Why is electricity important?

Electricity is important for a large number of reasons.  Here are 11 reasons (in no particular order) for why electricity is important. 

• It is a universal energy source and can be created from a variety of methods.  For example, electricity can be created through solar power, hydropower, wind power, natural gas, and nuclear power.


• Based on the production methods just listed, electricity can be produced from a variety of renewable sources. 


• It is a versatile energy source.


• Electricity is weightless.


• It is easy to transport and distribute.


• At the "point of use" it suffers from very little energy loss.  


• It converts easily into other energy types like light (to brighten rooms and illuminate homes/business at night), sound (in things like speakers), and motion (electric motors for cars and toys). 


• It can be stored (batteries).


• It can be used to communicate (Morse code).


• Electric charge can be created/transmitted through connected wires (conduction) or wirelessly through the air (induction). 


• It's clean (dependent on how it is produced in the first place). 

In the short story "The Selfish Giant" by Oscar Wilde, the writer presents the idea that love and kindness could help anyone to achieve eternal...

Oscar Wilde’s short story “The Selfish Giant” conveys the notion that anyone can achieve eternal peace through kindness and love. In the story, a group of children regularly visits a giant’s “lovely garden, with soft green grass” while the giant is away visiting the Cornish ogre. Upon his return, the giant realizes that the children have been using his garden as a playground, and he gets so angry with them that he decides to build a wall around the garden to prevent them from entering. Then something curious happens: while the landscape around the garden goes through its normal cycle of the seasons, the garden remains in an eternal state of winter. The text states,

Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. . . . The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost.

The giant eventually realizes that it was a mistake to build the wall and prevent the children from entering the garden, because when they sneak through a hole in the wall, the giant realizes that the garden is only alive when children play in it:

In every tree that he could see there was a little child. And the trees were so glad to have the children back again that they had covered themselves with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the children’s heads. The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing.

The two passages cited above suggest that the garden symbolizes the soul that only thrives when the heart is open and welcoming to others. Significantly, the giant also helps a small, crying boy climb on a tree. That tree too begins to bloom, and the giant is filled with joy. The giant later looks for the boy among the children but he does not see him until many years later, when the boy reappears in the garden. The boy has wounds on his hands and feet, which puzzles the giant. The text states,

"Who hath dared to wound thee?" cried the Giant; "tell me, that I may take my big sword and slay him."

"Nay!" answered the child; "but these are the wounds of Love.'"

"Who art thou?" said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he knelt before the little child.

And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, "You let me play once in your garden, to-day you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise."

The passage cited above suggests that the child was in fact Christ. By helping him climb the tree when he was crying, the giant accepted his love and kindness into his life. By doing so, the giant secured his own salvation and eternal peace.

In Hatchet, how do Brian's thoughts, feelings, and reactions change as a response to what has happened to him?

One way in which Brian's thoughts, feelings, and reactions change him is in his development of "tough hope."

When Brian is initially confronted with landing the aircraft, his thoughts center on how he is "gonna die." As he struggles to make sense of where he is and what he should do, Brian lacks the mental stamina to endure the perils of the wilderness. Brian's thoughts, feelings, and reactions help him develop a sense of internal...

One way in which Brian's thoughts, feelings, and reactions change him is in his development of "tough hope."

When Brian is initially confronted with landing the aircraft, his thoughts center on how he is "gonna die." As he struggles to make sense of where he is and what he should do, Brian lacks the mental stamina to endure the perils of the wilderness. Brian's thoughts, feelings, and reactions help him develop a sense of internal strength, though. Brian begins this process by recalling the words of his teacher, Mr. Perpich, who would remind his students to approach challenges incrementally and that their own self-worth can help them face any situation bravely. From here, Brian develops a will to survive. For example, his reaction to the porcupine entering his shelter is to throw the hatchet against the wall, whereby sparks develop. From this, Brian learns how to make a fire. His experiences with needing to find food sources help him create different spears and weapons that he can use to hunt food. Brian emerges as a tower of mental fortitude in the way he deals with the tornado and moose attack. In each experience, Brian's thoughts, feelings, and reactions are geared towards surviving and enduring difficult times.

Over the course of the narrative, Brian develops a "tough hope," which demonstrates his commitment to survive the wilderness. His thoughts, feelings, and reactions show an unwillingness to be defeated:

He could feel new hope building in him. Not hope that he would be rescued—that was gone. But hope in his knowledge. Hope in the fact that he could learn and survive and take care of himself. Tough hope, he thought that night. I am full of tough hope.

Brian's "tough hope" transcends being rescued. It displays a resolve that he will survive. It represents how Brian's thoughts, feelings, and reactions have changed him.

Why is Macbeth unlucky?

It could be argued that Macbeth makes poor decisions more than that he is unlucky, but he encounters an element of poor luck at two crucial moments early in the play. First, it is a stroke of bad luck that he discovers he has become Thane of Cawdor right after his encounter with the witches, who prophecy he will be Thane of Cawdor and greet him by that name. This leads Macbeth to put too...

It could be argued that Macbeth makes poor decisions more than that he is unlucky, but he encounters an element of poor luck at two crucial moments early in the play. First, it is a stroke of bad luck that he discovers he has become Thane of Cawdor right after his encounter with the witches, who prophecy he will be Thane of Cawdor and greet him by that name. This leads Macbeth to put too much weight on the witches' seemingly wild prophecy that Macbeth will become King of Scotland. He starts to believe it could be true.

His second moment of ill luck occurs when, just as he has decided it would be a bad idea to murder Duncan, who is a good king and a man to whom he is offering hospitality, his wife intervenes. Lady Macbeth speaks so forcefully about her own desire to "unsex" herself and even says she would go so far as to dash her baby's brains out if she had promised to do so, that Macbeth feels compelled to go through with the murder, even though he knows it is only going to lead to more and more bloodshed. At this point, there is no going back, and it is all downhill from then on.

So, if Macbeth had not had the bad luck to run into the witches at just the wrong time, and if he had been able to evade his wife after he had decided not to murder Duncan, he might have had a much better fate. 

In "The Invisible Japanese Gentlemen," how can one tell that the girl in the story is a twentieth-century character?

There are many clues that suggest that the story is taking place in the twentieth century.  Greene's narrator discloses the setting as London, and the younger characters are drinking Chablis in a restaurant.  There is a group of Japanese businessmen there as well—an unlikely scenario prior to the twentieth century. The narrator listens to the girl's "harsh" way of speaking and concludes that she has recently left university.  Instead of a traditional engagement ring, she...

There are many clues that suggest that the story is taking place in the twentieth century.  Greene's narrator discloses the setting as London, and the younger characters are drinking Chablis in a restaurant.  There is a group of Japanese businessmen there as well—an unlikely scenario prior to the twentieth century. The narrator listens to the girl's "harsh" way of speaking and concludes that she has recently left university.  Instead of a traditional engagement ring, she wears a man's signet ring on her finger. These details suggest a modern setting.

The conversation that the young woman and her fiance are having indicates that she is a fiction writer with a publisher; she is openly advocating for them to marry right away since she has received a financial advance on her book and can support them.  This marks her as a liberated woman who has a career and is unafraid to ask for what she wants. 

When they are getting ready to leave the restaurant, she insists on paying the bill since the celebration is because of her upcoming novel, The Chelsea Set.  

Please discuss and summarize the relationship of Federalist No. 79–82 to criminal law.

"Federalist No. 79" discusses the importance of an independent judiciary. Hamilton says that judges should serve for life, rather than serving at the whim of politicians. He also says that their salary should not be decreased. In "Federalist No. 80," Hamilton lays out the jurisdiction of the federal judiciary, which includes cases that arise from the laws of the United States as written in the Constitution, cases involving public figures and ministers, cases involving maritime...

"Federalist No. 79" discusses the importance of an independent judiciary. Hamilton says that judges should serve for life, rather than serving at the whim of politicians. He also says that their salary should not be decreased. In "Federalist No. 80," Hamilton lays out the jurisdiction of the federal judiciary, which includes cases that arise from the laws of the United States as written in the Constitution, cases involving public figures and ministers, cases involving maritime law, cases involving the United States itself as a party, and cases between citizens of different states. In "Federalist No. 81," Hamilton establishes the structure of the judiciary with the Supreme Court at the top and other inferior courts set up by Congress. In "Federalist No. 82," Hamilton writes that the states will retain powers not given to the federal government. This is the basis of our federalist system.

The principles in this section of the Federalist Papers on the judiciary became part of our Constitution and have effects on the practice of criminal law today. For defendants and plaintiffs to receive fair trials, the judiciary must be free of political influence in that judges are appointed to the Supreme Court for life. In addition, the court system establishes a hierarchy in which local courts try cases first and then other courts hear cases on appeal. The Supreme Court only hears cases, including criminal cases, in which the decision of lower courts has been appealed. The Supreme Court hears cases that affect the interpretation of the Constitution, including its provisions for defendants in criminal trials. 

How does Bud use rule number 118 to survive?

In the book, rule number 118 helps Bud avoid losing his cherished suitcase. To paraphrase, the rule states that a kid should give adults something to confiscate so that their attention is diverted from the one thing the kid doesn't want to lose.

So, Bud survives his short stay at the Amoses by using this rule. In chapter 2, Bud hits Todd Amos for calling him "Buddy" and shoving a pencil up his nose. To...

In the book, rule number 118 helps Bud avoid losing his cherished suitcase. To paraphrase, the rule states that a kid should give adults something to confiscate so that their attention is diverted from the one thing the kid doesn't want to lose.

So, Bud survives his short stay at the Amoses by using this rule. In chapter 2, Bud hits Todd Amos for calling him "Buddy" and shoving a pencil up his nose. To punish Bud, Mr. and Mrs. Amos take away Bud's suitcase. The suitcase is Bud's most cherished possession because it holds Herman E. Calloway's concert flyers, Bud's blanket, an old picture of Bud's mother when she was a child, an extra set of clothing, and a bag of mysterious rocks with writing on them. The suitcase is the one thing Bud does not want to lose.

So, he sets to work to convince Mrs. Amos that he is afraid to be sent back to the Home. He cries and apologizes to Todd. Bud gives Mrs. Amos the impression that the thing he fears the most is to be sent away. The reality, however, is that Bud wants to divert Mrs. Amos' attention away from his suitcase. Bud knows that he will lose the suitcase if Mrs. Amos ever discovers his true attachment to it.

So, Bud uses rule number 118 to avoid losing his most cherished possession. He also manages to free himself from the shed and to retrieve his suitcase after the Amoses fall asleep. With suitcase in hand, Bud makes his escape.

In the short story "The Bet," how does the banker feel about himself at the end of the fifteen years?

In Chekhov's story "The Bet," the banker ends up feeling ashamed of himself. 

At no other time, even when he had lost heavily on the Stock Exchange, had he felt so great a contempt for himself.

The banker has a number of reasons for feeling this way.

• Probably most importantly, he is ashamed of the fact that he had been considering murdering his prisoner in order to get out of paying him the two million...

In Chekhov's story "The Bet," the banker ends up feeling ashamed of himself. 

At no other time, even when he had lost heavily on the Stock Exchange, had he felt so great a contempt for himself.

The banker has a number of reasons for feeling this way.

• Probably most importantly, he is ashamed of the fact that he had been considering murdering his prisoner in order to get out of paying him the two million roubles he had won and richly deserved. "Poor creature!" thought the banker, "he is asleep and most likely dreaming of the millions. And I have only to take this half-dead man, throw him on the bed, stifle him a little with the pillow, and the most conscientious expert would find no sign of a violent death." The banker had even been planning to allow one of his servants to be blamed for the lawyer's death and most likely sent to Siberia. "If I had the pluck to carry out my intention," thought the old man, "Suspicion would fall first upon the watchman."


• The banker is also ashamed of the fact that money has become such an obsession with him that he can hardly think of anything else. The lawyer's letter in which he renounces the two million roubles serves to make the banker aware of the vast spiritual difference between them. 


• The banker feels responsible for the emaciated condition of his prisoner. After all, it was the banker who initiated the bet fifteen years ago at his big bachelor party. He started the whole thing when he said: "It's not true! I'll bet you two million you wouldn't stay in solitary confinement for five years."


• The banker feels ashamed of being the de facto jailer of a man for fifteen long years in solitary confinement for no real purpose. "And now the banker, walking to and fro, remembered all this, and asked himself: 'What was the object of that bet? What is the good of that man's losing fifteen years of his life and my throwing away two million? Can it prove that the death penalty is better or worse than imprisonment for life? No, no. It was all nonsensical and meaningless. On my part it was the caprice of a pampered man, and on his part simple greed for money ...'"


• No doubt the banker is ashamed of the fact that his prisoner was, in effect, making him a gift of two million roubles when he should have been giving the two million roubles to the prisoner.


• The banker must realize that he was only showing off before his important assembled guests when he offered to bet two million roubles without the prospect of winning anything tangible in return. He is not only ashamed of himself for his present weak and treacherous character, but he is ashamed of the ignorant, vainglorious, materialistic man he was fifteen years before. The lawyer may have lost his youth and health, but the banker has lost his soul. 

How did Henry VIII impact the world today?

Henry VIII ruled England in the early 16th century. When he realized that his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, would never give him a male heir, he petitioned the Catholic Church for a divorce. His request was denied. Instead of accepting the decision, Henry declared that as King, he should have final say in any religious matters in England. He appointed his own Archbishop who granted the divorce.

This led to the founding of the...

Henry VIII ruled England in the early 16th century. When he realized that his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, would never give him a male heir, he petitioned the Catholic Church for a divorce. His request was denied. Instead of accepting the decision, Henry declared that as King, he should have final say in any religious matters in England. He appointed his own Archbishop who granted the divorce.

This led to the founding of the Church of England as a separate entity from the Roman Church and encouraged those who had already rejected Catholic teachings. The Protestant Reformation, which had begun over a hundred years prior when Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses, gained some powerful allies and the English Reformation was underway.

The Catholics responded with the Counter-Reformation. They knew that they would have to appeal to new ways of thinking if they wanted to entice people to remain with or return to the Roman Catholic Church. After the English Reformation, Catholicism became more open-minded, both spiritually and intellectually.

The religious schisms throughout Europe may not have started with Henry VIII, but his rejection of Papal authority was the catalyst for sweeping changes in spiritual teachings, widespread social unrest, and wars, as well as more positive advances in thought and discoveries that we associate with the Renaissance.

How was President Warren G. Harding's administration full of corruption?

The administration of President Warren Harding was rocked by scandals, though the worst of them came to light only after his death. Harding was not himself corrupt, or even really implicated in the scandals. His major offense while in office was to appoint old cronies, the so-called "Ohio Gang," to key positions in government. Many of these men saw their closeness to the President as quite literally a license to steal. To make matters worse,...

The administration of President Warren Harding was rocked by scandals, though the worst of them came to light only after his death. Harding was not himself corrupt, or even really implicated in the scandals. His major offense while in office was to appoint old cronies, the so-called "Ohio Gang," to key positions in government. Many of these men saw their closeness to the President as quite literally a license to steal. To make matters worse, Harding was not a strong administrator, and in the loose atmosphere that pervaded the White House, scandal was perhaps inevitable. Perhaps the worst was a brazen scheme by Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall, who accepted massive bribes from privately owned oil companies in return for access to U.S. Navy oil supplies in Teapot Dome, Wyoming.

Other members of Harding's entourage stole funds intended for veterans' hospitals, got involved in racketeering and bootlegging (as Harding, a hard drinker himself, publicly touted Prohibition) and embezzled money confiscated from Germans in the United States during World War I. Harding was aware of these goings-on, but most, including the Teapot Dome scandal, were not made public until after his death in 1923. 

1. During Frank Serpico’s time, describe the New York City Police Department. 2. Did anyone recognize the issues on NYPD? How were issues...

Frank Serpico was a New York City police officer during the late 1960s and early 1970s, a period of time during which corruption was endemic throughout the department. More than patrol officers, who routinely accepted money to ignore certain types of crimes like illegal gambling and zoning violations, plain-clothes officers and detectives were particularly susceptible to offers of money in exchange for either protecting criminal activities or, at a minimum, ignoring known transgressions.

New York City was a crime-infested metropolis during Serpico’s tenure with the police department. Street crimes like muggings, rapes, armed robberies, burglaries, and drug trafficking were rampant. The NYPD, as often occurs in large, densely populated cities, was spread thin, and many officers had grown weary of having arrests dismissed by prosecutors or judges for what officers deemed trivial technicalities but which legal experts understood as transgressions against legal provisions regarding search and seizure and the “right [of suspects] to remain silent” during police interrogations. Additionally, broader societal transformations were changing the attitudes of a lot of people towards law enforcement, with counter-cultural developments influencing public-police relations.

While corruption in the NYPD had been a problem well-before this period, the prevalence of drugs, in particular, made the problem of confronting police corruption even more challenging. Drug money exceeded proceeds from other types of crimes, and traffickers' enormous profits made it easier to subvert law enforcement through bribery.

Some officials within the NYPD were fully cognizant of the scale of corruption endemic throughout the department, but the will to address the problem was seriously lacking up and down the chain of command. Ranking officials chose to remain ignorant out of a sense of loyalty to their officers and to the department. Those officers who considered reporting instances of corruption could face ostracism among their colleagues, or worse. A police officer perceived by his or her peers as disloyal, and this was the case with Frank Serpico, was not only isolated within his or her precinct but could even be denied back-up by other police officers in the midst of a potentially life-threatening incident.

Corruption issues were handled by not being handled, at least within the department. That is why outside commissions, most prominently, the Knapp Commission, were established. By subpoenaing witnesses and compelling officers to testify under oath, a small dent was put into the systemic problem of corruption. That subpoena power, however, ran out, and without that authority, the commission’s influence waned.

The NYPD has continued to experience large-scale cases of corruption among its officers. The money that can be attained relative to the average police officer’s salary remains too enticing for some to ignore. The department continues to need to scrutinize its personnel on a more frequent basis, including the use of random polygraph exams to detect instances of dishonesty that reveal underlying corruption. While such policies are expensive, and it can be assumed that the police union would strenuously object, they are necessary.

In The Boy in The Striped Pajamas, in the last chapter (on page 163), how is what is actually happening different from the way that Bruno sees it?

The Boy in the Striped Pajamasis a fictitious novel set during the Second World War. Bruno and his family move from Berlin to "Out-With," Bruno's mispronunciation of Auschwitz, where his father will be the commandant. When the family arrive in this "desolate place," Bruno can hardly believe that he has had to leave his friends and a very "fine" banister for sliding down, behind. He is not allowed to explore and has no chance...

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a fictitious novel set during the Second World War. Bruno and his family move from Berlin to "Out-With," Bruno's mispronunciation of Auschwitz, where his father will be the commandant. When the family arrive in this "desolate place," Bruno can hardly believe that he has had to leave his friends and a very "fine" banister for sliding down, behind. He is not allowed to explore and has no chance of making any friends. When he decides to defy his parents' instructions and explore along the fence where "those people" are described by his father as "not people at all" (chapter 5), Bruno meets Shmuel and, ironically the boys find that they have a lot in common, despite their vastly different circumstances.

The boys meet regularly along the fence and Bruno remains fascinated by all the people on Shmuel's side, even feeling jealous because, despite Shmuel telling him how unpleasant it is, Bruno does not really believe him, and longs for friends to play with. Towards the end of the novel, Bruno and his mother and sister will be returning to Berlin so Bruno and Shmuel have to say goodbye. Shmuel has some pajamas for Bruno, as he promised, so that Bruno can see what it is like before he returns to Berlin, and also to help Shmuel to find his "Papa" who is missing. 

Bruno is shocked by what he sees in the camp and when everyone starts "marching" Bruno and Shmuel are caught up in the middle. The rain comes down hard and Bruno becomes anxious to go home, telling Shmuel that he will catch a cold if he stays. The boys have no idea what awaits them and Bruno believes that they are taking shelter from the rain. He is content to wait for it to ease off. This is very different than the reality which awaits Bruno and Shmuel as moments later the boys are dead as the group which was ushered into the "airtight" room was the latest group of people being "marched" to its death. 

What themes does Rupi Kaur explore in milk and honey?

In her debut poetry collection , Rupi Kaur explores themes of abuse and trauma, survival, healing, sex, love, heartbreak, and gender dynamics. All of these themes can be found throughout milk and honey, but the four sections into which the book is divided each focuses mainly on one or two themes in particular. The first section, “The Hurting,” focuses on the female speaker’s history as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse....

In her debut poetry collection , Rupi Kaur explores themes of abuse and trauma, survival, healing, sex, love, heartbreak, and gender dynamics. All of these themes can be found throughout milk and honey, but the four sections into which the book is divided each focuses mainly on one or two themes in particular. The first section, “The Hurting,” focuses on the female speaker’s history as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. In the second section, “The Loving,” Kaur weaves in themes of love and sex as the speaker recounts her first major romantic relationship as an adult. The third and longest section, “The Breaking,” involves the theme of heartbreak, as the speaker describes how her relationship with the man introduced in “The Loving” comes to an end. Later in this section Kaur focuses more on the theme of gender, as the narrator begins to speak out against sexism and to decide for herself what being a woman means rather than to accept the gender roles that have been defined for her by men. The theme of healing is perhaps the most significant in the collection and forms the focus of the last section, appropriately titled “The Healing.” The poems in this final chapter reflect the speaker’s healing process, newfound empowerment, and ability to unlearn the harmful lessons she learned about love, sex, and femininity in the past.

What type of connection does Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird have with the author of the book?

Harper Lee's own childhood in Monroeville, Alabama, cast the die for her protagonist Scout Finch's upbringing in the fictitious Maycomb, Alabama. Lee experienced the same civil discord and racial injustices that Scout goes through. 

One of the major inspirations for the book came from Lee's exposure to the Scottsboro Trials. In 1931, when Lee was five years old, nine black boys riding a train in Scottsboro, Alabama, were accused of attacking and raping two white...

Harper Lee's own childhood in Monroeville, Alabama, cast the die for her protagonist Scout Finch's upbringing in the fictitious Maycomb, Alabama. Lee experienced the same civil discord and racial injustices that Scout goes through. 

One of the major inspirations for the book came from Lee's exposure to the Scottsboro Trials. In 1931, when Lee was five years old, nine black boys riding a train in Scottsboro, Alabama, were accused of attacking and raping two white girls. The boys were wrongly convicted, and it took decades to clear their names. Their lives were never the same.  Lee watched the injustice of the trials unfold during the same approximate ages as Scout would witness the trial of Tom Robinson in the book. Robinson was also a black man accused and wrongly convicted of raping a white woman. 

For these reasons, Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird can be called semi-autobiographical, as one may infer that the character of Scout was born from her own childhood memories. In fact, the character of Dill is said to be based off Lee's own childhood friend Truman Capote. 

What does Jimmy risk in order to save Agatha in "A Retrieved Reformation"?

Jimmy has his suitcase full of specialized safecracking tools with him right inside the room containing the brand-new bank vault where Agatha gets accidentally locked inside. It would be hard for him to resist opening that suitcase with a little girl screaming for help and in imminent danger of dying of suffocation or pure hysteria inside. If he opens the suitcase, exposes his tools, and uses them to open the bank-vault, he risks everything he...

Jimmy has his suitcase full of specialized safecracking tools with him right inside the room containing the brand-new bank vault where Agatha gets accidentally locked inside. It would be hard for him to resist opening that suitcase with a little girl screaming for help and in imminent danger of dying of suffocation or pure hysteria inside. If he opens the suitcase, exposes his tools, and uses them to open the bank-vault, he risks everything he has achieved through his reformation. He will lose the girl he loves and plans to marry. A number of witnesses will see he is an experienced safecracker. The tools will be evidence that can be used as evidence to convict him of the three bank jobs he committed right after being released from prison. Ben Price, the bank detective, is waiting right outside in the main room of the bank to arrest him for those bank jobs. Jimmy knows he would have to go to prison for a long stretch. His nemesis predicted what will happen to Jimmy when he catches up with him:

"That's Dandy Jim Valentine's autograph. He's resumed business. Look at that combination knob—jerked out as easy as pulling up a radish in wet weather. He's got the only clamps that can do it. And look how clean those tumblers were punched out! Jimmy never has to drill but one hole. Yes, I guess I want Mr. Valentine. He'll do his bit next time without any short-time or clemency foolishness.”

If Jimmy was sentenced to four years in prison for burglarizing a bank in Springfield, he might get twelve years, without clemency, for the three jobs he pulled after his release. He would be a hardened career criminal when he got out again. There would be no chance of another reformation, or of finding another girl like Annabel Adams. Ironically, Jimmy risks everything by rescuing little Agatha from the bank vault, but because he risks everything by exposing his identity as a master safecracker, he is allowed to "retrieve" his reformation.

“Hello, Ben!” said Jimmy, still with his strange smile. “Got around at last, have you? Well, let's go. I don't know that it makes much difference, now.”

And then Ben Price acted rather strangely.

“Guess you're mistaken, Mr. Spencer,” he said. “Don't believe I recognize you. Your buggy's waiting for you, ain't it?”

Which of these figures (Gilgamesh, Odysseus, Oedipus, Jesus, Laval, Beowulf, Sir Gawain) would you consider to be contemporary heroes? Why or why...

Of the characters listed, only Laval is a contemporary figure, occurring in the Legends of Chima, a contemporary television series. Jesus is not a "hero" per se but a religious figure. Gilgamesh, Odysseus, and Beowulf are epic heroes whose narratives are found within oral traditions, while Oedipus is a tragic hero encountered in several ancient Greek tragedies. Sir Gawain is a heroic protagonist of Arthurian Christian romance. All of the figures mentioned (other than Laval) are found in...

Of the characters listed, only Laval is a contemporary figure, occurring in the Legends of Chima, a contemporary television series. Jesus is not a "hero" per se but a religious figure. Gilgamesh, Odysseus, and Beowulf are epic heroes whose narratives are found within oral traditions, while Oedipus is a tragic hero encountered in several ancient Greek tragedies. Sir Gawain is a heroic protagonist of Arthurian Christian romance. All of the figures mentioned (other than Laval) are found in works dated between approximately 3000 BCE and 1400 CE and thus are not contemporary.

Fate is an important concept in Greek tragedy. Oedipus is unable to avoid his fate because of an ancestral curse. No matter how much Laius and Oedipus try to evade the consequences of the curse, their fates are inevitable. Fate plays some role in the epics, often with the death of a hero resulting from a fate that either could not be avoided or could only be avoided at a cost that would be unacceptably great. Often someone is fated to be a hero or to die a certain type of unavoidable death, but fate is not absolute. In Beowulf, for example, wyrd or destiny is an important concept, but courage can allow someone to successfully face down wyrd on occasion, although the existence of the concept allows a level of acceptance of death that is less common in contemporary writing. 

`sum_(n=1)^oo n*e^(-n/2)` Confirm that the Integral Test can be applied to the series. Then use the Integral Test to determine the convergence...

Integral test is applicable if `f ` is positive and decreasing function on interval `[k,oo)` where `a_n = f(x).`  

If `int_k^oo f(x) dx` is convergent then the series `sum_(n=k)^oo a_n` is also convergent.

If `int_k^oo f(x) dx` is divergent then the series `sum_(n=k)^oo a_n` is also divergent.

For the  series `sum_(n=1)^oo n*e^(-n/2)` , we have `a_n =n*e^(-n/2) ` then we may let the function:

`f(x) =x*e^(-x/2)` .

 The graph of f(x) is:

 As shown on the graph, `f(x)` is positive on the interval `[1,oo)` .  Based on the behavior of the graph as x increases, the function eventually decreases. We can confirm this by applying First Derivative test.  To determine the derivative of the function, we may apply the Product rule for differentiation:` d/(dx) (u*v)= v* du+ u *dv` .

Let: `u =x` then `du = 1`

       `v=e^(-x/2)`  then `dv =- e^(-x/2)/2`

Note:  `d/(dx)e^(-x/2) = e^(-x/2) * d/(dx) (-x/2)`

                      ` =e^(-x/2) *(-1/2)`

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

Applying the Product rule for differentiation, we get:

`f'(x) =e^(-x/2) * 1 + x *- e^(-x/2)/2`

         `=e^(-x/2) - (xe^(-x/2))/2`

         `= (e^(-x/2) (2-x))/2`

Solve for critical values of `x` by applying `f'(x) =0` .

`(e^(-x/2) (2-x))/2 =0`

` (e^(-x/2) (2-x))=0`

 Apply zero-factor property:

`(2-x)=0` then `x=2`

Using test point `x=5 ` after `x=2` , we get:

`f'(5) = (e^(-5/2) (2-5))/2 ~~ -0.12313` .

When `f'(x) lt0` , then the function is decreasing for the given integral.

Then `f(x)=x*e^(-x/2)` from the interval `[2, oo)` . Since the function is ultimately decreasing on the interval `[1,oo)` we may apply the integral test:

`int_1^oo x*e^(-x/2) dx= lim_(n-gtoo) int_1^tx*e^(-x/2)dx`

To determine the indefinite integral of `int_1^t x*e^(-x/2)dx` , we may apply u-substitution by letting: ` u =-x/2` or `x=-2u ` then `du = -1/2 dx` or `-2du =dx` .

The integral becomes:

`int x*e^(-x/2)dx=int (-2u)*e^u*(-2du)`

                     ` = int 4ue^u du`

                     ` = 4 int ue^udu`

Apply the integration formula for exponential functions: `int xe^xdx=(x-1)e^x+C.`

`4 int ue^udu=4 *(u-1)e^u`

                     `= 4ue^u -4e^u`

Plug-in `u =-x/2` on `4ue^u -4e^u` , we get:

`int_1^t x*e^(-x/2)dx =4(-x/2)e^(-x/2) -4e^(-x/2)|_1^t`

                     `=-2xe^(-x/2) -4e^(-x/2)|_1^t`

Applying definite integral formula: `F(x)|_a^b = F(b)-F(a).`

`-2e^(-x/2) -4e^(-x/2)|_1^t=[-2te^(-t/2) -4e^(-t/2)]-[-2*1e^(-1/2) -4e^(-1/2)]`

                             `=-2te^(-t/2) -4e^(-t/2)+2e^(-1/2) +4e^(-1/2)`

                             `=-2te^(-t/2) -4e^(-t/2)+6e^(-1/2)`

Applying `int_1^t x*e^(-x/2)dx =-2te^(-t/2) -4e^(-t/2)+6e^(-1/2)` , we get:

`lim_(n-gtoo) int_1^tx*e^(-x/2)dx =lim_(n-gtoo)[-2te^(-t/2) -4e^(-t/2)+6e^(-1/2)]`

                              `=lim_(n-gtoo)-2te^(-t/2) -lim_(n-gtoo)4e^(-t/2)+lim_(n-gtoo)6e^(-1/2)`

                             ` =-2*ooe^(-oo) -4e^(-oo)+6e^(-1/2)`

                             `=0-0+6/e^(1/2)`

                            `=6/e^(1/2)` or `6/sqrt(e)`

The  `lim_(n-gtoo) int_1^tx*e^(-x/2)dx =6/sqrt(e)` implies that the integral converges.

Conclusion:

The integral `int_1^oo x*e^(-x/2)dx` is convergent therefore the series `sum_(n=1)^oo n*e^(-n/2) ` must also be convergent.

Facts about "Once Upon a Time" by Nadine Gordimer?

Nadine Gordimer’s short story “Once Upon a Time” was published in 1989—a historical moment in which South Africa operated under Apartheid. During this system of institutionalized racism, housing and employment opportunities—among other social factors—were explicitly dictated by race. Gordimer takes up these themes through her ironic use of the fairy tale form.

“Once Upon a Time” begins with a frame narrative in which the third person narrator is asked “to contribute to an anthology of stories for children" but says, "I reply that I don’t write children’s stories.” But after being awoken by what she first believes to be the sounds of a burglar, the speaker tells herself a fairy tale to fall back to sleep. 

Although it has many of the familiar characteristics of a fairy tale—it begins with “once upon a time,” features a loving family, and so on—the narrative reflects on the horrible conditions of Apartheid. The fairy tale begins as a suburban fantasy:

In a house, in a suburb, in a city, there were a man and his wife who loved each other very much and were living happily ever after. They had a little boy, and they loved him very much. They had a cat and a dog that the little boy loved very much. They had a car and a caravan trailer for holidays, and a swimming-pool which was fenced so that the little boy and his playmates would not fall in and drown.

Despite this fantastical beginning, the threat of violence in the form of burglars and riots creeps in. As the foreshadowing at the end of the above passage suggests, ultimately the boy falls victim to the family’s extreme security measures. As the boy plays out his own fairy tale, he climbs to the top of his family’s fence, which is now covered with serrated blades that make the wife “shudder . . . to look at.” The horribly injured body of the child gives us a final push out of the fairy tale, reminding us of the real children who were killed during Apartheid, such as those at the Soweto uprising.

It is a metafictional ending, one that points to the impossibility of retreating from the horrors of Apartheid. From this ending, the speaker’s initial refusal to write a children’s story takes on a new significance.

What did Martin Luther King Jr. ask for in his famous speech?

Martin Luther King was asking to have a promise fulfilled. He was asking for “the riches of freedom and the security of justice.” Standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., Martin Luther King implored American citizens to honor the words written by our founding fathers. Reverend King believed that our society should abide by the guarantees written into the Constitution—that all men should be granted equal opportunity. Black people were often...

Martin Luther King was asking to have a promise fulfilled. He was asking for “the riches of freedom and the security of justice.” Standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., Martin Luther King implored American citizens to honor the words written by our founding fathers. Reverend King believed that our society should abide by the guarantees written into the Constitution—that all men should be granted equal opportunity. Black people were often treated unfairly, and they faced a daily struggle to be judged by their character rather than their skin color. He believed that this was an urgent matter and that these racial injustices had to be addressed immediately. Ultimately, it was his dream that racial injustice no longer be a part of our society.

Give a detailed account of America's push to become a world power from the mid 19th century to World War 1.

Certainly economic expansion is essential to a country if it is to become a world power. Two important reasons for a strong economy are that it can support both its people and the country's military defense, both of which contribute to making a nation powerful.

In the mid-nineteenth century, America's fecund land that produced many agricultural products, its growing industries, and mining for coal, metals, and industrial minerals attracted many European immigrants who had experienced...

Certainly economic expansion is essential to a country if it is to become a world power. Two important reasons for a strong economy are that it can support both its people and the country's military defense, both of which contribute to making a nation powerful.

In the mid-nineteenth century, America's fecund land that produced many agricultural products, its growing industries, and mining for coal, metals, and industrial minerals attracted many European immigrants who had experienced want, famine, and civil wars in their own countries. With the influx of immigrants came new titans of industry, such as Cornelius Vanderbilt, who first became a steamboat entrepreneur and then went on to build a railroad empire. The New York Central. J.P. Morgan, was another giant; he has been described as America's greatest banker because he dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation. Andrew Carnegie built a steel empire while John D. Rockefeller began with railroads and then moved to kerosene and oil pipelines. Henry Ford designed the Model T and then created the assembly line for the production of an automobile that many Americans could afford. This assembly line concept was extended to many other forms of manufacturing as it accelerated production. (This speed was essential during World War I.)

In addition, America has always had large ports for exporting and importing goods. On the coastal areas of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, there have been shipping and fishing and other related industries. The Great Lakes also have provided many occupational opportunities. Later, with the creation of the locomotive engine and the construction of the railroads across the United States, agricultural and other products could be shipped throughout the country. For example, cattle were sent to the stockyards and slaughterhouses of Chicago. Initially in states like Maryland and Virginia and later in the Midwest, there were steel mills, which were important in the manufacture of many products, especially when America went to war. This industry produced over half the world's pig iron and steel in the early 1900's. 

Manufacturing and textile mills were also numerous in the United States. So, when the United States became involved in World War I, there were many industries which could be adapted to manufacturing and producing what the country needed to protect itself.
Historians also remark that America's size and unique geographical location has provided it the advantage of many resources and more security than other countries who are part of a larger continent. Since it has not had to defend itself as would small countries, America has been able to develop safely without having to rebuild at times as have other countries.  

How was the Assyrian Empire unique?

The Assyrian Empire existed from the 14th to 11th century BC.  They first conquered Mesopotamia after the Akkadians fell and again after the fall of the Babylonian Empire.  Their empire stretched from Mesopotamia (today's Iraq and Iran) to Egypt.

One thing that makes the Assyrian Empire unique is that was the first empire in Mesopotamia to use iron weapons.  With their superior weaponry and large standing army, the Assyrians were able to conquer and maintain...

The Assyrian Empire existed from the 14th to 11th century BC.  They first conquered Mesopotamia after the Akkadians fell and again after the fall of the Babylonian Empire.  Their empire stretched from Mesopotamia (today's Iraq and Iran) to Egypt.

One thing that makes the Assyrian Empire unique is that was the first empire in Mesopotamia to use iron weapons.  With their superior weaponry and large standing army, the Assyrians were able to conquer and maintain a large empire in the Middle East.

Another thing that makes the Assyrians unique is their infrastructure.  Several cities grew during the Assyrian Empire's reign in Mesopotamia including Ashur and Nineveh.  Roadways connected the main cities of the Empire which encouraged better transportation and communication.  Aqueducts and canals were built to make better use of water resources, allowing their cities to grow further away from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.  Later civilizations would make use of roadways for better communication and transportation, like the Persians under Cyrus and Darius, the Romans, and the Inca (among many others).

How were the Assyrians able to build such good cities and roads?

A lot of the information available suggests that the Assyrians managed to build better cities and roads because they had a solid leadership with a clear vision for the empire. Their leadership managed to establish a strong military that ensured that the empire and its cities were well protected. The administration allowed the people some level of freedom and ensured that the empire remained stable with minimal upheavals from within.  With such an environment, the...

A lot of the information available suggests that the Assyrians managed to build better cities and roads because they had a solid leadership with a clear vision for the empire. Their leadership managed to establish a strong military that ensured that the empire and its cities were well protected. The administration allowed the people some level of freedom and ensured that the empire remained stable with minimal upheavals from within.  With such an environment, the Assyrians managed to focus on development and prosperity.

The king needed an elaborate road network and infrastructure to ease administration of the expansive territory. Thus, he invested in building good roads and good road stations that enhanced communication between the different towns and the central command located in the main city. Enhanced infrastructure and communication improved administration and provided an opportunity for the growth and development of good cities, which enjoyed a stable environment and resources.

It is perhaps with Sojourner Truth’s speech entitled “Ain’t I a Woman?” in mind that Angela Davis wrote “The Legacy of Slavery: Standards...

It would be difficult to believe that Angela Davis did not have Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" in mind when she wrote "The Legacy of Slavery." Both Truth and Davis demonstrate through the example of black female slaves that women are equal to men. Both essays expose the false ideology that holds that women cannot have equal rights to men because women are more frail and delicate than males. If the rationale for denying women equal rights is that they are weaker than men, both women illustrate that line of reasoning to be absurd.

Sojourner Truth's account differs from Davis's in several ways. First, it is a first person narrative. Truth offers an eloquent testimony of her own direct experience as a slave. Davis, born much later, never experienced slavery firsthand. She relies on her research in order to provide secondary sources and describe first person accounts of slavery. Davis also brings her knowledge of the Vietnam war and Marx into her analysis. Second, Truth did not read from a written text, and accounts of her speech are mediated through the lenses of white people who heard, wrote down, and published her words. Davis, in contrast, is writing her own text in her own words.

Both women emphasize the black woman's ability to work as hard as men. Truth says the following:

Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman?

Davis uses strikingly similar examples of black slave women's strength and ability. She quotes one contemporary observer of Mississippi slave women:

Forty of the largest and strongest women I ever saw together; they were all in a simple uniform dress of a bluish check stuff; their legs and feet were bare; they carried themselves loftily, each having a hoe over the shoulder, and walking with a free, powerful swing like chasseurs on the march.

Both Truth and Davis emphasize the power and stamina of the black woman. Davis points out that despite mythologies that place female slaves in the "big house" of the master as cooks or mammies, most black women worked in the fields and were expected to work as hard as men, even if they were pregnant or nursing children. She describes how pregnant and nursing black women were beaten if they complained or could not keep up with the expected pace of work.  

Davis's anaylsis is more extensive than Truth's first person narrative and argues that because whites asserted total control over slaves, they could not allow the slaves to have any hierarchy in their own homes. If black men got the idea they were "masters" of their homes, this would encourage other dangerous ideas. This, Davis contends, led to equality in black families.

Davis also explores the role of rape as an added form of terror to which black women were subjected. Davis likens this form of terror to the rape Vietnamese women experienced at the hands of American soldiers. Davis also shows rape as a means for white owners to impregnate slaves and profit from the sale of the slave women's children. Truth, in contrast, does not directly speak of rape, though she possibly hints at it by mentioning the many children she bore. 

Both Truth and Davis make a compelling case for the black female slave as proving female equality. The accomplishments of black women in slavery, even if the product of misery, horror, and brutality, show beyond any doubt that women are equal to men and that ideologies of women as inherently weaker are myths.

What is the dramatic significance of lines 28-55 in act 3, scene 1 in the development of the play?

In these lines the king, Claudius, tells his plan to his wife, the queen and Hamlet's mother, Gertrude. He and Polonius plan to hide and send Ophelia out to "bump into" Hamlet so that they can observe the interaction between them. Polonius thinks Hamlet's love for Ophelia, love that Polonius made her reject, is the cause of his madness, and Claudius wants to test this theory. Gertrude tells Ophelia that she hopes it is his...

In these lines the king, Claudius, tells his plan to his wife, the queen and Hamlet's mother, Gertrude. He and Polonius plan to hide and send Ophelia out to "bump into" Hamlet so that they can observe the interaction between them. Polonius thinks Hamlet's love for Ophelia, love that Polonius made her reject, is the cause of his madness, and Claudius wants to test this theory. Gertrude tells Ophelia that she hopes it is his love for Ophelia that has made him act so crazily, and she expresses her desire that Ophelia's "virtues / Will bring him to his wonted way again" (3.1.41-42). Polonius then instructs Ophelia to read from a book of prayer and look natural.  

One way in which this scene is dramatically significant is that Polonius has forced Ophelia to break off her relationship with Hamlet, an event that seems to have had a major effect on Hamlet's conception of women as well as his ability to trust others. Polonius told her that Hamlet would not be free to love her. However, we now learn that Gertrude would be happy if the two were to end up together. Therefore, Ophelia and Hamlet could have continued to be together, and he might not have gone so far off the deep end—going on to alienate Ophelia further, publicly humiliate her at the play, and tell her he never loved her. She might not, then, lose her wits later on in the play either. This is sadly ironic.

How does Brian try starting his first fire?

Gary Paulsen's novel Hatchet is a story of survival. Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson, traveling to see his father,  is stranded in the Minnesota woods when the pilot of the plane dies from a heart attack. Brian is left with no way to communicate, and very little hope for rescue. He must learn to survive on his own, with just a small hatchet and the clothes he is wearing, along with a few token items in his pockets.

...

Gary Paulsen's novel Hatchet is a story of survival. Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson, traveling to see his father,  is stranded in the Minnesota woods when the pilot of the plane dies from a heart attack. Brian is left with no way to communicate, and very little hope for rescue. He must learn to survive on his own, with just a small hatchet and the clothes he is wearing, along with a few token items in his pockets.

Brian tries to create fire by rubbing two sticks together in chapter six, but he is unsuccessful. In chapter eight, he realizes that his hatchet may be the answer to creating fire. 

"The hatchet was the answer. That's what his father and Terry had been trying to tell him. Somehow he could get fire from the hatchet. The sparks would make fire. Brian went back into the shelter and studied the wall. It was some form of chalky granite, or a sandstone, but imbedded in it were large pieces of a darker stone, a harder and darker stone. It only took him a moment to find where the hatchet had struck. The steel had nicked into the edge of one of the darker stone pieces."

Brian found flint in the rock and was able to use it to create sparks. He still struggles to start a fire, though, even with the sparks. He tears up the twenty dollar bill he has, which is useless to him now. Then he eyes a birch tree and is able to use the papery bark as a fire starter. He has to shred the bark into threads and make a sort of nest out of it, so the sparks will catch the bark and still have enough air to survive. It takes him several hours, but he successfully makes his first fire in chapter eight. 

Virginia was the only member of the Otis family who noticed the forlorn and depressed ghost. Explain her character from this observation.

Virginia's interactions with the ghost show her to be a compassionate and pure person. If the rest of the family ignores, ridicules, and plays jokes on the ghost—or symbolically tries to rub him out through cleaning up his bloodstain—Virginia takes the time to really see and understand him as a suffering entity. Because of this, the ghost, already beside himself from having had to deal with her family, confides in her his sorry tale. He...

Virginia's interactions with the ghost show her to be a compassionate and pure person. If the rest of the family ignores, ridicules, and plays jokes on the ghost—or symbolically tries to rub him out through cleaning up his bloodstain—Virginia takes the time to really see and understand him as a suffering entity. Because of this, the ghost, already beside himself from having had to deal with her family, confides in her his sorry tale. He wants to die and have peace, but he needs someone pure like Virginia to intercede on his behalf and pray for him. She is willing to do this, and he is able, as a result, to go to his final rest.

Wilde chose her name carefully, and it too indicates that she is a pure (virginal) character. It's a double entendre, meaning it has a double meaning. It indicates both her Americanism—after all, Virginia is a state in the union—and her purity and innocence.

`y' + 2xy = 10x` Solve the first-order differential equation

`y'+2xy =10x`

To solve, re-write the derivative as `dy/dx` .

`dy/dx + 2xy = 10x`

Then, bring together same variables on one side of the equation.

`dy/dx = 10x - 2xy`

`dy/dx = 2x(5 - y)`

`dy/(5-y) = 2x dx`

Next, take the integral of both sides.

`int dy/(5-y) = int 2xdx`

`-ln |5-y| +C_1= (2x^2)/2 + C_2`

Then, isolate the y.

`-ln|5-y| = x^2+C_2-C_1`

`ln|5-y|=-x^2- C_2 +C_1`

Since C1 and C2 represent any number,...

`y'+2xy =10x`

To solve, re-write the derivative as `dy/dx` .

`dy/dx + 2xy = 10x`

Then, bring together same variables on one side of the equation.

`dy/dx = 10x - 2xy`

`dy/dx = 2x(5 - y)`

`dy/(5-y) = 2x dx`

Next, take the integral of both sides.

`int dy/(5-y) = int 2xdx`

`-ln |5-y| +C_1= (2x^2)/2 + C_2`

Then, isolate the y.

`-ln|5-y| = x^2+C_2-C_1`

`ln|5-y|=-x^2- C_2 +C_1`

Since C1 and C2 represent any number, express it as a single constant C.

`ln|5-y| = -x^2+ C`

`e^(ln|5-y|) = e^(-x^2+C)`

`|5-y| = e^(-x^2+C)`

`5-y = +-e^(-x^2+C)`

Applying the exponent rule `a^m*a^n = a^(m+n)` ,

the right side becomes

`5-y = +- e^(-x^2)*e^C`

`5-y = +-e^C*e^(-x^2)`

`-y = +-e^C*e^(-x^2) - 5`

`y = +-e^C*e^(-x^2)+5`

Since+-e^C is a constant, it can be replaced by a constant C.

`y = Ce^(-x^2) + 5`

Therefore, the general solution is  `y = Ce^(-x^2) + 5` .

In the poem "Breaking Out" by Marge Piercy, please explain stanzas 1-4.

Stanza one reveals that this poem is narrated by a woman remembering her first rebellious act as a child.  She recalls the paradoxical image of two doors that cornered her in, yet were usually open.  The doors might represent her way to “break out” of the oppression of being not only a child, but also a girl. Or they could be a reference to her parents as collaborating agents, always watching to conform her, making her feel cornered. As an adult looking back, she views this rebellious act (revealed later in the poem as the breaking of the yardstick her parents often brutally beat her with) as “political,” since it brought about a change in her life view, and therefore her approach to life as an adult. The term is also likely a reference to the various women’s rights movements that the narrator would have lived through.

Stanza two begins to reveal what the child was rebelling against--not so much the beatings as the continual, even humiliating, domestic labor that was expected of females during that time period, perhaps the late 1940’s or ‘50’s. In her mind’s eye the narrator sees a “mangle” (a wringer-style ironing machine), recalling that her young self, symbolically called “i” as though feeling insignificant, believed that the amount of ironing required in their home was excessive, right down to her father’s underwear.  The mangle itself can be seen as symbolic of her feeling of being flattened by societal expectations of women as domestics.  Ironically, even her mother, who was herself slave to this ceaseless role, enforced this life on her daughter.

In stanza three our narrator reflects on an old-style vacuum cleaner, its “sausage bag deflated.../ weary of housework as I.” As a child she had vowed to break free of the gruelling life her mother lead in her daily, futile attempt to scrub away the industrial grime that settled in every corner of their home. The child hated seeing her mother, even a mother who beat her “fiercely,” on her hands and knees.  Stanza four shows the girl finally understanding why she must rebel, after learning the Greek tale of Sisyphus in school.  She made the ironic connection between Sisyphus rolling the boulder eternally and pointlessly up the hill in Tartarus, and the eternal, pointless workload of the domestic woman. Sitting in that classroom, she envisioned her mother and herself, “housewife scrubbing/on raw knees as the factory rained ash.”  By the end of this fourth stanza, it is clear that this child had rejected entirely such a way of life

`10^(3x-8)=2^(5-x)` Solve the equation.

To solve the equation: `10^(3x-8)=2^(5-x)` , we may take "ln" on both sides.

`ln(10^(3x-8))=ln(2^(5-x))`

Apply natural logarithm property: `ln(x^n) = n*ln(x)` .

`(3x-8)ln(10)=(5-x)ln(2)`

Let `10=2*5` .

`(3x-8)ln(2*5)=(5-x)ln(2)`

Apply natural logarithm property: `ln(x*y) = ln(x)+ln(y)` .

`(3x-8)(ln(2) +ln(5))=(5-x)ln(2)`

Distribute to expand each side.

`3xln(2) +3xln(5)-8ln(2) -8ln(5)=5ln(2)-xln(2)`

Isolate all terms with x's on one side.

`3xln(2) +3xln(5)-8ln(2) -8ln(5) =5ln(2)-xln(2)`

                                  `+8ln(2) +8ln(5)...

To solve the equation: `10^(3x-8)=2^(5-x)` , we may take "ln" on both sides.

`ln(10^(3x-8))=ln(2^(5-x))`

Apply natural logarithm property: `ln(x^n) = n*ln(x)` .

`(3x-8)ln(10)=(5-x)ln(2)`

Let `10=2*5` .

`(3x-8)ln(2*5)=(5-x)ln(2)`

Apply natural logarithm property: `ln(x*y) = ln(x)+ln(y)` .

`(3x-8)(ln(2) +ln(5))=(5-x)ln(2)`

Distribute to expand each side.

`3xln(2) +3xln(5)-8ln(2) -8ln(5)=5ln(2)-xln(2)`

Isolate all terms with x's on one side.

`3xln(2) +3xln(5)-8ln(2) -8ln(5) =5ln(2)-xln(2)`

                                  `+8ln(2) +8ln(5) `     `+8ln(2) `        ` +8ln(5)`  

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

`3xln(2)+3xln(5)+0 +0 =13ln(2)-xln(2) +8ln(5)`

`3xln(2)+3xln(5) =13ln(2)-xln(2) +8ln(5)`

`+xln(2) `                      ` +xln(2)`

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

`4xln(2) +3xln(5) =13ln(2)-0+8ln(5)`

`4xln(2) +3xln(5) =13ln(2)+8ln(5)`

Factor out common factor `x` on the left side.

`x(4ln(2) +3ln(5)) =13ln(2)+8ln(5)`

Divide both sides by `(4ln(2) +3ln(5))` .

`(x(4ln(2) +3ln(5)))/(4ln(2) +3ln(5)) =(13ln(2)+8ln(5))/(4ln(2) +3ln(5))`

`x=(13ln(2)+8ln(5))/(4ln(2) +3ln(5))`

Apply natural logarithm property: `n*ln(x)=ln(x^n)`

`x=(ln(2^(13))+ln(5^8))/(ln(2^4) +ln(5^3))`

`x=(ln(8192)+ln(390625))/(ln(16) +ln(125))`

Apply natural logarithm property: `ln(x)+ln(y)=ln(x*y)` .

`x=(ln(8192*390625))/(ln(16*125))`

`x=(ln(3200000000))/(ln(2000))`

or

`x~~2.879`

Describe and discuss Shakespeare's theater conventions.

The "language" of the stage is a complex of communications that vary through time -- for example, the "fourth wall" idea of pre-modern times. In Shakespeare's time, playwrights counted on "the willing suspension of disbelief" (actually a Romantic phrase) to tell the stories of many worlds and cultures.  Among the most distinctive (besides the obvious convention of using male actors for female roles) theater conventions that the audience accepted were the verbal devices of soliloquy...

The "language" of the stage is a complex of communications that vary through time -- for example, the "fourth wall" idea of pre-modern times. In Shakespeare's time, playwrights counted on "the willing suspension of disbelief" (actually a Romantic phrase) to tell the stories of many worlds and cultures.  Among the most distinctive (besides the obvious convention of using male actors for female roles) theater conventions that the audience accepted were the verbal devices of soliloquy and aside.  Physically, the "stage surface" (at the Globe, for example) was accepted as a closed room (additionally, a balcony was considered any raised part of a house or landscape).  These and many other visual metaphorical "shortcuts" (shared by the playwright, the actors, and the spectators) made Venice, Troy, the forests, etc. available for Shakespeare and his contemporaries to place their dramas in any setting.  There were variations in these conventions when the play productions changed venues, such as command performances for the Queen in her home, or performances in tavern courtyards.     

`3^(x+4)=6^(2x-5)` Solve the equation.

`3^(x+4) = 6^(2x-5)`

To solve, take the natural logarithm of both sides.

`ln (3^(x+4)) = ln (6^(2x-5))`

To simplify each side, apply the logarithm rule `ln (a^m) =m*ln(a)` .

`(x+4)ln(3) = (2x-5) ln (6)`

`xln(3)+4ln(3) = 2xln(6) - 5ln(6)`

Then, bring together the terms with x on one side of the equation. Also, bring together the terms without x on the other side of the equation.

`xln(3) - 2xln(6) = -4ln(3) -5ln(6)`

At the left...

`3^(x+4) = 6^(2x-5)`

To solve, take the natural logarithm of both sides.

`ln (3^(x+4)) = ln (6^(2x-5))`

To simplify each side, apply the logarithm rule `ln (a^m) =m*ln(a)` .

`(x+4)ln(3) = (2x-5) ln (6)`

`xln(3)+4ln(3) = 2xln(6) - 5ln(6)`

Then, bring together the terms with x on one side of the equation. Also, bring together the terms without x on the other side of the equation.

`xln(3) - 2xln(6) = -4ln(3) -5ln(6)`

At the left side, factor out the GCF.

`x(ln(3) - 2ln(6)) =-4ln(3) -5ln(6)`

And, isolate the x.

`x = (-4ln(3) - 5ln(6))/(ln(3)-2ln(6))`

`x~~5.374`

Therefore, the solution is `x~~5.374` .

What is the spiritual reassessment that Jonas goes through at the end of the book The Giver by Lois Lowry?

Jonas's spiritual reassessment at the end of the book The Giver by Lois Lowry is brought about by the realization that his adopted brother, Gabriel, is about to be "released" (that is, killed).

Jonas begins to discover the truth about the ways in which his community's lifestyle is maintained after he gets the assignment to become the Receiver of Memory. When he reads the list of rules he is given, he is shocked to learn...

Jonas's spiritual reassessment at the end of the book The Giver by Lois Lowry is brought about by the realization that his adopted brother, Gabriel, is about to be "released" (that is, killed).

Jonas begins to discover the truth about the ways in which his community's lifestyle is maintained after he gets the assignment to become the Receiver of Memory. When he reads the list of rules he is given, he is shocked to learn that he is allowed to lie. This gets him thinking: who else in the community is allowed to lie, and what are they lying about?  That is his first step to understanding that a lot of things that he is used to in his life are actually not what they seem.

As Jonas "receives" the memories from the Giver, he learns about the strong feelings the citizens of his community are not supposed to experience: joy, pain, despair, love. He starts to doubt the wisdom of suppressing all feelings, positive and negative, in order to avoid the negative ones. He begins to wonder if feelings such as love are worth suffering for. He and the Giver decide to work out a plan to bring the memories back to the community.

Eventually the Giver allows Jonas to find out what the word "release" really means. Jonas is appalled because he has already received the memory of "death" from the Giver and knows what it is. When he learns that Gabriel is about to be released, he has to weigh the value of saving his brother's life, based merely on his love for him, versus the value of maintaining order in the community and preserving his personal safety. This is the spiritual reassessment he goes through at the end of the book.

How has channel of distribution changed over the past 10 years?

Channels of distribution are the businesses that a good or service goes through on its way from a producer to a consumer. This can happen in different ways. The classical channel of distribution involves a producer, who sells their goods to a wholesaler, who then sells them to one or more retailers, who then pass them on to the consumer. Another model skips the wholesaler, instead selling goods directly to the retailer, who sells them...

Channels of distribution are the businesses that a good or service goes through on its way from a producer to a consumer. This can happen in different ways. The classical channel of distribution involves a producer, who sells their goods to a wholesaler, who then sells them to one or more retailers, who then pass them on to the consumer. Another model skips the wholesaler, instead selling goods directly to the retailer, who sells them to the consumer. Each of these models involves a markup at every stage. Wholesalers charge retailers more than they paid for the goods, and retailers do the same when they sell to consumers. The biggest change in channels of distribution in the last decade is related, unsurprisingly, to the advent on online sales. Companies like Amazon, already very profitable as online retailers, have begun to directly market goods (Kindles, original streaming content, etc.) to consumers, who purchase them directly with no middle man. Other online retailers, like Gap, Nike, and many others directly market their items to consumers. People visit their websites and purchase the items, which are then shipped directly to them. Amazon's presence as an online retailer is remarkable, but the channel of distribution--producer, retailer, consumer--is not unlike older models. Just as revolutionary is the direct marketing of goods to consumers by producers using the internet.

How do you think urban transportation is going to evolve in the next decade? Why?

The development of megacities, which are cities over 10 million people, means that cities will need to develop efficient, low-emission mass transportation systems in the next decade. The population explosion of many of the world's largest cities has created traffic jams that are mammoth in size. For example, Sao Paulo can have traffic snarls that are 110 miles in length, and people in the U.S. now spend an average of 9 years in their cars...

The development of megacities, which are cities over 10 million people, means that cities will need to develop efficient, low-emission mass transportation systems in the next decade. The population explosion of many of the world's largest cities has created traffic jams that are mammoth in size. For example, Sao Paulo can have traffic snarls that are 110 miles in length, and people in the U.S. now spend an average of 9 years in their cars (see the BBC link below). Increased car ownership in China now means that Chinese cities are clogged with traffic. Some new forms of transportation are also planning to use stilts to carry commuters on buses well above the gridlock on the ground. This level of congestion is not tenable, so people will have to use efficient mass-transit systems that produce low emissions. The high cost of gas and the laws in many cities that require new forms of transportation to produce less pollution will necessitate the use of new forms of technology to power vehicles, such as liquid natural gas, battery power, hydrogen, and compressed air. 

Political, economic, social, and technological factors impact the work of community service organizations. Give an example of each factor and...

Various factors impact the work of community service organizations. One factor is the political climate. A political environment that supports these organizations by providing funds or personnel to help these groups will make it easier for a community service organization to function. If the political climate isn’t supportive, these groups will have a more difficult time operating.

Another factor is the economy. When the economy is strong, people may be more willing to donate money to help fund the operation of a community service organization. People might also be more willing to devote time to these groups. Money and the availability of people to help these groups are essential to the smooth operation of them. During good economic times, more money might be available and people may feel more comfortable volunteering their time.

Technological factors are also important. If a community service organization has access to the latest or more modern forms of technology, it will be easier for them to get their message to people. It will enhance communication, which should help the organization.

Finally, social factors are also important. A community service organization may struggle if there is a high poverty or unemployment rate. These organizations depend on voluntary financial contributions as well as people who can donate their time. This might be less likely to happen if poverty and unemployment rates are high in a community. The needs of the community it serves may also impact the organization.

What was Chaucer's contribution to English literature?

In the preface to a publication of The Canterbury Tales, editor D. Laing Purves writes,

Perhaps in the entire range of ancient and modern literature there is no work that so clearly and freshly paints for future times the picture of the past; certainly no Englishman has ever approached Chaucer in the power of fixing for ever the fleeting traits of his own time.

In or around 1378, Chaucer began to develop his conception of...

In the preface to a publication of The Canterbury Tales, editor D. Laing Purves writes,

Perhaps in the entire range of ancient and modern literature there is no work that so clearly and freshly paints for future times the picture of the past; certainly no Englishman has ever approached Chaucer in the power of fixing for ever the fleeting traits of his own time.

In or around 1378, Chaucer began to develop his conception of writing poetry in English, a language that would be linguistically accessible to all. This use of English would be obedient neither to the court, whose official language was French (Chaucer had written poetry himself in French) nor to the Church, whose official language was Latin.

Arguably, then, one of Geoffrey Chaucer's most significant contributions to English literature is his having written his magnificent work, The Canterbury Tales, in the language of the English people. That the two powerful forces of the court and the Church were bypassed for the sake of writing in English, making his work more accessible to the people, afforded Chaucer's work more widespread appeal, and it created a remarkable portrait of medieval England. In what is considered by many to be his magnum opus, Chaucer revealed the changes taking place in the English language and in society as a whole. His work also stands as a significant achievement in Middle English verse.

Who combats racism in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Atticus is one of the best examples of someone who combats racism in To Kill a Mockingbird.

In Lee's novel, Atticus is the moral compass that represents one of the strongest forces in combatting racism.  He repeatedly displays this in the novel. One example of this is in taking up Tom Robinson's case.  Atticus believes that all citizens should enjoy the right to a fair trial.  This political sentiment of equality mirrors his own belief...

Atticus is one of the best examples of someone who combats racism in To Kill a Mockingbird.

In Lee's novel, Atticus is the moral compass that represents one of the strongest forces in combatting racism.  He repeatedly displays this in the novel. One example of this is in taking up Tom Robinson's case.  Atticus believes that all citizens should enjoy the right to a fair trial.  This political sentiment of equality mirrors his own belief system.  He says this to Scout after she asks him about how other townspeople are calling him a "lover" of people of color:  "I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody... I'm hard put, sometimes—baby, it's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you." When Atticus addresses issues of race, he speaks in a manner that transcends discrimination:

... the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire.

Atticus combats racism because he seeks to transcend it.  In the lessons he teaches to Jem and Scout and in what he embodies in his own condition, he fights racism.  While others in the town succumb to it, Atticus actively combats racism and discrimination by emphasizing the humanity within all people. 

In Revolution in Poetic Language, does Kristeva equate poetic language with the semiotic chora? Are they one and the same? Or, if they are...

Poetic Language is not the same thing exactly as the semiotic chora. However, they do relate in that the semiotic chora helps create the possibility for poetic language. 

Julia Kristeva describes the semiotic chora as the possibility or potentiality of a thing happening. In our case, though, since she is writing about language, the semiotic chora is the potentiality for communication ("a modality of significance in which the linguistic sign is not yet articulated"). For...

Poetic Language is not the same thing exactly as the semiotic chora. However, they do relate in that the semiotic chora helps create the possibility for poetic language. 

Julia Kristeva describes the semiotic chora as the possibility or potentiality of a thing happening. In our case, though, since she is writing about language, the semiotic chora is the potentiality for communication ("a modality of significance in which the linguistic sign is not yet articulated"). For example, one can be driven to utter something, but it may not immediately mean anything to the person saying it or to the one listening. In that moment before it is understood, it is in the semiotic chora. For this definition she refers back to Plato's Timaeus, in which Socrates defined the word chora as space, or the place where things move and flow and where the potential is always held for things to be and act.

In this same way, the semiotic chora provides a framework for poetic language to exist or to become. However, poetic language requires an understood meaning to come out of the semiotic chora. The semiotic chora on its own is all space with no matter to fill it up. The symbolic is what fills up the semiotic chora. The symbolic is any mode of personal expression that must "depend on language as a sign system."

So, poetic language is the result of the semiotic chora being conveyed to us, and understood by us, through the symbolic.

What are the key details or points in the documentary Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death?

Peter Bate's 2003 documentary Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death is an indictment of Belgian King Leopold II's 19th to early-20th century colonization and rape of the vast Congo region of Central Africa. King Leopold II didn't invent European colonialism, but he was surely its most avaricious, brutal manifestation. 

Leopold, under the guise of benevolence, seized the resource-rich region of Central Africa with the stated intent of introducing to the indigenous tribes Christianity and...

Peter Bate's 2003 documentary Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death is an indictment of Belgian King Leopold II's 19th to early-20th century colonization and rape of the vast Congo region of Central Africa. King Leopold II didn't invent European colonialism, but he was surely its most avaricious, brutal manifestation. 

Leopold, under the guise of benevolence, seized the resource-rich region of Central Africa with the stated intent of introducing to the indigenous tribes Christianity and Western culture. Had that been the true sum of his contributions, it would have been bad enough. The reality behind the king's rhetoric, however, was far more malevolent than was understood for years after his death in 1909. As Bate's documentary points out, King Leopold II's reign over the Congo (later Zaire; later still, the Democratic Republic of Congo) was as brutal and bereft of humanitarian sentiment as that of European dictators who followed, particularly the reign of Adolf Hitler in Germany. Millions of innocent African citizens were murdered, starved, or left to die of disease while Leopold's colonial administrators systematically ravaged the nation's natural resources (those that were known of and desired at that time). First ivory and then rubber were harvested for the king's benefit, the former obviously coming at the expense of thousands of elephants. Furthermore, the king did not even colonize and exploit the Congo and the Congolese (the "black deaths" of the documentary's title) for the betterment of Belgium. Rather, he treated the Congo as his private possession: something to be exploited for his personal benefit.

Congo is not only about King Leopold II's brutal colonization of the Congo; it is also about that period of history's legacy. Early in his film, Bate's shows a contemporary citizen of the Democratic Republic of Congo being questioned about the king's one-time rule. The gentleman's reply: "He was a big boss, the Belgian who colonized us. . . . He colonized us. He taught us about civilization." And that is the point of Bate's documentary. King Leopold II was so successful at presenting himself as a benevolent ruler of a primitive, pagan territory that the extent of his crimes against humanity would remain largely unknown for many years, although readers of Joseph Conrad's classic novel Heart of Darkness were introduced to the devastation wrought by Belgium's colonization of the Congo and its treatment of the region's people. Conrad, of course, had operated a steam boat on the Congo River during the years of the king's reign, although as a British subject in the employ of British interests, he was not subject to the Belgian monarch's dictates. Conrad did, however, see for himself the effects of European imperialism on Africa and its people.

Bate's documentary covers all of this, including the role of Henry Morton Stanley in serving the king's interests along the Congo River. The film covers the ironic designation by the Belgians of the territory as the "Congo Free State," an Orwellian use of language that served Leopold's marketing interests while obscuring the depth of his depravity as a ruler. While Bate notes the ignorance among some contemporary Congolese regarding their nation's history, as the quote above illustrates, he does emphasize the extent to which the king's legacy has finally been tarnished in the Congo. Monuments to both King Leopold II and to Stanley have been toppled and serve as an ugly reminder of a heritage that permanently scarred this region.

Congo illuminates for viewers the steps King Leopold II took to conceal his avarice. Other European imperialists had neglected this huge region during their colonization of the continent. It was Leopold who recognized the region's potential and who took the steps necessary to fully exploit the Congo. The documentary painstakingly reconstructs the historical record that reveals the magnitude of the king's reach and of his greed. The point of Bate's film is to educate viewers on an otherwise neglected period of history. Most know of the crimes of Hitler; some know of the crimes of Stalin (although, unlike Hitler, many continue to ignore the scale of Stalin's crimes), and a few are aware of the Armenian genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks. Extremely few know the history of the Congo and of King Leopold II's role in its suffering--suffering that continues to this day. The mass murders and beheadings of African citizens by Leopold's colonial enforcers were commonplace. Such behavior today is attributed only to extreme Islamist organizations like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Back then, under Leopold's rule, it was business as usual for a "civilized" European monarch.

Jonathan Swift as a Satirist in Gulliver's Travels

Gulliver's Travels is a satirical work, and its main target is the experimental science promoted by Enlightenment thinkers such as Sir Isaac Newton. 

The Enlightenment was marked by a particular theory of human nature, wherein human beings were seen as inherently rational creatures who were capable of attaining intellectual enlightenment; a certain optimism marks many writings from this time period. Swift, on the other hand, displays a pessimism about human nature and rationality that runs...

Gulliver's Travels is a satirical work, and its main target is the experimental science promoted by Enlightenment thinkers such as Sir Isaac Newton. 

The Enlightenment was marked by a particular theory of human nature, wherein human beings were seen as inherently rational creatures who were capable of attaining intellectual enlightenment; a certain optimism marks many writings from this time period. Swift, on the other hand, displays a pessimism about human nature and rationality that runs counter to the spirit of the Enlightenment. The strongest satire concerning human nature can be found in part IV ("Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms") where humans are like the irrational Yahoos.

His first adventure into Lilliput is a satire about the wars fought between England and France, with Blefescu standing for France and Lilliput for England. In general, the first two parts satirize European politics of the time, and George Orwell believed that Swift's attacks were targeted at the Whig Party. One can find an eviscerating criticism of England in this speech uttered by the King of Brobdingnag:

My little friend Grildrig, you have made a most admirable 
panegyric upon your country; you have clearly proved that 
ignorance, idleness vice may sometimes be the only 
ingredients for qualifying a legislator; that laws are best 
explained, interpreted, and applied by those whose 
interests and abilities lie in perverting them ... I am 
dwell disposed to hope you may hitherto have escaped many 
vices of your country. But by what I have gathered from 
your own relation ... I cannot but conclude the bulk of 
your natives to be the most pernicious race of little 
odious vermin that ever suffered to crawl upon the surface 
of the earth (II.vi).

The satire is first directed at England, at European politics in general and then, as the book progresses, it is directed at human nature itself.

What are the themes of The Other Wes Moore?

The themes of this book include the factors that help or hinder African American boys' upbringings. The author discusses the factors in his upbringing, including the role of his mother and grandparents and the schools he attended, in helping him prosper, while he examines the alternate path that the other Wes Moore took, towards teenage parenthood and eventual incarceration. 

Racismis certainly a theme in the book. The author looks at the ways in...

The themes of this book include the factors that help or hinder African American boys' upbringings. The author discusses the factors in his upbringing, including the role of his mother and grandparents and the schools he attended, in helping him prosper, while he examines the alternate path that the other Wes Moore took, towards teenage parenthood and eventual incarceration. 

Racism is certainly a theme in the book. The author looks at the ways in which the police patrol African American neighborhoods with a sense of antagonism and the effects of racism in his schooling at an elite private school, where he did not feel a sense of belonging but only alienation.

Another theme is absent fathers. The author's father died when the author was very young, and he was raised by his mother and grandparents. His uncle and grandfather were critical male role models for him that helped him in his sometimes difficult path to adulthood. The father of the other Wes Moore had little to do with his son, and Wes was largely raised by his older brother, Tony. The other Wes Moore became a father at a very young age, perhaps in part because he didn't realize what the role of a father was.

What are the themes of The Would-Be Gentleman?

A chief aim of Moliere's 1670 drama is to satirize or make fun of social pretensions. The plot pivots on the desire of the foolish bourgeois (middle-class) Monsieur Jourdain to rise in social status. In that period, the aristocracy reigned as the upper class in society, with royalty at its pinnacle. This class derived its wealth from inherited land passed down from generation to generation. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, land was the chief basis of European wealth, with aristocrats collecting rents in return for allowing others use of parts of their often vast estates.

By the end of the seventeenth century, however, land-based wealth was being challenged by the rise of the mercantile middle class. While such "tradesmen" were scoffed at as beneath the dignity of aristocrats, they also generated anxiety with the wealth they were accumulating. American readers in particular need to keep in mind that a European could be "middle-class" but also very wealthy: the term denoted how one derived one's money rather than the level of one's wealth. 

Although middle class, the wealthy Jourdain tries to ape the mannerisms of the aristocracy with costly clothing, as well as through studying dance, fencing, music, and philosophy. He fails miserably and comically at these endeavors, showing that talent, grace, and intelligence can't be bought. The play thus ends up satirizing both the pretensions of the bourgeois "gentleman" (and, of course, the term is an oxymoron: a middle-class man can't be a gentleman) trying to be what he is not. It also satirizes the pretensions of aristocrats who similarly proclaimed superiority on the basis of dress and superficial accomplishments.

Social pretension ties to a second theme: appearance versus reality. All through the play, M. Jourdain has forbidden his daughter, Lucile, to marry her true love, Cléonte, because Cléonte is middle class. Instead, her father wants her to marry an aristocrat. At the end of the play, Cléonte disguises himself as the Sultan of Turkey and asks for Lucile's hand. The foolish M. Jourdain is now very enthusiastic about the marriage because he believes his daughter is marrying up. He lacks the discernment to see through the outer packaging to the true worth or identity of the person underneath. Once again, Moliere, himself middle class, emphasizes that it is internal merit that defines the worth of a person.

The play also asserts the theme of the right of a woman to choose her own mate. Lucile and her mother both assert this right strongly. When asked if it would be permissible for Lucile to forget Cléonte in favor of a better match, her mother says:

I would strangle her with my own hands if she did something like that. 

Lucile herself says:

No, my father, I told you, there is no power on earth that can make me take any husband other than Cléonte. And I will go to extreme measures rather than. . . . 

However, when she recognizes, as her father cannot, that the "Turk" is Cléonte, she quickly changes her tune:

It is true that you are my father; I owe you complete obedience; and it is for you to dispose of me according to your wishes.  

The notion of companionate marriage is tied to the rise of the middle class: Moliere supports this bourgeois freedom but shows as well how a wise woman will use whatever weapons are at hand to get her way.  

How does Roald Dahl present the theme of deception in "Lamb to the slaughter" ?

Deception is an important theme in "Lamb To the Slaughter." The transformation of Mary from a meek, submissive housewife to a devious killer is testament to this. Dahl plays with established gender roles in deceiving us on what to expect as the story unfolds. It is not just Mary's husband and the investigating police officers being played here.

Dahl uses symbolism to convey deception. The leg of lamb is a symbol of cozy, respectable domesticity, the perfect touch to a civilized meal. But, in Mary's hands, it turns into a brutal murder weapon:

Without any pause she swung the big frozen lamb high in the air and brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his head. She might just as well have hit him with a steel club.

We are rather surprised that someone as timid and unassuming as Mary should prove herself such a ruthless killer. We're even more surprised at how expertly she goes about covering up the evidence of her crime. It is astonishing just how well she manages to convince herself that someone else has murdered her husband:

she ran over to him, knelt down beside him, and began to cry her heart out. It wasn’t easy. No acting was necessary. A few minutes later she got up and went to the phone. She knew the number of the police station, and when the man on the other end answered, she cried to him, “Quick! Come quick! Patrick’s dead!” 

We fully expect her to go to pieces, running around like a headless chicken, not knowing what to do. But, not for the first time, she surprises us, and once again, we find ourselves thoroughly deceived.

When the police arrive, Mary acts out the role of traumatized hausfrau to perfection. The officers are every bit as taken in by Mary's mousy appearance as us. Mary's demeanor does not appear to have changed, but there has been a subtle shift in power relations. Now, it's the men, the male police officers, who are fussing over her, expressing sympathy, listening to her, even bringing her drinks. And to top it all off, they sit down to dinner and eat the murder weapon.

This is the ultimate act of deception. To the untrained eye, Mary is still the housewife she always was; but there's a crucial difference. Where before the role of submissive woman existed purely for the benefit of her husband, now she has appropriated it for herself to serve her own individual needs.

How is ethos used in Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking?

Ethos involves convincing the audience of the authority or credibility of the person making an argument. Gladwell uses a great number of authorities to buttress his arguments. For example, in the "Introduction," he writes about the psychologist Timothy D. Wilson, author of the book Strangers to Ourselves. Gladwell uses Wilson as an authority about how much information the mind collects in the unconscious, which is one of the premises of Gladwell's book. Gladwell cites...

Ethos involves convincing the audience of the authority or credibility of the person making an argument. Gladwell uses a great number of authorities to buttress his arguments. For example, in the "Introduction," he writes about the psychologist Timothy D. Wilson, author of the book Strangers to Ourselves. Gladwell uses Wilson as an authority about how much information the mind collects in the unconscious, which is one of the premises of Gladwell's book. Gladwell cites Wilson's training as a psychologist and the title of Wilson's book to make Wilson more credible and to appeal to the reader's sense of ethos. In Chapter One, Gladwell cites the research of John Gottman, a psychologist at the University of Washington, to again build a sense of credibility--in this case, about the ability of researchers to understand a marriage by looking at a short videotape of the married couple interacting. Throughout his book, Gladwell cites authorities in different fields to buttress his argument.