What is the story of the Magi in Christianity?

Three kings from the East--Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar-- followed a significant star to find baby Jesus not long after he was born. They brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh and presented them to the infant as he lay in the manger.

These are all fancy gifts; gold is basically money in every culture that has it. Frankincense is religious-grade incense, and is pretty expensive. Myyrh is a kind of balm that smells fancy and might have medicinal powers. But the infant Son of God doesn't really have use for any of these rich gifts. (You'd think that the impoverished Mary and Joseph would use the gold to secure better shelter than an animal manger, but their poverty wasn't the issue so much as that there was no room at the inn.)

In O. Henry's "Gift of the Magi," the young married couple splurged more than they could afford to buy fancy presents that the recipients turned out to have no use for. He pawned his watch to buy a comb, and she sold her hair to buy a watch fob. For extravagant gifts, it shouldn't be just the thought that counts, but sometimes it is.

What is the summary for Seven Wonders by Ben Mezrich?

Seven Wonders is a true thriller (although not a horror piece) in that the pace is staggering and the description of the worldly backdrops is breathtaking.  The novel was long awaited in that Mezrich hadn't written another since 2001.  This one focuses of the Seven Wonders of the World, and rightly so.

At the beginning of this novel, which will be the first in a trilogy set, we see Jeremy Grady doing what he does best:  sitting in the "Level Four Security Lab" working with numbers.  On this night, Jeremy worries about a possible problem with the code at the lab.  Since it was a code Jeremy wrote himself, he is perplexed at the issue.  Why?  "Numbers didn't lie.  Numbers were safe and certain and sure."  The key this time has to do with the title.  Jeremy superimposed the seven ancient wonders of the world on top of the seven modern wonders. 

As Jeremy continues to remain perplexed at the problem with the code, he is murdered.  As it described in the text, Jeremy's eyes go "wide" as he looks at something "jagged and white" that is sticking out of his chest. 

Now it is Jeremy's brother, Jack Grady, who has to find out who murdered his brother.  What is interesting is that Jack ends up searching the world on a sort of Seven Wonders wild goose chase in order to track down the killer:  Brazil, India, Peru, etc.  As Jack runs around the world searching for the murderer, Jack realizes that his brother was not only super smart, but may have come upon something really important about the Seven Wonders that has always been a secret. 

It isn't long before Jack Grady joins forces with Sloane Costa and the two find out the covert truth.  The secret is as follows:  there is a conspiracy to conceal a road map to the true Garden of Eden which proves the existence of an ancient culture full of a mythology of which no one has ever heard.

What is the tone of the speaker in Dylan Thomas' poem "Fern Hill"? What does the speaker lament?

Generally, the tone of a speaker is found by closely examining the diction and syntax in a piece of writing. In Dylan Thomas' "Fern Hill," studying the diction in the poem (the word choice, in other words) should clearly show you that the tone is idealistic and nostalgic.

"Fern Hill" is essentially a look back at childhood, and most of the language is playfully infused with a sense of magic. Take, for instance, the first five lines of the poem:

Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughs

About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green,

The night above the dingle starry,

Time let me hail and climb

Golden in the heydays of his eyes... (Thomas 1-5)

Notice the nostalgia inherent in phrases like "happy as the grass was green" and "Golden in the heydays of his eyes." Additionally, notice the playful diction, such as "lilting house" and "the dingle starry." Thomas' diction signals two things: first, this is an examination of a child's perspective, as the word choice clearly reflects a child's perception of the magic inherent in everyday life. Second, this perspective is viewed through a lens that is primarily nostalgic for the loss of a magical childhood.

Accordingly, it's apparent that the speaker laments the loss of childhood, and it's clear that there is a certain vibrant quality that is lost once childhood passes. As a whole, the poem is largely also lamenting the passage of time, as is evidenced by the last few lines: "Time held me green and dying / Though I sang in my chains like the sea" (44-5). In this passage, it is obvious that Thomas is reflecting on the passing of time with sadness and yearning for days of happy and carefree youthfulness.  

What is the theme of "The Furnished Room" by O. Henry?

The theme of "The Furnished Room" is that New York is a cold, heartless city that devours people and destroys their dreams. Many people are drawn here because it is possible to achieve spectacular success, as Carrie Meeber does, for example, in Theodore Dreiser's great novel Sister Carrie. But the majority of people with artistic talents of one kind or another find that the competition is overwhelming. They get worn out with living in the horrible conditions described by O. Henry when the young man follows the housekeeper up the stairs and into the furnished room. Such rooms seem designed to create despair. They get discouraged by all the running around they have to do trying to find a little paying work, whether it be in acting, singing, dancing, writing, drawing, or whatever else. Johnsy and her friend Sue are both good examples of aspiring artists in O. Henry's story "The Last Leaf." Sue is struggling desperately to make living expenses by doing sketches "on spec" for some magazine. Johnsy has given up the struggle and is only waiting to die. The girl the young man is searching for in "The Furnished Room," whose name is Miss Eloise Vashner, came to New York with high hopes, but she gave up just a week ago and committed suicide by the then standard means of turning on the gas without lighting it.

The furnished room in the story is beautifully described in all its ugliness. It symbolizes the lives of the many aspirants who come and go--

Homeless, they have a hundred homes. They flit from furnished room to furnished room, transients forever—transients in abode, transients in heart and mind. 

This rooming house is the end of the line. You can't get any lower than that. And when a person moved into one of these gritty, smelly rooms, it is a good indication that suicide may be the next step down. 

It would seem that Eloise Vashner had enough talent to make her ambition plausible. When the two housekeepers are talking about her at the end of the story:

“She'd a-been called handsome, as you say,” said Mrs. Purdy, assenting but critical, “but for that mole she had a-growin' by her left eyebrow. Do fill up your glass again, Mrs. McCool.”

The mole serves a dual purpose. It identifies her positively as the girl the young man had been seeking. It is also a tiny defect that may have been responsible for her inability to succeed in her chosen career as an entertainer. The competition in show business is so fierce that anything short of perfection is a nearly insurmountable handicap. Today there are countless thousands of talented people, including beautiful girls from every corner of America, flocking to New York and Hollywood with nothing but youth and hopes. They will find that the competition exceeds their worst expectations. 

Another related theme in "The Furnished Room" is that Eloise Vashner should have stayed in whatever small town she came from, married this young man who so obviously loved her, and settled for a simple life in a little house with a family, a rose garden, and some friendly neighbors.

How many moles of hydrogen gas would be needed to react with excess carbon dioxide to produce 88.1 moles of water vapor?

The relevant chemical reaction can be written as:

`CO_2 + 4H_2 -> CH_4 + 2H_2O`

In this reaction, carbon dioxide reacts with hydrogen to form methane and water. This reaction is known as the Sabatier reaction and is very commonly used to generate methane for fuel.

Using stoichiometry, along with the balanced chemical reaction (written above), 4 moles of hydrogen gas are used to produce 2 moles of water. 

or, 2 moles of hydrogen will produce 1 mole of water.

Thus, to produce 88.1 moles of water, 2 x 88.1 = 176.2 moles of hydrogen gas would be needed in the presence of excess carbon dioxide. Knowing this data, we can also calculate the mass of hydrogen gas needed. The molar mass of hydrogen gas (H_2) is 2 g/mole and hence a total of 352.4 grams of hydrogen gas are needed. 

Hope this helps. 

On what page do Max and Kevin run away from Tony D.?

To celebrate the Fourth of July, Max and Freak are allowed to go and see the fireworks together. As Max points out, this is kind of a big deal since he was never able to go see the fireworks by himself. In Chapter 6, “Close Encounter of the Turd Kind,” Max and Freak bump into Tony D. and his gang. Max knows they are trouble and wants to stay away, but Tony D. picks on them for their size and appearance. Freak starts smart-talking Tony D. and calls him a “cretin.” Just when it’s about to get violent, cop cars roll by, making Tony D. and his gang run away from Max and Freak. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the only time they cross paths with him.

When Max and Freak actually run away from Tony D. it is in Chapter 7, “Walking High Above the World,” on pages 34-40. The fireworks end and Max and Freak are on their way home when Tony D. and his gang show up again. In order to escape, Max puts Freak on his shoulders. Freak becomes Max’s eyes and brain, and Max becomes Freak’s feet. Freak gives Max directions, and at first, Max isn’t sure if he should follow him, but he begins to trust Freak and goes with it. They escape Tony D. and his gang by running into the muddy, mucky pond. Because of Max’s size, he is able to escape the sinking of the pond whereas Tony D. and members of his gang submerge under the water. Freak spots some officers and calls them over for “assistance.” They recognize Max because of his father, but Freak kindly corrects them and says, “We’re Freak the Mighty, that’s who we are. We’re nine feet tall in case you haven’t noticed” (39-40).

Which word best describes Mrs. Lapham? Generous, kind, practical, or religious?

In the book Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, Mrs. Lapham acts as a practical character throughout the story.  This is seen in numerous examples; however, it is especially seen in her treatment and communication with Johnny Tremain.

Throughout the beginning of the book, Mrs. Lapham relies on Johnny to work diligently in the silversmith shop. Although he has only been there for two years, she encourages him to work hard, even on Sunday (which was not socially or religiously acceptable at the time).

After Johnny’s accident, Mrs. Lapham encourages Johnny to leave and find different work because it is not practical for him to stay. Regardless of his past work, Mrs. Lapham believes:

“it is an extravagance for a poor household to keep a boy [Johnny] just for chores.”

Furthermore, she states:

“no business can be run with just a feeble old man and three of the most worthless boys in Boston, eating their heads off.”

As a result, she pushes Johnny to find new work, leave the people he knows, and even suffer from malnourishment because of her emphasis on practicality. Although Johnny is initially very practical and advantageous to the shop, he quickly becomes a burden due to his injured hand. As a result, Mrs. Lapham quickly treats Johnny as worthless and as a burden.

How does the general feel when he finds out who Rainsford is?

General Zaroff thought it was his lucky day.  For one thing, Zaroff read Rainsford's book on hunting snow leopards in Tibet.  Moreover, Zaroff, like Rainsford, loves hunting.  Most of all, general Zaroff wants a greater challenge in the game he created (hunting humans).  So, Zaroff cannot wait to hunt Rainsford.  This would be the game of his life. 

In light of these points, Zaroff was deeply satisfied. So, when he met Rainsford he immediately held out his hand in camaraderie (or his demented form of camaraderie).  Then he greeted him warmly with these words: 

"It is a very great pleasure and honor to welcome Mr. Sanger Rainsford, the celebrated hunter, to my home."

That Zaroff relished having Rainsford can be seen during the hunt as well. Zaroff actually found Rainsford hiding up in a tree and could have easily killed him, but he let him go to fight him another day. 

In conclusion, in Rainsford, Zaroff found a worthy challenger. 

I have to write an essay for the novel To Kill a Mockingbird and my theme is injustice. I have three of my five paragraphs finished, but for my...

Without knowing what exactly you want to talk about in regards to discrimination or what examples you plan to use, it is difficult to make a specific suggestion about wording. However, here are some more general tips that might be helpful.

First, think about the examples you have chosen for this particular paragraph. You probably have two-three. Aside from discrimination, is there anything else that connects them? If so, what is it? You might be able to use that in the topic sentence. For example, each example might be whites discriminating against blacks. Or each example might be Christians discriminating against non-Christians. Or each example might be about the wealthy discriminating against the poor.

Second, if the examples are different types of discrimination, what is it you want to say about that? That discrimination is wide spread? Or it is too common? Think about the point you are trying to make about the discrimination.

Once you have determined all of this, you'll be able to craft a topic sentence than makes a strong claim. You'll also be doing a bit of brainstorming about some of the commentary you're going to need to provide later in the paragraph. You want to avoid simply listing examples of discrimination; instead, you want to provide the examples and then offer some commentary on their significance.

How does Krakauer describe Alex's camp in the novel Into the Wild? About how many people lived there?

In Jon Krakauer's novel Into the Wild, the main character Chris McCandless has nicknamed himself Alex Supertramp. When he arrives in the Alaskan wilderness he finds an abandoned bus. He sets up camp there, hence the name "Alex's Camp." The area is along the "Stampede Trail." It is actually quite close to highways and the Denali National Park, but like many areas of Alaska, it is still remote. Remote enough that when Chris needed help there was nobody around.

Chris makes his camp in this abandoned bus which had been left as a shelter for hunters who would come through the area. He is all alone. The hike into the bus is about twelve miles and two rivers needed to be crossed. One of them is the Teklanika River which became swollen with icy, raging water in the summer when Chris tries to cross back over to civilization. The camp was outfitted with a wood burning stove and a makeshift bed. The entire four months Chris was there he never saw another person. Ironically, the day his body was found about three weeks after he died, about seven people showed up in three different parties.  

In the novel The Devil's Arithmetic, where do Gitl and Shmuel live?

When Hannah gets transported to another time and place during the Seder, she meets Gitl and Schmuel. Gitl and Shmuel are brother and sister, and aunt and uncle to Chaya.  Chaya is Hannah’s Hebrew name.  Gitl and Shmuel live in a “shtetl” in the country in Poland.  Shtetls are “the small villages in which Jews lived for centuries in Eastern Europe.” (Source 1). When Chaya’s parents married, they moved to the city of Lublin which is located in Eastern Europe.  Her parents died there of disease, and Chaya was very ill for a long period of time.  Gitl says,

"I swear, Shmuel, city living does damage to the soul.  When our brother Moishe and his wife --- may they rest in peace ---left for Lublin, they had happy souls.” (pg 29)

The name of the village where Gitl and Shmuel live is never specifically mentioned, the characters just refer to it as “our shtetl”.   On her first day in the other world, Schmuel is getting married to Fayge, and they have to travel to her village of Viosk for the wedding ceremony.   Viosk no longer exists, but you will find Lublin, the city, on the map and may visit there today. The article  below documents the structure of the shtetls.  It also says,

" And while shtetl life was inexorably changed by industrialization and modernization, it was destroyed by the Holocaust. Thus, shtetl life is sanctified with an aura of martyrdom." (See Source 1)

What are the differences between applied and basic research?

Basic research is generally more science oriented. That is, it aims to figure out how and why some phenomenon took place. In comparison, applied research is more technology oriented. That is, it aims to figure out how some process or phenomenon can be made use of. We can take an example of climate change research to illustrate the differences between basic and applied research. People engaged in basic research are studying what causes climate change and how is it affecting (or will affect) us. Applied researchers, on the other hand, are studying what can be done to minimize the negative effects of climate change and how we can control it (perhaps by the use of renewable energy sources, etc.).

Hope this helps. 

What are the characteristics of Jonas in the book "The Giver"?

I think Jonas's most important characteristic is the fact that he is empathetic.  It's probably the main reason why he chosen to be the new receiver of memory.  He has the ability to relate to and understand the emotions of others.  That's pretty amazing considering that his society has basically eliminated emotions completely with the Sameness.  For example, Jonas is deeply disturbed by the war games that the kids are playing because he finally understands what war causes people.  

"Asher," Jonas said. He was trying to speak carefully, and with kindness, to say exactly what he wanted to say. "You had no way ofknowing this. I didn't know it myself until recently. But it's a cruel game. In the past, there have--"

Jonas is also a very caring boy.  That goes with empathy of course, but it goes beyond empathy.  Jonas cares for others, their safety, and their lives.  It's why he is willing to risk his own life in order to save his brother's life.  

That last example also highlights a third trait of Jonas.  He is brave.  He shows bravery throughout the book.  He is brave to continually go back to the Giver in order to receive what he knows will be painful memories.  He is also brave for standing up to the Sameness and trying to get his brother and himself to a new community.  He knows it will be dangerous, and he doesn't know anything of what to expect.  Stepping out into so many unknowns is quite brave. 

What are some examples of walls in the novel Winesburg, Ohio? This can be both metaphorical walls or realistic walls in the novel.

There are multiple mentions of walls throughout the novel Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson. Even the physical walls can often be interpreted as metaphorical walls in many instances. 

In "Godliness," David Hardy is a somewhat troubled boy with a very difficult mother. He is very easily frightened, and sometimes uses a wall as protection. Anderson writes,

"Sometimes he could not find a hiding place and that confused him. Turning his face toward a tree or if he was indoors toward the wall, he closed his eyes and tried not to think of anything."

In this case, the wall is a form of covering or protection for David.

Later on in the same story, Louise goes to live with the Hardy family in order to attend the high school, but things are not easy for her. She finds it difficult to get along with others, even though she tries, and 

"It seemed to her that between herself and all the other people in the world, a wall had been built up and that she was living just on the edge of some warm inner circle of life that must be quite open and understandable to others."

The two Hardy girls dislike Louise, even though the only thing that Louise does is work hard, and Louise feels like she can't do anything right, which has resulted in a metaphorical wall that she feels exists between her and others.

A third example of a metaphorical wall can be found in "Drink." In this story, Tom Foster is a quiet, gentle man who,

"In an odd way...stood in the shadow of the wall of life, was meant to stand in the shadow."

In this example the wall is being compared to life, and Tom is in its shadow because he is often on the fringe of life, as opposed to out in the open.

There are examples of walls that can be found, but here are three notable ones.

How did Christopher Columbus transform life in the Americas?

After Columbus' journeys to the Americas, life for First Nations people in the North, Central, and South Americas was changed dramatically. Exploration by Europeans with economic or religious motivations increased in popularity, and many Europeans felt that it was their duty to "civilize" the native peoples and exploit their land and labor for their own benefit.

Indigenous ways of life were obliterated and replaced with European languages and cultural material. At the same time, many of the goods important to First Nations people such as gold, cacao, and corn, were being shipped back to Europe as luxury goods for the elite.

Colonization of the Americas was enabled by the wealth of diseases Europeans brought with them (such as smallpox, typhus, and tuberculosis,) which natives had no resistance to. European diseases killed many, and European violence killed most of those who remained. 

Much of this happened as a result of Columbus' voyages. He initiated this cultural exchange and legacy of violence with his own capture of slaves and seizure of resources, as on his first journey throughout the Caribbean and Central America. He encouraged his soldiers to rape, kill, and steal from the natives of Hispaniola, and fully supported the transatlantic slave trade to colonize the Americas. Columbus' journeys initiated the systematic slaughter, dehumanization, and obliteration of the First Nations peoples of the Americas. This tragedy has lingering effects which we can observe today, as very few First Nations populations still exist. Those that do live under very poor circumstances and are systemically oppressed by dominant governmental and cultural forces in their homelands and beyond.

What does Charles Dickens do with time in his ghostly story A Christmas Carol?

Dickens manipulates time in several ways in A Christmas Carol.  When the Ghost of Christmas Past visits Ebenezer, rather than talk about past events in memory only, the ghost is able to visit the events in real-time, as if they were happening at the present moment.

When the Ghost of Christmas Present visits, there are still a few flashbacks, this time to the not-so-distant past.  Ebenezer is able to see things (again in real time) that happened earlier that evening.

Finally, when the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come visits, Scrooge and the ghost flash-forward (as opposed to flashing back) and visit scenes that are yet to come with the same real-time vividness.  Dickens manipulates time in this way so that Scrooge sees these scenes as they happened, as opposed to seeing them through the filter of his own memory.  He is a third person, as opposed to a 1st person, in witnessing the events.

What is Scrooge's reaction to the snow in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens?

Scrooge has no reaction to snow or any other external forces.

At the beginning of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge lives a lonely existence and is very much in his own world. He is not affected by the people — or weather — around him.

External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Foul weather didn’t know where to have him (Stave 1).

The description of Scrooge’s reaction to snow, or his lack of reaction to snow, is really a metaphor for how Scrooge has withdrawn from the world. Scrooge created an insulation of misery. He ignores people and the weather. He doesn’t notice summer or winter.

One of the ways Dickens subtly indicates Scrooge has changed is that, when he wakes up Christmas morning after being visited by the three ghosts, Scrooge notices the air is cold.

Running to the window, he opened it, and put out his head. No fog, no mist; clear, bright, jovial, stirring, cold; cold, piping for the blood to dance to; Golden sunlight; Heavenly sky; sweet fresh air; merry bells. Oh, glorious! Glorious (Stave 5)!

Before being visited by the Spirits, Scrooge was miserable and he didn’t notice the cold. He wasn’t annoyed with it or made miserable by it, but he also didn't enjoy it. Now, Scrooge is a happy man ready to find joy in the simple things in life. He finds pleasure in the cold air; it makes him feel alive. When Scrooge opens the window with the snow-influenced air, now crisp and clean but still cold on Christmas morning, he is happy. It is refreshing, and he is ready to start a new life.

In Act 1, scene 3 of Romeo and Juliet, Lady Capulet tells Juliet, "Well, think of marriage now" Can anyone tell me what technique has been used?

In this scene, Lady Capulet asks Juliet:

... How stands your disposition to be married?

To which she replies:

It is an honour that I dream not of.

Juliet is quite sarcastic in her response. She deliberately and ironically uses the word 'honour' when, in fact, she does not deem it an honor at all. She is just not interested in being wed.

Her mother then responds:

Well, think of marriage now; younger than you,
Here in Verona, ladies of esteem,
Are made already mothers: by my count,
I was your mother much upon these years
That you are now a maid. Thus then in brief:
The valiant Paris seeks you for his love.

The technique Lady Capulet utilizes to persuade Juliet is called Fallacy. In this instance, the fallacy takes two forms: Firstly, she makes an appeal to popular opinion by telling Juliet that ladies of stature even younger than her, are already mothers, suggesting that that is the trend and she should therefore follow suit. 

Secondly, she makes an appeal to authority by attempting to win Juliet's confidence in telling her that she was already mothering Juliet at much the same age that Juliet is at now. As an authority figure, she believes that Juliet will understand that, because she, her mother, had married early, it should be the same for Juliet.

Juliet, however, is not entirely convinced and later states:

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.

Juliet means that she would peruse Paris and she if through her perusal, she likes what she sees, but she will not look any deeper than her mother allows her to. Her statement is quite ambiguous since the implication is also that she will act as if she is interested by looking at Paris if that is what will please her mother, but that she will not look any farther than she is allowed to - she will therefore not critically scrutinize Paris if that is her mother's wish.

In all, she grudgingly acquiesces to her mother's request.

I need an example of personification from the story "The Pedestrian".

Personification is a type of figure of speech where a writer gives an inanimate thing, idea, or animal human or living characteristics.  By doing this, objects appear to have the ability to act human or alive.  Bradbury is a master of figures of speech in his writing, and “The Pedestrian” is full of all types of figures of speech like similes, metaphors, and personification. 

Here are a few I found in the text of the story.

“He came to a cloverleaf intersection which stood silent where two main highways crossed the town.”  The intersection of the highway stood, a human ability.

“During the day it was a thunderous surge of cars, the gas stations open, a great insect rustling and a ceaseless jockeying for position as the scarab beetles, a faint incense puttering from their exhausts, skimmed homeward to the far directions.”  Here the highway and flowing traffic is compared to a giant insect and scarab beetles, comparing something not alive, the highway, to a living insect.

“The light held him fixed, like a museum specimen, needle thrust through chest.”  Here the flashlight of the police car holds Mead transfixed like a bug pinned in a specimen case.  The light holding Mead is the example of personification.

“The police car sat in the center of the street with its radio throat faintly humming.”  The radio of the police car is compared to a throat humming.

In The Scarlet Letter Hester tells Chillingworth, "It lies not in the pleasure of the magistrates to take off this badge. Were I worthy to be quit...

In chapter XIV of The Scarlet Letter, titled "Hester and the Physician", the two talk quite openly about the current situation in which they are both involved. Chillingworth goes as far as telling Hester that he has heard from a reliable source that the magistrates are considering the removal of the letter from Hester's chest. He even tells Hester that he spoke on her behalf asking them to please remove it. This implies that she has found some form of redemption among the elders of the village, more than likely due to all the charitable work and kind disposition that she has offered everyone.

However, Hester does not budge. She knows that the letter has served a purpose in her life. Unfortunately for Hester, she believes that what she did is a burden that she must carry forever. As such, she also understands that the letter has allowed her to see life for what it really is; it has helped her grow up mentally and, perhaps even, spiritually. The letter, which has been made to shame her publically and to make her feel lesser, has actually exalted her internally to a position where she feels in complete control of her life. It is a strange thing, but it is exactly what it all has amounted to. For this reason, she tells Chillingworth,

It lies not in the pleasure of the magistrates to take off this badge.

In other words, she is saying that the opinion of the elders matters very little to her, especially when it comes to the badge. They are not the ones wearing it, and they did not go to the scaffold to receive it. They are not the ones getting the public scorn and maleficence from the villagers. They have no clue what she has gone through, hence, who are they to decide how she is supposed to wear (or not wear) this specific token?

The badge has served a purpose, indeed. However, this purpose is unique to Hester. She has abided by what the badge has prescribed for her, whether it is good or bad. Hester has learned and grown with the badge. She is, ultimately, the one who should decide what to do with it.

Were I worthy to be quit of it, it would fall away of its own nature, or be transformed into something that should speak a different purport

She is stating here that if they decide to make an event of the removal of the badge, then the whole symbolism that the badge has for Hester will take a completely different significance.

The elders will likely make a "show" of the removal of the badge, and the scarlet letter will be a political or manipulative symbol of their control. Hester does not see the letter that way. To her, this has been the best lesson she has learned in life. Therefore, she does not want this to be used in a way that will take away all that it has done for her.

The irony is precisely that. Like Hawthorne says later on, "the scarlet letter had not done its office". This means that it did not shame Hester, nor made her into a public display of embarrassment. If anything, despite of its negative connotation, the scarlet letter has been good for Hester. She actually is defending her right to wear it, and the significance that it carries.

How do plant cells differ from animal cells?

There are a number of differences between plant and animal cells, especially with respect to the presence or absence of organelle.

•  Cell wall: is present in plant cell and is absent in animal cells.


• Vacuoles: Plant cells have a large vacuole, while animal cells contain multiple small vacuoles.


• Chloroplasts: Plants cells contain chloroplasts (which contain chlorophyll, essential for the process of photosynthesis by which plants make their own food), while animal cells do not.


• Flagella: is typically absent from plant cells.


• Shape: Plant cells have a more regular shape (generally rectangular), while animal cells have irregular shapes.


• Lysosomes: are generally present in animal cells, while they are absent in plant cells.


• Cilia: animal cells have cilia, while they are generally absent from plant cells.


• Plastids: are present in plant cells and are absent in animal cells.

Hope this helps.

What are some of Romeo's speeches about Juliet that he recites before his death?

At the top of Act V, Romeo enters the stage and professes his love for Juliet:

I dreamt my lady came and found me dead / (Strange dream that gives a dead man leave to think!) / And breath'd such life with kisses in my lips / That I reviv'd and was an emperor. (V.i.6-9)

Romeo is anticipating his reunion with Juliet, imagining he will be reborn as an emperor when he sees Juliet. Of course, the audience knows this is not how the play will end, and this line can be interpreted as a nod towards the poison that will be used later in the act.

Later in the act, Romeo enters the chamber to find the body of Juliet.

For here lies Juliet, and her beauty makes / This vault a feasting presence full of light. / Death, lie thou there, by a dead man interred. (V.iii.86-8)

Romeo describes Juliet as having a light that illuminates the space around her body. This imagery mirrors the light imagery that exists throughout the play.

The next line is one of the last lines Romeo speaks to Juliet:

Ah, dear Juliet, / Why art thou yet so fair? Shall I believe / That unsubstantial Death is amorous, / And that the lean abhorred monster keeps / Thee here in dark to be his paramour? (V.iii.101-5)

Again, Romeo lifts Juliet up as a romantic image. She is more powerful than death, at least in the eyes of Romeo. There is also some subtle jealousy in these lines as he says death has stolen Juliet as his lover. Romeo then goes to reclaim Juliet by taking his own life. Of course, the tragedy is that Juliet is only sleeping, and patience would have reunited the two. 

How did the Treaty of Versailles punish Germany?

The Germans were forced to accept guilt for starting the war. This was highly debatable in light of events in the summer of 1914, but it served as justification for the harsh punishments assessed in the rest of the Treaty of Versailles. These included:

• Germany was stripped of territories, including Alsace-Lorraine, which the Germans had conquered from France during the Franco-Prussian War, their moment of national unification in the 1870s. This was deeply insulting, as the region contained a significant number of German people. 


• British and French "administration" of the coal-rich Saar Valley for fifteen years. 


• The size of the German military, long a source of German national honor, was limited to 200,000. This was a small fraction of its wartime force and much smaller than that of its neighbor and enemy France.


• Germany was forced to renounce all "rights, titles, and privileges" in its former colonies, mostly in Africa. 


• Germany was forced to pay massive reparations to France and Great Britain. These totaled tens of billions of dollars, and, while they were eventually renegotiated, were ruinous to the German postwar economy.

All of these measures created an especially toxic political atmosphere in postwar Germany, one which contributed to the rise of radical political movements, including the National Socialist Party led by Adolf Hitler.

What are some basic literary elements found in Chapters 7-8 from Lois Lowry's The Giver?

Literary elements refer to the different parts of a story, such as: exposition, character, plot, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. How each of these elements is constructed helps to add unique style, thrilling suspense, and/or a deeper understanding to the story. Chapters 7 and 8 in The Giver show the Ceremony of Twelve when the twelve year-olds receive their assignments, which is a big deal. Lowry creates suspense by having the Chief Elder skip over Jonas's assignment without telling him that she plans to name his assignment later. The poor kid, as well as the reader possibly, is sweating buckets thinking that he might have done something wrong to get skipped.

"He saw the others in his group glance at him, embarrassed, and then avert their eyes quickly. He saw a worried look on the face of his group leader.

He hunched his shoulders and tried to make himself smaller in the seat. . . Jonas bowed his head and searched through his mind. What had he done wrong?" (58).

Luckily, his assignment had been saved as for last, but that is only revealed in chapter 8. Hence, Lowry sets up her protagonist (character) for a very isolating scene where the reader will feel sorry for him, and thereby start to hope for his relief. This also forces the reader to invest into the character and the story. It's a good use of storytelling by way of character and rising action within the plot.

In chapter 8, the Chief Elder explains that Jonas has been selected to be the Receiver and then announces a new character who will train Jonas. It would seem that the tension has been relieved, but the Chief Elder actually adds to the tension by saying, 

"We failed in our last selection, . . . it was ten years ago, when Jonas was just a toddler. I will not dwell on the experience because it causes us all terrible discomfort. . . We have not been hasty this time, . . . We could not afford another failure" (61).

Contributing again to the rising action, Lowry has the Chief Elder explain how serious this situation is. This, therefore, places extra strain and responsibility on Jonas's shoulders not to fail again and the question is posed if Jonas will succeed. To add to the responsibility, the Chief Elder says that Jonas has intelligence, integrity, courage, wisdom, and the "Capacity to See Beyond" (63) which will all help him in his assignment. The Chief Elder doesn't understand the last quality, which creates another mystery box for Jonas (and the reader) to open at a later date. Thus, as one mystery is disclosed, another is brought forth, and this is good use of literary elements through character, plot, and rising action.

What bet is made between the two men in "The Bet" by Anton Chekhov?

"The Bet" by Anton Chekhov begins at a dinner party held by a banker. The conversation turns to capital punishment, and the guests discuss whether capital punishment or life imprisonment would be worse. The lawyer says that he'd rather be in prison because at least he would still be alive, and that some life is better than none at all. He then makes a bet with the banker that he can stay imprisoned for the next fifteen years. The banker then bets the lawyer two million dollars that he cannot do it. The lawyer takes him up on his bet and for the next fifteen years (minus one hour) stays in a cell where the banker can keep an eye on him. In the end, the lawyer forfeits the two million dollars because money no longer has the same meaning for him it once had.

In the book The Giver, why is Jonas uneasy about his new assignment, Receiver Of Memory?

The Giver by Lois Lowry is a classic example of government gone awry.  It showcases the error in trying to prevent humanity from harming itself, by instituting unequivocal sameness, and ultimately doing more harm than good.

As Receiver of Memory, Jonas inherits the position, and duties, that keep his community in a state of bland, antiseptic sameness.  While, in theory, this protects the people, it also turns them into living robots.

Once Jonas has received the memories of his culture, both "good" and "bad", he realizes the enormous responsibility and control that has been placed upon his young shoulders.

For the first time, he is allowed to experience colors and music and feelings of true happiness. He also experiences hunger and the effects of war and feelings of true unhappiness.

His apprehensions arise from the knowledge that while the elders who devised the position of Receiver of Memory did so out of a desire to protect civilization, that they have greatly compromised the quality of life.  There may be no more poverty, hunger, and war; but, there is also no ambition, fulfillment, or beauty.

What is the difference between a play and play text?

This question explores the relationship of one means of communication – written language – with another – stage language. At its simplest level, we can say that a play text is the written “recipe” for “making a play,” that is, a performance. When actors “recite” the text’s lines, three things happen: First, the actors supply a paralinguistic support system to language – voice inflections, pauses and phrasing, gestures, etc., including acting out any “stage directions” called for in the play text. Secondly, the actors add several physical “languages” to the words themselves (generally called “stage language"): facial expressions, proxemics, body “language,” the “language of costume and set design” (placing the play text in a social, financial, temporal setting). Finally, the actors transform the spoken lines – the dialogue – into speech acts (questions, demands, requests, statements of fact, etc.) as parts of a conversation, an exchange of thoughts, beliefs, etc. rather than simply utterances. In conclusion, a play text when read by a single reader differs from a play in that the reader must “stage” the play text in his/her mind’s eye.  

In "The Sniper", what does the sniper do to trick his enemy?

In "The Sniper", the titular character is essentially trapped on a rooftop by another sniper; he is wounded and therefore unable to use his rifle to defend himself, nor can he move without being seen and shot at, nor can he stay on the rooftop until dawn, when things will only be worse and his wound may kill him. He is forced to resort to trickery in order to put his opponent on the defensive and thereby escape.

The sniper tricks his enemy by placing his hat on the end of his rifle and raising it above the parapets of the rooftop just enough to be seen. When the hat is shot, the sniper pretends to die, throwing his useless rifle off the rooftop in an effort to make the scene more convincing. This works, as the enemy sniper stands up and reveals himself, thinking that he's hit his mark and killed the titular sniper. The sniper uses this opportunity to shoot his opponent with his revolver, thereby killing him and securing an escape from the rooftop. 

In Lord of the Flies, why does Ralph say that the island is getting worse and worse?

In chapter 8, the society the boys have attempted to construct on the island really begins to fall apart. Because of the "beast from air" which Ralph has now observed (somewhat) upon the mountain, Ralph believes they can no longer have a signal fire, which means their chances of being rescued become significantly reduced. He says at the beginning of the chapter, "We're beaten." Jack tries to lead a rebellion against Ralph and calls for a vote to depose him as chief. However, when the boys don't vote the way Jack wants, Jack says he is "not going to play any longer" and leaves the group. Most of the bigger boys end up following him.

Piggy has the idea of keeping the signal fire going down on the beach, but with their smaller group, they find it difficult to keep it going. Piggy in this section is becoming more dominant, as is Simon, and Ralph becomes frustrated with himself for not being able to think more clearly, more "like a grownup." This is where he thinks that the island is becoming "worse and worse." He also recognizes fear within himself--not of the beast he has seen, but from the understanding that without the fire, they may never be rescued. And he is beginning to understand, like Simon, that there is something inside the boys themselves that is leading them toward doom. He asks Piggy, "Can't they see? Can't they understand?" He recognizes an apathy growing within himself, as well. He senses the disintegration of their society and feels powerless to resist it. 

In A Christmas Carol, what does Scrooge notice beneath the Ghost of Christmas Present's robe?

Towards the end of his meeting with the Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge notices that something is protruding from the base of his robe. On first glance, it looks like a claw but it is, in fact, two children who Dickens describes as being "wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable." The children, a boy and a girl, represent ignorance and want and are used by the ghost to convey a warning to Scrooge and to the city of London. 

To put this into context, Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843, when Britain was undergoing its Industrial Revolution. While the country grew wealthy from its increased manufacture, the vast majority of people suffered unprecedented levels of poverty as they laboured in factories and workshops. For the children of the industrial working class, life was especially hard. They were expected to work and contribute to the family's income and there were few regulations in place to protect them from long working hours and dangerous conditions. Like the children under the ghost's robe, these children were not healthy and happy like they ought to be, but were instead the victims of their circumstances, forever scarred by hard work:

"Where graceful youth should have filled their features out, and touched them with its freshest tints, a stale and shrivelled hand, like that of age, had pinched, and twisted them, and pulled them into shreds."

The ghost's warning, then, is an attempt by Dickens to raise public awareness of child labour and poverty in industrial Britain. He wanted people to act now to help and protect them, before it was too late.

Why were nomads important to the Arabian peninsula?

The early settlers of the Arabian Peninsula were nomadic people.  This group of people were pastoralists who were able to survive in the "harsh desert environment."  They raised animals, such as sheep and camels.  They took their livestock with them as they traveled from place to place.  These early inhabitants lead the way to trade caravans, though sometimes the nomads raided these traders.  Some of the nomads eventually settled in one area during part of the year to grow crops.  This development of agriculture also led to growth in the region.

The Bedouin nomads were an early group who are still in existence.  There are still nomads who dwell in the deserts in the Arabian Peninsula to this day, some of them being Bedouin nomads.  Many of them still keep their traditions alive.  In the last fifty years, it has become more difficult for groups to live nomadic lives.

To what extent is Mayella Ewell in control of her life and her future?

In To Kill a Mockingbird, race and class play important roles in how certain characters are viewed by others and where they exist in the social hierarchy. People of color, for example, are at the bottom of social ladder, but very poor white people are not so far above them in the eyes of the more financially stable people in Maycomb.

Mayella's class status, which is very poor, dictates her options and opportunities. Because she is the eldest women in the Ewell household, she is expected to take care of her father and many brothers and sisters, significantly limiting any free time or opportunity to pursue things like employment or romantic relationships. In simple terms, she is a servant to her father and is more or less shut off from the rest of the world. 

It's important to remember that, while she is indeed lying about being attacked by Tom, she is doing so at the direction of her father. In fact, Mayella can be viewed as one of the more tragic figures in the story because she only lures Tom into the yard because she wants attention and affection from a man, but things escalate once her father finds the two of them.

Like many poor young women in the early part of the 20th century, Mayella has very little control over her life and is almost certain that she has no future outside of the Ewell home.

Of the four economic systems, what two are similar and different?

Of course, no two of the four economic systems are exactly the same. If they were the same, they would not be different systems.  Of the four, mixed economies are somewhat similar to both command and market economies. Traditional economies are very different than both command and market economies.

Mixed economies are typically a blend of command and market economies with a little bit of traditional economy thrown in.  Some mixed economies are closer to pure market economies, like the US while others, like Sweden, are closer to being command economies. Mixed economies are like market economies because they typically allow people and markets to make many choices. However, they are also like command economies because they include some amount of government control over the economy.

Traditional economies are very different from both market and command economies. In market and command economies, there is no room for tradition.  People pick their jobs in a market economy based on what they can do that will make the most money, not on what tradition says they should do.  In a command economy, decisions are made based on what the government wants, not on what tradition says.  Command and market economies are very modern economic types while traditional economies are old-fashioned.  For these reasons, traditional economies are very different from both command and market economies.

How do you think that television could be used to suppress people's thoughts and ideas in the story "The Pedestrian"?

In the future world of 2053 A.D., as foreseen by the solitary pedestrian Leonard Mead, families would not converse and interact, but would all sit in the dark, staring at the lighted television screen.

Sometimes he would walk for hours and miles and return only at midnight to his house. And on his way he would see the cottages and homes with their dark windows, and it was not unequal to walking through a graveyard where only the faintest glimmers of firefly light appeared in flickers behind the windows.

This would put an end to conversation, as it would to reading, and thereby impose limitations on people's thoughts. Television has a hypnotic effect; it puts people into a sort of trance in which they are most susceptible to the suggestions contained in the commercials. Furthermore, the "entertainment" offered, then and now, is largely idiotic. It has the effect of "dumbing down" an entire population. They don't think for themselves but allow the "boob tube", "the idiot box", to do their thinking for them.

"What is it now?" he asked the houses, noticing his wrist watch. "Eight-thirty P.M.? Time for a dozen assorted murders? A quiz? A revue? A comedian falling off the stage?"  

Ray Bradbury wrote "The Pedestrian" at a time when television was in its infancy. The TV screens were very small, the reception was poor at best, and the programming was cheap. Hollywood had millions of feet of old cowboy films in its repositories, and these represented a large part of what was offered. Hollywood also had a lot of old-time, slapstick comedies which suddenly acquired new value because of television. And there were many old animated cartoons - not quality ones like those of Walt Disney - but mindless, black-and-white junk full of cats chasing mice or mice chasing cats. It was not unreasonable for Bradbury to assume that the future of television was garbage. It was said by some cynics in media that the programming should be so bad that the commercials would seem like superior-quality entertainment. The worst part about modern-day television is the insane jumble of zany commercials breaking in every few minutes.

Bradbury thought that television would encourage passivity, would destroy human interaction,  and would keep people confined to their homes where they would lose touch with reality and have their minds shaped by what they saw on the little lighted screen. A certain percentage of the American population has become "couch potatoes", but fortunately that hasn't happened to everybody. Bradbury's picture of the future was either intentionally or unintentionally distorted. He was a writer, and he feared that books would be made obsolete by television, putting him out of work like Leonard Mead in his story, who tells the robot cop, "I guess you could call me a writer." The robot cop interprets that answer as "No profession." Bradbury foresees the same dismal future for books in his novel Fahrenheit 451. He has a strong tendency to exaggerate. After all, who knows what's going to happen a hundred years from now?

We can see now that television has been a mixed blessing. It offers some quality entertainment along with lots and lots of commercial interruptions. Children seem to learn from it, but it does seem to encourage mental passivity. Teachers have a harder time getting students to think and to participate. Obesity has become a national problem, both for children and adults, and television has been at least partially responsible for that. But television has not been the dystopian horror that Bradbury predicted. It has become incorporated into the home and does not seem to dominate families or destroy minds. Some people watch a lot of television and others never watch it at all. It is a blessing for people in hospitals, nursing homes, and other shut-ins, who couldn't be pedestrians even if they wanted to.

Electronic media actually seem to have a tendency to encourage the exchange of ideas and opinions. There is no sinister agency intent on controlling human thought, at least in most countries of the world, including ours.

In The Crucible Proctor brings Judge Danforth the signatures of ninety-one people who have a good opinion of the accused. What does the judge do...

Your question refers to Act III scene 2 of The Crucible, in which John Proctor goes to the court to provide Judge Danforth with a testament signed by ninety-one of the townspeople who are willing to vouch for the good moral character of Elizabeth Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, and Martha Corey. These women had been arrested as accused witches earlier in Act III. After John Proctor hands the list to Danforth, Reverend Parris comments that those people who signed the document should all be summoned for questioning, evidently because he views their willingness to defend the accused women as being a "clear attack upon the court". After glancing at the list, Danforth instructs Mr. Cheever to draw up warrants to arrest the ninety-one people who signed the document so that they can be examined by the court directly.

This is not the reaction that John Proctor and Francis Nurse had hoped for, to say the least. Nurse comments that he had promised those people that no harm would come to them as a result of adding their signatures, and he is filled with fear and guilt for dragging them into the court's attention now. Proctor unfortunately seems unconvinced of the court's dangerous unwillingness to change its mind about people's guilt or innocence. He does not say anything in response to Danforth's decision to issue warrants for the ninety-one neighbors, but a few lines later in the scene Proctor remarks to Mary Warren that she should remember that the angel Raphael told a boy named Tobias, "Do that which is good and no harm shall come to thee". 

Danforth's decision to arrest and question everyone on the list of signatures in support for the accused women indicates that he is not exactly looking at the matter with impartiality. He seems rather determined to find somebody guilty of something, whether it be the accused witches already in custody or the people who tried to vouch for them. Ironically Danforth and Proctor both have faith in the justice system and the idea that people who do the right thing will have nothing to fear. When Danforth wants to summon the ninety-one people on the list, it is because of his very concrete view that a person must either be for the court or against it, with no middle ground. This belief compels him to need to examine those ninety-one people. He cannot simply accept that they are just offering information without intending to undermine the court. At the same time, Proctor's continual belief that justice and honor will prevail puts him in jeopardy as the play moves forward. He cannot conceive of the notion that the court would still want to punish innocent people, especially when evidence is present that would prove their innocence. Danforth's treatment of the list of signatures and Proctor's mistaken belief in the list's power represent two sides of the same coin of concrete thinking.

What does making her feel leaden mean in Lyddie?

To feel leaden is to feel heavy burdens due to strong emotions.

To feel leaden is a figure of speech.  Leaden is a metaphor for emotions.  Metaphors compare unlike things.  Lyddie is not really full of lead.

When Lyddie feels “leaden” it means that she feels very heavy or burdened by her emotions.  For example, when she talks about her home and family, she describes herself as feeling “leaden with sadness.”  This means she is so sad that she feels as if she cannot move, like she was full of lead.

"There's no hurry. Wait till your family comes. I don't know when my brother and I can ever get back." She felt leaden with sadness. (Ch. 6)

This incident occurs when she gives Ezekial money to help him run away.  He tells her that she needs the money and should not give it to him, and she replies that she got it from selling her calf and does not need it yet.  She feels a desire to help him.

Lyddie feels sorry for Ezekial because he is one person worse off than she is.  Although Lyddie has lost her family farm and is on her own, she still wants to help a runaway slave.  Lyddie shows compassion for Ezekial but helping him is a way of feeling better about herself.  She feels that she has nothing.

Throughout the book, Lyddie fights an inner war between feelings of selfishness and her desire to help others.  Lyddie is basically a good person though.  She is tenacious and compassionate.  In the end, she always desires to help those in need.

For a school project, we have to create a trailer to a modernized version of Macbeth, but I'm having a tough time coming up with too many ideas on...

Macbeth is a wonderful play that easily adapts to almost any timeframe and setting.  Murder is not as difficult to get away with as one might think.  According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) statistics nearly 40% of murder and manslaughter investigations are not cleared.

Macbeth can be easily scaled to fit smaller settings.  Instead of assuming the setting is an entire country like Scotland in the play, the setting may be a relegated to a single town.  The play retains all of the exiting nature despite the smaller setting.  Murder, intrigue, car chases and shoot-outs are all part of the new trailer.

An example of how to scale the characters:

King Duncan is now the mayor.  Macbeth transforms from lead Detective, to Police Chief before becoming mayor after Duncan's murder.  Banquo would fit as the district attorney, the senior prosecutor.  These roles give Macbeth the ability to cover up a murder because he has a friend as the DA before he ultimately kills Banqou as well.  The withes can be transformed into the town drunk or crazy cat lady type of character.

The remainder of the story can fall into place along this setting.  The ambush of Fleance becomes a shoot-out or car chase.  The ultimate hero Malcolm reveals the treachery of Macbeth and is elected Mayor in the closing scene.  Seeing ghosts, the suicide of Lady Macbeth and prophecies remain largely unchanged.  A man not born of woman can remain a C-section born Macduff.  The Barnum Wood prophecy can represent a corporation buying land in the town, or even the name of a sidekick character to Malcolm or Macduff.

How and why does Macbeth become disturbed?

Macbeth's unbridled ambition to become the King of Scotland leads to his profound inner disturbance and imminent downfall. Once he commits the unforgivable sin against Duncan, we witness the beginning of his descent into irrationality and death. Even before he commits the first murder and takes the throne, he is very insecure and fears somebody might plan to harm him in the same way he plans to harm Duncan:

We but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice
Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice
To our own lips.

Once he becomes the king, he is tormented by his guilt-ridden conscience and assumes that many people would want to dethrone him, which gives him the excuse to get rid of anyone who potentially stands in his way. The murders he commits directly or indirectly accumulate, and we see that his inner world is thrown into chaos by various sights he beholds, which are the product of his guilty conscience. One example would certainly be the ghost of Banquo, who haunts him, which implies that Macbeth feels greatly disturbed by having ordered Banquo's execution.

Macbeth's distrust of others only increases and incites him to become a cold-blooded murderer, who, towards the end of the play, realizes how futile his life has become. The play suggests that his inner disturbance proves to be far more powerful than his seemingly calm and indifferent facade which he tried to maintain in vain.

What was the solution of the Great Compromise?

When the Constitutional Convention was being held there was a significant debate about the legislative branch. The large states wanted representation in Congress to be based on the population of a state. This would give large states more representation in Congress. The small states objected to this because they felt their voices wouldn’t be heard because the large states would have many more representatives than the small states would have. Thus, the small states wanted equal representation in Congress.

Roger Sherman developed a compromise that would satisfy both sides. There would be a legislature with two houses. The House of Representatives would have unequal representation. Representation would be based on the population of a state. Large states would have more representatives than small states. On the other hand, the Senate would have equal representation. Each state, regardless of size, would have two senators.

The Great Compromise resolved the issue of how representation would be based for the legislative branch of government.

How do the shifts in tone in "A Christmas Memory" reflect Buddy's coming of age at the end of the story?

Truman Capote changes the tone of his nostalgic short story “A Christmas Memory” with two lines. “This is our last Christmas together.” “Life separates us.” These lines signal the end of Buddy’s childhood and his move into young adulthood. These lines delineate the portion of the story that describes Buddy’s childhood relationship with his friend and the next step in his life when the adults have decided that he needs to be in military school.

The story becomes melancholy as Buddy realizes that his friend is deteriorating. They stay in correspondence and it becomes evident that his friend is becoming increasingly confused as she keeps him apprised of what is happening in their childhood home. When his friend dies, Buddy realizes that his childhood is over.

What are two themes and their explanations from "The Darling" by Anton Chekhov?

Two themes that are in Anton Chekhov's "The Darling" are Conformity to Others and the Nature of Love.

• Conformity to Others and Dependency

A vapid character, Olenka Semyonovna assumes the personality of the men in her life, becoming but an extension of her husbands. When she marries her first husband, Snookin, the proprietor of the Tivoli Pleasure Gardens, loves true drama, so Olenka loves drama, also. When she speaks to her friends, she informs her friends that 

...nothing in the world was so remarkable, so important and necessary as the theatre, and only in the theatre could you experience real enjoyment and become an educated, civilized human being.

Whatever Snookin says about the theatre, Olenka echoes his opinions.

But, after Snookin dies while away on a business trip, Olenka is inconsolable. Soon, however, she meets Vasily Andreich Pustovalov, manager of Babakayev's lumber yard. She falls in love and is married shortly thereafter. Soon, she helps her husband, managing the accounts and dispatching orders. Now, Olenka feels that timber is the most important thing in life. "Whatever thoughts her husband had, she had also." Even when some friends suggest she go to the theatre, which she has claimed that she has always loved, Olenka replies, "Me and Vasya have no time for theatres." Because her new husband has no refinement, she now has none. Whenever he does express himself, Olenka mimics his opinions. But, when Pustovalov suddenly dies after having a cold, Olenka is again alone, and without opinions.

It was a horrible, bitter sensation....she saw objects round her and understood everything that was going on, but she could not form opinions about anything  or ...know what to talk about.

Emptiness and bitterness overcome Olenka. Finally, one day she meets a military veterinarian, Vladimir Platonich Smirnin, who rents a room from Olenka. Soon, they become friends, but he has an estranged wife and a child, called Sasha. 
Olenka becomes happy again, repeating the opinions of the veterinarian, much to his discomfort. So, he scolds Olenka and tell her to keep quiet when he speaks with his associates. Olenka is hurt, but soon she has a purpose in life as she watches the boy Sasha. Soon, she adopts the opinions of the boy, mimicking his complaints about homework and teachers. 
Later, when Sasha's mother calls for the boy to come live with her, Olenka is devastated, but she hears the voice of the vet returning. "Oh, thank God" she thinks. Foreshadowing more problems, though, are Sasha's talking in his sleep, "I'll show you! Get out! Stop fighting!"

• The Nature of Love

Loves seems illusory in all of Olenka's relations as she is dependent upon the men she loves and nothing without them. There is something lacking in this kind of love that seeks nurture from those with whom she is in love. While she gives the men companionship and support, mirroring their sentiments, there is a selfishness to this love that makes it questionable. The boy Sasha senses this selfishness as he feels stifled by Olenka's love and cries out in his sleep, "I'll show you! Get out! Stop fighting!"

In The Importance of Being Earnest, why did Lady Bracknell say, "When I married Lord Bracknell I had no fortune of any kind"? Analyze the quote.

Lady Bracknell has just learned the the woman her nephew, Algernon, wishes to marry, Cecily Cardew, is very rich, and though she first opposed the match, when she finds out how wealthy Cecily is she begins to think it a good idea.  However, she tells Cecily, that "Algernon has nothing but his debts to depend upon."  In other words, he has no money of his own.  Then she says,

But I do not approve of mercenary marriages.  When I married Lord Bracknell, I had no fortune of any kind.  But I never dreamed for a moment of allowing that to stand in my way. 

A "mercenary marriage" is one in which one partner marries a much richer partner, and the richer partner's money often makes them a great deal more desirable a marriage partner than they would otherwise be.  So, a person who claims not to believe in mercenary marriages would not be in favor of Algernon's marriage to Cecily (because she has a great deal more money), and that person would not marry someone so very much richer than themselves, either.  Therefore, when Lady Bracknell says that she had no fortune and never let that stand in her way when pursuing Lord Bracknell, she is directly contradicting her statement that she does not approve of mercenary marriages!  This contradiction, however, is in keeping with much of her character's other "principled" beliefs.  Just prior to this, when inspecting Cecily, she'd actually said, "We live, I regret to say, in an age of surfaces," and this is precisely what her contradiction shows us.  She claims, on the surface, not to approve of mercenary marriages because that is the socially-appropriate opinion for a woman of her status; however, she really does approve of them.  Further, she enjoys such high status that she need not even be concerned about this contradiction between appearance and reality; however, Wilde masterfully employs irony of all kinds to point out society's double standards in this play.

What is the difference between conservatism and liberalism?

There is a big difference between conservatism and liberalism. Conservatives tend to have a distrust of the federal government. They want policies that involved the federal government as little as possible in the economy, in business, and in their lives. They tend to support laissez-faire policies with the economy. They want the power of the federal government to be limited and split between the state governments and the federal government. Conservatives tend to have strong religious values and often don’t support changes that may be viewed as extreme. Conservatives are against policies that tax the rich at higher rates. They tend to be supportive of the police having broad power to dealing with criminal activity. They also tend to support vouchers for private religious schools.

Liberals, on the other hand, believe government must have a bigger role in our economy. They believe that if the government doesn’t regulate businesses and our economy, that businesses will act in their best interests instead of what is best for the consumers. They believe the government should support people who need help by having a lot of social programs. These programs would provide aid to the poor and funding to public schools. Liberals believe the government shouldn’t be involved in religious issues. Liberals wouldn’t support government vouchers for religious schools. 

There are significant differences between liberals and conservatives.

In Lord of the Flies, how does the character Jack show success?

Jack is successful as a hunter and as a leader. At the beginning of the story, when Jack first appears, he is leading the choir boys in a march across the beach toward the sound of the blowing conch. He is able to keep the boys literally in line, requiring them to march in formation with their hot clothes and caps on. Jack believes he should be elected chief of all the boys, but Ralph wins the election. However, Jack remains the leader of his choir boys, who become the hunters. When Jack later calls for a vote to remove Ralph from being chief, again the boys side with Ralph, causing Jack to leave the group and go off on his own. However, before the day has passed almost all the boys have flocked to him, joining him first in the hunt and then at his feast. Jack uses enticements, like having fun and eating meat, as well as intimidation, like beatings and stoking the boys' fears, to keep the boys loyal to him. 

Jack is also a successful hunter. Although at first he is squeamish about killing pigs and drawing blood, as early as chapter 3 he is devoting extra time and energy to learn how to track pigs. Once he has killed his first pig, he no longer fears, but rather enjoys, the taking of life and spilling of blood. Unfortunately, by the last chapter he is using his well-honed hunting skills to hunt Ralph with the intent to kill him.

Who is the father of the victim in the story "The Ransom Of Red Chief"?

The kidnappers in "The Ransom of Red Chief" select a man whom they believe will be able to pay a high ransom.  The man they select is Ebenezer Dorset. He is described as a "prominent citizen" (para. 4), a respectable man in the town, said to be "a mortgage fancier" (para. 4), which suggests that he is someone who holds many mortgages, possibly a banker. And we know that he forecloses on mortgages, too.  Sam and Bill believe that he is a suitable candidate to pay the $2,000 they intend to demand as a ransom.  Little do they know that Ebenezer will not only refuse to pay this ransom, but also will demand money from them to take back his son.  The consequences of their kidnapping probably cure them for life of trying this again!

What might happen to a population of rabbits in a forest, if a new predator moved to the forest?

If a new predator moved into the region, it would predate on rabbits and result in decreased rabbit population. This would cause a change in the dynamics of the forest. With a new predator in the forest, there would competition with existing predators. More predators mean more food requirement and hence lesser population of their preferred food (rabbit, in this case). Under these circumstances, predator's population may increase and that of rabbits will decrease. Over time, there would be a new equilibrium in the forest, with a certain population of predators and a reduced population of rabbits, supporting them. A reduced rabbit population will also mean more grass (or whatever food rabbits eat). 

In general, any change in food chain by introduction or removal at any trophic level will cause changes throughout the chain.

Hope this helps. 

Where was Daniel hidden in Hezron's house?

In Chapter 6 of the Bronze Bow, a Roman soldier disrespects Daniel while Daniel is drinking at a well. Daniel loses his temper and throws the bowl of water in the Roman soldier's face and begins to run away. The soldier manages to strike Daniel with his spear, injuring Daniel's ribs. Daniel flees and narrowly escapes the pursuing soldiers. He eventually makes his way to Hezron's house where Malthace meets him at the door. Thace tells him that Joel and Hezron will be home soon, so she hides Daniel in a closet. Malthace gives Daniel wine and nurses his wounds until Joel arrives. Joel is worried that a servant will open the closet and discover that Daniel is hiding in it. Joel mentions to Daniel that there is a narrow space between two walls in the house that he discovered as a child. Malthace and Joel drag Daniel on a mat into the passage between the two walls. The space is only two cubits wide, which is equivalent to three feet. Thacia gives Daniel sacks of grain for pillows and covering. Daniel spends five days and five nights in the small passage until he regains enough strength to leave Hezron's house.

Is there any significance to Ahab having a leg of whalebone?

Well, Moby Dick is a book that, among other things, is about vengeance, not just against a whale, but against God and the universe. The whalebone of Ahab's leg has many meanings, but ultimately becomes symbolic of that struggle.

For one thing, Ahab lost his leg to Moby Dick in a previous attack ("devoured, chewed up, crunched by the monstrousest parmacetty that ever chipped a boat!” says Capt. Peleg, ch 16) so on a basic level the missing leg is a reason for Ahab to seek vengeance. The fact that it is made of whalebone marks Ahab as a fearsome character ("So powerfully did the whole grim aspect of Ahab affect me, and the livid brand which streaked it, that for the first few moments I hardly noted that not a little of this overbearing grimness was owing to the barbaric white leg upon which he partly stood," Ishmael says in ch 28). Part of this "barbaric" quality no doubt has to do with the whalebone as a kind of trophy, evidence of Ahab's skill in killing whales. The whalebone leg evokes a skeleton leg, the whalebone replacing the human bone. The sound of Ahab's leg on the deck "sounded like a coffin-tap," (ch 51) a kind of prediction of death, either Moby Dick's, or Ahab's and his crew's.

There is also meaning in the fact that whalebone does not seem to be a very good material for a prosthetic limb -- Ahab breaks it twice, once before the voyage, when he was found in a Nantucket street, "his ivory limb having been so violently displaced, that it had stake-wise smitten, and all but pierced his groin," and a second time, when, returning to the Pequod from a meeting on a passing whaler, he "had lighted with such energy upon a thwart of his boat that his ivory leg had received a half-splintering shock." These breakages seem to suggest that the whalebone leg and Ahab are at odds: the leg effectively castrates Ahab when it breaks in Nantucket. Ahab realizes that "all the anguish of that then present suffering was but the direct issue of a former woe” -- in other words, his previous encounter with Moby Dick is the source for all his current trouble -- and that Ahab's hatred, and by extension all the sorrow in the world, -- not love -- is evidence of our connection to God ("The ineffaceable, sad birth-mark in the brow of man [e.g., man's mortal condition], is but the stamp of sorrow in the signers [e.g., the creators, or God].” (all ch 106).

This theme is brought into focus in ch 108, in which Ahab discusses his leg with the ship's carpenter, who is making a new one. Ahab asks the carpenter how it is that, although he will have a new whalebone leg, he will also feel his old flesh and blood leg in the same place? ("...when I come to mount this leg thou makest, I shall nevertheless feel another leg in the same identical place with it; that is, carpenter, my old lost leg; the flesh and blood one, I mean. Canst thou not drive that old Adam away?") The whalebone, representative of his hatred, is doubled by the phantom sensation of his old leg, a remnant of Ahab's humanity; this doubleness is itself representative of the root of Ahab's hatred -- the notion that reality itself is a lie. Ahab goes on to ask the carpenter "How dost thou know that some entire, living, thinking thing may not be invisibly and uninterpenetratingly standing precisely where thou now standest; aye, and standing there in thy spite?" The carpenter, of course, has no idea what Ahab is talking about, and Ahab laments that his cosmic quest for vengeance is dependent on mundane details like a sound false leg ("Here I am, proud as Greek god, and yet standing debtor to this blockhead for a bone to stand on!").

Ahab is a person who, to carry out his thirst for vengeance, must somehow transcend his human body. One gets the sense that if he had the chance, Ahab would have the carpenter remake him entirely in whalebone! But Ahab's problem is that his thirst for vengeance is directly linked to his humanity. His whalebone leg may represent Ahab's having "one foot" in the transcendent, but the rest of his body is firmly in the real.