Where can I find three examples of how Lennie is discriminated against in the book Of Mice and Men?

My text may be different in reference to page numbers so I will provide chapter numbers and approximate placement in that chapter of quoted sections.

Lennie is the simple minded friend of George. They are the two main characters of Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men. They are traveling together through California as migrant farm workers. In today's terms, Lennie would probably be referred to as mentally challenged and would have been in special education classes. Unfortunately those labels and resources were not available in 1930's California. Instead, Lennie is referred to as "not bright," "dumb as hell," "a cuckoo," "crazy as a wedge," and "nuts." Because of his disability Lennie is indeed the victim of discrimination. 

Even though he is Lennie's best friend George is guilty of discriminating against the big man. In chapter one George urges Lennie to be quiet when they meet the boss at the ranch where they are going to work. Midway through the chapter George says,

“That ranch we’re goin’ to is right down there about a quarter mile. We’re gonna go in an’ see the boss. Now, look—I’ll give him the work tickets, but you ain’t gonna say a word. You jus’ stand there and don’t say nothing. If he finds out what a crazy bastard you are, we won’t get no job, but if he sees ya work before he hears ya talk, we’re set. Ya got that?” 

George is afraid Lennie will say something that will lose them the job since Lennie has a history of getting into trouble and costing them employment. In chapter two, after Lennie forgets George's orders and speaks out in the presence of the boss, George chastises him:

“So you wasn’t gonna say a word. You was gonna leave your big flapper shut and leave me do the talkin’. Damn near lost us the job...Yeah, you forgot. You always forget, an’ I got to talk you out of it.” He sat down heavily on the bunk. “Now he’s got his eye on us. Now we got to be careful and not make no slips. You keep your big flapper shut after this.” 

Another example of George discriminating against Lennie is revealed in the beginning of chapter three when George is talking to Slim. George admits that  he liked to make fun of Lennie in order to make himself look smarter, even in an incident that could have cost Lennie his life. Toward the beginning of the chapter George relates this incident:

“Funny,” said George. “I used to have a hell of a lot of fun with ‘im. Used to play jokes on ‘im ‘cause he was too dumb to take care of ‘imself. But he was too dumb even to know he had a joke played on him. I had fun. Made me seem God damn smart alongside of him. Why he’d do any damn thing I tol’ him. If I tol’ him to walk over a cliff, over he’d go. That wasn’t so damn much fun after a while. He never got mad about it, neither. I’ve beat the hell outa him, and he coulda bust every bone in my body jus’ with his han’s, but he never lifted a finger against me.” George’s voice was taking on the tone of confession. “Tell you what made me stop that. One day a bunch of guys was standin’ around up on the Sacramento River. I was feelin’ pretty smart. I turns to Lennie and says, ‘Jump in.’ An’ he jumps. Couldn’t swim a stroke. He damn near drowned before we could get him. An’ he was so damn nice to me for pullin’ him out. Clean forgot I told him to jump in. Well, I ain’t done nothing like that no more.” 

Although these examples show how Lennie is discriminated against because of his mental disability he is also a victim in other ways. At the end of chapter three Curley, upset about not finding his wife, and the subject of ridicule from the other men, picks on Lennie because of Lennie's size. In the middle of chapter two, Candy explains Curley's strategy:

“Never did seem right to me. S’pose Curley jumps a big guy an’ licks him. Ever’body says what a game guy Curley is. And s’pose he does the same thing and gets licked. Then ever’body says the big guy oughtta pick somebody his own size, and maybe they gang up on the big guy. Never did seem right to me. Seems like Curley ain’t givin’ nobody a chance.” 

Of course when they do fight, Lennie breaks Curley's hand, which ultimately leads to Lennie's demise because at the end of the book Curley is out for revenge not only for his wife's death but also because of the beating he took at the hands of the big man.

In chapter four Lennie is the victim of what some today might call "reverse discrimination." Left alone while George goes into town on a Saturday night Lennie happens upon the room of the black stable hand Crooks. Because he is a black man on a ranch dominated by white men Crooks is segregated from the other men and has his own private quarters in the barn. When Lennie, who is quite unaware of any difference between Crooks and the other men, sees the light and tries to enter the stable buck's room, Crooks says,

“Well, I got a right to have a light. You go on get outa my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room."

When Lennie asks why Crooks is not wanted the black man explains the discrimination and segregation on the ranch:

“’Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink to me.” 

Later in the same chapter Crooks too plays on Lennie's challenged mentality by suggesting that George has ditched the big man and won't return from town. He torments Lennie by saying:

“I said s’pose George went into town tonight and you never heard of him no more...Well, s’pose, jus’ s’pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then?”

Later Crooks reinforces the idea of Lennie's disability by telling Lennie what might happen if George abandons him:

“Want me ta tell ya what’ll happen? They’ll take ya to the booby hatch. They’ll tie ya up with a collar, like a dog.” 

Because Crooks is able to inflict some of the pain he has experienced onto Lennie he feels pretty good about himself and even offers to join the men in their dream of the farm. Eventually, however, he is put back in his place by Curley's wife suggestion that she could get him lynched.

At the end of the book Lennie's disability finally costs him his life as George sees no other alternative than to shoot Lennie in an act of extreme mercy. Had George not killed Lennie the big man would have been the victim of a system he would not have understood without the possibility of a "not guilty by reason of insanity" plea.

Did Mattie Worthen (Lyddie’s mother) make the correct decision by hiring out Lyddie and Charlie?

Although Lyddie and Charlie are devastated that they must leave their home and be separated from each other, Mrs. Worthen acted appropriately in hiring them out. Due to her mental illness, their mother was not capable of supporting or taking care of her four children. Her husband had been gone for two years, and she had no indication that he would return or was even alive. As willing as Lyddie and Charlie were to keep running the farm, the fact was the farm was a losing proposition. The sugar bush was scraggly, meaning it couldn't produce enough maple syrup to be profitable, and they did not own enough animals to make a living selling milk or wool or any other products. The family had no doubt racked up significant debts during the two years when they had no income, and now they were facing going to the "poor farm." Although modern readers may consider the poor farm just an expression, in the mid-1800s when this book is set, it was a real possibility. Poor farms were large working farms that employed people who could not support themselves. However, workers were not paid wages—only their room and board. That gave people who found themselves there no way of earning enough money to leave and start out on their own again. Mrs. Worthen was right to do whatever she could to avoid having her family become residents of the poor farm. Charlie ended up being in a sense adopted by a fine family, and Lyddie, by her wits and hard work, became an independent young woman who was bound for college.

What was the rise of cotton belt and the slave system?

The cotton belt was a region of the United States where much cotton was grown. Slavery was tied to the growth of the cotton belt. Prior to the invention of the cotton gin, most cotton was grown along the coast. This cotton, called long staple cotton, could have its seeds easily separated by machines. The limitation with long staple cotton was that it could only be grown along the coast. This limited how much land was available for growing cotton.

Once the cotton gin was invented, cotton could be grown anywhere in the South where the land would support its growth. This area of the Deep South where much  cotton could now be grown was called the cotton belt. Cotton grown away from the coast was called short staple cotton. With this cotton, it was hard to separate the seeds from the cotton. It had to be done by hand. Once the cotton gin was invented, short staple cotton could now be separated by this machine. This opened up much more land in the South for growing cotton. Because so much more land could now be used for growing cotton, slavery grew significantly. More slaves were needed to tend to the fields and to work on the growing of cotton. The cotton gin made slavery more essential to the South. By 1860, cotton was the main export of the South, and the southerners believed more than ever that slavery was necessary.

What was the structure and function of the government set forth by the United States Constitution?

The government system that is outlined in the United States Constitution was one that was unique to the time period. The government would be divided into three separate branches, each with various powers and responsibilities. The three branches are set up to check and balance the powers of each other.

The legislative branch is responsible for making laws, appropriating spending, and approving treaties. The legislative branch has important checks over the other branches in that it can override presidential vetoes and can impeach the president and judges for wrongdoing. Congress is the body of government encompasses the legislative branch. Congress is divided into two houses: the Senate and House of Representatives. There are important checks between the two houses of Congress that enable a more balanced legislative branch.

The executive branch is responsible for enforcing the laws of Congress. The President of the United States is the head of an executive branch that includes over a dozen departments and hundreds of agencies. The president has important checks over the other branches including the appointment of federal judges, and the ability to veto laws proposed by Congress. The power over the armed forces is also vested in the executive branch.

The judicial branch was established to interpret laws passed by Congress. The highest court in the land is the Supreme Court, but there are federal circuit and appeals courts throughout the country. The judicial branch can check the power of the President and Congress by presiding over impeachment trials, but more importantly, through judicial review. The Court has the power to rule the laws of Congress and executive orders of the president unconstitutional. It uses the Consitution as its guide when making these important decisions.

Another important feature of our constitutional government is that it limits the power of the federal government. The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution declares that powers not granted to the federal government are reserved to the states and the people.

Why does Ralph's talk of rescue sound naive or innocent?

At the second assembly, while Ralph is still getting used to his role as chief, he tries to set a positive tone with the boys. He says, "We want to have fun. And we want to be rescued." Putting those two goals side by side in this way makes his talk of rescue sound like a boyish game. He goes on to say, "And of course we shall be rescued." This statement has no proof behind it, only Ralph's word as the new chief, yet it brings "light and happiness" to the boys. Ralph then goes on to explain that his father is in the Navy and has told him about the Queen's room full of charts and maps. The thought of their island being on a map in the Queen's "big room" seems comforting, but it is really of no practical use. Just because their island is on a map somewhere does not make it any easier for the boys to be located since no one knows what island they have crashed on. More bothersome still, if the boys had taken time to think it through, is the knowledge that the Queen's room and all the maps may have been destroyed in the atomic bomb that Piggy heard the pilot of their plane talking about. Ralph has heard that news from Piggy, but here he chooses not to consider it, through his innocence or naivete.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, what event has been added to the fall social calendar in Maycomb? Why was it added?

Halloween events changed. It had heretofore been an unorganized event in which children got into mischief. The year before, they--presumably all the children in Maycomb, although Scout (narrating) denies having been involved--played a prank. They waited until the spinster ladies who lived in a house with a cellar (the only cellar in Maycomb) had gone to bed, then sneaked into their living room and moved "every stick of furniture" into the cellar. The ladies called the sheriff and asked for the bloodhounds to be put on the trail of the "thieves." 

Thus, the "Maycomb ladies" decided things would be different this year, so they organized a fair of sorts in the high school auditorium, featuring "apple-bobbing, taffy-pulling, pinning the tail on the donkey for the children," and a pageant. 

In Chapter 14 of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, what does the audience learn about Dill Harris?

In Chapter 14, the audience learns about Dill's struggles at home. Following a physical altercation with her brother, Scout steps on something under her bed, only to find out that it is her friend, Dill Harris. Initially, Dill tells Jem and Scout an elaborate story of how he escaped from shackles in a grungy basement before telling them what really happened. Dill then explains to Jem and Scout how he stole $13 from his mother's purse to take the train to Maycomb Junction, walked 11 miles off the highway, and rode the remainder of the way on the back of a cotton wagon. Later that night, Scout asks Dill why he ran away. Dill explains to Scout how his parents are rarely home and that they spend the majority of their time alone in their room. Dill laments that he feels unwanted and tells Scout how his father makes empty promises. Dill believes that his parents have no use for him and is constantly lonely, which is why he ran away. Eventually, he admits to Scout that his parents aren't that mean, and they say "goodnight" and "I love you." The audience learns that Dill has an unhappy home life and seeks affection that his parents won't give him. 

What do Scrooges's books represent in "A Christmas Carol"?

In A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, there are two types of books mentioned. The first are those used in his counting house, where he treats Bob Cratchit like a slave. Those books represent the greed and selfishness of the upper class in general and of Ebenezer Scrooge specifically. 

Later, in Stave II, the Ghost of Christmas Past takes Mr. Scrooge to the boarding school where Scrooge spent much of his childhood. Scrooge sees his younger self sitting all alone at a desk reading. These books represent his imagination and joy. He remembers how the books of his childhood came alive for him especially when he was lonely. 

"'Why, it's Ali Baba!" Scrooge exclaimed in ecstasy. It's dear old honest Ali Baba!  Yes, yes, I know!  One Christmastime, when yonder solitary child was left here all alone, he did come, for the first time, just like that. Poor boy! And Valentine,' said Scrooge, 'and his wild brother Orson; there they go!'" (Dickens 37)

He goes on to talk about the adventures of Robinson Crusoe, and other beloved books he read as a boy. They represent his innocent self from a time before money took over his life--a self, who despite his loneliness, found joy.

How does conflict zones, natural and man-made disasters and over-cultivation contribute to reduction in usable land (land used by human)?

Land is a finite resource, and not all land is created equally. Land that is near a harbor, in a city center, or very fertile is worth more than land that is agriculturally useless or inaccessible. Let's look at how each factor reduces the utility of the land.

Obviously active conflict zones reduce the usability of land because no one wants to be in an area where bullets and bombs are flying. The long-run effects are also significant. After the conflict stops, people may not return, either because they have established themselves somewhere else or because their homes have been destroyed or seized. Infrastructure may also be damaged. Land is less accessible, and therefore less useful, if bridges, power stations, or other utilities have been destroyed.

Natural and man-made disasters also make land less usable, often for similar reasons. A wildfire or flood may destroy crops and buildings. Repeated terrorist attacks may reduce investment in an area. As with the effects of armed conflicts, the amount of land remains but its utility is diminished.

Some disasters, such as erosion and climate change, even destroy land altogether. Coastal developments and certain mountain properties have always been threatened by water and wind erosion. Given the projected rise in sea levels, many low-lying coastal lands are expected to soon be below sea level. In each case, we see a reduction in the amount of land.

Finally, over-cultivation is when land is used heavily for a relatively short time but then becomes infertile. This is most easily seen in Africa and other areas where agriculture is fueling desertification. Clearly the transition of land that was somewhat fertile to desert is a loss of usable land.

In Hamlet, what are his main characteristics? In what ways is he crafty and intelligent?

Hamlet is a depressed and confused young man. He has recently lost his father, and his father's ghost has revealed that his uncle and mother are both traitors. He is clearly very clever. We see this from his cunning in using the play to confirm his uncle's guilt, and in his skills in avoiding his uncle's trap to kill him by supposedly sending him off to study. His eloquent soliloquies also demonstrate intelligence and complex thinking.

His intelligence is also something of a curse, however. He endlessly contemplates everything, from how and when to avenge his father to the basic meaning of life. He gets trapped in circles of reasoning that paralyze him from taking the actions that he knows he must. He questions the ghost's story and must confirm it, then he questions whether it is proper to kill his uncle during prayer, and he even questions whether life is worth living at all. 

He has difficulty controlling his thoughts and emotions. We see this through his soliloquies, but also with his relationship with Ophelia. First he is perhaps too open and forward with his love, then he is aggressive and cruel when he feels that his privacy has been violated. 

Hamlet is one of the most complex and intelligent characters in all of literature. These are just a few examples of such complexity.

What was the level of language of the narrator, in the story "The Lesson?"

The level of language used by the narrator in Toni Cade Bambara’s short story “The Lesson” is hard to quantify but appears to be that of an under-educated upper elementary or middle school student. She uses the language that is acceptable in her neighborhood, which lacks proper grammar, pronunciation, and diction. Although she attends school, her language is reflective of what is used in her home life. It is cluttered with profanities, slang, and colloquialisms that she would hear used by the adults in her life. At times she uses double negatives and does not complete the endings on words. Therefore, instead of placing a level on the language it more important to understand why the author has the narrator use this language.

So this one day Miss Moore rounds us all up at the mailbox and it's puredee hot and she's knockin herself out about arithmetic. And school suppose to let up in summer I heard, but she don't never let up.

The story is written in 1972 when education and literacy for young African American students was lacking. The character Miss Moore, exceeds expectations by attaining a college education, and she attempts to address the issue of under-education by exposing the narrator and her friends to a side of life they rarely experience. She guides them on a trip to downtown Manhattan where they experience “sticker shock” in the famous toy store F.A.O. Schwartz. She takes it upon herself to let the students, including the narrator, discover that there is another “world” just outside of theirs in which education matters.

In Chapter 17, what is the main argument against Brave New World?

Chapter 17 of Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World is essentially a showdown between the two archetypal representatives from the new and old worlds: Mustapha Mond and John the Savage. They each touch on different aspects of the society in Brave New World, John pointing out their flaws and Mustapha defending them. However, the sum of these challenges all contribute to one overarching issue that John takes with the Brave New World: John believes that people need pain, inconvenience, and challenge in order to lead happy lives. 

John defends his stance by explaining that without these "bad" elements of life, such as growing old, feeling rage, questioning existence, and others, no one truly appreciates the "good" elements of life. This argument, in the penultimate chapter, captures the source of cultural conflict between this new world and the old one of John's origins. 

What are the advantages of a federal constitution?

There are two main advantages to having a federal constitution.

First, a federal constitution allows the various regions of a country to have laws that differ to some degree.  This is very important if there are major differences between the regions of the country.  If a country has regions, for example, that are dominated by different ethnic groups or by people of different ideologies, it might want to have a federal constitution.  This would allow the different regions to have laws that are consistent with their ideological preferences or it would allow the different ethnic groups to have more autonomy and self-rule.  In either case, federalism makes it more likely that a country can remain united even though it has major differences between its regions.

Second, a federal constitution allows there to be many different governments in the country.  When this is true, the various governments can act as “laboratories.”  Imagine, for instance, that you wonder what the best way is to provide health care to all the people of your country.  If you have a federal constitution, each state (or province, or whatever you call your regions) could have its own system.  People could see how the various systems work and could then pick the best one.  By having federalism, you allow the various governments to take different approaches to solving problems.  This makes it more likely that one government will find the best way to solve the problem.

Thus, a federal constitution allows greater stability in a diverse country and it allows more experimentation in terms of government policy than would be possible with a unitary constitution.

Why doesn't Alexandra want Atticus speaking about race in front of Calpurnia? Whom does Alexandra think it will encourage?

In Chapter 16 of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Aunt Alexandra expresses her point of view that white folks speaking of racial tensions before African Americans only leads to more racial tensions and eventually stirs up rebellion.

The scene opens at breakfast with Aunt Alexandra making known her disapproval of the children having sneaked out to the jailhouse at night to see if their father was in danger. When Atticus proclaims he was glad the children came along since they saved him, her retort is that "Mr. Underwood was there all the time" with his gun, ready to protect Atticus. But Atticus expresses his doubt that Mr. Underwood would have really taken action against the mob since Mr. Underwood "despises Negroes, won't have one near him." It's this comment that Aunt Alexandra expresses disapproval of Atticus having said in front of Calpurnia while she was serving breakfast.

Aunt Alexandra's argument is that talking about the disrespect of and mistreatment of the Negroes "encourages them," meaning encourages them to rebel against the white folks. As Aunt Alexandra sees it, the Negroes gossip about any racist event that occurs in Maycomb, which incites them to rebellion, as we see when she comments, "Every thing that happens in this town's out to the Quarters before sundown."

In contrast to Alexandra, Atticus shows he holds the right views about racism and racial tensions. Atticus argues that he would be showing Calpurnia disrespect if he didn't treat her as valuable enough to talk in front of her about the same problems of racism he spoke of in front of his own children. More importantly, he further argues that if the Negroes were not treated with so much disrespect, they wouldn't talk among themselves and feel the need to form a rebellion. Hence, Atticus demonstrates that a central difference between he and his sister is that he wants to address the problem of racial tension whereas his sister only wants to cover up the problem.

How is the theme of love explored in Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw?

Love is explored in Arms and the Man by Shaw in two places: through war and through romance.

The major romance in the play is between Raina and Sergius. Superficially, they are an ideal match. Their social status matches, and when they are with each other, they are the archetypes often found in the chivalric romances of the Middle Ages. Sergius is proud and strong with a little swagger. Raina behaves as she has been taught she should. However, they are both playing parts, and love cannot be purely superficial. The standards for courtship are rigid and idealized, and do not allow for true expressions of feelings. Eventually, they must confront their true feelings, and the reality does not mesh with the ideal they envisioned. Raina ends up with Bluntschli, a practical, sturdy sort of man, not the sort songs are written about.

Sergius is not so successful in overcoming his ideals. He puts Raina on a pedestal as he does war. War has always been glorified in history, and Sergius is no exception.  After experiencing war he says,

“And how ridiculous! Oh, war! War! The dream of patriots and heroes! A fraud, Bluntschli, a hollow sham.”

Sergius admits that glory in war is a dream, a love that comes about from not truly experiencing something.  However, he sees this not as an issue with war and the way war is seen, but with the men themselves who fight in it. The war is settled with a peace treaty, which Catherine feels is not how war is supposed to end. In war, the enemy must be crushed. Balance and restraint are not the markers of a hero.

The ideal versus the reality—this is what Shaw was playing with when describing both love of a person and love of war. For Shaw, it is the ideal of love that must be overcome in order to achieve happiness.

What are some characteristics of Juliet and Friar Lawrence?

I will start with Juliet, and I'll start with the easy and obvious characteristics.  First, Juliet is a girl.  A young girl at that.  Her father tells Paris that Juliet is not ready to be married yet, because she is too young.  

My child is yet a stranger in the world;
She hath not seen the change of fourteen years,

Juliet is also a Capulet; they are the sworn enemies of the Montagues, which is what Romeo is.  Juliet, despite her youth is wise and strong beyond her years.  I think this because she doesn't automatically dismiss her mother's advice about Paris.  I work with 13 year old students.  I know how they talk about their moms and mom's rules.  Juliet tells her mom that she will look at Paris with an open mind.  She doesn't simply dismiss her mom's advice for the sake of dismissing her. 

I'll look to like, if looking liking move:
But no more deep will I endart mine eye
Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.

Regarding her strength, Juliet stands up to her father and mother about her desire to marry Romeo.  That's not an easy thing for a young girl to do, especially when dad is screaming and insulting you.  Juliet does stand up to her father's onslaught though and stands firm in her devotion to Romeo.  

Friar Lawrence is a much more interesting character I think.  He's quite mysterious.  For example, why does a holy man religious figure have such intimate knowledge of potions and herbs?  He is presented as a friar, but I feel he more closely resembles a wizard or medicine man.  He is a caring individual, and the evidence is in how he treats Romeo and Juliet.  He can clearly see their love for each other, but he still warns Romeo of the potential problems that the marriage is going to cause.  

Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.

Yet despite his concerns, Friar Lawrence still agrees to unite Romeo and Juliet in marriage.  That sounds wonderful and romantic, until you think about his main stated reason for doing so.  

In one respect I'll thy assistant be;
For this alliance may so happy prove,
To turn your households' rancour to pure love.

Friar Lawrence believes that Romeo and Juliet's marriage will have the power to end the feud between the Capulets and Montagues.  That's devious and scheming, because it might work, but it might not either.  Of course Friar Lawrence isn't taking any of the risks either.  His plot is completely safe for him, because Romeo and Juliet will take any of the trouble that comes.  

What did Martin Luther King mean by the "drum major instinct"? How can this instinct have a negative impact in leadership? How can it have a...

Martin Luther King, Jr's last sermon was on what he called "The Drum Major Instinct."  He began by retelling the Biblical story of brothers James and John asking Jesus if they could sit on either side of the throne in heaven.  He described their request as a "basic desires for recognition, for importance."  He went on to say that everyone "want[s] to be important, to surpass others, to achieve distinction, to lead the parade."  Martin Luther King, Jr. called these desires "the Drum Major Instinct."

King described the danger of the instinct when someone "ends up trying to push others down in order to push himself up."  He pointed out that if "this instinct is not harnessed, it becomes a very dangerous, pernicious instinct."  Someone who is tearing others down to gain power will not be a good leader.  A person who is guided by selfish desires will look out for their own interests before the interests of others.

This "Drum Major Instinct" to surpass and achieve can help to create great leaders.  Great leaders are often ambitious.  They work hard to obtain goals.  Leaders often work hard to "achieve distinction."  In the sermon, King told what the reaction of Jesus was to the question asked by James and John.  Jesus told them that greatness must be earned.  Many great leaders work extremely hard to gain respect.

Does Harper Lee in To Kill a Mockingbird show that Mayella Ewell is in control of what happens in her life?

Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee portrays Mayella as being trapped in a desolate life she has no control over; however, Mayella is also portrayed as attempting but failing to rid her life of ugliness and loneliness.

The red geraniums Mayella plants in a corner of the Ewells' yard can most clearly be seen as one of Mayella's attempts to improve her life. As Scout narrates, the Ewells' yard near the county dump is the dirtiest in the county. Their fence is made of broomsticks, tree branches, and other bits of rubbish. The fence encloses a yard scattered with a "Model-T Ford (on blocks), a discarded dentist's chair, an ancient icebox," and other bits of rubbish (Ch. 17). Among all this rubbish and chaos, Mayella makes an attempt to beautify her life by planting geraniums.

However, we see that the attempt is really a failed attempt for a couple reasons. First, all she has to plant them in is "chipped-enamel slop jars"; in other words, all she has to plant her flowers in to try and remove herself from the trash surrounding her life is more trash. Second, while the color red is traditionally thought of to represent passion, geraniums, regardless of color, have very complex symbolic meaning, and that meaning has both a negative and positive side. Regardless of color, since the Victorian Era, the geranium has come to be known to symbolize stupidity or foolishness. On a more positive note, again, regardless of color, the geranium can symbolize gentleness and peace of mind. Hence, Mayella's red geraniums planted in chipped pots show us that she has passionate desires she is trying to attend to in order to find peace of mind, but in reality, all of her actions demonstrate she is a stupid and foolish person; it is this stupidity and foolishness that actually keeps her trapped in her desolate life.

Mayella behaves stupidly and foolishly in a couple of different ways. First, she does so by attempting to seduce Tom Robinson, a foolish act that results in Robinson's wrongful arrest and wrongful death. Second, she behaves stupidly and foolishly by refusing to report her father for the crimes he committed against her. Mayella had her chance to report her father in court, as Atticus begged her to do, saying, "Why don't you tell the truth, child, didn't Bob Ewell beat you up?," but Mayella foolishly refused (Ch. 18). Had she reported her father, she could have escaped him and given herself and what Atticus suspects is her seven incestuously conceived children a better life. Since she fails to report her father, she and the seven children remain trapped in their desolate lives because she yields all control of her life to her father.

Hence, as we can see, Harper Lee portrays Mayella as trapped in a horrible life she has no control over because she foolishly chooses to yield all control of her life to her father. Mayella makes only a few small efforts to improve her own life, and those efforts fail miserably.

Why did Kate Chopin use so many French words in "Desiree's Baby?" How did she treat the characters and how is this reflected in her style of writing?

In "Desiree's Baby," Kate Chopin uses French words because the story is set in Louisiana, which was a Creole society. People spoke French at that time, so it was natural that when writing about Louisianians, Chopin would include French words in the dialect.

She treated the characters in a realistic manner. The slaves were shown to be quiet and wary, as they were on edge about their master's volatile behavior; later, they were frightened by what might happen when everyone realized their mistress, Desiree, had a child of mixed race. Chopin treats Desiree and Armand in a realistic way as well. Both of these characters might have acted the way they did in real life. Through both her incorporation of French words and her treatment of her characters, Chopin creates a powerful, compelling story.

What layer of the GI tract wall contains glands, blood vessels, and nerves? What layer is the outermost layer that protects the GI tract?

The submucosa is the layer of the GI tract wall that contains glands, blood vessels, and nerves. In addition, the submucosa also contains lymphatic vessels. The outermost layer of the GI tract is the serosa (also known as the serous membrane). This layer is composed of areolar connective tissue that is covered with simple squamous epithelium that protect the GI tract.

The GI tract is sometimes referred to as the alimentary canal. It extends from the mouth to the anus through the ventral cavity. The GI tract includes the mouth, most of the pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. The GI tract aids in the secretion of enzymes needed to digest food, the digestion of food, absorption of nutrients, and defecation of waste.

How might a neuroscientist try to demonstrate that certain aspects of happiness are universal across all humans regardless of environment or culture?

A neuroscientist might use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to show that some aspects of happiness are universal across culture and environment. fMRI allows a scientist to map which regions of the brain are active in real time, as a person is experiencing something or performing a cognitive task. 

The scientist could map the brain activity of a variety of subjects from different cultures while they are experiencing happiness. If the same areas of the brain lit up, this would indicate that at least some part of the experience of happiness is universal.

It would be important to frame the experiment to eliminate differences in culture. For example, it would be better to ask each individual to recall the happiest moment of their life and how they felt that day, as opposed to giving them a specific scenario (for example, a life event such as their wedding day) to recall, since different cultures may not experience life events in the same way.

What are the beliefs of the new classical theory?

The new classical model of business analytics came about in the 1970's and 1980's as a rejection of Keynesian economics.  There are many belief's in the new system and they vary depending on the approach to the study of economics.  There are three main approaches.  The main difference is the level of government involvement in the economy. 

The free-market approach assumes markets alone are sufficient to generate maximum wealth.  This is the main point of new classical economics.  Markets are believed to be self-correcting and agents within the markets will always exploit information to their gain because it will perfect their potential.  Loss through surplus or deficit are believed to be from poor predictive behavior; therefore, agents will improve or be destroyed in the free-market.  Government is seen as neither a good or bad entity, but a part of the process.

The public-choice approach is more of an extreme approach.  This approach supposes all government interference is bad for the market because it distorts outlook potential.  This model suggests removing government from the equation and becoming a completely autonomous market where the public is the only consumer (the government becoming a simple consumer rather than a market force).

The market-friendly approach suggests the market should be a free market, which will work most of the time, and allow for some governmental influence when there is need such as missing markets, imperfect knowledge or outside extremes the market cannot reasonably handle.  This compromise approach is more to the center of new classical economics.

A major belief is the supply will equal demand due to rational expectations.  This assumes actors will always make the best decisions for their company because it will have a future impact.  Information is a key driving force in the market because it is needed to properly apply decisions to get supply equaling demand. 

Describe how nuclear fusion and other processes in stars have led to the formation of all the other chemical elements.

Nuclear fusion is the process in which smaller nuclei fuse together to form larger nuclei. An example is the process of nuclear fusion that place in our Sun. Here, hydrogen nuclei fuse together to form helium nuclei. It is believed that the Big Bang (which is the most widely accepted model of the origin of our universe) itself created light elements such as hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, etc. These lighter elements fuse to form heavier elements, up to iron. For a significant fraction of its life, a star generates energy by fusing hydrogen to helium. During its later years (and depending on its mass), fusion may create other elements. Helium fuses to form carbon in many stars. In case of heavier stars, oxygen and other elements (such as magnesium, silicon, etc.) are also formed. These reactions are exothermic. However, formations of heavier elements, beyond iron, are generally endothermic processes (they require energy input). These elements (trans-iron) were formed when a star went supernova. This is the phase in the life cycle of a star when the outer expanding layer of a star is thrown out. This explosion generates enough energy to fuse elements and form trans-iron elements. 

Such processes have formed 92 naturally occurring elements. The rest of the elements are man-made and have short lives.

Hope this helps. 

What is the number of orders needed to produce maximum profit from the equation `P(x)=-x^2+1250x-271600` ?

I would like to add to the above answer. One can use basic calculus, to be specific the use of basic differentiation: 

`(dP)/dx = -2x + 1250` (Applying basic differentiation) 

In order to find the maximum make `(dP)/dx =0`

`0 = -2x + 1250`

Now solve for x:

`2x = 1250`

`x = 625`

Now substitute the answer  into the original equation to find the maximum profit : 

`P(x) = - x^2 + 1250x - 271600`

`P(625) = - (625)^2 + 1250 (625) - 271600 = 119 025`

SUMMARY: 

(Calculus is another simple way to solve problems when determining a question asking for the maximum. Only use calculus if you are familiar with it, otherwise use the methods as stated in the previous answer.)

• When finding the maximum, first differentiate with respect to the independent variable, many times will be x, then make it equal to zero and solve. 


• Answer: x = 625 maximum profit P(625) = 119 025

Explain in what way the title of the poem "The Collar" by George Hughes relates to its content.

Firstly, the word collar has a number of connotations, both literal and figurative. In the normal sense of the word, a collar may be part of ones clothing, it could also be a reference to the white band which the clergy wear around their necks to indicate their profession, a collar is also used to restrict animals or to identify them. Added to this one can allude to someone being collared in a figurative sense, meaning that he/she has been caught or restricted in some way.

All of these definitions are apt in the context of the poem. Firstly, as used in the title, the poet's reference may be to the clerical collar, since he was a priest. This emphasises the significance of this small garment in the identification of a member of the clergy. They are generally associated with redemption, morality, spirituality and goodness.

It becomes quite clear that the speaker is rebelling against the restrictive nature of his calling. He violently declares in the first few lines: 

I struck the board, and cried, "No more;

                         I will abroad!

What? shall I ever sigh and pine?

My lines and life are free, free as the road,

Loose as the wind, as large as store.

          Shall I be still in suit?

The speaker has apparently had enough of his spiritual duty and wishes to go 'abroad', not necessarily an actual journey, but a release so that he may do something else. He is clearly desirous to express himself freely and wants to 'sigh and pine' as others do. He wants the freedom to complain, but his faith demands that he bear his burdens patiently and not wallow in self-pity and negativity. His demeanour should always be pleasant but he seemingly has had enough of that. He insists that he has the freedom to complain, but he feels bound by the ethical requirements of his religion and his position. He therefore asks, rhetorically, whether he should still be 'in suit', i.e. should he not discard the garments of his profession, for they are part of that which limit him?

The speaker continues in the same vein in the proceeding lines, asking rhetorical questions about what he has lost during his period of priestly service. He longs for the more material pleasures of the world and wants to cease his emotional and physical suffering. He feels that he has lost much and it has become time to savour that which he has been denied. In his heart he feels the longing for these pleasures and wants to recover the time he has lost by doubling his enjoyment of such denied pleasures.

The speaker refers more specifically to the ties that bind him by using terms such as: 'cage', 'rope of sands' and 'good cable'. These images all have a restrictive quality about them and emphasises the speaker's wish to be free of them. For him, those were the rules that applied to his work but he asserts that he must rid himself of his fears. He addresses some unknown entity (possibly God) to take note that he will leave. He ironically states that those who 'forbear', i.e. resist the temptation to 'suit and serve his need' deserve the load that they are burdened with. What he means is that those who choose not to be self-serving and persist in serving God, should not complain about the burdens they have to carry. Seemingly, he does not want to have this collar (burden) around his neck any longer.

There is, however, an ironic twist at the end of the poem for the speaker declares that as his protests grew more voluminous, he thought he heard a voice cry out to him, Child! and he replied: My Lord. This is a clear indication that the speaker felt that he had been chastised for expressing such doubt about his calling and, in obedience, cried out to his master (God). The irony lies in the fact that the speaker obeyed immediately when he was castigated and would obviously comply to what is asked, making insignificant all his complaints.

What are some examples from Animal Farm of perversion of language?

The manipulation, or as the question puts it, perversion of language is a major theme of Animal Farm (and, for that matter, George Orwell's other famous book 1984). In Animal Farm, the most blatant and skillful manipulation is by Squealer, the pig who serves as Napoleon's spokesman and "propaganda minister."  He manages to use language to persuade the animals that their memories of the past were false, particularly when it comes to Snowball. For example, he tells the animals that rather than being a hero of the Battle of the Cowshed, as many of them actually witnessed, Snowball had in fact been fighting on the side of Jones. The pigs are also continually altering the language of the original Seven Commadments. For example, when the pigs begin sleeping in beds, the animals notice that the commandment against this practice now read "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets." When they begin drinking alcohol, they add "to excess" to the commandment forbidding alcohol outright. What is so clever about this is the fact that the pigs have created an environment where truth is so fleeting, so contingent on what they say, that the animals do not believe their own eyes. When Squealer tells them that Snowball was, in fact, a traitor at the battle, only Boxer dissents, and he suffers consequences. When the commandments are altered, the animals faintly remember something different about them, but not usually enough to serious cast doubt upon the pigs. So a big part of the pigs' rise to power is their skill in manipulating language. 

What is the summary of San Francisco by Amy Hempel?

"San Francisco" is one of Amy Hempel's short stories that can be found in her collection entitled The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel.  This particular story is a wonderful attempt of a young girl to deal with grief and loss of a close family member.

We learn early on in the story that the narrator's mother has died.  The narrator continues to ask her dead mother hypothetical questions in order to deal with the grief.  There are very few things that "happen" in the story as a result.  The entire story is simply this girl's recollection of memories that connect to one particular item of her mother's:  a watch. 

In this story, then, the watch becomes a prominent symbol.  This watch helps the narrator connect her past memories of her mother (and her sister, Maidy) to the different earthquakes in San Francisco (hence the title) and, therefore, allows the narrator to remember even more about her family.  The irony here is that the narrator's mother's death is never actually mentioned and, yet, the reader knows it has happened.  She talks about "where" they were when "it" happened as well as which daughter actually "found" the body.  In this way, the mother's death becomes clear.

In a story as short as this (only three pages), it is a masterful piece of work that deals in the first person with a young girl's grief and loss of her mother through one of her mother's possessions:  a watch.

How long was Killer Kane's original sentence in jail?

Max's father, Kenny "Killer" Kane, went to prison shortly after Max's birth. Kenny was imprisoned for the murder of Max's mother, Annie, and Max has spent his entire life metaphorically looking over his shoulder, waiting for the day his father would return and come looking for him.

Killer Kane's original jail sentence was actually life in prison. Max learns, however, that this jail sentence does not actually means what it says. Max, along with Grim and Gram, learn that Kane will be released on parole after only serving eight years in prison. Grim and Gram are understandably terrified, and Max has a breakdown at school when he learns the news.

Killer Kane shows up on Christmas Eve and kidnaps Max, violating a restraining order that Grim had wisely gotten. By the time the police re-arrest him, Kane is booked for violation of parole and the restraining order, kidnapping, and two counts of attempted murder. This time, he returns to jail to serve a true life sentence--without parole.

What does Brutus think of the letter in Julius Caesar?

Brutus gets a letter asking him to strike Caesar and it apparently convinces him to go through with the assasination.

Cassius approaches Brutus at the feast of Lupercal and tells him that Julius Caesar is too ambitious and powerful. A group of men have gotten together to assassinate Caesar. This is obviously a very dangerous move. They need Brutus to join their conspiracy in order to lend it legitimacy.

CASCA

O, he sits high in all the people's hearts:
And that which would appear offence in us,
His countenance, like richest alchemy,
Will change to virtue and to worthiness. (Act 1, Scene 3)

About a month later, the day before the attack, Brutus ponders Caesar’s fate in a soliloquy. He determines that while Caesar has not done anything wrong now, he should act before the man gets so powerful that they can’t stop him.

After Brutus has this little talk with himself, his servant Lucius brings him a letter. Lucius explains that he found it in the windowsill.

The taper burneth in your closet, sir.
Searching the window for a flint, I found
This paper, thus seal'd up; and, I am sure,
It did not lie there when I went to bed. (Act 2, Scene 1)

Mysterious! Apparently the conspirators are still courting Brutus. They want to make sure he does not change his mind. They decided to leave letters for Brutus urging him to join, written in several different handwritings so that Brutus will think that there is a huge popular movement to get him to kill Caesar.

Cassius tells Cinna to leave the paper where Brutus will find it. He knows how impressionable and conceited Brutus is, and is engaging in a multi-legged campaign to convince Brutus to lend his name to their cause.

Brutus takes the letter seriously.

Am I entreated
To speak and strike? O Rome, I make thee promise:
If the redress will follow, thou receivest
Thy full petition at the hand of Brutus! (Act 2, Scene 1)

It clearly works. The letter, which says, “Speak, strike, redress!” is a little confusing to Brutus at first, but he determines that it means that the people are against Caesar and he should take action against him as soon as possible.  Of course, it is the day before the Ides of March, so opportunities to back out are not plentiful.

Cassius is very clever in manipulating Brutus. Brutus is full of ego and considers himself honorable. He really is convinced that he is doing what is best for Rome. Although he is conflicted because he is killing someone who is like a father to him, ultimately his distorted sense of duty wins out. Brutus really does think he is doing the right thing.

Examples of situational irony in The Lottery?

First, let's define situational irony. According to literarydevices.net,

"Situational irony is a literary device that you can easily identify in literary works. Simply, it occurs when incongruity appears between expectations of something to happen, and what actually happens instead." 

In other words, situational irony is when the opposite of what the reader expects to happen in fact happens.

1) The very first sentence of the story sets the reader up with expectations of a story about a pleasant day and a pleasant gathering in a village: 

"The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green."

Everything in the sentence, all of the imagery and descriptions, gives the reader a sense of joy and happiness and growth. But this is not the story that is told.

2) The reader doesn't know what "the lottery" is, but the assumption or expectation is that it's a normal, joyful town event. Jackson writes,

"The lottery was conducted--as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program--by Mr. Summers. who had time and energy to devote to civic activities."

So "the lottery" is being compared to other events that most readers will have experienced. But again, the reader will discover later that the lottery is nothing at all like such events.

3) Right before the lottery is about to begin, Jackson describes the following:

"Mrs. Hutchinson craned her neck to see through the crowd and found her husband and children standing near the front. She tapped Mrs. Delacroix on the arm as a farewell and began to make her way through the crowd. The people separated good-humoredly to let her through: two or three people said. in voices just loud enough to be heard across the crowd, "Here comes your, Missus, Hutchinson," and "Bill, she made it after all." Mrs. Hutchinson reached her husband, and Mr. Summers, who had been waiting, said cheerfully. "Thought we were going to have to get on without you, Tessie." Mrs. Hutchinson said. grinning, "Wouldn't have me leave m'dishes in the sink, now, would you. Joe?," and soft laughter ran through the crowd as the people stirred back into position after Mrs. Hutchinson's arrival."

The words bolded in this paragraph, as well as the general casual and friendly tone, all set the reader up to believe that something pleasant or amusing is about to happen.

These are just three examples of situational irony. The reader awaits something good, when in fact at the end the reader learns that "the lottery" is a ritual wherein through a drawing, one of the village members is stoned to death by the rest of the villagers. Thus the complete opposite of what the reader expects, through the tone and language of the author, is what happens, which is situational irony.

In the memoir Night, Wiesel was dehumanized by the Nazis. What are some quotes to prove this?

In Elie Wiesel's Night, the Nazis dehumanize him (and countless others in the concentration camps).

After Elie and his father are separated forever from his mother and his sisters, the horrific acts carried out upon those in the camps destroys everything that Elie thought he knew about the world and strips him of his humanity. Elie was 15 years old when he and his father went into the concentration camp. There are many examples of how Elie became dehumanized.

For example, in the camp, Dr. Mengele and other SS doctors come to take stock of the men. The head of their block tells the men how to avoid being chosen by the doctors to be killed—for example, to run to keep their color high. As Elie and those around him go through the process, each man's prayer is that the doctor will not write down the numbers on his arm. Passing through the check-up, Elie is completely unaware as to whether his number was taken down, and he asks Yossi what happened. Yossi tells him his number was not taken, but it would have been impossible because Elie was running so fast. Yossi and Elie chuckle together; however, we see how Elie has little concern for the others.

I began to laugh. I was glad. I would have liked to kiss him. At that moment, what did the others matter! I hadn't been written down.

On a march in the freezing weather, a young Polish man named Zalman is beside Elie. At one point, while Elie and others force themselves to run forward without the clothing, food or health to sustain such activity, Zalman tells Elie that he cannot go further:

I can't go on any longer. My stomach's bursting...

Elie tries to encourage Zalman, but the man cannot go on, and he sinks to the ground. Elie soon forgets him:

That is the last picture I have of him. I do not think it can have been the SS who finished him, because no one had noticed. He must have been trampled to death beneath the feet of the thousands of men who followed us.

I quickly forgot him...

In order to survive each day, Elie becomes callous in the face of so much death. Prisoners will kill each other over the smallest bit of food. Elie sees a son kill his father to take a small piece of bread from him. Elie does not cringe or cry—survival is all that he can think of.

Towards the end of the novel, Elie and his father become separated when the sirens go off. Waking, Elie notes:

...I remembered I had a father...I had known that he was at the end, on the brink of death, and yet I had abandoned him.

I went to look for him.

But at the same moment this thought came into my mind: "Don't let me find him! If only I could get rid of this dead weight, so that I could use all my strength to struggle for my own survival, and only worry about myself." Immediately I felt ashamed of myself, ashamed forever.

The young man Elie was when he entered the concentration camps died as Elie struggled to survive. In the place of that adolescent appears a man who is hardened in the face of torture and constant death. Elie loses his entire family, even his father who he tries to care for. He loses his faith, and he loses his ability to empathize with what others face. The Nazis strip him of all innocence and kindness in the camps.

Upon learning of his father's death, he cannot even cry. He desperately wants to... "But I had no more tears."

When he is finally liberated from the camp, after his father's death, Elie and other survivors are fed: they only care about food. Some travel to a nearby town to get clothes, but no one thinks of revenge for themselves or their families. Elie becomes seriously ill for two weeks and almost dies. When Elie is finally able to rise from his bed, he goes to look at himself in the mirror, something he had not been able to do since being placed in the ghetto in his hometown of Sighet. 

From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me.

Certainly what Elie saw was a reflection of what little of young Elie was left within.

Waiting for Godot is a play where 'nothing happens twice.' Explain.

To understand this witticism, you must be familiar with other “modern” plays, (let us say Ibsen’s or Chekhov’s) enough to realize that they contain, besides character depictions, “plots". That is, a playgoer expects to witness a story acted out, a “drama” in which two or more opposing wills confront each other in a real-life situation, with some sort of resolution, called the “denouement.” While Waiting for Godot starts out looking like two characters in a dilemma beginning to resolve some sort of conflict, Gogo and Didi only talk ("That passed the time”) while waiting for a mysterious "employer" of some sort (Godot) whose character is never discussed or realized on stage. While in a normal realistic play, a certain tentative progress (“development”) toward a “resolution” has been achieved by the close of the first act, in Godot no such progress has been made (it should be noted that before Godot, plays had three acts). When the second act begins, the only sign of change is that the barren tree has sprouted a leaf, implying that a new season has arrived, but nothing else substantial has changed (true, Pozzo and Luck’y situation is altered, but their “story” is no closer to a resolution). This contradiction to the audience’s expectations, and the absence of any resolution (the play ends with “Let’s go…yes, let’s go.” And the stage direction “THEY DO NOT MOVE.”) caused someone to remark “Nothing happens…twice.”

How did the light bulb change the world in terms of geography?

The light bulb changed world geography because it allowed predominately agrarian societies to become increasingly industrial. Prior to the development of the light bulb, life revolved around the rising and setting of the sun for the completion of work. Farmers rose with the sun to begin their work, and their workday ended when the sun set. Society used the limited power of candles and oil lamps for evening tasks.  With the advent of reliable light sources, retail and industrial society could operate long after the sun set. Once reliable power grids were established, cities grew and operated around the clock thus changing the landscape and work environment. Rural communities often took longer to change because the power sources for electrical lighting were not established as quickly. People looking to capitalize economically, moved closer to urban areas which became more and more congested but provided for growth of new industries and retail establishments. Factories were able to extend work hours, which impacted society both positively and negatively. Community housing was established for those who worked in the non-stop mills and other industrial establishments. The world no longer depended on the rising and setting of the sun to determine when daily work would occur.

When and where does the short story "The Interlopers" take place?

The short answer to your question can be found by reading the very first sentence in the story:  “In a forest of mixed growth somewhere on the eastern spurs of the Karpathians, a man stood one winter night watching and listening.”  The Carpathian Mountains stretch from the Czech Republic to Romania in Eastern Europe, and its eastern spurs would most likely place this forest somewhere in either Ukraine or Romania.

This particular “narrow strip of precipitous woodland” is on the outskirts of the forestlands owned by Ulrich von Gradwitz, on the border of the family’s property.  The land had been given to his grandfather in court, taken from the Znaeym family, the neighboring landowners who had never acquiesced to the ruling of the court but had instead continued to illegally hunt on this bit of forest, which they considered to be rightfully theirs.  Over the generations a blood feud developed, and now Ulrich von Gradwitz and George Znaeym are mortal enemies.  When we are introduced to Ulrich, he is in the contested land with his rifle waiting for Znaeym family raiders.

As far as when this story takes place, this also is answered in the first sentence:  we are in winter.  A “wind-scourged winter night,” to be specific, two generations after the initial contestation of the border forest, and therefore two generations deep into the rivalry between the Gradwitz and Znaeym families.

Is the narrator to blame for Doodle's death?

In James Hurst's only short story, "The Scarlet Ibis," the narrator, who is never named, wants a brother who can run, swim, box, and basically do all the things a healthy young boy can do. Unfortunately, the brother he gets is physically challenged. Even his name, Doodle, suggests weakness. In fact, the doctor didn't give him much chance of surviving the first few months of his life. So, from the very outset he is not what the narrator expected:

He was born when I was six and was, from the outset, a disappointment. He seemed all head, with a tiny body which was red and shriveled like an old man's. Everybody thought he was going to die...

Soon enough Doodle becomes a burden to his brother. Because he can't walk the brother has to cart Doodle around in a wagon:

He was a burden in many ways. The doctor had said that he mustn't get too excited, too hot, too cold, or too tired and that he must always be treated gently. A long list of don'ts went with him, all of which I ignored once we got out of the house. To discourage his coming with me, I'd run with him across the ends of the cotton rows and careen him around corners on two wheels. Sometimes I accidentally turned him over, but he never told Mama. 

Indeed, even though he has shortcomings physically, Doodle is quite resilient and very much seems to love his brother, no matter how cruelly he is treated. Though it seems that he implicitly loves Doodle as well, the narrator still has a mean streak. He admits his cruelty:

There is within me (and with sadness I have watched it in others) a knot of cruelty borne by the stream of love, much as our blood sometimes bears the seed of our destruction, and at times I was mean to Doodle.

This is certainly an emotion that many of us have experienced. The ones that we love most can also be our biggest enemies.

Because he is embarrassed by having a crippled brother, the narrator seeks to change Doodle. He first endeavors to teach him to walk and, much to the two brothers' surprise, Doodle is walking after "dogged" persistence from the narrator. When they show off Doodle's new talent to their parents the narrator cries, yet he admits he taught Doodle for selfish reasons. He simply did not want a brother who might draw derision from other kids. He says,

They did not know that I did it for myself, that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices, and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother. 

Emboldened by having taught Doodle to walk the brother embarks on a rigorous training plan so that by the time Doodle goes to school he will be the equal of other boys. Unfortunately, Doodle is not able to live up to his brother's expectations and, after a particularly strenuous rowing session, Doodle collapses:

Doodle was both tired and frightened, and when he stepped from the skiff he collapsed onto the mud, sending an armada of fiddler crabs rustling off into the marsh grass. I helped him up, and as he wiped the mud off his trousers, he smiled at me ashamedly. He had failed and we both knew it, so we started back home, racing the storm. We never spoke (What are the words that can solder cracked pride?), but I knew he was watching me, watching for a sign of mercy.

Bitterly disappointed, the narrator once again exhibits his "knot of cruelty" and runs away from Doodle, leaving him far behind. As Doodle struggles to keep up he becomes overworked and collapses under a nightshade bush, in similar fashion to the bird of the title who dies under the bleeding tree. Like the bird, Doodle is fragile and rare. The narrator has simply pushed Doodle too hard and his delicate condition gets the best of him.

Is the brother responsible? Yes, literally the narrator ran his brother to death. The crippled little boy could not sustain the rigors of his brother's world. In retrospect, however, the narrator was a good brother to Doodle and Doodle's short time on earth was made better by their relationship. 

According to Descartes' The Passions of the Soul, what makes it possible for humans to control and master their desires? Are our passions...

René Descartes composed The Passions of the Soul in 1645-1646 and published it in 1650, at the end of his life. Unlike his earlier work, which focused on cognition, this treatise attempts to explain human emotions. The first step in understanding how Descartes thought about passions is understanding how the term was used in his period. In the twenty-first century, we tend to think of passions or emotions as something internal. From antiquity through the early modern period, passions were internal effects of external factors; the term "passion" is etymologically related to the word "passive". Passions are something you suffer or experience rather than something you generate ex nihilo.

For Descartes, as for Plato, the passions were seated not in the rational mind, but in the body. Perceptions and physical experiences affect the "animal spirits" of the body; emotions are our mind's response to these physical phenomena. However, emotions, like sensations, do not need to be acted upon by unthinking reflex. Instead, the soul can rationally consider how to respond to them. Thus we might perceive pain when we try to lift a heavy weight, but we can respond by either giving up or pursuing a program of strength training.

Although our passions are not under our control, how we respond to them is something about which we can make a rational decision. As we reflect upon our passions we can direct them into positive rather than negative channels. For example, if we are jealous of someone else's success, we can either react by trying to harm that person or by trying to improve ourselves so we become equally successful. The former is a negative use of jealousy and the latter a positive use of jealousy. 

How should I start my body paragraph for the short story "The Sniper"

How you start your body paragraphs depends on your thesis statement, which controls your essay.  If this is just one paragraph, then the first sentence of the paragraph is your topic sentence.  In other words, a thesis statement controls an entire essay while a topic sentence begins and controls only a paragraph. 

Depending on what you want to discuss about "The Sniper," that is what your body paragraph should introduce.  If, for example, you want to talk about the sniper being able to think through how to get off the roof before dawn, when he would be vulnerable, or about how he has to use a trick to get rid of the other sniper, your first line in the body paragraph should introduce that idea.  If you want to talk about the event of finding out that the man he has killed is his brother (the story ends with him looking in the dead sniper's face, so no emotional or psychological impact is even alluded to), you begin with that idea.  If this is an essay and your body paragraph is the first one of three body paragraphs, you begin with the first idea introduced in the thesis statement. 

So think of what you want to discuss, such as the futility of war,  the impact of war on the families, the never ending vigilance required by war if you are a soldier, or the determination required of you if you want to be a sniper.  These then become 6he content of your body paragraph or paragraphs.

How does Curley's wife manipulate Lennie when they are alone together in the barn?

Curley's wife manipulates Lennie in the barn as she tries different ways to engage him in conversation. When these methods fail, she hears Lennie sadly mutter, "Jus' my pup" and she consoles him, moving closer to him and speaking in a soothing, motherly manner. When she discovers that Lennie likes to touch soft things like velvet, she entices him into stroking her hair.

Wearing make up and with her curls all in place, Curley's wife enters the barn in her red dress and mules. Knowing the men are outside the barn playing and betting on horseshoes, she enters to see if anyone besides Crooks is inside. When she discovers Lennie in one of the stalls, she tries to engage him for lack of anyone else. Still, she seems impressed with his physical prowess as she remarks that Lennie can just break his other hand if Curley "gets tough" about her talking to him. But Lennie resists any engagement with her because he has been strictly told by George to stay away from her. However, when he bemoans the loss of his puppy, Curley's wife finds an opportunity to exercise maternal comfort to the child-like Lennie:

"Dont' you worry none. He was jus' a mutt. You can get another one easy. The whole country is fulla mutts."

In a while Lennie repeats that George will give him "hell" if he sees Lennie talking with her, and Curley's wife is angered, telling him she sees nothing wrong with her wanting to talk to someone, and she bemoans the fact that no one cares how she lives, anyway. So, she continues to talk, telling her history while the child-like Lennie strokes the dead puppy and tells her about their dream of owning rabbits and a place. As they both speak on separate subjects, Curley's wife suddenly decides to confide in Lennie something she has told no one: "I don' like Curley. He ain't a nice fella." �Further, she tells Lennie, "I think you're nuts," but she enjoys the fact that he, like her, loves to touch soft things, such as velvet. Then, drawing her attention to her soft hair, Curley's wife invites him to stroke her hair. While this action would be a seductive one to most men, they would still have control of themselves. But, Lennie cannot control his feelings or his strength. Consequently, he becomes so excited that he hurts Curley's wife. When she struggles and screams, Lennie tries to quiet her, but he goes too far and mortally harms her, just as he did the girl in Leeds.�

Describe the two men who are at the green pool in Of Mice and Men. What are their names?

This is a great question.  The green water is referred to twice in the novella. In fact, the novella begins with the green pool of water – the Salinas River, and ends there as well. In the beginning of the story, George and Lennie are there.  They are on their way to the ranch from weed to look for work.  On their way, they stop to take a break and drink from the river. There George and Lennie recount their dreams of having land and living off of it.

In the final scene, George and Lennie are there again. But this time, the situation is different. Lennie has accidentally killed Curley’s wife. For this reason, George knows that the men will come after Lennie and kill him.  So, George finds his way to the river to take Lennie’s life in an act of mercy.  But before he does so, he gives the dream again.  In this way, the story ends as it begins and creates a inclusio.  However, there is one key difference. The dream is no more and Lennie is dead.

Is price elasticity of demand a more useful concept than income elasticity of demand for a business that is trying to increase its sales revenue?

Price elasticity of demand is definitely more useful to a business that is trying to raise its sale revenues than income elasticity of demand. Businesses can change their prices, but they cannot change their customers’ incomes.  In addition, businesses can change their prices in real time whereas customers’ incomes do not generally change from day to day.

Price elasticity of demand refers to how much the quantity demanded of a product changes as price changes.  If demand is elastic, a price increase leads to decreased revenues. If demand is inelastic, a price increase leads to increased revenues.  Clearly, then, this information would be very valuable to a business that wanted to increase its sales revenues.  It could determine its price elasticity of demand and change its prices accordingly.

Income elasticity of demand refers to how much the quantity demanded of a product changes as consumers’ incomes change.  It tells a business how much more of its products customers would buy if they got richer.  This is not as helpful for a business.  It cannot change its customers’ incomes to get them to buy more, so it is not that helpful for the business to know what the income elasticity of demand is.

What is a good beginning sentence, thesis statement, for my English essay on mercy killing as in the book Of Mice and Men?

In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck has one main character, George, kill the other important character, Lennie, in a mercy killing in order to prevent a lynch mob from killing Lennie. 

Your first sentence in the essay should be an introductory sentence, not your thesis.  You can introduce the book, the author and your idea of mercy killing.

Your thesis statement usually comes at the end of the introductory paragraph and clearly states your position or idea about mercy killing.  Use your thesis statement to show the topics of your three body paragraphs as you see mercy killing represented in the novel.

I'm going to assume that this is a persuasive essay and that you need a thesis statement for a persuasive idea.  You must decide what your position is and then look for evidence in the novel to prove your thesis.  The thesis statement is the controlling sentence for your body paragraphs.  You could write what your position is: in your opinion, mercy killing is always wrong because it is killing, because you don't believe that it is merciful and your political beliefs argue that mercy killing is wrongful encroachment of the law. 

If necessary, write the body paragraphs first and then the thesis statement as you will know what you will be introducing.  Do this backwards method ONLY if you get really stuck with the statement.

How did the knocker on Scrooge's front door look?

In Stave One of "A Christmas Carol," Scrooge returns home from his office to find something peculiar has happened to the knocker on his front door. At first, the knocker appears the same as it has every other day:

There was nothing at all particular about the knocker on the door, except that it was very large.

But, once Scrooge puts the key into the lock of the door, the knocker is suddenly transformed into the face of Marley, his deceased business partner. It has a "dismal light about it," for example, and Marley's eyes are "wide open," though "motionless." Then, as Scrooge stares at Marley's face, it turns back into the ordinary knocker.

The transformation of the door knocker foreshadows the supernatural events which will take place in the story. That Dickens chose Marley to introduce these events is significant because he is the only person with whom Scrooge had any sort of personal relationship in his later life. Scrooge is far more likely to spurn human contact, as we see in his treatment of others in Stave One, but Marley is a man who Scrooge spent time with and respected (in business), making him the ideal messenger.

The glucose made by photosynthesis is turned into starch. If iodine solution is added to a leaf, the parts that contain starch go a blue-black...

The concept to remember is that photosynthesis takes place in the chloroplasts which are found in green leaves primarily in the mesophyll, the middle layer of the leaf. Photosynthesis results in glucose and this can be converted to a larger carbohydrate known as starch to be stored for later use.

In the first diagram, the leaf is all green and grown in the light so virtually anywhere you put Lugol's solution (the iodine test) on the leaf, it will turn blue-black to indicate the presence of starch.

In the picture where the leaf is all green but grown in the dark for 48 hours there should be no starch present. The leaf should have used up the stored starch for energy to stay alive while it was kept in the dark environment. There could be some remaining, though.

The last picture on the right side of the top row shows a variegated leaf with a white border grown in the light. Starch will be present in the green areas only. The white area contains cells which lack chloroplasts therefore, no photosynthesis will occur and no starch will be present in those cells.

On the left side of the bottom row, the leaf is all green but has aluminum foil covering a part of it in a strip. Since it was grown in the light, starch will be present in the green areas that are not covered by the foil.

The next picture shows a dead leaf. Since it was grown in the light, there may still be some starch left in the leaf and should show a positive result.

Finally, the last picture shows a variegated leaf, grown in the light with an aluminum strip making a cross section covering both green and white areas. Starch will only be found in the green areas that are uncovered by the foil and not in the white areas since they lack chloroplasts. Any cells under the foil will not receive sunlight so there will not be any production of starch.

Since I am unable to shade the diagrams you provided, I hope my detailed answer will enable you to do so based on the individual responses I provided for each picture. Good luck.

What happens in chapter 7 of "The 13th Valley"?

Chapter 7 begins with "the big soldier" alone in the enlisted men's club. The bartender is upset because they have too much Fresca. The big soldier, AKA Whiteboy, is playing solitaire and chatting with the bartender. They discuss what happens when they get incoming fire and about why they're in the war.

As other people come in, the bartender and White boy sing a song called "Boonie Rats." A white soldier begins pretending to broadcast about the war as if it is a boxing match, and then an old-fashioned radio show. Jax orders a soldier named Chelini to take off his dog tags and then his boots, then laces them together and throws them at their owner. 

Jax joined the army at 17, after nearly failing out of school, and received his GED and got married before he was sent to Vietnam. He got in trouble for fighting a few times but eventually ended up here. 

Chelini asks the men what he is supposed to do the next day, as he is not trained to be an 11-Bravo. The men laugh and say none of them are, then describe a little of a combat situation. 

Monk tells a story of a man who stopped an attack by playing the bagpipes terribly, but then gets shot. The men continue drinking, although many soldiers are leaving the club.

Alpha Company 402D is made up of many men who have extended their enlistment in order to be able to automatically discharge when they return home. Most of these men have been working together for a long time. They discuss at politics and the idea of revolution, which will never happen among American soldiers at war. Chelini/Cherry quietly listens and feels he is being educated.

Many soldiers leave, but Whiteboy remains and begins singing "Boonie Rats" again. The bar quiets as the bartender joins in. The noise resumes seconds after the song ends. The remaining men discuss women and how they are like cats, then get into a heated discussion of racism. This eventually begins a bar fight in which Doc gets slammed into the table by a white soldier, Molino the bartender frantically tries to kick everyone out, and black soldiers and white soldiers fall out the door still flailing at one another.

Is it possible to produce clones of animals? Explain how this can occur both naturally and artificially.

To add to the previous answer, if an organism reproduces sexually, the offspring will never be a clone of its parents. That is because if a sperm and egg nucleus fuse combine DNA, the offspring will have genes from both parents. Therefore, in sexual reproduction, due to independent assortment and recombination of gametes at fertilization, the offspring will display characteristics from each parent and can never be a clone of one. 

However, one additional way of producing a clone naturally is when identical twins are produced. One sperm nucleus fuses with one egg nucleus to form a zygote. Mitotic divisions occur forming an embryo. If the embryo splits into two clusters of cells, these will be clones with the same identical blueprint. However, due to environmental influences on genes, even identical twins have slight differences. For example, their fingerprints are unique.

Why does Granny and her family move so much in Toni Cade Bambara's "Blues Ain't No Mockin' Bird"?

In Toni Cade Bambara's "Blues Ain't No Mockin' Bird," the narrator explains why Granny moves around so much soon after Granny relays to the kids her story of the man being photographed who was about to jump off a bridge, a story she uses to explain that she feels photographing human suffering is a major infringement of human rights.

According to the narrator, people drive Granny crazy to the point she feels the need to "get up in the night and start packin'," saying, "Let's get on away from here before I kill me somebody." The narrator further explains in what way people drive Granny crazy by listing a few examples. For example, Mr. Judson drove Granny crazy when he brought her "boxes of old clothes and raggedy magazines," and Mrs. Cooper drove Granny crazy by coming into Granny's kitchen and complimenting her cleanliness. However, since the narrator is young and limited in understanding, the reader must draw inferences from these examples as to exactly why Granny feels driven crazy.

One inference the reader can draw is that all troubles in the story relate to racial discrimination. Therefore, the man in the story who was about to jump off the bridge may have been driven to do so in part due to racism. In addition, Granny was angered when she was brought discarded clothes by Mr. Judson because she understood he did so based on racial discrimination: based on the color of her skin, he had reached the conclusion that Granny was too poor to take care of her own, when in reality she works hard enough to get by. Furthermore, Granny was angered when Mrs. Cooper complimented the cleanliness of her kitchen because she knew Mrs. Cooper did so based on the assumption that people of Granny's class and race are not clean people. Hence, after drawing inferences, the reader is able to see that Granny is angered by racial discrimination and moves frequently in an effort to escape it.

What are some of the criticisms of the modern world made by Christians and Muslim fundamentalists?

Christian and Muslim fundamentalism share common characteristics by virtue of a shared orientation toward religion and belief system. Fundamentalism is a religious orientation highlighting a religious system's fixed, fundamental beliefs. Fundamentalism arises historically as a response to religious liberalism and to increasing modernity (which includes a separation of church and state and the rise and dissemination of secular ideals). A key criticism of modern society made by fundamentalism is that modern society has degraded from a state of higher ethical behavior and higher morality to lower morality and a relative loss of ethics. Fundamentalist arguments usually posit a period of time before modernity in which people/society were more morally upright than they are currently. In addition, fundamentalism argues that modern society has moved away from living by fundamental truths. One consequence of this moving away from fundamental truths may be that individuals in modern society have less chance of acquiring a favorable afterlife than those who lived in pre-modern times. 

In Animal Farm, when the pigs think Napoleon is dying from drinking alcohol, what is his final dying command?

Towards the end of Chapter VIII in Animal Farm, Napoleon and some of the other pigs get drunk.  They are celebrating what they claim was their great victory in the Battle of the Windmill.  They get drunk even though one of the Seven Commandments was that no animal was allowed to drink alcohol.  The next morning, Napoleon is evidently badly hungover because Squealer announces that he is dying.  When he makes this announcement, he tells the other animals that

As his last act upon earth, Comrade Napoleon had pronounced a solemn decree: the drinking of alcohol was to be punished by death.

So, this is Napoleon’s “final dying command.” 

Orwell has Napoleon give this command to illustrate how his edicts tend to change based on his own whims and needs. When Napoleon thinks he is dying from drinking the alcohol, he bans it on pain of death.  (This order itself shows his capriciousness because, up until the last chapter, one of the commandments was that no animal shall kill another animal.)  But when he recovers from his hangover, he starts to plant rye and to get booklets about how to make alcohol.  At the end of the chapter, we see his hypocrisy and his willingness to rewrite history when the Fifth Commandment is changed from “No animal shall drink alcohol” to “No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.” 

How were Manifest Destiny and Lebensraum similar?

Manifest Destiny and Lebensraum were both ideological constructs that emphasized the right of allegedly superior peoples to claim the lands of neighboring peoples they deemed inferior. Manifest Destiny in the United States referred to the supposed right of the United States to expand throughout North America all the way to the Pacific Coast. It was a very popular concept, indeed one that virtually drove the policy of the United States near the mid-nineteenth century. Supporters of manifest destiny claimed that the new century had the right to take western lands from Mexico, which controlled the entirety of the American Southwest, and of course native peoples, whose ancient claims on Western lands were not deemed legitimate. Manifest Destiny was based on assumptions that white Anglo-Saxon Americans were culturally and racially inferior to Mexicans and Native Americans, and that they thus had the right to the lands. 

Lebensraum, or "living space," was a concept formulated by Adolf Hitler. Hitler believed that Germans, as the "master race," were entitled to lands in the east inhabited by people that he deemed inferior. These included especially Russians and other Slavic peoples. Indeed, Hitler claimed that it was the destiny of the Germans to enslave these unfortunate peoples, and his invasion of Russia in 1941 was aimed in part at achieving this end. The concept of Lebensraum went a horrible step further than Manifest Destiny in that Hitler advocated, and tried to carry out, the annihilation of the Jewish people, many of whom also inhabited what he regarded as Lebensraum for the German people. Manifest Destiny was catastrophic for Indian people, but the horrific scale of the Holocaust was unparalleled in world history, much less that of the United States. But these two ideas had similar racial overtones. Hitler himself said as much when he explained his plans for the East in chilling terms. "[I]n the East," he said, "a similar process will repeat itself for a second time as in the conquest of America."

What are the major themes of the book and what is its historical significance? How can I write a short response to The Jungle by Upton Sinclair?

Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, written in 1906, is a fictionalized account of a Lithuanian immigrant named Jurgis Rudkus who attempts to make a living in the meatpacking industry in Chicago. The major theme of the book is that immigrants and other working-class people in America at the turn of the turn of the 20th century could not survive financially, physically, and morally with the back-breaking jobs available to them.

After his wedding, Jurgis tries to make a living in the filthy stockyards in Chicago, where cows were butchered and packed for sale, but he falls prey to con men. His wife is raped by her boss, and when Jurgis retaliates against this man, he is sent to jail. Eventually, his wife dies in childbirth, and he becomes an alcoholic. His only salvation is attending the socialist workers' rallies that teach him that workers must have a say and a share in their livelihood.

As stated above, the main theme of the book is that the jobs available to immigrants and the poor at the time did not allow these people to support themselves. They are still prey to con men and do not have the means to afford healthcare. The related theme is that American capitalism at the time did not work for the poor and that they needed a larger share in the profits, as well as access to cheaper and better housing, medical care, and food. In addition, the book calls attention to the hideously dirty conditions in slaughterhouses at the time.

The book resulted in major political and other changes, as Teddy Roosevelt, who was President at the time, sent investigators to look at the dirty conditions of the slaughterhouses and examine the safety of the meat that was sold from these places. As a result, the Congress passed the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. These acts made sure that meat was packed under clean conditions and that the food and drugs sold in this country were labeled correctly, were produced under sanitary and conditions, and were safe for consumption.