Saturday, May 31, 2008

How does Roger's change lead to Piggy's death?

Roger is the boy who, from the very beginning of the story, tests the boundaries of what depths of savagery are acceptable. In chapter four it is Roger who begins to push at the limits of sociopathic behavior by tormenting Percival, Henry and Johnny and then following Henry and throwing rocks at him. He can't quite bring himself to hit Henry yet but that quickly changes.


Roger's descent into violence and savagery is displayed again when he tortures the sow to death by ramming a sharpened stick into its anus; he clearly revels in the horrific pain the animal feels. This progression into a truly violent and sadistic state is important as it leads to Piggy's death.


There is no particular reason why Roger pushes the boulder off the cliff to fall and crush Piggy, other than his lust for violence and blood. The murder of Piggy marks Roger breaking the last boundary of society.

Friday, May 30, 2008

What were the benefits of Imperialism? In terms of social-cultural factors, economic factors and political factors?

There were many benefits to imperialism. These included economic, political, social, and cultural benefits.


Many countries wanted colonies for economic reasons. The colonies often had resources that imperialistic countries needed to make products. It was much cheaper to get these resources from their colonies than to buy then from other countries. Also, colonies gave the imperialistic country a guaranteed market where it could sell it products.


Political factors also played a part in imperialism. If a country had colonies, it would be easier for that country to protect its world trade. By having colonies, imperialistic countries could have bases around the world where their ships could dock and resupply. The colonies could also serve as a military base in case of war. Colonies helped a country become and stay a world power.


Social and cultural factors were also reasons for imperialism. Imperialistic countries believed their way of life and cultures were superior to other countries. By establishing colonies, the imperialistic countries could spread their culture to what they perceived as less developed places. The imperialistic countries believed they were helping these colonies learn to how to run a government, develop a civilized society, and develop an economic system. They also might be able to spread their religious beliefs to these colonies.


There were many benefits that led to colonization. These included social, political, economic, and cultural benefits.

What prompts Tom to break Myrtle's nose?

There are several contributing factors to the incident of Myrtle's broken nose. Myrtle and Tom are both married to other people and are having an affair. They have to have somewhere else to meet, where they will not be discovered, so Tom has an apartment in the city. When they go there they drink alcohol, frequently a LOT of alcohol. Tom is kind of a bully; he uses his anger to get what he wants and orders other people around. On the day he breaks Myrtle's nose, the two of them and several others have gone to the apartment. They are all drinking. Myrtle starts saying Daisy's name. Tom tells her to stop, but she keeps chanting Daisy's name until Tom backhands her across the face, breaking her nose.

A 1520 kg geosynchronous satellite orbits a planet similar to Earth at a radius 1.93 × 105 km from the planet’s center. Its angular speed at...

A satellite that orbits around a planet is subjected to a force of gravitational attraction of the planet. Over the satellite it must be exercised a force, equal and opposite to the force of gravity, to prevent its fall to the planet. This analysis allows us to find the force of gravity over the satellite.


The centrifugal force is proportional to the tangential speed of the satellite in its orbit, according to the following expression:


Fc = (mv^2)/r


where:


v,  is the tangential velocity of the satellite.


r,  is the radius of the orbit.


m,  is the mass of the satellite.


In the problem we can find the angular velocity (w) of the satellite.


w = 2π/T


Where T = 24 h, It is the period of rotation of the satellite around the planet


The tangential velocity (v) and the angular velocity (w) are related by the following equation:


v = w*r


Then, we can express (v) as follows:


v = (2π*r)/T


Now, substituting into the equation for the centrifugal force, we have:


Fc = mv^2/r = m[(2π*r/T)^2]/r


Fc = (m*4π^2)r/T^2


Fc = (1520)*(4)(9.87)(1.93*10^5)/(86400)^2


Fc = Fg = 1551 N


The planet exerts on the satellite, a force of 1551 N.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Give three examples of the specific difficulties Kipling foresees in taking up the "white man's burden."

Published in 1899, Kipling's poem, "The White Man's Burden" provides the ideological justification for imperialism. But Kipling recognised that imperialism came at a cost to the those who practised it. 


First of all, in lines three and four, Kipling instructs the imperialists to "send their sons" to faraway lands. For the imperialists, then, colonisation requires the sacrifice of their men. They must send them abroad, with no idea of the potential dangers nor any notion of when they might return. 


Secondly, in lines 11 and 12, Kipling states that colonised people pose a "threat of terror" and are filled with "pride." For the imperialists, overcoming these negative character traits is a difficult but necessary task. As Kipling states in the next two lines, this task may pose problems ("An hundred times made plain") but it must be carried out, if colonised people are to be made civilised.


Finally, Kipling recognises that imperialists are often the target of social criticism. As he says in lines 19 and 20: "The blame of those ye better/the hate of those ye guard." For Kipling, the imperialists must ignore this criticism and continue in their endeavours abroad. Eventually, people will realise that imperialism is both necessary and advantageous, as he states in the closing lines: "Cold-edged with dear bought wisdom/The judgement of your peers." 

In Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers, what is the magic number for true expertise?

In Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers, he claims that the magic number for true expertise is 10,000 hours. He supports this claim through a series of case studies, in which he examines exemplars from across several fields, such as Computer Sciences or music. In each case, he calculates an approximate number of hours that these exemplars were able to spend practicing based on their recollections, the recollections of others, and on recorded events. His findings are astonishingly similar, despite the dissimilarities across his cases; each of these incredibly successful case studies managed to practice for approximately 10,000 hours before becoming an extreme success in his or her respective field. Gladwell's findings substantiate his claim that while talent does contribute to success, talent must be complemented by practiced skill in order to lead to success. 

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Which Egyptian god is portrayed as a falcon, with a large circle representing the sun hovering over his head?

The Egyptian god you are looking for is Ra, the sun-god. The Egyptians depicted Ra in several ways, but he was most often depicted as a man with the head of a hawk or falcon. Over Ra's head hovered a yellow disk (representing the sun) with a snake coiled around it.


According to Egyptian mythology, Ra was responsible for creating all life. According to one myth, Ra created humans from his tears. As the god of the sun, the Egyptians believed he was responsible for light, heat, and the growth of crops. Thus he was intricately connected to most aspects of Egyptians' lives.


The city of Heliopolis served as the center for cult-worship of Ra. From this cult developed the idea that pharaohs were the "sons of Ra."

In the story of "The Wonderful Tar-Baby," what is the purpose of the trickster figure?

The trickster figure is a big part of the storytelling tradition both in Native American and African American cultures. Henry Louis Gates Jr, in his book The Signifying Monkey, discusses the role and purpose of the trickster figure. Traditionally, the trickster figure is a character who plays tricks or distracts, misdirects, or confuses the opponent in order to gain a degree of power--the trickster figure is generally one who has little power and so must resort to unexpected measures to get ahead. In Joel Chandler Harris' "The Tar Baby," the trickster figure--the rabbit--has to resort to trickery to get away from the fox. Because the fox has the power and has the rabbit trapped in tar, the rabbit uses tricky words--reverse psychology--to get the fox to send him right where he wants to be: the briar patch. By including this trickster figure in the story, Harris uses the rabbit as a symbol of someone who has no power, winning against his opponent through unconventional means. This also has implications thematically with regards to race and the the power difference between blacks and whites at the time.

What is a good thesis statement for talking about the types, ways of cooking, and the different flavors of food?

Your main problem in trying to develop a thesis statement is that your subject is so broad. Normally a thesis sets forth a position to be argued about a narrow topic but you haven't really identified a manageable subject area or type of stance. 


One area you could discuss is the ethics  of food. For example, you might argue for a thesis that as research increasing shows that animals can feel pain and experience something akin to what we consider emotions, that it becomes unethical to treat animals as things to be used rather than as individuals with basic rights to whom we have moral obligations. 


Another possible ethical approach would be a thesis arguing that we should pay attention to the total carbon impact of the foods we consume and avoid foods which are raised using unsustainable practices. For a paper on this thesis, you could include discussion of the carbon footprints of different cooking methods. 


Another possible thesis would argue that how we prepare our foods has a major impact on our health and go on to discuss the health consequences of different food preparation methods. 

Note how Thoreau qualifies his argument in paragraph 40 of "Civil Disobedience"; how does using this rhetorical strategy serve his purpose?

In the beginning portion of "Civil Disobedience," Thoreau criticizes the nature of the government and how it serves to rob citizens of their voice rather than to offer them a true democratic system.  Thoreau is aware that his ideas may offend readers, and he does not want to lose his credibility by potentially being labeled as a trouble-maker, so he alters his rhetoric at this point to show his willingness to be a part of the government.  Thoreau says, "I am but too ready to conform to them," meaning that if governmental laws were truly created by the people, then he would happy submit to them.  Later in the paragraph, Thoreau employs a rhetorical question after he has asked the reader to view the government not just from a close-up lens, but from one far removed--the suggestion is that surely from a more objective standpoint, one could see the problems with the government as it is.

On what page of The Outsiders is the following quote: "you just didn't tell Dally Winston what to do?"

In Chapter 2 of S.E. Hinton’s novel The Outsiders, page 22 of the edition consulted, the story’s narrator, Ponyboy Curtis, is describing an encounter he and Johnny have with Cherry Valance, in which the pretty Soc who will engage Ponyboy in a continuing dialogue throughout the novel, rebuffs Dallas Winston, Dally’s, abrupt, rude introduction. Cherry has thrown a drink into Dally’s face, prompting yet another unpleasant rejoinder from the meanest of the Greasers. Johnny, the smallest and weakest of the Greasers, however, unexpectedly comes to Cherry’s defense, warning the bigger, tougher Dally away from Cherry. It is now that Ponyboy describes Dally’s reaction, including the caveat about telling Dally what to do:



“Dallas scowled for a second. If it had been me, or Two-Bit, or Soda or Steve, or anyone but Johnny, Dally would have flattened him without a moment's hesitation. You just didn't tell Dally Winston what to do. One time, in a dime store, a guy told him to move over at the candy counter. Dally had turned around and belted him so hard it knocked a tooth loose. A complete stranger, too.” [Emphasis added]



Earlier in Hinton’s novel, Ponyboy has described many of the main figures in his life, most importantly, his brothers Darryl and Sodapop. He also, though, introduces us to the character of Dally with the following observation: “If I had to pick the real character of the gang, it would be Dallas Winston--- Dally.” Dally, the narrative continues, is from the larger, rougher urban environment of New York and has a long criminal record. Ponyboy emphasizes that he personally dislikes Dally, but “he was smart and you had to respect him.” As the story progresses, Dally will play an increasingly important role in The Outsiders, helping Ponyboy and Johnny to escape following the killing of the Soc named Bob. It will also be Dally who, at the end of his road following Johnny’s death and tortured by his own demons, robs a store and is killed by the police in the ensuing chase.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Compare and contrast reflection, refraction, and dispersion. Please help, I don't understand, my teacher said I could do it in a table.

To effectively compare and contrast these three things, you need to show how they are all alike and how they are different.  For the "alike" part, they are all properties light waves demonstrate.  The "different" part gets a little more detailed.


Reflection is the return of the light wave from the media it interacted with back to the media it came from.  It does not enter the new media; rather, it is "bounced" off of it.  This is what happens with most shiny, chromed surfaces.  They reflect the light right back into the air.


Refraction is the bending of light as it interfaces between two different media, each having a different speed for the the light wave involved.  A good example here would be a glass of water half full, with a drinking straw in it.  The straw will appear broken or disjointed, because of the two different speeds of light, in air and water.


Finally, dispersion is what happens when visible light is separated into it's constituent colors by a triangular prism of glass.  A rainbow of colors is produced, each color having it's own wavelength and frequency.  The pattern usually follows the ROYGBIV mnemonic, with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and blue colors being produced.


As far as a table is concerned, two headings should be listed at the top, one for "alike" and one for "different."  List each characteristic to the left, then fill in the space under the "alike/different" descriptors with the information listed above.

Why is Mitty reluctant to change his "self" when he is around his wife?

It is an interesting question. If Walter can imagine himself as a successful, confident man, why doesn't he try to actively convert himself into such a success in his real life? There is no definitive answer to this question. Perhaps he is simply too inept, too shy, or too self-doubting to make such a transformation. He may have tried and failed. Thus, he is discouraged from ever trying again.


It seems just as likely that he is at least somewhat happy with his current situation. Even though his wife treats him like a absentminded child, he always has an escape: his imagination. If he is satisfied that this escape allows him to get away from his wife and his real life, then why would he change that? If this escape is his only means of happiness, he might be afraid to change anything, fearing that any change might affect his desire to retreat into his daydreams. In fact, if Walter had been living this kind of double life for years, it would have become habit. Likewise, accepting his role in their marriage and his wife's complaints about Walter's flaws has also become a habit. He is used to his double life. Walter might also like the dichotomy of having a bland, miserable existence and an alternate reality where he is the hero. That is, he might enjoy the sudden drama of the change from middle-aged, frustrated man to epic hero. 

Why won't Miss Maudie attend the trial?

In Chapter 16, the children ask Miss Maudie if she will be attending the trial of Tom Robinson. Miss Maudie tells the children that she thinks it is morbid to watch a man on trial for his life. She compares watching the trial of Tom Robinson to a Roman carnival. Miss Maudie is a moral character throughout the novel and is not interested in seeing a man on trial for his life. Witnessing a man stand on trial for his life is no different than Roman citizens watching gladiators fight to the death in the Colosseum. Supporting an event where a man can possibly die displays a lack of humanity on the audience's behalf. Miss Stephanie, the Maycomb gossip queen, pretends that she is going to the Jitney Jungle before casually confessing she is going to the courthouse. Miss Maudie jokingly tells Stephanie that she needs to be careful she is not served a subpoena to testify. Miss Maudie refuses to witness such a disgusting event and wants nothing to do with Tom Robinson's trial.

What is special about first week of August? http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury...

Depending on where you live in the world and what culture(s) you are a part of, different days, weeks, and months of the year may have special meaning.


For the month of August, the first week holds international celebrations of many kinds. The week of August first through seventh is both International Clown week (a celebration of the art of clown performance) and World Breastfeeding Week (promoting exclusive breastfeeding of infants for the first six months of  life.)


There are a number of twenty-four hour holidays that take place in the first week of August. These include the holy or celebratory days of Lammas/Laughnasadh (a British pagan holiday,) National Watermelon Day (United States,) Independence Day (Burkina Faso,) and Republic Day (Republic of Macedonia.) 


Depending on natural, astronomical cycles, the Perseid meteor shower sometimes falls during the first week of August. This year, the Perseid meteor shower is expected to peak on the twelfth or thirteenth of August.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Were early Republicans Tories or Whigs?

The Republican Party formed in Ripon, Wisconsin in 1854. The origin of the Republican Party in American history is an interesting story.


In our early history, we had two political parties. One was the Federalist Party, and the other was the Democratic-Republican Party. Eventually, the Federalist Party disappeared after the War of 1812 leaving only the Democratic-Republican Party. The Democratic-Republican Party shortened its name to the Democratic Party. Eventually, the National Republican Party was created to challenge the Democratic Party. The National Republican Party changed its name to the Whig Party. The Whig Party was opposed to many of the policies of Andrew Jackson. They referred to Andrew Jackson as King Andrew because they thought he acted like a king. The Whig Party eventually disappeared.


The Republican Party descended from the Whig Party and the Free Soil Party. The Free Soil Party was against the spread of slavery. When the Kansas-Nebraska Bill was introduced into Congress, the Republican Party was created. It a political party that formed because it was against slavery, especially the spread of it into the West. The Republican Party also tended to represent the interests of the wealthy and the interests of businesses. Thus, the Republican Party formed, in part, from the Whig Party.

Friday, May 23, 2008

What title should I use for a newspaper article on Tom Robinson's trial in To Kill a Mockingbird?

This is a great question, but I will say right from the beginning that there will be many differences of opinion.  In light of this, let me give you a few suggestions and reasons why I would chose these titles for a paper. 


First, a possible title for an article could be "Bread and Circuses."  This idea comes from the Roman world, where the emperors sought to entertain people and the people wanted to be entertained.  The trial of Tom Robinson was quite a spectacle, according to the book. People dressed up and and came to watch and to be entertained.  By giving a title of "Bread and Circuses," we can indict the people for taking something very serious and making it into something else. In this way, Maycomb trivialized the trial of Tom Robinson.


Second, another possible title would be "Justice is Blind."  This is a good title for what is going on with the added double entendre.  Justice should be blind in the good sense of not being biased, but justice in Maycomb is blind in the sense of not being able to discern right and wrong. 

What are the children doing at the beginning of Games at Twilight? What does their behavior tell you about the relationships among them?

Some readers would say that the children are doing nothing at the beginning of the story.  Those readers do not have children of their own or they have never tried to keep kids inside on a rainy day.  What the kids are actually doing is going stir crazy and driving the adults crazy.  



. . . the children strained to get out. Their faces were red and bloated with the effort . . . 



The kids have been cooped up indoors for a long time, because the weather outside is too warm to play.  



It was still too hot to play outdoors.



The text tells the reader that the mom is doing her best to keep the kids occupied while inside the house.  They had tea, took baths, and did basic grooming of themselves.  



They had had their tea, they had been washed and had their hair brushed. . . 



But there is only so much a strained parent can do.  The mother can't handle the whining children anymore.  She lets the kids out to play in the heat as much to relieve their tension as to lower her own stress level too.  



"No—we won’t, we won’t,'' they wailed so horrendously that she actually let down the bolt of the front door so that they burst out like seeds from a crackling, overripe pod into the veranda, with such wild, maniacal yells that she retreated to her bath and the shower of talcum powder and the fresh sari that were to help her face the summer evening.



The story doesn't explicitly say what the relationship is between all of these children, but with so many in one house with a single named mother, I'm guessing that the children are all related somehow.  I do not think that all of them are brother and sister though.  My guess is there are some siblings, and the rest of the kids are cousins.  It's like that in my own home.  I have three young kids.  My brother-in-law and sister-in-law have three young kids, and they live a mile away.  Our kids are always together in one of the two houses.  And yes, 6 kids under the age of 8 will drive you crazy enough to let them in the backyard to do whatever regardless of the weather.   

Why is it important to eat breakfast?

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Who is the author of "Thank You M'am?"

The author of the short story, “Thank You, M’am,” is Langston Hughes, 1902 -1967. Although he was born in Joplin, Missouri, due to family circumstances, he lived many places in his young life. While attending high school in Cleveland, Ohio, his teachers realized his writing potential. He was on the staff of, and his early work was published in the school literary magazine.


As a young adult he worked a variety of odd jobs including a number of years as a seaman. After returning from his sea travels, his book of poems The Weary Blues was published in 1926. He settled in Harlem where, through his works, Hughes gave a voice to African-American people of this era and later in life became known as the "Poet Laureate of the Negro Race." He often wrote his lyrical poetry with the thought that it would be set to music, especially jazz, which he experienced during the Harlem Renaissance.


Hughes wrote poetry, plays, short stories, and novels during his prolific, award-winning career. After he passed away in 1967, his home in Harlem was designed as a landmark by the New York Preservation Commission.

What are some characteristics of Mahatma Gandhi?

I would say that Ghandi was persistent and brave.  He was going up against a very powerful and violent British rule.  Ghandi was beaten on multiple occasions, but he never gave up on his efforts.  It was brave of him to take the stand that he did, and he was persistent in his efforts.  


I would also say that Ghandi had a forgiving spirit about him.  He saw non-violence and the idea of "turning the other cheek" as a strength not a weakness.  He absolutely could have convinced people to take violent actions against India's oppressors, but he didn't.  



“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”



I think that a reason Ghandi was so willing to forgive is because he loved his fellow man unconditionally.  It sounds like a cliche today at times, but Ghandi preached and lived a life of love toward everyone.  



“Whenever you’re confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love.”


Wednesday, May 21, 2008

What prompted Winnie to venture into the woods for the first time?

The prologue to Tuck Everlasting introduces the reader to Winnie Foster with a single sentence.  



At noontime, Winnie Foster, whose family owned the Treegap wood, lost her patience at last and decided to think about running away.



Immediately, a reader should ask himself/herself "why does this girl want to run away?"  The author doesn't answer that question right away either, which heightens the suspense.  It's not until chapter 3 that Winnie Foster appears again.  In addition to Winnie, chapter 3 introduces the reader to her parents.  Winnie's parents are the reason that Winnie is thinking about running away into the woods.  


Her parents are the quintessential hovering, "helicopter" parents.  They micromanage everything that Winnie does.  



"But, as it is, there's only me. I'm tired of being looked at all the time. I want to be by myself for a change. . . It'd be better if I could be like you, out in the open and making up my own mind. Do you know they've hardly ever let me out of this yard all by myself? I'll never be able to do anything important if I stay in here like this. I expect I'd better run away."



Winnie does not run away right then.  Instead she returns to her house; however, that night she and her grandmother hear a strange musical sound coming from the woods.  By the next morning, Winnie has talked herself out of running away.  



"Where would I go, anyway?" she asked herself. "There's nowhere else I really want to be."



Winnie then becomes angry at herself for not being brave enough to follow through on her decision.  She desperately wants some freedom and independence from her parents, but she can't quite muster the courage to go anywhere.  Then Winnie decides that perhaps she could do a sort of half run away.  



Well, anyway, she could at least slip out, right now, she decided, and go into the wood. To see if she could discover what had really made the music the night before. That would be something, anyway. She did not allow herself to consider the idea that making a difference in the world might require a bolder venture. She merely told herself consolingly, "Of course, while I'm in the wood, if I decide never to come back, well then, that will be that."



What prompted Winnie to venture out into the woods the first time can't be pinned on a single thing.  It's a combination of how she feels about her family, the music she heard, and her attempt to take that first step toward gaining independence from her family.  The woods happened to be close to their house, so they were immediately accessible for Winnie to take her first small steps toward independence.  

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

How does Stacey Logan show courage in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry?

Stacey shows courage by standing up to others and protecting his friend.


Stacey stands up for himself and what he believes in.  He has a very strong moral code.  For example, when Stacey gets in trouble at school for cheating, he takes the punishment without telling his mother that T.J. was the one who was actually cheating.



Course, now, she give him a chance to get out of it when he said he wasn’t cheatin’ and she asked him how he got them cheat notes. But Stacey wouldn’t tell on ole T.J., and you know good and well ole T.J. wasn’t ’bout to say them notes was his.” (Ch. 5)



Due to loyalty to his friend, Stacey refuses to give in even if it means that he will take the blame for something that someone else did.  We see Stacey’s maturity again when he confesses to his mom that he was in the Wallace store chasing after T.J.. He doesn’t care if he gets in trouble again, because he is brave enough to confess what he did and cunning enough to avoid telling the whole truth.


Stacey continues to stand up for what he believes in by protesting the whites-only school bus.  He and his siblings create ruts in the road and cause the bus to break an axle.  This captures the ire of the local racists, who are targeting African Americans for lessons.


Stacey sticks by T.J. even as his friend gets into serious trouble.  He comes to the Logan children injured after a mishap with his new "friends."  He got involved where he shouldn’t have, when they tried to rob a store and killed the owner.



As far back as I could remember, Stacey had felt a responsibility for T.J. I had never really understood why. Perhaps he felt that even a person as despicable as T.J. needed someone he could call “friend,” or perhaps he sensed T.J.’s vulnerability better than T.J. did himself. (Ch. 11)



 Stacey rescues him when the white men try to lynch him. He stands up for T.J. and Pa Logan sets his own crop on fire as a distraction.  Stacey clearly got his bravery and cleverness from his father.

Name three reasons, using quotes from the novel, that display how Scout is discriminated against.

Throughout the novel, Scout gets discriminated by various characters for many reasons. Scout is often discriminated because of her gender. Jem is constantly making negative remarks regarding her gender when Scout is acting like the stereotypical "girl." In Chapter 4, when Scout crashes the tire in the Radley yard and refuses to go back and retrieve it, Jem says, "Scout, sometimes you act so much like a girl it's mortifyin'." (Lee 50) Later on in the chapter, when Atticus questions the children about their "game," Scout tells Jem that she thinks Atticus knows they are depicting Boo Radley's life story. Scout says, "Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that's why other people hated them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with." (Lee 54)


Scout also gets discriminated because she is the daughter of Atticus, who is the lawyer defending Tom Robinson. Racial prejudice is commonplace in 1930's Alabama, and Tom Robinson is an African American accused of raping a white woman. Many community members, like Mrs. Dubose, view the Finches with disdain because of Atticus' decision to defend a black man. Mrs. Dubose tells Scout, "Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for." (Lee 135) In school, Cecil Jacobs tells Scout, "My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an' that nigger oughta hang from the water-tank!" (Lee 102) Scout struggles to maintain her composure in the face of such derogatory remarks.


Scout also gets discriminated because of her rough, "tomboyish" lifestyle. Aunt Alexandra views Scout with contempt because of her "boyish" traits. Scout mentions that Alexandra said, "I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches." (Lee 108) Aunt Alexandra wants Scout to act like the prototypical Southern female who is interested in social gatherings.

What is a good title for Chapter 6 of Bud, Not Buddy? Why?

A good title for Chapter Six of Bud, Not Buddy could be "The Kindness of Strangers." In this chapter, Bud shows up at the mission late after oversleeping, only to end up at the end of the food line and to discover that he won't be allowed to eat breakfast. He is ultimately only saved by the kindness of strangers--a married couple who pretends that he is their son, "Clarence," and manages to convince the man who manages the food line that Bud belongs to them. Because of their random act of kindness, Bud is happily fed that morning and even gets a bit of brown sugar (shared with his fake siblings) to pour over his oatmeal.


What is so significant about this moment is that these people were willing to behave generously when they were already struggling to provide for themselves. They are not egotistically trapped in their own suffering, but rather engaged in the world and in tune to the needs of others. 

What are some quotes about bravery/courage in the Book Thief?

Max and Liesel are two characters who demonstrate bravery.



If they killed him tonight, at least he would die alive.  (The Struggler, Continued)



I chose this quote because I think it demonstrates perfectly Max’s personality.  There are so many examples of Max’s courage.  He left his home so that he could be the one person in his family to possibly live.  He made the difficult journey to find a safe place to hide.  He walked outside at night during air raids, just to get a taste of freedom.  When he was captured, he responded with grace and courage.  Max is a symbol of bravery.



She was a girl with a mountain to climb. (The Joy of Cigarettes)



Liesel was brave in so many ways, but her steadfast desire to learn to read and her love of books are a thing of beauty.  She steals books from bonfires and the mayor’s wife.  She struggles through learning to read, and nothing else matters to her.  Liesel, of course, demonstrates other types of bravery.  Her quick thinking in pretending she was hurt, for example, so that she can get a message to Hans to hide the Jew in basement before the Nazis can check there, is a good example.  A close second to her desire to learn to read against all odds is Liesel reading aloud during air raids and bombings.  She used her love of books to bring bravery to everyone there.

Monday, May 19, 2008

How is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens a timeless work of literature?

Great Expectations is a classic for the reason that, for generations, people have found in the novel some part of themselves and their own struggles. It is a coming-of-age tale, of someone who wants to be more than he is. The struggle of youth to find who they really are and who they are meant to be is something that is common through all the years.


In the monotype of the hero’s journey, the protagonist is born in humble circumstances. This certainly describes Pip. The hero is called to an adventure, usually by someone who serves as a mentor or guide. Pip is presented with his dream of becoming a gentleman, aided by his unknown benefactor (Magwitch/Provis). With the help of companions, such as Herbert and Joe, Pip follows his quest, which includes the “rescue” of a damsel in distress (Estella). His quest does not turn out exactly as he had anticipated, but he still manages to find out who he was truly meant to be.


It is this quest that strikes in the heart of many people. They see this as a guide on their own journey, with potholes and mistakes to avoid. Wisdom is found in learning from your mistakes; it is even greater wisdom to learn from the mistakes of others, even those found in books or movies (think Star Wars or Harry Potter). That is what makes a classic.

What is meant when Scrooge is described as, "No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him" ?

Simply put, Ebenezer Scrooge is a cold man. He has a cold heart. He doesn't appear to care about anyone or anything other than his money. As a result, we are told,



"No warmth could warm, no wintry chill could chill him."



This is a use of metaphor. He is so cold, he cannot be warmed. We see him interact with people at the beginning of the story, before the ghosts, where he could have shown empathy, care, and warmth. He does not. We also see where he could be warmed, like with the men who ask him to donate to charity. This is an opportunity for him to be warmed by the struggles of others during the holidays. He is not.


When it says "no wintry chill could chill him," we understand that he is so cold that the winter weather could not possibly make him any colder. He almost seems inhuman.

What is the main goal of sociology?

Sociology is the study of human social behavior. Sociologists may use quantitative (measurable) or qualitative (descriptive) methods to study how humans socialize and organize themselves socially, as well as the origins and implications of social structures. Human social behavior is especially interesting because Homo sapiens has evolved to be a species dependent upon socialization. Most infant animals require some amount of care from parents, but whereas instinct serves as the driving force for animals like deer and lizards, humans are entirely dependent upon the care and teaching of others for the first several years of life.


Sociologists may be interested in socioeconomic class and mobility, sexuality, law, politics, religion, or linguistics. A sociologist  may choose to study any aspect of human social behavior, so these are just some examples of what a researcher might choose to focus on. 


Where other fields of study, like Anthropology, can tell us why humans are social beings, Sociology tells us how humans are social beings.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

To what length did totalitarianism exist in Nazi Germany and in the Soviet Union under Stalin?


"Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas." -Joseph Stalin



Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler ran their regimes in very similar fashions. It is hard to imagine at any point in history that anybody else was as destructive in their practice of total control as these two despots. Both dictators used a secret police to brutally suppress their political opposition or any citizens that they felt were a threat to their regimes. In this way, both dictators were responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of their own citizens.
A characteristic of all totalitarian regimes is the control of information. Hitler and Stalin controlled the media agencies and reported to the people exactly what they wanted them to believe. This started at a young age as the dictators sought to indoctrinate children. Both countries had youth programs that looked to glorify the actions of the dictator in the eyes of the children.
The end result of these actions was that the dictators exerted complete control over their citizens. They utilized fear and misinformation to gain complete and total power in their countries.

What sort of diction is used in "Ballad of the Landlord"?

This poem tells the story of a black man being discriminated against by his white landlord. The poem has three different speakers, and the diction of each of these speakers tells the story of their relationship and the harsh reality of the discrimination faced by African-Americans in the 1930s.


When the black resident is speaking we see small clues to an African-American dialect: “’member” in the first verse, for “remember,” the use of “is” in “these steps is broken down,” “Ten bucks more’n I’ll pay you,” the use of “gonna” and the deletion of the helping verb in the present continuous later on, as in “You talkin’ high and mighty,” and the use of “ain’t.” In these first four verses, the diction is focused on injustice, becoming more and more confrontational as the poem progresses. The first verse is an innocent reminder about the leak the resident told the landlord about the week before; the second verse is a little tongue-in-cheek, the resident noting that “When you come up yourself/It’s a wonder you don’t fall down.” In the third verse we have we have the repetition of “Ten bucks you say,” which adds an element of incredulity to the resident’s voice, and stresses the fact that he believes the ten bucks are not legitimate. In the fourth verse, the resident begins with an exclamation:  “What?” He is getting more exasperated, and frames the following lines as questions, though it is clear the actions have already been taken. This disbelief further emphasizes the unfairness of the landlord’s actions – the resident didn’t see them coming, and he clearly had no reason to believe he would be evicted, because he had done nothing wrong.


When the white landlord is speaking, in the penultimate verse, there is no hint of a dialect – his helping verbs are intact, and there is no shortening of other words. In contrast to the helpless questions asked by the resident, the white man’s lines are marked with exclamation points and intense hyperbole – “He’s trying to ruin the government/And overturn the land!” Exaggerated lies – vague yet damning accusations. The white man is calling upon the patriotism of the police, an irony given how he himself is turning against the values his country was founded upon by discriminating against the resident. The first line of this verse – “Police!  Police!” parallels that of the first two verses spoken by the black man – “Landlord, landlord,” and the calmness of the latter contrasts to the exclamatory nature of the former.  Even when the resident was angry, all he could do was ask rhetorical questions, a sign of his helplessness in this situation; his landlord’s exclamations are in contrast a sign of his dominance.


In the final verse we have a neutral speaker, and instead of phrases or sentences we have lines made up of single words: “Copper’s whistle!/Patrol bell!/Arrest./Precinct Station./Iron Cell.” This at first mirrors the excitement of the preceding verse, and then the exclamation points are replaced by periods. Resignation. A blunt acceptance of the action. These single-word lines, despite their brevity, give us a perfect understanding of what’s happening, and represent the immediacy with which one thing follows another, as well as the unquestionable nature of these events: a black man is arrested, and this leads inevitably to jail time. No question. No real trial. It’s like a factory output of discrimination, mechanical and smooth. Finally, in the last lines of the poem, we get a newspaper headline in all-caps, to sum up what has (or has not actually) happened in the poem. The resident is polite and collected, is provoked over a matter of days through negligence and passive aggression by his landlord, and is then framed by the latter and arrested for no true crime.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

What does Atticus say about how Bob Ewell must feel?

In Chapter 23, Bob Ewell approaches Atticus outside of the post office and spits in his face. Bob then proceeds to curse at Atticus and tries to fight him. Atticus calmly tells Bob that he is too old to fight and walks away. After hearing about Bob's threats, Jem and Scout begin to worry about their father's safety. When Atticus notices that his children have been acting differently, he asks Jem and Scout about what's bothering them. Jem tells his father that he thinks Atticus should do something because Bob seems to mean what he says. Atticus tells Jem that Bob Ewell got all of the hate out of his system after Bob spat in his face. Atticus goes on to encourage Jem to view the situation from Bob's perspective. Atticus tells Jem that he destroyed all of Bob's credibility during the trial. He says,



"The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does. So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that's something I'll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I'd rather it be me than that houseful of children out there" (Lee 134).



Atticus understands that he ruined Bob's reputation during the trial by describing how Bob Ewell beat his daughter for kissing Tom Robinson, then lied to cover it up. Atticus also realizes that Bob is extremely upset and seeks revenge. However, Atticus was wrong in assuming that Bob took out all of his anger when he spat in his face.

Friday, May 16, 2008

How does Wyndham show that David’s father’s beliefs are wrong in The Chrysalids?

Wyndham shows that David’s father’s beliefs are wrong because he is abusive toward his son in the name of religious zealotry, and victimizes innocent children, even babies, because they somehow do not fit his narrow view of the world.


One of the ways that Wyndham demonstrates how ludicrous David’s father’s beliefs are is through the incident with Sophie.  Sophie was a girl with some extra toes.  This does not make her dangerous.  Yet according to the gospel of Joseph Strorm, it makes her an abomination.  Sophie has to hide, and is in fact caught and sterilized, then ostracized to the Fringes.  If this treatment of David’s friend were not bad enough, David’s father also tries to whip him, and does savagely beat him, even though he is just a child.


David demonstrates more compassion and forward-thinking than his father.  He too is a deviant, so maybe he understands.  David can read minds, and after what happens with Sophie, he shares with Rosalind and his other empath friends his perceptions on abominations and the true image.



I tried to explain that a person with a deviation -- a small deviation, at any rate -- wasn't the monstrosity we had been told. It did not really make any difference -- not to Sophie, at any rate. (Ch. 6)



As soon as David's secret is known, he will also be forced to flee.  His father does not care that David is his son.  In fact, it makes him more determined to see "justice" done and follow the law he so vigilantly enforces.


Another example of the horror of David’s father’s imposing religious doctrine is the baby.  David’s aunt Harriet brings a week old baby to the house, which does not have a certificate declaring it legal.  When David’s father asks about the certificate and finds out there isn’t one, his wife (whom David has already said is afraid of his father) asks to see the baby, while her sister protests that there is not much wrong with her.



'Nothing much!' snapped my mother. 'You have the effrontery to bring your monster into my house, and tell me it's nothing much!' (Ch. 7)



David’s father launches into a diatribe about why the baby is dangerous to their entire way of life, while poor Harriet, who has already lost other babies for apparently the same reason, cries and begs.  Joseph does not relent, telling her in “your arrogance you have set yourself against the law.”  He would turn in his own sister in law, and make her give up her baby.  David never finds out what is wrong with the baby, but his aunt kills herself.


These examples of religious zealotry and cruelty show that while the people are afraid, because of what happened to their ancestors, they have done away with compassion and common sense.  Instead, fear and fanaticism have taken root.  The fate of Sophie, David, and Harriet's baby are all examples.

How did Orpheus try to use music to save his dear Eurydice?

Orpheus was given the gift of music by his mother, a Muse, goddess of the arts.  It was a special gift, and no one who heard him play his wonderful lyre could resist him. 



“There was no limit to his power when he played and sang. No one and nothing could resist him.” (page 1)



He fell in love with Eurydice, but right after the wedding, she walked into a meadow and a snake bit her and she died.  When people died in mythology, they went to the Underworld, which was ruled by Hades(Pluto in the Roman version). 


Orpheus decided that he would travel to the Underworld and charm Hades and Demeter, Hades’s wife,with his music.  It was a terrible and frightful journey, but he charmed everyone in the Underworld with his music. When he did, they summoned Eurydice and told Orpheus that he would be allowed to escort her out of the Underworld under one condition.  He could not look back at her while she followed him out of the Underworld until they reached the daylight of the Upper World. Orpheus led the way, and Eurydice followed.  He knew she must be behind him, but he wasn’t sure.  He wanted desperately to check.  As he exited the cave and traveled into the sunlight, he turned to see her.  However, it was too soon.  She was still in the cave.  He reached out to clasp her, but she was gone. 


Orpheus tried desperately to follow her back into the Underworld, but he was not allowed to enter again.  He spent the rest of his days alone.

Why did George shoot Lennie at the end of the story?

George shot Lennie because he loved him and he knew that either Curly was going to kill him himself or Lennie would get locked up and treated horribly. Essentially he was putting him out of his misery and giving him mercy. George knew that Lennie didn't kill Curly's wife on purpose.


This was foreshadowed when Candy had Carlson kill his dog who was old. He was told that he should put his dog out of his misery. After Carlson kills the dog, Candy tells George that he should have done it himself since it was his dog.


So, George essentially felt that Lennie was his responsibility and he would rather know that he died quick and painless while thinking of the rabbits.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Which reveals more about an ancient animal; a coprolite or a trace fossil?

Trace fossils are indirect remains of an organism from the past, instead of a cast or mold of the organism’s body part(s). Trace fossils reveal activities, not the morphology, of an organism. Examples of trace fossils include footprints, burrows, and tracks.


Technically, a coprolite is a trace fossil. A coprolite is a fossilized fecal matter of an organism, which reveals more about ancient animals than most other trace fossils. “Copro” is Greek for “dung”, while “lithikos” is Greek for being “stone-like”. Evidence of organisms’ diets can be obtained via coprolites. Coprolites alludes to whether or not the organism was a vegetarian, carnivore, or omnivore. If a vegetarian, coprolites give supporting evidence for the type of flora that was present at the time the organism was living. Bones in a coprolite are indicative of carnivorous behaviors. Parasites within coprolites can reveal evidence of diseases that were once present.

A rectangle has a base and a height in a ratio of 1:1. a) what is the most specific name for this shape? b) If one side has a length of 5cm, what...

Hello!


a) the most specific name of this shape is a square (a rectangle whose sides are all equal). It is also a quadrilateral, a rectangle, a rhombus and a kite, but they may be not a square while a square is always each of them.


b) it has four equal sides, so the perimeter is 4*5cm=20cm.


c) if one side is 3cm then all others are also 3cm and the area is 3cm*3cm=`9cm^2.`


I believe that the perimeter and the area are simply numbers (with the units of a measure).

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

In A Christmas Carol, what does this quote mean: “I can’t afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have...

The quote from A Christmas Carol is a typical answer from Ebenezer Scrooge.  He is saying that he will not contribute money or anything else to help individuals in need in his community.  He does help support the large establishments such as jails or the poor houses for those who cannot pay their debts, which costs him a lot of money.  Then he explains his true attitude by saying that those who cannot support their families or are "badly off" for whatever reason should go to the poor house.   This quote shows the tight with his money Scrooge who sees no obligation to help his fellow citizens when they are in need.


This quote clearly delineates Scrooge at his worst--his lack of mercy for those who need help while he hangs onto every penny he can. This shows why Scrooge will be visited in the night to change his ways while he still can.  The reason this play has resonated with people for many years is that this is a lesson we all need to learn or be reminded of--that those of us more fortunate need to help those less fortunate instead of thinking only of ourselves.

Monday, May 12, 2008

In The Great Gatsby, who is Miss Baker and what does she do professionally?

Miss Baker, or Jordan Baker, is a childhood friend of Daisy's who is staying with the Buchanans for the summer at their home in East Egg. We first see her in Chapter 1, when Nick Carraway visits Daisy and Tom at their home for dinner and meets Miss Baker there.


Although Nick finds her attractive, he is also a bit fascinated by her because she looks familiar, yet he is sure that he's never met her before. Later on, he learns that she is the famous professional golfer, Jordan Baker, and he vaguely remembers some scandal that she was linked to in the newspapers. It had to do with a cheating incident that she was involved in during a golf tournament. This revelation, together with her professed carelessness whenever she found herself behind the wheel of a car, comes to have significance by the end of the novel, when Nick realizes that Daisy, Tom and even Jordan Baker all represent the careless people, who



   " . . . smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made . . ."



Jordan Baker had a fleeting romantic interest in Nick, but it wasn't meant to last very long and it had ended long before the summer was over.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Why is "Hedda Gabler" a realistic play? Consider the difference between "Hedda Gabler" and "Hamlet."

Hedda Gabler, a play by Henrik Ibsen, could be considered "realistic" in two different major ways. First, the play is considered a realism, which is a style of theater. Many people believe Henrik Ibsen perfected the style of realism, although this is debated. However, his plays are considered realisms because there are four aspects in his plays that exist:


  1. They make problems in society the subject of debate.

  2. They have a socio-critical perspective.

  3. The action is in a contemporary setting.

  4. They present everyday people and situations. (From the Library of Norway)

Hedda Gabler is concerned with problems within society, and the characters in the play are frequently concerned about their role within society. While it is character-based, the play is also interested in systemic problems. This is a classic definition of dramatic realism.


Secondly, the play is acted in the style of realism, meaning the actors are concerned about being perceived as "realistic." The acting style of realism is not always the same as the form of realism. This is sometimes hard to understand, as most contemporary acting styles are based in realism (think of movies). However, there are many different acting styles in the history of theater.


Hedda Gabler and Hamlet are often compared to each other, as Hamlet is considered to be the hardest male role to play and Hedda Gabler is considered to be the hardest female role to play. However, the plays' styles are radically different. Hedda Gabler is a realism play, while Hamlet is created in a classical Elizabethan style. Today, Hamlet is often performed in the style of realism, but it is not a realism play. 

Why is skin color used more often than hair or eye color or body proportions in racial classifications?

There are several ways racial classifications could be maintained.  Skin color is the predominant manner of classification for three reasons.  First, it is the most prevalent characteristic of people.  Skin is the largest organ of the body and covers the entire surface of a person thereby making the color an easily identifiable marking. 


Secondly, skin color is the most difficult to alter.  Hair can be dyed quickly, contacts can be worn to alter eye color and physical proportions can be disguised or changed.  It is possible to change skin tone but it is a difficult and painful process.  Disguising it with clothing is an option, but due to the amount of skin requiring concealment it is not usually feasible.


Finally, skin color is a characteristic most ubiquitous to a racial group.  Eye and hair color vary at a greater rate than skin color.  This makes skin a more optimal marker.  Other markers can include eye shape, muscle density and body proportions but they are harder to spot at a distance and are subject to greater fluctuation throughout a population.

`-(7pi)/12` Find the exact values of the sine, cosine, and tangent of the angle.

`sin((-7pi)/12)=-sin((7pi)/12)`


`=-sin(pi/3+pi/4)`


using the identity `sin(x+y)=sin(x)cos(y)+cos(x)sin(y)`


`=-(sin(pi/3)cos(pi/4)+cos(pi/3)sin(pi/4))`


`=-(sqrt(3)/2*1/sqrt(2)+1/2*1/sqrt(2))`


`=-(sqrt(3)+1)/(2sqrt(2))`


rationalizing the denominator,


`=(-sqrt(2)(sqrt(3)+1))/4`


`cos((-7pi)/12)=cos((7pi)/12)`


`=cos(pi/3+pi/4)`


using the identity `cos(x+y)=cos(x)cos(y)-sin(x)sin(y)`


`=cos(pi/3)cos(pi/4)-sin(pi/3)sin(pi/4)`


`=(1/2*1/sqrt(2)-sqrt(3)/2*1/sqrt(2))`


`=(1-sqrt(3))/(2sqrt(2))`


rationalizing the denominator,


`=(sqrt(2)(1-sqrt(3)))/4`


`=(sqrt(2)-sqrt(6))/4`


`tan((-7pi)/12)`


`=sin((-7pi)/12)/cos((-7pi)/12)`


plug in the values evaluated above,


`=((-sqrt(2)(sqrt(3)+1))/4)/((sqrt(2)-sqrt(6))/4)`


`=(-sqrt(2)(sqrt(3)+1))/(sqrt(2)-sqrt(6))`


rationalize the denominator,


`=-((sqrt(6)+sqrt(2))(sqrt(2)+sqrt(6)))/((sqrt(2)-sqrt(6))(sqrt(2)+sqrt(6)))`


`=-(2sqrt(3)+6+2+2sqrt(3))/(2-6)`


`=-(4sqrt(3)+8)/(-4)`


`=sqrt(3)+2`

Is General Zaroff insane?

General Zaroff, the antagonist in Richard Connel's short story "The Most Dangerous Game," is most assuredly criminally insane. After all, the general hunts men. He must be considered one of the most diabolical characters in all of literature. He has taken his obsession with hunting and bloodshed to a point that is beyond even the most brutal of men. It's no surprise that he lives on a remote island away from the laws and morality of civilization. 


What makes Zaroff even more hideous is that he considers himself exceptional in every way and culturally above others. When Rainsford first meets Zaroff, the general calls his servant Ivan, a "savage" and has even less regard for the men he hunts. Zaroff explains, 



"Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and, if needs be, taken by the strong. The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure. I am strong. Why should I not use my gift?. If I wish to hunt, why should I not? I hunt the scum of the earth: sailors from tramp ships-lascars, blacks, Chinese, whites, mongrels-a thoroughbred horse or hound is worth more than a score of them."



That Zaroff considers it a "gift" to be able to hunt down and kill men confirms his insanity. The fact that he lives in a palatial chateau, eats the finest food, drinks imported wine, and reads from the annals of Marcus Aurelius do not change the fact that he is sociopath. The reader should certainly cheer the ending when it is revealed that Rainsford will sleep in the "very excellent bed" and Zaroff will be "a repast for the hounds."

How did working conditions change during industrialization?

At first glance, one might think that working conditions moving from an agricultural society to an industrialized one, would improve. People would no longer be spending long hours working in the fields but would be working indoors, out of the elements, in factories. However, overall, working conditions far from improved. As factories opened, long lines of workers applied. Employees were in an abundance. Employers could hire them at obscenely low wages. Not only men worked however, and the women and children hired to work in the factories, made even lower wages than the men. Children often worked up to 15 hours a day for only ten cents an hour. Low wages were not the only problem. The working conditions were deplorable. Factories had limited light, mostly from sunlight coming through windows. Safety was not regulated and many machines were dangerous because of the way they operated or because of the smoke and fumes they spewed into the factory air which was for the most part not ventilated well. Eventually, labor unions formed to attempt and change the ways that factories did business however, they had limited success for most of this time period. As workers realized that together they could have a powerful voice and create change, slowly conditions improved.

Friday, May 9, 2008

What imagery is used in "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening"?

The first image Frost constructs is visual (sight): the speaker stops "To watch [the owner's] woods fill up with snow" (line 4).  We can imagine, based on this sensory description, what the scene looks like: the silent and darkened trees with the snow piling higher and higher around them, as though the forest could "fill up" (like a container) with snow.


The next image is visual (and perhaps also auditory) as well: the speaker describes this spot as secluded, "without a farmhouse near / Between the woods and frozen lake / The darkest evening of the year" (6-8).  The night is very dark and very still because the narrator is the only person around and there is no ambient light from a farmhouse.  Then, again, we see the woods he's described as well as the "frozen lake" (so it must also be very cold -- this could be considered tactile imagery).


The next image is auditory (hearing): "The only other sound's the sweep / Of easy wind and downy flake" (12).  Thus it is really very quiet, with no human sounds at all, and all the narrator can hear is the gentle wind blowing the soft snowflakes around.  Because he describes the snowflakes as "downy," we might also consider this a visual image (they are the fat and fluffy kinds of snowflakes) and/or a tactile (touch) one (they are soft and light and airy snowflakes).


Thus, Frost combines mostly visual imagery with some auditory and tactile images to achieve a very tranquil mood for the poem.

Bring out the salient features of the play King Lear as a tragedy.

Tragedy has certain defining conventions: the hero usually has a tragic flaw, the play generally has a mood of foreboding, the hero experiences bad luck/fate (in contrast to a comedy, where at least one lucky break often rights events), and people (usually) die at the end. 


King Lear has these salient features in abundance. Lear's tragic flaw is that he suffers from poor judgment, both in deciding to give his kingdom lock, stock and barrel to his two evil daughters, in banishing Kent, and in disowning Cordelia in a fit of a rage because she flatters him insufficiently. 


The play grows dark almost immediately. It is almost astonishing how quickly Lear's daughters turn on him: by the end of Act I, Lear has already been cruelly driven out of Goneril's home through her deliberate machinations and both daughters are conspiring to control and humiliate him. 


One piece of bad luck which comes at the end is Cordelia's death. Edmund, who is dying, wants to redeem himself and save Cordelia from execution, but he is too late. This tragic event overwhelms Lear. 


Dead bodies abound by the end of this play: Regan, Edmund and Cordelia are killed, Goneril commits suicide, Gloucester dies, and Lear is so overwhelmed that he dies of grief.  

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Where in "The Cask of Amontillado" is it proven that Montresor is a very clever person?

Montresor shows his cleverness in several places throughout "The Cask of Amontillado." When he first encounters Fortunato celebrating in the street, he wants to make sure that he is not expected anywhere that night. He would like to lure Fortunato to his palazzo and leave a cold trail. If Montresor's victim were expected at home, for example, then relatives, friends, and servants might go out looking for him that very night, and there would be many people who would remember seeing him and who would at least be able to tell in which direction he was going. But if Fortunato were not missed until the following morning, everybody would be sleeping or hung over and would not remember anything of use. So Montresor cleverly ascertains that Fortunato is not expected anywhere by pretending to believe he is expected. 



“As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchesi. If any one has a critical turn it is he. He will tell me—”




“Luchesi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry.”



Montresor does not get the information he wants, but at least he plants the idea that he is on his way to Luchesi and suggests that he is in a big hurry to have his Amontillado judged by a connoisseur. So he tries again.



“My friend, no; I will not impose upon your good nature. I perceive you have an engagement. Luchesi—”




“I have no engagement;—come.”



That was what Montresor wanted to find out. Fortunato will not be missed anywhere that night. Even tomorrow his family will assume that he is sleeping it off at a friend's home, or spending the night with a mistress. It will be some little time before people start wondering what on earth could have happened to Fortunato.


Montresor shows his cleverness by his use of "reverse psychology," a method of persuasion by telling a person to do the opposite of what you want them to do. Montresor must realize that Fortunato, as drunk as he is, will begin to wonder why the big "pipe" of wine is stored at such a distance from the foot of the cellar stairs. Here is an example of Montresor's reverse psychology.



“Come,” I said, with decision, “we will go back; your health is precious.You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible. Besides, there is Luchesi—”




“Enough,” he said; “the cough's a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.”



There is a natural human tendency to resist being told what to do. This is especially observable in drunks. By pretending to want Fortunato to turn back, Montresor suggests that there could be no danger ahead and that he could not have any ulterior motive for leading Fortunato onward.


There are many other examples of Montresor's cleverness. For instance, he has honed his entrapment story so that it will be nearly foolproof. He says he bought a cask of Amontillado without consulting an expert because he was afraid of losing a bargain. It is the bargain that interests Fortunato and not the prospect of sipping a glass of wine in a dank underground setting when he has a bad cold and is not adequately dressed for it. If Montresor got a pipe of 126 gallons of gourmet sherry at a bargain price, then Fortunato would like to buy some himself and sell it at a profit. Montresor knows his man. He understands that Fortunato is only going with him to his palazzo in order to prevent him from going to Luchesi. Fortunato assumes there must be a Spanish ship in the harbor carrying a cargo of Amontillado and offering it at a bargain price because it is hard to find buyers during the carnival when everybody is neglecting business. Montresor has been injured by his friendly enemy a thousand times, and he knows Fortunato is planning to tell him his nonexistent wine is only ordinary sherry, whether it is or not; then, if it is genuine, go to find the nonexistent Spanish ship and buy up the whole cargo.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

In what ways are Madame Bovary and As I Lay Dying similar and different?

The female protagonists in both Madame Bovary and As I lay Dying are similar in the sense that both were women who were deeply unhappy in their marriages.


In Madame Bovary, Emma finds that marriage is a suffocating experience. Her country-doctor husband, Charles, is infatuated with his beautiful wife, but Emma finds his unsophisticated affection annoying. Somehow, married life fails to meet her expectations, and she finds it difficult to reconcile the 'felicity, passion, and rapture' found within the pages of a romance novel with her seemingly monotonous existence. The subsequent birth of her daughter, Berthe, fails to rouse her emotional lethargy. In due time, she has affairs with two men, Leon and Rodolphe, who both disappoint her. In As I Lay Dying, Addie Bundren, the matriarch of an impoverished Southern family, is unhappily married to Anse. One of her five children, Jewel, is the product of her love affair with the Reverend Whitfield. As the novel begins, Addie is dying. In the two stories, both heroines sought comfort in extra-marital affairs, but the results were less than satisfying to both.


As we compare both stories, we discover that Addie and Emma were indifferent to their husbands while they lived.Yet, although both Emma and Addie die in their respective stories, Emma's death is the result of suicide. She poisons herself after her last meeting with Rodolphe fails to produce the three thousand francs she needs to save her family from financial ruin; Emma dies in horrible pain, despairing of all hope. Meanwhile, Addie dies in a paradoxical spirit of penitence and defiance. By all accounts, she resigns herself to the judgment of God for her sins, but remains stubborn in reference to Jewel, the product of her adulterous affair. In fact, Cora Tull, Addie's neighbor is incensed when she realizes that Addie regards Jewel as her salvation



He is my cross and he will be my salvation. He will save me from, the water and from the fire. Even though I have laid down my life, he will save me.



So, while Emma in Madame Bovary forged no lasting affection with her legitimate daughter, Berthe, Addie in As I Lay Dying viewed her illegitimate offspring as the only good product from a sinful dalliance. In fact, Addie's words are prescient. Jewel does 'save' his mother by retrieving her coffin from the river, and later, by dragging her coffin out of Gillespie's burning barn.


Other differences include the setting of both stories. Madame Bovary was set in Southern France in the 19th Century, while As I Lay Dying was set in the southern United States in the 20th Century.


In Madame Bovary, Emma's husband, Charles, loved his wife to distraction, even after her death.



Everyone, he thought, had adored her. Every man, of course, had wanted her. It made her seem even more beautiful; and it engendered in him a harsh perpetual desire, inflaming his despair, a desire that had no limits because it could never now be realized.



Sadly for him, Charles discovers love letters from Leon and Rodolphe to his wife after her death. Devastated, he takes to the bottle, and subsequently dies of a broken heart. On the other hand, Anse doesn't seem especially affected by the death of his wife, Addie. At the end of the story, he proudly introduces his children to his love, the new Mrs. Bundren.


Hope this helps!

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Why does Travis force Eckels to retrieve the steel bullets from the monster's body? How would you have reacted to Travis's demand?

Travis is certainly disgusted with Eckels because of his cowardly reaction when he first sees the Tyrannosaurus Rex and he and Lesperance are, therefore, obligated to shoot the monster. But, Travis threatens to leave Eckels unless he removes the bullets from the dinosaur for two reasons: They cannot be left behind as they are anachronistic, and Travis is disgusted that Eckels has stepped off the gravity path.


Eckels complies because he has violated his contract with Time Safari, Inc. and, also, because he does not want to be left behind, and he may be hoping that the guides will not report his violations. After all, Eckels has been told,



If you disobey instructions, there's a stiff penalty of another ten thousand dollars, plus  possible government action, on your return.



Also, since Travis and Lesperance have truly saved Eckels's life because he is the one designated to have taken the shot, his failure has allowed the monster to advance upon them; so, there is no excuse that Eckels can make for not at least retrieving the bullets from the dead dinosaur. He owes his life to the guides.



Monday, May 5, 2008

In The Hunger Games, how does the author reveal that Peeta has good communication skills?

In The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, the character Peeta is shown at being incredibly gifted at communication skills. Although he might not be as proficient at some survival skills as Katniss, Peeta uses his communication skills to protect both of them. Examples of Peeta’s communication skills are exhibited throughout the book; however, one of the most notable example of his communication skills occur during his interview with Caesar.


During the interview with Caesar, Peeta uses his communication skills to gain the audience’s favor. According to Katniss, this gift seems to occur naturally for Peeta. He utilizes this skill to cause the audience to feel sympathy and compassion for both Peeta and Katniss by declaring his love for her. As Katniss illustrates:



“The roar of the crowd is deafening. Peeta has absolutely wiped the rest of us off the map with his declaration of love for me.”



Although Katniss does not instantly appreciate Peeta’s announcement during the interview, Haymitch convinces her that Peeta’s communication skills are a blessing to her. Before the interview, Katniss was preparing what to say and how to act during her time with Caesar; however, her communication skills were simply not as strong as Peeta’s natural abilities. As a result, Peeta’s skills help Katniss in a way that she could never have accomplished on her own. As Haymitch states:



“Do you think he hurt you? That boy just gave you something you could never achieve on your own.”



As a result of Peeta’s skils, Peeta and Katniss receive more support and sponsors who help them survive the hunger games. Although Peeta’s skills might not be as impressive to some people, he uses his ability to help them survive.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

"The Cop and the Anthem" by O. Henry What is your opinon of the short story? How was it? Please reflect on it.

"The Cop and the Anthem" is both funny and serious. Like O. Henry's story "A Retrieved Reformation," it deals with the subject of reformation and the difficulties people face in trying to reform. There is a passage in Nathaniel Hawthorne's story "Wakefield" that seems to apply to both of the O. Henry stories about reformation. 



Amid the seeming confusion of our mysterious world, individuals are so nicely adjusted to a system, and systems to one another, and to a whole, that, by stepping aside for a moment, a man exposes himself to a fearful risk of losing his place forever. Like Wakefield, he may become, as it were, the Outcast of the Universe.



Once a man has chosen to travel down a certain path for any length of time, it is very difficult for him to turn around and go back. He "exposes himself to a fearful risk of losing his place forever." This is not hard to understand because there is an intense competition among all living creatures for space on this crowded planet. 



A struggle for existence naturally follows from the high rate at which all organic beings tend to increase. There is no exception to the rule that every organic being naturally increases at so high a rate, that if not destroyed, the earth would soon be covered by the progeny of a single pair.
                                     Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species



Humans cooperate because this is a more effective way of competing for existence, but the competition is always there--competition with the outer world and competition for status and power within the cooperating group.


O. Henry creates an unusual character in Soapy in "The Cop and the Anthem." Soapy is a sort of gentleman-bum. His speech and his manners show that he was once a member of the middle class. For some reason he decided to drop out of the respectable world and live a life of indolence. He may think that he can return to the respectable world any time he chooses, but it seems as if fate has finally turned against him. He can't get arrested when he wants to get arrested, and then he can't turn back when he wants to turn back. Getting arrested and sent to Riker's Island for three months seems like a turning point in Soapy's life. He won't be the same person when he gets out. He will no longer think of himself as a gentleman but as a bum like all the other bums he knows at Riker's Island and in Washington Square. He has had his own private bench in Washington Square for a long time, but he will find it occupied by someone else when he gets out. In this life, as Lewis Carroll shows in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, we have to keep running just to stay in the same place. 


O. Henry spent three years in prison for embezzlement and never got over it psychologically or emotionally. He wrote under an assumed name and dreaded having his past catch up with him. He was reputed to drink two quarts of whiskey every day, and he died from alcohol-related diseases at the age of forty-seven. 

What are the differences between WEB Du Bois and Booker T Washington?

W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington were two major African-American leaders around 1900. Both men had definite thoughts on how African-Americans should handle the lack of rights African-American had. Booker T. Washington believed African-Americans should focus on getting economic rights and vocational training first. He believed it was necessary for African-Americans to get good jobs in order to become secure financially. After they got these rights and became secure financially, then they could focus on the lack of political rights they had. This compromise, getting economic rights while delaying political rights, was known as the Atlanta Compromise.


W.E.B. Du Bois had a different view about the lack of economic and political opportunities. He believed African-Americans should have all of their rights at the same time. He didn’t agree that the fight for political rights should be delayed while pursuing economic rights and vocational training. He wanted African-Americans to get economic rights and political rights now, without delay.


Both men were African-American leaders at the turn of the century. They also differed on how African-Americans should approach the lack of rights they had.

What has helped Tio Juan "change from a baby into a man"?

Tio Juan emigrated from Guatemala to Cleveland to be with his family in Seedfolks. Guatemala and Cleveland are two very different places.  Gonzola, Tio Juan’s nephew, helps the family by “babysitting” Tio Juan and translating for them.  Tio Juan is known for wandering off from the apartment and, therefore, must be watched. Perhaps Tio Juan wanders off not so much from some sort of dementia but because he is search for something. Tio Juan may feel useless in his new environment because it is so foreign to everything he has known throughout his life.  When Gonzola gets Tio Juan involved in the garden, not only does Tio Juan find purpose, but Gonzola realizes that Tio Juan has a lot to give.  The planting of the few seeds by Tio Juan changes both Gonzola and Tio Juan.  They become people with a purpose and with a higher understanding of who they are and what they can accomplish. 

What problem is laid out in the first section of "A Modest Proposal?"

The problem laid out in the first section of "A Modest Proposal" is the severe poverty in Ireland. Swift describes seeing



...the roads and cabbin-doors crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for an alms. 



Swift focuses especially on the plight of the Irish children, who are a burden on their families in their youth, and, he says, a burden on Ireland as a whole when they grow up. Many wind up serving as mercenaries or as indentured servants on sugar plantations in Barbadoes, and those who stay behind are doomed to lives of desperate poverty. Ireland, it should be understood, was part of the British Empire in the early eighteenth century, and most of the land in Ireland was owned not by the Irish people but by landlords, many of whom were absentee Englishmen (Swift himself was the son of an English landowner in Ireland). So Irish poverty is the problem, and Swift frames his essay as a "proposal" for a solution. Nothing in the introduction prepares the reader for the shock of learning what this solution actually is.

What is a good thesis statement if you're writing an argumentative paper about gun control, and you were on the side for guns?

This is a good question.  Let's start with what makes a thesis good. 


A good thesis has two qualities. First, a good thesis must be debatable.  You should have no problem with this, because gun control is a huge issue and people are on both sides of the debate.  Second, a good thesis has to have good supporting points.  In other words, ask yourself why people should be allowed to have guns.  The better your reasons are, the better your thesis will be. 


Another element that makes a thesis strong is when you acknowledge the opposing view.  If you know the opposing argument better than they do and it is not a caricature, then you will make strides in convincing your reader. 


Based on these points, here is one example. 


I am opposed to guns as I can see very little good coming from owning them, but I believe that people should have the decision to own guns, as it is their right. 


This thesis will ingratiate you to those who want to ban guns.  In this way, you might be able to persuade them that liberty is more important than the hatred for guns. 

Saturday, May 3, 2008

What are three examples of satire from Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels?

Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels is a satirical look at England in the Enlightenment period. It is filled with humorous jabs at English politics, manners, business, and science. Here are three famous satirical aspects of the Lilliputian society:


Rope Dancers: Applicants for court positions danced on a suspended rope for the Emperor. Although this dance did nothing to prove a person's ability to perform a court function, the winners were given the jobs.


Silken Threads: Social status was determined in part by how well an act of dexterity was performed. Participants jumped over or maneuvered under a stick held out by the Emperor. Depending on how well the Emperor judged them to have performed the feat they were given silken threads of a certain color to wear around their waists.


High-heelers vs. Low-heelers: The main political division in Lilliput was signified by the size of the heels on a person's shoes. Low-heelers were the dominant political group and high-heelers were shunned. One character had one high-heel and one low-heel.

Friday, May 2, 2008

African countries attained political independence and African leaders are said to have been struggling hard to overcome development challenges....

Since the colonies of Africa were established in order to extract resources for industrial production in Europe, by the time countries reached independence they were already in a state of underdevelopment. Some of the biggest issues that persist as a legacy of colonialism are hunger and famines, poverty and inequality, and health and environmental issues. African countries integration into the world market is primarily as an exporter of agricultural cash crops. If the economy is dependent on producing the highest value crops that are both neither edible nor meant for domestic consumption, then food needs can only be met by imports. If imported food is more expensive than producing the same thing locally, then larger segments of the population are more vulnerable to hunger -- and famine can more easily and rapidly ensue. This structure (and policies) of agricultural production also effects the level of poverty and inequality. However, it is important to note we are not just referring to economic equality, but also the ways it intersects with gender, religious, and rural/urban inequality as well. In addition to the mode of agricultural production and terms of trade, economic inequality is also an effect of foreign aid/loans that come with austere conditions. The majority of this foreign assistance is not only dependent on governments cutting spending, that effects the most vulnerable, but also the influx of funds consolidate in the few hands of the elite. Moreover, where there is foreign investment (not just loans/aid for debt), it predominantly is concentrated on the extraction and refinement of particular resources—which has the dual effect of siphoning the profit of the most valuable of assets to the already wealthy both domestic and foreign, and of creating gross instances of toxic pollution that harm both human health and the environment. These are all major issues plaguing African leaders in the present. 

How would Rudy become infamous in The Book Thief?

Rudy becomes infamous by mimicking Jesse Owens.


Death describes Rudy as “infamous” when introducing him to the reader in the beginning of the book.  His infamous because he would not bow down to the Nazis and do as he was told.  Rudy was an original.  He worshipped Jesse Owens, spoke his own mind, and stood up for what he believed in.


Rudy’s obsession with running was based on his own skill and the success of Jesse Owens in the Berlin Olympics.  Jesse Owens was an American athlete, and he just happened to be black.  It did not matter to Rudy that he was black, or that he was an American.  All he cared about was that Jesse Owens was a hero.


Rudy was considered crazy by most of the neighborhood.



This was on account of an event that was rarely spoken about but widely regarded as “The Jesse Owens Incident,” in which he painted himself charcoal black and ran the 100 meters at the local playing field one night. (The Kiss)



The Nazis did not like Jesse Owens. They believed that blue-eyed, blond-haired Aryan Germans were the “Master Race.”  It was very dangerous for Rudy to imitate Jesse Owens.  His father explained that to him when he caught him running covered in charcoal.


Rudy’s inability to fit in extended to his friendship with Liesel.  Like Rudy, Liesel did not bow down to the Nazis.  They became friends because both of them were outcasts.


Rudy refuses to become a Nazi pawn.  A good example of this is the race.  Rudy does not win the fourth race on purpose.  It is a protest to the Nazis and an acknowledgement that they can’t control him.


Rudy is a perfect example of the fact that not all Germans were Nazis.  Many of the German people were not true believers, but went along with the Nazis because they were afraid.  They were held hostage by Hitler too.  Rudy was not a Nazi.  He was a child, and racism meant nothing to him.

Compare and contrast Macbeth and Banquo's reactions to the realization that the first of the witches prophecies has come true.

The two men respond quite differently. When they meet Ross and Angus, the former tells Macbeth:



And, for an earnest of a greater honour,
He bade me, from him, call thee thane of Cawdor:
In which addition, hail, most worthy thane!
For it is thine.



He is saying that King Duncan has requested that they greet Macbeth with the title thane of Cawdor which he has bestowed upon Macbeth in honour of his great service.


Banquo is surprised and exclaims:



What, can the devil speak true?



Since the witches are servants of the devil and their purpose therefore evil, he cannot believe that a prediction by them could have had such goodness.


Macbeth is skeptical and informs Ross:



The thane of Cawdor lives: why do you dress me
In borrow'd robes?



Ross then informs him that the king had commanded that the thane of Cawdor be executed for acts of treason by assisting Macdonwald and the Norwegians against Scotland. His betrayal has led to his downfall.


In an aside Macbeth states that he now has two titles, thane of Glamis and Cawdor and that the 'greatest is behind', meaning that he has now breached one of his greatest hurdles and this brings him closer to obtaining what he wants - the title of king. he then addresses Banquo, asking if this announcement does not now give him hope that his children will be kings, since that is what the witches prophesied.


Banquo is quite cynical and not as easily swayed by what the witches had said. He pronounces:



That trusted home
Might yet enkindle you unto the crown,
Besides the thane of Cawdor. But 'tis strange:
And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray's
In deepest consequence.



He tells Macbeth that since the first prediction has been realised, it might bring him the crown as well. He then expresses his doubt about such predictions for he believes that the forces of evil provide us with truths and small benefits in order to drag us deeper into their snares and then betray us. The consequences of such betrayal are much greater than one would have expected and end in perdition. In effect, Banquo is warning Macbeth not to take the witches at their word and to be careful.


Macbeth is clearly overwhelmed by the fact that the prediction has come true. In a lengthy aside aside he expresses the fact that the witches have predicted two truths: that he will be thane of Cawdor and will become king. He has accepted the fact that he will be king. 'The swelling act' and 'the imperial theme' are both references to this.


In his aside he considers the consequences of the witches' predictions and determines that it cannot be good or bad, but that it has made him nervous and anxious for his heart is beating faster. It is here that Macbeth expresses his intent to become king by foul means:



... Present fears
Are less than horrible imaginings:
My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,
Shakes so my single state of man that function
Is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is
But what is not.



The thought about murdering king Duncan has already formed in his mind and this makes him afraid. Everything about this act is still clouded in thought and the only reality is that nothing is certain.


Banquo notices that Macbeth is 'rapt' - overwhelmed and deep in thought. In another aside Macbeth declares that if the forces of chance would make him king, then they might do so without any action from him. The idea of murder is a horrific one. Banquo ironically comments that Macbeth is overcome by 'new horrors' without realising the truth of what he speaks. He comments further that the only way one can become accustomed to a new situation/title is to use it, just as we do when wearing new clothes - they feel more comfortable over time.


In another aside, Macbeth states that whatever situations he may face, there is no doubt that time would march on, implying that his moment for greater glory will definitely come. In the end, he requests that he and Banquo have a private conversation later to freely and openly discuss the events of the day. Banquo agrees. The men then all leave 'toward the king.' 

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Does Montresor possess a conscience throughout the story "The Cask of Amontillado"?

Montresor has no conscience throughout the events, but he may have one at the end.


Montresor is telling the story of how he killed Fortunato fifty years later, to a person he knows well.  We know this because he makes a comment at the beginning that the person knows him, and at the end he tells how much time has passed.  We do not know who he is talking to or why, but there seems to be indications of guilt.


Montresor may be confessing to someone, such as a priest or a friend.  He takes pains to explain why he had to kill Fortunato, and why he had to get away with it.



THE THOUSAND INJURIES of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat. 



Montresor shows no conscience while he is actually luring Fortunato to his death.  He only pretends to care about his cold.  It is a ruse, to make Fortunato think that he doesn’t really care if he goes into the catacombs or not.


After bringing him into the kill room, Montresor does hesitate somewhat.  He seems surprised at Fortunato’s reaction, because the man screams and cries.  Montresor really only shows any emotion at the very end of the tale.



 My heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so.I hastened to make an end of my labour. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has disturbedthem. In pace requiescat!



The last line means “rest in peace.”  Between this and the twinge of conscience, and the fact that he is telling the story, we can infer that Montresor may be feeling some guilt.  However, it is also possible that he isn’t, and he is just a psychopath.

What was the device called which Faber had given Montag in order to communicate with him?

In Part Two "The Sieve and the Sand" of the novel Fahrenheit 451, Montag travels to Faber's house trying to find meaning in th...