What are the 3 main plots in Wuthering Heights?the 1st: Heathcliff takes revenge until the end of the novel. the 2nd: the love between Heathcliff...

There are three narrative levels in Wuthering Heights:

1. Primary: The dates 1801 and 1802 in Ch. 1 and Ch. 32 clearly indicate that the entire novel is a written record of all the incidents narrated to Lockwood by Nelly Dean. He is thus both the primary narrator and the primary narattee. The method of narration is the first person past written method. Lockwood's story is that last summer he had met a pretty girl and had encouraged her to fall in love with him but however he did not reciprocate and the girl left him disappointed. During his short stay at Thrushcross Grange he is attracted to the younger Catherine and this also does not come to anything:

"While enjoying a month of fine weather at the sea-coast, I was thrown into the company of a most fascinating creature: a real goddess in my eyes, as long as she took no notice of me. I 'never told my love' vocally; still, if looks have language, the merest idiot might have guessed I was over head and ears: she understood me at last, and looked a return - the sweetest of all imaginable looks. And what did I do? I confess it with shame - shrunk icily into myself, like a snail; at every glance retired colder and farther; till finally the poor innocent was led to doubt her own senses, and, overwhelmed with confusion at her supposed mistake, persuaded her mamma to decamp." Ch. 1.

2. Secondary: Nelly Dean is the secondary narrator who narrates all the incidents to Lockwood. The method of narration is the first person past/present spoken method. Most of the incidents she narrates  have already taken place, but when she reports the exact words of a character especially during an intensely emotional scene (Ch. 11) Emily Bronte creates the illusion that the incident is happening just then.

3. Tertiary: Some of the incidents are first narratred  by the different characters first to Nelly the secondary narrator who in turn narrates them to Lockwood the primary narrator: Heathcliff's oral accounts in Ch. 6 and Ch. 33; Isabella's letter in Ch. 13 which is read out aloud to Lockwood thus, combining the written and the oral method; Isabella's oral account in Ch. 17 ; younger Cathy Linton's oral account in Ch. 24; and Zillah's oral account in Ch. 30.

The main plot is undoubtedly the incestuous love of Heathcliff and the elder Catherine which is doomed to failure from the very beginning. Heathcliff is in fact the brother by adoption to the elder Catherine and although they are both sexually attracted to one another there is no possibility of their being united as husband and wife.

Is the ending of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn a moral closure?

The ending does have some aspects of moral closure to it.  Take for example how Huck's attitude towards Jim has changed from the beginning of the novel.  At the beginning, he viewed Jim as property, and as an ignorant human with no brains or rights at all.  He even gets upset at the audacity that Jim shows in wanting to buy his wife and children back once they reach slavery.  However, by the end of the book, Huck views Jim as an equal--he even states, "he was white on the inside," which goes to show that he felt Jim was worth thinking of as an equal.  He also considers Jim to be a good friend, and goes to great lengths to help him to escape.  So, the moral closure there is that Twain helps a young boy who was raised in a slave-owning state, and who was indocrinated by slave owners, to see that slavery is not moral and that slaves are human beings who deserve rights also.

Another example of moral closure comes when we find out that Miss Watson had freed Jim before she passed away because she felt so bad for separating his family.  This shows that not all the slave owners were evil people, and some did make moral choices in the end.  They recognized that slaves had families, and were hurt when torn apart. So, there is a bit of moral closure there too.

As for other areas where moral closure could've occurred, Twain leaves it pretty open. For example, the Duke and King get away with all of their shenanigans, so, criminals who did great harm to people are let free.  Also, many of the evils that Huck had encountered throughout the story are not resolved; Twain simply shows a lot of the negative aspects of society without proposing any solutions or hope.  In the area of Jim and Huck, and a few people's attitudes towards slavery however, he does provide closure.

I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!

In regards to "Self-Reliance," does Emerson value original thought or traditional wisdom more?

This is no contest.  Emerson values original thought way more than traditional wisdom.  In fact, I'd say he barely values traditional wisdom at all.

The whole point of "Self-Reliance" is that you are supposed to rely on your own conscience.  This is a major idea of Transcendentalism, which was a school of thought that Emerson was part of.  As he says, whoever wants to be a man needs to be a nonconformist.  Emerson thinks that blindly following tradition or societal expectations robs us of our humanity, essentially.

So, Emerson really does not like traditional wisdom, especially if it is followed just because it is traditional.

Write a short, critical summary of the "The Interlopers" by Saki.

The short story, "The Interlopers" by Saki is one of bitter irony. The two men, Znayem and von Gradwitz have kept a generations old fued going. The courts tried to settle it, but neither man wanted to make peace, so they plot and pray that misfortune would fall on the other. This literally happens one night as the men come upon each other in the woods. Mother nature takes things into control and blows a tree over pinning them both underneath. They seem to be making amends, but the story ends with both men realizing that the shapes coming down the far hillside are not the men they had been expecting, but wolves instead.

What is the setting and plot of "The Pit and the Pendulum"? Who are the characters?

The setting takes place in an apartment, where the narrator sees the white judges for the first time. He is sentenced by them and then he suddenly blacks out. When he awakes, he is in a very dark place, also known as the pit. The pit is actually a dungeon, this is an example of Poe's symbolism. The pit is dark, deep, scary, and lonesome. The unusual thing about the pit is that there is an additional abyss inside the pit the narrator is already in. This gets the narrator thinking about his torture and his possible upcoming death. Like many of Poe's stories,"The Pit and the Pendulum" isnt much more than multiple macabre situations. The plot of this story is: the unknown narrator is imprisoned, then escapes torture three different times, and then is finally rescued by General Lasalle and the French Army.

How does a sound wave work and can you any way see evidence of one?

Sound waves are due to the mechanical vibrations created by an object. Example a tuning fork or the cone of a speker. Sound waves requires a media, either air or a material solid or liquid. Sound does not travel in vaccum. Example : An electrical bell vibrating inside a vaccum jar can not be heard. Sound gets reflected from objects.You may be hearing echos in a big room when you are alone in a large room. Sound (or sound energy) gets absorbed by varous objects like human beings, objects like non rigid porous materials, fibrous mats.

Sound has speed. It is much less than light. That is why you here thunder  sometime after lightening. Laws of reflection of sound is similar to that of light. Sound has a fixed speed/ velocity  in a fixed media.It 's velocity is much higher in solids and liquids than in air.

The sound waves are characterised  by wave length, frequency, amplitude of the vibrarating object. Sound waves (transeverse) propagates (amplitudes against the wavelength) in a sinusoidal type or just like a sine curve.

What did Machiavelli feel was wrong with Italy of his time, that it needed The Prince he described in his book, The Prince?

When Niccolo Machiavelli wrote "The Prince" in 1513, he felt that there was a great deal wrong with the way Italian governments (of course there was no such thing as the country of Italy at this time) were being run.

The major problem, to Machiavelli, was the fact that Italy was disunited.  This gave Spain and France, especially, points of access through which they could interfere in the politics of the Italian states.

A secondary problem, and one which also helped keep Italy disunited, was the amount of temporal (non-religious) power that the Catholic Church had.

Because of this, Machiavelli believed Italian rulers needed to be more ruthless in pursuing their goals.  He wrote "The Prince" as a manual for achieving political success by (in part) disregarding notions of morality.

Why does one need to exert different amount of force when using the three classes of levers?When using first, second and third class lever, the...

Lever is a simple machine which consists of a lever or a rod which swings around a fixed pivot called fulcrum. This mechanism provides a mechanical advantage in moving a load with effort that is less than the load. Lever makes it possible by changing the ratio of movement of the load and the effort. When an effort is applied directly to a load the length of movement of load and the effort is exactly same. But by using a lever it is possible to change this ratio. When the lever swings around its pivot the distance moved by different points on the lever is directly proportional to their distance from the fulcrum. The points nearer to the fulcrum move less and those away from the fulcrum move more. Points just on the fulcrum do not move at all. Therefore by changing the points on lever where load is placed and effort is applied and the position of the fulcrum it is possible to achieve different degrees of mechanical advantage. The exact relationship between the load and effort is give by the equation below.

Load x Distance of load from fulcrum = effort x Distance of effort from fulcrum.

Thus if distance of load from fulcrum is twice the distance of effort from fulcrum the effort required to move the load will be half the load. This amounts to mechanical advantage of 2.

The levers are classified in three classes depending on the relative positions of the fulcrum, load and the effort.

In first class of levers the fulcrum is in the center and the load and efforts are on opposite sides of the fulcrum. In this type of lever it is possible to have distance of load from fulcrum either more than or less than the distance of effort from the fulcrum. Thus the effort can be less or more than the load. Examples of first type of levers are see-saw and scissors.

In second class of lever the fulcrum is at one end to the lever and the effort at the other end. The load is always between the fulcrum and the effort. In this type of levers the distance of load from fulcrum is always less than the distance of force. Therefore the force is always less than load. Examples of this type of lever are nutcracker and bottle opener.

In third class of lever  fulcrum load are on two extreme end of the lever, and the effort is between them. In this type of levers the distance of load from fulcrum is always more than the distance of force. Therefore the force is always more than load. Examples of this type of lever are tongs and tweezers.

How does Mr. Raymond defend his deliberate appearance of drunkenness?

Mr. Raymond reveals that he is not really a drunk--he intentionally appears to be drunk so that people will leave him alone.  As a white man who has a relationship and children with a black woman, Dolphus Raymond knows that he and his family would face unrelenting persecution if he simply defied Maycomb's "social" standards.  Therefore, in order to live his life how he wants to live it, he pretends to be drunk.  The residents of Maycomb fall for his sham by seeing him as the eccentric town drunk.

Dolphus Raymond is another one of Lee's logical, objective characters--one who does not fall prey to Maycomb's tradition of racism and prejudice.  Besides Atticus, Heck Tate, Miss Maudie, and Link Deas are similar characters who are able to look past skin color to see someone's real character.

In regards to Doctor Faustus, how does Christopher Marlowe view human nature?

It is hard to say what Christopher Marlowe thought about human nature because his life was short and we have so little to go on, much of which is still conjecture. However, we can surmise a few things from the way he lived. He was in clandestine government service for Queen Elizabeth I; he was in a lot of fights; he was a traitor and gold coin counterfeiter; he was accused of other crimes; a warrant was issued for his arrest; there is much controversy surrounding his death; and he was the first to use blank verse in English poetry after translating Latin poetry.

Christopher Marlowe was a successful scholar who studied history and theology, though his studies were interrupted for a protracted period of time for what is believed to be clandestine service as a spy. He had a volatile temper and was accused of murder on two occasions, though the Queen released him both times. He was caught in the Netherlands making counterfeit coins, which is a treasonous offense. His personal life stirred up as much controversy as his public life because he was suspected of conversion to outlawed Catholicism, of heresy, and of unacceptable sexual orientation.

His death is a mystery. Some believed it was faked by one branch of Elizabeth's government to keep him safe from another branch. He is said to have gotten in a quarrel with a man after dining with him and was supposedly fatally stabbed in the eye. Some accounts say the fight occurred in either a tavern or a "spy safe house."

From all this, it is possible to conjecture that Marlowe held a low opinion of human nature and that he thought human nature was a disposable entity. He may have engaged in clandestine and criminal activities because he believed, like Dr. Faustus, that power was the beginning and end of life. But on the other hand, he was the originator of English drama and the first to use blank verse in English poetry after having translated Latin blank verse to English. This implies a belief in higher beauties because, during the Elizabethan age of the Renaissance, poetry was believed to be an imitation of the truths of God. In many ways Christopher Marlowe parallels the value system of Dr. Faustus, except that Faustus craved unlimited knowledge and it looks like Marlowe may have craved unlimited power.

In The Crucible should John Proctor be accused of being a witch, or not?From the point view of Mr. Hale.

There is no way that John should be accused of being a witch, or of being guilty of practicing witchcraft.  It is implied that the people accusing him use the following reasons to support their accusations:  1.  He hasn't been to church in quite a while.  2.  He hasn't had his last son baptized.  3.  He is openly antagonistic and questioning of the town's reverend, Parris.  4.  He committed an affair with Abigail.  5.  He "coerced" Mary to come and testify against the girls and the courts, supposedly to try to get real witches set free.

The first three accusations he explains in act two when Hale comes to visit. He hasn't been to church in a while because his wife was sick a lot the past year, and, he doesn't like Reverend Parris or his preaching style.  The fact that he doesn't like Reverend Parris also accounts for his arguing with Parris a lot, and not wanting his son to be baptized by him.  He gives good reasons for not liking Parris--Parris seems fixated with money, wealth and status, and preaches scary sermons filled with Hellfire and damnation.  So, people use this to say he is against God, and a devil's servant, which is ridiculous.

He openly confessed to his affair, at his own detriment, but the courts didn't believe it, so that wasn't taken into account when he was accused of being a witch.  It was Mary Warren turning on him, in order to save her own skin, that led to his arrest.  She lied, told everyone that he had forced her there to lie, and that he was "the devil's man."  She did this so that Abby and the others wouldn't accuse her of being a witch.  And, the courts take that as proof, rock solid.  For that reason alone, he should not be condemned as a witch.

At the most, John is guilty of making a few mistakes, and being a bit prideful and expressing his opinions.  Not witchcraft.  There is no proof he ever cast a spell, bewitched anyone, or used the devil's power to manipulate. I hope that helped a bit; good luck!

How does Sir Gawain show loyalty and displays courage in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight??

Sir Gawain shows honorable behavior by refusing the advances made upon him by Lady Bertilak.  Also, he kept his word and gave Bertilak all of the kisses that he did receive from Lady Bertilak as agreed upon before the hunting.  (Whatever Bertilak kills he will bring to Gawain, but Gawain had to give Bertilak the things such as the kisses. ) This proved to Bertilak who is the Green Knight that Gawain is honest to a degree. 

At the end of the story, Gawain survives because of the sash and because of his honesty with the kisses that was given to him.  However, he does receives a cut on the neck because he didn't open admit he had it.  Gawain tries to return the sash, however he is to keep it as a shameful reminder that he didn't completely tell the truth. 

Pollutants that are not broken down by natural processes are?

Pollution has been defined as "any introduction in the environment by man, directly or indirectly, of some of the substances or energy with deleterious effects, likely to endanger human health, damage the biological  resources, ecosystems and material properties, to reduce benefits or to prevent other legitimate uses of the environment.

1. Natural pollution - has secondary importance in conditions where the contribution of anthropogenic pollutants is becoming more serious.

a) volcanic eruptions issue gas, vapor, solid particles that are transported long distances by wind and air currents.

b) Soil erosion, caused by wind or rain, is the more intense the more the soil is devoid of vegetation, in slope or in an area with rich basin network.

c) plant and animal residues release, by decomposition, a number of polluting gaseous substances. Pollen or fungi may be natural aerosols that adversely affect human population health.  

2. Artificial Pollution
Initial pollutant products were of organic nature and easily biodegraded by bacteria and fungi.

Along with industrial development and population explosion appeared non-biodegradable waste, for which no enzymes exist in nature capable of decomposition.
Pollutants may be of different nature:
- Physical (heat, ionizing radiation, noise, etc..)
- Chemical (pesticides, oil, metals, organic substances, etc..)
- Biological (pathogens: viruses, bacteria, fungi).

Depending on their state of aggregation, the pollutants can be:
- Solid
- Liquid
- Gaseous.
The volume of pollutants that are assaults environment and the pollution intensity are in direct proportional report with growing of number of humanity and its requirements, several requirements being created and maintained artificial.Pollution grows exponentially, as new pollutants factors coming into action, due to the combined effect of their action.

It is very difficult to inventory the number of all polluting factors acting in one way or another, at some point, and to assess the amounted outcome of their action. There are no known limits of resilience of ecosystems and Ecosfera

Compare and contrast the literary elements of Paul Laurence Dunbar's "We Wear the Mask" and Langston Hughes's "Harlem"

The reason for pairing these two poems isn't immediately clear to me, but I suppose the two poems are related in how they address a central theme:  how do we (esp. "we" in reference to black people in the late 19th and early 20th centuries) respond to the painful parts of life?

In addressing this theme, both poems make heavy use of figurative language, but they don't always use the same literary elements. Dunbar's poem seems to rely more on metaphor (esp. in the central image of the mask) whereas Hughes' poem is structured around similes (all but one of the comparisons are introduced with the word "like").

The diction of the poems is very different and may be one point of contrast that you can develop. The vocabulary in Hughes' poem is simple and concrete in comparison to that of Dunbar's. Dunbar even uses the archaic form "thee."

A good point of comparison and contrast may be the form of the poems. Both poems use end rhyme, but Hughes' poem is much more loosely structured; it's written in free verse and doesn't use a clearly measured number of syllables per line. Read the lines of both poems aloud, slowly and clearly but in a natural speaking voice, and you'll hear the difference in form. 

How does Chaucer describe the prioress and the monk?

Both the Nun and the Monk are guilty of breaking their vows of poverty and obedience. Both own pets, which would have been considered a luxury.  The nun has pet dogs and the monk has greyhounds that he uses for hunting.  Keep in mind both of them should have a life dedicated to helping the poor, praying, and working in the abbey or monastary. Both are also dressed better than they should be and both are very well fed.

Chaucer portrays the nun as somewhat of a phony with her manners and her substandard French. He gives this long description of her table manners, but then goes on to say she only appears dignified. He also references her large forehead. During this time period, a broad forehead was thought to be a sign of good breeding and intelligence, but her forehead is huge! Chaucer is exaggerating this feature to poke fun at her belief that she is so dignified and proper.  He does say that she is "charitable and pious," but in the next line we find out this is only towards animals.

The monk is shirking his duties in the monastery to go out hunting.  He doesn't want to do the studying, as the books make his head spin, and he doesn't want to do the hard physical labor.  Instead he is out with his greyhounds hunting.  Like the nun, he is well-dressed with fur-trimmed robes and he is wearing a gold pin.

Neither of them are particularly bad people, but they do not take their vows seriously.

What is the difference between 'fair' and 'equal'? Is the law fair? Expand.

In theory, everyone is entitled to fair treatment under the law regardless of race, class, gender or beliefs.

Here is an example from the classroom.

1. A special needs student gets test accommodations in the form of a scribe because he has dysgraphia (trouble writing). This is fair; he is getting an equal chance do do well on a test.

2. Everyone who turns in their essay late loses five points a day. This is equal; everyone is receiving the same consequence.

Another example:

1. A man and a woman who do the same job should be paid the same salary. This is equal pay for equal work.

2. Of two people who do the same job and have a chance to earn a bonus, the person who does a better job should earn the bonus. This is fair because he/she has worked harder and done a better job.

In "The Devil and Tom Walker," what are some examples of Romanticism?ex... nationalism & individualism

"Devil" certainly demonstrates the normal elements of American Romanticism (supernatural encounters, time spent in nature--especially the dark forest, and moral lessons).  In regards to nationalism, Irving's short story does provide the reader with insight into early Americana.  For example, Irving plays on some of the curious superstitions of the Puritans and other settlers (the devil as a being who inhabits the forest while trying to gather unsuspecting settlers into his fold), and he also satirizes the hellfire and brimstone view that many early Americans had of God and the devil.  In this sense, Irving (who was also widely read in Europe) allows his readers a glimpse into the beliefs, traditions, and superstitions of the people of the New World.

As far as the Romantic quality of Individualism goes, the author specifically portrays Tom as an individual--someone who makes his own path in life (albeit a suspect one) and who really does not seem to care what others think about him.  In general, the idea that individuals have to make personal decisions about their afterlife and lifestyles here on earth also fits in well with Romantic ideals.

Analyze allusions to the "devilish Indian" in Young Goodman Brown

The most apparent answer is that the "devilish Indian" links the early Americans' fear of both the Natives and the supposed evils of the forest.  The early Puritans linked the darkness and primitiveness to Satan.  It was said that men and women lured to the forest were also lured into Satan's power.  Therefore the Natives who lived in the forest, were seen as evil and impure.

Who is Bando in the story My Side of the Mountain?

Bando is the first human friend that Sam makes on the mountain. 

One day Sam hears police sirens on the road leading up to the mountain then finds a man at his tree (Sam's hollowed tree). Though Sam believes that the man is a criminal fleeing the police, he approaches him. 

After a time, Sam learns that Bando is not a bandit at all, but rather a college professor who got lost on a hike.

Staying with Sam for a while, Bando and Sam share a good time together making music and eating from Sam's supply of food. 

Bando later returns to visit Sam on several occasions and becomes Sam's primary link to the world outside the mountain. A caring and intelligent man, Bando enjoys Sam's company and does not try to persuade Sam to go back home. 

Sam learns from Bando that newspapers have picked up on Sam's story and word is spreading about a boy living wild in the woods.

What does Winston remember about why his mother and sister died? (Or about the last time he sees them.)

Technically, Winston does not recall the deaths of his mother and sister; instead, he recalls the last time he sees them alive.

At the beginning of Chapter 7, Winston and Julia awake in the room above Mr. Charrington's shop.  Winston is crying over a dream he had about his mother; he has believed for some time that he murdered her.  He recalls now the times spent with his mother and sister hiding in underground shelters, often with little or no food.  One day, out of desperation, Winston steals some chocolate from his family and runs away, never to see them again.  This fact could have led to his belief that he inadvertently murdered his mother, since food was so scarce and his memories of hunger so vivid.  Since we never meet any of Winston's family members, this conversation with Julia is invaluable to our understanding of Winston's background. 

In the book "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," what is the story's setting?

When the story starts, Bruno and his family live in Berlin during World War II.  They live in a huge house and have servants.  After a visit from Hitler, the family moves to a new city the boy hears as "Out-With" (really Aushwitz, the notorious concentration camp) because Bruno's dad has been promoted and will be running the place.

When Bruno gets there he is disappointed because the house is smaller, with only 3 floors instead of the 5 he had in Berlin.   People are always coming and going through the house.  The home is near a wooded area that Bruno is forbidden to explore (though of course he does anyway.)

That's the general setting of the story...the bleak landscape outside the concentration camp of Aushwitz.

In Twelfth Night, where in Act 1 Scene 5 does the form change from prose to poetry or move away from iambic pentameter?

The difference between verse and prose, or iambic pentameter and normal writing, is one that is easily identified on the page, as the prose simply runs until the end of one line and then continues onto the next without any break. Verse, or iambic pentameter, runs only for approximately ten syllables, and so it does not continue until the end of the page and a blank gap can be seen. Shakespeare in his plays uses prose to write the words of lowly characters and the sub-plot. This is why Feste's conversation with his mistress is written in prose, as although Olivia is clearly a member of the main plot and the upper class, at this point she is talking to Feste, the fool, and they are engaging in wordplay. The change shifts to verse when Olivia receives Viola, who brings her new protestations of love from Orsino:

Give me my veil. Come, throw it o'er my face.

We'll once more hear Orsino's embassy.

The shift reflects the more dignified role that she must play as lady of the house in receiving Orsino's messenger. However, interestingly, when Viola begins to deliver her message, she breaks into prose when she discusses which lady is Olivia and talks of the work she put into delivering her speech. The switch between prose and poetry in this scene seems to highlight the contrast between artifice and real emotions. Viola stresses again and again the "pains" she put into writing the speech, and this is something that undercuts the power of her rhetoric. This is something that Olivia herself is very aware of.

In the Exodus of Antigone with what idea does the Choragos conclude?

The Exodus or closing lines of Antigone emphasize the play's overall theme and stress the cause of Creon's tragic downfall.  The Choragos (in some translations also called "Leader" or simply "Chorus") observes:

"Knowledge truly is by far the most important part of happiness, but one must neglect nothing that the gods demand. Great words of the over-proud balanced by great falls taught us knowledge in our old age."

In some translations, the word "knowledge" is "wisdom," which many find more fitting.  Creon obviously possesses much knowledge, but he does not use it in a way fitting to the gods.  He knows what to do when it comes to Antigone's sentence.  Not only has he been advised by his counselors and son to show mercy to his niece, but he also received a clear message from Teiresias regarding his actions.  Unfortunately, Creon's tragic flaw of pride causes him to act unwisely, and he defies the gods.  Thus, according to the Choragos's statement which completes the play, Creon cannot have happiness because he "neglected" to obey the gods (which would have shown wisdom, not simply knowledge).  The final words of the Choragos are the moral of the play--pride brings about one's downfall.  Creon was too proud to admit that his niece was obeying the gods and acting morally when she tried to bury her brother's body. And then, he was too proud to change his sentence when advised to do so because he thought that it would make him appear weak.  The very last words, "in our old age" most likely advises the audience to be willing to listen and change even if a younger person is the one showing an older person the correct way to act.  Sophocles implies that wisdom does not necessarily come with age but that it comes from listening and observing.

Please provide a short note on improbabilities and inconsistencies in the play King Lear.

The two greatest improbabilities in King Lear are that Lear would not recognize Kent in disguise in Act 1, Scene 4, and that Gloucester would not recognize his own son Edgar who is disguised as a peasant when he becomes his father's guide and protector in Act 4. It is also somewhat improbable that Edgar should be so easily deceived by his half-brother Edmund and suddenly become an outlaw who has to pretend to be a madman. Furthermore, it is improbable that Gloucester should be so easily deceived by Edmund as well.

And there are several glaring improbabilities in Act 1, Scene 1, where Lear asks his three daughters to tell him how much they love him. It is improbable that he could be so easily deceived by Goneril and Regan, who are both declaring their love with such hyperbolic speeches. For example, Goneril says, "Sir, I love you more than words can wield the matter, / Dearer than eye-sight, space and liberty . . ." Regan follows by saying that she loves him even more than that. It is also improbable that Cordelia should be so reticent in expressing her love for her father, since hers is the only genuine love. Tolstoy in discussing this play in an essay titled "Shakespeare and the Drama" says that she seems to be purposely trying to "vex" her father.

It is improbable that Lear and Gloucester should encounter each other in the fields near Dover and that so many of the principal characters should all come together so neatly in that area. It is inconsistent with their characters that Goneril and Regan should both fall in love with Edmund so quickly and that Goneril should kill her sister and then commit suicide. It is inconsistent with his character that Edmund should become so kind and sentimental just before he dies, and that he should try to save Lear and Cordelia after ordering them executed.

In "The Crucible" why do you think Rev. Parris has many enemies?

There are several possible reasons as to why Reverend Parris is unliked in the town of Salem.  The first is that  his sermons aren't very uplifting or motivating; in fact, as Proctor states in act one, they are pretty much all about "hellfire and damnation," which is a pretty depressing topic to listen to.  A lot of the people in the town are farmers who work hard all day long and travel quite a distance to go to church on Sundays.  And, to arrive at church, tired, wanting to hear some uplifting and inspiring messages, only to be condemned to Hell and told you are awful, is not a very encouraging thing.  It is not only Proctor who feels this; Rebecca Nurse corroborates the claim, adding that "there are many who quail to bring their children" to church because of the intense topics of his sermons.

Another possible reason that people don't like Parris is because he whines about his salary, and strives to gain ownership of the meetinghouse where the church and his residence is.  It isn't customary for ministers to own the churches, just because they live on the premises; it is also a bit unusual for a man of God to complain about his salary.  In reality, ministers are supposed to be focused elsewhere, not on home ownership or money.  Parris is very vocal about his desires too.  In act one he complains, "the salary is sixty-six pound," not sixty-pounds with "six pound a year to buy...firewood" as Giles Corey notes.  Also, according to Proctor, he works his desire to own the house into his actual sermons--not very tactful.  He also preaches of other worldly issues, wanting "golden candlesticks" in the church instead of pewter ones that Francis Nurse made.

One last possible reason that people might not like Parris is because he tends to be a pretty big snob.  He claims that he is "a graduate of Harvard College" and not some piddly "preaching farmer with a book" to qualify him for the ministry.  He brags of his profitable business in Barbados, and holds airs over the hard-working people of Salem, who sweat and labor for their daily bread.  That has got to rub people the wrong way, not to mention that ministers were chosen by election, and there were several other candidates that Parris beat out to the job.

As a result of these issues, Parris is rather unliked in the town; it's hard not to blame them, and understandable why there might be a "party and faction" risen up against him.  I hope that these thoughts helped a bit; good luck!

If a patient is below the age of 18-years does confidentiality still works or should doctor breach and inform the parents?15years girl went for...

The answer to this question is going to vary from state to state within the United States.  This is especially true on the issue of abortion.

In general, parents are allowed unlimited access to medical information about their minor children.  However, there are some exceptions to this rule.  According to the federal law, the main exception that applies to your question is that parents may not be informed about children's medical information

When the minor is the one who consents to care and the consent of the parent is not required under State or other applicable law

So, as you can see, that could be very different in different states.  This is especially true of abortions since different states have different rules about parental notification.

What's the persona in Hughes' "Salvation"? And how to analyze the writer's analysis?

The persona offered in the essay "Salvation" is a reflective voice looking back on a child's experience with religion.  We know this because of the rumination offered about the experience at the revival, as well as the personalized details about the moments and the characterizations offered.  The adult persona is evident also in the conclusion, where Hughes talks about the night and child crying because of his loss of faith.  In terms of analyzing the writer's perspectives and ideas offered, the essay demonstrates an experience that views a childhood moment and extrapolates it to gain a better understanding about spirituality, expectations of others, and the notion of personal morality and choice.

What is Mr. Hooper's sin in "The Minister's Black Veil"?

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil," it is the ambiguity of the veil that creates the "Parable"; it is the doubt and ambiguity of the veil that most disturbs the congregation, and the fiancee of Mr. Hooper, as well.  For, like those who encounter Hester Prynne in "The Scarlet Letter" and blush or turn away, the people who look at the veil do not know if the minister is hiding something revealing in his eyes, or if he is shielding his eyes in order to scrutinize them.  After Hooper's sermon,

some went homeward alone, wrapped in silent meditation; some talked loudly, nand profaned the Sabbath day with ostentatious laughter....None, as on former occasions, aspired to the honor of walking by their pastor's side.  Old Squire Saunders....neglected to invite Mr.Hooper to his table, where the good clergyman had been wont to bless the food, almost every Sunday since his settlement.

Indeed, the people of Mr. Hooper's congregation wonder if Mr. Hooper, like Jonathan Edwards in "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" tries to strike fear in their hearts by suggesting that he is aware of their sins.  Obviously, their consciences bother them.

That Mr. Hooper wears the veil to symbolize his mourning for the secret sins of many of the Puritans who fear the severe punishments for transgressions and live as hypocrites becomes apparent in the denouement of Hawthorne's story.  When the dying Mr. Hooper refuses to remove his veil, he turns to the spectators around him,

'Why do you tremble at me alone?....Tremble also at each other!  Have men avoided me, and women shown no pity, and children screamed and fled, only for my black veil?...the symbol beneath which I have lived and die!  I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a Black Veil!

 As in a parable, Mr. Hooper wishes to teach a moral lesson to his congregation by wearing a veil that only each man and woman can interpret according to their own consciences.

I need help with writing a character sketch of Garnet Raven from the novel Keeper'n Me.

Garnet Raven is the subject of the story because he was taken out from his home at age three. Because of the building of a hydro plant, they moved to the city. Garnet says,

It was natural in my parents’ eyes to leave us with the old lady [his grandmother] while they were out trying to make a living. But the Ontario Children’s Aid Society—all they seen was a bunch of rowdy little Indian kids terrorizing a bent-up old lady. Now anybody who knows anything about Indians knows that if there was any terrorizin’ being done at all it was done by the old lady

The children had been coaxed into a car by a social worker, using candy (chocolates); their grandmother was out back.The family was really upset and didn't have any idea what happened to the children until a day later. The children were kept together for only a short while.

Garnet went to many foster homes, then he always escaped. He was searching. He was only basically surviving, living on the street. When one day in Toronto he met a black family that rescued him. He was nurtured by them, but he used drugs and went to jail.

His family of origin found him in the jail and the story in the book is  how he recovered his Indian identity, as an Ojibway.

The story is upbeat showing that Indian elders welcome those who went astray and want to reclaim their heritage. The most important character to Garnet is Keeper, who had studied under  his grandfather. Keeper feels he's been given another chance at life because he can help the old man's grandson. (The man who mentored him.) Keeper says:

See, when we get sent out into the world we come here carryin’ two sets of gifts. The gifts of the father an’ gifts of the mother ... We come here carryin’ those two sets of gifts, each one equal to the other. But sometimes the world gets hold of us and makes us see diff rent way. We get told as men that we gotta be strong, gotta be fearless. Lotta us kinda start ignoring the gifts of our mother. Go through life just usin’ the gifts of the father. Bein’ tough, makin’ our own plans. Livin’ in the head. But if you do that you can’t be whole on accounta you gotta use both of them equal setsa gifts to live right, to fill out the circle of your own life. Be complete. Gotta use the mother’s gifts too. Like gentleness an’ nurturin’, livin’ in the heart. That’s where the female power comes from. Livin’ in the heart. Them that’s tryin’ to chase the female outta themselves an’ their world are chasing out half of who they are. Busy bein’ incomplete. That’s not our way (115).

Resources:

Harmut Lutz, Contemporary Challenges: Conversations with Canadian Native Authors (Saskatoon: Fifth House, 1991)

http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/mb_history/30/keepernme.shtml

What are the main characters' motivations in The Impotance of being Earnest?

That's an interesting question, in that the motivations of everyone in this play are what push the plot forward.  Not every play is like that; many have external events providing the main push for the action.  But in this play, while there are silly coincidences and events which do move the plot along, the motivations of everyone are so clearly the point of the play that the events seem less important. 

Jack Worthing wants more than one thing; he wants to go to town and be a gad-about, and generally get up to no good, but also to preserve his reputation and be a good example for his young ward Cecily.  So, because he wants to have it both ways, he invents his fictitious brother Earnest to cover up his indiscretions.

Jack also wants to marry Gwendolyn Fairfax.  Gwendolyn wants to marry Jack.  Lady Bracknell, Gwendolyn's mother does not want Gwendolyn to marry Jack because he is "unsuitable".  Lady Bracknell's motivations are to protect her daughter and to uphold convention.

Cecily wants to marry Algernon.  Without getting too much into the complications of the play, Algernon wants to marry Cecily, but when he meets Cecily and falls in love with her he is posing as the (fictitious) brother of Jack, Earnest.  You can imagine the hijinks which ensue, but the motivations of both Algernon and Cecily are to marry each other.  Algernon has a secondary motivation which results in his fictitious friend Bunbury.  He has created this imaginary friend so that he can get out of social obligations, especially avoiding his aunt Lady Bracknell.

The Reverend Chasuble wants to marry Miss Prism.  Miss Prism wants to marry the Reverend Chasuble.  There are some complications because Miss Prism has a slightly scandalous past (involving Lady Bracknell), but Miss Prism's and Rev. Chasuble's desires are essentially simple.

As you can see, Lady Bracknell is, essentially, the fly in the ointment for everyone.  When her desires are resolved everyone else's are, too.  Wilde plotted this comedy perfectly, with everyone's wants dependent on someone else's.  When the snags are removed, everything comes out right in the end.

What is the theme of the poem "Sunworshippers" by Cathy Song?

Cathy Song, an Asian writer, creates beautiful images in her poetry.  Her poems are written in free verse, with her diction and style providing interesting, meaningful verse. The subjects covered by her poetry usually emphasize the family and relationships.

“Sunworshippers” follows Song’s usual style with the exception of her topic: anorexia and its impact.  The narration is told in first person with an unknown narrator.  Some of the poem’s images deliver unpleasant images although each word picture aptly applies to the topic.

Her literary devices provide unforgettable visual imagery.  

• Sun bathers= metaphorical sacrifices to the sun; the simile compares their bodies to glistening [from sweat] raw fish lying dead in the market


• The body=metaphorical temple that is worshipped in secret [a key word]; the clothes compared to a revival tent

Thematically, the poem addresses the topic of dysmorphia, body image, and the eating disorder, anorexia. Dysmorphia is a mental illness in which the sufferer focuses on a problematic part of the body.

The mother of the narrator emphasizes the importance of taking care of the body.  She encourages her children to wear hats and gloves in the sun. To the mother, importance should dwell on the body as a temple to be taken care of and worshipped.  

The mother’s influence taints the narrator’s appreciation of her body. The body was to be valued but not too much. Forcing her children to be cautious about the sun comes through as an apt concept to promote. On the other hand, making her children so different in a world that loves the sun and the human body may have paved the way for the speaker's obsession.

The mother taught her children to hide their bodies in “tent-sized clothes” and to show their bodies only in the bathroom.   The author also mentions the two holes that are used for eating and then elimination, coupled with an interesting image of the stool.

When the narrator falls into full blown anorexia, she admits that she enjoys her body most when she sees herself in the mirror:

I liked it best when standing before the mirror,
I seemed to be disappearing into myself,
breasts sunken into the cavity of my bird-cage chest…

She enjoys this view because the narrator looks forward to her complete disappearance. While she is in college, she dissolves into her books and music.

The ending of the poem is somewhat ambiguous.  Does the narrator lose herself in her books and music and mental illness? Her fasting may have deluded her thinking; consequently, she believed that she had committed suicide. On the other hand, completely devoid of sleep and food, the speaker may actually have thrown herself out of the window in an effort to completely fade away. Whether in her mind or in actuality, she left behind flowers and a cake. The poet expressed her demise as her “shining out of the world.” 

In The Kite Runner, is Baba a good father to Amir? Give 3 affirmative and three negative assertions.

Postive Assertions:

1. Baba sets good example for Amir in that he is generous to others and will stand up for the oppressed (i.e., his brazen confrontation with the Soviet soldier as he and Amir try to escape from Afghanistan).

2. In America, Baba sacrifices his own desires for Amir's well being.  Baba longs for Afghanistan but knows that Amir is thriving in America.  He also drives a rattletrap and buys Amir a better car.

3. At the end of his life, Baba makes peace with what Amir and has chosen for a career and gives his blessing by listening to his stories for once.

Negative Assertions:

1. Baba keeps the most important truth from Amir and even takes it with him to his grave--the truth that Hassan is Amir's half brother.

2. Baba's harsh and distant treatment of Amir causes him to seek Baba's approval at any cost, even the betrayal of his friend.

3. Baba allows his best friend and business partner to be more of a parent to Amir than he is because he is so wrapped up in himself and his own guilt.

What is the need of data structures?

Data structure is a particular way of storing and organizing information  in a computer  so that it can be retrieved and used most productively.

Different kinds of data structures are meant  for different kinds of applications, and some are highly specialized to specific tasks.

Data structures are important for the following reasons:

1. Data structures are used in almost every program or software system.

2. Specific data structures are essential ingredients of many efficient algorithms, and make possible the management of huge amounts of data, such as large integrated collection of databases.

3. Some programming languages emphasize data structures, rather than algorithms, as the key organizing factor in software design.

In Chapter 6 before they go to into Radley's yard, what do Dill and Jem see in the moon? In Chapter 6 after they go to into Radley's yard, what...

Dill and Jem see "the lady" in the moon that rises above Maycomb that night. As they sneak out, Jem notices:

He pointed to the east. A gigantic moon was rising behind Miss Maudie's pecan trees. "That makes it seem hotter," he said.

"Cross in it tonight?" asked Dill, not looking up. He was constructing a cigarette from newspaper and string.

"No, just the lady. Don't light that thing, Dill, you'll stink up this whole end of town." There was a lady in the moon in Maycomb. She sat at a dresser combing her hair.

Similar to the idea of the "man in the moon" or, more sinister, "the Reaper", there is "a lady" evident in the moon on certain nights in Maycomb. Often, people would consider different images in the moon as signs of different kinds of luck, good or bad.

Later, as they escape the Radley house, Jem gets his pants caught on the fence and is forced to leave them if he wants to get away without getting caught. Yet the gunshot that Mr. Radley fires awakens the neighborhood, & Jem's lack of pants is soon discovered. Dill quickly works up a fib on the spot:

"Ah - I won 'em from him," he said vaguely.

"Won them? How?"

Dill's hand sought the back of his head. He brought it forward and across his forehead. "We were playin' strip poker up yonder by the fishpool," he said.

Jem and I relaxed. The neighbors seemed satisfied: they all stiffened. But what was strip poker?

So Dill "confesses" that he won Jem's pants in a game of strip poker. the fact that Scout has no understanding of the game reveals her immaturity at this point in the story. Dill however sees an opportunity to swap a small transgression for a big one, & he figures it's better to get in trouble for strip poker than sneaking into someone's yard & nearly getting killed.

What is the summary of "A Pair of Silk Stockings"?

"A Pair of Silk Stockings" is about a wife and mother, Mrs. Simmons, who goes out to buy a few necessities for her family. Because  they are poor, she is normally very frugal. However, on this day she allows herself to indulge and buy a pair of silk stockings. After she buys those, something changes in her and she goes on a shopping spree. She buys gloves to match, goes to a movie, and treats herself to a fancy lunch out. At the end of the afternoon, as she is riding home in the cable car, she wishes that the car would never stop. The story shows the importance of a woman having her own identity and the isolation that can overcome one who is trying to fit a certain image generated by society. Mrs. Simmons desires freedom and pleasure for herself, and to not always be serving her family.

What is the significance of A Raisin in the Sun's ending?

The ending to the play shows how the Younger family will strive for their dream regardless of the many factors that dispel them from doing so.  The Karl Lindners of the world, the neighbors who doubt them, as well as the social conditions that challenge families like the Youngers as well as the personal demons that have gripped Walter and other members of the family were overcome in the final scene.  At this particular moment, the ability to be able to establish a better life for one's family is valued above all.  This makes the overall ending of the play a positive one, but one that is filled with challenge.  It is almost as if Hansberry is indicating that while there is hope for the future, there will always be struggle and challenge inherent within it.

History of Phnom Penh?

Phnom Penh, which is now the capital of Cambodia, has been an important city in that region for centuries.

It is first known to history as the capital of the Khmer Empire, the empire which built Angkor Wat.  It became capital of this empire in the 1400s.  The city also became a major trading post during this time and has remained so ever since.

In the early 1500s, it ceased to be the capital.  It did not become the capital again until the 1800s.

In the 20th Century, the city was best known for being the capital of the murderous Khmer Rouge regime.

Are there any similes in "A Christmas Memory" by Truman Capote?

One of the great writers of the twentieth century South, Truman Capote's style includes much beautiful prose.  In "A Christmas Memory" Capote writes a reminiscence, and, as such, it focuses on an experience, presenting the events and caracters as well as the special quality or meaning that keeps the memory alive.  To describe this special quality, the author often employs figurative language.

Two similes are in the second paragraph in which Capote describes his old friend, a woman with "shorn white hair" who stands at a window in the kitchen:

She is small and sprightly, like a bantam hen...Her face is remarkable--not unlike Lincoln's, craggy like that, and tinted by sun and wind...

 Then, in the fifth paragraph, Capote writes of his old wicker baby buggy that they use for a shopping cart:

It is made of wicker, rather unraveled, and the sheels wobble like a drunkard's legs.

In order to make the fruitcake with whiskey, the two friends must find a bootlegger as the state laws forbid its sale at the time of Capotes' youth in the Deep South.  So, Mr. Haha Jones goes to the back of his cafe and procures some "home brew."  They pay him with "nickles and dimes and pennies."  Capote writes,

Suddenly, as he jangles the coins in his hand like a fistful of dice, his face softens.

After the two return to the kitchen,

The black stove, stoked with coal and firewood, glows like a lighted pumpkin.

While they prepare the fruitcake, Capote and his cousin drink some of the whisky, becoming silly afterwards.  As Capote dances, the rat terrier, Queenie, rolls over

her paw plow the air, something like a grin stretches her black lips.  Inside myself, I feel warm and sparky as those crumbling logs, carefree as the wind in the chimney.  My friend waltzes round the stove, the hem of her poor calico skirt pinched between her fingers as though it were a party dress...

When other relatives enter and scold the woman for allowing Capote to drink whiskey, she runs to her room; there

she is weeping into a pillow already as wet as a widow's handkerchief.

Because these figures of speech enhance the descriptions, creating vivid pictures in the minds of the reader, Capote's "A Christmas Memory" is replete with simile.  There are many more to be found as these are only from the first half of the work.

Explain what a person needs to do in order to "act responsibly" in the 1930's in Maycomb, Alabama.Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird"

With such people as Atticus Finch and Miss Maudie Atkinson and Calpurinia as models of tolerance and courage, it would seem that a responsible person would have respect for property and for others as well as him/herself.

The first chapter of "To Kill a Mockingbird" exemplifies in the microcosm of the school, the types of characters who are responsible and who are not.  Worst among these is Burris Ewell who comes to school filthy.  In reaction, Burris laughs rudely and says,

You ain't sendin' me home, missus.  I was on the verge of leavin'--I done done my time for this year.

When the teacher tells him to sit back down, Burris threatens, "You try and make me."

Almost as poor, but with dignity and respect is Walter Cunningham, whose father refuses to get on welfare.  Instead, they pay their debts by working for people, giving them potatoes, etc.  Yet another boy who exhibits great character is Little Chuck Little, "who does not know where his next meal was coming from, but he was a born gentleman."  In the most cavalier manner, he offers his arm to aid Miss Caroline to the front of the classroom after she has seen "cooties" in one of the children's hair.

Throughout the novel, Atticus teaches his children to respect the old neighbors despite their crankiness,etc.  When Jem cuts the flowers of Mrs. DuBois, Atticus has him read to her, allowing Jem to perceive the courage and character of Mrs. DuBois who courageously battles her addiction to morphine.  Whenever the children infringe upon the rights of others, Atticus addresses this injustice with the children.  Their taunting of Boo Radley does not last long, for he speaks to them and prohibits certain activities that they have planned against Boo.

In spite of his knowing that he will lose the case against Tom Robinson, Atticus takes the job of defender.  He even sets himself against the angry mob that wishes to pull Tom from jail.  Calpurnia allows the children to attend the trial so that they will better understand the wisdom and courage of their father, a courage they also see reflected in Miss Maudie who responds positively when her home is burned.  She says she will have a chance to rebuild, now.

Who is Heck Tate really protecting in Chapter 30 of To Kill a Mockingbird?In Chapter 30, who is Heck Tate really protecting when he covers up the...

    Although cover-ups are common to many less-than-honest law enforcement officers, it doesn't come natural to Heck Tate, the congenial but businesslike sheriff of Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Although the reader may be left questioning who really killed Bob Ewell--Jem or Boo--it is actually the narration by the still innocent Scout that leaves the reader in doubt. Sheriff Tate is aware that only Boo Radley would have had the strength (and the weapon) to kill Ewell, and he will consider no other possibility.  Atticus seems less certain than Tate:

    "You heard what Scout said, there's no doubt about it. She said Jem got up and yanked him off her--he probably got hold of Ewell's knife somehow in the dark..."

But this is in part due to Scout's narration.  She misunderstand's Atticus's argument and willingness to allow Jem to take the fall for Boo in order to avoid a public trial. Atticus is thinking like an attorney when he considers that Jem would be able to deal with the traumas of a trial better than Boo.

 "... I guess the thing to do--good Lord, I'm losing my memory... Jem's not quite thirteen... no, he's already thirteen--I can't remember. Anyway, it'll come before county court."

It is in part because Boo has saved his children's lives, and Atticus would rather put Jem through the stress of a murder charge (albeit in self-defense) than force Boo into this predicament. But it is in Atticus's sympathetic character make-up to always put the other man first--even ahead of his own family.
    Both Atticus and Heck are protecting Boo Radley from the horrors that he will suffer from a public trial. Even Heck will not allow this possibility--not over the death of someone as deserving of such a fate as Bob Ewell.

    "God damn it, I'm not thinking of Jem!"
    "... draggin him with his shy ways into the limelight--to me, that's a sin. It's a sin and I'm not about to have it on my head. If it was any other man, it'd be different. But not this man, Mr. Finch."

Does Arthur Miller criticize living with illusion in his play Death of a Salesman?

Willy Loman certainly is a character living in a psychological world that does not reflect reality. What probably began as an illusion, became a delusion over time. When reality could no longer be ignored, Willy took his own life rather than live outside his delusion.

Perhaps the "American Dream" is an illusion. Certainly Miller is not alone in believing the ideal of work leading to success is an impossiblity without either luck or connections. Willy Loman clings to the idea that effort equals prosperity but fails to see that ability also plays a role. Willy refuses to address his shortcomings and he refuses to see the weaknesses in his sons.

In Act 2, Miller summarizes the depths of Willy's deception and how is affected his family:

Biff: And I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody...

Willy: The door of your life is wide open!
Biff: Pop! I'm dime a dozen, and so are you!
Willy: I am not dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman, an dyou are Biff Loman!
Biff: I am not a leader of men, Willy, and neither are you...Pop, I'm nothing! I'm nothing, Pop. Can't you understand that?...Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?

Biff comes to understand that the prosperity dream is an illusion, and he chooses to not live under it anymore. Happy, Willy's other son, continues to believe in the dream, while Willy finally loses his last connection to reality and before the scene is over crashes his car for the last time.

For Willy Loman, the illusion of the American Dream became a delusion of popularity and success that led to the death of the salesman.

What is a good "man vs. self" conflict in "The Most Dangerous Game"?

There obviously is no conflict within General Zaroff: He has already practiced his new human hunt, and he has no qualms about killing men instead of animals. The conflict comes with Rainsford. He is given the choice of being killed by Ivan, Zaroff's assistant, or attempting to elude Zaroff as the prey of his hunt. Rainsford chooses to survive, at least for the time being. Although Rainsford, unlike Zaroff, has no thirst for human blood, he does what he must in order to survive: He kills Ivan and several of the dogs as he attempts to elude Zaroff. Perhaps his greatest inner conflict comes at the end of the story, when he returns to Zaroff's mansion and decides to begin a new hunt himself. The urge for revenge must be overwhelming, and we can assume that he feels little guilt when he turns the tables on Zaroff, because afterward, he sleeps soundly and happily in Zaroff's bed.

What does Jack think is the reason he hasn't killed a pig yet?Give a complete thought.

Jack believes that the reason he hasn't killed a pig is because they can see him coming. He is sure they cannot smell him, but he says they see "something pink among the trees". They know that color does not belong, and so they are alerted to his presence. So, in Chapter 4, Jack paints his face for the first time. It is described in ritualistic terms:

He made one cheek and one eye-socket white, then he rubbed red over the other half of his face and slashed a black bar of charcoal across from right ear to left jaw.

He now has a mask which is “a thing of its own, behind which [he] hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness.” He can hide not only as he hunts, but as he lives among the other boys. The other hunters follow his lead, and soon their humanity is covered under their new masks. This symbolizes the end of their connection with Ralph, Piggy, and Simon, and their entrance into the world of the Lord of the Flies. In fact, it is in this chapter when Jack kills his first pig, and he proudly declares that he slit its throat himself. The red half of his face now represents blood and death. 

In "Life of Pi" what is the symbolism of the island?

The island is a rather remarkable and fantastical element to Yann Martel's "Life of Pi," and requires the reader to really suspend their disbelief in order to believe that it could actually exist.  In interviews, Martel himself said that he put the island into the story in order to require the reader to take a leap of faith.  The entire story thus far is pretty interesting, and takes a lot of faith to believe in the first place.  Pi, surviving for weeks on end in a life boat with a carniverous and vicious tiger?  Martel makes it pretty believable, through his use of Pi's expertise in zoology though, so, we can flow with it.  But, an island filled with lemur-like creatures and acidic and deathly tube plants, that is just floating out in the middle of the ocean?  Now that takes a huge leap of belief to swallow.

Since Martel's theme in this book was the power of storytelling, and how a really great story is like taking a leap of faith, he wanted to make the readers leave behind any rational logic and leap into the unknown, and believe something just because someone said it existed, and because it was a great story.  The island symbolizes faith, and how when you have faith, you take a leap in the dark, and believe in things that might seem impossible to other people.  That is what the island is--something that might seem impossible, but who's really to say it doesn't exist?  Martel wanted the reader to experience that leap of faith, believing in a really great story at the behest of logic, and how it can be invigorating, interesting, and comforting.  His book is all about "the power of the imagination," and the island definitely is a part of that. I hope that helps; good luck!

I need help comparing and contrasting General Zaroff in "The Most Dangerous Game" and The Misfit in "A Good Man is Hard to Find."

Both General Zaroff, in the Richard Connell short story "The Most Dangerous Game," and The Misfit, in Flannery O'Connor's tale "A Good Man is Hard to Find," are serial killers who seem to enjoy their chosen livelihood, though Zaroff takes more pleasure in the actual hunt. Zaroff captures and hunts humans because they provide him a more elusive prey than the wild animals that no longer interest him. To Zaroff, the kill is a game, and the victims are his trophies.

Although The Misfit's motives are less obvious, he also seems to be adept at killing, a fact the grandmother has not overlooked.

"...you read here what it says he did to these people. Just you read it. I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it."

Like Zaroff, The Misfit is also polite and hospitable at first, but they are a different pair: Zaroff is a Cossack, known for their particularly violent ways, while The Misfit is "a different breed of dog." Unlike Zaroff, who was born to a wealthy family and enjoyed a life of privilege, The Misfit has always been dirt poor and has seen very little good in his lifetime. The question that The Misfit proposes to the grandmother just before he kills her seems to sum up the main difference between Zaroff and himself.

"Does it seem right to you, lady, that one is punished a heap and another ain't punished at all?"

Zaroff has used his military background and wealth to kill without consequence, while The Misfit kills because "I can't make out what all I done wrong fit what all I gone through in punishment." Zaroff kills because he enjoys what leads up to the kill, while The Misfit can't help his urges to kill.

Is there a relationship between the play The Wild Duck and its title?

The Wild Duck is a challenging play because Henrik Ibsen took a new direction in play writing with The Wild Duck. First, he introduced the modern tragicomedy and, second, he entered a new symbolic phase in his plays. Tragicomedy, with antecedents in the Renaissance, combines the two Aristotelian genres of tragedy and comedy. It is explained as the means by which modern heroes and heroines, taken from the common and low classes who speak in middle or low diction without elevated language, face hardship in real-world scenarios where their flaws are more trivial seeming than the fatal flaws of Oedipus Rex and King Lear.

Ibsen incorporated multilevels of symbology in which, for example, the primary symbol of the wild duck, a beloved pet of fourteen-year-old Hedvig Ekdal, represents many things to several characters instead of one or two things within the play. Early audiences found The Wild Duck confusing and incoherent precisely because of the layered symbolism and the new modern construct of tragicomedy. Therefore, the relationship of the title to the play is like the relationship of a key to a lock: the door doesn't open without the key and, further, the sweep of the room can not be seen with the door unopened.

With a mast on his shoulder, Santiago had to rest five minutes on his way home in The Old Man and the Sea. What is the symbolic reference?

Hemingways writes, on pg. 120:

Finally he put the mast down and stood up. He picked the mast up and put it on his  shoulder and started up the road. He had to sit down five times before he reached his shack.

Obviously the way Santiago carries the mast is symbolic of the way Jesus carried the cross.  Both are emblems of suffering.

Why does Santiago have to sit down 5 times?

Five is a symbolic number: first, it represents the five wounds Christ received on the cross:

• Two of the wounds were through either his hands or his wrists, where nails were inserted to fix Jesus to the cross-beam of the cross on which he was crucified.


• Two were through the feet where the nail(s) passed through both to the vertical beam.


• The final wound was in the side of Jesus' chest, where, according to the New Testament, his body was pierced by a lance in order to be sure that he was dead. The Gospel of John (19:34) states that blood and water poured out of this wound.

• 
  

  The five parts of the clothing remaining of Jesus during his crucifixion after the soldiers had made four parts of his dress, plus his tunic which they did not tear. (Jn 19,23)

  
  


• 
  

  Saint Paul declares that by five times he received the 39 lashes from the Jews. (2 Co 11,24)

  
  

Also, five is a symbol of man.  Remember the Pixies' song "This Monkey's Gone to Heaven" where Frank Black sings "Man is five; the devil is six...and God is seven"?  Here's more:

The number 5 is a characteristic of the man. First, according to the Cabal, it is the number of the perfect Man (got rid from his animal side). According to the Bible, it is the symbol of the Man-God by the five wounds of the Christ on cross (for this reason, it is also considered as the number of the grace). But it is also associated to the man in general (2 + 3) having an unstable character of duality, 2, in spite of his divinity, 3. The 5 is also found on the human body: the five fingers of the hand and feet, the five senses (touch, taste, sense of smell, hearing and the sight), the five members (two arms, two legs and the head, the bust being the center), the five bones forming the metacarpus, the metatarse and the brain-pan, etc.

What is the 9th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution about?

What the Ninth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States says is that the rights that were listed in the rest of the document and in the Bill of Rights do not include all the rights that people have.  It says that just because some rights are listed doesn't mean other rights don't exist.

At the time of the writing of the Bill of Rights, the Anti-Federalists were very suspicious of the central government, which is why they forced the Federalists to add the Bill of Rights.  They thought the federal government would take away their rights if it could.

Because they thought this, they wanted the 9th Amendment added in case there were other rights that they had neglected to mention before.  The 9th Amendment was meant to protect these.

What literary device starts at the beginning of Chapter 2?

In chapter 2 of S.E. Hinton's Rumblefish Hinton uses the technique of foreshadowing to hint at what is going to happen in the story.

I was hanging out at Benny's, playing pool, when I heard Biff Wilcox was looking to kill me.

This sets the stage for what will happen later. We get the impression that their will be a fight between the two boys. Eventually they do.

The author uses the literary device tone or mood by creating a sense of seriousness. Rusty-James took the threat more serious after talking to Midget.

From the story, "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, please explain the pharase, "My Faith is gone!"

This exclamation has a double meaning.  Goodman Brown's wife's name is Faith, and he loves her dearly.  She is the picture of innocence as she bids him goodbye, with her pink ribbons blowing in the breeze.  Goodman Brown holds on to this image and his love for his wife as he traverses through the woods.  By entering the forest, he chooses to leave Faith behind, both literally and symbolically.  As he tries desperately to resist temptation, he exclaims, "With Heaven above, and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil!"  Then he hears many voices he recognizes from the village, among them his own sweet wife.  He then cries, "My Faith is gone!…There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil! for to thee is this world given."  When he realizes that even his wife is a cohort of the Devil, he gives up not only on her, but also on his religious faith as well. 

Can you provide 5-10 general truths about life and/or death as shown in the medieval morality play Everyman?

Because Everyman is an explicitly didactic play -- in other words, a play specifically designed to teach -- many of its lessons about life and/or death are quite openly stated.  Such lessons include the following:

* The Messenger openly states that human lives are "transitory" (6) -- that is, mutable or constantly subject to change.

* God openly announces that human beings tend to live "without dread in worldly prosperity" (24). In other words, when they are enjoying good fortune, they tend to take their lives for granted and therefore forget death and neglect their obligations to God.

* God proclaims tha humans tend to be mired, during their lives, in

. . . the seven deadly sins damnable,

[Such] As pride, coveitise [covetousness], wrath, and lechery . . . (36-37)

* God asserts that the typical human being tends to live according to "his own pleasure," even though no human being can be sure when or how death will come (40-41).

* God laments that human beings tend to forget "Charity" (51) -- that is, their obligation to love him and to love one another.

In just the first 50 or so lines of the play, then, the playwright presents at least these five truths about life (or at least life as it is seen from a Christian perspective).

Meanwhile, at the very end of the play, at least five truths about death are openly presented. They include the following truths (at least as seen from a Catholic Christian point of view):

* A human's good deeds will help redeem him when he meets death (851-53).

* Most other positive human traits, such as strength, discretion, and knowledge, will have vanished by the time we face death (869-70).

* In the time of our deaths, we are utterly dependent on God's mercy (873).

* Only God, when we die, can save us from the power of Satan (881-82).

* After death occurs, no man can undo the sins he has committed during his life:

For after death amends may no man make,

For then mercy and pity doth him forsake. (911-12)

Lessons about life and death litter the pages of Everyman, which should not surprise us, since the play was written precisely in order to teach these common truths of the Christian religion.

How are woman overpowered by their men in the novels “One Hundred Years of Solitude” and “A Doll’s House”?compare and contrast

In A Doll's House Nora's experiences about being a wife are not being able to become independent. This is the way she is overpowered by her spouse. In the play, Nora remembers a lot about when she had to work to earn money.  She was happy then she felt like a man. During this time in history good women were not permitted to work.

In addition, the bank owner discriminates against Mrs. Lind.The bank owner asks Mrs. Lind if she is married. She is only permitted to work for him if she is a widow.

Nora talks with the nanny about her life. The nanny speaks as if she had not difficulty working. Nora admires her independence.

Nora has to beg from her husband in order to get money because she cannot earn it on her own. She resorts to manipulation and acting coy to get what she needs.

In 100 years of solitude Eve is the most obvious character who is overpowered by her role as a woman. Eve's life is representative of all women. Women undergo the pain of childbirth knowing that they will give birth to a dictator or someone with great faults like the males that proceeded her.

The other character is Ursula who tried very hard not to be like the others but it makes her family under suspicion of murder and they have to hide.  No matter what these women characters do, the cycle of violence continues on. Fernanda tries to organise her own life and her children but they end up hating her.

The fact remains that in 100 years of Solitude  and A Dolls House, the women are so trapped by society that there is no way they can assume their own power.

In One Hundred Years, the consequences of breaking out of that power struggle is death while Ibsen's characters would suffer a lesser punishment, social exclusion and/or economic exclusion (poverty).

What is the central idea of "Ode to Clothes" by Pablo Neruda?

Pablo Neruda's "Ode to Clothes" is a direct address to the clothes he is accustomed to wearing daily. An ode is the most formal of all the lyric forms and is often used to record the poet's serious thoughts and ideals about lofty subjects. Pablo Neruda on the contrary uses his ode to record his feelings about something as mundane as his everyday clothes.

The theme of this ode is the harmonious and interdependent  relationship the poet enjoys with his clothes:

and so, 
clothes, 
I too go forming you, 
extending your elbows, 
snapping your threads, 
and so your life expands 
in the image of my life.

For most of us our clothes are merely our external garments to be worn and cast aside without a thought,but for Pablo Neruda they are very much an innate  part of his entire being: "we are one." His clothes don't just cover his body but contain his entire being:

"to fill yourself with

my vanity, my love,

my hope, my body."

Even when he is not wearing his clothes and they have been left out to dry his clothes continue to embody the very core of his existence:

"In the wind

you billow and snap 
as if you were my soul."

It is this symbiotic relationship which he enjoys with his clothes which makes him conclude:

"Because of this 
each day 
I greet you 
with reverence and then 
you embrace me and I forget you."

In "To Kill a Mockingbird", what does it mean to be a mockingbird?And how are characters such as Scout, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson portrayed...

Boo Radley is one powerful example of the mockingbird motif in the novel. Constantly hidden in the shadows, he only truly emerges at the end of the story. In his quiet way, through the gifts left in the tree and the blanket around Scout’s shoulders the night of the fire that destroys Miss Maudie’s house, Boo has been interacting with Jem and Scout throughout the entire text, but it is not until the end that the children understand his true nature.

This lesson is first revealed when Atticus buys the children guns.

Atticus said to Jem one day, “I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

That’s the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it.

“Your father is right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

Without realizing, Jem, Scout, and Dill have in a way been trying to kill that mockingbird. The children have built up a view of Boo based solely on a preconceived notion that is completely wrong. This is similar to the racism evident in the rest of the town: a judgment made before knowledge. Yet from that notion they have developed a pattern of behavior that seeks to destroy the true nature of Boo by pretending that it could not possibly exist.

It is through the attack on the children and Sheriff Tate's understanding that Boo’s identification as a mockingbird becomes most clear. The sheltered innocence of Boo’s life would be threatened should he be brought to trial for the death of Bob Ewell, even though he would most likely be acquitted as a hero. It is this hero worship that would “kill” the mockingbird, Tate believes. The people, especially the women, would bother him continually with food and praise for such a brave act. Such attention would ultimately destroy who Boo is, his innocence, and his quiet love for the children of Atticus Finch. Scout and Jem finally acknowledge this at the end. When Atticus asks Scout if she understands why they will say Bob Ewell fell on his own knife, she replies that is they did it any other way, "Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?

In Chapters 30-32, What is the implication of the King's false "confession" to the Duke?

In this case, it does two things. One, it shows the duke as the dominant personality in the duo. Throughout their adventures, these two criminals are constantly trying to "one-up" each other. At this point, we see the masks swept aside, & we know the duke is the one in charge. Nothing the king says after this will bring back his power-he has become the subordinate one.

The second implication is that Huck and Jim are free for awhile. Neither of the criminals suspects them anymore, although the king knows he didn't move the money. It gives Huck more time to think of a plan to get rid of the two , and saves them from certain death.

What is a main idea? what is a main idea?

A main idea is just another term for a thesis statement.  Now, you ask, what is that?  The thesis statement mightbe the most important statement in your entire essay,  It tells the reader what idea you will support throughout the entire body of your essay.  So, if I were writing an essay about why I like to read, my thesis statement might say something like,"When I read, I have the world at my fingertips.  That is the statement I need to support in the body of my essay, those paragraphs between the introduction and the conclusion. 

You must think about how to support a thesis statement because a statement you cannot support is useless.  The reader will have no reason to keep reading.  There are many ways to support a thesis statement.  You can use examples from your own life, or the lives of people you know. You can use statistics, logic, or examples to prove your point.

Another aspect of the thesis statement you must think about is if there is any purpose behind it.  If there is no purpose, why are you writing about a particular topic? If there is no purpose, why should the reader read? 

A thesis statement should always be a statement, not an "announcement."  An announcement is a sentence like, "This paper will be about X, Y. and Z."  A statement you can support might be something like, "X,Y, and z are important factors to think about when choosing a spouse."  Do you see the difference between a thesis statement and an announcement.

Once you have a thesis statement, you can begin to write about the points you want to make in the essay  Each point should be in its own paragraph, and each point should show a connection and support for your thesis.  This is why your main idea, your thesis statement, is so important to understand. 

Regarding Nikki Giovanni's poem "Woman", What is the tone and situation of "it was all/right"?Is she reconciled to what ever her situation is?

I think that, yes, the speaker in Nikki Giovanni's poem "Woman" is reconciled to her situation at the end of the poem. The poem, as I read it, is all about one person (the speaker, a woman) wanting to change. The first two of these changes are introduced by the phrase "she wanted to be..." The desires for change that follow aren't introduced by that phrase, but it's clear that the thought of change is continued throughout the poem.

Each of her attempts at change fails because she wants her male partner to change with her -- not to become the same thing, but something connected to what she wants to become. For example, in stanza two,

she wanted to be a robin singing
through the leaves
but he refused to be
her tree

Each failure is introduced by the word "but" until the last failure, which breaks the pattern with "and though he still refused..."

I think that the speaker, too, has broken a pattern in her mind as well. She can change, be what she wants, even if her partner isn't all ready to change with her.

What characteristics of mankind are present in the narrator that were present in the men who once inhabited the "Place of the Gods"?Text support.

Given the story as a whole, we are provided with a number of rather worrying characteristics of the narrator when compared the "Gods" later in the story. The unavoidable characteristic that is provided about the narrator is his thirst and craving for knowledge and in particular his obsession about the Old Days and the gods and his desire to know more:

My knowledge made me happy - it was like a fire in my heart. Most of all, I liked to hear of the Old Days and the stories of the gods. I asked myself many questions that I could not answer, but it was good to ask them. At night, I would lie awake and listen to the wind - it seemed to me that it was the voice of the gods as they flew through the air.

Here, then, we are presented with the insatiable curiosity of the narrator and his desire to know more. It is clear that these are descriptions that are repeated throughout the tale, and the very fact that the narrator feels driven to face and conquer so many fears to discover his knowledge establishes this quality in him.

However, although this is an obvious comparison to the "gods", we see by the end of the tale a rare example of man learning from his mistakes. The vision of the narrator of the modern world causes him to ask:

Were they happy? What is happiness to the gods? They were great, they were mighty, they were wonderful and terrible. As I looked upon them and their magic, I felt like a child - but a little more, it seemd to me, and they would pull down the moon from the sky. I saw them with wisdom beyond wisdom and knowlege beyond knowledge. And yet not all they did was well done - even I could see that - and yet their wisdom could not but grow until all was peace.

With this vision, therefore, the narrator understands that knowledge does not necessarily bring only good benefits - it also has profound dangers with resulted in the downfall of the "gods" - as he soberingly remarks at the end of the story, "Perhaps, in the old days, they ate knowledge too fast."

I live in Indiana and my daughter has denied me visitation with my grandchildren..her husbands brother lives with them and has recently been...

This is from the IN Jusice.org

Is a grandparent entitled to visitation with a grandchild?

Yes, in some circumstances. In Indiana, the court can grant visitation rights to a grandparent if the court determines that visitation would be in the best interests of the grandchild. However, not all grandparents are entitled to ask for grandparent visitation. A grandparent may ask the court for visitation rights with a grandchild ONLY if:

1. The grandchild’s parent is dead;


2. The marriage of the grandchild’s parents has been dissolved (in other words, they are divorced); or


3. The child was born outside of marriage. (Note, however, that the paternal grandparents of a child born outside of marriage can ask for grandparent visitation ONLY if paternity has been established).

Thus, if the grandchild’s parents are both living and are still married to each other, the grandparent CANNOT ask the court for visitation with the grandchild. Also, if the child was born outside of a marriage and paternity has not been established for the child, the paternal grandparent CANNOT ask the court for visitation with the grandchild.

How will the court determine if it is in the best interests of the child to order grandparent visitation?

The court will consider any factors relating to the child, the parent, and the grandparent. Specifically, the court will consider whether the grandparent has had (or has tried to have) meaningful contact with the grandchild. The court will presume that a fit parent’s decisions are in the best interests of the child. Thus, the court will give special weight to the parent’s wishes and to whether the parent has allowed some visitation with the grandchild.

The court will look first at the relationship between the grandchild and the grandparent, but the court will also look at all of the circumstances, including the relationship between the grandparent and the parent.

What is the primary thing with which Ralph is concerned in chapter 6?

Ralph is primarily concerned with his role as leader, and keeping order on the island. In part, this means emphasizing the importance of the fire, and attempting to rein in the wild desires of the other boys. Jack and Ralph are placed at odds in this chapter, as Jack encourages the boys to hunt & essentially live savagely, while Ralph wants to consider each problem logically. Ralph is growing increasingly grownup and urges responsibility, but he still lacks the authority to actually enforce what he believes. On the other hand, Jack is growing increasingly more popular as he encourages the other boys to follow his childish actions. For him, it is fun to play soldier, hunt, and break the rules. It's not fun to keep the fire burning. In dangerously increasing increments, Jack is undermining the frail system of the island and introducing anarchy to the boys. He knows well the motivating and intimidating power of fear, and he uses it to his advantage. Although Ralph has good intentions, he cannot fight this turn away from civilization.

Also, in this chapter, most boys are terrified of the beast they imagine to be on the island. Ralph attempts to deal with this in an organized manner, but panic soon breaks out. He wins control once more, & he & Jack explore the one uncharted area of the island. Their opposing perceptions of it reveal their differing personalities. Ralph sees it as an obstacle to overcome so they can return to the business of maintaining the fire. Jack sees its military value. Ralph still clings to his position of responsibility and insists they must eliminate the place as the beast’s lair before they can continue. The boys that enter the island see its fort potential as well and playfully roll the rocks over the edge. Ralph, growing increasingly adult, has no time for this childish behavior. He must maintain the unpopular mantle of responsibility. Jack seizes upon this in order to strengthen his position, and it is he who leads the boys back off the island.

I am a sophmore doing a project on Morte d' Arthur. I dont have a clue on what questions I could ask. Would you give me ideas on what I could do?

Since I do not know anything about the requirements for your project, I can only give you some ideas that might fit in with those requirements. 

One idea that comes to mind is to compare Arthur to a contemporary superhero, for example, Superman or Batman. It might be interesting to look at how Arthur resembled today's superhero.

Another idea might be to create a résumé for Arthur and a cover letter.  What kind of position would he apply for if he were looking for a job today?  What would his qualifications be?  I think you can assume he would be applying for a management position!

Another idea would be to pretend you are a reporter and write a newspaper article about Arthur. You could interview him and some of his knights. Or you could prepare a radio or television news report. 

If you choose one of these suggestions, it would probably be a good idea to check with your teacher to make sure that your plan for the project is all right. 

Whatever you do, have a good time.  Good luck! 

In microeconomics, why does price equal marginal revenue?

It is not really correct to say that price equals marginal revenue.  This is only true in limited circumstances.  Specifically, price only equals marginal revenue in perfect competition.

Price equals MR in perfect competition because your demand curve is horizontal.  No matter how much you produce, it always sells at the same price.

In other market structures, you can raise or lower prices.  When you do, MR doesn't equal price.  Example:

Let's say you have a monopoly on something.  You charge $150 for it and no one person buys it.  So now you reduce the price to $138 so more people will buy it.  One person buys it now.  Your price is $138 and so is MR.

Now you reduce the price to $125 to sell more and you sell two.  Price is $125, but what's MR?

MR is actually only $112 while price is $125.

This is because you made $250 selling two for $125 each.  But if price had been $138 you would have sold one.  So you take $250-$138 and you get $112.

So, MR = P but only in perfect competition.

Why are there more members of the House of Representatives than there are U.S. Senators?

The House of Representatives has legislators who are elected on the basis of a state's population, while the Senate has an equal number of legislators from each state. The reason is that the framers of the US Constitution argued over which was more fair, an equal number of legislators per state (which seems unfair for states with larger populations) or legislators apportioned by population (which seems unfair to states with less density of people).  The compromise was to do both.

Since the British Parliament was a bicameral legislature, ie one with two houses of lawmakers, the concept of two federal legislatures was not so alien.  But where the British had a House of Lords (with hereditary membership) and a House of Commons with legislators apportioned by population density, the new American nation had no aristocracy.  Therefore the lower house (Congressional Representatives) was apportioned as in the House of Commons, while the upper house (the Senate) consists of an equal number from each state.  The population-apportioned House holds the financial reins, as in the House of Commons.  This is covered in Article One, sections one, two and three of the Constitution.

What is the density of mercury in kg/m^3? What is it's density in g/cm^3? What is it's relative density?

The density means the mass per unit vume of any substance. In the standard metric system, we express mass in kilograms distance or length  in metres. And that is for all purpose the standard units in science. Therefore, the density of any substance in the standard units is how much of mass of it is  there in a volume of one cube of a meter or how much of the substance is there occupying one cubic meter volume .

The density of mercury = 13534kg/m^3 or 13.534gram/cubic centimeter

The realtive density means the the ratio of density of mercury to that of another substance. The relative density of mercury with respect to iron = density of mecury / the density of iron.

The relative density of iron with respect to mercury = density of iron/ density of mercury.

But normally we say relative density  meaning the ratio of sensity of a substance with respect water. It is also called the specific density. And it has no units. It is a costant and remains same irrespective of dimensional units.

Why are more features constantly been added to the mobile phone?why are more features constantly been added to the mobile phone? Cameras, Video...

There also is another side to the equation. People want these new features. There is what I call a cult of novelty in America. We get sick of things, even good things, because they are old. Companies are great at capitalizing on this. Also, they through advertising companies create this type of atmosphere, so that we want these things more and more. The culture is so much like this, that rarely do companies build things the way they used to. For example, companies know that people will not use a computer for more than 4 years. So, why would they build something to last much longer? As long as it last for 4 years, that is all they need. In this way they are able to save money and make more. In short, we are in a vicious cycle. We are sold things that we really do not need. Just look at the economy. This is my opinion.

Analyse the role of supernatural machinery in Macbeth.

I think you mean imagery and not machinery, as, to my knowledge, there is no supernatural machinery in Macbeth (or anywhere else that I can think of offhand).

The role of supernatural imagery in Macbeth amounts to, for the most part, witches, a floating dagger, and a ghost. The Witches appear three separate times in the play; the dagger appears once, as it leads Macbeth to murder, and a ghost (Banquo's) appears once, as an unwelcome dinner party guest.

As to the role these apparitions play... I would call it psychological. They mess with the mind. The witches appear to tempt and mislead Macbeth; the dagger horrifies Macbeth with what he is about to do; and Banquo's ghost comes to frighten and amaze Macbeth and to intensify his guilt. All these influences are mental, and that's why they are psychological by nature.

Are they real or are they imagined? Or are they a little bit of both? Here's a clue from Act 1, scene 3 (Macbeth to the Witches and then with Banquo):

...Speak, I charge you.

[Witches vanish.]

BANQUO:

The earth hath bubbles as the water has,

And these are of them. Whither are they vanish'd?

MACBETH:

Into the air, and what seem'd corporal melted

As breath into the wind. Would they had stay'd!

BANQUO:

Were such things here as we do speak about?

Or have we eaten on the insane root

That takes the reason prisoner?

A little bit of both, it seems.

What is the thesis statement for Dreams of My Father by Barrack Obama?

There might not be one thesis statement for the President's work, but rather many.  One such thesis might concern the notion of the bildungsroman and how one comes of age.  The memoirs presented shows the reader that multiple forces converge on one's identity.  Issues of race, class, gender, psychology, and ethnicity play massive roles in the formation of Barrack, Barry, and the man that is Barrack Obama.  Another thesis that might emerge is how conflict and confusion are an integral part to identity formation.  What makes the work so fascinating is that it is one of the first narratives to emerge from an experience wrought of conflict and challenge.  Unlike most politicians' narratives that are told from the points of view of wealth, privilege, and exclusivity, this particular one is told from economic challenge, abandonment, and forces of mortality.  The exploration of these ideas might constitute worthy thesis statements, as they are present throughout the President's work.