How does Capote feel about the other members of the household?

In this short memoir piece, Truman Capote recalls his relationship with his elderly cousin with whom he lived as a child. Capote's mother committed suicide when he was young, and he was sent to live with relatives. He is closest to his cousin he describes in the story as his "friend" (in reality she was an aunt). He says the two of them were somewhat apart from the rest of the household: 

Other people inhabit the house, relatives; and though they have power over us, and frequently make us cry, we are not, on the whole, too much aware of them. We are each other's best friend.

There is an antagonistic and adversarial tone to this description. The "relatives" are not described as individuals, or named; they are seen as a group apart from Buddy and his friend. The relatives are also a source of stress and fear: they have "power" over Buddy and his friend, and "frequently" make them cry. But Buddy's close friendship with his cousin and the camaraderie they share helps to bolster them from the unpleasantness that comes from dealing with the other relatives.

We see an example of this after Buddy and his cousin enjoy a small amount of whiskey after they finish baking their fruitcakes. They are discovered giggling and a bit tipsy by the relatives:

Enter: two relatives. Very angry. Potent with eyes that scold, tongues that scald. Listen to what they have to say, the words tumbling together into a wrathful tune: "A child of seven! whiskey on his breath! are you out of your mind? feeding a child of seven! must be loony! road to ruination! remember Cousin Kate? Uncle Charlie? Uncle Charlie's brother-inlaw? shame! scandal! humiliation! kneel, pray, beg the Lord!"

We see here also that the attitudes about God and religion are quite different from those expressed by Buddy or his friend, who later says she understands that God is not to be found in the afterlife but in the blessings, beauty and small pleasures of everyday living.

In Kafka's Metamorphosis how does Gregor's relationship change between his family, or does it stay the same?

After his transformation into a large insect, Gregor's family is horrified and disgusted by him. Eventually, they decide that he must be "gotten rid of," and no longer see him as capable of human thoughts or emotions. While remembering his family with love, Gregor quietly dies.

Gregor's father treats him coldly and strikes out at his son after discovering his metamorphosis. Later, the father throws fruit and causes Gregor serious injury. Gregor's father shows him...

After his transformation into a large insect, Gregor's family is horrified and disgusted by him. Eventually, they decide that he must be "gotten rid of," and no longer see him as capable of human thoughts or emotions. While remembering his family with love, Gregor quietly dies.

Gregor's father treats him coldly and strikes out at his son after discovering his metamorphosis. Later, the father throws fruit and causes Gregor serious injury. Gregor's father shows him little sympathy both as a human and an insect.

Gregor's mother feels sorry for her "unlucky son," and desires to see him after his transformation. However, she faints from the shock. Later, she attempts to protect Gregor from her husband. She remains largely helpless and passive toward Gregor throughout the novella.

Gregor is very fond of his younger sister, Grete. She is the most sympathetic to his plight and takes responsibility for his care by bringing him food and cleaning up after him despite her obvious revulsion. Later, she grows to resent her duty toward Gregor. She is the one who changes the most toward Gregor, insisting at the novella's end that the family must be rid of him for good.

What is a writ? |

A writ is an order issued by the court to either a lower court or to government officials. There are many types and many purposes for writs, but usually they are employed in situations where a court needs something done but has found usual remedies lacking. The writ of habeas corpus, for example, is the most famous sort of writ in the United States. A writ of habeas corpus is a legal document ordering any...

A writ is an order issued by the court to either a lower court or to government officials. There are many types and many purposes for writs, but usually they are employed in situations where a court needs something done but has found usual remedies lacking. The writ of habeas corpus, for example, is the most famous sort of writ in the United States. A writ of habeas corpus is a legal document ordering any law enforcement agency or official who has taken a prisoner to bring them to court. Without habeas corpus, a prisoner may not have access to a speedy trial, and, as in colonial times, could be held without seeing a judge for a very long time.

A writ of mandamus is another form of writ sometimes employed by courts in the United States: It is an order by the court to a government official not under their jurisdiction to take some action. In the famous Marbury v. Madison, the court issued a writ (order) to the Secretary of State. Marbury, a judge who had not received his commission, wanted the court to issue a writ ordering the Secretary to deliver commissions (job offers), which Marbury felt he was legally bound to do but had not done. The court reviewed the law but did not issue the writ, establishing the practice of judicial review.

What are Macbeth's strengths and weaknesses as revealed in Act 1?

The first thing we learn about Macbeth is how "brave" he is (1.2.18).  His actions are described by the Captain, who calls him "Valor's minion" due to his courage in battle (1.2.21).  This, surely, is a strength no matter how we look at it.

After he hears the Weird Sisters' predictions that he will become Thane of Cawdor and then king, and the first part of the prediction comes true, we see that Macbeth is ambitious because he would be happy to possess the crown.  He says to himself, "Glamis and Thane of Cawdor! / The greatest is behind" (1.3.125-126).  In other words, the best part of the prophecy is yet to come.  Many would consider ambition to be a strength, but because it leads him to behave in unscrupulous ways, we might think of it as a weakness.  He will become more and more ruthless in his quest to gain this title as the act progresses.

At first, Macbeth does not incline toward violence in order to satisfy his ambition.  He says, 

If chance will have me king, why, chance may
     crown me
Without my stir.  (1.3.157-159)

He hopes that since the title of Cawdor fell into his lap that the title of king will too.  However, once he learns that Duncan has named his son, Malcolm, as his heir, Macbeth realizes that if he wants to become king quickly, he will have to resort to violence.  He says,

Stars, hide your fires;
Let not light see my black and deep desires.
The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.  (1.4.57-60)

He asks the stars to put out their light so that no one can see the evil things he's wishing.  He won't let his eye look at what his hand does, and yet he's still going to do the thing that his eye would be afraid to watch.  He has resolved upon violence.  Such a speedy transition shows that Macbeth is relatively easy to corrupt.  For a moment, he hopes he will have to do nothing untoward in order to ascend to the throne, but the moment he encounters the very first obstacle, he resolves to murder.  Thus, we learn that he is disloyal as well.  We don't often think of these qualities as strengths.

In the next scene, Lady Macbeth's reaction to his letter allows us to get a clearer picture of what Macbeth was like before the play began.  She fears that his nature is "too full o' th' milk of human kindness / To catch the nearest way" to the throne (1.5.17-18).  She believes that he is too good to consider violence as a means to that end.  He must have been a fairly compassionate and gentle man prior to the war and the prophecy.  She obviously considers this a weakness and would applaud, as a strength, Macbeth's growing ruthlessness and disloyalty.  For Macbeth, himself, his growing brutality leads to his undoing, so we might consider it a weakness.

We see, in Scene 7, that Macbeth does have a conscience, at least for a time.  He hallucinates as a result of his anxiety prior to committing the murder, and he does attempt to back out of the plan.  However, when Lady Macbeth insults his manhood, wounding his pride, he once again resolves on violence.  Thus, we have further proof of how easily corruptible he is as well as evidence of his excessive pride, both traits we would consider to be obvious weaknesses.  

What is the problem in Firegirl by Tony Abbott?

In Tony Abbott’s young adult novel, Firegirl, there is both internal and external conflict or problems. Jessica, a young girl who is badly burned in a car fire, faces many medical procedures, location moves for treatment, but most of all, she faces the lack of acceptance for her medical condition by classmates. As she moves from school to school to be near treatment hospitals, she faces scrutiny from the other students. The Catholic school...

In Tony Abbott’s young adult novel, Firegirl, there is both internal and external conflict or problems. Jessica, a young girl who is badly burned in a car fire, faces many medical procedures, location moves for treatment, but most of all, she faces the lack of acceptance for her medical condition by classmates. As she moves from school to school to be near treatment hospitals, she faces scrutiny from the other students. The Catholic school that she enters for this school year is no different. Students, especially Jeff, refuse to hold her hand or sit near her during classroom activities. This is trying for many of her classmates as they struggle to decide how to deal with the situation while they conjure up stories about what happened in the fire.

One character, Tom, experiences much inner conflict as he deals with situations that arise. He realizes that his best friend, Jeff, is not dealing with Jessica in an acceptable manner and it bothers him deeply. Tom lives near Jessica. The teacher asks him to bring homework to her after she misses a number of days. He has to decide whether to spend the afternoon with his friend Jeff or to deliver the homework. He makes the right choice in delivering the homework and learns the truth about the fire. He remains conflicted because the other students are less accepting than he is. He and Jessica have a quiet friendship and when she announces that she will be moving again for more treatment, he finds himself actually feeling sad knowing that he will miss her and that he will never see his best friend in the same way.

What are some basic principles of genetics?

Genetics is the branch of biology that studies heredity and how genes are passed on from generation to generation. Gregor Mendel is accredited with being the “Father of Genetics” because he was one of the first scientists to study the inheritance of traits.

Genes are segments of DNA. DNA stands for deoxyribose nucleic acid. DNA is made of smaller building blocks called nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of a deoxyribose sugar, a phosphate group, and a...

Genetics is the branch of biology that studies heredity and how genes are passed on from generation to generation. Gregor Mendel is accredited with being the “Father of Genetics” because he was one of the first scientists to study the inheritance of traits.

Genes are segments of DNA. DNA stands for deoxyribose nucleic acid. DNA is made of smaller building blocks called nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of a deoxyribose sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogen base. There are four kinds of nitrogen bases in DNA. DNA’s nitrogen bases are adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. The order of the nucleotides determines the gene that an individual will have.

Most human genes are made of at least two alleles. Alleles are possible forms or varieties of a gene. In basic genetics, individuals receive on allele from each parent for each trait. Alleles can be dominant or recessive. Dominant genes are the “stronger” variety of the gene, while recessive alleles are considered to be “weaker." Dominant alleles are represented with a capital letter. Recessive alleles are represented with lowercase letters.

Genotypes refer to the allele combinations that an individual contains. Phenotypes are the physical characteristics represented by genotypes.

Genotypes can be homozygous dominant, heterozygous, or homozygous recessive. If homozygous dominant, an individual has a genotype with two dominant alleles and will show the dominant phenotype. If heterozygous, an individual has one dominant and one recessive allele. Because a dominant allele is present, the individual will show the dominant phenotype. Homozygous recessive genotypes contain two recessive alleles. This is the only way that an individual can manifest the recessive phenotype when dealing with basic genetics.

What are 5 quotes about the social status of Bob Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Bob Ewell and his family are social outcasts in Maycomb.

The first example of Bob Ewell’s social status is when his young son Burris appears in Scout's class.  It is through Burris that we are introduced to the priorities and conditions of the Ewell family.  The teacher Miss Caroline is upset when she finds lice in Burris’s hair.  She tells him to go home and take a bath.  He laughs at her and says he has done his time for the year—she is not sending him home, he was about to go home himself.  Scout and one her classmates decide to explain the Ewells to her flustered teacher.

“He’s one of the Ewells, ma’am,” and I wondered if this explanation would be as unsuccessful as my attempt. But Miss Caroline seemed willing to listen. “Whole school’s full of ‘em. They come first day every year and then leave. (Ch. 3)

This quote demonstrates that the Ewells have a reputation.  Everyone expects them to be dirty, ornery, and illiterate.  We learn that there are a lot of Ewell children, but they are all pretty much like little Burris, who has been in first grade for three years.  Little Chuck Little stands up for the teacher and forces Burris to leave, and he responds by calling the teacher a “slut.”

Even Atticus, who seems willing to offer respect and compassion for anyone, appears to have none for the Ewells.

Atticus said the Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations. None of them had done an honest day’s work in his recollection. … They were people, but they lived like animals. (Ch. 3)

Atticus tells Scout that the Ewells prefer to live this way, and there is no way to make them change.  They do not work within the system, and the system just allows it.  Exceptions are made for them because they are unable or unwilling to exist within the civilized world.  Scout says that she has never heard her father talk about anyone else the way he talks about the Ewells, whom he called “trash” (Ch. 12).

Although having been a member of the town for the longest time usually gains a person respect, this is not the case with the Ewells.  Their family is not respected.  Their ways are passed down from generation to generation.

The tribe of which Burris Ewell and his brethren consisted had lived on the same plot of earth behind the Maycomb dump, and had thrived on county welfare money for three generations. (Ch. 13)

The town is used to its opinion of the Ewells, and the Ewells are used to the town’s opinion of them.  However, as poor and disparaged as the Ewells are, they are still higher than the blacks in the town’s hierarchy.  Racism requires people to stand up for the Ewells rather than the Robinsons, because they are white and the Robinsons are not.

All the little man on the witness stand had that made him any better than his nearest neighbors was, that if scrubbed with lye soap in very hot water, his skin was white. (Ch. 17)

The Ewells live near the town dump.  They subsist on welfare and hunting rabbits and squirrels.  The children are uneducated, dirty, and infected.  Mayella is the only Ewell that attempts to keep herself clean and have pretty things in the yard.

Bob Ewell is known to be a drunkard, and is portrayed as ignorant and abusive.  Scout reflects during the trial that the Ewells are outcasts among their own people, white people, because they live “among pigs,” but blacks are not supposed to associate with them because they are white.

Nobody said, “That’s just their way,” about the Ewells. Maycomb gave them Christmas baskets, welfare money, and the back of its hand. (Ch. 19)

The Ewells exist outside of the society of Maycomb.  Other than with a few token efforts, no one attempts to help them because they do not help themselves.

Explain the process of fertilisation in plants.

Plants contain organs for sexual reproduction, located inside their flowers.

Male organs are called stamens. In the anther at the top of the stamen, pollen grains are produced which contain haploid sperm cells.

Female organs are called pistils. The pistil is vase-- shaped. At the top, is the stigma which is sticky to catch pollen grains. The style is a thin neck-like structure and this leads to the ovary at the bottom...

Plants contain organs for sexual reproduction, located inside their flowers.

Male organs are called stamens. In the anther at the top of the stamen, pollen grains are produced which contain haploid sperm cells.

Female organs are called pistils. The pistil is vase-- shaped. At the top, is the stigma which is sticky to catch pollen grains. The style is a thin neck-like structure and this leads to the ovary at the bottom of the pistil which contains ovules. These in turn, contain egg cells and polar cells. 

Plants have a double fertilization. Once pollination occurs and pollen is transferred from the male stamen to the stigma at the top of a female pistil, the pollen grain germinates downward. A pollen tube forms and elongates. Once the tube reaches the ovary, it joins to the ovule and one sperm enters and fertilizes the egg cell located inside. This becomes the zygote and later, the embryo plant.

In flowering plants (angiosperms), another sperm enters the ovule and joins with the two polar nuclei to become endosperm material. This forms the food for the developing embryo plant. The ovule containing the embryo plant and food material develops a hard covering and is known as a seed. The ovary which contains the ovules expands in size to become the fruit.

Anything that contains seeds is therefore technically a fruit or ovary and the seeds are technically the ovules which contain an embryo plant with a food supply. 

The link provided has nice illustrations of the male and female reproductive systems in angiosperms.

Can the process of gentrification help everyone? Does it tend to help only the people moving in? Gentrification is real, but is it good?

By definition, gentrification is the process of changing an area from low-income standards to middle-class standards.  To state whether it is good or bad depends on one's perspective.

Low-income neighborhoods tend to be blighted and crime-ridden.  This is not because the people themselves are "bad," but because their ability to maintain and protect themselves is compromised by the very factors that contribute to their economic status.  They are generally people with limited ability to raise themselves...

By definition, gentrification is the process of changing an area from low-income standards to middle-class standards.  To state whether it is good or bad depends on one's perspective.

Low-income neighborhoods tend to be blighted and crime-ridden.  This is not because the people themselves are "bad," but because their ability to maintain and protect themselves is compromised by the very factors that contribute to their economic status.  They are generally people with limited ability to raise themselves above the poverty level.  This may be due to a variety of reasons, including lower levels of education or health issues.

As far as the economy is concerned, gentrification is a good thing.  It changes an area of low value to one of higher value.  There is a raising of the tax base. There is the introduction of new business.  The higher class of citizens demand, and provide for, more aesthetically pleasing surroundings.  Typically, the standards of living are increased.

However, what becomes of those occupants who cannot, or have no desire to, keep up?  They become displaced.  If they are lucky, they find alternate low-income neighborhoods to inhabit.  If they are not so lucky, they become part of the growing number of homeless.

In order for gentrification to become a win/win situation, the new citizens of the neighborhood MUST be responsible for aiding those that they have displaced.  After all, they have profited by being able to "buy low" and have the opportunity to restore these blighted communities.  Their ability to do so is at the expense of the people who have served as place keepers until someone more affluent could take over. 

In Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, why doesn't Jane go to India with St. John?

Jane does care for her cousin St. John, but more like a brother. She considers his proposal of marriage very seriously because it was not uncommon back in the 19th century for a girl to marry a cousin or to marry without romantic feelings. Some marriages, in fact, were done for wealth, social status, or mere survival and without love. But Jane Eyre is not a common English girl. She is an intelligent and passionate...

Jane does care for her cousin St. John, but more like a brother. She considers his proposal of marriage very seriously because it was not uncommon back in the 19th century for a girl to marry a cousin or to marry without romantic feelings. Some marriages, in fact, were done for wealth, social status, or mere survival and without love. But Jane Eyre is not a common English girl. She is an intelligent and passionate woman who knows what she wants and won't settle for anything less. After being tricked by her true love, Mr. Rochester, considering St. John for marriage would be logical and safe for a woman in her circumstances. Jane always dreamed to have a safe and loving family because she didn't grow up with one. St. John could have provided that for her, but deep down she knows that he is emotionally and passionately unavailable for her.

For example, Jane knows that St. John deeply and passionately loves Rosamond, but he turns down a deep, passionate love with her because he values his ministry over living a life for himself. It's as if St. John feels he must suffer throughout life and deny himself joy in order to get to heaven; and this, in fact, is not how Jane feels at all. Jane is a good and pious woman, but she also seeks the best for herself. She knows she would not be happy with St. John down the road or immediately. Jane explains the situation as follows:

"Alas! If I join St. John, I abandon half myself: if I go to India, I go to premature death. And how will the interval between leaving England for India, and India for the grave, be filled? Oh, I know well! That, too, is very clear to my vision. . . He will never love me; but he shall approve me" (411-412).

Later, she tells him she will go as his sister but not as his wife, so she doesn't completely reject him. But she can't bring herself to live a lie. He rejects the sister idea because it would look bad and bring up suspicions among those he teaches and works with. So, it doesn't work out for Jane and St. John to marry.

How do the man behind the desk and Eckels describe the opponent of the newly-elected president? Why is this part of the narrative significant in "A...

The man behind the desk and Eckels describe the opponent of their new president as a man who is against everything. They are both relieved that the president is another man. This part of the narrative is significant because it acts as foreshadowing of what is to come in the short story.

After Eckels enters the office of Time Safari, Inc., he chats briefly with the man behind the desk about the ramifications of time travel: 

"Makes you think, If the election had gone badly yesterday, I might be here now running away from the results. Thank God Keith won. He'll make a fine  President of the United States."

The clerk concurs,

If Deutscher had gotten in, we'd have the  worst kind of dictatorship. There's an anti everything man for you, a militarist, anti­-Christ, anti­-human, anti­-intellectual.

Ironically, however, after Eckels, who has paid thousands of dollars to travel back in time sixty million years in order to shoot a Tyrannosaurus Rex, becomes too frightened to shoot this mammoth and forbidding animal; instead, he flees and slips off the anti-gravity path. He commits this action despite having been told by the guide Travis to not touch anything in this world of the past because

[A] little error here would multiply  in sixty million years, all out of proportion.

Indeed, radical change is what occurs because when Eckels reboards the ship, he has mud on the bottom of his shoes. One of the guides worried about fines and other negative repercussions, makes Eckels find the bullets in the dead monster so that there is no proof of their having been there. But, neither the other men nor Eckels realize that a small, dead butterfly lies in the mud of the sole of his boot. In fact, it is not until Eckels returns and finds a sign which he cannot read that he discovers the butterfly on the bottom of the boot. Incredulous that this insect has caused alterations in present time, Eckels asks the new clerk who won the presidency. The man replies,

"You joking? You know very well. Deutscher, of course! Who  else? Not that fool weakling Keith. We got an iron man now, a man with guts."

What the original man behind the desk has mentioned as a horrible possibility now has come true.

`int_0^1 r^3 / sqrt(4 + r^2) dr` Evaluate the integral

`int_0^1r^3/sqrt(4+r^2)dr`

Let's first evaluate the indefinite integral using the method of substitution,

Substitute `x=4+r^2, =>r^2=x-4`

`=>dx=2rdr` 

`intr^3/sqrt(4+r^2)dr=int(x-4)/(2sqrt(x))dx`

`=1/2int(x/sqrt(x)-4/sqrt(x))dx`

`=1/2int(sqrt(x)-4/sqrt(x))dx`

`=1/2((x^(1/2+1)/(1/2+1))-4(x^(-1/2+1)/(-1/2+1)))`

`=1/2((x^(3/2)/(3/2))-4(x^(1/2)/(1/2)))`

`=x^(3/2)/3-4x^(1/2)`

substitute back `x=r^2+4`  and add constant C to the solution,

`=(r^2+4)^(3/2)/3-4(r^2+4)^(1/2)+C`

Now let's evaluate the definite integral,

`int_0^1r^3/sqrt(4+r^2)dr=[(r^2+4)^(3/2)/3-4(r^2+4)^(1/2)]_0^1`

`=[(1^2+4)^(3/2)/3-4(1^2+4)^(1/2)]-[(0^2+4)^(3/2)/3-4(0^2+4)^(1/2)]`

`=[(5)^(3/2)/3-4(5)^(1/2)]-[4^(3/2)/3-4(4^(1/2)]` 

`=[(5^(3/2)-12(5)^(1/2))/3]-[(2^2)^(3/2)/3-4*2]`

`=[5^(1/2)((5-12)/3)]-[2^3/3-8]`

`=[-7/3sqrt(5)]-[8/3-8]`

`=(-7/3sqrt(5))-((8-24)/3)`

`=-7/3sqrt(5)-(-16/3)`

`=-7/3sqrt(5)+16/3`

`=1/3(16-7sqrt(5))`

`int_0^1r^3/sqrt(4+r^2)dr`

Let's first evaluate the indefinite integral using the method of substitution,

Substitute `x=4+r^2, =>r^2=x-4`

`=>dx=2rdr` 

`intr^3/sqrt(4+r^2)dr=int(x-4)/(2sqrt(x))dx`

`=1/2int(x/sqrt(x)-4/sqrt(x))dx`

`=1/2int(sqrt(x)-4/sqrt(x))dx`

`=1/2((x^(1/2+1)/(1/2+1))-4(x^(-1/2+1)/(-1/2+1)))`

`=1/2((x^(3/2)/(3/2))-4(x^(1/2)/(1/2)))`

`=x^(3/2)/3-4x^(1/2)`

substitute back `x=r^2+4`  and add constant C to the solution,

`=(r^2+4)^(3/2)/3-4(r^2+4)^(1/2)+C`

Now let's evaluate the definite integral,

`int_0^1r^3/sqrt(4+r^2)dr=[(r^2+4)^(3/2)/3-4(r^2+4)^(1/2)]_0^1`

`=[(1^2+4)^(3/2)/3-4(1^2+4)^(1/2)]-[(0^2+4)^(3/2)/3-4(0^2+4)^(1/2)]`

`=[(5)^(3/2)/3-4(5)^(1/2)]-[4^(3/2)/3-4(4^(1/2)]` 

`=[(5^(3/2)-12(5)^(1/2))/3]-[(2^2)^(3/2)/3-4*2]`

`=[5^(1/2)((5-12)/3)]-[2^3/3-8]`

`=[-7/3sqrt(5)]-[8/3-8]`

`=(-7/3sqrt(5))-((8-24)/3)`

`=-7/3sqrt(5)-(-16/3)`

`=-7/3sqrt(5)+16/3`

`=1/3(16-7sqrt(5))`

What might a utilitarian say to try to justify the Omelas system?

A utilitarian would point to how much happiness the citizens of Omelas experience in order to justify its system of governance.

In assessing an action's value, the utilitarian uses the justification of how much good is expanded to as many people as possible. When philosopher Jeremy Bentham explains the concept of "utility," it is rooted the expansion of "happiness:"

Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure... By the...

A utilitarian would point to how much happiness the citizens of Omelas experience in order to justify its system of governance.

In assessing an action's value, the utilitarian uses the justification of how much good is expanded to as many people as possible. When philosopher Jeremy Bentham explains the concept of "utility," it is rooted the expansion of "happiness:"

Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure... By the principle of utility is meant that principle which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever according to the tendency it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in question: or, what is the same thing in other words to promote or to oppose that happiness.

Bentham suggests that the "measure of government" is to "promote the happiness of society."

This happiness principle can be used to justify the structure of Omelas.  The system of Omelas is one whereby all "happiness" is dependent on the child's "abominable misery."  The suffering experienced is far less than the happiness that is gained from it.  Society is able to experience pleasures such as knowledge, beauty, harvest, and skills because of the child's predicament. The result is that more people prosper and experience happiness in Omelas. This utilitarian would use this metric to justify the Omelas system.

Which cave formation is formed along the walls of the cave where water flows and calcite is deposited?

In talking about the floor of the cave, where water is flowing in a stream-like fashion, it is a structure known as a rimstone dam.  This is a structure that has a slight upturn, similar to an outer rim on a soup bowl.  It is formed as a result of calcite deposition in areas where the water flow slows enough for the calcite to precipitate out of solution.

Other structures that are the product...

In talking about the floor of the cave, where water is flowing in a stream-like fashion, it is a structure known as a rimstone dam.  This is a structure that has a slight upturn, similar to an outer rim on a soup bowl.  It is formed as a result of calcite deposition in areas where the water flow slows enough for the calcite to precipitate out of solution.

Other structures that are the product of calcite deposition are the stone icicles that descend from a cave's ceiling, called stalactites.  These are formed as a result of calcite in water, dripping through cracks in the cave's ceiling.  Over time, the calcite builds up layer by layer, and forms a stone icicle.  These stone icicles can generate from the cave's floor as well.  These are called stalagmites.  Sometimes, the deposition will be sufficient enough to generate a stalactite formation from the ceiling and a stalagmite formation from the floor.  When they join in the middle, this is called a column.

Why did dinosaurs go extinct?

Dinosaurs flourished and dominated the earth for about 186 million years, during the Mesozoic Era. Dinosaurs went extinct at the end of the Mesozoic era and at the beginning of the Paleogene period, the first period of the Cenozoic Era. About 65.5 million years ago, a giant asteroid hit the earth in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. It is estimated that the asteroid had a 10 km diameter and was about the size of a small town. The...

Dinosaurs flourished and dominated the earth for about 186 million years, during the Mesozoic Era. Dinosaurs went extinct at the end of the Mesozoic era and at the beginning of the Paleogene period, the first period of the Cenozoic Era. About 65.5 million years ago, a giant asteroid hit the earth in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. It is estimated that the asteroid had a 10 km diameter and was about the size of a small town. The asteroid hit our planet so strong that, after the impact, which was 2 million times more powerful than the most powerful explosive ever detonated by humans, it formed the Chicxulub crater. The ambient temperature immediately rose in some areas to as high as 1,480 degrees Celsius, which led to the burning of forests and of all things unprotected.

The powerful impact caused several very large earthquakes. These caused volcanic eruptions, mostly in the area known as the Ring of Fire. Another consequence of the devastating earthquakes was the generation of a huge tsunami, which also contributed to the destruction of several species of animals and plants found in the impact zone of killer waves.

The dust that resulted from the formation of the crater and the ash that resulted from volcanic eruptions caused the formation of a cloud that surrounded the entire planet. This cloud threw Earth into a long night for several months. The immediate effect was decreased sunlight and, therefore, the disappearance of several species of plants. 

As a consequence, this affected herbivorous dinosaurs. A chain reaction ensued, with carnivorous predators also disappearing as their food supply dwindled.

Scientists consider the idea that a small percentage of dinosaurs survived this planetary cataclysm and their total disappearance was a slow process.

How does the author sympathize Shmuel and Bruno in "Boy in the Striped Pajamas"?

John Boyne creates sympathy for the characters Shmuel and Bruno throughout the novel by placing them in challenging situations and surrounding them with difficult people. Boyne chose to depict Shmuel as a sickly, skinny boy who is typically sad throughout the novel. The reader feels sympathy for Shmuel's difficult situation, and his physical appearance.Shmuel is often hungry and scared throughout the novel. He explains what it is like living with eleven people in one...

John Boyne creates sympathy for the characters Shmuel and Bruno throughout the novel by placing them in challenging situations and surrounding them with difficult people. Boyne chose to depict Shmuel as a sickly, skinny boy who is typically sad throughout the novel. The reader feels sympathy for Shmuel's difficult situation, and his physical appearance. Shmuel is often hungry and scared throughout the novel. He explains what it is like living with eleven people in one room, and recalls how his family was separated. Boyne also creates sympathy for Shmuel by putting him compromising situations, like when Lieutenant Kotler beats him for supposedly "stealing" food from Bruno's fridge. When Shmuel tells Bruno that he lost his father, the reader feels sympathy for his character because they can assume Shmuel's father is dead.

Boyne creates sympathy for Bruno throughout the novel by placing his character in an unfamiliar, dreary environment in the middle of nowhere. The reader feels sympathy for Bruno when he comments on how bad he hates his new house, and how he misses his friends at home. Bruno lives with his difficult sister and has to deal with Nazi guards who treat him with contempt, like Lieutenant Kotler. Bruno does not get his way throughout the novel, and is forced to keep his best friend a secret. The reader sympathizes with Bruno's difficult circumstances when he cannot play with his only friend. Boyne creates the utmost sympathy for both characters when they unknowingly are being led to the gas chambers. By juxtapositioning the innocence of childhood with the inhumane conditions of a WWII concentration camp, readers begin to sympathize with these helpless children stuck in a horrendous circumstance.

In this story "The Sniper", does the sniper experience internal or external conflict?

In this story, the sniper experiences both internal and external conflict.   The external conflict demands most of the events in the story.  He is in a civil war in Ireland, and other soldiers are shooting at him.

“Placing a cigarette between his lips, he struck a match, inhaled the smoke hurriedly and put out the light.  Almost immediately, a bullet flattened itself against the parapet of the roof.” (pg 1)

He is in a battle...

In this story, the sniper experiences both internal and external conflict.   The external conflict demands most of the events in the story.  He is in a civil war in Ireland, and other soldiers are shooting at him.

“Placing a cigarette between his lips, he struck a match, inhaled the smoke hurriedly and put out the light.  Almost immediately, a bullet flattened itself against the parapet of the roof.” (pg 1)

He is in a battle with soldiers on the other side of the street.  When he is in battle mode, he doesn’t appear to have any internal conflict.  He knows that his situation is kill or be killed. When an armored car arrives, he easily kills the man in the turret as well as the woman who pointed out his position.  She was jeopardizing his life, and he had to eliminate her.

When he kills the other sniper, and his life is relatively safe, he starts to have an internal conflict. 

“The lust for battle died in him.  He became bitten by remorse….. he revolted from the sight of the shattered mass of his dead enemy.  His teeth chattered, he began to gibber (talk incoherently) to himself, cursing the war, cursing himself, cursing everybody.” (pg 2)

He starts to relax from the battle, and head to his company commander to report when he decides to take a look at his opponent, the other sniper he had shot.  He respected him because he had been a good shot.  When he turns the body over, he sees that he shot his brother.  Although the author ends the story at that point, the reader can imagine the internal conflict he had after that experience. 

Why does Polonius say that he will spy on Hamlet's conversation with his mother?

Polonius is attempting to help King Claudius, Hamlet's uncle and step-father, ascertain the cause of Hamlet's strange behavior.  Though Hamlet's behavior changed with the death of his father and the very quick remarriage of his mother to his uncle, his oddness has deepened in ways that seem inexplicable.  They worry that he is going "mad."

To get to the bottom of this, Polonius and Claudius stage a scene where they can observe an interaction between...

Polonius is attempting to help King Claudius, Hamlet's uncle and step-father, ascertain the cause of Hamlet's strange behavior.  Though Hamlet's behavior changed with the death of his father and the very quick remarriage of his mother to his uncle, his oddness has deepened in ways that seem inexplicable.  They worry that he is going "mad."

To get to the bottom of this, Polonius and Claudius stage a scene where they can observe an interaction between Hamlet and Polonius's daughter, Ophelia, who used to be in a relationship with Hamlet until Polonius made her break it off.  Polonius believes, having heard the two speak together, that "The origin and commencement of his grief / Sprung from neglected love" (3.1.191-192).  In an effort to get Hamlet to reveal the cause of his grief, Polonius suggests that they "Let his queen-mother all alone entreat him" to open up to her (3.1.196).  He says, 

Let her be round with him;
And I'll be placed, so please you, in the ear,
Of all their conference.  (3.1.177-179)

Polonius volunteers to hide himself in the room so that he can hear everything that Hamlet says and report it faithfully back to Claudius.  He elaborates on this a bit more, later, when he says,

'Tis meet that some more audience than a mother,
Since nature makes them partial, should o'erhear
The speech of vantage. (3.3.34-36)

In other words, since mothers are partial to their children, Gertrude might be naturally inclined to report the conversation to her husband somewhat less faithfully than one who sees Hamlet more objectively.  Polonius doesn't imply that she would have any intention to deceive, but, rather, that she would inherently want to protect her son and keep his confidence.

Since the particles in a liquid move freely but are still relatively close together, how does that change the thickness of the liquid?

The particles in a liquid are much closer together than in a gas, and are free-flowing. The thickness of a liquid, which is called viscosity, is caused by attractions between particles. A liquid that's very viscous doesn't necessarily have particles that are closer together or moving slower, but it does have stronger attractions between the particles. Water is more viscous than pure ethanol because water molecules are more attracted to each other. This also explains...

The particles in a liquid are much closer together than in a gas, and are free-flowing. The thickness of a liquid, which is called viscosity, is caused by attractions between particles. A liquid that's very viscous doesn't necessarily have particles that are closer together or moving slower, but it does have stronger attractions between the particles. Water is more viscous than pure ethanol because water molecules are more attracted to each other. This also explains why ethanol evaporates faster than water.

You've probably noticed that when ice melts, the liquid that forms doesn't have an observable difference in viscosity from water at a higher temperature. Pure substances melt at a precise temperature and go abruptly from solid to liquid rather than slowly softening and thinning.

Mixtures of substances tend to change viscosity with a temperature change. For example honey, which is an aqueous solution of a sugar, becomes less viscous when heated. Most oils do the same, because they're a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules. This happens because the presence of a different substance interferes with the ability of one substance to crystallize.

In act 1 of Importance of Being Earnest, is what happened over the sandwiches funny?

Yes, definitely!  It might not be a laugh-out-loud, rolling-on-the-floor kind of laughter, but it is humorous and allows us to continue to sketch Algernon's character.

First, Algernon tells Jack, "Please don’t touch the cucumber sandwiches.  They are ordered specially for Aunt Augusta," who he is expecting at any moment.  However, he's been eating them, as Jack tells us, throughout their whole conversation, and he eats another one now.  So, he's not willing to share them...

Yes, definitely!  It might not be a laugh-out-loud, rolling-on-the-floor kind of laughter, but it is humorous and allows us to continue to sketch Algernon's character.

First, Algernon tells Jack, "Please don’t touch the cucumber sandwiches.  They are ordered specially for Aunt Augusta," who he is expecting at any moment.  However, he's been eating them, as Jack tells us, throughout their whole conversation, and he eats another one now.  So, he's not willing to share them with Jack, even though he's eaten several himself.  Algy is pretty selfish and cares a great deal for appearances, and based on what he's said, he seems to be saving those sandwiches for his aunt; however, his actions differ from his words and betray his lack of respect for that woman.

Then, by the time Aunt Augusta has arrived, Algernon has actually eaten all of the cucumber sandwiches.  When she asks for one, he "pick[s] up [the] empty plate in horror," and says -- in mock surprise -- to his butler, "Good heavens!  Lane!  Why are there no cucumber sandwiches?  I ordered them specially."  Lane, his butler, is apparently so used to his employer acting in this dishonest manner that he covers for him smoothly, saying, "There were no cucumbers in the market this morning, sir.  I went down twice."  This is clearly a lie, too, because, of course, there were cucumbers in the market and they were used to make the cucumber sandwiches that Algernon already ate.  It's a completely ridiculous situation.  Algernon knew that his aunt preferred cucumber sandwiches, and so he very easily could have not eaten them and avoided this whole situation; however, it conveys quite a bit about his character that he is willing to put on this little show rather than simply deny himself a small pleasure.  Lying comes easily to him, and he is quite willing to do it, especially when he will take pleasure for himself in the process.
 

What are the first two things Alexandra says when she comes to the Finch house in To Kill a Mockingbird? Are these typical of her or not?

Aunt Alexanra tells Calpurnia to put her bag in the house and tells Scout to stop scratching her head.

When Aunt Alexandra shows up at the Finch house unexpectedly, she does not greet the children or Calpurnia.  She immediately behaves as if she owns the place and starts ordering everyone around.

“Put my bag in the front bedroom, Calpurnia,” was the first thing Aunt Alexandra said. “Jean Louise, stop scratching your head,” was the second thing...

Aunt Alexanra tells Calpurnia to put her bag in the house and tells Scout to stop scratching her head.

When Aunt Alexandra shows up at the Finch house unexpectedly, she does not greet the children or Calpurnia.  She immediately behaves as if she owns the place and starts ordering everyone around.

“Put my bag in the front bedroom, Calpurnia,” was the first thing Aunt Alexandra said. “Jean Louise, stop scratching your head,” was the second thing she said. (Ch. 13)

This behavior is typical of Alexandra.  She and Scout do not have a loving relationship.  Scout sees her as cold and bossy.  The incident at Christmas confirms this, because Scout found out that Alexandra said terrible things about Atticus defending Tom Robinson.  Scout was also highly annoyed by her cousin Frances, who was a chip of Alexandra’s block.

Atticus tells Scout that Aunt Alexandra does not understand girls much, because she had no daughters.  This means that she tends to want to interfere with Scout’s life and try to show her how to be a lady.

Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants. (Ch. 9)

Scout is not thrilled to see Alexandra on her porch.  When she finds out her aunt is staying to support her brother during the trial, she is even less happy about it.  She knows the two of them will never get along.

The relationship between Scout and Alexandra is a rocky one.  Alexandra represents all of the old ways that Atticus has carefully avoided in raising his children. She believes the Finches are better than anyone else because of how long they have lived in Maycomb, while Atticus tried to teach his children to value people for who they were. Yet in her own way, Alexandra is just trying to help Scout by making sure that she is raised the right way.

Are readers expected to feel sorry for Judy and Dexter? Explain the ways in which the story inspires sympathy for the two main characters.

Fitzgerald's stories often portray young men in love with women who are beautiful, unusual, and unattainable. They are not unattainable because they are not interested in romance; in fact the opposite is true, these young women tend to want to explore romantic dalliances with a variety of men, keeping most of them at arm's length. Judy Jones is one of these young women. She understands the power she has over young men and manipulates them...

Fitzgerald's stories often portray young men in love with women who are beautiful, unusual, and unattainable. They are not unattainable because they are not interested in romance; in fact the opposite is true, these young women tend to want to explore romantic dalliances with a variety of men, keeping most of them at arm's length. Judy Jones is one of these young women. She understands the power she has over young men and manipulates them by showing them just enough affection and attention to keep them interested, while she holds them at arm's length emotionally.

Dexter falls in love with her when the two of them are still quite young, and he allows himself to be manipulated by her for years. It is easy to feel sorry for Dexter because he seems to be wasting his time, letting the years go by in a kind of haze, waiting for Judy to feel as strongly for him as he does for her. Despite convincing himself he does not really want to be with someone who uses him as Judy does, deep down he knows he'd drop everything to be with her. He even allows Judy to seduce him away from his fiancé, Irene. Dexter is portrayed as somewhat foolish but also hopelessly romantic.

Judy, on the other hand, is not as easy to feel sympathy for. She treats men badly, taking advantage of them for her own amusement and ego gratification. Even when she tells Dexter she wants to marry him, she is merely playacting for attention, bored with the constant flurry of boyfriends to express her loneliness and boredom, knowing Dexter will satisfy her whims and do as she asks. But when the last scene reveals, by way of an acquaintance of Judy's husband, that Judy's beauty and vitality have faded, and that she has married a man who does not treat her like royalty, we can identify with Dexter's shock and even with his sadness. 

How do I evaluate the significance of Lister’s work within the overall development of surgery?

To evaluate the significance of Joseph Lister’s work, you would have to consider that between fifty and eighty percent of surgical patients died prior to the development of proper sterilization techniques before and after surgical procedures. Through his work, Lister proved that unseen organisms, bacteria, were causing infections that killed people after undergoing surgery. He determined that cleanliness was of the utmost importance to the successful outcome of surgery. He applied the use of carbolic...

To evaluate the significance of Joseph Lister’s work, you would have to consider that between fifty and eighty percent of surgical patients died prior to the development of proper sterilization techniques before and after surgical procedures. Through his work, Lister proved that unseen organisms, bacteria, were causing infections that killed people after undergoing surgery. He determined that cleanliness was of the utmost importance to the successful outcome of surgery. He applied the use of carbolic acid to clean the operating room, including the air, the surgical dressings, and the patient. In addition, he determined that if he worked with clean hands, instruments, and clothing, the spread of infection was reduced and surgical success increased. After he instituted these methods, infections after surgery in his hospital were reduced significantly. Although his methods were impressive, it took more than ten years for them to be put into practice throughout Europe. His findings were published in The Lancet in 1867.

Joseph Lister’s findings and procedures are important in contemporary operating rooms on a daily basis. Therefore, when evaluating Joseph Lister’s contributions, it is important to take into account the number of lives saved by the institution of sterile surgical procedures that continue to be perfected today.

What is the difference between the schools in The Giver and American schools today?

It can be argued that American schools today are similar in some ways to the schools in The Giver.  For example, in American schools children are grouped by grade.  In The Giver, they are grouped by age.  However, there are many differences between the two.

In The Giver, education is focused on teaching societal norms, learning about various careers within the Community, and using language correctly.  There are also lessons on technology....

It can be argued that American schools today are similar in some ways to the schools in The Giver.  For example, in American schools children are grouped by grade.  In The Giver, they are grouped by age.  However, there are many differences between the two.

In The Giver, education is focused on teaching societal norms, learning about various careers within the Community, and using language correctly.  There are also lessons on technology.  However, there seems to be less of an academic focus compared to American schools.  In the book, the main purpose of school is to train students to be citizens who conform to the expectations of the Community and to prepare for a specific career.  In American schools, students learn about literature, music, and art in additional to reading, writing, math, science, and social studies.  There is no art, music, or literature in the schools in The Giver because all of those things have been forgotten by everyone except for the Giver himself.  Also, most American schools are not focused on career preparation until high school.  

It is clear that Lois Lowry used traditional schooling as a basis for education in her novel.  From there, she created a very different system.

Who coined the term sociology?

The term sociology was first coined by Auguste Comte, considered by many the father of sociology, in a series of writings entitled Course on Positive Philosophy, published in six volumes between 1830-1842. It was in these works, that Comte wrote about the philosophy of all the sciences (mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, and biology), and developed a philosophy for a new, final science, based on all of these other sciences, sociology. His works stated that sociology would...

The term sociology was first coined by Auguste Comte, considered by many the father of sociology, in a series of writings entitled Course on Positive Philosophy, published in six volumes between 1830-1842. It was in these works, that Comte wrote about the philosophy of all the sciences (mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, and biology), and developed a philosophy for a new, final science, based on all of these other sciences, sociology. His works stated that sociology would be the final science developed, and that only by understanding the other sciences, would one be able to use sociology to study social interactions. This differs slightly from modern day sociology, where the emphasis on the study of the understanding of the other science disciplines, before being able to study sociology, is not nearly as great. Comte went on to develop his ideas on sociology further in later works, and for this is considered the founder of sociology today. Hope this helps!

Tell me about the game of Ombre in The Rape of the Lock.

In Canto III of the Rape of the Lock, Belinda challenges the Baron to Ombre, a popular card game among wealthy people at that time. Ombre, meaning man (hombre in Spanish) is an ancestor to our modern game of Bridge and was usually played with three people. The second link below leads to a powerpoint with a detailed explanation of how the game is played and some commentary of The Rape of the Lock.

In...

In Canto III of the Rape of the Lock, Belinda challenges the Baron to Ombre, a popular card game among wealthy people at that time. Ombre, meaning man (hombre in Spanish) is an ancestor to our modern game of Bridge and was usually played with three people. The second link below leads to a powerpoint with a detailed explanation of how the game is played and some commentary of The Rape of the Lock.

In the poem, the card game becomes another example of the mock-heroic. Pope uses his poem to make fun of the way privileged people of his era had given up pursuing goals that took genuine courage, resolution and energy. Instead, they wasted their time on trivial pursuits. The idea that a card game takes up 82 lines of this Canto, from 18-100, indicates how much time people in this world spent on recreation.  

Pope likens Belinda and the Baron's face off in a card game to two armies meeting in a field of battle. But in this case, the armies are merely decks of cards, though Pope personifies them into behaving like real kings, queens and generals. That Belinda and Baron invest so much competitive spirit into a mere card game critiques the way the upper classes use their gifts.

How has Armand reacted when the baby is first born?

After the baby is born, Armand is "the proudest father"; in fact, he is so happy that he becomes more lenient with his slaves.

As Désirée talks with her mother who pays her a visit, she answers her mother's question about Armand's first reactions upon seeing their baby, declaring that Armand is so proud because his baby is a boy. Apparently, however, Madame Valmondé has seen something in the baby for her to have asked this question. This...

After the baby is born, Armand is "the proudest father"; in fact, he is so happy that he becomes more lenient with his slaves.

As Désirée talks with her mother who pays her a visit, she answers her mother's question about Armand's first reactions upon seeing their baby, declaring that Armand is so proud because his baby is a boy. Apparently, however, Madame Valmondé has seen something in the baby for her to have asked this question. This is something that Désirée already has noticed; for, when the baby was nearly three months old, Désirée sensed that there was something subtle "menacing her peace." There were many far-off neighbors who came to see the baby, and her husband does not look her in the eye anymore.  

He absented himself from home; and when there, avoided her presence and that of her child, without excuse. And the very spirit of Satan seemed suddenly to take hold of him in his dealings with the slaves. Désirée was miserable enough to die.

When a quadroon (one-fourth African) boy who fans her one day, Désirée notices that he bears a strong likeness to her baby, and she begins to understand what has caused others to peer at the child.

“Armand,” she panted once more, clutching his arm, “look at our child. What does it mean? tell me.”

Her husband bluntly tells her that the baby is not white; she is not white. Poor Désirée believes him because she was a foundling. But, the irony of the story is that it is Armand who is not white. Even though the story of Armand's baby ends badly, when the baby is first born, Armand is happy and sees a happy future. 

Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is set during the Great Depression of the 1930's. How does this economic catastrophe affect the actions of characters...

Most of the country's economics in the early twentieth century was agriculturally based. A high percentage of families lived and worked on farms for their livelihoods. When Scout asks if they were as poor as the Cunninghams, her father gives her an answer that includes the effects of the stock market crash of 1929, which preceded the Great Depression:

"'Not exactly. The Cunninghams are country folks, farmers, and the crash hit them the hardest' ....

Most of the country's economics in the early twentieth century was agriculturally based. A high percentage of families lived and worked on farms for their livelihoods. When Scout asks if they were as poor as the Cunninghams, her father gives her an answer that includes the effects of the stock market crash of 1929, which preceded the Great Depression:

"'Not exactly. The Cunninghams are country folks, farmers, and the crash hit them the hardest' . . . Atticus said professional people were poor because the farmers were poor. . . As the Cunninghams had no money to pay a lawyer, they simply paid us with what they had" (21).

Atticus proceeds to explain that he accepts any goods that Mr. Cunningham has to use as payment in order to pay off his bill. This is also called paying in-kind. Hence, because of the Great Depression, people like the Cunninghams found other ways to pay for things they needed. 

As far as Tom Robinson is concerned, he was employed as a picker for Mr. Link Deas. He probably earned far less than a white man would because of social inequality at the time, but he earned money rather than farming his own land. When Tom was arrested, he couldn't work; so, his church collected money for his wife Helen and three children. The collection goal was to raise $10.00, which doesn't seem like much at all.

"To our amazement, Reverend Sykes emptied the can onto the table and raked the coins into his hand. He straightened up and said, 'This is not enough, we must have ten dollars'" (122).

The Reverend Sykes had to hold his congregation hostage until they coughed up the money dime by dime. Many of the congregation may have been prejudiced against Helen and Tom for the rape allegations, but for the most part, it was probably just hard to raise $10.00 because of the economic hardships that everyone suffered at that time.

In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Changez claims he is a lover of America, but he hints at a more complex and conflicted relationship. What...

Changez loves America because it has offered him opportunities he may not have had in his home country of Pakistan. Throughout the book he travels to America for university, and is hired as a businessman and becomes very successful. He has a great apartment and even meets and falls in love with a girl- Erica. Changez has a great life in America that is very different from the one he would have had if he had stayed in Pakistan. So, yes, Changez loves America.

This love is complicated, though. At the same time, America has offered Changez lots of opportunity, wealth, and friendship, he is viewed as an outsider and sometimes an enemy. This book is very much about the attitudes towards Muslim and Muslim-passing people in the United States after the tragedy of September 11th, 2001. Changez is a Pakistani man with dark skin and a beard- the very caricature of what most Americans thought "the enemy" looked like. Even though Changez has a successful life, he feels like an outsider and a threat because he knows he looks like what people think the enemy looks like. Amidst all the opportunity and wealth, which would normally foster happiness, he can't help but feel uncomfortable.

On another level, it is difficult for Changez to entirely embrace his life in America when his family remains in Pakistan. He isn't sure he should give himself so wholeheartedly to a country that is suspicious of him.

What are some examples of expectation vs reality in Great Expectations?

Pip expected to marry Estella, but it turned out that his money did not come from Miss Havisham.

Pip is convinced that his fortune came from Miss Havisham.  It makes sense, since she is the only rich person he knows.  He thinks that he was given the money so that he can become a gentleman and marry Estella.  Boy is he wrong.

When Pip realizes that Magwitch, and not Miss Havisham, is his benefactor, he is horrified.  First of all, he is the adopted son of a criminal.  This is not something that advances him in society at all.  Also, he is guilty by association.  The worst part, however, is that he doesn’t get to marry Estella.

Miss Havisham's intentions towards me, all a mere dream; Estella not designed for me; I only suffered in Satis House as a convenience, a sting for the greedy relations, a model with a mechanical heart to practise on when no other practice was at hand; those were the first smarts I had. (Ch. 39)

As far as Pip is concerned, most of his life has been a lie.  Since he was young he has loved Estella.  Since he received his expectations he has assumed that he would marry her. To find out that he was wrong is horrifying.  He realizes that he has turned his back on people who did care about him, like Joe, and he didn’t need to.

Another example of the difference between expectations and reality is Magwitch.  He gave everything he had to Pip, and considered him a son from afar.  Even though Pip had no idea that Magwitch was his benefactor, Magwitch felt pride in Pip’s progress toward being a gentleman.  When he arrived, he found that Pip did not exactly welcome him with open arms.  Pip was actually horrified of him.  Eventually Pip accepted responsibility for Magwitch, and after a while showed him affection, but things were rocky.

Miss Havisham was facing her own battle between expectations and reality.  She raised Estella to get revenge on men, and expected her to go out and break hearts and continue to do her bidding.  Estella had different ideas though. She married Drummle to get back at Miss Havisham and take herself out of the game.

"You should know," said Estella. "I am what you have made me. Take all the praise, take all the blame; take all the success, take all the failure; in short, take me." (Ch. 38)

Estella was incapable of love.  This was what Miss Havisham's training did to her.  By turning Miss Havisham's methods against her, Estella gets some small measure of revenge.  It broke Miss Havisham's heart (or what little was left of it).

In the end, no one is happy.  Miss Havisham, Pip, Estella, and Magwitch are all miserable.  They all had high expectations, but reality crushed them.

I need help developing an essay that responds to the following prompt: Explain how Lessing makes his case in the form of a play set in Jerusalem...

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's (1729 – 1781) play, Nathan the Wise, was published in 1779 but immediately condemned by the Church. It was first performed in 1783 and was considered highly controversial in its treatment of religion. It is a plea for religious tolerance. The eponymous character, Nathan, was based on Moses Mendelssohn (1729- 1786), a German Jewish professor who was a close friend of Lessing's.

The play is set in Jerusalem during the Third...

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's (1729 – 1781) play, Nathan the Wise, was published in 1779 but immediately condemned by the Church. It was first performed in 1783 and was considered highly controversial in its treatment of religion. It is a plea for religious tolerance. The eponymous character, Nathan, was based on Moses Mendelssohn (1729- 1786), a German Jewish professor who was a close friend of Lessing's.

The play is set in Jerusalem during the Third Crusade. This was a period that marked direct conflicts and interactions between Jews, Muslims, and Christians, who all revered Jerusalem as a holy site. Lessing in this play is arguing that as all the Abrahamic religions spring from the same root, they are all, as it were, offspring of the same God, who stands as a parent to all three.

The key metaphor he uses is the parable of the three rings given by a father to his three sons, whom he loves equally. The father makes three identical copies of the ring, so that no son can actually know if he is the heir. Thus each son is encouraged to behave as best as he can to show himself worthy of the inheritance. Nathan says that the three Abrahamic religions are like this, all equally beloved of God, their father, and none able to prove itself more authentic than the others. He emphasizes that it is an act of false pride to find only one's own tradition worthy of respect:

The worst of superstitions is to think

One's own most bearable.

The Sultan echoes this point of view in the following critique of Christianity:

Their pride is to be Christians, never men ;  

Ay, even that which since their Founder's time

Hath tinged their superstition with a touch

Of pure humanity, is prized by them

Never because 'tis human, but because

'Twas preached and practised by their Jesus

In other words, the point is that doing good and human deeds are what make a religion good, rather than the deeds being justified by the name of the God in whose honor they are done. The final plot twist, in which the true identities of the young lovers are revealed, proves that the accident of one's ancestry is less important than how one lives one's life.

`2x + 3y =0, 4x + 3y - z = 0, 8x + 3y + 3z = 0` Solve the system of linear equations and check any solutions algebraically.

Eq1: `2x+3y=0`

Eq2:`4x+3y-z=0`

Eq3:`8x+3y+3z=0`

Multiply equation 2 by 3,

`12x+9y-3z=0` 

Now add the above equation and equation 3,

`(8x+3y+3z)+(12x+9y-3z)=0`

`8x+12x+3y+9y+3z-3z=0`

`20x+12y=0`

`4(5x+3y)=0`

`5x+3y=0`

Now let's solve the above equation and equation 1,

`2x+3y=0`

`5x+3y=0`

Subtract the above equations

`2x-5x=0`

`-3x=0`

`x=0`

Substitute back the value of x,

`2x+3y=0`

`2(0)+3y=0`

`3y=0`

`y=0`

Plug in the value of x and y in equation 2,

`4(0)+3(0)-z=0` ` `

`-z=0`

`z=0`

Solutions of the equations are x=0, y=0 and z=0

Eq1: `2x+3y=0`

Eq2:`4x+3y-z=0`

Eq3:`8x+3y+3z=0`

Multiply equation 2 by 3,

`12x+9y-3z=0` 

Now add the above equation and equation 3,

`(8x+3y+3z)+(12x+9y-3z)=0`

`8x+12x+3y+9y+3z-3z=0`

`20x+12y=0`

`4(5x+3y)=0`

`5x+3y=0`

Now let's solve the above equation and equation 1,

`2x+3y=0`

`5x+3y=0`

Subtract the above equations

`2x-5x=0`

`-3x=0`

`x=0`

Substitute back the value of x,

`2x+3y=0`

`2(0)+3y=0`

`3y=0`

`y=0`

Plug in the value of x and y in equation 2,

`4(0)+3(0)-z=0` ` `

`-z=0`

`z=0`

Solutions of the equations are x=0, y=0 and z=0

How does “A Rose for Emily” represent the difference between the Old South and the New South?

William Faulkner’s work often showcases the changing times in southern society, and no story does this more effectively or more compactly than his short story “A Rose for Emily.” In this story, obsolete ideas and traditions from pre-Civil War days clash with the more modern ways of the New South. We see this exemplified in the story of Miss Emily Greirson, the remaining member of an aristocratic family that once embodied the glory days of...

William Faulkner’s work often showcases the changing times in southern society, and no story does this more effectively or more compactly than his short story “A Rose for Emily.” In this story, obsolete ideas and traditions from pre-Civil War days clash with the more modern ways of the New South. We see this exemplified in the story of Miss Emily Greirson, the remaining member of an aristocratic family that once embodied the glory days of the Old South.

The Old South is represented by Miss Emily herself and in the once-grand house she still inhabits. Once ornate and pristine, the house has fallen into decay, representing the crumbling of the Old South. As the remaining member of the Greirson family and the social status associated with it, Miss Emily too is a representative of a time and place that no longer exist. The world has moved on, but Miss Emily and her home have not. The best example of this is the tax bills she continually ignores, claiming an exemption granted by a former mayor of the city who has long been dead.

Another example is Miss Emily’s beau, a young laborer from the North who comes to make changes to the town. Surprising everyone, Miss Emily becomes infatuated with Homer Barron, but this unlikely pairing is eventually doomed, suggesting once again the clash of the Old South and the New. It is not until the end of the story that we learn that Homer Barron has remained – a corpse – in an upstairs bedroom of Miss Emily’s home. Furthermore, evidence suggests that Miss Emily has lain by his side the whole time. Not able to reconcile the Old South with the New, she remained imprisoned in her decaying home with the decaying body of her lover, until they were ultimately united in death.

Where did the two roads diverge?

The two roads are not real roads but are a metaphor for a problem the speaker, presumably Robert Frost himself, encountered at a certain stage in his life. He was traveling, metaphorically, on a single road which diverged in a "yellow wood."He had to choose one road or the other. This certainly sounds like a career choice. Frost obviously wanted to be a poet. But this is an extremely precarious, if not impossible, career....

The two roads are not real roads but are a metaphor for a problem the speaker, presumably Robert Frost himself, encountered at a certain stage in his life. He was traveling, metaphorically, on a single road which diverged in a "yellow wood." He had to choose one road or the other. This certainly sounds like a career choice. Frost obviously wanted to be a poet. But this is an extremely precarious, if not impossible, career. Dante uses a metaphor similar to Frost's in the opening lines of his Inferno.

IN the midway of this our mortal life,
I found me in a gloomy wood, astray
Gone from the path direct: 

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
Mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,
Che la dirrita via era smarrita.

It would seem that Frost is writing about having to make a choice, common enough for aspiring artists of all kinds, of living very frugally and devoting his life to his poetry. What is unusual about the metaphor of the roads diverging is that they form a single image that dominates most of the entire poem. The metaphor is so dominant that it may persuade the reader that it is a real fork in a real wood--which it is not.

Frost chose to take the "road" which symbolized a life of simplicity and austerity. We can see in many of his most famous poems that he lived close to nature and did a lot of work with his own hands. He wrote about the "Thoreauvian" kind of life he had to lead in order to be free to devote most of his time to his poetry. This can be seen in poems like "Mending Wall" and "Two Tramps In Mud Time." In the last stanza of "The Road Not Taken," Frost seems to be wondering whether all his sacrifices were worth it. But that could have been the case regardless of which of the two roads he had chosen. 

Who is the protagonist of The Great Gatsby?

Your question is a complicated one since we, the readers, only see what our narrator, Nick Carraway, relays for us. Our perception of the characters is filtered through Nick's own bias and judgement. So if we ask who the protagonist of the novel is according to Nick, we could say confidently that it is Jay Gatsby. Nick admires Gatsby for his audacity and his dreams. He knows by the end of the story...

Your question is a complicated one since we, the readers, only see what our narrator, Nick Carraway, relays for us. Our perception of the characters is filtered through Nick's own bias and judgement. So if we ask who the protagonist of the novel is according to Nick, we could say confidently that it is Jay Gatsby. Nick admires Gatsby for his audacity and his dreams. He knows by the end of the story that Gatsby is a fraud named Gatz who made his money through bootlegging and illegal gambling, but despite all that he finds himself impressed by his neighbor's relentless and exuberant determination in pursuing his dream of rekindling his five-year-old relationship with Daisy Buchanan. As Nick writes:

If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life.… [Gatsby had] an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again.

In fact, Gatsby comes to represent, in Nick's mind, the American Dream itself. Nick writes:

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.… Tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.… 

While Nick tells the tale, so that we might think of him as the protagonist, he focuses his spotlight on Gatsby, backing most of his [Nick's] own story out, telling it, usually, in quick summaries or through suggestive, fragmented hints. Gatsby is the figure who has captured his imagination. It is for Gatsby that Nick's prose soars to lyrical levels. For Nick, and perhaps also for the reader, all the other character's pale against pink-suited Gatsby's romantic tragedy, and the collapse of his oversized dreams. 

Evaluate Chris Watters as a potential husband for Edie in How I Met My Husband.

I would suggest that Chris Waters lacks the qualities that would make him a good husband for Edie.

The symbol of an airplane is appropriate for Chris Watters.  He's always on the move.  He does not believe in remaining in one place.  In the story, he says to Edie, "I'll tell you a secret.  I won't be around her much longer."  This encapsulates why Chris's potential as a suitor is lacking.  Later on in this...

I would suggest that Chris Waters lacks the qualities that would make him a good husband for Edie.

The symbol of an airplane is appropriate for Chris Watters.  He's always on the move.  He does not believe in remaining in one place.  In the story, he says to Edie, "I'll tell you a secret.  I won't be around her much longer."  This encapsulates why Chris's potential as a suitor is lacking.  Later on in this exchange, he tells her that "A plane can get further than a car."  Chris is focused on leaving one place and moving onto another.  

This approach to life is in stark contrast to Edie.  Edie is young and embraces the dreams of domestic happiness.   She believes in marriage and settling down with a husband. She embraces the attachment that comes along with marriage.  Chris's desire for freedom makes him unsuitable as a husband for Edie.  When Edie waits each day for the mail between 1:30 and 2:00 in the afternoon, it is in the hopes of receiving a letter, something that Edie later learns was never going to arrive.  Chris's inability to embrace domestic responsibility and the ties that go with emotional commitment reduces his potential as a husband for Edie.  

What are the challenges involved in designing a formal experiment?

An experiment is conducted to study the effect of variation in one (or more) variable on another variable. The variable that is varied is known as the independent variable. A formal experiment needs to have a defined aim or objective, hypothesis statement, identified variables, and a control group or sample. An experiment is supposed to yield some data which, upon analysis, is expected to help us test the hypothesis. 

The common challenges that are faced...

An experiment is conducted to study the effect of variation in one (or more) variable on another variable. The variable that is varied is known as the independent variable. A formal experiment needs to have a defined aim or objective, hypothesis statement, identified variables, and a control group or sample. An experiment is supposed to yield some data which, upon analysis, is expected to help us test the hypothesis. 

The common challenges that are faced in design of formal experiment include identification of variables, sample selection, control of other parameters, selection of a control sample or group, hypothesis formation and testing, etc. An efficient experimenter also needs to remove any human or machine error, including bias.

One of the big challenges of a formal experiment is that it should "work." Speaking from personal experience, experiment will often not work due to uncontrolled variables or will not yield significant data, etc. An experimenter needs to account for all of that in his/her design.

Hope this helps.

Now suppose that you go to your bank and write a check on your account payable to cash for $500. The teller gives you the cash without asking you...

The simplest definition of a holder in due course is as follows: (i) a person who receives a check in good faith and as an exchange for value and (ii) has no suspicion that the check has a prior claim by another party and (iii) has no knowledge that the instrument was previously dishonored qualifies as a holder in due course.  The holder in due course statute can be found in the Uniform Commercial Code, Section 3-302.

Based on the facts in your example, Carol has received the check from the teller as payment for a gambling debt, so the check has been given to her in exchange for value (that is, the gambling debt).  Carol also has no suspicion, based on the presentation of the check, that the bank for whom the teller works has a prior claim to the check--in other words, she has no reason to question the legitimacy of the check or that it might have been previously dishonored.  Under Section 3-302(a)(i) of the UCC, the instrument cannot appear to be "irregular or incomplete as to call into question its authenticity."  So, the bank might argue that Carol should have been suspicious of the check's origin because it has been signed by a third party--that is, not the teller who owes the debt--but the teller could easily allay Carol's suspicion by lying convincingly that the check represents a debt owed to the teller by the signatory of the check.  In other words, there is nothing inherent in the instrument itself that would cause Carol to doubt its authenticity or its negotiability.

As the holder in due course, Carol has the right to endorse the check and receive the funds.  Unless the bank, which has been defrauded by its teller, can prove that Carol somehow should have known that the instrument is not negotiable, the bank's recourse is against the teller, not Carol.

What are two reasons why the Americans won the American Revolution? How did foreign individuals help the United States during the American...

While there were many factors that influenced the American Revolution, I think two in particular stand out as important in securing victory for the colonists despite their large economic and military disadvantage:1. Home-field advantage2. Support from France(1) It may seem obvious, but it's quite important that the colonists were defending their own home turf, while the British were forced to cross the Atlantic Ocean. While the Americans had local sources of food,...

While there were many factors that influenced the American Revolution, I think two in particular stand out as important in securing victory for the colonists despite their large economic and military disadvantage:

1. Home-field advantage
2. Support from France

(1) It may seem obvious, but it's quite important that the colonists were defending their own home turf, while the British were forced to cross the Atlantic Ocean. While the Americans had local sources of food, ammunition, and equipment, the British had to maintain supply lines thousands of miles long. While the Americans knew the terrain and could execute guerilla warfare, the British were on unfamiliar ground and trained only in conventional military tactics.

(2) Yet even this would not have been enough without the support of France. In 1778, France and the colonies signed the Treaty of Alliance and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, uniting their interests in both military and economic terms. Benjamin Franklin was particularly important in securing the alliance with France. The colonies still had quite limited production capacity, so they were unable to supply sufficient amounts of weapons, ammunition, and even uniforms by themselves---the French made up the gap. American naval forces were nowhere near as powerful as the British Navy; France's navy was also not quite as powerful, but it was at least able to hold its own. French naval forces were vital in undermining Britain's supply lines across the Atlantic.

How can pollen be dispersed?

Pollen is the product of the male reproductive system of a plant and needs to be dispersed, ideally, away from the parent plant. This pollen dispersal increases genetic diversity, protects the species from extinction and reduces the competition between the plants for resources. A number of agents are used for the dispersal of pollen. Many flowering plants use bees and other insects for pollen dispersal. Some other plants may use birds for pollen dispersal. These...

Pollen is the product of the male reproductive system of a plant and needs to be dispersed, ideally, away from the parent plant. This pollen dispersal increases genetic diversity, protects the species from extinction and reduces the competition between the plants for resources. A number of agents are used for the dispersal of pollen. Many flowering plants use bees and other insects for pollen dispersal. Some other plants may use birds for pollen dispersal. These pollinators (the organisms that causes pollination by dispersal) need to be attracted towards the pollen source. That is why many plants produce nectar. Wind and water are known agents of pollen dispersal. Wind can carry the pollen great distances. Similarly, any pollen that falls into water can also be carried away to distant regions. This increases the chance of pollination of a flower farther away, increasing the odds of the seedlings growing in some region far away from the parent plant. This will give both plants greater access to resources without competition between the parent plant and seedling.

Hope this helps.  

Is Juliet a static or dynamic character?

Throughout the course of a story, characters may experience change. If a character does not change during the story, that character is considered static. On the other hand, if a character does change, that character is considered dynamic. With this idea in mind, I think it’s best to categorize Juliet as a dynamic character since her opinions about marriage change and she becomes more independent.

In Act I, Scene III, Lady Capulet comes to talk to Juliet about getting married. When Lady Capulet asks Juliet what she thinks about getting married, she blatantly says, “It is an honor that I dream not of.” In other words, she has zero interest in marrying anyone; in this specific case, they are referring to Paris.

Shortly after in Act I, Scene V, at the ball in which Paris is supposed to woo Juliet, she catches a glimpse of Romeo. Without even knowing his name, Juliet is infatuated with Romeo: “If he be married / My grave is like to be my wedding bed.” She’ll die if Romeo is already married. Keep in mind, this comment is coming from the girl who said marriage isn’t even on her radar just two scenes ago. In fact, in Act II, Scene II, she proposes marriage to Romeo:

“Three words, dear Romeo, and good night indeed. 

If that thy bent of love be honorable,

Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow,

By one that I’ll procure to come to thee,

Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite,

And all my fortunes at thy foot I’ll lay

And follow thee my lord throughout the world.”

Back to the conversation between Lady Capulet and Juliet in Act I, Scene III, Lady Capulet pleads that Juliet makes an attempt to like Paris, to which she responds, “I’ll look to like, if looking liking move. / But no more deep will I endart mine eye / Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.” With that, Juliet is agreeing to obey her parents’ wish, but she isn’t making any promises about the outcome.

After Romeo and Juliet have already been married by Friar Lawrence, in Act III, Scene V, Lady Capulet tells Juliet she will marry Paris, “Marry, my child, early next Thursday morn / The gallant, young, and noble gentleman, / The County Paris, at Saint Peter’s Church, / Shall happily make thee there a joyful bride.”

While Juliet has already declared her independence from her parents by marrying Romeo in the first place, it is only after Juliet refuses to marry Paris that she displays her independence to them. Lord Capulet responds angrily (and, quite frankly, abusively) to her disobedience and what he views as ungratefulness.  

In Pope’s "An Essay on Man," how does the speaker cast humankind’s relationship to both God and His creation? Support your answer with examples...

Alexander Pope's poem “An Essay on Man” was an expression of his philosophy of man's place in the universe. Pope called this philosophy the “Great Chain of Being,” and through it sought to examine man's place in this chain that had God at the top,inanimate objects at the bottom, and an imperfect man somewhere in between.

Pope is critiquing the idea that mankind should be critical or judgmental of the God's creation. We can imagine...

Alexander Pope's poem “An Essay on Man” was an expression of his philosophy of man's place in the universe. Pope called this philosophy the “Great Chain of Being,” and through it sought to examine man's place in this chain that had God at the top,inanimate objects at the bottom, and an imperfect man somewhere in between.

Pope is critiquing the idea that mankind should be critical or judgmental of the God's creation. We can imagine him reacting to someone's claim that, because of some perceived injustice, cruelty, or suffering, God is in some way imperfect.

The most often quoted and studied section of the poem begins with the lines:

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;

The proper study of mankind is man.

Here Pope is admonishing those who believe they can “figure out” God. Mankind has no business trying to analyze the creator of the universe, the head of chain of being; instead, he should look to himself and try to understand his own nature.

Near the end of this section of the poem, Pope looks at how mankind fits into a very specific part of God's creation—Earth:

Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all;

Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurled:

The glory, jest, and riddle of the world.

In these lines it as though Pope is giving man a tryout as a god, calling him lord, judge, and a glory. But man falls short in each case; he is prey, in error, and a jest.

It is Pope's contention that mankind cannot measure up to God; he is too flawed. Not only can man not be God, he cannot even hope to understand God.

Why does John Steinbeck portray Curley’s wife as a threat?

Steinbeck was strongly suggesting that George was going to have to do something with Lennie because Lennie's interest in petting soft little animals was evolving into a sexual interest in little girls. Lennie doesn't understand his own impulses. He attacked a girl in broad daylight on the main street of the small town of Weed. He told George he only wanted to feel the material in her red dress. But Lennie lies to George all the time, and George, who wasn't present when the incident started, has only Lennie's word for what happened. If Lennie only wanted to feel the girl's dress--which was bad enough!--then why wouldn't he let go even when George was beating him over the head with a fence picket? 

Lennie does something similar with Curley's wife in the barn. He starts feeling her hair with her permission, but then he won't let go and she starts screaming and he ends up killing her. This looks like a case of murder in connection with attempted rape and makes George recall the Weed incident.

"I should have knew," George said hopelessly. "I guess maybe way back in my head I did."

What should George have known? He should have known that Lennie was a potential serial rapist and killer of underage girls. Why didn't Steinbeck make this more explicit? Because in the 1930s it would have been impossible to get such things printed. Steinbeck wanted Lennie to kill a girl at the ranch, and he wanted her to be as young as was logically possible. Curley's wife was only fifteen or sixteen. She tells Lennie she wanted to run a way with a man when she was fifteen and she was hanging around a dance hall in Salinas. She married Curley right after that.

Steinbeck portrays Curley's wife as a threat because he wanted a very young girl for Lennie's victim. He wanted Lennie to kill her so that George would end up killing him. He wanted George to kill Lennie to create a "shotgun ending" for the novel. He wanted the novel to end quickly because he intended to convert it into a play which would appear in New York in 1937, the same year the book was released. The play could not be longer than about an hour and a half, with perhaps one intermission. So the book, which Steinbeck called "a playable novel," had to be short. It reads like a treatment for the play. The dialogue is all contained in the novel, and the exposition is all contained in the dialogue; so it would be easy to convert it to a script for a stage play. The book is about migrant workers laboring in the fields, but there are no scenes of men working in fields or doing anything outdoors. Even when they pitch horseshoes the narrative only describes the sounds of horseshoes hitting the metal stakes. Nearly everything takes place in a bunkhouse or in the barn, where Crooks' little room is adjoining. It is intended for a low-budget production in New York. The scenes by the riverside campsite could be represented on a bare stage.

Lennie's wife is a threat because she is "jailbait," that is, she is underage and could get a man sent to prison for statutory rape. And she is a threat because she acts sexy and flirtatious. The men misunderstand her. She wants to be a movie star and is only trying out her charms on these workmen, the only audience available. The fact that she is so young explains why she doesn't know better than to get too friendly with Lennie and invite him to feel her hair. If she were more mature she might have handled the situation diplomatically. Instead of screaming, she might have spoken gently and distracted him. There seems little doubt that he would have ended up trying to rape her if she hadn't started struggling and screaming. 

But she was doomed from the start, because Stainbeck, the creator of all these characters, wanted Lennie to kill her, so that George would kill Lennie, so that the book, which is obviously very skimpy, could be converted immediately into a script for a stage play which would only run for perhaps an hour and a half. 

Steinbeck never specifies the age of the "girl" in Weed, but there is reason to believe that she was very young. (Someone has commented that a red dress might have symbolized that she was a loose woman. It could also suggest that she was just a little girl.) When George is berating Lennie about the incident that almost got them both killed by an angry mob: 

He took on the elaborate mananer of little girls when they are mimicking one another. "Jus' wanted to feel that girl's dress--jus' wanted to pet it like it was a mouse-- Well, how the hell did she know you jus' wanted to feel her dress? She jerks back and you hold on like it was a mouse...."

Twice George equates the dress with a mouse, seeming to show that Lennie is graduating from little animals to little girls. Why would George take on "the elaborate manner of little girls when they are mimicking one another" unless there was a little girl involved? Lennie was not attracted to the dress. He was lying about that. He was attracted to the girl, and he might have intended to tear the dress right off her. He has a child's mind but a grown man's sexual impulses. Steinbeck made Curley's wife as young as he logically could if she were going to be there because she was married.  Lennie is attracted to young girls because of his child's mind. He probably wouldn't be attracted to grown women. 

Some readers may reject this interpretation because they like Lennie and feel sorry for him. But they shouldn't feel too sorry for him. They ought to feel sorry for the little girls he might have attacked and murdered in the future if George had helped him escape from Curley's lynch mob.