In "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl, how is motivation used?

I believe that this question is asking about character motivation and what motivates that particular character to act. Mary Maloney is a good character to use regarding motivation. When readers are first introduced to Mary, she exists to serve her husband. She is patiently waiting for him to get home, and once Patrick gets home, Mary flutters around the house getting him food and drink so that he can relax after his day of work.

...

I believe that this question is asking about character motivation and what motivates that particular character to act. Mary Maloney is a good character to use regarding motivation. When readers are first introduced to Mary, she exists to serve her husband. She is patiently waiting for him to get home, and once Patrick gets home, Mary flutters around the house getting him food and drink so that he can relax after his day of work.

She wasn’t really watching him, but she knew what he had done because she heard the ice cubes falling back against the bottom of the empty glass when he lowered his arm. He paused a moment, leaning forward in the chair, then he got up and went slowly over to fetch himself another.

“I’ll get it!” she cried, jumping up.

I assume that her motivation at this point is true love. Maybe complete infatuation, but the end result is the same. She is motivated to do whatever it takes to keep Patrick happy. When he announces that he is leaving her, that motivation ends. Soon after, Mary kills Patrick.

Then Mary's motivation shifts to protecting her unborn child. The text tells readers that she is completely willing to take on the punishment for her actions, but she is not willing to risk the life of her baby.

As the wife of a detective, she knew quite well what the penalty would be. That was fine. It made no difference to her. In fact, it would be a relief. On the other hand, what about the child? What were the laws about murderers with unborn children? Did they kill them both--mother and child? Or did they wait until the tenth month? What did they do?

Mary Maloney didn’t know. And she certainly wasn’t prepared to take a chance.

Protecting her child is Mary's motivation. It is what causes her to plan out an alibi for the murder and get away with her actions.

What are the fundamental beliefs of Michel Foucault and those that changed the thinking of philosophers of his time?

Michel Foucault was a French philosopher who explored three important subjects that had been mostly ignored in philosophy until then: madness, sexuality, and prison. He also did some important work in redefining journalism.

Much of Foucault's early work is related to madness, on which he also did his thesis. A key quote from his works on madness is the following: "Si le personnage medical peut cerner la folie, ce n'est pas qu'il la connaisse,...

Michel Foucault was a French philosopher who explored three important subjects that had been mostly ignored in philosophy until then: madness, sexuality, and prison. He also did some important work in redefining journalism.

Much of Foucault's early work is related to madness, on which he also did his thesis. A key quote from his works on madness is the following: "Si le personnage medical peut cerner la folie, ce n'est pas qu'il la connaisse, c'est qu'il la maitrise." (If a medical figure can understand madness, it is not that he knows it, it is that he controls it.) Several key works of his are on madness, dreams, and mental disorders.

Foucault's work on sexuality determines that different eras used sex and related elements to define and "codify" individuals—including the understanding of a person or their behavior. Foucault's argument is that sexuality should cease to be central to determining the nature of an individual.

One of Foucault's major works is on how restrictive freedom of expression is, and he goes on to analyze what determines what can be said and what is inappropriate to publicly say or privately think. This work is closely related to prisons, in which he retains some interest. Foucault thought the prison world was void of all possibility of expression and demonstrates the terrible state in which imprisoned individuals live without public recognition of these conditions.

On journalism, Foucault considered that it was the reporter's duty to make "diagnostics" on the present, to understand the "today," and to explain why and how events came about.

These four elements of Foucault's work shaped the future, particularly the latter two. For example, the influence of Foucault's ideas about sexuality can be seen in today's sexual identity movements. Foucault's ideas about conditions in prisons and expressions can be linked to the abolition of capital punishment and the establishment of better prisoner conditions in France. In journalism, one can notice a clear shift in reporting as journalists put Foucault's ideas into practice by taking the responsibility of explaining rather than simply reporting events, as was originally the definition of a journalist and the role of the press.

What does "Drum" by Linda Hogan mean?

The drum is the symbol of the Native American heart. It beats on literally in the womb when the unborn child is still inside its mother, and it beats on figuratively in the world, providing an insistent undertone, a rhythmic accompaniment to the unfolding history of Native Americans. The drum represents the continuity of the community, its inner strength undiminished and unconquered by years of exploitation, hunger, death, and the systematic theft of tribal lands.

...

The drum is the symbol of the Native American heart. It beats on literally in the womb when the unborn child is still inside its mother, and it beats on figuratively in the world, providing an insistent undertone, a rhythmic accompaniment to the unfolding history of Native Americans. The drum represents the continuity of the community, its inner strength undiminished and unconquered by years of exploitation, hunger, death, and the systematic theft of tribal lands.

And what gives Native American tribes their inner strength? Their unity with the natural world around them, a oneness with the soil that keeps them rooted to the land despite the endless trials and tribulations they have endured and continue to endure. The Native American spirit, however, originated in the water before it came to the land. That is where its heart truly lies. And the spiritual life of Native Americans takes them back to the sea, allowing them to recover the memory of water. A return to the water is a return to the safety and comfort of the womb, where the spirit rests peacefully to the beat of the drum.

How did the ancient Nubians' and ancient Libyans' environments influence their cultural development in terms of economics, politics, and religion?

Ancient Nubia was located in southern Egypt and northern Sudan and was divided into two parts--Upper Nubia, or Kush, which was the southern portion, and Lower Nubia, the northern portion. The people of ancient Nubia depended on the flooding of the Nile to grow and irrigate their crops. While people in the desert areas of Nubia remained pastoral nomads, Lower Nubia developed one of the first states in the world, which was settled by the...

Ancient Nubia was located in southern Egypt and northern Sudan and was divided into two parts--Upper Nubia, or Kush, which was the southern portion, and Lower Nubia, the northern portion. The people of ancient Nubia depended on the flooding of the Nile to grow and irrigate their crops. While people in the desert areas of Nubia remained pastoral nomads, Lower Nubia developed one of the first states in the world, which was settled by the so-called A-Group culture (which developed from about 3800 BCE-3100 BCE; they were given this name because their ancient name is not known). Their remains show that they had similar symbols to those of Egyptian kings, and their civilization was strengthened through trading such items as ebony, ivory, gold, and carnelian with Egypt until their civilization was taken over by the Egyptians during the First Dynasty.

Later, around 2000 BCE, the C-Group culture also developed along the Nile, as did the Kerma or Kush culture around 1500 BCE. As the Kush culture grew in power, they extended northward towards Egypt, and the Egyptians built fortifications in response. During the New Kingdom (1550–1069 BCE), Egypt conquered Nubia, which they referred to as Kush. All of the powerful ancient Nubian states developed along the Nile, which provided them with the surplus crops and trade routes to develop governments. Before the Egyptians conquered the Nubians, the Nubian religion was independent of the Egyptians, though little is known about it. After being conquered by the Egyptians, the Nubians developed a religion that borrowed from that of the Egyptians. In addition, some Nubian deities such as Sekhmet may have been introduced from Nubia to the Egyptian religion.

Ancient Libya's borders are not known exactly, but they lie west of the Nile. The land was a desert. Ancient Libya was mainly inhabited by pastoral nomads, the most populous of whom were the Libu. They lived by eating goats and sheep and using the animals' hides for shelter and clothing. They followed a traditional Berber religion before the introduction of Islam, and this ancient religion was notable for its cult of the dead. They also had their own system of deities. Their pastoral nomadic way of life did not result in the growth of a strong government. Instead, their civilization was a collection of tribes led by different kings rather than a unified kingdom. 

Who did Agamemnon leave in charge of Clytemnestra and what did Aegisthus do with this person?

In Book 3, Agamemnon left the family minstrel in charge of his wife, Clytemnestra.

Nestor tells Telemachus that Aegisthus had had his eye on Clytemnestra ever since Agamemnon went away to war. To win over Clytemnestra, Aegisthus constantly plied her with words of love. Eventually Clytemnestra succumbed to his attentions, and the two became lovers.

Meanwhile, Aegisthus lured the minstrel (or bard) to a desert island and abandoned him to birds of prey. With the...

In Book 3, Agamemnon left the family minstrel in charge of his wife, Clytemnestra.

Nestor tells Telemachus that Aegisthus had had his eye on Clytemnestra ever since Agamemnon went away to war. To win over Clytemnestra, Aegisthus constantly plied her with words of love. Eventually Clytemnestra succumbed to his attentions, and the two became lovers.

Meanwhile, Aegisthus lured the minstrel (or bard) to a desert island and abandoned him to birds of prey. With the minstrel dead and out of the way, Aegisthus had complete sway over Clytemnestra. In due time, Aegisthus killed Agamemnon as well. In revenge, Orestes (the son of Agamemnon) killed Aegisthus and his mother, Clytemnestra. Nestor holds up Orestes as a good example for Telemachus to follow, and he advises him not to stay away from his home for too long, especially when his property and all that he holds dear are in jeopardy.

An air conditioning unit is vibrating in simple harmonic motion with a period of 0.27 s and a range (from the maximum in one direction to the...

Hello!

A simple harmonic motion has a form

`x(t)=A*sin(b*(x-s))+I,`

where `t` is a time, `x` is a position, `A` is an amplitude, `b` is a frequency, `s` is a phase shift and `I` is an initial position.

We may assume `I=0.`  Also, because "at `t=0` it is at its central position" the phase sift `s` is also zero.

From the minimum to the maximum there are two amplitudes, therefore `A=1.5cm.`

A frequency is always `2*pi`...

Hello!

A simple harmonic motion has a form

`x(t)=A*sin(b*(x-s))+I,`

where `t` is a time, `x` is a position, `A` is an amplitude, `b` is a frequency, `s` is a phase shift and `I` is an initial position.

We may assume `I=0.`  Also, because "at `t=0` it is at its central position" the phase sift `s` is also zero.

From the minimum to the maximum there are two amplitudes, therefore `A=1.5cm.`

A frequency is always `2*pi` divided by a period, therefore `b=(2pi)/0.27` `s^(-1).`

So in the given case the position is

`x(t)=1.5*sin(t*(2pi)/0.27).`

And yes, at `t=0` it is moving in the positive direction. The expression under the sinus must be in radians, not degrees.

The position for `t_1=55s` is` `

`x_1=x(t_1)=1.5*sin(2pi*(55/0.27)) approx-1.44 (cm).`

This means 1.44 cm in the negative direction. This is the answer.

How is technical writing and general writing different?

Technical writing is usually focused on technology related topics. It is not intended for a general audience, and its purpose is practical utility rather than entertainment. No one reads the assembly instructions for furniture or coding standards for military software for fun. Instead, technical writing addresses the needs of people using or developing specific devices.

Whether one is writing documents for users, developers, contractors, or one's own project team, technical documentation must be extremely accurate...

Technical writing is usually focused on technology related topics. It is not intended for a general audience, and its purpose is practical utility rather than entertainment. No one reads the assembly instructions for furniture or coding standards for military software for fun. Instead, technical writing addresses the needs of people using or developing specific devices.

Whether one is writing documents for users, developers, contractors, or one's own project team, technical documentation must be extremely accurate and complete in its coverage. Your camera manual needs to cover every ability of your camera, not just "five fun facts" about the camera. 

Technical writing is also unusual in needing regular updates. While, for example, the original Romeo and Juliet is still worth reading, an obsolete technical manual is useless.  Because technical manuals are frequently updated, they usually have numbered sections and change logs so that they can document changes in the products and procedures they describe. 

Is there character development in Pride and Prejudice?

Yes, there absolutely is character development in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice; in fact, the development of the two protagonists--Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy-- is arguably the driving force behind the novel's narrative and its ultimately happy ending!

When we first meet Elizabeth, she is an intelligent, witty, and keenly observant young woman who (although in possession of a sense of humor) is also afflicted by a sense of cynicism about the world around...

Yes, there absolutely is character development in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice; in fact, the development of the two protagonists--Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy-- is arguably the driving force behind the novel's narrative and its ultimately happy ending!

When we first meet Elizabeth, she is an intelligent, witty, and keenly observant young woman who (although in possession of a sense of humor) is also afflicted by a sense of cynicism about the world around her. This attitude and her sense of superiority largely stems from her misgivings about the capabilities and intellectual capacity of others. She fully admits that she has a great deal of pride, which is a quality that she recognizes in Darcy upon meeting him: "I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine." Her first impressions of Darcy and her quickness to react to him are also indicative that she is prejudiced against him. This is the trouble with Elizabeth: she is fast to judge and eager to collect evidence that her own beliefs are "right," even as the conflicts that she conjures are often self-perpetuated because of her stubborn disposition. By the end of the novel, Elizabeth allows these negative tendencies to loosen their hold of her. She grows and transforms as she opens her mind to the fact that she is not always right and to the realization that she may have wrongly evaluated Darcy, his character, his intentions, and his actions. 

We see a similar sense of development within Darcy, who begins the novel as a cold, aloof, hypercritical man who highly values his own social and economic status and views those in lesser social positions as beneath him. Darcy puts forth a frigid and uninformed assessment of Elizabeth's family and of her sister Jane's interest in Bingley. It is this self-aggrandizing mindset that triggers the initial hostility between Darcy and Elizabeth; he honors truth over sensitivity, outdated ideals over reality. In order for Darcy to grow, he must resolve his judgments of her and her family and become self-actualized as a feeling--not just thinking--man. This heroic transformation occurs when he takes direct action to save Lydia's reputation from the loathsome Wickham. 

By the story's end, both characters have relinquished their ignorance and the absurdity of their judgments in order to come to a similar conclusion: "vanity, not love, has been my folly." 

`(x-h)^2+y^2=r^2 , h>r` Find the volume of the torus generated by revolving the region bounded by the graph of the circle about the y-axis.

Volume of a shape bounded by curve `y=f(x)` and `x`-axis between `a leq x leq b` revolving about `y`-axis is given by

`V_y=2pi int_a^b xy dx`

In order to use the above formula we first need to write `y` as a function of `x.`

`(x-h)^2+y^2=r^2`

`y=+-sqrt(r^2-(x-h)^2)`

The positive part describes upper half of the circle (blue) while the negative part (red) describes the lower semicircle. 

In the graph above `r=2` and `h=5.`   

Since the both halves have equal ares the resulting volumes will also be equal for each half. Therefore, we can calculate volume of whole torus as two times the semi-torus (solid obtained by revolving a semicircle).

Bounds of integration will be points where the semicircle touches the `x`-axis.

`4pi int_(h-r)^(h+r)x sqrt(r^2-(x-h)^2)dx=`

Substitute `x-h=r sin t` `=>` `x=r sin t+h` `=>` `dx=r cos t dt,` `t_l=-pi/2,` `t_u=pi/2`

`t_l` and `t_u` denote new lower and upper bounds of integration.

`4pi r int_(-pi/2)^(pi/2)(r sin t+h)sqrt(r^2-r^2 sin^2 t)cos t dt=`

`4pi r int_(-pi/2)^(pi/2)(r sin t+h)r sqrt(1-sin^2 t)cos t dt=`

Use the fact that `sqrt(1-sin^2 t)=cos t.`

`4pi r^2 int_(-pi/2)^(pi/2)(r sin t+h)cos^2 t dt=`

`4pi r^3 int_(-pi/2)^(pi/2) cos^2 t sin t dt+4pi r^2h int_(-pi/2)^(pi/2)cos^2 t dt=`

Let us calculate each integral separately

`I_1=4pi r^3 int_(-pi/2)^(pi/2) cos^2 t sin t dt=`

Substitute `u=cos t` `=>` `du=sin t dt,` `u_l=0,` `u_u=0.`

`4pir^3 int_0^0 u^3/3 du=0`

`I_2=4pi r^2h int_(-pi/2)^(pi/2)cos^2 t dt=`  

Rewrite the integral using the following formula `cos^2 theta=(1+cos2theta)/2.`

`2pi r^2h int_(-pi/2)^(pi/2)(1+cos 2t)dt=2pi r^2h(t+1/2sin2t)|_(-pi/2)^(pi/2)=`

`2pi r^2 h(pi/2+0+pi/2-0)=2pi^2r^2 h`

The volume of the torus generated by revolving the given region about `y`-axis is `2pi^2r^2h.`  

The image below shows the torus generated by revolving region bounded by circle `(x-5)^2+y^2=2^2`  i.e. `r=2,` `h=5` about `y`-axis. The part generated by revolving `y=sqrt(r^2-(x-h)^2)` is colored blue while the negative part is colored red.

What does Montag mean when he says answering the call at the old lady's house is "inconvenient" while pulling down books in the attic in Fahrenheit...

Montag exclaims "How inconvenient!" because the woman who owns the books is still in the house when he and the other firemen answer the call.

How inconvenient! Always before it had been like snuffing a candle....The police went first and adhesive-taped the victim's mouth and bandaged him off...so when you arrived you found an empty house. You weren't hurting anyone, you were hurting only things!

Montag is clearly disturbed that the woman, the owner of...

Montag exclaims "How inconvenient!" because the woman who owns the books is still in the house when he and the other firemen answer the call.

How inconvenient! Always before it had been like snuffing a candle....The police went first and adhesive-taped the victim's mouth and bandaged him off...so when you arrived you found an empty house. You weren't hurting anyone, you were hurting only things!

Montag is clearly disturbed that the woman, the owner of the books, is still in the house when he and the other firemen arrive. This presence of the woman who owns the books and the house causes Montag discomfiture because he perceives the sordidness of the action of burning someone's home:

She made the empty rooms roar with accusation and shake down a fine dust of guilt that was sucked in their nostrils....

Because this owner of the house is present with all her books, Montag is disturbed, and he feels guilty for his part in the destruction of her possessions. Darkly suggesting what she is going to do, the woman quotes sixteenth British clergyman Hugh Latimer's words to Nicholas Latimer as they were going to be burnt alive for heresy. Like Latimer, the woman is willing to die for what she believes in--her books--and she later does. 

In Cofer's "American History," what does Eugene represent for Elena?

Elena is a teenage girl who lives in a Puerto Rican apartment block with her family. She also attends a public high school with a student population of mostly African Americans. She has a difficult time fitting in at school because the other students mock her culture and call her "Skinny Bones." When a white boy named Eugene moves into the house next to her apartment building, she hopes to become his friend for a few reasons. First, Elena would like to have a friend. Second, he's cute, and once they become friends, she finds out they both enjoy reading books. Finally, Eugene lives in a house that she would love to visit so she can experience what it is like to live there. Elena describes how she feels about Eugene as follows:

But after meeting Eugene I began to think of the present more than of the future. What I wanted now was to enter that house I had watched for so many years. I wanted to see the other rooms where the old people had lived and where the boy spent his time. Most of all I wanted to sit at the kitchen table with Eugene like two adults, like the old man and his wife had done, maybe drink some coffee and talk about books.

From the above passage, it seems as though Elena is more in love with the fact that Eugene lives in the house next door than she is interested in him. He does represent friendship and companionship, and she may be infatuated with him for who he is, but he is also a way to get into the house that she loves so much. She has dreamed of what it might be like to read books at the kitchen table and experience what it feels like to live in a house and not an apartment. Her dreams are usually about living in a house, not an apartment, at some time in the future; but as she says in the above passage, her mind sees an opportunity to enter the house at present, which excites her. For the first time in Elena's life, she feels hopeful and happy about life. If she can get into the house and share some time at the kitchen table with Eugene, then Elena will have lived out a dream that she has had for a long time.

In the prologue of Guns, Germs and Steel, why does Diamond suggest that Yali's question has "overwhelming practical and political importance?"

The phrase that you mention is found on p. 16 of Guns, Germs, and Steel.  To understand why Diamond says this, you would need to read a little bit further.  Diamond argues that Yali’s question has “overwhelming importance” for us today because the different rates of human development that Yali asked about have shaped and continue to shape our world.

Yali wanted to know why Europeans and their descendants were so much more wealthy...

The phrase that you mention is found on p. 16 of Guns, Germs, and Steel.  To understand why Diamond says this, you would need to read a little bit further.  Diamond argues that Yali’s question has “overwhelming importance” for us today because the different rates of human development that Yali asked about have shaped and continue to shape our world.

Yali wanted to know why Europeans and their descendants were so much more wealthy and powerful than non-white people like his own.  Diamond says that the disparity between the wealthy and powerful countries on the one hand and the poor and weak ones on the other has shaped our world. He notes, for example, that Africa has been colonized until relatively recently because Africans were among the world’s “have-nots.”  The legacy of this colonization continues to shape African lives today as well as the relations between African and Western nations.  He points out that many languages are dying out today because the people who speak them are not rich and powerful enough for people to care to learn their tongues.  In these ways, the factors that Yali is asking about have shaped our world today and continue to shape many of the issues that we experience.  Because of this, his question (or at least its subject matter) has “overwhelming practical and political importance.”

Why is politics ubiquitous in human life?

I will certainly agree that politics do seem to occupy everything we do today. Every time you turn on the TV or read something online, it seems to have a political angle. I remember when I was young, before the Internet became a part of our daily lives, politics took up a significant portion of the newspaper, radio, and television, but it was not all-encompassing. And on television, you basically had the evening news, which...

I will certainly agree that politics do seem to occupy everything we do today. Every time you turn on the TV or read something online, it seems to have a political angle. I remember when I was young, before the Internet became a part of our daily lives, politics took up a significant portion of the newspaper, radio, and television, but it was not all-encompassing. And on television, you basically had the evening news, which was 30 minutes or an hour at most.

That all changed with the creation of CNN in 1980 and the rise of the 24-hour news cycle. But even then, it took several years before politics became everywhere, all of the time. Many actually thought CNN would fail for a lack of interest. But as it gained steam and talk-radio became a growing format, politics took up a larger space. Then with the advent and growth of the Internet, it was all but inevitable that politics would dominate our lives.

There is also the issue of the rise of identity politics. Beginning in the 1960s and the Civil Rights Movement, many other movements including those for women, gays, and American Indians among others also took shape. These focused on political issues affecting a specific identity. There is a broad literature on the role of postmodernism and the influence of social theorists from the Frankfurt School on these movements which largely reconfigured Marxist political theory to fit specific classes of people. Politics became very personalized, less about the whole country or region, and more about how specific policies affected specific groups. 

I think one could argue that the potential for politics becoming ubiquitous in our lives was pretty much there for years. We can envision this as the confluence of political ideologies and technology meeting in a meaningful way. What cable news and the Internet did was give politics a loud voice and platform for achieving that ubiquity.

Why does O. Henry call Jim and Della the Magi?

O. Henry was writing a Christmas story which would probably be published in the Christmas issue of his newspaper. The story contains many references to the Christmas story told in the New Testament. There is, of course, a big difference between Jim and Della Young and the three kings, or Magi, in the Bible. The Magi were very wealthy men and brought the baby Jesus valuable presents, including gold. Jim and Della are poor, but...

O. Henry was writing a Christmas story which would probably be published in the Christmas issue of his newspaper. The story contains many references to the Christmas story told in the New Testament. There is, of course, a big difference between Jim and Della Young and the three kings, or Magi, in the Bible. The Magi were very wealthy men and brought the baby Jesus valuable presents, including gold. Jim and Della are poor, but O. Henry twice maintains that they are, figuratively speaking, richer than the richest men and women in the Bible.

In the first instance, O. Henry compares Jim to King Solomon and Della to the Queen of Sheba, whose famous encounter is related in the Old Testament (1 Kings 10).

Had the Queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy.

This is O. Henry's wildest hyperbole, but it serves to show how much Jim values his watch and how much Della values her hair. After Jim and Della realize they sacrificed their greatest treasures without being able to benefit each other, O. Henry expresses the moral of his Christmas story in similar hyperbole.

And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.

O. Henry, of course, is using poetic license. He does not mean that the Youngs are literally like the wealthy kings in the Christmas story, but rather that Jim and Della are in a sense richer than King Solomon, the Queen of Sheba, and the three Magi because they possess the most valuable thing in the world: their love for each other. Many readers must have recognized the truth in all this poetic hyperbole, because O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" is the most popular story he ever wrote.

`e^(2x) = sinh(2x) + cosh(2x)` Verify the identity.

`e^(2x)=sinh(2x)+cosh(2x)`

Take note that hyperbolic sine and hyperbolic cosine are defined as

• 
  `sinh(u) = (e^u-e^(-u))/2`

• 
  `cosh(u)=(e^u+e^(-u))/2`

Apply these two formulas to express the right side in exponential form.

`e^(2x)=(e^(2x)-e^(-2x))/2 + (e^(2x)+e^(-2x))/2`

Adding the two fractions, the right side simplifies to

`e^(2x) = (2e^(2x))/2`

`e^(2x)=e^(2x)`

This proves that the given equation is an identity.

Therefore,  `e^(2x)=sinh(2x)+cosh(2x)`  is an identity.

`e^(2x)=sinh(2x)+cosh(2x)`

Take note that hyperbolic sine and hyperbolic cosine are defined as

• 
  `sinh(u) = (e^u-e^(-u))/2`

• 
  `cosh(u)=(e^u+e^(-u))/2`

Apply these two formulas to express the right side in exponential form.

`e^(2x)=(e^(2x)-e^(-2x))/2 + (e^(2x)+e^(-2x))/2`

Adding the two fractions, the right side simplifies to

`e^(2x) = (2e^(2x))/2`

`e^(2x)=e^(2x)`

This proves that the given equation is an identity.

Therefore,  `e^(2x)=sinh(2x)+cosh(2x)`  is an identity.

Mental and physical changes in the three adult characters in chapter 5 and chapter 6.

Hester suffers as a result of the "innumerable throbs of anguish that had been so cunningly contrived for her by the undying, the ever-active sentence of the Puritan tribunal," and this produces some mental changes in her.  The letter makes her the subject of the text in church on Sabbath days; she comes to dread the children who pursue her through the streets; she feels pain anew when strangers see the letter, though her fellow...

Hester suffers as a result of the "innumerable throbs of anguish that had been so cunningly contrived for her by the undying, the ever-active sentence of the Puritan tribunal," and this produces some mental changes in her.  The letter makes her the subject of the text in church on Sabbath days; she comes to dread the children who pursue her through the streets; she feels pain anew when strangers see the letter, though her fellow sinner's glance "seemed to give a momentary relief, as if half of her agony were shared."  Hester also comes to believe that her experience with wearing the letter "gave her a sympathetic knowledge of the hidden sin in other hearts," surely a significant mental change as well.  Her guilt becomes a heavier burden when she finds that there is no segment of society in which she cannot exist without reference to her crime or her punishment.  

There is not really any mention of Chillingworth in these chapters and only a brief, indirect reference to Dimmesdale.  In chapter 5, there is the discussion of the momentary relief provided by the gaze of Hester's fellow sinner: she feels that his "eye. . . upon the ignominious brand. . . seemed to give a momentary relief, as if half of her agony were shared.  The next instant, back it all rushed again, with still a deeper throb of pain; for, in that brief interval, she had sinned anew.  Had Hester sinned alone?"  It seems, then, that Dimmesdale does share the weight of guilt, and Hester senses this emotion.  

In the film "the Kite Runner" we saw the difficulties of an immigrant to the United States. Many have come here to escape problems in their won...

Many new immigrants to the United States are fleeing persecution at home.  Many of these immigrants come to the United States with very little and are vulnerable to people who would try to take advantage of them.  They are also at a disadvantage as many of them do not speak English, or have very limited English skills.  It is the job of law enforcement personnel to enforce the laws of the land—not just...

Many new immigrants to the United States are fleeing persecution at home.  Many of these immigrants come to the United States with very little and are vulnerable to people who would try to take advantage of them.  They are also at a disadvantage as many of them do not speak English, or have very limited English skills.  It is the job of law enforcement personnel to enforce the laws of the land—not just for immigrants, but for native-born citizens as well.  Immigrants need to know that law enforcement officers are here to help them, not harm them.  Immigrants also need to know that the law should be impartial and that it does not help one group more than another.  This might not be the experience that immigrants had with law enforcement in their own country.  New immigrants to America need to know that law enforcement is here to help them and that they can go to law enforcement if they are victims of discrimination or harassment.  Law enforcement needs to be aware of different ethnic groups in the area and some of the more common ways that criminals take advantage of these people as they transition into American citizenship.  

How is the tragic outcome of the marriage between Romeo and Juliet foreshadowed in Act 2, Scene 6?

The tragic outcome of this hasty marriage is foreshadowed by Friar Lawrence's statement to Romeo that

These violent delights have violent endsAnd in their triumph, die, like fire and powderWhich, as they kiss, consume. (2.6.9-11)

In other words, the friar says, intense and volatile joys have intense and volatile endings.  When these joys triumph, such an end is inevitable, and the end will be swift and destructive, like when gunpowder is ignited by...

The tragic outcome of this hasty marriage is foreshadowed by Friar Lawrence's statement to Romeo that

These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph, die, like fire and powder
Which, as they kiss, consume. (2.6.9-11)

In other words, the friar says, intense and volatile joys have intense and volatile endings.  When these joys triumph, such an end is inevitable, and the end will be swift and destructive, like when gunpowder is ignited by fire.  All they must do is touch for the briefest of moments, and then they consume one another.  This statement seems to foreshadow that for Romeo and Juliet, because their love for one another came on them so suddenly and intensely, it will necessarily end as passionately as it began, and not in a good way.  They may "kiss" but that metaphorical kiss will lead to their ultimate and swift destruction.  At this point, Juliet rushes in, and the friar marries them in secret.

How did the aftermath of both world wars help the U.S become a world power?

Both world wars weakened Europe considerably.  Europe lost millions of men, a good deal of its industrial capacity, and had to borrow billions of dollars to keep fighting these wars.  While America fought in both world wars, its major cities were never bombed, its losses were relatively small compared to the other combatants, and the nation was able to profit from interest on the loans made to the Allied belligerents in both wars.  After WWII,...

Both world wars weakened Europe considerably.  Europe lost millions of men, a good deal of its industrial capacity, and had to borrow billions of dollars to keep fighting these wars.  While America fought in both world wars, its major cities were never bombed, its losses were relatively small compared to the other combatants, and the nation was able to profit from interest on the loans made to the Allied belligerents in both wars.  After WWII, America even took an active role in promoting the regrowth of Western Europe through the Marshall Plan, and this led to increased American investment opportunities.  

Not only did America gain in wealth, but it also gained valuable military knowledge and expertise.  A nation is not truly a superpower unless it is willing to project force beyond its own borders.  WWI demonstrated that America had an unprepared military, so while the army scaled back its personnel in the interwar years, American war planners began to make secret plans for wars against Japan and Germany.  WWII demonstrated America's ability to raise millions of quality troops in a relatively short period of time and to arm them well and inexpensively.  America also gained technologically through the use of stolen plans for German jets and the formation of the atomic bomb during this war.  America would also become a leader in peacetime nuclear power.  

How and when did the King instruct Santiago to use the stones?

The king you refer to in the story is Melchizedek, who also calls himself the King of Salem. Melchizedek is the one who encourages Santiago to pursue his destiny and to find his treasure.

He gives Santiago a white stone and a black stone named Urim and Thummim. Melchizedek tells Santiago that the stones will help him read the omens on his journey. Santiago must only use the stones when he cannot read the omens...

The king you refer to in the story is Melchizedek, who also calls himself the King of Salem. Melchizedek is the one who encourages Santiago to pursue his destiny and to find his treasure.

He gives Santiago a white stone and a black stone named Urim and Thummim. Melchizedek tells Santiago that the stones will help him read the omens on his journey. Santiago must only use the stones when he cannot read the omens himself. When he is stumped, all Santiago has to do is to ask an objective question, and the stones will tell him the answer. The black stone signifies "yes," and the white stone signifies "no."

In the story, we learn that Urim and Thummim have biblical origins. In ancient Israel, the priests wore golden breastplates that contained the stones. They used Urim and Thummim to divine God's will for the future. We also learn from Santiago that he rarely uses the stones; his life and journey has always provided him with enough omens that are clear in meaning. 

In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' how (in what ways) does Shakespeare convey the theme of love?

Shakespeare portrays love as mad, magical, and difficult. Theseus and Hippolyta are engaged, Oberon and Titania are married, and Lysander and Hermia wish to elope. Meanwhile, Demetrius pursues Hermia, and Helena, his former girlfriend, pines for him. The lovers are mad in the sense that they are irrational, particularly Helena and Demetrius. Helena observes that she is as worthy of Hermia, as beautiful and virtuous, and concludes, “Love looks not with the eyes, but with...

Shakespeare portrays love as mad, magical, and difficult. Theseus and Hippolyta are engaged, Oberon and Titania are married, and Lysander and Hermia wish to elope. Meanwhile, Demetrius pursues Hermia, and Helena, his former girlfriend, pines for him. The lovers are mad in the sense that they are irrational, particularly Helena and Demetrius. Helena observes that she is as worthy of Hermia, as beautiful and virtuous, and concludes, “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; / And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind.”

The magical element arises when a spell is introduced. Oberon and Puck infect Titania, Lysander, and Demetrius with a love potion. Titania falls for Bottom, whose head has been transformed into a donkey’s. This makes no difference to her, demonstrating that love, whether enchanted or not, is like a sudden spell. Lysander abandons Hermia for Helena, even rationalizing his preference, and Demetrius attempts to fight Lysander for Helena.

Almost every couple in the play experiences the difficult aspects of romance. As Lysander says, “The course of true love never did run smooth.” Theseus and Hippolyta warred before marrying, Oberon and Titania quarrel over the adoption of a child, and Egeus, Hermia’s father, opposes her marriage to Lysander. Both Demetrius and Helena are unrequited in their love, and even the ridiculous Pyramus and Thisby features lovers who are cruelly parted by a wall. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, love is wild and ridiculous, but, in the end, it all works out.

What are Scout's weaknesses in the book To Kill a Mockingbird?

Scout has several weaknesses throughout the novel, which primarily pertain to her childhood innocence and inability to control her emotions. Towards the beginning of the novel, Scout has trouble controlling her temper and continually lashes out at others physically. She beats up Walter Cunningham Jr., punches Francis in the face, and even wrestles with Jem when he upsets her. Scout's inability to control her anger is typical of children her age, who have yet to develop...

Scout has several weaknesses throughout the novel, which primarily pertain to her childhood innocence and inability to control her emotions. Towards the beginning of the novel, Scout has trouble controlling her temper and continually lashes out at others physically. She beats up Walter Cunningham Jr., punches Francis in the face, and even wrestles with Jem when he upsets her. Scout's inability to control her anger is typical of children her age, who have yet to develop adequate coping skills to settle themselves.

Scout's narrow, naive perspective could also be considered a weakness. For the majority of the novel, Scout is unable to recognize the overt prejudice throughout her community and does not understand various social situations. In chapter 15, Scout fails to comprehend the gravity of the situation outside of the Maycomb jailhouse, and she does not grasp the seriousness of her father's defense of Tom Robinson. Her lack of insight can, once again, be attributed to her age. 

In addition to Scout's narrow perspective, she also struggles to articulate her thoughts. On her first day of school, Scout cannot appropriately explain Walter Cunningham Jr.'s background and ends up getting punished for giving Miss Caroline attitude. Scout is also depicted as gullible throughout the novel and believes nearly everything her brother says. Despite Scout's weaknesses, she matures and gains a valuable perspective on life. By the end of the novel, Scout is a perceptive, sympathetic child, who offers a unique insight into the small town of Maycomb.

Is the narrator a round or flat character? Give a quote to support your answer.

In James Baldwin's short story about two brothers who finally come to understand one another through the medium of music, the brother who is the narrator is a round character. That is, he is a character who experiences an essential change in attitude.

The brother who acts as narrator in "Sonny's Blues" has been alienated from Sonny for years because he has become a drug addict. When the narrator reads in the newspaper about Sonny's arrest for heroin, he becomes perturbed, reminded of his students in Harlem who also are growing up in "the killing fields" with limited prospects in life. After encountering a drug addict who is an old acquaintance of Sonny's, the narrator feels guilty about failing in his promise to his mother to watch out for his brother. So, he decides to find Sonny and bring him back home to Harlem. After the narrator locates his brother, Sonny agrees to come home with the narrator; nevertheless, the narrator is concerned that Sonny may still be using drugs.

One day when Sonny is out, the brother is tempted to check and see if Sonny has brought drugs into the home. However, when he hears music outside where some people are holding a street revival, he goes to the window.

As the singing filled the air, the watching, listening faces underwent a change...the music seemed to soothe a poison out of them; and time seemed nearly to fall from the sullen, belligerent, battered faces....

Sonny stands on the sidewalk, watching and listening. Then, with his slow, loping, and musical walk, Sonny crosses the street and enters the brother's apartment. The brother and Sonny talk about these street singers. Then, Sonny invites his brother to listen to him that night because he is going to play "at a joint in the Village."

It is at this nightclub that the narrator undergoes an epiphany. While he listens to the musicians, he realizes that "music makes something real for them." As Sonny joins in on the piano with the other musicians, the brother understands that "there was no battle on his face now." Sonny makes the musical piece his own through improvisation.

He had made it his; that long line, of which we knew only Mama and Daddy. And he was giving it back, as everything must be given back, so that, passing through death, it can live forever.

The narrator's past comes back to him. He sees his parents' faces; he sees the moonlit road where his uncle was killed. He sees again his little girl who died of polio. He knows suffering, he feels the suffering of Sonny, and he is all too aware that "the world waited outside, as hungry as a tiger, and that trouble stretched above us, longer than the sky."

It is in this nightclub as he listens to Sonny pour his soul into the ivory and ebony of the piano keys that the narrator finally understands his brother's suffering. The cup of Scotch and milk placed on Sonny's piano becomes symbolic of "the very cup of trembling." This moment is, indeed, spiritual as the brother is, at last, connected to his brother, Sonny. Both Sonny and he have suffered; in this suffering they are united.

Which statement best explains why a hot-air balloon rises when the air in the balloon is heated? a) According to Charles's law, the temperature of...

The statement that best explains why a hot air balloon rises is A. As the air inside the balloon is heated its volume increases, inflating the balloon more fully. Having a greater volume makes it less dense than the surrounding air so it floats upward. 

Interestingly, Jacques Charles for whom Charles' law was named was a balloonist. He launched the first unmanned hydrogen balloon in the late 1700s. The hydrogen balloon rose in the atmosphere...

The statement that best explains why a hot air balloon rises is A. As the air inside the balloon is heated its volume increases, inflating the balloon more fully. Having a greater volume makes it less dense than the surrounding air so it floats upward. 

Interestingly, Jacques Charles for whom Charles' law was named was a balloonist. He launched the first unmanned hydrogen balloon in the late 1700s. The hydrogen balloon rose in the atmosphere for the same reason, it was less dense than the surrounding air but due to hydrogen's lighter mass rather than its temperature. 

Charles, a French chemist, experimented with gas volume and temperature by filling balloons with different gases to the same volume then lowering the temperature of all of the balloons by the same amount. He found that the volumes of all of the gases decreased by the same amount. 

`(1/x-x/(x^(-1)+1))/(5/x)` Simplify the complex fraction.

To evaluate the given complex fraction ` (1/x-x/(x^(-1)+1))/(5/x)` , we may simplify first the part `x/(x^(-1)+1)` .

Apply Law of Exponent: `x^(-n)=1/x^n` .

Let` x^(-1)= 1/x^1` or ` 1/x` .

`x/(1/x+1)`

Let `1=x/x` to be able to combine similar fractions.

`x/(1/x+x/x)`

`x/((1+x)/x)`

Flip the fraction at the bottom to proceed to multiplication.

`x*x/(1+x)`

`x^2/(1+x)`

Apply `x/(x^(-1)+1)=x^2/(1+x)` , we get:

`(1/x-x/(x^(-1)+1))/(5/x)`

`(1/x-x^2/(1+x))/(5/x)`

Determine the LCD or least common denominator.

The denominators are `x` and `(1+x)` . Both are distinct...

To evaluate the given complex fraction ` (1/x-x/(x^(-1)+1))/(5/x)` , we may simplify first the part `x/(x^(-1)+1)` .

Apply Law of Exponent: `x^(-n)=1/x^n` .

Let` x^(-1)= 1/x^1` or ` 1/x` .

`x/(1/x+1)`

Let `1=x/x` to be able to combine similar fractions.

`x/(1/x+x/x)`

`x/((1+x)/x)`

Flip the fraction at the bottom to proceed to multiplication.

`x*x/(1+x)`

`x^2/(1+x)`

Apply `x/(x^(-1)+1)=x^2/(1+x)` , we get:

`(1/x-x/(x^(-1)+1))/(5/x)`

`(1/x-x^2/(1+x))/(5/x)`

Determine the LCD or least common denominator.

The denominators are `x` and `(1+x)` . Both are distinct factors.

Thus, we get the LCD by getting the product of the distinct factors from denominator side of each term.

`LCD =x*(1+x) or x+x^2`

Maintain the factored form of the LCD for easier cancellation of common factors on each term.

Multiply each term by the `LCD=x*(1+x)` .

`(1/x*x*(1+x)-x^2/(1+x)*x*(1+x))/((5/x)x*(1+x))`

Cancel out common factors to get rid of the denominators.

`(1*(1+x)-x^2*x)/(5*(1+x))`

Apply distribution property.

`(1+x-x^3)/(5+5x)`

or` -(x^3-1-x)/(5x+5)`

The complex fraction `(1/x-x/(x^(-1)+1))/(5/x)` simplifies to `(1+x-x^3)/(5+5x)` 

What is the source of Hamlet's self doubt?

In William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, the titular protagonist Prince Hamlet is wracked by doubt in himself, his perceptions, and his decisions. 

This self-doubt has one overarching cause, that being the decision he should make in regards to avenging his father. King Hamlet's ghost, or what claims to be his ghost, appears to Hamlet and tasks him with revenge for his murder. Hamlet struggles with this task: he is uncertain about his uncle's guilt, the...

In William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, the titular protagonist Prince Hamlet is wracked by doubt in himself, his perceptions, and his decisions. 

This self-doubt has one overarching cause, that being the decision he should make in regards to avenging his father. King Hamlet's ghost, or what claims to be his ghost, appears to Hamlet and tasks him with revenge for his murder. Hamlet struggles with this task: he is uncertain about his uncle's guilt, the accused murderer; he feels conflicted between the morality of murder and the justification of revenge; he is unsure if what he is perceiving is reality or not. 

As a result, Hamlet spends much of the play trying to ensure that the decision he is making is the correct one. He in fact chastises himself for this later in the play when comparing himself to Fortinbras, a foil character who acts before thinking. 

What political concerns or benefits caused the United States to enter Hawaii?

From a geopolitical perspective, the United States wanted Hawaii as a naval base that would allow the Pacific Fleet another coaling base.  The United States hoped that it could cash in on what was supposed to be a lucrative market in China.  Alfred Thayer Mahan's book The Influence of Sea Power upon History: 1660-1783 stated that throughout history, all great nations had great navies.  The navy was needed to patrol sea lanes and ensure that...

From a geopolitical perspective, the United States wanted Hawaii as a naval base that would allow the Pacific Fleet another coaling base.  The United States hoped that it could cash in on what was supposed to be a lucrative market in China.  Alfred Thayer Mahan's book The Influence of Sea Power upon History: 1660-1783 stated that throughout history, all great nations had great navies.  The navy was needed to patrol sea lanes and ensure that trade stayed open.  This book was quite influential in both the United States and Europe and led to several nations building large fleets of battleships.  

There were also sugar and pineapple concerns on the island of Hawaii.  Since Hawaii was a foreign country before the overthrow of the queen, American plantation owners had to pay a duty to get their sugar and pineapple into the United States.  The plantation owners overthrew the queen and asked to join the United States as a territory.   

What is a summary of Hunger by Roxane Gay?

Hunger by Roxane Gay is the story of Gay's body and how her life has shaped who she is both physically and mentally.

After being raped as a young girl, Gay coped by eating until she was obese. At her highest weight, she was 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 577 pounds. This was after almost 20 years of overeating to cope with her negative feelings about her past trauma.

The book starts with Gay's reflections on her weight, the trauma that caused her to eat to cope, and the struggle to become healthier. She makes it clear that it isn't meant to be a diet memoir that inspires people to lose weight. It's a story about her life, framed by her ongoing struggle with her body. 

Gay discusses her childhood next, looking at old photos and discussing moments with her family. She moves on to talk about her rape. She was 12 when she was raped by a group of boys, including someone she considered a friend. She explains that as a good, Catholic girl, she didn't have a very clear understanding of what was happening. The description is frank and brutal.

Next, she explains how she started to overeat. Her mother, she says, didn't have a passion for cooking but loved her family and prepared solid meals for them. When she went away to a boarding school, she was able to eat out and order food at her leisure. As she says, "I was swallowing my secrets."

Gay continues explaining her life, including her attempts to lose weight and make friends. She was lonely and isolated until she found the internet in her 20s. She was able to connect to people online and gain a following for her writing on Internet sites. Gay attended college, then graduate school, working as a writer and teacher.

Gay writes about how being obesity affected her life. She writes about how it limited her and how she had to set boundaries with her parents so they wouldn't bring it up in every conversation. She discusses obesity in society and the dangerous methods that people use to try to lose weight. She explains that she hates herself, but there are also aspects of herself she likes. It took until she was in her 40s for her to recognize what she likes about herself.

In the end, Gay has healed as much as she is going to heal, she says. She's accepted who she is and she cares for herself. She says writing Hunger is the most difficult thing she's ever done and it's made her vulnerable –– but that it was necessary. 

Would “Trifles” still hold appeal to modern audiences? Do you feel it was more powerful when it first came out many years ago? What was the...

The classic play Trifles by Susan Glaspell still connects with a modern audience because the story is compelling and the underlying issues still occur in modern society. While an audience in the early to mid-1900s may have related more to the roles of the men and women in the play, that doesn't stop "Trifles" from appealing to modern audiences.

Though women have more rights and authority than they did when Trifles was first performed in 1916, many people still feel that the two genders don't have complete equality. Beyond that, the battle of the sexes hasn't ended—women and men still struggle to understand each other and put themselves into the other gender's position.

Because of this, the actions of Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, as well as the dismissal of their husbands, still resonates with a modern audience. If it didn't, Trifles would have likely stopped being performed—but it's still a commonly produced play. As a New York Times review of a 2010 production says, "Though the play is celebrated as an early feminist drama, it stands on its own as an engrossing story."

Trifles still resonates with a modern audience because of its storyline. The question of who killed John Wright isn't just a backdrop for a discussion of gender roles and rights, but rather a tale of marriage and murder. The most dramatic moment of the play comes when the women discover the dead songbird that Minnie had wrapped and hidden in her sewing. It's clear to them that John killed the bird and that Minnie killed him in retaliation for that and the way he'd treated her during their marriage. The audience has to wonder how the revelation will affect the investigation—and then discover that the women decide to hide the evidence of Minnie's guilt.

Another moment of extreme tension comes when Mrs. Peters is unable to fit the box with the dead bird into her purse. The audience worries that the sheriff will discover the evidence. Before anyone notices, though, Mrs. Peters is able to keep the box in her coat instead.

While the ignorance of the sheriff and the county attorney may resonate more strongly with a past audience, that doesn't keep the underlying story from being enjoyed by a modern audience. Older audiences may have better understood Minnie's dilemma in her marriage to John; for example, he controlled her clothing, kept her from singing in the choir, and generally dictated every aspect of her life, as the women find when they're searching the house.

Keep in mind that women in America didn't get the right to vote until after Trifles was produced. According to Share America, women gained the right to vote in 1920—four years after Trifles. They also explain that the first woman in Congress, Jeannette Rankin, wasn't elected until 1916, the same year Trifles was first performed.

How useful is social media to academic activities?

Social media has evolved from a frivolous spare-time activity to an integral part of modern life. We use social media sites to do business, to find news about world events, to talk about vital issues with many different people, and as a valuable resource for academic study.

Here are a few examples from my own recent college experience.

• I needed to gather a wide variety of demographic information for a social studies term paper. I...

Social media has evolved from a frivolous spare-time activity to an integral part of modern life. We use social media sites to do business, to find news about world events, to talk about vital issues with many different people, and as a valuable resource for academic study.

Here are a few examples from my own recent college experience.

• I needed to gather a wide variety of demographic information for a social studies term paper. I created an online survey, posted it on social media, and asked my friends to share it. Within a week I had hundreds of responses from people all over the world.


• A few of my classes involved group projects. We set up private groups on Facebook where we could communicate and share files. When information is posted to a group board, no one can say that they missed an update or didn’t get a copy of a file!


• Social media and the Internet allow people to attend classes even if they don’t live anywhere near the school. Many of my classmates were logging in from other states and countries.

I’ve been a college student off and on for over twenty years. The academic environment today has changed a lot from when I first started. In the early 90s, students had to attend classes in person, use hardcopy textbooks (not to mention the endless stacks of paper hand-outs), and meet each other face-to-face when working together on projects. When I returned to school a few years ago, it was like a whole different world. Social media has really broadened the horizons for many students and teachers.

What is the summary for Play Their Hearts Out by George Dohrmann?

Play Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine, a novel by George Dohrmann, is about the coaches and players of an elite basketball team.  Dohrmann, a Pulitzer prize winner and Sports Illustrated senior writer, did extensive research for eight years prior to writing his book. He comments, "[The book] reveals a cut throat world where boys as young as eight or nine are subjected to a dizzying torrent...

Play Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine, a novel by George Dohrmann, is about the coaches and players of an elite basketball team.  Dohrmann, a Pulitzer prize winner and Sports Illustrated senior writer, did extensive research for eight years prior to writing his book. He comments, "[The book] reveals a cut throat world where boys as young as eight or nine are subjected to a dizzying torrent of scrutiny and exploitation" (Dohrmann).

The novel explores the manipulation that takes place during the selection of players for basketball teams, as well as the large influence that sports gear companies have on the players in their quest for product promotion. The story focuses on two main characters, Joe Keller, a determined basketball coach, and Demetrius Walker, one of Keller's star players. Throughout the book, Dohrmann also tells the stories of other basketball players, their families, and their coaches, and comments on how the corrupt system forces them to make tough decisions. 

What time period is Peter and Wendy set in?

Peter and Wendy, also called Peter Pan, is the title of a play published in 1904 as well as a novel adaptation published in 1911. Both the play and novel format tell the story of Wendy Darling, her brothers Michael and John, and a mischievous, magical boy called Peter Pan. Wendy and her brothers are invited to live in Neverland with Peter and his gang of Lost Boys. Even though they are impressed with Neverland...

Peter and Wendy, also called Peter Pan, is the title of a play published in 1904 as well as a novel adaptation published in 1911. Both the play and novel format tell the story of Wendy Darling, her brothers Michael and John, and a mischievous, magical boy called Peter Pan. Wendy and her brothers are invited to live in Neverland with Peter and his gang of Lost Boys. Even though they are impressed with Neverland and its fascinating inhabitants, the Darling children decide that they would much rather live at home with their parents and dog.

There are a few things to take into consideration in determining the time period for Peter and Wendy. First, the play and novel were published in the first decade of the 20th century. It would be easy to assume based on this fact alone that the story of Peter Pan is set around the time of its publication. When we consider some of the context clues, such as the Darling family dynamic as well as pop culture imaginings of pirates and Native Americans, a setting in the late 19th century or very early 20th century seems appropriate.

That the Darling family, who live in London, employ domestic servants (such as a Nanny or Housemaid) would suggest they are of higher economic status. However, we only hear mention of one domestic servant and the children are tended to by either their mother or the dog called Nana. One would assume they are firmly of the middle class based on their ability to employ just the one domestic servant.

Wendy also embodies many of the values emphasized for young women during the Victorian period. Girls and women were encouraged to be maternal, caring, graceful, polite, tidy, and patient to the point of being passive. 

My best guess is that Peter Pan is set in the Edwardian Period, which lasted from 1901 to 1910, though it is possible for it to have been set earlier in the Victorian Period.

Is family important in Hillbilly Elegy? How?

Family is a major theme in . J.D. Vance’s memoir follows the lives of his family members as they struggle to come out ahead in Appalachia. Holding his own family up as an example of hillbilly culture, Vance examines the ways in which his family life both resembled and differed from that of his friends and neighbors in Appalachia. Like many other families in Appalachia, Vance’s family members fell on hard times when...

Family is a major theme in . J.D. Vance’s memoir follows the lives of his family members as they struggle to come out ahead in Appalachia. Holding his own family up as an example of hillbilly culture, Vance examines the ways in which his family life both resembled and differed from that of his friends and neighbors in Appalachia. Like many other families in Appalachia, Vance’s family members fell on hard times when the coal and steel industries began to decline. His grandparents married young and, like many other families in the area, became parents at a young age. The early years of his grandparents’ marriage were filled with frequent fights and physical confrontations—mostly due to Papaw’s drinking problem. Vance’s mother was greatly affected by this turbulent home environment and was eventually forced to drop out of high school when she became pregnant. Like many other Appalachian families, Vance’s family struggled with poverty and drug abuse. When Vance’s mother became addicted to drugs, it seemed that Vance’s childhood would inevitably be just as chaotic and damaging as her own. Luckily, Mamaw and Papaw (now sober) intervened and took Vance in, breaking the cycle of dysfunction. Vance’s story stresses the effect of family on the individual: while a dysfunctional or toxic family can break someone down, a supportive and stable family can help someone rise to success.

`sum_(n=1)^oo n/(n^4+1)` Confirm that the Integral Test can be applied to the series. Then use the Integral Test to determine the convergence...

`sum_(n=1)^oon/(n^4+1)`

The integral test is applicable if f is positive, continuous and decreasing function on infinite interval `[k,oo)` where `k>=1` and `a_n=f(x)` . Then the series `sum_(n=1)^ooa_n`  converges or diverges if and only if the improper integral `int_1^oof(x)dx` converges or diverges.

For the given series `a_n=n/(n^4+1)`

Consider `f(x)=x/(x^4+1)`

Refer to the attached graph of the function. From the graph we can observe that the function is positive , continuous and decreasing on the interval `[1,oo)`

We can determine...

`sum_(n=1)^oon/(n^4+1)`

The integral test is applicable if f is positive, continuous and decreasing function on infinite interval `[k,oo)` where `k>=1` and `a_n=f(x)` . Then the series `sum_(n=1)^ooa_n`  converges or diverges if and only if the improper integral `int_1^oof(x)dx` converges or diverges.

For the given series `a_n=n/(n^4+1)`

Consider `f(x)=x/(x^4+1)`

Refer to the attached graph of the function. From the graph we can observe that the function is positive , continuous and decreasing on the interval `[1,oo)`

We can determine whether function is decreasing, also ,by finding the derivative f'(x) such that `f'(x)<0` for `x>=1` .

We can apply integral test , since the function satisfies the conditions for the integral test.

Now let's determine whether the corresponding improper integral `int_1^oox/(x^4+1)dx` converges or diverges.

`int_1^oox/(x^4+1)dx=lim_(b->oo)int_1^bx/(x^4+1)dx`

Let's first evaluate the indefinite integral `intx/(x^4+1)dx`

Apply integral substitution:`u=x^2`

`=>du=2xdx`

`intx/(x^4+1)dx=int1/(u^2+1)(du)/2`

Take the constant out and use common integral:`int1/(x^2+1)dx=arctan(x)+C`

`=1/2arctan(u)+C`

Substitute back `u=x^2`

`=1/2arctan(x^2)+C`

`int_1^oox/(x^4+1)dx=lim_(b->oo)[1/2arctan(x^2)]_1^b`

`=lim_(b->oo)[1/2arctan(b^2)]-[1/2arctan(1^2)]`

`=lim_(b->oo)[1/2arctan(b^2)]-[1/2arctan(1)]`

`=lim_(b->oo)[1/2arctan(b^2)]-[1/2(pi/4)]`

`=lim_(b->oo)[1/2arctan(b^2)]-pi/8`

`=1/2lim_(b->oo)arctan(b^2)-pi/8`

Now `lim_(b->oo)(b^2)=oo`

`=1/2(pi/2)-pi/8` [by applying the common limit:`lim_(u->oo)arctan(u)=pi/2` ]

`=pi/4-pi/8` 

`=pi/8`

Since the integral `int_1^oox/(x^4+1)dx` converges, we conclude from the integral test that the series converges.

Does the President have too much power, or is there another branch more powerful than the President ?

There are three branches of government in our political system. The writers of the Constitution established a system of separation of powers and checks and balances. The purpose of these ideas was to prevent any branch or any person from becoming too powerful.

The legislative branch makes the laws. This is a significant power. The executive branch, led by the President, carries out the laws. This also is an important power. The judicial branch interprets...

There are three branches of government in our political system. The writers of the Constitution established a system of separation of powers and checks and balances. The purpose of these ideas was to prevent any branch or any person from becoming too powerful.

The legislative branch makes the laws. This is a significant power. The executive branch, led by the President, carries out the laws. This also is an important power. The judicial branch interprets the laws. The courts determine if laws are constitutional or unconstitutional. This is a very powerful role.

There is enough evidence to support the statement that no branch has too much power. Since each branch can control the others, no branch should be too powerful. The President can veto laws.  Congress can override a veto. The President can fill vacancies on the Supreme Court. The Senate has to approve a President’s nomination for a Supreme Court judge. We can see how that power is being checked today. In March, the President nominated Merrick Garland to fill an opening on the Supreme Court. The Senate has yet to act on that nomination. The courts can declare a law or an executive order unconstitutional. However, Congress can impeach a judge if the judge abuses his or her power or breaks the law.

Many times when people say the President has too much power, it is nothing more than partisan politics. The Republicans will say a Democratic President is doing too much and vice versa. If each branch uses its powers as written in the Constitution, no branch should have more power than another branch, especially with the ability of each branch to control the other branches.

How do you know that the children in the poem do not like the work they do?

There are several reasons that we know that the children do not enjoy their work in "The Chimney Sweeper: When my mother died I was very young" by William Blake. 

First, the original audience of the poem and most educated readers would assume that working as in indentured servant, living in dire poverty, and spending one's life crawling up and cleaning narrow filthy chimneys is not enjoyable.

Next, in the first stanza the narrator describes...

There are several reasons that we know that the children do not enjoy their work in "The Chimney Sweeper: When my mother died I was very young" by William Blake. 

First, the original audience of the poem and most educated readers would assume that working as in indentured servant, living in dire poverty, and spending one's life crawling up and cleaning narrow filthy chimneys is not enjoyable.

Next, in the first stanza the narrator describes the death of his mother and his being sold by his father as a child so young he could barely speak. The narrator describes Tom Dacre crying. The vision that keeps Tom happy despite the cold and miserable environment in which he works is one of dying, being placed in a coffin, and then going to heaven. What this tells us is that the children are so miserable in their work that they think of dying as preferable.

How did the founders of the United States balance protecting individual rights and creating a strong union in the nation's founding documents?

The American colonies faced a problem after the Revolutionary War. They needed to guarantee individual liberties or else there would be another revolution. They also needed to form a strong government that could defend the nation and encourage its financial health. The founders tried continuing under the Articles of Confederation, but they proved to be unworkable as each state did not want to pay more than they thought fair.

In order to maintain individual rights...

The American colonies faced a problem after the Revolutionary War. They needed to guarantee individual liberties or else there would be another revolution. They also needed to form a strong government that could defend the nation and encourage its financial health. The founders tried continuing under the Articles of Confederation, but they proved to be unworkable as each state did not want to pay more than they thought fair.

In order to maintain individual rights and somehow have a strong central government, the founders created the Constitution. The first ten amendments are the Bill of Rights and they safeguard individual freedoms such as the right to jury trials and freedom of the press and religion. The three articles in the Constitution have to do with the creation of a strong union as they handle how the nation will be governed.

With the addition of the Tenth Amendment, the rest of the Constitution grants rights and responsibilities to the federal government. This allowed the nation to protect the rights of its citizens and yet still maintain its defense and fiscal responsibilities.

What's the tone of "There Will Come Soft Rains"?

I think that the tone of this short story shifts during the story.  In the beginning of the story, the tone is one of loneliness.  The house in the story is smart, but Bradbury has given the house an emotional base as well.  The house knows that something is wrong, and it is worried about the absence of the people.  The house feels lonely, and that tone is carried out in how the house keeps...

I think that the tone of this short story shifts during the story.  In the beginning of the story, the tone is one of loneliness.  The house in the story is smart, but Bradbury has given the house an emotional base as well.  The house knows that something is wrong, and it is worried about the absence of the people.  The house feels lonely, and that tone is carried out in how the house keeps asking its questions despite never being answered.  That tone moves from loneliness to fear as the house realizes that it is alone. 

Until this day, how well the house had kept its peace. How carefully it had inquired, "Who goes there? What's the password?" and, getting no answer from lonely foxes and whining cats, it had shut up its windows and drawn shades in an old maidenly preoccupation with self-protection which bordered on a mechanical paranoia.

It quivered at each sound, the house did. If a sparrow brushed a window, the shade snapped up. The bird, startled, flew off! No, not even a bird must touch the house!

Near the end of the story, the tone shifts to a frantic tone.  The house is still afraid, but the fire causes the house to frantically try and preserve itself.  The house throws everything it can think of at the fire.  

The house gave ground as the fire in ten billion angry sparks moved with flaming ease from room to room and then up the stairs. While scurrying water rats squeaked from the walls, pistoled their water, and ran for more. And the wall sprays let down showers of mechanical rain.

The house becomes desperate in its attempts to save itself until the house itself is on its deathbed. The closing paragraph is a melancholic and sorrowful paragraph.  The house fought hard, but in the end it still failed.  I think the tone of the final paragraph shows a tone of futility too.  

Dawn showed faintly in the east. Among the ruins, one wall stood alone. Within the wall, a last voice said, over and over again and again, even as the sun rose to shine upon the heaped rubble and steam:

"Today is August 5, 2026, today is August 5, 2026, today is…"

What was an example of compassion in the Witch of Blackbird Pond?

There are several examples of compassion in The Witch of Blackbird Pond.  Hannah Tupper (the "witch" in the story) comforts Kit when she is upset and feeds her cake.  She invites Kit into her house and befriends her.

Kit gives private lessons to little Prudence and loans her her hornbook, even though the girl's mother thinks that she cannot learn.  Hannah also reaches out to Prudence in friendship.  

Nat shows compassion to Hannah by...

There are several examples of compassion in The Witch of Blackbird Pond.  Hannah Tupper (the "witch" in the story) comforts Kit when she is upset and feeds her cake.  She invites Kit into her house and befriends her.

Kit gives private lessons to little Prudence and loans her her hornbook, even though the girl's mother thinks that she cannot learn.  Hannah also reaches out to Prudence in friendship.  

Nat shows compassion to Hannah by rescuing her when the mob goes after her.  He also offers to take Kit away too, but she refuses to leave because her cousin Mercy is very sick with a fever.  She does not want to leave Mercy until she is well.  

Kit is taken to trial for being a witch.  In order to prove her innocence, Nat risks getting in trouble (because he has been banished) by bringing Prudence to the trial to defend Kit.  

How does Grim demonstrate that he does not trust his grandson initially but then slowly change his mind in Freak the Mighty?

In the beginning of the novel, Max's grandfather, Grim, remarks to his wife, whom Max calls Gram, that Max looks so much "like Him," meaning Maxwell's father. Maxwell notes that his grandfather will never speak his father's name; it is as though it "is too scary to say." Max narrates,

Grim says that night in the kitchen, "...the boy is like him, we'd better watch out: You never know what he might do while we're sleeping. Like--his father did." (Ch. 1)

Thus, Grim tells his wife that it is more than Max's physical resemblance to his father that bothers him; it is also Max's behavior that is similar to his father's. Apparently, he is very worried that Max will turn out like his father.

After Max meets the small boy who is called Freak, they become friends. Coincidentally, Freak's mother, whom he calls Gwen, was once friends with Max's mother. She knew his father, but Gwen will only tell Max that his father made it difficult for his mother to have friends. Later, in Chapter Seven, Freak and Max watch the Fourth of July fireworks; unfortunately, however, while they walk around, they encounter Tony D, a gang leader. Freak boldly calls "Blade," as Tony is known, a "cretin." But as luck would have it, a police car passes them, and Blade runs off.

In Chapter Eight, Max's grandfather gives Max a "pruney" look when he sees Max wet from the pond after he is brought home by the police from where he and Freak watched the fireworks. While they turn over Max to his grandparents, the police (who have given the two friends a ride home) tell Max's grandfather that Max rescued "the poor crippled midget kid."

So Grim listens to the cops and then he gives me this weird look, like, imagine my surprise....(Ch.8)

When Max is dry, his grandmother offers Max some ice cream, but his grandfather interrupts, saying that what Max should have is a cup of coffee. "Real coffee," he adds. After Gram has made this coffee, Grim hands Max the cup. Max narrates,

Grim is handing me coffee in a china cup, from the set they never use. He gives me that cup like it's a really big deal, maybe because I'm not allowed to drink coffee yet, and he's so Grim-like and serious I open my mouth to say what's the big deal...and something happens. (Ch. 8)

Max realizes now that his grandfather is proud of him, and he recognizes that Max is not like his father. Grim beams at Max with pride.

How should I write a final outline draft?

There are several ideas to consider when writing a final outline draft. Once you decide on the topic for your paper, you should collect information for the outline and for the paper. Be sure to collect information that will relate to your outline and to make sure the sources are credible. You should think of your outline as a map for your paper. Start with your main idea and then provide supporting evidence. Make sure...

There are several ideas to consider when writing a final outline draft. Once you decide on the topic for your paper, you should collect information for the outline and for the paper. Be sure to collect information that will relate to your outline and to make sure the sources are credible. You should think of your outline as a map for your paper. Start with your main idea and then provide supporting evidence. Make sure that your outline contains all parts of the paper that you are going to write. You want to be sure that your introduction, thesis, literature review, assessments, methods, analysis, and evaluation are included in the outline.

You also need to be sure that your thesis is legible and that it can be analyzed properly. The outline will also help you with the citations you will have in your final paper. This will also help when you create your bibliography page.

These ideas will help you write a final outline draft.

What is federalism? What is the continuous discussion/argument over state power verses federal power? Is there a point of apparent contradiction...

Federalism is a form of government that unites entities, such as states, cities, and counties, under one federal government. At the same time, each state and local government maintains its own separate power. In other words, the U.S. Constitution establishes a federal government in which power is shared by the federal, state, and local governments. Article 1, Section 8of the U.S. Constitution establishes the powers of the federal government by laying out the...

Federalism is a form of government that unites entities, such as states, cities, and counties, under one federal government. At the same time, each state and local government maintains its own separate power. In other words, the U.S. Constitution establishes a federal government in which power is shared by the federal, state, and local governments. Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution establishes the powers of the federal government by laying out the legal rights of Congress. Article VI, clause 2, called the Supremacy Clause establishes the "supremacy of the federal government," while also granting limited rights to the states.

While the early founding fathers, such as James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, supported federalism, the early politicians debated the role of the federal government. Some, such as Judge Joseph Jones, believed in drawing clear distinctions between state and federal jurisdictions. Other much stronger anti-federalists believed that national centralized agencies should not be created at all in order to avoid any conflicts concerning "which level of government was more suited to handle a particular task" ("Federalism," American History: Oxford Research Encyclopedias).

Federalists and anti-federalists especially clashed over questions of trade and infrastructure. For example, the South opposed Congress's enactment of the Tariff of 1828 since the tariff harmed Southern trade; therefore, Vice President John C. Calhoun asserted that the Constitution granted states the right to interpret and nullify federal law in order to re-establish balance between the federal and state governments. His assertion led to South Carolina establishing a convention when the Tariff of 1832 was later enacted; "the convention passed an ordinance of nullification stating that the tariffs were 'unauthorized by the Constitution' and where therefore 'null, void, and no law, nor binding upon this State, its officers or citizens'" ("Federalism"). Similarly, federalists and anti-federalists bickered over which government--state or federal--had the right to pay for the development of infrastructure such as building roads and canals.

In Lost City Radio, how do the people inhabit each space (the city and jungle) differently?

When Norma looks out at the city at the beginning of the novel, she sees the following:

"That broad avenue, choked with traffic and people, with buses and moto-taxis and vegetable carts. Or life on the city rooftops: clothes hanging on a line next to rusting chicken coops, old men playing cards on a milk crate, dogs barking angrily, teeth bared at the heavy sea air. She'd even seen a man once, sitting on his yellow hard hat, sobbing" (page 4).

In the city, life is a spectacle, a panorama in which every space is taken. After being displaced from the jungle, people have transported part of their rural lives to the city so that elements of the jungle, such as chicken coops, are juxtaposed next to elements of urban life, such as city rooftops. Human emotions such as despair are on display in the city. Rey compares the city to "networks of impulses...human, electrical, biological" (page 65). In this metaphor, the city seems partly alive and partly mechanical, and the people who live there make the city thrum with activity. The mood of these passages is lively and energetic.

People inhabit the jungle in a less hectic, crowded way, as the jungle is a place of death and loss where nature still reigns supreme. When Norma first hears that Victor is from the jungle, she thinks, "mass graves, anonymous villagers, murdered and tossed into ditches" (page 4). The jungle is still wild, and people inhabit it but not fully. Victor's favorite place in his village is described in the following way:

"[it is] an empty field at the edge of the jungle, a sometime park, sometime trash dump full of flowering wild plants and lizards with golden eyes, a field alive with the cawing of invisible birds" (23).

The jungle keeps encroaching on where the people live, and they can never take over the vastness of the jungle in the way they can take over the city. Instead, the jungle is wild, full of flowering plants and strange creatures. The passages describing the jungle imply that it is a wild place, full of despair, where nature, rather than humans, is in control. 

In the book Chains, who are the main characters and why are they important?

The main protagonist of Chains is Isabel. The entire story revolves around her and the events that impact her. The story begins with her thinking that she and her sister are going to be freed from slavery, but that quickly unravels. The rest of the book is about her struggle to keep herself and her sister safe and together while finding a way to regain their once-given freedom. Her story is woven together with Revolutionary war events that are happening in New York.

In terms of importance to Isabel, the next major character should be Ruth, Isabel's sister. Ruth suffers from epilepsy, and she probably has some other developmental issues going on too. She's important because she needs protecting. Isabel is Ruth's sister and protector, and she takes her job very seriously. Isabel will even take the beatings meant for Ruth.

Better me than Ruth, better me than Ruth.

Master and Madame Lockton are important because they own Isabel and Ruth. They are also important to the story because they are Loyalists who actively work against the Patriots. Isabel uses her proximity to the Locktons to spy on them and help the Patriot cause.

Curzon is the character who convinces Isabel to work as a spy. Their relationship as friends becomes important enough to Isabel for her to risk her freedom in order to save him at the end of the book.

I would include Lady Seymour as the last main character. She's important because she is a wealthy Loyalist who is also kind to Isabel.  n fact, Lady Seymour plays an important part in helping Isabel escape and gain her freedom by allowing Isabel to take her money.

How does Katherine Mansfield use literary features such as language, structure and imagery to generate effect and significance when talking about...

Stanley is an interesting character, painted by Mansfield as a sardonic, vaguely disgruntled figure—generally well-meaning but always a little out of luck. We can see this in the tone of the imagery used to describe his moods, as when he "gloomed as the chops began to fight the tea in his sensitive stomach." The imagery here personifies the chops and tea and leave Stanley their hapless inactive victim. When Stanley does his daily exercises, he...

Stanley is an interesting character, painted by Mansfield as a sardonic, vaguely disgruntled figure—generally well-meaning but always a little out of luck. We can see this in the tone of the imagery used to describe his moods, as when he "gloomed as the chops began to fight the tea in his sensitive stomach." The imagery here personifies the chops and tea and leave Stanley their hapless inactive victim. When Stanley does his daily exercises, he is "like a frog, shooting out his legs." While he does have "amazing vigour," the language and simile here make him appear slightly ridiculous and seem to "set him far away from Linda," his wife, who sees him as rather alien. Stanley's haplessness in the face of inanimate objects seemingly defeating him is a theme throughout Prelude, as when he had "butted into a white shirt only to find that some idiot had buttoned the neck band and he was caught." The irony here is that, of course, the "idiot" was evidently Stanley himself. The reader is invited to laugh at Stanley throughout the story. 

The aloe plant, like the inanimate objects that so perplex Stanley, is personified: it is depicted as something "fat" and "cruel" which keeps its bounty away from Linda. The aloe, she says, blooms "once in a hundred years." The effect here is to suggest that the plant could offer Linda more but it does not, something that mirrors her feelings about Stanley and his money. He is not a rich man, but she feels sometimes that he is "unreasonable" except when she remembers that she has no money of her own and therefore cannot complain. The aloe plant has "curving leaves that seem to be hiding something," and its "claws" instead of roots underline its sinister nature to Linda, yet she knows it conceals something beautiful it could offer if it would only do so. Here we see some insights into how Linda feels she is treated by the world. 

In both Prelude and At the Bay, we see several dogs but are told that "Aunt Linda hated decent dogs." Each dog has its own character, whether it be a mongrel or an old sheep dog which "cut an ancient caper or two and then pulled up sharp, ashamed of its levity." Again Linda seems to understand the dog better than she does her husband, and its motives are described more sympathetically. Linda ascribes a number of very human characteristics to the dog: she fears it is judging her, but also notes that it looks "proud" of the shepherd, its master. There is a vaguely forlorn sense that Linda wishes for a dog of her own that might be proud of her; she seems less detached from the dog--not her own--than from any of her own relatives. 

Discuss how the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union affected other nations and/or regions of the world.

The Cold War affected the entire world, not just members of the two nations primarily involved.  The United States and the Soviet Union fought a series of proxy wars in the developing world.  Both the Soviet Union and the United States initially sent advisers to North and South Vietnam respectively before moving to send combat forces, the United States sending ground troops and the Soviet Union sending fighter pilots.  The United States and the Soviet...

The Cold War affected the entire world, not just members of the two nations primarily involved.  The United States and the Soviet Union fought a series of proxy wars in the developing world.  Both the Soviet Union and the United States initially sent advisers to North and South Vietnam respectively before moving to send combat forces, the United States sending ground troops and the Soviet Union sending fighter pilots.  The United States and the Soviet Union also fought a proxy war in Afghanistan, with the Soviets sending ground troops and the United States arming the mujaheddin rebels.  Both of these proxy wars served to destabilize both countries.  Millions of Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians died as a result of the Vietnam War, and the world is still experiencing the results of extremism as a result of the chaos that was created in Afghanistan during the 1970s.  

Even regions that did not experience war directly were affected by the Cold War.  Germany remained divided between East and West well after World War II was over.  Even today, American troops are a presence in Germany.  Cuba received Soviet aid for decades; this nearly led to the island being invaded in 1962 and has led to sanctions that has affected all Cubans.  Many armies  and paramilitary groups around the world still use Soviet-era weapons.  

Discuss the ending of "The Fall of the House of Usher." What does it imply?

At the end of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher," both Roderick and his sister Madeline, the last of the Usher family, are dead. More specifically, Madeline escapes from her tomb deep in the vaults of the house and locks her brother in a deadly embrace that results in the deaths of both siblings. It also motivates the narrator of the story to flee from the home (and its apparently crazy...

At the end of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher," both Roderick and his sister Madeline, the last of the Usher family, are dead. More specifically, Madeline escapes from her tomb deep in the vaults of the house and locks her brother in a deadly embrace that results in the deaths of both siblings. It also motivates the narrator of the story to flee from the home (and its apparently crazy former inhabitants), whereupon he witnesses the house of the Usher family ruinously tearing itself in two.

In short, the ending of the story implies the destruction of the House of Usher in two ways. On a literal level, the actual house of the family (which potentially exerted a sinister will over the members of the family) is in ruins. On a more subtle level, the Usher family (or "house," as prominent families were sometimes called) has just gone extinct after generations of incestuous relationships. As such, at the end of the story we're not only witnessing the destruction of a physical house but also the disintegration of a familial line that has become weakened by incest. 

What is the structure of the nasal cavity?

The nasal cavity is a continuation of each nostril, and it is the space which lies behind and above the nose. The cavity is divided into two by a wall of cartilage called the nasal septum. The nasal septum continues towards the back in the form of a bony structure called the bony septum made up of four different bones. Large deviations of the nasal septum sometimes result in narrowing of the nasal cavity.

The...

The nasal cavity is a continuation of each nostril, and it is the space which lies behind and above the nose. The cavity is divided into two by a wall of cartilage called the nasal septum. The nasal septum continues towards the back in the form of a bony structure called the bony septum made up of four different bones. Large deviations of the nasal septum sometimes result in narrowing of the nasal cavity.

The forward section of this cavity within and above each nostril is referred to as the vestibule and behind each vestibule, along the outer wall are three structures called the nasal conchae or turbinate which hang over an air passage.

Functionally, the nasal cavity has two areas. The area above the uppermost concha is called the olfactory region and it is responsible for smell. A portion of the lining contains nerve cells with projections called dendrites which dissolve microscopic particles from odour-emitting substances that chemically stimulate the olfactory nerve cells.

The rest of the nasal cavity is the respiratory area. The respiratory region is lined by mucus membrane which secretes mucus from its cells to help trap dust and other particles. Each side of the cavity is surrounded by paired sinuses called paranasal sinuses that drain into the nose.