How is Robinson Crusoe an Enlightened character?

Robinson Crusoe's exploits are in part inspired by Locke, an Enlightenment philosopher whose Essay Concerning Human Understandingadvocated learning through experience and perception. Crusoe deliberately does not heed his father's advice to stay in England and become a lawyer, and is eventually shipwrecked on an island where he must fend for himself. In so doing, he embodies Locke's ideas about how to improve one's knowledge. For example, in Chapter IV, when Crusoe arrives on the...

Robinson Crusoe's exploits are in part inspired by Locke, an Enlightenment philosopher whose Essay Concerning Human Understanding advocated learning through experience and perception. Crusoe deliberately does not heed his father's advice to stay in England and become a lawyer, and is eventually shipwrecked on an island where he must fend for himself. In so doing, he embodies Locke's ideas about how to improve one's knowledge. For example, in Chapter IV, when Crusoe arrives on the island, he goes about trying to saw off parts of the shipwrecked boat for his own use. He says, "But the hope of furnishing myself with necessaries encouraged me to go beyond what I should have been able to have done upon another occasion." His need to survive helps him learn more about his environment.

Locke advocates using one's perception of one's surroundings to develop more advanced abstract thoughts. Crusoe's efforts to rescue practical items he needs on the ship lead him to more abstract thoughts, such as the uselessness of money. Upon coming across money on the ship, he thinks:

I smiled to myself at the sight of this money: ‘O drug!’ said I, aloud, ‘what art thou good for? Thou art not worth to me—no, not the taking off the ground; one of those knives is worth all this heap.

In the past, Crusoe has been driven by money to go on a slave ship, but his practical experiences as a shipwrecked sailor lead him to the abstract conclusion that money is useless to him. In the manner Locke prescribes, he understands the world better. 

The book also includes the ideas of Hobbes, another Enlightenment figure who believed in absolute monarchy. Crusoe finds an escaped prisoner and names the man Friday. The man immediately becomes submissive to him. Crusoe describes Friday in the following:

At last he lays his head flat upon the ground, close to my foot, and sets my other foot upon his head, as he had done before; and after this made all the signs to me of subjection, servitude, and submission imaginable, to let me know how he would serve me so long as he lived.

Crusoe is a type of Enlightened despot who still believes in subjugating local people. In this sense, he embodies the Hobbesian idea of the absolute monarch and is an Enlightenment figure in this regard.

How does Lily react to the word "hippo"? Why does she react that way?

In the story, Lily giggles when she hears the word "hippo." To Lily, the word is a strange one, and this is why she reacts the way she does.

In the story, each newchild is provided with what is called a "comfort object" at birth. The comfort object is used primarily as a means of emotional support by all new babies. Lily's comfort object is a stuffed elephant, and when she turns eight, it will...

In the story, Lily giggles when she hears the word "hippo." To Lily, the word is a strange one, and this is why she reacts the way she does.

In the story, each newchild is provided with what is called a "comfort object" at birth. The comfort object is used primarily as a means of emotional support by all new babies. Lily's comfort object is a stuffed elephant, and when she turns eight, it will be taken away from her and given to a younger child. Her brother, Jonas, had a stuffed bear as a comfort object when he was younger.

The text tells us that these comfort objects consist of "soft, stuffed, imaginary creatures." If the soft toys resemble imaginary creatures to the children, we can infer that they have never actually seen real animals. In fact, a conversation between Lily and the rest of her family substantiates this interpretation.

When Lily expresses her frustration about a boy from a visiting childcare group, she and Jonas agree that the boy acted like an animal when he disobeyed the rules. However, it appears that neither Jonas nor Lily knows what an animal is. All they know is what they have been told about animals.

“That’s right,” Lily said, laughing too. “Like animals.” Neither child knew what the word meant, exactly, but it was often used to describe someone uneducated or clumsy, someone who didn’t fit in.

So, part of the reason Lily reacts the way she does to the word "hippo" is because it represents the strange name of a strange animal she has never seen. When you think about it, it's quite disturbing that both Lily and Jonas live in a world so heavily censored that they have no idea what animals really are.

How does Thoreau answer the question implied in the title "Where I Lived and What I Lived For"?

In this chapter of Walden, Thoreau makes explicit his goal in moving to the spartan cabin he constructed on the shore of Walden Pond in the chapter's opening words: "I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life."

Thoreau wanted "simplicity, simplicity, simplicity" in his life and so turned temporarily away from life in Concord to live in his cabin for close to two years.  He believed that humanity gets...

In this chapter of Walden, Thoreau makes explicit his goal in moving to the spartan cabin he constructed on the shore of Walden Pond in the chapter's opening words: "I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life."

Thoreau wanted "simplicity, simplicity, simplicity" in his life and so turned temporarily away from life in Concord to live in his cabin for close to two years.  He believed that humanity gets caught up in progress and materialism and loses sight of life's essential meaning.  He asks and then answers the rhetorical question, "Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life," by asserting that "if we respected only what is inevitable and has a right to be, music and poetry would resound along the streets" and "petty fears and petty pleasures are but the shadow of the reality." Thoreau said that to read one news report is to read them all, that most mail he receives is not worth reading, and that the speed of railroad travel is unnecessary if we are content to stay home.  Thoreau felt that materialism and progress really only created artificial wants that people confuse with actual needs.

I need help to use the method of variation of parameters to find the solution y(x) of the non- homogeneous differential equation y'' + 4y' - 5y =...

According to the  variations of parameters method, the formula for the particular solution of the equation of the form

 `y''+q(x)y' + r(x) y = g(x)`

is

 `Y_P = -y_1 int y_2(x)g(x)/(W(y_1, y_2)) dx + y_2 int y_1(x)g(x)/(W(y_1, y_2)) dx`

Here, 

`y_1` and `y_2`

are the solutions of the corresponding homogeneous equation and `W(y_1, y_2)`

is the Wronskian.

(Please see the reference link for the derivation and the discussion of this formula.)

The given equation is

`y'' + 4y' - 5y = 8e^(3x)`

To use the method of variations, we need to first find the solutions of the corresponding homogeneous equation

`y" + 4y' - 5y = 0`

This equation has the characteristic equation `lambda^2 + 4lambda - 5 = 0` , with the roots `lambda_1 = -5`  and `lambda_2 = 1`

` `This means its solution is

`y(x) = c_1e^(-5x) +c_2e^x` , so

`y_ 1 = e^(-5x) ` and `y_2 = e^x` .

The Wronskian of these two functions equals

`y_1y_2' - y_1' y_2 = e^(-5x)e^x - (-5e^(-5x))e^x = e^(-4x) + 5e^(-4x) = 6e^(-4x)`

Now we can proceed to find the particular solution using the formula for the method for the variation of parameters. To make writing easier, I will calculate the two integrals first and then put them back in the formula.

The first integral is

`int y_2(x)g(x)/(W(y_1, y_2))dx = int (e^x*8*e^(3x))/(6e^(-4x))dx = 4/3int e^(8x)dx = 1/6e^(8x)`

The second integral is 

`int y_1(x) g(x)/(W(y_1, y_2)) dx = int (e^(-5x)*8*e^(3x))/(6e^(-4x)) dx = 4/3int e^(2x)dx = 2/3e^(2x)`

So, putting these results into the formula for the particular solution, we obtain

`Y_p = -e^(-5x)*1/6*e^(8x) + e^x * 2/3e^(2x) = -1/6e^(3x) + 2/3e^(3x) = =1/2e^(3x)`

 We have found the particular solution. The general solution of the non-homogeneous equation is the general solution of the homogeneous equation, which we already have, plus the particular solution of the non-homogeneous equation.

Thus, the general solution is

`y(x) = c_1e^(-5x) + c_2e^x + 1/2e^(3x)`

For the given initial conditions, we can find the constants:

y(0) = 5, so `y(0) = c_1 + c_2 + 1/2 = 5`

y'(0) = 0, so ` `

`y'(0) = -5c_1 + c_2 + 3/2 = 0`

Solving this system of equations results in the values of the constants equal 1 and 3.5.

So, the solution of the given equation satisfying the given initial conditions is

`y(x) = e^(-5x) + 7/2e^x + 1/2e^(3x)`

`y'(0) = -5c_1+c_2 + 3/2 = 0`

`romeF`

`<span class="AMedit"><br data-mce-bogus="1"></span>`

` <br data-mce-bogus="1"> `

In, "A Sound of Thunder," what theme does Bradbury reveal through Eckles' careless personality/actions, and the story's main conflicts (internal...

In the short story "A Sound of Thunder," Ray Bradbury uses Eckels' careless personality and actions, as well as the narratives internal and external conflicts, to emphasize the theme that all actions--no matter how seemingly inconsequential--have an enormous impact across time.

The story follows a hunter named Eckels, living in the year 2055, who pays $10,000 in order to travel back to the Jurassic era to hunt a Tyrannosaurus rex. Despite the fact that Eckels...

In the short story "A Sound of Thunder," Ray Bradbury uses Eckels' careless personality and actions, as well as the narratives internal and external conflicts, to emphasize the theme that all actions--no matter how seemingly inconsequential--have an enormous impact across time.

The story follows a hunter named Eckels, living in the year 2055, who pays $10,000 in order to travel back to the Jurassic era to hunt a Tyrannosaurus rex. Despite the fact that Eckels is clearing warned by his guide that he must take care not to disturb too much of "history" in order to avoid setting off a cataclysmic chain of alterations, Eckels does not abide this advice. Terrified by the dinosaur, Eckels stumbles off the path and, in doing so, inadvertently makes a terrible mistake: he steps on a butterfly, killing it.

When Eckels returns to modern times, huge changes have occurred as a result of the butterfly's death. The results of an important election have altered, and the English language has shifted in both sound and spelling. 

Thus, Bradbury is highlighting the nature of the "butterfly effect"--a component of chaos theory that suggests that "small variations in the initial conditions of a dynamical system can produce large variations in the results." We must be attentive to what we do--to all of our words, actions, and choices--because it has significant consequences for the future. Our decision-making abilities and behaviors can alter the course of history and, thus, must be executed with great care.

Additionally, the external conflict of the narrative--the creation of time travel itself--and the internal conflict--whether such a tool should be used--also has implications in this theory. It is clear that Bradbury is questioning the evolution of technology; in this case, it is technology itself--and the hedonistic choices of people--that result in terrible ramifications for the human race. 

What is the setting of the short story "The Birds" by Daphne Du Maurier?

The setting of Daphne du Maurier's short story, "The Birds," is the Cornish coast of England in autumn during the threat of Cold War in the 1950's and 1960's.

This time of year is appropriate to the theme of du Maurier's story because autumn is a season that presages change from the beauty and calm of the fullness of the year to a time of death with winter. At this time of the year, the birds...

The setting of Daphne du Maurier's short story, "The Birds," is the Cornish coast of England in autumn during the threat of Cold War in the 1950's and 1960's.

This time of year is appropriate to the theme of du Maurier's story because autumn is a season that presages change from the beauty and calm of the fullness of the year to a time of death with winter. At this time of the year, the birds are restless as the sea gulls run on the beaches and sandpipers scurry back and forth. Both seem to feel an "impulse to flight."

The restless urge of autumn, unsatisfying, sad, had put a spell upon them and they must flock, and wheel, and cry; they must spill themselves of motion before winter came.

For some reason, however, the birds are more restless than ever. Perhaps, then, there is a certain pathetic fallacy with the stirrings of the Cold War. That is, as the fear of communism spreads and increases suspicion among people, perhaps nature senses this trepidation and paranoia, sending currents of anxiety that affect the birds. Not only are they present and restless, but the farmer Nat Hocken notices that there are more birds than is customary for this town on the coast.

It is the resilient nature of Nat Hocken that keeps him in the fight; however, even he eventually succumbs to the power of Nature that is disturbed by unnatural occurrences in this horrifying tale. 

How is "The Road Not Taken" interpreted in today's society?

People typically interpret the fork in the road in this poem to be symbolic of the choices we make. We may have a few options at each of these moments of decision, but ultimately we cannot really know where each choice would take us, just as the speaker cannot see where the roads lead.

The speaker examines both choices, noting that the second is "just as fair" as the first, and he admits that "the...

People typically interpret the fork in the road in this poem to be symbolic of the choices we make. We may have a few options at each of these moments of decision, but ultimately we cannot really know where each choice would take us, just as the speaker cannot see where the roads lead.

The speaker examines both choices, noting that the second is "just as fair" as the first, and he admits that "the passing there / Had worn them really about the same." In other words, the two roads are worn pretty equally, implying that approximately the same number of people have taken them: neither one, then, is actually "less traveled." In fact, the speaker also says that "both [roads] that morning equally lay / In leaves no step had trodden black" (my emphasis). He chooses the second option, knowing that he'll probably never come back to try the first road.

Finally, he claims that he will tell this story in the future, perhaps to his grandchildren, since it will be "ages and ages" from now. He will say that there were

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Thus, he is planning to lie. He will tell people that one of the roads was clearly "less traveled" than the other and that he took that road. We might assume it is because he wants to seem brave, as though he made a difficult and relatively unique choice. However, if you recall, there IS no road less traveled—he described them as equal in many ways—and so we are left to consider the possibility that there are, perhaps, no real unique choices to be made.

Many people interpret this poem to mean that it is possible and good to take the road less traveled. However, it is difficult to find evidence for this interpretation since the speaker so clearly describes the roads as equals. Perhaps this interpretation says more about us, actually confirming the conclusions we might draw from the narrator's desire to lie and make himself sound unique.

A number of local law enforcement agencies are working with Perverted-Justice.com, a private organization that received nationwide attention after...

While many child safety experts have praised Perverted Justice's attempts to protect children, others criticize the group's methods, which are outside the legal system. Many critics believe that the group engages in entrapment, which is illegal, by luring or forcing the men into asking the person posing as a child for sex. In addition, the group targets people who have not been convicted of a crime and subjects them to harassment, thereby infringing on their...

While many child safety experts have praised Perverted Justice's attempts to protect children, others criticize the group's methods, which are outside the legal system. Many critics believe that the group engages in entrapment, which is illegal, by luring or forcing the men into asking the person posing as a child for sex. In addition, the group targets people who have not been convicted of a crime and subjects them to harassment, thereby infringing on their due process rights under the law. In other words, people who are accused of a crime have Constitutionally granted legal protections that Perverted Justice does not afford them, including the right to a fair trial. These are some ethical considerations related to the group's practices. Therefore, some critics believe that the police should not work with this group. However, it could also be argued that if Perverted Justice works with the police, it will abide by laws protecting the rights of defendants in our criminal justice system. 

Other critics also believe that the tactics of Perverted Justice potentially drive pedophiles underground. If they know that they might be exposed by seeking sex on chat rooms, potential pedophiles might seek other ways to connect with potential victims. Law enforcement agencies might be better able to catch pedophiles outside the scope of working with Perverted Justice, as the methods of Perverted Justice are now fairly well known. 

How did the government react to the Great Depression?

When looking at our government’s response to the Great Depression, we need to look at what President Hoover and President Roosevelt did. When the Great Depression began, the prevailing attitude of President Hoover was to take a laissez-faire approach. This meant the government would not do much to deal with the Great Depression. President Hoover worked with businesses to voluntarily do some things. Businesses initially agreed to keep factories open and to not cut wages....

When looking at our government’s response to the Great Depression, we need to look at what President Hoover and President Roosevelt did. When the Great Depression began, the prevailing attitude of President Hoover was to take a laissez-faire approach. This meant the government would not do much to deal with the Great Depression. President Hoover worked with businesses to voluntarily do some things. Businesses initially agreed to keep factories open and to not cut wages. However, businesses weren’t able to do this over the long run. The depression became worse. Eventually, President Hoover had the government take direct action. The National Credit Corporation provided money to help troubled banks make loans. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation gave loans to banks, farmers, and railroads. The Emergency Relief and Construction Act provided help to those who were unemployed. However, these actions weren’t enough to end the Great Depression.

President Roosevelt believed from the beginning that the federal government must be actively involved. There were a series of programs developed to provide relief, recovery, and reform to our economy. There were several job creation programs that were developed. These included the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Civil Works Administration, and the Public Works Administration. Laws were passed to control the financial industry. The Securities Act and the Glass-Steagall Act regulated the financial industries. The National Industrial Recovery Act had businesses, workers, and the government working together to deal with the effects of the Great Depression. Codes of fair practices were established that workers and businesses agreed to follow. The Agricultural Adjustment Act was designed to help farmers. Farmers were paid not to grow crops.

President Hoover and President Roosevelt had very different views about how the government should deal with the impact of the Great Depression. President Hoover wanted a limited government role while President Roosevelt wanted a very active government role.

`f(x)=sin(3x) ,c=0` Use the definition of Taylor series to find the Taylor series, centered at c for the function.

Taylor series is an example of infinite series derived from the expansion of `f(x)` about a single point. It is represented by infinite sum of `f^n(x)` centered at` x=c` . The general formula for Taylor series is:

`f(x) = sum_(n=0)^oo (f^n(c))/(n!) (x-c)^n`

or

`f(x) =f(c)+f'(c)(x-c) +(f^2(c))/(2!)(x-c)^2 +(f^3(c))/(3!)(x-c)^3 +(f^4(c))/(4!)(x-c)^4 +...`

To apply the definition of Taylor series for the given function `f(x) = sin(3x)` , we list `f^n(x)` using  the derivative formula for trigonometric function: `d/(dx) sin(u) = cos(u) *(du)/(dx)` and `d/(dx) cos(u)= -sin(u)*(du)/(dx)` .

Let `u = 3x` then` (du)/(dx) =3` .

`f(x) =sin(3x)`

`f'(x) = d/(dx) sin(3x)`

           `= cos(3x)*3`

           `=3cos(3x)`

`f^2(x) = d/(dx) 3cos(3x)`

            `=3 d/(dx) cos(3x)`

            `=3*( -sin(3x)*3)`

            `=-9sin(3x)`

`f^3(x) = d/(dx)-9sin(3x)`

            `= -9 d/(dx)sin(3x)`

             `=-9 * cos(3x)*3`

           `= -27cos(3x)`

`f^4(x) = d/(dx) -27cos(3x)`

            `=-27*d/(dx) cos(3x)`

            `= -27 * (-sin(3x)*3)`

           ` =81 sin(3x)`

 `f^5(x) = d/(dx) 81sin(3x)`

            `=81*d/(dx) sin(3x)`

            `= 81* (cos(3x)*3)`

            `=243cos(3x)`

 Plug-in `x=0` on each` f^n(x)` , we get:

 `f(0) =sin(3*0)`

         `=sin(0)`

         `=0`

 `f'(0)= 3cos(3*0) `

           `=3cos(0)`

           `= 3*1`

           `=3`  

 `f^2(0)= -9sin(3*0)`

           `=-9sin(0)`

            `=-9 *0`

            `=0`

 `f^3(0)= -27cos(3*0)`

            `=-27 cos(0)`

            ` =-27*1`

            `=-27`

 `f^4(0)= 81sin(3*0)`

            `=81sin(0)`

            `=81*0 `

             `=0`

 `f^5(0)= 243cos(3*0)`

            `=243cos(0)`

             `=243*1`

             `=243`

 Plug-in the values on the formula for Taylor series, we get:

 `sin(3x) = sum_(n=0)^oo (f^n(0))/(n!) (x-0)^n`

 `=sum_(n=0)^oo (f^n(0))/(n!) x^n`

 `=f(0)+f'(0)x +(f'^2(0))/(2!)x^2 +(f^3(0))/(3!)x^3 +(f^4(0))/(4!)x^4 +(f^4(0))/(4!)x^4 +...`

` =0+3x +0/(2!)x^2 +(-27)/(3!)x^3 + 0/(4!)x^4 +243/(5!)x^5+...`

` =0+3x +0/2x^2 +(-27)/6x^3 + 0/24x^4 +243/120x^5+...`

` =0+3x +0 -9/2x^3 + 0 +81/40x^5+...`

` =3x -9/2x^3 +81/40x^5+...`

The Taylor series for the given function `f(x)=sin(3x) ` centered at `c=0` will be:

`sin(3x) =3x -9/2x^3 +81/40x^5+...`

What is an example of situational irony in Chapter 1 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

Situational irony can be defined as the occurrence of an event when a completely different outcome was expected. An example would be where an individual purchases a firearm to protect himself against crime and is killed with the same weapon when he is attacked.

In chapter one of To Kill a Mockingbird, the best example would be related to Jem, Dill, and Scout's fears regarding the Radley house and its infamous resident, Boo. The...

Situational irony can be defined as the occurrence of an event when a completely different outcome was expected. An example would be where an individual purchases a firearm to protect himself against crime and is killed with the same weapon when he is attacked.

In chapter one of To Kill a Mockingbird, the best example would be related to Jem, Dill, and Scout's fears regarding the Radley house and its infamous resident, Boo. The three were quite apprehensive about the dangers of going near the house and were paranoid about the idea of entering the premises. All sorts of pernicious rumors existed that Boo Radley was evil and that he would harm those who made contact with him. It was imperative, therefore, that no one should, in any way, seek him out or offend him, for they would become victims of his malevolence.

Dill challenged Jem to enter the Radley place. He eventually relented, as a matter of pride, to accede to his request since he had to prove he was not a coward. The result of his action, though, did not achieve the expected outcome, as the following quote illustrates:

Jem threw open the gate and sped to the side of the house, slapped it with his palm and ran back past us, not waiting to see if his foray was successful. Dill and I followed on his heels.

Safely on our porch, panting and out of breath, we looked back. The old house was the same, droopy and sick, but as we stared down the street we thought we saw an inside shutter move.

The only response they received was the slight movement of a shutter, not the conflagration they expected.

Flick. A tiny, almost invisible movement, and the house was still.

In what situations in The Art of Racing in the Rain is the quote below true and not true? “That which we manifest is before us; we are the...

There are a few events in the book that emphasize the values inherent in the quote above.

Possibly the best example pertains to the havoc Annika causes in Denny's life through her false rape accusation. On a winter trip to Methow Valley, Enzo worries that no good will come from Annika's disturbing infatuation with Denny. Note Enzo's thoughts about this:

Denny was ignorant of her advances; I don't know if it was deliberate or not, but he certainly acted as if he hadn't a clue.

Enzo clearly defines his fears when Denny lets Annika stay at his home for the night. Annika makes sexual overtures to an exhausted Denny, but he repels the fifteen-year-old temptress resolutely. Frustrated by his rejection, Annika eventually accuses Denny of molesting her. So, be it "through intention or ignorance," the narrator proclaims that we are ultimately the master of our own fates. Yet, Enzo extrapolates that the "true hero is flawed."

The true test of a champion is not whether he can triumph, but whether he can overcome obstacles -preferably of his own making-in order to triumph.

Enzo makes allowances for human fallibility and hypothesizes that the true hero can overcome failures that result from his own ignorance or intentions. He believes that Denny could have avoided his predicament but instead, chose to "test his mettle" in a battle of his own making. So, while Annika's false rape accusation sets off a chain of events that lead to Denny being temporarily incarcerated and losing custody of Zoe, it is ultimately Denny's perseverance and steadfast character that saves him from self-destructing.

Because of his exemplary lifestyle, Denny eventually wins visitation rights. He is able to see Zoe and to reassure her that he is doing everything he can to make sure that they will be a family again. Denny's actions reaffirm Enzo's "faith in the balance of the universe." In a supervised meeting with Annika, Denny pleads his case and asks Annika to consider the ramifications of her fury. During the exchange, Denny is compassionate, eloquent, and considerate. He reassures Annika that his rejection was in no way a repudiation of her person.

In the end, Annika drops her false rape accusation against Denny. Because of his actions, Denny emerges victorious; his tenacity obliterates the previous difficulties that were caused by his own "intention or ignorance."

As for any examples that nullify your quote, consider exploring the themes of death and reincarnation in the book. Essentially, no matter what we do, none of us can escape death. Eve dies despite her doctor's care, and Enzo's death shows that living beings are helpless in the face of organic decay. Yet, events in the epilogue suggest that reincarnation, if attainable, is one way human beings can transcend death. However, remember that reincarnation is beyond human intervention or ignorance; thus it nullifies the values inherent in the quote you provided above.

What are the themes of Behind the Beautiful Forevers?

The first important theme of Behind the Beautiful Foreversby Katherine Boo is the contrast between wealth and poverty in India. It is set in a slum in Mumbai which is in sight of Mumbai's international airport and many luxury hotels. Thus, we get a sharp sense of how the "new India" of successful technology companies benefiting from globalization contrasts with the "old India" living in poverty without basic modern conveniences. An important and ironic element...

The first important theme of Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo is the contrast between wealth and poverty in India. It is set in a slum in Mumbai which is in sight of Mumbai's international airport and many luxury hotels. Thus, we get a sharp sense of how the "new India" of successful technology companies benefiting from globalization contrasts with the "old India" living in poverty without basic modern conveniences. An important and ironic element of this contrast is the way that the slum dwellers of Annawadi make their living is by sorting through the garbage thrown out by their richer neighbors. 

The second theme dominating the book is "garbage." Annawadi is a garbage dump, both in terms of the objects tossed out in the literal garbage dump and the way in which its inhabitants are viewed as human refuse by wealthier and more fortunate Indians. Just as the residents of Annawadi survive and sometimes even succeed by sorting through and finding value in other people's garbage, Boo and her readers find value and interest in the lives of the people marginalized in Annawadi.

The final important theme of the book is justice. On top of the fundamental injustice of people living in filth and poverty in the sight of luxury hotels, we also see miscarriages of justice and corruption in the Indian legal system contributing to systematic oppression and inequality. 

`y = 1/x , y=0 , x=1 , x=3` Find the volume of the solid generated by revolving the region bounded by the graphs of the equations about the...

For the region bounded by `y=1/x ` ,`y=0 ` , `x=1 ` and `x=3 ` and revolved about the x-axis, we may apply Disk method. For the Disk method, we consider a perpendicular rectangular strip with the axis of revolution.

As shown on the attached image, the thickness of the rectangular strip is "dx" with a vertical orientation perpendicular to the x-axis (axis  of revolution).

We follow the formula for the Disk...

For the region bounded by `y=1/x ` ,`y=0 ` , `x=1 ` and `x=3 ` and revolved about the x-axis, we may apply Disk method. For the Disk method, we consider a perpendicular rectangular strip with the axis of revolution.

As shown on the attached image, the thickness of the rectangular strip is "dx" with a vertical orientation perpendicular to the x-axis (axis  of revolution).

We follow the formula for the Disk method:`V = int_a^b A(x) dx`  where disk base area is `A= pi r^2` with.

 Note: r = length of the rectangular strip. We may apply `r = y_(above)-y_(below).`

Then `r = f(x)= 1/x-0`

       ` r =1/x`

The boundary values of x is `a=1` to `b=3` .

Plug-in the `f(x)` and the boundary values to integral formula, we get: 

`V = int_1^3 pi (1/x)^2 dx`

`V = int_1^3 pi 1/x^2 dx`

Apply basic integration property: `intc*f(x) dx = c int f(x) dx` .

`V = pi int_1^3 1/x^2 dx`

Apply Law of Exponent: `1/x^n =x^(-n)` and Power rule for integration: `int x^n dy= x^(n+1)/(n+1)` .

`V = pi int_1^3 x^(-2) dx`

`V = pi*x^((-2+1))/((-2+1)) |_1^3`

`V = pi*x^(-1)/(-1) |_1^3`

`V = pi*-1/x |_1^3 or -pi/x|_1^3`

Apply definite integration formula: `int_a^b f(y) dy= F(b)-F(a)` .

`V = (-pi/3) - (-pi/1)`

`V = -pi/3+pi`

`V = 2pi/3`

How did the unreliable narrator affect the short story "The Cask of Amontillado"? Give examples.

Montresor is the unreliable narrator, meaning that we only experience the story through his subjective point of view. It can be said that everyone is the hero of his or her own story, and we understand that Montresor believes he is justified in what he has done in walling up Fortunato.

However, rather than persuade us to be on his side, Montresor ends up horrifying us at what he does. The result is that we...

Montresor is the unreliable narrator, meaning that we only experience the story through his subjective point of view. It can be said that everyone is the hero of his or her own story, and we understand that Montresor believes he is justified in what he has done in walling up Fortunato.

However, rather than persuade us to be on his side, Montresor ends up horrifying us at what he does. The result is that we feel pity and sympathy for Fortunato. For example, Montresor is vague about what crime Fortunato has committed to deserve his fate. Montresor merely tells us he has suffered a thousand injuries and an insult from Fortunato. Could he really have suffered a "thousand" injuries? What were these? What insult could have been so terrible it warranted inflicting a slow death on his enemy?

Montresor also unwittingly builds our sympathy for Fortunato by describing him in his Mardi Gras cap with bells, mentioning his difficulties breathing in the moldy catacombs, showing him drunk on a party night, and revealing that he is utterly unsuspecting that Montresor will do anything more to him than offer a taste of wine. He does not fight Montresor or suddenly admit to having done Montresor some terrible wrong. We as readers end up as bewildered as Fortunato is when he is walled up. All these details reinforce our sense that Fortunato is the innocent victim of a madman who has blown a tiny incident into a reason for murder.

Will Isabel ever find Ruth?

The answer to this question is going to change depending on each reader's opinion of Isabel and the ending of Chains.  Throughout the novel, Isabel works extremely hard to make sure that she and Ruth stay together.  Isabel is even willing to take a beating for Ruth, so readers are likely to believe that Isabel will do anything in her power to stay close to Ruth.  Unfortunately, Isabel and Ruth are slaves.  Their fate is...

The answer to this question is going to change depending on each reader's opinion of Isabel and the ending of Chains.  Throughout the novel, Isabel works extremely hard to make sure that she and Ruth stay together.  Isabel is even willing to take a beating for Ruth, so readers are likely to believe that Isabel will do anything in her power to stay close to Ruth.  Unfortunately, Isabel and Ruth are slaves.  Their fate is subject to the will of their owners, and Madam Lockton is not a kind and loving owner.  She is every bit as violent and conniving as her husband.  In an effort to hurt Isabel, Madam Lockton gets rid of Ruth. She tells Isabel that she sold Ruth.  In chapter 43, readers discover that Madam Lockton did not actually sell Ruth.  She could not find a buyer, so Madam Lockton sent Ruth to her property in Charleston. 

"Brat," Madam spat. "Couldn't find a buyer. Had to ship her down to Charleston. I shall tell the estate manager to get rid of her, toss her in the swamp. Her death will be on your head, you insolent fool."

At this point, Isabel is supremely motivated to escape the Lockton household.  She successfully does this, rescues Curzon, and escapes the city.  That is when the novel ends.  The exact fate of both Isabel and Ruth is left completely open. I do think, however, that the story ends in a way that is meant to suggest that Isabel will track down and free Ruth.  Based on her tenacity, intelligence, and strength of will demonstrated throughout the story, I do believe that Isabel will fight "like a lion" and find Ruth.  

How would you describe the Cold War between Cuba and the US before the Kennedy Doctrine was announced?

The Kennedy Doctrine was the set of American policies towards Latin America during Kennedy's presidency, between 1961 and 1963. Prior to Kennedy's presidency, the US government backed Cuba's authoritarian government, then led by President Fulgencio Batista; however, Eisenhower's administration turned down Batista's request for weapons to defend his regime from revolutionaries, and in 1959 his presidency was overthrown. Relations between the US and Cuba in the era after the revolution but prior to Kennedy's policies...

The Kennedy Doctrine was the set of American policies towards Latin America during Kennedy's presidency, between 1961 and 1963. Prior to Kennedy's presidency, the US government backed Cuba's authoritarian government, then led by President Fulgencio Batista; however, Eisenhower's administration turned down Batista's request for weapons to defend his regime from revolutionaries, and in 1959 his presidency was overthrown. Relations between the US and Cuba in the era after the revolution but prior to Kennedy's policies were maintained, but limited. President Eisenhower avoided meeting with Fidel Castro, a leader of the revolution, for the rest of his presidency, although he did allow Vice President Nixon to host Castro during his visit to Washington, DC. When Cuba began negotiating with the USSR to purchase weapons in 1960, the US government condemned their relationship with communist countries. Towards the end of Eisenhower's presidency, in January 1961, he officially ended all diplomatic relationships with the Cuban government. This was the political relationship the US had with Cuba when Kennedy assumed office, and soon after his inauguration the president issued his doctrine that promised to contain the spread of communism in Latin America.

`f(x)=e^(-x) , n=5` Find the n'th Maclaurin polynomial for the function.

Maclaurin series is a special case of Taylor series that is centered at `a=0` . The expansion of the function about 0 follows the formula:

`f(x)=sum_(n=0)^oo (f^n(0))/(n!) x^n`

 or

`f(x)= f(0)+(f'(0)x)/(1!)+(f^2(0))/(2!)x^2+(f^3(0))/(3!)x^3+(f^4(0))/(4!)x^4 +...`

To determine the Maclaurin polynomial of degree `n=5` for the given function `f(x)=e^(-x)` , we may apply the formula for Maclaurin series..

To list `f^n(x)` , we may apply derivative formula for exponential function: `d/(dx) e^u = e^u * (du)/(dx)` .

Let `u =-x`...

Maclaurin series is a special case of Taylor series that is centered at `a=0` . The expansion of the function about 0 follows the formula:

`f(x)=sum_(n=0)^oo (f^n(0))/(n!) x^n`

 or

`f(x)= f(0)+(f'(0)x)/(1!)+(f^2(0))/(2!)x^2+(f^3(0))/(3!)x^3+(f^4(0))/(4!)x^4 +...`

To determine the Maclaurin polynomial of degree `n=5` for the given function `f(x)=e^(-x)` , we may apply the formula for Maclaurin series..

To list `f^n(x)` , we may apply derivative formula for exponential function: `d/(dx) e^u = e^u * (du)/(dx)` .

Let `u =-x` then `(du)/(dx)= -1`

Applying the values on the derivative formula for exponential function, we get:

`d/(dx) e^(-x) = e^(-x) *(-1)`

                     `= -e^(-x)`

Applying `d/(dx) e^(-x)= -e^(-x)`  for each `f^n(x)` , we get:

`f'(x) = d/(dx) e^(-x)`

            `=-e^(-x)`

`f^2(x) = d/(dx) (- e^(-x))`

           `=-1 *d/(dx) e^(-x)`

           `=-1 *(-e^(-x))`

           `=e^(-x)`

 `f^3(x) = d/(dx) e^(-x)`

            `=-e^(-x)`

`f^4(x) = d/(dx) (- e^(-x))`

           `=-1 *d/(dx) e^(-x)`

           `=-1 *(-e^(-x))`

           `=e^(-x)`

 `f^5(x) = d/(dx) e^(-x)`

            `=-e^(-x)`

Plug-in `x=0` , we get:

`f(0) =e^(-0) =1`

`f'(0) =-e^(-0)=-1`

`f^2(0) =e^(-0)=1`

`f^3(0) =-e^(-0)=-1`

`f^4(0) =e^(-0)=1`

`f^5(0) =-e^(-0)=-1`

Note: `e^(-0)=e^0 =1` .

Plug-in the values on the formula for Maclaurin series, we get:

`f(x)=sum_(n=0)^5 (f^n(0))/(n!) x^n`

       `= 1+(-1)/(1!)x+1/(2!)x^2+(-1)/(3!)x^3+1/(4!)x^4+(-1)/(5!)x^5`

       `= 1-1/1x+1/2x^2-1/6x^3+1/24x^4-1/120x^5`

        `= 1-x+x^2/2-x^3/6+x^4/24 -x^5/120`

The Maclaurin polynomial of degree n=5 for the given function `f(x)=e^(-x)` will be:

`P_5(x)=1-x+x^2/2-x^3/6+x^4/24 -x^5/120`

In A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, how do the relationships between the characters highlight the concerns of society?

While there are many relationships in the novel, perhaps Laila's relationships reflect society's concerns most directly. To begin, she has been raised by forward-thinking parents who taught her to value herself as an intelligent person, not merely as a potential wife.  Such a woman was certainly concerning for the powers-that-be in Afghanistan, since their system required the subjugation of woman. Such a society feels threatened by citizens who raise their children to oppose the status...

While there are many relationships in the novel, perhaps Laila's relationships reflect society's concerns most directly. To begin, she has been raised by forward-thinking parents who taught her to value herself as an intelligent person, not merely as a potential wife.  Such a woman was certainly concerning for the powers-that-be in Afghanistan, since their system required the subjugation of woman. Such a society feels threatened by citizens who raise their children to oppose the status quo. The qualities that Laila gains--self-confidence, leadership, a sense of compassion and morality, and perseverance--all deeply affect the relationships she develops after the death of her parents. 

Indeed, Rasheed is startled to encounter a wife who will not bow to his dictatorship but rather opposes and outsmarts him, even turns his first wife against him. Try as he might (through tactics too horrible to consider), Rasheed cannot break Laila. However, through her unfailing perseverance and demand for human decency, Laila inspires Mariam's love and loyalty in a way that Rasheed's immoral fear tactics never could.  In fact, Laila inspires Mariam to evolve from a victim, so compliant to society that she would never consider trying to help herself, into a woman who opposes the system (Rasheed, in this case) in order to protect those she loves. Strong leaders inspire change, especially where it is desperately needed.

This is also true in any given society.  A government might rule for a time with fear tactics, but they will never inspire the affection and loyalty of their people.  The Taliban cruelly beat Laila for breaking the rules, but she simply determines to find a new path to the orphanage to see her daughter, Aziza. Oppressed citizens are often forced to break the "laws" in order to meet their needs and those of their loved ones. A society based on dysfunctional relationships between the government and its people will never be a truly healthy system and will eventually fail. 

How has the perception of mental illness and health changed over the past decade?

According to a poll conducted by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research (see the link below), more and more Americans report that they suffer from mental illness than ever before(as many as one in six). In addition, more Americans believe that mental health is a serious issue (67% of the people in a 2013 Pew poll stated that mental health was a serious issue). 

People also increasingly see depression as a situation that requires...

According to a poll conducted by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research (see the link below), more and more Americans report that they suffer from mental illness than ever before(as many as one in six). In addition, more Americans believe that mental health is a serious issue (67% of the people in a 2013 Pew poll stated that mental health was a serious issue). 

People also increasingly see depression as a situation that requires treatment rather than as a sign of weakness. For example, in the 1970s and even into the 1990s, about 57% of Americans said they saw depression as a sign of weakness; however, in recent polls, less than 20% of Americans endorsed this idea. Recent polls have also found that while there is still a stigma surrounding mental illness as a whole, there is a perception that the stigma surrounding depression has lessened in recent years.

Some of these changes might be traced to the development of anti-depressants, starting with Prozac in 1987, as Americans now increasingly see depression as a treatable condition. In addition, Americans increasingly recognize the importance of both mental and physical health, and people, including celebrities such as model Brooke Shields, have become more willing to speak about their own battles with mental illness (in Shield's case, her battle with postpartum depression) and their willingness to seek out both pharmacological and therapeutic help as well as the support of friends and family as part of their path to mental health. These accounts, as well as the portrayal of therapy in popular shows such as The Sopranos, have helped destigmatize therapy and help people get the help they need!

Do we need ethics if we have laws? Why or why not?

Ethics are essential because laws arise out of ethical choices. According to Vincent Ruggiero, in his book Thinking Critically About Ethical Issues (2011), ethics can be defined as the "study of right and wrong" (as cited by Polytechnic School). Laws developwhen one person or a group of persons decide that some action, such as sexual harassment, is wrong. However, as Ruggiero asserts, just because laws arise from ethics does not necessarily mean that...

Ethics are essential because laws arise out of ethical choices. According to Vincent Ruggiero, in his book Thinking Critically About Ethical Issues (2011), ethics can be defined as the "study of right and wrong" (as cited by Polytechnic School). Laws develop when one person or a group of persons decide that some action, such as sexual harassment, is wrong. However, as Ruggiero asserts, just because laws arise from ethics does not necessarily mean that "every law is morally right." Laws change over time as our senses of right and wrong change; therefore, ethics must always be a constant guiding force to determining laws.

One example of a law changing over time as our sense of ethics has changed concerns the practice of homosexuality. Multiple countries have had sodomy laws, which make the practice of homosexuality illegal. In England, sodomy was historically called buggery and first decreed a felony with the Buggery Act of 1533, making buggery a crime punishable by death ("Gay Rights Movement," Encyclopaedia Britannica). After James Pratt and John Smith were executed in 1835, Parliament enacted the Labouchere Amendment to make buggery a crime punishable by two years of jail time ("Pratt & Smith--Last UK Men Hanged for Sodomy," Peter Tatchell Foundation Speaking out for Human Rights). After a substantial increase in arrests of homosexual men after World War II, the government issued an investigation into homosexuality published in the Wolfenden Report in 1957 ("Wolfenden Report," Encyclopaedia Britannica). Committee members overseeing the report determined that homosexuality should no longer be considered a crime.

Many examples of laws changing over time, such as women's suffrage laws and civil laws, further show that laws will always need to be guided by our sense of right and wrong. As our views of right and wrong change, our laws change too.

After Gregor's death, what does his family do?

When the Samsa family learns of Gregor's death from the housekeeper, they first confirm it by watching as she moves Gregor's corpse with her foot.  Mr. Samsa thanks God, and all three make the sign of the cross.  They retreat into the parents' bedroom and cry "a little."  When they emerge from the bedroom, Mr. Samsa evicts the three boarders, and the family watches on the landing as the men shuffle away.  They decide that...

When the Samsa family learns of Gregor's death from the housekeeper, they first confirm it by watching as she moves Gregor's corpse with her foot.  Mr. Samsa thanks God, and all three make the sign of the cross.  They retreat into the parents' bedroom and cry "a little."  When they emerge from the bedroom, Mr. Samsa evicts the three boarders, and the family watches on the landing as the men shuffle away.  They decide that they need some time off, and all three write letters of excuse for themselves from work and school.  The cleaning lady begins to tell them how she has disposed of Gregor's body, but Mr. Samsa cuts her off.  He informs his wife and daughter that he will fire the housekeeper that evening.  They take a streetcar into the country and talk about their future. They decide to move to a smaller, nicer flat, and Grete, the daughter, becomes lively.  The parents recognize her beauty and promise, and the story ends.

What happens to Tom after he is found guilty?

As expected, Tom Robinson is found guilty of the rape and assault of Mayella Ewell. It's a blatant miscarriage of justice, but it's the kind of thing that happened to many African Americans at that time in a society mired deep in racial prejudice. There'll be an appeal, but the sentence to be handed down is likely going to be the ultimate penalty: death. But even if Tom is spared the death penalty, he could...

As expected, Tom Robinson is found guilty of the rape and assault of Mayella Ewell. It's a blatant miscarriage of justice, but it's the kind of thing that happened to many African Americans at that time in a society mired deep in racial prejudice. There'll be an appeal, but the sentence to be handed down is likely going to be the ultimate penalty: death. But even if Tom is spared the death penalty, he could still end up being summarily lynched. Whichever way Tom looks, it seems that there's no way out.

Tom's already seen white man's justice at first hand, so not surprisingly, he doesn't have much faith in the criminal justice system. Atticus will file an appeal, but Tom must know deep down that there's virtually no chance of the court's verdict being overturned. This explains why he makes a desperate bid for freedom from the prison where he's been remanded awaiting final sentencing. This is his last chance on earth to take his fate in his own hands. But his attempted escape is suicidal. He's gunned down by prison guards, shot seventeen times as Atticus tells Calpurnia later. There was really no need for the guards to shoot Tom that many times; it was pure overkill. Their excessive use of force is one final act of injustice, one last brutal expression of bigotry and racial hatred towards Tom Robinson.

Why should Shakespeare's Macbeth have involved the witches?

Without the Witches, Shakespeare's Macbeth would have been a very different story.  The Witches are important for many reasons, but let's take a look at two very good reasons why they were involved.

1. The Witches provide one of three essential elements to the exposition of the play. In England when Shakespeare was writing plays, his audience would have expected that his plays begin with one of three elements: violence, sexual innuendo, and/or supernatural occurrences. This...

Without the Witches, Shakespeare's Macbeth would have been a very different story.  The Witches are important for many reasons, but let's take a look at two very good reasons why they were involved.

1. The Witches provide one of three essential elements to the exposition of the play. In England when Shakespeare was writing plays, his audience would have expected that his plays begin with one of three elements: violence, sexual innuendo, and/or supernatural occurrences. This last one--the three Witches--begin Macbeth, and Shakespeare's audience, regardless of class status, would have completely believed in the possibility of Witches (and consequently, their influence on people and situations).  The Three Weird Sisters "supernatural soliciting" would have drawn the audience in, but it also would have been very interesting to one audience member in particular: King James I (the King of England, who undoubtedly was present at the Globe Theatre when Macbeth ran).  He had written and published a very famous book about witchcraft called Daemonologie. Therefore, the Witches were socially relevant to the everyday lives of Shakespeare's audience AND a personal interest of the king himself.  Shakespeare was no fool--if the king was interested in and liked his play, shouldn't everyone?


2. Now on to the plot...Why are the Witches involved in the action of the story?  They provide a very interesting, debatable element for us, the audience: blame. Whose fault is it that Macbeth transforms himself from a war hero to a homicidal, self-involved tyrant by the end of the play?
   Lady Macbeth, you say?  She did give him quite a push at the right time, didn't she?  What about Macbeth, himself?  Well, that is another argument, and you'd have a valid point if you made it.  However, what if the responsibility for the entirety of Macbeth's problems stemmed from the Witches.  That complicates things a bit, doesn't it?  

   The Witches prompt us to consider whether Macbeth created his own fate or was doomed the very moment he stepped upon the heath with Banquo and received his first prophecy.  Remember, the Witches say in Act I, sc. i that the war will end soon and that they will meet Macbeth upon the heath.  Both of these comments show that they can foretell the future. The later prophecies (the Apparitions) prove this more fully. However, one could argue (as Banquo does prior to his death) that often 
   

   
   to win us to our harm,/The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray's/In deepest consequence.

   
   If Banquo is right, and the Witches are merely toying with Macbeth in order to make him do terrible things, then isn't he much more responsible for his own downfall than they?  

   For this reason, the Witches presence provides the audience (whether during Shakespeare's time or now) something to consider with regard to fault.  

Why was conscription unethical in Germany during WWI?

Conscription occurs anytime a government imposes military enrollment on its citizenry. Conscription was a common practice for European nations during World War I, and Germany's system can be taken as a model. Men were drafted when they turned 20 and served for two years; they went into the reserves thereafter, with decreasing likelihood of being called up as they aged.

The benefits of such a system were exercised by the Germans themselves. They had a...

Conscription occurs anytime a government imposes military enrollment on its citizenry. Conscription was a common practice for European nations during World War I, and Germany's system can be taken as a model. Men were drafted when they turned 20 and served for two years; they went into the reserves thereafter, with decreasing likelihood of being called up as they aged.

The benefits of such a system were exercised by the Germans themselves. They had a militarized population ready, as well as a large pool of recently trained reserves. As such, the German army was able to swell from eight hundred thousand to over 3.5 million in a 12-day period in August 1914. Impressive efficiency, to say the least.

Many question the ethics of German conscription on a variety of grounds. First, Germany's intentions in forming a military were expansionist, colonialist, and motivated by social Darwinism. As a result, the conscription is criticized by political thinkers and social justice advocates alike. Further, unlike the British, the Germans had no legal conduit for conscientious objectors. Others contend that conscription was unethical because it discriminated against women. Still yet, some hold that financial limitations prevented the military from drafting 100% of the eligible population, providing room for prejudicial military determination.

How are Raymond and Squeaky alike in "Raymond's Run" by Toni Cade Bambara?

In “Raymond’s Run” by Toni Cade Bambara, Squeaky and her brother Raymond are alike in a number of ways.

Both Squeaky and Raymond are products of their inter-city Harlem neighborhood. Raymond has developmental disabilities and is usually in Squeaky’s care. She takes him with her wherever she goes. While they travel through their neighborhood, Squeaky practices her breathing techniques while Raymond prances near her and uses his vivid imagination.

Although Squeaky shows off her bravado,...

In “Raymond’s Run” by Toni Cade Bambara, Squeaky and her brother Raymond are alike in a number of ways.

Both Squeaky and Raymond are products of their inter-city Harlem neighborhood. Raymond has developmental disabilities and is usually in Squeaky’s care. She takes him with her wherever she goes. While they travel through their neighborhood, Squeaky practices her breathing techniques while Raymond prances near her and uses his vivid imagination.

Although Squeaky shows off her bravado, she questions many things about her identity. She bases her whole identity on her practice ethic and ability to run.

At the May Day race, Raymond demonstrates how he is similar to his sister when he lines up on the other side of the fence and shows his running prowess. During all of those days spent together when Squeaky thought Raymond was just tagging along, he was really absorbing her practice ethics and love for running. They are both good runners, which is a tradition in their family. Raymond demonstrates his potential as more than just a person with disabilities, while Squeaky realizes she has potential to be a friend and more than runner. At the conclusion of the story, Raymond and Squeaky both show joy at their accomplishments. They are both simply “people.”

And by the time he comes over I’m jumping up and down so glad to see him—my brother Raymond, a great runner in the family tradition.

How does the character Ivy Rowe impact the book Fair and Tender Ladies?

Lee Smith's novel Fair and Tender Ladies is epistolary, meaning that it is comprised entirely of letters. The novel's letters are written by the fictional character and protagonist Ivy Rowe. They are addressed to various recipients over the course of Ivy's life from childhood to old age. The reader experiences the novel's story through the letters, and these letters shape the narrative. Ivy's life is the subject of the letters, and so as a character,...

Lee Smith's novel Fair and Tender Ladies is epistolary, meaning that it is comprised entirely of letters. The novel's letters are written by the fictional character and protagonist Ivy Rowe. They are addressed to various recipients over the course of Ivy's life from childhood to old age. The reader experiences the novel's story through the letters, and these letters shape the narrative. Ivy's life is the subject of the letters, and so as a character, Ivy is both the narrator and the subject of her own story. Smith creates this double role for Ivy, which cultivates complexity and depth in Ivy's development as a character.

In Fair and Tender Ladies, we read Ivy's first person account of events in her life. The letters span seven decades, and Ivy's language abilities change over the course of the novel to reflect that. Her Appalachian localisms, her youthful misspellings, and her perspective on the harsh realities of rural life mature as Ivy grows older. To say that Ivy has an impact on the novel is an understatement: she is the narrator and the central character of the novel. It's also important to note that Fair and Tender Ladies consists of letters written only by Ivy. We never see letters that were received by Ivy, although presumably there were responses to many of her letters. This one-sided format ensures that Ivy is truly the centerpiece of the novel and the main character we are interested in as readers.

There are many ways Ivy impacts and shapes the novel. She dictates the pace of the stories told in her letters. She is the main character whose story and perspectives are shared. She chooses the details she wants to disclose and the details she wants to keep hidden. Of course, Lee Smith is truly the one making all these decisions, but she chooses to make them through Ivy Rowe, thus giving Ivy agency and full control over the development of the story.

How does The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen relate to immigration?

Immigration is a main theme in . It is immigration that brings the refugees of the story to the United States. Most of the characters are either first- or second-generation immigrants, having left Vietnam because of the war. These characters learn that the journey to the United States is not easy, and many of them—like the narrator of “Black-Eyed Women”—arrive with little money and are forced to live in rough neighborhoods. Several characters,...

Immigration is a main theme in . It is immigration that brings the refugees of the story to the United States. Most of the characters are either first- or second-generation immigrants, having left Vietnam because of the war. These characters learn that the journey to the United States is not easy, and many of them—like the narrator of “Black-Eyed Women”—arrive with little money and are forced to live in rough neighborhoods. Several characters, such as Phuong and Liem, must rely on others to help them meet the financial demands of immigrating. The immigration journey itself is often perilous or traumatic; the unnamed ghostwriter from the first story recalls how she watched pirates kill her brother just before they raped her. In addition to the difficult adjustments that come along with immigration to a new country, The Refugees also explores how immigration affects one’s concept of home at a generational level. Some of the second-generation immigrants feel more comfortable in the United States and, unlike their parents, identify primarily as Americans. By telling the stories of these refugees, Nguyen explores how the experience of immigration intersects with one’s personal identity. 

I need a thesis regarding organized crime and I also need a proposal, but I can't seem to even formulate a question. This is for college seminar...

It would help to know what the seminar is about or what kind of topics you're covering, but here is an array of questions relating to organized crime that might get your mind going: 

1) What were the factors that led to the development of organized crime in a particular area? e.g. Sicily, Tokyo, New York, California, etc. 

2) How has organized crime altered the economy in that area? What has been the negative impact?...

It would help to know what the seminar is about or what kind of topics you're covering, but here is an array of questions relating to organized crime that might get your mind going: 

1) What were the factors that led to the development of organized crime in a particular area? e.g. Sicily, Tokyo, New York, California, etc. 

2) How has organized crime altered the economy in that area? What has been the negative impact? Has there been any positive impact?

3) How do or did members of a crime organization interact with local and national politics?

4) What is the interaction of social demographic factors with organized crime like? e.g. gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, age, religion

5) How have crime organizations used technology? For example, the crime family on The Wire used pages and pay phones to communicate, then moved to text messaging after their pagers were tapped. What are some real-world examples of this interaction?

6) Alternatively, what can you say or write about fictional crime organizations and their relationship to any of the above questions, or to real crime organizations? Has The Sopranos or The Godfather had an impact on the Mafia? etc.

7) There's a certain stereotype that crime organizations tend to operate under their own code of ethics. Are there real-world examples of this happening? Are some crime organizations more "ethical" than others? 

What do you think would be a good alternative title for Lysistrata that reflects its theme? How does the theme relate to contemporary issues and...

The first thing you need to do in order to complete this assignment successfully is to think about the major ideas of Aristophanes's Lysistrata. Although some modern critics think about the play in terms of female empowerment, that is probably anachronistic. For Aristophanes, the idea of females acting in unison to affect affairs of state was inherently comic, rather like the idea of a man flying to Olympus on a dung beetle or birds...

The first thing you need to do in order to complete this assignment successfully is to think about the major ideas of Aristophanes's Lysistrata. Although some modern critics think about the play in terms of female empowerment, that is probably anachronistic. For Aristophanes, the idea of females acting in unison to affect affairs of state was inherently comic, rather like the idea of a man flying to Olympus on a dung beetle or birds and humans allying together against the gods. Much of Aristophanes's literary technique involves portraying the fantastic or absurd for comic effect while nevertheless making an important political or social point.

The central point of the play, as of many other plays by Aristophanes, was to oppose the Peloponnesian wars. An important aspect of this opposition, and again something consistent across several works by Aristophanes, was that war tended to harm ordinary citizens, especially farmers and people who were not members of the political elite. 

While you are the only person who can determine your own personal response to the play, the key issue you might look at is the effect of constant war on the citizens of countries in which the fighting is occurring. For example, you might look at news reports about daily life in Somalia, Libya, or Syria. You might also look at Lysistrata's actions and think about what sort of actions private citizens can take to oppose wars. 

While actually writing a title for you would be a form of academic dishonesty, I would suggest that you think about something related to this major theme of war and what ordinary women (or average citizens in general) can do to prevent or end wars.

How did the African-American slave narratives of the 1830s differ from the African-American slave narratives of the 1860s?

Slave narratives had existed in various forms for many years prior to the 1830s. Despite some inevitable differences between individual testimonies over time, it is possible to identify certain general themes and characteristics that distinguish them from those made and recorded after the Civil War.

In the 1830s slave narratives tended to resemble classic statements of conversion; they were primarily accounts of spiritual testimony that meticulously detailed the systematic ravaging of the soul by slavery and all its horrors. Earlier examples included the preacher George White's A Brief Account of the Life, Experiences, Travels and Gospel Labors of George White, an African; Written by Himself and Revised by a Friend.

Spiritual autobiography was a highly popular literary genre at the time. In using a conventional Anglo-American literary genre to tell their stories, African Americans attempted to induce some degree of sympathy from their white readership, especially those in a position of power and responsibility.

As well as sympathy, slave narratives inevitably aroused hostility. Slave owners, Southern politicians, and their apologists in the press accused slaves and their white amanuenses of at best exaggerating and at worst lying about life under the "peculiar institution."

In response to this, writers of slave narratives started to pay more attention to matters of proof. The greater the veracity of such stories, the harder it would be for the defenders of slavery to undermine their credibility in the court of public opinion. This necessitated a radical change in the nature of slave narratives. Increasingly, they were now seen as documents of fact rather than expressions of personal experience.

In this significant shift we can see the extent to which slave narratives reflected changes in American politics and society. Though still outwardly a deeply religious country, the United States was also imbued with the scientific spirit of the mid-19th century. The scientific mindset dictated that facts were of overriding importance, not just in relation to the natural sciences, but also to historical scholarship.

With the end of the Civil War and the passing of the 13th Amendment, it was necessary for slave narratives to have a different focus. Slavery was to be seen not just as an embodiment of repression and degradation but as a trial. African Americans had emerged after years of hard, bitter struggle, fighting for their freedom on the battlefield and proving themselves in positions of political responsibility during Reconstruction. 

The rapidity of industrial change after the war added a fresh impetus to this process. In an ever-changing economy requiring increasingly complex skills, it was essential to African Americans that they too were able to participate successfully in this new economic order. The cutthroat world of capitalist competition would provide a testing ground for African American workers, in which they too had the right to live and work as free men and women. The challenge here was not just to contradict the prevailing prejudice of white supremacy but also to take on and disprove the biological racism dominant in various scientific fields. In a country in which social Darwinism was becoming increasingly influential, it was essential for African Americans to prove that they too could survive and prosper under new economic realities.

Postbellum slave narratives contributed enormously to helping African Americans find a place for themselves in the new America. The apogee of this struggle was reached in Booker T. Washington's classic Up From Slavery of 1901, a personal success story which extolled the virtues of economic and educational progress. As well as contributing to a more confident self-image among African Americans, slave narratives such as Washington's also forced white America to take claims of racial equality more seriously.

What is the theme of "Night of the Scorpion"?

I assume that you are talking about the poem “Night of the Scorpion” by Nissim Ezekiel. I have attached a thorough analysis of various themes to this poem, as given by other educators in a similar question.

True to its title, the poem focuses on a night, according to the persona’s recollections, when the persona’s mother is bitten by a scorpion. She undergoes about twenty hours of pain, “twisting through and through, groaning on...

I assume that you are talking about the poem “Night of the Scorpion” by Nissim Ezekiel. I have attached a thorough analysis of various themes to this poem, as given by other educators in a similar question.

True to its title, the poem focuses on a night, according to the persona’s recollections, when the persona’s mother is bitten by a scorpion. She undergoes about twenty hours of pain, “twisting through and through, groaning on a mat,” before relief.

I think that one of the themes of this poem is a portrayal of the persona’s culture. Many lines in the poem are dedicated to the villagers’ reaction to the scorpion bite, including superstitions associated with this event. We observe that the villagers are compassionate. They swarm the persona’s house on the night of the misfortune, probably to assist the bitten woman in every way they can. They “buzz the name of God a hundred times,” hoping that this will paralyze the scorpion. They believe that every movement made by the scorpion is followed by a similar movement of its poison in the woman’s blood. Thus, they look for the scorpion in order to prevent its movement. They chant prayers; “may he sit still,” they say. They make incantations for the bitten woman, hoping or knowing that these would alleviate her suffering. The persona’s father, being more rational than the rest, tries all the practical methods he can use to treat the scorpion bite. He tries different herbs and powders. The holy man also performs various rituals. Through all this, we can see the communal spirit in the village and the compassion the villagers have for each other.

At the end of chapter 13 Phillip did two things that prove he is able to survive. What were these things and why were they vital things for Phillip...

Phillip learns two key things in chapter 13. The first thing that he learns is how to fish. He first has to pry mussels off of the rocks, and then he uses those as the bait for fishing. Readers are told that after a few days of practice, Phillip is capable of doing all of the fishing for both him and Timothy. Phillip's success at fishing is probably what gives him the courage to try...

Phillip learns two key things in chapter 13. The first thing that he learns is how to fish. He first has to pry mussels off of the rocks, and then he uses those as the bait for fishing. Readers are told that after a few days of practice, Phillip is capable of doing all of the fishing for both him and Timothy. Phillip's success at fishing is probably what gives him the courage to try his next accomplishment. Near the end of the chapter, Phillip gets up the courage to try and climb the coconut tree to harvest some coconuts. He is successful, and he and Timothy enjoy the well-earned nourishment together.

These things are vital for Phillip to learn because Timothy knows that he might not always be around to take care of and provide for Phillip. Readers are reminded of this detail at the beginning of the chapter. Phillip tells readers that Timothy believed that they might never get off of the island. Readers know that Timothy is much older than Phillip, so he won't always be around for Phillip. Phillip absolutely needs to learn to survive on his own despite being blind, and Phillip is coming to realize this fact. That is why he tells readers at the end of the chapter that he felt like he had graduated from survival school.

It was almost as if I'd graduated from the survival course that Timothy had been putting me through since we had landed on the cay. 

Based on David Laskin’s book The Long Way Home, answer the following questions. Discuss how World War I started in 1914 and then how the United...

World War I started in 1914, when a nineteen-year-old Serbian nationalist killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Hapsburg empire. The eventual result was that the Austro-Hungarian empire declared war on Serbia, Serbia sought and achieved an alliance with Russia, and Germany joined with Austria-Hungary. Most of the major countries of Europe were drawn into the war.

Woodrow Wilson, the American President, had tried to keep the U.S. out of World War...

World War I started in 1914, when a nineteen-year-old Serbian nationalist killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Hapsburg empire. The eventual result was that the Austro-Hungarian empire declared war on Serbia, Serbia sought and achieved an alliance with Russia, and Germany joined with Austria-Hungary. Most of the major countries of Europe were drawn into the war.

Woodrow Wilson, the American President, had tried to keep the U.S. out of World War I, and he had campaigned on that promise during his re-election bid in 1916. However, events in 1917 made it hard for him to keep his promise, including unrestricted submarine warfare conducted by the Germans (Laskin, 118) and the Zimmermann telegram, sent by Germay's foreign secretary to the German ambassador stationed in Mexico with the proposal to start an alliance with Mexico against the U.S.

One soldier who Laskin portrays in Max Cieminski, who was born in Wisconsin and grew up speaking Kaszubian and German. His family was from an ethnic group in Poland, and he barely spoke English when he was abducted into the army in 1917. He was sent to different training camps, along them a camp in Mississippi. Max was processed into the army even though he was missing his trigger finger, the result of a childhood injury. He felt mistreated by his German American drill sergeant in training camp, and was seen as different because he did not speak English as his first language.

Fighting in France as part of the French-American attack on the Marne salient, Max's platoon came under German fire during an advance on Trugny. German shells likely caused his death, though the exact cause of his death is unknown. While Max fought alongside other Americans, he was still treated as an outsider to some degree. His captain, Haggerty, considered Max "criminally unprepared" (Laskin, 207) for the army. Though it was not his fault that he was accepted by mistake into the army without a trigger finger, his captain made Max suffer for it before Max died in battle. Therefore, Max was in many ways not accepted as an equal to the other soldiers and likely still felt more like someone whose family was from Kaszub than someone who was fully American. If I could meet Max, I would ask him how it felt to be somewhat ostracized in the army, even though he was born in the U.S. 

In Of Mice and Men, does Crooks have reasons to be cynical?

Crooks is the only farmhand who is African American. Living as a black man in the Depression Era, and among a bunch of rogue men of their generation, rendered Crooks as an outsider to the group. The treatment that Crooks got was purely segregationist. He had to live in isolation,  move his things away from everyone else, and people would not really speak with him, or to him.

Isolation in an already-barren and dry place would make anyone grow quite depressed. Surely there is no exception with Crooks, who aged into a grumpy, lonely,  bitter, and cynical man.

All this being said, Crooks had more than enough reasons to be cynical. First, he has absolutely no other support systems in the farm. Curley does not care about him and "gives him h*ll", as George finds out.  The other farmhands, despite of thinking Crooks as a hard worker, and an "OK" kind of guy, still dub him as a "n***er" and find that to be a controversial matter to speak of. These are the first descriptors that George gets to learn about Crooks...before he ever got to meet him!

Also, living in isolation, Crooks has plenty of time to think about his life, or lack thereof. Like any other man, he needs to make a human connection, reach out to others, and find a source of support in case something happens to him. All that we know is that a horse accident rendered him crooked. Having a physical condition, combined with living (literally) fending for himself, cannot be a reason to cause him to smile every morning.

However, we know that Crooks changes his tone after he hears that Candy, George, and Lennie had a plan for themselves. They want to leave the farm, start their own, and live together. While Crooks finds that as a prime reason to spill his venom and downgrade the men's dream, he hears that Candy can actually make it happen; there is money to put down, after all.

To this, Crooks shows his true self: the man who really hungers for humanity, and to be treated humanely. This is the reason why he even offers his own services for free, denoting that his cynical and bitter life is nothing but a front to cover deeper and more painful emotions.

Pericles celebrates Athenian democracy in his funeral speech. What is it about the Athenian form of government that makes citizens in a democracy...

First of all, we need to establish what democracy meant in Athens in the 5th century BCE and how it operated. In doing so, we will see it was radically different from what we mean by democracy today. In Athens, democracy was direct. This means that every single male citizen who was not a slave not only had a say in government, but could participate directly in the affairs of state. This is what Pericles is referring to in his funeral oration when he says,

Its [i.e., the Athenian constitution's] administration favors the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy.

This stands in contrast to the system of representative democracy prevalent in the developed world today. Now, decisions relating to a country's governance are made by elected representatives, such as members of Parliament in the United Kingdom and members of Congress in the United States.

Athenian democracy consisted, then, of a deeply ingrained formal equality. This imbued all men (that is, free men, not slaves) with a sense of brotherhood, one that transcended differences of class, wealth, and social status. In reality, of course, things were a good deal more complicated than Pericles makes out.

Nevertheless, the governing notion of equality had enough reality in it to take hold of Athenians' understanding of themselves. Free Athenian men could proudly look upon themselves as being part of something bigger—a common endeavor that held them close together in a brotherly bond as they battled for supremacy in the Hellenic world. The idea of friendship between the Athenians lies not just in this world. It also forms an unbreakable bond between the dead and the living; between those who courageously gave their lives for Athens and its democracy and those now sworn to carry on that tradition of noble sacrifice.

For Pericles, friendship also relates to how Athens deals with foreign powers. He is proud of the way Athens conducts itself towards other peoples:

In generosity we are equally singular, acquiring our friends by conferring, not by receiving, favors.

A proud democracy like Athens does not develop friendly relations with other states through indebtedness. Such would be a position of weakness and submission. On the contrary, it is Athens that confers favors upon other city states and territories. In doing so, it creates a network of friendship and mutual support founded (as Pericles believes) on a spirit of generosity. The equality and friendship of all free men in Athens can be exported overseas, spreading the civilizing benefits of Athenian culture far and wide.

Pericles's understanding of what effectively amounts to colonialism is somewhat naive. Although to be fair to him, he did openly acknowledge, if not accept, that the Athenian empire had become, in the eyes of other Greeks, not an amicable civilizing mission but a tyranny. Eventually, the heavy-handedness of the Athenians in their bestowal of favors upon their colonized "friends" forced them into the arms of the Spartans, who put together an unbeatable alliance which ultimately defeated Athens in the Peloponnesian War.

In conclusion, it is important not to take Pericles at face value. His funeral speech was a piece of rhetoric. And like all rhetoric it was designed to persuade and convince its hearers, rather than establish the truth. The underlying contradictions of Athenian political life and the common bonds of friendship that supposedly existed were fatally exposed, bursting into the open in Athens's relations with other states. In examining those relations we can perhaps gain a better understanding of what friendship to the Athenians really involved, not just abroad but also at home. Effectively we can begin to comprehend how this fatal lack of self-understanding on the part of the Athenians led to their ultimate demise.

Who are the characters that would be considered friends?

Certainly, Odysseus is friends with Menelaus.  In fact, it was to recover and protect Menelaus's honor that Odysseus went off to fight in the Trojan War in the first place.  When Paris, the prince of Troy, stole Menelaus's wife, Helen, hers became the "face that launched a thousand ships," according to the playwright, Christopher Marlowe.  Then, when Telemachus travels to Sparta to see if Menelaus has any news about Odysseus, Menelaus tries to be as...

Certainly, Odysseus is friends with Menelaus.  In fact, it was to recover and protect Menelaus's honor that Odysseus went off to fight in the Trojan War in the first place.  When Paris, the prince of Troy, stole Menelaus's wife, Helen, hers became the "face that launched a thousand ships," according to the playwright, Christopher Marlowe.  Then, when Telemachus travels to Sparta to see if Menelaus has any news about Odysseus, Menelaus tries to be as helpful as possible out of loyalty to his old friend.

It seems as though Odysseus and Agamemnon, Menelaus's brother, must have been friends as well.  When the two meet in the Underworld, Agamemnon attempts to give Odysseus some friendly advice about how best to handle his wife, Penelope.  Agamemnon is still pretty bitter about being murdered by his wife and her lover, and he seems to want to protect Odysseus from being betrayed himself.

In addition, Athena seems like a real friend to Odysseus.  She intercedes with Zeus on Odysseus's behalf, she helps him to find the assistance he needs in Phaeacia, she helps him vanquish the suitors, and on and on.  She even helps his son to begin to make his own name in the world, protecting him from harm, and comforts Penelope when she is upset.

How does the motif of blood/milk relate to the theme of gender roles ?

In the play, Macbeth, the motif of milk signifies femininity and, by extension, weakness.  On the other hand, the motif of blood signifies masculinity, which is denoted through violence and cruelty.  For example, Lady Macbeth, in discussing Macbeth's willingness to commit Duncan's murder, says that she fears that Macbeth is "too full o'the milk of human kindness" (Act 1).  Moreover, later she also asks that the spirits "take my milk for gall" (Act 1) and...

In the play, Macbeth, the motif of milk signifies femininity and, by extension, weakness.  On the other hand, the motif of blood signifies masculinity, which is denoted through violence and cruelty.  For example, Lady Macbeth, in discussing Macbeth's willingness to commit Duncan's murder, says that she fears that Macbeth is "too full o'the milk of human kindness" (Act 1).  Moreover, later she also asks that the spirits "take my milk for gall" (Act 1) and says that she would gladly bash out a babe's brains while feeding it at her breast (Act 2).  All of these references connect the idea of milk to feminine nurturing and the normal human emotions that come along with motherhood.  However, these traits are deemed undesirable by Lady Macbeth because they make one weak and ineffective.  Here, Lady Macbeth demonstrates that feminine qualities make one incapable of pursuing one's ambitions. In contrast, blood is perceived to denote masculinity in the text, as when Lady Macbeth says "make my blood thick" (Act 1).  Here we see Lady Macbeth again asking for masculine qualities that might make her capable of the violence required to murder Duncan.  

It is also worth noting that Lady Macbeth consistently uses this language of femininity and masculinity to manipulate Macbeth into doing what she'd like him to do.  She consistently questions his manhood in order to push him to follow her ambitious plans for him.  

How does Zazie, the main character, make you question traditional values and representations of the world?

While skilled educators can help you understand Zazie Lalochère, what traditional values are, what representations of the world are, no one can say how Zazie might make “you” question these things. Even further, perhaps Zazie doesn't make you question either traditional values or worldly representations. Zazie should, however, make you consider your thoughts on the subjects, you might especially think about trickery and gender identity.

The trickery of Zazie and others is one thing...

While skilled educators can help you understand Zazie Lalochère, what traditional values are, what representations of the world are, no one can say how Zazie might make “you” question these things. Even further, perhaps Zazie doesn't make you question either traditional values or worldly representations. Zazie should, however, make you consider your thoughts on the subjects, you might especially think about trickery and gender identity.

The trickery of Zazie and others is one thing that might make you question traditional values. Zazie often tries to convince crowds of people of someting for her own amusement. For example, when Turandot (Gabriel’s landlord) tries to offer protection, Zazie evades Turandot’s control by convincing others of an attempt to molest her. Later, Zazie herself is a victim of this trickery when the man who providers her with “blewgenes” convinces the crowd that Zazie is a thief. Is trickery, or using lies, for personal gain an honorable value?

Zazie’s innocence in regards to gender identity should tweak your thoughts about traditional values. Zazie continually wonders if her uncle, Gabriel, is a homosexual (even though Zazie doesn’t really understand what a homosexual is). This is proven by her constant questioning of his behaviors throughout the story. Although, we are meant to laugh through the farce at the gender-bending involved (especially when Zazie finds out that Marceline is really Marcel), it should make you think about the “traditional” sexual relationship between a man and a woman versus “non-traditional” sexual relationships between a man and a man or a woman and a woman. says it best:

It is clear that Queneau’s farce demonstrates the idiocy of assigning personality traits to individuals on the basis of gender.

This particular aspect should also bring up thoughts about related “worldly representations,” namely the difference between how these sexual relationships are treated in France as opposed to other places (such as the United States).

In conclusion, through Zazie’s character we are given a chance to question many things, especially lies and gender. Zazie Lalochère is quite a brash, young teen who comes to Paris, France, specifically to ride the metro (which, of course, is shut down when she gets there because of a strike). She puts her entire focus on that particular desire for adventure. Zazie is disgusted when she is unable to ride the metro, so she begins causing many difficulties for the people she is around. Thus begins Zazie’s real journey. As a result (and in grand irony), even though Zazie hasn’t gotten to experience the metro while awake, what a ride Zazie has had.

What is the relationship between the atmosphere, life, and the earth's surface?

The atmosphere supports life, and life affects the composition of the atmosphere.

Animals like insects, birds, dinosaurs, and humans rely on the oxygen in the atmosphere to fuel our biological functions and, in turn, we release carbon dioxide.  Plants and some single-celled organisms use sunlight to break down carbon dioxide and release oxygen back into the air. This cycle needs to be in balance or disaster can occur—one of the greatest extinction events in Earth's...

The atmosphere supports life, and life affects the composition of the atmosphere.

Animals like insects, birds, dinosaurs, and humans rely on the oxygen in the atmosphere to fuel our biological functions and, in turn, we release carbon dioxide.  Plants and some single-celled organisms use sunlight to break down carbon dioxide and release oxygen back into the air. This cycle needs to be in balance or disaster can occur—one of the greatest extinction events in Earth's prehistory occurred about 2.3 billion years ago when an explosion of photosynthesizing organisms flooded the atmosphere with poisonous levels of O2.

The atmosphere is also responsible for maintaining livable conditions on the Earth's surface. 

The Ozone Layer is a shield of ozone (O3) in the upper reaches of the atmosphere. Ozone deflects many types of harmful radiation from the sun. This radiation is potentially harmful to most types of life; without ozone, much of the Earth's surface would be scorched clean. 

The entire atmosphere is also responsible for maintaining consistent temperature across the planet. You may think it gets warm during the day and chilly during the night, but the range is minuscule compared to other celestial bodies. For example, the Moon, which lacks any atmosphere at all, reaches 100 degrees Celsius in the sun, but dips to negative 150 degrees in the shade!

Carver is concerned with the ways in which human beings communicate or fail to communicate with each other and how that affects people's lives....

Raymond Carver's 1983 short story is freighted with pathos, and both communication and the lack of communication affect characters in "A Small, Good Thing."

The lack of communication between Ann and the baker opens the story.  She finds him cold and unpleasant and uninterested in the details of her son Scotty's birthday.  In completing the cake order, "There were no pleasantries between them, just the minimum exchange of words, the necessary information."  

When Scotty...

Raymond Carver's 1983 short story is freighted with pathos, and both communication and the lack of communication affect characters in "A Small, Good Thing."

The lack of communication between Ann and the baker opens the story.  She finds him cold and unpleasant and uninterested in the details of her son Scotty's birthday.  In completing the cake order, "There were no pleasantries between them, just the minimum exchange of words, the necessary information."  

When Scotty is hit by the car, "the man in the driver's seat looked back over his shoulder. He (the boy) looked dazed, but okay. The driver put the car into gear and drove away."  Because the driver didn't speak to Scotty--or police or EMTs--and instead left the scene, it is arguable that his silence cost Scotty his life. After Scotty's death, the doctors tell his parents that "maybe if it could have been detected somehow and surgery undertaken immediately, they could have saved him"--or perhaps not.  But because there was no communication from the driver, it is impossible to know if the tragic outcome could have been different.

The doctor's lack of meaningful communication with Howard and Ann about Scotty's condition early in his treatment left them with incomplete information and meaningless platitudes like "just as soon as he wakes up he'll be over the hill." The doctor is slow to communicate his concerns to his colleagues and perhaps waits too long to consult with a neurologist.  

Howard inadvertently worsens Ann's negative feelings toward the baker and deepens her anguish when he fails to mention that in the first phone call, the baker did say "There's a cake here that wasn't picked up."  Because Howard doesn't communicate this detail to Ann, her fury at the baker reaches a point where she verbally attacks him. The moment nearly turns physical when she and Howard descend on the bakery to confront the man they believe has been cruelly tormenting them.

Ultimately, when the baker, Ann, and Howard are able to speak at length and the gaps in their communication are filled, their shared humanity resolves the story.  The baker expresses both empathy ("he told them what it was like to be childless all these years") and sympathy and offers comfort with cinnamon rolls, bread, and coffee.  Carver's message about the beneficial effect communication can have on interpersonal conflict is found in the story's final line: "They talked on into the early morning, the high, pale cast of light in the windows, and they did not think of leaving."

How is Aegeus scene relate to the overall theme of Medea?

The appearance of Aegeus represents a crucial turning point in the play. By offering Medea sanctuary, he gives her the security and the confidence necessary to exact her terrible vengeance upon Jason. No longer is Medea now simply a wronged woman; she is an active, scheming aggressor with an insatiable thirst for revenge. As revenge is the main theme of the play, Aegeus's appearance is significant because it facilitates the implementation of Medea's wicked plan.

...

The appearance of Aegeus represents a crucial turning point in the play. By offering Medea sanctuary, he gives her the security and the confidence necessary to exact her terrible vengeance upon Jason. No longer is Medea now simply a wronged woman; she is an active, scheming aggressor with an insatiable thirst for revenge. As revenge is the main theme of the play, Aegeus's appearance is significant because it facilitates the implementation of Medea's wicked plan.

That plan, of course, includes the murder of her own children. And the scene with Aegeus has further significance in this regard. Aegeus agrees to provide Medea with sanctuary in return for magic drugs that will enhance his fertility. So, in other words, Aegeus's desire to have children provides Medea with the opportunity to kill hers. The arrival of Aegeus's future offspring sounds the death knell for Medea's children. There is a clear conflict here, one that reflects the significance of children in the overall story. Unwittingly, children are the source of much of the play's conflict. Aegeus desperately wants them; Medea desperately wants to get rid of hers.

Though often criticized for being clumsily constructed and implausible from a plot standpoint, there is no doubt that the scene with Aegeus contributes enormously to the play's dynamism, as well as carrying immense thematic importance in its own right.