In the story "The Yellow Wallpaper", in what ways is John to blame for his wife's descent into madness?

The unnamed narrator's husband John is to blame for his wife's breakdown because he has repressed his wife, and he lacks any understanding of her feelings.

John has accepted the medical theories of Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell and deprived her of any human contact or contact with nature, he has subjugated her to his will and caused her to become even more depressed that she has been after the birth of their child, and he has...

The unnamed narrator's husband John is to blame for his wife's breakdown because he has repressed his wife, and he lacks any understanding of her feelings.

John has accepted the medical theories of Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell and deprived her of any human contact or contact with nature, he has subjugated her to his will and caused her to become even more depressed that she has been after the birth of their child, and he has stifled every artistic urge or emotional stimulation she has had that would be therapeutic and lift her spirits. 

That her husband does not give serious consideration to her feelings is indicated in the narrator's early remarks. For instance, she comments,

John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in a man. John is practical in the extreme. He has no patience with faith...and he scoffs openly at any talk of things not be felt and put down in figures....
You see he does not believe I am sick! And what can one do?

John thinks the narrator's condition is merely "temporary nervous depression--a slight hysterical tendency...." The narrator then asks, "What is one to do?" She is told not to "work," but she disagrees with this idea; she would like to walk in the garden, to write. Isolated in a room with a strict "prescription for each hour in the day," the narrator becomes repulsed by the wallpaper in her room and writes that it is

...one of those sprawling flamboyant patterns committing every artistic sin.
It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough constantly to irritate and provoke study....
The color is repellent, almost revolting; a smoldering unclean yellow....
There comes John, and I must put this away--he hates to have me write a word.

Clearly, then, the wife is further disturbed by this room in which she is isolated; furthermore, her oppressive husband exacerbates her condition by forcing her to remain there alone where she is severely depressed with no stimulation. With only the horrible affect of the hideous yellow wallpaper and its disturbing a-symmetrical pattern, the repressed woman stares at it and becomes obsessed with its hideousness. She eventually loses her sanity, feeling that she must release a woman behind this paper. 

What purpose is the "family" supposed to serve in Montag's society?

In Montag's society, people become invested in the lives of fictitious "families" that appear in interactive, continuously running, soap opera-like television shows they watch on their parlor walls. Like everything generated by Montag's society, these shows are supposed to distract people from their real lives so that literacy and free thought will seem needless. Mildred, Montag's wife, is completely enthralled by these shows and watches them on their three parlor walls all day long. She...

In Montag's society, people become invested in the lives of fictitious "families" that appear in interactive, continuously running, soap opera-like television shows they watch on their parlor walls. Like everything generated by Montag's society, these shows are supposed to distract people from their real lives so that literacy and free thought will seem needless. Mildred, Montag's wife, is completely enthralled by these shows and watches them on their three parlor walls all day long. She is especially excited about the recently created technology that allows the audience to respond to and interact with the people on the shows. Mildred is so completely swept up in the ways of her world that when she does start reading books, not only does she not understand what she's reading, but she says the following:

"Books aren't people. You read and I look all around, but there isn't anybody! . . . Now, my 'family' is people. They tell me things: I laugh, they laugh! And the colors! . . . And besides, if Captain Beatty knew about those books. . . He might come and burn the house and the 'family.' That's awful! Think of our investment" (73).

Mildred has been so completely sucked in by her "family" that she has bonded with a TV show more than she has with her own husband. She values the TV technology because that is what brings her the show and the brilliant colors and music that distract her from establishing a strong bond with her own family. It is probably the reason why she and Montag don't have any children—because she's always watching someone else's family. This is exactly what society accepts in Montag's culture. In their society, it is more important to seek one's own pleasure rather than to sacrifice one's life for others. The "family" creates a bond with viewers in a way that keeps them from forming their own families. It perpetuates a selfish society that values hedonism rather than family.

What does Athena do to help Odysseus in Book 22 of The Odyssey?

In Book 22, Odysseus finally reveals himself to the suitors who have plagued his homeland and his household. He does this by killing Antinous with an arrow through the throat in an extremely graphic and bloody way. The suitors don't immediately realize who he is, until he announces himself and their impending doom. He begins to fight, after refusing to accept a weak apology from Eurymachus, and dispatches Eurymachus as quickly as he did Antinous,...

In Book 22, Odysseus finally reveals himself to the suitors who have plagued his homeland and his household. He does this by killing Antinous with an arrow through the throat in an extremely graphic and bloody way. The suitors don't immediately realize who he is, until he announces himself and their impending doom. He begins to fight, after refusing to accept a weak apology from Eurymachus, and dispatches Eurymachus as quickly as he did Antinous, with an arrow through the chest. The remaining suitors begin to arm themselves, with help from Melanthious (a servant whose loyalties now belong with the suitors). 

Athena shows up, once again disguised as Mentor, and Odysseus calls out to her, requesting her aid: 

“Mentor, help fight off disaster. Remember me, your dear comrade. I’ve done good things for you. You’re my companion, someone my own age.” (22, 262-266)

The suitors follow up Odysseus' request for aid by threatening Mentor (Athena) with death if he fights with Odysseus. This angers the goddess, but she is still resolved to test Odysseus instead of making sure that he wins the fight outright.

The fight begins in earnest and Athena makes sure that when all of the suitors throw their spears they miss Odysseus, but Telemachus is grazed on the wrist. (22, 325-327) Eventually, after she's convinced of Odysseus' worthiness, Athena demonstrates her godhood by flashing her sigil/shield in the air to highlight her backing of Odysseus. This also causes the suitors to flee. (22, 374) 

Essentially, Odysseus does the majority of the work, but Athena helps him out by keeping the spears from hitting him. 

Describe in words what happens to the chromosomes (or chromatids) in each phase of the eukaryotic cell cycle.

The DNA content of a cell can be described using the following terms:

• 
  Haploid (n): The term haploid describes the number of different types of chromosomes in a cell. Human cells contain 23 different types of chromosomes. So, for human cells, n =23.

• 
  Diploid (2n): The term diploid describes a cell that has two copies of each type of chromosome. Since a haploid human cell contains 23 different types of chromosomes, a diploid human cell would contain 23 pairs of chromosomes for a total of 46 chromosomes. So, for human cells, 2n = 46.

The eukaryotic cell cycle is divided into four phases:

• 
  Gap 1 (G1): During the G1 phase, cells are diploid (2n). So, in human cells there are 23 pairs of chromosomes in each cell. Each chromosome has one set of chromatids.

• 
  Synthesis (S): During the S phase, each chromosome replicates its DNA. Each chromosome now contains two sets of chromatids. So, in human cells, there are still 23 pairs of chromosomes, but each chromosome is now composed of two complete copies of itself held together by the centromere. This means the cell now has a DNA content equal to 4n.
  

• 
  Gap (G2): During the G2 phase, the DNA content of the cell remains at 4n. Therefore, in humans, there are still 23 pairs of chromosomes with two sets of chromatids.

• 
  Mitosis (M): During mitosis (M), the chromosomes condense and prepare for cell division. The DNA content remains at 4n until cell division. When the cell divides, the two sets of chromatids on each chromosome split apart and are given to the daughter cells. Each daughter cell now has 23 pairs of chromosomes, each consisting of one set of chromatids. This means that the DNA content of the daughter cells is now back to 2n.

Please answer the following questions about this political cartoon. 1.who is speaking from the window 2. What position does she likely hold...

, we request that you ask one question per post.  I will therefore answer #3, which is the most important question here.  The main point that this cartoon is trying to make is that the United States should be more involved in world affairs.

The cartoon is a lampoon of a young man who is being treated like a child by his grandmother.  He has never been outside of his yard, as shown by...

, we request that you ask one question per post.  I will therefore answer #3, which is the most important question here.  The main point that this cartoon is trying to make is that the United States should be more involved in world affairs.

The cartoon is a lampoon of a young man who is being treated like a child by his grandmother.  He has never been outside of his yard, as shown by the cobwebs over the gate in the fence.  He is clearly grown up in that he has the height and proportions of an adult, but his face looks very young and his clothing from the waist up is childish.  He is being told to stay in his yard rather than going out to the “world’s business highway.”

This shows us that the cartoonist thinks that America is being wrongly kept out of world affairs by the “grannies” in the Senate.  America is a grown country and needs to be a player in the business of the world.  However, its “granny” is keeping it childish so as to prevent it from being harmed.  The cartoonist is trying to tell the audience that it is time for the US to grow up, ignore the “grannies” in the Senate, and get involved in the world.

What is the primary resource found in Southwest Asia near the Persian Gulf?

Since 1908, the Persian Gulf has been a very important and strategic area of the world. Wars have been fought and blood spilled. Powerful nations have attempted to enforce their political will on the states of the region. Extremist groups with radical theological leanings have formed and declared war on the West. Powerful cartels have been formed and wield powerful geopolitical force. What makes 1908 such an important year? Well, that is the year that...

Since 1908, the Persian Gulf has been a very important and strategic area of the world. Wars have been fought and blood spilled. Powerful nations have attempted to enforce their political will on the states of the region. Extremist groups with radical theological leanings have formed and declared war on the West. Powerful cartels have been formed and wield powerful geopolitical force. What makes 1908 such an important year? Well, that is the year that a British company discovered oil in the Middle East.

With over two-thirds of the world's oil reserves around the Persian Gulf, the region has become an important economic and political region of the world. This sector of the world is responsible for roughly a quarter of crude oil exports per year. The Middle East also has almost half of the world's reserves of natural gas, which has become more important in the last quarter century.

In The Double Flame, Octavio Paz writes about the five elements of love 1. Exclusivity 2. Obstacles/Transgression 3. Domination/Submission 4....

In the book, Paz hypothesizes that the five elements of love can be simplified to three of primary importance. These three are exclusivity, attraction, and the body/soul.

Freedom/fate/attraction.

In his book, Paz presents love as a reciprocal arrangement. The lover has the freedom to choose his lady, just as the lady has the freedom to accept or reject her suitor. Once either party makes a choice to love each other, both are fated to be bound to each other. The quote below explains the dichotomy of freedom and fate in attraction. Bolded words are my own.

Love is the involuntary attraction toward a person (fate) and the voluntary acceptance of that attraction (freedom to choose).

The lover is then bound in voluntary servitude to the lady. Paz refers to this as the 'knot made of two intertwined freedoms,' where both choose to enter a union based on the tenets of love. Again, bolded words are my own.

The giving up of personal sovereignty (by the lover) and the voluntary acceptance of servitude (by the lady) involves a genuine change of nature: by way of the bridge of mutual desire, the object (the lady) becomes desiring subject and the subject (the lover) becomes desired object.

In essence, Paz says that 'love is born of a free decision, the voluntary acceptance of fate.' The voluntary adoration and relinquishing of personal autonomy on the lover's part gains the lady's desire, who in response, willingly subjects/submits herself to his sacrifice and love. It sounds like the relationship between a lord and his vassal, doesn't it? In fact, this is what Paz equates love to, on page 150, in the chapter on The Solar System.

Body/Soul.

In his book, Paz draws on medieval concepts of the body and soul to explain our predisposition to love a certain person. He cites the Renaissance and Baroque 'theory of passion.' Accordingly, the individual soul is a part of the universal Soul. The Stoics, for example, believed that each individual soul was subject to the influence of the planets; this was the basis of the humors each person was prone to.

Paz argues that, as Moderns, we must not reject the indissoluble union between body and soul that the Ancients so believed in.

Without the belief in an immortal soul inseparable from a mortal body, neither the exclusive nature of love nor its consequence- the transformation of desired object into desiring object- could have arisen. In short, love demands as its prerequisite the concept of the person, and the concept of the person requires a soul incarnated in a body.

In essence, a shallow union hinges on bodily attraction alone. Genuine love, as Paz argues, is a union of both body and soul. When a lover proclaims his eternal love (and lives it), he confers immortality and immutability (permanence) on a finite being (his lady). Even though the 'flesh undergoes corruption, and our days are numbered,' this eternal nature of love allows us to face impending death courageously.

Hope this has helped you understand Paz's elements of freedom/fate/attraction and body/soul in his theory of love.

State two examples where an object possesses both the potential and kinetic energies.

Kinetic energy is the energy due to the motion of the body. If the body has a mass (m) and a velocity (v), its kinetic energy can be calculated as 1/2 mv^2. Potential energy is the energy by virtue of position of an object. If the mass of the object is m and it is at a height of h (above a certain datum, typically ground), its potential energy ca be calculated as mgh.

It...

Kinetic energy is the energy due to the motion of the body. If the body has a mass (m) and a velocity (v), its kinetic energy can be calculated as 1/2 mv^2. Potential energy is the energy by virtue of position of an object. If the mass of the object is m and it is at a height of h (above a certain datum, typically ground), its potential energy ca be calculated as mgh.

It is possible for an object to have both these energies simultaneously. The condition for that is the object should be in motion and should be above ground. An example is a stone falling from a height. It is in motion, hence has kinetic energy and it has potential energy, since it is above the ground. Another example is a roller coaster. It is in motion, hence has kinetic energy and it goes up and down and hence possesses potential energy (as it goes up, it increases and it decreases as the roller coaster comes down). One can also think of a ball thrown upwards as a relevant example.

Hope this helps. 

How long had it been since Clare left? How long would it be before she would get back?

Time seems to have slowed down for Tom while he's out on the ledge, in terrible danger, and he realizes that his wife Clare has only been gone from the apartment for about eight minutes. Further, it'll be at least three hours and maybe even four before she comes back, since she went to see two movies in a row. This means that Tom will have to hold his balance, endure the cold, and try...

Time seems to have slowed down for Tom while he's out on the ledge, in terrible danger, and he realizes that his wife Clare has only been gone from the apartment for about eight minutes. Further, it'll be at least three hours and maybe even four before she comes back, since she went to see two movies in a row. This means that Tom will have to hold his balance, endure the cold, and try to stay conscious for many more hours before being rescued. He realizes that he'll have to try to break his way into the window instead, because he can't last that long.

We'll find all these details about two-thirds of the way into the story:

He couldn't possibly wait here till Clare came home. It was the second feature she'd wanted to see, and she'd left in time to see the first. She'd be another three hours or--He glanced at his watch: Clare had been gone eight minutes. It wasn't possible, but only eight minutes ago he had kissed his wife good-by. She wasn't even at the theater yet!

It would be four hours before she could possibly be home...

As you can see, Tom's experiences on the outer ledge of the apartment building have felt like much longer than eight minutes, but that's all the time that really has elapsed. Just before he suddenly understands what this passage of time means for himself and his situation, he's actually somewhat relieved to have gained a relatively safe position near the window, and he finds it kind of funny that Clare might find him there when she gets home. But this realization of Tom's about how much time has actually gone by really sobers up his thoughts and adds tension to the already highly suspenseful story.

How can I write an introduction for "A Rose for Emily"?

The best way to write an introduction to "A Rose for Emily" is by explaining the setting and the problem of the story as it relates to the main character. Do not add too much detail to an introduction. The purpose of this particular type of writing is to whet the interest of the reader, and to give the audience an idea of what they are to expect. 

If you go to the "A Rose...

The best way to write an introduction to "A Rose for Emily" is by explaining the setting and the problem of the story as it relates to the main character. Do not add too much detail to an introduction. The purpose of this particular type of writing is to whet the interest of the reader, and to give the audience an idea of what they are to expect. 

If you go to the "A Rose for Emily" analysis tab here .com, you will find around 5 different summaries of the story. Each summary has a very powerful introduction that can help you visualize how it is supposed to be written. Take a look at the example coming up. I added one fact from each thing that the reader will find as they read: Emily, the townsfolk, her problem, the house, and the secret. 

“Miss Emily Grierson is a lonely woman trapped in the by-gone days of the once-powerful Southern society. Unable to move on, Emily's eccentric nature and dismissive behaviors elicit the curiosity of the townsfolk, who wonder what exactly has taken place inside the once grandiose mansion where she has resided in isolation. Now that she has died, they are about to find out what lurks within the fallen monument that once was the Grierson mansion.” 

You do not have to add as many details to an introduction. I added details to the one that you just read, but it is also advisable to stick to minimal facts.

1. Miss Emily Grierson, an old, eccentric and enigmatic woman from Jefferson County has died

1. Her only companion, a black servant named Tobe, has taken off the property.


2. The townsfolk wonder what has happened in the home, which has been closed to the public for decades


3. First, we must know who Emily is and why her story matters.

These facts should suffice to be used as an introduction that will make the future reader curious, and will bring in a lot of attention to the rest of the story, as it goes on. 

The Greeks valued free will, but how did that work out in Antigone? Given what each character represented, does free will seem valuable, or...

My apologies for not bringing in specific text from the play to further explain my answer. I'll do that now. 

Free will comes with consequences. Antigone, from the beginning, has not even considered leaving Eteocles unburied. As Ismene points out, she has the choice, but to Antigone, there is no choice: "False to him [Eteocles] will I never be found." Of course, for Antigone, her free will ran up against Creon's unshakable resolve to leave...

My apologies for not bringing in specific text from the play to further explain my answer. I'll do that now. 

Free will comes with consequences. Antigone, from the beginning, has not even considered leaving Eteocles unburied. As Ismene points out, she has the choice, but to Antigone, there is no choice: "False to him [Eteocles] will I never be found." Of course, for Antigone, her free will ran up against Creon's unshakable resolve to leave Eteocles' corpse for carrion, so how it worked out for her: live burial (where she hanged herself, rather than starve to death). But she did have free will. She was a martyr for her beliefs. She didn't have to bury her brother, but she made a choice and accepted the consequences. 

Consider Creon's free will, as well. He could have changed his mind--allowed himself to be swayed by reasonable arguments--at any point, yet he chose not to. He allowed his ego to cloud his reasoning: He had said anyone who tried to bury the body would be killed (although he began with "stoned," and altered it eventually to live burial, something the Greeks sometimes did to absolve themselves of responsibility for a state-sanctioned death), and by golly, that's what he'd do. Otherwise he thought he'd be perceived as a weak ruler, ruled (no less) by women (egads!). 

Given the characters and their outcomes, it's undeniable that free will is valuable. Imagine being denied the right to bury your own father (say) because someone in power insisted they had wronged the state, what would you do? Particularly if you believed that God (or the gods, in this case) would hold you accountable for breaking a higher law than that of the state. 

Or...is the world that Creon represents the better one? Never. He may be a just ruler in many aspects, but he is, in this play, a tyrant. He is unwilling to listen to reason or even be swayed to mercy. We have countries like this in the world yet; they are the ones that have to have walls to keep people in.

What motives and methods are related to SALT I of 1972 and SALT II of 1979?

In the late 1960s, the Soviet Union was constructing a system of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) designed to reach the United States. The Soviet Union was also building an Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) protection system that would prevent the U.S. from retaliating against Moscow if the Soviet Union decided to fire a missile at the U.S. As a result, President Lyndon Johnson began to de-escalate the arms race through talks that began in 1967. The goal was not to completely eliminate nuclear weapons but to reduce the capacities of both the U.S. and the Soviet Union to launch and defend themselves from nuclear attacks.

After several years of talks, President Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev, the leader of the Soviet Union, signed SALT I, or Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, in 1972. Both sides agreed to limits on the number of nuclear weapons they had. In addition, both nations set limits on the use of anti-ballistic missiles (ABM) sites. The Soviets had constructed this type of system in Moscow in the 1960s, the U.S. had launched an ABM program to protect several ICBM sites. Over time, the U.S. stopped construction of these sites because of financial constraints. In addition, the systems were not found effective in the U.S.

Later in 1972, the countries began a second series of SALT negotiations because SALT I did not prevent either side from using Multiple Independently Targeted Re-Entry Vehicles (MIRVs) on their missiles. These types of missiles had many warheads. SALT II talks also aimed to limit the use of strategic nuclear weapons that would target civilian or military centers. These negotiations stretched from the Nixon administration to the administrations of Ford and Carter. In 1979, President Carter and Leonid Brezhnev signed the SALT II agreement. Six months later, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, so the United States Senate did not ratify the SALT II treaty. However, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union followed the terms of the treaty. 

What are some quotes from Romeo and Juliet showing their dependence on one another?

Romeo and Juliet become codependent almost immediately in Romeo and Juliet, and this is one of the reasons their relationship becomes so hurried and ultimately deadly. (Although I do not think Shakespeare intended Romeo and Juliet to be read as a play warning of the dangers of codependency, it can certainly be read with that framework in mind.) Here are two quotes that point to the dependency Romeo and Juliet share:

ROMEO: Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, / Who is already sick and pale with grief / That thou her maid art far more fair than she. Be not her maid, since she is envious; / Her vestal livery is but sick and green, / And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. (II.ii.3-9)

Immediately, Romeo compares Juliet to being more beautiful than celestial bodies like the moon. This is a big claim and indicative of his uncontrollable feelings for Juliet.

JULIET: Come, gentle night; come, loving, black-browed night; / Give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die, / Take him and cut him out in little stars, / And he will make the face of heaven so fine / That all the world will be in love with night / And pay no worship to the garish sun. (III.ii.20-25)

Whether Juliet's feelings can be classified as lust, love, or a crush, it is clear that she is consumed by her thoughts of Romeo. In her public moments she figures out how to be with him, and in her private moments she can only think of him. This is similar to many young, dependent relationships.

Interestingly, it's important to note that the dependency between Romeo and Juliet is often expressed through celestial imagery. Shakespeare is stating that Romeo and Juliet circle each other in the same way that planets and moons orbit each other, tied by gravity.

Explain what Albany says at the end of King Lear.

Albany's final speech makes up the last four lines of the play. With almost all of the play's major figures, barring himself, Kent, and Edgar, dead, Albany says:

The weight of this sad time we must obey;Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.The oldest hath borne most: we that are youngShall never see so much, nor live so long.

The first two lines are fairly self-explanatory. He seems to...

Albany's final speech makes up the last four lines of the play. With almost all of the play's major figures, barring himself, Kent, and Edgar, dead, Albany says:

The weight of this sad time we must obey;
Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.
The oldest hath borne most: we that are young
Shall never see so much, nor live so long.

The first two lines are fairly self-explanatory. He seems to mean that the situation requires a certain amount of seriousness, gravity, and honesty. However, the second part is more difficult, because we don't know exactly who he is talking about when he says "the oldest". He could be talking about Lear, who has just died of grief and strain over the lifeless body of Cordelia, or he could be referring to Kent himself, who has just implied that he, too, will die soon. By "bourne most," he means "suffered most," and obviously both men have suffered a lot in the play. The scholars who argue that he was referring to Kent say that his statement was a direct response to the old man, who, as mentioned above, has just said that he is about to die:

I have a journey, sir, shortly to go;
My master calls me, I must not say no.

Albany's response in this context would mean something like this: "You are the oldest, and you have been through things that even younger men like us could not bear." 

In what ways does the presence of the mass media influence our perception of social problems in society today? How is this different than it was in...

The increasing ubiquity of media shape our perceptions to a degree that they almost become a substitute for personal experience. Especially given the growth of smartphones, people can live in an electronic bubble, barely perceiving the world outside a heavily mediated almost virtual reality.

For example, in the middle ages, the problem of poverty or economic inequality was understood through two major lens. The first was simply the personal experience of being poor or being...

The increasing ubiquity of media shape our perceptions to a degree that they almost become a substitute for personal experience. Especially given the growth of smartphones, people can live in an electronic bubble, barely perceiving the world outside a heavily mediated almost virtual reality.

For example, in the middle ages, the problem of poverty or economic inequality was understood through two major lens. The first was simply the personal experience of being poor or being a wealthy person who encountered poor people in everyday life. The second lens of viewing poverty as a social problem in the west was Christian theology, which both accepted poverty as inevitable, as "the poor are always with us", but also accepted the notion that it was the Christian duty of the better off to contribute to the welfare of the poor, with the Church often organizing social services on the parish level. 

Now, many people live in economically segregated neighborhoods, with the children of the wealthy ending up in private schools or upper or middle class public school districts and the poor also clustered together. Thus poverty is understood not as "the widow living above the blacksmith shop" or "the serfs on the estate of the Duke" but almost as a spectacle seen in the media. The average US resident now spends 11 hours a day on the average either connected to the internet or consuming some form of video (TV, video games, etc.).

This degree to which perceptions of social problems are mediated rather than experienced directly is further biased by the tendency of media to allow partisan filtering of sources. So, for example, a Republican stalwart might get most of his news from Fox news, which might illustrate the problem of poverty with a 60-second sound bite on one case of welfare fraud, while a Democrat might watch a story on NPR about disabled veterans having to live on cat food. 

Thus social problems become transformed by the ubiquity of the media into one of two things, either fodder for partisan politics or entertainment.

What are the two theological themes of the book of Joshua?

There are number of themes one can extrapolate from the book of Joshua. This short paper from Bethel University lists seven which are predominant: "(1) the land, (2) God's promises, (3) the covenant, (4) obedience, (5) purity of worship (holiness, (6) godly leadership, and (7) rest." Of these, the land and God's promises are perhaps most evident.

The book of Joshua begins as the Israelites are about to enter Canaan, the "Promised Land." The book...

There are number of themes one can extrapolate from the book of Joshua. This short paper from Bethel University lists seven which are predominant: "(1) the land, (2) God's promises, (3) the covenant, (4) obedience, (5) purity of worship (holiness, (6) godly leadership, and (7) rest." Of these, the land and God's promises are perhaps most evident.

The book of Joshua begins as the Israelites are about to enter Canaan, the "Promised Land." The book describes their entry into the land and conquest (at at times, lack of conquest) of the native inhabitants, as God had commanded them.

Closely connected to "the land" is the theme of God's promises. Israel's entry into Canaan served as the fulfillment of the promise God made Abraham in Genesis 12 (that he would make him a great nation). The Israelites had clung to this promise for numerous generations, and finally they were able to see it come to fruition. Likewise, God promised he would drive out the inhabitants of Canaan so the Israelites could possess it; according to the book of Joshua, the Israelites were able to conquer any Canaanites they actively tried to eradicate.

How can a new car salesperson use what he/she knows about cognitive dissonance (sometimes called buyer’s remorse) to make a customer more content...

In order to understand how a car sales man or woman can use the idea of cognitive dissonance theory to make a customer more content with their purchase, one must understand what cognitive dissonance theory is. Cognitive dissonance theory was purposed in 1957 by Leon Festinger. Cognitive dissonance can be defined as acting different from your beliefs, leading to feelings of anxiety, guilt, or other negative emotions. In this example, a customer, when...

In order to understand how a car sales man or woman can use the idea of cognitive dissonance theory to make a customer more content with their purchase, one must understand what cognitive dissonance theory is. Cognitive dissonance theory was purposed in 1957 by Leon Festinger. Cognitive dissonance can be defined as acting different from your beliefs, leading to feelings of anxiety, guilt, or other negative emotions. In this example, a customer, when buying a car, may believe that it is better to have a large amount of money saved, rather than spent. Counter to this belief, buying a car requires spending a lot of money. Upon buying the car (i.e. spending, the action, rather than saving, the belief) cognitive dissonance occurs. 

Part of Festinger's theory states that in some way the person will resolve dissonance. One such way, would be to simply change their action, and return the car. Something the car dealer is looking to avoid.

The car salesman can intervene before the sale however, to promote other strategies for the buyer in dealing with cognitive dissonance after the purchase. One such way would be for the car dealer to convince the customer that it's ok to spend money. This strategy may be difficult for the salesmen because it requires convincing the other party to change their beliefs. 

Alternatively, a more effective strategy the salesman may use is to rationalize to the buyer the effects of their decision, and focus on how the aspect of spending the money to buy a car would actually be beneficial to stronger held beliefs such as protecting their family with the newest safety features. In this example, spending the money, while creating dissonance, would also be fulfilling the belief of keeping ones family safe. In this way, the purchaser is able to fulfill another stronger need, justifying keeping the car despite the dissonance created by spending the money. 

Hope this helps!

In A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, what type of literary device is "golden idol"?

When the Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge a meeting he had as a young man with his fiancee, Belle, she is in the process of breaking off their engagement. She says that "another idol has displaced me," and elaborates, "a golden one." 

This statement by Belle can be viewed as several different literary devices. First, the statement is hyperbole, an exaggeration for effect. When Belle says Scrooge used to consider her as his idol,...

When the Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge a meeting he had as a young man with his fiancee, Belle, she is in the process of breaking off their engagement. She says that "another idol has displaced me," and elaborates, "a golden one." 

This statement by Belle can be viewed as several different literary devices. First, the statement is hyperbole, an exaggeration for effect. When Belle says Scrooge used to consider her as his idol, she doesn't mean that he literally worshiped her, nor does she mean that he literally worships--that is, bows down and prays to--wealth and "Gain." As she notes a few lines later, "the master-passion, Gain, engrosses you." This is the literal, not exaggerated, way of saying that gold is Scrooge's idol. 

One could also consider the "golden idol" reference as a symbol or metaphor. It compares Scrooge's devotion to making money to a religious devotee's worship of a sacred statue or icon. The idol symbolizes or represents the thing Scrooge has set his primary affections on, namely money.

Finally, there is definite religious imagery associated with the term "golden idol." In the Old Testament, the Israelites were charged in the Ten Commandments not to make any "graven image," or idol, yet they melted down their jewelry to form a golden calf to worship while Moses was on the mountain top receiving revelation from God. In the New Testament, Jesus updated the commandment for the Christian era by stating, "You cannot serve God and money." Scrooge has allowed his love of money to overtake his heart, and that has changed him from the good man he once was. 

This simple statement by Belle can be seen as hyperbole, metaphor, symbol, and religious imagery. 

Two billion people jump up in the air at the same time with an average velocity of 7.0 m/sec. If the mass of the average person is 60 kilograms and...

Momentum is defined as the product of mass and velocity. That is: `p=mv` . For this example the momentum of the group of humans would therefore be: p=2000000000*60*7=840000000000 kg m/s = 8.4 x`10^(11)` kg m/s

Momentum of a group of objects is simply the sum of the parts. So, the momentum of  2 billion people is equal to 2 billion times the momentum of one person (or the total mass times velocity, as long as the velocities...

Momentum is defined as the product of mass and velocity.
That is: `p=mv` . For this example the momentum of the group of humans would therefore be: 
p=2000000000*60*7=840000000000 kg m/s = 8.4 x`10^(11)` kg m/s

Momentum of a group of objects is simply the sum of the parts. So, the momentum of  2 billion people is equal to 2 billion times the momentum of one person (or the total mass times velocity, as long as the velocities are the same).

 Here because we are assuming that the humans are identical (all 60kg, all jumping at 7m/s) we can restate the equation more simply:
`` (where the subscript 't' is the total amount).

Remember to make sure you're working in SI units, and to include the units of momentum at the end.

In the play Julius Caesar, how does Shakespeare establish that there are some opposed to Caesar?

Shakespeare demonstrates that Caesar has opposition in Act 1 by allowing his opponents to speak against him.

In Act 1, Scene 1, we learn about the mindset of Caesar’s opponents.  Marullus and Flavius are chastising the common people, the Plebeians, because they want to celebrate Caesar’s victory against another Roman general, Pompey.

O you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome,
Knew you not Pompey? Many a time and oft
Have you climb'd up to walls and battlements,
To towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops,
Your infants in your arms, and there have sat
The livelong day, with patient expectation,
To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome … (Act 1, Scene 2)

Marullus and Flavius do not approve of celebrating the victory in a civil war, where Romans died.  They take down the decorations from Caesar’s statue, a move that gets them punished.  We are told later that they were, “put to silence” (Act 1, Scene 2).  The fact that they faced consequences just bolsters the conspirators case, making it seem as if Caesar does not tolerate opposition.

In Scene 2, we hear about how the senators and other members of the Patrician class feel about Caesar.  While Caesar clearly is wildly popular and has support among the common people, as seen by the cheering crowds at the Feast of Lupercal, he also has major detractors.  Cassius comes to Brutus and feels him out, to see if he also is worried about Caesar too.

Cassius tells Brutus that it is their responsibility to overthrow Caesar, because he is too arrogant.  They fear what he will do if he remains in power and only gets stronger, feeding on the people.  Cassius compares them to slaves if they do not act.

Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus, and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs and peep about
To find ourselves dishonourable graves.
Men at some time are masters of their fates:
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings. (Act 2, Scene 1)

Brutus assures Cassius that he feels the same way.  Also disgusted by Caesar’s behavior are Cicero and Casca.  Clearly they do not buy into the hype of Caesar.  They are also annoyed when the people cheer Caesar for refusing the crown Mark Antony offered him.  They do this three times, which makes things even worse as far as Brutus, Cassius and Casca are concerned.

Shakespeare establishes all of these little discontents before it is even clear that an assassination will take place (for those who do not know their history, at least).  He introduces the conspirators, starting with Cassius convincing Brutus to join, in this act.  Then later, we will better understand why they pursued the course they did, and why they felt that the people would go along with them after they killed Caesar.

Describe Robert’s experiences with women. Why was he devastated by his divorce? How has Frances affected his life? How has their relationship...

Robert Cohn is one of the main characters in Hemingway's novel The Sun Also Rises, about expatriates living in Europe after World I. The narrator of the novel, Jake Barnes, spends several pages at the beginning of the book discussing Cohn. They are tennis pals and both are writers. Barnes suggests that while Cohn can be annoying he likes him. In reality, however, Cohn is Barnes' opposite and displays characteristics which Hemingway despised. 

Cohn went to Princeton and, even though he was a boxing champion and came from a wealthy family, he was the victim of prejudice because he was Jewish. We get the feeling that for most of his life Cohn did things more out of duty than because he wanted to. He is a man who seems to lack the ability to act or make up his mind. About boxing, Barnes says,

He cared nothing for boxing, in fact he disliked it, but he learned it painfully and thoroughly to counteract the feeling of inferiority and shyness he had felt on being treated as a Jew at Princeton.

He enters a marriage to "the first girl who was nice to him." He's married five years and though he is unhappy and ready to end the marriage his wife beats him to it and divorces him, going off with another man. But rather than strike off on his own he falls into a relationship with another woman, Frances, who dominates him and hopes to rope him into marriage even though "her looks were going." Barnes comments on the control the woman has over Cohn:

I watched him walking back to the café holding his paper. I rather liked him and evidently she led him quite a life.

A drastic change comes over Cohn after he has his novel accepted by "a fairly good publisher" and "several women were nice to him." For Barnes the change in Cohn is not a good one. Cohn becomes arrogant and suddenly thinks, after reading a book about "splendid imaginary amorous adventures," that he has something to prove. Before his novel, Cohn had been only slightly annoying, but later he becomes insufferable.

After a weekend with Lady Brett Ashley, Cohn crashes the party in Pamplona, even though Brett is there with her fiancé, Mike Campbell. For Cohn, Brett is obviously the first woman he ever loved, and his new found confidence gives him the idea that someone like Brett could actually love him. When Brett spurns him for the bullfighter Pedro Romero, he turns violent, taking on Barnes, Campbell, Bill Gorton and badly beating Romero on the eve of his appearance in the ring.

In the end, Cohn is a pathetic figure. When we last see him he is sitting on the bed in the Pamplona hotel vociferously apologizing to Barnes over punching him. He has let every woman in his life control him. Not only does Brett control him, but she also makes a terrible fool of him. He is completely antithetical to Barnes, who avoids letting Brett control him, despite the fact he is obviously madly in love with her.  

In Lord of the Flies, what does this quote mean: "The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into thousand white...

It literally means that Piggy is struck (and killed) by the rock and the conch is destroyed. Symbolically, it means that the talisman which represented order and civilized behavior has also been destroyed. The conch initially established order on the island. Ralph had used it to summon the boys to meetings. He who held the conch was permitted to speak. The conch kept the boys in check. It became a symbol of order and reason....

It literally means that Piggy is struck (and killed) by the rock and the conch is destroyed. Symbolically, it means that the talisman which represented order and civilized behavior has also been destroyed. The conch initially established order on the island. Ralph had used it to summon the boys to meetings. He who held the conch was permitted to speak. The conch kept the boys in check. It became a symbol of order and reason. As the novel progresses, more and more boys move to Jack's camp, becoming more like savages. The conch loses its "power" to sustain order. When Piggy and the conch are destroyed, the conch had already lost most of its power, but its destruction makes it complete. 

Piggy is the most intellectual of the boys. He is always trying to reason with them to keep the fire going and to be responsible. With his death, they lose whatever sense of reason and civilized ways they had left. It is tragically fitting that Piggy and the conch are destroyed together. Both the object and the character symbolize reason and order. With their mutual destruction, all of the boys (sans Ralph) have devolved into savagery. Piggy, the voice of reason, and the conch, the symbol of order, die together. 

What does the book teach us about community (Theme)? Explain your answer. Include at least two specific events from the novel. Link for...

The people who live around the garden on Gibb St. in Cleveland, Ohio, all come from different backgrounds, races, and ethnicities.  They go about their lives without really knowing their neighbors caught up in their own routines and cultures.  The garden is the catalyst that brings them all together in accomplishing a goal. Neighbors start leaving their apartments, they start to clean up the trash, and most importantly, they start to meet each other. 

One...

The people who live around the garden on Gibb St. in Cleveland, Ohio, all come from different backgrounds, races, and ethnicities.  They go about their lives without really knowing their neighbors caught up in their own routines and cultures.  The garden is the catalyst that brings them all together in accomplishing a goal. Neighbors start leaving their apartments, they start to clean up the trash, and most importantly, they start to meet each other. 

One of the best examples that shows the growth in community is with the character, Amir.  Amir is from India and doesn’t think America is a very friendly place because back in India, everyone knows his or her neighbors.  When Amir starts growing huge vegetables, particularly eggplants, he draws the other gardeners to him.  Suddenly, he is talking to them and making friends. The garden becomes the common thing that makes them begin “growing” as a community instead of just individuals. 

Leona also shows how taking action can bring a community together.  Leona fights for the city of Cleveland to clean up the lot for the residents, and she doesn’t give up until she achieves it.  Unable to get satisfaction over the phone, Leona takes a bag full of trash from the lot and dumps in the office of the department that oversees city clean up. Because Leona takes the action she does, she is able to bring the people together in the story to start their gardens and their relationships with each other.

Given some knowledge of Shakespeare, why would you classify Othello as a tragedy?

Othello is arguably one of William Shakespeare's saddest tragedies. Let's look at two of the primary reasons we can classify Othello as a tragedy.

First, there is the very painful fall of the hero, Othello. We care so deeply for him that his downfall seems that much worse. He is a noble and good man brought down by outside forces that play on his own inner demon, insecurity, which causes him to become blind with...

Othello is arguably one of William Shakespeare's saddest tragedies. Let's look at two of the primary reasons we can classify Othello as a tragedy.

First, there is the very painful fall of the hero, Othello. We care so deeply for him that his downfall seems that much worse. He is a noble and good man brought down by outside forces that play on his own inner demon, insecurity, which causes him to become blind with jealousy. His tragic flaws, then, are both insecurity and jealousy. These tragic flaws cause him to be what we call a "tragic hero," someone who is brought down by their own imperfection(s).

Second, Othello follows the format of a classic tragedy quite closely.  Aristotle believed a tragedy would unite "Place, Time, and Action" - meaning these would all coincide. While Othello deviates from this formula slightly, it is still pretty close. The majority of the play takes place in the fortress in Cyprus, we have scenes following certain hours of the day, and although there are subplots (not common in a traditional tragedy), these subplots all further the actual plot that affects Othello.

Third 

Please summarize "Do Something, Brother" by M. Gopalakrishna Adiga.

This poem satirizes people's tendency to prove themselves by compulsively carrying out actions without trying to be in sync with nature or considering the consequences of their actions. For example, in the first stanza, the poet writes, "Pull out this leaf/Nip this little leaf/crush that flower." In the second stanza, he writes, "Earth, water, the skies/They're all your geese with golden eggs:/gouge them out, slash them." The poet refers to the fable of the goose...

This poem satirizes people's tendency to prove themselves by compulsively carrying out actions without trying to be in sync with nature or considering the consequences of their actions. For example, in the first stanza, the poet writes, "Pull out this leaf/Nip this little leaf/crush that flower." In the second stanza, he writes, "Earth, water, the skies/They're all your geese with golden eggs:/gouge them out, slash them." The poet refers to the fable of the goose with golden eggs in which the goose is killed so that its golden eggs can be extracted all at once rather than once per day. The poet criticizes man's destructive desire to destroy the bounty of nature to prove himself and his virility.

The poet writes satirically about people's desire to go forward when they encounter something that waylays them or confuses them, such as "winter mists, walls of fog." In these situations, the poet writes, "No, no, this won't do. You're a simple man, and that's your strength." The poet satirizes people's desire to go forward no matter what without reflection, acting compulsively and destroying the world around them to prove their own strength.

At the end of the poem, the poet suggests that man's tendency to prove himself will end in destruction, as he writes: "Break down the atom/reach for the ultimate world within;/Find God's own arrow/and aim straight at the heart/of God's own embryo world." This is a reference to people's discovery of atomic weapons and the threat that humans now pose to their own world. Humans have become so intent on proving their power that they now might destroy themselves. 

What did the author mean by Life Savers?

Life Savers are a type of fruit flavored hard candy. Life Savers come into the story when Waverly uses them to bribe her brothers to allow her to play chess with them. Here is the context:

During Christmas the local Baptist church gave out presents.  She received Life Savers. Her brother Vincent got a chess set.  Winston, her other brother, got a plastic model. As her bothers Vincent and Winston started playing chess, she was...

Life Savers are a type of fruit flavored hard candy. Life Savers come into the story when Waverly uses them to bribe her brothers to allow her to play chess with them. Here is the context:

During Christmas the local Baptist church gave out presents.  She received Life Savers. Her brother Vincent got a chess set.  Winston, her other brother, got a plastic model. As her bothers Vincent and Winston started playing chess, she was left out.  In order to participate she bribed them with candy. 

This started Waverly on her career in chess.  Waverly proved to be a chess prodigy and she was even ranked. 

From another perspective, Waverly used the "art of invisible strength"  (in this case Life Savers) to allow her brothers to allow her to play. She also used this art to win in chess.  Hence, we can say that the Life Savers got her started. Here is the quote:

I loved the secrets I found within the sixty-four black and white squares. I carefully drew a handmade chessboard and pinned it to the wall next to my bed, where I would stare for hours at imaginary battles. Soon I no longer lost any games or Life Savers, but I lost my adversaries.

How does Montag resolve his dilemma?

Montag's dilemma is living a meaningless life, void of purpose and happiness. Throughout the novel, Montag makes several important decisions that impact the trajectory of his life and resolve his dilemma. Montag resolves his dilemma by first opening a book and attempting to understand it. In the dystopian future society Montag lives in, it is illegal to own a book, much less read and study one. He makes the conscious decision to contact Faber, a...

Montag's dilemma is living a meaningless life, void of purpose and happiness. Throughout the novel, Montag makes several important decisions that impact the trajectory of his life and resolve his dilemma. Montag resolves his dilemma by first opening a book and attempting to understand it. In the dystopian future society Montag lives in, it is illegal to own a book, much less read and study one. He makes the conscious decision to contact Faber, a retired English professor, to help him understand the meaning of texts. Montag effectively kills his authoritative boss, Captain Beatty, and flees the city. He makes another important decision to locate a group of travelling intellectuals that aid him in understanding and memorising literature. Montag's series of critical decisions help him to resolve his dilemma by leaving the insensitive, censored society to begin his journey of becoming an intellectual. The novel ends when the city is destroyed by a nuclear bomb, and Montag walks towards the obliterated buildings with the hope of rebuilding a literate society. Montag finds meaning in his life, thus resolving his dilemma. 

In The Witch of Blackbird Pond, why was the sentence about the townspeople's reaction to Kit so effective?

The townspeople of Wethersfield, Connecticut, first see Kit when she arrives to the Meeting House with her family for the weekly Puritan service. Elizabeth George Speare describes this scene in the book as follows:

Rachel preceded the two girls down the aisle to the family bench. As Kit moved behind her the astonishment of the assembled townspeople met her with the impact of a gathering wave. It was not so much a sound as a...

The townspeople of Wethersfield, Connecticut, first see Kit when she arrives to the Meeting House with her family for the weekly Puritan service. Elizabeth George Speare describes this scene in the book as follows:

Rachel preceded the two girls down the aisle to the family bench. As Kit moved behind her the astonishment of the assembled townspeople met her with the impact of a gathering wave. It was not so much a sound as a stillness so intent that it made her ears ring.

This description is effective because it shows us that it's not just some arbitrary personal values that have led Kit's family to feel unnerved or shocked by her presence; rather, it is the morals of the town as a whole that dictate just how much of an outsider Kit is in this place. This shock is on a physical (not just emotional or mental) level; the townspeople are literally pulling away from Kit in a wave-like fashion. The description of the silence that makes Kit's ears ring in a community that (as we will later discover) seems to perpetuate gossip just shows how authentically stunned these people are. This strange behavior solidifies Kit's role as the community outcast... a role that will eventually cast her under great scrutiny and accusations of being a witch.

Did the Civil War change the character of the United States?

“It does not seem to me as if I were living in the country in which I was born.”  --Lawyer and author George Ticknor Curtis in an 1869 letter.

The Civil War changed the character of the United States in a profound way. It was not just the Union soldiers that had triumphed in the conflict between the states, industrialism was the ultimate victor. The North, with its capitalist-industrialist economy, had triumphed over the slave-driven...

“It does not seem to me as if I were living in the country in which I was born.”  --Lawyer and author George Ticknor Curtis in an 1869 letter.

The Civil War changed the character of the United States in a profound way. It was not just the Union soldiers that had triumphed in the conflict between the states, industrialism was the ultimate victor. The North, with its capitalist-industrialist economy, had triumphed over the slave-driven agrarian economy of the South. The United States would forever move towards innovation and manufacturing. The decades that followed the Civil War saw unprecedented industrial growth that would move the United States towards becoming a global giant.

The notion that the federal government should be the most powerful force in the United States also was triumphant in the Civil War. By the end of the war, the federal budget had increased eight-fold from its pre-war levels. The federal government sold bonds for the first time and accumulated a deficit that was more than double pre-war levels. Throughout the course of the war, an income tax was enacted and a draft instituted. The government took unusual steps to curb individual liberties. Dozens of new federal agencies were established that would employ hundreds of thousands of people. Out of the misery that was the Civil War, the government bureaucracy was born.

What were the two most important reasons why the communists won the Vietnam War.?

There were reasons why North Vietnam and the communists won the Vietnam War. One reason was the United States was not prepared for fighting a guerilla-style war. We knew how to fight a war where armies met on a battlefield. We had minimal experience fighting a war where the enemy attacks at night, hides in thick jungle bushes, has hidden traps and uses surprise attacks. In order to win the war, we would have had...

There were reasons why North Vietnam and the communists won the Vietnam War. One reason was the United States was not prepared for fighting a guerilla-style war. We knew how to fight a war where armies met on a battlefield. We had minimal experience fighting a war where the enemy attacks at night, hides in thick jungle bushes, has hidden traps and uses surprise attacks. In order to win the war, we would have had to double our troop size, but that wasn’t politically possible because of the growing opposition to the Vietnam War in our country. The tactics used by the communists meant the war would be a long one. This was something the American public wouldn’t support.

Another reason the communists won the Vietnam War was they were prepared for a long and deadly conflict. They believed the country should have been communist back in 1956. However, since South Vietnam wouldn’t allow the elections, the North Vietnamese believed they had control of the country stolen from them. Thus, North Vietnam was prepared to fight for as long as it would take to seize control of the country. They were totally committed to war. This wasn't the case with the American public. North Vietnam also benefitted by having many people in South Vietnam support them. There were reasons why North Vietnam and the communists won the Vietnam War.

To what extent is Ernest Hemingway’s novel “The Old Man and the Sea” a conflict between man and himself, more than man and nature?

One could easily argue that the novel is about man against himself because Santiago faces great internal conflict.

He is an old, weak, and not a very strong man (at least by the looks of him!). He has also not caught a fish in 84 days. That is almost 3 months and a very long time when that is your livelihood. Imagine going to work for three months straight and being told you weren't good...

One could easily argue that the novel is about man against himself because Santiago faces great internal conflict.

He is an old, weak, and not a very strong man (at least by the looks of him!). He has also not caught a fish in 84 days. That is almost 3 months and a very long time when that is your livelihood. Imagine going to work for three months straight and being told you weren't good enough at your job to actually be paid. But he perseveres in spite of this challenge, and he decides to set out farther than usual. This is a risk, but one he feels he must take in order to reap the potential rewards that he needs to prove himself. He needs to prove himself not just to others, but also to himself.

As Santiago struggles with the marlin, and then with all of the other sea creatures out to take the marlin from him, he pulls on an internal strength he may not have known he still had. He finds mental and physical strength that is beyond what anyone would have expected from him. 

In winning the battle, so to speak, with the marlin and actually living to tell about it, he has proven he is still strong and capable. That he loses the marlin is unimportant because in battling the marlin and the other fish and sharks, he has actually also battled his own weaker, less capable self. He regains confidence: "You were born to be a fisherman as the fish was born to be a fish."

Why does Montag remember the dandelion in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury?

In Part Three of Fahrenheit 451, Montag is resting in a barn after fleeing the Mechanical Hound in the city. As he thinks about Clarisse, he thinks of the dandelion because she is "the girl who knew what dandelions meant" when they are rubbed under the chin. For Montag, the dandelion is symbolic of his brief relationship with Clarisse because she made him realise that he was not truly happy nor in love before...

In Part Three of Fahrenheit 451, Montag is resting in a barn after fleeing the Mechanical Hound in the city. As he thinks about Clarisse, he thinks of the dandelion because she is "the girl who knew what dandelions meant" when they are rubbed under the chin. For Montag, the dandelion is symbolic of his brief relationship with Clarisse because she made him realise that he was not truly happy nor in love before he met her. 

Montag also thinks of the dandelion because, in this moment, it represents his hope for the future. As he lies in the barn, for example, he daydreams and constructs an ideal world in which Clarisse never disappeared and he had a person he could rely on. With so much at stake, Montag is understandably nervous about what will happen next:

This was all he wanted now. Some sign that the immense world would accept him and give him the long time needed to think all the things that must be thought.

In this time of uncertainty, then, the dandelion provides a comforting memory and some optimism for the future. 

I am currently studying the sonnet "Go From Me" written by Browning, but there are a few things I do not understand. Here is the poem : "Go...

Browning here is speaking of transcending the physical distance between her and her lover. He may be taken from her physically, but she nonetheless experiences his presence as real and comforting.

The specific lines you ask about put this sentiment in sensual terms, contrasting the apparent separation and potential for loneliness with the emotional reality of being in communion with one's lover.

For the details, I will translate her poetry into explicit and mundane prose....

Browning here is speaking of transcending the physical distance between her and her lover. He may be taken from her physically, but she nonetheless experiences his presence as real and comforting.

The specific lines you ask about put this sentiment in sensual terms, contrasting the apparent separation and potential for loneliness with the emotional reality of being in communion with one's lover.

For the details, I will translate her poetry into explicit and mundane prose. The original is indented and in quotations. I reset the lines so you can better see the poet's complete thought. My translations follow each quote.

"Nevermore alone upon the threshold of my door of individual life,"

Nevermore when I make my way alone in the world…

" I shall command the uses of my soul, nor lift my hand serenely in the sunshine as before, without the sense of that which I forbore-- Thy touch upon the palm."

…shall I commit acts either of elevated, spiritual meaning ("command the uses of my soul") or simple sensual enjoyment ("lift my hand serenely in the sunshine") without remembering and feeling your physical and emotional presence ("Thy touch upon the palm [of my hand]").

The last part of the excerpt you ask about ("The widest..") needs to be understood in the context of the words that immediately follow.

"The widest land Doom takes to part us, leaves thy heart in mine with pulses beat double."

Here she is saying that even though "Doom" is trying to separate the lovers by putting a great gulf between them, she has, in her mind, his heart as well as hers. They aren't truly cut off by physical distance, because she feels his presence and love in her heart.

What evidence suggests that Jem is the hero of To Kill a Mockingbird?

There is evidence throughout the text that suggest Jem Finch is the hero of the novel. In Chapter 1, Jem is the first person to run into the Radley yard and touch the house. This scene portrays Jem's courage and his ability to overcome adversity. All the children fear Boo Radley, the "malevolent phantom" who secludes himself inside his house all day. When Dill dares Jem, he accepts the challenge and overcomes his fears.

Later...

There is evidence throughout the text that suggest Jem Finch is the hero of the novel. In Chapter 1, Jem is the first person to run into the Radley yard and touch the house. This scene portrays Jem's courage and his ability to overcome adversity. All the children fear Boo Radley, the "malevolent phantom" who secludes himself inside his house all day. When Dill dares Jem, he accepts the challenge and overcomes his fears.

Later on in the novel, Jem loses his temper and smashes Mrs. Dubose's camellia bush. As punishment, Jem is forced to read to her every day after school, including Saturdays. Unknowingly, Jem helps Mrs. Dubose break her morphine addiction. Jem's reading distracts Mrs. Dubose long enough to extend the periods of time between taking her medication. Jem saves Mrs. Dubose from dying as a morphine addict.

In Chapter 15, the Old Sarum bunch arrive at Tom Robinson's jail cell and attempt to harm him. Jem fears for his father's safety and leaves the house to check up on Atticus. Jem arrives just as the mob surrounds Atticus. Jem refuses to leave his father's presence. This is yet another scene that displays Jem's courage. Eventually, Walter Cunningham tells his men to leave, and Atticus is safe. If it were not for Jem leaving the house, both Tom Robinson and Atticus could have been in grave danger. Jem saves Tom Robinson's life before the trial because of his courageous decision to stay outside of the jailhouse, even when Atticus told him to go home.

In The Scarlet Letter why did they believe in public punishment for Hester Prynne?

The government in the colonies was theocratic, autocratic, and patriarchal. This means that it was centered around the rules established by the Bible (theocratic), which would be regulated by the colony's own government system (autocratic), and led mainly by selected, male individuals that serve as guides and watchers of the people (the magistrates, elders, governors, and reverends). This is the type of government that we see in The Scarlet Letter.

Along with the theocratic and patriarchal government, the autocratic rules determined by the magistrates decide which consequences best fit a crime. In the book History of American Law, Lawrence M. Friedman writes that,

"The earliest criminal codes mirrored the nasty, precarious life of pioneer settlements."

He cites the statute of limitations that was in practice in Jamestown titled  "Articles, Lawes and Orders Divine, Politique, and Martiall for the Colony in Virginia,". This document was published by the Virginia Company of London in 1611. 

These "articles, laws, and divine, martial and political orders" were nothing but tyranny embodied. Punishments included hanging, starvation, burning, breaking bones on the wheel, chasing down people with a whip, and even chaining people down.

Lesser-type punishments included public dunking (on a pond or lake), wearing objects on your body, namely, neck, mouth, head, or feet. Public humiliation, included allowing people to yell, sneer, and even throw things at those standing at the scaffold. These were also ways to break the sinner to the point of personal disgrace. 

This being said, Hester Prynne gets was to wear a red letter "A" on her chest, going to prison, and standing at the scaffold. Those are relatively diminutive consequences compared to what the colonists were capable of deciding. Chapter 2 tells us more about it:

...this scaffold constituted a portion of a penal machine, [...]held, in the old time, to be as effectual an agent in the promotion of good citizenship, as ever was the guillotine among the terrorists of France"

Therefore, public humiliation was a way to enter the psyche of citizens, break them from the inside out, and ingrain in them a deep sense of shame that will serve as a lesson for, both, the law-breaker, and the other citizens.

"In Hester Prynne's instance however, as not infrequently in other cases, here sentence bore, that she should stand a certain time upon the platform, but without undergoing that gripe about the neck and confinement of the head" 

Again, public humiliation was considered pretty harsh, as it was. Hester was extremely lucky that she was not further shamed by being made to wear the neck gripe, or having to be on her knees with her hands sticking out two holes, along with her head. Presumably, Dimmesdale's intervention was responsible for avoiding the bad to go worse.

Even the "goodwives"in chapter 2 agree that they would have rather killed Hester, or branded the scarlet letter on her head with a hot iron. Charming. Regardless, the important thing to keep in mind is that humiliation was as bad then as it would be now for those who are prone to anxiety. It was a mechanism of terror to show the parishioners all that could happen to whoever breaks the law- at every and any level. 

Can you help me to solve the indefinite integral `int (xe^x - e^(2x-1))/e^x` ? I don't understand how solve it! Please, help me!

To evaluate this integral, we first need to simplify the exponential expression inside it, by dividing each term in the numerator by the denominator `e^x` .

The first term would become `(xe^x)/e^x = x` because the exponent `e^x` cancels.

The second term would become `e^(2x-1)/e^x = e^(2x-1-x) = e^(x-1)` (Here, the rule of exponent is applied: to divide the powers of the same base, subtract exponents. This could be further rewritten as `e^(x-1) = e^x/e`...

To evaluate this integral, we first need to simplify the exponential expression inside it, by dividing each term in the numerator by the denominator `e^x` .

The first term would become `(xe^x)/e^x = x` because the exponent `e^x` cancels.

The second term would become `e^(2x-1)/e^x = e^(2x-1-x) = e^(x-1)` (Here, the rule of exponent is applied: to divide the powers of the same base, subtract exponents. This could be further rewritten as `e^(x-1) = e^x/e` , again, by applying the same rule of exponents. Remember that e is just a constant, which could be taken out of the integral.

So the expression under the integral, once simplified, becomes

`x - e^x/e` , which is a difference of a power function and an exponential function. The integral of a difference is a difference of integrals, so

`int(x-e^x/x) dx = int(x)dx - int(e^x/e)dx = int(x) dx- 1/e int(e^x)dx `

These integrals can now be evaluated:

`int xdx = x^2/2` (up to a constant) and `int e^x dx = e^x` (up to a constant.)

The final result is therefore `x^2/2 - 1/e*e^x + C = x^2/2 - e^(x-1) + C` , where C is a constant.

The integral in question equals `x^2/2 - e^(x-1) + C` .

What are the environmental conditions and the living conditions of the deep ocean?

This would seem to be a simple question to answer, but in some ways we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the deepest parts of the world's oceans. The water pressure is extreme--as much as 1,100 atmospheres--in the lowest parts of the ocean, which makes it very difficult to collect samples, or even to make observations. Living organisms at that depth not only have had to evolve tissues that...

This would seem to be a simple question to answer, but in some ways we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the deepest parts of the world's oceans. The water pressure is extreme--as much as 1,100 atmospheres--in the lowest parts of the ocean, which makes it very difficult to collect samples, or even to make observations. Living organisms at that depth not only have had to evolve tissues that survive at that depth, but to utilize alternate methods of obtaining energy. Sunlight can only penetrate to a depth of about 200 meters, meaning that photosynthesis is not possible for the great majority of the oceans' volume. Some organisms are able to utilize energy from thermal vents at the bottom of the oceans; these are known as chemotrophic organisms. Except in the area of the vents, the water temperature is quite cold--about the freezing point of fresh water (0 degrees C.). The water has a lower freezing point, however, because it is salt water. The low temperature also allows for dissolved oxygen sufficient for animal life, which does exist at great depths. The ocean floor is in general covered in sediment or mud. For much more information see the attached link.

What are some regional-specific idioms in Huckleberry Finn?

The first chapter is loaded with regional idioms. 

The book begins with this statement: "YOU don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." The narrator is Huck himself, and the idiom is "without you," meaning "unless you." 

Huck says that the book was by Mr. Mark Twain who told the story (of Tom Sawyer) "with some stretchers," meaning "lies." 

He explains that at the...

The first chapter is loaded with regional idioms. 

The book begins with this statement: "YOU don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." The narrator is Huck himself, and the idiom is "without you," meaning "unless you." 

Huck says that the book was by Mr. Mark Twain who told the story (of Tom Sawyer) "with some stretchers," meaning "lies." 

He explains that at the end of the book, he and Tom had gotten rich from the treasure they found: "It was an awful sight of money when it was piled up," meaning it was a lot of money and looked really impressive when it was piled up. 

Huck tries to take up the civilized life with the Widow Douglas, but "when I couldn't stand it no longer I lit out," meaning he left. 

Tom brings him back home, but Huck is still restless: "After supper [the Widow Douglas] got out her book and learned me about Moses and the Bulrusher." "Learned me" is a regional idiom for "taught me." 

Her sister, Miss Watson, comes to live with them "and took a set at me now with a spelling-book. She worked me middling hard for about an hour." That is, she was determined to teach him to spell, and worked him fairly hard at it for about an hour. 

In "A Christmas Carol," what does Scrooge learn by witnessing the poor people?

As a result of witnessing the poor people, Scrooge learns that people can be happy even if they are without money.

Scrooge views reality in purely materialist terms. The Ghost of Christmas Present shows him how the poor still find happiness when it comes to the spirit of the Holidays.  Scrooge sees how the poor appreciate the "brisk and not unpleasant type of music" and how "exchanging a facetious snowball" can breed community.  This is...

As a result of witnessing the poor people, Scrooge learns that people can be happy even if they are without money.

Scrooge views reality in purely materialist terms. The Ghost of Christmas Present shows him how the poor still find happiness when it comes to the spirit of the Holidays.  Scrooge sees how the poor appreciate the "brisk and not unpleasant type of music" and how "exchanging a facetious snowball" can breed community.  This is eye- opening to Scrooge because the people he sees are not rich.  

No better is this shown than when he sees the Cratchit home.  Scrooge is surprised to see the Ghost bless Cratchit's poor dwelling.  However, Scrooge sees how poor people like the Cratchits can still find happiness because they embrace the spirit of the season. The household is full of activity and "hurrahs." Mrs. Cratchit is offering kisses to the children, and Bob Cratchit showing care and concern for his family are examples that show Scrooge how money is not the most important thing.  There is a collective spirit of inclusion that overcomes money in the Cratchit home.

Bob Cratchit and his family have little to eat and don't show much in way of wealth.  However, Scrooge sees how happy they are and how much joy there is in the holiday season in their home.  In witnessing poor people like the Cratchits, Scrooge learns there is something more to living than relying solely on money. 

What does the Mechanical Hound represent in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury?

The Mechanical Hound represents the society's advancements in technology, it's priority to hunt down criminals and to inflict capital punishment, and Captain Beatty's power and authority to execute whomever he wants. The Hound is quite a technologically advanced machine because it operates as follows:

"It's calculators can be set to any combination, so many amino acids, so much sulphur, so much butterfat and alkaline" (26).

This means that anyone's amino acids could be programmed into...

The Mechanical Hound represents the society's advancements in technology, it's priority to hunt down criminals and to inflict capital punishment, and Captain Beatty's power and authority to execute whomever he wants. The Hound is quite a technologically advanced machine because it operates as follows:

"It's calculators can be set to any combination, so many amino acids, so much sulphur, so much butterfat and alkaline" (26).

This means that anyone's amino acids could be programmed into the Hound and be the next target for killing. The government must have spent a lot of money to create and maintain killing machines like the Hound. This suggests that they value swift punishment without a trial when finding and punishing people with books is concerned. The Hound is only used on those who resist arrest, but there's no talk of a trial on either account, which also shows their no-tolerance policy for book owners.

The Hound is also controlled by Captain Beatty for this fire station. That means that he can program it to find, capture and kill anyone whose information it is given. Montag feels like Beatty must have input some of his own information because the Hound growls at him sometimes. When Montag asks him about this, Beatty says, "It doesn't think anything we don't want it to think" (27). This is a clue that Beatty probably has given the Hound Montag's genetic information. As a result, Montag wonders if Beatty knows about the books he is hiding at his home.

Ultimately, the Mechanical Hound represents the strong arm of the law (Beatty's) against those who own books. It is also an intimidation tool as well as a killing machine. It's too bad that money and technology of that sort is wasted on innocent people who just want to read, rather than on manic drivers who hit people every day on their roads. Montag even says, "That's sad. . . because all we put into it is hunting and finding and killing. What a shame if that's all it can ever know" (27). Montag knows it is a robot/machine, and it doesn't have feelings, but the technology seems to be wasted on killing book owners rather than something more productive.

Why did Radical Republicans believe that Andrew Johnson would support their agenda?

Radical Republicans thought that Johnson would support their agenda because he had an enduring and passionate hatred for the planter class that had, in his opinion, brought about disunion and civil war. Johnson, a Tennessean, had remained in the Senate when his home state seceded. Since part of the Radical program involved disfranchising the planters that he hated so much, they thought Johnson could be relied upon to support most of their plans for Reconstruction....

Radical Republicans thought that Johnson would support their agenda because he had an enduring and passionate hatred for the planter class that had, in his opinion, brought about disunion and civil war. Johnson, a Tennessean, had remained in the Senate when his home state seceded. Since part of the Radical program involved disfranchising the planters that he hated so much, they thought Johnson could be relied upon to support most of their plans for Reconstruction. However, Johnson had other ideas. He thought that Southerners ought to be in charge of Reconstruction. He thus issued pardons and eventually amnesty to many Confederates, even leaders, and less than a year after the end of the war, many of them returned to positions of leadership.

Johnson also had no sympathy for former slaves. While he of course accepted the Thirteenth Amendment, he was dead set against providing freedmen with voting rights (as Lincoln had openly contemplated for black war veterans near the end of the war). He also held a limited view of the powers of the federal government, and therefore viewed federal action on Reconstruction, like the Freedman's Bureau and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, as unconstitutional overreaches. He vetoed both of these measures. In fact, the Radicals were really born, or at least were mobilized, in the midterm elections of 1866, which saw significant backlash in the North to Johnson's policies.

How does the narrator feel about being Native American in "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven"?

As a Native American, the narrator in “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” suffers from a sense of alienation in an America where “he didn’t fit the profile.” This sense of alienation results in anger, which reveals itself through the narrator’s damaged relationships and overall sense of apathy.

The story begins with the Indian narrator wandering around Seattle after a break-up with his white girlfriend. He explains that he doesn’t know what he’s...

As a Native American, the narrator in “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” suffers from a sense of alienation in an America where “he didn’t fit the profile.” This sense of alienation results in anger, which reveals itself through the narrator’s damaged relationships and overall sense of apathy.

The story begins with the Indian narrator wandering around Seattle after a break-up with his white girlfriend. He explains that he doesn’t know what he’s looking for and says he often feels like he’d “spent his whole life that way, looking for anything I recognized.” A few paragraphs later, he explains that despite knowing where he wants to be at times there are “none he was supposed to be.” The narrator makes several mentions of how this sense of not belonging because of his ethnicity has made him angry to the point of his girlfriend saying that’s the cause of their breakup.

The narrator finds his place of belonging when he returns to his Spokane reservation. After months of sitting around and doing nothing, not even looking at the job postings his mother circles for him, the narrator symbolically returns to his roots and begins playing basketball, something that helped forge his identity as a youth. He responds positively when he finds himself inferior to a white basketball player, while earlier in the story he took a liking to a white man who worked the late shift at 7-Eleven only because he felt superior to him. Immediately after his symbolic rebirth on the basketball court, the narrator wakes up the next morning and explains that he “woke up tired and hungry” and “drove to Spokane to get the job I wanted.”

This idea of alienation because he's Native American is a motif Alexie employs throughout many of his stories. Usually Alexie explores this motif using his Victor or Junior personas, but not always. His Indian protagonists often end up accepting their roles in America or the community by the story’s or novel’s end (see: “This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian).

What did Henry George and Edward Bellamy propose to do about the unequal distribution of wealth?

In the late-nineteenth century, many people were shocked by the unequal distribution of wealth in American society. One such person was Henry George, a journalist, who faced his own share of financial problems while raising his family. For George, the central problem was that only a few people in society benefited from rising land values and their high rents. He thus proposed to resolve this unequal distribution of wealth by replacing all taxes with a...

In the late-nineteenth century, many people were shocked by the unequal distribution of wealth in American society. One such person was Henry George, a journalist, who faced his own share of financial problems while raising his family. For George, the central problem was that only a few people in society benefited from rising land values and their high rents. He thus proposed to resolve this unequal distribution of wealth by replacing all taxes with a 'single tax' on what he called 'unearned increment' - an increase in the value of a piece of land which is caused by demand, not by any improvements carried out by the owner. George's idea was very popular and almost led him to become the mayor of New York.

In contrast, Edward Bellamy, an author and socialist, proposed a solution in which the means of production (factories and businesses) were no longer the property of businessmen and were instead controlled by the government. Bellamy idealised this vision in his 1888 novel, Looking Backward, and it was immediately popular with the American public. Unfortunately, his socialist ideas were never adopted but the government did introduce legislation to prohibit trade monopolies. 

How does Henry James's essay, "The Art of Fiction" relate to the nineteenth-century debates about the nature and function of fiction? Please relate...

The Debate:

Some argued that novels, still a relatively new form, should represent real life and the problems we humans face. Others argued that the worlds depicted in novels should be as fictional as possible, and that the plots should have no underlying meaning.

Some, like critics Reeve and Scott, also believed that the novel could "corrupt weaker minds:"

"They both believed that fiction should be moral and didactic in order to avoid the danger of corrupting weaker minds, such as those of women and children, who may struggle to distinguish between reality and the powerful illusion created by the authentic dialogue and characterization of realism" (LiteraryFocus).

There was also debate about the "rules" that fiction should follow. It should have a specific format, in other words.

Finally, there were many that felt writers could only write from their own experience. Characters who, for example, were of a lower class, could not easily imagine what it was to be part of an upper class, as they had not been a part of that. The same went for writers. If a writer was a woman, for example, many felt she might not be able to write realistically from the standpoint of a man. James would later argue against this with his "house of fiction" analogy, which "emphasized the importance of individual imagination" (LiteraryFocus).

The Art of Fiction:

James disagreed that novels needed a specific format. Instead, he felt they simply needed to be "good."

He also felt that the novel had the ability to capture history in much the same way as historians and painters.

In other words, novels were capturing reality, and in a powerful way because they were capturing truth, even if some parts were fictionalized (just like painting capture real life, although with some artistic elements added).

He also felt that one need not have experienced a certain thing to write about it. For example, one did not have to be part of a social class to write about that social class.

Middlemarch:

This book was written primarily for and about women, and it is not a romance, which many novels with that audience in mind typically were. Instead, Eliot plays with all sorts of rules that were part of the "debates." How interesting is it, though, that this is written for women by a woman under the pen name of a man? Because of the audience, it challenges the notion that "weaker minds" cannot distinguish between fiction and real-life.

He then represents true life in his book and characters. These are not overly fictionalized.

The book has multiple underlying messages about marriage and politics, just to name a couple.

"Plots develop simultaneously among characters of various social levels" , supporting James's arguments that writers and characters can and should move between their own experiences and those they can imagine.

Ultimately, Middlemarch is a wonderful representation of what James was arguing fiction should be.

Why is the setting important to the story The Giver?

The setting in The Giver is an important aspect of its dystopian themes of isolation and conformity.  We are not told a great deal about the physical features of the community, but those we are told about are carefully selected to enhance these themes. The community experiences what seems to be absolute climate control and isolation from Elsewhere.  The people in the community do not see the sun or feel the wind.  The landscape must...

The setting in The Giver is an important aspect of its dystopian themes of isolation and conformity.  We are not told a great deal about the physical features of the community, but those we are told about are carefully selected to enhance these themes. The community experiences what seems to be absolute climate control and isolation from Elsewhere.  The people in the community do not see the sun or feel the wind.  The landscape must be completely flat, since Jonas' first experience of a hill is when he gets the memory of sledding from the Giver. There are no mountains or valleys to provide any geographic variety or interest.  Thus the weather reflects the Sameness of the community, as does the featureless landscape, and the people of the community are isolated from Elsewhere. 

In Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, what are three ways that Holden lies to himself?

Holden is certainly an interesting character who does lie to himself. He openly admits it by saying, "I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful" (16). If he lies to everyone else, why not himself? Of course, liars don't believe that they actually would lie to themselves. When a person lies to him or herself, it's usually done by way of deceit, denial, or avoiding responsibility for something.

One example of Holden lying to himself is when he avoids taking responsibility for leaving the fencing team's foils on the subway. We read about it as he is standing on a hill watching the school's game of the night alone rather than down in the audience participating. He says that the team "ostracized" him, so we infer that is the reason why he didn't go to the game. In his defense he says,

". . .we didn't have the meet. I left all the foils and equipment and stuff on the goddam subway. It wasn't all my fault. I had to keep getting up to look at this map, so we'd know where to get off"(3).

Another way Holden lies to himself is when it comes to getting kicked out of schools. He gets kicked out of Whooton, Elkton Hills, and Pencey. He explains it to Mr. Spencer this way:

"I didn't have too much difficulty at Elkton Hills . . . I didn't exactly flunk out or anything. I just quit, sort of" (13).

It's as if he deals in half-truths because that may have been part of the reason he left Elkton Hills. But then he goes on to say that he left because he was "surrounded by phonies"(13). This isn't taking responsibility, either. He isn't facing facts. What might have been the main reason for him quitting at Elkton Hills was that bullies indirectly forced James Castle into committing suicide. Rather than facing that the suicide freaked him out, he indirectly blames leaving that school on "phonies."

Finally, Holden lies to himself about his relationships with girls--specifically with Jane. Mostly, he's confused, inconsistent, and lives in a fantasy world about this girl; but that's not unlike lying. For example, he believes he had a real connection with Jane and therefore gets jealous when he finds out she's going out on a date with his roommate Stradlater. Then he obsesses over her for most of the book. He even says,

"Then she really started to cry, and the next thing I knew, I was kissing her all over-anywhere-her eyes, her nose, her forehead, her eyebrows and all, her ears-her whole face except her mouth and all. She sort of wouldn't let me get to her mouth" (79).

What he isn't doing here is reading Jane's body language. She doesn't want to kiss him, yet he's all over her. He thinks he's comforting her and that they have this great connection, but she will only hold his hands in the movies. She won't let the relationship move forward. Deep down, he must know he doesn't have a chance with Jane because he never gets up the nerve to actually call her.