Onboard Note

Robert Frost was a great admirer of Henry David Thoreau, author of the classic Walden. Frost evidently made an early decision to lead a life of rustic simplicity so that he could devote all his time and thought to writing poetry, which was obviously his calling. This may have forced him to become a "nature poet" whether that was his original inclination or not. He derived inspirations from nature, and like all poets he never could know when he might receive an inspiration. But he must have learned that such inspirations were of the utmost importance to him in his chosen career. And the sight of the woods filling up with snow on a snowy evening was a great deal more important than a pretty picture that would look good on a Christmas card. It was an inspiration for a now-famous poem. He had to sit there while the inspiration sank in--although he didn't have to compose the poem itself before he started for home. No doubt the poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening...

sin(7pi/6)=sin(pi+pi/6)=-sin(pi/6)=-1/2 cos(7pi/6)=cos(pi+pi/6)=-cos(pi/6)=-sqrt(3)/2 tan(7pi/6)=tan(pi+pi/6)=tan(pi/6)=1/sqrt3

William Wordsworth's 1849 poem pays respect to the steady habits of a village blacksmith, a widower who works hard, practices faith, and lives simply. The third stanza has many appeals to the reader's sense of hearing. "Week in, week out, from morn till night,You can hear his bellows blow;You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,With measured beat and slow,Like a sexton ringing the village bell,When the evening sun is low." A bellows is a tool that produces air to feed a fire. When it is operated, it produces a whooshing sound. In using it, the fire would respond by flaring, which would also produce sound. The sledge that is mentioned in line three is a sledge hammer, a tool composed of a wooden handle and a blunt iron head. A blacksmith uses a sledge hammer to shape hot metal by pounding it on an iron anvil. The sound that it produces is rhythmic and clamorous as metal hits metal. It is a clanging sound. The poem's speaker describes the sound as slow, meaning that...

To provide a caption for this picture, you should credit its source. You can also provide a short description of what is going on in the picture. This is up to you, but it can be something along the lines of, "Helva, a brainship, has the energy and brains to travel through space."  The back cover also usually provides a short summary of the novel or story. You may want to include something along the lines of the following: "Helva, a cyborg, becomes a 'shell person,' living her life beneath titanium as her superior brain pilots her spaceship. She is not an ordinary person, but she still struggles with human emotions. Though she is by nature not a defeatist, she goes on her journeys with a sense of loss after her lover, Jennan, is killed, and with worries about whether she'll ever be able to pay off the considerable debts that she owes for her training. Will she ever find the right brawn to partner with her and to provide her with the companionship she has long...

In The Giver (Lowry), the Elders use euphemisms to deal with the aspects of life that they seek to control.  Death becomes "release," for instance, and sexual desire becomes "stirrings." The Elders do not want the people in the community to have sex, and so they rename it and repress desire with drugs.  We think that if we do not call something by its proper name, we can somehow make it go away or at least ignore its implications. This is the reason we refer to white meat and dark meat on a turkey, because people did not want to refer to a breast or a thigh.  This is the reason some people think that sex education for young people is a bad idea.  To call a healthy and natural part of human life "stirrings" is to disguise it, to trivialize its power, and to control it better.  This effort on the part of the Elders is quite successful. There is no indication in the story that anyone ever has sex, and babies are produced in some way that avoids this, perhaps ...

A government consists of a set of legal and political institutions that control relationships between society and outsiders and the relationships among the members of the society. There are various systems of government, including confederation, federation, and unitary. In a unitary system, the federal government performs all government functions. The federal government carries out police powers, taxation, and lawmaking responsibilities. Subnational national units are responsible for matters within their jurisdiction. However, the power of these units comes from the federal government. Many countries have a unitary system of government. In some instances, the regional units of government have a good deal of power and authority. This is true in Great Britain, where Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales have a good deal of autonomy. In France, the federal government has strict control over the regional units of government. In a confederation, the federal government has limited power. The...

Tom Sawyer comes up with a new plan to save Jim because he thinks Huck's plan isn't romantic and exciting enough. Tom reads a lot of adventure stories, so he wants reality to conform to what he sees and enjoys in fiction on a regular basis. Huck admits this plan could get them all killed, even if it is "worth fifteen" of his plans on the basis of style alone. Huck defers to this plan for two reasons: one, he is pretending to be Tom at this point and does not want his cover blown by Tom, and two, he feels the plan could at least work, so the end will be the same whether they go by his plan or Tom's—Jim will be free. So while Huck is still being realistic in knowing the plan is a bit silly and more than a little dangerous, he still admires Tom enough to take a chance on it. He is still, after all, a boy. Huck and Tom are trying to figure out a way to free Jim from his captivity on the Phelps property. Huck comes up with the idea of stealing the key to the shed where...

Osama-bin Laden disagreed with the American way of life.  He did not like American consumerism or its immodest values.  He did not like its secular nature.  He also did not approve of its foreign policy of meddling in the Middle East to ensure its oil supply.  Finally, he disapproved of the formation of the Israeli state and therefore hated America as one of Israel's most vital allies.  Bin-Laden was part of a group of radical fundamentalists who believed that the best government was controlled via Sharia law.  His attacks against monuments to American capitalism and American military might on September 11 were meant to send a statement--that the Middle East could find vulnerabilities in Western might.  Bin-Laden, a Saudi by birth, hid on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan during the early stages of the Global War on Terror where he organized extremist groups via the internet to attack Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan and at various embassies throughout the Middle East and Afr...

A "leadership repertoire" is the combination of leadership skills, drawn from leadership styles, that are put to use, when they are needed the most, for the common good of the organization.  According to Daniel Goleman's book Primal Leadership, the six most common leadership styles stem from an individual's emotional intelligence. The six styles are: Afiliative: "Let's keep the group together. Everything will be okay." Authoritative: "Let us all work together to achieve the goal." Coaching: "I will take the time to mentor each of you." Coercive: "My way or the highway." Democratic: "Let's all decide together for an outcome." Pace-Setting: "Here's the goal. It may be high, but reach it anyway." The warden described in this hypothetical scenario is described as cold, uninvolved, and apathetic. Let's define these adjectives and attach each to a potential style, or antistyle. While "cold...

Both Charlemagne, who ruled the Franks, and the Byzantine Empire claimed to be the inheritors of what used to be the Roman Empire. This caused a great deal of tension between them, but it never led to direct war for a number of reasons. First, Charlemagne himself had been crowned by the pope, whose authority was recognized by the Byzantines. Although the Byzantines did not acknowledge Charlemagne as Roman emperor, they could not openly defy the pope. Crucially, the Byzantine Empire was not at this time in a position to fight a war against Charlemagne. By the time of his coronation by the pope, he already controlled much of Europe, and although the Byzantines were a formidable force in Italy, they did not have the confidence to defeat Charlemagne in a military conflict.

Despite the meticulous craftsmanship that went into David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia, much of the film is dated and portrays typically stereotyped and "orientalist" attitudes about "the East" and the Arab world. Much of the detail of the film is unrealistic, showing Lawrence (Peter O'Toole), though a flawed person, as also in some ways a nearly superhuman character, riding through the desert without a pith helmet, evidently because Lean wished to emphasize his courage and his blondness. The sudden ways in which Lawrence arrives at his inspirations on how to defeat the Turks are also a bit hard to take. Apart from Omar Sharif as Sherif Ali, nearly all of the major roles are played by western actors. Regardless of the historical veracity of much of the script, the impression one gets from watching the film is that a European was required to lead the "easterners." Other epic films from the same period (the 1960s) show a similar approach, such as Kharto...

If you're writing a comparative essay, you may decide to discuss the relationship between power and ignorance in both stories. However, before you do that, you will need to decide what sort of differences or similarities the stories share. In "The Giraffe" and "The Use of Force," power appears to rest in the hands of the adults. In "The Giraffe," it is the adults who motivate a change in the boys' plans. Initially, the boys had planned to keep the giraffe in town. After the adults threaten to kill the animal, however, the boys take their new pet into the countryside. In "The Use of Force," the doctor exerts his power over his little patient. Because of his superior physical strength, she must submit to his ministrations. In both stories, ignorance rears its head. In "The Use of Force," the ignorance seems to lie chiefly in the young patient. On the other hand, adults are portrayed as the ignorant ones in "The Giraffe."...

This part of Singer's essay is about the questions NYU philosophy professor Peter Unger devised to investigate our understanding about whether it's ethically wrong to live well when people around the world are suffering from preventable diseases. Singer provides some examples, such as that of a man who has an expensive car who could destroy it to stop a train that will run over a child but doesn't do so. While most people would deem this person's actions wrong, they still don't give the $200 or so that it would take, according to Unger, to allow a sickly two-year-old to develop into a healthy six-year-old. However, it is difficult to determine if there is a moral difference between the man who does not save the child on the tracks and the wealthy westerner who does not give $200 to save suffering children. Singer concludes that since governments, such as that of the U.S., give less than what the United Nations recommends in international humanitarian aid and many we...

Kate Chopin uses colloquial speech to aid in the characterization of Bobinôt and Bibi, seen in Bibi's response to his father's suggestion that Calixta had Sylvie helping her: "No; she ent got Sylvie. Sylvie was helpin' her yistiday." Chopin also uses varying settings as she moves between Bobinôt and Bibi, and Calixta and Alcée. The story opens with father and son at Friedheimer's store, and then the narrative moves to Bobinôt and Calixta's home. Imagery is another technique Chopin uses in "The Storm" to describe the weather and the physical attraction of Calixta and Alcée, as seen in this line: "The rain was coming down in sheets obscuring the view of far-off cabins and enveloping the distant wood in a gray mist." Chopin uses a simile in her physical characterization of Calixta: "Her lips were as red and moist as pomegranate seed." Though Bobinôt has done nothing wrong in staying at the store during the storm, he fears that he...

President Jefferson wanted to acquire the Port of New Orleans to protect the right of merchants and farmers west of the Appalachian mountains to trade and navigate along the Mississippi River. In 1798, the Spanish had revoked the United States' right to navigate the river and deposit goods in New Orleans. This caused an economic crisis in the Ohio River Basin. That same year, Spain gave the territory of Louisiana over to the French. Many southerners feared that Napoleon would free the slaves in that territory, which could potentially spark a slave rebellion in the United States. Jefferson felt it necessary that the United States secure the port in order to safeguard American interests in trade once and for all. Napoleon was more focused on events in Europe than in the Americas, and therefore his representatives were eager to sell the entire territory. Nearly overnight, the United States doubled in size. Now the country had secure rights to navigate along the Mississippi River and u...

Christopher Columbus was an old-time entrepreneur. He was willing to take great risks and expose his credibility to ridicule in order to obtain a profit. After being denied financial compensation from several sources, he eventually approached the thrones of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain hoping to find them in a giving mood. Recently turned away by the King of Portugal, Columbus made his case before the Spanish monarchy. Imagine a scene not unlike a modern-day episode of Shark Tank. Columbus had the challenge of convincing his audience that it was a shorter journey to the Indies by going west. Conventional wisdom of the day held that east was the proper course to take. The task was not an easy one. Spain was just wrapping up a war to drive Muslims from the nation. Advisers to the monarchs strongly recommended sending Columbus away without the benefit of any donation. However, the monarchs were interested. If Columbus could get to the Indies faster, they could gain an advant...

Smith and Durkheim both maintain that sacred thought was a primary motivator in early societies. Huston Smith from his post-World War II perspective, aims to counter the dominance of secular views, while Émile Durkheim formed his ideas in the late 19th century. Smith, while clearly influenced by Durkheim in positively valuing the belief systems that predated organized religion, does not see religion as primarily social, which was Durkheim’s position. Also similarly to Durkheim, Huston Smith bases much of his analysis in Australian Aboriginal society; both analyze their contemporary beliefs for insights into religion in ancient times. Huston Smith discusses the earliest or “primal religions” as moral guides that encoded positive values and enabled society to develop. He also calls them “tribal religions,” noting how they reflect the tribal thinking that binds people. Claiming that they predate writing and were transmitted orally, he emphasizes the importance of memory at the heart of re...

There were several issues that were resolved at the Constitutional Convention. One issue dealt with the structure of the legislative branch. The small states were afraid that the big states would have too much power. The Virginia Plan proposed having a legislature where the large states would have more representatives than the small states. The small states countered with the New Jersey Plan, which stated that there would be equal representation in Congress. A compromise, called the Great Compromise, was reached where there would be a two-house legislature. In the House of Representatives, representation would be based on the size of the state. The large states would have more representatives than the small states. In the Senate, each state would have two senators, regardless of the size of the state. Another issue that was resolved was how the executive branch would be structured and how much power it would have. There was a concern that a strong executive might abuse the power given ...

Photoelectric effect commonly refers to the behavior of electrons that are ejected from the surface of a metal due to the light shining on the metal. Photoelectric effect was first noticed by Hertz at the end of the 19th century in the course of his experiments involving electromagnetic waves. The unusual characteristics of the current (stream of electrons) emitted from the metal were later (in the beginning of the 20th century) explained by Einstein. In order for an electron to be ejected from the surface of the metal, it needs to posses a certain amount of energy in order to overcome the electric forces binding it to the metal. This amount of energy is called work-function and it depends on the type of metal.  According to the laws of classical physics, it would be expected that the kinetic energy with which electrons leave metal would depend on the intensity of incident light, because more intense light would impart more energy to the electrons. However, this is not what was observe...

Grandfather thinks he has been a fool because he failed to see the inherent threat in the yellow fever. In Chapter 5, Lucille (Matilda's mother) wanted to send Matilda to the Ludingtons at Gwynedd. However, Matilda's grandfather would not hear of it; he maintained that the Ludingtons were not family and that Matilda would fare better by staying put. Matilda's grandfather believed that they would only need to accommodate the fever for a few weeks. He insisted that life would soon return to normal and cautioned against panicking. In Chapter 11, Matilda and her grandfather are abandoned after the armed men determine that the latter is too sick to be allowed passage through their town. The two are left without food and water, and Matilda's grandfather eventually laments his foolish stubbornness. He admits that Lucille was right to worry and that they should have left town before any of them caught the fever. So, Grandfather thinks himself a fool because he resisted the idea...

This question is difficult because Cooper's views are outdated in the present day. However, upon examination of the novel in the context it was written, the answer would, most likely, be "no." Remember, that in the nineteenth century, sexual relations between different races was illegal in the United States. However, Cora is presented as a woman of strength and courage—even though she considers herself "a violation of nature" due to her interracial background—and she is willing to give up her life for her sister, Alice. With that being said, Cooper does portray many of the characters as stock characters such as the "noble savage." More interesting, however, is that Cooper kills off Cora and Uncas (rather than allowing their union), which could be interpreted as his abhorrence for racial mixing. But, on a deeper level, perhaps Cooper intended their death to illustrate and delve into the problematic moral issues facing the new republic—those based upon o...

To find the volume of a solid by revolving the graph of y =4-x^2 about the x-axis, we consider the bounded region in between the graph and the x-axis. To evaluate this, we apply Disk method by using a rectangular strip perpendicular to the axis of rotation. As shown on the attached image, we consider a vertical rectangular strip with a thickness =dx. We follow the formula for the Disk Method in a form of: V = int_a^b pir^2 dx or V = pi int_a^b r^2 dx where r is the length of the rectangular strip. In this problem, we let the length of the rectangular strip=y_(above)-y_(below) . Then r = (4-x^2) - 0 = 4-x^2 Boundary values of x: a= -2 to b=2 . Plug-in the values on the formula V = pi int_a^b r^2 dx , we get: V =pi int_(-2)^2 (4-x^2)^2 dx Expand using FOIL method:(4-x^2)^2 = (4-x^2)(4-x^2)= 16-8x^2+x^4 . The integral becomes: V =pi int_(-2)^2 (16-8x^2+x^4) dx Apply basic integration property:int (u+-v+-w)dx = int (u)dx+-int (v)dx+-int(w)dx to be able to integrate them separately...

Rome was a civilization that started in Central Italy and eventually went on to conquer the entire Mediterranean and much of Europe. A complete history of the Romans is too complex and extensive to give here. Basically, Rome was founded as a small city-state in 753 BCE. Until 509 BCE they were ruled by kings. In that year, the kings were overthrown and Rome became a republic ruled by elected senators and counsels. It was during its time as a republic that Rome began expanding its borders by conquering its neighbors, including Greece. In 27 BCE, the Roman Empire was established by Augustus. Rome remained an empire until it was conquered by barbarians in the 5th Century CE. The Romans themselves were a mix of ethnicities. They started off as members of the Latin tribe in Central Italy. As they spread across Italy and then across the Mediterranean and Europe, the Romans absorbed many more ethnicities. Many of these other groups became Romanized, meaning they adopted the culture and custom...

RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. It is a type of wireless technology and basically has three components to it: a tag, a reader, and a computer system. The tag consists of a microchip and radio antenna. The microchip in the tag contains essential information about a product or item. To transmit this information to a reader, the tag uses radio signals. After picking up the signals, the reader delivers the information to a computer system. From the computer system, companies can easily track the kinds of products consumers like to buy. This allows companies to position advertisements, sales, and product placements in stores according to their customer's preferences. Also, using RFID technology increases productivity: it is much easier to use, is more accurate, and less error-prone than traditional bar-coding. Thus, increased productivity leads to greater profits for companies. As for consumers, the benefits of RFID technology are numerous. For example, it minimizes wait...

Jonathan Edwards’s main goal in writing and delivering his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was to persuade people to love God and give their hearts to him.  If they do this, Edwards believes they can be saved. Before the Great Awakening (of which Edwards was a part), many religious Americans believed in predestination. They believed God had already decided whether they were going to Heaven or Hell and that there was nothing they could do to change their fate. Preachers of the Great Awakening disagreed. They believed people deserved to be damned but could save themselves by accepting God’s love and loving God in return.  The main purpose of Edwards’s sermon is to convince the people who are listening that this is true. He warns them about how they are in danger of going to Hell, and claims they would completely deserve that fate. He says, there is an opportunity for them, though; they can accept God and improve their chances for salvation. Edwards tells his listeners that ...

In Animal Farm, the pigs start walking upright in the final chapter of the story and there are a couple of possible explanations for this. Firstly, the pigs have devoted a lot of time and effort to emulate humans. We have seen this earlier in the story when they, for example, start sleeping in beds, wearing clothes, and drinking alcohol. Although they hated their human masters, the pigs regard humans as the pinnacle of authority and power, so it is, perhaps, not surprising that the pigs would want to emulate this ability, even if it is very ironic. Secondly, walking upright is symbolic of the pigs' elevated status above the other animals. Like their better rations and ability to change the rules, walking upright demonstrates that the pigs are not like the other animals on the farm. They represent a different class—the ruling class—and, by walking upright, this point is reinforced to everyone.

The task that your teacher has given you is relatively easy. Just relax, write what you know, and be honest. In his personal essay, "In the Kitchen," extracted from his memoir, Colored People, Henry Louis Gates Jr. evokes both his time and his black identity through the mention of products that were popular in his time (e.g., Crest and Colgate toothpastes, hot combs and hair grease) and popular figures (e.g., Walter Cronkite and Odetta). These references are familiar to many people—though, some would only be familiar to black people, which roots Gates's essay in a particular cultural context—and evoke textures, smells, tastes, and voices. Also, your teacher wants you to use allusions. An allusion is a reference that calls something else to mind, either directly or indirectly. For instance, when Gates talks about his mother doing the hair of women and girls in the neighborhood, he mentions how her "hands would transform a round mound of Odetta kink into a darkened swa...

To evaluate the given complex fraction  (1/x-x/(x^(-1)+1))/(5/x) , we may simplify first the part x/(x^(-1)+1) . Apply Law of Exponent: x^(-n)=1/x^n . Let x^(-1)= 1/x^1 or  1/x . x/(1/x+1) Let 1=x/x to be able to combine similar fractions. x/(1/x+x/x) x/((1+x)/x) Flip the fraction at the bottom to proceed to multiplication. x*x/(1+x) x^2/(1+x) Apply x/(x^(-1)+1)=x^2/(1+x) , we get: (1/x-x/(x^(-1)+1))/(5/x) (1/x-x^2/(1+x))/(5/x) Determine the LCD or least common denominator. The denominators are x and (1+x) . Both are distinct factors. Thus, we get the LCD by getting the product of the distinct factors from denominator side of each term. LCD =x*(1+x) or x+x^2 Maintain the factored form of the LCD for easier cancellation of common factors on each term. Multiply each term by the LCD=x*(1+x) . (1/x*x*(1+x)-x^2/(1+x)*x*(1+x))/((5/x)x*(1+x)) Cancel out common factors to get rid of the denominators. (1*(1+x)-x^2*x)/(5*(1+x)) Apply distribution property. (1+x-x^3)/(5+5x) or -(x^3-1-x)/(5x+5) T...

Part of the point of terrorist activities is to create publicity. Terrorists are attempting to achieve political or personal goals with acts that manipulate the fears and worries of ordinary people. They may gauge the success of their actions by the degree to which their acts are publicized. Thus, giving this sort of intense media coverage to terrorists is in a sense to be complicit with terrorism and to help terrorists achieve their goals and, even worse, to encourage future terrorists. After all, if a tactic succeeds, people will continue to use it.  Although state censorship of news media is wrong, in this case, it would have been far better for the media to have covered the story with simple factual reporting, buried in world news sections, rather than in blaring headlines. Also, leaking military plans before the fact may have breached the needed operational security, interfering with the hostages' rescue. While news media do need to hold the military accountable, they should d...

If I were a woman going out as an indentured servant and had to choose one of the four colonies listed, I would pick Pennsylvania. All of the colonies named were patriarchal, meaning that men ran society and that men had most of the legal and economic rights. However, the Massachusetts Bay colony was strictly Puritan, did not allow religious freedom, and enforced high degrees of patriarchy. Pennsylvania, in contrast, was founded by the Quakers, who believed that God's spirit was poured out equally on men and women. The colony still subordinated women, just not to the same level as the Puritans. Pennsylvania also prospered as a middle-class colony, whereas in Maryland and Virginia there were sharper divisions between rich and poor. I would chiefly choose Pennsylvania over either of those two southern colonies because it was less dependent on slave labor. Slavery was allowed in Pennsylvania in the colonial period, but it was less important to the economy than in the South, in part be...

The United States had many reasons for entering World War I. The most important reason was Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare program was a danger to American lives and trade. Germany had already sunk several American merchant ships bound for Britain, and German attacks had killed hundreds of Americans before the declaration of war in 1917. The most famous German attack which almost pulled America into the war happened in 1915 with the sinking of the British ship Lusitania, which killed 128 Americans. After this sinking Germany pledged not to attack any more vessels unless they were explicitly purposed for war. Germany returned to unrestricted submarine warfare in 1917 in an attempt to force an early end to the war.   Another outrage by Germany was the Zimmerman telegram, which was an attempt to get Mexico to attack the United States in order to distract the Americans long enough for Germany to win the war. In return, Mexico was supposed to get lands lost during the Mexican W...

Theoretical probability is the probability something will happen based on a calculation. The calculation compares the number of ways that thing will happen to the total number of possible outcomes.  For example, a regular die has six faces with the numbers 1 through 6 on them. Since only one of the six faces has a 4, the theoretical probability of rolling a 4 is 1/6. Similarly, the theoretical probability of rolling a number smaller than 6 is 5/6, because five of the six faces have numbers smaller than 6. Theoretical probability is different from experimental probability. In experimental probability, first someone would do an experiment like roll a die 100 times and record the results. Then they would calculate the experimental probability of rolling a 4 based on the number of times a 4 was actually rolled in the experiment. Because results of experiments will likely be different each time an experiment is done, the experimental probabilities will also be different. They might sometime...

There are a number of examples of this, but perhaps the most notable one from the 20th century is the Marshall Plan, in conjunction with the Truman Doctrine. The idea of American exceptionalism is, essentially, the belief that America stands apart from other countries on the world stage and therefore has more of a responsibility to provide aid to other countries. In modern foreign policy, we also see the reverse theory imposed: the USA does not accept foreign aid from other countries, even when it is needed, because of the belief that America should be seen as the "giver" on the international stage. In 1947, American exceptionalism led to the belief, outlined in the Truman Doctrine, that it was the responsibility of the United States to contain the spread of Communism in Europe, and as a result of this, the Marshall Plan was born.  Europe in 1947 was utterly ravaged by war. Germany had suffered particularly badly from the war, but within the constraints of the Marshall Plan, ...

The main theme of Delta Wedding is that family relationships are central to our personal development and happiness. Delta Wedding follows the perspectives of various family members as they come together for a family wedding. The characters who have well-developed, stable relationships with their family members demonstrate stability and happiness in everyday life. They appear well-adjusted, resilient, and able to resolve personal problems. Those characters who are disconnected from family have less resiliency and more personal issues. Dabney Fairchild, the bride, has ambivalent feelings about her marriage. On the one hand, she adores her husband-to-be. He is kind, generous, and patient. However, he is disconnected from his own family and is not very well-respected among Dabney's community. Dabney struggles with how to integrate her fiance into her lifestyle and community. Because she has a strong relationship with her parents and siblings, she is able to adequately deal with the cha...

Obviously, Africa is a continent containing many different countries at different stages in their development, all facing different specific economic and cultural issues. What is generally true of most of sub-Saharan Africa is that it is part of the developing world. This answer will focus on issues current in 2016; conditions may change in the future. For North Africa, different countries face different issues. For Libya, the main issue seems to be creating a robust government with a rule of law, as international trade is not possible with a single legitimate government and some degree of stability, including ways of guaranteeing the safety of foreign visitors and their property. Tunisia and Morocco are comparatively well-governed and face issues of building industries that can take advantage of their demographic dividends. Egypt faces political upheavals, declining GDP, and the challenge of political uncertainty, with an extremely repressive government being inherently unstable. Seve...

Leonardo da Vinci died in 1519, at the age of 67, probably of a stroke. The undisputed quintessential "Renaissance man," Leonardo had led an extraordinary life that included painting what is probably the world's most famous portrait, the mysterious "Mona Lisa," and inventing a whole raft of things that were never produced during his lifetime, but have proven to be far ahead of their time. These include the ball bearing, a diving suit for deepwater exploration, a prototype for a helicopter, a parachute, and a version of a machine gun. Leonardo's love of experimentation sometimes had unexpected and negative consequences, however, as in his creation of the beautiful fresco, "The Last Supper." He tried using his own combination of ingredients in the paint placed directly on dry plaster, and this has not held up well, causing the piece to be constantly in restoration. But this amazing man left a legacy that even among the giants of the Renaissance, is u...

In answering this question, we need to look at some of the social causes of the War of Independence. The North American continent was wide open (if one can ignore the civilizations of indigenous people), and the English settlers had felt a new empowerment from the victory in the French and Indian War. However, the British declared that the territory between the Appalachians and the Mississippi river was reserved for the Native Americans. The decision was partly due to Pontiac's War, the 1763 uprising that occurred in the aftermath of the French and Indian conflict. But the British forts along the Alleghenies couldn't prevent the inevitable flow of white settlers to the West. The "American Dream" at this time was to have one's own claim, one's own homestead to farm (in contrast to Europe, where rural laborers did not own the land they farmed). The British effort to restrict the settlers was a major cause of the Revolution. After independence was granted, there ...

In Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success, the author discusses what makes certain individuals successful using multiple examples, from Canadian ice hockey players to Bill Gates. Throughout the book, Gladwell dismantles what he deems misconceptions about what makes someone successful. In modern Western society, most people believe that success is based on an individual’s combination of hard work and talent. People also tend to think that success can only be attributed to the individual, regardless of his or her circumstances in life at birth. Thus, society views success as a meritocratic pursuit whereby only the best of the best will achieve the greatest heights. Gladwell suggests, however, that this is an oversimplification and that no one achieves astronomical success alone. Instead, he explains how circumstances, luck, and hard work all interact to create a highly successful individual. For example, he discusses how elite professional ice hockey players in Canada all tend...

Express the composite function $y = \tan(\sin x)$ in the form $f(g(x))$. [Identify the inner function $u=g(x)$ and the outer function $y = f(u)$.] Then find the derivative $\displaystyle \frac{dy}{dx}$ Let $y = f(g(x))$ where $u = g(x) = \sin x$ and $ y = f(u) = \tan u$ Then, $ \begin{equation} \begin{aligned} y' &= \frac{dy}{dx} = \frac{dy}{du} \frac{du}{dx}\\ \\ y' &= \frac{d}{du} (\tan x) \cdot \frac{d}{dx} ( \sin x )\\ \\ y' &= ( \sec^2 u)(\cos x) && \text{Substitute value of } u \text{ and simplify.}\\ \\ y' &= \cos x \sec^2(\sin x) \end{aligned} \end{equation} $

To apply the Root test on a series  sum a_n , we determine the limit as: lim_(n-gtoo) root(n)(|a_n|)= L or lim_(n-gtoo) |a_n|^(1/n)= L Then, we follow the conditions: a) Llt1 then the series is absolutely convergent. b) Lgt1 then the series is divergent. c) L=1 or does not exist  then the test is inconclusive. The series may be divergent, conditionally convergent, or absolutely convergent. To apply the Root Test to determine the convergence or divergence of the series sum_(n=0)^oo e^(-3n) , we  let a_n = e^(-3n) . Apply Law of Exponent: x^(-n) = 1/x^n .  a_ n = 1/e^(3n). Applying the Root test, we set-up the limit as: lim_(n-gtoo) |1/e^(3n)|^(1/n) =lim_(n-gtoo) (1/e^(3n))^(1/n)  Apply the Law of Exponents: (x/y)^n = x^n/y^n and (x^n)^m= x^(n*m) . lim_(n-gtoo) (1/e^(3n))^(1/n) =lim_(n-gtoo) 1^(1/n)/(e^(3n))^(1/n)                             =lim_(n-gtoo) 1^(1/n)/e^(3n*1/n)                           =lim_(n-gtoo) 1^(1/n)/e^((3n)/n)                                =lim_(n-gtoo) 1^(1/n)/e^...

They begin to trust Boo when he starts reaching out to them. He does this by leaving a succession of objects for them to find in the knothole of a tree. This is Boo's sole connection to the outside world. The children realize this, and appreciate the opportunity to communicate with him in this unusual way. They also feel somewhat privileged as they've now gained a glimpse into Boo's world, a world that had previously remained firmly closed. Like just about everyone else in Maycomb, Scout and Jem have tended to regarded Boo Radley as a kind of freak or boogie-man, a man of mystery whose whole public identity has been cobbled together out of scraps of local folklore, hearsay, and gossip. But now that Boo's started reaching out to them, they come to see a different side to him, and a firm bond of trust gradually begins to form.

Sonnet 18 is a poem in which the speaker praises the beloved's beauty by comparing it to a summer's day. By the second line of the poem, though, we know that the beloved's qualities far exceed the positive traits of the summer's day mentioned in line 1. Unlike the summer's day, the beloved is "more lovely and more temperate" (2). The speaker goes on to explain that the summer can be too hot and can pass too quickly. On the other hand, the beloved's beauty lasts beyond that short season: But thy eternal summer shall not fadeNor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; (9-10) The beloved has an "eternal summer." The admirable qualities of summer that make us praise it and long for it are everlasting in the beloved, while the season of summer itself inevitably ends and leads into autumn. The "season" of the beloved's beauty does not end and it does not lose its lovely traits. The sonnet concludes with the speaker's most exp...

Historically and presently, much has been said and is continually said about the relationship between science and religion. Depending on who, what, and when you ask, science and religion can be said to be completely in harmony or entirely at odds. Regarding the internationally dominant Abrahamic religions of Christianity and Islam, the conflict is driven by the way in which knowledge can be discovered. In Christianity and Islam, knowledge relies upon authority. Scripture, tradition, and the words of exemplars drive what is and is not true. The scientific method, however, rejects knowledge from authority and relies instead upon experience and observation.  In many ways, Buddhism is at odds with Christianity and Islam. Despite the primacy of the Buddha's teachings, the tradition constantly reinforces that personal experience is greater than anything that an authority figure can teach. There are no absolutes in Buddhism, and the Buddha advised his followers to reject rumor, tradition,...

Jason is the son of Aeson, Pelias's half-brother. When Pelias came to power he imprisoned Aeson in a dungeon. As with all Aeson's children, Jason is a potential threat to Pelias's throne. It's not surprising, then, that Pelias wants him out of the way. But at the same time, Pelias is scared of Jason and dare not take him on directly. So he asks Jason what he would do if confronted by the man who will bring about his own downfall. Jason answers that he would send him on a quest for the Golden Fleece, knowing full well just how dangerous and virtually impossible a task this would be. After all, the Fleece is guarded around the clock by a fearsome dragon. Pelias seizes his chance and sends Jason off to retrieve the Golden Fleece, in the firm belief that he'll never come back alive. With Jason out of the way, Pelias is certain that his throne is safe. He couldn't be more wrong.

The Greco-Roman period refers to ancient Greek and Roman rule. During this time, nude sculptures were very popular; the Greeks were especially intrigued with the beauty of the human form, and artists welcomed the opportunity to depict the human body in movement. For instance, the Parthenon sculptures included figures representing priests, soldiers, maidens, and nobles (all in various stages of movement). Both Greeks and Romans reveled in depicting gods and goddesses in all their physical perfection. Nude sculptures like the kouroi (nude male youths) and kore (clothed female figures) were extremely popular in the Greco-Roman world. The initial kouroi statues were rigid and sterile in terms of "flow." Later, Greek sculptors resorted to using marble to depict ever more realistic figures. With marble, a sculptor could more accurately depict the flow of a garment or the intricate expression on the face of a figure. Nevertheless, Greek and Roman sculptors concentrated mainly on dep...

As the other responses indicate, Beauvoir’s quote argues that gender is a social construct rather than an inborn identity. Through patriarchal structures and proscribed gender roles, female human beings are taught what it means to be a woman. This education is often achieved throughout childhood and young adulthood prior to a girl’s coming of age as dictated by the culture in which she is raised. Interpreted another way, Beauvoir believes that traditional notions of femininity are not based on natural instincts but rather instilled from a young age. As a result, many women internalize these feminine tendencies as inherent, which further enforces male hegemony. This internalized sexism has just as much of an impact on a female’s identifying with traditional femininity as external forces, since it deepens an individual’s bias in favor of the status quo. Simone de Beauvoir's comment "One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman" is a comment on the idea of femininity, womanh...

We are asked to determine if the function y=cot(x) on (0,pi)  has an inverse function by finding if the function is strictly monotonic on the interval using the derivative. y'=-csc^2(x) . On (0,pi),-csc^2(x)    

This story is filled with important events, and different readers are going to place emphasis on certain events more than others. For me, the first significant event is David discovering that Sophie has six toes. It is his introduction to a real life "Deviant," and what's great about the interaction is that he doesn't see it as a big deal. He even agrees to keep it a secret. The secret is eventually discovered, and Sophie and her family escape to the Fringes. Another important event is David and his group discovering their telepathic ability. Eventually, their secret is discovered, and they are forced to run away from the Waknuk society. They are hunted, and a climactic part of the story is when the woman from Sealand rescues all of them by immobilizing every person that is in the pitched battle. This is a very important part of the novel because it is here that David and readers discover that the Sealand people think they are a genetically superior people/species to ...

The main action in Arthur Miller's The Crucible is a trial. The play is a fictionalized take on the famed Salem witch trials that saw a group of young women tried for witchcraft during a period from 1692 to 1693 in Salem, Massachusetts. The actual trials were a brutal example of the puritanical beliefs and mob mentality that existed in the early New England colonies. Miller's play is loosely based on these actual historical events and he wrote the play as an allegory to the anti-communist fervor of 1950s America. Many people in this era of McCarthyism felt as if they were being persecuted and had the sense that the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was a kind of "witch hunt." One of the main characters in The Crucible is Abigail Williams, who is portrayed as being the ringleader of a group of young women accused of Satanism and witchcraft. This starts a process which quickly gets out of hand. The play follows the development of the trial, which degrades in...

The animal that gave General Zaroff a difficult time and actually injured him was a Cape buffalo.   Readers learn this detail as General Zaroff and Rainsford are getting to know each other over dinner and some drinks. Rainsford compliments General Zaroff on his collection of trophy heads from his hunts. Rainsford then comments that the head of the Cape buffalo is the largest that he has ever seen. "You have some wonderful heads here," said Rainsford as he ate a particularly well-cooked filet mignon. "That Cape buffalo is the largest I ever saw." Zaroff admits that the buffalo was indeed a "monster" of a kill. Rainsford is a bit curious about the encounter, so he asks Zaroff if the buffalo charged. Zaroff confirms that it did charge and threw him against a tree. The impact fractured Zaroff's skull, but he was still able to kill the creature. "Oh, that fellow. Yes, he was a monster." "Did he charge you?" "Hurled me against a tree...

To find the positive values of p in which the series sum_(n=3)^oo 1/(nln(n)(ln(ln(n)))^p) , we may apply the integral test. Integral test is applicable if f is positive, continuous, and decreasing function and a_n=f(x) . The infinite series sum_(n=k)^oo a_n converges if and only of the improper integral int _k^oo f(x)dx converges to a finite number. If the integral diverges then the series also diverges. For the infinite series sum_(n=3)^oo 1/(nln(n)(ln(ln(x)))^p) , we have: a_n=1/(nln(n)(ln(ln(n)))^p) Then, f(x) =1/(xln(x)(ln(ln(x)))^p) The f(x) satisfies the conditions for integral test for the interval [3,oo) We set-up the improper integral as: int_3^oo1/(xln(x)(ln(ln(x)))^p) dx. Apply u-substitution by letting u = ln(x) then du =1/xdx . int 1/(xln(x)(ln(ln(x)))^p) dx=int 1/(ln(x)(ln(ln(x)))^p)* 1/xdx                       =int 1/(u(ln(u))^p) du Apply another set of substitution: let v =ln(u) and dv = 1/u du . int 1/(u(ln(u))^p) du=int 1/(ln(u))^p* 1/u du                        =in...

Pico della Mirandola celebrates human nature for its potential. Whereas many writers, especially medieval theologians, have emphasized the sinful, depraved nature of the human condition, Pico is struck by the possibility that man can rise to the level of divinity (or not; it is man's choice). So free will is the defining characteristic of human nature, and free will is, according to Pico, God's gift to man: We [God] have made you a creature neither of heaven nor of earth, neither mortal nor immortal, in order that you may, as the free and proud shaper of your own being, fashion yourself in the form you may prefer. It will be in your power to descend to the lower, brutish forms of life; you will be able, through your own decision, to rise again to the superior orders whose life is divine. Pico writes that this condition makes mankind worthy of admiration and awe, because man alone among the denizens of the Earth is invested with free will. So human nature is to be free, and Pico...

For enslaved people in the United States, and prior to that the Thirteen Colonies, there were a number of ways to respond to the inhumanity of slavery. Some actively resisted slavery, while others focused on attempting to improve spirits during such a difficult time. One of the ways slaves could resist before being taken to the Americas from Africa was to run away from their captors. This would also be a way for slaves to resist and seek freedom in the United States. Once northern states began to ban slavery and Britain banned slavery from their empire, many slaves would escape slavery by heading to free states or to British-controlled Canada, where they would have freedom. Another way slaves could resist slavery before being brought to the Americas was through suicide. For some enslaved people, an option to avoid slavery was to take drastic measures, such as jumping from a slave trading ship into the ocean. While this would result in the death of the individual, it would free them fro...