How is imagery used to convey Harper Lee's views on courage?

Courage is a major theme in To Kill A Mockingbird, expressed at various points through the behavior of many different characters. The childish courage of Scout in venturing into Mrs. Dubose's yard is contrasted with the moral courage of her father, Atticus Finch, who sets himself against the racist beliefs of an entire community in his defense of Tom Robinson. The language used to describe Atticus's courage makes it clear that his is not a...

Courage is a major theme in To Kill A Mockingbird, expressed at various points through the behavior of many different characters. The childish courage of Scout in venturing into Mrs. Dubose's yard is contrasted with the moral courage of her father, Atticus Finch, who sets himself against the racist beliefs of an entire community in his defense of Tom Robinson. The language used to describe Atticus's courage makes it clear that his is not a militaristic strength and that Atticus "who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived" in the mind of his daughter, especially because he is armed with words and moral conscience, rather than weapons and bigotry. Atticus himself reiterates this idea: 

"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what."

In Atticus's mind, then, black men like Tom Robinson have far more courage than those who would attack him, because he is starting from a losing position and yet tries to be courageous and moral anyway. As Atticus later vividly states, a white man who mistreats a black man "is trash," no matter who he is or where he comes from. 

Much of Lee's commentary about courage in this novel focuses on the idea of perception, particularly with regard to skin and race. Atticus tells his daughter that "most people" are indeed "real nice" "when you finally see them." It is impossible to understand another's point of view "until you climb inside his skin and walk around in it." This imagery is no accident: if a person wishes to be genuinely brave and morally upright, he must put himself inside the figurative skin of a black man, and imagine how difficult it must be to have courage when one is "licked before you begin". 

What are the stages of mitosis?

Mitosis is part of the cell cycle, and the cell cycle guides the development and reproduction of cells.  The entire cycle is traditionally divided into three parts.  Those parts are interphase, mitosis, and cytokinesis.  

Interphase is subdivided into three smaller phases.  Those phases are G1, S (synthesis), and G2.

Following interphase, the cell will begin undergoing mitosis.  Mitosis is often called cellular division, and it has four main stages.  The four stages of...

Mitosis is part of the cell cycle, and the cell cycle guides the development and reproduction of cells.  The entire cycle is traditionally divided into three parts.  Those parts are interphase, mitosis, and cytokinesis.  

Interphase is subdivided into three smaller phases.  Those phases are G1, S (synthesis), and G2.

Following interphase, the cell will begin undergoing mitosis.  Mitosis is often called cellular division, and it has four main stages.  The four stages of mitosis are prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase.

During prophase, the chromosomes condense and become visible, the mitotic spindle begins forming, and the nuclear membrane breaks down.  

During metaphase, the chromosomes are lined up at the middle of the cell. They are ready to be pulled apart by the spindle.  It's important to note that at this point in mitosis, the chromosomes are paired up with chromosome copies called sister chromatids.  

Next comes anaphase.  During anaphase, the sister chromatids are pulled apart by the spindle.  The now separated chromosomes are pulled to opposite sides of the cell.

The final stage of mitosis is telophase.  During this phase, the spindle breaks apart, two new nuclei begin forming around the chromosomes, and the chromosomes begin to "decondense."

Cytokinesis follows mitosis.  Technically, cytokinesis can start during telophase, so it tends to overlap with mitosis a bit.  Cytokinesis is the final division of the cytoplasm into two distinct cells.  

I'm trying to come up with a thesis topic but I'm stuck. I'd like to write my thesis about Japan and its national security. Or maybe its military....

This is a particularly propitious time to be studying Japanese security interests. With the rise of China as a global power and that country's assertions of sovereignty over the entirety of the South China Sea and over disputed island chains in the East China Sea (the latter a point of contention between China and Japan), Japanese officials are currently reconsidering their post-World War II commitment to pacifism. In addition, Japan is geographically very close to...

This is a particularly propitious time to be studying Japanese security interests. With the rise of China as a global power and that country's assertions of sovereignty over the entirety of the South China Sea and over disputed island chains in the East China Sea (the latter a point of contention between China and Japan), Japanese officials are currently reconsidering their post-World War II commitment to pacifism. In addition, Japan is geographically very close to the Korean peninsula and the notoriously belligerent regime ruling North Korea. North Korea, as much of the world knows, is determined to continue to develop and build ever more sophisticated nuclear weaponry and the ballistic missiles needed to deliver those weapons to targets across the Pacific. In so doing, North Korea has been testing its nuclear-capable missiles over Japanese territory. In other words, Japan resides in a very dangerous neighborhood. Its commitment to pacifism, therefore, was certain to weaken.

Japan's constitution was largely imposed on the defeated remnants of the nation by the victorious and occupying United States. That constitution was written in such a way as to prevent the emergence of another militarily aggressive autocratic regime such as ran Japan before and during World War II. It worked. So disillusioned and defeated were the Japanese people by the end of the war that the United States could successfully pacify its former enemy. There were periods during the Cold War when Soviet activities prompted some in Japan to rethink its pacifistic policies. Those sentiments, however, were restrained. Today, as mentioned, Chinese and North Korean activities in disputed areas as well as the latter's aforementioned missile and nuclear weapons tests have pushed the Japanese into a corner, a situation exacerbated by the contraction in the size of the U.S. Navy, which maintains facilities in Japan and which has been instrumental in protecting Japan from its powerful neighbors.

A thesis on Japanese national security policy can easily draw on the wealth of available material on Chinese and North Korean military activities threatening to Japan. A logical thesis statement could be along the lines of, "geopolitical transformations over the past decade have forced Japan to reconsider its 70-year commitment to limiting its military capabilities to minimal self-defense requirements. Japan can be expected to debate changes to its constitution that would enable it to greatly increase its military capabilities--a development that would alarm those nations in North and Southeast Asia that remember all-too-well the horrors of Japanese militarism during the first half of the 20th century.

What is an analysis of The Would-Be Gentleman?

In The Would-Be Gentleman, a play which Moliere wrote very quickly, he combined his talent for humorously exaggerating a single weakness in a character with a contemporary fascination for the Orient. In 1669, shortly before the play was written, the Turkish ambassador Suleiman Aga had caused a stir when he arrived at Louis XIV's court in Versailles wearing only a plain wool coat and refusing to bow to the king. After an outraged Louis...

In The Would-Be Gentleman, a play which Moliere wrote very quickly, he combined his talent for humorously exaggerating a single weakness in a character with a contemporary fascination for the Orient. In 1669, shortly before the play was written, the Turkish ambassador Suleiman Aga had caused a stir when he arrived at Louis XIV's court in Versailles wearing only a plain wool coat and refusing to bow to the king. After an outraged Louis banished him from Versailles, Suleiman Aga established himself in a grand home in nearby Paris. There, he embraced all the exoticism of his "Oriental" homeland, presenting Turkish customs to the aristocratic women he invited to visit. He served coffee, at the time a novelty in France, and dressed his servants in Ottoman clothing. Some credit him as starting a vogue for all things Oriental in Paris, including the wearing of turbans and the popularity of home furnishings such as carpets and pillows.

Audiences, especially with Louis XIV's encounter with the Turkish ambassador freshly in mind, would have delighted at seeing Cléonte in the final act dressed in full Oriental regalia pretending to be the sultan of Turkey. Jourdain's foolishness would likewise be throughly highlighted by his inability to see through the pretensions of the would-be Turk. His eagerness for his daughter's marriage to someone alluding the nationality of an ambassador who had just grossly insulted the king would show Jourdain's unfitness to be a gentleman.

Edward Said's Orientalism would later condemn this kind of othering of the "Oriental," which depicted Asian nationalities as "exotic" but at the same time as suspect and inferior. In Moliere's day, (and sometimes in our own) the Orient, however, provided fodder for comic stage spectacle. Despite being quickly written, the play became an instant success and a long-lasting theater classic.

What is the value of liquidity and its measures to investors and bankers? http://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/07/liquidity.asp

The answer above discusses the two methods lenders (banks and other investors) use to calculate a company's liquidity ratio (the current ratio and the quick ratio), which indicates a company's ability to operate on a cash basis if required by company-specific or general market conditions.  The value of liquidity--from any perspective--is very straightforward: if a company cannot rely on its assets to generate daily operating funds, it must rely on its liquidity (that is, cash or cash equivalents).  An example of a "cash equivalent" is a letter of credit, usually from a AAA-rated lender, that can be used as cash if certain conditions exist.  

The meltdown experienced by the US economy in 2007-2008 was a great illustration of what happens when companies are asset rich and cash poor and then have to rely on liquidity because the asset base fails to generate sufficient income to operate a business or to make payments on its obligations.  As we saw during that period, many service-based financial companies like AIG, FGIC, MBIA, which had claim to billions of dollars of assets (mortgage-backed securities), did not have enough liquidity to pay their obligations as the real estate economy tanked much more quickly than any models predicted.

From a lender's perspective, most healthy companies have 7-10 days' worth of liquidity (again, cash or cash equivalents) to fund their operations.  In many cases, businesses that do not have liquid assets (e. g., real estate developers; insurance companies; financial guarantors) routinely line up liquidity providers like banks and other large institutional lenders, who, based on their assessment of the general credit-worthiness of the borrowing entity, provide liquidity lines of credit that can be drawn upon under certain conditions, and these liquidity lines provide the "operating cash" for companies whose assets may be be illiquid.

The ultimate problem with determining a company's liquidity is that the model for determining liquidity, like the models for determining how an asset class will perform, is based on historical performance of either the business type or the asset class.  If, however, historical performance becomes a poor predictor--as all models became between 2006 to 2010 in the US--what may seem to be adequate liquidity becomes laughably inadequate.

How do you interpret Mrs Drover's psychological state?

Londoners faced terror and devastation from the Blitz.  For weeks straight and over a period of years, bombs were dropped by German planes over London.  Many people fled to the countryside.  The constant fear of hearing air raid sirens and low planes flying overhead caused psychological damage in some people.  People developed anxieties.

Mrs. Drover and her family left their London home because of the Blitz.  She returned one day to her abandoned house to...

Londoners faced terror and devastation from the Blitz.  For weeks straight and over a period of years, bombs were dropped by German planes over London.  Many people fled to the countryside.  The constant fear of hearing air raid sirens and low planes flying overhead caused psychological damage in some people.  People developed anxieties.

Mrs. Drover and her family left their London home because of the Blitz.  She returned one day to her abandoned house to fetch a few items.  Once there, she found a strange letter.  It was supposedly from her former lover, a man who was presumed dead long ago.  He had been an ominous fellow.  He had cut her hand many years before, and she still bore the scar.  Mrs. Drover

instinctively looked for the weal left by the button on the palm of her hand ("The Demon Lover").

In the letter, her former lover promised to meet Mrs. Drover on that day, and she dreaded such a meeting.  She quickly left her house.  She found a taxi cab and got into it.  It began to drive and then stopped.  She saw the driver:

Mrs. Drover's mouth hung open for some seconds before she could issue her first scream.  After that she continued to scream freely and to beat with her gloved hands on the glass all round as the taxi, accelerating without mercy, made off with her into the hinterland of deserted streets.

The writer does not clearly state whether Mrs. Drover was indeed held captive in the taxi cab by her former lover, or if it was all in her mind.  The traumatizing effects of the Blitz may have caused her to enter an altered psychological state.  This state may have led her to imagine the encounter with her former lover.

After Lady Macbeth reads the letter, what does she reveal in her opinion of Macbeth? How does she plan to help him?

After Lady Macbeth reads the letter, in which she learns of Macbeth's meeting with the weird sisters, what they promised him, and how one of their predictions had already come true, she tells us much about her opinion of Macbeth as well as a lot about herself. From her first words, we can see that she has already decided that, one way or another, what the sisters predicted willcome true ("Glamis thou art, and...

After Lady Macbeth reads the letter, in which she learns of Macbeth's meeting with the weird sisters, what they promised him, and how one of their predictions had already come true, she tells us much about her opinion of Macbeth as well as a lot about herself. From her first words, we can see that she has already decided that, one way or another, what the sisters predicted will come true ("Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be / What thou art promised"). Further, she's already decided how it will happen, without consulting her husband. We see immediately that she's the leader of this duo, even though Macbeth is the king-to-be. 

Then she tells us what she knows of Macbeth: She is afraid that his law-abiding and maybe even pious nature will stop him from murdering Duncan (which she has already decided will happen). He is "too full o' the milk of human kindness / To catch the nearest way" meaning that he is too compassionate to murder Duncan, which is the easiest and fastest way to become king himself.

She knows he is ambitious and wants to be great, but he lacks "the illness should attend it." This line is telling, as she clearly believes that all powerful people are crooked to some extent (rather like a lot of people believe all politicians are crooked--apparently, this sentiment is as old as history itself). This line also helps her justify what she has planned (if all kings are crooked, then what's the big deal in playing dirty to become one yourself?). 

She goes on to say that whatever her husband would do to become powerful is limited to what he can do "holily," or what he can reasonably get penance for. He would not "play false"--pretend or cheat--and yet...he would not be opposed to winning (the crown) even if the way he got it wasn't completely fair. He is, in short, the sort of man who knows what needs to be done to achieve his goals ("Thus thou must do, if thou have it") but at the same time is prone to stop before he does it rather than doing it first, then repenting ("That which rather thou dost fear to do / Than wishest should be undone.") In other words, Lady Macbeth is of the Rear Admiral Grace Hopper school of thought (It is often easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission), but she knows Macbeth is the more cautious sort. 

She plans to "help" him by convincing him, to "chastise with the valour of [her] tongue" the parts of his nature that will keep him from doing it her way--the wicked way. In other words, she plans attack all that is good and just and admirable in her own husband so he will commit regicide. 

The weird sisters get a lot of flack in this play, but it's Lady Macbeth who is the devil.