How are people punished or rewarded under the king's system of justice in "The Lady, or the Tiger?"

The narrator of Stockton's "The Lady, or the Tiger?" describes the king's semi-barbaric method of administering justice as "perfect" in its fairness. 

When a subject is accused of a crime that arouses enough interest in the king, his subjects are summoned to assemble in the galleries of the amphitheater. The king sits on his throne with his court in an elevated section, and the accused is summoned to the arena of the amphitheater. There, opposite the accused are two doors beside each other, exactly alike in appearance. This person charged with a crime must approach these two doors and open one of them. Either door can be opened.

He was subject to no guidance or influence but that of the aforementioned impartial and incorruptible chance.

Behind one door is a fierce, hungry tiger which will spring on the accused and tear the person to pieces as punishment; professional mourners then appear and the subjects file out with heads bowed in sorrow that one so young has met such a fate. 
Behind the other door there is a lovely maiden, and the accused is married immediately as a reward for his innocence. If the accused is already married this does not matter because the king "allowed no such arrangements to interfere" with his reward for innocence. Then, the happy couple departs, followed by a band of choristers and dancing maidens who blow golden horns, creating a merry tune. People shout happily and children strew flowers in their path.

This is king's method of justice; "its perfect fairness is obvious." For, the accused cannot know which door will hold the tiger or the lady. Certainly, too, the judgments of the king are swift and final.  

How can others' rights be obstructed?

There are ways the rights of people can be obstructed. One way is during a war. During World War I, the government passed laws that limited the rights of the people. The Sedition Act made it illegal to criticize the government or war effort. This restricted our right to freedom of speech. The Espionage Act made it possible for the government to punish antiwar activities. This also restricted our right to freedom of expression.

Another way the rights of people can be obstructed is by actions of the courts. In the case of Engel V Vitale, the Supreme Court ruled that prayer can’t be required in public schools. In Abington School District V Schempp, the Supreme Court ruled that daily bible readings in public schools were illegal. These rulings limit freedom of religious practice.

Finally, the actions of people can interfere with the rights of people. A person who is smoking is violating a person’s right to breathe clean air. A ban on smoking violates a person’s right to smoke. There are many ways the rights of people can be obstructed.

What are the themes in The Butcher Boy?

The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe deals largely with the theme of identity crisis. While this crisis is realized outright in the character of Francie, McCabe is attempting to draw a parallel to the issue with identity that Ireland as a nation is facing. Ireland finds itself a neocolonial state, subject to the British Empire. As it has been subjugated through the use of cultural and economic hegemony rather than direct military occupation, it has in many way become unclear exactly what Ireland is, and what the national identity of an Irishman truly entails. In response to this struggle, the 1960's saw the emergence of various anarchistic collectives acting as anti-colonial forces. Ultimately, this caused an even deeper schism in Irish national identity as the role of conformity in a thoroughly unbalanced state was called into question. This theme of clashing identities is played out in the novel through the highly dysfunctional interpersonal relationships that dominate the lives of the characters.

How has Danforth become a victim of his own logic?

Danforth has become a victim of his own logic, so to speak, when (in Act Four) it is now too late for him to do the right thing without losing his authority and calling into question the guilty verdicts of all those people who have already been hanged for witchcraft.  When he learns that two of the girls have stolen Parris's life savings and run away and that people in the town are close to rioting as a result of the more recent verdicts, he says to Hale that he cannot postpone because 

Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now.  While I speak God's law, I will not crack its voice with whimpering.  If retaliation is your fear, know this -- I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law, and an ocean of salt tears could not melt the resolution of the statutes.

He says that he cannot pardon or delay this day's hangings because it would not be just.  However, hanging any innocent person is not just!  But it is too late for him to even accept this as a possibility -- that they have condemned and executed innocents -- because there is nothing he can do about it now without undermining the court and himself.  He is trapped and can do nothing but move forward, even if that means he is hanging the innocent.

I have Physics homework due on Tuesday, having trouble with one question: A. What physical condition must be true for the Work-Energy Theorem to...

The work energy theorem states that the work done by all forces acting on a particle equals the change in the particle's kinetic energy. The law of conservation of states that the total energy of an isolated system is constant.

For the work-energy theorem to become a statement of conservation of energy, the system must be isolated. There should be no flow of energy from inside the system to the outside or from outside the system to the inside.

A particle is accelerated when a force acts on it. This alters the velocity of the particle and its kinetic energy. Force is the product of mass and acceleration and the kinetic energy of a particle with mass m, traveling at a velocity v is (1/2)*m*v^2.

The change in kinetic energy of a particle is due to the conversion of potential energy in the system. The sum of all potential energy and kinetic energy in a closed system is constant. This is the law of conservation of energy.

What are some of the poetic conventions in Beowulf?

If we consider the purpose of poetry to be the elevation of a story beyond the mere conveyance of information, then poetic conventions are those tools and strategies that the poet utilizes to create an artistic interpretation of those details. For example, many poetic conventions such as alliteration can be found in normal prose, but not necessarily with intent. Poetic conventions presumably have a purpose for their incorporation, even if it's just to employ clever wordplay.

One of the most common poetic conventions utilized in Beowulf is alliteration, although it's not immediately obvious in translation because the alliterative effect doesn't always survive the translation process. For example, the following line;

Géatmecga léod, gilp gelæsted

which translates to "the Geatman's leader (i.e. Beowulf), his boast fulfilled", but this eliminates three of the four hard "g" consonants that create the alliterative effect in the original.

Another device commonly cited are the "kennings" which are an Old Norse-derived form of metaphor, useful for their imagery and the manner in which they expand the poet's vocabulary. One of the first kennings is "hronráde" on line 10, which translates to "whale-road" - the ocean. These metaphors also help to expand our understanding of the poet's intended tone in many places; for example, he describes Beowulf as "unlocking his word-hoard" to imply that he has a broad vocabulary, or calling muscles "bone-locks" in the process of describing Beowulf shattering them, thereby enhancing the qualities of Beowulf's strength. 

What do you understand by differential heating?

Differential heating refers to the differences in the heating of the Earth's surface by Sun. Differential heating is the reason for changes in weather and the climate. Lets take an example. During the daytime, if you are walking on a beach, you will feel that the sand is hotter as compared to water, while in the evening and at night, sand will be colder as compared to the water. Any wind passing over the hotter region will get hot and will replace the colder air, this causes either a warm or a cold breeze for the beach goers. On a global scale, equatorial regions tend to get more sunlight and hence are warmer, as compared to polar regions, which tend to stay colder. Due to this differential heating, global wind patterns are generated, which affect the weather.

Hope this helps. 

Hey everyone! I'm having trouble with my essay introduction. I'm supposed to be writing about the loss of innocence in three books, Jane Eyre by...

Jane Eyre is my favorite novel, so it's a pleasure to help you write about it in your essay. I normally tell students to try and avoid generic phrases using the word "society" because it can seem very vague and generic. The way to try and use more exacting language is to ask yourself what you mean when you refer to "society" and its expectations. Do you mean a specific culture at a specific time and place? Are you referring to the different socioeconomic groups that make up society and how social expectations differ among classes? Certainly the issue of class is an important one in Jane Eyre, since Jane's early years are directly affected by her relatives' decision to more or less disown her after the death of her parents. Instead of giving a comfortable life as a ward who is provided for, she is abandoned to an orphanage and a life of hardship. This affords her many lessons at an early age. Children who experience cruelty and hardship while young miss out on the joy and carefree enjoyment of childhood, and Jane's childhood at the orphanage was not a happy one.

The first example of a loss of innocence that affects Jane is the death of her friend Helen in the orphanage. Helen has tuberculosis which worsens over time, and the poor living conditions of the orphanage make it impossible for her to get better. Helen is Jane's only friend, and this loss is a major event in forming Jane's character; she learns to be extremely self-reliant and independent, and is wary of trusting others or asking for help when she needs it. This loss of innocence at an early age, i.e. the realization that she cannot rely on others to do the right thing, makes her somewhat cynical but also instills a deep sense of integrity that is tempered by her honesty and compassion.

What kind of equation do I use to find the standard meridian of Vladivostok?

Standard meridians are located at intervals of 15 degrees of longitude on either side of the prime meridian. Time zones are roughly centered on the standard meridians. 

Thus, to find the standard meridian of a location, you should determine how many time zones away from UCT (coordinated universal time) the location is, and then multiply by 15 degrees. This is because the standard meridian of the UTC tome zone is 0 degrees (the prime meridian).

For example, Vladivostok is UTC+10. Thus the standard meridian of Vladivostok is `` degrees.

So an equation would look like this:

Standard meridian = number of time zones X 15 degrees.

However, take a bit of care to not lose track of the negative sign when the time zones are east of the prime meridian. 

Why does petrol evaporate at room temperature?

All liquids can evaporate at room temperature. Petrol, or gasoline, evaporates faster than most liquids because of its weak intermolecular attractions. Petrol is a mixture of hydrocarbons with the main constituent being octane, C8H18. Octane is a non-polar molecule. The only intermolecular attractions it has are weak London dispersion forces. The molecules have a range of kinetic energies, and those with the most kinetic energy escape at the surface and enter the gas phase. 

In comparison, water evaporates more slowly than petrol. That's because water molecules have hydrogen bonding which is a strong intermolecular attraction. Water molecules require more energy than gas molecules to overcome their attraction to other molecules at the surface. 

Some hydrocarbons are more volatile (evaporate more quickly) than petrol. Diesel and kerosene both are examples. Both are larger molecules than octane, so even though they're non-polar they have stronger London dispersion forces than octane because their larger electron clouds make them more polarizable. 

Does tap water boil faster than pure water?

Actually the answer is that, technically speaking, tap water will take slightly longer to boil than pure water, but in reality the difference between the two will be negligible.  Tap water will contain dissolved ions and chemicals in the water, including some added by municipal water systems like potassium fluoride (KF) for tooth enamel or chlorine to kill microbes.  The presence of these ions and chemicals will have the physical effect of extending the liquid temperature range of water.  You may have heard phrases like "melting point depression" and "boiling point elevation."  Adding salt to roads in the winter helps lower the freezing point of water so that ice and snow will melt even on a cold morning.  In a similar way, the ions and chemicals in tap water will make it boil slightly higher than 100 degrees Celsius which will be the exact boiling point of pure water.  So since the tap water boils at a slightly higher temperature, it will take slightly longer to reach its boiling point versus pure water.  As I said earlier, the difference in the boiling points between the two will be minimal, less than 1 degree Celsius.

What are some external conflicts in Macbeth?

Internal conflicts are man against himself, such as the sort Macbeth has when he is trying to reconcile his desire to be king with the murder Lady Macbeth has talked him into committing. He cannot make peace with himself. External conflicts are man against man or man against nature. In this play, they are man against man. 

The biggest ones are the wars being fought. In the beginning, Macbeth and Banquo together lead their exhausted troops to victory against the Norwegian invaders. Later, Malcolm amasses an army and attacks Macbeth's fortifications and men at Dunsinane Castle. 

There are more minor conflicts, as well. Lady Macbeth argues with Macbeth about what he must do to become king, eventually saying he isn't really a man if he refuses to murder Duncan. There is the attack of the murderers on Banquo and Fleance, as well, and Macbeth's attack on Macduff's wife and child. Finally, Macduff and Macbeth square off on the battlefield--the final external conflict that is resolved when Macduff brings Malcolm Macbeth's head. 

Why is there so much corruption in politics? What is the primary reason people break the law?

To ask, “Why there is so much corruption in politics now?” implies there is more corruption today than in the past. First, definitions must be agreed upon before the discussion can be properly engaged. For example, what is political corruption? Some folks would argue that simply being a member of a rival political party makes one corrupt. For the purposes of this discussion, let us assume corruption equates with the compromising of one’s ethics and using one’s positions for personal gain.

Once this definition is agreed upon, one has to determine if there is more political corruption now than in the past. Some politicians have been guilty of corruption ever since this classification of people came into existence. If there is an increase, it is likely one of perception and population increase. Unlike in the past, with twenty-four-hour news cycles one hears about issues such as political corruption the instant they come to light. In the past such information came in a trickle; today one is deluged with information about corrupt politicians daily. Furthermore, there are simply more people in the country than in the past. So, while the percentages of corrupt politicians may remain consistent, the actual number of corrupt politicians and acts will have grown with population increases.  

As for the main reason people break laws, it is to circumvent civil society’s legal conventions to gain a perceived benefit. People commit crimes, big and small, to obtain an advantage. At the lower end, if a driver runs a stop sign, the benefit is to arrive at one’s destination sooner or to proceed ahead of another driver. In more serious cases, people steal and commit fraud for monetary gain. Rapists commit their crimes to satiate a perverse desire for pleasure and dominance. Murderers commit their crimes out of a desire to quench the need for vengeance, to gain financially, or to eliminate a rival. In virtually all cases, criminals commit crimes mainly to gain something they desire.

What happened to Willy after he got a little above Yonkers?

Willy stopped for a cup of coffee a little above Yonkers, a suburban city which is only about two miles north of Manhattan. Willy's territory is all of New England, so he was just barely getting started on his customary sales trip. He tells his wife Linda:

I suddenly couldn't drive any more. The car kept going off onto the shoulder, y'know?

The fact that Willy is driving dangerously foreshadows his death in a faked auto accident so his son Biff could collect his father's life insurance. Willy's whole problem is that he is getting old. He shouldn't be driving at all anymore, much less driving all over the states that make up New England, where there are narrow roads, steep mountains, frequent bad weather conditions, and not a whole lot of money. Willy's exact age is not specified, only that he is "past sixty years of age." 

This incident above Yonkers will have tragic consequences. Willy will decide to ask to be transferred to a territory closer to home. His young boss will refuse, saying that Willy is the company's "New England man," which suggests that Willy has the near-impossible task of covering all of New England by himself. There isn't enough business in those then-thinly-populated states of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island to make it worthwhile to divide up the territory. The interview with Willy's boss turns into a heated argument, and Willy ends up getting fired after devoting so many years of his life to this one company.

Where does a man in his sixties go to find another job? Nowhere. This is the essence of Arthur Miller's message. Capitalism uses up men's lives while they have youth, ambition, confidence, and energy; and then it casts them out in the cold. Willy's death by apparent suicide seems inevitable from the very opening of the play. 

The title Death of a Salesman does not strictly apply to Willy Loman. The term comes up when Willy is talking to his boss Howard, trying to get transferred to a territory closer to home. Willy reminisces about a salesman named Dave Singleman, whom he knew years ago. Singleman was eighty-four, but he was still active as a traveling salesman. Willy got the mistaken idea from this old man that he could make money for himself no matter how old he grew. His idea was that a salesmen could accumulate so many friends on his route that their business would practically fall into his lap. But Singleman was a "single" instance. Willy is washed up in his sixties. Nobody comes to his funeral except for his family and a neighbor.

He describes Singleman's death and funeral as if the old man were a hero.

Do you know? when he died--and by the way he died the death of a salesman, in his green velvet slippers in the smoker of the New York, New Haven and Hartford, going into Boston--when he died, hundreds of salesmen and buyers were at his funeral.

In chapter 23 of "Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks," what U.S department began to require informed consent for research using human subjects?

The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) began to require informed consent for research involving human subjects in the early 1970s. Until this time the attitude had been that since a simple blood draw for research purposes had no direct effect on the person giving the blood, no consent was necessary. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) had guidelines about human subject research that had been put in place in 1966, requiring informed consent; these were updated in 1971 to define further what "informed consent" meant. Before this, people were frequently not fully informed about the full consequences of what their participation in a study meant. Despite the fact that the Nuremberg Code had been instituted after World War II, once the world became aware of the atrocities committed by Nazi doctors, the attitude appeared to be that the guidelines were directed at war criminals and had no application to medical practices in other places. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks discusses various instances of this in addition to the case of the use of the HeLa cells. The infamous Tuskegee Experiment figures in Rebecca Skloot's book. Black men were used as guinea pigs in a study about syphilis, and not given penicillin even after it was found to be effective in curing the disease. Also discussed in Skloot's book were the Southam trials, in which Chester Southam injected HeLa cells into patients to see if the cells were capable of generating cancer.

In The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss, what is Jack bitten by?

In Chapter Four, Jack is attacked by a lobster.  

Wading in a tide pool, he is pinched on the leg by the lobster's sharp claws.  Jack's father drives it off of him, then catches it live.  Jack then wants to hold it.  As soon as he begins holding it, it gives him "such a violent blow on the cheek with its tail, that he let it fall." Jack then takes a stone and kills the lobster.

Technically, he was not bitten but pinched. But both Jack and his father refer to the incident as "biting" in the lines that follow.  Jack says to his brother, "Take care it does not bite you, Francis!", and the father observes that

... he was unjust in being so revengeful, for if [that is, though] he had been bitten by the lobster, it was plain he would have eaten his foe, if he had conquered him.  

We find out that Atticus knows about the incident with Jem's pants in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. How does this affect Scout's perception...

In Chapter 26 of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout begins fantasizing again about daily seeing and conversing with their neighbor Arthur (Boo) Radley. When she unconsciously brings up with her father her desire to see Arthur before she dies, he warns her not to start up that nonsense again and further warns her of the dangers of wandering the Radleys' property since "Mr. Nathan shoots at every shadow he sees." These warnings let Scout know Atticus had known much more about what the children had been up to that summer than he let on to. After she gets the hint, she shuts up and thinks to herself about how she "marveled at Atticus."

One reason why she feels "marveled" is because, like many innocent children are prone to do, she thinks that she, her, brother, and Dill had successfully tricked Atticus into believing they had been up to completely different things; she thinks they had successfully kept a secret from him.

Another reason why she marvels is because she is astonished to see the amount of freedom Atticus has given his children. Rather than punishing them for wrongdoings he is secretly well-aware of, he gives them freedom to make and grow from their own mistakes.

At the same time, Scout still seems to be a bit conflicted in her perceptions of her father. Early in Chapter 4, she reflects that Atticus and Uncle Jack are the smartest people she knows. Yet, in Chapter 26, when she feels perplexed by her third grade teacher's demonstration of hypocrisy by speaking out against Hitler's treatment of the Jews while at the same time supporting unfair treatment of African Americans, Scout decides to talk to her brother about her perplexity, not her father. She starts to explain her problem to Atticus, but then stops, thinking to herself, "Jem understood school things better than Atticus." Unfortunately, Jem does not give the reaction she is expecting, and Atticus must comfort her. Atticus's comfort gives her further opportunity to marvel when he explains the following perceptive point of wisdom that Scout narrates in her own words:

Atticus said that Jem was trying hard to forget something, but what he was really doing was storing it away for a while, until enough time passed. Then he would be able to think about it and sort things out. When he was able to think about it, Jem would be himself again. (Ch. 26)

Hence, all in all, while Scout appreciates her father's perception, intelligence, and compassion and is beginning to marvel at them, she is still young, growing, and getting to know and further appreciate her father. Her youth still makes her feel conflicted about how she perceives her father.

How did the human race evolve? What happened to the skeleton?

Based on the second part of your question, I don't think that you want social and cultural evolutionary changes.  I'll stick with a few changes that have happened specifically to the human skeleton.  

Foot changes: Humans move via bipedal motion.  That means our feet have to have changed in order to maximize the efficiency of that kind of movement.  Our feet have evolved in order to bear the full weight of our bodies.  Other primates still move primarily on four limbs, so their feet are not structured to constantly bear the full load.  A specific structural change that can be seen is an enlarged heel in human skeletons.  Also, humans have much shorter toes than other primates.  That's because our feet are for walking, not for grasping. 

Hip changes: Hip changes have also occurred to further allow humans to walk upright.  Human hips tend to be shorter and broader than other species.  That shape change in turn caused the vertebral column to be located closer to the hips.  

Knee changes: This change reads almost identical to hip changes.  The knee joint is slightly enlarged in order to further allow bipedal walking.  Because all of our weight is distributed on two "platforms," human skeletons have been beefed up in the lower body joint areas to take on the increased load.  

What are Betsy and Amelia arguing about? Does Lyddie agree with either of them?

The argument that your question is asking about occurs in chapter 12 of the book.  There are some minor arguments that occur during this chapter, but the main argument among the three girls deals with the factory and the present working conditions.  Betsy suggests a couple of options.  One option is for the girls to stage a walk out to force better working conditions.  The other option that she is thinking about is signing the petition.  Betsy and Amelia argue over the pros and cons of those ideas, and Lyddie is opposed to both.  At this point in the story, Lyddie is working multiple looms and making a fair amount of money.  A walk out means that she is out of work and a paycheck.  If she signs the petition, she might be black listed from all of the mills.  Again, that would mean no money.  

Today's model of the atom looks different from the models that came before it. Why has the model of the atom changed?

In general, the model of the atom changed as technology advanced and allowed closer observations, and different types of experiments. The ancient Greeks theorized about matter being made of small particles. In 1803 John Dalton proposed the first real atomic theory, which consists of four parts:

1) All matter is made of atoms. Atoms are indivisible and indestructible.

2) All atoms of a given element are identical in mass and properties

3) Compounds are formed by a combination of two or more different kinds of atoms.

4) A chemical reaction is a rearrangement of atoms.

Michael Faraday, using electrodes, theorized that electrical forces held atoms together. Use of cathode ray tubes further refined atomic theory through discovery of basic structure with electrons orbiting a nucleus of protons and neutrons. The discovery of radioactivity allowed study of the energy involved in atomic change. Particle accelerators have helped to lead to the discovery of even more elusive component pieces,such as quarks, leptons, and bosons.

Another theme of Animal Farm is that power corrupts those who possess it. How does Orwell bring out this idea through the character of Napoleon?

The animals rebel and take over the farm. The original intent of this rebellion is to make the lives of the animals better. The goal is for the animals to control their modes and means of production. They will determine their own work schedules and they will reap all of the benefits of their work. This is basic communism and if practically and responsibly applied in this small community, the animals could/should be better off. In the beginning, their lives are better. However, like other historical examples of communism put into practice, their live gradually worsen and the leaders of the acquire too much power. 

Napoleon is a representation of Joseph Stalin, a leader of the Russian Revolution and eventual leader of Russia. He, like Napoleon, increasingly gained more power and the people of Russia (like the animals of the farm) saw living conditions worsen. 

Napoleon becomes more and more like a human. He distances himself from the other animals. This is contrary to Animalism (Communism). The original narrative of the rebellion is to show solidarity and unity among all animals, Napoleon included. But in his increasing desire for power, he clearly demonstrates that he (and some other pigs) require better nourishment and living conditions than the other animals. He raises and instructs nine puppies which will become his secret police, further isolating himself from the other animals. He ousts Snowball from the farm so he can have more power. At the end of Chapter VII, Napoleon has animals executed under the suspicion that they disagree with his policies or have rebellious thoughts. Napoleon also has Squealer occasionally change the tenets of Animalism to suit his growing greed. Each change signifies his increasing power and shows how the Animal Rebellion has gone further and further from its original intentions. 

How does a business overcome the limitations of budget control?

The essence of budget control is to impose limitations on a business entity to ensure a company remains viable in its market space. Budget controls are put in place so a company does not operate at a loss and so it can have the cash flow it needs to implement its growth initiatives to build more sales, more profits, more market share, and more customers.

However, a business can overcome some of the limitations of budget control. It can do so buy thinking creatively and innovatively. Hence, it strives to operate within the limitations of budget control, while at the same time streamlining its operations so that operating costs are reduced, gross profit is enhanced, and ultimately, some or all of the budget controls can be lifted to permit the entity to once again aggressively pursue sales without strict monetary constraints on them.

A business can overcome some of the limitations of budget control in the following three ways:

1. Using existing resources more efficiently

 

Budget constraints means a business may not have the funds to buy more equipment, machinery, land, and plants (regarding manufacturing entities). In addition, businesses of any type, because of budget limitations, may not be able to hire any more employees or give extra hours to existing employees. Therefore, these businesses must do more with what they do have. This means extracting more value from their existing staff. It means extracting more value from their physical assets.

Maybe a company’s manufacturing facility, because of inefficiencies or poor planning, or poor management, is not operating at optimum capacity. Maybe there is a lot of waste in the system. The company must use its existing resources better to drive growth. The company can grow sales and profits with its existing resources without spending more. Efficiency of operations is the key here.

 

2. Seeking Professional Opinions from Industry Experts

 

Businesses, especially neophytes, may put in place budget controls, but not the right ones. They may need advice from seasoned industry experts who can analyze their business and help them put the right budget controls in place. Sure, they will have to pay the consultant(s), but their Return on Investment (ROI) from this may well be worth it in the long run.

For example, a business may limit expenditures on employee hours. Depending on the industry, this may be a wrong strategy. In retail, it may mean less employee hours devoted to customer service, and display and merchandising. Therefore, these budget limitations may actually hurt the company.

An expert consultant can help a new business especially, by possibly saying that employee hours should not be cut. A consultant may suggest that the company cut some of its inventory and advertising budget, while maintaining its wages and salaries budget to maintain a high level of customer service. Cutting the inventory budget so there is not a lot of ‘sleeping stock’ in the back room collecting dust may be the better budget constraint to put in place.

 

3. Analyzing its completion to better align themselves with very successful companies

Companies can overcome the limitations of budget control through performing quality due diligence on their operations and then doing the same on the operations of their competitors. In this way, a company measures their performance, strategies, and programs against those in their niche. They may notice inefficiencies in certain of their departments as compared to their competitors.

They can subsequently tweak their operations for greater effectiveness - and this they can often do within their existing budget. Consequently, they improve their operations and eventually (because of increased sales and profits) may be able to increase their operating budgets and aggressively pursue programs designed for growth.

What does the check mean in A Raisin in the Sun?

At the beginning of the play, the characters keep referencing a check that is supposed to be arriving the next day.  The audience learns that this check is a life insurance check, and it's coming because Mama recently lost her husband, Walter Sr.  The check is worth $10,000, quite a large sum for this poor family that lives on Chicago's Southside.  

This check is the center and symbol for each of the family members' dreams.  For Mama, she dreams of a house where her family can grow and flourish.  Currently, she, her daughter Beneatha, her son Walter, her daughter-in-law Ruth, and their son Travis all live together in a very small apartment.  Because of the cramped living conditions and because of their poverty, Mama and the audience see the deterioration of Walter and Ruth's marriage, and Mama wants more for them and for her grandson.

For Walter, the check represents a chance to be a man, the leader of the family.  Walter wants to use the money as a downpayment on a liquor store, which he thinks will make him big money.  For Walter, money means power and respect.  Currently, he is a chauffeur for a wealthy white family, and Walter idolizes that family because he thinks they "have it all."  So the money would mean the American Dream for Walter.

For Beneatha, the money would mean a college education and a chance to create an identity for herself.  Currently Beneatha is the only adult in the household who is not working to support the family.  She is trying to attend medical school, but really, that is just one step in trying to find out who she is supposed to be--her identity.  

For Ruth, that money would just mean happiness for her family that seems to be falling apart.  While Ruth does not have specific plans for the money like the other main characters, she thinks that the money can make the other three happy in their endeavors.  That dream is complicated, however, when the audience discovers in Act I, scene II, that Ruth is pregnant.  Because of the family's poverty, Ruth feels she must give up the baby in order to keep the family together.  That $10,000 could mean the opportunity to keep the baby.

In Chapter 15, why do the men finally leave Atticus and Tom alone?

In Chapter 15, Tom Robinson has been moved to the town jail.  He is not being detained there; rather, he is placed there for his own protection.  Atticus decides to further shield Tom from potential mob violence by sitting on the door step of the jail, blocking the entrance.

This turns out to be a smart move, as a mob does, indeed, converge on the jail.  What Atticus doesn't count on, however, is that Jem, Scout, and Dill -- all of whom have followed him to the jail -- also appear on the scene.

The men in the mob have their hats pulled down and their distinguishing features covered.  Even so, Scout spots and recognizes Walter Cunningham, the father of her classmate and a former client of her father's.  When she strikes up a conversation about Walter's son, Walter feels ashamed that he has been confronting Atticus as part of the mob, and he convinces the mob to leave.

Who's death was more tragic in 'Of Mice and Men'? Lennie or Curley's Wife? Please provide relevant quotes or events.

While anyone's early death is tragic, the reader may have particular sympathy for Lennie, especially since he and George and Candy were on the verge of realizing the dream of owning their own farm.

Curley's wife is referred to throughout the novel as a tart, a tramp and a floozy. She seemed to be forever trying to tempt the men on the ranch. Because of her flirtations her husband is jealous and often flies into a rage over not being able to find his wife. Even on a ranch with working men, Curley's wife dresses as the seductress. In chapter two, when George and Lennie first meet her she is described:

She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers.

Lennie is child-like and obsessively drawn to soft and brightly colored things. We find out in chapter three that he and George had to run away from a previous job when Lennie grabbed a girl's red dress. The episode foreshadows the scene in the barn when Lennie begins stroking Curley's wife's hair. Although she has invited Lennie to touch her she suddenly recoils and screams. Lennie becomes confused and, because he doesn't know his own strength, accidentally breaks her neck. While it is tragic, the reader may also assume that Curley's wife played with fire by interacting with Lennie. In her defense, however, she is terribly lonely and Lennie is the only man on the farm who will pay attention to her.

Lennie, on the other hand, doesn't deserve to die. Even though he is simple minded and often does "bad things" Lennie is described as being basically a good person. In chapter three Slim says,

“He’s a nice fella,” said Slim. “Guy don’t need no sense to be a nice fella. Seems to me sometimes it jus’ works the other way around. Take a real smart guy and he ain’t hardly ever a nice fella.” 

Lennie's death is symbolic of Steinbeck's theme that nothing will ever work out for George and Lennie, hence the title of the book. Just as it looks like the dream will materialize with the money which Candy will contribute, everything falls apart. In chapter five, after finding Curley's wife, George says,

“—I think I knowed from the very first. I think I know’d we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would.”

Thus, Lennie's death is also tragic for George and Candy who will never go off to the perceived paradise of the farm. Candy is destined to spend the rest of his life swamping out the bunkhouse and George will travel from place to place, drinking whiskey and sitting all night in a poolroom. 

How would spring tides be affected if the moon were in perigee during the full or new moon?

Spring tides are a periodic phenomenon that occurs when the sun, moon and Earth are aligned. If you drew a radial line outward from the sun, it would pass through the center of both the Earth and the moon during the spring tide. This can be accomplished in two ways; the moon can be between the Earth and sun, or the Earth can be between the moon and sun. The former circumstance would naturally produce stronger tides than the latter, as the sun and moon are both pulling in the same direction, whereas the latter occurrence would still produce higher than normal tides, but not so high as the sun-moon-earth alignment.

The perigee is the point in an object's orbit where it is at its closest point to the body that it orbits. More properly speaking, the "gee" in perigee implies that the central body is the Earth, and so anything orbiting the Earth with any degree of eccentricity will have a perigee (and its counterpart, an apogee). Normally the suffix would change depending on the central body - for example, something orbiting the sun should have a perihelion rather than a perigee for that relationship, but sometimes the term perigee is used a bit loosely.

The perigee would result in the gravitational force being stronger than at any other time in the object's orbit. You can demonstrate this through the use of Newton's Gravitational formula; F = G(mM/r^2), where the force increases exponentially as the distance (r) decreases. 

If the perigee coincided with the spring tide, then the tide would be even higher than a normal spring tide, but the extra height would be on whichever side the moon is, because its gravitational force is what has changed the most.

Describe the reaction mechanism of a SN 2 - reaction for example the reaction of a hydroxide ion (OH -) (nucleophilic) reacts with a molecule of...

An SN2 reaction is a common reaction in organic chemistry, which is chemistry involving compounds formed with the element carbon.  In this reaction, two reacting species are involved, so the term SN2 is used, meaning "substitution nucleophilic 2". 

This reaction involves the bromide ion (Br-) being replaced by the electronegative hydroxide ion (OH-).  The attack usually occurs at an unhindered carbon atom on the methyl group.  The old bond between the carbon and the bromine is broken, while the new bond between the carbon and the hydroxide group is established.  Both these bonds are covalent in nature, meaning the electron is shared between the two groups.

In this reaction, the methyl group (CH3+) is the electrophilic part of the equation, as it needs an electron to complete the balance between the charges.  The hydroxide group (OH-) is the nucleophilic part of the equation, as it has a need to balance the negative charge on it.  The hydroxide group serves as the attacker, substituting for the bromide (Br-).  The product would be methanol (CH3OH) and bromide (Br-) in aqueous solution.

The reaction would look like this:

H3CBr  +  -OH  ----->  H3C+  (-Br)  +  -OH

H3COH  +  -Br (aqueous)

In statistics if we're having an ogive graph what will be put in the X and Y axis? Is it the ? Class Mark? Class boundaries? Or Class Interval?

An ogive is also called the cumulative frequency graph. It is important to note that there two types of ogive curves.

1. Less Than Ogive: This is the less than, the cumulative frequencies are in ascending order, meaning the cumulative frequency for each class is plotted against the upper limit of each class interval.

2. More Than Ogive: This type is the opposite of the aforementioned type of ogive. The cumulative frquencies are in descending order and the cumulative frequency of each class is plotted against the lower limit of class interval

To answer the question: 

Plot on the y axis: Cumulative frequency, it does not matter if it is the 'less than' or 'more than'. (Always read the question and make sure you can do both and be consitent)

Plot on the x axis: Class interval, if you are using the more than method use the lower limits of the class interval and vice versa for the less than method.

What are some things that prove that Harper Lee believed that the human nature is often good?

There are several ways that Harper Lee shows that she has a strong belief in the goodness of people.  Making Atticus such an honorable, courageous character really exemplifies her eagerness to show how one can give respect to all people through their actions.  She also shows the goodness in people through some minor characters.  Heck Tate, the sheriff, decides not to charge Boo Radley for the murder of Bob Ewell because he feels that the murder is, in a sense, poetic justice for what happened to Tom Robinson.  He also realizes that it would be extremely traumatic for Boo Radley to be arrested and put on trial for defending Scout and Jem. 

Mr. Underwood, the owner of the town newspaper, also shows his compassion for Tom Robinson when he writes an editorial condemning what happened to Tom.  In the article, he says that it is a sin to kill a “cripple” like Tom.  We see his goodness through the way he stands up for Tom despite the possible backlash it could cost him. 

We also see the goodness of people when Scout and Jem are welcomed into Calpurnia’s all black church.  Even though blacks are prevented from attending white churches, the black congregation open their hearts to the children and accept their presence at the service. 

Another character who shows his innate goodness is Tom Robinson who decides to help Mayella Ewell because he feels sorry for her even though it is dangerous for him to do so. 

And, of course, there is Boo who shows his goodness through his love for Scout and Jem.

Where does Mrs. Jones work in "Thank You M'am"?

Mrs. Jones works in the beauty-shop of a hotel, a shop that stays open late to serve all classes of women with different types of hair. This shop is convenient for those who do not have regular day jobs. 

After she has invited him to her living quarters and fixed a meal for Roger, Mrs. Jones talks to him in a casual and friendly manner, revealing much about herself--even the fact that she has done things of which she is quite ashamed. By doing so, Mrs. Jones humbles herself and reveals herself to him as no one "special," yet she is still a decent and honest person. In this way Mrs. Jones models for Roger, showing him that ordinary people are honest and work for what they own.
As she talks, Mrs. Jones becomes more and more real to Roger, and he grows ashamed of his intentions to steal from her. Now, he views her as a warm and caring woman, and he is ashamed that he has tried to take money from a woman who must survive on her own, performing manual labor for little pay. Yet, before he leaves, Mrs. Jones demonstrates true Christian charity as she gives him some of her hard-earned money:

“Now, here, take this ten dollars and buy yourself some blue suede shoes. And next time, do not make the mistake of latching onto my pocketbook nor nobody else’s—because shoes come by devilish like that will burn your feet."

Moved by the kindness and love freely given to him, Roger can do little more than murmur "Thank you, m'am" before she closes her door after urging him to behave himself. 

"Man's inhumanity to man is often for the sake of political gain." Can anyone tell me any events (more than one) that happen in the novella Animal...

The clearest evidence of man's inhumanity to man occurs in Chapter Five of Animal Farm when Napoleon runs Snowball off the farm during a public debate about the windmill. Sensing his impending defeat, Napoleon resorts to violence (inhumanity) to advance his position (political gain) on the farm:

At this there was a terrible baying sound outside, and nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn. They dashed straight for Snowball, who only sprang from his place just in time to escape their snapping jaws.

This violent reaction ensures that Snowball does not return to the farm and also makes the animals terrified of Napoleon:

Silent and terrified, the animals crept back to the barn.

From now on, Napoleon knows that violence will succeed in keeping any opposition at bay. In this respect, his inhumanity leads directly to political gain.

Another example of this quote comes later, in Chapter Seven, when Napoleon deceives Whymper about the state of affairs on the farm. Though the animals are almost starving, Napoleon wants Whymper to think that the farm is prosperous and he uses a number of deceptive tactics to make him believe this, like filling grain bins with sand so that they appear full. This example shows that Napoleon would rather fool Whymper (and gain politically) than end his inhumanity to the other animals by improving the farm's productivity.

To what does Ray Bradbury compare the conversation of the ladies in his novel Fahrenheit 451?

Mildred has her friends Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowles over to watch the parlor walls one night. Montag is finishing up dinner when they come to the door, and he describes Mildred's responding behavior "like a native fleeing an eruption of Vesuvius." Then, when the visitors come through the door and head to the parlor, he describes their conversation "like a monstrous crystal chandelier tinkling in a thousand chimes" (93). This means that their talk is high-pitched and meaningless, such as one might hear from a chandelier hanging above the heads of people at a party. The partygoers can hear it, but it means nothing. He also compares their smiles to the Cheshire Cat and describes their talk as "screaming" above the sounds permeating from the three TVs in the parlor.

Montag decides to unplug the walls and put an end to the women's TV-watching. With nothing left to do but talk, that's what happens. Unfortunately, Montag is so disappointed in the selfishness the women show when discussing their husbands and children that he feels they are completely clueless to their own plight. He describes these women as clueless as the strange faces that he once saw painted inside of a church he had visited as a child. As he searched the paintings of saints in the church, he found nothing to help fill the emptiness and void of life therein. This is how Montag feels about the ladies' conversation at the moment, too—empty and void of feeling or purpose. The description from the text is as follows:

"But there was nothing, nothing; it was a stroll through another store, and his currency strange and unusable there, and his passion cold" (95).

As shown and discussed above, the ladies are clueless about how selfish and void of humanity they are. Montag compares them to paintings of saints in a church that have the likeness of humanity, but lack the heart required to qualify them as humans. He thinks they might as well be inanimate paintings on a wall instead of using up time and space with their empty existence.

What are the similarities in the nature of the bacteriologist and the anarchist in the story 'The Stolen Bacillus' by H.G. Wells?

I feel that the greatest similarity between the bacteriologist and the anarchist in H.G. Wells's "The Stolen Bacillus" is the similarity in their opinions and attitudes toward science.  Specifically, both men seem to know and understand that scientific inquiry and work has incredibly powerful applications in the real world.  Both men know and understand what could happen if a virulent strain of some disease made its way into the general population of a large city.  

"And yet those little particles, those mere atomies, might multiply and devastate a city!"

Both men are in awe of the destructive power of something so microscopically small.  Both men also respect the dangerous little microbes that are being worked on in the lab.  Beyond that though, the similarities stop.  The bacteriologist admits that he would love to see all of the bacteria destroyed. 

"I wish, for my own part, we could kill and stain every one of them in the universe."

The anarchist, on the hand, would use the bacteria to destroy human populations.  

What are the techniques used in The Bear by Anton Chekhov?

One of the major techniques used in Chekhov's The Bear is that it is a farce, meaning it is a play with comedy. It combines many different kinds of humor, which makes the play interesting.

As a play, it does have some slapstick comedy much like television shows like The Three Stooges or movies like Dumb and Dumber. Smirnov, called "The Bear" by Elena, keeps trying to sit in chairs only to have them break. He curses out the furniture, wondering what could possibly be wrong with it.

And overly dramatic servant also adds to the humor. He is told to get rid of Smirnov, but cannot because he is afraid of the angry man. Other humor includes the relationship between Smirnov and Elena. They hate each other, and yet somehow through that hate fall in love as could only happen in a comedy. He realizes it when he is thinking of shooting her. "She is a woman! That's the sort I can understand! A real woman! Not a sour-faced jellybag, but fire, gunpowder, a rocket! I'm even sorry to have to kill her!" (Chekhov).

Obviously one of the more comedic scenes is when Smirnov is insulted and challenges Elena to a duel, which she accepts. In those days, it would be unheard of for a woman to duel, let alone duel against a man. She agrees to the duel, and then says "Here are the pistols.... But before we fight you must show me how to fire. I've never held a pistol in my hands before" (Chekhov).

The fact that Smirnov is there to collect money owed for the oats he sells is also used as humorous. When Elena realizes why he wants money, she calls for the servants to give her horse extra oats, thus rubbing it in. But in the end, when they have gone from hate to love, she calls to the servant, "Luka, tell them in the stables that Toby isn't to have any oats at all to-day" (Chekhov).

For more information, check out the link.

What are themes that can be seen in Chapter 2 of The Reluctant Fundamentalist?

Changez's desire to belong is a theme in the second chapter of The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

When Changez describes his first interactions with Erica, he emphasizes the importance of belonging.  In the first chapter, Changez articulated what it meant for him to "belong" to the vision of America.  In the second, he finds it on a personal level with Erica.  There is a fondness that defines his first memories with Erica.  They reflect someone who has found true love and is exploring its halcyon days.  The details about how she "sipped" at his recollections of life in Pakistan and then found them to "her taste" as well as the physical descriptions of her reveal that he enjoyed the emotional closeness between them. When he shares about how they walked together or how excited she was to see Urdu in his notebook, Changez reveals the happiness he experienced at belonging with another person.  There is a sense of nostalgia with which he retells the memories:  "I had struck up an acquaintance with a woman with whom I was well and truly smitten, and my excitement about the adventures my new life held for me had never been more pronounced."  These memories show how Changez valued belonging and they reflect the importance of this theme to his narrative. 

Describe in words what happens to the chromosomes (or chromatids) in each phase of the eukaryotic cell cycle.

The DNA content of a cell can be described using the following terms:

• 
  Haploid (n): The term haploid describes the number of different types of chromosomes in a cell. Human cells contain 23 different types of chromosomes. So, for human cells, n =23.

• 
  Diploid (2n): The term diploid describes a cell that has two copies of each type of chromosome. Since a haploid human cell contains 23 different types of chromosomes, a diploid human cell would contain 23 pairs of chromosomes for a total of 46 chromosomes. So, for human cells, 2n = 46.

The eukaryotic cell cycle is divided into four phases:

• 
  Gap 1 (G1): During the G1 phase, cells are diploid (2n). So, in human cells there are 23 pairs of chromosomes in each cell. Each chromosome has one set of chromatids.

• 
  Synthesis (S): During the S phase, each chromosome replicates its DNA. Each chromosome now contains two sets of chromatids. So, in human cells, there are still 23 pairs of chromosomes, but each chromosome is now composed of two complete copies of itself held together by the centromere. This means the cell now has a DNA content equal to 4n.
  

• 
  Gap (G2): During the G2 phase, the DNA content of the cell remains at 4n. Therefore, in humans, there are still 23 pairs of chromosomes with two sets of chromatids.

• 
  Mitosis (M): During mitosis (M), the chromosomes condense and prepare for cell division. The DNA content remains at 4n until cell division. When the cell divides, the two sets of chromatids on each chromosome split apart and are given to the daughter cells. Each daughter cell now has 23 pairs of chromosomes, each consisting of one set of chromatids. This means that the DNA content of the daughter cells is now back to 2n.

Where were Malcolm X's parents from ?

On May 29, 1925, the civil rights activist Malcolm X was born in Omaha Nebraska. His birth name was Malcolm Little.  His father, Earl Little, who was a disciple of Marcus Garvey, was born in Reynolds, Georgia, United States. Earl was an outspoken Baptist minister who was heavily involved in black nationalist causes.  His mother, Louise Helen Little, was born in Grenada La Digue, St. Andrew, Grenada.

Malcolm lost his father at age 6 to mysterious circumstances. His mother was committed to a mental home at when Malcolm was 13. From that point, Malcolm grew up in a number of foster homes and was basically an orphan. Earl's untimely death had a profound effect on Malcolm Little.  It can be considered as a motive for his black nationalist position as a civil rights leader.

What are the opinions of others about Mrs. Hutchinson?

Tessie Hutchinson is a well known and fully accepted member of the community. She seems to be on good terms with everybody until her husband Bill draws the slip with the black spot for the Hutchinson family. Then a change takes place in Tessie, and a comparable change takes place in the opinions and attitudes among her assembled friends and neighbors. Even her husband's attitude changes towards her when she starts making an embarrassing scene and threatening to disrupt this age-old community ritual. 

Suddenly. Tessie Hutchinson shouted to Mr. Summers. "You didn't give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn't fair!"
"Be a good sport, Tessie." Mrs. Delacroix called, and Mrs. Graves said, "All of us took the same chance."
"Shut up, Tessie," Bill Hutchinson said.

From this point on Mrs. Hutchinson seems like an outsider even in her own community; and when it turns out that she has drawn the black spot, she seems like an outsider even to the members of her family. Little Davie Hutchinson has no idea what is going on, but the two older children are only thinking about themselves.

Mr. Graves opened the slip of paper [for little Davie] and there was a general sigh through the crowd as he held it up and everyone could see that it was blank. Nancy and Bill. Jr.. opened theirs at the same time. and both beamed and laughed. turning around to the crowd and holding their slips of paper above their heads.

Nancy and Bill, Jr. both beam and laugh, although they should realize that their escape narrows the chances down to their mother or father. What is happening to Tessie would presumably happen to any other member of the community if his or her prospects for drawing the black spot increased from one in about three hundred to one in five and then to one in two. Tessie has become a different person under the stress, and her friends and neighbors seem to see and hear a different person. Just as they see her as a different person, she sees all of them as different persons too. They are withdrawing from her while she continues to beg for their attention. 

Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her. "It isn't fair," she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head.

Tessie has finally become a non-person. Nobody cares about her at all. She is just a target. They may wish she would stop making such a racket and just hold still. The narrator doesn't say what her family members are doing, but presumably they are all participating in the stoning--even little Davie, who has been given a few pebbles to throw at his mother.

How does Gilead end?

Quite simply, Gilead ends with the character of Ames finding awe and wonder in the context of his life’s memories. Ames is remembering (and evaluating) his past while he does lots of thinking about both his father and grandfather. (Ames’ grandfather was quite warlike while his father was peaceful.) As he struggles, Ames ends his thoughts with forgiveness even as he thinks about the new perceived threat in Jack (who is perceived by Ames as the prodigal son). Ames continues to find joy and grace as he cares for the people in his flock and especially in the love that comes from his wife. In the last moments of the book, Ames contemplates the beauty in life, especially in regards to the observation of ordinary things. Among other things, Ames remembers his son swinging on a rope swing in ultimate happiness, Soapy (the cat) stretching itself in the sun, and the light of the sunrise filling the church sanctuary. Therefore, in addition to finally giving Jack his blessing, Ames ultimately accepts his own mortality with peace and grace.

Which Native American groups did the Europeans encounter in South America?

Many indigenous groups existed in South American when the Europeans first arrived. 

The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, described in some detail by Diamond, began in 1532 when a small group of Spaniards led by Francisco Pizarro won Battle of Cajamarca. Part of the reason for this success was that the Inca were engaged in a civil war at the time. After a long period of fighting, the Spaniards finally subdued the Inca Empire in 1572, and established a colonial region encompassing much of modern Peru. 

Another major indigenous empire encountered by the Spaniards was the Aztec Empire, which occupied the central area of what is now Mexico. The Spanish leader Hernán Cortés and many native allies who supported him began the assault on the Aztecs in 1519 and were victorious in 1521.

The Mayan kingdoms of the Yucatán Peninsula of southeastern Mexico were conquered more gradually over the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. 

Describe how the plasma membrane controls what goes into and comes out of a cell.

The plasma membrane envelops a cell and provides a kind of barrier for substances to go into and out of the cell. The plasma membrane is composed of a lipid bilayer (that means two layers). This bilayer has many proteins and carbohydrates attached to one of the two sides (intracellular or extracellular). The main physicochemical properties of the plasma membrane are dictated by the large amount of lipids present. Small lipophilic substances (those that are soluble in lipids) will generally pass through the membrane and diffuse in or out of the cell with some ease. On the other hand, hydrophilic substances (charged substances that are soluble in water, but generally not soluble in lipids, such as ions) will generally not be able to go through the cell membrane. Some of the proteins that are in the membrane also form a kind of pore that allows specific ions and other hydrophilic substances to diffuse in or out of the cells. These proteins are generally called channels or transporters and, depending on their nature, allow for the movement of specific ions (such as K+, Ca+2, etc) or other more complex molecules, including certain drugs or glucose. The movement of these compounds in and out of the cell occurs in a highly regulated fashion.

Write a dialogue between George and Slim just after George has shot Lennie. Express the thoughts and feelings of both characters on the event, as...

I cannot provide you with a dialogue. However, what I can do is provide you with guidance and tips in building an authentic and persuasive dialogue that truly replicates each man's characterization and continues to build on themes from the novella. 

• George: George is a man whose relationship with Lennie has been incredibly complicated. As a result, he will not immediately jump to the conclusion that he has done the right or wrong thing; Lennie's presence was so complicated that removing his presence will be equally complicated. Likewise, George is paradoxically practical and idealistic. He constantly talks about doing "what must be done" and working hard to confront the reality he lives in. Simultaneously, he cares for an intellectually disabled man out of loyalty and love and continues to believe in his American Dream. 


• Slim: Slim is a good man but one of few words. As a good leader who is observant and thoughtful, he will not rush to judgment of George. However, he won't effusively comfort him either. 


• Themes: A major theme of this work is the American Dream. As the men discuss the future, it would be wise to continue to evoke this theme. 

In Tagore's "The Postmaster," how does Ratan feel and react when the postmaster says that he will leave the village?

In Rabindranath Tagore's story "The Postmaster," Ratan takes care of the little town's postmaster.

Ratan, an orphan girl of the village...did odd jobs for him.

Ratan is very upset to hear that the postmaster is leaving. Though this young girl has served him and even cared for him while he was so sick, he waits until the day before his departure to tell her that he is returning to his home in Calcutta.

Ratan asks two questions: where is he going and when will he return? He informs her that he will leave the next day and will not be returning. She says no more but goes to prepare his meal. When she is finished making his dinner, she asks if he would take her to his new home. Without thought to his callous response, he says:

What an idea!

The concept of such a thing, for the postmaster, is absurd—though he does not take the time to explain it to her.

Ratan sleeps that night, "haunted" by the postmaster's response. Still, the next day she gets up early and draws many containers of water for his bath. The reader learns that the postmaster has often spoken harshly to her, but Ratan still cares deeply for this man she calls "Dada." When he offers to speak to the next postmaster on her behalf so the new man will take care of her (and believing that he is showing her a kindness), Ratan becomes deeply distressed:

No, no, you need not tell anybody anything at all about me; I don't want to stay on here.

The postmaster has no sense of how deeply she is hurt, so he cannot understand her behavior.

Just as the postmaster is ready to leave, he tries to give Ratan part of his monthly salary so she can take care of herself for a time, but she will not take it:

"Oh, Dada, I pray you, don't give me anything, don't in any way trouble about me," and then she ran away out of sight.

Even after he has left, Ratan walks around the postoffice, overcome by tears, hoping somehow that the postmaster will one day return to her. The narrator points out that this will never happen.

What does Holden like about Jane Gallagher in The Catcher in the Rye?

In The Catcher in the Rye, Jane's one trait that Holden continually talks about is her habit of keeping all of her kings in the back row while playing checkers. This is just symbolic of the larger reason why Holden likes Jane: he sees her as an individual, not just a sex object.

Contrast Holden's feelings about Jane with Stradlater's. When Holden keeps asking his roommate whether he asked Jane if she still keeps her "kings in the back row," Stradlater responds, "What the hell ya think we did all night—play checkers, for Chrissake?" Holden then begins to obsess with the date Jane goes on with Stradlater and worries he gave her the "time" in the back of Ed Banky's car.

There are many other characteristics Holden likes about Jane. He likes that she can hold hands during a movie "and wouldn't quit until the movie was over. And without changing position or making a big deal out of it." He even talks about how she, like him, seems to be a bit broken, as she suggests her stepfather might be abusive, sexually or otherwise. 

For Holden, Jane is genuine, while his other love interest, Sally Hayes, is phony and into all the things adults say you have to have in order to be successful. 

Why is Farrington unable to concentrate on his work in "Counterparts"?

In the story, Farrington is supposed to copy by hand some written materials for the lawyers he works for. It's boring work, so it'd be hard for anybody to focus on it, but Farrington in particular can't seem to concentrate on his work because he's distracted by thoughts of rage (mostly directed at his boss, who just got through chastising him and making him feel worthless) and by cravings for alcohol. Farrington is probably not only dehydrated but also affected by a strong physical need for the drinks that his brain is addicted to.

Even while Farrington is still standing in his boss's office, having been yelled at, this is what he's experiencing:

"A spasm of rage gripped his throat for a few moments and then passed, leaving after it a sharp sensation of thirst. The man recognised the sensation and felt that he must have a good night's drinking."

After this, Farrington sits down at his desk and makes a sincere effort to begin working, but he's overcome again by thirst, and he sneaks out of the office for a drink.

Later, he tries again to focus on his task, but he's embarrassed (having just been chided in front of some clients by the clerk) as well as out of breath from running up the stairs, and ever-so-slightly tipsy from the drink he just consumed. He tries to write again, but his mind is foggy and he gets frustrated with his own errors:

"He longed to execrate aloud, to bring his fist down on something violently. He was so enraged that he wrote Bernard Bernard instead of Bernard Bodley and had to begin again on a clean sheet."

The smell of a client's perfume, as well as thoughts of where he would go drinking later that evening, also cloud Farrington's mind and distract him from the work at hand. His boss then calls him in for another round of castigation, which physically draws Farrington away from his work--and just when he tries to write again, he realizes he'll fail to meet his deadline, and he's overcome by despair:

"He felt savage and thirsty and revengeful, annoyed with himself and with everyone else. Mr. Alleyne would never give him an hour's rest; his life would be a hell to him."

In "Just Lather, That's All," how does the captain's recollection of the "lesson" he taught the townspeople compare to the barber's?

In "Just Lather, That's All," the "lesson" refers to the capture and murder of four rebels by the captain and his men. The captain then ordered everyone in the town to go to the school to see the hanging bodies of these rebels.

The barber saw this as a brutal display of the captain's capability for violence. In fact, the barber refers to it as "imaginative" because it of the depravity involved: the rebels were stripped naked, and the captain allowed his men to use certain parts of their bodies for "target practice."

In contrast, Captain Torres looks back on this "lesson" with an apparent fondness and even refers to it as a "fine show." For him, killing the rebels in this way is all part of the lesson because it is designed to act as a deterrent against working with the revolutionaries.

In Dylan Thomas' "The Ballad of the Long-Legged Bait," what is he talking about?

The poem is an allegory on death and salvation told in the story of a fishing boat.  The boat leaves shore and makes its way through a storm.  There are many mythological and religious references sprinkled through the poem, along with great visual imagery of the ship being tossed about on the waves as the storm becomes worse.

Don't assume that Thomas inserts any words simply for how they sound.  The sound of the language is important, but Thomas worked and re-worked his poems so that every word has a purpose.

Lucifer is a religious reference.  According to the Biblical book of Isaiah, Lucifer was one of three archangels in Heaven who fell out of grace with God when he attempted to take authority from God.  Lucifer already had beauty, wisdom, strength, power -- but he wanted more and wanted everything God had.  In his efforts, he fell out of favor and was cast out of Heaven.  Thomas makes the reference here to suggest the loss of qualities that we consider favorable.  The stanza continues to say Lucifer is dropping "out of the sides of the north."  The "sides of the north" is another Biblical reference from Isaiah that suggests God's holy temple (Isaiah Ch. 14).  In that Chapter, there are many references to the "great depths" below, which match the symbolism that Thomas uses in his poem.  The depths of the ocean beneath the fishing boat are analogous to the great depths of Hell to which Lucifer has fallen.  When Lucifer "drops out of the sides of the north," he has fallen away from God's favor and is cast into Hell. 

Venus is a mythological reference.  She was the Roman god of love, and the mother of cupid.  According to mythology, she was playing with Cupid's arrows one day and accidentally wounded herself with one.  Cupid's arrows had the power to make a person fall in love, so the line "Venus lies star-struck in her wound" suggests the overpowering strength of love.  The "sensual ruins" -- or anything "sensual" -- refer to our human body, which is weak in comparison to the power of death, of love, of the vast ocean. 

The final line of this passage, "White springs in the dark," suggests the lightning of the storm, but could also be a reference to light showing the way through darkness.  Hope.  Vision.  Redemption and resurrection.  In the midst of all this trouble, turmoil, the depths of Hell and the depths of the ocean, there is hope as "White springs in the dark."

What is the effect of the narrator in "There Will Come Soft Rains"?

The effect of the reportorial voice of the third-person narrator in Ray Bradbury's "There Will Come Soft Rains" is one of a mere presentation of fact without any emotional elements. Thus, it is impersonal and uncaring, imitative of the automatized house itself that no longer has any human occupants, but continues to function until it burns.

Since the technologically automated house cannot be aware of any differences, it continues as it has been programmed, and the narrator chronicles its operations objectively without any attention to the disaster that has caused the loss of the human occupants. This dispassionate voice draws the reader to the meaninglessness of the operations within the house now that it is unoccupied as it merely records the operations of its own programming.

With the same reportorial voice, the narrator describes the fire which consumes the house. And, senselessly the house still announces the time:

...when each clock strikes the hour insanely before or after the other, a scene of maniac confusion, yet unity...And one voice, with sublime disregard for the situation, read poetry aloud in the fiery study, until all the...wire withered and the circuits cracked.

Again, the same tone of voice reports this devastation as the voice that announces the date to the charred rubble and dead people: "Today is August 5, 2026, today is August 5, 2026, today is...." This voice indicates the insignificance of everything to an oblivious universe.

What happens to Miss Sullivan's character during The Story of My Life by Helen Keller?

The Story of My Life is Helen Keller's autobiography.  She wrote the book to record the events of her life up until she was in her early twenties and in college.  Annie Sullivan arrived in Alabama to be Helen's teacher and companion when Helen was six-years-old.  This time period means that only about fifteen years of Annie Sullivan's life are covered in the book, which I detail below.

Anne Mansfield Sullivan was sent to Alabama from the Perkins Institution for the Blind in Boston.  Helen described the day that Annie Sullivan arrived as "the most important day [she could] remember in all [her] life."  Ms. Sullivan was determined to teach and train Helen.  She found this challenge to be more than she had expected because of Helen's extreme stubbornness.  After many attempts to teach Helen the manual alphabet by fingerspelling into her palm, they had a breakthrough moment.  One day, Annie Sullivan led Helen to a water pump and let the water flow over her student's hand while spelling the word into her palm.  Helen described that moment in her autobiography, saying that she "knew then that 'w-a-t-e-r' meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over [her] hand."  From this time on, Helen became an eager learner.  Miss Sullivan was Helen's teacher and her companion.  She accompanied Helen as she travelled, met famous people, and attended school.  Annie Sullivan supported Helen and continued to communicate with her using the manual alphabet while Helen went to high school and college.

In Antigone, what are examples of human vs. human and human vs. society conflicts?

In the opening scene of Sophocles's drama, the discussion between Antigone and Ismene reveals different examples of conflict.

As the drama opens, both sisters are struggling with the law that Creon has passed.  The edict forbids a proper burial for their brother, Polynices.  A restriction against his receiving proper rites has become the law of the land.  Antigone's insistence on challenging this law demonstrates a human vs. society conflict. Antigone represents this conflict in her willingness to break the law to honor what she feels is right and just:   

Be whatever you want, and I will bury him.
It seems fair to me to die doing it.
I will lie dear to him, with one dear to me,
a holy outlaw, since I must please those
below a longer time than people here,
for I shall lie there forever. You, though,
dishonor the gods' commands, if you wish.

Antigone's declaration to her sister about her purpose in burying her brother represents her conflict with society's expectation.  It is for this reason that she calls herself a "holy outlaw."  She refers to herself this way because she knows that her actions will break society's laws, with which she is in conflict.  Antigone is further fomenting a conflict with society because she is challenging the social expectation for women.  When Antigone initially tells Ismene of her plans to honor their brother, Ismene says that she does not feel comfortable supporting Antigone because "we should not fight with men" and "that we are ruled by more powerful people / and must obey them." Antigone dismisses this social expectation.  Antigone believes that carrying out the will of the gods and her duty as a sister are more important than conforming to what society expects out of her as a woman. In both ways, Antigone brings about the conflict of human versus society.   

In the collision between Antigone's and Ismene's beliefs, a human vs. human conflict emerges. As both sisters talk, this gulf becomes more pronounced: 

If you say this, you will be hateful to me,
and the dead will hate you always–justly.
But let me and my foolish plans suffer(95)
this terrible thing, for I shall succumb
to nothing so awful as a shameful death.

Antigone's stance causes her to break from her sister.  This conflict is seen in language such as "you'll be hateful to me."  There is little room for negotiation, as Antigone has clearly picked a divergent path from her sister's path.  This conflict is further seen in how she curses Ismene with her line "the dead will hate you always--justly."  Antigone is in profound conflict with her sister and accordingly carves out her position.  The difference between the thoughts and actions of these sisters is an example of a human versus human conflict.   

What did the Second Great Awakening promote ?

The Second Great Awakening promoted greater religious fervor and more personal relationships between individual Christians and their God.

Before the Second Great Awakening, many people felt that Americans had been losing their religious fervor.  They felt that the average American had stopped really caring about God and about religion and had started to take worship as something of a routine.  The people who started the Second Great Awakening felt that this was a very dangerous thing because they felt it would lead more people to be condemned to Hell for lacking true devotion to God.

To combat this perceived lack, evangelists started to promote new religious ideas.  They went around the country, staging revival meetings at which they encouraged people to develop a more personal relationship with God.  They wanted people to act to improve their relationships with God and to increase their devotion to their faith.  This was the main thing that the Second Great Awakening promoted.

What was Katherine Paterson's childhood like?

Katherine Paterson, the author of Bridge to Terabithia and many other children's novels, was born as Katherine Womeldorf in Huai'an, Jiangsu, China, in 1932. Her parents were missionaries in China, and her father worked as a school principal. Paterson's first language was Chinese, and she later had to learn to speak English like a native when she moved to the United States. In 1937, her family had to leave China when the Japanese invaded the country, and they moved to Virginia. They returned to Shanghai shortly thereafter, but the war uprooted them again in 1940, and they lived in North Carolina. When she first arrived in the U.S., she was regarded as strange and turned to reading as a refuge. Paterson's father's work compelled her to move a great deal when she was growing up. By the age of 18, she had been forced to move 18 times. After studying English literature and the Bible in Tennessee, she moved to Japan, where she became a missionary. Her work has won several awards, including two Newbery Medals and the Hans Christian Andersen Medal.

What questions are unanswered in Part One of Paper Towns?

In Part One of Paper Towns, the setting of the novel is introduced. The main characters are also introduced. Quentin is the narrator of the novel, and has been in love with his next-door neighbor Margo for the better part of his life. He and Margo haven't been close since they were children, but one night Margo climbs in his window and tells him that she needs to accomplish eleven things in one night, and that several of those things require a getaway vehicle.

Most of the unanswered questions in Part One arise from Margo's behavior.

Why does Margo need to accomplish all of these things in one night?

Why is Margo so interested in revenge?

Why does Margo seem so troubled about "paper towns" and "paper people"?

Why did Margo choose Quentin to help her with her adventure?

These questions only deepen when Margo disappears. Margo's disappearance is the mystery that sets up the rest of the novel.

List three functions the house performs.

The futuristic house in Bradbury’s, “There Will Come Soft Rains” does just about everything for its owners except save them from a nuclear war.  The house is vacant except for all the technology and mechanical gadgets that live on despite their owners’ deaths. 

Here are some of the things this “smart house” did for its owners:

• A mechanical stove makes breakfast for the family.


• There are robot vacuum cleaners or “mice” that clean up any messes in the house (including the dead dog outside).


• The house is full of mechanical voices that tell the time and weather.  A clock repeats the hour and reminds the family of important events.


• The house prepares baths for its family.


• It lights a pipe for the father of the house.


• When the house catches on fire, there is a sprinkler system that attempts to douse the flames. 


• Piped in music plays the homeowner’s favorite songs.


• The mechanical voice reads a Sara Teasdale poem; the first line has the title of the story.

In this excerpt, Bradbury describes the technology of the house as a religion, a way of life for its former inhabitants, “The house was an altar with ten thousand attendants, big, small, servicing, attending, in choirs. But the gods had gone away, and the ritual of the religion continued senselessly, uselessly.”

The irony of the story is that despite all the technology of this society, it is that very technology that kills them.

Can you help me find literary devices in this excerpt from Animal Farm? "Comrades!" cried Squealer, making little nervous skips, "a most...

Can you help me find literary devices in this excerpt from Animal Farm?

"Comrades!" cried Squealer, making little nervous skips, "a most terrible thing has been discovered. Snowball has sold himself to Frederick of Pinchfield Farm, who is even now plotting to attack us and take our farm away from us! Snowball is to act as his guide when the attack begins. But there is worse than that. We had thought that Snowball's rebellion was caused simply by his vanity and ambition. But we were wrong, comrades. Do you know what the real reason was? Snowball was in league with Jones from the very start! He was Jones's secret agent all the time. It has all been proved by documents which he left behind him and which we have only just discovered. To my mind this explains a great deal, comrades. Did we not see for ourselves how he attempted–fortunately without success–to get us defeated and destroyed at the Battle of the Cowshed?"

The animals were stupefied. This was a wickedness far outdoing Snowball's destruction of the windmill. But it was some minutes before they could fully take it in. They all remembered, or thought they remembered, how they had seen Snowball charging ahead of them at the Battle of the Cowshed, how he had rallied and encouraged them at every turn, and how he had not paused for an instant even when the pellets from Jones's gun had wounded his back. At first it was a little difficult to see how this fitted in with his being on Jones's side. Even Boxer, who seldom asked questions, was puzzled. He lay down, tucked his fore hoofs beneath him, shut his eyes, and with a hard effort managed to formulate his thoughts.

"I do not believe that," he said. "Snowball fought bravely at the Battle of the Cowshed. I saw him myself. Did we not give him 'Animal Hero, first Class,' immediately afterwards?"

"That was our mistake, comrade. For we know now–it is all written down in the secret documents that we have found–that in reality he was trying to lure us to our doom."

"But he was wounded," said Boxer. "We all saw him running with blood."

"That was part of the arrangement!" cried Squealer. "Jones's shot only grazed him. I could show you this in his own writing, if you were able to read it. The plot was for Snowball, at the critical moment, to give the signal for flight and leave the field to the enemy. And he very nearly succeeded–I will even say, comrades, he would have succeeded if it had not been for our heroic Leader, Comrade Napoleon. Do you not remember how, just at the moment when Jones and his men had got inside the yard, Snowball suddenly turned and fled, and many animals followed him? And do you not remember, too, that it was just at that moment, when panic was spreading and all seemed lost, that Comrade Napoleon sprang forward with a cry of 'Death to Humanity!' and sank his teeth in Jones's leg? Surely you remember that, comrades?" exclaimed Squealer, frisking from side to side.

Now when Squealer described the scene so graphically, it seemed to the animals that they did remember it. At any rate, they remembered that at the critical moment of the battle Snowball had turned to flee. But Boxer was still a little uneasy.

"I do not believe that Snowball was a traitor at the beginning," he said finally. "What he has done since is different. But I believe that at the Battle of the Cowshed he was a good comrade."

"Our Leader, Comrade Napoleon," announced Squealer, speaking very slowly and firmly, "has stated categorically–categorically, comrade–that Snowball was Jones's agent from the very beginning–yes, and from long before the Rebellion was ever thought of."

"Ah, that is different!" said Boxer. "If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right."

"That is the true spirit, comrade!" cried Squealer, but it was noticed he cast a very ugly look at Boxer with his little twinkling eyes. He turned to go, then paused and added impressively: "I warn every animal on this farm to keep his eyes very wide open. For we have reason to think that some of Snowball's secret agents are lurking among us at this moment! "