I need help on an English assessment. The assignment requires writing a letter in the voice of Romeo addressed to his father explaining his...

There are two things you should consider as you work on this assignment, the conventions of Renaissance letter writing and Romeo's speeches about the reasons for his suicide.

The letter should begin with a formal salutation, such as "To my most noble and honorable father, the Lord Montague, from his most unfortunate son Romeo." The second part of the letter normally captures the goodwill of the audience and includes such things as wishes for the continuing health of the recipient.

The narration, or main body of the letter, should describe the circumstances of Romeo's suicide, including his receiving the news of Juliet's death from Balthasar, his purchase of the poison from the apothecary, his arrival at the tomb, his fight with Paris, and his final glance at Juliet before swallowing the cordial. After the narration, Romeo should expand upon the reasons for his committing suicide, including his unwillingness to live without Juliet. 

The conclusion of the letter normally expresses wishes for the future. This might be a place for Romeo to express a desire for an end to the feud between the families. 

In The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, how does William Kamkwamba explore the conflict between magic and science?

William Kamkwamba, the author, writes about the way in which his childhood belief in magic, passed down to him by his father, gives way to a belief in science when his family is faced with starvation and privation. He writes about the sway magic held over him as a boy growing up in Malawi before he turned to science. He says, "Before I discovered the miracles of science, magic ruled the world" (page 3). His father teaches him to believe in magic and explains the way in which magic operates "as a third and powerful force" that intervenes in the world because gods and men have too many troubles (page 6). His father explains to him that while magic is invisible, it is still all around him. When William is little, he believes in many forms of magic, such as magic lions who are sent at night to kill debtors (page 13).

William begins to turn to science in part to help himself and his family. For example, William and his friend Geoffrey begin taking apart old radios so they can repair them. Radios are critical because "the radio is the only connection to the world outside the village" (page 68). The boys become very interested in finding out the mechanics that make things run, but they don't consider what they are doing to be science. When the village starts starving, William realizes that magic can be of no help to them. After finding some discarded science books, he begins to construct a windmill. He writes of the forest where he once thought magic ruled: "now I was back there to cut down trees to build a ladder to science and creation—something greater and more real than any magic in the land" (page 199). Hunger and his family's need for electricity cause him to discard his traditional belief in magic in favor of embracing science. The conflict between magic and science is the conflict between traditional and modern belief, and necessity causes William to embrace a belief in science to help his family and his village. 

Why do you think the play "Metamora" by John Augustus Stone won the playwriting contest, and what was the judge looking for?

Metamora; or, The Last of the Wampanoags is a play that was written by John Augustus Stone (an American playwright and actor) in 1829 in response to a contest funded by actor Edwin Forrest. 

Forrest outlined his criteria for the competition in The New York Critic, writing that he would award  500 dollars to "the best tragedy, in five acts, of which the hero, or principal character, shall be an aboriginal of this country." The Committee of Award, which was led by William Cullen Bryant, selected Metamora out of the fourteen plays submitted to the contest. 

Metamora was, thus, likely chosen because it perfectly fit Forrest's aforementioned criteria; the play in five acts follows the conflict between the titular Metamora (a Wampanoag hero) and the Puritans who tried to settle New England in the 1600s. The play ends in tragedy, with Metamora stabbing his beloved wife, Nehmeokee, to death in order to prevent the "palefaces" from slaying her. Metamora is immediately thereafter killed by the arriving soldiers, and he dies cursing the white men and calling out the name of his wife.

This "romantic" ending was also probably attractive to the contest's judge, since its dramatic nature was in in line with the particular talents of Forrest, who got his start playing Othello (another non-white "outsider" character who causes the death of both himself and his wife) in New York. Without a doubt, choosing Metamora as the winner was smart: both the play and Forrest were greeted with immense success, bringing in record profits and sparking a trend of sentimental "Indian" dramas in the theatre world.

(A note on the source used to answer this question: all of this information is readily available in the introductory comments that preface the play!)

Do you change your behavior significantly after being fortunate enough to escape bigger consequences of your actions?

When you make a mistake, but do not suffer greatly from the mishap, one would hope that it would serve as a wake-up call.  What that means is that you would realize that you need to pay more attention and not make the same mistake in the future.  You have been given a second chance.

Let’s take a small but almost metaphorical example. You are texting while walking, and you almost fall into a hole.  You realize that you should put your phone away while you walk.  This could avert disaster for you.  Hopefully, you will not text while you drive, or do anything else while walking or driving that will cause you to be distracted and get into a serious accident.

Sometimes we have small shocks that make us realize how close we have come to serious injury, disaster, or other misfortune.  We can learn from our mistake and prevent the big problem from happening, or we can pretend it never happened or forget it happened and then one day make the big mistake that does lead to big consequences.

Learn from your failures and near-misses.  Mistakes are a part of life.  When you avoid a mishap or a consequence, be grateful but use the opportunity.  Learn from your mistake.

In The Miracle Worker, what are the three things Annie tells Kate she (Annie) has going for her?

Kate is surprised by Annie's youth. She is also understandably concerned because Annie has never taught before. James suggests that Annie may end up being a burden on the family, and Captain Keller is shocked when he hears that Annie herself was once blind: "The blind teaching the blind?"

Annie seeks to reassure Katie that even though she (Annie) is young and relatively inexperienced, she has three important advantages over any other teacher.

1. She is young and has energy. This will be vital for dealing with a student with the emotional issues and physical strength of Helen.

2. She is smart and has studied the research. Annie was taught in one of the most progressive schools for the blind of the time. She has experienced the success of their techniques personally and has looked deep into the research behind the techniques.

3. Annie has been blind and has empathy for Helen. Annie understands the difficulties and emotional toll of being blind. She knows how to empathize without pitying. Helen has been spoiled by too much pity and indulgence. Annie knows that that kind of treatment is the worst thing for Helen.

In " There Will Come Soft Rains", what does the radioactive glow represent, mean and indicate?

"There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury is a post-apocalyptic story focusing on the aftermath of a nuclear war in which all human life has been destroyed. The radioactive glow is evidence that the world being described exists in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust and that all living beings have died. Thus the main function of the glow is that it is a very concise and efficient way of signalling to the reader the background situation of the story.

Next, radioactivity kills organic life but not machines, although machinery can be disrupted by the electromagnetic pulses associated with nuclear explosions. Thus the glow suggests that we are now in a world inhospitable to organic life forms. Thus it emphasizes that our technology is capable of eliminating humanity. The outdoors, normally pictured in literature as a wholesome scene of pastoral innocence, has become a toxic wasteland, not glowing under a benign sun but with a form of energy that is toxic to humanity. 

A dad holds 5 coins in his hand. He tells his son that if he can guess the amount of money he is holding within 5% error he can have the money. The...

In this question, we have to determine the % error of the estimate of the son. If he estimated the amount of money held in his dad's hand within 5% error, he can have all the coins. Otherwise, he will not have any.

The son's estimate is 81 cents, while the actual amount held in his dad's hand is 90 cents. The percentage error in the estimation is calculated by using the error and the actual value.

Error in the estimate = amount estimated - actual amount

= 81 cents - 90 cents = - 9 cents

Actual value = 90 cents

% error = (error/actual value) x 100 = (-9 cents / 90 cents) x 100

= 10%

The boy has estimated 10% less amount than the actual value. Since his estimate is off by more than 5%, the son will not get any money from his dad.

Hope this helps.