De Ropp has not survived her encounter with Shredni Vashtar. This fact is further confirmed by the maid's screams and someone's pitiful lamentation about not being able to break the news to the "poor child."

What are positive and negative lessons about love learned from the characters in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night?

Twelfth Night is one of the greatest plays ever written about love. Many of the characters do gain new insights through losing their hearts. And while Shakespeare certainly doesn’t set out to be didactic, audiences listening to his words may also learn some very human truths. Are these “lessons” positive or negative? That depends on your perspective. There’s a lot to be said on this topic. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Viola: The first thing we learn about Viola is that she and her brother Sebastian have just been shipwrecked. Viola has been miraculously rescued, but she’s in anguish at the thought that her beloved brother may have drowned. Because she cares so much, she must struggle with this terrible dread until almost the end of the play.

Viola hatches a scheme to disguise herself as a young man (“Cesario”) and join the court of Duke Orsino, the ruler of Illyria. In her very first scene, Shakespeare foreshadows the fact that she is going to fall in love with her new employer. When she hears the duke’s name, Viola recalls her father mentioning it to her long ago:

VIOLA
Orsino! I have heard my father name him:
He was a bachelor then.
                                        [I.ii]

In what context, we wonder, did Sebastian Senior mention Orsino to his young daughter, and inform her that the duke was unmarried? Could it be that he was considering Orsino as a possible husband for Viola?

Viola does fall for the duke, and finds herself trapped in a dilemma: she can only serve him as long as she maintains her disguise, but as long as Orsino believes she’s a boy, he will never see her as a woman. Even worse, Orsino is infatuated with Olivia, and sends “Cesario” off to woo the beautiful countess on his behalf. The devoted Viola finds herself using all her eloquence to persuade Olivia to marry the man whom Viola herself loves.

If Viola didn’t know it before, her experiences in Illyria teach her that deep love makes us vulnerable to pain. One reason her character is so appealing is that, despite all the suffering that she experiences, she continues to love Sebastian and Orsino with absolute devotion.

Olivia: Olivia, too, is already grieving at the start of the play. She’s in mourning for her father and her brother, who have both died recently. While we may suspect that she’s using her bereavement as an excuse to keep Orsino at arm’s length, there’s no reason to think that her grief isn’t real:

VALENTINE
The element itself, till seven years' heat,
Shall not behold her face at ample view;
But, like a cloistress, she will veiled walk
And water once a day her chamber round
With eye-offending brine: all this to season
A brother's dead love, which she would keep fresh
And lasting in her sad remembrance.
                                                   [I.i]

Olivia herself has never been in love. She finds Orsino’s suit irritating, and she has no real empathy for him. Viola finds Olivia’s coolness infuriating:

VIOLA
Love make his heart of flint that you shall love;
And let your fervor, like my master's, be
Placed in contempt! Farewell, fair cruelty.
                                                [I,v]

Little does Viola realize that Olivia has just fallen in love with “Cesario,” believing him to be a man. (It’s interesting to note that Olivia speaks in prose — that is, ordinary language rhythms rather than iambic pentameter — up until halfway through her first scene with Cesario. There, she switches into blank verse, and continues that way until the end of the play. This is  Shakespeare telling the actor (and us), “Here is the moment when Olivia falls in love and everything changes.”)

Olivia now discovers what love really feels like, and she’s amazed:

OLIVIA
Thy tongue, thy face, thy limbs, actions and spirit,
Do give thee five-fold blazon: not too fast:
soft, soft!
Unless the master were the man. How now!
Even so quickly may one catch the plague?
Methinks I feel this youth's perfections
With an invisible and subtle stealth
To creep in at mine eyes.
                                      [I,v]

Olivia suffers less for love than some of the other characters do. Luckily for her, Viola’s twin Sebastian is available to step in and change places with his sister, giving Olivia a genuine “Cesario” to marry.

Orsino:  Does Orsino truly love Olivia? He tells us that he loves her for her beauty:

ORSINO
Get thee to yond same sovereign cruelty:
Tell her, my love, more noble than the world,
Prizes not quantity of dirty lands;
The parts that fortune hath bestow'd upon her,
Tell her, I hold as giddily as fortune;
But 'tis that miracle and queen of gems
That nature pranks her in [i.e., her looks] attracts my soul.
                                                [II,iv]

Orsino’s relationship with “Cesario” is very different. The two of them spend time together, talking about life and love and their families. Because she is disguised as a boy, Viola is allowed to develop a type of relationship with Orsino that he would never ordinarily have with any woman. When he discovers at last who she truly is, Orsino is in no doubt that he loves her:

ORSINO
    If this be so, as yet the glass seems true,
    I shall have share in this most happy wreck.

   [ To VIOLA]

    Boy, thou hast said to me a thousand times
    Thou never shouldst love woman like to me.

 . . .

    Give me thy hand;
    And let me see thee in thy woman's weeds.
                                                       [V, i]

Thanks to those early discussions (and arguments) with “Cesario,” Orsino has learned how to love her in a way that he never loved the remote and lovely Olivia.

Malvolio:

OLIVIA:
Oh, you are sick of self-love, Malvolio . . .
                                               [I,v]

Malvolio’s real love is his own vision of himself as a great and powerful gentleman. Like Narcissus, he falls for an insubstantial reflection of himself: a fantasy which Maria plays on to bring about his downfall. Because of his ambition, all of his personal relationships in the play are determined by status. He is not interested in Olivia for herself, but for the power and authority that marriage to her would bring him. By the end of the play, having been tricked and humiliated and terrified, Malvolio is bent on revenge. Has he learned anything? I see no evidence that he has. What do you think?

What is the difference between a laser light and an incandescent light?

An incandescent light is a more technical term for traditional light bulbs, which produce light via incandescence. This is the term for the light emitted by objects when they're heated, in the same way that some metals will glow when placed in a fire. Incandescent lights use a piece of wire, usually tungsten, and transmit electrical energy into the wire, heating it until it's hot enough to glow. Note that not all light bulbs are incandescent; in many places they're being replaced with various other types of bulbs, such as fluorescent lights, due to the poor efficiency and lifetime of incandescent bulbs.

The main point of comparison between an incandescent and laser light is in the characteristics of the light they emit. Emitted light is typically the result of electrons in an atom absorbing and releasing specific wavelengths of light. Tungsten is a relatively heavy element with many electrons, thereby providing many different energies that the atom can absorb and release. This is part of why the light they emit appears white; it is releasing many different colors at once, but if you looked at the tungsten spectrum you'd see many differently-colored lines, each of which corresponds to the energy released from a specific electron transition. 

Laser light, by contrast, is defined as light that is emitted as a single wavelength, and all of those wavelengths are being emitted in phase, and in the same direction. This produces a light that has a single color and a very tightly focused beam. In comparison to incandescent light, this would be like taking just one of those electron transitions from tungsten, and only allowing that particular electron transition to take place, and then filtering it. In fact, this is basically what a laser does; by only allowing specific energies to excite its "medium" (i.e. whatever the laser is using instead of a tungsten wire) it only allows certain wavelengths of light to be generated; it then filters the wavelengths so that only the ones in phase are emitted, and it does this through a very narrow lens that produces a tightly-focused beam. 

What is Pollan's central thesis in In Defense of Food?

Michael Pollan is regarded by many as a revolutionary in the food world of the United States. (His influence can be felt all throughout the world, though.) For Pollan, the big question is, "When we can eat everything, how do we know what we should eat?" In his book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, he tackles this question head on, and expands upon these ideas with In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. 

Pollan argues in In Defense of Food that many people today, especially the majority of the United States, don't eat "real food." We eat "food-like substances--" that is, stuff that has been processed, refined, and had nutrition added back in such a way that it resembles food but it utterly different from something like a fresh tomato or whole beef steak. In the United States (and elsewhere), most of the food you find in a grocery store falls into the category of food-like substances. What we gain in preservation and regularity of a food item, we lose in nutrition, flavor, and sustainability. 

Pollan encourages people to reject the highly-processed diet which focuses on nutrition more than it focuses on whether a food is actually a real, healthful food item. He feels that Western culture has become so caught up in "nutritionism," equating it with health, that we might prefer a product that advertises a certain amount of nutritional quality rather than a food which naturally has the same. For example, people might be more inclined to eat crackers which advertise four grams of fiber per serving over a bowl of steamed cracked wheat.

Pollan's book rejects the industrial food complex and engineered foods while defending the tradition, health qualities, and environmental sustainability of eating whole, real foods. Pollan previously introduced us to the mantra, "Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much." In this particular book, I feel he would alter this statement to begin with, "Eat real food."