Notes: August 2015

Monday, August 31, 2015

Does imperialism as a foreign policy result in more harm than good?

There are two ways to look at this question. I will share both views, and then you can decide if imperialism does more harm than good.

There are benefits to imperialism. The imperial country has an opportunity to gain many things. There is an opportunity for economic gain. By getting resources cheaper and having a place to sell finished products, the imperial country may have significant financial gain by having colonies. This may also lead to economic growth for the imperial country. The imperial country may gain politically. By controlling various places, the imperial country may be able to spread its influence and its power throughout the world. There is an opportunity for military gain. By having colonies, an imperial power may have military bases around the world where its military can be stationed. This may allow for the imperial power to establish itself as a world power.

There are some negatives to imperialism. There are costs associated with imperialism. Running colonies may become very expensive. Setting up and running a government, developing an economic system, and protect the colonies are very costly. If the people don’t want to be ruled by the imperial country, this may lead to issues for the imperial country. If the people being ruled rebel for their freedom, the military costs to end the rebellion may be very high. The imperial country may be viewed very negatively as a result of its imperialistic actions. They may be considered as occupiers of the land or as suppressors of the will of the people. For example, many Latin American countries view the United States as a big brother because of our constant intervention in Latin American affairs in the past. This may cast the imperial country in a negative light in the court of public opinion.

Now it is your turn to decide if imperialism does more harm than good.

Critic Catherine Golden describes what happens to the narrator in "The Yellow Wallpaper" as a double palimpsest. What does she mean?

Charlotte Perkins Gillman's story "The Yellow Wallpaper" is an overlay of the story of so many repressed women during the Victorian era as it presents the medical and professional dominance of women as well as hegemonic masculinity. Also, in support of Golden's claim that the story is a double palimpsest, which is a manuscript that has been once written, effaced and written over anew; the story can be read as a chronicle of more than one aspect of sensory experience brought on by male repression.

Medical/professional dominance and male hegemony

Gillman has the explicit purpose of exposing the oppressive forces of a male-dominated society and medical profession that was insensitive, as well as demeaning, to the unique nature of women. Dr. Mitchell's prescription for the narrator of complete "rest" devoid of any intellectual stimulation is peremptory and completely insensitive to her artistic nature. For, frequently the narrator mentions her pleasure in the various aspects of the garden that ignite her imagination--

...those mysterious deep-shaded arbors, the riotous old-fashioned flowers, and bushes and gnarly trees....I always fancy I see people walking in these numerous paths and arbors, but John has cautioned me not to give way to fancy in the least.

But, her pleasure is foiled by her physician husband's cautions that in her nervous and weak condition, she will have "all manner of excited fancies" if she gives in to her tendency to imagine things.
The insensitive doctor and her husband keep her in a room that has unsymmetrical and ugly wallpaper with a "sub-pattern in a different shade," as well as furniture that is "no worse than inharmonious," while the floor has splintered wood with unsightly gouges taken from it "as if it had been through the wars."

In addition, her satisfaction in being able to write is also thwarted by the doctors,

I think sometimes that if I were only well enough to write a little it would relieve the press of ideas and rest me.

The narrator is also isolated as she is forbidden any companionship. She is promised the visit of relatives only after she becomes well as her physician husband declares that "stimulating people" would be detrimental to her.

Multiple aspects of sensory experience brought on by the repression of such an artistic personality

Early in her confinement, the narrator begins to focus upon the unsightly wallpaper, noticing that it has "a kind of sub-pattern of a different shade." This lack of balance and aesthetic design, as well as the horrid color becomes very disturbing to the artistic narrator. In fact, she fixates upon this color so much that her experience of it breaks into two sensations, a perceptual anomaly termed synesthesia:

It is the strangest yellow, that wall-paper! It makes me think of all the yellow things I ever saw – not beautiful ones like buttercups, but old foul, bad yellow things. But there is something else about that paper – the smell! ... The only thing I can think of that it is like is the color of the paper! A yellow smell."

Further, the narrator begins to perceive a woman trapped behind the "bars" of the yellow wallpaper [yellow is a color of a certain malice or evil, corruption or decay]. And, thus, there is an experience of separation and duality in the narrator as this woman behind the bars becomes something like an alter-ego--"I wonder if they all come out of that wallpaper as I did?"--as well as a supernatural force to her:

"I've got a rope up here....If that woman does get out, and tries to get away, I can tie her!"

Compelled, then, to free this woman, the narrator rips the paper: "I pulled and she shook."

Charlotte Perkins Gilman's story is an exposé of the mistreatment of women by both a medical profession and a patriarchal society. It also a chronicle of the multi-layered aspects of the artistic mind when it is repressed, as well as a Gothic tale of supernatural forces and the horrors of the mind. Indeed, "The Yellow Wallpaper" is a narrator's double palimpsest.

What does Captain Keller mean when he says, "The house is at sixes and sevens from morning 'til night over the child"?

The phrase 'to be at sixes and sevens' means to be confused or in some kind of uproar. Before Annie taught Helen how to behave, Helen kept the entire house in turmoil with her actions.

Her tantrums caused stress between the mother and father. She would pout, throw things, and physically lash out at those around her. The entire household was focused on keeping her happy and calm, a nearly impossible task.

Because Helen was...

The phrase 'to be at sixes and sevens' means to be confused or in some kind of uproar. Before Annie taught Helen how to behave, Helen kept the entire house in turmoil with her actions.

Because Helen was the center of this chaotic world, no peace could settle on the house. The family could not have relaxing family dinners around the table; they couldn't go out together in public to any entertaining events. Helen's father couldn't even find peace and quiet to read a newspaper.

When Captain Keller says his house is at sixes and sevens, he is expressing his frustration at the constant turmoil Helen's behaviors cause. He desires a calm, orderly home, and until something is done about Helen's out of control antics, he won't get it.

What happened the night the narrator hung Pluto? Was this a coincidence?

The night the narrator hung Pluto, his house and everything he owned went up in flames. He, his wife, and a servant barely made it out of the house with their lives, but everything else was destroyed. Poe never gives an explanation for how the fire started, so the readers are left to wonder; he does, however, describe a certain event after the fire that certainly hints that it had something to do with the cat. Only one wall survived the fire, and upon this wall, there was the image of a cat. The narrator gives a scientific explanation for the surprising image, saying that someone had thrown the cat, which had still been hanging in the tree, through his bedroom window to alert him about the fire; then, due to a combination of the lime from the wall plaster, the flames, and the ammonia from the cat's dead body, its image was burned onto the wall. But that information is given to us as the narrator's supposition, not as an actual explanation.

In the end, the question of whether it was a coincidence or not depends on what kind of person you are. If you are a superstitious person by nature, then the fire was not a coincidence; it was retribution for what the narrator did to Pluto. However, if you are a more logical, scientifically minded person, then the fire was just a coincidence, and the image of the cat was exactly what the narrator supposed it was.

Sunday, August 30, 2015

What evidence could be used to say that Atticus was not a good person in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Atticus was somewhat of an absentee parent, but when he was there he made it count.

If you read Go Set a Watchman you might come away with the impression that Atticus did not age well. The book does not portray him as the almost-saint he is in To Kill a Mockingbird. However, no one is perfect. While Atticus has his faults, none of them really make him a bad person. That being said, if you are looking, the following are Atticus's personal shortcomings.

Atticus Never Remarries

In our world, we would not consider it such a terrible thing that Atticus never remarried, but in the Depression-era South this would have been considered a travesty. Children need both parents, and more importantly they need a mother. The fact that Atticus never gave his children a mother when his wife died so young would have been considered somewhat of a minor scandal.

Our mother died when I was two, so I never felt her absence. She was a Graham from Montgomery; Atticus met her when he was first elected to the state legislature. He was middle-aged then, she was fifteen years his junior. (Ch. 2)

Because of this, Scout misses out on all of the advice a mother should have given her. Alexandra is annoyed that Atticus lets her run around in overalls and climb trees when she should have been wearing dresses and attending tea parties. It would have been thought back then that there are some things only a mother can teach, and one is how to be a lady.

Atticus is an Absentee Father

In a point related to the last point, Atticus’s children are basically raised by the housekeeper, Calpurnia. He works all day, either at his law office or in the state legislature, and when he is home he is often too tired to be a real father.

Atticus was feeble: he was nearly fifty. When Jem and I asked him why he was so old, he said he got started late, which we felt reflected upon his abilities and manliness. He was much older than the parents of our school contemporaries … (Ch. 10)

Atticus’s parenting style could be described as somewhat hands-off. He gives his children little moral lectures from time to time, and he reads to Scout or lets her read with him, but he is mostly absent from their day-to-day existence. It is easy to idolize a father you see so rarely. Jem comments that Atticus has never even spanked him. And people of that time period may have thought that discipline through spanking was important for a parent to follow-through on.

“I—it’s like this, Scout,” he muttered. “Atticus ain’t ever whipped me since I can remember. I wanta keep it that way.”

This was a thought. It seemed that Atticus threatened us every other day. “You mean he’s never caught you at anything.”

“Maybe so, but—I just wanta keep it that way, Scout. (Ch. 6)

A father should follow through, and not just make threats. Atticus tells his children he will “wear them out” but he never actually seems to punish them. Children really can’t be raised like that. Sooner or later they will figure out that you don’t mean what you say.

Atticus Doesn’t Believe He Will Win the Case

As a lawyer, you are supposed to try to win even if you are sure your client is guilty. Atticus takes Tom Robinson’s case because he is ordered to by Judge Taylor, not because he is on some moral crusade. And it can be argued that once he accepts the case, he doesn’t seem to try that hard to win it. When Scout asks Atticus if they are going to win, he tells her there is no way it will happen.

“Atticus, are we going to win it?”

“No, honey.”

“Then why—”

“Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win,” Atticus said. (Ch. 9)

Believing your client is guilty is one thing, but giving up before the case even goes to trial is something else. How can Atticus really defend Tom Robinson rigorously if he doesn’t believe that he can ever win? He may seem to be trying, but he also seems to feel that the outcome is a forgone conclusion, just like everyone else.

So, in conclusion, Atticus Finch is not a saint. Like everyone else, he has his personal foibles and his shortcomings. Was Atticus Finch racist, or a champion of civil rights? You just have to read what you will into it.

Where was the Civil War fought?

The Civil War was mostly (except for some naval engagements) fought in the continental United States, in what military historians divide into two "theaters" of war. The first, in the east, consisted primarily of the Union's attempt to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia. For this reason, a disproportionate amount of battles were fought between Washington, D.C. and Richmond, along what is today the I-95 corridor. Two Confederate invasions of the North resulted in...

The western theater consisted first of Union attempts to control the major river complexes before cutting off Confederate control of the Mississippi. After this effort was completed at the siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, the theater shifted to Georgia, and later through the Carolinas with General William Sherman's march. The war was also fought along the coast of the South, as the Union tightened its grip on the Confederacy by taking one port town after another, most of which were heavily fortified.

What are the most important facts regarding women's new freedoms in the 1920s?

Women got new freedoms in the 1920s. The most important new freedom was the right to vote. The 19th amendment was ratified in August 1920. Women were now able to vote throughout the country. Women had worked for this freedom for over 70 years, going back to the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848.

There were other changes for women also. Before 1920, women were expected to stay at home and take care of the house...

There were other changes for women also. Before 1920, women were expected to stay at home and take care of the house and kids. In the 1920s, this expectation changed. While women still took care of the house and kids, more women, especially younger women, began to have jobs outside of their homes. Women also began to dress less conservatively. Dresses became shorter and most stylish. Women were much more concerned about their appearance in public. Women also began to drink and smoke in public. Women were also not afraid to publicly voice their opinions on political and societal matters. While these changes alarmed traditionalists, many women viewed them as a sign of progress. The 1920s was a decade when there were many changes for women and their roles.

What is the significance of the blossoming of the withered almond tree in "The Canterville Ghost?"

In Chapter Six of "The Canterville Ghost," one of the twins notices that the withered almond tree has suddenly started to blossom. This event happens shortly after Virginia returns to her family and explains that she has been with the ghost:

He is dead and you must come and see him. He was very wicked, but he was really sorry for all that he had done.

In this context, the withered almond tree functions as...

He is dead and you must come and see him. He was very wicked, but he was really sorry for all that he had done.

In this context, the withered almond tree functions as a symbol of the ghost's redemption. Before, the ghost was not apologetic about his crimes, like the murder of his wife (hence the image of a dying, withered tree). Instead, he was content to roam the corridors of Canterville Chase, terrorising its residents. But, once the Otis family moved in, the ghost was unable to scare them and he lost his sense of purpose. A meeting with Virginia, in Chapter Five, however, set the ghost's mind to redemption and the prospect of eternal rest in the Garden of Death.

Once the ghost had said sorry to God, he was forgiven and accepted into the afterlife. The blossoming of the tree is thus symbolic of this important moment and of the ghost's reformation, more generally.

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Although a skilled actor, it is only when Hamlet inadvertently examines a player’s performance that he gains much insight to the intricate...

In Act 3, scene 2, Hamlet begins the scene by explaining to the players how they should act. This speech has become a standard among classical actor training programs, as it is often read as an encoded message to actors on how they should perform Shakespeare's words. Hamlet describes how actors should pronounce the words "trippingly" and the emotions with a "temperance." However, the scene slowly grows more subversive as it continues. As Hamlet sees the players perform, he notes how Gertrude grows more uncomfortable. Hamlet takes this uncomfortable reaction to mean she is guilty, as he believes that this play, "The Mousetrap," would only bother someone with an unclean conscience.

These insights are important, as Hamlet is discussing meta-theatrical elements and the way performances can reveal truths in audience members. While Hamlet is stating this about his mother, it can be read as Shakespeare stating this regarding the audience of Hamlet. In this scene, Hamlet, the character, teaches an audience how they should view a piece of work. He does this by discussing actor training, as in the beginning of the scene, but also by discussing the nature of audience reaction, as in the latter portion of the scene.

What is evidence from the passage that shows Eveline's hopelessness?

In James Joyce's "Eveline," there are several instances in which the title character exhibits hopelessness, no more so than the beginning of the story when she looks out her window like an abandoned pet end of the story when she is unable to board the boat with Frank.

Throughout this story, Joyce employs free indirect discourse, which allows the third-person narrator to speak a character's thoughts.

At the beginning of the story, Eveline, like...

Throughout this story, Joyce employs free indirect discourse, which allows the third-person narrator to speak a character's thoughts.

At the beginning of the story, Eveline, like a dog sitting at a front window, "leaned against the window curtains and in her nostrils was the odour of dusty cretonne." She reminisces on the games she used to play with the children, but realizes "That was a long time ago; she and her brothers and sisters were all grown up; her mother was dead."

Throughout the story, the only thing that gives Eveline hope is the proposition of leaving Dublin to live with Frank in "Buenos Ayres." However, when the time comes, Eveline returns to her state at least he beginning of the story, that of a helpless animal. Stopped by a desire to fulfill her mother's dying wish to fulfill her familial duty, Eveline clings to the railings that led to the boat. She "set her white face to him, passive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition."

Overall, "Eveline" highlights the feeling of hopelessness and paralysis that run through all the stories in Dubliners.

What would be an object/item which is representative of the most important conflict in the plot?

The book The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green, is about two teens with cancer learning to embrace their lives and make the most of it. Hazel Lancaster has thyroid cancer which is currently in a state of non-progression thanks to an experimental drug. Though the cancer is not progressing, Hazel's mother feels she is depressed and decides to send Hazel to a cancer support group. There she meets Augustus Waters, who had osteosarcoma as a child and is in attendance at the group to support his friend Isaac. After the group, Hazel and Augustus talk for a while. When Augustus puts a cigarette between his lips, Hazel begins admonishing him, and Augustus explain that the cigarette is not for smoking. It is a metaphor. He simply puts the (unlit, and therefore harmless) cigarette between his lips, but does not light it. He does not give the cigarette the "power to kill."

One of the troubles people with cancer struggle with, in real life and in the book, is a feeling of a lack of agency. People with cancer may feel that their power to make decisions about their health, their life, and their death has been limited or removed entirely. This is the major conflict in the book. When one's life and death are uncertain, it's important to make the most of what time is left. Though Hazel's condition is relatively stable, she is still limited in what she does in life by her poorer quality of health. She has to use an oxygen tank as her lungs are at risk of filling with fluid, and she becomes fatigued easily. Hazel wants to have good quality of life and wants to live a life that is good for others. She is a vegetarian and tries very hard to not make a negative impact on the world.

The plot action really begins to build when Hazel introduces Augustus to her favorite book, and both of them are left with questions unanswered by the author. Augustus, who is later revealed to have had a relapse in his condition, tries to use his remaining time to enjoy Hazel's company and help her make the most out of her time, too. He decides to use his Wish (granted by a charity for young people with cancer) to take Hazel to Amsterdam to visit her favorite author and ask their questions in person. Though the author does not turn out to be the kind of person they were expecting, Hazel and Augustus have a great time in Amsterdam and are only mildly limited by their health.

I believe that the cigarette Augustus puts between his lips, but does not smoke, is a great object to represent the conflict of this story. The cigarette, on its own, does not have the power to kill someone. The cigarette must be given the power by being lit. This can be a metaphor for depression or poor quality of life experienced by someone with cancer. While cancer has a huge impact on someone's health condition and capability for physical activity, cancer must be given the power to keep someone down. Augustus teaches Hazel that it's about accepting each other, accepting oneself, and accepting the cards we are dealt in life and making the most of it. Even with cancer, there are many brilliant things someone can do with their time.

Friday, August 28, 2015

How should I approach writing a thesis on why sports are bad?

The first thing you need to think about when writing an effective thesis statement is to determine several reasons why you think sports are bad. Because the thesis of the essay is the main idea of the entire essay, it should focus on the reasons why sports are bad and then outlined why in your body paragraphs.

For example, sports are expensive to participate in, sports are physically dangerous, and sports are not as important...

For example, sports are expensive to participate in, sports are physically dangerous, and sports are not as important as academics.

Next, using those three topics or reasons why sports are bad, write your thesis.

Participating in sports is bad because _____(reason #1)_________,

_____(reason #2)___________. ______(reason #3)_____________.

I like to encourage my students to avoid just “listing” the reasons why in their thesis. Although there is nothing wrong with it, I like my students to try to be more sophisticated when they write their thesis statements. So, instead of just listing, think of ways you can say the same thing but in a more general way.

Ex. Participating in sports is bad because of the physical and mental strain it puts on the athlete. Then, in your body paragraphs, you can discuss the three physical and mental reasons why sports are bad.

As a formula, a good thesis statement will state the main idea of the topic and add a how or why reason. Sports are bad (main idea) + because (how or why reason) . . .

Why do we call Matthew, Mark, and Luke the synoptic Gospels?

The prefix syn- means "same." "Optic" refers to seeing; therefore, the "synoptic" gospels see the same things. Many of the events related in Matthew, Mark, and Luke are the same, while the Gospel of John takes a different perspective. Although Matthew, Mark, and Luke have different authors who each take a different approach to Jesus' life, many of the parables, miracles, and sermons recorded can be found in two or three of these gospels. For example, the parables of the sower, the mustard seed, the tenant farmers, the budding fig tree, and the new cloth on the old garment appear in all three synoptic gospels. Nevertheless, each gospel relates at least one parable that is unique to that writer's account.

Regarding miracles, all three synoptic gospels and John tell of Jesus' feeding the 5000, but only Matthew and Mark tell of feeding the 4000. All three synoptics relate healing the paralytic, calming the storm at sea, and casting the demons out of the demoniac of Gerasene. It is rare for any of the synoptic gospels to tell about a miracle that no other gospel relates; conversely, the Gospel of John is the only gospel that describes turning water into wine, healing the man born blind in Jerusalem, and raising Lazarus from the dead.

To get a continuous, chronological presentation of the material provided in all four gospels, you can use a "harmony of the gospels," either online or in print. This is a good way to see which material is repeated between the gospels and which is unique to one of them.

What is the overall mood at Jack's feast in Lord Of The Flies?

This was the first time since being on the island that the boys would be savouring meat, so one would expect that the mood would be one of excitement and joy. The overall mood was, however, tense and uncomfortable.

The reason for this was that in the process of hunting, the signal fire had been forgotten and had died. A ship had passed by in the distance and would most likely have been drawn to the smoke, which meant rescue. When Jack and the hunters returned with their bounty, Ralph, who was extremely upset, confronted him.

Ralph spoke.
“You let the fire go out.”
Jack checked, vaguely irritated by this irrelevance but too happy to let it worry him.
“We can light the fire again. You should have been with us, Ralph. We had a smashing time. The twins got knocked over—”

Those who had gone on the hunt were enthralled by their experience and wanted to share, but Ralph would not allow it. When Jack started talking about the hunt, Jack reiterated what he had said earlier. He added:

“There was a ship. Out there. You said you’d keep the fire going and you let it out!”
He took a step toward Jack, who turned and faced him.
“They might have seen us. We might have gone home—”

Piggy soon joined the argument and the realisation that they could have been rescued dawned on the other boys. Some of the younger ones began to cry. Jack became indignantly upset when Piggy kept on nagging and he turned against him, hitting him in the stomach with his fist. He then smacked him on the head sending Piggy's glasses flying. One of the lenses was broken and Piggy cried out that he now had only one eye. Jack copied him and the hunters began to laugh. Jack scrambled up towards Piggy who was behind a rock, causing more laughter. Jack later apologized about the fire and earned the admiration of the boys for being such a gentleman and doing 'the decent thing.'

Once the fire had been made, the tension lifted somewhat but the general strain prevailed. The boys tried cooking the meat by using a stake over the fire but that did not work, so each boy took a chunk and skewered it onto a branch or stick to be roasted in the fire, also burning themselves in the process. Ralph and Piggy both dribbled and Jack gave Ralph a half cooked piece of meat into which he immediately sank his teeth. Piggy was not given anything and when he complained, Simon gave him his. Jack, who wanted to punish Piggy, was upset about this and cut off a chunk of meat which he threw to Simon, commanding him to eat.

Jack was clearly enraged and shouted that he had gotten them all meat, stressing:

“I painted my face—I stole up. Now you eat—all of you—and I—” Slowly the silence on the mountain-top deepened till the click of the fire and the soft hiss of roasting meat could be heard clearly. Jack looked round for understanding but found only respect. Ralph stood among the ashes of the signal fire, his hands full of meat, saying nothing.

Jack had gained the boys' respect, but no one spoke. The tension was still palpable. Maurice broke the silence when he asked questions about the hunt. Jack could not stand the idea of someone else telling his story and started talking about the hunt. Soon the other boys joined in and the mood changed. Maurice ran into centre pretending to be a pig and the boys started dancing and chanting:

“Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in.”

Ralph, who resented and envied their celebration, waited until they had stopped dancing and singing to announce that he was calling a meeting:

“I’m calling an assembly.”
One by one, they halted, and stood watching him.
“With the conch. I’m calling a meeting even if we have to go on into the dark. Down on the platform. When I blow it. Now.”
He turned away and walked off, down the mountain.

Why is the crown related to Macbeth?

The crown symbolizes the highest form of power and authority one can have as a ruler. In Macbeth, the crown rightfully belongs to king Duncan, who is a mild and honorable ruler, respecting loyalty, true friendship and bravery. However, Macbeth's personal ambitions interfere with what is right, and he desires to possess the crown:

If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, Without my stir.

However, he quickly realizes that he has...

If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me,
Without my stir.

However, he quickly realizes that he has to act if he is to become the king and feels tempted to seize the crown himself. He does take the crown by murdering king Duncan and then blaming the murder on others. The crown is seized and falls into the wrong hands because Macbeth illegally takes it. As a result, the whole outside world is cast into chaos.

Yet, Macbeth learns from the witches' prophecy that Banquo's posterity will eventually take the crown:

Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown,
And put a barren sceptre in my gripe,
Thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand,
No son of mine succeeding.

"The fruitless crown" means that Macbeth's future is bleak. He is racked by the following fear -- it seems that he murders Duncan and forfeits his soul in exchange for temporal power only to find out that all of this will be in vain. He does not want this to happen and obsessively starts killing anyone who could stand in his way directly or indirectly.

Macbeth's desire for the crown eventually leads to his downfall because the crown does not belong to him rightfully. So, when he dies, order is restored.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

According to Shaw, Professor Higgins has "touches of sweet". Bring out the pathos in Higgins' character in light of Shaw's observation.

This question misunderstands Shaw's quote in the preface to Pygmalion. When Shaw mentions "touches" of Sweet in the play, he means Henry Sweet, a renowned phonetician and grammarian who studied accents and pronunciation, just as Higgins does. What Shaw writes is the following:

With Higgins's physique and temperament Sweet might have set the Thames on fire.

When Shaw adds that there are "touches of Sweet " in the play, he is not referring to "sweet"...

With Higgins's physique and temperament Sweet might have set the Thames on fire.

When Shaw adds that there are "touches of Sweet " in the play, he is not referring to "sweet" aspects in Henry Higgins' personality. According to Shaw's preface, Henry Sweet was anything but "sweet," having a "Satanic contempt" for people who disagreed with his views.

Nevertheless, the question asks us to explore whether Higgins has a "sweet" side or "pathos" to his character. Higgins is rude from beginning to end, but his pathos is that he is rude without any intention of being spiteful or malicious. He is rude simply because he speaks his mind bluntly. There is a pathos in his blindness to how much he bullies Eliza and the extent to which he treats people as objects to be used rather than as human beings. His pathos may lie in how often he lacks self-awareness of the ways in which he offends people.

For despite all his rudeness and bullying, Higgins also has moments of insight that add pathos to his character. When he and Eliza are quarreling and she says she wants to be independent, he says:

"We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth."

A few moments later, he acknowledges his appreciation of her, revealing that he can have some awareness of others:

"Five minutes ago you
were like a millstone round my neck. Now you're a tower of strength: a consort battleship. You and I and Pickering will be three old bachelors together instead of only two men and a silly girl."

We feel sympathy for Higgins because he is trying to be kind but doesn't understand that Eliza has no desire to be an "old bachelor" like him.

Is Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest a melodrama, a comedy of manners, or both?

Oscar Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest certainly qualifies as a comedy of manners. A comedy of manners is a work that humorously satirizes the manners of a particular social group, typically the upper class (upper-class problems tend to have more potential for humor than lower-class problems: for example, a woman in the upper class might spend hours trying to figure out what to wear to an important party while a lower-class woman might spend hours trying to figure out what to feed her hungry children). Classifying the work as a satire means that the text would not only point out flaws in this group but would also suggest that changes should be made to reduce or eliminate those flaws. In the play, we definitely see Wilde poking fun at the upper class, and especially their frivolity and obsession with appearances.

However, the play cannot be characterized as a melodrama because -- though it has exaggerated characters (and some exciting events) -- it is not intended to appeal to the audience's emotions. We are supposed to laugh at these characters and the absurd situations they create for themselves; we are not supposed to be affected in some highly emotional way. Consider the scene where Jack and Algernon are eating muffins; we laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation: they fight over who has eaten more muffins and whether or not it is appropriate to eat muffins when one is upset. Such scenes are absolutely designed to point out the absurdity and frivolity of upper-class problems in a humorous way, not to force the reader into some deep feelings about muffin-eating propriety.

From what point of view is James Thurber's story "The Catbird Seat" told?

The point of view in "The Catbird Seat" is very definitely that of Mr. Martin, head of the filing department for a big corporation. James Thurber focuses intently on Martin's perceptions and mental processes. This narrative style is called "Third person, subjective" or "Third person, limited." The whole plot depends on what Martin is observing, thinking, feeling, suspecting, planning, and doing.

Martin seems like a very lonely and isolated man. He lives for his work...

Martin seems like a very lonely and isolated man. He lives for his work and he loves his filing department. He is quick to realize that Mr. Fitweiler's new assistant, who has been creating havoc by reorganizing other departments, now has her eye on his. This makes him decide to kill her. We are in his point of view as he reviews his case against her and as he makes plans to commit her murder. Then we are in his point of view when he is at her apartment and changes his plans radically. Instead of killing her, he will make her believe he is a deranged dope fiend who plans to kill their boss Mr. Fitweiler. It is interesting to see how Thurber retains Martin's point of view when Mrs. Barrows goes into Mr. Fitweiler's office next morning to report Martin's outrageous behavior.

Mr. Martin got to the office at eight-thirty the next morning, as usual. At a quarter to nine, Ulgine Barrows, who had never before arrived at work before ten, swept into his office. "I'm reporting to Mr. Fitweiler now!" she shouted. "If he turns you over to the police, it's no more than you deserve!" Mr. Martin gave her a look of shocked surprise. "I beg your pardon?" he said....Forty-five minutes later, Mrs. Barrows left the president's office and went into her own, shutting the door. It wasn't until half an hour later that Mr. Fitweiler sent for Mr. Martin.

Although she spent forty-five minutes telling Mr. Fitweiler about Martin's visit last night, not a word of what either the president or his assistant said is recorded in the text. This is because Mr. Martin is not inside the office with them, and the author stays strictly in one point of view. We know pretty well what Ulgine Barrows must be saying, because we observed the whole scene at her apartment through Martin's point of view.

As Mr. Martin anticipated, their boss thinks the woman has gone crazy. She is describing the most quiet, studious, polite man in the organization as a dope addict and a potential killer. When Martin is called into the boss's office, his customary respectful and humble manner convinces Fitweiler that Ulgine Barrows must be suffering from hallucinations as a result of a nervous breakdown. Then she bursts into the office and consummates her own overthrow by her accusations of Martin and her verbal abuse of their employer.

"You drank and smoked at my apartment," she bawled at Mr. Martin, "and you know it! You called Mr. Fitweiler an old windbag and said you were going to blow him up when you got coked to the gills on your heroin!"...."Can't you see how he has tricked us, you old fool? Can't you see his little game?"

All of this, of course, is seen and heard through Mr. Martin's point of view. No one else but the reader will ever know what went on in Martin's mind. Ulgine Barrows suspects she has been tricked, but she doesn't really understand how it all happened. During her outburst in Mr. Fitweiler's office she tells Martin:

"If you weren't such a drab, ordinary little man," she said, "I'd think you'd planned it all. Sticking your tongue out, saying you were sitting in the catbird seat, because you thought no one would believe me when I told it! My God, it's really too perfect!"

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

How do acids and bases affect our environment?

Acids and bases affect our environment significantly by altering it. These alterations may be beneficial in some cases, while in others, maybe really harmful.

Acids and bases occur naturally in our environment, most commonly in our soil and water. Their presence changes the pH of the environment. Acids causes the pH to fall below 7, while bases increase it beyond 7, the change depending upon the amount of acids/bases, etc. Depending on the presence of acids and bases, soils may be acidic or basic or neutral and will thus support organisms (most commonly, the soil bacteria) that prefer those environments. This also affects the type of plants that can grow in that environment. Similarly, water in natural streams (rivers, etc.) can also have acidic or basic or neutral pH and will, correspondingly, support specific life forms.

Acids and bases can also be released into the environment by human activities. Acid rain is a direct effect of human activities and causes dissolution of rocks and minerals.

Hope this helps.

What aspects of friendship are seen in The Epic of Gilgamesh and how do we see them reflected in Sumerian culture?

The friendship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh is central to the plot of the anonymous Sumerian poem The Epic of Gilgamesh. It does reveal many elements of Sumerian society.

The first characteristic of friendship in Gilgamesh is that it is homosocial. Men are friends with other men; their relationships with women are seen as primarily sexual. This exemplifies a society with strong gender role distinctions and clear demarcations between the occupations and social lives of...

The friendship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh is central to the plot of the anonymous Sumerian poem The Epic of Gilgamesh. It does reveal many elements of Sumerian society.

Next, Enkidu is provided as a friend for Gilgamesh by the gods to improve his moral nature. This suggests that friendship is seen as a moral and civilizing influence.

Another characteristic of friendship is that it has a great degree of emotional intensity. Gilgamesh's mourning for his friend is intense and public. This suggests that a level of emotional expressivity was common in ancient Sumer that would general not be accepted among modern American men.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

A 1000 W microwave is used for 0.15 h, how much electric energy is used?

"A 1000 W microwave" means that the microwave uses the power of 1000 Watts when it is on. Power is the rate of the consumption of energy:

`P = (Delta E)/(Delta t)` , assuming the energy is consumed at the constant rate. Here, `Delta E` is the energy consumed in the time interval `Delta t` .

So, if the microwave was on for 0.15 hour, it used the amount of energy

`Delta E = P*Delta...

"A 1000 W microwave" means that the microwave uses the power of 1000 Watts when it is on. Power is the rate of the consumption of energy:

`P = (Delta E)/(Delta t)` , assuming the energy is consumed at the constant rate. Here, `Delta E` is the energy consumed in the time interval `Delta t` .

So, if the microwave was on for 0.15 hour, it used the amount of energy

`Delta E = P*Delta t`

`Delta E = 1000 W * 0.15 h = 150 W*h = 0.15 kW*h` (kilowatt-hour, which is common unit of measuring the energy use in the household.)

In metric system, the energy is measured in Joules. Since `1 W = (1 J)/ (1 s)` , the time needs to be converted to seconds:

1 hour = 60 minutes = 60*60 seconds = 3600 seconds.

Then, the amount of energy used by the microwave would be

0.15 W*h = 0.15 W *3600 s = 540 Joules.

The amount of electric energy used is 0.15 kW*h, or 540 Joules.

Predict reasons that a citizen would apply for release in The Giver.

Release was actually very rare, and citizens almost never apply for release.

Release means death by lethal injection. There are three times when the community releases someone.

There were only two occasions of release which were not punishment. Release of the elderly, which was a time of celebration for a life well and fully lived; and release of a newchild, which always brought a sense of what-could-we- have-done. (Ch. 1)

The most common form of release is release of the elderly, which happens to everyone eventually when the community determines it is the right time. Release for punishment is rare. A person has to really mess up, either repeatedly or in a major way. Release of newchildren seems to be semi-rare, because it happens twice in the book (Jonas views a release, and Gabriel’s release is planned). Applying for release would be suicide.

In Jonas’s community, suicide is not common. People lead a perfect life where all decisions are made for them and they have no reason to be unhappy. Since no one in the community feels any real emotions, there is no reason to need release from them.

It is apparently possible to apply for release. Since no one in the community has any concept of death, they do not really understand what release is. It is possible that someone might apply for release out of curiosity. It would take a very special person to be that curious about Elsewhere, since no one in the community seems especially inquisitive.

Illness seems to be very rare in the community. In our society, people often commit suicide due to mental or physical anguish. They kill themselves because they simply can’t take the pain anymore. This is unlikely to happen in Jonas’s community. Anyone who is hurt immediately takes relief of pain medication, and all diseases seem to have been eradicated.

There is one example of suicide. The exception to the lack of emotions rule is the Receiver of Memory. This person holds all of the community’s emotions, and thus all of its pain. If a person is not properly trained to handle the pain, then a suicide results. This is what occurs with Jonas’s predecessor, Rosemary.

The Giver explains to Jonas that he waited as long as he could to give Rosemary memories of pain. When he did, she was not able to handle it.

The Giver continued. "I backed off, gave her more little delights. But everything changed, once she knew about pain. I could see it in her eyes." (Ch. 18)

Rosemary applies for release because she does not want to live in her society anymore. Jonas has the same reaction when he learns that release means killing.

Jonas’s rules prohibit applying for release. He is not in the mood to kill himself anyway. Jonas takes another way out by escaping to Elsewhere. Depending on your interpretation of the ambiguous ending, he either dies with Gabriel or frees both of them. Either way, the memories are returned to the people and the perfect world bubble bursts for the community.

Why were the Anti-Federalists against a strong federal government?

The Anti-Federalists had several reasons for opposing the creation of a strong federal government. The Anti-Federalists believed one of the reasons why we fought the Revolutionary War was to be free from the rule of a strong federal government. They were concerned that a strong federal government would abuse its powers. They believed a strong federal government would also become corrupt and not follow the will of the majority. They also feared that a strong...

The Anti-Federalists believed that government power should be in the hands of the state governments. They wanted the state governments to have more power than the federal government. This wasn’t the case with the new plan of government created by the Constitution.

The Anti-Federalists were also concerned that the people’s rights weren't protected by the new plan of government. They believed that without a Bill of Rights, the federal government would abuse the people’s rights. To the Anti-Federalists, this was a very serious threat.

The Anti-Federalists were very concerned about creating a federal government with a great deal of power.

Monday, August 24, 2015

What are some examples of asyndeton in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper"?

Writers create parallel structure when they intentionally repeat word patterns and grammatical structures within sentences. Asyndeton is a form of parallel structure in which a writer deliberately omits conjunctions between words and phrases while still preserving accurate grammatical patterns. Dr. Wheeler informs us that asyndeton can "create an effect of speed or simplicity," and beyond giving us the famous Veni. Vidi. Vici. example, translated from the Latin to mean, "I came. I saw. I conquered," he gives us the further example, "Been there. Done that. Bought the t-shirt" ("Schemes," Carson-Newman University).

In her short story "The Yellow Wallpaper," author Charlotte Perkins Gilman has a tendency to use the opposite of asyndeton—polysyndeton—much more frequently than asyndeton, but we do see a few uses of asyndeton. Gilman tends to incorporate polysyndeton when expressing her protagonist's desires for freedom and use asyndeton the further her protagonist, Jane, falls into a state of madness.

The more Jane becomes tormented by the wallpaper, the more Gilman uses asyndeton. One example can be seen when Jane begins to see a bent woman skulking along the walls behind the wallpaper pattern. Jane begins to wish John would move her out of the room, and Gilman reflects Jane's desperation in simple, quick language containing asyndeton:

I wonder—I begin to think—I wish John would take me away from here!

Since this sentence could also be written using conjunctions to join the separate clauses, we know this sentence is a perfect example of asyndeton.

As the wallpaper continues to disrupt Jane's psyche, Jane begins to associate a smell with the wallpaper, a smell she observes all over the house. The result is that she is no longer just troubled by the room she is staying in, but rather is troubled by the entire house. Gilman continues to capture Jane's troubled psyche by describing Jane's obsession with the smell using asyndeton:

I find it hovering in the dining-room, skulking in the parlor, hiding in the hall, lying in wait for me on the stairs.

Since in this sentence Gilman does not use conjunctions to join the separate phrases in the list, we know the sentence is an example of asyndeton.

Question a..Petrol remains affordable because it is subsidized by the government. Using an appropriate diagram, illustrate and explain the effect...

Here , we request that you only ask one question per post. I will answer Question B from this post. I would note, however, that Question B essentially gives you the answer for Question A, telling you that a subsidy causes an increase in supply. To answer Question A, draw a graph with two supply curves, and indicate that the subsidy causes a movement from one supply curve to the other.

Question B asks...

Question B asks for three factors that could cause a decrease in the supply of petrol. The supply of petrol often depends more on geopolitical factors than on economic ones. A major factor that could reduce the supply of petrol would be a war or further instability in the Middle East. For years, the supply of crude oil (from which petrol is made) was curtailed because Iraq was in chaos and could not export. If something like this were to happen again, the supply of petrol would decline. A second factor would be the choices made by suppliers of oil. Right now, the price of crude is so low that many oil producing countries would like to reduce production so as to increase the price. If the major producers of the world decided to reduce production, supply would decline. A third factor that could decrease the supply of petrol would be taxation. As governments around the world start to worry about climate change, it becomes more likely that a carbon tax could be imposed. This would increase the cost of producing petrol, thus causing the supply to drop.

All of these factors could cause the supply of petrol worldwide (and thus in Malaysia as well) to decline.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

What types of stylistic elements can you identify in Samuel Johnson's prose in The Rambler?

In the Rambler essays, Johnson uses an elevated prose style rather than the conversational, colloquial diction common among many other essayists of the period. This reflects Johnson's interest in setting a high moral tone in these essays, which were designed to impart piety and wisdom.

The style is Neoclassic, emphasizing balanced, rational, and dignified prose modeled on Greek and Roman writers. Johnson wrote of his Rambleressays that he hoped they would “refine our language...

The style is Neoclassic, emphasizing balanced, rational, and dignified prose modeled on Greek and Roman writers. Johnson wrote of his Rambler essays that he hoped they would “refine our language to grammatical purity, and to clear it from colloquial barbarisms, licentious idioms, and irregular combinations. He wanted the style of each essay to add "to the elegance of its construction, and ... to the harmony of its cadence.”

Johnson often constructed his sentences in a three-part style, as can be illustrated in Essay #134. In this famous essay, Johnson wrote about the pitfalls of procrastination and idleness, subjects with which he was quite familiar. Sentences that show this balanced, three-part form include the following:

There was however some pleasure in reflecting that I, who had only trifled till diligence was necessary, might still congratulate myself upon my superiority to multitudes who have trifled till diligence is vain; who can by no degree of activity or resolution recover the opportunities which have slipped away; and who are condemned by their own carelessness to hopeless calamity and barren sorrow.

The semi-colons separate the three ways Johnson considers himself superior to the multitudes: they have procrastinated too long to make up for it with "diligence" or hard work, they now can't recover their lost opportunities, and they are therefore condemned to calamity and sorrow.

Another example is this sentence:

Thus life is languished away in the gloom of anxiety, and consumed in collecting resolution which the next morning dissipates; in forming purposes which we scarcely hope to keep, and reconciling ourselves to our own cowardice by excuses which, while we admit them, we know to be absurd.

Here it is the participles that divide the sentence into three measured parts: collecting resolution, forming purposes, and reconciling ourselves.

Johnson's sentences might remind of us of carefully balanced neoclassical buildings, where if there are two windows on one side of a door, you can be sure there will be two identical windows on the other side, all in harmony.

When it comes to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Julius Lester wrote a critique on the black morality and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn....

In the opening pages of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain writes a "Notice":

Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.

Obviously, Mr. Twain is facetious in his "Notice," suggesting that he wants his readers to be aware that his novel is satirical. Certainly, the depiction of the feuding Shepherdsons and the Grangerfords, who are so foolish in their hatred that eventually everyone is killed off, the con artists who call themselves the King and the Dauphin, and Tom Sawyer's silly contrivances are all meant to be taken not for realistic depictions, but rather for satirical portrayals of human foibles and evils. Most importantly, the two characters that Twain does not satirize are Huck and Jim. Huck is the innocent boy who learns of the evil that men do as he travels down the Mississippi River with the moral and loving Jim, who at times is like a real father to Huck.

In his critique of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mr. Julius Lester mentions that Jim's disappearance coincides with Huck's absence. "Yet, we are now to believe that an old white lady would free a black slave suspected of murdering a white child." But Miss Watson has not freed Jim; he has run away.

At another point, Mr. Lester argues, "A boy held captive by a drunken father is not in the same category of human experience as a man enslaved." This argument does have validity. It is true that knowing one will live an entire life in slavery cannot be equally compared to the plight of having an abusive parent. Nevertheless, it seems reasonable that the boy Huck could feel as though he is enslaved when he is beaten, deprived of food, locked up, and verbally abused, all when the new judge in town rules that a father and son should not be separated. Also, the reader must not forget that the fictional narrative is told from the point of view of the boy, who would view things with less logic than an adult.

Further, Mr. Lester writes,

If the novel had been written before Emancipation, Huck's dilemma and conflicting feelings over Jim's escape would have been moving. But, in 1884, slavery was legally over.

This argument is fallacious. It is not the publishing date that has to do with the credibility or poignancy of narratives; it is the setting. And, the setting of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is clearly during the time of slavery and "before Emancipation." After all, in the narrative of Twain's fictional novel, Jim escapes from his owner, Miss Watson.

Mr. Lester's contention that the treatment of Jim "is a picture of the only kind of black that whites have ever truly liked-- faithful, tending sick whites, not speaking, not causing trouble, and totally passive" is disingenuous. First of all, this is a sweeping generalization, a logical fallacy. The reality is that there have been many readers who have found the portrayal of Jim as the kindest, tenderest, most unselfish, and loving character in the novel. Consider, for instance, the time that Huck, who is in a canoe, and Jim, who is on the raft, are separated from each other in the fog on the river. Hours later, Huck finds his way back to the raft, where Jim is asleep. When Jim awakens, he is elated to see Huck,

"....It's too good for true, honey, it's too good for true. Lemme look at you, chile, lemme feel o'you. No, you ain' dead! you's back agin, ""live an soun', jis de same ole Huck, thanks to goodness!" (Ch.15)

Despite Jim's demonstration of love, the mischievous Huck tricks Jim into thinking that he has been on the raft all the time, and Jim was just dreaming. So Jim accepts that he must have been dreaming, and he starts to interpret his dream. It is true that Jim is unlearned and superstitious, but slaves were not educated, and they were not too far removed from a continent where superstitions existed, so Twain's portrayal is simply realistic. Notwithstanding his predictable lack of knowledge, Jim is far from being like the stereotypes of minstrel shows that Mr. Lester labels his characterization. On the contrary, Jim is wise in several instances. In one of these instances, as Huck continues his fabrication that he was on the raft the entire time, Jim notices the dead leaves and tree branches that the raft must have collected while it was adrift, and he realizes that Huck has been lying. Jim then scolds Huck:

...he looked at me [Huck] steady, without ever smiling...."En when I wake up en fine you back agin', all safe en soun', de tears come en I could a got down on my knees en kiss' yo' foot I's so thankful, En all you wuz thinkin' 'bout wuz how you could make a fool uv old Jim wid a lie. Dat truck dah is trash; en trash is what people is dat puts dirt on de head er day fren's en makes 'em ashamed." (Ch.15)

These words of Jim's form a very moving passage as the deep love that Jim has for Huck is evinced in his words. These emotionally moving words and Jim's scolding of Huck are hardly characteristic of some foolish and self-deprecating stereotype. In fact, Huck feels ashamed of himself when he realizes how badly he has hurt Jim. So, he apologizes, and he says, "I warn't ever sorry for it afterward, neither....I wouldn't done that one if I'd a knowed it would make him feel that way." These words of Huck's demonstrate respect for Jim, not ridicule nor derogation. More than any other person, Jim is responsible for Huck's moral growth. No foolish or ridiculed character could accomplish this improvement in another.

In the novel Never Let Me Go, do the guardians feel any sympathy for the children? How is lying to someone protecting them?

For one, consider that the faculty and staff at Hailsham are asking the same question you are: What should the children know? What's ethical for them to know? What's right? You might look specifically at how Miss Lucy and Miss Emily's approaches differ and how they speak with the children and reveal (or don't reveal) the truth.

A central theme to Never Let Me Gois identity -- what makes a human being a person,...

A central theme to Never Let Me Go is identity -- what makes a human being a person, an individual? What is a soul and what nourishes a soul? And what happens in a world where the society has literally created people who aren't recognized as individuals with autonomy and agency? Kathy, Tommy, and the others are nurtured as children for a very specific purpose; they are valued because their bodies ensure prolonging the lives of their copies. How is this social structure ethical? How is it moral? Remember, though, that ethics and morality are subjective, so such conversations are always complex. You mention the lies and deceit, and you're right: there's a lot of it in this novel. However, is it better that the children know or not know what waits for them from the beginning? Lying is, in one way, a kindness, giving them hope for the future and the same sense of self any other child might have. If they were told the truth from day one, could children cope with the knowledge that they're simply "spare parts"? How would that impact their development? Is it better or worse that they know personhood before becoming part of the system? Is it better to rebel against the system or to accept fate?

Ishiguro uses his narrative to provoke such questions from his readers. So, you're on the right track here. To go even deeper, you might ask what similarities you see between Kathy's world and ours and what that suggests about what Ishiguro wants readers to take away from the story.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

In Macbeth Act 1, Scene 3, what is an example of dramatic irony?

The reader knows that the witches are going to mess with Macbeth, but Macbeth does not.

Dramatic irony occurs when the reader or audience knows something that the characters do not. In this case, the witches are discussing how they will mess with Macbeth. The audience or reader knows what will happen, but Macbeth does not.

In the beginning of the scene, the Weird Sisters describe their actions as witches and how they are going...

The reader knows that the witches are going to mess with Macbeth, but Macbeth does not.

In the beginning of the scene, the Weird Sisters describe their actions as witches and how they are going to mess with Macbeth.

I will drain him dry as hay:
Sleep shall neither night nor day
Hang upon his pent-house lid;
He shall live a man forbid:
Weary se'nnights nine times nine
Shall he dwindle, peak and pine:
Though his bark cannot be lost,
Yet it shall be tempest-tost. (Act 1, Scene 3)

Macbeth has no idea what is going to happen. He encounters the witches and takes their prophecies very seriously, although Banquo is skeptical. He also worries about Macbeth’s reaction. While Banquo is inclined to think the whole thing silly, Macbeth seems highly affected by the witches and their predictions.

Good sir, why do you start; and seem to fear
Things that do sound so fair? I' the name of truth,
Are ye fantastical, or that indeed
Which outwardly ye show? My noble partner
You greet with present grace and great prediction
Of noble having and of royal hope … (Act 1, Scene 3)

The witches make three predictions. They predict that Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor and that he will be king. They also predict that Banquo’s sons will be king. These predictions have a great effect on Macbeth. When he finds out that he is not named King Duncan’s heir, Macbeth has a strong reaction.

The Prince of Cumberland! that is a step
On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap,
For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;
Let not light see my black and deep desires ... (Act 1, Scene 4)

In this aside, he comments that he is ambitious and desires to be king. This is both foreshadowing and another example of dramatic irony, because the reader knows that Macbeth is going to kill to get what he wants, but Duncan has no idea. He willingly goes to Macbeth’s castle.

In "Raymond's Run" by Toni Cade Bambara, what were some events that changed the way Squeaky finally views competition?

In "Raymond's Run" by Toni Cade Bambara, there are two main events that change the way Squeaky views competition. Both come near the end of the story when Squeaky is running against Gretchen. The first one is when Squeaky realizes that Gretchen is actually a pretty good runner. Squeaky can't help but admire Gretchen when she sees that Gretchen takes her running seriously, and for the first time Squeaky sees Gretchen as someone other than...

The second event is when Squeaky notices that Raymond has run right next to her on the other side of the fence. She is surprised at first, but then thinks about how Raymond has always kept up with her when she practiced.

"Doesn't he always keep up with me on my trots? And he surely knows how to breathe in counts of seven 'cause he's always doing it at the dinner table, which drives my brother George up the wall" (Bambara 12).

Squeaky now sees herself as a possible coach for Raymond and a friend to Gretchen--a friend Squeaky might convince to join up with in her new coaching role.

How would one write a character sketch of Jeremiah Barker in Anna Sewell's Black Beauty?

A character sketch is a description of a character written in such a way that the reader gets to know the character as a person, like creating a written snapshot of the character. A character sketch will include the character's values, a description of any specific mannerisms the character has when doing specific activities, and even a description of the way the character talks ("How to Write a Character Sketch," Northern Illinois University). Since a character sketch creates a snapshot, it is often recommended that the best way to create a character sketch is by telling a short story about that character. For this particular assignment, you are probably permitted to and probably want to pick and summarize a scene in which Jeremiah Barker, called Jerry, is a principle character, a scene you think best represents him as a person.

Jerry Barker is the London cab driver who purchases Black Beauty at a horse fair. Beauty describes him as the best caretaker he has had since John Manly, his best groom at Birtwick Park. Jerry is extra careful to make sure the "collar and bridle fitted comfortably" (Ch. 33). Beauty was also free of having to wear a check-rein or curb. Beauty also describes Jerry as being one of the best drivers he has known, always extremely considerate of his horses, being very careful never to wear them out. As a general rule, he refused to drive fast since he considered wearing out his horses to be immoral, except in times of extreme and clear emergency. Jerry is also a very religious man, making sure to keep his Sunday as a day of rest for both himself and his horses. As a religious man, he weighs all decisions by the Golden Rule of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." He is also very careful to make his decisions based on what he feels is right and wrong:

If a thing is right it can be done, and if it is wrong it can be done without; and a good man will find a way. (Ch. 36)

One scene in the story that particularly depicts his character concerns the one Sunday that he does decide to work. In Chapter 37, one Sunday morning, Jerry's dear wife, Polly, tells Jerry that Dinah Brown has just received a letter informing her that "her mother is dangerously ill" and may not live through the rest of the day or night. Since it would be too difficult on her own health and take too much time to take the train, she asks Jerry if he'll drive her in the cab. Though Jerry dislikes the thought of losing a Sunday, he gladly obliges for he knows the Bible permits work on the Sabbath for emergency purposes such as "pulling a poor beast or donkey out of a pit," as Polly phrases it (Ch. 37). But, even so, Jerry is still very cautious to put as little strain on Beauty as possible, even taking care to borrow the butcher's light trap. After arriving at the farm house of Dinah's family, Jerry further demonstrates his kindness and consideration by asking permission to allow Beauty to run free for a time in the cows' pasture.

Friday, August 21, 2015

What is a hook for an essay talking about green in The Great Gatsby?

You might consider addressing the various emotions and objects with which green is frequently identified, and then tying those to your discussion and analysis of the color green in the text.

For example, green is often associated with money. Money, its acquisition and whether it is "old" or "new," is of great importance in the society depicted by the text. Gatsby's money is "new" and thus considered to be of lesser value than Tom's...

You might consider addressing the various emotions and objects with which green is frequently identified, and then tying those to your discussion and analysis of the color green in the text.

Green is also associated with growth and innocence. Gatsby's belief that he can repeat the past is certainly an innocent and naive one as people have grown and changed far too much, especially Daisy, to permit such a return.

Green is also frequently linked to envy. To be "green with envy" is a common expression to describe someone as obviously jealous. Jealousy clearly plays a fairly significant role in this text: Gatsby is jealous of Tom, Tom becomes somewhat sort of jealous of Gatsby and Daisy's feelings for him. These feelings prompt much of the action leading up to and during their confrontation in New York City.

Your hook might discuss any or all of this symbolism as a way of engaging the reader's attention.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

What lie did Bud tell the man in the fancy car in Bud, Not Buddy?

The answer to your question is simple: Bud lies by telling the driver of the fancy car that Bud has run away from Grand Rapids, Michigan. In reality, Bud has run away from Flint, Michigan. Flint is where “the Home” is that has been Bud’s residence since his mother died. Flint is also where Bud’s most recent foster home was located. The foster family, the Amos family, did not treat Bud well. Bud tells the particular lie indicated in your question because Bud wants to find the person who Bud thinks is his father. The only clue Bud has to his father’s whereabouts is a blue flyer about a band from Grand Rapids. Because Bud desperately wants to get to Grand Rapids, he figures lying about where he ran away from is the best way to get there.

There are also a few more specifics about your question pertinent enough to be discussed. The “driver of the fancy car” is actually named Lefty Lewis. The car is specifically “fancy” because Lefty Lewis is a chauffeur and is carrying blood to a nearby hospital.

What happens to end the Witches' Sabbath in "Young Goodman Brown"?

Young Goodman Brown sees his wife, Faith, and she him at the Witches' Sabbath. The Devil welcomes them to the "communion of their race," implying that what characterizes the human race is our propensity for sinfulness (a common Hawthorne theme). They both stand, hesitating about whether or not they will allow themselves to join everyone else in the village and be "baptized" by Satan into this depraved congregation. It is at this moment that Young...

Whether Faith obeyed, he knew not. Hardly had he spoken, when he found himself amid calm night and solitude, listening to a roar of the wind, which died heavily away through the forest. He staggered against the rock, and felt it chill and damp, while a hanging twig, that had been all on fire, besprinkled his cheek with the coldest dew.

As soon as he implored Faith not to give in to the Devil, the entire Witches' Sabbath vanished around him and Goodman Brown was alone in the calm night. A branch that had, a moment before, been alight was now wet with dew. It was his appeal to Faith (the person, and also the concept) that removed him from the Hellish Sabbath. In asking her to resist, he, too, resists the Devil, and so the Devil disappears.

In Slaughterhouse-Five what detail about the hog barn shows how intense the firestorm that engulfed Dresden must have been?

There are a few different aspects of the hog barn post-firestorm that show the fire must have been extremely intense.

"It's [the hog barn's] walls still stood, but its windows and roof were gone, and there was nothing inside but ashes and dollops of melted glass."

The fact that the windows and roof have been destroyed is one indicator of the firestorm's devastation. As well, the lack of anything substantial being left in the hog...

There are a few different aspects of the hog barn post-firestorm that show the fire must have been extremely intense.

"It's [the hog barn's] walls still stood, but its windows and roof were gone, and there was nothing inside but ashes and dollops of melted glass."

The fact that the windows and roof have been destroyed is one indicator of the firestorm's devastation. As well, the lack of anything substantial being left in the hog barn also illustrates the fire's destructive power.

However, the most telling description present is that the windows were not just plainly destroyed, but were heated to the point of melting and becoming those "dollops" inside the hog barn. The melting point of glass is somewhere between 1400-1600°C (2552-2912°F), an obviously extraordinary temperature. The firestorm was so exceptionally intense that it emulated a glass forge--a human invention intended for the explicit purpose of heating things to unnaturally hot temperatures.

What literary devices do the sane people in Hamlet use?

Let’s begin by assuming that there are some sane characters in Hamlet. Loosely considering it, we could probably include all characters except Hamlet and Ophelia. Shakespeare does employ a number of devices through the characters, from your basic literary techniques to more creative rhetorical devices.

Polonius sets up a fake coincidence when he has Ophelia just happen to be walking in the very place they know Hamlet walks in the lobby every day, so they can spy on the conversation. Polonius is also a great source of verbal irony when he frequently insults himself without knowing it. He tells the queen, “brevity is the soul of wit,” meaning that he entirely lacks intelligence, since he is incapable of saying anything briefly. When the queen asks him to get to the point with fewer artful flourishes of language, Polonius says, “I swear I use no art at all,” meaning that this is not pretentious language for him. He’s admitting that blathering on and on is his natural way. He then proceeds to blather on some more about “a foolish figure.” Ironically, we realize that HE is the foolish figure, but he never gets it.

Claudius frequently lapses into iambic pentameter during his soliloquies. Considering that a king is supposed to be a very formal person, it makes sense that he would speak in a regimented pattern. For example, his act 1 scene 2 speech to his court begins, “Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death,” and continues for 38 lines of near-perfect iambic pentameter. Claudius also likes to use analogies to explain things, especially when he’s trying to manipulate someone. In act 4 scene 7 he fibs to Laertes that he didn’t punish the prince because Gertrude loves Hamlet, and “She is so conjunctive to my life and soul / That, as the star moves not but in his sphere, / I could not but by her.” Another technique Claudius uses, and again usually when he’s manipulating others, is the epithet, or startling adjective, for effect. In act 4 scene 7 he tells Laertes that a Frenchman previously visited Elsinore who was so good on horseback that he seemed “encorpsed and demi-natured / with the brave beast.” Such elaborate details distract Laertes from Claudius’ true purpose, to further pit him against Hamlet.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern speak in paronomasias, or puns, in act 2 scene 2 as a way to buddy up to Hamlet. When the prince says he has no ambitions, just bad dreams, they try to lighten the mood by playing on his words. Guildenstern adds, “dreams, indeed, are ambition, / for the very substance of the ambitious is / merely the shadow of a dream.”

Even Gertrude employs some rhetoric when she uses metonymy in act 1 scene 2, where she implores Hamlet to “let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.” By Denmark she really means that Hamlet should be friendly to and accepting of the king of Denmark, his uncle and new step-father, Claudius.

And the list goes on. In fact, it seems that the only sane character in Hamlet who doesn’t use such literary techniques is the only one not trying to manipulate anyone – Horatio.

Give an example of a movie or book character who thinks that their lover or friend isn't as great as they previously thought they were. For...

In the movie 500 Days of Summer, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character Tom spends nearly two years pining for his ex-girlfriend Zooey Deschanel Summer, who broke up with him. Throughout the movie, which works as a series of flashbacks to the origins and then ending of the Summer-Tom relationship, it becomes clear that, despite Tom's insistence otherwise, that Summer is not the woman for him. He is so convinced that they are made for each other, he misreads an invitation to her party as a chance to win her back when, in reality, it was a party she was holding with her fiancé.

Throughout the movie, Summer says that she doesn't believe in love, but she remains with Tom for several months. Their relationship looks like love to him, but it's clear in these flashbacks that she is not happy with their relationship and that it's one built on convenience, not on love. In fact, she continues to insist to himself that it is true love.

Tom doesn't realize that Summer isn't as great as he wanted her to be, at least for him, until after this party and really doesn't get over her until he meets the aptly named Autumn at a job interview.

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Discuss how "development" and "underdevelopment" are two terms that are intertwined.

In order to decide whether a country is "underdeveloped", we need some sort of metric for what it means to be properly "developed". We don't have any real absolute standard to compare against; we compare countries with other countries. We don't actually know what the limits of economic growth are, but we can say with some confidence that if one country can grow at a given rate, others probably can as well.

This is actually quite important to keep in mind, as the standard of living for many people even in many "underdeveloped" nations is much higher than it was a century ago, which in turn was higher than a millennium ago. The most abject poverty---the $1.25 per day UN extreme poverty level---is most likely comparable to the standard of living that most human beings had when we lived as hunter-gatherers before the invention of agriculture. Moreover, the standard of living of a typical person in India today is comparable to the level of a typical person in the United States in the 1870s.

During most of the 20th century, rich countries grew faster than poor countries, making it seem like "underdevelopment" was worse by comparison; but in fact most poor countries did grow during this period, and people are better off now in most Third World countries today than they were in 1900.

So, when we talk about "underdevelopment", we really mean that countries such as India or Nicaragua are not growing as much as they could be, or as much as other countries are. They often are in fact growing.

There are some who argue in fact that "development" is the problem---that our standards for what constitutes a developed country are skewed too high and we expect an unreasonable amount of wealth. The biggest piece of evidence for this is fossil fuels---they have given us a huge boon to economic growth, but they are not inexhaustible. We will need to replace them soon, and if we can't, then even the 2% annual growth that First World countries have come to expect may no longer be possible.

Make of that what you will, but personally I'm quite strongly in the opposite camp; I believe that "underdeveloped" countries truly are underdeveloped, that the example set by First World countries is one that the entire world could meet if we all worked together to find a way. This is not to say that it will be easy, or quick; but I believe it can and will happen.

Is Jay Gatsby someone to envy or pity in The Great Gatsby?

This intriguing question can be argued either way. In the end, it depends on a reader’s interpretation of what in Gatsby’s life was worthwhile. Let’s look at both sides .

“Jay Gatsby is someone to envy.”

This intriguing question can be argued either way. In the end, it depends on a reader’s interpretation of what in Gatsby’s life was worthwhile. Let’s look at both sides .

“Jay Gatsby is someone to envy.”

In many ways, he is. He is handsome, smart, incredibly wealthy, and popular. He lives in a colossal mansion on the water with “Marie Antoinette music rooms,” “Restoration salons,” “bedrooms swathed in rose and lavender silk,” “dressing rooms and poolrooms, and bathrooms with sunken baths.” Servants to cater to his every whim. He drives a custom car and only buys the best of anything: abundant clothes from England, first edition books, live entertainment, catered food, top quality alcoholic drinks, despite Prohibition. His wealth gives him the power to purchase anything he wants the moment he wants it. He could travel the world if he chose; women flock to him. He appears to have a life of ease and pleasure, with little strenuous work involved.

“Jay Gatsby is someone to pity.”

Despite his material success, Gatsby never achieved complete happiness in life. Most of his friendships were superficial, as shown by the lack of people who made an effort to go to his funeral. Klipspringer, who stayed free at Gatsby’s mansion for several weeks, only calls to see if he can get a pair of shoes he left there. He cannot attend the funeral because his friends want him to join them on a picnic. Even Wolfsheim stays away. As Owl Eyes says at the graveside, “Why, my God! they used to go there by the hundreds…the poor son-of-a-bitch.”

He also was a man who had one desire in life and worked tirelessly to achieve it: to win Daisy. In his mind, he only needed lots of money. He didn’t understand how shallow and selfish Daisy was. When she finally confesses that she did love Tom when she married him, she said to Gatsby, “But I loved you too.” This shocks Gatsby and shakes the elaborate fantasy he has created more than anything else could. Even when she leaves him to take the blame for Myrtle’s death, he still believes she will call. If one looks at Gatsby as a man who had his one overpowering dream shattered, he is an object of pity.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

In what way is Candy similar to his dog? How does this further explain his reluctance to do what Carlson suggests? (Of Mice and Men Chapter 3)

Candy and his dog share several similarities. Candy and his dog are both old, handicapped, and essentially useless on the ranch. Candy lost his right hand in an accident, and his dog is nearly blind. Candy's only job on the ranch is to "swamp" out the bunkhouse, because he is considered too old to engage in hard labor. Similarly, Candy's dog serves no purpose on the farm and wanders aimlessly around the ranch. Candy and his dog represent what happens to everyone in the economically depressed country once they become too old to work and provide for themselves. Once individuals are no longer useful, they are disposed of and let go.

When Carlson petitions Candy to shoot his dog, Candy refuses. Candy sympathizes with his old dog because he is in a similar situation. Candy understands that he is also past his prime and can be disposed of at any time. His reluctance to end his dog's life parallels his fate. Candy does not want to be let go, in the same way that he does not want to shoot his dog.

How does the author's reference to The Arabian Nights help advance the plot in "The Monkey's Paw"?

The reference to the Arabian Nights reinforces the idea that the tale of the monkey’s paw seems like fantasy instead of reality.

One Thousand and One Nights or Arabian Nights contains stories that are magical and fantastical. These stories are set in a far-off, "exotic" place like the one where the paw comes from. To the Whites, India probably seems just as strange.

The reference to this book seems to make it clear that when...

The reference to the Arabian Nights reinforces the idea that the tale of the monkey’s paw seems like fantasy instead of reality.

The reference to this book seems to make it clear that when they first wish on the paw, the Whites do not really know what they are doing. They think it is all a fantasy and nothing will actually happen. They are just having fun.

"Hold it up in your right hand, and wish aloud," said the Sargeant-Major, "But I warn you of the consequences."

"Sounds like the 'Arabian Nights'", said Mrs. White, as she rose and began to set the supper. "Don't you think you might wish for four pairs of hands for me."

Therefore, when the Sergeant-Major warns them about “consequences,” they do not actually take him seriously. He does tell them that the last person to wish on the paw used his third wish to wish for death, but they probably consider it just a story. It is a dark and stormy night, and their friend is telling ghost stories.

"If the tale about the monkey's paw is not more truthful than those he has been telling us," said Herbert, as the door closed behind their guest, just in time to catch the last train, "we shan't make much out of it."

Mr. White pays for the paw, but only a little. His friend does not want to take it. He just wants to be rid of the paw. They are probably thinking, why would someone give it to us if it is dangerous? As you can tell, they also believe that the other stories the soldier has been telling them are tall tales.

Of course, the Whites should have taken the paw seriously. It turns out to be real, and to have disastrous consequences. Either that, or there are quite a few coincidences in this story!