What are some quotes in Fahrenheit 451 about Mildred's laziness?

Mildred’s laziness is an example of the lack of engagement among people in Montag’s society.

In Montag’s society, people drive fast and watch a lot of television.  They do not form deep relationships with each other, and they certainly do not care much for each other.  Montag's wife Mildred is the perfect example of this.  She is lethargic and insensitive.

For example, every night Mildred lays in a stupor listening to her seashells.  She is...

Mildred’s laziness is an example of the lack of engagement among people in Montag’s society.

In Montag’s society, people drive fast and watch a lot of television.  They do not form deep relationships with each other, and they certainly do not care much for each other.  Montag's wife Mildred is the perfect example of this.  She is lethargic and insensitive.

For example, every night Mildred lays in a stupor listening to her seashells.  She is completely unaware of the world around her.

The room was indeed empty. Every night the waves came in and bore her off on their great tides of sound, floating her, wide-eyed, toward morning. There had been no night in the last two years that Mildred had not swum that sea, had not gladly gone down in it for the third time. (Part I)

Montag feels disconnected from Mildred.  She is more interested in the comatose state than him.  She watches television or listens to the music.  They barely talk, and there is nothing like actual love between them.  She even tried to kill herself, but suicide attempts are common in Montag’s culture.  People see no reason to live.

Montag feels as if he has no connection to Mildred, because she is more interested in the imaginary television people than in him.

Well, wasn't there a wall between him and Mildred, when you came down to it? Literally not just one, wall but, so far, three! And expensive, too! … No matter when he came in, the walls were always talking to Mildred. (Part I)

The television is society’s way of keeping people controlled.  They are so entranced with the television people that they forget to live their own lives.  This is the way most people operate.  Books have been outlawed, but initially they were just no longer needed.  People had everything else, they did not need mental stimulation.  The government decided that thinking was dangerous.  People would be happier without it, and easier to control.

Unlike Mildred, Montag craves more.  She is perfectly happy to live with the fake families on the television and drown herself in music.  He wants to have actual interactions with people and experience the full spectrum of human emotions. It is what turns him into an outlaw.  He is curious about living with more.

How can I write a persuasive essay on this question: Why should teenagers not get piercings or tattoos? Thanks.

When writing an argumentative or persuasive essay, it is important to clearly state an opinion and then support it with reasons and evidence.

In arranging the essay, there should be an introduction, body, and conclusion:

• Introduction

--Give some background information so that readers understand the issue (explain that many teens nowadays get tattoos or piercings and why)

--Present the opinion statement: e.g.Teens should avoid getting piercings and tattoos because the tattoos cannot be removed without...

When writing an argumentative or persuasive essay, it is important to clearly state an opinion and then support it with reasons and evidence.

In arranging the essay, there should be an introduction, body, and conclusion:

• Introduction

--Give some background information so that readers understand the issue (explain that many teens nowadays get tattoos or piercings and why)

--Present the opinion statement:
e.g.Teens should avoid getting piercings and tattoos because the tattoos cannot be removed without pain and expense, and they and piercings can prevent opportunities for employment later on.  

Provide reasons and supporting evidence. (Give at least 3 reasons that support the opinion statement. 
Here are the types of evidence:

1. Case studies - Examples from research


2. Commonly accepted beliefs - Ideas shared by many people


3. Examples - Illustrations or specific examples of a general idea


4. Facts - Statements that can be proven


5. Anecdotes - Stories or personal examples that illustrate a point

Examples:

1. One case study that has been done comes from Salary.com:

• 76% of respondents feel tattoos and piercings hurt an applicant’s chances of being hired during a job interview.


• 39% of those surveyed believe employees with tattoos and piercings reflect poorly on their employers.


• 42% feel visible tattoos are always inappropriate at work,


• 55% reporting the same thing about body piercings.

5. One example of someone who regrets getting tattoos is a fortyish woman who got the tattoos when she was a teen. Imogene states that even her daughter thinks they are "rubbish." 

(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2349091/Warn-teen-Theyll-regret-tattoo--just-like-me.html)

In order for your essay to be its most persuasive, it should be organized so it is written smoothly and logically. Since readers usually recall ideas presented at the end, putting the strongest arguments at the end is a good way to organize. Do not forget to elaborate on reasons so that they appeal to the reader's logic, emotion, or ethics. Be certain that the appeals are balanced and not one-sided.

• Conclusion

--Restate your opinion

--Summarize the reasons.

Why was it necessary for Athena to disguise herself as a mortal man in order to intervene with Odysseus and Telemachus?

In the lore of ancient Greece, it was believed that anyone who looked upon the true form of a god or goddess would die because the sight would be too overwhelming to handle. That is one reason Athena disguises herself: she really likes Odysseus and Telemachus, so she does not want to kill them.

It is a common theme in these kinds of stories for gods and goddesses to disguise themselves as humans and animals....

In the lore of ancient Greece, it was believed that anyone who looked upon the true form of a god or goddess would die because the sight would be too overwhelming to handle. That is one reason Athena disguises herself: she really likes Odysseus and Telemachus, so she does not want to kill them.

It is a common theme in these kinds of stories for gods and goddesses to disguise themselves as humans and animals. That way they are not seen to be directly interfering with human affairs. Often it is just a random animal or person, but Athena's disguise is not just any random mortal man: he is Mentor, a friend of Odysseus. This disguise allows her to get close to the two men without raising their suspicions because of course Odysseus' friend is going to be around and involved. It also guarantees that they will at the very least listen to her advice, and their respect for Mentor makes it more likely that they will follow it as well. 

All in all, Athena adopts the guise of Mentor so as not to kill Odysseus and Telemachus while she does what she can to help them in their endeavors.

In the comedy As You Like It, how is the character Rosalind portrayed?

Rosalind speaks more lines than any other female character in Shakespeare’s works. She also controls many of the events in As You Like It, in a role that often goes to a male character. Rosalind displays an array of human emotions. She mourns the exile of her father, falls in love at first sight with Orlando, and decides to dress as Ganymede, a young man, when banished by her uncle.

As clever and bold as...

Rosalind speaks more lines than any other female character in Shakespeare’s works. She also controls many of the events in As You Like It, in a role that often goes to a male character. Rosalind displays an array of human emotions. She mourns the exile of her father, falls in love at first sight with Orlando, and decides to dress as Ganymede, a young man, when banished by her uncle.

As clever and bold as Rosalind is, she is still human. She becomes disheartened and weary after walking in the woods for so long. She mocks the madness of love, poking fun at Orlando’s poetry and at the jealousy of women. Disguised as a boy, she toys with Orlando, swearing she can cure him of his love sickness. In the process, she woos him, is wooed by him, and tutors him in the ways of romance. In spite of her wisdom, Rosalind pines over Orlando, worrying whether he really loves her.

Ultimately, Rosalind sets everything straight, orchestrating several marriages. She makes a series of promises that are not untrue, to Phebe, the woman who loves her as Ganymede: “I would love you, if I could. I will marry you, if ever I marry woman, and I'll be married to-morrow”; to Orlando: “I will satisfy you, if ever I satisfied man, and you shall be married to-morrow”; and to Silvius, the man who adores Phebe: “I will content you, if what pleases you contents you, and you shall be married to-morrow.”

Rosalind is portrayed as a daring young woman who is as self-aware and witty as she is affectionate. Her behavior and character are central to the play.

What makes "The Black Cat" a Gothic Romance?

A "Gothic Romance" is a story that adheres to certain conventions and techniques that represent its genre. In this sense, a "romance" is not necessarily a love story but refers to stories of chivalry or daring that were common in Europe, those countries that spoke the "Romance" languages. It also has ties to Romanticism, the literary era of 1785 - 1830 when this genre flourished. Below are some characteristics of The Gothic that this story possesses and a discussion of each.

Darkness as intrinsic to humanity. The Gothic pursues topics of the depths of depravity humans can sink to. The narrator not only abuses his wife and animals, he eventually murders his wife with an axe and buries her in his cellar.

The Supernatural. Often Gothic stories feature ghosts and spirits. In this story, while there are no overt spirit beings, it is left to the reader to decide whether the second cat is the reincarnation of the first or whether it is a demon, as the narrator seems to suggest at the end.

Justice. In Gothic stories, sins of the past come back to haunt the perpetrator. In this story, the narrator tries to hide his murder, but the cat ensures that he does not get away with it.

Revenge. Tied closely to justice is the idea of revenge. Those who commit atrocities set in motion a cycle of revenge that must be fulfilled. That happens when the narrator hangs the first cat. The second cat executes revenge on the man for his previous crimes.

Unreliable Narrator. A narrator who does not fully grasp the events as they unfold is typical in Gothic stories. The narrator in this story, while claiming to be sane, is obviously a sociopath, and the reader must understand that not everything he says is believable.

Ambiguity and Ambivalence. Gothic characters can display ambivalence, and events can be ambiguous. The narrator is constantly telling us in this story that he is half-remorseful or that he cannot fully repent of the evil he has done. The story leaves questions in the reader's mind as to whether the cat was only a cat, how the gallows formed on its chest, and whether it purposefully allowed itself to be walled in so that it could expose the narrator's sin.

Moral Closure: The ending of a Gothic tale should clearly declare that wickedness will not prosper. The narrator of "The Black Cat" is to be hanged the following day, showing that he has not been able to get away with murder.

There is much more to Gothic Romance than just horror. "The Black Cat" strongly embodies many Gothic characteristics.

Why was the experiment so unfair to Beatrice in "Rappaccini's Daughter"?

Imagine that you had a father who was a scientist, and as soon as you came into the world, your father used you as a guinea pig to gain scientific knowledge; that this isolated you from the world and made you toxic to all others. This was the situation into which Beatrice was born. From the time of her birth, her father deliberately nourished her on  plant toxins to grow up to be impervious to...

Imagine that you had a father who was a scientist, and as soon as you came into the world, your father used you as a guinea pig to gain scientific knowledge; that this isolated you from the world and made you toxic to all others. This was the situation into which Beatrice was born. From the time of her birth, her father deliberately nourished her on  plant toxins to grow up to be impervious to poisons or illness and feared by all, but inevitably alone, since she was toxic to all. She could exist only in the poisonous garden cultivated by her father. She had no choice in this matter, since by the time she could have exercised any choice at all, she was already ruined in this way by her father. Rappacinni, it was said, "would sacrifice human life, his own among the rest, or whatever else was dearest to him" (4), in order to gain knowledge. This included his very own daughter, whom he sacrificed to his quest for knowledge. At the end of the story, Beatrice loses her life because her father cared more for science than for his own daughter. This is extremely unfair to Beatrice, who had no say in the matter at all.

What is the meaning of Nikki Giovanni's poem "Sky Diving"?

“Sky Diving” is about bracing oneself for death. The speaker is aware of her impending death. Though she is scared to face it, she sounds excited and jubilant at the prospect of realizing her “essence” fully, and finding absolute independence.

The sky has always been a source of mystery. What’s its limit and what lies beyond it are beyond human comprehension. The poet draws an analogy between the sky and death because she thinks death,...

“Sky Diving” is about bracing oneself for death. The speaker is aware of her impending death. Though she is scared to face it, she sounds excited and jubilant at the prospect of realizing her “essence” fully, and finding absolute independence.

The sky has always been a source of mystery. What’s its limit and what lies beyond it are beyond human comprehension. The poet draws an analogy between the sky and death because she thinks death, like the sky, is mystifying and enigmatic. What happens after death is inscrutable.

Therefore, dying is like diving into an unfathomable sky. Quite aptly, the title "Sky Diving" encapsulates the experience of the poet on her deathbed.

The poet experiences a state of wild excitement with the death looming large over her. She’s “singing off-key” and “talking too loud.” She has embraced herself “to cushion the fall.”

She thinks it must be very painful when the soul would leave her body. She imagines the pain she’ll have to endure:

I will spiral
 through that Black hole
 losing skin limbs
 internal organs
 searing
my naked soul

But death is not all about agony and fear. Beyond the pain lies the bliss, according to the poet. Death would relieve her of all her earthly burdens and concerns. She would be free and independent. She’s hopeful to "land" in a new world (“in the next galaxy”).

By “losing” the body, she would be free from all sorts of bondages, anxieties and responsibilities. She would be left only with her “essence” in her new abode.

Landing
 in the next galaxy
 with only my essence
 embracing myself

“Sky Diving” is an interesting study into the mind of a person who could sense his or her approaching death. Death generates a multitude of emotions. The themes of fear and hope, death and freedom, loneliness and possibilities run through the poem.

The poet is able to grasp the inevitability of death. Instead of running away from it, she prepares herself to embrace it with grace.

Why does an aluminum sheet have a shiny and dull side?

The difference in the appearance of the two sides of the aluminum foil is simply due to its thickness and the manufacturing process. Aluminum foils are prepared by passing aluminum metal (along with a very small fraction of impurities) through a series of rollers. This processing produces very thin sheets of aluminum, in fact, so thin that if this sheet passes thorough the last set of rollers, it may tear or crimp. To avoid that,...

The difference in the appearance of the two sides of the aluminum foil is simply due to its thickness and the manufacturing process. Aluminum foils are prepared by passing aluminum metal (along with a very small fraction of impurities) through a series of rollers. This processing produces very thin sheets of aluminum, in fact, so thin that if this sheet passes thorough the last set of rollers, it may tear or crimp. To avoid that, two sets of aluminum foils are rolled together during the final pass. The foil side closer to the roller gets polished (and hence the shiny appearance), while the other side stays unpolished (and hence the matte finish). 

Note that there is no difference between the two sides of the foil, as far as cooking or wrapping the food is concerned. 

Hope this helps. 

Compare the light-gathering power of a telescope with the 9-centimeter diameter mirror to that of the human eye. (Take the diameter of the pupil of...

Hello!

The light-gathering power of a telescope is the quantity of light which a telescope can gather over a time period and at a given light intensity.

When two telescopes (or a telescope and a human eye) are at a places with the same light intensity, then the quantity of light gathered over a period of time depends only on the area of the opening. For a mirror telescope it is the area of a mirror,...

Hello!

The light-gathering power of a telescope is the quantity of light which a telescope can gather over a time period and at a given light intensity.

When two telescopes (or a telescope and a human eye) are at a places with the same light intensity, then the quantity of light gathered over a period of time depends only on the area of the opening. For a mirror telescope it is the area of a mirror, for an eye it is the area of a pupil.

The area of a circle with the diameter `d` is `(pi d^2)/4.` Therefore, the ratio of areas is equal to the square of the ratio of diameters. In our case it is:

`(9/0.5)^2=18^2=` 324 (times). This is how many times bigger the area of the opening of the telescope is compared to the human eye, which directly relates to how much more light the telescope can gather in comparison to the eye.

That said, the largest mirrors in existing telescopes are about 10 m in diameter.

What are some important things Mathilde said in "The Necklace"?

Mathilde complains about her level of wealth and says she needs better clothes for the ball.

Mathilde’s husband seems to accept their lot in life, and their economic status. Mathilde wants more. She feels as if she was born into the wrong life, and she should never have been of such low status as to marry a clerk. She was meant for wealth and happiness.

When Monsieur Loisel brings his wife tickets to a fancy ball, he expects her to be thrilled. Instead, she reacts petulantly. She immediately begins crying about her wardrobe. Surprised, he asks her what is the matter.

"Nothing. Only I have no gown, and, therefore, I can't go to this ball. Give your card to some colleague whose wife is better equipped than I am."

Instead of being happy that her husband acquired tickets to such a spectacular affair, she complains and forces him to give up all of his savings to buy her a dress. Then she is still not happy, telling him that she needs a jewel to wear with it too. He tells her flowers are in fashion, but she will not accept that.

"No; there's nothing more humiliating than to look poor among other women who are rich."

He suggests she borrow one from her friend, and she is happy with that suggestion. Madame Loisel goes to her friend Madame Forestier. They went to school together, but Madame Forestier is wealthy and of higher status. She gladly consents to lend Mathilde a jewel, and makes some suggestions. Mathilde instead chooses what she thinks is a big diamond.

Mathilde loses the necklace. Instead of telling her friend, she and her husband decide to buy another one to replace it. Years later, Madame Forestier does not recognize her friend. Mathilde explains what happened.

"I brought you back another exactly like it. And it has taken us ten years to pay for it. You can understand that it was not easy for us, for us who had nothing. At last it is ended, and I am very glad."

At this point, the irony of the situation sets in. Madame Forestier tells Mathilde that the necklace was fake. She has spent the last ten years of her life paying back a debt she never really incurred. If she had just told the truth, she would have still had her beauty and her modest but comfortable life.

What are some examples of compounds?

A chemical compound is a substance that is made of two or more elements that are chemically bonded together in a fixed ratio. The formula of a compound consists of the symbols of the elements it contains with subscripts representing their proportions. For example, water, which has the formula H2O, has two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom per molecule.

Here are some examples of chemical compounds and their formulas:

`CO_2` , carbon dioxide

`C_6H_12O_6` , glucose

`C_12H_22O_11` , sucrose (white sugar)

`NaCl` , sodium chloride (table salt)

`CH_3COOH`, acetic acid (vinegar)

`C_2H_5OH` , ethanol

`C_8H_18` , octane (gasoline)

`CaCO_3` , calcium carbonate (limestone)

`NaClO` , sodium hypochlorite (bleach)

`NaHCO_3` , sodium hydrogen carbonate (baking soda)

`MgSO_4` , magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt)

`NaOH` , sodium hydroxide (lye)

A compound can exist as individual particles called molecules or as a crystal lattice of repeating formula units. For example, carbon dioxide, a molecular compound, consists of molecules that each contain one carbon and two oxygen atoms. Alternatively, sodium chloride, an ionic compound, exists as a crystal lattice of many sodium and chloride ions in a 1:1 ratio.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, what is the importance of the Radley Family in the novel?

The Radley family is important to Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird for many reasons. First, the word mockingbirds is in the title, so it must be important to the theme and author's purpose. As learned in the novel, mockingbirds are symbols of innocence, vulnerability, and peace just like Boo Radley is. Therefore, how a person treats mockingbirds exposes his or her true character. Since Boo Radley can be viewed as a mockingbird, the way people treat him shows Scout and the reader exactly who those people really are inside.

There seems to be two kinds of people in Maycomb county: those who respect the vulnerable and innocent, and those who take advantage of them. And for some reason, the whole county gets caught up in the gossip, legend, and superstitions surrounding the mysterious Radleys and that is what makes their family so important in the book.

People like Stephanie Crawford get caught up in the gossip. She doesn't care about the Radleys so much as she cares for the attention she gets when she tells people like Jem the Radley's history. She even goes so far to tell Jem the following just for attention:

"He goes out, all right, when it's pitch dark. Miss Stephanie Crawford said she woke up in the middle of the night one time and saw him looking straight through the window at her. . . said his head was like a skull lookin' at her" (12-13).

Saying things like this is akin to hurting a mockingbird because it ignites children's imaginations.

Next, the children get caught up in the spooky legend of Boo Radley and they not only spread the rumors, but they start trying to make him come out of his house. Dill challenges Jem to touch the house, then they come up with the idea to put a letter through a window shutter asking Boo to come out. When Atticus catches wind that the children are playing out the Radley Family History in their yard, he says the following as told by Scout:

"What Mr. Radley did was his own business. If he wanted to come out, he would. If he wanted to stay inside his own house he had the right to stay inside free from the attentions of inquisitive children. . . we were to stay away from that house until we were invited there, we were not to play an asinine game he had seen us playing or make fun of anybody on this street or in this town" (49).

This lecture shows Atticus being a responsible father and teaching his kids not to be disrespectful to people who don't hurt or bother anyone--just like mockingbirds.

Finally, the community gets caught up in the superstition of the Radleys because Mr. Radley's reputation is a mean one. For example, Scout overhears Calpurnia say Mr. Radley is the meanest man in town and then sees her superstitiously spit to the side to keep off the evil. Also, school children won't eat the nuts that fall into the schoolyard from the Radley's house because the superstition is that they are poison and will kill them. Finally, Cecil Jacobs walks an extra long way to school to avoid passing by the Radley house and black folks won't walk by it at night. 

The above-mentioned examples show how the Radley house and the family influence many different people in the community, so they are pretty important in this way. And, as stated above, Boo Radley is symbolic of a peaceful mockingbird who gets a bad rep without hurting anyone. Thus, the Radleys play a major role in the lives of almost everyone in Lee's story.

Who is referred to as an angel in Jerome's Three Men in a Boat and why? |

This is a story from a previous river trip, told by the narrator in Chapter XII. The “angel” was a boy who came to their rescue when they needed a place to stay overnight in Datchet. J., George, and Harris arrived in the town late that night, and they searched for an inn. They didn’t like the looks of the first two places they saw, so they kept on walking. When they were told that...

This is a story from a previous river trip, told by the narrator in Chapter XII. The “angel” was a boy who came to their rescue when they needed a place to stay overnight in Datchet. J., George, and Harris arrived in the town late that night, and they searched for an inn. They didn’t like the looks of the first two places they saw, so they kept on walking. When they were told that these were the only places available, they reluctantly turned back. But by then, both inns were filled to overflowing. On the advice of residents, the three men sought out three other possibilities, and each one of them was full of guests as well. The friends were frustrated. Harris even sat down and vowed to go no farther.

“At that moment an angel came by in the disguise of a small boy,” J. said. He took them to the small house that he and his mother shared. They were served a good meal; but the beds were rather small, and they spent an uncomfortable night there. Nevertheless, they had found a place to stay, courtesy of the boy, their “angel.”

I need a thesis statement for an argumentative essay on the poem "Musée des Beaux Arts." I want to talk about suffering and the thought of not...

Auden wrote the poem "Musée des Beaux Arts" in 1938, after Hitler's rise to power in Germany and annexation of Austria. Hitler's campaign against Jews, homosexuals, and the Romani people may have been personally worrisome to Auden, who was himself gay.

Although the poem does not overtly talk about Hitler, there is a parallel theme in that, just as in the painting people go about their daily lives ignoring both momentous events and great suffering,...

Auden wrote the poem "Musée des Beaux Arts" in 1938, after Hitler's rise to power in Germany and annexation of Austria. Hitler's campaign against Jews, homosexuals, and the Romani people may have been personally worrisome to Auden, who was himself gay.

Although the poem does not overtly talk about Hitler, there is a parallel theme in that, just as in the painting people go about their daily lives ignoring both momentous events and great suffering, so too were people in Europe and Britain ignoring the threat of Hitler. This theme is exemplified by the way the farmer is turned away from Icarus and focused on plowing. Auden describes the scene in Brueghel as follows:

... the ploughman may

Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry,

But for him it was not an important failure;

Thus for a thesis, you could state, "Just as the farmer in the painting is so focused on his plowing that he does not pay attention to Icarus, so too were people in Europe so focused on their daily lives that they ignored the rise of Hitler."

In The Tale of Despereaux, what flaw does Miggery Sow see in Chiaroscuro's plan for revenge?

A line in chapter 36 sums up Mig's reaction to the ill-conceived plan that the rat presented to her. "But Miggery Sow, as I pointed out to you before, was not the sharpest knife in the drawer." 

This fact about Miggery's intelligence is stated time and time again, somewhat rudely, over the course of The Tale of Despereaux.When Roscuro tells Miggery his plan to make her the princess instead of Pea, the poor serving...

A line in chapter 36 sums up Mig's reaction to the ill-conceived plan that the rat presented to her. "But Miggery Sow, as I pointed out to you before, was not the sharpest knife in the drawer." 

This fact about Miggery's intelligence is stated time and time again, somewhat rudely, over the course of The Tale of Despereaux. When Roscuro tells Miggery his plan to make her the princess instead of Pea, the poor serving girl fails to see the obvious ridiculousness of his proposal. Sadly, at this point Mig doesn't see any flaws in the rat's plan, which he never clarifies is revenge until it is far too late. After the two of them have already taken Princess Pea into the dungeon, Roscuro orders Mig to chain up the princess. Mig argues that the princess is going have difficulty "learning her lessons" if she is chained up, but the rat is insistent that she obey him.

Mig's realization that the rat has no intention of honoring his promise to her comes far too late and the reader is left wondering how on earth she could have been so clueless. However, there are some very important reasons why Mig went along with such an idiotic scheme. It is stated very early on in Mig's story that her mother died when she was six and that she was sold as a slave by her father soon after. Mig, who was twelve when she met Roscuro, had been abused and treated with extreme cruelty nearly her whole life. Considering her tragic upbringing, her intelligence and understanding of the world was never properly allowed to develop. On top of that, the abuse she received was frequently delivered to her ears, meaning that there is every possibility that her head was hit on numerous occasions and she may have suffered brain damage. 

In the end, though, perhaps the most likely reason that Miggery would so blindly follow a rat with such a lackluster plan is that she desperately wanted to be a princess and live a good life. Roscuro was one of the only people in her life to ever show her compassion or an ounce of respect (even though he was only pretending) and she trusted him instantly to give her the happy ending she so dearly craved. 

What was Walter Scott's approach and what were the literary devices he used while writing his novel Ivanhoe? How did he make it interesting to his...

Walter Scott published Ivanhoein 1820, partly in response to debates concerning the Habeas Corpus Suspension acts of 1817 and 1818 and the debates of the repeal of the Test and Corporation acts and Reform. The early part of the nineteenth century in which Scott was writing was one in which the United Kingdom was gradually allowing greater freedom of religion, extending the franchise, and increasing civil liberties, and Scott himself, as one of a group...

Walter Scott published Ivanhoe in 1820, partly in response to debates concerning the Habeas Corpus Suspension acts of 1817 and 1818 and the debates of the repeal of the Test and Corporation acts and Reform. The early part of the nineteenth century in which Scott was writing was one in which the United Kingdom was gradually allowing greater freedom of religion, extending the franchise, and increasing civil liberties, and Scott himself, as one of a group known as the Scottish "Moderates" generally favored such freedoms. One consistent theme in the novel is the way many of the Normans treated the Saxons unjustly, a theme that echoes his concerns about prejudice in his own period. This theme is expressed in the following lines:

The royal policy had long been to weaken, by every means, legal or illegal, the strength of a part of the population which was justly considered as nourishing the most inveterate antipathy to their victor.

Like many of Scott's other works, Ivanhoe is an historical novel or romance, set in the middle ages. A central literary device is the way it uses simile and allegory to reflect on contemporary issues by looking at parallel debates in the distant past. He uses archaic language at points to give an historical flavor to dialogue. 

Scott's approach to the historical novel, which he explains in his Preface, is to blend real historical events with fictional characters, using fictional scaffolding to try to reconstruct the thoughts and feelings of people in the distant past by means of a combination of research and imagination.

The story holds the interest of its readers by the exotic period setting, the romantic portrait of chivalry, constant action and suspense, and the perils suffered by sympathetic characters. 

Why were the later New Deal reforms unsuccessful?

As the New Deal entered the mid-1930s to the late-1930s, there was less support for more New Deal programs. However, it would be a stretch to say these programs weren’t successful.

Some people began to be concerned about President Roosevelt and the New Deal. When President Roosevelt tried to pack the Supreme Court with judges more in line with his thinking, some Americans were concerned he was trying to grab too much power. Fortunately, his...

As the New Deal entered the mid-1930s to the late-1930s, there was less support for more New Deal programs. However, it would be a stretch to say these programs weren’t successful.

Some people began to be concerned about President Roosevelt and the New Deal. When President Roosevelt tried to pack the Supreme Court with judges more in line with his thinking, some Americans were concerned he was trying to grab too much power. Fortunately, his court-packing plan never went into effect, but it did raise concerns for some people about what President Roosevelt was doing. There was a growing concern about the costs associated with the New Deal programs. These programs cost billions of dollars. While unemployment dropped somewhat, it certainly didn’t drop to levels that would be considered acceptable. Some people began to question whether the cost was worth the benefits that came from these programs. When the economy went into a recession in 1937 partially because President Roosevelt pulled back on the amount of government spending on New Deal programs, this added to the concern about the effectiveness of these programs.

By the end of the 1930s, people were tiring of all the New Deal programs. Plus, world events were becoming more dangerous with the aggressive actions of Germany, Italy, and Japan. However to say later New Deal programs such as the Fair Labor Standard Act, which gave workers more protection, and the National Housing Act, which helped low-income people built homes were unsuccessful would be a stretch. The Social Security Act and the National Labor Relations Act were also very successful and very popular programs. Thus, as we entered the mid-1930s to the late-1930s, people were becoming a bit tired of hearing about and dealing with the various New Deal programs that were developed. To say these programs weren’t successful is going a bit too far.

In what ways is the title of the poem "To the doctor who treated the raped baby and who felt such despair" unusual? Is it effective in relation to...

The title of this poem is unusual because of its subject matter. We all know that sexual crimes are among the worst crimes that can be perpetrated on any human being, but our sensibilities are further aroused when a defenseless infant is subjected to such horrific abuse. The title is both shocking and poignant.

The title is also unusual because the poet, Finuala Dowling, is addressing her poem to an anonymous doctor; this leaves us...

The title of this poem is unusual because of its subject matter. We all know that sexual crimes are among the worst crimes that can be perpetrated on any human being, but our sensibilities are further aroused when a defenseless infant is subjected to such horrific abuse. The title is both shocking and poignant.

The title is also unusual because the poet, Finuala Dowling, is addressing her poem to an anonymous doctor; this leaves us with several questions that are not answered by the content of the poem. We are led to ponder the intentions of the poet in choosing the title and content of her poem:

1) Who is this doctor? Is Dowling writing about a fictional or real medical emergency? By implication, is the rape fiction or did it really happen?

2) Is the doctor successful in saving the life of the infant?

3) Is tending to a brutalized infant a common experience in this doctor's line of work?

The word "despair" in the title highlights the doctor's efforts in saving the baby's life. It also describes the doctor's emotional state in reference to the operation; her sense of helplessness is evident in her anguished cry for providential intervention.

and when finally you stood exhausted at the end of her cot
and asked, “Where is God?”

So, yes, the title of the poem is effective because it draws the reader's attention to the doctor's humanity and to the execrable crime against an innocent and defenseless baby. Above all else, the title challenges us to ponder the contradictions of life as we read the poem itself.

How does Macbeth's "dagger soliloquy" in Act 2, scene 1 affect the atmosphere in this particular instance?

In order to correctly address this question, one has to understand the concept of atmosphere in its literate context. Atmosphere, in literature, "refers to the feeling, emotion, or mood a writer conveys to a reader through the description of setting and objects" (Gentry, study.com)

In Macbeth's soliloquy, the atmosphere is primarily surreal since it contains elements of the supernatural. Macbeth's dagger soliloquy adds to this atmosphere and emphasizes the demonic purpose of Macbeth's quest, which is to commit murder. One can almost feel the dark forces gathering around to urge him toward his foul deed. When he imagines seeing the dagger before him, one senses the chill of malevolence that he himself is experiencing.

Macbeth questions the dagger's appearance and rhetorically asks whether it is real or just a figment of his imagination, brought about by a 'heat oppressed brain.' Clearly, the commission of his crime is what has been uppermost in Macbeth's mind and he is both anxious and afraid of proceeding to what would be the enactment of a most malicious and treacherous act.

The atmosphere becomes suspenseful when Macbeth notices the dagger leading him to Duncan's chamber. He declares that his eyes are made the fools of the other senses or are 'worth all the rest' implying that either his eyes are deceiving him or that they are better attuned to the circumstances than all the rest of the senses put together. His vision is, therefore, sharper and he can clearly envision the probable outcome of what he is about to do. In this regard then, the dagger provides a premonition of what is to come. 

This idea is affirmed when Macbeth continues seeing the vision but now it displays gobs of blood on its blade which were absent before. Macbeth strives to erase the vision by declaring that it 'is the bloody business which informs thus to mine eyes.' He accedes that it is his mission to murder the king in his bed that is affecting his mind and causing him to hallucinate.  

Macbeth is obviously overwhelmed by the malice of his intended act and he refers to the overwhelming darkness into which he is enfolded, both literally and figuratively. It is a time when evil is afoot and murder has been awakened. He refers to Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft and supreme leader of all witches. He mentions murder, which he personifies, stating that it has been awoken by its sentinel, the wolf, also a creature of darkness, to move secretly through the night towards its target.

These descriptions enhance the foreboding atmosphere and create a mood of malice and pernicious rancor. He alludes to Tarquin, an evil and tyrannical king responsible for the rape of Lucrece. Just as Tarquin moved 'with ravishing strides, towards his design,' does murder now move towards Duncan's chamber to fulfill its fell purpose. Macbeth's allusions are, of course, direct references to himself, for that is exactly what he is about. It is for this reason that he asks:

Thou sure and firm-set earth,
Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear
Thy very stones prate of my whereabout,
And take the present horror from the time,
Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives:
Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.

He does not want to be discovered and asks, by way of an apostrophe, that the earth and the cobblestones not to hear his footsteps, for he fears discovery. The time is ripe for him to commit his foul deed for, as long as he only threatens to kill Duncan, the king lives and it cannot be so. Duncan must die. It is this most foul design that creates an atmosphere of surreal and supernatural foreboding.

Why is Doodle so fascinated by the Scarlet Ibis in "The Scarlet Ibis"?

Doodle can relate to the bird’s death because he was very sickly as an infant and almost died.

The narrator’s little brother, nicknamed Doodle, is very special.  He was born small and weak, and they did not think he would live. 

Everybody thought he was going to die-everybody except Aunt Nicey, who had delivered him. She said he would live because he was born in a caul,and cauls were made from Jesus' nightgown. Daddy had Mr....

Doodle can relate to the bird’s death because he was very sickly as an infant and almost died.

The narrator’s little brother, nicknamed Doodle, is very special.  He was born small and weak, and they did not think he would live. 

Everybody thought he was going to die-everybody except Aunt Nicey, who had delivered him. She said he would live because he was born in a caul,and cauls were made from Jesus' nightgown. Daddy had Mr. Heath, the carpenter, build a little mahogany coffin for him.

Despite the odds, Doodle does live.  He is even able to learn to walk with his brother’s help.  His brother is not satisfied with having a little brother that can’t walk, so he teaches him.  Doodle can do a lot of things no one thinks he can do because his brother is persistent.

One day, the family finds a dead scarlet ibis in the yard.  It is a very rare bird.  Doodle wants to bury it, but his mother won’t touch it in case it has a disease. 

He took out a piece of string from his pocket and, without touching the ibis, looped one end around its neck. Slowly, while singing softly "Shall We Gather at the River," he carried the bird around to the front yard and dug a hole in the flower garden, next to the petunia bed.

Doodle looks silly burying the bird, because he has trouble with the shovel, and his family tries not to laugh.  He buries the bird all by himself.  It is that important to him.  He almost died, and he is drawn to the bird’s plight.

The ibis is a metaphor. It is weak, but special.  This also describes Doodle.  When Doodle dies after straining himself too much, his brother refers to him as his scarlet ibis.  He remembers Doodle’s reaction to the bird, and how they both were unique.

I need an assessment of some of the problems of using IQ tests in the education system

The impact of the use of IQ tests and scores in the education system depends on what  such tests and scores being used for.  Generally, I would say, though, that their impact is more negative than positive for a few reasons.

First, IQ tests are frequently used to "track" students, that is place them in at a higher or lower level in a classroom and color what is expected of them.  For example, when I was a little girl, learning how to read, we were placed into different groups. There were the Bluebirds, the Robins, the Canaries, and so on.  Some groups were functioning at a much higher level than others.  And it is likely that these groupings were based on the students' IQ scores. We all knew perfectly well which groups were the better and worse groups, and there was a stigma attached to being placed in the lower groups, a really damaging impact on students, whether they are learning to read or are in a calculus class in high school. This tracking has been going on for years, and historically, it was often based on IQ scores and may very well still be.  In addition to stigmatizing students with this kind of tracking, we are missing the boat, I think, not challenging students who would benefit from challenge or pushing other students harder than they should be pushed.  When we make these kinds of decisions based on one test, we are shortchanging students terribly.  

Second, IQ tests are designed to test just a few limited kinds of intelligence, and they do not account for all the kinds of intelligence there are in the world, all those intelligences that Howard Gardner has been doing research on for many years.  If all we offer are IQ tests, we are missing out completely on ways that students can be nurtured, engaged, and challenged in school.  The IQ test does not measure creativity or mechanical ability, for example.  Why do we value such a limited definition of what intelligence is and then disregard all the other gifts our students bring?  This is clearly a negative impact, if the IQ test is the be-all and end-all of assessing our students' intelligence.  

Third, to the best of my knowledge, IQ tests are not particularly good at predicting much of anything. So, what is their purpose to begin with? If they do not predict happiness or financial success or academic success, why do we bother with them at all?  The impact of their predictive value is nil. 

Fourth, what IQ tests do seem to measure is one's socioeconomic status. Very poor children will turn up with lower IQs, not because they are less intelligent, but because their intelligence has not been nurtured.  They may not eat properly. Their parents might be working too hard to offer them stimulating activities, or, as some studies have demonstrated, to even talk to them as much as middle-class and wealthy parents talk to their children.  Do we really need tests to show which children are not getting everything they are entitled to?  I don't think so. If we were to use IQ tests to show that when children do get everything they need, their IQs go up, that would make some sense,  I think. But their impact on solving the problems poor children experience, in and out of school, does not exist. 

What is the role of blindness in the play Oedipus Rex?

Blindness is important in Oedipus Rex in both literal and symbolic ways. Perhaps the most horrifying literal portrayal of blindness in the play occurs in its ending, where Oedipus stumbles out from the palace after having blinded himself by stabbing himself in the eyes in remorse for his own actions.

The other literal element of blindness in the play is that of the prophet Teiresias, who is led around by a servant, having been deprived of...

Blindness is important in Oedipus Rex in both literal and symbolic ways. Perhaps the most horrifying literal portrayal of blindness in the play occurs in its ending, where Oedipus stumbles out from the palace after having blinded himself by stabbing himself in the eyes in remorse for his own actions.

The other literal element of blindness in the play is that of the prophet Teiresias, who is led around by a servant, having been deprived of his vision by the gods before the play started, for having offended Hera. 

The main form of symbolic blindness is that of Oedipus, who despite possessing sight in a literal fashion lacks the ability to understand the significance of the things he sees. Although he sees Jocasta, he does not see that she is his mother. Although he saw an old man at the crossroads, he did not see that the old man was his father. Teiresias, when Oedipus taunts him concerning his blindness, responds:

 you have your eyesight, and you do not see

how miserable you are, or where you live,

or who it is who shares your household.

how can i understand the Equivalent Fractions

What is an equivalent fraction?

Equivalent Fractions are fractions that have the same value, despite they look different at times.

How does one find an equivalent fraction?

In order to find or determine an equivalent fraction, you need to multiply both the numerator and denominator by the same non-zero whole number.

VERY IMPORTANT: Please note that you have to use the same non-zero whole number for the numerator and denominator, otherwise you will not obtain...

What is an equivalent fraction?

Equivalent Fractions are fractions that have the same value, despite they look different at times.

How does one find an equivalent fraction?

In order to find or determine an equivalent fraction, you need to multiply both the numerator and denominator by the same non-zero whole number.

VERY IMPORTANT: Please note that you have to use the same non-zero whole number for the numerator and denominator, otherwise you will not obtain an equivalent fraction.

Let's look at am example:

Question: Are the following fractions equivalent? 

Answer: The question is asking if the above fractions are equal in value. We can determine this by multiplying a non-zero whole number to the numerator and denominator of the first fraction `2/4`

Let's multiply '2' to the numerator and denominator:

`(2/4) * (2/2) = 4/8`

From above it can be seen that `2/4 = 4/8`

Now let's multiply '4' to the numerator and denominator:

`(2/4) * (4/4) = 8/16`

From  above it can be seen `2/4 = 8/16`

SUMMARY: 

• Equivalent Fractions are fractions that have the same value,


• In order to find or determine an equivalent fraction, you need to multiply both the numerator and denominator by the same non-zero whole number.

Contrast Atticus Finch's belief with that expressed by the speaker in Langston Hughes's poem "Justice." Explain why they have opposing points of...

Langston Hughes, an African-American poet, wrote "Justice" about the unjust way in which African-Americans were treated. The poem reads, "That Justice is a blind goddess / Is a thing to which we black are wise: / Her bandage hides two festering sores / That once perhaps were eyes." Hughes uses the metaphor of justice as a blindfolded goddess to explain the unfairness of the treatment of African-Americans in American society. In his poem, justice is not only blind but doesn't even have eyes, only sores where her eyes used to be. In other words, it's impossible for African-Americans to receive fair treatment in America.

Unlike the narrator of Langston Hughes's poem, Atticus Finch believes in the power of the justice system to provide an example to the rest of society. Though it is very difficult for him to defend Tom Robinson, an African-American man, he does so. When Scout asks him in Chapter 9 of To Kill a Mockingbird why he is defending Tom, Atticus answers: “'For a number of reasons,' said Atticus. 'The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again'" (page 77; page numbers vary according to the edition). In other words, Atticus feels that the justice system must be upheld. Even though he knows he will likely lose his case, he feels it is worthwhile to defend Tom, as every person has the right to a defense in the American criminal justice system. Atticus likely believes that ultimately, justice will be served, as people who are watching him will learn to reaffirm the power of the justice system. By mounting a defense of Tom, he is doing his duty, and he believes that he can't be a respected member of society if he does not. Atticus thinks that while justice is perhaps blindfolded for the moment, justice is not blind. Her eyes are not sores, and she can still see, so the justice system, while flawed, is worth upholding because it is not totally broken. One day, Atticus thinks, justice will remove her blindfold and see again.

The reason that Atticus and the narrator of Hughes's poem perhaps have opposing points of view is that Atticus is a white man who is a lawyer. He has privileges that come from his race and class in a small southern town in the 1930s. The narrator of Hughes's poem is, on the other hand, a black man from around the same time period who has witnessed and perhaps been subject to great discrimination and unfairness in an unjust American society.

Why was the United States so reluctant to enter World War I?

The United States did not feel immediately threatened in 1914 when the war began.  The government did perceive some threats, but it was mainly from the anarchist and labor movements.  The United States hoped to trade with both the Entente and the Central Powers, though it soon switched to mainly trading with the Entente Powers because the Central Powers did not have the navy to get past the British blockade.  The United States thought that...

The United States did not feel immediately threatened in 1914 when the war began.  The government did perceive some threats, but it was mainly from the anarchist and labor movements.  The United States hoped to trade with both the Entente and the Central Powers, though it soon switched to mainly trading with the Entente Powers because the Central Powers did not have the navy to get past the British blockade.  The United States thought that it could count on being surrounded by two oceans to protect itself from a European struggle.  The progressive activists in the country feared that war would get in the way of their domestic agenda.  

Even when war came to the United States in the form of submarine attacks on American citizens and goods, the United States refused to get into the war.  Woodrow Wilson claimed that the United States was "too proud to fight."  There was a concern that the United States military was not prepared to fight the huge armies of the Central Powers, as the army's last meaningful experience was in the Spanish-American War.  The people of the United States saw the war as a squabble among European powers over territory that did not concern the United States.  The United States only went to war after the discovery of the Zimmerman telegram, which promised Mexico the American West, and the continuation of German unrestricted submarine warfare, which sank many American ships.  Even when the United States joined the war, it did not join as an ally of Britain and France. Instead, the United States was described as an "associated" power.  This was done so the United States could still claim the moral high ground when the conflict ended.  

How is the notion of death or mortality presented or treated in The Great Gatsby?

Fitzgerald uses foreshadowing to point to the deaths of both Myrtle and Gatsby at the end of the novel. Myrtle will die in the Valley of the Ashes when Gatsby's car hits her, and ashes themselves are a traditional Christian symbol of death. Fitzgerald foreshadows the type of death she will experience when two cars get into an accident while trying to get out of Gatsby's long driveway after one of his parties. Nobody is killed, but the car accident is a portent of what is to come, especially when the person accused of driving one of the cars denies that he was the driver.

When Nick drives into the city with Gatsby for lunch, they pass a hearse "heaped with blooms." Nick spends time describing the seemingly inconsequential details of this funeral procession, which should alert the reader that death will reemerge as a motif. Further, the word "ghost" or "ghostly" appears ten times in the novel, mostly in conjunction with Gatsby. This associates him with death. Nick, for example, describes Gatsby's "ghostly heart" as Nick imagines that even to Gatsby, Daisy must have fallen short of his dreams. "Ghostly" is used three times in conjunction with Gatsby's parties: once during the above-mentioned accident, once when Owl Eyes laughs a "ghostly" laugh, and once when Tom and Daisy see a "ghostly" celebrity. It's also used in conjunction with his home: first, after Gatsby ends his parties, Nick "tumbles" on the keys of a "ghostly" piano. The morning of Gatsby's death, "ghostly birds began to sing among the blue leaves." As Wilson approaches to shoot him, Nick imagines Gatsby must have been floating in his pool contemplating a "new world ... where poor ghosts ... drifted fortuitously about."

Throughout the novel, broader hints of mortality weave in and out, such as the sense that Tom's glory years were during college, long behind him, and Nick's sadness as he turns 30 that the best part of life is drifting away from him. We are all getting older, closer to death, the novel says, while yearning for bygone days, beating on, "boats against the current, borne ceaselessly back into the past."

What is unique about the maiden behind the door in "The Lady or the Tiger?"

The maiden behind the door is specifically selected for the accused.

The semi-barbaric king has a very unique system of justice.  He had an arena built with two special doors. Behind one door is a tiger, and behind the other is a lady. If the accused chooses the door with the lady, he is innocent. If he chooses the door with the tiger, he is guilty. That is the trial.

The king wants to make...

The maiden behind the door is specifically selected for the accused.

The semi-barbaric king has a very unique system of justice.  He had an arena built with two special doors. Behind one door is a tiger, and behind the other is a lady. If the accused chooses the door with the lady, he is innocent. If he chooses the door with the tiger, he is guilty. That is the trial.

The king wants to make sure that whichever door he chooses, the accused is immediately punished or rewarded.  The tiger is the fiercest that can be found, and the accused will immediately be mauled to death if he chooses that door. The audience assembled will get to see some fine bloodshed.

However, if the accused is innocent, he will choose the door with the fair maiden behind it. The king will have not just any maiden there, but the perfect maiden for the accused, specifically selected for him.

[The] ranks of maiden youth and beauty throughout the land were carefully surveyed by competent judges in order that the young man might have a fitting bride in case fate did not determine for him a different destiny. 

If the accused man chooses the maiden, the audience will be immediately treated to a huge party as he weds his new bride. It does not matter, by the way, if the accused man is already married or seeing someone. He is just happy to be alive, and goes along with it.

Of course, the problem the princess has with this system is obvious. If she points her lover to the door with the tiger, he will die! Yet if she points him to the door with the lady, he will go to someone else. The princess is not the forgiving sort. The princess knows not just which door is which, but exactly who is behind that door.

It was one of the fairest and loveliest of the damsels of the court who had been selected as the reward of the accused youth, should he be proved innocent of the crime of aspiring to one so far above him; and the princess hated her.

It is supposedly a test of your view of human nature which one you think the princess chose. If you think she chose the tiger, you believe humankind is naturally malicious. If you think she chose the lady, your view about mankind is that people are generally good.

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

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

The next image is visual (and perhaps also auditory) as well: the speaker describes...

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

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

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

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

A small block of mass m slides along a friction less loop. If it starts from rest at P, what is the resultant force acting on it at Q?

Since the loop is frictionless, theere are only two forces acting on the block: Gravity and normal force. Gravity pulls the block downward, and the surface of the track pushes out perpendicular to the track.The force of gravity on the block is fixed: mg. The direction of gravity is always downward.The normal force will vary, however, as is necessary to keep the block from falling through the track. When the track is...

Since the loop is frictionless, theere are only two forces acting on the block: Gravity and normal force. Gravity pulls the block downward, and the surface of the track pushes out perpendicular to the track.

The force of gravity on the block is fixed: mg. The direction of gravity is always downward.

The normal force will vary, however, as is necessary to keep the block from falling through the track. When the track is at an angle x with the ground, the force of gravity into the track will be mg cos x, and this will be exactly compensated by a normal force of mg cos x.

At the indicated point Q, the track appears to be vertical.
This means that x = pi/2, and thus cos x = 0; that is, the track does not push against the block at all, because the only force on the block is directly downward, parallel with the track.

Provided that the block has enough energy to reach that point at all (and from the diagram it looks as though it does), the only force acting on it at Q will be gravity, mg.

Who will win the presidential election and why?

By this question, I assume you are asking about the process of determining who will win the 2016 presidential election and why.

Each candidate will go through the primary process in his or her party. The candidate that emerges from his/her caucus/primary process with the majority of that party’s delegates will represent that party in the general election.

In the general election, each candidate will try to win as many states as possible. Each state...

By this question, I assume you are asking about the process of determining who will win the 2016 presidential election and why.

Each candidate will go through the primary process in his or her party. The candidate that emerges from his/her caucus/primary process with the majority of that party’s delegates will represent that party in the general election.

In the general election, each candidate will try to win as many states as possible. Each state carries with it a certain number of electoral votes. Candidates will focus on winning states with a large number of electoral votes as well as focusing on certain swing states. Swing states are states that could go either for the Republicans or for the Democrats. The winner of the election will be the candidate that gets at least 270 electoral votes.

If you are asking which person will win the election, I will explain who may emerge from the primary process and what that person will need to do in the general election. This is not an endorsement of any individual or any party.

For the Democrats, either Hilary Clinton or Bernie Sanders will be the candidate. Some key questions for Bernie Sanders are if he has enough support from people of color and if he has more than one major issue on which to base his campaign. For Hillary Clinton, she needs to convince voters she is not tied to Wall Street and can represent the interests of the average person. She also needs to appeal to younger voters. My guess is that Hillary Clinton will get the nomination for the Democrats.

For the Republicans, the candidate will most likely be either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz. For Donald Trump, he will need to convince people that he can act presidential. Putting other people or down or insulting them wouldn’t work well if he was president. Ted Cruz needs to convince people that he is not too far to the right. If he is viewed as extreme, this could hurt him. It is hard to predict where Republican support will go once the field is narrowed, but I’m guessing it will be Donald Trump who gets the Republican nomination.

It is my belief the Democrats will win the election. Voter turnout will be key. It there is a big turnout of voters this will help the Democrats significantly. I also believe enough people will be frightened by the positions Ted Cruz will take on many issues. He may be viewed as too extreme. Some will be frightened by Donald Trump’s blunt responses. They will feel he won’t act presidential. Others will question whether the needs of the average person can be understood by either of these Republican candidates.

Please understand this is only a prediction. It is not saying that one candidate or party is better than another candidate or party. My answer is based on polls and comments from political analysts. The real result will be known on election night.

In the short story The Open Window by Saki, are Mrs. Sappleton's husband and brothers alive?

The short answer to your question is yes. In the story, Vera tells Framton a fabricated story about Mrs. Sappleton's husband and brothers in order to amuse herself. The author tells us that 'Romance at short notice was her specialty.' This just means that Vera enjoys making up imaginative, intense stories as an impromptu amusement.

According to Vera's gothic story, Mrs. Sappleton's husband and her two brothers were lost 'three years ago to a day'...

The short answer to your question is yes. In the story, Vera tells Framton a fabricated story about Mrs. Sappleton's husband and brothers in order to amuse herself. The author tells us that 'Romance at short notice was her specialty.' This just means that Vera enjoys making up imaginative, intense stories as an impromptu amusement.

According to Vera's gothic story, Mrs. Sappleton's husband and her two brothers were lost 'three years ago to a day' while making their way to their favorite hunting spot. She mysteriously hints that they must have been 'engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog' since their bodies were never found. Vera's sly suggestions leave open the possibility of the three men appearing through the French windows on some quiet evening; the thought, however, thoroughly discomposes Framton.

When the three men do appear after a short period of time, Framton is convinced that he is seeing ghosts. To Vera's private amusement, their guest beats a hasty retreat out of the house. In the story, we are provided some indications that the three men are still alive:

1)Framton describes an 'undefinable something' that suggests 'masculine habitation' in the room he is in.

2)The author acquaints us with Framton's nervous temperament from the beginning of the story. He is characterized as a hypochondriac of sorts who believes that he needs utmost peace and quiet in order to recover from his myriad ailments.

3)The author characterizes Vera as a mischievous young lady who is not above having a bit of fun at her guest's expense. Besides reducing the impressionable Framton to a nervous wreck, Vera also fabricates a fantastic story about his hasty retreat.

We may safely infer from the above that the men have always been alive and that they were never lost in some treacherous bog.

Hope this helps!

What are the differences between the late eighteenth-century Historicism developed in Germany, and the New Historicism developed by Greenblatt?

Eighteenth-century historicism is usually associated with the Romantic movement and the writings of Leopold von Ranke. Essentially, Ranke argued that culture (especially high culture and politics at the state level, which was what he was primarily interested in) was determined to a great extent by the times in which one lived--the material, economic, and other factors that were specific to one's time and place. Culture, and more broadly human nature, were therefore not fixed or...

Eighteenth-century historicism is usually associated with the Romantic movement and the writings of Leopold von Ranke. Essentially, Ranke argued that culture (especially high culture and politics at the state level, which was what he was primarily interested in) was determined to a great extent by the times in which one lived--the material, economic, and other factors that were specific to one's time and place. Culture, and more broadly human nature, were therefore not fixed or unchanging. Ranke also argued for the importance of historical facts--he was one of the first historians to engage in rigorous archival work--and he saw history as an unfolding of facts that could be understood and related by scholars. 

One major difference between the two is that Stephen Greenblatt was interested first and foremost in historicizing works of literature, most famously Shakespeare. Greenblatt's field is literary criticism, and while Ranke was also interested in literature and the arts, his field of inquiry was much wider. Greenblatt, like Ranke, explains literature more in terms of historical context than, say, structuralists, who were focused more on the influence of literary forms and tropes on writing. Another difference is that von Ranke and other early German historicists still, like Hegel, understood history in terms of the works of God on earth. Ranke wrote:

In all of history God dwells, lives, can be recognized. Every deed gives testimony of Him, every moment preaches His name, but most of all, it seems to me, so does the connectedness of History...

Indeed, Ranke and his contemporaries largely saw history as a means for understanding the role played by God in the world. Greenblatt's approach is more secular, as is most twentieth and twenty-first century scholarship.

How does Shakespeare present Lord Capulet in the play as a whole and in Act I, Scene 2?

Lord Capulet is Juliet's father and a well-respected man of Verona. He does nothing to seek peace with the Montagues, but he is also not one to ruin his own party because a few of his enemy's youth crash it. He seems like a reasonable man, but one who also takes his status in the community and role as husband and father seriously. He believes in what the law allows, which is marrying off his daughter to whomever he chooses. He also expects his wife, daughter, and employees (such as the nurse) to do their duties to support him and to do what he says. When he doesn't get what he wants, though, he can be very mean. For example, when Juliet tells him that she doesn't want to marry Paris, he threatens to cast her off into the streets. He can have a very heated temper when disobeyed. And when he believes that Juliet is dead, he is still selfish because he says the following:

"Death is my son-in-law, Death is my heir;

My daughter he hath wedded. I will die

And leave him all; life, living all is Death's: (IV.v.41-43).

Basically, Lord Capulet is sad for her death, but he's still selfish because he also mentions having no heirs and not getting what he wanted.

As far as the first act is concerned, we see Lord Capulet not wanting to marry his daughter off because of her youth. He tells Paris the following:

"My child is yet a stranger in the world;

She hath not seen the change of fourteen years.

Let two more summers wither in their pride,

Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride" (I.ii.8-11).

Then Capulet tells Paris to go to the party that night and meet some other girls. Paris can play until Juliet matures and then Capulet will marry her off to him. So what changes his mind? Tybalt's death. Lord Capulet sees Juliet crying over Tybalt and wants to make her happy again. He thinks that by marrying her off she will be distracted by a joyful wedding and his family will have cause to be happy, too. It seems as if rash decision-making runs in the family. If Tybalt had not died, Lord Capulet would not have had cause to push his daughter into marriage; but again, he wanted to distract everyone with something happy rather than see Juliet and the family crying over Tybalt's death.

What would be a good thesis statement about innovation, urbanization, and entrpreneurship in The Devil in the White City?

Erik Larson spends a great deal of time in his book discussing the politics around building the Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, and the obstacles Daniel Burnham had to overcome to get it done. This part of the book serves as an example of all that was right -- and wrong -- about how and why cities were built at the end of the 19th century. The White City was a kind of fantasy utopia made real. It was a place of great beauty and innovation -- the place where many people saw electric lighting for the first time, and the birthplace of Pabst Blue Ribbon and the Ferris Wheel. On the other hand, the motivation behind building such a place -- competition with other cities, the desire to turn a profit -- as well as the ephemeral nature of the City itself, inevitably leads one to ask if it was all worth it. Burnham's force of personality got the White City built, but it is possible that personal vision alone is not the best way to build a city.  

So, some thesis statements. You could go either way. Here are some examples you can build off of:

Burnham's struggle to build the Exposition shows how force of character and an entrepreneurial spirit can overcome tremendous obstacles.

or

While the Exposition was a success financially and artistically, Larson's book shows that the drive towards urbanization at the end of the 19th century was motivated by political and profit considerations, and not by a desire to create humane and livable urban spaces.

or

Burnham's White City was an expression of the American spirit, in that it showcased a vision of the future in which average people could live a life of ease thanks to technological innovation and labor-saving consumer products. 

or

The future world that the Exposition promised could be found not in the beautiful buildings of the White City, but in the promise of the free market, represented by innovations such as pancake mix or waffle cones. 

If a firm in a perfectly competitive market is a price taker, what is the firm in a monopolistic market called?

Let’s start by defining perfect competition and monopoly. A market in perfect competition assumes that all firms are selling identical products, with a relatively small market share, and the firms cannot control the market price of their goods. Additionally, the industry has free entry and exit – meaning a firm can easily enter or leave the market (no high startup costs, etc.). In this circumstance, the price of a firm’s goods is set by market...

Let’s start by defining perfect competition and monopoly. A market in perfect competition assumes that all firms are selling identical products, with a relatively small market share, and the firms cannot control the market price of their goods. Additionally, the industry has free entry and exit – meaning a firm can easily enter or leave the market (no high startup costs, etc.). In this circumstance, the price of a firm’s goods is set by market forces. If consumers demand x quantity of Good A, then the price will be at Price A. If consumers demand less of a good, the price will drop to Price B, and if they demand more, the price will rise to Price C. In this situation, firms are “price takers” – the price of their goods is determined by the market.

A monopolistic market, on the other hand, has high barriers to entry (it costs a lot to enter the market, there are high start up costs, etc.) and is dominated by a single firm who produces all the goods – as if Apple were the only producer of phones (no Windows, no Samsung). If the iPhone was the only phone on the market, Apple could charge however much they wanted for it and there would still be a high demand for the product because it was the only phone available. In this instance, the firm is a “price setter” – they set the price for their goods and the market follows.

What are the pilot's characteristics in Tom Godwin's short story "The Cold Equations"?

In the short story "The Cold Equations," the pilot Barton develops as the story progresses. Since that's the case, author Tom Godwin first depicts Barton as possessing the characteristics of emotional distance and the ability to rationalize, but Marilyn's presence soon brings out his empathetic nature.

Barton's emotional distance and ability to rationalize are portrayed in his reaction towards death at the beginning of the story. He is so accustomed to thinking rationally that he no longer feels emotional at the sight of men's deaths. His emotionless, objective rationality stems from his work as a pilot of an emergency rescue vessel. Due to his work, Barton has long since accepted the fact that men colonizing outer space are at the mercy of the laws of nature; there are few chances of survival. Yet, though Barton views death objectively and distantly, he must steel his nerves the moment he discovers there is a stowaway onboard because he is very reluctant to take any stranger's life:

[H]e had no choice in what he must do. There could be no alternative—but it required a few moments of conditioning for even an EDS pilot to prepare himself to walk across the room and coldly, deliberately, take the life of a man he had yet to meet.

Hence, Godwin does not characterize Barton as a cold person but rather as an emotionally distant person who has been desensitized by his environment. As the story progresses, his sensitivity returns.

When Barton realizes the stowaway is a young girl named Marilyn, his caring, empathetic characteristics emerge. Barton displays empathy for Marilyn by doing everything he can to try and save her or at least prolong her life, including contacting his commander to ask if there was a chance of an emergency rescue and receive permission to reduce his deceleration speed for a time. His empathetic, caring nature is further depicted when he says to Marilyn, "You'll never know how sorry I am," and reflects to himself that she'll return each night to his dreams to die all over again. His reflection shows just how much he will grieve her death.

In this excerpt from Act I of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, which figure of speech does Romeo use repeatedly to describe how he feels about...

This passage is chock full of oxymorons. An oxymoron is when two words that have different meanings, or connotations, are combined together for literary effect. In this passage, Romeo describes his love for Rosalind as "brawling love," and "loving hate." These, especially the latter, are obviously oxymorons, because their meanings and connotations are very different. Romeo uses them both to comment on the fray that has just taken place between his kinsmen and the Capulets,...

This passage is chock full of oxymorons. An oxymoron is when two words that have different meanings, or connotations, are combined together for literary effect. In this passage, Romeo describes his love for Rosalind as "brawling love," and "loving hate." These, especially the latter, are obviously oxymorons, because their meanings and connotations are very different. Romeo uses them both to comment on the fray that has just taken place between his kinsmen and the Capulets, but also to describe his unrequited and therefor bitter love for Rosalind. He elaborates with more oxymorons, comparing love to a "feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health," and so on. His point is that love, while beautiful, can also cause extreme pain and sadness, which is especially the case with him. Taken in this light, this passage can be read as foreshadowing the rest of the play--the love shared by Romeo and Juliet is indeed beautiful, but it is also, in the context of the feud between their two families, destructive and tragic. Shakespeare uses oxymorons to underline this duality.

In what ways did Malcolm X influence American society?

Malcolm X was a major influence on American society in the early 1960s when he became a prominent leader in the Nation of Islam, which combined Islam with black nationalism. His life was an example of how a strong voice and charisma were able to affect many lives during the civil rights movement.

When Malcolm X first became a popular leader, his words were designed to empower young blacks in the United States. He didn't...

Malcolm X was a major influence on American society in the early 1960s when he became a prominent leader in the Nation of Islam, which combined Islam with black nationalism. His life was an example of how a strong voice and charisma were able to affect many lives during the civil rights movement.

When Malcolm X first became a popular leader, his words were designed to empower young blacks in the United States. He didn't encourage blacks to be aggressors, but he did encourage them to stand up to "white devils" by any means necessary. His words and teachings evoked a significant response and he was viewed as a prominent leader in the civil rights movement.

After traveling to Mecca in 1964 and learning that orthodox Muslims believed that all races should be equal, Malcolm X changed his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. He softened his rhetoric against whites, but continued his efforts to help blacks to lift themselves up out of their current circumstances.

Even after his murder, his words and teachings continued to resonate and became a major part of the black power movement.

What has Estella said to Pip that has upset him so much in Great Expectations?

Pip is upset by Estella's insults to him when he first visits Satis House.

After Uncle Pumblechook comes to the Forge and tells Mrs. Joe that Miss Havisham wants a boy to play with her ward, Estella, Pip is scrubbed, rubbed and shaken, then sent along with Pumblechook. After Pip is left at Satis House, he follows Estella, the ward, up a dark passage to a section of the house where dwells a strange woman...

Pip is upset by Estella's insults to him when he first visits Satis House.

After Uncle Pumblechook comes to the Forge and tells Mrs. Joe that Miss Havisham wants a boy to play with her ward, Estella, Pip is scrubbed, rubbed and shaken, then sent along with Pumblechook. After Pip is left at Satis House, he follows Estella, the ward, up a dark passage to a section of the house where dwells a strange woman who demands that he call Estella. When the girl comes and Miss Havisham says, "Let me see you play cards with this boy," Estella replies, "With this boy? Why, he is a common laboring boy!" Later, she ridicules Pip for calling the "knaves" jacks in the card game, and she says, "And what coarse hands he has! And what thick boots!" Thus, she succeeds in making Pip feel inferior and "common."

After Estella leaves him at the gate, Pip hides behind a gate and cries. On his four-mile walk to the forge, mulling over what he has heard from Estella, Pip ponders her insults and her damage to his psyche:

...that my hands were coarse; that my boots were thick; that I was much more ignorant than I had considered myself last night....

How does the title of a poem comment on its contents? How do titles work?

The most important thing to remember in analyzing literature of any kind—certainly poetry—is that authors choose their words for a reason. Especially when you're close reading, assume that the author has thought through every single word choice and picked the one that conveys his or her meaning as completely and precisely as possible.

The title might be the most important word choice of all, because it's the first thing the reader sees, so it shapes the way the reader understands the poem. In your analysis, then, the title is a big clue: it tells you what the author wants you to be thinking about as you start reading.

When the title doesn't seem to match the content of the poem, you have to ask yourself why the author wanted you to be thinking about something that isn't obviously relevant. Was the point to make you confused? Does the title add some bit of information that makes you see the poem in a different light? Do the words in the title have multiple meanings?

The most clever titles often seem to have one meaning, but by the end of the poem, you realize they have multiple meanings. Take "Darkness" by Lord Byron (you can read it here). It's a poem about what happens on Earth after the sun goes out. The title's meaning is obvious: when there is no sun, everything is dark. This is a poem about stuff happening in the dark. Duh.

But Byron imagines that, on a dark Earth, humans would begin fighting each other to obtain the few remaining light sources (wood to burn, for example). By the end of the poem (spoiler alert!), every human on the planet is dead. They all killed each other. So, when we circle back to the title, "Darkness," we realize that Byron is also talking about the darkness inside us. It's a commentary on what he sees as one of humanity's deepest, darkest flaws: we are selfish creatures that will do anything to stay alive, even if it means killing each other.

So when I'm analyzing a title, here are the questions I ask. Before I read, I ask: what does the title tell me right away? What does it send me into the poem knowing?

As I read, I ask: what's going on in this poem that relates to the title?

After I read, I ask: Why did the author want me thinking about the specific words in the title? Do the events of the poem make me understand the title in a different way?

And when I'm really stuck, here's what I do: I make up other titles for the poem, and figure out why the author didn't choose to use them. Why didn't Byron name his poem "The Day the Sun Never Rose," or "The Fight for Fire"? I think that focusing on the sun ignores what the humans are doing, and focusing on the fighting obscures his real purpose, which is to ask why everyone is fighting. He wants us seeing that the outer darkness revealed our inner darkness.

Here are a few examples of how I'd use those questions to analyze poem titles. I've tried to include a couple unusual ones.

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"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe (read it here). At first, it seems pretty straightforward. The narrator gets visited by a raven. But why does Poe want me focusing on the raven, not the narrator? Why isn't the poem called "Once Upon a Midnight Dreary" (the setting and first line), or "The Reader" (that's what the narrator is doing at the beginning), or "Nevermore" (what the raven says), or "Lenore" (the narrator's dead lover)?

At the end of the poem, I realize that the big mystery is the bird's nature. The specifics about what it does (like saying "nevermore") aren't nearly as central to the poem as the question of what it is. Is it real? A devil? The spirit of Lenore? A hallucination? The title made me focus, in other words, on the identity of the raven itself, the big mystery, and that led me to wondering about why it came to the narrator and what's going on in his head. It guided me to the questions Poe most wanted me to ask.

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"Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802" by William Wordsworth (read it here). Sounds pretty dull and extremely straightforward. I go into the poem knowing exactly where the poet is and when he's writing. It's not even telling us anything about the poem's contents, so why bother analyzing it? Here's the thing—why doesn't he want to tell me anything about the contents of the poem? Why does it matter that I know where he's sitting or standing as he writes?

The poem is about how beautiful Wordsworth thinks London is. So as I finish and circle back, I'm wondering why he didn't make the title something like "London," or "The Fair City." I realize that the title isn't just record-keeping after all—by putting readers on a bridge in London, he's making us feel like we're in the middle of the city too, surrounded by the same beautiful scene. He wants us to be seeing out of his eyes. If he called the poem "London," we'd start reading feeling like we were looking at the city from outside. It also gives me the sense that the moment was so profound he's saving the date and time the way we might write on a picture in a scrapbook—he'll always remember that September 3, 1802 was the day he saw the most beautiful thing ever.

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"Porphyria's Lover" by Robert Browning (read it here). Right off the bat, I know this is a poem about someone named Porphyria and someone who loves her. Porphyria is a weird name, so I look it up and learn it comes from the Greek word for purple. So why should I be thinking about a purple girl and the (presumably) guy who loves her? In the poem, the lover, who narrates in first person, goes to see Porphyria, and thinks the moment is so perfect that he strangles her with her own hair, then cuddles with her corpse. This is an example of an unusual title, I think, because of the contrast between the title's description of the narrator and what the narrator actually does. Why call him a lover when he murders his girlfriend?? So now I'm focused on trying to figure out why Browning used such an apparently inappropriate word.

Why not call the poem "Yellow Hair," or "Murdered for Love," or "The Perfect Moment," or simply "Porphyria"? Clearly, Browning wants us going into the poem knowing that the narrator loves Porphyria. Is it a straight-up lie, just for shock value? Or is it possible the guy is truly in love with Porphyria? Or is he insane? And if he is in love with her, could he possibly have a decent reason to strangle her? Is Browning trying to tell us something about love itself by juxtaposing it with murder?

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, what were two major lessons that Scout learned by the end of the book?

Throughout the novel, Scout's moral development is depicted as well as the important lessons that enhance her understanding of the world around her. One of the main themes throughout the novel is that innocent people should be protected and not taken advantage of. In Chapter 10, Atticus says that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Miss Maudie elaborates on his comment by telling the children that mockingbirds do nothing but sing...

Throughout the novel, Scout's moral development is depicted as well as the important lessons that enhance her understanding of the world around her. One of the main themes throughout the novel is that innocent people should be protected and not taken advantage of. In Chapter 10, Atticus says that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Miss Maudie elaborates on his comment by telling the children that mockingbirds do nothing but sing for people and cause no harm. Mockingbirds symbolize innocent beings, such as Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. At the end the novel, Sheriff Tate is having a conversation with Atticus about who killed Bob Ewell. Sheriff Tate knows that Boo Radley was responsible for his death, but refuses to tell the public. He says that it would be a sin to put Boo's name in the paper and make him the object of the town's attention because of his shy nature. Atticus looks down at Scout and asks her if she understands. She says, "Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" (Lee 370) Her response demonstrates her understanding that it is wrong to harm innocent beings.

One of the first lessons Atticus teaches Scout has to do with gaining perspective. Atticus encourages her to "climb into another person's skin" and see situations from their point of view to get a better understanding of who they are. At the end of the novel, Scout walks Boo Radley to his house. She stands on his porch and views Maycomb from his perspective for the first time. This scene depicts Scout's ability to view situations from another person's point of view. She gains perspective on Boo Radley as a person. Scout learns that Boo is just a shy neighbor who has a caring heart. Her view of Boo Radley at the end of the novel contrasts with her earlier views. Seeing Boo in a "new light" and truly understanding him, ensures the audience that Scout has learned her lesson on gaining perspective.

What is special about the structure of a plant that allows it to produce its own food?

Plants have specialized organelles within their cells known as chloroplasts. These contain photosynthetic pigments including chlorophyll a and b. Any area of the plant that is green in color is capable of producing food by photosynthesis. This can includes its leaves and stems. Plants require light, carbon dioxide and water to carry out photosynthesis.

Inside a chloroplastare stacks of thylakoids called grana. These contain chlorophyll along with enzymes to aid in the chemical...

Plants have specialized organelles within their cells known as chloroplasts. These contain photosynthetic pigments including chlorophyll a and b. Any area of the plant that is green in color is capable of producing food by photosynthesis. This can includes its leaves and stems. Plants require light, carbon dioxide and water to carry out photosynthesis.

Inside a chloroplast are stacks of thylakoids called grana. These contain chlorophyll along with enzymes to aid in the chemical reaction of photosynthesis. Chlorophyll can absorb visible light energy which is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Plants can combine the carbon dioxide and hydrogen atoms to produce carbohydrates like glucose along with ATP which cells use to perform work. They release oxygen gas as their main waste product.

Plants contain special vascular (conducting) tissue in their veins. Water, which is needed for photosynthesis as a reactant, is transported up the xylem tubes (conducting tissue) against gravity to the leaves in a continuous column. One reason it can do this is because water is a polar molecule with an attraction for other water molecules. They tend to stick together (this is known as cohesion). They also tend to stick to the walls of the conducting xylem tubes (this is known as adhesion). As water evaporates by transpiration out of the leaves, it creates a sort of suction allowing water brought in from the root system to move up the column toward the leaves. 

Another reactant needed for photosynthesis is carbon dioxide. Plants are adapted to absorb this gas from the atmosphere by diffusion through pores in their leaves known as stomata. The carbon dioxide enters air spaces inside the pores and can diffuse into cells where photosynthesis is taking place.

Because of chloroplasts, chlorophyll, stomata, and conducting tissue, plants are capable of making their own food and are known as autotrophs.