What might be Doodle's handicap in "The Scarlet Ibis"?What was wrong with Doodle?

Athough the reader is never told exactly what is wrong with Doodle, the sickly little brother in James Hurst's short story "The Scarlet Ibis," he undoubtedly was suffering from a weak heart, physical disabilities and possibly even mental retardation. William Armstrong is unable to walk until he is forcibly taught by Brother, though he can crawl backwards, reminiscent of a doodlebug--thus the origin of his nickname. His parents originally think that he would not survive and, later, that he may not be "all there," but Brother later determines that, in fact, "he's all there!" This may or may not have been true, since Doodle's speech and learning skills seem to have been somewhat arrested as well. 

What does it mean when Marcellus says "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."

This line, one of the most famous from Shakespeare's "Hamlet," appears in Act I, Scene 4.

In this scene, Hamlet has just seen the ghost and has followed it off the stage.

Marcellus, along with Horatio, has tried to get Hamlet not to follow the ghost but Hamlet has done it anyway.

Marcellus says that something is rotten in Denmark, meaning that he does not trust that all is well -- that he thinks something is wrong.  He says this because he doesn't really think it's natural for a ghost to be appearing and talking to the prince and that the appearances of the ghost are a manifestation of something evil.

In "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," what does John Edwards say sinners must obtain, and what they must sinners do to obtain it/them?

According to Edwards, sinners must obtain grace.  The preachers talks of the "covenant of grace," under which many from all around world feast at Christ's table because they have fled to him, repented of their sins, and entered into his fellowship.  They are no longer "loathsome insects" being dangled over a fiery pit.

In order to obtain the grace of God, sinners must believe in his power, wrath, and authority, and above all--listen.  Edwards explains that

"now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners; a day wherein many are flocking to him, and pressing into the kingdom of God."

If "sinners" simply "hearken" or listen to Christ's call, He will remove them from their precarious position.

describe construction ,working principle and transfer characteristics of FET transistor and JFET transistor ?FET is Fild effect transistor AND...

In the following we will describe the construction, working principle  and characteristics of a MOSFET transistor. The JFET transistor is similar in many aspects to the MOSFET transistor.

A MOSFET transistor is usually made on a silicon P substrate by making two separated N regions, thus obtaining two PN junctions. The P region that separates the two N regions is called the channel, and has a layer of SiO2 insulator deposited on it. Metallic contacts are made on the two N regions (the drain and source) and over the insulator deposited over the channel (the gate). The working principle is the following: normally when a voltage is applied between drain and source, there is one (of a total of two) pn junction reverse biased. The transistor does not conduct. When a positive voltage is applied to the region gate-source, it will attract electrons just under the insulator layer creating a conducting layer on the surface of the p semiconductor between the n regions. Thus the transistor will open and begin to conduct. The resistance of the channel can be varied by varying the width of the channel (the gate-source voltage) until a saturation regime is attained.

The I-V characteristic of the MOSFET is made up of a cut-off region (1), when the channel is closed and the transistor does not conduct, a linear region when the transistor is just opened and the conductivity of the channel is proportional to the voltage applied between gate and source (2) and a saturation region, when the channel is widely open (3).  The saturation current and voltage increases with increasing the applied voltage between gate and source.

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In "Winter Dreams," what indicates that Dexter is an ambitious young man?

Dexter from this Fitzgerald short story is much like the author's most famous character, Jay Gatsby.  They are both from Minnesotan families and long for a better, glamorous life away from their upbringing.  Dexter begins working at a young age, showing his ambition. And, he knows that caddying for rich golfers is no way for him to escape his tedious life; so he refuses to caddy for a little girl.

Another example of his ambition is his willingness to pass up a sure thing (a business course that his dad could have paid for) in order to pursue a more prestigious education out East. Just like James Gatz, Dexter makes a plan for his future early on and successfully carries out the business part of it (if not the personal part).

DISCUSS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOE GARGERY AND PIP

Joe Gargery is, of course, Pip's brother-in-law because he is married to Pip's sister.  He is also, officially, Pip's master because Pip is apprenticed to him.

On an unofficial level, their relationship is not really a master-apprentice relationship or an older relative-younder relative one.  Joe is not really "above" Pip.  Instead, they're sort of equal because of Mrs. Joe -- Pip's sister.  She is so harsh to both of them -- threatening them with the "Tickler," making them drink tar-water -- that they are more like brothers or friends.

They are both so intimidated and dominated by her that they are more like equals than their "official" relationship would suggest they should be.

Is Hamlet sane throughout the play? Does he show moments of insanity or is he totally lucid and somewhat destructive? Explain Why.

There is no evidence that Hamlet was insane.

Was he depressed by the death of his father? Sure. Angry at the hasty marriage of his mother to his uncle? Why not. Shocked and horrified by what the ghost tells him about the murder? No doubt. Upset at his girlfriend, Ophelia, for being used by her father, Polonius? Yes. Disgusted by his mother's shallowness and sexuality? Absolutely. Overwhelmed by the task of revenge given to him? Unquestionably.

Actually, considering all of what Hamlet has to deal with, he does pretty well. Nothing in his behavior would suggest insanity. There is no question, in his effort to annoy and sting and expose the guilt of the King, Hamlet acts insane, but this is but part of his plan to "catch the conscience of the King."

Furthermore, no one really thinks Hamlet is insane. Even Polonius, who's not all that swift, says "Though this be madness, yet there is a method in't.—" Madness for a reason is hardly madness.

And here's Hamlet, himself, on the subject: "I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw."

So, Hamlet, when it suits him, may act insane (and he's very fond of the craft of acting), but he's not insane.

How does the figurative language help us to understand Frost's message?

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost is one of the most comprehensive instances of a poem written in purely figurative language. Language of poetry is always figurative or metaphorical in terms of the symbolic import of its images. But Frost's poem is all the more figurative simply because it operates entirely on a universal and strictly non-particular level of the generic. There is no spatio-temporal reference, no periodization, not a single proper name in the poem. The realistic metonymic style is given up for a completely metaphoric or figurative style. This poem can only work at the level of the figurative/ the allegorical.

Some specific instances are

1. Yellow wood--the colour may signify nostalgia, pain or even old age as in retrospect. It is also a figure for human experience in all its cognitive import.

2. undergrowth-- a very complex abstract figuration of a space that we tend to create for ourselves to peep into life. These are intended to be viewpoints that are extricated from the mainstream of life and thus give us the critical distance from which we can read life and its trajectory.

3. The idea of the wear and tear on the road is a figure for the rough and tough up-n-down ride of human life

4. The last line and the idiomatic expression that has made all the difference is used in such an open and ambivalent manner that it becomes a perfect example of exclusively figurative language.

Water flows over a section of Niagara Falls at a rate of 1.2 × 106 kg/s and falls 71 m. The acceleration of gravity is 9.8 m/s2 . How many 70 W...

I understand that the rate of flow of water was meant to be 1.2 x 10^6 kg/s rather than 1.2 x 106 kg/s. The question is solves with this rate.

As the water comes down the fall, its potential energy is converted into kinetic energy that may be used for generating electric power.

If we assume that this whole energy is converted into electricity with 100 percent efficiency, the electric energy generated is same as potential energy of water converted into kinetic energy. The rate of generation of this electric energy ids given by the formula:

Power (in watts) = Energy (in joule)/s.

and

Energy/s = m*g*h

Where m = mass of water per second = 1.2 x 10^6 kg/s

g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.8 m/s^2, and

h = Height of fall = 71 m.

Therefore electric power generated

= m*g*h = (1.2 x 10^6)*9.8*71 = 834.96 x 10^6 W

number of 70 watts bulb that can be lit by this power is given by the formula:

Number of bulbs = (Total power generated)/(Power used per bulb)

= (834.96 x 10^6)/70 = 11 982 000 bulbs.

Answer: 11 982 000 bulbs can be lit.

What is the meaning of the business term "offshore outsourcing?"

The thing to be careful of, here, is in the definition of "offshore."  We tend to think of "offshore" as meaning somewhere out in the ocean or something, like on a ship or oil rig.  In the sense of "offshore outsourcing," the term means "someplace other than a company's home country."  If it is being related to a company in the US, than "offshore" would refer to any place other than the US.

You really have two similar but distinct business terms here: outsourcing, and offshoring. Outsourcing is the practice of hiring another firm to run some aspect of your business, such as the accounting or customer service aspects.  Offshoring is the practice of transferring some aspect of you business to a foreign country, where it may or may not be handled by the company doing the offshoring.  Confused?

Here's an example of Outsourcing: Company A, a small lightning rod manufacturer, decides that it is not cost effective to maintain a bank of phones for customer service purposes.  Apparently, few people call to complain.  Because it is cheaper than paying a bunch of people to sit all day in front of silent phones, they contract with another company (we'll call it "Complain Co") to handle customer complaints for them. "Complain Co" also represents 50 other small businesses that aren't big enough to need their own complaint numbers.

Here's an example of Offshoring: Company A lightning rods grows really big and needs a big complaint center again.  Instead of paying American workers $10 an hour to answer phones, it either opens an office in India and pays workers $2 an hour to answer phones, or hires a company already in India to do the same thing.  Dealer's choice.

Does that make sense?   There are lots of reasons why companies do this, but the two biggest seem to be that it saves money and allows smaller companies to focus on doing the type of business they are good at, rather than the worrying about some aspect of the business that they don't have as much experience with.  While this practice reduces the cost of doing business for a company, it also eliminates American jobs, just leading to a nasty cycle by which there is less money in the economy to be spent (which leads to more outsourcing/offshoring in order to squeeze out profit.)

In the end, blessing or curse, outsourcing is probably here to stay.

In "Dover Beach" what is it that Sophocles might have heard, literally and figuratively, on the Aegean Sea, according to the second stanza?

These are the lines from Arnold's elegiac poem, Dover Beach you refer to in your question :

Sophocles long ago

Heard it on the Aegaen, and it brought

Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow

Of human misery, we

Find also in the sound a thought

Hearing it by the distant northern sea.

Arnold, looking at the nightscape of the Dover sea--the 'moon-blanched' sandy shore, 'the long line of spray', the image of the moon on the straits, the glimmering light on the French coast, the upcoming & retreating waves--and listening to harsh frictional noise of pebbles in the tides, remembers the ancient Greek tragedywright, Sophocles, who must have also heard the same 'eternal note of sadness' in the tides of the Greek sea, as Arnold hears in the Dover sea in the middle of the 19th century.

The lines show a literal as well as a symbolic switch to the past from the present. Arnold, an avid reader and admirer of Classical Greek literature, writing an elegy on the tragic decline of faith in the world of man in an age of Industrialism, finds proximity with Sophocles. At the heart of Sophocles's tragedies was a deep perception of 'the turbid ebb and flow/Of human misery' which his successor can still hear in a different time and space. The auditory image of the 'grating roar' in the perpetual movement of the sea-waves brings into the mind of the English poet of the Victorian era an 'eternal note of sadness', and it was not unknown to the ancient writer of tragedies. Thus Arnold believes that he himself and his illustrious predecessor were both artists working out universal tragic predicament.

What elements are found in the product "aluminum foil?"

Aluminum foil is made entirely of aluminum.  It is essentially aluminum ingots that are squished between beefy rollers. The thinner you want the foil, the tighter the rollers squish it.

Aluminum replaced tin for foil largely after WWII.  Tin did the same sort of thing but left food with a bit of an aftertaste, so production switched to aluminum.  Sometimes you still hear people call it "tin foil" for that reason.

Technically, a lubricant is sprayed on the foil to keep it flat, but generally it burns off.  In some types of aluminum foil (for specific industrial uses) not all the oil is burned off, but I don't think you would call this an "ingredient" in aluminum foil because it is not always there and is in a minute quantity.

How do I compare and contrast the tones of these three poems from Langston Hughes: I, Too, Negro Speaks of Rivers, and Theme for English B?I need...

I agree with what the previous poster says, but I would encourage you to begin answering your question by defining the word "tone" for your own purposes. "Tone" is not the same as "theme," for example; all three poems can indeed be read as addressing the black person's place in contemporary society, but the poems differ significantly in tone. You will probably want to look up defnitions of the term "tone" in several sources and pay paticular attention to key words in the different definitions.

For example, one internet source, cited first below, defines tone as "the author’s attitude, stated or implied, toward a subject. Some possible attitudes are pessimism, optimism, earnestness, seriousness, bitterness, humorous, and joyful. An author’s tone can be revealed through choice of words and details." A second internet source, cited second below, defines tone as "the author’s implicit attitude toward the reader or the people, places, and events in a work as revealed by the elements of the author’s style. Tone may be characterized as serious or ironic, sad or happy, private or public, angry or affectionate, bitter or nostalgic, or any other attitudes and feelings that human beings experience. See also style."

In comparing these definitions, you may note several key terms: "attitude" is used in both definitions but "style" is only used in one. One definition uses the words "stated or implied" while the other only uses the word "implicit" (which means pretty much the same as "implied"). While terms in these definitions do overlap, the two definitions are not identical. You may find one definition more useful than the other for answering your questions. (Of course, you may also find other, perhaps superior definitions of the term "tone.")

At this point, you can rephrase your initial question to read: How does the attitude of the speaker differ in these three poems? or How does the speaking style of the speaker differ in the three poems?

Here are some initial, quick comments and observations that may get you started:

On attitude: There seems to me to be some "attitude" (in the sense of sassiness or spirit) in the "I, Too" (especially in the final lines of the poem) and perhaps even more in "Theme for English B." In comparison to those poems, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" seems to have a very somber or serious tone.

On style: The grammar and word choice of "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" seems to me the most formal of the three. There's no slang or colloquial speech in this poem. To me, this poem also seems the most highly structured. It's about as close as Hughes gets to writing formal poetry.

These observations lead me to think that we can place these poems on a scale from serious to playful (or from sombre to sassy, if you prefer), with "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" on the serious side, "Theme for English B" on the playful side, and "I, Too" somewhere in between. To support such a placement, of course, we should reread each poem carefully and be ready to present evidence from each poem (e.g. specific words or phrases, grammar, direct or indirect expressions of the speaker's views, etc.).

What is the meaning of section 18 in "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman?

This section of "Song of Myself" is a commentary on the many fallen heroes that fight battles for us in war, and never come home to the victory parades, bands and marches that are thrown in honor of returning armies.  Whitman mentions how he wants to come with "cornets and...drums" to "beat and pound...and blow" not for the men who came home, not for the "victors," but for the

"slain persons...the dead...those who have fail'd...who sank in the sea...overcome heroes..."

What he discusses, raising the happy bands and parades for the fallen, is a poignant point to make; unfortunately, it is the fallen men and women of war who never hear the praises and accolades sung for them.  The meaning of the poem can also be applied to areas outside of war; for anyone who has ever suffered failures and trials, for everyone who has struggled and had a hard fight.  Whitman, a man who feels a connection to everyone in life, no matter their station or success, wants to sing the praises of all.

I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!

What are Hamlet's weaknesses and strengths from act 1 to act 4?

Hamlet in Act 1 is overcome by grief at this father's loss, and enraged by his mother's inappropriate, in his view, marriage to King Hamlet's brother.  One of his major shortcomings, through out all of the text, until the end at least, is his lack of concern for the welfare of the state.  He is concerned that an unjust king, Claudius, is on the throne, but he is more concerned with revenge than the leadership of the country.  He is, after all, next in line to the throne!  It is not until after he sees Fortinbras willingness to sacrifice thousands of lives for a useless piece of land that he is finally able to put his personal intellectual musings aside (Look at each of the soliloquies in Acts 1-4: dad is dead and mom's tainted, should I live or die, etc. until act 4:  "My thoughts be bloody or nothing worth!")  His weakness and his strength are intertwined -- to act hastily and kill a rightful king would put the country in jeopardy from its enemies, not to mention end his own life.  However, his hesitations and need for intellectual proof, coupled with his impetuous action in killing Polonius, bring about the rest of the deaths in the play.

What is the symbol in the story "After 20 Years" by O. Henry?

In the O. Henry short story, “After 20 Years,” the diamond stickpin is a symbol. It’s a symbol of the wealth and affluence that Jimmy’s friend went off to seek and found. It’s also symbolic of the “diamond in the rough” philosophy. Both youth started out as a diamond in the rough. Life and life experiences honed and polished them into what they became. Diamond Jim became a common criminal like a diamond that looks good on the outside but has lots of occlusions when one looks closer. Jimmy on the other hand allowed life to hone and polish him into a strong and upright citizen with good morals and values.

Discuss the dramatic significance of Act 2, Scene 3 ("the porter scene") in Macbeth.

Knock, knock! Who's there, in the other devil's
name? Faith, here's an equivocator, that could
swear in both the scales against either scale;
who committed treason enough for God's sake,
yet could not equivocate to heaven: O, come in, equivocator.

Many will tell you that the Porter scene is comic relief, but they are wrong.  His language and actions may seem comical by today's audience, but to Elizabethans (at least the educated ones), his performance is grotesque, and his language is not unlike the devil's.

First of all, the most heinous crime in all of Elizabethan England or in any Medieval honor culture is to kill a king.  Regicide is akin to killing God.  Duncan's murder is not shown on stage for a reason.

Next, the knocking on the door parallels the sound imagery from the scene before, with the bell.  Macduff is the hero of the play.  He was born not of woman (like virgin birth).  He sacrifices his family for the salvation of the country.  He is a Christ-figure, and his knocking is a foreshadowing of the salvation to come.

I think the Porter's speech is grotesque, rather than comic.  Some critics think he's the devil.  All would agree that Macbeth's castle has become a hell, so who else would guard its gates?

The Porter also talks of equivocations (half-truths, paradoxes), like the witches.  The Devil is the great equivocator: he seduces with lies and false promises.  He tempted Christ with "Man shall not live with bread alone" and Eve with "You shall not surely die."

Equivocal morality frightened Elizabethans, almost as much as regicide.  To blur the lines of good and evil was a great fear.  We have all seen what moral relativism has done to the power of the church and the slackening of traditional moral values.  It was indeed a death knell to Christian theology and opened the door of the occult philosophy that was prevalent in the day.

Who calls the meeting? List two reasons that Jack offers for why Ralph is not a proper chief in Lord of the Flies.

If you're speaking about the meeting in chapter 8, it's actually Jack who calls the meeting. At least, he's the one who blows the conch and hijacks Ralph's authority in leading the assembly. It results from an argument between the two boys, culminating in Ralph insulting the hunters. This, for Jack, is the last straw.

The sound of the inexpertly blown conch interrupted them. As though he were serenading the rising sun, Jack went on blowing till the shelters were astir and the hunters crept to the platform and the littluns whimpered as now they so frequently did. Ralph rose obediently, and Piggy, and they went to the platform.
“Talk,” said Ralph bitterly, “talk, talk, talk.”
He took the conch from Jack. “This meeting—”
Jack interrupted him. “I called it.”
“If you hadn’t called it I should have. You just blew the conch.”
“Well, isn’t that calling it?”

So Jack has taken the first step in undermining Ralph's authority: he's taken control of the conch. During the meeting, he gives several reasons for why he believes Ralph isn't a proper chief. The first is that Ralph is too much like Piggy. Jack doesn't respond to logic and rational thinking, & building shelters and keeping the fie going are too much for him. The second reason is that Ralph is a coward in Jack's eyes. He says that Ralph didn't go up the mountain with he & Roger, even though Ralph did. When Ralph argues this point, Jack lets loose a tirade.

“He’s not a hunter. He’d never have got us meat. He isn’t a prefect and we don’t know anything about him. He just gives orders and expects people to obey for nothing. All this talk—”
“All this talk!” shouted Ralph. “Talk, talk! Who wanted it? Who called the meeting?”

It's obvious that while Ralph is thinking clearly about Jack's reasoning, Jack is not. He's upset, he wants power, & he's determined to wrench it from Ralph.

You have been assigned a position, either pro-slavery or anti-slavery. You must defend you position

In yet another direction, consider how central religious belief was for both abolitionists and slave owners in either their prosecution or their defense of slavery.

True, the Bible did not prohibit it, and the Old Testament is full of examples of slavery being written of and viewed in a favorable light.  Abolitionists can just as easily refer to the New Testament and the teachings of Jesus and his Disciples for quick condemnation of slavery and its inhumanities.

Slaveowners also tended to believe that while a lower form of being than whites, slaves nonetheless had souls, and it was their duty as slaveowners to Christianize them (although they would be prohibited from preaching after the Nat Turner rebellion), and therefore, slavery was justified as the duty of every Christian slaveowner and as the only way for a black slave to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Ironically, the Christian religion was one of the few sources of both unity and hope for southern slaves throughout the antebellum 1800's.

Whatever argument you make, therefore, should have religion at the center of it.

Would "My Life in Dog Years" be considered a biography?My class is about to read biographies for a book report assignment. A student just e-mailed...

What a great question!  Too bad it has a complicated answer!

In the way that the word is defined in English I would have to say "no," My Life in Dog Years is not a biography.  Most usages of the word restrict the use of the label "biography" to mean the story of a human's life, not a dog's life.  It would be closer to an autobiography for the sections in the descriptions of the dogs where the author includes stories of how the dogs influenced his life.

The tricky part would be if you went back to the origin of the word "biography." Bios=life, graphia=writing. In the Greek sense of the word, My Life in Dog Years could be considered a biography because it does not implicitly say human life.

I suppose it is up to you, then!

What personal qualities or characteristics allow Rainsford to survive and ultimately overcome Zaroff?I need to write an essay about three of...

The most important qualities Rainsford has can be inferred from the way he performs in his contest with Zaroff.  Some of them are:

• He is very determined.  At many times during the hunt, Rainsford might have given up in despair.  Of course, he does not.  Instead he perseveres and ultimately wins.


• He is ingenious.  If he had not been so creative and clever, he would not have been able to devise the traps that allow him to win.


• He is ruthless.  He shows this ruthlessness in his willingness to do whatever it takes to survive.

What is a quote in Of Mice and Men that shows the "lower class (economic) status of the workers"?

In the book Of Mice and Men there are several areas that could be considered validation about the men's low income status.  In the beginning the men are on foot.  They had been riding a bus but it would not go to the gate of the ranch.  They have to walk four miles to get to it.  The paths have been beaten down by tramps.  Their food supply is limited.

George undid his bundle and brought out three cans of beans. (10)

After George realizes that Lenny is going to be killed because he had killed Curley's wife he begins to think of what his life without Lenny will be like.  He tells Candy.

I'll work a month an' I'll take my fifty bucks an I'll stay all night in some lousy cat house. (95)

George tells Lenny at the river before he shoots him:

Guys like us got no family.  They make a little stake an then they blow it in. (104)

Describe the journey of a starch molecule in a piece of bread as it passes through the gut?

Carbohydrates (carbon hydrates) are molecules composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and they form the basis of our food.  They deliver the main energy reserve of the body. Glucose is the main fuel of the physical body,and it is stored as glycogen in muscle and liver.
It is found in foods that originally contain either natural sugar (fruit, honey) or starch (cereals, potatoes, etc.).
Acid starch associations are incompatible
Reasons:
1. Starch digestion begins in the mouth under the effect of salivary enzymes which acts only in alkaline environment.The presence of an acid in the mouth at the same time  (vinegar, lemon, etc.) slows down or even make disappear enzyme action;
2. Unchanged starch in the mouth then rots in the stomach;
3. Such starch, once reached the stomach can not be prepared to subsequent action of pancreatic amylase ;
4. Acid digestion of food consumes more energy, same starch digestion, leading to depleting reserves allocated for digestion;
5. acid-starch digestion times are different (fruits digest faster and the starch and much harder). Their association  disrupt digestion times.
Meals that contain starchy foods should be placed at least 30 minutes after ingestion of acidic foods such as: yogurt, kefir, fruit acids.
Should be avoided completely use of vinegar or lemon juice to salads which are consumed together with starch!

Weak concentrated starch-protein association is incompatible
Reasons:
1. salivary digestion of starch is in the alkaline environment, stomach digestion of proteins is in basic environment;
2. starch digestion in the small intestine is done in almost neutral environment unlike that of proteins.
Weak concentrates protein:  milk, yogurt, cheese degreased.
Example of random nefarious: croissants (much starch in flour) with milk, can cause severe indigestion.
Fat concentrated starch-protein association is semi-compatible
Reasons:
1. proteins remain longer in the stomach;
2. starch-protein association of fat inhibits secretion of gastric acid  juice, positive to protein digestion ;
3. pancreas  takes over the digestion of proteins and it gets tired.
Fats concentrated  proteins are : butter, oil, cheese, egg yolk, nuts, olives, nuts.
 Starch-rich sugars carbohydrates association is incompatible.
Reasons:
1. sugar inhibit salivary secretion enzyme necessary to digest starch;
2. two types of carbohydrates digest in different segments of the digestive tract (stomach, small bowel respectively);
3. gastrointestinal fermentation is created, the source of stomach burns.
Sample all incompatible foods: cake (starch in flour, cream and sugar syrup, butter cream).
Example of random nefarious starch-sugar: mashed potatoes sweetened.
Starch-lipid association is incompatible
Reasons:
1. consume energy reserves needed for digestion because there are two types of digestion in different segments of the digestive tract;
2. Free deposits of body fat: carbohydrate (starch) is transformed into glucose, the pancreas secretes insulin. Part of fat energy, which normally would have been evacuated, turn into this reserve of fat on insulin;
3. favors cellulite and obesity.
Sample disastrous food: potatoes (starch) fried  (fats become evil  because they are heat processed).
Example of completely poisonous Association: steak and fries with fat (Fried Cheese).

Discuss the tittle of vendor of Sweets.A good introduction and conclusion

The short story "The Vendor of Sweets" by R.K. Narayan revolves around an intelligent man named Jagan.  He is a creator and merchant who sells sweet treats.  The quality of his sweets is not undermined by cheap ingredients or poor quality supplies.  He uses only the best.  The title represents what the vendor does and sells to make a living.

As the story progress the title becomes a representation of the sweet practices that the vendor demonstrates.  He is an honest man and is a fair employer.  He is also a man who uses enterprise and the laws of supply and demand to give the public what they desire, sweets."   

The conflict in the story occurs between the vendor and his son Mali.  Mali constantly seeks money from his father.  His father reduces the price of his sweets so that he will have less money to give to Mali.  This action creates problems among other vendors who are now faced with uneven market distribution as the people are purchasing more sweets from Jagan. 

The book is as much about the old and the young, the old ways and the modern ways, and the need for change, as it is about finding inner peace.  By ending his role as "The Vendor of Sweets" in the end of the story, the vendor finds final peace.  He resolves himself to the fact that his son will gain everything he has anyway and that he can not influence his son to continue take on the role as "The Vendor of Sweets."

What was Fortunato's weak point?

Here's a new take on Fortunato's "weakness."  Almost everyone thinks it's his overweening pride in his ability to judge wines and this true to a degree, but let's dig a little deeper.

"The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge."  Is this particular insult that seemed to push Montressor over the edge clearly stated?  No! It must searched out.  Once Montressor has Fortunato well into the catacombs and has plied him with wine, the nature of the insult begins to reveal itself.

Fortunato empties a flagon of wine and "threw the bottle upwards with a gesticulation I (Montressor) did not understand."  He repeats the gesture.  Fortunato asks him if he comprehends the motion.  Montressor does not and Fortunato says, "Then you are not of the brotherhood," a reference to The Order of Masons.  Montressor insist that he is, but Fortunato responds, "You! Impossible! A Mason?  Montressor replies that he is and produces a trowel, the symbol and tool of masonry.  Fortunato takes it as a joke.

It is my contention that the insult delivered by Fortunato to Montressor was probably blackballing him or somehow keeping him out of the Masons.  The exquisite irony of Montressor's "masonry" revenge, the walling up of Fortunato, is completely lost on Fortunato.  he doesn't get it and probably doesn't even remember what he had done.  You can assume that Montressor is mad, but it's the madness of a genius.

In Garrison Keillor's short piece "How the Crab Apple Grew," what is significant about the setting?

Like most of Garrison Keillor's stories about his fictional hometown, Lake Wobegon, "How the Crab Apple Grew" is rooted in the small events and little details that make up memory and nostalgia. The setting is Lake Wobegon, a small town in Minnesota where "All the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average." The setting is deliberately rose-colored, with only small hurts and injuries and many, many happy memories; the idea is to remember how growing up was so much better than the present, because everything was simpler and people were more honest. This piece speaks to the themes of family and heartbreak, and determination; Harold Diener loses his love, Marlys, because of his youthful stupidity, and gets her back because of his own hard work (and, to be fair, the public humiliation of his rival). The crab apple tree in the back yard is a symbol of both his love and the families that grow and prosper in small towns:

He watered it and tended it and, more than that, he came out late at night and bent down and said, "GROW, GROW, GROW." The graft held, it grew, and one year it was interesting and the next it was impressive and then wonderful and finally it was magnificent... A backyard is a novel about us, and when we sit there on a summer day, we hear the dialogue and see the characters.
(Keillor, "How the Crab Apple Grew," faculty.chemeketa.edu)

In a more urban setting, the story would not have as much impact, because the themes of family and agriculture (moral mushrooms, mud, the tree itself) would have no importance to urban people. In a small town, working the land was still of major importance to the culture, and so the tree becomes a symbol of family growth and, as a graft, of marriage itself. Additionally, the small town rivalries shown here are not as passive-aggressive in urban environments, but instead often lead to violence; here, the rivalries are solved with panache and cultural understanding of one-upsmanship.

in "Two Kinds" how does the narrator's mother show forgiveness?

The end of "Two Kinds" represents both the end of the conflict between Jing Mei and her mother that can be traced throughout this short story and Jing Mei's own self-acceptance of herself as an individual.

Before her mother dies, Jing Mei is given the piano by her mother. It is interesting that she describes this as a "shiny trophy" - a metaphor that clearly indicates her feelings about the piano and about her conflict with her mother over her piano playing. Jing Mei regards the piano as a "shiny trophy" because she has won it, but on her own terms, rather than through being forced to do something by her mother. We can also see this as an expression of forgiveness on the part of the mother - as the narrator herself perceives:

I saw the offer as a sign of forgiveness, a tremendous burden removed.

That Jing-Mei sees this gift as the removal of a burden indicates that the weight of guilt and anger from her conflict with her mother has finally ended.

Jing Mei's discovery of the partner-song to "Pleading Child" indicates her own development as an individual and her arrival at a stage where she is happy with who she is and is no longer trying to be someone she is not or live her life for someone else (namely her mother). The title, "Perfectly Contented" clearly suggests that having gone through a stage where Jing Mei was a "Pleading Child", desperate for her mother's approval, she is now happy with herself.

Jing Mei's realisation that they were "two halves of the same song" perhaps indicates that this is a universal struggle that all must go through: we all go through a stage when we are a "Pleading Child", wanting our parents' approval and aprobation, yet eventually have to learn to live our own life and make our own choices, and become "Perfectly Contented."

Explain the irony used in Ethan Frome.

Ethan Frome is a good and simple man in the book "Ethan Frome."  He spends his life caring for others.  He cares for his sickly mother and brings in Zeena to assist him in her care.  Out of obligation he marries Zeena after his mother's death.  Zeena is also sickly.  Ethan once again is stuck caring for someone and has no happiness in his life.

Mattie is brought by Zeena to live with them and help care for Zeena.  Initially Ethan does not want her there.  However, he soon falls in love with Mattie and for the first time in his life he finds joy and love.  He experiences true happiness.

Zeena finds out about Mattie and sends her away.  Ethan knows he has to let Mattie go but can not bear it.  He also knows that if Mattie leaves she will have a terrible life because she has neither money nor prospects.

Ethan decides to take a last sleigh ride with Mattie.  He is contemplating suicide and begins to steer the sled toward a large solid tree.  Children on the route force him to gear off his direction which results in him hitting the tree in directly.  He and Mattie are both seriously injured.  Mattie screams for days in pain and is left an invalid.  Ethan's body is broken and he no longer is able to walk straight and he is destined to a life of pain and discomfort.

In the end of the story the man at Ethan's home is introduced to a woman.  The first woman he sees, he thinks is Ethan's wife.  He is aware that Ethan's wife is in bad health.

There are several ironies;

1-Ethan did not want Mattie to come, but she ends up being the one thing that brings him happiness.

2-The thing that can make Ethan happy is to have Mattie in his life, but she can not stay.

3-Ethan's effort to take his and Mattie's lives ends up putting them in a worse position than before.

4-Ethan had to care for women who are sick all his life.  Mattie was the symbol of an escape from that.  Now she is broken and in pain and he has to care for her and Zeena.

5-The man thinks that Mattie is Zeena, but in truth Mattie is now the worse off of the two women.

Did Roger Chillingworth change his name to Roger Chillingworhth?I wrote in an essay that he did because it says "old Roger Chillingworth, as he was...

Yes, Roger Chillingworth did assume a false identity.  Prior to doing so, his last name had been Prynne.  Had Chillingworth been his real name, Hester would not have been Hester Prynne, but Hester Chillingworth. 

There were a few reasons for his choosing to go by a false name.  For one thing, Hester's affair and the resulting birth of Pearl, an illegitimate child, would have been cause for a great deal of humiliation directed at Chillingworth had anyone known his true identity.  In addition, Chillingworth's alias allowed him to infiltrate society and pursue his enemy without being detected by the man.  Because of his fake identity, Chillingworth was able to play the role of an innocent citizen and make others see him as he chose.

What are some good quotes that provide an identity for Hester and for Dimmesdale?

In "The Scarlet Letter," Hester Prynne's identity changes as the stultifying effects of stringent Puritanism rob her of her innate passion.  Initially, Hester is

tall, with a figure of perfect elegance on a large scale.  She had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam, and a face which, besides being beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion, had the impressiveness belonging to a marked brow and deep black eyes.  She was lady-like, too, after the manner of the feminine gentility of those days; characterized by a certain state and dignity, rather than by the delicate, evanescent, and indescribable grace.  And never had Hester Prynne appeared more lady-like, ...than as she issued from the prison....Her attire...seemed to express the attitude of her spirit, the desperate recklessness of her mood,...that SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom...had the the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself. (1)

That Hester is "enclosed in a sphere by herself" becomes quite evident as the narrative progresses.  She casts off the resplendent garments and wears grey, covering her head with a grey cap.  The A on her bosom seems to become her only identity.  She loses her individuality, becoming

the general symbol at which the preacher and moralist might point, and in which they might vivify and embody their images of woman's frailty and sinful passion. (5)

Hester

sought not to acquire anything beyond a subsistence, of the plains and most ascetic descriptions, for herself, and a simple abundance for her child.  Her own dress was of the coarsest materials and the most sombre hue; with only that one ornament,--the scarlet letter,--which it was her doom to wear. (5)

Later in Chapter V, it is rumored that whenever Hester Prynne walked abroad in the night, the letter "could be seen glowing all alight."  When Scarlet meets Dimmesdale again, she casts off her letter and tosses her cap; in the sun, her drab hair becomes lustrous again,

dark and rich, with at once a shadow and a light in its abundance....A crimson flush was glowing on her check, that had been long so pale.

However, when Hester replaces the cap upon her head and the scarlet letter upon her breast, all the rush of life recedes once more from her.  Hester's consent to the punishment of the Puritans has cost her the life-giving energy of her passions, and she is no longer what she once was.  After Dimmesdale and her plan to return to England is aborted, and after his revelation of the A upo his chest and his death, Hester leaves with Pearl for England.  Nevertheless, she returns to her humble cottage away from the community.  On the threshold of her poor cottage, in "a gray robe," she bends and picks up the scarlet letter and places it upon herself; she takes back "her forsaken shame!"

Known for a brief time as "angel," because she cared for people, Hester' identity is tied inextricably to the letter on her clothing since she has consented to her awful punishment, believing herself unredemptive.

Dimmesdale, too, feels guilt for his sin.  He appears "emaciated" after the opening scaffold scene.

He looked now more careworn and emaciated...his large dark eyes had a world of pain in their troubled and melancholy depth....with a voice sweet, tremulous, but powerful...(8).

He constantly places his hand over his heart.  Some of the townspeople think that Dimmesdale,

like many other personages of especial sanctity, ...was haunted either by Satan himself, or Satan's emissary, in the guise of old Roger Chillingworth....There is gloom and terror in the depths of the poor minister's eyes, the battle was a sore open, and the victory anything but secure. (9)

With a spirit "shattered" and, as Hester tells him, "crushed under this...weight of misery," Arthur Dimmesdale shrinks within himself and is destroyed.  In a most ironic statement, Hester asks him if the universe lies "within the compass of yonder town."  Hester fails at freeing Dimmesdale of the burden.

Finally, in the last chapters Dimmesdale is overcome with emotion, and he writes his final sermon.  So inspired is he the next day that he fails to recognize Hester as the spirituality of Dimmesdale overcomes him and his

complaint of a human heart, sorrow-laden,...telling its secret...to the great heart of mankind...breathes inspiration through [his] mortal lips.

Yet, as he dies upon the scaffold, Hawthorne describes the Reverend Dimmesdale as having a death of "triumphant ignominy."  And, in a sense, so, too, is Hester's ignominy as she has triumphed by choosing to return on her own to the Puritan community.

What does Chillingworth say is the source of Dimmesdale's strange illness? In order to treat the illness what does he do?

In this episode of the book (it's almost at the end of Chapter X), Chillingworth tells Dimmesdale that his illness is due to a problem with his soul.  He says there is something wrong with Dimmesdale's spirit and that the problem is showing itself in Dimmesdale's body.

Because the problem is with Dimmesdale's soul and not his body, Chillingworth tries to treat it (though it's not clear he really wants to help Dimmesdale) by talkiing to him.  It's sort of like he's doing psychotherapy with him.  He tells Dimmesdale that he will have to open his heart to Chillingworth.

Would you, therefore, that your physician heal the bodily
evil? How may this be unless you first lay open to him the wound
or trouble in your soul?"

Who was pretending to be the headless horseman and why?

In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Brom Bones is the headless horseman. The author alludes to this at the end of the story. Brom offers signs that he knows Ichabod's fate, such as a smile here and there. It's as if he's recalling something amusing each time people ponder the mystery of Ichabod's disappearance. The motive Brom has for disposing of Ichabod is Katrina Van Tassel. He wants to have her for his own and make her his bride. At one point both he and Ichabod compete for her affections. Though Katrina does not seem to mind two suitors, Brom eventually wins out over Crane.

What kind of cakes did Miss Maudie bake in the novel, TKAM, and what would be the prices of the cakes if she were to sell them? Please mention the...

    I've always wondered just how good Miss Maudie's cakes would have tasted myself. They must have been pretty delectable, though, since Jem, Scout and Dill were always ready to cut out their mischievous ways in order to snack on them. One thing is for sure: 

... We reaped the benefits of a talent Miss Maudie had hitherto kept hidden from us: she made the best cakes in the neighborhood... every time she baked she made a big cake and three little ones, and she would call across the street... Our promptness was always rewarded.

Part of the reason may have come from using fresh milk, since Scout mentions her enjoyment of "getting a squirt of hot milk from Miss Maudie's cow on a hot summer day." Of course, she may have avoided nuts and other hard ingredients since she would often "thrust out her bridgework, a gesture of cordiality that cemented our friendship."
    Maudie did like baking an Alabama specialty--Lane cakes. After her house burned down, Miss Maudie rewarded Mr. Avery with one.

... That Stephanie's been after my recipe for thirty years, and if she thinks I'll give it to her just because I'm staying with her, she's got another thing coming.

Although Maudie would have never given away her secret recipe, Scout did observe once that it "called for one large cup of sugar."
    I was not privy to Maudie's secret either, but I did discover that a Lane cake is a four-layer sponge cake with raisins and whiskey. Scout remembered that Maudie once baked one for Aunt Alexandra "so loaded with shinny it made me tight."
    Aside from the Lane cake, no other specific types of cakes are mentioned in the novel, but Maudie may have at least attempted one with the fresh Scuppernongs which grew in her yard.

What was Odysseus' behavior through his journey in Book 10 of The Odyssey, and what alternatives exist for Odysseus in this episode?

Odysseus is losing control of his men.  His men make four major mistakes in this book: 1) they open the bag of wind from Aeolus; 2) they are nearly eaten by cannibals; 3) they are turned into animals by Circe; 4) Elpenor gets drunk and dies.

One two separate occasions, Odysseus must receive help from the gods.  First, he receives a bag of wind from Aeolus.  Second, he receives a magical herb from Hermes to conquer Circe's spell.

Odysseus clearly is not communicating well with his men; otherwise, they would not have opened the bag of wind.  They clearly are suffering from the hubris (arrogance) that has plagued Odysseus in the past.  Odysseus, however, is learning to ask for and accept help from the gods.  The men are not asking for and accepting help from their leader, Odysseus.

Odysseus should have told his crew what was in the bag, lest they think it treasure and open it.  He should have not let the crew ravage the island of the Laestrygonians and Circe.   Finally, he should not have let his men drink to a stupor.  Lastly, Odysseus should have honored the dead Elpenor by burying him.  Later in Hades Elpenor will ask Odysseus to grant him this favor, to atone for his mistake.

Who is Maurice in Lord of the Flies?

Maurice is one of the older boys who is in Jack's tribe.  He is a boy who, in the beginning, isn't bad.  In chapter 4, Maurice "...still felt the unease of wrongdoing," as he and Roger kick over the little boys' sandcastles.  He has not become as savage as Roger or Jack yet.  Earlier he had actually been helpful to the group in gathering wood, making suggestions about the signal fire, and amusing the little boys.  By chapter 10, he has gone completely over to Jack's savage side when he helps Jack and the others steal Piggy's glasses, thus stealing fire and power.

Play within the play elements in 'Endgame'?I'm working on a paper about 'Endgame', and I was wondering if you could discover some I haven't :)

The play within the play tradition in Beckett's Endgame is given a modernist and self-reflexive twist from the Elizabethan way of handling the play within. What we have in Beckett's play is more of a Brechtian perception of theatre as theatre as opposed to theatre as harbouring an illusion of reality. The play within the play is performed through self-reflexive play-acting (Hamm as the ham-actor, the opening 'brief laugh' routine as an opening of the theatre) and a persistent use of dramatic metaphor that reminds one of Pirandellian metadrama.

1. Hamm's first line is 'me...to PLAY?'

2. Clov looks at the audience through his telescope and refers to them as a 'multitude' in 'transports of joy'.

3. Nagg's story as a performative narration...a play within

4. Hamm's 'chronicle' as a dramatized speech...another play within.

5. Hamm refers to bringing in 'characters' in a failed effort to elongate his grand story.

6. Hamm abuses Clov because he fails to remain silent to what he calls an 'ASIDE'.

7. When Clov sees some one/thing outside, Hamm wonders if it is an 'under-plot'

8. The play within the play is also the movemental play of the chess that operates as the guiding metaphor throughout.

In the movie A Beautiful Mind, how does johns schizophrenia affect his relationship with his wife before and after being diagnosed and treated?This...

John Nash's condition greatly impacts his wife on many levels.  The most evident is that it becomes a challenge to maintain a high level of care for someone who is in such dire need of care.  Alicia becomes the primary caretaker for John and their child, knowing that he is unable to help with simple tasks at home such as taking care of their child as well as earning a substantial income.  John's condition begins to drain on their marriage from an intimate standpoint, as well.  The feelings of love and devotion become supplanted with duty and responsibility.  This transforms their marriage.  On a more symbolic level, I think there is some level of challenge endured with John's condition and the determination of "what is or is not real."  John has an increasingly difficult challenge in distilling reality and this transmits to whether the love both Alicia and John share is real.  Since love itself can present itself to be illusory, then it stands to reason that a condition which masks reality could also serve to be a drain on any relationship and probably causes some level of festering in theirs.  Once John learns to "control" his episodes, we don't really get an indepth examination of their relationship.  We see improvement, but we don't really gain insight into why there is such change.  It is almost presumed that once Nash demonstrates control, his relationship with Alicia resumes its original infatuation.  He does credit Alicia with being critical in understanding his own "beautiful mind" through her "beautiful heart."  Yet, I don't think this adequately articulates the challenge of mental illness, especially one as painful as schizophrenia.

In Chapter 8 of 1984, what is Winston's first reaction when he sees the dark-haired girl on the street and what action does he consider?

In Chapter 8, Winston sees the dark haired girl (who is, of course, Julia) on the street.

His first reaction to her is real fear.  He is sure that she has been sent to spy on him by the thought police.  He imagines that her presence is proof that they are "on to" him.

When he sees her what he does is to consider killing her.  He wonders if the piece of glass he is carrying will be heavy enough to do the job.  In the end, of course, he figures that he wouldn't be strong enough to kill her easily, so he doesn't try.

In what ways is Bleinda in The Rape of the Lock depicted as susceptible to temptation?

“The Rape of the Lock” according to a critic is a page torn from the pretty, pleasure-seeking fashionable society of Pope’s time. “The artificial tone of the age, the frivolous aspect of felinity has nowhere been represented as in this poem”. Pope in order to reveal the society at its surface, draws the character of his heroine, - Belinda. For, through her, the general traits of the contemporary women of high society and their attitudes to men, find a living picture. Pope believes that poetry is a criticism of life. He chooses his heroines character from a contemporary event, a historical background where Lord Peter cut off a lock of Mrs. Arabella Fermor’s hair. Belinda has been drawn after Fermor. In Popes art of characterization of Belinda, Dr. Johnson finds the satire on “the little unguarded follies of the female sex”.

Pope introduces Belinda with us, hinting at the tragic incident of her life: - “say what strange motive goddess! Could compel a well-bred Lord to assault a gentle Belle? O, say what strange cause yet unexplored could make a gentle Belle reject a Lord?”

This prelude implies the idea that Belinda represents those women who alluring men by their beauty and even being such familiar as would- be life-partner, - resent marrying and continue the like trait of a butterfly.

Pope depicts two sides of Belinda’s character. The first is her attracting beauty and feminine charms. Pope attributes her the words, “the fair”, “the nymph”, “the virgin” and even “goddess”. The second is her idle, immoral, aristocratic, way-word and varietiful life. She makes her youthful grace and beauty as a capital to allure and delude young lords and barons of high and higher society.

.

Belinda’s character has been presented with bundle of contradictions. She is a coquette, an injured innocent, a society-belle, a sweet-charmer, a rival of the sun, and a murder of millions. She “favors to none, to all she smiles extends”. To her a ‘lap-dog’ and a husband are equal. Her heart is like a moving “toy-shop”. She has more attention to wigs and sword knots than these who wear them. All these sum up her frivolous nature.

Belinda represents the manner and fashion of the aristocratic ladies of Pope’s time. They used to take part in ball, playing cards, scandalous gossip and boating etc.

Pope describes Belinda’s taking part at the game of Ombre. She desires to defeat to adventurous barons and being helped by Ariel and other spirits Belinda won the game. Pope describes her ecstasy in the lines, “The nymph exulting fills with shouts the sky. The walls, the woods and long canals reply”.

Pope here ridicules the contemporary ladies of high society, who forgetting the serious business of life, indulged in playing cards. He makes Belinda a butt of satire.

What is the conflict in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Is it external conflict or internal conflict?

The primary conflict in the novel is internal, between the two sides of Dr. Jekyll’s personality. Hyde is the dark side of his nature; the novel is an allegorical treatment of humankind’s struggle to master our baser nature. Secondary to the internal conflict raging inside of Dr. Jekyll is the external conflict between Hyde and the authorities.

What is the summary and theme of the story The Little Orphan by Fuodor Dotoevsky?

Fyodor Dostoevsky's short story "The Little Orphan" is a wonderful Christmas tale of mercy, love and redemption. A young boy in a bitterly cold cellar in winter-time St. Petersburg awakens to darkness, hunger, cold, fears and a mother who lays sick and dying. They had come to St. Petersburg for some unstated reason from a quiet village where the boy was loved, warm, fed and cared for.

The day passes. In the darkness he discovers his cap and the cold immovable body of she who was his mother. He is an orphan, though he wouldn't have understood this at age six. Since he now has his cap with which to cover his head, he ventures out, daring to pass the barking dog who stands guard next door. On the street he finds more threatening barking dogs in the form of dogs, hurrying people, freezing horses, carelessly fast carriages and lights everywhere.
He also finds the wonders of St. Petersburg: clean and happy children who dance and sing, Christmas trees six feet high, food in abundance shared with generosity between those within doors, toys that are so real they seem to be alive and generosity (though it sadly is misguided and goes awry). Afterward, he suffers from an attack by a big boy who hurts him and steals his cap.

In terror, he gets up from the pavement and runs until he finds a barrel to hide behind where, in his fear and cold, he sinks into a pleasant sleep that is disturbed by a gentle voice as he is scooped up in loving arms and deposited with other children who are happy and making merry. Their mothers are there also, weeping for their children or weeping for joy at their children's salvation from cold and want? Forgiveness is the mothers' gift to receive at this Christmas celebration for dead orphans, Mercy is the Benefactress, Jesus is the Host and Redemption is the Celebration; and this is the theme of "The Little Orphan." Dostoevsky often championed marginalised women in his writings as with Katrina Ivanova and Sonia in Crime and Punishment.

What does Pearl notice as a baby?"The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter," as Hester stands, scorned, upon the scaffold before the sanctimonious Puritans, she significantly

clasp[s] the infant closely to her bosom; not so much by an impulse of motherly affection, as that she might thereby conceal a certain token, which was wrought or fastened into her dress.

From the beginning of the novel, Pearl is inextricably connected to the scarlet letter. And as an infant while her mother stoops over the cradle, her eyes catch sight of the glimmering gold embroidery around the letter.  Hawthorne writes,

But that first object of which Pearl seemed to become aware was--shall we say it?--the scarlet letter on Hester's bosom.

This passage is extremely significant as Pearl, acting as a symbol of her mother's passionate sin, demonstrates in herself strong moods--uncontrollable laughter, fierce temper, and the "bitterest hatred that can be suppose to rankle in a childish bosom."  She is an "imp" who delights in exposing the scarlet letter by pointing to its distortion in the breastplate of Governor Bellingham, throwing flowers at it, and mimicking it upon her own little bosom.  At the brook, Pearl refuses to cross until her mother replaces the cast-off letter.

Thus, Pearl becomes a symbol herself, a symbol of what the scarlet A represents: Hester's sin, Hester's passion, and Hester's connection to Arthur Dimmesdale.

Interestingly, another thing that Pearl has noticed as an infant is the rosebush outside the grey iron door of the prison.  For, later in Chapter VIII when she is questioned at Governor Bellingham's mansion about who has made her by the strict Puritan minister, Reverend Wilson, Pearl rebelliously replies that she has not been made, but was "plucked by her mother off the bush of wild roses that grew by the prison door."  This statement indicates the passionate and noncompliant nature of Pearl that is never subdued, symbolic of Hester's lasting inner spirit, for the "letter has not done its office," as Hawthorne writes near the end of his narrative.  

How do the indications of social injustice in Les Misérables relate to the book's title?

To draw another analogy, Victor Hugo is the French version of the English Charles Dickens.  Contemporaries in time, both men perceived the tremendous gap between the upper classes and those in the lower.  While Dickens described society as a "prison" in which few, if any, could rise above their position in society, Hugo writes of Jean Valjean, condemned unjustly to prison, who escapes the physical prison, but is unable to escape the "prison" of always having been a criminal. 

For one thing, he must carry a yellow card identifying himself as a criminal.  As a result, he cannot find work, and, in desperation--a state which precipitated his first crime--he steals the candle stands from the bishop.  It is only because of the charity of the bishop who tells the gendarmes that Valjean was given these valuables by him that Valjean, a "miserable," a chance in life.  And, with this chance, Valjean redeems himself in many ways, practicing the same charity towards other "miserables" such as Fantine and Collette. Nevertheless, he remains condemned by society and is constantly pursued by Inspector Javert until the end of Javert's life.

Similarly, in Dickens's "Great Expectations" in which Magwitch, an unfortunate "wretch"--a "miserable" who also has stolen to keep from starving--escapes from the prison ship on which he has been sentenced after his complicity with a gentleman who has taken advantage of him and strives to redeem himself in New South Wales.  After he becomes a wealthy sheep farmer, he acts as Pip's benefactor, but he is still condemned by the "prison" of society, and cannot escape the fate of England's laws.  Thus, both Dickens and Hugo write of the miserable fate of the poor, who albeit good in soul, cannot redeem themselves in society.

In "The End of Something" who was Nick?

Nick is the main character of Ernest Hemingway's short story "The End of Something."  We don't get a last name, we don't get an age, or any sort of back-story on Nick really, just his name, that  he's a guy, and that he breaks up with his girlfriend, and has a friend named Bill that shows up at the end.  That is really all of the information that we get about him.  This story, written in the Modernist style, gives only bare-bones minimums, and lets the reader fill in all of the gaps however they want to.  Modernism has several features of its writing that are all featured in this story:  characters that are alienated and have trouble communicating, little detail and thought description, and the heavy use of symbolism to represent characters and their dilemmas.

Nick and Marjorie's deteriorating relationship is symbolized by the crumbling ruins of the mill; we don't get descriptions of their thoughts, just their actions, and they are obviously struggling to connect.  With only this information, the reader is left to infer, or guess, what is going on behind the scenes.  We can infer that Nick is rather young; after all, he's going fishing with a girlfriend, and that seems like an activity that a younger man would do.  He isn't married or committed, so he is probably a teenager or young adult.  He has a close friendship (or more) with his friend Bill, because Bill obviously knew he was going to break up with Marjorie, and Nick had been dating Marjorie for quite some time, long enough for them to have memories of the mill operating.

I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!

Is Mr. Hale a friend or foe to the Proctors?

Pohnpei's response is correct: Hale certainly thinks of himself as a friend to the Proctors by the end of the play... but it's complicated.  When Hale goes to Elizabeth and begs her to convince John to confess to witchcraft -- fully acknowledging that it would be a false confession -- he argues that the lie is a small sin compared to the greater sin of giving up the gift of life.  Elizabeth, who is virtually a saint in this play, and therefore must be heeded, responds that that sounds like "the devil's argument" to her.

So, yes, Hale is a friend to the Proctor's, but what he's asking Proctor to do is still misguided (Hale has been misguided from the beginning, in one way or another).  He would save John's life, but as we see in the end, 1. damn John's soul (for whatever that's worth), 2. damn John's good reputation, 3. damn the town since if John confesses to witchcraft, it will legitimize the whole idea of witchcraft and the trials will continue.  This last one is probably the most important.

Will the Dematerialisation of Currency on the lines of 'Demat Shares' work in India?Going by the recent developments in black money stashed in...

Before we can discuss the issues raised in this question we need to understand clearly the difference between money and currency. Money is measure of value used for exchange of goods and services. Money available with a person represents the ability of that person to buy goods and services worth the value represented by money. Thus money itself is a dematerialized form of goods and services. Currency - that is, coins and notes - is a material form of representing money - which itself is a dematerialized form of value.

There are many other forms of representing money, such as cheques, drafts, bonds, and other similar financial instruments. All these are documents to establish ownership of money in dematerialized form. When we say that that a bank has deposits of customer worth $X billions, it does not mean that the bank has all that money in form of currency. Most of it is in dematerialized form only a small percentage is in form of currency.

As a matter of fact in all major economies, the cash transactions - that is transferring money in form of currency constitutes only a small amount of total financial transactions.

Thus, the money is basically already dematerialized. A small part of this is reconverted in materialized form of currency which is essential for some types of transactions. Thus, it makes no sense in saying that currency should be dematerialized. However it is possible to reduce the percentage of transactions in the form of currency.

The government has already taken many steps to reduce the extent of cash transactions, and these must have contributed to some extent to control of black money and associated dishonest practices. It has definitely made it less attractive to stash currency in mattresses. But it is worthwhile noting that stashing of money in Swiss Banks usually does not involve cash or currency transactions.

Explain how funding and financial support influence scientific research?

There is no getting around the fact that science costs a great deal of money.  The problems begin when scientists agree to accept money from organizations and people that have an agenda, hidden or open.  For example, a pharmaceutical company might fund a project that is meant to show the efficacy of a drug it has developed. The scientists who are testing the drug are perfectly aware of their source of funding, and even if they are honest scientists, they are subtly influenced by that funding source to get results that are favorable to the funding source. 

In other instances, government money is available, and one would think that there would be no risk of bias, but even in those cases, federal funding has sometimes been provided in pursuit of a political agenda.  One example might be the morning-after pill, which, if taken quickly enough, prevents  pregnancy from developing.  For anti-abortion activists, this is considered a form of abortion and is avidly opposed by them.  If a study were being conducted on the risks of this pill, what do you imagine the outcome would have been if the study were funded by the Bush administration?  What might the outcome be if such a study were funded by the Obama administration, which is a pro-choice administration?  Even theoretically unbiased funding sources might be biased and affect the outcome of a study in quite subtle ways. 

Because of these difficulties with funding sources, good science is always verified by others.  If the results are not replicable, there is no conclusion that can be drawn.  This is one way the scientific community tries to solve this problem.  Another way to address this problem is to require that all funding sources be disclosed, and I have included for you a link to an article that discusses that prospect. 

Was it necessary to fight a war (Civil War) in order to end slavery?What alternatives could have avoided violence?

In short, yes because so much was at stake that the rich plantation owners would never give up their free labor; and they were truly ignorant of African people and their rich ethnic culture in Africa.

First of all, from 1650 to 1790 during the colonial times slavery was everywhere in the country. However from America's independence until the Civil War(1790 -- 1865), it only occured in the south; and it was hotly debated between the north and south. After American independence, the Northern states: New England, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey viewed slavery as opposing the spirit of the revolution. In the north, slaves were less common because so many white men could do jobs that poor blacks did. In fact, working class men didn't want black slaves around because they wanted the jobs, so this demand to abolish slavery was strong in the north.
In the southern states it was very different.The numbers of African Americans were very large. Half of the people in Virginia and South Carolina in 1790, were African American.
Southern whites were very ignorant and had an ingrained racial prejuduce. They believed that African Americans, if free, would ravage the countryside and be a threat to everyone. Southerners thought--or told themselves--that slavery was "race control".
The economic role the slaves played is the most critical reason that it was kept in place.The southern states' agricultural production was dependent upon slavery. For example, in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia, all of their wealth was a result of the hard work of slaves. Actually they didn't think that it was possible for "white men" to do such hard work. These plantations produced tobacco, cotton, rice, and indigo.
The Southern states insisted on keeping slavery even after the Revolution. This is the reason for the huge fight between the free states and the slave states. Of course Lincoln was on the side to free the slaves. And the civil war began.

I think it is obvious why the war was inevitable: economics.

I don't think that violence could have been avoided.

What is the significance of irony, foreshadowing, and black humor in "Lamb to the Slaughter"?

"Lamb to the Slaughter" is a very clever tale of a woman's quick response to a difficult situation.

Irony exists in the tale in Mrs. Maloney's reaction to the news of her husband leaving her.  For the entire beginning of the story, Dahl paints her as a doting, overly-concerned, rather weak-minded character who lives only for her husband and his bidding.  We would not expect her to brutally murder him just minutes later, but, that is what she does.  It seems to surprise even her self.  When something occurs that is the opposite of expectations, that is irony.  After the murder, she calmly and collectedly concocts a cover-up story, even finding a way to safely dispose of the murder weapon.  This behavior, compared to her previous rather anxious and weak self, is ironic.

The black humor exists especially at the end.  It really isn't funny that she has killed her husband, but we can't helpt but laugh as the cops cluelessly eat the lamb.  It's a rather dreary humor, but, entertaining nonetheless.

Foreshadowing is harder to find; there are few indications of Mary's behavior.  When she puts the lamb in the oven, that could foreshadow the cops eating it later; all of her preparations before the mirror, practicing what she would say at the grocer's, were foreshadowing of her performance there later.  It was evident that she was planing an alibi.  If we read closely, we can piece together the clues of her plan beforehand.

I hope that helpd; good luck!

What are the important parts in Chapters 7 and 8 of Cry, the Beloved Country?

In Chapter 7, Stephen Kumalo meets with his brother John, who has established himself as an important man in the city of Johannesburg.  The important part of this Chapter is what John tells Stephen about life in Johannesburg, and Msimangu's interpretation of what he says.  John Kumalo tells Stephen that the tribal society is "breaking apart", and that a new society is being built in Johannesburg, based on gold, which is being mined with the labor of the tribal people.  The black workers are being terribly exploited, and John is a spokesman for a revolutionary movement defending their rights.  Though Stephen Kumalo is a man of the cloth, John feels the Church is out of touch with people's plight in Africa, and has adopted the morals of the secular society.  Msimangu later tells Stephen that, sadly, much of what John says is true.  He describes the power struggle between blacks and whites in Africa, and laments the corrupting aspect of the power for which both groups strive.  He believes that the only hope for their country is "when white men and black men, desiring neither power nor money, but desiring only the good of their country, come together to work for it" (Chapter 7).

In Chapter 8, Stephen Kumalo and Msimangu continue their search for Kumalo's son Absalom.  The important part of this Chapter is the bus boycott, which the two men become involved in when they find they must journey to Alexandra.  The boycott is organized by leaders such as Dubalo and Tomlinson, and is effective as thousands of blacks each day walk rather than pay the unreasonable fees to ride the bus.  Many white people are sympathetic and stop to give the old and the crippled rides, but the authorities are trying to stop this, threatening to take the white supporters to court (Chapter 8).

I need to know What is the role of Ideology in Social Stratification? Thanks

Ideology is socially constructed and those who are in power make it. This an insight from sociology. Let me give an example. Those in power, obviously, want to keep their power. So, what they do is try to create a commonsense view of the world that basically says that the world is the way it is supposed to be. The rich are supposed to be rich, because of certain reasons, and the poor should be, because of another set of reasons. They also try to create fear and false correlations to maintain their position.

When it comes to social stratification, ideology will be much more subtle, because it is such a sensitive topic. Here is an common ideology. The best answer that I could give is that all people pretty much start at the same place in life, that all people have the same opportunities. We would like to believe this, but it is patently false. Those who are wealthy have much more opportunities.

How and when did the French Revolution end? for my project I need to find out a little more about how it ended and when.

In the final analysis, the French Revolution ended in a manner that reflected the adage that "the more things change, the more they stay the same."  Robespierre and the Jacobins assumed control after the overthrow of the French Monarchy.  Robespierre, for all purposes, consolidated his control and through the Jacobins and the Committee of Public Safety began to identify his own aims as those of "the public's."  At this point, the Revolution began to betray its initial causation, confirmed with the Reign of Terror, where public safety became confused with violence and mass executions.  After garnering much in the way of political opponents, Robespierre, himself, was overthrown and lost his own head, both literally and politically.  After much in the way of political fumbling, Napoleon, a French General who distinguished himself with tactical brilliance, assumed power in a coup d'etat.  In Napoleon assuming control, the French Revolution, designed to eliminate monarchy, had managed to deliver a singular ruler to political power in France.  In some respects, this became one of the best historical examples of "Meet the new boss/ same as the old boss."

What personality traits make Mercutio and Benvolio round characters in Romeo and Juliet?

Benvolio:  Benvolio has similar traits to Mercutio in that he is greatly loyal to his family.  He takes Romeo in under his wing, tries to cheer him after Rosaline refuses him, and stands by his side in his quest to find something to make his cousin happy.  Another trait that makes Benvolio a round character can be seen after the deaths of Tybalt and Mercutio.  When Lady Capulet assures the Prince that twenty Montague men were responsible for the death of Tybalt, Benvolio presents a nearly accurate representation of the events that had passed.  Instead of being entirely honest, Mercutio makes it sound as if he had no ability to stop Romeo in his attack on Tybalt.  Truthfully, he stood by and watched it happen.  This shows us that he is not a liar, but he is self-preserving when the full truth would incriminate him as well.

Why was Tom so successful in his new position provided by the devil What going on in the country at this time to make people need cash

At the time of Tom' Walker's career as a moneylender (loan shark), the country was going through a time of "public distress," or depression. 

The country had been deluged with government bills; the famous Land Bank had been established; there had been a rage for speculating; the people had run mad with schemes for new settlements, for building cities in the wilderness; land jobbers went about with maps of grants, and townships, and El Doradoes, lying nobody knew where, but which everybody was ready to purchase ...everybody was dreaming of making sudden fortunes from nothing.  As usual the fever had subsided; the draem had gone off, and the imaginary fortunes with it; the patients were left in doleful plight...

Tom Walker made especially good use of the circumstances to further his career.  He determined the extent of a customer's need and charged them based on their desperation; the worse a person needed money, the more draining the terms of the loan Tom gave him.  Because Tom was uninterested in kindness, he was able to make money at an amazing rate.

Which are all medical benefits of following condiments and spices: cinnamon, ginger, oregano, rosemary, clove, cumin, paprika?

CinnamonOnly 1 teaspoon of cinnamon daily administered helps lowering risk factors that lead to metabolic syndrome, with 30% . More specifically, cinnamon help lower glucose, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, even in patients with type 2 diabetes.Are also studies that have shown that cinnamon prevents insulin resistance even in people who have a diet high in fructose. Also, it is known that cinnamon is the richest source of antioxidants, and stimulates the good functioning of the brain.Cinnamon has antimicrobial properties, halting growth of bacteria and fungi, anti-inflammatory and anticoagulant properties, reducing platelet aggregation. Often, cinnamon is used as an antidote for diarrhea and for stomach discomfort.

Ginger Ginger comes from Asia and India and is expected to be used for over 5000 years. It can be used with confidence in cakes, biscuits and other desserts.Ginger is a powerful antioxidant that helps to relax blood vessels, stimulating circulation and soothing pain. Also, ginger soothes spasms and reduce flatulence of digestive system, and is a great natural remedy anti-nausea associated with travel, pregnancy, or hangover. Because anti-inflammatory properties, ginger is recommended for preventing and treating cardiovascular disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease or arthritis.

OreganoOregano leaves, as well as oregano oil, have antibacterial and antiviral properties, helping to destroy organisms that contributed to skin infections. Applied topically to the skin, oil of oregano helps treat itching and skin irritation, oregano oil being effective in treating gingivitis.More, oregano may be used to treat sinusitis: administered daily 2-3 drops of oregano oil (preferably they are introduced into a glass of fresh vegetable or fruit juice) for 10-15 days. Oregano contains a considerable amount of vitamins and minerals, are an excellent source of iron, magnesium, calcium, vitamin C and vitamin A, but omega-3 fatty acids. Dried leaves of oregano can be used to treat pain due to arthritis or rheumatism, being applied to local painful area, after which dressing the area.

RosemaryAbout Rosemary is known that stops the genetic mutations that could lead to cancer, and help prevent damage to blood vessels and blood circulation, preventing the risk of heart attack.Rosemary oil stimulates hair growth, mental activity and prevents the occurrence of respiratory diseases.

PaprikaPaprika contains an unusually large amount of vitamin C. Chili pepper used for paprika contains 6-9 times more vitamin C than an ordinary tomato. Like chili, paprika contains Capsaicin, substances with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that reduce the risk of cancer.Also, paprika is an antibacterial agent and stimulant that helps regulate blood pressure, improving blood circulation and increases the amount of saliva and stomach acids, helping to improve digestion.

ClovesCloves are the dried flower buds of the clove tree, an evergreen tree that grows in tropical climates. In China, cloves are used for over 2000 years to treat bad breath. And in other countries, cloves were used to treat alcoholism.Cloves are a natural anesthetic, which is why centuries ago was used during dental procedures and are currently used by some cultures as a remedy against toothache. They are also of great help in case of several digestive disorders, among them vomiting and diarrhea.

Caraway Caraway contains amounts of magnesium and iron.Caraway seeds have anti-cancer properties

Find objects, symbols and quotes to represent Teiresias. Find the role model, best movie, song and book he would choose. Describe him.The quotes...

Much of the answer to this will be dependent on how you see the prophet himself.  Given some of his lines in the play and his importance, I think that there can be much in the way of reflection and exploration to find objects or songs that represent him.  The idea of being blind, but still possessing "sight" might be one of the first worth exploring.  In this light, I would suggest that a pair of sunglasses, which represents a form of perceived obscured vision, yet allowing its wearer to determine what reality is might be a good object.  Another object to represent the knowledge of the future could be the Horoscope listing from a local paper.  "Teiresias' Fortune Telling" could be a unique twist on this and the astrological signs could be a part of this.  In terms of what forms of art he would choose, I think that he would like works of art where someone has to "gain" suffering in order to understand the nature of wisdom.  In my mind, he would enjoy reading Shakespeare's "King Lear" because of this.  The U2 Song, "Love is Blindness" could be another art sample he would enjoy as the song is deliberately obscure in retelling images of love set against a haunting melody.  Teiresias might enjoy this.  Another song that might appeal to him in trying to prove to Oedipus his human condition and trying to reduce his hubris would be REM's song, "Everybody Hurts."  It is something that Oedipus would not immediately embrace, but could do so in recognizing that Teiresias was right in the end.

Why is no one allowed either into or out of the abbey?

To put it simply, no one is allowed in or out because "The 'RED DEATH' had long devastated the country", & Prince Prospero's sole reason for bringing "a thousand hale and light-hearted friends" into his castle is to remain immune from the disease. The measures to which the prince goes to keep the illness at bay are remarkable:

A strong and lofty wall girdled it in. This wall had gates of iron. The courtiers, having entered, brought furnaces and massy hammers and welded the bolts. They resolved to leave means neither of ingress or egress to the sudden impulses of despair or of frenzy from within.

So, the wall and the welded doors assured (or so the prince thought) that no one could enter or exit the abbey. Thus, all those inside "might bid defiance to contagion." They wouldn't worry about those folk dying a horrible, bloody death outside; instead they would party. After all, they had all the entertainment they could want:

There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without was the “Red Death."

So, the wealthy are safe and secure...or are they?

What literary terms such as climax, symbolism, and conflict and theme were found in the short story "Chickamauga"?

Many literary devices are used in Ambrose Bierce's Chickamauga. If you look at the first paragraph, the way it is written is "foreshadowing" that is telling the events that will come later. You can tell by the words he uses. The picture he paints with his words are dark and forboding. The boy is not only a boy, but represents all boys. (symbolism)

Looking at the third full paragraph below, you can see the literary device, "symbolism" utilized:

Advancing from the bank of the creek he suddenly found himself confronted with a new and more formidable enemy: in the path that he was following, sat, bolt upright, with ears erect and paws suspended before it, a rabbit! With a startled cry the child turned and fled, he knew not in what direction, calling with inarticulate cries for his mother, weeping, stumbling, his tender skin cruelly torn by brambles, his little heart beating hard with terror--breathless, blind with tears--lost in the forest! Then, for more than an hour, he wandered with erring feet through the tangled undergrowth, till at last, overcome by fatigue, he lay down in a narrow space between two rocks, within a few yards of the stream and still grasping his toy sword, no longer a weapon but a companion, sobbed himself to sleep. The wood birds sang merrily above his head; the squirrels, whisking their bravery of tail, ran barking from tree to tree, unconscious of the pity of it, and somewhere far away was a strange, muffed thunder, as if the partridges were drumming in celebration of nature's victory over the son of her immemorial enslavers. And back at the little plantation, where white men and black were hastily searching the fields and hedges in alarm, a mother's heart was breaking for her missing child.

In this paragraph Bierce uses these small animals as "enemies" because they are symbols as the inherent nature of this common boy to go to war, to fight and to kill.

In the next two paragraphs the little boy sees men who have been maimed by war. Bierce describes them as a man would see them but also reminds the reader that as a boy, he would not see them as plainly. The boy laughed and reacted as a child acts when someone is playing with him. This technique just exacerbates the trauma of the situation. Bierce is so exacting in his portrayals of the ruthless maiming of human beings in war. This is the beginning of the conflict. The conflict is between how the boy should react to death and how he really reacts. The reader is appauled and disgusted by his reaction. We know he doesnt understand what is happening. As readers, we wait for him to understand, to react appropriately.

At the very end, the child sees his dead mother. This is the climax. Finally he reacts correctly, in terror. But terror is a mild word because Bierce's decription of the boy's reaction is that of utter devastation. In the end, the boy finally understands death. The boy is reacting to the worst fear of any and all children--total abandonment. Even he knows , at his young age, that he is totally alone in this world.The reader can see this in the boy, at the end, he cannot handle it. He is devastated.

This is the message Bierce wants his readers to understand: war is total devastation. War is hell.

How does Jem's, Scout's, and Dill's relationship with Boo Radley change by the end of To Kill a Mockingbird? Give examples from the novel.

    Boo Radley is the ghoulish mystery man who unites the three children in friendship and mischief in Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Initially, the three kids merely think of Boo as the neighborhood phantom, a never-seen enigma who they hope to lure out into the open for a peek. But Atticus's persistent warnings to "stop tormenting that man" finally make some headway.
    Each of the children eventually discover that Boo is more than an unseen spirit. When the kids are shot at by Mr. Radley and Jem loses his pants, Jem returns with a shocking surprise: Someone has mended them and left them hanging on the fence for him to find. Jem finally comes to understand that it is Boo who has undertaken this kindness and kept him from more trouble with Atticus.
    On the night of the great fire, Atticus sends the children to stand near the Radley Place and away from danger. Scout later discovers that she has been covered with a blanket.

"... Someday, maybe, Scout can thank him for covering her up."
    "Thank who?" I asked.
    "Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn't know it when he put the blanket on you."
    My stomach turned to water and I nearly threw up...

Dill even discovers a common personal link with Boo, for they both have been abandoned by their fathers. When Scout asks Dill why he thinks Boo has never run away like Dill, he wisely answers that

    "Maybe he doesn't have anywhere to run off to..."

    After Boo comes to Jem and Scout's rescue when they are attacked by Bob Ewell, Scout discovers that Boo has gone from a scary object of ridicule to her newest hero. Although he is as pale as the children had imagined, he is also gentle and kind. And when she walks Boo back to his house and turns to observe the neighborhood from his porch, she discovers a whole new view of her world.

In "The Yellow Wallpaper," what does the creeping figure in the wallpaper represent?

As the story progresses, the woman in the wallpaper increasingly represents the narrator's deteriorating mind, and is a symbol of her own feeling of being trapped and imprisoned by her family and circumstances.

Notice at the beginning of the story she does not see a woman in wallpaper; rather, she focus on its ugliness, on how it is "an artistic sin."  But as she is forced to spend more time in the horrid room, alone, separated from her work, from socializing, from seeing her son, and from doing anything productive or active, she begins to see a woman in the wallpaper.  At first, it isn't even a clear form:

"But in the places where it isn't faded and where the sun is just so I can see a strange, provoking, formless sort of figure, that seems to skulk about behind that silly and conspicuous front design."

She feels that behind the main design of the paper, there is a figure lurking.  Eventually, that figure becomes a woman, then a woman behind bars, then a woman longing to get out of the bars, then multiple women crawling around.  At the end of the story, she herself has become that woman, crawling around and around the room trying to thwart her imprisoners.  So the woman in the paper represents her, and her feelings of imprisonment, confusion and captivity--it's a symbolic representation of her powerless state, both mentally and physically.

I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!

In Fahrenheit 451 they were not allowed to have free-thinkers, but I want to know why free-thinkers are important to democracy?

Freedom of thought is necessary for democracy because if not one would only have a collective controlled thought.  If one votes fro something or a candidate then in order for the vote to be democratic choices must be present.  Freedom of expression encompasses freedom of speech and media, freedom of thought, culture, and intellectual inquiry. Without them there could be no democracy. 

In order to advocate for change there must be an open exchange of ideas and thoughts.  It provides for all people, majority or minority, to be part of the decision making process in a democracy.

Full importance of freedom of expression could perhaps be appreciated only with the rise of totalitarian regimes, such as Adolph Hitler's Germany and Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union, among others.

In such regimes, the state not only exerted full control over expression, , it also used the media to direct citizens' thoughts and opinions through propaganda, indoctrination, denunciation, and social conformity.

In Fahrenheit 451, the body of government is totalitarian.  Therefore, the above statement taken from the democracy website makes an excellent statement relevant to the book.

In Fahrenheit 451 what lesson is Faber giving Montag by telling him about the legend of Hercules and Antaeus?Page 83

Faber is explaining to Montag how books are very important in our lives, and have real meaning and quality.  He give three reasons as to why books are important:  They have quality, they allow the leisure to process their meanings, and the prompt people to act on what they've learned.  When Faber brings up the Hercules and Antaeus legend, he is referring to how books have quality.  Unlike a lot of other entertainment that shows only the beautiful, fantastical, entertaining, pleasing parts of life, books describe everything.  They "show the pores on the face of life."  They describe the good AND the bad, and are truthful, unlike many other forms of entertainment.  And, because books are so grounded, so rooted in reality, they keep us strong.  If we can learn about the good and the bad in life, we develop strength to cope with trials.  If all we do is focus on the good, and refuse to admit that there are bad things, we are ill-equipped to deal with reality (take Mildred, for example, who tries to kill herself instead of dealing with her issues).

In the legend that Faber describes, Antaeus is a very powerful wrestler because he stood firmly on the earth.  This is like everyone who reads books--they keep us strong, because they show us what life really is, and how to cope with life realistically.  But as soon as Hercules lifted Antaeus off of the earth, he perished.  This is akin to us refusing to read books; we are not grounded anymore, we have no sense of what life is really about, and we can't cope with bad things.  This will destroy us; it makes us weak.  We need to, like Antaeus, stay firmly rooted in reality to make us strong, and books help us to do that.

It's a rather deep connection that Bradbury is trying to make, but I hope that I explained it well enough to help you understand.  Good luck!

How does The Yiddish Policeman's Union raise awareness of Jewish identity in America?

People of Hebrew and Jewish religious descent have historically been outcasts or visitors in other lands. Taking Biblical history into account with scholarly history, it seems that Jewish people have always had trouble designating their ethnic and religious identities alongside people of other cultures. Since ancient times, there has never really been a "Jewish country," and even modern-day Israel is far-more multicultural than many other countries. Self-identification of Jewish heritage is problematic on many levels, and much of this stems from historically not having a proper homeland on which to base heritage. Israel, under attack for generations and not being a self-identified "Jewish state" until not even a century ago, is hard for Jews living in other countries to relate their identities to. In the book, Alaska has become a de facto "Jewish state," but is scheduled to be Reverted to U.S. control.

"...if we stay here, well, we are finished, too. Scattered to the winds. Reversion as the fire... a restored Jerusalem as the bucket of ice water. Some of our younger men argue for making a stand here, daring them to dislodge us. But that is madness."
(Chabon, The Yiddish Policeman's Union, Google Books)

As with the historical purges of the Hebrew people from Israel, this Reversion will remove the cultural heritage from an entrenched group of people; many of the Jews who leave Alaska have lived there all their lives, but the next generation will forget that place and become "scattered" into the Gentile world. Because of the need for a cultural identity, Reversion is seen by many as an unnecessary action; the law, they argue, should be changed to reflect the modern world. At the same time, they see Alaska as more of their homeland as Israel ever was. This makes the concept of self-identification as a Jew difficult at best, and the younger generation -- aside from the zealots and rebels mentioned above -- barely identify as Jewish at all.

This echoes modern-day Jews living in the U.S., many of whom are secular or do not even know of their heritage. Instead of looking for a cultural heritage to draw from, they accept identification with any number of other cultures or religious/ethnic groups, and so "scatter" their own culture farther and farther from its source. Instead of celebrating and passing on the culture of Jewish identity, secularists living in the U.S. seek to escape it, much as some in the book seek to forget their own heritage and "get along" with the rest of the world.