How did the Gulags affect relationships between the government and the people?

The Gulags were the forced labor prison camps that existed in the Soviet Union. Criminals, political dissidents, clergy, and suspected enemies of the state were sent to these camps.  Because of the harsh nature of the camps, the Gulags had a very negative effect on the relationship between the people and the government.  The system created a sense of fear of the government, which it was intended to do.  As a citizen, you could be sent to the camps for arbitrary reasons and, for this reason, many came to fear the dictators of the Soviet Union.  The Gulags also created a culture of mistrust in the Soviet Union.  By using fear to consolidate power, a government is at constant risk of uprisings and insurrections.  This causes the government to act even more irrationally. This is a cycle that causes less freedom and prosperity for the people.  In general, the Gulags caused the Russians to abhor and distrust their government.

In Chapter 7 of Lyddie, what does Lyddie think of the other passengers in the stage coach and why?

Lyddie thinks the other passengers are judgmental and ignorant.

When Lyddie is fired from her job at Cutler’s Tavern, she decides to take a job at the factory.  She tries walking but can’t make it.  She finally takes a temporary job at a local inn to get money for a stagecoach ride to the factory.  In the first stagecoach, her fellow passengers are a married couple.  Lyddie feels that the woman is critical of her and considers the couple “disagreeable.”

The woman gave Lyddie's dress and shawl and strange boots a critical going over with her eyes, then settled again toher knitting, which the bumping of the coach made difficult. (Ch. 7)

Lyddie has almost nothing.  She has homespun dresses and boots that don’t fit, and the money she borrowed from Triphena.  She still does not appreciate them staring.

In the next stagecoach leg, the coach is crowded with six passengers.  Lyddie does not like these passengers either, especially the one who lights a cigar.  She also begins to get frustrated with the way everyone looks at her.

And still, when the others weren't concentrating on keeping their seatsin the swaying coach, they were looking at her‐at her clothes especially. At first she was mortified, but the longer they rode, the angrier she became. How rude they were, these so‐called gentry. (Ch. 7)

Lyddie considers the stagecoach passengers ignorant and arrogant.  When the coach gets stuck, she is the only one who is able to do anything about it.  She just wants to get moving.  None of the other passengers are grateful or even thank her.  The coachman laughs, and Lyddie tells him the passengers are “silly fools.”

The trip to Lowell is difficult and eventful for Lyddie.  She does not appreciate the way the wealthy people treat her, and she feels judged.  Lyddie also demonstrates her ingenuity and stubbornness in how she deals with the coach getting stuck.  These traits will help Lyddie as she moves into factory life.

What is the moral lesson from Julius Caesar?

The lesson from this play is that arrogance can have deadly results.

Julius Caesar died because he was arrogant.  Arrogance is about more than having a high opinion of yourself.  It means that you put your judgement above everyone else’s.

Cassius and Brutus killed Caesar because he was arrogant, and because he was ambitious.  Caesar’s arrogance led to the ambition.  He did not care what anyone thought of him.  Caesar was Caesar.  For example, he ignored all of the warnings that his life was in danger.  Caesar knew better.

You can tell Caesar was arrogant by his reaction to the conspirators’ suit over Metellus Cimber’s brother.  Caesar should have realized that the men were up to something.  They surrounded him, pleading with him, and he thought nothing of it.  His reaction is supremely egotistical. 

I could be well moved, if I were as you:
If I could pray to move, prayers would move me:
But I am constant as the northern star,
Of whose true-fix'd and resting quality
There is no fellow in the firmament. (Act 3, Scene 1)

The conspirators are able to kill Caesar, but then they are in a bind.  They are the second example of the lesson that arrogance is deadly.  Brutus and Cassius were just as arrogant as Caesar.  They did not want Caesar to be dictator, so they assumed that they knew better than anyone else.  What gave them the right to kill the leader of Rome?

Brutus and Cassius, and the other conspirators, paid for their arrogance.  Brutus believed that the movement needed to avoid killing Mark Antony because he wanted to keep the assassination clean.  He did not want to be considered a butcher.  Brutus put principle over common sense. 

We shall be call'd purgers, not murderers.
And for Mark Antony, think not of him;
For he can do no more than Caesar's arm
When Caesar's head is off. (Act 2, Scene 1)

Not killing Antony was a mistake.  Brutus assumed that Antony would not be any trouble.  He even agreed to let him speak at the funeral.  Antony was ambitious and aggressive too though.  He desired revenge for Caesar’s death.

Antony was able to swing the Roman people over to his side with his excellent funeral speech.  He left Brutus in the dust.  Brutus and Cassius both eventually ended up dead, because again Brutus acted arrogantly during the battles against Antony and Octavius’s armies.  Antony would pay for his arrogance later.

How would you compare and contrast behaviorism and social learning theory?

Behaviorism and social learning are two theories about how people learn. Since the originator of social learning, Albert Bandura, was a behaviorist by nature, there are similarities that exist between the two theories. In both theories, experience is an important cause of learning, as is immediate feedback. Both theories also believe in systems of reinforcement and punishment as factors in learning.

Despite these similarities in how the theories view the learning process, there are differences as well. Those who advocate for social learning believe knowledge is an internal process and is not observed as a change in behavior. Behaviorists believe learning can be watched and studied — in other words, it can be observed.

Another important difference between the two theories is the relationship between learning and the environment. Social learning theorists believe the two affect one another, but in behaviorism, the learner is a passive force and only responds to the environment without also affecting the learning environment. There are also significant differences between the two theories in how punishment and reinforcement impact learning.

In The Crucible, how and why does the reverend Parris’s behaviour toward witches change through the play?

At first, when the reverend discovers that members of his household: his daughter Betty, his niece Abigail and his servant Tituba, are the chief participants in the inappropriate shenanigans in the forest, his paranoia increases dramatically. Rumours of witchcraft soon circulate in the village, and he desperately wishes that Abigail confesses about their acts. He asks her to be truthful about what they did since his position is at risk. If he should be implicated, he would be immediately voted out of office. He, therefore, tells her: 

Now look you, child, your punishment will come in its time. But if you trafficked with spirits in the forest I must know it now, for surely my enemies will, and they will ruin me with it.

The reverend is persistent and demands that Abigail tells the truth, but she insists that they were only doing it for sport. This, however, does not please him for, he believes, his enemies will use the information against him. It is clear, in this early part of the play, that the reverend is fearful. He wants all the suspicions of witchcraft to be dismissed. He also insists that Mr Putnam should not think of witchcraft when he makes reference to it. He later also asks reverend Hale not to look for evidence of witchcraft, but for evidence which should dispel such horrific rumours.

However, once it has been established through Tituba's 'confession' and Abigail and the other girls' accusations that there is enough reason to suspect witchcraft, the reverend dramatically changes his tune. As soon as he realises that he can benefit from the arrests and the ensuing punishment of his enemies, he fully supports the court. He also realises that as long as Tituba, Abigail and Betty, are witnesses in court to implicate others, attention will be diverted from him.  

It is for these reasons that the reverend repeatedly meddles in the court's business. He consistently reminds judge Hathorne about John Proctor's indiscretions, such as that he works on Sundays, for example. He is determined to have Proctor, Giles Corey and Rebecca Nurse punished. His attitude has now clearly changed. Instead of trying to find reasons to prove that the whole idea of witchcraft in Salem is a fallacy, he insists that the so-called evildoers must be punished. His role as spiritual leader and counsellor is quickly forgotten. He abandons the pulpit and becomes a vengeful accuser, instead of appealing to the court for the salvation, spiritual and otherwise of his congregants.

It is truly tragic that the good reverend has lost the focus of his calling. He, instead, presents himself as a deeply embittered and vengeful persona who is intent on sending those he despises and see as a threat, to their doom.  

`tan(pi/4 - theta) = (1 - tan(theta))/(1 + tan(theta))` Prove the identity.

`tan(pi/4-theta)=(1-tan(theta))/(1+tan(theta))`

we will use the following formula to prove the identity,

`tan(A-B)=(tanA-tanB)/(1+tanAtanB)` 

LHS=`tan(pi/4-theta)`

`=(tan(pi/4)-tan(theta))/(1+tan(pi/4)tan(theta))`

plug in the value of tan(pi/4)=1,

`=(1-tan(theta))/(1+tan(theta))`

LHS=RHS, Hence proved.

What would life be like without the assembly line?

The assembly line is a very commonly used manufacturing practice in which components are added to a product in a very specific order. We end up with the finished product at the end of line. One of the common examples of assembly line production is car manufacturing. An assembly line offers several advantages including a lesser need of highly skilled workers, uniform production, consistent quality, lower costs, easy replacement of broken parts of the assembly line, easy identification of breakdowns/bottlenecks, etc. Without the assembly line, we would need specially trained workers to carry out each task. Each part or component would have to be individually designed and made, thus bringing about a variation in the quality of items. Consistent quality manufacturing would be nearly impossible and manufacturing would take more time and resources. As such, the cost of each item would also increase. 

Hope this helps. 

What is the effect of impurities on boiling point?

In order to understand the effect of impurities on boiling point, one must first understand what boiling point is. The boiling point of a solution is generally defined as the the temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid is equal to the pressure of the gas above it. It is important to note that a "normal boiling point" of a solution is the temperature at which vapor pressure from the liquid will equal one atmosphere. It is at this temperature, that the liquid vapor will be released as a gas into the atmosphere. Importantly, the boiling point of a solution remains the same even if more heat is added after it starts to boil. 

Adding impurities to a solution, in most cases, increases the boiling point of the solution. This occurs because the presence of impurities decreases the number of water molecules available to become vaporized during boiling. Once this occurs, it takes a greater amount of heat to cause the same amount of impure solution to vaporize as it would take to cause a pure solution to vaporize, thus raising the solution's overall boiling point. It is important to realize however, that impurities do not always increase boiling point, and, in certain rarer cases, can actually cause boiling point to decrease. With this in mind, it is important to know exactly what impurities are being added to a solution in order to determine the final effect the impurities will have on boiling point. Hope this helps!

What is the setting for book 10 of The Odyssey?

Book 10 of Homer's Odyssey has several settings. The book opens with Odysseus and his crew on the island of Aiolia; this island belongs to Aiolos, the wind-god. 

Odysseus and his men then sail toward Ithaka (their home); unfortunately, Odysseus falls asleep and some of his crew open the bag of storm-winds Aiolos gave to Odysseus (Odysseus refused to tell them what it contained, so they thought there was treasure inside). Opening the bag allows the winds to escape, and the ship is quickly blown off course. Eventually, the men end back up on Aiolia.

They continue sailing, and they stop briefly on Lamos (long enough for the king of the island to kill one of Odysseus' men). They scurry back to the ships and journey on. Book 10 ends with the men on the island of Aiaia (do not confuse this with Aiolia), also known as the residence of the infamous goddess Circe.

Why is the speed of different colors of white light the same in the air but different in another refracting medium, like glass?

The reason the speed of light is different for different colors and different in a refractive medium, such as glass, is because the speed of propagation of light depends on the electromagnetic properties of the medium, which, in turn, sometimes depend on the frequency of the propagating wave. This phenomenon is called dispersion.

Recall that light is an electromagnetic wave which propagates in vacuum with the speed `c=3*10^8 m/s` . When the light enters different medium, its speed reduces by the factor of

`n=1/sqrt(epsilon*mu)` , where `epsilon` is the dielectric constant and `mu` is relative magnetic permeability of the medium. These quantities indicate how the medium responds to the external electromagnetic field.

The factor n is called the index of refraction of the medium. The index of refraction of the air (which is where we usually see visible light), it is very close to 1. In the common refractive media, such as glass or water, the index of refraction changes with the frequency of the incident visible light, because the electromagnetic properties of these media, measured by `epsilon` and `mu` , are affected differently by the electromagnetic waves with different frequencies. So, the speed of each color in the refractive medium will be

`v=c/(n(f))` , where n(f) is the index of refraction different for each color, or frequency, of light.

What was the past of the ghost?

The ghost that your question is referencing is Sir Simon de Canterville.  He was one of the first owners of the Canterville Chase, which is the mansion that the Otis family has just bought.  The text tells the reader that Sir Simon owned the home in 1575.  He was married at the time, but wasn't married for the following nine years.  The reason for that is because Sir Simon murdered his wife that year.  He lived for another 9 years after that, disappeared mysteriously, and was never seen or heard from again.  

"His body has never been discovered, but his guilty spirit still haunts the Chase."

Sir Simon has been haunting the Canterville Chase ever since, and has successfully scared off every owner.  That is until the Otis family arrives, and he is incapable of scaring them off.  Virginia Otis eventually gets Sir Simon to explain why he mysteriously disappeared.  

Sir Simon killed his wife for being too plain. Of course her brothers didn't take too kindly to Sir Simon killing their sister, so they killed Sir Simon in revenge.  

"However, it is no matter now, for it is all over, and I don't think it was very nice of her brothers to starve me to death, though I did kill her."

He has been haunting the house ever since his own murder. 

In Chapter 3, how is Cal’s role as a mother figure for Scout and Jem depicted?

In Chapter 3, Scout antagonized Walter Cunningham in the schoolyard for allegedly making her first day of school "start off on the wrong foot". Jem stopped her and asked why she was mad at Walter, and when he learned the problem was caused by Walter not having any lunch, Jem invited the boy to dinner at the Finch house. Jem asked Calpurnia to set an extra place for their company. Walter displayed strange table manners, most likely because he was not often presented with the kind of meal he was being given, and Scout was flabbergasted when he poured molasses all over his meal, and embarrassed him. Calpurnia pulled Scout aside to reprimand her for commenting on Walter’s table manners. This was an effort to teach Scout to respect her company and treat them like equals, regardless of their background. Cal pointed out that the Finch’s higher status over the Cunninghams didn't mean anything if Scout could not be civilized at the table. Calpurnia punished her by making her finish her dinner in the kitchen. Calpurnia straddled the roles of servant and mother in this scene. 

 

Slaps her. Makes her finish her meal in the kitchen.

Is Mary Wollstonecraft's book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman a product of the Enlightenment?

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is, in fact, heavily influenced by Enlightenment ideas. Wollstonecraft was deeply read in the Enlightenment, and this work was written to challenge the highly influential work Emile, written near mid-century by French philosophe Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau had argued that women were fundamentally different than men, and that they should be educated only in ways that would be pleasing to men. Women, Rousseau thought, were emotional beings, and their role was to provide a emotionally pleasing partner to men, who were forced (unfortunately, Rousseau thought) to grapple with all the problems of modern civilization. 

Unlike Rousseau, Wollstonecraft argued that women, like men, were beings possessed of reason, and a woman's education ought to cultivate reason. So, in short, women should be educated in the same way men were. Her emphasis on reason over emotion was more in keeping with the mainstream of the Enlightenment than Rousseau, whose focus on emotion has often led scholars to categorize him as a "proto-Romantic" or even part of a "counter-Enlightenment." Her emphasis on the importance of education is also very much consistent with the Enlightenment. She saw women and indeed all people as products of their upbringing rather than any essential or inborn traits "degraded by a concurrence of circumstances," as she put it, and argued that women, born with reason, should be allowed to fully cultivate it.

What's the meaning of omniscient narrator?

Literary critics describe the teller of a story as a "narrator". Sometimes the narrator can be a character in the story and sometimes the narrator can be the voice of the author. There are several ways critics distinguish among types of narration.

The first distinction is "person". Most narration is told in either the first person, using the word "I" or the third person, using the words "he" or "she." For example, a third person narrator might state: "Elizabeth Bennett dressed carefully in preparation for the ball", but if Elizabeth were narrating in the first person, she would say "I dressed carefully in preparation for the ball."

Narrators are also distinguished by the amount of information they can access. A "limited" narrator can access only certain points of view; for example, most first person narrators can only access what that character might be likely to know through personal experience or conversation. Third person narrators, though, can either be "limited" to certain viewpoints or "unlimited" or "omniscient", meaning able to see into the minds of all the characters in the novel and to know what is happening at all places and times. 

Byatt's narrator in The Virgin in the Garden is an omniscient third person narrator. For example, the narrator describes thoughts of a character in the third person from the character's viewpoint in the following passage:

There was a moment during this time, when his face was on hers ... He thought: skulls separate people.

In the short story "The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty, what is the sniper's internal conflict and how is it resolved?

In Liam O'Flaherty's brilliant anti-war short story "The Sniper" I do not believe the reader can tell whether the Republican sniper has an internal conflict. The story is told from a detached, almost totally objective perspective. We get very few hints into the psychology of the sniper other than the fact that he is a "fanatic" and gives a "cry of joy" after shooting the opposition sniper.

The only discernible conflict in the story is man vs. man. Two snipers are at war on the rooftops of Dublin and, while we view the action from the Republican snipers vantage point, we know almost nothing about his feelings toward his duty other than he is totally committed to his task and goes about it with cold calculation in killing a woman, a tank commander and the opposing sniper. 

Even at the end of the story when the sniper discovers that the sniper he killed was his own brother the writer reveals no emotion. The story simply ends. If there is an internal conflict within the sniper about fighting on the opposite side from a member of his family O'Flaherty is totally mute on the issue. 

What is the difference between the (R) -2-butanol and (S) -2-butanol? Describe the phenomenon of optical isomerism by using terms such as...

The difference between R-2-butanol and S-2-butanol is the positioning of the hydroxide group on the second carbon atom.  The "R" version has the hydroxide group coming forward in a model, while the "S" version has the hydroxide group going backward in a model.  Both versions make the molecule chiral, meaning there is a non-superimposable mirror image version of it.  The two different versions are called stereoisomers, meaning they are essentially the same composition except for the positioning of the hydroxide group.  Such groups of molecules are said to be enantiomers, or optical isomers.  They are also referred to as "right-handed" or "left-handed."  It is also a racemic mixture, meaning there are equal parts of the right or left handed version.

2-butanol is an organic secondary alcohol that is soluble in water to some degree, but completely miscible with other organic compounds, such as ether and other alcohols.  It is used primarily as a mineral spirit and solvent in paint removers.

What will happen if all seeds of a plant were to fall at the same place and grow there?

There is only a given quantity of resources (nutrients, light and water) in a place. If all the seeds of a plant were to fall at the same place and start growing, they would be competing with each other for the limited quantity of resources. They would also be easy targets for any predators, since they are clustered in a small region. If there was any disease specific to that plant in the area all of these plants would die.

This is why seed dispersal is needed. Having the seeds spread over a larger region provides better chances of survival (against predators, diseases, adverse weather, nutrient limitations, etc.). Dispersed plant populations will have more success in growth and propagation. In the process of seed dispersal, a number of agents (such as wind, animals, human beings, etc.) are used by plants for seed dispersal.

Hope this helps. 

Since "The Perfect Storm" was published in 1991 the phrase "a perfect storm" has entered the English language. What does it mean?

The way this phrase has taken hold is truly remarkable. But it so perfectly describes so many different circumstances, well beyond the literal storm in the book, and its use as a kind of metaphor for so much else has made it a very effective phrase. 

In the book, the perfect storm is a combination of natural elements that converge to create a powerful storm.  But there is also an underlying combination of elements that are created by man, hubris being one, the idea that the men have the wit and strength to conquer the elements. These elements also are part of what creates this perfect storm.

Thus, we use this idea as a metaphor to suggest a convergence of circumstances, natural, man-made, or even both, that create a situation of great danger and/or destruction.  The term is used for all manner of situations. I have heard it used within the context of the invasion of Iraq, where it has been used to describe the situation in which Iraq imploded into a civil war after the removal of its dictator.  I have heard it used to describe the failure of businesses in situations, for example, in which a business recklessly expanded just as the recession hit. I have heard it used to describe the dynamics in a family in which a divorce was imminent.  In any context in which we might use the word "storm" as a metaphor, the idea of the perfect storm is a way of heightening the metaphor to show something well beyond an ordinary storm. Of course, it has been overused to such a degree that it is in danger of becoming a cliche, and perhaps it is already considered one by many people.

According to Aristotle, what is the relationship between a thing's excellence and its good?

The first thing to realize is that, in Greek, a thing's excellence (arētē) and the good (to agathon) are closely linked in meaning. However, in his function argument (Nicomachean Ethics Book I, Chapter VII), Aristotle argues that the excellence for something is for it to perform its function (ergon) well. I take it that this is the argument to which you are referring. To summarize: The function argument states that everything, animate and inanimate, has a characteristic function. When something X has a function Y, then the function of a good X is to Y well.

For instance, the good of an axe is to chop wood well. Our organs also have characteristic function —  the good of our eyes is to see well, the good of our ears is to hear well, and so on. This can also be applied to tools, for instance. Consider a knife — the function of a knife is to cut and the excellence and good for a knife will be for it to cut well. The function of a bullock is to plough a field and so the excellence and the good for the bullock will consist in its ploughing the field well. 

The ultimate argument, of course, is that human beings as a whole have a function and in order to be good human beings, they must perform that characteristic function well. 

Why might a member of the community be "released" in Lois Lowry's The Giver?

A member of Jonas' community might be "released" as a form of punishment or euthanasia, although the ethics of this second purpose are up for debate. Jonas lived in a highly regulated society, and one of the means by which order is maintained is by releasing people who don't fit into the organized structure of the community. People who commit crimes or fail to perform their jobs well may be released as punishment, like the pilot who has made a navigational mistake early in the book. People who are too ill, too old, or whose behavior doesn't meet community standards might also be released.

We learn the community believes the release of the elderly should be celebrated, though this has implications about what it means to live to old age in Jonas' society. Though these people have presumably lived pleasant, productive lives contributing to the community, they do not live to see a natural death. We also learn that babies like Gabriel may be released. Gabriel's fussiness makes authority figures believe he should be released, as this fussiness could cause a lot of problems for the people who take care of him. In order to protect Gabriel from release, Jonas escapes with him.

The electric energy lost when a current passes through a resistance

The electrical energy lost when current passes through a resistance shows up as heat energy. If the resistor has a value of R ohm and a current of I ampere passes through it, the power generated would be given as I^2 R. This much power is actually lost as heat energy and the resistor heats up due to this. This is also the reason why transmission lines are made of copper or aluminum. These metals have low resistance and hence less energy will be lost when current passes through them. This is also why we use copper or aluminum wires for electrical connections at home. When a very large passes through the wires actually melt, thereby breaking the circuit and preventing electrical hazards. 

Hope this helps. 

Before the Revolution the 13 colonies had a government that was _____________.

Given the way this question is worded, I wonder if you are supposed to choose from a list of words here.  Without the list, I cannot know for certain what word your teacher wants to see.  Without a list to pick from, my choice would be to say that before the Revolution, the 13 colonies had a government that was somewhat democratic.

Each of the colonies had its own separate government.  Those governments allowed for some democracy, but were not completely democratic.  The governments allowed for some democracy because they had a legislative branch that was elected by the adult white men who had some amount of property.  This legislative branch was often called the Assembly. 

However, the governments were not completely democratic.  This is because the government was headed by a governor who was advised by a council.  Neither the governor nor the council was elected.  Instead, the governor was appointed by the British government and was ultimately responsible only to them.  The council was appointed by the governor and the governor could remove council members if he wanted to.  Any laws that the Assembly passed could be rejected by the governor, thus making the governor the ultimate authority in the colony.

From this, we can see that the colonies each had a government that was somewhat, but not completely, democratic.

In what city and state does Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" take place?

Raymond Carver's short story "Cathedral" is not said to take place in a specific city, but we may infer that "Cathedral" likely happens somewhere in New York. At the story's open, the narrator remarks that "[Robert] was visiting...relatives in Connecticut" and that "he would come by train, a five hour trip" to visit the narrator and his wife (paragraph 1). This implies that the narrator and his wife live within a five hour radius of Connecticut. Later over dinner, some of the group's small-talk revolves around New York:

"Then I wanted to say something else, small-talk, about the scenic ride along the Hudson. How going to New York, you should sit on the right-hand side of the train, and coming from New York, the left-hand side" (paragraph 24). 

The implication that the story takes place in New York matches the story's theme of how perceptions of reality may be relative even in a quiet and dull area. New York is typified as an artistic and free place, and even though the narrator and his wife live in the suburbs, the artistic nature of the city may have an influence on their evening with Robert.

How do the "Winter Dreams" of Dexter's youth in Fitzgerald's "Winter Dreams" foreshadow (predict, set-up the expectations for) his failed romance...

Dexter Green feels that there is some magical quality about the rich that is embodied in Judy Jones, the quintessential model of the "glittering things and glittering people" of the world of wealth that he covets. It this aura of the spectacular to which Dexter reacts emotionally, impetuously, and around which he constructs his "winter dreams." But, for Dexter--to rephrase an aphorism--all that glitters is only gold and nothing else; thus, his dreams fail him as merely illusions, just as snow melts away.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Winter Dreams" is a story not unlike Charles Dickens's classic tale, Great Expectations, in which the wealth and the life of the upper class lures the innocent Pip into the falsity of material values, social status, and snobbery and hypocrisy. Like Pip,after being smitten by Judy Jones, Dexter leaves home to attain "the glittering things" himself as he feels that wealth bestows upon people a certain power; and, he becomes very successful in a private business. One day he again encounters Judy when he is extended an invitation to play golf at the Sherry Island Golf Club, where he has an accidental meeting with Judy Jones who has become "arrestingly beautiful." When he sees her later that day, on a whim she invites Dexter to dinner, once again "her casual whim gave direction to his life."

Dexter again surrenders himself to his "winter dreams" of Judy. While Judy possesses an excitability that Dexter finds exquisite, she is only entertained by having her own desires gratified, and by "the direct exercise of her own charm"; that is, she is "nourished" only from within herself. So, after bringing Dexter "ecstatic happiness and intolerable agony of spirit" Judy leaves Dexter who later becomes engaged to Irene Scheerer. But, like winter, Judy re-enters his life again, disrupting Dexter's future with Irene as he abandons her for the seduction of his Siren as Judy invites him inside. This affair lasts only a month.

Having tasted "the deep pain" that follows "a deep happiness," Dexter leaves town for New York, but the World War takes him off, "liberating" him from "webs of emotions."

Seven years later, only solid realities are left to Dexter; all dreams have vanished as he learns of Judy's tragic marriage, and her loss of beauty. The fickleness of Judy's self-absorbed emotion, the gilded veneer of her selfishness created but illusions. With characteristic poetic lyricism, Fitzgerald writes,

The gates were closed, the sun was gone down, and there was no beauty but the gray beauty of steel that withstands all time. Even the grief he could have borne was left behind in the country of illusion, or youth, of the richness of life, where his winter dreams had flourished.

These are Dexter Green's thoughts as he gazes with melancholy out the window at the New York sky-line, sensing the mutability of life as he grieves for the capacity to grieve. All "winter dreams," mere romantic illusions, have been lost.

How does trade spread ideas and culture?

Trade spreads ideas and culture because it involves people moving from place to place around the world as they trade.  As they move, they (and the people they meet) come into contact with new ideas and cultural practices.

When discussing this, we should specify that trade does not spread ideas and culture nearly as much as it did centuries ago.  Today, trade is a rather impersonal business.  The United States imports huge amounts of goods from China without being exposed to Chinese culture and ideas because trade is not really done by people anymore.  Ships are loaded in China by Chinese people.  They arrive in the US, where they are unloaded by Americans.  You do not have Americans going to China to buy the products or large groups of Chinese coming to the US to sell them.

Centuries ago, things were different.  For example, goods would be brought across the Middle East by camel caravans.  This meant that relatively large numbers of people would travel along with the goods.  They went slowly, stopping often.  When they stopped, they would interact with local people.  There would be exchanges of ideas.  People would see things like how other cultures cooked, what clothes they wore, and what religious ideas they believed in.  In those times, trade was a much more personal business that involved many people travelling.  As they traveled, they exposed the people they met to their own culture.  At the same time, they were exposed to the cultures of the places through which they traveled.  In these ways, trade spread ideas and culture, making it an important force in world history.

How should World War One be remembered?

How World War I should be remembered is of course a matter of opinion. What we can say is the way it is actually remembered. World War I is remembered as a brutal conflict, a bloody stalemate where the Allies forced the surrender of the Central Powers through attrition. Its outbreak is remembered as a case study in irrationality, as the major powers of Europe were dragged into the conflict by alliance systems not in accordance with their interests. It is also sometimes described as the first modern war, one which featured such innovations as tanks, airplanes, machine guns and poison gas deployed on the battlefield with deadly consequences. Aside from the obvious tragedy of millions of dead, the war is remembered as even more of a tragedy due to the way it ended. The Treaty of Versailles, concluded at the end of the war, harshly punished Germany and imposed ruinous reparations that were impossible to pay. This created an atmosphere in that country that was conducive to the rise of radical movements like that of Hitler's Nazi Party. In fact, our memory of World War I will always be affected by our knowledge that, tragic as it was, it was essentially just a prelude for the more destructive conflict that followed. 

The poet uses a number of direct addresses to the reader. What functions do they have?

In Wordsworth's "The Solitary Reaper" (1805), he uses direct addresses to the audience to emphasize the importance of the scene. The implied audience (i.e. the reader) is to pay attention more strongly when the poet addresses them. The addresses in this poem, "Behold her, single in the field,/Yon solitary Highland Lass!," "Stop here, or gently pass!," and "O listen! for the Vale profound/Is overflowing with the sound," all take place in the first stanza of the poem. In this way, the first stanza functions as a sort of call to the reader to experience what the poet is telling us. One of Wordsworth's main focuses in his writing was the city versus country motif.
While his city poems (e.g. "Alice Fell" and "The World is Too Much with Us") offer social critiques, much the way William Blake's Chimney Sweep poems do, his nature and rural poems offer a glimpse into the sublime. The sublime is a very important concept for Romantic poets and one of the main ways it can be accessed is through the natural world. The reaper in the field, partly because she is young (see "Ode: Intimations on Immortality"), and partly because she is in nature, is closer to the sublime than those of us distracted by society. Ultimately, Wordsworth's address of the reader functions as a calling to recognize the state of the solitary reaper and share in her glimpse of the sublime. 

How does Nick finally explain the charm of Daisy's voice?

In chapter one of The Great Gatsby, Nick describes his cousin Daisy's voice (12):

I looked back at my cousin who began to ask me questions in her low, thrilling voice. It was the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down as if each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again. Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth—but there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget: a singing compulsion, a whispered ‘Listen,’ a promise that she had done gay, exciting things just a while since and that there were gay, exciting things hovering in the next hour.

In essence, Nick is describing the musicality of Daisy's voice - men go crazy for her since it's so enticing. Her voice made promises of exciting things to come. The connotation of the words in this description is generally positive - "thrilling," "arrangement of notes," "bright," "excitement," "singing," etc. Considering Gatsby's history with Daisy, it only makes sense why he fell so hard for her.  

Towards the end of the novel, however, Gatsby remarked that Daisy's voice was "full of money," which made a lot of sense to Nick (128):

That was it. I’d never understood before. It was full of money—that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it…. High in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl….

Nick now has a different view of Daisy's voice. The source of her charm was money. While the first description had a more positive connotation, this description contains more negative connotations, specifically the word "inexhaustible." Nick compares Daisy to a king's daughter up high in a palace. This creates an image that Daisy is untouchable or unreachable even though she is able to charm people with her voice. Comparing her to a "golden girl" seems natural considering that her name also gives us images of yellow hues. The word jingle makes me think of coins in someone's pocket. As long as she has an infinite amount of money, she will be powerful because her voice will sustain the musicality.

If readers weren't yet sure whether or not Gatsby is in love with Daisy, her money, or the idea of Daisy, describing her voice as "full of money" may be an indicator of Gatsby's true desires.  

Why does the police officer need to know if the man would wait for his friend or "call time on him sharp"?

O. Henry wrote with irony, and the ironic aspect of this story is that the police officer is Bob’s old friend, the very man he is anxious to meet. When Bob lit up his cigar, the police officer, Jim, recognized him from a wanted poster as Silky Bob, a person wanted in Chicago. He knew he had to arrest him, but he couldn’t do it himself. His friendship was too strong. He had to get someone else to arrest him, so he went around the corner and contacted a plain clothes officer to handle the arrest. Jim needed to know that Bob would stay there waiting until he could contact the plain clothes officer. He didn’t want him to leave. He asked him how long he planned to wait for his friend. Would he leave at 10 sharp, or would he give his friend a few extra minutes. Bob replied,
               

“I’ll give him a half an hour at least.”  (pg 2)  

That was enough time for the police officer to contact the plain clothes officer and have Bob arrested.

Can you walk if you have kidney failure?

Kidney failure occurs when damage to the kidneys prevents them from effectively filtering waste products from the bloodstream. End stage (advanced) kidney failure must be treated with regular dialysis or a kidney transplant.

With respect to walking, the answer is complicated. Typically, yes, a patient with kidney failure can walk. However, one of the side effects of kidney failure may eventually make walking very difficult. 

Normally, the kidneys remove a protein called amyloid from the blood. However, dialysis is not very efficient at removing amyloid. A condition called amyloidosis can occur. This is when amyloid protein builds up in the body, including in the joints and tendons. This can result in swelling of the joints, as well as pain and stiffness. It is conceivable that an advanced degree of amyloidosis could negatively effect a person's ability to walk with ease. 

What does Jem say when he's mad at Scout?

There are numerous scenes throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird where Jem is upset with Scout. One of the more memorable scenes takes place in Chapter 14 when Jem motions for Scout to follow him into his room, while Atticus and Aunt Alexandra argue over Calpurnia. Jem tells Scout to try not to antagonize Alexandra, and Scout takes offense. Jem tries to explain that Atticus is under a lot of stress because of the upcoming trial, but accidentally insults Scout by saying that she can only hold information in her mind for a little while. Scout takes offense to Jem's "maddening superiority" and yells at Jem. Jem responds to Scout by saying, "I'll---I'll spank you" (Lee 184). After Jem threatens to spank Scout, she tells Jem that she will kill him and punches him in the face. The two siblings scuffle and scream at each other before Atticus comes into Jem's room and breaks them apart.

The element chlorine (Cl) has two isotopes: chlorine-35 and chlorine-37. 75.8% of chlorine atoms have 18 neutrons and 17 protons. The rest of the...

The atomic mass of an atom is the sum of number of protons and neutrons. For example, if there are 18 neutrons and 17 prorons, the atomic mass is 35 g/mole. Similarly, the atom with 20 neutrons and 17 protons, will have an atomic mass of 37 g/mole. Thus, 75.8% of chlorine is in the form of chlorine-35 isotope, and the rest 24.2% is in the form of chlorine-37. The average atomic mass of chlorine atom can be calculated by using weighted averages. 

75.8% of chlorine has the atomic mass of 35 g/mole and 24.2% has an atomic mass of 37 g/mole.

Thus, the average atomic mass = (35 x 75.8/100  + 37 x 24.2/100)= 35.48 g/mole.

Thus, the chlorine atom has an average atomic mass of 35.48 g/mole.

Hope this helps.

An object has a mass of 10 p and it covered a distance of 20 meters in the air. Find the work done and the force.

Because "p" does not correlate to any units of mass that I am familiar with (in Metric or English), I will answer this question assuming "p" to be some generic unit of mass that I will not substitute for anything else (at least not until the end). The important points of solving this problem can still be demonstrated without filling in the units of mass that p represents. Another caveat is that you did not specify the direction (relative to the ground) that the object is moving. For this problem I will assume the object is either moving up or down relative to the ground. If the object is moving horizontally relative to the ground, then the force calculated below is valid but the work is equal to zero. If it is some combination of horizontal and vertical motion, then the answer cannot be solved because there is too little information given.

Let's start with solving for the force because it is the easiest to find and necessary to calculate the work. By Newton's famous Second Law we have the following equation that dictates that the force "F" experienced by a body is equal to its mass "m" times its acceleration "a":

`F=m*a `

Because we know that the mass of the object is equal to 10p, all that remains is to find the acceleration that the object will experience and substitute into the equation above to find the force. Assuming that this object is in the air on Earth on a very still day (not windy), it will experience an acceleration due to gravity of about -9.81 meters per second squared (the minus sign indicates downward acceleration). Now, all of the known information can be used to solve for the force:

`F=10pxx-9.81(m)/(s^2)=-98.1(p*m)/(s^2) `

Now that the force is known, the work can be calculated. There is another very famous equation called the work integral, which defines work "W" as the integral of the force on an object as a function of the distance traveled "F(y)" over the distance traveled by the object "y" (y1 and y2 represent the starting and ending points of the object's path):

`W=int_(y_1)^(y_2)F(y)dy `

However, if the force on the object is constant across the distance traveled, then this equation can be simplified. In this problem the force is constant across the distance traveled because the force of gravity on the object is always constant (equal to the value we calculated earlier). In that case, and assuming that the object is either moving directly up or down from the ground, the equation above can be used to derive this simpler equation:

`W=F*Deltay `

Where delta y is the distance traveled by the object with the force acting on it. We know every variable that we need in this equation to find the work, so the proper values can be substituted:

`W=-98.1(p*m)/(s^2)*20m =-1962(p*m^2)/(s^2)`

Now something to note is that I have assumed the object is moving upward by plugging in a delta y of 20 meters. If the object moved downward, then -20 meters should be entered above and the sign of the work would become positive. This matters because work has units of energy and can be thought of as the energy given to or taken from the object (in this case by the Earth). The way that I have set up this problem, positive work means that the object gained energy, which would result in the object falling faster (which makes sense if the object is moving downward in gravity). Negative work would mean that the object lost energy and it would be rising more slowly by the end of it's 20 meter travel (which is what happens to objects that move upward against gravity). In either case, the magnitude of the work calculated here holds true.

For exact numerical answers, the mass unit "p" needs to be known. If p were equal to kilograms (kg), then finalizing the answers to metric units for force (Newtons) and energy (Joules) would be simple:

`F=-98.1(kg*m)/(s^2)=-98.1N `

`W=-1962(kg*m^2)/(s^2)=-1962J `

If p were equal to something else like the the English pound mass, then you would simply find the conversion factor from pounds to kilograms, substitute p for pounds, and multiply each of the generic answers found earlier by the conversion factor.

How did the US Navy get and replace ships for the Pacific fleet after Pearl Harbor was attacked?

There were several factors that allowed the United States Navy to rebuild its fleet so quickly after the devastation of the navy and the rest of the military with the attack on Pearl Harbor. The government made rebuilding the military and supplying the military a priority. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which operated during the Great Depression, was given new responsibilities. It provided loans to businesses to help them convert from peacetime production to wartime production. The government used the cost-plus policy that guaranteed business a profit by covering the cost of making an item with a profit added to that cost. As a result war materials, including ships, were made very quickly.

The government controlled the production of war materials during World War II. The War Production Board established production priorities and set production goals for businesses. The Office of War Mobilization was responsible for resolving any disputes that might arise between government agencies. The government wanted everybody on the same page working toward rebuilding the military in the Pacific and supplying the military in Europe and the Pacific. As a result of swift government action and a coordinated government effort, we were able to get back on our feet militarily faster than anybody or any country expected.

What are the main differences between the two voyages included Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana Jr.?

The first voyage that Richard Henry Dana, Jr. takes is aboard the Pilgrim, which leaves from Boston en route to California via Cape Horn. He immediately swops his fine clothes for the trousers and tarpaulin hat of a sailor, though he is "bewildered" by the "strange cries" and "stranger actions" that he hears on board the ship, as he is unaccustomed to them. He lives in steerage, amid ropes and other items that have not been stored. During this first voyage, he encounters relatively fine weather on his way to trading hides with the Spanish missions along the California coast. He is initiated into life on the sea and witnesses the flogging of members of the crew, including a member of the crew who is flogged merely for disagreeing with the captain. This experience makes him feel "sick and almost faint" (page 52).

On the way home to Boston, Dana is aboard the Alert with too few crew. In addition, the ship is loaded heavily, and it has to travel in winter. He writes, "The prospect of meeting this in a ship half manned, and loaded so deep that every heavy sea must wash her fore and aft, was by no means pleasant." As Dana nears the Cape in summer (which is winter in that part of the world), he develops a horrible toothache, worsened by the cold weather, and can hardly open his mouth. On July 4th, a day on which he'd be celebrating in Boston, a squall develops, and the ship is coated with ice. The ship meets bad weather for a long period of time, and the crew is forced to work overtime. In addition, some members of the crew develop scurvy and are eventually cured by fresh vegetables from another ship. This voyage is far more difficult than the original voyage, and Dana suffers quite a bit during the voyage home. Though he is more initiated into life at sea by the second voyage, Dana finds it incredibly arduous, as do the rest of the crew. Five minutes after they land in Boston, the entire crew has left the ship. 

How do you distinguish between the three major sociological perspectives of functionalism, conflict, and symbolic interactionism?

Functionalism is a theoretical approach that suggests all actions and actors in a society are part of the whole. Functionalists take no position on whether an action or actor is good or bad because society is neither good nor bad. A functionalist looks at mosquito-borne illness as a catalyst for developing new vaccines or extermination methods. 

Conflict theory is a theoretical approach that suggests society is built upon conflicts between the haves and have nots. Essentially, every action of the haves — the upper class, authority figures, industrialized nations, etc. — is meant to maintain wealth and power, and to keep the have nots — the lower class, laborers, developing nations, etc. — in a position of subservience. A conflict theorist looks at mosquito-borne illness as disproportionally affecting those in areas with poor sanitation and without access to pest management.

Symbolic interactionism is a theoretical approach that suggests our words, gestures, signs, and symbols have meaning only because we ascribe meaning to them. A word or sign in one setting could mean something completely different in another setting depending on how a society, culture, or social group defines it. A symbolic interactionist first must choose a lens with which to view mosquito-borne illness; through the lens of international aid agencies, for example, mosquito-borne illness is a cause to be managed by distributing mosquito nets.

What are the products of the light reactions of photosynthesis that are required by the dark reactions?

Photosynthesis requires sunlight as a reactant and hence can be considered a light reaction. What you are referring to as 'dark reactions' are cellular respiration reactions and they do take place throughout the life of a plant. So, in reality they are not just dark reactions (since they take place 24 x 7).

Photosynthesis can be chemically represented by the following reaction:

`6CO_2 + 6H_2O + sunlight -> C_6H_12O_6 + 6O_2`

Here, carbon dioxide and water are converted (in the presence of sunlight) to glucose and oxygen. 

Cellular respiration is complementary to photosynthesis and uses the products of photosynthesis (that is, glucose and oxygen) as reactants. Cellular respiration can be represented as:

`C_6H_12O_6 + 6O_2 -> 6CO_2 + 6H_2O + ATP`

Here, glucose and oxygen (both generated from photosynthesis) are used and carbon dioxide and water are generated, along with energy molecules (ATP).

Hope this helps.

Given the theme of the story,"The Masque of Red Death", what does the resolution of that conflict communicate about Poe's beliefs?

Poe primarily believed in the inevitability in life the law of of cause and effect - that nothing done could ever be escaped.

Poe delved most deeply into the human psyche, but he also was a sharp critic of society at large, and its many foibles.

The theme of "The Mask of Red Death" could be said to be a broadly social theme - that is, he paints and unflinching picture of the uncaring aspect of 'higher' society, the great gap between the entitled and poor.

Poe himself, as a forever struggling writer who's goal in life was to be a gentleman writer, successful on a large scale, had a personal axe to grind with the upper classes. In the story, Prospero (an ironic name, prosperous, given his end) takes great precautions to protect his noble abbey from any hint of intrusion or infection from the outside plague. Those precautions fall away when the guest at the masquerade, Red Death, appears, soon infecting everyone there.

Poe believed in the inevitability of a universal justice - however terribly it came - by the hand of Montresor in "A Cask of Amontillado," by the dissolution of "The House of Usher," and here, by the plague infecting all the 'special' people who thought themselves safe. 

Poe ultimately believed that no one was ever safe in this world and universe from what they themselves had done.

Do all cells undergo cell division? Give an example of cells that do not?

Almost all the cells undergo division and only few exceptions are there. Cell division allows the formation of new cells to replace the old ones and hence keeps the cell concentration at reasonable levels and ensures their presence. One of the notable exceptions to cell division is nerve cells or neurons or neuronal cells. These cells are highly specialized in their functions and do not undergo cell division like other cells. This means that when a neuron dies, we are unable to replace it. On a more positive note, lack of cell division among neurons ensures that they are few in number and that overcrowding does not take place. If neurons were to divide, there would be many neurons and complex, specialized functioning of neurons would become an extremely challenging task, with new neurons competing for the positions in neuronal system. And to ensure we do not lose out all our neurons, these cells generally have a long life.

Hope this helps. 

What was unsuccessful about dynamic conservatism?

Eisenhower's "dynamic conservatism," at least in his mind, was supposed to combine fiscal accountability and limits on the power of the federal government with a humanitarian concern for the American people. In many ways, this meant accepting, albeit in a limited sense, some of the basic ideas behind the New Deal of the 1930s, basically that the federal government had a role to play in bettering the lives of its citizens. Eisenhower was by nature conservative and, while president, he opposed federal subsidies for education, a federal healthcare system, and other liberal causes that even many Republicans at the time favored. But he also generally (if not enthusiastically) supported organized labor and opposed, for political and ideological reasons, cuts to Social Security and other social legislation that had become mostly accepted by Americans, if not the hard right. In fact, many of Eisenhower's political adversaries were on the right, and this was the reason that he failed to pass much of his agenda. Many urgent social problems went unaddressed moving into the 1960s, especially the conditions confronted urban populations left behind by the "white flight" to the suburbs.

As for specific failings of this brand of conservatism, it could certainly be argued that Eisenhower's reluctance to involve the federal government in implementing the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education enabled what came to be known as "massive resistance." As one historian has said, "Anti-Brown agitators took...heart from the attitude of President Eisenhower," who while somewhat personally sympathetic to the plight of African-Americans, was "dead-set against using the federal government to force the South to mend its ways."  His "morally obtuse" position on Brown and integration in general encouraged Southerners (most visibly Orval Faubus of Arkansas) to oppose its implementation. Of course, Eisenhower eventually used federal troops to force integration of Little Rock Central High, but overall his limited view of the powers of the federal government afforded very little support for civil rights activists. 

How was Josef Stalin manipulative? What are some examples of his manipulation?

You would be hard pressed to find a negative adjective that does not describe Josef Stalin and his reign of terror in the Soviet Union. For this reason, the obvious answer is yes, Josef Stalin was manipulative. In his defense, most despotic leaders tend to use manipulation to achieve their ends, so he has plenty of company in the manipulation hall of fame if such a place exists.

Ten years into his reign as the leader of the Soviet Union, Stalin's manipulation was evident in German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact which was signed with Adolf Hitler in 1939. His actions were manipulative on a number of levels. First, he greatly disliked Hitler and fascism, (the feeling was mutual) and realized that he was going to be at war with Hitler as some point in time. Stalin also knew that an agreement with Hitler would give his people time to build up arms to defeat Germany when the time came. The manipulation was really brought to light when it was discovered that Stalin had secretly negotiated territories in Eastern Europe that he would receive after the war ended. Despite these arrangements, Stalin negotiated trade agreements with the Allied Powers of Britain and France, two countries trying to bring the Soviets into the fold. He conveniently forgot to tell these Western Powers of his future plans for Eastern Europe.

Another more concrete example of the manipulative nature of Josef Stalin was his skillful use of propaganda. What was he possibly promoting? Himself, of course. This was not difficult when his government controlled the media. Stalin built a cult of personality around himself in the Soviet Union in a bold attempt to make himself more powerful. He renamed cities in his honor and had the history books rewritten to make himself grander than he really was. He made every aspect of his life mythical in nature. He even had his name inserted into the national anthem. In a country that was stripped of its God by the Bolsheviks, Josef Stalin attempted to fill that void.

What does Professor Sherman say that makes the audience applaud for five minutes in The Twenty-One Balloons? Why does the crowd react that way?

In Chapter 3 of The Twenty-One Balloons, when Professor Sherman begins addressing the audience in the auditorium of the Western American Explorers' Club in San Francisco, he actually doesn't say very much to elicit five minutes of applause, but receives the applause simply because the crowd is excited about his experience.

He opens his address by saying how happy he is to be back home, which gets four minutes of applause. Next, he says, "I haven't been away very long, but I have certainly missed" before being interrupted by five more minutes of applause (38). The reason why this sentence excites the audience so much is because it reminds audience members that Professor Sherman has just traveled around the globe in the shortest amount of time possible for this time period.

The book is set in the late 1800s, soon after Jules Verne published his 1873 adventure novel, Around the World in 80 Days, based on growing beliefs about how fast one could travel the globe via railway lines. In fact, in 1870 the Erie Railway Company published statements, based on its train routes and times tables, predicting one could travel the globe in 77 days (The Kansas Tribute, 1870). In The Twenty-One Balloons, Professor Sherman started his voyage across the Pacific Ocean and was picked up in the Atlantic Ocean 40 days later, which means to Professor Sherman's audience that he had traveled around the world 40 days faster than what the acclaimed Jules Vernes predicted to be possible.

List each character in the story and their relationship with Scrooge.

A Christmas Carol is a story with many characters.  Here are the main characters aside from Ebenezer Scrooge himself:

Fred:  Fred is Scrooge's nephew by his sister.  He is cheerful and he loves Christmas.  He is patient with his negative and rude uncle.

Bob Cratchit:  Bob is Scrooge's employee.  He works for him as a clerk.  He has a large family.  He is also patient with Scrooge.

Jacob Marley:  Jacob was Scrooge's business partner, who died years before the beginning of the story.  He was also a miserly man.  He comes back to haunt Scrooge, warning him that he must change his ways before it is too late.

The Ghost of Christmas Past:  This spirit comes to show Scrooge his past, so that he can see where his selfish decisions have led him.

The Ghost of Christmas Present:  This spirit visits Scrooge to show him all that he is missing in the present.  The ghost shows him the suffering of the people around him.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come:  This last spirit shows Scrooge what will happen if he does not change his ways.  Scrooge sees that his future will be bleak if he does not transform his character.

Tiny Tim:  Tiny Tim is the young crippled son of Bob Cratchit.  Scrooge takes pity on the boy and has a special connection with him.  Tiny Tim has a positive attitude despite his struggles.  

What is happening in this picture?

A lot is going on in this painting, although it may seem simple at first glance. Usually, when we interpret or analyze art, we start with what we observe objectively, and then move on to make inferences or interpretations about what the painting might mean, the argument it might be trying to make, or the scene it's trying to set.

In this case, we can start by observing the faces of the man and the girl. The girl holds a letter, and appears calm, or bored. The older man, however, appears to be more interested in what the girl is reading: he is adjusting his glasses and reaching towards the girl and the letter. The girl's face is smooth and still while the man's is expressive and suggestive.

Next, we can look at the relationship between the two figures. They are in a darkened room, and the man is standing very close to the girl. This suggests intimacy; perhaps they are family members. The girl sits at a desk with books and a quill. The fact that they are reading this letter at night and at a writing desk suggests secrecy and urgency. However, the man seems to feel this urgency more than the girl does (looking, again, at their faces).

Now, we can start making inferences to form a "reading" or interpretation of the painting. Perhaps the man is the girl's father, and she has just received a letter from a suitor she is not interested in, but who is wealthy (thus explaining her boredom and the father's heightened interest). Perhaps it is a letter from a far-flung family member, and the girl has read it first, and the father is craning his neck to get a look. It's hard to know which interpretation is the "correct" one without a statement from the artist, but these are examples of things we might infer from our observations of the painting.

What's apparent, though, is that there seems to be a relationship of control between the man and the girl; he feels entitled to read her letter. The urgency is also evident, because of the dark room.

Give a five-word sentence to explain historical impact of Marbury v. Madison.

The 1803 Supreme Court case, Marbury v. Madison, was an important event in the early history of the republic.  The Supreme Court at this time was led by Chief Justice John Marshall.  In this case, a precedent was set for the Supreme Court to have judicial review.  Judicial review is the principle that the court may invalidate laws that are unconstitutional.  This power turns out to be an important check and balance on the other two branches of government. With this case, the Supreme Court became the last stop to test whether a law is constitutional.  Today, it is hard to imagine the Supreme Court not being afforded this power.  Many of the cases that the Court hears today deal with the constitutionality of laws or acts of the president. Before this case, however, the Constitution had not been interpreted as giving the Supreme Court these powers.

Here are some examples of five-word sentences.

• Judicial review granted to court.


• Gave Supreme Court more power.

What does the ship pick up in the Cayman Islands in A High Wind in Jamaica?

In A High Wind in Jamaica, the action takes place on several different ships, all of which are sailing through the Caribbean Sea. When their parents send them to school in England, the Bas-Thornton children travel aboard the Clorinda. Early in their journey, the ship docks at the Cayman Islands to take on cargo, which includes a large number of live turtles. In a letter to her parents, Emily describes the turtles that she uses as footrests and the strange noises they make at night (p. 56). Her fascination with the turtles is indicative of her general love of animals, which contrasts with her general disregard for people.

This is one of the last letters the Bas-Thortons receive from their children, as the Clorinda is soon boarded by pirates intent on stealing the ship's cargo. The children are accidentally left aboard the pirate ship, and while the captain of the Clorinda claims that they have been murdered, the children's adventures have just begun.

Is there any way we can justify the decisions Romeo makes?

In order to justify Romeo’s actions, we need to prove that his decisions were reasonable within the set of circumstances he found himself in. While he makes several decisions that could appear seemingly wrong, they could be justified.

Even after finding out that Juliet is a Capulet, in other words his sworn enemy, he continues to pursue her. While this might seem like the wrong decision to make, it could be justified by his intense passion and love for her. For example, upon seeing Juliet at the Capulet party, he says (Act I, Scene V):

O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!

It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night

Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear—

Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear.

So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows

As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows.

The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand

And, touching hers, make blessèd my rude hand.

Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight,

For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.

As the party ends, Romeo cannot stay away from Juliet and he climbs her balcony. Throughout this exchange, Romeo continues to speak religiously of Juliet, suggesting that he is truly in love with her.

Another decision that Romeo makes that could possibly be justified is that he kills Tybalt. Tybalt challenges Romeo to a duel, but Romeo attempts to hold in his anger since he just got married to Juliet (Act III, Scene I):

I do protest I never injured thee

But love thee better than thou canst devise

Till thou shalt know the reason of my love.

And so, good Capulet, which name I tender

As dearly as my own, be satisfied.

As the duel begins, Tybalt kills Mercutio, and this is when Romeo cannot be peaceful anymore. Because Tybalt killed his dear friend Mercutio, Romeo’s actions of killing Tybalt could be justified (Act III, Scene I):

Alive in triumph, and Mercutio slain!

Away to heaven, respective lenity,

And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now.—

Now, Tybalt, take the 'villain' back again

That late thou gavest me, for Mercutio's soul

Is but a little way above our heads,

Staying for thine to keep him company.

Either thou or I, or both, must go with him.

Interestingly, Romeo blames his actions on Juliet’s beauty, not necessarily his own decisions (Act III, Scene I):

This gentleman, the Prince's near ally,

My very friend, hath got his mortal hurt

In my behalf. My reputation stained

With Tybalt's slander—Tybalt, that an hour

Hath been my cousin! O sweet Juliet,

Thy beauty hath made me effeminate

And in my temper softened valor's steel!

Another fatal decision that Romeo makes is to buy poison from a poor apothecary in order to commit suicide (Act V, Scene I):

Come hither, man. I see that thou art poor.

Hold, there is forty ducats. Let me have

A dram of poison, such soon-speeding gear

As will disperse itself through all the veins,

That the life-weary taker may fall dead,

And that the trunk may be discharged of breath

As violently as hasty powder fired

Doth hurry from the fatal cannon's womb.

This decision can be justified, again, using the relationship between Romeo and Juliet. Romeo has been misinformed that Juliet is dead; he therefore sees no point in living and wants to commit suicide so that he can be with Juliet forever.

Before killing himself, Romeo makes one last fatal decision: he kills Paris in the Capulet tomb. In Act V, Scene III, Paris was preventing Romeo from entering the tomb, blocking Romeo from carrying out his suicide. At this point, Romeo still believes that Juliet is dead and he wants to be with her. Therefore, he kills Paris so that he can carry out his plan.

What are examples of "laws of life" that Atticus believes in and tries to teach Jem and Scout?

Atticus attempts to teach his children numerous "laws of life" throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus tries to share the importance of gaining perspective with his children. After Scout has a rough first day at school, he tells her, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view." (Lee 39) He encourages his children "to get inside a persons' skin," and "walk around in their shoes" throughout the novel. The ability to view situations from another person's perspective is important life lesson throughout the novel.

Another "law of life" that Atticus teaches his children focuses on courage. In Chapter 11, when Atticus makes Jem read to Mrs. Dubose, he tells them, “Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” (Lee 149) Atticus explains Mrs. Dubose's battle with addiction and teaches them what real courage is. He not only tells them what real courage is, but shows them by defending Tom Robinson. Even though he will probably lose the case, he "sees it through" anyway.

Atticus also attempts to teach his children the proper way to treat other people. Atticus says, "cheatin' a colored man is ten times worse than cheatin' a white man" and that it's "the worst thing you can do." (Lee 269) Treating people fairly is a "law of life" that Atticus conveys to his children. When Uncle Jack yells at Scout for hitting Francis, she tells him, "When Jem an' I fuss Atticus doesn't ever just listen to Jem's side of it, he hears mine too." (Lee 113) Atticus' actions reflect his lessons, which makes him the moral, understanding character throughout the novel.

Which of the following is correct according to MLA format? A) The works cited should appear as footnotes within your essay. B) Only the first...

Choice "A" is wrong.  MLA formatting stopped using footnotes in 1988.  Since then MLA has recommended the use of parenthetical citations instead.  

Choice "B" is even more incorrect.  Only citing the first quote in an entire essay is crazy.  Every single time that you use a quote from a new source, that source needs to be identified within a parenthetical citation.  A writer also needs to re-identify a source when he/she switches back to it after using a different source previously.  

Choice "D" is also wrong.  I don't even know exactly what it means.  I do know that your citing needs to be as specific as possible, which means cite what you use. 

Choice "C" is the correct choice.  Signal phrases alert your reader to the fact that the following quote is not your original thought.  They key the reader into a coming quote and identify which source that quote is coming from.  Signal phrases typically include the name of the author of the quote and an action verb.  For example: Butch Sundance states ". . ." (14).  Without the signal phrase proceeding the quote, the quote appears to be a "floating quotation."  Floating quotations are quotations that appear to be used at random without any explanation.  

What kind of animal is the ascaris?

Ascaris is a roundworm which is classified in the Phylum Nematoda, which is in the Animal Kingdom.

Features of Nematode worms include bodies which are not segmented and appear smooth on the outside. They are thin bodied worms. Some can be found in the soil living freely while others are parasitic and rely on a host organism as a way to obtain food.

They contain a body cavity or space between the inner cells (endoderm) and middle cells (mesoderm) however, this cavity is only partially lined with mesoderm and this cavity is not a true body cavity. It is referred to as a pseudocoelom.

They have two openings to their body consisting of an anterior mouth and a posterior anus.  

They don't have a true skeleton but fluid in their coelom and the muscles of the body wall help to support their body structure.

Diffusion is the method that gases enter and leave their body, and it provides the way for materials to slowly circulate throughout their body and for wastes to exit.

Ascarid worms are parasites that affect Humans and other animals. One example is the hookworm, which infect about one fourth of people on Earth. 

Someone needs to swallow fertile eggs that hatch into a larval stage in the small intestine where they can later be transported by the bloodstream to the lungs. 

The larvae complete their development and eventually can be coughed up and swallowed again. These will pass back to the intestine and develop into adults capable of producing more offspring. Thousands of eggs are produced by females daily which exit the host's body when they defecate. These can then be transmitted to other hosts.

A diagram has been provided to illustrate the life cycle of Ascaris lumbricoides.

In "Sonny's Blues" is Sonny a sympathetic character? Why or why not?

In "Sonny's Blues," the narrator's brother Sonny is a sympathetic character.  At the beginning of the story, the narrator learns that Sonny has yet again been arrested for being involved with heroin, and the narrator just cannot understand why his brother cannot work himself out of a life of drug abuse.  As the story unfolds, the reader learns about the harsh past that Sonny and the narrator have had, including the abuse and death faced by their uncle.  Sonny's way of escape is drugs, which the narrator does not understand.  Sonny wants his brother to understand that not everyone handles problems in the same way, and Sonny feels most alive when he is able to play the piano and make music.  It is not until the end of the story that the narrator understands through the music the pain that Sonny has been dealing with too.  The narrator eventually feels sympathy for his brother, and depending on the reader, Sonny has become a sympathetic character long before the end of the story as his character has been juxtaposed against the cold nature of the narrator.

What helps Woodfield remember what he wants to talk to "The Boss" about in "The Fly"?

Woodifield looks around the office as the Boss points out how nice everything is, and sees the photo of the Boss' son in his army uniform. That triggers the story of his wife and daughter going to see Woodifield's son's grave, and reminds him that he wanted to share the information with the Boss.

The Boss suggests that alcohol will help him with his memory, but that's not what helps him remember. After that, he goes on to discuss the graveyard and how nicely it is kept, but also goes on about the cost of a pot of jam that his wife told him about with the trip.

The main memory is the son's grave, and the main trigger is the photograph of the boy.

What transcendental philosophies appear in Hawthorne's "The Artist of the Beautiful"?

The notion of creating a spiritual machine seems both at odds with transcendentalism and in agreement with its philosophies. On one hand, the idea of controlling nature or of mastering it is at odds with transcendental themes of respecting nature. On the other hand, engaging spirit with the physical world is exactly what the transcendentalists were after. 

One of the main themes of transcendentalism is espoused in Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance." In this essay, he encourages the individual to be skeptical of social institutions. In Hawthorne's story, Owen is skeptical of the social institution of buying and selling. He would much rather pursue the exotic boundlessness of his own imagination than succumb to a mechanical life of fixing watches. Another theme of this essay is to "trust thyself." Everyone in Owen's life (with the exception of Annie) mocks him for spending so much time on his art. Owen has spells of melancholy and depression when he abandons his art. But he continually returns to it, thus remembering his individuality and thereby, he ignores the naysayers who mock him. He always returns to his own subjective intuition, to his own inner voice. This is a hallmark of Transcendentalism and Romanticism, which had some similar beliefs. 

Own also claims that he has given his spirit to the mechanized butterfly. As this is his art, one could say the same of an accomplished poet who has put his soul into his poem. Then that poem will live on for others to read and that spirit, although interpreted differently in subsequent generations, will have a life of its own. Owen's machine is destroyed, so it does not live on in the same way. But for Owen, the magic was in the making. The transcendental effect on him had been the process of giving his spirit to the art of creation. (One might criticize him for not giving his spirit to Annie and sharing his life with her. Owen himself might share this criticism, but in the end, he doesn't let this affect his pride in having achieved his self-described "purpose.") 

Owen also strayed from his teacher, Peter Hovenden. This idea of being bold enough to stray from previous masters, authorities, and tradition is a transcendentalist theme as well. Lastly, Owen's fascination with actual butterflies illustrates his Romantic and Transcendental sensibilities. Both the Romantics and the Transcendentalists stressed the importance of nature and of the individual communing with nature, often in solitude. Owen, despite the prospect of loneliness, pursued his art in order to "live a life of purpose." This phrase comes from Walden, another famous work of Transcendentalism. 

What is Charlie's personality like before he has surgery in "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes?

Before Charlie's surgery in "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes, Charlie is outgoing and friendly. He thinks of everyone as his friend, and he does not understand that people might take advantage of him. He thinks it's funny when the guys at work say that someone "pulled a Charlie Gordon." Of course what they really mean is that someone did something stupid, but to Charlie, the guys are just having a fun time. Charlie also is very motivated to learn. He found Miss Kinnian's class all on his own because he wants to improve himself. Because Charlie is mentally handicapped, he has a difficult time understanding things like sarcasm and jokes. Yet, he laughs easily, and he thinks that everyone likes him. Of course, once he has the surgery, and his intelligence begins to increase, he can no longer ignore the fact that his so-called friends have used him all along.

Why are all planets round or spherical?

Simply put, the planets are round or spherical in shape because of the gravitational force acting upon them and their rotations around their axes.

One theory as to how the universe came into existence is the Big Bang theory. The Big Bang theory suggests that a small, dense core of matter exploded about 12 million years ago. All celestial bodies were formed from the debris ejected by this dense package of matter.

Gravity played a huge role in creating the Solar System. The force of gravity is accredited with gathering the debris ejected by the Big Bang. Gravity drew clumps of dust and gas together. The speed and friction of the colliding particles within the clumps caused the particles to become hot. Eventually, the clumps became molten-like. Eventually, the matter within the clumps cooled and formed into the planets of today.

The planets became spherical because gravity pulled the molten clumps in towards their centers. However, planets are not perfectly round. They tend to bulge at their centers. This is because, as they are pulled inward by the force of gravity, the planets also rotate on their axes. The spinning of the planets’ rotations act as an opposing force to the force of gravity, which causes the centers of the planets to bulge.

Did Thomas Jefferson believe that this government would last forever like it is?

Jeffeson wrote extensively about this topic, at least indirectly. Certainly he hoped that a government based on self-rule and essential liberties would be able to persist. But he also believed that changes would occur, even revolutionary changes, and that this might be a good thing. In response to Shays' Rebellion in 1787, for example, he wrote James Madison that "a little revolution...was a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical." Later that year, with Madison immersed in the debates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Jefferson wrote that "the earth belongs...to the living," suggesting that no generation had the authority under natural law to bind future generations to any legal, political, or fiscal obligation. The revolutionary implications of this statement are fairly obvious. Jefferson was also committed to the territorial expansion of the United States, a process he did much to advance with the Louisiana Purchase, and he was more than aware that westward expansion would alter the political landscape. Late in his life, in fact, he wrote with disillusionment about the possibility that the American government would persist as he and the rest of his generation had established it. Responding to the Missouri crisis and compromise, he claimed that limits placed on the expansion of slavery would eventually lead to the downfall of the nation. So throughout his life, Jefferson thought that change, for better or for worse, would be the lot of the American government. It is perhaps too simple to, as many politicians and pundits are wont to do, ask what Jefferson would make of one political policy or another, but certainly many of his writings demonstrate that he envisioned, and at times embraced, fundamental changes to the United States.

What is the meaning of the word ''sermon''?

The dictionary definition of a sermon is as follows:

1. a religious discourse delivered in public usually by a clergyman as a part of a worship service


2. a speech on conduct or duty

Most people are familiar with sermons in relation to religious life. When someone attends a service at their church, temple, mosque, or other house of worship, their religious leader may speak on a specific subject. Many religious services follow some amount of prescribed order which is repeated at each meeting. However, the religious leader may use their sermon to also address particular issues affecting the congregation at that time. For example, a priest may give a special sermon on grief when a member of the community passes away. They may also give special sermons with regard to holidays or events in religious life.

Sermons typically offer some amount of advice, and for this reason someone might also call a secular lecture on behavior a sermon.

How did the Union and Confederacy compare in terms of leadership?

In terms of civilian leadership, most historians rank Abraham Lincoln among the greatest Presidents who ever lived. They cite his rhetoric, his political savvy, and his flexibility in the face of enormous challenges. Jefferson Davis, on the other hand, is often described as aloof, inflexible, and sometimes indecisive. Of course, Davis as a leader was dealing with even more challenges than Lincoln was in trying to hold together a collection of states that had supposedly left the Union in defense of states' rights. But most would probably argue that Lincoln was the superior wartime President. 

As far as military leadership, the conventional wisdom is that the South had better generals, and that the North won the war essentially through weight of numbers. It is true that the South had many generals still admired by students of military tactics. Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson in particular are still viewed as daring and innovative tacticians, who repeatedly achieved stunning victories against larger and better-equipped armies. But the North had its share of quality generals as well, and though the quality of officers was definitely an advantage for the South at the outbreak of the war, generals such as William Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant emerged as at least the equals of their Southern counterparts. These men were notable for their grasp of the nature of modern war, and are hailed as tactical and strategic visionaries by many military historians.

In "The Other Two" by Edith Wharton is Mr. Waythorn's behavior out of character or is there something that allows him to overcome his misgivings?

If I understand your question, it refers to the end of the story. Mr. Waythorn has gradually become aware through his encounters with the two ex-husbands of his wife Alice that she is not entirely the idealized angel of the home he has imagined her. He realizes that she has told him self-serving stories about her ex-husbands. For example, he sees that her first husband is a gentle, timid man, not the brutal man Alice had described. 

At the end of the story, Mr. Waythorn has little reason to overcome his misgivings about Alice. However, it seems entirely in character for this man, so wedded to his comforts, to decide that his situation is not so bad after all. As he thinks:

If he paid for each day's comfort with the small change of his illusions, he grew daily to value the comfort more and set less store upon the coin. ... He even began to reckon up the advantages which accrued from it, to ask himself if it were not better to own a third of a wife who knew how to make a man happy than a whole one who had lacked opportunity to acquire the art.

The very last line appears to reaffirm his resignation to a tarnished ideal, as, meeting with the two ex-husbands in his home, he accepts his third place status:

She [Alice] glanced about for Waythorn, and he took the third cup [of tea] with a laugh.

What were three ways in which the King and Queen of Spain thought they could benefit from Christopher Columbus's proposal?

King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain saw many benefits of investing in Christopher Columbus's voyage in 1492. Despite the voyage being now famous for Columbus's discovery of the Americas, the initial voyage was actually an attempt to find a quicker trade route between Europe and Asia. This goal was one benefit that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella saw when they decided to invest in Columbus's journey. By finding a shorter shipping route, the Spanish empire would gain an advantage when it came to trading with Asia when compared with the rest of Europe. A second benefit of funding Columbus's journey was that they would get to keep 90% of all the wealth found during the journey. This placed any potential riches from newly discovered lands in Spanish hands. This also represented a large incentive for Columbus as well, as he would maintain 10% of the wealth, and become governor of any new lands he found. Finally, a third benefit that helped them to decided to fund the voyage was to help spread Catholicism around the world, with the idea being that a more direct route to Asia would allow them to more easily spread the Catholic faith to that part of the world.

Hope this helps!

Why did Mary kill Patrick in "Lamb to the Slaughter" with a leg of lamb?

"Lamb to the Slaughter" was published in 1953. Those were the days when Americans were buying big freezers in which they stored many different kinds of frozen meats--steaks, chops, roasts, etc. It was believed that they could save money in the long run by purchasing meat wholesale. The freezers were so big that they were usually kept in the garage or down in the basement. They have lost their popularity for several reasons. For one thing, if there was a power outage due to a storm or some malfunctioning in the generators, the meat might spoil and result in a loss rather than a saving. Also, refrigerators came on the market which had big freezer compartments, and these appliances have pretty much replaced the big coffin-like freezers in Americans' homes. Furthermore, the cost of electricity had to be subtracted from the savings on the meat, and many people felt that frozen and thawed meat did not taste as good as fresh meat.

Mary did not intentionally select the leg of lamb as a weapon. She just happened to have it in her hand.

"I'll fix some supper," she whispered. When she walked across the room, she couldn't feel her feet touching the floor. She couldn't feel anything except a slight sickness. She did everything without thinking. She went downstairs to the freezer and took hold of the first object she found. She lifted it out, and looked at it. It was wrapped in paper, so she took off the paper and looked at again --- a leg of lamb.

A frozen leg of lamb would make an excellent blunt instrument for committing a murder. It would weigh perhaps eight pounds and would have a big bone at one end which would serve as a convenient handle. Mary succumbed to a sudden impulse. If she had been holding a steak or a roast instead of that leg of lamb, it probably wouldn't have occurred to her to hit her husband over the head. But the leg of lamb was perfect for the purpose.

If Mary had somehow been accused of the crime and convicted, she would not have been charged with first-degree murder. The crime was not premeditated. It would have been impossible to prove that she even intended to kill Patrick because, in fact, she probably did not even know she was capable of killing him with that leg of lamb. She may have only intended to hit him. She would have been charged with second-degree murder or manslaughter.

Weapons often seem to have lives of their own. Murders are often committed just because the weapon is available. The frozen leg of lamb seems to have the power to produce the crime, just because it is such a convenient weapon and is so easy to dispose of. When Mary puts it in the oven, the enticing smell of a roasting leg of lamb permeates the whole household. The investigating police officers can't resist it. It is the perfect weapon for the perfect crime.

Mary had no intention of killing her husband when she took the leg of lamb out of the freezer. She didn't even know she had selected a leg of lamb until she removed the paper wrapping. What triggered her violent action was her husband's dismissal of what might have been their last meal together.

"I've already told you," he said. "Don't make supper for me. I'm going out."

He has his back turned to her. He is ignoring her. It is as if he has already dismissed her from his life. He might go out and never return. He was not only rejecting her but rejecting the baby she was carrying in her womb.

At that point, Mary Maloney simply walked up behind him and without any pause, she swung the big frozen leg of lamb high in the air and brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his head. She might as well have hit him with a steel bar.

Is it credible that such a meek and loving woman could commit such a violent murder?

"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned,"  
                                                      - William Congreve

Does percent and percentage different from each other? If yes, WHY? If no, WHY?

Percent and percentage are closely related. The difference is in their use:

Use percent when you know or are looking for or using a specific number. For example the solution is 15% chlorine, the bank charges 15% on signature loans, the population is increasing 2% per year.

Use percentage without a specific number. If percentage is used as a noun, there needs to be an adjective. For example, a large percentage of the population has no land line, the percentage of people who smoke is declining.

You would not ask for the percentage of land devoted to farming; you would ask for the percent. On the other hand, you might speak of a large percentage of land devoted to corn. The difference is solely in the usage.

In "The Bet," once the wager has been made , are the protagonist and antagonist in conflict?

Interesting question.  Most teachers stress the basic conflict types.  Man vs man, man vs. society, man vs. nature, and man vs. self are the most basic conflict forms.  

At the beginning of the story, I would definitely agree that the banker and the lawyer are in a man vs man conflict.  The two gentleman are having a civilized discussion about the best way to end a man's life.  I'm not sure why discussing that is civilized, but I digress.  The lawyer says that capital punishment is horrible because any life is better than no life.  The banker disagrees, and says that life in prison is way less humane.  

"The death sentence and the life sentence are equally immoral, but if I had to choose between the death penalty and imprisonment for life, I would certainly choose the second. To live anyhow is better than not at all."

The banker then suggests a friendly little bet.  

"It's not true! I'll bet you two millions you wouldn't stay in solitary confinement for five years."

The lawyer not only says yes, but ups the ante to 15 years . . . for no more money.  What? I don't get it either.

The story makes it appear that the bet began in earnest the next day at noon.  From this point forward, I can't positively say that the lawyer and banker are in conflict with each other anymore.  They don't have any contact with each other and their actions in no way affect each other.  

However, I don't mean to say that the banker and lawyer are free from conflict.  It just isn't man vs. man anymore.  Both men are in the man vs. self conflict.  The lawyer goes through tremendous mood swings throughout his time.  

. . . the prisoner suffered severely from loneliness and depression.

Depression was followed by contentment, then insatiable learning, then a sort of frantic learning, followed finally by a completely jaded attitude with humanity in general.  

"To prove to you in action how I despise all that you live by, I renounce the two millions of which I once dreamed as of paradise and which now I despise."

The lawyer decides to forfeit the bet 5 hours early and lose everything, because he just doesn't see the point anymore. 

The banker is also not free from conflict.  Early on, he doesn't have a care in the world.  He's rich.  But as time passes, his wealth dries up and he realizes that he will be broke if the lawyer wins the bet. 

"To-morrow at twelve o'clock he will regain his freedom. By our agreement I ought to pay him two millions. If I do pay him, it is all over with me: I shall be utterly ruined."

That fact introduces the man vs self struggle within the banker.  He can honor his bet and be poor.  Or he can secretly murder the lawyer and stay semi-wealthy.  The banker opts to kill the lawyer.  

So to answer your question in a short, direct manner.  Yes, once the bet begins, the two men have conflicts.  The conflict is with their inner self though and no longer with each other. 

What are some examples of imagery in The Outsiders?

Imagery is the use of visually descriptive, figurative language.  It's not always using words to get images to come to the reader's mind; it could be descriptive words that are trying to stimulate other senses as well.  

One way that Hinton uses imagery in the novel is in chapter one when she is describing the looks of the Greasers.  For examlpe, Darry's eyes are compared to "pale blue-green ice."  I don't think I have ever met anybody with eyes that color, but I can definitely picture what it would look like.  One of my favorite sections of imagery from the book is Hinton's description of Darry.  

If I had to pick the real character of the gang, it would be Dallas Winston--- Dally. I used to like to draw his picture when he was in a dangerous mood, for then I could get his personality down in a few lines. He had an elfish face, with high cheekbones and a pointed chin, small, sharp animal teeth, and ears like a lynx. His hair was almost white it was so blond, and he didn't like haircuts, or hair oil either, so it fell over his forehead in wisps and kicked out in the back in tufts and curled behind his ears and along the nape of his neck. His eyes were blue, blazing ice, cold with a hatred of the whole world.

That's just awesome.  He's related to fantasy elves and animals (lynx) all in the same sentence.  I can just picture Dally moving with catlike grace and barely contained, dangerous energy.