What is the theme of "The Cook's Tale" in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales?

"The Cook's Tale" in The Canterbury Tales is up for debate because Chaucer left it unfinished. "The Cook's Tale" comes directly after the Reeve and Miller's stories, in which the two men insult each other's professions and tell of debauchery and mischief. The Cook, now so drunk he has fallen off his horse, begins his own tale of the same sort.

He speaks of an apprentice named Perkin Reveler, who loves to gamble with dice....

"The Cook's Tale" in The Canterbury Tales is up for debate because Chaucer left it unfinished. "The Cook's Tale" comes directly after the Reeve and Miller's stories, in which the two men insult each other's professions and tell of debauchery and mischief. The Cook, now so drunk he has fallen off his horse, begins his own tale of the same sort.

He speaks of an apprentice named Perkin Reveler, who loves to gamble with dice. He steals money from his master and spends it all. He parties and is a total ladies' man. Just after the master fires Perkin, the story ends. Taken at face value, it seems the moral of the story is that bad behavior is punished, but the Cook isn't known for his good behavior, and the next lines show Perkin, rather than changing his ways, finds a friend who is equally corrupt! We cannot speculate what happens next to Perkin, but based on the Reeve and Miller's stories, it is clear he is involved in sinful activities and the story will likely be full of jokes and situational irony. 

Some interpret Perkin as Adam, the master as God, and "The Cook's Tale" as a story of Adam being kicked out of Eden. If this is the case, the main theme would be the sinfulness and corruption of mankind. Other speculated themes could be the fickleness and wildness of youth, and the benefits and costs of gambling.

In "By the Waters of Babylon," how does John's tribe view the Dead Places?

John’s tribe, including priests like his father, is very fearful of the Dead Places and Place of the Gods. No one is allowed to travel east towards this area because of its dangers. Although the priests and John comb the Dead Places close to their tribe for metal, they are not allowed to go beyond the river that separates them from the Place of the Gods. The metal kills those who are not priests and...

John’s tribe, including priests like his father, is very fearful of the Dead Places and Place of the Gods. No one is allowed to travel east towards this area because of its dangers. Although the priests and John comb the Dead Places close to their tribe for metal, they are not allowed to go beyond the river that separates them from the Place of the Gods. The metal kills those who are not priests and must be purified to be used; however, the metal’s effects seems to be stronger in the Place of the Gods. John’s father tells him that “It is forbidden to travel east. It is forbidden to cross the river. It is forbidden to go to the Place of the Gods.” When John has dreams drawing him to seek out the Gods, his father can only let him go because it is a journey he knows John must make. John’s father, however, is not expecting him to return from the Place of the Gods because it is dangerous and deadly. John, too, expects to die, but feels he must make the journey to see what the Place of the Gods is. He says, “I knew I was meant to go east—I knew that was my journey.” At the end, John does return home to tell his tribe that the Gods were mere men who were destroyed during the Great Burning—a nuclear war in the past.

How did the government in Fahrenheit 451 gain control over the people?

Near the end of Part 1, Beatty explains to Montag how the government gained control over the society, including why reading literature is banned. He explains that the people gave up their rights in the name of equality. But, according to Beatty, the move away from books came with the advent of mass media—movies, condensed versions of novels, etc.—and the need for citizens to have information so "you can read all the classics; keep up...

Near the end of Part 1, Beatty explains to Montag how the government gained control over the society, including why reading literature is banned. He explains that the people gave up their rights in the name of equality. But, according to Beatty, the move away from books came with the advent of mass media—movies, condensed versions of novels, etc.—and the need for citizens to have information so "you can read all the classics; keep up with your neighbors."

In addition, this movement resulted in the desire to forbid people, regardless of their ethnicity or minority status, to feel sorry for themselves. Today, this would be called "political correctness," but according to Beatty, the new laws were instituted because "we can't have our minorities upset and stirred." 

Beatty goes on to explain how and why minorities have been upset and speaks about Little Black Sambo and Uncle Tom's Cabin, but he continues to discuss how society, in total, would rather not think about these things. He says society would rather focus on other ideas, such as mass media and sports. 

The end game, in regards to the new government controls, was to have firemen be "custodians of our peace of mind, the focus of our understandable and rightful dread of being inferiors; official censors, judges, and executors."  At the end, Beatty says that government did not take control of the people, rather the people gave the government control.

What was the relationship between U.S. industrialization and the large wave of Irish immigration of the mid-1800s?

Between 1815 and 1865 the United States experienced a significant boom in immigrants from Europe.  Approximately one-third of these immigrants came from Ireland.   Ireland had experienced a massive potato famine and this proved to be a push factor for many. Many of these immigrants were very poor and usually settled at their point of arrival in the cities along the East Coast.  Many of these cities were full of factories where these immigrants were able...

Between 1815 and 1865 the United States experienced a significant boom in immigrants from Europe.  Approximately one-third of these immigrants came from Ireland.   Ireland had experienced a massive potato famine and this proved to be a push factor for many. Many of these immigrants were very poor and usually settled at their point of arrival in the cities along the East Coast.  Many of these cities were full of factories where these immigrants were able to find gainful employment. 

The mid 1880s was a time of rapid industrialization and urbanization as the cities swelled.  As new technologies were developed and working hours increased, factories were able to stay open longer.  The large supply of Irish labor provided cheap labor for the growing cities. The Irish immigrants were likely unskilled or semiskilled laborers.  

By the mid to late 1800s the light bulb and Bessemer process and steel would change the dynamics of city life. Steel would increase industrialization and the need for workers and the light bulb would allow for longer working hours thus increasing productivity.  

What are two significant quotes in Chapter 15 of To Kill A Mockingbird?

In chapter 15, Jem demonstrates his developing maturity. Scout mentions that her brother no longer engages with Dill and her in some of their activities. Additionally, Jem also seems to be more observant of the adult world and the interactions of his father with his sister, Alexandra.

After Scout overhears her father arguing with Aunt Alexandra, she seeks Jem in his room where he seems to be very pensive. Since she has heard her father...

In chapter 15, Jem demonstrates his developing maturity. Scout mentions that her brother no longer engages with Dill and her in some of their activities. Additionally, Jem also seems to be more observant of the adult world and the interactions of his father with his sister, Alexandra.

After Scout overhears her father arguing with Aunt Alexandra, she seeks Jem in his room where he seems to be very pensive. Since she has heard her father arguing with Aunt Alexandra, she asks Jem about their confrontations.

 “Have they been at it?” I asked. 
“Sort of. She won’t let him alone about Tom Robinson. She almost said Atticus was disgracin‘ the family. Scout. . . I’m scared.”
“Scared’a what?”
“Scared about Atticus. Somebody might hurt him.”

Jem's anxiety for his father demonstrates his maturity, a maturity that later proves to be valuable. That evening, Atticus departs, saying that he will be gone for a while and everyone will probably be in bed when he returns. Later, Scout hears Jem stirring in his room. She asks Jem what he is doing, and when he tells her that he is going to look for Atticus, Scout insists upon accompanying him. Before they go downtown, they wake up Dill, and he eagerly goes along. The three children seek Atticus at his office in the bank building, but he is not there. Instead, he sits in a chair, propped against the jailhouse door. The cord and light that Atticus took with him are overhead as he reads his newspaper. Jem tells Scout and Dill that they can leave; he has just wanted to know where Atticus was. However, at that moment, the children hear cars pulling in near them. They run around and hide where they are out of sight. When Scout overhears her father talking with the men, he uses a phrase that he often says when playing checkers. Scout does not realize the danger, and she races to see her father. Jem hurries after her; Atticus tells Jem to go home and take Scout with him. 

Jem shook his head. As Atticus’s fists went to his hips, so did Jem’s, and as they faced each other I could see little resemblance between them: Jem’s soft brown hair and eyes, his oval face and snug-fitting ears were our mother’s, contrasting oddly with Atticus’s graying black hair and square-cut features, but they were somehow alike. Mutual defiance made them alike.

Significantly, Jem defies his father for the first time. Jem does so because he does not want Atticus to be alone as he faces the mob. Certainly, Scout cannot help but notice the maturation of her brother.

What magical ability does the monkey’s paw have?

Whether the monkey's paw possesses any magical powers at all is a big question which is never conclusively answered in the story. At the beginning of Part II, Mr. White makes a very significant statement.

"Morris said the things happened so naturally," said his father, "that you might if you so wished attribute it to coincidence."

Sergeant-Major Morris has had his three wishes, and the previous owner had three wishes. There are, according to Morris's story, only...

Whether the monkey's paw possesses any magical powers at all is a big question which is never conclusively answered in the story. At the beginning of Part II, Mr. White makes a very significant statement.

"Morris said the things happened so naturally," said his father, "that you might if you so wished attribute it to coincidence."

Sergeant-Major Morris has had his three wishes, and the previous owner had three wishes. There are, according to Morris's story, only three more wishes left. Evidently the six wishes already made, and presumably granted, all could have been attributed to coincidence. When Mr. White receives two hundred pounds from Maw and Meggins as compensation for their son Herbert's accidental death at the factory, it could have been a mere coincidence that White had wished for that exact sum. 

Then when Mr. White wishes for his son Herbert to come back to life and return home, it could have been a coincidence that some stranger came knocking at the front door. And it could have been coincidental that the stranger stopped knocking and left right after Mr. White made his third and last wish, which was not included in the text but must have been that the knocking would cease and whoever was out there would go away. After all, if a stranger knocks at a door and nobody answers, he will go away. 

So the monkey's paw may have no magical ability at all. Common sense and reason tell us that there is no such thing as an object that has the power to grant wishes. It is just something we would like to believe. It makes a good story, like the story of "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp."

We do not know the nature of the three wishes made by the first owner of the monkey's paw, nor did Sergeant-Major Morris reveal anything about his own three wishes. If anybody had wished for something truly fantastic such as a fortune in gold or a palace full of servants, and had had the wish granted, then we could assume that the monkey's paw had magical powers. But the author deliberately avoids anything of the fantastic or supernatural. The story is about a very simple family living modestly in a house that is only worth about two hundred pounds. 

Another very intriguing story about an object that had the power to grant wishes is Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Bottle Imp." In that story the possessor of a certain magic bottle can have as many wishes as he wants. The only problem is that he has to sell it before he dies or he will go to hell for eternity. And the owner of the bottle always has to sell it for less than he paid for it. And over the years the selling price has been forced down until in the end the man who is stuck with the bottle is trying to dispose of this precious bottle for pennies. 

The appeal of all the many stories about a person being able to have his wishes granted is that they make us wonder what we would wish for if we knew our wishes would be granted. The common moral of many of these stories is usually the same:

Be careful about what you wish for, because your wish may be granted!

What are some motifs used in Bud, Not Buddy?

One motif in the novel is Bud's rule book.  Bud keeps reminding the reader about his  "Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself."  By the end of the book, it's clear to the reader that Bud is making up some of the rules as he goes along.  Or at least he is making up the numbers as he goes, because the same rule is listed as two...

One motif in the novel is Bud's rule book.  Bud keeps reminding the reader about his  "Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself."  By the end of the book, it's clear to the reader that Bud is making up some of the rules as he goes along.  Or at least he is making up the numbers as he goes, because the same rule is listed as two different numbers at one point.  The rules serve as a coping mechanism for Bud.  He always brings up the rules when he knows that something bad is about to happen or be said.  The rules represent Bud's attempts to put some order into his chaotic life.  It's interesting to note that as Bud's life takes on more order and belonging with the band, the frequency of Bud's rule book references slows down.  

Another motif is doors.  Before she died, Bud's mother told him that when one door closes another door opens.  

"And Bud, I want you always to remember, no matter how bad things look to you, no matter how dark the night, when one door closes, don't worry, because another door opens."

Bud realizes years later that his mother was making an analogy.  Bud constantly thinks about doors in the book, and he is always looking for the next open door after a door closed on him from a bad situation.  For example, the Amos door closed harshly on Bud, but it opened the door for him to eventually meet Lefty Lewis and his daughter.  

In "The Black Cat," what or who is the conflict between? How does the conflict have an effect on the reader?

The conflict that occurs in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat" is between the unnamed narrator and his large black cat named Pluto. After the narrator becomes an alcoholic, he gets into an altercation with Pluto and gouges one of his eyes out with a pen-knife. This escalates later into the narrator hanging the cat because he cannot bear the guilt he feels when he looks at the creature. 

Again, the situation escalates when the narrator gets a new cat that seems to taunt him with reminders of the cruelty he displayed toward Pluto. Again, the narrator attempts to resolve his guilt by attacking the cat with an axe, which results in his wife's accidental murder. 

The impact that this conflict has on the story's audience obviously varies from reader to reader, but I'd say it is safe to assume that the unreliable narration and the violence that occurs within the story is deeply unnerving for anyone who reads it. It may also cause us to question ourselves and what lengths we are personally willing to go to to justify our own private guilt. 

How was Reconstruction a failure?

Some historians would argue that, by some measures, Reconstruction was a success. The most famous historian of Reconstruction, Eric Foner, has called it an "unfinished revolution" in a book by that title. Where Reconstruction failed was in establishing a permanent foundation for black political, social, and especially economic equality in the South. On the last point, even most of Reconstruction's most radical boosters did not envision that black families would be the beneficiaries of land...

Some historians would argue that, by some measures, Reconstruction was a success. The most famous historian of Reconstruction, Eric Foner, has called it an "unfinished revolution" in a book by that title. Where Reconstruction failed was in establishing a permanent foundation for black political, social, and especially economic equality in the South. On the last point, even most of Reconstruction's most radical boosters did not envision that black families would be the beneficiaries of land reform in the post-Civil War South. Most thought that freedmen would become "free labor," and work for white people for wages or in some other arrangement. What happened is that most African-Americans, for lack of other options, entered into sharecropping or tenant arrangements with white landowners. This trapped them in a cycle of debt and rural poverty that lasted more than a century in many regions. 

Politically, serious efforts were made to establish and maintain voting rights for black men, but these efforts faltered in the face of organized white resistance. White "redeemer" governments began to retake control of Southern states as early as 1870, and the governments they established (with some notable exceptions) were for and by white men. Over time, enthusiasm for enforcing Reconstruction's mandates for equality faded. White organizations like the Ku Klux Klan made it possible for "Bourbon" Democrats to reestablish white supremacy in the South just a few years after the war that had fought to end slavery. "Race riots" and lynchings throughout the South terrorized black men, who found going to the polls to vote a "radical" ticket a dangerous proposition.

Many of the black institutions--churches, schools, associations, etc.--born during Reconstruction would survive, but they represented the only real outlets for African-American public life as Reconstruction came to an end. In less than two decades after Reconstruction, Southern states established Jim Crow laws, cementing in place a rigid form of segregation and white supremacy that made a mockery of the idealism of Reconstruction.

In the essay, "Self Reliance," what does every person realize at some moment in his education?

Emerson states specifically that every man comes to realize that envy is ignorance and imitation is suicide. The passage in question reads as follows:

There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better for worse as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. 

When Emerson speaks of the plot of ground that is given to him to till, he is speaking metaphorically. What he means is that each person has certain interests, tastes, and talents that make him unique. He cannot be content with his life, and he probably will not be successful in life, unless he finds out who he is, what he can do that fits his character and personality, and how he can best survive in the ongoing struggle for existence. 

The world's literature is full of similar advice. Shakespeare has Polonius tell his son Laertes in Hamlet:

This above all, to thine own self be true...

The Bhagavad-Gita, which Emerson knew, says:

You must learn what kind of work to do, what kind of work to avoid, and how to reach a state of calm detachment from your work.  

The best time to find out who you are and what you should do in life is when you are in school. It is easy to get started on the wrong foot when you are young. Choosing a major in high school and college can start you on a road in life which you may find is not right for you. Then it is hard to turn back and start all over again. Most schools have counselors and various other services to help students choose the right career goals for themselves. It is well worth the time and effort to take vocational aptitude tests and any help that will guide a student in the right direction. We shouldn't just imitate someone we admire, or envy. That person can turn out to be entirely different from us as we grow older and can disappear. That is what Emerson means when he says "imitation is suicide." 

Emerson may be mistaken in saying, in effect, that "every man" arrives at the conviction that he has to find, metaphorically, the right plot of ground to till. Unfortunately, there are many people who end up tilling the wrong plot of ground all their lives--or until it is too late for them to turn back. Robert Frost seems to be toying with this common phenomenon in his famous poem "The Road Not Taken."

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

A spring extends by 10 cm when a mass of 200 g is attached to it. What is the spring constant? (Calculate your answer in N/m)

According to Hooke's Law the force needed to stretch or compress it will be directly proportional to the amount by which it lengthens or shortens. Mathematically, Hooke's Law is: 

F = kx where F is the applied force, x is the change in the length of the spring due to the force and k is the spring constant.

If the spring obeys Hooke's law over the distance that it's being stretched then the spring constant...

According to Hooke's Law the force needed to stretch or compress it will be directly proportional to the amount by which it lengthens or shortens. Mathematically, Hooke's Law is: 

F = kx where F is the applied force, x is the change in the length of the spring due to the force and k is the spring constant.

If the spring obeys Hooke's law over the distance that it's being stretched then the spring constant for this particular spring can be calculated as follows:

k = F/x, F = mg

k = (.2 kg)(9.8 m/s^2)/(0.1m) = 19.6 N/m

There's usally a point at which spring no longer obeys this relationship, for example if it's stretched to the point of deforming or if force continues to be applied after it's completely compressed. The best way to calculate the spring constant is by measuring and graphing mutiple data points. This method will show any outlying data points that might have resulted from over-stretching the spring.

In The Doll House by Henrik Ibsen, as the play progresses Nora learns a lot about herself. Do you agree with this?

I’m going to disagree with this opinion, largely because Ibsen, in his entire canon, does not concern himself much with a character’s self-examination or self-awareness; he focuses rather on the character’s place in a society that is being revealed to the viewer/reader.  This is the central idea in this period of drama, which we now call "social realism." While Nora’s character is surely revealed to us (and by extension her society), she is not particularly introspective....

I’m going to disagree with this opinion, largely because Ibsen, in his entire canon, does not concern himself much with a character’s self-examination or self-awareness; he focuses rather on the character’s place in a society that is being revealed to the viewer/reader.  This is the central idea in this period of drama, which we now call "social realism." While Nora’s character is surely revealed to us (and by extension her society), she is not particularly introspective. She already knows herself well enough to forge the signature and save her husband, in other words to act effectively rather than according to the laws (both legal and social) that society has imposed. The strength of Ibsen’s pro-feminist argument lies in the fact that Nora is strong enough, sure of herself enough, to act, an assumption not automatically made in 19th-century Scandinavia. There are no internal monologues or other dramatic devices to suggest that Nora is “learning a lot about herself.” True, Helmer and the other characters are learning a lot about Nora, but Nora already “knows” herself.

What weaknesses in both the US Army and Navy did the Spanish American War reveal?

The Spanish American War was fought in 1898. The United States became involved in the war when Cuba, after several earlier failed revolutions, was attempting to become free of Spain. As a result of the war, the United States gained control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, and the U.S. paid the Spanish $20 million. While many Americans were initially very enthusiastic about fighting in the war, which Secretary of State John Hay...

The Spanish American War was fought in 1898. The United States became involved in the war when Cuba, after several earlier failed revolutions, was attempting to become free of Spain. As a result of the war, the United States gained control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, and the U.S. paid the Spanish $20 million. While many Americans were initially very enthusiastic about fighting in the war, which Secretary of State John Hay called "a splendid little war," the American armed forces were largely underprepared at the war's start.

The war began when an American battleship called the Maine, which was stationed in Havana's harbor in Cuba, mysteriously exploded. The Americans quickly blamed the Spanish (though there is evidence that the ship's explosion may have been caused by a boiler accident), and the cry "to hell with Spain, remember the Maine" whipped up public support for the war, as did the headlines and photographs that newspaper magnates William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer ran in their papers. 

The U.S. Army at the time had too few people and materials and was far from the fighting shape it would be in by the time of the United States' involvement in World War I. Since the Civil War, the U.S. military had mainly been involved with fighting Native Americans on the frontier, and they lacked the light-weight uniforms and other equipment they needed to fight in the tropics. American troops were largely unprepared for the tropical heat and diseases they would encounter in the Caribbean. In addition, the army did not at first have enough troops to fight, but they were able to raise troops though volunteers and by using the National Guard. After they had defeated the Spanish, in part because the Americans were closer to Cuba and could resupply their troops more easily than the Spanish could, the United States embarked on a period in which it defined itself as a world power with a military to match. 

What are the types of assimilation in linguistics?

In phonology (linguistics), assimilation is a process of sound change in which a sound becomes similar to another sound in its immediate environment. Assimilation of sounds can happen within a word or can even cross word boundary. Usually, the sounds undergo a change in one or more features so as to assimilate to other sounds in their environment.

In phonetics and phonology, we can classify and study sound segments in terms of a set of features. Two distinct sounds can have some common features, but will never have exactly the same set of features. For example, the phoneme /p/ is bilabial, plosive and voiceless, and differs from the sound /b/ in voicelessness. You might want to read about Distinctive Features by Jacobsen et al. for a better understanding of the theory of phonological features. During assimilation, there can be a change in the place of articulation, manner of articulation, voicing, etc. 

Assimilation of Place: In rapid speech, the native British English speakers would pronounce the phrase ‘ten balls’ as something like /tɛm bɔːlz/ instead of /tɛn bɔːlz/. For British English speakers, the sound /n/ changes to /m/ in the presence of the following sound /b/ in the next word. The sound /n/ is alveolar, but when followed by the bilabial sound /b/, it undergoes assimilation to become the bilabial sound /m/. Note that there is a change in only one feature, i.e. the place of articulation. The sound /n/ does not become plosive like the sound /b/.

Assimilation of Manner: In Hindi, which is an Indo-Aryan language, there are many instances where phonemes get nasalised when followed by nasal consonants or vowels. Such a change also happens during rapid speech. For example, the word for ‘work’ /kɑ:m/ is pronounced as /kɑ̃:m/. The vowel preceding the nasal sound /m/ becomes nasalised.

Assimilation of Voice: The plural morpheme –s (voiceless) in English becomes voiced when preceded by a voiced phoneme.

/dɒɡ/+ -s--> /dɒɡz/

Note that it remains voiceless when preceded by a voiceless phoneme.

/ kat/ + -s--> / kats/

The above example is also an example of progressive assimilation of voice, as the sound change is affected by the features of the sound preceding the given sound. The opposite of this is Regressive assimilation, where the sound acquires one or more features of the following sound. Nasal assimilation of Hindi vowels is an example of regressive assimilation.

Assimilation can be complete or partial. The above examples are all cases of partial assimilation. Assimilation is complete when the sound changes in all the features and becomes exactly like the sound nearby. For example, in British English the phrase ‘ten miles’ /tɛn mʌɪls/ is realised as /tɛm mʌɪls/ in rapid speech.

We can classify assimilation in one more way. When assimilation happens only at a given time era during rapid speech, we call it a synchronic change reflecting sociolinguistic events during a specific time. However, if it results in a change in the language phonology over a period of time, we call it a diachronic or historical change.

What are some important facts that everybody should take away from Moneyball by Michael Lewis?

One of the most important facts to emerge from Moneyball is that value in baseball can be found if people are willing to look.  The purpose of Lewis's work is to analyze how general manager Billy Beane of the Oakland Athletics baseball team established a new definition of "value:"

...a small group of undervalued professional baseball players and executives, many of whom had been rejected as unfit for the big leagues, who had turned themselves into one of the most successful franchises in Major League Baseball.

Beane's work helps to establish the fact that value can be found if people know how to search for it.

Another important fact in Moneyball is the way value is determined. Beane's work with Paul DePodesta highlights the importance of statistics in establishing value. This emphasis on sabermetrics focused on data points that most people overlooked. For example, Beane and his staff saw greater value in a hitter who was skilled at drawing bases on balls than one who solely possessed "power numbers" like home runs.  The way Beane and his staff determined value was fundamentally different than how baseball executives at the time perceived it.  It is a fact that Beane's approach triggered a movement away from excessively spending on free agents with gaudy "power numbers."  As a result of Beane's efforts, teams mirrored an approach that emphasized value through sabermetrics. 

The result of this paradigm shift represents another fact that emerges from Lewis's work.  Beane's embrace of a sabermetric approach directly challenged the prevailing thinking in the baseball community.  He faced rebuke from other executives and, sometimes, his own athletes and fans who did not understand his approach.  It is a fact that Beane endured negative publicity for embracing sabermetrics as a way to construct a ball club.  Another fact from the flip side of this reality is that many teams copied Beane's approach. Once it was clear that what Beane did actually worked, teams like the Yankees and Red Sox as well as the Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Devil Rays embraced sabermetrics.  In the current major league climate, statistical approaches to valuing talent and making on-field decisions have become standard practice. 

Another fact is that the "eye test" approach, where personnel decisions were based off of the "gut instinct of scouts, has been devalued.  It is not common practice for teams to sign a guy who "looks good" or has "the good face."  They are less inclined to take "chances" on a "guy who looks great" or "can hit the ball a mile."  The financial implications of poor decisions have forced teams to embrace approaches similar to Beane's use of statistics and numbers.  Baseball has entered a period where the days of the scout's "hunch" is secondary to what the numbers say.

A fact that emerges from Lewis's book is that small market baseball teams can be competitive.  Prior to Oakland's successful use of sabermetrics, wealthier teams were able to simply take what they wished.  For example, Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon were integral parts of Beane's successful Oakland teams.  However, when they became free agents, the Yankees and Red Sox swooped in with lucrative contracts and lured them both.  Beane's approach gave a model for small market teams to follow. For example, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays fielded competitive teams for years because of their devotion to statistical analysis.  Even large market teams like the New York Yankees are moving away from lucrative free agent contracts in favor of developing minor league talent with an eye on data-based decision making. The Boston Red Sox were 2004 champions because they created a team that emphasized Beane's statistical approach.  When the "wealthy" teams start mirroring the "poorer" ones, it shows how all teams can be successful if they are coherent and clear in their thinking and approach to the game.

What causes Juliet to have so much difficulty finally understanding that Tybalt has been killed by Romeo?

Juliet first hears that Tybalt has been killed from her Nurse and then her mother.  She mourns quite loudly for him until she learns that Romeo is the murderer.  Her crying immediately stops and she starts to question the Nurse about how she received her information and why Romeo would be involved at all.  Romeo had JUST left her bed that morning after they had been secretly married by the friar.  She cannot believe someone...

Juliet first hears that Tybalt has been killed from her Nurse and then her mother.  She mourns quite loudly for him until she learns that Romeo is the murderer.  Her crying immediately stops and she starts to question the Nurse about how she received her information and why Romeo would be involved at all.  Romeo had JUST left her bed that morning after they had been secretly married by the friar.  She cannot believe someone so in love with her can turn his heart to stone and kill one of her kinsmen so quickly. 

As far as she knew, Romeo was off to seek peace between their families and show off their marriage as its first sign.  She already believes it was an accident by halting her tears and asking so many questions of the Nurse.  When her mother confirms that it was Romeo that killed Tybalt, she is stunned into questioning their love and how it was now doomed by death.  She loves him that much that death is the ONLY way she sees out of this mess.  She doesn't once question Romeo's loyalty, but constantly questions her family's.  The only person in her household that she deems trustworthy is the Nurse who raised her and the childhood friar who married her.  Perhaps she witnessed the exchange between her father and Tybalt at the party the night before.  Perhaps this lead to her questioning Tybalt's hot temper and wont to fight anyone he deemed the enemy. 

Even though she mourns Tybalt, there seems to be a slight sense of understanding that Tybalt brought death upon himself.

Which kind of government did Voltaire prefer?

Voltaire expressed admiration for different kinds of government at different points in his life. In his Philosophical Letters, for example, written after a sojourn in England, he claimed that the English Constitution, with its "harmony between King, Lord, and Commons," was an ideal form of government. Under this system, Voltaire argued, "no one is tyrannised over, and every one is easy." This was partly because the English government featured the division of power that Voltaire's...

Voltaire expressed admiration for different kinds of government at different points in his life. In his Philosophical Letters, for example, written after a sojourn in England, he claimed that the English Constitution, with its "harmony between King, Lord, and Commons," was an ideal form of government. Under this system, Voltaire argued, "no one is tyrannised over, and every one is easy." This was partly because the English government featured the division of power that Voltaire's fellow philosophe and contemporary the Baron de Montesquieu so admired, and partly because England lacked the rigid social structure that shackled the middle classes, the peasantry, and the urban workers in France. At other points in his life, however, notably in his time with Frederick II of Prussia, he seems convinced that the best government on the Continent might be that of an enlightened monarch who uses their power for the promotion of Enlightenment ideals. Like almost all of the philosophes, Voltaire was no democrat, and he was actually quite cynical about human nature. What was more important to him than the form of government was the nature of government. For him, government ought to feature religious tolerance, more or less laissez-faire economic policies, and be based on reason and rational principles. Above all, government ought not to be dominated solely by the parasitical nobility and clergy that kept talented men like Voltaire, a member of the French middle class, from fulfilling their potential.

How does Jack Finny create suspense in Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket? Provide one detail that adds to the suspense.

Any story that features a person climbing out of a window onto the ledge of a high-rise building pretty much qualifies as suspenseful. Jack Finney, in his short story Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket, however, knows that creating suspense is one thing, while sustaining it is another. Finney is subtle in his narrative, injecting an element, albeit minor, of deception into his premise, with the story's protagonist, Tom, misleading his loving wife into...

Any story that features a person climbing out of a window onto the ledge of a high-rise building pretty much qualifies as suspenseful. Jack Finney, in his short story Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket, however, knows that creating suspense is one thing, while sustaining it is another. Finney is subtle in his narrative, injecting an element, albeit minor, of deception into his premise, with the story's protagonist, Tom, misleading his loving wife into believing that he seriously needs to spend the evening working on a project for work rather than accompany her to the movies (". . .it was not actually true that he had to work tonight, though he very much wanted to"). This deception, while minor in terms of considerations of marital fidelity, does help set the stage for the suspense that will follow when Tom, already described as hot despite the cool evening weather outside his window ("'Hot in here,' he muttered to himself"), opens said window to allow the cooler air into his apartment. It is, of course, this open window that provides the opportunity for the main element of suspense into which Tom blunders.

Once Tom's draft memo blows out the window and settles onto the ledge outside, and Tom decides to risk his life to retrieve it, Finney builds the suspense slowly but inexorably. First, however, Finney has Tom contemplate the nature of the task, with the character quickly assessing the level of danger involved in retrieving his paper:

"To simply go out and get his paper was an easy task--he could be back here with it in less than two minutes--and he knew he wasn't deceiving himself. The ledge, he saw, measuring it with his eye, was about as wide as the length of his shoe, and perfectly flat. And every fifth row of brick in the face of the building, he remembered--leaning out, he verified this--was indented half an inch, enough for the tips of his fingers, enough to maintain balance easily."

This, then, is how Finney establishes the real tension in his narrative. He has provided us with a sense of the paper's importance -- "For many seconds he believed he was going to abandon the yellow sheet, that there was nothing else to do. The work could be duplicated. But it would take two months, and the time to present this idea was now, for use in the spring displays" -- and now a description of the precipice upon which Tom would now descend. It is only once Tom has actually climbed out the apartment window and positioned himself precariously on the ledge below that the true sense of danger unfolds. Now, the risk has shifted from theoretical to practical. Tom has climbed out the window and now stands on the ledge:

"Now, balanced easily and firmly, he stood on the ledge outside in the slight, chill breeze, eleven stories above the street, staring into his own lighted apartment, odd and different-seeming now."

This passage occurs relatively early in Tom's foray outside his apartment on a cool, breezy big-city night. The element of suspense is now firmly established, and we are left with an agonizingly protracted description of Tom's continued actions and thoughts as he perilously inches closer to his objective.

Describe how the civil liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights make it more difficult for law enforcement to catch and convict criminals.

Civil liberties are different from civil rights. Civil rights protect people from discriminatory or unequal treatment. Civil liberties, however, are those rights guaranteed by the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and established US case law. Civil liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights that make it more difficult for law enforcement to catch and convict criminals include the following five:

4th amendment: This amendment protects against unreasonable search and seizure and issuing a search...

Civil liberties are different from civil rights. Civil rights protect people from discriminatory or unequal treatment. Civil liberties, however, are those rights guaranteed by the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and established US case law. Civil liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights that make it more difficult for law enforcement to catch and convict criminals include the following five:

4th amendment: This amendment protects against unreasonable search and seizure and issuing a search warrant without probable cause. In other words, the police cannot simply go "fishing" for a crime without reasonable evidence that a crime was committed.

5th amendment: This amendment protects you from being forced to testify against yourself, being tried twice for the same crime, or being tried without a formal charge. You also cannot have your property seized. 

6th amendment: This amendment guarantees a speedy trial, the right to be informed of the charges against you, to confront witnesses, to call witnesses, and to have a lawyer represent you.

7th amendment: This amendment allows you to have a trial by jury.

8th amendment: This amendment provides protection against excessive fines, bails, and cruel and unusual punishment.

It is notable that five of the first ten amendments treat crime and the legal system and are meant to protect people against the government finding ways to punish people unjustly.

Who are the characters in Andrew Clements' A Week in the Woods?

The two most important characters in Andrew Clements' A Week in the Woods are the two protagonists, Mark Robert Chelmsley and Mr. Maxwell. A protagonist is a character that battles the conflict, or problem, in the story and changes as the story progresses.Markis the kid of wealthy parents and has just moved from Scarsdale, New York, to a farmhouse his parents renovated into a mansion in New Hampshire. At first, having loved...

The two most important characters in Andrew Clements' A Week in the Woods are the two protagonists, Mark Robert Chelmsley and Mr. Maxwell. A protagonist is a character that battles the conflict, or problem, in the story and changes as the story progresses.

Mark is the kid of wealthy parents and has just moved from Scarsdale, New York, to a farmhouse his parents renovated into a mansion in New Hampshire. At first, having loved Scarsdale, Mark hates New Hampshire and is unimpressed by his surroundings and even more unimpressed by the public school he must now attend. Having been in elite private schools all his life, he knows far more than his fellow fifth graders at the public school. Since he hates his surroundings so much, he begins acting out. However, he begins exploring his surroundings, especially the woods around his new home. The more he explores the woods, the more he loves them. He also has a moment of self-realization:

I've been acting like  stuck-up jerk. (p. 66)

After this moment, he begins making friends and behaving differently in class.

Mr. Maxwell is Hardy Elementary School's fifth-grade science teacher. He's a true outdoorsman and loves teaching. Since he was an Eagle Scout in his youth, he is also passionate about motivation. Hence, when Mark arrives as the new kid at school and is very withdrawn socially and nonparticipatory in class, Mr. Maxwell is very quick to judge Mark: "This new boy was a slacker" (p. 21). Mr. Maxwell's premature and unforgiving judgements of Mark form the basis of the story's conflict, and both Mark and Mr. Maxwell grow as a result.

Another important character includes Jason, whom Mark befriends. Mark especially spends a lot of time with Jason at the camp during the "A Week in the Woods" event, and Jason accidentally gets Mark into trouble by showing Mark his multitool. Other important characters include Mark's wealthy parents, Robert and Eloise Chelmsley, who are hardly ever around, and Leon and Anya. Leon and Anya are a married Russian couple and the family's household employees, also given the responsibility of acting as Mark's caretakers. Leon is the Chelmsleys' handyman, while Anya is the housekeeper.

Why can metal utensils get too hot to touch when you are cooking with them?

Metal cooking utensils get too hot to touch because metals have a low heat capacity and are good conductors of heat. Heat capacity is the amount of heat a given mass of a substance must absorb to raise its temperature a given amount.  Metals experience a large increase in temperature when absorbing a relatively small amount of heat. 

Metals are good conductors of heat because of the characteristics of metallic bonding. Conduction is the transfer...

Metal cooking utensils get too hot to touch because metals have a low heat capacity and are good conductors of heat. Heat capacity is the amount of heat a given mass of a substance must absorb to raise its temperature a given amount.  Metals experience a large increase in temperature when absorbing a relatively small amount of heat. 

Metals are good conductors of heat because of the characteristics of metallic bonding. Conduction is the transfer of heat between atoms or molecules in contact with each other. As particles heat up they vibrate at a faster rate and transfer vibrational motion to nearby particles. The atoms of metals are closely packed in the solid state and have freely moving valence electrons. Heat is transferred throughout the substance by the moving electrons as well as by vibration of adjacent atoms.

This problem is solved with handles on utensils that are made of materials that have high heat capacities and are poor conductors of heat. These materials don't experience as much of a temperature change when absorbing heat and the heat absorbed isn't transferred throughout the material.

`y = x^2, y = 6x - 2x^2` Use the method of cylindrical shells to find the volume generated by rotating the region bounded by the given curves...

The shell has the radius `x` , the cricumference is `2pi*x` and the height is `6x - 2x^2 - x^2` , hence, the volume can be evaluated, using the method of cylindrical shells, such that:

`V = 2pi*int_(x_1)^(x_2) x*(6x - 3x^2) dx`

You need to evaluate the endpoints `x_1` and `x_2` , such that:

`x^2 = 6x - 2x^2 =>3x^2 - 6x = 0 => 3x(x - 2) = 0 => 3x = 0 =>...

The shell has the radius `x` , the cricumference is `2pi*x` and the height is `6x - 2x^2 - x^2` , hence, the volume can be evaluated, using the method of cylindrical shells, such that:

`V = 2pi*int_(x_1)^(x_2) x*(6x - 3x^2) dx`

You need to evaluate the endpoints `x_1` and `x_2` , such that:

`x^2 = 6x - 2x^2 =>3x^2 - 6x = 0 => 3x(x - 2) = 0 => 3x = 0 => x = 0 and x - 2 = 0 => x = 2`

`V = 2pi*int_0^2 x*(6x - 3x^2) dx`

`V = 2pi*(int_0^2 6x dx - int_0^2 3x^2 dx)`

Using the formula `int x^n dx = (x^(n+1))/(n+1)` yields:

`V = 2pi*(6x^2/2 - 3x^3/3)|_0^2`

`V = 2pi*(3x^2 - x^3)|_0^2`

`V = 2pi*(3*2^2 - 2^3)`

`V = 2pi*4`

`V = 8pi`

Hence, evaluating the volume, using the method of cylindrical shells, yields `V = 8pi.`

What is the quality of death presented in "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" and "Death Came to See Me in Hot Pink Pants"?

Death is portrayed very differently in “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson, and “Death Came to See Me in Hot Pink Pants” by Heather Royes.

In Heather Royes' poem, death is personified as a “black saga boy” dressed in a garish pink suit. He uses force to enter the room, laughing as he makes his entrance into the speaker’s dreams. Death collapses easily when hit with a staff but comes back...

Death is portrayed very differently in “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson, and “Death Came to See Me in Hot Pink Pants” by Heather Royes.

In Heather Royes' poem, death is personified as a “black saga boy” dressed in a garish pink suit. He uses force to enter the room, laughing as he makes his entrance into the speaker’s dreams. Death collapses easily when hit with a staff but comes back to try again. The speaker awakes having difficulty breathing but was able to cheat death’s grip. The speaker describes Death as beautiful: “How beautiful was Death in hot-pink pants with matching waistcoat too.”

In Emily Dickinson’s poem, death is portrayed more traditionally. Once again, death is personified as he comes gently to claim the speaker. He takes the narrator on a slow carriage drive around the familiar environs of her life and through the centuries. Death comes when she least expects it and slowly takes her away to eternity.

How and why do the actions of the executive and/or judicial branches affect our life?

There are three branches of the US government. They are the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch. The legislative branch makes laws. The judicial branch headed by the Supreme court- which in turn oversees the district courts- interprets and reviews laws whilst the executive branch headed by the President signs, repeals and vetoes laws. The executive branch also commands the armed forces, directs national defense and implements foreign policy. So these branches...

There are three branches of the US government. They are the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch. The legislative branch makes laws. The judicial branch headed by the Supreme court- which in turn oversees the district courts- interprets and reviews laws whilst the executive branch headed by the President signs, repeals and vetoes laws. The executive branch also commands the armed forces, directs national defense and implements foreign policy. So these branches are responsible for the laws that govern the entire operation of our society. Every aspect of life that you can think of is ultimately dictated by these branches: healthcare, operation of the civil service - police, teachers, and nurses, care of the mentally ill and the physically disabled, the prison system and prison reform. These branches thus work together to create the best possible society for all of us.

What makes a good introduction to a persuasive essay?

There are two different strategies that I find helpful in introducing a persuasive essay. First is to provide a striking fact. Second is to provide a striking anecdote.  In either case, it is necessary to write a thesis statement at the end of the introduction, to let the reader know what you are trying to persuade them about, along with your supporting points. 

Let's suppose I want to persuade my readers to vote. I might begin with a statistic, like this:

Only 10% of the people who are eligible to vote elect our nation's leaders.

I don't know if that is a fact, but for the sake of this discussion, let's assume it is.  I am counting on my reader to find that a shocking fact, and then I can build on that fact throughout the introduction, perhaps like this:

Only 10% of the people who are eligible to vote elect our nation's leaders. This means that a very small minority of people is weighing in on who should be in charge of the country.  This does not seem like a desirable state of affairs, when our leaders' actions and decisions affect 100% of the country.  Everyone should vote, to have a voice in the direction of the country, to exercise a right that people have died for, and to perform a civic responsibility. 

I have opened with a shocking statistic and then explained its implications, making clear I do not find them good ones. I end with a thesis statement, what I want to persuade my reader to do, along with three good reasons to do so.  This is one strategy that can be used to introduce a persuasive essay.

An anecdote is just a little story, a vignette that you can open with, to get the reader's attention with a bit of drama.  If I were writing a persuasive essay about amnesty for unlawful immigrants, I could begin with this:

The little Latina girl sobs as her parents are led away by federal officers.  The parents' faces are frozen in grief, as they are taken back to Mexico, to a life without their child.  This is the state of immigration today. 

From there, I could go on to discuss immigration a bit, finally ending in a thesis statement, urging my readers to support amnesty, along with at least a few good reasons for doing so. 

In a persuasive essay, in addition to using logic or ethics to make your case, you can appeal to the emotions of your reader, using what we call pathos. And certainly, if you can use that at the very beginning, you are getting off to a great start. 

How does Ishmael progress as a character in Moby Dick? My teacher told me that all main characters in some way develop through the story but I do...

While Ishmael is absent from parts of the narratives and digresses with scientific discussion of the whale, he at first links himself with Queequeq and then pairs with himself through much of the narrative. He becomes linked to Captain Ahab in his fatalistic view, but rejects that and reaches a deeper fulfillment with self realization of his own basic feelings. In a sense, he is reborn as he clings to the coffin and the "baptismal" waters of the sea.

With the utterance of the famous first sentence in Moby Dick, Ishmael suggests himself that he will wander through various convictions and metaphysical thoughts as he dwells on predestination, free will, evil, and the existential condition.

According to Christopher S. Durer in Mocking the "Grande Programme," the character Ishmael progresses through four stages of development during the narrative of Moby Dick:

1. Chapters 1-18: Ishmael holds an ambivalent attitude towards this Prorgramme; he half-believes in the Calvinistic predestination of Father Mapple, but has some doubts. 


2. Chapters 19-43: Ishmael begins to lose any belief in this "grande programme" and gravitates towards Ahab's belief in the "pasteboard masks" of Nature there lies an "inscrutable malice."


3. Chapters 44-93: He starts to give this "programme" no credibility, calling the universe "a practical joke."


4. Chapters 94-105: Ishmael rejects the "grande programme" entirely.

1. Whereas in the early chapters of Moby Dick, Ishmael acts primarily as a narrator, in the later chapters, he becomes an active participant of the crew and is central to the tragedy at the end. Nevertheless, Ishmael shows signs of being influenced rather easily as he is initially fearful of the savage harpooner Queequeq with whom he is to room in Nantucket; then the next day, he narrates that they are companions. Ishmael jokes that the harpooner slept with his arm around him, and they are now "married." Nevertheless, Ishmael feels himself apart from others.

2. He remains in conflict with his Presbyterian beliefs, expounded by Captain Mapple. In Chapter 41, in which Captain Ahab unites the crew in the search for Moby Dick, offering a doubloon to whoever first sights the white whale, the harpooners partake of a communion of wine that parodies the Christian ceremony. Swept up in the excitement and unity, Melville's narrator declares, "I, Ishmael, was one of that crew...my oath had been welded with theirs." Nevertheless, Ishmael remains skeptical as in Chapter 47 he comments upon chance that "rules by turns" with necessity, and later he speaks of "the audacious seas" that ignore the "blessed light of the evangelical land." He notes, too, Ahab’s obsession with the whale as far greater than that of the other sailors. When Ahab projects a sense of the presence of evil in the world onto the White Whale, Ishmael observes that this projection is absurd; however, he also begins to give credibility to Ahab's conviction that there is "but a pasteboard mask"; that is that there is an evil force lurking behind creation.

3. In Chapter 49 Ishmael rejects the ideas of Romanticism and comments that there are certain times that life is, as Ahab says, inscrutable. At times it seems to be "a practical joke" on man. Further, in Chapter 72, "The Monkey Rope," Ishmael speaks of his Siamese relationship with Queequeq in the ropes that hold them in place: "Queequeq was my own inseparable twin brother...." Then, in Chapter 83, Ishmael recalls Father Mapples's mention of Jonah and the whale; he realizes from his new study of this mammal that the stomach juices of the whale would destroy a man. This discussion marks his increasing skepticism of religious teachings (the "practical joke.")

4. In the latter chapters, Ishmael feels that Ahab's projection of all evil onto the single creature of Moby Dick is absurd. But, because other cultures have also found malevolent forces in the world, Ishmael hints that the belief in an intelligent and evil presence has credibility enough for him to reject "the grande programme" of the Divine. Instead, a more sinister presence seems to take hold of the world, Ismael concludes.

Finally, Ishmael's camaraderie with the crew ends as Ishmael becomes more independent and breaks from the restrictions of religion. He mentions the grande programme very little after Chapter 94 in which he takes more delight in pure physical activity and socialization with others rather than acting as a crewman. His new perspective of Chapter 94 demonstrates that Ishmael has achieved independence and is no longer dependent upon "the grande programme" of order imposed by Providence.

As some critics note, Melville has taken his narrator out of the bondage of an order imposed by a controlling God and given him existential freedom to choose the direction of his life. With the narrative of Quequeeq, who has transferred the stories of his tattoos onto the coffin, Ishmael need wander no more; he can forge his own existence.

Additional Source:

Durer, Christopher S. "Mocking the 'Grande Programme'": Irony and after in Moby Dick." Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature 36.4(1982):249-58. Print.

What does the word "mutiny" mean ?

Mutiny is an all out rebellion or revolt. We often hear it being used in stories about ships on the sea when the crew members, for one reason or another, revolt against their captain and take over the ship. 

In The Call of the Wild by Jack London, Buck starts a mutiny against the lead dog, Spitz. He starts out by doing small things to sabotage Spitz's leadership, but then Buck gets bolder and encourages...

Mutiny is an all out rebellion or revolt. We often hear it being used in stories about ships on the sea when the crew members, for one reason or another, revolt against their captain and take over the ship. 

In The Call of the Wild by Jack London, Buck starts a mutiny against the lead dog, Spitz. He starts out by doing small things to sabotage Spitz's leadership, but then Buck gets bolder and encourages the other dogs to do the same. For example, when Spitz goes after Pike for sleeping later than the others, Buck protects Pike. The actions Buck and the other dogs take causes Spitz to lose the respect of the pack. All of the dogs join Buck in this rebellion.

Finally, there is a big fight between Buck and Spitz when they join another team of dogs in a rabbit chase. Buck is in the lead, but Spitz cuts him off and catches the rabbit. Buck attacks Spitz, and there is a fight to the death.

"Buck stood and looked on, the successful champion, the dominant primordial beast who had made his kill and found it good" (London Ch. 3).

The Atlantic Ocean is show in the middle. Under which parts of the Atlantic ocean is the oldest sea-floor rock?

Since the crust is formed along the mid-Atlantic ridge, the oldest seafloor rock would be found near the coasts of either continent to the left or right of the mid-Atlantic ridge. 

Seafloor spreading is the process by which new oceanic crust is formed along the mid-Atlantic ridge. Along the mid-Atlantic ridge, convection currents under the mantel cause the tectonic plate of a divergent boundary to move apart from one another. Such movement may also result...

Since the crust is formed along the mid-Atlantic ridge, the oldest seafloor rock would be found near the coasts of either continent to the left or right of the mid-Atlantic ridge. 

Seafloor spreading is the process by which new oceanic crust is formed along the mid-Atlantic ridge. Along the mid-Atlantic ridge, convection currents under the mantel cause the tectonic plate of a divergent boundary to move apart from one another. Such movement may also result in earthquakes and volcanoes. As the plates move apart, the churning magma of the convection current wells up between the divergent boundary and moves towards the surface of the seafloor. Once exposed, the rising magma cools. Thus, seafloor spreading is speculated to cause continental drift and the creation of new crust.

What was Cleopatra's biggest goal in life?

Cleopatra's main goals were to be the sole leader of Egypt and to expand the kingdom's land area.  

Cleopatra took the throne of Egypt at age 18.  She also shared the throne with her younger brother.  Soon there was conflict between them.  She fled to Syria and established an army there.  Her goal became to take back power of Egypt for herself.  She wanted to be the only ruler of Egypt.  She soon met...

Cleopatra's main goals were to be the sole leader of Egypt and to expand the kingdom's land area.  

Cleopatra took the throne of Egypt at age 18.  She also shared the throne with her younger brother.  Soon there was conflict between them.  She fled to Syria and established an army there.  Her goal became to take back power of Egypt for herself.  She wanted to be the only ruler of Egypt.  She soon met Julius Caesar.  He used his resources and helped her to fight to regain power of Egypt.

Years later, Queen Cleopatra turned her attention to gaining back the eastern empire of Egypt.  Modern day Syria and Lebanon were part of this land area.  This plan became less important when the Romans threatened to claim parts of Egypt for their own.

Why did Great Britain and France decide not to get involved in the Civil War after Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation?

Lincoln's proclamation redefined the purpose of the war. It added a moral dimension to a war that had been officially about preserving the Union by destroying the rebellion. In short, it established that a result of the war would be the destruction of slavery. Given this fact, France and especially Great Britain would, by intervening in the war or recognizing the Confederacy, be supporting slavery in the eyes of many of their own people. Slavery...

Lincoln's proclamation redefined the purpose of the war. It added a moral dimension to a war that had been officially about preserving the Union by destroying the rebellion. In short, it established that a result of the war would be the destruction of slavery. Given this fact, France and especially Great Britain would, by intervening in the war or recognizing the Confederacy, be supporting slavery in the eyes of many of their own people. Slavery was deeply unpopular among many influential English people (the nation having abolished slavery in its own right a few decades earlier) and the Emancipation Proclamation made the cause of the Confederacy morally repugnant. But in many ways, it reaffirmed what many British people were already thinking. Southerners had thought that the war, and the blockade that resulted, would bring about a "cotton famine" in Europe that would drive Britain and France, under the goading of wealthy and influential manufacturers, to intervene to stop the war or at least lift the blockade. This never really happened, though, partly because larger than normal cotton exports in the years before the war had led to surpluses. The mills in places like Manchester never stopped running. When shortages did occur, they were at least partly offset by cotton raised in India and other places in the British Empire. There were some in both nations who favored the Confederate cause, and a few incidents involving the blockade did lead to ill will between the Union and Great Britain, but forces advocating neutrality in the American conflict were always strong in Great Britain. So Lincoln's decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation sealed the decision to stay out of the conflict for both Britain and France.

In Chapter 12 of Lord of the Flies, what does Ralph do when he is confronted by the Lord of the Flies?

After being wounded by Jack, Ralph flees into the forest. Trying to come to terms with Piggy's death and how the boys could have murdered him, he finds himself face to face with the skull, now picked clean, that Jack had put on a stick in front of Simon's thicket. He shivers involuntarily at the sight, trying to figure out what it could be. Overcome by "sick fear and rage," he strikes out at it,...

After being wounded by Jack, Ralph flees into the forest. Trying to come to terms with Piggy's death and how the boys could have murdered him, he finds himself face to face with the skull, now picked clean, that Jack had put on a stick in front of Simon's thicket. He shivers involuntarily at the sight, trying to figure out what it could be. Overcome by "sick fear and rage," he strikes out at it, but it bobs back at him. He strikes it again, crying out "in loathing," and this time the skull breaks in two. His knuckles are bruised from hitting it. He extracts the stick from the ground to use as a spear. The two halves of the skull have landed about two yards apart from each other, and now it seems like its evil grin is six feet wide.

Interestingly, the sow's head is compared to the conch. When Ralph first sees the skull, it is described as gleaming "as white as ever the conch had done." The sow's head has replaced the conch as the symbol of the boys' society, but it is a symbol of savagery, not of civilization. Although Ralph tries to destroy it, he doesn't pulverize it like Roger did the conch. Instead he only succeeds in making its grin huge, foreshadowing that Ralph will not be able to overcome the savagery of the other boys.

What does Ravi think it would feel like to be "the winner in a circle of older, bigger, luckier children"?

Ravi thinks it would be the greatest feeling that he has ever experienced in his entire lifetime. The text specifically tells readers that it "would be thrilling beyond imagination." In other words, actually being the winner of the hide-and-seek game will be even better than anything that Ravi has ever imagined before. Ravi even smiles to himself at the thought of his coming victory. He believes that the other children will cheer and revere him...

Ravi thinks it would be the greatest feeling that he has ever experienced in his entire lifetime. The text specifically tells readers that it "would be thrilling beyond imagination." In other words, actually being the winner of the hide-and-seek game will be even better than anything that Ravi has ever imagined before. Ravi even smiles to himself at the thought of his coming victory. He believes that the other children will cheer and revere him like a conquering hero.

He hugged his knees together and smiled to himself almost shyly at the thought of so much victory, such laurels.

The thoughts of future praise and worship is what motivates Ravi to stay inside the shed long after the other children have stopped playing the game. By the time that Ravi claims his victory, the other children have long forgotten him. The story ends with Ravi facing some harsh realities. Not only do the other children not grant him victory and laurels, but Ravi also learns that he is so insignificant that the other children didn't even know that he was still playing the game.

He lay down full length on the damp grass, crushing his face into it, no longer crying, silenced by a terrible sense of his insignificance.

Who are the main characters in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty?"

There are only two main characters in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," a middle-aged man and his wife. Walter Mitty himself is the most important character because the story is all about his "secret" fantasies. James Thurber introduces Mrs. Mitty in the opening scenes in order to characterize her, but Mitty drops her off at the beauty parlor in Waterbury, Connecticut, and is alone for much of the story. At the end, his wife reappears and is the same domineering, critical woman she was in the car when she interrupted one of her husband's fantasies by nearly shrieking

“Not so fast! You’re driving too fast!” said Mrs. Mitty. “What are you driving so fast for?”

She is a bossy woman who tends to repeat everything. A moment later she says

“You were up to fifty-five,” she said. “You know I don’t like to go more than forty. You were up to fifty-five.” 

In his fantasy, Mitty must have already gotten the hydroplane up to a hundred miles an hour and was unconsciously pressing harder on the car's accelerator pedal as he forced more speed out of his imaginary hydroplane.

Mrs. Mitty is a realist. Mitty is an idealist. She is an extrovert. He is an introvert. They are entirely different types, but they seem to have a stable marriage because they have adjusted to their incompatibility. She does all the thinking and planning. He obeys orders and keeps his thoughts to himself.

No doubt Walter Mitty was a somewhat exaggerated picture of Thurber himself. He was an eccentric man, and he used his eccentricities in his stories, essays and cartoons. Male characters very similar to Walter Mitty appear in "The Catbird Seat" and "The Unicorn in the Garden." In both of these stories there is a female character who is not too much different from Mrs. Mitty in being demanding, controlling, and insensitive. 

The Mittys may be psychologically incompatible, but they remain married because they are dependent on each other. For example, she apparently doesn't know how to drive a car. They must be New Yorkers who, like so many others, have moved out into the suburbs. Many people who live in Manhattan don't drive cars because the traffic is maddening and there are many other ways of getting around the city. She depends on her husband to drive her into town, and he depends on her to do the planning for both of them. No doubt she tells her husband what suit to wear and what tie to go with it. They would be lost without each other. James Thurber writes about a lonely single man in what his editor Harold Ross called "a mood-type thing" titled "One is a Wanderer." The piece was reprinted in The Thurber Carnival, which is the best collection of his stories, essays, cartoons, and "casuals."

When Mrs. Mitty reappears at the end of the story, her husband is waiting for her in a hotel lobby where he has become lost in his fantasies again. 

“I’ve been looking all over this hotel for you,” said Mrs. Mitty. “Why do you have to hide in this old chair? How did you expect me to find you?” 

In My Side of the Mountain, who was the only person who believed Sam could live alone?

I believe that the answer you are looking for is Miss Turner.  In My Side of the Mountain, she is the only person at the beginning of the story who really takes Sam seriously.

When Sam runs away from home, he hitches a ride with a truck driver up into the Catskill Mountains.  When the truck driver drops Sam off, Sam tells him that he is going to live in the woods.  The truck...

I believe that the answer you are looking for is Miss Turner.  In My Side of the Mountain, she is the only person at the beginning of the story who really takes Sam seriously.

When Sam runs away from home, he hitches a ride with a truck driver up into the Catskill Mountains.  When the truck driver drops Sam off, Sam tells him that he is going to live in the woods.  The truck driver tells him that he will be back in the afternoon in case Sam needs a ride back to the city.  That shows he does not believe Sam will be able to live on his own.  Next, we hear that Sam’s father had laughed at him when he said he was going to go live on the Gridley farm.  He thought Sam would be like he had been as a youth when he “ran away” and was back home in bed before anyone knew he had left.  Later, when Sam gets his fish cooked at the home of “Bill something,” Bill tells him that the door will be unlocked for him if he needs to come back that night.  Again, this shows that Bill does not really think Sam will make it out in the woods.

But then Sam goes to the library in Delhi.  Miss Turner is the librarian there.  When Sam tells her what he is planning to do, she does not laugh at him or say anything to make it seem as if she does not take him seriously.  That is why Sam says, on p. 22, “Miss Turner was the only person that believed me.”  Therefore, Miss Turner is the best answer to this question.

For each of the following changes, will there be a change in quantity demanded or a change in demand? A change in the price of a related good...

There is only one factor that can cause a change in quantity demanded as opposed to a change in demand.  The only factor that can cause a change in quantity demanded is a change in the price of the good in question.  As an example, the only thing that can change the quantity demanded of Whoppers from Burger King is the price that Burger King charges for the Whoppers.

A demand curve is a curve...

There is only one factor that can cause a change in quantity demanded as opposed to a change in demand.  The only factor that can cause a change in quantity demanded is a change in the price of the good in question.  As an example, the only thing that can change the quantity demanded of Whoppers from Burger King is the price that Burger King charges for the Whoppers.

A demand curve is a curve that shows how much of a product consumers are willing and able to buy at all possible price levels.  A change in quantity demanded is simply a movement along that line.  The only thing that can cause a movement along that line is a change in the price of the product.

A change in demand occurs when consumers want more or less of a product than they did before at the same price.  This means that the demand curve has moved.  There are many factors that can cause the demand curve to move.  For example, a change in consumer tastes will make people want more of a product if it becomes popular or less if it loses popularity. Of the factors that you mention in this question, all of them move the demand curve (causing a change in demand) except for (iv) a change in price.

Using embedded quotes, show how Shakespeare presents Romeo's love in Act 5, Scene 3.

In Act Five, Scene Three of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare presents Romeo's love as undying, even in the face of death. At the beginning of this scene, Romeo has returned to Verona with a vial of poison and a death wish. Having heard that Juliet has died, he goes to her crypt in order to commit suicide. Upon seeing Juliet, Romeo cries out:

...O my love, my wife!

Death, that hath sucked the honey...

In Act Five, Scene Three of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare presents Romeo's love as undying, even in the face of death. At the beginning of this scene, Romeo has returned to Verona with a vial of poison and a death wish. Having heard that Juliet has died, he goes to her crypt in order to commit suicide. Upon seeing Juliet, Romeo cries out:

...O my love, my wife!

Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath,

Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty.

Thou are not conquered...

Here, Romeo remarks upon the beauty that has been preserved in his wife's corpse, a quality that not even death could confiscate from her. He continues on with a solemn promise:

...I will stay with thee,

And never from this palace of dim night

Depart again.

Romeo is so committed to his beloved that he vows to stay with her for all eternity, even at the consequence of his own corporeal survival. He cannot bear the idea of living without her, and so carries out his plan. Romeo takes the poison and methodically bids Juliet goodbye, visually admiring her ("Eyes, look your last."), taking her into his arms ("Arms, take your last embrace."), and kissing her one final time ("Lips... seal with a righteous kiss.") Even in the act of dying, Romeo's attention is directed solely to the woman he loves.

How is Scrooge's relationship to Tiny Tim at the end of the story?

Scrooge first takes notice of Tiny Tim when he visits the Cratchit house with the Ghost of Christmas Present.  He inquires about Tiny Tim and is disturbed when the ghost suggests that Tiny Tim will not survive.

When Scrooge awakens a changed man on Christmas morning, his thoughts go back to the Cratchits, and to Tiny Tim in particular.  He sends a large turkey to the Cratchit home.  The next day, he surprises Bob Cratchit...

Scrooge first takes notice of Tiny Tim when he visits the Cratchit house with the Ghost of Christmas Present.  He inquires about Tiny Tim and is disturbed when the ghost suggests that Tiny Tim will not survive.

When Scrooge awakens a changed man on Christmas morning, his thoughts go back to the Cratchits, and to Tiny Tim in particular.  He sends a large turkey to the Cratchit home.  The next day, he surprises Bob Cratchit with a raise that will help Bob better support his wife and six children.  

Scrooge's assistance of the Cratchits is not short lived.  The story tells us that Scrooge forms a relationship with Tiny Tim, and that he acts almost as a second father to him throughout the rest of his life.

List three phonemes that both English and Chinese have (exact matches) and three phonemes that Chinese has that English doesn't have, or that...

Before answering your question, I would like you to note that a language can have many dialects, and the phonology, or the sound system of a language, can change from one dialect to another. For instance, different dialects of English spoken in different parts of America and England often make use of different variants of the rhotic consonants or the class of r-sounds (the letter r as represented in the roman script). Also, sometimes this...

Before answering your question, I would like you to note that a language can have many dialects, and the phonology, or the sound system of a language, can change from one dialect to another. For instance, different dialects of English spoken in different parts of America and England often make use of different variants of the rhotic consonants or the class of r-sounds (the letter r as represented in the roman script). Also, sometimes this difference in phonology is so striking that, over time, it makes different dialects of the same language mutually unintelligible, although this is rare.  Since you are looking for “exact” phonemic matches and differences, I feel this distinction becomes important here. Nevertheless, for this answer, we can consider Mandarin Chinese and the standard British English dialect.

The following are some of the phonemes that are present in English, but not in Mandarin Chinese:

Voiced bilabial plosive /b/

Voiced alveolar plosive /d/

Voiced Velar plosive /ɡ/

Voiceless Dental Fricative /θ/

The following phonemes in Mandarin Chinese are not present in English:

Voiceless post-alveolar affricate (彳 chì) /ʈʂʰ/

Voiced post-alveolar affricate (之 zhī ) /ʈʂ/

Voiceless velar fricative (厂 hàn) /x/

The bilabial nasal /m/, voiceless labio-dental fricative (匚 fāng) /f/ and lateral approximant (力 lì) /l/ are present in both English and Mandarin Chinese.

Note that the symbols in round brackets are the "bopomofo" symbols. Their IPA equivalents are written within slanting lines, which is the conventional notation system of writing phonemic symbols in IPA.

What is Thoreau's advice to the person who has too many details going on in his life all at once?

Henry David Thoreau would tell a person who has too many details in his/her life to find “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.”  He states in Waldenthat “Our life is frittered away by detail”, and the only way to happiness is to remove those details from your life.  Thoreau challenges his reader to “instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary, eat but one; instead of a hundred dishes, five; and reduce other things in...

Henry David Thoreau would tell a person who has too many details in his/her life to find “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.”  He states in Walden that “Our life is frittered away by detail”, and the only way to happiness is to remove those details from your life.  Thoreau challenges his reader to “instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary, eat but one; instead of a hundred dishes, five; and reduce other things in proportion.”  It is all the “stuff” we accumulate and the want for those things that causes us to waste or “fritter away” our lives.  For Thoreau, the key to life is to have and use only what you need.  He says to limit what you do and your responsibilities, and to “keep your accounts on your thumb nail.”  Thoreau’s way of life includes returning to nature to find oneself and what is important.  Many people today are adopting Thoreau’s Spartan-like* vision of life as seen in the popularity of little houses, community gardens, recycling, and other lifestyles beckoning to simpler times. 

*(borrowed from Self-Reliance written by Thoreau’s contemporary, Ralph Waldo Emerson)

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, how does Scout describe her sleepless night?

In Chapter 6, Jem, Dill, and Scout make another attempt to get another look at Boo Radley. They decide to go at night because, according to Jem, it is easier to see inside a dark house at night than it is in the daytime. They choose to climb under a fence to go undetected. After getting to the Radley's house, Mr. Radley comes out with a shotgun, apparently thinking it could be a burglar. He...

In Chapter 6, Jem, Dill, and Scout make another attempt to get another look at Boo Radley. They decide to go at night because, according to Jem, it is easier to see inside a dark house at night than it is in the daytime. They choose to climb under a fence to go undetected. After getting to the Radley's house, Mr. Radley comes out with a shotgun, apparently thinking it could be a burglar. He fires the gun and the children run away. Jem's pants get caught going back under the fence and he leaves them there. When they return to their block, Atticus and others are there, wondering what all the commotion is. Dill comes up with the idea that they had been playing strip poker. This explains Jem's missing pants. 

Scout is shaken from the whole ordeal. She is still afraid of the stories about Boo and is worried that he will seek revenge somehow: 

Every night-sound I heard from my cot on the back porch was magnified threefold; every scratch of feet on gravel was Boo Radley seeking revenge, every passing Negro laughing in the night was Boo Radley loose and after us; insects splashing against the screen were Boo Radley’s insane fingers picking the wire to pieces; the chinaberry trees were malignant, hovering, alive. I lingered between sleep and wakefulness until I heard Jem murmur. 

Not only is Scout worried about Boo; she also loses sleep while Jem goes back out to retrieve his pants. While he is gone, Scout waits and is worried that she will hear Mr. Radley's shotgun again. Scout stays awake until Jem is silent in his cot. 

Was it wise for Jem to tell Scout not to tell Atticus about Bob Ewell?

In the end, it wasn’t wise for Jem to keep the threats of Bob Ewell quiet.  If Jem or Scout had told Atticus, he might have taken the revenge Bob Ewell wanted more seriously.  Atticus was a little naive in this situation; it was especially uncharacteristic of the Atticus who seemed to have so much insight into people throughout the story.  Atticus should have taken the break in at Judge Taylor’s home seriously.  Atticus had...

In the end, it wasn’t wise for Jem to keep the threats of Bob Ewell quiet.  If Jem or Scout had told Atticus, he might have taken the revenge Bob Ewell wanted more seriously.  Atticus was a little naive in this situation; it was especially uncharacteristic of the Atticus who seemed to have so much insight into people throughout the story.  Atticus should have taken the break in at Judge Taylor’s home seriously.  Atticus had been working hard and was worn out and tired from the trial and his trips to the state capitol as a representative.  Atticus probably never thought that someone would take his revenge out on his children rather than him.  However, that was exactly the type of coward Bob Ewell was.  He abused the weak like Mayella and Tom, and it was natural for him to look for an innocent target like Scout and Jem to carry out his demented vengeance. 

If Jem had told Atticus that he heard from Miss Stephanie that Bob Ewell said, “One down, two to go,” the traumatic episode where Scout or Jem were attacked by Bob Ewell might not have happened.   However, there was no better way for the book to end but with the poetic justice of Bob Ewell’s death and the extreme heroism of Boo Radley.   

How does Hamlet see himself compared to Fortinbras?

Hamlet mentions young Fortinbras in Act IV Scene 4. Fortinbras, from Norway, is leading his troops across Denmark to fight in Poland. After a brief conversation with a captain in the army, Hamlet begins to contemplate his own mission to avenge his father's death. He compares himself to Fortinbras, a "delicate and tender prince," leading an army to fight and die for a worthless piece of land in Poland. Noting that these men are fighting...

Hamlet mentions young Fortinbras in Act IV Scene 4. Fortinbras, from Norway, is leading his troops across Denmark to fight in Poland. After a brief conversation with a captain in the army, Hamlet begins to contemplate his own mission to avenge his father's death. He compares himself to Fortinbras, a "delicate and tender prince," leading an army to fight and die for a worthless piece of land in Poland. Noting that these men are fighting only for honor, he chastises himself for his hesitation in gaining vengeance. Fortinbras has no real quarrel with his enemies, yet he risks his life to fight. Hamlet has a "father kill'd, a mother stain'd" and yet has not been able to bring himself to kill Claudius. After considering the difference between himself and Fortinbras (who is probably about his age) Hamlet resolves that from this point on, he will focus on vengeance. "From this time forth," he vows, "My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth." So in this soliloquy, Hamlet reveals that he sees himself as a bit of a coward compared to young Fortinbras.

How would you describe how the Gradgrind family and Sissy Jupe grow and evolve throughout the text?

Charles Dickens’ Hard Times presents the story of the Gradgrind family and how they adjust to the patriarch Thomas Gradgrind’s strict, rigid belief system. Interestingly, every member of the family grows and evolves as the novel progresses. Early in the novel, for example, Thomas Gradgrind is a staunch Utilitarian who refuses to view problems in an imaginative way. He emphasizes facts to a destructive degree. After he sees how his destructive ideology has affected his children, specifically Louisa, however, he changes and grows as a character:

“Aged and bent he looked, and quite bowed down; and yet he looked a wiser man, and a better man, than in the days when in this life he wanted nothing but Facts” (205).

Tom, Mr. Gradgrind’s son, becomes a bitter individual as the text progresses. He starts out with a strong bond with his sister, but by the end of Hard Times, he is a self-centered individual who wants nothing to do with Louisa:

“Pretty love! Leaving old Bounderby to himself, and packing my best friend Mr. Harthouse off, and going home, just when I was in the greatest danger. Pretty love that! Coming out with every word about our having gone to that place, when you saw the net was gathering round me. Pretty love that! You have regularly given me up. You never cared for me” (213).

Louisa, meanwhile, always struggled under her father’s oppressive values. Her character changes completely after she marries Josiah Bounderby. She is hopelessly depressed, and she ultimately leaves Bounderby. However, the final passage that focuses on Louisa ends on a dissonant note. She has been irreparably affected by Utilitarianism:

“Herself again a wife—a mother—lovingly watchful of her children, ever careful that they should have a childhood of the mind no less than a childhood of the body, as knowing it to be even a more beautiful thing, and a possession, any hoarded scrap of which, is a blessing and happiness to the wisest? Did Louisa see this? Such a thing was never to be” (222).

Finally, Sissy Jupe grows from a timid girl to a self-assured woman. She receives the happy ending that Louisa is denied, and she has a loving, caring family at the end of the tale.

Thus, all of these characters do in fact evolve in some manner throughout Hard Times.

I pulled my textual evidence from the Norton Critical Edition, 3rd ed.

What are three advantages of the telegraph?

A telegraph is the technology of sending electric signals through wires.  It revolutionized communication in the Nineteenth Century.  The first obvious change is that communication was made more efficient.  Before the telegraph, it could take weeks for a message to be sent from one part of the country to another. With the telegraph, messages could be sent instantly.  The telegraph altered the nature of commerce and politics.  Prior to the telegraph, business and politics were...

A telegraph is the technology of sending electric signals through wires.  It revolutionized communication in the Nineteenth Century.  The first obvious change is that communication was made more efficient.  Before the telegraph, it could take weeks for a message to be sent from one part of the country to another. With the telegraph, messages could be sent instantly.  The telegraph altered the nature of commerce and politics.  Prior to the telegraph, business and politics were conducted on a regional basis.  Because messages could be delivered quicker, these entities expanded to become national and international entities.  The telegraph had the ability to make the world a smaller place.  The telegraph also had a tremendous impact on warfare because messages could be sent from the battlefield to command centers which ultimately improved war planning and strategy.  Even the President could receive instant messages from generals and other military personnel. 

How did the building of the transcontinental railroad and the Klondike gold rush bring about changes to the American West?

Prior to these two events, the American West was generally an undeveloped region, inhabited primarily by native tribes and a few American prospectors. 

The completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, however, brought dramatic changes to the west. Thousands of people headed to this region, especially immigrants, eager to explore this new land and to find new opportunities. For the native tribes, this expansion created conflict and had some important consequences: by the 1880s, for...

Prior to these two events, the American West was generally an undeveloped region, inhabited primarily by native tribes and a few American prospectors. 

The completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, however, brought dramatic changes to the west. Thousands of people headed to this region, especially immigrants, eager to explore this new land and to find new opportunities. For the native tribes, this expansion created conflict and had some important consequences: by the 1880s, for examples, many tribes had been forcibly moved to reservations. 

The Klondike Gold Rush began in 1896 when three Indians found gold near Dawson in the remote area of Klondike in the Yukon. It took almost a year for word to spread but, once it did, over 100,000 Americans headed off to the Klondike to seek their fortune. Like the transcontinental railroad, the gold rush had huge consequences: Dawson, for example, was transformed from a tiny town to the largest city north of San Francisco. It was so important that it became the first city in Western Canada to have electric lighting and officially became a Canadian Province on June 13 1898. 

Are there any other examples of forgiveness in the book Great Expectations besides Miss Havisham?

Another example of asking for forgiveness is evinced in Pip who asks Joe to forgive him for rejecting Joe when he visited in London and for his absence from the Forge; in short, for having neglected his old friend and father figure. 

In Chapter LVII, after Pip has remained with the dying Magwitch, he returns to the Temple where he falls ill with a raging fever from his experiences in the river and his sleep...

Another example of asking for forgiveness is evinced in Pip who asks Joe to forgive him for rejecting Joe when he visited in London and for his absence from the Forge; in short, for having neglected his old friend and father figure. 

In Chapter LVII, after Pip has remained with the dying Magwitch, he returns to the Temple where he falls ill with a raging fever from his experiences in the river and his sleep deprivation. As he slips in and out of consciousness, Pip sees debt collectors who take pity on his situation and do not remove him. He continues in his delirium, seeing Joe as he fades in and out of consciousness, thinking his old friend's face is just a vision. But, one day after his fever and illness has lessened, Pip asks for a drink of water, and Pip notes that "the face that looked so hopefully and tenderly upon me was the face of Joe."

Finally, when Pip begins to recover his strength, he dares to ask, "Is it Joe?" The reply is from the loving voice of this very man, "Which it air, old chap." Joe's kindness tears at Pip's heart because he has neglected to write or visit Joe for a long time:

Oh, Joe, you break my heart! Look angry at me, Joe. Strike me, Joe. Tell me of my ingratitude. Don't be so good to me!"

Joe feels there is nothing to forgive, although he clearly appreciates Pip's gratitude and apology:

"Which dear old Pip, old chap...you and me was ever friends. And when you're well enough to go out for a ride--what larks!"

After this, Pip does visit Joe and Biddy at the forge, and the old friendship between Joe and Pip is renewed.