How does the polar nature of water molecules affect the ability of substances to dissolve in water?

Water is very polar. Polar substances are covalently bonded substances that contain partially positive and negative charges. The partial charges within a polar substance are the result of electronegativity differences between the atoms that share the bond. Electronegativity is the likelihood that an atom will attract a pair of bonded electrons. Amongst all of the elements on the periodic table, electronegativity ranges between approximately 0.7 to 4.0. Some periodic tables contain electronegativity values of each...

Water is very polar. Polar substances are covalently bonded substances that contain partially positive and negative charges. The partial charges within a polar substance are the result of electronegativity differences between the atoms that share the bond. Electronegativity is the likelihood that an atom will attract a pair of bonded electrons. Amongst all of the elements on the periodic table, electronegativity ranges between approximately 0.7 to 4.0. Some periodic tables contain electronegativity values of each atom. The electronegativity difference between two atoms forming a bond can be used to determine the type of bond that will be formed between the two atoms, as identified below.

• Electronegativity differences of less than 0.5 = nonpolar covalent


• Electronegativity of 0.5 – 1.6 = polar covalent


• Electronegativity difference of 2.0 or more = ionic bond

Hydrogen has an electronegativity of 2.1 and oxygen has an electronegativity of 3.5. Therefore, the electronegativity difference is 1.4. Thus, water is very polar.

This means that water has partial positive and partial negative charges within each of its molecules. Because the oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen, the oxygen atoms within water molecules obtain a partial negative charge and the hydrogen atoms obtain partial positive charges.

If another polar substance is placed in water, then the partial charges within that substance will attract the oppositely charged partial charges within water. As a result, water molecules will surround and dissociate the particles of the polar substance. As a result, the polar substance will dissolve in the water.

Who is the most ambitious character in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar?

It would seem that there are only two characters in the play who could be considered "most ambitious." They are Julius Caesar and Cassius. Julius Caesar should be considered the most ambitious of the two men because he has much larger ambitions. He wants to be the sole monarch of the Roman World and has grandiose plans--and he almost makes it. Cassius is largely a reactionary. He is afraid of Caesar. He is thoroughly selfish and would like power to satisfy his greed for money. When Cassius and Brutus have their violent quarrel in Brutus's tent in Act 4, Scene 2, Brutus says:

Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself
Are much condemned to have an itching palm,
To sell and mart your offices for gold
To undeservers.

Cassius responds with a threat of extreme violence because he is stung by the words his knows to be true.

I, an itching palm?
You know that you are Brutus that speaks this,
Or, by the gods, this speech were else your last.

Brutus himself is not especially ambitious. He likes solitude, meditation, and reading, These are not the traits of a man who is politically ambitious. Brutus has a hard time even persuading himself to participate in the plot against Caesar. Antony becomes more ambitious after the death of his good friend Julius Caesar, but Antony is always depicted as a hedonist, an athlete, a womanizer, a fun-lover, a heavy drinker. He is not a deep thinker or planner. His are not the traits of an ambitious man. Young Octavius may be extremely ambitious, but he only appears late in the play. He seems like a very young man who has not yet found himself. But in the future he will prove himself to be extremely ambitious. He will actually become a god and be the forebear of a whole line of Roman emperors, many of whom will also become gods. But he should not be considered as "most ambitious" in the play Julius Caesar because he is a young character and a minor character. We see Octavius fully developed in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. See also I, Claudius by Robert Graves.

What connection does Scout make during the current events lesson at school?

Scout realizes that her third grade teacher, Miss Gates, is a hypocritical racist. During the Current Events portion of her class, Cecil Jacobs brings in an article that discusses how Hitler is rounding up Jews and persecuting them. A student asks why the government doesn't put Hitler in jail for what he was doing to the Jews and Miss Gates tells the class the difference between a democracy and a dictatorship. She goes on to...

Scout realizes that her third grade teacher, Miss Gates, is a hypocritical racist. During the Current Events portion of her class, Cecil Jacobs brings in an article that discusses how Hitler is rounding up Jews and persecuting them. A student asks why the government doesn't put Hitler in jail for what he was doing to the Jews and Miss Gates tells the class the difference between a democracy and a dictatorship. She goes on to say that Hitler is the government and everyone in Germany follows what he says.

She also teaches them that the Jews are great people and she doesn't know what Hitler has against them. Cecil makes an interesting connection, too, and asks why one white person would persecute other white people--as if persecuting blacks was alright. Miss Gates doesn't recognize the hypocrisy saturating the conversation, but Scout does. Scout doesn't say anything in class, but she does ask Jem later at home, as follows:

"Well, coming out of the courthouse that night Miss Gates was. . . talking with Miss Stephanie Crawford. I heard her say it's time somebody taught 'em a lesson, they were gettin' way above themselves, an' the next thing they think they can do is marry us. Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an' then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home" (247).

Scout is so young, but she senses the hypocrisy. She doesn't even know the word hypocrite, yet, but she is right on the cusp of discovering it. Scout doesn't know what else to think, but she does know that it doesn't seem right to treat any one poorly, no matter what color their skin is. 

In Twelve Angry Men, how does social context affect the jurors' views of the defendant?

In Twelve Angry Men, each of the jurors comes from a different social context, and each is affected differently.

The jurors whose social contexts really stand out in their views of the defendant are Jurors Four, Five, and Ten.

Juror Four sees slums as bad neighborhoods where everyone is a criminal. He says, "...slums are breeding grounds for criminals. They are. I know it. So do you. The children who come out of slum...

In Twelve Angry Men, each of the jurors comes from a different social context, and each is affected differently.

The jurors whose social contexts really stand out in their views of the defendant are Jurors Four, Five, and Ten.

Juror Four sees slums as bad neighborhoods where everyone is a criminal. He says, "...slums are breeding grounds for criminals. They are. I know it. So do you. The children who come out of slum backgrounds are potential menaces to society." He is prejudiced, and stereotypes all poor people, or people who come from slums, as potential criminals. The defendant is a teenager raised in a slum, so Juror Four assumes that since the defendant is from a slum, he must be guilty of killing his father.

Juror Five has a different background. He was actually raised in a poor neighborhood and he knows that not all poor people are criminals. He says, "I’ve lived in a slum all my life—" and "I used to play in a back yard that was filled with garbage. Maybe it still smells on me." Since we can assume that Juror Five is not a criminal (because people with criminal records cannot serve on a jury), these quotes show that he is living evidence that not all poor people grow up to be murderers, or "menaces to society," as Juror Four said.

Juror Eleven also grew up poor, and is an immigrant from Europe. He is a little more quiet than Jurors Four and Five, but he backs up Juror Five's opinion that not all poor people are criminals: "I can understand his sensitivity." From this quote, we can infer that, like Juror Five, Juror Eleven is from a poor background and he understands how Juror Five is offended by Juror Four's stereotyping.

Juror Ten is another juror who lets his social context influence him. He is described as:

An angry, bitter man. A man who antagonizes almost at sight. A bigot who places no values on any human life save his own. A man who has been nowhere and is going nowhere and knows it deep within him.

Juror Ten is prejudiced against the poor. In Act III, he rants about his stereotyped views of people in slums. He says, "Look, you know how those people lie," and, "They’re no good. There’s not one of ‘em who’s any good." This is clear stereotyping. He lumps all poor people together. Luckily for the defendant, by this time, the rest of the jurors have been convinced by the evidence that he is innocent, and they all turn away from the prejudiced Juror Ten.

Why don't ionic compounds melt easily as molecular compounds?

Ionic Substances

Solid ionic substances are composed of crystal lattice structures. These structures are held together by a strong force of attraction between positive and negative ions. In order for a solid ionic substance to melt, enough energy must be applied to disrupt the strong attractive forces between the positive and negative ions.

Covalent Substances

The atoms in solid covalent substances are held together by relatively weak forces of attraction. In order for a covalent...

Ionic Substances

Solid ionic substances are composed of crystal lattice structures. These structures are held together by a strong force of attraction between positive and negative ions. In order for a solid ionic substance to melt, enough energy must be applied to disrupt the strong attractive forces between the positive and negative ions.

Covalent Substances

The atoms in solid covalent substances are held together by relatively weak forces of attraction. In order for a covalent substance to melt, less energy is needed to disrupt the weaker attraction between the atoms.

Increasing the Temperature, increases the kinetic energy of the particles in a substance and disrupts the attractive forces between the particles. Since ionic substances have stronger attractive forces between their particles, a higher melting point is needed to disrupt those forces and enable the substance melt.

How does the story of Romeo and Juliet view the ideas of “Love at First Sight” and “True Love Never Dies”?

Shakespeare makes it pretty clear through Romeo and Juliet that love at first sight is not true love. First of all, Romeo is hopelessly in love with Rosaline at the beginning of the story, but the moment he sees Juliet, he forgets Rosaline and falls in love with Juliet before even hearing her speak. Romeo remarks on Juliet's beauty: "O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!" meaning she is brighter than the torches that light up the room. Romeo claims to love her for this intense beauty: "Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! / For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night." He loves her because she is more beautiful than any girl he has ever seen before.

After a short conversation and a kiss, Juliet also loves Romeo. She says to her Nurse, "My only love sprung from my only hate! / Too early seen unknown, and known too late!" This line means that the only boy Juliet could ever love is the son of her family's enemy. She fell in love with him before she knew who he was, and she found out who he was when it was already too late to change her feelings. This happens at the Capulet party over the course of a few minutes. But what is it about Romeo that Juliet 'loves'?

Juliet also seems to be drawn to Romeo for his physical attractiveness. In the balcony scene, Juliet talks to herself, expressing a wish that Romeo were not named Romeo Montague, because it is his name and not any other part of him that is her enemy. She mentions several physical parts of a man: "What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, / Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man." But she doesn't mention any non-physical attributes that attract her to Romeo.

Friar Lawrence later affirms this idea that 'love at first sight' is purely physical: "...young men's love then lies / Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes." This means that young men love beauty, without real emotion.

Because the lovers only knew each other for three days before they were both dead, we certainly can't conclude that 'true love never dies' from this story. In fact, Friar Lawrence indicates that Romeo and Juliet's love is but a passing infatuation: "...like fire and powder, / Which as they kiss consume" compares Romeo and Juliet to fire and gun powder. When fire is introduced to gun powder, a fantastic explosion takes place that 'consumes' or uses up the gun powder, leaving no fuel for the fire, which then extinguishes. Like a quick explosion that eats up all the fuel for the fire, Romeo and Juliet's love would be brilliant but not last long.

There is a lot of talk of flowers in Romeo and Juliet, and Juliet even compares their love affair to a flower: "This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath, / May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet." Like young love, a flower is certainly a beautiful thing, but it does not last for very long.

So we can see that one could argue Romeo and Juliet is not a love story, and does not support the notions of 'love at first sight' or 'true love never dies.' If anything, it is a warning against rushing into love: "Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast." (Friar Lawrence)

How do the children plan to spend their last night in Maycomb?

The only child that leaves Maycomb is Dill at the end of the summers. Jem and Scout go to Finch's Landing for Christmas, but that's still in Maycomb county. Dill, on the other hand, lives in Meridian during the school year and stays with his Aunt Rachel during the summers. There's only one passage that references a "last night in Maycomb," and again, it references Dill leaving for the school year, as follows:

"'Yes,' said...

The only child that leaves Maycomb is Dill at the end of the summers. Jem and Scout go to Finch's Landing for Christmas, but that's still in Maycomb county. Dill, on the other hand, lives in Meridian during the school year and stays with his Aunt Rachel during the summers. There's only one passage that references a "last night in Maycomb," and again, it references Dill leaving for the school year, as follows:

"'Yes,' said our father, when Jem asked him if we could go over and sit by Miss Rachel's fishpool with Dill, as this was his last night in Maycomb" (50).

With that said, Jem and Dill plan to go sneaking around the Radley house to peek into a window on this night. When Scout catches wind of it, she asks them why they waited till this last night of summer vacation to do something like this. The answer is as follows:

"Because nobody could see them at night, because Atticus would be so deep in a book he wouldn't hear the Kingdom coming, because if Boo Radley killed them they'd miss school instead of vacation, and because it was easier to see inside a dark house in the dark than in the daytime" (51).

These are all clever reasons to wait until the last night of summer vacation to go snooping around the neighborhood's haunted house. (The best reason is if they get killed then they wouldn't miss any of vacation!) Little did they know that they would get shot at and Jem would lose his pants on the fence in the process. And little did they know that when Jem went back in the middle of the night for his pants that they would be crudely mended by a "friendly ghost." It's interesting because it seems as if each time the children try to make contact with Boo Radley, something ironic (unexpected) seems to happen.

When Atticus says, “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win” (101) in To Kill a...

Atticus is explaining to his children that even though he is unlikely to win the trial, he should fight anyway.

When Mrs. Dubose dies, Atticus explains to his children that she was fighting against a terrible addiction.  She was addicted to morphine and dying, but she wanted to die free from the addiction.  This was why Atticus sent his children to read to her.  He wanted them to see a different definition of courage than...

Atticus is explaining to his children that even though he is unlikely to win the trial, he should fight anyway.

When Mrs. Dubose dies, Atticus explains to his children that she was fighting against a terrible addiction.  She was addicted to morphine and dying, but she wanted to die free from the addiction.  This was why Atticus sent his children to read to her.  He wanted them to see a different definition of courage than what they would expect.

I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. (Ch. 11)

Mrs. Dubose fought hard in a seemingly unwinnable fight.  It was largely a mental fight.  She had to win against herself.  As impossible as it was, she succeeded.  Atticus wanted to set her up as a role model for his children because he knew that they were able to face a fight themselves as the town of Maycomb turned against him and them.

Earlier, Atticus explains to Scout that he is defending a Negro, Tom Robinson.  She does not understand why he is doing something that everyone in the town considers a terrible betrayal.

“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)

For Atticus, not being able to win the case is not a reason not to try.  This is something he is trying to reinforce with the example of Mrs. Dubose.  He will continue to fight because it is the right thing to do, and because he has to stand up for what he believes in.  Tom Robinson deserves his best efforts, regardless of his race.

What are three themes in Romeo and Juliet that still capture the imaginations of teenagers in the current day?

After over 400 years there are several things about Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet that still appeal to teenagers. The story is about a tragic love affair between two youngsters. It has been remade several times using different times and places, yet the essential story of young love is always the same and is truly a universal theme. Two other themes that may capture the imaginations of teenagers today might be the idea of disobeying one's parents and the ill effects of bullying.

First love can be one of the most exciting and scariest experiences a teenager can go through. The audience may sympathize with Romeo's description of his failed love for Rosaline. Every teen has experienced the pain of being rejected. Teen girls may especially identify with Juliet, who is very young yet has very mature feelings for Romeo, who is the first boy she has ever loved. Some may say that "love at first sight" is impossible and that true love must take time and patience. Tell that, however, to a young couple who first meet at a movie or a party and immediately feel that spark which Shakespeare describes so well in Act I, Scene 5 and Act II, Scene 2.

Another timeless theme in the play which teenagers can relate to is the generation gap. Romeo and Juliet are different from their parents. They do not subscribe to the importance of the feud. Romeo even criticizes the rivalry in Act I, Scene 1 when he suggests the two families simply love to fight. Thus,  Romeo and Juliet implicitly disobey their parents' wishes by never informing them of their love for each other. Instead they confide in surrogates who they believe will be more understanding of their love. Unfortunately, the Friar and the Nurse prove to be unreliable in their roles as advisers to Romeo and Juliet.

Bullying is a topic much in the news today. Schools have launched anti-bullying programs and in many places it has become a crime. In Romeo and Juliet there is plenty of bullying going on. In the opening Act, the servants Gregory and Sampson are definite bullies in their attempts to goad the Montagues into a fight by suggesting they will rape the Montague women. Ultimately they provoke a fight by "biting their thumbs." Tybalt is also a bully. He threatens to kill Benvolio in the opening scene. He wants to fight Romeo at Capulet's party and again attempts to bait Romeo into a fight in Act III, Scene 1 by calling him a "villain." Lord Capulet is also a bully as he berates Juliet at the end of Act III when the girl refuses to marry Count Paris. His bullying directly leads to his daughter's death in the final scene. 

What are some of the significant differences between the film and the book?

The main difference between the novel The Lovely Bonesby Alice Sebold and filmmaker Peter Jackson's adaptation for the screen lies in the portrayal of the world of heaven experienced by the main character, Susie (played by Saoirse Ronan). The character of Susie is dead, having been brutally raped and murdered while still a teenager. The novel's first line is “My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was...

The main difference between the novel The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and filmmaker Peter Jackson's adaptation for the screen lies in the portrayal of the world of heaven experienced by the main character, Susie (played by Saoirse Ronan). The character of Susie is dead, having been brutally raped and murdered while still a teenager. The novel's first line is “My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.” 

Sebold's novel won the prestigious Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel, but the film garnered mostly negative reviews. Despite the book's haunting and rather disturbing story (based in part upon author Sebold's own experience of being raped), the film has a fantastical quality, full of special effects and fantasy sequences, that seems to diminish its seriousness. It is possible that Jackson sought to downplay the brutality of Susie's demise and to emphasize the world of "heaven" she now inhabits; but for many critics and viewers familiar with the novel, this approach does not seem like an effective adaptation.

Jackson, most well known for his award-winning work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is a director known for imbuing his works with dazzling special effects. His film Heavenly Creatures, which dramatizes the true story of two teenage girls whose obsessive friendship leads them to commit murder, is full of scenes of fantasy and romance. But this film's fantastical elements reflect the bizarre psychological circumstances of the girls' friendship, and draws upon their actual diary writings to re-create their relationship. In contrast, The Lovely Bones feels wrong-headed due to the brutality of the main character's death, which seems at odds with the strange beauty and pleasant qualities of her "heavenly" existence.

Why is Sidi keen on having a bride price paid for her? What does this show about Lakunle's character?

Sidi is keen on having her bride-price paid because she mentions to Lakunle that she will be the laughing-stock of the village if it is not paid in full. Sidi tells Lakunle, "Well, do as you please. But Sidi will not make herself a cheap bowl for the village spit" (Soyinka 7). Lakunle says to Sidi that he will take the villagers' scorn, but Sidi believes that the villagers will continue to spread...

Sidi is keen on having her bride-price paid because she mentions to Lakunle that she will be the laughing-stock of the village if it is not paid in full. Sidi tells Lakunle, "Well, do as you please. But Sidi will not make herself a cheap bowl for the village spit" (Soyinka 7). Lakunle says to Sidi that he will take the villagers' scorn, but Sidi believes that the villagers will continue to spread rumors that she was not a virgin and was forced to sell her shame. Sidi is obviously worried about her reputation in the community, and Lakunle is not concerned about Sidi's feelings. Lakunle detests traditional tribal practices, such as paying the bride-price, and refers to it as a "savage custom." He values Western civilization and modern concepts of marriage and love. His initial rebuttals make sense, and it seems like he truly believes that paying the bride-price is uncivilized and will negatively affect their relationship. Later on in the play, when Lakunle finds out that Sidi has lost her virginity, he is excited because he has a rational excuse not to pay the bride-price. The audience finds out Lakunle's true intentions, which were simply to avoid paying the bride-price because of the cost. Lakunle is rather shallow and propagates Western culture as a means to hide his true intentions.

According to Captain Beatty, how did censorship begin?

Montag is so affected by the woman who chose to burn with her books that he decides to skip work, effectively intending to call in sick. He has also stolen a book from the woman's house. When Montag does not report for work, Beatty goes to visit "the sick man." Beatty goes into the history of the firemen and how censorship began: 

Every fireman, sooner or later, hits this. They only need understanding, to know how the wheels run. Need to know the history of our profession. 

Beatty says it all started with the Civil War, presumably indicating it started with a rift between culture and race. Beatty says people did not get along until photography, film, television, and radio became popular. These mediums were effective in keeping people happy because they applied to a mass audience. Beatty goes on to describe how fast-paced this kind of entertainment was becoming: 

School is shortened, discipline relaxed, philosophies, histories, languages dropped, English and spelling gradually neglected, finally almost completely ignored. Life is immediate, the job counts, pleasure lies all about after work. Why learn anything save pressing buttons, pulling switches, fitting nuts and bolts? 

In other words, with this kind of entertainment and lifestyle, there are less reasons for the public to think for themselves. Books were too particular, profound, and diverse whereas movies and television were simplified and could appeal to the majority. Therefore, Beatty claims, it was the public (not the government) that dictated the censorship of books. The public would rather be happy with a homogeneous, generally well-liked product than have to deal with many different philosophies and viewpoints in books:

There you have it, Montag. It didn't come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! 

Beatty goes on to say that the firemen were simply carrying out the will of the people. People don't want to be unhappy or offended. So, literature would be banned and the mass appeal of the movies and television (parlour shows) would be embraced: 

Colored people don't like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don't feel good about Uncle Tom's Cabin. Burn it. 

Do the molecules in a gas have more thermal energy than the molecules in a solid?

To understand if the molecules in a solid have more thermal energy than the molecules in a gas, one must first understand what thermal energy is. Thermal energy is can be generally defined as the average kinetic energy possessed by a atom or molecule in a substance. Thermal energy is transferred to molecules of a substance via heat. Heating of a group of molecules, increases the overall thermal energy of the substance, which can lead...

To understand if the molecules in a solid have more thermal energy than the molecules in a gas, one must first understand what thermal energy is. Thermal energy is can be generally defined as the average kinetic energy possessed by a atom or molecule in a substance. Thermal energy is transferred to molecules of a substance via heat. Heating of a group of molecules, increases the overall thermal energy of the substance, which can lead to a change in state. Because of this, the thermal energy of the molecules in a substance can be determined by their temperature. In terms of looking at the states of matter and thermal energy, a solid contains the least amount of thermal energy, a liquid contains more thermal energy than a solid, and a gas contains more thermal energy than both a liquid and a solid. Therefore, molecules, of the same substance as the solid, that are in the gas state would have a higher level of thermal energy than both the liquid state, and the solid state, of the same molecules. This is why it takes the addition of a greater amount of heat to molecules to change from their solid state into a liquid state, or a liquid state into a gas state. 

Hope this helps!

How then can a "Cold Pastoral" be called a "friend to man" in the poem Ode on a Grecian Urn?

The image that absorbs Keats (or, more precisely, the poem's narrator) on the Grecian urn is a "Cold Pastoral" because it is a picture frozen in time of a pastoral or outdoors scene. It is not something alive. It is cold, a piece of pottery, not warm like human flesh. Unlike human life, it will never change. Yet, paradoxically, it is a "friend to man" precisely becauseit will not change. Keats becomes ecstatic about...

The image that absorbs Keats (or, more precisely, the poem's narrator) on the Grecian urn is a "Cold Pastoral" because it is a picture frozen in time of a pastoral or outdoors scene. It is not something alive. It is cold, a piece of pottery, not warm like human flesh. Unlike human life, it will never change. Yet, paradoxically, it is a "friend to man" precisely because it will not change. Keats becomes ecstatic about the image on the urn being "happy" because the lovers depicted are forever destined to be young and in the full bloom of love, because it will always be spring there, and because it will always be a festival day on the urn. He contrasts this to human life, in which people fall out of the first raptures of love, then age, have problems, and die. Therefore, as Keats says, "When old age shall this generation waste" (in other words when he and his friends get old), the urn "shalt remain, in midst of other woe/Than ours." It will, he means, outlive the narrator's generation and be there for other people, yet unborn, who have their own problems, and who will need to escape from them as he has into the timeless beauty of the urn. Thus, Keats writes, the urn will remain:

a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,

         "Beauty is truth, truth beauty ..."

In other words, it will be a friend because, no matter how unhappy we are, it will continue across the generations to remind us of beauty and the truth in beauty. 

What does Romeo mean by the line "I am not a pilot" in Romeo and Juliet?

Romeo is comparing himself to the pilot of a ship.

Juliet asks Romeo how he found her, and he explains that he found her by love.  He explains that even though he is not a pilot, he would find her even on a vast sea.

By love, who first did prompt me to inquire;
He lent me counsel and I lent him eyes.
I am no pilot; yet, wert thou as far
As that vast shore wash'd with the farthest sea,
I would adventure for such merchandise. (Act 2, Scene 2)

Romeo’s metaphor is intended to show Juliet how far he will go to be with her.  She comments that he is risking his life just to be there, because her family will murder him if they find him.  He doesn’t care.  All he cares about is being with her.  Even if she were adrift on the ocean, he would risk anything to find her.  That is how much he loves her.

Juliet is not impressed.  She wants him to convince her that he loves her, not with pretty words but with simple proclamations.  She basically tells him, “If you love me, say so.”

O gentle Romeo,
If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully:
Or if thou think'st I am too quickly won,
I'll frown and be perverse an say thee nay,
So thou wilt woo; but else, not for the world. (Act 2, Scene 2)

Romeo and Juliet are at a crossroads.  She has decided that his name is not a part of him, and therefore she can love him even if he is a Montague.  He has decided that he will give up his name if he needs to.  He will do anything to be with her.

Juliet agrees to marry Romeo, but will not make love to him until they get married.  The two have to marry in secret, because their families would not take kindly to their relationship. Of course, the secret marriage causes no end to problems, and they both would have been better off going separate ways.

What are examples of culture in "The Outcasts of Poker Flat"?

Culture can be defined as the total knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, and attitudes, of a group of people. Probably the best example of culture that I can think of in "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" is the cultural attitude expressed by the people of Poker Flat.  The story begins with John Oakhurst, Duchess, Mother Shipton, and Uncle Billy being thrown out of town.  Oakhurst is a gambler.  Duchess and Mother Shipton are prostitutes, and Uncle...

Culture can be defined as the total knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, and attitudes, of a group of people. Probably the best example of culture that I can think of in "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" is the cultural attitude expressed by the people of Poker Flat.  The story begins with John Oakhurst, Duchess, Mother Shipton, and Uncle Billy being thrown out of town.  Oakhurst is a gambler.  Duchess and Mother Shipton are prostitutes, and Uncle Billy is a violent drunk.  It's a testament to Poker Flat that they are not willing to have those kinds of morally corrupt people in their town.  Their beliefs and values system doesn't allow tolerance of degenerates in their town.  You could make a claim that their culture is a non-tolerant culture, but that still would describe the culture that the town of Poker Flat is trying to establish. 

What is significant about the prince's name in "The Masque of the Red Death"?

Prince Prospero’s name is ironic because he dies at the end.

It is not hard to determine the significance of Prince Prospero’s name.  “Prospero” sounds like “prosper.”  Prince Prospero tries to prosper at the expense of his people.

But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys.

As the prince, Prospero was responsible for his kingdom.  As the red death decimated his people, he thought of no one but himself.  Prospero could have tried to help his people, but instead he helped himself.  He took a thousand of his closest friends, courtiers and nobles, and locked himself and them away in a castle.

Seeking to prosper on his own, at their expense, Prince Prospero held a ball about six months into his hiding stint.

It was toward the close of the fifth or sixth month of his seclusion, and while the pestilence raged most furiously abroad, that the Prince Prospero entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence.

Prince Prospero’s ball has an uninvited guest.  The people are celebrating and having fun—prospering—but it is temporary.  Prospero is only delaying the inevitable.  He dies, and so do all of his guests.  You can’t escape death just by being rich.

Propsero’s ironic name sends a message to Poe’s readers.  People who are selfish and use their wealth to hurt others, or who steal from others, will eventually get what is coming to them.  Like Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, which has a main character named Prospero, this story is about revenge.  In the end, the dead got revenge on the man who abandoned them.

What is the juxtaposition in "A Noiseless, Patient Spider"? Is there any satire on human race to overcome the truth?

Juxtaposition occurs when an author places two characters or events or narrative moments close to one another for the purpose of drawing a contrast between them.  Therefore, in this poem, a spider and a human soul are juxtaposed in order to emphasize their differences. 

In the first stanza, the speaker describes a single spider, noting how it stands alone, and draws attention to the way it spins its web, shooting out one silken thread after...

Juxtaposition occurs when an author places two characters or events or narrative moments close to one another for the purpose of drawing a contrast between them.  Therefore, in this poem, a spider and a human soul are juxtaposed in order to emphasize their differences. 

In the first stanza, the speaker describes a single spider, noting how it stands alone, and draws attention to the way it spins its web, shooting out one silken thread after another.  In the second stanza, the speaker now addresses his own soul, noting that it, too, is surrounded by a vast open space, alone and isolated.  He says that his soul explores, wonders, attempts, to connect with its environment just as the spider does.  And, just like the spider, his soul will continue to shoot out its own "gossamer thread" until it successfully attaches itself to something via this connection. 

Thus, in the end, there is not much difference at all between a spider and the human soul, and the juxtaposition really draws our attention to their similarity.  Although this poem does not present a satire of humanity -- there does not seem to be any way in which Whitman is attempting to point out our flaws in an effort to force us to change -- it does employ verbal irony through its use of unexpected language.  We would not expect a comparison of our soul to a spider; it is a fairly atypical pairing.  Because it is so unexpected, it does succeed in attracting our attention.

Why do people migrate from rural areas to cities?

Historically, there have been many reasons that people moved to cities from rural areas, but certainly the most important ones were economic. In England, for example, people moved to cities in response to the enclosure of common lands that had historically allowed them to exist as small land-holding (or renting) peasants. They moved there in search of new ways of making a living. As the Industrial Revolution emerged, people moved to cities for jobs in...

Historically, there have been many reasons that people moved to cities from rural areas, but certainly the most important ones were economic. In England, for example, people moved to cities in response to the enclosure of common lands that had historically allowed them to exist as small land-holding (or renting) peasants. They moved there in search of new ways of making a living. As the Industrial Revolution emerged, people moved to cities for jobs in developing industries. In many places, this resulted in the emergence of new urban areas. Today, jobs remain the most important reason that people settle in cities, but it is also true (as has always been the case) that other factors are important as well. Young people have often moved to cities because they found living in more rural areas to be boring and perhaps confining. The saying "city air breathes free" has described the motives of many people who moved to cities seeking to break away from the constraints of the places they were born. Many found that life in cities was no less confining than the small villages they came from, but the fact remains that the city has always been a draw for many people from rural areas.

How is Tiny Tim from A Christmas Carol (the film) considered an innocent youth?

Dickens' A Christmas Carol has been analyzed in a variety of ways through the years, and there are many movie versions.  However, the character of Tiny Tim is easy to see as representative of innocence in them all.  Dickens himself grew up in difficult circumstances, and through his hardship as a young man, it's easy to see how he would have come to view children as the innocent victims of society and humanity at that...

Dickens' A Christmas Carol has been analyzed in a variety of ways through the years, and there are many movie versions.  However, the character of Tiny Tim is easy to see as representative of innocence in them all.  Dickens himself grew up in difficult circumstances, and through his hardship as a young man, it's easy to see how he would have come to view children as the innocent victims of society and humanity at that time.  Tiny Tim is the perfect example of a child born into the filth, disease and poverty of Victorian London.  Through no fault of his own, Tiny Tim is living in reduced circumstances and with an illness (likely caused by those circumstances), for which he is unable to gain treatment (due to his unearned poverty).  He is clearly "innocent" of any reason for his situation...as are many of that time and place (which Dickens is clearly attempting to point out through his writing). Furthermore, Dickens' story shows us the Ghost of Christmas Present who reveals the children named Innocence and Want.  The ghost warns Scrooge to beware the boy more, as on his forehead is written "doom". This could be seen as correlative to the male character of Tiny Tim.  In the end, Scrooge comes to realize that he (and perhaps society as a whole), is responsible for Tiny Tim (rather than Tiny Tim himself being culpable), and ultimately comes to his aid. 

How is King David like Hester Prynne?

There are three key ways that the Biblical King David is like Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter. The first, and most obvious, is that both King David and Hester Prynne commit adultery. David sins by committing adultery with Bathsheba and Hester commits adultery (we learn at the end of the novel) with the Reverend Dimmesdale. 

Both David and Hester are invariably punished for their adulterous acts. Though King David marries...

There are three key ways that the Biblical King David is like Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter. The first, and most obvious, is that both King David and Hester Prynne commit adultery. David sins by committing adultery with Bathsheba and Hester commits adultery (we learn at the end of the novel) with the Reverend Dimmesdale. 

Both David and Hester are invariably punished for their adulterous acts. Though King David marries Bathsheba and tries to atone for his sin, God punishes David by killing their firstborn son when he is only a few days old. God later punishes David by killing his son Absalom, as well, when Absalom rebels against his father and tries to capture the throne.  Hester is punished publicly by her community, is made to wear the scarlet "A," and is shunned for years by everyone in town. Hester also has a child from her adulterous relationship, the strange Pearl. The novel says that although Hester loves Pearl, the child often seems like a punishment for Hester's sins.

Finally, King David and Hester Prynne both repent of their sins and try to make up for their failings. David repents of his sin and God eventually rewards him with another son, Solomon, who will become a great king of Israel. Hester does penance for her sin by living alone with Pearl, by serving the poor and needy, and by continuing to wear her scarlet "A" even after the town would allow her to remove it. The scarlet letter even follows her to her grave since it is carved into her tombstone. 

How would you approach writing an essay explaining why you agree or disagree with Martin Luther King's statement found in the following passage of...

In his "Letter from Birmingham City Jail," in the passage in question, Martin Luther asserts that nothing is more damaging to a cause than what he calls "lukewarm" supporters of that cause. King is certainly correct to assert "shallow understanding" and "lukewarm acceptance" of a cause are far more damaging than outright rejection of a cause. The more the masses fail to fully understand and embrace a cause, the harder it becomes to fulfill that cause. We can see examples of such ignorance and rejection in any cause worth fighting for. One contemporary cause concerns the fight for taking action to prevent further climate change. To write the above essay, one would have to pick a controversial cause and research where supporters stand on the issue.

In his letter, King argues nothing is more damaging to the African-American pursuit of justice and equality than well-wishers who say they approve of the African-American cause but not the means for achieving it, referring to nonviolent protest. The well-wishers, such as the "white moderates," don't approve the means of achieving the African-American cause because those well-wishers prefer civil order to civil rights:

I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in this stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice.

He further argues that, by preferring order to justice, white moderates are preferring a false sense of peace, a peace with the "absence of tensions" but also lacking in social justice. He asserts white moderates do not know what true justice really looks like and what it takes to achieve true justice, and this makes white moderates say they support the cause but not the means; he calls this a "shallow understanding" and says it is more thwarting than "absolute misunderstanding."

When we look at contemporary causes, like taking an active stance to prevent further climate change, we see that there are supporters, opponents, and those in between. Many people have already been convinced climate change is real and a man-made occurrence that needs to be put under control, whereas others, who don't downright reject climate change as real but rather straddle the fence, saying it's real but doubting it is a man-made problem that must immediately be solved by men.

Rebecca Kaplan and Ellen Uchimiya of CBS News report that Jeb Bush was one of the presidential candidates who straddled the fence, saying climate change is real but doubting science has given convincing evidence to prove the problem is man-made:

The climate is changing. . . [but] I don't think the science is clear on what percentage is man-made and. . . what percentage is natural. It's convoluted. And for people to say the science is decided on this is just really arrogant ("Where the 2016 Republican Candidates Stand on Climate Change").

He is reported to have gone on to say that countries need to cut back on carbon emissions, but claims the United States does not need to because the United States has already increased its natural gas production through fracking, an equally environmentally controversial issue. His lukewarmness spreads misinformation and lessens critical public support of measures to fight climate change.

One can argue that Jeb Bush's "lukewarm" stance on climate change would be devastating to the environment. Hence, as King asserts, it is the "lukewarm" supporters who are the most damaging to a cause.

How are Doodle and his brother similar in "The Scarlet Ibis"?

Doodle and his brother are both determined.

Doodle and his brother are alike in that they do not give up.  When Doodle was born, everyone was sure he would die.  He was so small and sickly that they built a coffin for him.  Yet Doodle made it.  He lived, and everything was a struggle.  Still, he began to do more and more things regular kids could do.

Brother was also very dedicated.  He was bound...

Doodle and his brother are both determined.

Doodle and his brother are alike in that they do not give up.  When Doodle was born, everyone was sure he would die.  He was so small and sickly that they built a coffin for him.  Yet Doodle made it.  He lived, and everything was a struggle.  Still, he began to do more and more things regular kids could do.

Brother was also very dedicated.  He was bound and determined to teach Doodle to walk, even though everyone was sure that it was not possible.  Brother and Doodle did not give up. Just as Doodle taught himself to crawl, crawling backward but still crawling, Brother taught Doodle to walk. Neither of them gave in, ever.

Doodle is afraid to learn to walk at first.  Everyone has told him he can’t, and he asks his brother not to hurt him.  However, Doodle’s brother is convinced that with enough hard work they can beat the odds again.

It seemed so hopeless from the beginning that it's a miracle I didn't give up. But all of us must have something or someone to be proud of, and Doodle had become mine. I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death.

Walking is a monumental struggle for Doodle.  At first all he can do is stand, and then he can take a few steps.  The two boys work on it very hard, pushing and pushing past what seems like the limits of endurance.

Doodle does learn to walk, shocking his parents.  The two boys keep Doodle’s walking a surprise, and on his sixth birthday they reveal it to the family members.  

Unfortunately, Doodle’s brother pushes him too far.  He doesn’t just want him to walk.  Doodle wants a brother who can run and jump and do the things normal kids do.  Doodle tries, but he is too weak and he dies.  His brother feels terrible, realizing that he seems to be the reason for his brother’s early death.  Sometimes pushing too hard is not a good thing.

What figurative language is present in Chapter 7 of Bud, Not Buddy?

Figurative language is the opposite of literal language. Literal language says exactly what it means. ("That is a big red gumball" is literal.) Figurative language doesn't say exactly what it means. Instead, it relates unrelated things to give you an idea of how someone experienced or perceived something. ("That gumball looks like a clown's nose" is figurative.)

In Chapter 7 of Bud, Not Buddy, there are several examples of figurative language. In this chapter, Bud...

Figurative language is the opposite of literal language. Literal language says exactly what it means. ("That is a big red gumball" is literal.) Figurative language doesn't say exactly what it means. Instead, it relates unrelated things to give you an idea of how someone experienced or perceived something. ("That gumball looks like a clown's nose" is figurative.)

In Chapter 7 of Bud, Not Buddy, there are several examples of figurative language. In this chapter, Bud walks into the library. When he's describing the air in the library, he uses a kind of figurative language called a simile when he says, "…it feels like you're walking into a cellar on a hot July day." Obviously, a library is not the same as a cellar. But the simile gives you a clear feeling of what the experience of walking into the library was like for Bud.

Bud uses another simile when he talks about how people look when they start to fall asleep in the library. He wants to describe the way their heads move. If he wanted to be literal, he'd say something dull like "their heads move up and down." Instead, he compares the way the people's heads move to an unrelated thing when he says "…their heads start bouncing up and down like they're bobbing in a big tub of water for apples."

Similes (which often compare two things using the word "as" or "like," as in the examples above) are just one kind of figurative language.

You can read more about figurative language

You can also discover more types of figurative language (beyond similes)

Why did the author say "the grey or multicolored lights touching their faces, but never really touching them"?

Bradbury is talking about the flickering lights of a television set dancing across the faces of people in their homes doing nothing but watching endless channels of television.  The entire description reads,

Everything went on in the tomblike houses at night now, he thought, continuing his fancy.   The tombs, ill-lit by television light, where the people sat like the dead, the gray or multicolored lights touching their faces, but never really touching them.

Bradbury compares...

Bradbury is talking about the flickering lights of a television set dancing across the faces of people in their homes doing nothing but watching endless channels of television.  The entire description reads,

Everything went on in the tomblike houses at night now, he thought, continuing his fancy.   The tombs, ill-lit by television light, where the people sat like the dead, the gray or multicolored lights touching their faces, but never really touching them.

Bradbury compares the people of the town to the dead and their homes to tombs because of their obsession with watching television. The society no longer needs books or magazines because television has taken over their lives. None of the programs are probably worth watching and are for entertainment only; therefore, no knowledge is sinking into the brains of the citizens.  They shut themselves up in their homes and are hypnotized by what television can give them, an escape from their own lives. Unlike Leonard Mead who takes nightly walks, the rest of the city spends their nights in their tomb-like homes and merely exist not learning or growing or accomplishing anything in life.

The key to understanding the quote is to analyze the use of the word, “touching.”  The light from the television set touches the viewers physically, but nothing on television ever touches them emotionally.  They are the “watching dead” or zombies created by the television age.

Which of these is ALWAYS a property of an ore? A. It is renewable. B. It is black in color. C. It is cost-effective to extract. D. It is found...

An ore is rock that contains valuable minerals in concentrations that can be economically extracted so C is the correct answer. Ores are mined from the earth, crushed and refined to produce minerals in a useable form.

The other choices are incorrect for the following reasons:

A. Ores aren't renewable. Metals and other minerals found in ores are limited in supply and aren't regenerated.

B. Ores aren't always black.They can be very colorful depending...

An ore is rock that contains valuable minerals in concentrations that can be economically extracted so C is the correct answer. Ores are mined from the earth, crushed and refined to produce minerals in a useable form.

The other choices are incorrect for the following reasons:

A. Ores aren't renewable. Metals and other minerals found in ores are limited in supply and aren't regenerated.

B. Ores aren't always black. They can be very colorful depending on the minerals they contain. The photo below shows some colorful minerals that are found in ores.

D. Ores aren't found in the earth's mantle, they're found in the crust. The crust is the outermost layer of the earth. It ranges from about 5 kilometers to 70 kilometers in depth. The mantle lies just beneath the crust, at a depth too great for practical mining operations.

In "Charles" by Shirley Jackson, what is Laurie's relationship with his parents like? How would it be described?

On the surface, the relationship between Laurie and his parents seems quite typical. When he starts kindergarten, he starts wearing jeans instead of overalls and this shows how he is becoming more independent. He begins taking a more active role in who he is. Laurie uses this stage of his development to try different things. The narrator (mother) notes how he becomes more thoughtless and insolent when talking with his father. Laurie is testing the...

On the surface, the relationship between Laurie and his parents seems quite typical. When he starts kindergarten, he starts wearing jeans instead of overalls and this shows how he is becoming more independent. He begins taking a more active role in who he is. Laurie uses this stage of his development to try different things. The narrator (mother) notes how he becomes more thoughtless and insolent when talking with his father. Laurie is testing the limits of what he can and can not get away with. Laurie tests his parents' and teacher's patience. While this is also a typical phase that many children go through, it does seem that Laurie goes a bit too far. Laurie knows this as well. That's why he creates an alter-ego in order to do the things that he knows are wrong. On the other hand, he also attributes his good deeds with Charles. Note that it is Charles who acts as the teacher's helper. By acting out, via Charles, Laurie creates a problem in his relationship with his parents. He uses a lie (not telling them that he is Charles) in order to tell the truth. 

The relationship between Laurie and his parents is troublesome because Laurie lies about what he has been doing at school and he is rude to his parents. On the other hand, Laurie tells them everything he does; he just uses his alter-ego as a way of disclosing everything. Their relationship would best be described as complicated or problematic. He tells them everything Charles does but does not tell them that he is Charles. So, it is an odd paradox of lies and truth. Their relationship is therefore paradoxically healthy but also problematic. 

Do today's Tea Party advocates share similar values with those who advocated for the Populist movement 100 years ago?

While there might be similarities in their calls to action, I think that there are significant policy differences between the Tea Party movement and the Populist movement of a century ago.

The Populists in the late nineteenth century believed that government was not listening to the needs of farmers.  Some of the language in the platform of the Populist party called for uniting "the farmers of America for their protection against class legislation and the...

While there might be similarities in their calls to action, I think that there are significant policy differences between the Tea Party movement and the Populist movement of a century ago.

The Populists in the late nineteenth century believed that government was not listening to the needs of farmers.  Some of the language in the platform of the Populist party called for uniting "the farmers of America for their protection against class legislation and the encroachments of concentrated capital."  This protection came in the form of governmental action.  The Populists called for a regulation of railroads and communication.  They sought to increase governmental control in order to make government more responsive to the needs of farmers.

The Tea Party advocates do not favor more governmental control.  Their platform is motivated by the belief that there is too much governmental intrusion and regulation.  The Tea Party membership wishes to decrease the role of government.  Members of the Tea Party believe that governmental spending is far too much and needs to be curtailed.  Accordingly, Tea Party members do not support the widening of government or the nationalization of industries under the government.  It is for this reason that so many Tea Party advocates are against government- sponsored initiatives like health care.

The shared anger and outrage at the way government is being run is one common link between the Tea Party and the Populists.  They both share a dislike for how government is functioning.  However, the policy implications of each are fundamentally different.  The Populists wanted greater governmental control over privately held industries, while the Tea Party seeks to reduce the role of government.

How did the resolution process begin in the movie Remember the Titans?

The conflict in the film Remember the Titansis the racial tension that exists in 1971 Alexandria, Virginia and its impact on the newly integrated football program.  The viewer is introduced to this tension immediately at the beginning of the film with mention of race riots in town.  The tension builds as the white football coach is replaced by an African-American coach. The white players threaten to boycott the football program at this point.  After...

The conflict in the film Remember the Titans is the racial tension that exists in 1971 Alexandria, Virginia and its impact on the newly integrated football program.  The viewer is introduced to this tension immediately at the beginning of the film with mention of race riots in town.  The tension builds as the white football coach is replaced by an African-American coach. The white players threaten to boycott the football program at this point.  After the white coach, Bill Yoast decides to join the black coach's (Herman Boone) staff, the white players are back on board.  This creates further tension at football camp as the players do not interact with players of the opposite race.  The beginning of the resolution of this conflict occurs during an evening practice.  The star linebacker, who is white, yells at another white player for not blocking for the African-American running back.  This happens in front of the entire team and coaching staff.  After correcting the white lineman, he gets "fired up" with a black teammate on defense. The film portrays this as a poignant moment in the season, one that demonstrates an attempt to bridge the racial gap on the team. 

Is the following quote, from To Kill a Mockingbird, a simile, a metaphor, or personification? "The Radley place fascinated Dill. In spite of...

Both simile and metaphor are forms of comparison. The difference between the two is that a simile explicitly uses terms of comparison such as "like" or "as," while a metaphor does not use explicit terms of comparison. Since the phase "it drew him as the moon draws water" includes the word "as," it is an example of a simile rather than a metaphor. 

Personification involves treating something that is not human as though it has human characteristics. The phrase "drawing water" suggests a person obtaining water from a well, and suggests a sense of intention and purpose. In this way, the influence of the moon's gravity on the tides is being personified to a degree, but the phrase could also suggest an impersonal process.

The most important rhetorical aspect of the quotation, though, is the way it portrays Dill as passively drawn to the Radley place, rather than actively seeking it out. 

In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" story and BBC film adaptation, what would you say were some of Sherlock Holmes' motivations?

Sherlock Holmes has at least three principal motives for getting involved in Helen's Stoner's case. In the first place, he frequently helps young ladies in distress out of sympathy and chivalry. This motivation can be seen in such stories as "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," "The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist," "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches," "A Case of Identity," and "The Adventure of the Dancing Men."

Another motive is professional curiosity. Watson...

Sherlock Holmes has at least three principal motives for getting involved in Helen's Stoner's case. In the first place, he frequently helps young ladies in distress out of sympathy and chivalry. This motivation can be seen in such stories as "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," "The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist," "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches," "A Case of Identity," and "The Adventure of the Dancing Men."

Another motive is professional curiosity. Watson repeatedly informs the reader that Sherlock Holmes has a compulsion to use his analytical powers and that he will only take cases that interest him. He is not particularly concerned about money because he has become so famous that wealthy people pay him large sums for his help. An example is "The Adventure of the Priory School" in which the Duke of Holdernesse writes Holmes a check for six thousand pounds, which would be the equivalent in buying power of at least a million dollars today.

A third motive in "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is the challenge presented by Dr. Grimesby Roylott, who bursts into Holmes rooms shortly after his stepdaughter Helen Stoner has left and issues the following threat.

“I will go when I have said my say. Don't you dare to meddle with my affairs. I know that Miss Stoner has been here. I traced her! I am a dangerous man to fall foul of! See here.” He stepped swiftly forward, seized the poker, and bent it into a curve with his huge brown hands.

“See that you keep yourself out of my grip,” he snarled, and hurling the twisted poker into the fireplace he strode out of the room.

This is the only time Dr. Roylott is seen alive, but he seems to haunt the remainder of the story, making it, as the author intended, a conflict of man against man, Holmes against Roylott. Holmes is doubly motivated to interfere in this half-mad bully's affairs just because Roylott has warned him not to do it. 

So in "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," Sherlock Holmes has three strong motives for solving the problems brought to him by Helen Stoner. The great detective not only saves Helen's life but clears up the two-year-old "locked room" mystery of the death of her sister Julia--all in less than twenty-four hours. His conflict with Dr. Roylott is resolved when the villain is killed by his own poisonous snake. 

How does Victor Frankenstein feel toward the monster he has created?

Immediately following the moment when the creature first comes to life, Victor's dream of nearly two years, he says that "the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart."  He is unable even to look at the creature, and so he runs from the room.  Victor did not expect to have this response because he actually chose the creature's features to be beautiful, and though it seemed "ugly" when it...

Immediately following the moment when the creature first comes to life, Victor's dream of nearly two years, he says that "the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart."  He is unable even to look at the creature, and so he runs from the room.  Victor did not expect to have this response because he actually chose the creature's features to be beautiful, and though it seemed "ugly" when it was unfinished, Victor now feels that the horror of seeing its features animated is truly awful.  For this reason, Victor calls him a "wretch" and a "miserable monster," saying that "no mortal could support the horror of that countenance."

Two years later, when Victor has returned to Geneva, he sees the creature and realizes that it was he who killed Victor's brother.  After the murder conviction and execution of Justine, who the creature framed, Victor travels to Chamounix to take in the scenes of nature and, he hopes, to be healed by them.  However, the creature takes this opportunity to confront Victor, and Victor calls him a "devil."  However, the creature's words force Victor to feel "the duties of a creator towards his creature [...]."  Thus, after hearing the creature's story, Victor feels some obligation to grant his request for a mate.  It isn't until he has second thoughts and destroys the mate he worked on that the creature vows to exact revenge.  At this point, the creature becomes the monster Victor felt him to be, and he picked off Victor's loved ones one by one.  It is this behavior, most especially the murder of Elizabeth, that compels Victor to take his revenge on the creature or die trying.

What does Ravi think it would feel like to be "the winner in a circle of older, bigger, luckier children"?

In a word: awesome. Ravi wants to win the hide and seek game so badly that he can practically taste the victory.  

What fun if they were all found and caught—he alone left unconquered! He had never known that sensation. Nothing more wonderful had ever happened to him. . . 

Based on the above line of text, the reader can sense that Ravi sees his victory as winning a battle of some kind....

In a word: awesome. Ravi wants to win the hide and seek game so badly that he can practically taste the victory.  

What fun if they were all found and caught—he alone left unconquered! He had never known that sensation. Nothing more wonderful had ever happened to him. . . 

Based on the above line of text, the reader can sense that Ravi sees his victory as winning a battle of some kind.  He likens himself to a conquering hero.  He alone would be victorious over his hide and seek "enemy."  

To defeat Raghu—that hirsute, hoarse-voiced football champion—and to be the winner in a circle of older, bigger, luckier children—that would be thrilling beyond imagination.

Ravi's enemy is Raghu.  Raghu is a bit of a bully and can't stand losing.  He's the leader who dominates the decisions of all of the other children.  Ravi admits that being able to essentially say "in your face" to Raghu would be more exciting than anything that he has ever imagined before.  For Ravi, winning, and beating Ravi, would be the pinnacle of his existence.  

At what point in the story does the reader begin to figure out what the Place of Gods is in "By the Waters of Babylon"?

Almost immediately, Benet gives his readers hints as to what is going on in the Dead Place or the Place of the Gods.  When he mentions the metal that only a priest can touch because it kills, the reader is given a clue to solve the mystery of what happened to this society of the Gods. The answer to why metal kills is that the metal is radioactive and, therefore, will kill someone touching it...

Almost immediately, Benet gives his readers hints as to what is going on in the Dead Place or the Place of the Gods.  When he mentions the metal that only a priest can touch because it kills, the reader is given a clue to solve the mystery of what happened to this society of the Gods. The answer to why metal kills is that the metal is radioactive and, therefore, will kill someone touching it with radiation poisoning. This suggests that the Dead Place was once the site of a nuclear war, or, as the narrator calls it, the Great Burning. John, the narrator, later calls it the place where “fire fell from the sky." It was then that the Place of the Gods was “broken.”

However, if a reader is still uncertain about the Place of the Gods, Benet gives clues throughout the story. Here are some clues:

• The narrator, John, is allowed to go into the dead houses where he discovers skeletons and bones while searching for metal. It is there that he reads old books and old writings. He likes to “hear of the Old Days and the stories of the gods.”


• The tribe in which the narrator lives is primitive and doesn’t have modern-day technology. For example, women still spin wool. This suggests that the tribe of Forest People are more backward than the people of the “Old Days” who used metal.


• On his journey, John sees “god-roads” with great blocks of stones suggesting a freeway system and bridges.


• When John gets to the Place of the Gods, he sees buildings “too big to be houses.” These "towers” are skyscrapers in a city.


• John also sees a statue in the image of man with the word “ASHING,” meaning “Washington."


• John also finds that the Gods got their food from “boxes and jars,” and they didn’t have to hunt for food like John’s tribe. Again, this suggests a more advanced society once lived in there in the past. 


• There are also elevators—“a bronze door that could not be opened.”


• There are high rise apartments with appliances (a “cooking place," a “washing place”, “a machine to cook food”) and many rooms.

If one is a good detective while one reads, all of these images and clues put together show that the Place of the Gods was once a modern, advanced city devastated by a nuclear war in the past. John and his tribe represent a new society that is in the process of rebuilding itself.

If you combine 290.0 mL of water at 25.00 °C and 100.0 mL of water at 95.00 °C, what is the final temperature of the mixture? Use 1.00 g/mL as...

When we mix two liquids at different temperatures, one of them will lose heat and the other will gain it. The final solution will have a temperature somewhere in between the temperatures of the two mixing liquids. In this case, one liquid is at 25 degree Celsius, while the other liquid is at 95 degree Celsius. Hence, the first liquid will gain heat, while the second one will lose it. Assuming this is a closed...

When we mix two liquids at different temperatures, one of them will lose heat and the other will gain it. The final solution will have a temperature somewhere in between the temperatures of the two mixing liquids. In this case, one liquid is at 25 degree Celsius, while the other liquid is at 95 degree Celsius. Hence, the first liquid will gain heat, while the second one will lose it. Assuming this is a closed system, the amount of heat lost by one liquid is equal to the heat gained by the other.

Let the final temperature of the mixture be T degrees Celsius.

Amount of heat gained by 290 ml water = mass x specific heat capacity x change in temperature 

 = 290 ml x 1 g/ml x specific heat x (T-25)

Amount of heat lost by the other fluid = 100 ml x 1 g/ml x specific heat x (95-T)

Since the amount of heat lost and gained is equal, we get

290 x specific heat x (T-25) = 100 x specific heat x (95-T)

Solving the equation, we get, T = 42.95 degree Celsius.

Hope this helps.

To what extent is Willy Loman responsible for the failure of his dreams?

Willie Loman has no one but himself to blame for his failure to achieve his dreams. Although he has had difficulties in his life that make it hard for him to get ahead, his own character flaws ultimately cause his dreams to disappear. One of the major factors that worked against him was his lack of a father's direction. Willie's father left when he was a baby, and because of the he still feels "kind of temporary about myself." That is a difficult obstacle to overcome, yet many people have grown up fatherless and have been able to achieve their dreams. Another obstacle to Willie's success was the prevalence of enablers in his life. His wife, Linda, never confronts him on his inappropriate behaviors or his lies. She always tries to encourage him, but she doesn't respect him enough to present the truth to him about himself. Even Biff, who becomes furious at his father because of his adultery, never confronts him about it but handles it by becoming passive aggressive towards Willy. And Charley, while seeming to speak frankly to Willy, continues to pass money to him without demanding that Willy look at life realistically. While these people enable Willy's bad behavior, they cannot be held responsible for it. 

Willy's personal character flaws are what prevent him from achieving his dream. First, he has a desire to get by on personality without providing value by making meaningful contributions to the world. The reason he chooses to stay working as a salesman is that he has the picture of the 84-year-old salesman who was able to make a living just by calling people on the phone--a life of ease, as Willy sees it. His whole goal was to succeed in life without paying his dues. This is consistent with his habit of stealing, such as stealing from the construction site next door to build his steps. That example passed on to his sons in that neither wants to work hard, and Biff, in particular, steals. His dishonesty with himself and others is the biggest obstacle to his success. He lies to his wife constantly, even cheats on her, and continually lies to himself about his abilities and earnings. A salesman who is perceived as dishonest is unlikely to do well with customers. Because Willy never confronts the reality of his life and his own shortcomings, "he never trained himself for anything," which Bernard suggests is the reason for Biff's failures, but also applies to Willy.

Although Willy's lack of a father and his many enablers complicate his road to success, the real factor that prevents him from achieving his dreams is his own flawed character.

What code is Atticus talking about during his closing statement?

The "code" that Atticus refers to is the system of racial etiquette and laws that existed in the South from Reconstruction until the 1960s. Known as "Jim Crow," it ensured that whites would remain in a position of power by establishing certain norms and boundaries between the races. Atticus says that Mayella feels guilty for breaking this "rigid and time-honored code" by attempting to have sex with Tom. Having been caught in violation of the...

The "code" that Atticus refers to is the system of racial etiquette and laws that existed in the South from Reconstruction until the 1960s. Known as "Jim Crow," it ensured that whites would remain in a position of power by establishing certain norms and boundaries between the races. Atticus says that Mayella feels guilty for breaking this "rigid and time-honored code" by attempting to have sex with Tom. Having been caught in violation of the code, she responds by lashing out at Tom, blaming him for all that has happened, and accusing him of rape. Interracial sex, especially between black men and white women, was a strong taboo in the South, one which was enforced by law and by extralegal lynchings of the black men who were often portrayed as predators. Mayella played into this belief on the part of many white Southerners, and Tom was put on trial for his life. As Atticus says, "[N]o code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards" (207). Out of guilt, she shifted the burden of breaking the code onto Tom. 

How do two characters in A Raisin in the Sun make adjustments to a negative aspect of their environment?

A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry, set in 1950s Chicago. Hansberry shows major change in many characters throughout this play.

One of these characters is Walter. He is Mama's son, Ruth's husband, Beneatha's brother, and Travis' father. Walter is constantly trying to make a better life for his family, but often attempts dangerous or unstable ways of doing so. He is aggressive and argumentative with his family, and thinks he...

A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry, set in 1950s Chicago. Hansberry shows major change in many characters throughout this play.

One of these characters is Walter. He is Mama's son, Ruth's husband, Beneatha's brother, and Travis' father. Walter is constantly trying to make a better life for his family, but often attempts dangerous or unstable ways of doing so. He is aggressive and argumentative with his family, and thinks he can solve everyone's problems with money rather than family unity. Later in the novel, Walter finally begins to listen to his family. He chooses to follow their dreams and purchase a house rather than take easy money from Mr. Lindner and not be able to buy the house.

Walter's sister Beneatha also experiences major changes through the course of the play. She is in college pursuing a medicine degree. She is ambitious and flirtatious, dating two men during the play. One is poor and caring, the other is rich and aloof. She realizes through dating these two men that she is proud of her heritage and does not want to hide it. She also realizes that her family is much more important to her than she thought, and becomes closer with her brother as a result.

What happens when you remove a price ceiling in a market?

Let’s first take a look at what happens when you institute a price ceiling. A price ceiling is an artificial cap placed on the price of a good or service that is below the regular market value. (If it were above the market value, it would be called a price floor.) When a government or organization places a cap on the market value of a good, it creates a shortage in the market. If the price of cars, for example, was capped at $10,000, there would be a rush of people wanting to purchase vehicles. At that price, however, car manufacturers will only want to or be able to produce fewer cars because they’re not getting as much money per sale. Thus, with a price ceiling, demand will outweigh supply and there will be a shortage of new cars.

A price ceiling also has other side effects. Say, for example, the government set a ceiling on the price of apartments in Chicago. At $800 for a one bedroom, Chicago would be flooded with renters and there would shortly be no apartments left on the market – a market shortage. In addition to leaving people without the ability to rent apartments, it also creates a net waste. When bedrooms are priced at $800, there are people who would pay $1000 for an apartment and landlords who would happily rent for that price, but they're unable to make that mutually beneficial deal because of the price ceiling. Therefore, there is a $200 wasted potential. The market is not operating efficiently.

Removing a price ceiling returns the market to its natural equilibrium. Due to high demand, prices will rise until the quantity supplied equals the quantity demanded. Some people who were able to afford the $800 apartment will be unable to afford current market rates, so they may have to live outside Chicago where market rates are lower. Overall, removing a price ceiling returns the market to normal operation, which may mean higher prices or lower demand.

Why does Kathleen feel free when the soldier goes missing? Why is the betrothal "sinister"?

Kathleen Drover, a middle-aged wife and mother of three, recalled when she was engaged as a young woman many years before.  Her fiancé was a soldier during World War I.  He was a mysterious man. She was young and did not know him well.  Months after their August farewell, "her fiancé was reported missing, presumed killed." Kathleen suffered "a little grief" after she found out this news.  Her family was not sorry that their daughter did not marry...

Kathleen Drover, a middle-aged wife and mother of three, recalled when she was engaged as a young woman many years before.  Her fiancé was a soldier during World War I.  He was a mysterious man. She was young and did not know him well.  Months after their August farewell, "her fiancé was reported missing, presumed killed." Kathleen suffered "a little grief" after she found out this news.  Her family was not sorry that their daughter did not marry a "man they knew almost nothing about."  

Though Kathleen had said yes to becoming engaged to her soldier, the "unnatural promise [drove] down between her and the rest of all humankind."  She looked back on their engagement and realized that she "could not have plighted a more sinister troth."  It seemed as though she said yes to him with hesitation.  This was evident because the engagement "made her feel so apart, lost and forsworn."  This meant that she felt as though she had made a promise she did not truly want to make or even intend to keep.  When the soldier went missing, Kathleen felt relieved.  She no longer had to keep that "unnatural promise."  The story did not indicate that she felt an immediate, long term sense of freedom.  She experienced a temporary freedom after she parted from the soldier to run to the safety of her home and family.  In the long term, she was single for many years.  A sense of foreboding stayed with her.  She eventually got married as a woman in her early thirties.  She settled into the routines of life with her husband and children.

The betrothal was "sinister" because of the regret Kathleen felt about it. It was also sinister because of her fiancé's parting words, which had a foreboding tone.  He told her that he would always "be with [her]."  He also pressed her hand against his sharp buttons until she was cut.

How does Atticus from To Kill a Mockingbird show he's against racism?

"I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness, and most of all, without catching Maycomb's usual disease. Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don't pretend to understand" (88).

The above passage quotes Atticus talking with his younger brother Jack about the Tom Robinson case. What he means by "Maycomb's usual disease" is racism. Atticus is appointed by Judge Taylor to take Tom Robinson's case, but he doesn't have to care about it, and he sure doesn't have to prepare a strong defense--but he does. This shows that Atticus is against all of the prejudice and discrimination against blacks in his community. When Atticus discusses with Scout about the reasons why he has taken the case in chapter 11, he says the following:

". . . well, all I can say is, when you and Jem are grown, maybe you'll look back on this with some compassion and some feeling that I didn't let you down. This case, Tom Robinson's case, is something that goes to the essence of man's conscience--Scout, I couldn't go to church and worship God if I didn't try to help that man" (104).

What Atticus is saying in this passage is that he is greatly concerned about what this trial represents and what the fight really is about. He understands how racist his community is, but he knows that he needs to take the opportunity to stand up against it by doing his best in the Tom Robinson case. He also knows that the odds are stacked against him and Tom, but if he doesn't put up a good fight, then he would only be as good as those who perpetuate the racial problem. Not only that, but he wants to be a good example for what's right to his children. He doesn't want them to grow up racist either.

How do books 1-4 of The Odyssey prepare us for the introduction of the hero Odysseus in Book 5?

Like all good epics, Homer's The Odyssey starts in media res, and so we come to the story in the middle of things. As such, we don't get to directly meet our hero, the wayward and wandering Odysseus, until Book 5. Homer uses this narrative to set the stage for Odysseus' future heroism. 

Homer establishes context in a few ways. First, he describes the degradation of Odysseus' home in Ithaca. By outlining the extent of...

Like all good epics, Homer's The Odyssey starts in media res, and so we come to the story in the middle of things. As such, we don't get to directly meet our hero, the wayward and wandering Odysseus, until Book 5. Homer uses this narrative to set the stage for Odysseus' future heroism. 

Homer establishes context in a few ways. First, he describes the degradation of Odysseus' home in Ithaca. By outlining the extent of the suitors' depravity and the oppression of Penelope and Telemachus, Homer clearly signals the decay of a king-less Ithaca. As such, we are well aware that Odysseus is needed, which in turn makes us more anxious to finally meet the man.

Additionally, throughout these books we hear vague and mysterious snippets of conversations regarding Odysseus. Whether we're hearing the gods arguing about him on Mt. Olympus, or listening to Menelaus discuss his potential whereabouts, we're constantly hearing about the king of Ithaca without actually meeting him. In this way, we are able to establish vague inklings of the lost king's fate, although we're never able to say for sure what he's up to. This also increases our anxiety for meeting the king, and it only makes it that much more exciting when we actually meet him well into the poem during Book 5.

In “Old Ironsides,” Oliver Wendell Holmes conveys that he believes the ship deserves a better ending than it is getting. What does he mean when...

The lines you quote here are the final lines of the poem, and provide an example for exactly that which you are suggesting:  that the ship deserves a more noble death.  The poem was written after a proposition to break down the old, ailing frigate Constitution.  Old Ironsides, as the Constitutionwas affectionately known, was a warship; “her deck” was “once red with heroes’ blood,” yet now “The harpies of the shore shall pluck/The...

The lines you quote here are the final lines of the poem, and provide an example for exactly that which you are suggesting:  that the ship deserves a more noble death.  The poem was written after a proposition to break down the old, ailing frigate Constitution.  Old Ironsides, as the Constitution was affectionately known, was a warship; “her deck” was “once red with heroes’ blood,” yet now “The harpies of the shore shall pluck/The eagle of the sea!”  The ship has a reputation, and is glorious as an eagle, yet those men who decide her fate are beasts who care not for her history or her status.  It is a battle-scarred veteran, this ship, and Holmes is arguing in the poem that it deserves a dignified death – not just to be dismantled unceremoniously.  He laments that the heroic ship could not die in battle, proud and patriotic – she lived by the sword, and it is only right that she should die by the sword:

Oh, better that her shattered bulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the might deep,
And there should be her grave;

So, when he says “And give her to the god of storms/The lightning and the gale!” he is wishing that the ship could be sunk at sea in a storm, and could be buried there where she was of most use – away from the calm, well-attended waters of the harbor.  She should die an honorable death, ravaged yet preserved beneath the surface of the sea.  A death worthy of her reputation and honor.

Is wood a compound, mixture, or element?

Any material can be classified as either an element, a compound or a mixture, depending on its properties. An element is composed of identical atoms and cannot be further divided. An example is copper. A block of copper will contain only atoms of copper and any division of this block will still yield copper. A compound is composed of elements in a certain fixed ratio and has different properties than its constituent elements. An example...

Any material can be classified as either an element, a compound or a mixture, depending on its properties. An element is composed of identical atoms and cannot be further divided. An example is copper. A block of copper will contain only atoms of copper and any division of this block will still yield copper. A compound is composed of elements in a certain fixed ratio and has different properties than its constituent elements. An example is carbon dioxide (CO2), which is made up of oxygen and carbon in a 2:1 ratio. A mixture is composed of two or more elements or compounds in a non-fixed ratio and can be divided into individual constituents. An example is trail mix, which can be easily separated into constituents. 

Wood is an example of a mixture. It contains cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose, in a variable ratio. Wood can actually be classified as a heterogeneous mixture, since the constituents are distributed non-uniformly.

Hope this helps.

How does the Ceremony of Twelve start in The Giver?

The Ceremony of Twelve starts with an introduction explaining how it is different than most community functions because it acknowledges differences.

Sameness is incredibly important to Jonas’s community.  Every aspect of their society is designed to get everyone to think and act the same.  The people are even genetically designed to look the same.  They have the same skin, eye, and hair color for the most part.

Everyone in the community progresses in age at the same rate.  All children born in a year “age” on the same day.  They are not born on the same day, but they share a common birthday in December.  The ceremonies in December advance them socially into the next age group.  Each ceremony involves a gift of some kind, anything from a name to a bicycle or a haircut.

Even in a community like this, people have to have different roles.  The community closely watches children as they near the age of twelve to determine their personality traits, their intelligence, and their predispositions to certain occupations. 

The ceremony begins with a speech given by the Chief Elder.

The speech was much the same each year: recollection of the time of childhood and the period of preparation, the coming responsibilities of adult life, the profound importance of Assignment, the seriousness of training to come. (Ch. 7)

The Chief Elder points out that this is the one time a year when differences are acknowledged.  This is because each person is called out and their history described, and then their assignment is announced. 

Before the individual speeches are given, the Chief Elder describes the group as a whole, pointing out its makeup by singling out personalities without naming the people yet.

She began to describe this year's group and its variety of personalities, though she singled no one out by name. She mentioned that there was one who had singular skills at caretaking, another who loved newchildren, one with unusual scientific aptitude, and a fourth for whom physical labor was an obvious pleasure. (Ch. 7)

The Chief Elder describes each child one by one and then gives the person the assignment.  She ends each individual speech by thanking the new Twelve for his or her childhood.  Jonas’s parents tell him that most people do not find their assignment a surprise, but Jonas has no specific skills that make him stand out, or so he thinks, so he does not know what his will be.

What are the denotations for the word 'fear'?

The denotation of a word is its direct, literal meaning. In this case, to find the denotations for the word “fear,” all you would have to do is look the word up in the dictionary. Fear can be a noun or a verb. As a noun, it can refer to the emotion of dread or the thing that causes that dread. For example, one could say “She has a fear of lettuce,” or “Lettuce is...

The denotation of a word is its direct, literal meaning. In this case, to find the denotations for the word “fear,” all you would have to do is look the word up in the dictionary. Fear can be a noun or a verb. As a noun, it can refer to the emotion of dread or the thing that causes that dread. For example, one could say “She has a fear of lettuce,” or “Lettuce is an irrational fear.”  In the first sentence the subject is experiencing the fear; in the second, the fear is a characteristic of the lettuce itself. As a verb, the word means “to be scared,” as in, “She fears the greenness of lettuce.”  The word can also be more general, meaning to experience a vague negative apprehension: “She fears for the future.”

Check out an online dictionary for even more denotations – by looking at all the subtly different ways we use such a simple word as “fear,” you can really get an appreciation for the versatility and nuance in language.

What type of protein is a chemical messenger that travels in the blood?

A hormone is chemical messages that help regulate biological processes. Hormones are secreted by the pituitary, parathyroid, heart, stomach, liver, and kidneys. Hormones travel through tissue fluids, such as blood. In this way, hormones are able to target and stimulate specific cells or tissues into action.

Most hormones are made of proteins. Insulin and human growth hormone are two examples of hormones that are composed of proteins. The function of each are briefly explained below.

A hormone is chemical messages that help regulate biological processes. Hormones are secreted by the pituitary, parathyroid, heart, stomach, liver, and kidneys. Hormones travel through tissue fluids, such as blood. In this way, hormones are able to target and stimulate specific cells or tissues into action.

Most hormones are made of proteins. Insulin and human growth hormone are two examples of hormones that are composed of proteins. The function of each are briefly explained below.

• Insulin is a hormone that is secreted by islets of Langerhans that are located in the pancreas. Insulin is the hormone that regulates the amount of glucose in the blood. In other words, insulin regulates blood sugar levels.


• Growth hormone is secreted by the pancreas. Growth hormone stimulates growth in plants and animals.

What are some examples in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird that show Calpurnia either initiating, supporting, or subverting prejudice?

There are several examples of Calpurnia subverting prejudice throughout the novel. In Chapter 3, Scout chastises Walter Cunningham Jr. for pouring syrup all over his dinner. Calpurnia takes Scout into the kitchen and disciplines her for the way she was judging Walter Cunningham Jr. When Scout says, "He ain't company, Cal, he's just a Cunningham---" (Lee 33). Calpurnia explains to Scout that anybody who enters their home is considered company, regardless if they...

There are several examples of Calpurnia subverting prejudice throughout the novel. In Chapter 3, Scout chastises Walter Cunningham Jr. for pouring syrup all over his dinner. Calpurnia takes Scout into the kitchen and disciplines her for the way she was judging Walter Cunningham Jr. When Scout says, "He ain't company, Cal, he's just a Cunningham---" (Lee 33). Calpurnia explains to Scout that anybody who enters their home is considered company, regardless if they come from a poor family or not. She tells Scout not to act "so high and mighty!" and to show respect to Walter (Lee 33). Calpurnia defends Walter Cunningham Jr., who comes from a lower social class, and teaches Scout a lesson in respecting all people, no matter what social class they come from or how different they may be.

In Chapter 12, Calpurnia takes the children to First Purchase African M.E. Church. One of the first people they run into is an ornery woman named Lula. Lula asks Calpurnia, "I wants to know why you bringin' white chillun to nigger church" (Lee 158). Calpurnia calmly replies to Lula's prejudiced comment by telling her that the children are simply her company. Lula continues to chastise Cal and says that she has no business bringing white children to a black church. Again, Calpurnia diffuses the situation by saying, "It's the same God, ain't it?" (Lee 158). Calpurnia subverts Lula's prejudiced beliefs by refusing to leave the church and defending the children's right to join the congregation.