Saturday, December 31, 2011

Please help me out with at least three points for the following debate topic: the government should limit civil liberties during a national crisis.

As Pushaw (2009; see the source below) notes, American Presidents' restrictions on civil liberties during war time or other times of national crisis did not lead to a complete revocation of those rights. In fact, these limits often led to greater rights or to making up the infringements on civil liberties later. For example, during the Civil War, President Lincoln revoked civil liberties in some border states. However, after the war, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were passed, ending slavery, granting African-American people citizenship, and granting all men the right to vote, respectively. In other words, one reason to revoke civil rights during times of crisis is to create or protect civil rights after the crisis has passed. It has been documented, according to Pushaw (2009) and other scholars, that a time in which civil liberties are revoked is usually followed by a period of greater civil liberties when leaders try to make up for the temporary infringement on civil liberties. 
In addition, Article I of the Constitution gives the government the right to revoke the writ of habeas corpus "when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.” In addition, in the case Schenck v. United States (1919), the Supreme Court ruled that Schenck's right to free speech (he mailed letters to draftees in World War I, telling them the draft was wrong) was not protected. The court ruled that speech that creates "a clear and present danger" can be prohibited, and the right to free speech that is protected in peace time is not always protected in wartime. Therefore, there is legal precedent and a constitutional right for the government to rescind civil liberties during national crises, such as wars. 
Finally, many of the enemies that pose a threat to the United States and other Western countries today do not come from large, organized entities such as countries. Instead, terrorists come from loosely organized groups, and they are not identifiable by uniforms or by association with organized armies. They use tactics that do not respect the rule of law. Therefore, in order to combat and contain these types of forces, some people argue that government cannot use traditional methods; instead, the government must use methods such as military tribunals and other means to hold these suspected or known combatants to keep our country safe. 
Source:
Pushaw, Robert J., Jr. (2009). "Justifying Wartime Limits on Civil Rights." Chapman Law Review Spring 2009 Symposium Issue. http://www.chapmanlawreview.com/archives/1556
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/249us47

What is some background information on the poet who wrote "Dulce et Decorum Est"?

"Dulce et Decorum Est" is one of Wilfred Owen's most famous poems. Owen was an active soldier who was killed in the final week of World War I at the age of 25, but his poems have survived him. Owen was born in Shropshire, an English county close to the border with Wales, and came from a lower-middle-class family; Owen attended public schools in Shrewsbury and later became a private tutor, living in France.
When the war broke out, Owen did not join the army immediately—he was not fueled by any particular fervor for war—but he did eventually join up, and he was commissioned in 1915. One particularly grotesque episode in Owen's military life, which saw him trapped in close proximity to a dead fellow officer for several days, resulted in his being diagnosed with "shell shock" (known as PTSD today). Owen very much knew of what he spoke when he wrote of war, unlike his fellow poet Rupert Brooke, to whom he is often compared. His horrific war experiences and subsequent diagnosis of shell shock were vitally important for him as a poet as well as a soldier; Owen was sent to Craiglockhart hospital in Edinburgh, where he met fellow poet Siegfried Sassoon.
Sassoon was a huge influence on Owen's poetry. Drafts still exist of Owen's famous poem "Anthem for Doomed Youth" showing Sassoon's revisions. Owen became passionately devoted to Sassoon. He wrote that he considered Sassoon to be "Keats & Christ & Elijah"—high praise from a young man who had idolized Keats as a poetic model. For this reason, it is very illuminating to compare Sassoon's poetry to Owen's and observe the influences.
When Owen returned to the front line in 1918, he was transformed as a poet, but he was ultimately killed in action late in the year. He received a Military Cross posthumously, and his poems were edited by Siegfried Sassoon to be published after his death. A huge amount of Owen's work, however, was faithfully destroyed by Owen's mother; Owen had given her a sack of early work to be burned upon his death, which she dutifully did.

What are the conflicts faced by Esther in The Endless Steppe?

The Endless Steppe follows ten-year-old Esther Rudomin and the challenges she is forced to face at such a young age. It is a coming-of-age story that truly showcases Esther's strength and resilience.
Esther is in fact taken away from her home and is forced to endure a very difficult journey without knowing where she is being taken. She arrives, after many troubles, in a village in Siberia which is far from hospitable.
However, despite being only a little girl, she is inquisitive and rather brave. She confronts the Russian soldiers when they reach her house, demanding an explanation for her family's arrest. In other situations, she continues to ask questions, confronting some authority figures while also making new friends.
Esther remains inquisitive, curious, and brave throughout the novel. She fearlessly adapts to any situation and refuses to be subjugated, even during such a difficult time as World War II. At school, she studies hard and reads anything she can get her hands on, encouraged by her literature teacher; on top of that, she uses her knitting skills to get a job in order to earn more money for her family.
Esther is proud and determined and learns to have hope and be happy even in the face of adversities.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

find critical points 2costheta + sin^2theta

We are asked to find the critical points for y=2cos theta + sin^2 theta :
Critical points of a function are where the first derivative of the function is zero or fails to exist. So we need to find y' and set it equal to zero.
y'=-2sin theta + 2sin theta cos theta , the second term using the power rule and the chain rule. This function exists everywhere, so we need only find the zeros:
-2sin theta + 2 sin theta cos theta=0
2sin theta (-1+cos theta)=0
Then either sin theta = 0 " or " -1+cos theta = 0
sin theta =0 ==> 0=k pi, k in ZZ and cos theta = 1 ==> theta = 2k pi, k in ZZ
Thus the critical points are all whole number multiples of pi.
(Note that the critical points are the only points where relative extrema can exist: from the graph we see that at each multiple of pi there is a maximum or minimum.)
The graph:
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/CriticalPoint.html

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

How does King use The Constitution and reasoning to support his argument for civil rights?

Martin Luther King, Jr. composed this letter to highlight his reasons for defying a law that prevented demonstrations, and more importantly, to persuade "men of genuine good will" to actively fight injustice and support the civil rights movement. King addresses the letter to clergymen specifically, and appeals to readers through common sense, biblical principles, and references to history, including documents such as the U.S. Constitution.
King uses reasoning to highlight the hypocrisy of people who vehemently oppose demonstrations, yet care nothing about the inequality that inspired the demonstrations. He details instances of brutality and segregation in Birmingham, as well as a failure on the part of those in power to right such wrongs, pointing out that a recent mayoral election had not expedited change. In the following famous quote, King decries the logic shared by many that said he should wait for a more opportune moment to protest:

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."

This appeal is designed to convict those guilty of apathy toward the immediate plight of black Americans. King notes that black Americans have waited more than 340 years for constitutional, God-given rights, and asserts that man has a moral obligation to break unjust laws. Combining knowledge of government with current events and theology, King points out that "a just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law." This point is designed to directly appeal to clergymen readers, who likely value a strict moral code in addition to religious precepts. An additional plea cites Christian ethics and respect for the U.S. judicial system, stating that

"...Segregation is not only politically, economically and sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful. Paul Tillich has said that sin is separation. Is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? Thus it is that I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court, for it is morally right; and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, for they are morally wrong.

King further caters to his audience by referencing civil disobedience demonstrated in the Bible by Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; this is contrasted with the legally sanctioned atrocities commited by law-abiding citizens in Nazi Germany. The Apostle Paul, John Bunyan, Martin Luther, Abraham Lincoln, and many more religious and historical figures are then cited, as is the Declaration of Independence. King asserts that men will all behave in radical ways, then asks his audience to consider which path they will choose in the following quote:

Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime--the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

This letter is inspiring, well-loved by many and is often quoted, as it is beautifully penned and filled with wisdom and reproach. Regrettably, one could easily argue that the text is equally as relevant in the United States today as it was at the time of King's writing.

Calculus of a Single Variable, Chapter 8, 8.3, Section 8.3, Problem 9

Recall that indefinite integral follows int f(x) dx = F(x) +C where:
f(x) as the integrand function
F(x) as the antiderivative of f(x)
C as the constant of integration..
For the given integral problem: int cos^2(3x) dx , we can evaluate this by using a trigonometric identity. Recall that:
cos^2(theta) = (1 + cos(2theta))/2 .
Applying the trigonometric identity, we get:
int cos^2(3x) dx = int (1 + cos(2* 3x))/2 dx
= int ( 1 + cos(6x))/2dx
=int ( 1/2 + cos(6x)/2)dx

Apply the basic integration property: : int (u+v) dx = int (u) dx + int (v) dx .
int ( 1/2) + cos(6x)/2)dx =int ( 1/2) dx + int cos(6x)/2dx
For the first integral: int (1/2) dx , we may apply basic integration property: int c dx = cx .
int (1/2) dx = 1/2x or x/2
For the second integral: int cos(6x)/2dx , we may apply basic integration property: int c f(x) dx = c int f(x) dx .
1/2 int cos(6x) dx .
Apply u-substitution by letting u = 6x then du = 6 dx or (du)/6 = dx .
1/2 int cos(6x) dx = 1/2 int cos(u) * (du)/6
= 1/2*1/6 int cos(u) du
= 1/12 sin(u)
Plug-in u = 6x on 1/12sin(u) , we get:
1/2 int cos(6x) dx = 1/12 sin(6x) or sin(6x)/12
Combining the results, we get the indefinite integral as:
int cos^2(3x) dx = x/2 + sin(6x)/12+C

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

What vocabulary words are significant in "The Swimmer's Moment"? What is a theme statement for the poem? What questions does it raise?

Some unfamiliar words in this poem are:
boon
contesting
estuary


You should read the poem to determine which words are unfamiliar to you. One word that is used in a slightly different way than usual is "contesting." In this poem, the word "contesting" means to fight against something. Another unusual word is "boon," meaning something good or beneficial. At the end of the poem, the word "estuary" appears, which means the place where a stream meets the tide. There might be other words that are unfamiliar to you; by defining them and getting their exact meaning, you can read the poem more accurately and figure out the poem's precise meaning.
The theme of this poem is that people must face their challenges, which are symbolized by the whirlpool. Some people merely stay on the outside of the whirlpool, but then they never know the secrets of those who have entered the whirlpool. People on the outside never know what others have experienced by facing the whirlpool.
You should think about the questions you have as you read this poem. Do you wonder, for example, why the author chose the whirlpool as a symbol for challenges? It is true that a whirlpool can present a challenge, but it can also be deadly. Do you think this is a fitting symbol for a challenge?

In "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" how does the tone change from vexed to relatable ?

For the majority of Edwards's sermon, the tone is indeed vexed. He uses shocking imagery to try to convince his audience to turn from their sinful ways and follow Christ. One of the most vivid images in the sermon is this one:

The God that holds you over the Pit of Hell, much as one holds a Spider, or some loathsome Insect, over the Fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked; his Wrath towards you burns like Fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the Fire; he is of purer Eyes than to bear to have you in his Sight; you are ten thousand Times so abominable in his Eyes as the most hateful venomous Serpent is in ours....and yet 'tis nothing but his Hand that holds you from falling into the Fire every Moment: 'Tis to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to Hell the last Night; that you was suffer'd to awake again in this World, after you closed your Eyes to sleep: and there is no other Reason to be given why you have not dropped into Hell since you arose in the Morning, but that God's Hand has held you up.

Edwards tries to lead his listeners to Salvation by forcing them to consider the dangers of Hell; he wants them to recognize the omniscient powers of God and realize that their lives could end at any moment. Edwards's ultimate goal is to shock his audience into seeing the truth of their precarious lives and to save them from eternal damnation. His tone is harsh, but he considers the implications of failing to get this message across worthy of the shock and vexation.
However, Edwards doesn't fill the audience with fear and then dismiss them. Right at the end, he approaches them with a message of hope, bringing the love of God to fill the places of fear. He tells them that they "have now an extraordinary Opportunity" to repent and follow Christ and that they can "become the holy and happy Children of the King of Kings." He ends with one final image of hope:

Therefore let every one that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the Wrath to come.

Though Edwards does not deviate from his core proposition that God's wrath will fall on sinners, he does provide a contrasting image of flying into freedom and eternal love with the decision to accept Christ. Providing his audience with images of hope makes the sermon not simply a condemnation but allows for a relatable path into a loving relationship with God.


The tone noticeably changes toward the end of Edwards's sermon because he wants to send his congregation home with some hope in their hearts. For most of the sermon, Edwards has scared the living daylights out of his audience, driving home with full force the message that God can consign sinners to hell any time he wants. He paints in lurid detail just what kind of exquisite torments sinners can expect should God see fit to confine them to the fiery depths of hell. It's no wonder that under such a sustained assault of hellfire and brimstone, many members of the audience passed out in fear.
However, Edwards doesn't just want to put the fear of God into his listeners. He also wants them to change their ways. That's why, toward the end of this speech, he holds out the hope of redemption for his audience—if only they will turn from a life of sin and return to the path of righteousness. Edwards wants his listeners to be born-again: to heed the Word of God. Only then will it be possible for them to escape Sodom and "escape to the mountain, lest [they] be consumed."


The majority of Edwards's sermon has a vexed, or perhaps troubled, tone as the Puritan minister preaches at length about God's displeasure with sinners. Edwards uses words such as "destruction" and phrases such as "cast into hell" to describe the condition of those who are out of favor with God. Edwards also uses imagery to emphasize the horrors that await those who will not be saved; they are "as great heaps of light chaff before the whirlwind" and will be cast into hell where "the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them."
Late in the sermon Edwards modifies his tone to urge people who desire salvation to change their ways. He speaks of an "extraordinary opportunity" on a day "wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open," waiting to receive them and wash away their sin. Edwards describes those who "are now in a happy state, with their hearts filled with love to him who has loved them" in profound contrast to how he berates his listeners for the majority of the sermon. Perhaps, then, the congregation who heard the sermon found this part of his message something that they could relate to; there was still time for them to do something to help themselves avoid damnation. 
http://www.jonathan-edwards.org/Sinners.pdf

y=x^(2/3), y=4 Find the x and y moments of inertia and center of mass for the laminas of uniform density p bounded by the graphs of the equations.

Consider an irregularly shaped planar lamina of uniform density rho , bounded by graphs y=f(x),y=g(x) , and am=rhoint_a^b[f(x)-g(x)]dx
m=rhoA  where A is the area of the region.
The moments about the x- and y-axes are given by:
M_x=rhoint_a^b 1/2([f(x)]^2-[g(x)]^2)dx
M_y=rhoint_a^bx(f(x)-g(x))dx
The center of mass (barx,bary) is given by ;
barx=M_y/m
bary=M_x/m
Given:y=x^(2/3),y=4
Refer to attached image. The plot of y=x^(2/3) is red in color.
The graphs intersect at the coordinates (-8,4),(8,4)
Let's evaluate the area of the bounded region,
A=int_(-8)^8(4-x^(2/3))dx
A=2int_0^8(4-x^(2/3))dx
A=2[4x-x^(2/3+1)/(2/3+1)]_0^8
A=2[4x-3/5x^(5/3)]_0^8
A=2[4*8-3/5(8)^(5/3)]
A=2[32-3/5(2^3)^(5/3)]
A=2[32-3/5(2)^5]
A=2[32-96/5]
A=2[(160-96)/5]
A=(2(64))/5
A=128/5
Now let's evaluate the moments about the x- and y-axes,
Since the graph is symmetrical about the y-axis,
So, M_y=0 and barx=0 ,
M_x=rhoint_(-8)^8 1/2([4^2]-[x^(2/3)]^2)dx
M_x=rho/2int_(-8)^8(16-x^(4/3))dx
M_x=rho/2(2)int_0^8(16-x^(4/3))dx
M_x=rho[16x-(x^(4/3+1)/(4/3+1))]_0^8
M_x=rho[16x-3/7x^(7/3)]_0^8
M_x=rho[16*8-3/7(8)^(7/3)]
M_x=rho[128-3/7(2^7)]
M_x=rho[128-3/7(128)]
M_x=512/7rho
bary=M_x/m=M_x/(rhoA)
bary=(512/7rho)/(rho128/5)
bary=(512/7)(5/128)
bary=20/7
The coordinates of the center of mass are (0,20/7)
 

How did Hamilton's experiences as a military aide help his career?

During the Revolutionary War, George Washington invited Alexander Hamilton to serve as his aide, with the official title of Lieutenant Colonel. As an aide, Hamilton was given many responsibilities including communicating with Congress, negotiating with other officers on Washington's behalf, and drafting letters and speeches for Washington. His role as senior staff aide under Washington gave him relevant political experience and skills, including diplomacy, negotiation, and intelligence. Hamilton was reassigned to a commander position in 1781, but his experience with Washington promoted him quickly within the military ranks. Hamilton's experience working with Washington resulted in his 1782 election to the Congress of the Confederation. Although he resigned within a year of his election, his relationship with Washington caused him to be chosen as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention when he was serving as a New York legislator in 1787.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Calculus: Early Transcendentals, Chapter 4, 4.3, Section 4.3, Problem 14

a) You need to determine the intervals where the function increases and decreases, hence, you need to determine where f'(x)>0 or f'(x)<0.
You need to determine the first derivative, using the chain rule:
f'(x) = (cos^2 x - 2sin x)
f'(x) = 2cos x*(-sin x) - 2cos x
You need to solve for x the equation f'(x) = 0:
2cos x*(-sin x) - 2cos x = 0
You need to factor out 2cos x:
2cos x*(-sin x - 1) = 0
2cos x = 0 => cos x = 0 for x = pi/2 and x = 3pi/2
-sin x - 1 = 0 => sin x = - 1 for x = 3pi/2
Since f'(x) >0 for x in (pi/2,3pi/2) , the function increases. Since f'(x)<0 for x in (0,pi/2)U(3pi/2,2pi) yields that the function decreases.
b) The function reaches the extrema at the values of x for f'(x) = 0.
From point a) yields that the function has a maximum point at x = 3pi/2 and a minimum point at x = pi/2 .

Calculus of a Single Variable, Chapter 9, 9.6, Section 9.6, Problem 18

To apply the Root test on a series sum a_n , we determine a limit as:
lim_(n-gtoo) root(n)(|a_n|)= L
or
lim_(n-gtoo) |a_n|^(1/n)= L
Then, we follow the conditions:
a) Llt1 then the series is absolutely convergent.
b) Lgt1 then the series is divergent.
c) L=1 or does not exist then the test is inconclusive. The series may be divergent, conditionally convergent, or absolutely convergent.
In order to apply the Root Test in determining the convergence or divergence of the series sum_(n=1)^oo n(7/8)^n , we let : a_n =n(7/8)^n .
Applying the Root test, we set-up the limit as:
lim_(n-gtoo) |n(7/8)^n|^(1/n) =lim_(n-gtoo) (n(7/8)^n)^(1/n)
Apply Law of Exponents: (x*y)^n = x^n*y^n and (x^n)^m = x^(n*m) .
lim_(n-gtoo) (n(7/8)^n)^(1/n)=lim_(n-gtoo) n^(1/n) ((7/8)^n)^(1/n)
=lim_(n-gtoo) n^(1/n) (7/8)^(n*1/n)
=lim_(n-gtoo) n^(1/n) (7/8)^(n/n)
=lim_(n-gtoo) n^(1/n) (7/8)^1
=lim_(n-gtoo) 7/8n^(1/n)
Evaluate the limit.
lim_(n-gtoo) 7/8n^(1/n) =7/8 lim_(n-gtoo) n^(1/n)
=7/8 *1
=7/8 or 0.875
The limit value L =7/8 or 0.875 satisfies the condition: L<1 since 7/8lt1 or 0.875lt1.
Conclusion: The series sum_(n=1)^oo n(7/8)^n is absolutely convergent.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

How is Isabel's bravery and courage fueled by her fears?

It has long been established that fear gives people the courage to do things they ordinarily wouldn't do and Isabel in Chains is no different in that regard. For her, fear acts as a spur to do the right thing, whether it's defending her epileptic sister Ruth or rescuing Lady Seymour from a raging fire.
In a way, Isabel's numerous acts of bravery are a way for her to deal with the almost permanent fear that she must feel as a slave, constantly subject to the whims of others. In her situation, many would just keep their heads down and do what they could to make the best of a very bad job. But not Isabel. She understands that it's better to die on your feet than live on your knees. So she takes risks—extraordinary risks—that put her in harm's way, but which at the same time also allow her to recover some of the dignity and self-worth that has long been denied to her as a slave.


In chapter 2, readers see that Isabel is scared by her slavery. We also know early on that Isabel is quite motivated to make sure that she is around for Ruth. Ruth is mentally handicapped in some way, and Isabel feels that it is her job to take care of her. In chapter 2, we get to see a little bit of how Isabel's fear help motivate her to do some very brave things.

My belly flipped with worry. I was breathing hard as if I'd run all the way to the village and back. This was the moment we'd been waiting for, the one that Momma promised would come. It was up to me to take care of things, to find a place for us. I had to be bold.

We can see that Isabel admits to her fear and worry, but she also knows that she has to "be bold" in order to improve their situation.
Another vivid example that comes to mind is when Isabel throws herself in front of Madam Lockton in order to take the beating for Ruth. Isabel is afraid of what the beating might do to Ruth, so Isabel bravely takes the punishment for her. However, it is when Madam Lockton moves Ruth to another property that readers get to see Isabel's fear and concern about Ruth's safety turn into straight fearlessness.

"Did you sell Ruth?"
"You will not address me in that insolent manner." Her voice shook a little. . . .
I took another step up. "Answer me, you miserable cow. Did you sell my sister?"

It is actually incredible that Isabel is brave enough to say that to Madam Lockton. She has made Isabel's life miserable, and she has the legal capacity to make Isabel's life much worse. From here on out, Isabel's desire to rescue Ruth far outweighs fears she has. She forcefully wills herself to overcome her fears in order to rescue herself and Ruth.

When I thought what they might do to me, I went to the necessary and had me a good puking. But the next day, I made my way up there again—food for the prisoners, water for the Locktons, and every once in awhile, a message to the gap-toothed man in the brown coat at the Golden Hill Tavern.

The fear of being caught as an escaping slave is still there. However, she is brave enough to take the risk and fake her papers that say that she is a free slave in order to rescue Curzon.

According to Guns, Germs, and Steel, why did Eurasians have an advantage when it came to germs?

     The relative geographical isolation of North and South America may have given some early advantages to its inhabitants.  These isolated land masses protected their inhabitants from many of the epidemics that ravaged the Eurasian land mass throughout history.  The diseases in Eurasia spread quickly and effectively through trade and proximity to livestock. 
     The Silk Road in particular is thought to be a major vector of transmission in Eurasia.  No such intercontinental trade route existed in the Americas.  Until the Colombian exchange Eurasian diseases stayed in Eurasia and American diseases stayed in the Americas.  As is often the case this advantage was limited and ultimately proved more advantageous for European colonists. 
     When these two cultures began contact and trade the Eurasians had a much more expansive set of diseases and the related immunological responses.  This proved quite advantageous for Eurasians as the diseases would often spread in advance of the primary colonization effort decimating the Native American populations.  While Europeans would still contract these diseases their longer generational exposure provided them a much more protection.  This often left European colonists cultivated lands seemingly prepared for their benefit without any inhabitants.  


The answer to this, like most of the answers in Guns, Germs, and Steel, has to do with geographical advantages.  The Eurasians had better geographic luck.  Their luck gave them many domesticated animals that lived in close proximity to them.  The infectious diseases that the Eurasians carried came from those animals.
The Eurasians carried the germs for infectious diseases where Native Americans and other people did not.  This was because the Eurasians lived very close to their domesticated animals.  Germs from the animals would pass to the people and eventually become infectious diseases.  Table 11.1 on p. 207 shows us a number of infectious diseases that started out in domesticated animals and passed to people.  The Eurasians carried these germs, but did not all die from them because they had gradually developed some resistance to those diseases.  The people of other regions had not developed immunity and tended to die of the diseases in huge numbers.
So why did the Eurasians have domesticated animals while others did not?  Here, the answer is geographic luck.  In Chapter 9, Diamond discusses the fact that most of the kinds of large animals that exist in the world have proven to be unsuitable for domestication.  Table 9.1, on pp. 160-1, shows us that only one of the 14 most important large domesticated animals was native to a place other than Eurasia.  Because of this, people from other regions of the world could not live in close proximity to domesticated animals and could therefore not develop the kinds of germs that the Eurasians carried.  This is why the Eurasians had an advantage over others when it came to germs.

Friday, December 23, 2011

What challenges did Roosevelt face in his work on behalf of African Americans, and what impact did the New Deal have ultimately on race relations?

African Americans did not benefit as much as other groups as a result of the New Deal. African Americans faced discrimination when it came time to hire people for the jobs that were created by the various government relief programs designed to help people get back to work. Social Security didn’t cover domestic workers, which was a field in which many African American women worked. African American tenant farmers were also not covered by the Agricultural Adjustment Act.
Eventually, President Roosevelt intervened and some of these programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Public Works Administration began to employ African American workers. Some programs, like the Works Progress Administration, required a quota in terms of the number of African Americans that had to be hired to work on various projects. There also was a literacy program that helped African American children learn to read and write, and there were federal programs that featured the works of African American musicians and artists.
Race relations didn’t improve much under Roosevelt’s presidency. President Roosevelt couldn’t risk alienating southern Democrats, who had no interest in changing the social or political system in the South. While Roosevelt appointed African Americans to various government positions, most of these positions were minor ones. Segregation continued to exist in the South. President Roosevelt did speak out against lynching and wanted to see the end of the practice of using the poll tax. However, overall, there weren’t major improvements made in the area of race relations while Roosevelt was president.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-ushistory2os2xmaster/chapter/the-second-new-deal/

https://rooseveltinstitute.org/african-americans-and-new-deal-look-back-history/

Which two geographical features helped protect Egypt from invaders?

There were two major geographical features that helped protect Egypt from invaders. The first was the Mediterranean Sea to the north. This was a major obstacle to invaders because it meant that invaders would either need to use boats to transport attacking forces or take long and arduous routes through inhospitable terrain. Invading forces that did attempt naval attacks would then need to traverse the Nile Delta, a marshy and difficult barrier, before reaching the main parts of Egypt.
The second major barrier was the desert. Egypt was surrounded by desert to the east and west. Crossing the desert is difficult due to lack of water water and the dangers of extreme heat, making it almost impassible for large armies. Egypt really did not have powerful neighbors immediately close by, being separated from the major civilizations of Mesopotamia by sea and desert.

Precalculus, Chapter 4, 4.4, Section 4.4, Problem 16

Given the point on the terminal (x,y) = (-4,10)
so,
x= -4, y= 10
then r=sqrt((-4)^2+(-10)^2) =sqrt(16+100) =sqrt(116)
then
let theta be the angle
then
sin theta = y/r = 10/sqrt(116)
cos theta =x/r = -4/sqrt(116)
tan theta = y/x = 10/-4 = -10/4
csc theta = r/y = sqrt(29)/10 = sqrt(116)/10
sec theta = r/x =sqrt(29)/-4 = -sqrt(116)/4
cot theta = x/y = -4/10

Precalculus, Chapter 5, 5.2, Section 5.2, Problem 31

Verify the identity: 1/(cos(x)+1)+1/(cos(x)-1)=-2csc(x)cot(x)
[cos(x)-1+cos(x)+1]/(cos^2(x)-1)=-2csc(x)cot(x)
[2cos(x)]/(cos^2(x)-1)=-2csc(x)cot(x)
Use the pythagorean identity sin^2(x)+cos^2(x)=1 to simplify the denominator.
If cos^2(x)-1 is isolated the equation would be cos^2(x)-1=-sin^2(x).

[2cos(x)]/[-sin^2(x)]=-2csc(x)cot(x)
[-2cos(x)]/[sin(x)sin(x)]=-2csc(x)cot(x)
-2*[1/sin(x)]*[cos(x)/sin(x)]=-2csc(x)cot(x)
Use the reciprocal identity csc(x)=1/sin(x). Also use the quotient identity cot(x)=cos(x)/sin(x).
-2csc(x)cot(x)=-2csc(x)cot(x)

What does the speaker in "Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold say about history?

In "Dover Beach," the speaker tells us that history often repeats itself and that all human beings share a universal human experience. Additionally, the language of sadness is recognizable no matter what era one lives in.
The second stanza underlines the "eternal note of sadness" in the first stanza. The speaker tells us that this despondency is universal throughout time. Even Sophocles experienced this same feeling of sadness when he once listened to the waves of the Aegean Sea. The ebb and flow of the waves bring to "mind the turbid ebb and flow / Of human misery." Misery is not only universal in the human experience, but it also never ceases to torment each succeeding generation. So, misery is like the ebb and flow of the waves; it never stops plaguing mankind.
Indeed, the speaker contends that the world has "really neither joy, nor love, nor light, / Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain." He argues that the world is a dark place, where "ignorant armies clash by night" and life consists of a never-ending "struggle and flight" in the quest for survival.

Where does Meimei live in "Rules of the Game" by Amy Tan?

Meimei and her family live in San Francisco's Chinatown on a street named Waverly Place. Waverly's mother named her daughter after the street they live on in Chinatown, and Waverly enjoys growing up in the energetic part of San Francisco. Waverly and her family live in a small two-bedroom apartment above a bakery, where they struggle to make ends meet. One Christmas, Waverly and her brothers attend a Christmas party at the First Chinese Baptist Church down the road, and her brother receives a used chess set as a gift. After the children read the rules of the game, they begin playing, and Waverly becomes fascinated with the game of chess. Waverly ends up becoming a chess prodigy and quickly becomes the best chess player in Chinatown, until her mother's forceful personality makes her second-guess whether she wants to continue playing chess.


Meimei, the protagonist of Amy Tan's short story "The Rules of the Game," lives in the Chinatown area of San Francisco, California, with her strict mother, father, and two brothers, Vincent and Winston. Meimei's real name is Waverly Place Jong, and she is named for the street which the family lives on. The family dwells in a two-bedroom flat situated above a Chinese bakery which is best known for their dim sum and steamed pastries. Meimei describes the apartment as "warm" and clean" and likes that she can detect the scents drifting in from the bakery below: "fragrant red beans. . . cooked down to a pasty sweetness. . . fried sesame balls and sweet curried chicken crescents." The apartment is located on an alley that is two blocks long and which is close to a playground, and contains Ping Yuen Fish Market, Hong Sing's cafe, and the China Gem Company. Despite the poverty of the area, Meimei insists that she grew up never knowing that her family was poor. 

What are the main incidents of Gulliver's Travels?

Gulliver's Travels is a satire that follows the protagonist, Lemuel Gulliver, as he voyages to various exotic fictional locales. Each of the fantastic races he encounters in his travels satirizes some aspect of British life, politics, or religion. Through his encounters with various exotic societies, Gulliver comes to have a clearer and more objective understanding of his own society. The major episodes in the work are voyages to four different lands: 
Lilliputians: Gulliver is captured by this race of tiny people and learns about their warlike society and their tendency to have absurdly passionate arguments about such trivia as what end of an egg one should open. He saves the palace from a fire by urinating on it and because of this is accused of treason. He manages to escape.
Brobdingnagians: The Brobdingnagians, a race of giants, are well-governed, with an admirable and practical educational system. Gulliver is kept as a pet and has terrifying encounters with animals such as mice, which in this land are his own size. He eventually escapes.
Laputa: This is a land of philosophers and mathematicians concerned with abstract speculation and having few practical interests. They are technologically advanced.
Houyhnhms: This is a land of intelligent horses who have barbaric primates called "yahoos" as slaves. They are an advanced and wise race who are horrified by Gulliver's descriptions of England, and they expel him from the island.


In Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, the narrative's main incidents can be found in the book's four voyages. In the first voyage, Gulliver is stranded on Lilliput, an island of small people wracked by petty disputes, such as a disagreement regarding the proper way to crack open an egg. Then, on the second voyage, Gulliver finds himself in Brobdingnag, a region of gigantic individuals, where he is put on display like some kind of freak or pet. In the third voyage, Gulliver travels to multiple locations, including Laputa and Balnibarbi, whose inhabitants are obsessed with absurd, abstract ideas. Finally, in his last voyage, Gulliver meets the Houyhnhms, a race of intelligent horses who enslave the barbaric, human-like Yahoos. Throughout his voyages, Gulliver is exposed to a variety of differing perspectives, and one of the main points of the novel's many incidents is to reveal how, by changing one's perspective, it's possible to observe life's often ridiculous nature.  

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Why was Holden trying to “feel” some kind of good-bye?

Holden says that he wants to "feel some kind of good-by." He wants to feel some sort of connection to the place he's leaving, but he doesn't like the school or many of his peers or the staff members. He feels like the school is full of "phonies," especially the adults. In fact, he associates many aspects of the adult world with phoniness and hypocrisy.
Finally, though, he comes up with a memory so he can "get a good-by." He remembers himself, Robert Tichener, and Paul Campbell playing catch in front of the academic building. They threw the ball back and forth until it got dark. Even when they could barely see the ball, they kept playing until a teacher stuck his head out the window and told them to go get ready for dinner.
The scene seems to remind Holden of childhood and the innocence of it. The boys played and played until the sun went down. In that span of time, at least, they had no responsibility, no pressure, no tests. They were just boys playing catch. Then the teacher came to tell them it was time to go get ready for dinner. The boys, in this instance, did not have to fret about time. The adults were worrying about that. The adults would prepare the food and make sure that the boys were where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there. The boys had only to be boys, carefree. It is a memory untainted by the things he hates about grown-ups and growing up.
There is nothing that Holden reveres more than the innocence of childhood. The title of the book comes from a mental image he has of children playing in a field of rye and of himself catching the children who get too close to the cliff at the edge of the field, likely a metaphor for saving them from the realities of the world. The phoniness and hypocrisy that he hates in the adults do not infect Phoebe or Allie or the other children in the novel—and he adores them for this.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

What role or purpose does Harlem serve in the story?

Harlem, a section of Manhattan, is more than a name. It conjures up images associated with African American culture (for purposes of discussion, what follows focuses on West Harlem, populated overwhelmingly by African Americans, in contrast to East Harlem, which is predominately of Latin heritage) as well, unfortunately, images of crime, drugs, and poverty. James Baldwin’s 1957 short story “Sonny’s Blues” was heavily influenced by the African American culture in which he was immersed as a child—a child whose natural father was a drug addict whose wife, Baldwin’s mother, left him because of the addiction. Harlem is an integral part of “Sonny’s Blues,” and not in a particularly positive way. Early in his story, Baldwin’s protagonist and narrator, who, it is revealed, is Sonny’s estranged brother, refers to Sonny in a way that suggests that, for all the titular character’s vices, the pianist and addict is not innately evil:

“I told myself Sonny was wild but, he wasn’t crazy. And he’d always been a good boy, he hadn’t ever turned hard or evil or disrespectful, the way kids can, so quick, so quick, especially in Harlem.”

Just as Baldwin was naturally influenced by the community of his birth, so is the narrator of “Sonny’s Blues.” Baldwin’s story is rife with the type of despondency familiar to residents of poor inner-city neighborhoods. Harlem historically has had high rates of poverty, crime, and drug use, and Sonny’s brother has become extremely cynical in his approach to his community and to his profession as a teacher in an inner-city school:

“. . . here I was, talking about algebra to a lot of boys who might, every one of them for all I knew, be popping off needles every time they went to the head.”

This is the role that Harlem plays in “Sonny’s Blues.” The narrator describes an unpleasant encounter with one of his brother’s junkie “friends” and expresses surprise that the latter individual had not been arrested along with Sonny. As the story progresses, the narrator comes to better understand his brother and the environment in which both brothers existed. That environment was Harlem.

Calculus: Early Transcendentals, Chapter 6, 6.3, Section 6.3, Problem 6

The shell has the radius x , the cricumference is 2pi*x and the height is 4x - x^2 - x , hence, the volume can be evaluated, using the method of cylindrical shells, such that:
V = 2pi*int_(x_1)^(x_2) x*(3x - x^2) dy
You need to evaluate the endpoints x_1 and x_2 , such that:
4x - x^2= x => 3x -x^2 = 0 => x(3 - x) = 0 => x = 0 and 3-x = 0 => x = 3
V = 2pi*int_0^3 x*(3x - x^2) dy
V = 2pi*(int_0^3 3x^2 dx - int_0^3 x^3dx)
Using the formula int x^n dx = (x^(n+1))/(n+1) yields:
V = 2pi*(3x^3/3 - x^4/4)|_0^3
V = 2pi*(x^3 - x^4/4)|_0^3
V = 2pi*(3^3 - 3^4/4)
V = 2pi*(3^3)/4
V = (27pi)/2
Hence, evaluating the volume, using the method of cylindrical shells, yields V = (27pi)/2.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

What are the themes of Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity?

The book is set in a slum called Annawadi in Mumbai, which is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. The slum is near the airport and within sight of several luxury hotels.
One of the main themes is that of the permanent versus the ephemeral. Most of the residents of the slum dream of moving somewhere safe and warm, instead of their current habitats of cardboard walls and plastic sheeting. They want to make some kind of mark in the world, yet they are too consumed with the day-to-day tasks of simply staying alive to think about such lofty ideas.
Another theme is that of the very rich living side by side with the very poor. The very poor actually live off the very rich peoples' garbage, selling the scraps to make a few rupees. The dehumanizing effect of poverty is another underlying theme in the story, as is the way in which the poor are treated in the greater community; the police falsely accuse residents of crimes and then demand bribes from them. They also frequently threaten to chase the slum-dwellers off the property and raze Annawadi. Food that is donated to the church for the sake of the poor is sold by nuns for a profit. The author does not judge these people for their actions, however— everyone is simply doing what they need to survive. The very poor are not saintly people; they are just trying to get by.
These slum-dwellers are not totally without hope, however. We meet a girl who is about to graduate from college, as well as a woman who wants to become a political bigwig within the slum system itself, and a boy thief who believes, in time, he will make enough money to move out of the slum and live "the full enjoy."
https://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-prj-0506-liz-column-20120504-story.html


The first important theme of Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo is the contrast between wealth and poverty in India. It is set in a slum in Mumbai which is in sight of Mumbai's international airport and many luxury hotels. Thus, we get a sharp sense of how the "new India" of successful technology companies benefiting from globalization contrasts with the "old India" living in poverty without basic modern conveniences. An important and ironic element of this contrast is the way that the slum dwellers of Annawadi make their living is by sorting through the garbage thrown out by their richer neighbors. 
The second theme dominating the book is "garbage." Annawadi is a garbage dump, both in terms of the objects tossed out in the literal garbage dump and the way in which its inhabitants are viewed as human refuse by wealthier and more fortunate Indians. Just as the residents of Annawadi survive and sometimes even succeed by sorting through and finding value in other people's garbage, Boo and her readers find value and interest in the lives of the people marginalized in Annawadi.
The final important theme of the book is justice. On top of the fundamental injustice of people living in filth and poverty in the sight of luxury hotels, we also see miscarriages of justice and corruption in the Indian legal system contributing to systematic oppression and inequality. 

What miracle happens at the water pump?

For about a month, Annie Sullivan has been patiently trying to teach Helen the rudiments of language, but so far with little in the way of success. It's deeply frustrating for both of them, but Annie persists, trying different ways to communicate something of the outside world to Helen. One day, Annie has a sudden flash of inspiration. She's out walking with Helen when they come across a water-pump. Annie holds Helen's hand under the gushing water. As she does so, she signs the word W-A-T-E-R into Helen's palm. At that moment, Helen's whole face lights up. For the first time, she's been able to establish a connection between an object in the outside world and what was spelled out on her hand. Annie has finally helped Helen to acquire the gift of language. A true miracle, indeed.

Monday, December 19, 2011

In T. C. Boyle’s "Greasy Lake," the lake is a central character in the story. How does the lake change from the beginning of the story to the end?

From the beginning to the end of "Greasy Lake," the lake changes from a place of peace to one of fear. Ultimately, however, it's not really the lake itself who changes but the men who go there. By the end of the story, the lake is not the refuge it once was.
Jeff, Digby, and the narrator go to Greasy Lake to escape the pressures of city life. They want to hang out, get high, and enjoy being young. Each of them has a persona that they've adopted as renegade troublemakers. When they get into a fight at the lake, they follow it up by almost raping a girl. They're threatened with death by someone who arrives as they're pinning her down.
At this point, the narrator scrambles to hide in the lake. But the lake doesn't offer much in the way of safety or peace. There's a body floating in it; the narrator can hear the car being destroyed by the other people. The men manage to escape but decide to reject the opportunity to do drugs and party with two girls who arrive.
By the end of the story, the lake is a place to escape. It's no longer a safe haven of fun and enjoyment. It has a darker tone and is probably not a place where any of the characters will feel safe again. This change is foreshadowed at the beginning of the story, when the narrator says the Native Americans named the lake Wakan, for its clear waters, but now it's become murky and polluted, with refuse and glass littering the banks.


At first, the lake is a place where the narrator and his friends enjoy all the carefree and semi-wild carousing of youth: they enjoy the lake as a natural place, a backdrop to drinking beer, smoking pot, watching girls, and, as the narrator puts it, "howl[ing] at the stars" while listening to loud rock and roll. The lake, as a character, is innocent.
By the end of the story, the lake is no longer so carefree anymore. In it, the narrator has experienced a kind of baptism that takes him from innocence to experience. Most specifically, he encounters a dead body in the lake, and suddenly, this carefree place is where he comes face to face, literally, with mortality. He also watches his mother's car get demolished and realizes that, in the grand scheme of things, he is not as wild and tough as he had believed. The lake changes in the course of the story from a place to escape reality to a place where the narrator encounters reality full-force.

I need help with the analysis of the poem "The Mower's Song" by Andrew Marvell. Is a political interpretation of this poem possible?

To begin, Andrew Marvell lived and wrote in the 17th century, and his political views shifted throughout his life and career. Particularly in his later works, Marvell was somewhat critical of the rigidity of the established church and royal court of England.
"The Mower's Song" is a poem about unrequited love, but it is not only a poem about a broken heart. The mower is at odds with the classic English meadows; he suddenly resents them and the brutal manicuring he does to them as the mower. This correlates to Marvell's resentment of the self-indulgent, formal, and materialistic nature of institutions. Just as the growth of the meadow is impeded by the destructive mower, so too is progress impeded by the stodgy values of church and royalty.
Consider the following lines from the poem:

Unthankful meadows, could you so 
      A fellowship so true forgo? 
      And in your gaudy May-games meet 
      While I lay trodden under feet? 

Extracted from the context of Juliana's cruelty, these lines seem quite political indeed. Essentially, when the speaker asks, "And in your gaudy May-games meet / While I lay trodden under feet?" Marvell asks the reader, "How can the established institutions revel in their formalities while England suffers from a lack of progress?" Just as Juliana scorns the poor mower's love and the mower tramples the grass for his work, the English establishment thwarts the nation's ability to embrace modernity.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Summarize the crime of which James King and Steve Harmon stand accused.

James King and Steve Harmon are both on trial for the felony murder of Aguinaldo Nesbitt, who was a Harlem drugstore owner. The prosecuting attorney, Sandra Petrocelli, is pushing for the death penalty. Two convicted criminals named Richard "Bobo" Evans and Osvaldo Cruz testify that they both participated in the planned robbery alongside James King and Steve Harmon. Both criminals agree to testify in exchange for shorter sentences and accuse Steve Harmon of being the group's lookout during the robbery. According to Bobo, Steve Harmon's job was to enter the drugstore before the robbery and make sure that the coast was clear. Cruz's job was to prevent anyone from following them outside of the store after the robbery took place. Bobo also testifies that James King killed Nesbitt on accident during the robbery when Nesbitt pulled a gun. Walter Dean Myers purposely makes Steve's participation in the crime ambiguous and leaves the reader to contemplate his innocence. Towards the end of the novel, James King is convicted of felony murder and Steve Harmon is acquitted.


Walter Dean Myers' novel Monster tells the story of Steve Harmon and James King as they stand trial for felony murder. Sixteen-year-old Harmon is tried along with twenty-three-year-old King for the death of Alguinaldo Nesbitt, the owner of a drugstore. According to the prosecution, King is accused of completing the robbery and murder while Harmon was allegedly acting as the lookout.
Osvaldo Cruz and Richard "Bobo" Evans both admit to participating in the crime but are not on trial, as they have turned state's witness in exchange for less harsh sentencing. According to the testimony provided by Bobo, King wrestled with Mr. Nesbitt, who had pulled a gun, and during the scuffle, the gun discharged, killing Mr. Nesbitt. He further testifies that Harmon was tasked with checking the store for potential witnesses before the crime went down and acted as a lookout during the robbery.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

In Lisa See's Shanghai Girls, which sister is smarter? Which is more beautiful?

Shanghai Girls is Lisa See's tale of two sisters and their relationship throughout many hardships. The sisters, Pearl and May, are very different, but very close. Their relationship is simultaneously intimate and harsh, cruel and fiercely loyal. 
 
Since the book is narrated in first person by Pearl, all we know for certain is that Pearl understands May to be more beautiful than she is, but less intelligent. Though both beauty and intelligence are subjective traits, there is evidence in the text that suggests that May, the younger of the two, is more beautiful than Pearl, while Pearl is the smarter of the two. 
 
Throughout the novel, there are hints at Pearl's intelligence. Pearl notes that "People call me bookish" and that she is fluent in four languages. Pearl compares this to May's knowledge of only two languages and notes that May "has no interest in reading anything beyond the gossip columns." Conversely, there are hints that May is more beautiful. Unlike Pearl, May's complexion is clear, not ruddy like Pearl's.
 
Arguably, both sisters possess both beauty and intelligence. We know that both are considered beautiful because they both work as "beautiful girls" (models) with the character Z.G. and other painters. We also know that they are both intelligent, at least at a foundational level, because both at the beginning of the story have completed the normal amount of schooling for their ages (either high school or college). There are also examples within the text that evidence both sisters' intelligence. One example of May's intelligence occurs when she quotes the great writer Lu Hsün although she's "not a reader."
 
Between the two of them, May is the charming and beautiful one, while Pearl is the smart, practical one. May, born in the Year of the Sheep, is fashionable and artistic, yet needs someone to take care of her. Pearl, born in the year of the Dragon, is loyal, demanding, and responsible.
 
Pearl notes this as she reflects on their relationship:

Whenever you have two sisters -- or siblings of any number or either sex -- comparisons are made. May and I were born in Yin Bo Village, less than a half day's walk from Canton. We're only three years apart, but we couldn't be more different. She's funny; I'm criticized for being too somber. She's tiny and has an adorable fleshiness to her; I'm tall and thin.

Between the sisters, however, there is an understanding of each of their roles within their family with regard to beauty and intelligence.

In what ways did Okonkwo's reaction to the white missionaries and their influence on the Ibo contribute to the theme of cultural adaptation in Things Fall Apart?

Okonkwo represents a certain way of life amongst the Ibo of Umuofia, and the rise and fall of his fortunes throughout the novel corresponds to the fitness of this way of life in varying situations. Okonkwo's values are ultraconservative: he adheres strictly to tradition and abhors deviation from it. They are also hyper-masculine: Okonkwo prioritizes strength and status over everything else, and he works hard to ensure that he has both physical strength and social clout. In the first third of the novel, before the missionaries arrive, Okonkwo's values serve him well and make him one of the leading men of Umuofia. However, the arrival of the missionaries tests these values and exposes their weaknesses.
When the missionaries come, there are three schools of thought among the villagers: those who want to join them, those who oppose them, and those who feel that compromise is possible. The same is true of the missionaries themselves: Mr. Brown believes in a kind of conversion-through-compromise and is sensitive to the existing culture of the Ibo, while Reverend Smith takes a much harder line and ultimately requires the colonial government to back him up.
Okonkwo is of the school of thought that opposing the missionaries is the only choice. There is no room for compromise, and any suggestion of compromise is in fact a betrayal of all that the Ibo stand for. Reverend Smith agrees that there is no room for compromise, and the villagers are caught between these two unyielding forces. As time goes on, then, Okonkwo's refusal to yield at all leads to the loss of everything he has worked for in his life—his refusal to allow any cooperation between the cultures or allow some level of cultural adaptation leads him to kill himself, something that is considered taboo in his culture. The arrival of the missionaries epitomizes an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object: Okonkwo does not feel that cultural adaptation is what they are aiming for: he thinks that they intend to carry out cultural eradication. In the end, however, his death symbolizes the death of hope for the kind of ultraconservative Ibo culture Okonkwo was attempting to protect. The future will be compromise and, ultimately, conversion.

Friday, December 16, 2011

How does Orwell present the lives of the animals in this extract from Animal Farm? “And even the miserable lives we lead are not allowed to reach their natural span. You young porkers who are sitting in front of me, every one of you will scream your lives out at the block within a year. To that horror we all must come — cows, pigs, hens, sheep, everyone. Even the horses and the dogs have no better fate. You, Boxer, the very day that those great muscles of yours lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knacker, who will cut your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds. As for the dogs, when they grow old and toothless, Jones ties a brick round their necks and drowns them in the nearest pond.”

Orwell describes the animals as exploited by people.
In this excerpt, Old Major is describing how human beings take advantage of animals on the farm.  Old Major tells the animals that humans are the only animals that consume without producing.  They take the animals and exploit and abuse them because they believe that the animals belong to them.
The basis of this paragraph is that the animals give the best of their lives to the humans, working hard for them, and then the humans have no appreciation.  When the animals have no use for them, they get rid of them in horrible ways.  All that awaits the animals is a life of suffering in service to man, and then a terrible death at last.
The pigs will die young, because their meat is valuable. They are examples of animals who are used for food.  The horse will be worked to death and then, since his body is valuable, it will be sold and fed to the dogs.  The dogs’ bodies are not valuable, so they will be drowned when they get too old.
Old Major suggests that the animals live their lives at the mercy of human beings.

"Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. Almost overnight we could become rich and free. …” (Ch. 1) 

In this speech, Old Major also describes a dream in which the animals live on their own, without the tyranny of man.  The Animalism he describes is one of peace and harmony, where the animals take care of one another and never meet these cruel fates described by Old Major.  Animals will surely treat each other better than people.

How does the development of case law (court decisions) define the speech rights of public employees?

People who work for the government do not lose their rights because they work for the government. For example, public employees still have free speech rights in certain situations. The Supreme Court has reinforced this.
The Supreme Court has ruled that public employees have free speech rights on issues that deal with “public concern.” The Supreme Court, however, has not allowed unlimited freedom of speech for public employees. The case of Pickering v Board of Education set this concept in motion. If a public employee is speaking on a matter of public concern, the employee can’t be disciplined or fired for doing this. The Supreme Court believes that public employees are often in the best position to point out issues that may exist in the government organization in which that person works. Examples of public concern include speaking about the use of school district funds, testifying before the state legislature, and criticizing government inefficiency and waste. If, however, a public employee complained about the salary and benefits associated with a specific government job, this is not considered to be a matter of public concern and wouldn't be protected by the First Amendment.
Court decisions provide guidelines for what is protected regarding the First Amendment rights of public employees.
https://employment.findlaw.com/wages-and-benefits/how-does-due-process-protect-a-public-employee.html

https://www.workplacefairness.org/retaliation-public-employees

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Imagine you were to go through the trash of one of the characters in the book Noggin by John Corey Whaley. Explain what you might find and why. Base the "finds" on the story and character's actions, and include at least 10 items.

If you were to go through the trash of the main character in Noggin, Travis Ray Coates, you might find the whiteboard that he used to write on when he was in the hospital and was regaining his voice. You'd also find the marker he used. Travis might have stashed some Jell-O containers in his trash, as he is able to get extra Jell-O from the nurses because he is very familiar with the way hospitals work. 
Travis might also have coins or tokens from Arnie's Arcade, which is where his dad works, in his trash. He could have thrown cheese in his trash, as he hates cheese and asks his dad not to include it in his eggs. He also might have placed the clippings from his nails in the trash, as on page 25, he cuts his new nails because he likes them shorter. Travis might have thrown Dr. Saranson's card into the trash by mistake, as the doctor hands him his card when Travis is leaving the hospital in Denver and tells him to call whenever he needs to. He also might have thrown the number of Lawrence Ramsey, the other man who has been regenerated, in the trash (by mistake). Travis also could have placed the ashes of his former body into the trash, as he drops the urn containing his ashes on the floor. Finally, he might've thrown away the old photos of himself that the news programs keep showing, as well as the stories that keep appearing about him in the news, as he is getting tired of these stories.

What is one thing that Mattie vows never to do in the book Fever 1793?

Fever 1793 is set during Philadelphia's notorious yellow fever epidemic in 1793. This highly contagious disease thrives in hot weather, and the summer of 1793 in Philadelphia is hellishly hot. Deeply religious folk liken the city to Hell in the midst of all the intense heat and suffering. Growing up is hard enough to do for a young adult like Mattie; it's harder still when you have to do it slap-bang in the middle of a deadly epidemic spreading like wildfire and with diseased corpses piling up in the street. It's fair to say that Mattie, like everyone else in town, is sick and tired of broiling away in this terrible inferno. So it comes as no surprise when, after yet another week of ceaseless heat, she vows to her grandfather that she will never complain about a cold day ever again.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Winston reflects on the omniopresence of the party: "HE thought of the telescreen with its never sleeping ear. They could spy upon you night aand day, but if you kept your head you could still outwit them. Facts at any rate, could not be kept hidden. They could be tracked down by inquiry, they could be squeezed out of you by torture. But if the object was not to stay alive but to stay human. what difference did it ultimately make?" what in essence is Winston saying about the lone individual in relation to the state ? does the contention remain true throughout the novel?

What really stands out in this quote from Part Two, Chapter Seven is a sense of powerlessness. For the individual in Oceania, there is no escape from the Party's intrusive surveillance. The telescreen hears and sees everything, and the Party is constantly listening for any instances of thoughtcrime.
This sense of powerlessness remains constant throughout much of the novel. Only in a few instances is Winston able to overcome this feeling. When he meets with Julia in the woods, for instance, and when he visits O'Brien's apartment, Winston is able to escape the Party's pervasive influence. He can shut off the telescreen, for example, and "outwit" the hidden microphones, as Winston mentions in this quote.
Ultimately, however, Winston is never able to completely overcome this sense of powerlessness and loneliness. His imprisonment in the Ministry of Love and his experience in Room 101 demonstrates that the power of the individual will never be stronger than the power of the state.

Describe David's mother and Pegotty in David Copperfield. How did David spend his childhood with these two ladies?

David's mother marries very young, has David when she is young, and is widowed when she hardly more than a girl. She is childlike, gentle, and full of kindness—in other words, ill fitted for the world. Before David was born, his orphaned mother became a governess, then married David's father, also named David Copperfield. At the point her husband dies, she knows little of housekeeping. As Miss Betsey says to her:

"You are a very Baby!"

The servant Peggotty is a kind-hearted and loving soul, honest and good, who more or less runs the household when David is very young. Most evenings she sits in the parlor with David and his mother, showing how kind and open-hearted David's mother is in treating a servant as an equal. David loves Peggotty dearly, and she is good to him. He is happy in his simple life with these two women.
It is lucky for David that he is able to spend his earliest youth with such dear creatures as his mother and Peggotty, because it humanizes him. He learns from them what real love and compassion are. Once the Murdstones appear, on the other hand, he is subjected to ruthlessness and cruelty.


David Copperfield's mother is a kind and gentle woman. But she is also too frail for this world; it is no wonder that David describes her as an angel. Her meek and timid nature makes it all too easy for her second husband, the wicked Mr. Murdstone, to bully, dominate, and control her. But before he arrived on the scene, David lived an idyllic life with his mother and his dear old nurse, Peggotty. Together, the two women create a warm, loving environment for the young David, which makes his subsequent hardships and challenges all the more difficult for him to bear.
For David, at this blissful time in his life, it is almost as if he has two mothers. He spends a lot of time with Peggotty, and he becomes a very good friend to her and her family. It is during one of his visits to Peggotty's family that his mother gets married to Murdstone. The joy and laughter of Peggotty's household contrasts sharply with the misery, cruelty, and domestic tyranny awaiting David when he returns home.

yy' - 2e^x = 0 , y(0) = 3 Find the particular solution that satisfies the initial condition

For the given problem: yy'-2e^x=0 , we can evaluate this by applying variable separable differential equation in which we express it in a form of f(y) dy = f(x)dx .
 Then, yy'-2e^x=0 can be rearrange into yy'= 2e^x
Express y'  as (dy)/(dx):
 y(dy)/(dx)= 2e^x
Apply direct integration in the form of  int f(y) dy = int f(x)dx :
y(dy)/(dx)=2e^x
ydy= 2e^xdx
int ydy= int 2e^x dx
For the left side, we apply Power Rule integration: int u^n du= u^(n+1)/(n+1) .
int y dy= y^(1+1)/(1+1)
             = y^2/2
 For the right side, we apply basic integration property: int c*f(x)dx= c int f(x) dx and basic integration formula for exponential function: int e^u du = e^u+C on the right side.
int 2e^x dx= 2int e^x dx
                  = 2e^x+C
Combining the results for the general solution of differential equation:
y^2/2=2e^x+C
2* [y^2/2] = 2*[2e^x]+2*C     
Let 2*C= C . Just a constant.
y^2= 4e^x+C
 
 To find the particular solution we consider the initial condition y(0)=3 which implies x=0 and y =3 .
Plug them in to  y^2= 4e^x+C , we get:
3^2= 4e^0+C
9= 4*1+C
9=4+C
Then C=9-4=5 .
Plug-in C=5 iny^2= 4e^x+C , we get the particular solution:
y^2= 4e^x+5
 y = +-sqrt(4e^x+5).

who is the narrator of the cask of amontillado?

The narrator of "The Cask of Amontillado" is Montresor, who claims to have suffered many times, greatly but quietly, at the hands of Fortunato. Finally, he resolves to seek revenge on Fortunato when he hears that Fortunato has laughed at his “proud name Montresor, the name of an old and honored family”.
Montresor, the narrator, then plots his revenge, which he intends to exact as secretly as possible so that nobody can trace it back to him. Knowing that Fortunato likes wine, he decides to use this against him. He invites Fortunato to his home one dark spring evening to taste a cask of wine that is supposedly amontillado. The visit is well planned so that none of the servants witness the occurrence. Also, Fortunato is quite drunk on the given day. Montresor walks Fortunato to the wine vaults that are situated beneath the walls of the palace and also house the tombs of the Montresor family. While they walk, Montresor offers Fortunato more bottles of wine to drink. Finally, towards the end of the vaults, he chains Fortunato to the walls and plasters him up. He buries Fortunato alive in the vaults under his palace, thereby exacting his revenge.
The character of the narrator comes through as cold, calculating, and vicious. He has no qualms about divulging the gory details of his revenge towards the end of the story. In fact, he appears to relish the wicked narration. This might mean that he thinks that he is justified in punishing Fortunato in this manner.

In lord of the flies, what does ralph keep trying to persuade the boys of?

Ralph is the elected leader of the boys and a proponent of civilization throughout the novel. His main concerns revolve around making an effort to be rescued from the uninhabited island. Ralph continually attempts to persuade the boys to build and maintain a signal fire at all times on top of the mountain. Initially, the boys follow Ralph's instructions and cheerfully participate in building a signal fire. It is also agreed that the hunters are in charge of maintaining the signal fire. However, Jack influences his hunters to leave the signal fire, and the boys miss out on an opportunity to be rescued by a passing ship. As the novel progresses, Jack begins to challenge Ralph's authority and neglects the need to maintain a signal fire. Jack is more than happy living on the island and acting like a savage. His main concerns are hunting and having fun. In contrast, Ralph is continually reminding Jack and the boys about the importance of having a signal fire. During an assembly meeting in Chapter 5, Ralph says the following:

"The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make?" (Golding, 113).

What myth were they talking about in chapter 15?

It looks like you may be referring to what Annabeth calls the "three-thousand-year-old gossip" of Ares and Aphrodite's love affair. That would be the closest thing to a referenced myth or legend in Chapter 15.
According to Greek myth, Aphrodite (the goddess of love and procreation) was well-known for her many affairs with both men and gods. Her luscious beauty often caused great rivalries among the gods. Many fought to possess the beautiful goddess. To quell the rivalries, Zeus married Aphrodite off to Hephaestus (the god of smiths).
However, Aphrodite was dissatisfied with the marriage, and she sought comfort from other lovers. Aphrodite's most secret and passionate love affair was with Ares (the god of war). Their children included Eros (the god of love), Phobos (the god of fear), Anteros (the god of counter-love), Deimos (the god of terror), and Harmonia (the goddess of harmony).
In Chapter 15, Annabeth mentions that Hephaestus is always trying to embarrass Ares and Aphrodite. In other words, he enjoys exposing his wife and her lover in the act of adultery. Annabeth's account is corroborated by Greek myth, which tells of Hephaestus chaining Ares and Aphrodite to a bed in his chambers. At the time, Poseidon (the god of the sea) stepped in to help the beleaguered lovers. Aphrodite was so grateful for Poseidon's help that she had an affair with him. This is why Ares (in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief) tells Percy that he and Poseidon "go way back."
 
https://www.greek-gods.org/olympian-gods/aphrodite.php

https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/AphroditeLoves.html

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Who is in control of the love story between Orlando and Rosalind?

In Act 1, Orlando and Rosalind meet at a wrestling match. After watching Orlando defeat a formidable opponent, Rosalind is impressed and congratulates the young man; she even gives him a chain to wear around his neck. Orlando is smitten with the beautiful Rosalind immediately, and Rosalind later confides to her cousin Celia that she feels she is falling in love with Orlando.
So it seems that their love story begins spontaneously—what you might call "love at first sight" or an act of fate or destiny.
In Act 3, though, it is Rosalind who takes control of the relationship. She and Celia have fled Duke Frederick in disguise and are hiding out in the Forest of Arden. Rosalind finds sappy love poems written on various trees and then learns that it is Orlando who is writing them, as he is also traveling in the forest. When Rosalind and Orlando's paths cross in the forest, she makes a decision to engage with him while in her disguise as the male character Ganymede:

I will speak to him like a saucy lackey, andunder that habit play the knave with him.
(III.ii.292–293)

Rosalind sees this deception as an opportunity to get to know Orlando in a more authentic way. She tells him that she wants to help cure him of his forlorn lovesickness, but her true intention is to test him—to see if the two of them are really compatible and to see if he truly cares about her, beyond loving her feminine charms and beauty. Celia doubts Orlando's affections are genuine and lasting, and Rosalind wants to prove her wrong.
Consider the two characters' demonstrated abilities as writers. Orlando is inarticulate in speech and unconvincing in his writing; he pens bad poems full of cliches. Rosalind, on the other hand, improvises a very convincing portrayal as the character Ganymede and succeeds in manipulating the actions of others around her, proving herself to be a very competent author indeed. A smarter and more sophisticated storyteller, Rosalind is the one to control her love story with Orlando, whom she decides is worthy to be her husband in the final act of the play.

I need help getting started with the following question about comparing the fates of the protagonists in George Washington Cable's "Tite Poulette" and Grace King's "The Little Convent Girl." I would really appreciate the help. Images regarding my instructions are seen below.

The most obvious difference between the fates of the two protagonists is that George Washington Cable's "Tite Poulette" has a happy ending and Grace King's "The Little Convent Girl" has an unhappy ending. In writing your paper, you should focus on how the dynamics of race affect these endings.
In the introductory expositions in both stories, the protagonists are identified as hybrid or liminal characters, poised somewhere between black and white; this hybridity is the major theme of the stories. Although Tite physically appears white in some ways, in other ways she appears an "octoroon," which is, in fact her legal category, although not her racial heritage, as we find out in the denouement. 
In both cases the girls have black mothers and white fathers, something that was typical of "quadroons" of the period, as these were often children born out of sexual relationships (often non-consensual) between white masters and their slaves. In the case of Tite, although she is actually of Spanish heritage, Madame John must pretend that she is part black in order to adopt her as a daughter. It is when she is revealed through a somewhat contrived plot twist as possessing pure white blood that the happy ending becomes possible. 
In the case of the Little Convent Girl, she passes as white, although the hints that she must obsessively straighten her hair and remarks about her sallow complexion suggest partial black heritage. It is when she moves through the intermediary space of the ship from the convent to encountering her black mother that she decides to commit suicide. 
A typical stereotype in Louisiana literature (whether works written in the state or about it) of the period is the tragic quadroon, a woman caught between the white and black worlds, too respectably raised to be comfortable with placage marriage or concubinage, but portrayed as unable to bear the poverty and degradation that the authors associated with black life under slavery. Tite initially seems to follow that stereotype, but is allowed a happy ending when it is proven that she is actually white, while the Convent Girl's suicide follows a more stereotypical path.

Monday, December 12, 2011

A toy car is going around a track. At a certain point, the track accelerates the car over a time of 0.0376 s. If the part of the track where the acceleration occurs is 2.20 cm long and the car was initially traveling at the speed of 29.0 cm/s, what acceleration does the track provide to the car?

I am going to assume, even though it is not very clear from the question, that the part of the track on which the car accelerates is straight. Then, the motion of the car on this part of the track can be described by the equation of the one-dimensional motion with constant acceleration:
d = v_it + 1/2at^2 .
Here, d is the displacement (or in this case, the length of the track on which the car accelerates), v_i is the initial velocity, a is the acceleration and t is the time during which the car accelerates. All these quantities, except for the acceleration, which we have to find, are given in the question.
2.20 cm = 29.0 (cm)/s*0.0376 s + 1/2 a (0.0376 s)^2 .
Solving for a, we get
a = ((2.20 - 29.0*0.0376)*2)/(0.0376)^2 (cm)/s^2 =1570 (cm)/s^2 = 1.57*10^3 (cm)/s^2
The acceleration the track provides to the car is 1570 cm/s^2, or 15.7 m/s^2.
https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/1DKin/Lesson-6/Kinematic-Equations-and-Problem-Solving

In Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, what are a few examples of person vs. nature?

This is an interesting question because the majority of the conflicts are person vs. person or person vs. technology. One way to think about this is to consider Montag's human nature. He has been taught to suppress any "natural" curiosity about literature or critical thinking. Indeed, he is born with the ability to be curious and with the ability to read and think critically. But Beatty and other people in power have brainwashed him to suppress these abilities. So, in a sense, Montag is fighting against his own nature. Upon talking to Clarisse and Faber, he fights through this brainwashing and eventually gives in to his natural curiosity about literature and human thinking. In this case, thankfully, nature wins.
For a more traditional notion of person vs. nature, consider Montag's race to freedom at the end of the book. He runs through people's yards in order to get to the river. He has to risk swimming through the river in order to escape the Mechanical Hound. He does float peacefully down the river, happy to be away from his old life. But when he reaches land, he is overwhelmed with what he has been through and with the journey that awaits him:

He wanted to plunge in the river again and let it idle him safely on down somewhere. This dark land rising was like that day in his childhood, swimming, when from nowhere the largest wave in the history of remembering slammed him down in salt mud and green darkness, water burning mouth and nose, retching his stomach, screaming! Too much water! Too much land!
After all the running and rushing and sweating it out and half-drowning, to come this far, work this hard, and think yourself safe and sigh with relief and come out on the land at last only to find . . . The Hound!

It turns out to be a deer. But these passages shows how Montag does have to struggle against nature during his mad dash to freedom.

What is a brief account of the conflict experienced in the Middle East since the 1990s?

There have been many conflicts in the Middle East from 1990-2016. There have been many reasons for these conflicts. I will highlight a few of these conflicts for you.
In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. This dispute began over an oil well near the border between these two countries. When Iraq invaded Kuwait, the United Nations joined the conflict to help free Kuwait from Iraqi rule.  The involvement of the United Nations forced Iraq to leave Kuwait.
There have been many battles between Israel and the Palestinians. The Palestinians have claimed that the land Israel has belongs to them. The Israelis believe the land is Israeli land. There have been many battles in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as both sides have fought each other. The Second Intifada against Israel led to much fighting between the Israelis and the Palestinians. There also have been many terrorist attacks against Israel.
The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 beginning a war that lasted until 2011. We were looking for weapons of mass destruction. We also wanted to remove Saddam Hussein from power. We believed Iraq was supporting the actions of terrorist groups. While we didn’t find weapons of mass destruction, we did topple Saddam Hussein.
In 2011, there was an uprising in Egypt. This led to the toppling of the government of President Hosni Mubarak. Egyptians were unhappy with the lack of political reform and the lack of political freedom. They also were unhappy with the lack of economic reform. The protesters took to the streets and demanded the end of President Mubarak’s rule.
The most recent example of conflict can be seen with the rise of ISIS. ISIS began to seize control over some parts of Syria and Iraq. They have expanded their influence to other countries in the region, including Libya. They now are fighting many western countries, as they are opposed to western ways of living.
There have been many conflicts in the Middle East since 1990s. I have explained some of them. If you look at my sources, you will be able to find additional examples of conflict.
https://mepc.org/egypts-spring-causes-revolution

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/war-in-iraq-begins

Sunday, December 11, 2011

What kinds of landscapes do we see in Whitman’s "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry"? What role does the ferry play? What role does nature play?

The landscapes we see in "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" are mainly urban landscapes, but they are described in a way that emphasizes their connection to nature and to timelessness, rather than suggests that they are antithetical to nature. Brooklyn is described in terms of its "ample hills," while the "streets of Manhattan island" are depicted in concert with the waters surrounding the island in which the speaker has bathed. These urban landscapes are loved and are made less urban by their connection to water and natural features. While the streets of Manhattan may change, Whitman offers a perspective on them which imagines their continued existence ages and ages into the future, when people will still surely be crossing Brooklyn Ferry and seeing the same water landscape around them. This, Whitman suggests, connects the people of now to the people of the future and the past as they all marvel in the same way at the world around them.
The ferry, then, can be seen to represent a means of transport -- which it literally is -- but also a means of transport between different points in time. Much as the ferry moves crowds of people from point A to point B, it also moves people out of their own limited existence and into a world where they can appreciate the nature around them, and also understand that they are akin to people seeing the same sights in other points in time.


Though Whitman's "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" is a rather long and expansive poem, there is not a huge variety of landscape described. Whitman mentions the clouds, the sun, and the hills that he sees from the ferry, but never in much detail. Likewise, he describes Brooklyn and Manhattan vaguely, more often describing the experience of living in the boroughs among other people. The river itself and the adjoining shores are the landscapes Whitman focuses on most throughout the poem.
His most vivid and passionate description of the landscape comes in section 11:

Flow on, river! flow with the flood-tide, and ebb with the ebb-tide!
Frolic on, crested and scallop-edg’d waves!
Gorgeous clouds of the sun-set! drench with your splendor me, or the men and women generations after me. (111–113)

These lines also reflect the role nature plays in the poem. The river is continuously flowing, as it always has been and always will be. It represents infinite time, something Whitman travels through and sees as beautiful and wonderful.

The ferry plays the most important role in the poem. While Whitman describes literally riding the ferry and observing the other passengers, figuratively, the ferry allows him to journey along the infinite river of time. While on the ferry, he is able to see all those who have come before him and all those who have yet to come. He sees what they see and is able to connect with them and love them. It is through the ferry that Whitman experiences the transcendental connection to all of mankind.
https://www.bartleby.com/142/86.html

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Thematically there are many similarities between Hughes and Brooks, but what makes her poetry different?

Both poets wrote of the lives of African Americans and were able to capture the feelings and surroundings of African American narrators. One might argue, however, that Brooks's poetry was at times more political and forceful than that of Hughes. For example, her later volume In the Mecca, published in 1968, shows the growth of her political militancy in response to living in the United States as a Black woman.
The titular poem is about a large building that occupies an entire block in an African American neighborhood of Chicago. A young African American girl in the run-down Mecca is lost, and her mother searches for her. Her mother finds the girl, Pepita, murdered, and Brooks writes of this young girl, "She never learned that black was not beloved." Brooks gives voice to a girl who lived a short time and never learned from the racist society that she was considered lesser. The poems in this volume offer a more overtly political view (one that reflected the radical politics of the 1960s) than Hughes's poems do.


While Gwendolyn Brooks, like Langston Hughes, closely examines life in poor urban black culture (as is perhaps best exemplified in her poem "We Real Cool"), Brooks far exceeds Hughes in her examination of the female experience.
In poems such as "To Be in Love," Brooks divorces the experience of being poor and black with that of being a woman, examining only what it is like to be female and in love. Her speaker describes the experience: "You are the beautiful half / Of a golden hurt. / You remember his mouth / To touch, to whisper on." Her understanding of what it means to be a woman in love is that of being part of something so beautiful that it's painful, being part of the keeping of secrets.
Brooks also examines issues of womanhood in conjunction with issues of poverty. Her treatment of abortion in "The Mother" is a perfect example of this. While there is much overlap between Brooks's and Hughes's poetry, especially in their examination of what it means to be black, Brooks diverges from and expands upon those themes in her consideration of what it means to be a woman as well.

Friday, December 9, 2011

College Algebra, Chapter 4, 4.1, Section 4.1, Problem 22

A quadratic function $f(x) = 6x^2 + 12x - 5$.

a.) Find the quadratic function in standard form.


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

f(x) =& 6x^2 + 12x - 5
&&
\\
\\
f(x) =& 6 (x^2 + 2x) - 5
&& \text{Factor out $6$ from $x$-terms}
\\
\\
f(x) =& 6 (x^2 + 2x + 1) - 5 - (6)(1)
&& \text{Complete the square: add $1$ inside parentheses, subtract $(6)(1)$ outside}
\\
\\
f(x) =& 6 (x + 1)^2 - 11
&& \text{Factor and simplify}

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$


The standard form is $\displaystyle f(x) = 6 (x + 1)^2 - 11$.

b.) Find its vertex and its $x$ and $y$-intercepts.

By using $f(x) = a (x - h)^2 + k$ with vertex at $(h,k)$.

The vertex of the function $f(x) = 6 (x + 1)^2 - 11$ is at $(-1, -11)$.


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

& \text{Solving for $x$-intercept}
&&
&&& \text{Solving for $y$-intercept}
\\
\\
& \text{We set } f(x) = 0, \text{ then}
&&
&&& \text{We set } x = 0, \text{ then}
\\
\\
& 0 = 6 (x + 1)^2 - 11
&& \text{Add } 11
&&& y = 6 (0 + 1)^2 - 11
\\
\\
& 11 = 6 (x + 1)^2
&& \text{Divide } 6
&&& y = 6 - 11
\\
\\
& \frac{11}{6} = (x + 1)^2
&& \text{Take the square root}
&&& y = -5
\\
\\
& \pm \sqrt{\frac{11}{6}} = x + 1
&& \text{Subtract } 1
&&&
\\
\\
& x = \pm \sqrt{\frac{11}{6}} - 1
&&
&&&

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$


c.) Draw its graph.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

What type of leader is Piggy in Lord Of The Flies?

It is a pity that Piggy's attempts at being a leader are largely unsuccessful firstly, because of his appearance - he is overweight and wears glasses, secondly, he suffers from asthma and thirdly, he had been made fun of from the outset when the boys heard his nickname. Especially Jack's derision towards him encouraged the other boys and they mocked him. No one could respect him after that and even his most sincere attempts were seen as snivelling gripes only.
As a leader, Piggy would have used a common-sense approach. He is clearly practical in his thinking. He is, for example, the one who, at the start, recognizes the practicality of the conch and suggests that Ralph use it to summon whoever else might be on the island. He also insists that it be respected and puts forward rules to that effect, as such, it becomes a symbol of order and discipline.
Since Piggy is orientated towards rules and discipline, he would have formed a more functional society than the one Ralph and Jack did. He most probably would have established a system of rewards and penalties for those who did and did not adhere to the rules.
Furthermore, Piggy would have created clear tasks for groups amongst the boys, as Ralph tried to do when he and Jack decided on who would be hunters and who not. In such a system, the boys would have had more purpose and their society would have had greater functionality. 
Piggy's style of leadership would have been outcomes-orientated for he focuses on what has to be done throughout the novel. He is the one who Ralph and Jack leave behind when they go off to establish whether they were on an island. It is also clear that Ralph recognises his intuitively caring nature when he also later suggests that he should be the one looking after the littluns when they go looking for the beast, although he also states that it would be best for practical reasons since Piggy is not healthy enough to accompany them. Piggy's leadership would probably have ensured a 'safety first' approach, especially with regard to the littluns. 
Piggy's 'old school' approach in which authority is respected, would have achieved a more disciplined society and there would have been greater order and control.
In the end, it is tragically ironic that both Piggy and the conch simultaneously cease to exist. His death and the destruction of the conch introduce a state of anarchy in which the boys become true savages and their innate brutality is given free rein. 
   

If you were Marcovaldo, what would you have done differently after you discovered the mushrooms?

Italo Calvino's hilarious "Mushrooms in the City" serves as a testament to the dangers of greed and the foolishness of mankind.
When Marcovaldo finds what he considers to be a hidden treasure of little, delicious-looking mushrooms, he instantly becomes greedy and plans to hide them from everyone except his family. Marcovaldo's first mistake comes from not being willing to talk to others about the mushrooms; are the mushrooms poisonous or edible? Are they tasty or unpleasant? Marcovaldo doesn't know, yet he takes the opportunity to be the only one who found them.
I'd certainly avoid picking the mushrooms unless I could be absolutely certain that the mushrooms were safe to eat. There are a large number of poisonous, lethal, and psychedelic mushrooms, all of which I'd strongly prefer to avoid. If I could be absolutely certain that the mushrooms were not only safe to eat, I'd want to know their nutritional value as well as the quality of taste. Will they help my body function, or do they at least taste delicious? If so, I'd pick the mushrooms, but I'd certainly avoid Marcovaldo's greed. If the mushrooms were safe, nutritional, and delicious, I'd share them with the town, for there's no use enjoying something in solitude!
https://www.britannica.com/list/7-of-the-worlds-most-poisonous-mushrooms

Explain the possible meaning of the last line of The Invisible Man.

Ralph Ellison concludes the novel, The Invisible Man, with the following question: "Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you?" (p.568) The general consensus of scholars and critics of the novel is that this final line is ambiguous and enigmatic. Ambiguity and lack of opacity in the final words of a distinctive novel is not a pleasurable sensation for a number of readers. For other readers, this ambiguity is perceived as in line and in step with the narrative style and motifs present throughout the piece.
One challenge in substantial comprehension of this question lies in the grammar and syntax Ellison chooses. This answer will begin analyzing and understanding this question by focusing on sections of the question and then returning focus back to the question as a whole.
To begin: "Who knows..." Often when people ask, "Who knows?" they are indirectly stating that they themselves (the speaker/asker of the question) do not know the answer to the question asked. The question "Who knows?" in a way is an admission of lack of knowledge and lack of answers. Ellison is directing his question to the reader, as he directs the entire novel to the reader, and is directing the question out into the universe, to the, as yet, unknown party who does know the answer to his question. Ellison knows neither if his answer is true, nor the identity of the party who knows the answer to this question.
Shifting focus to: "...but that, in the lower frequencies..." From Ellison's perspective outlined in the text, there is power and privilege for those who are visible. Here, Ellison may be speaking to the power and privilege of those who are invisible when he uses "lower frequencies." Those who are visible have obvious power and privilege; visible people are seen, heard, and afforded access. While seemingly counterintuitive, the same can be said about those, like the narrator, who are invisible. They do not have the same power, privilege, and access as his counterpoint, "a visible man," but there is power, privilege, and access of a kind, nonetheless, of those who are invisible.
Invisible people, such as the narrator, have a unique perspective of society and the world. Another example of inviisble people might be those who are homeless. The perspectives of the invisible yield specialized, marginalized insights on societies' problems and potential solutions. Inclusion of a spectrum of perspectives benefits society on individual and collective levels, with respect to systemic, positive growth. Visible people, like celebrities for example, are constantly in the public eye, and have diminished opportunities for privacy and anonymity, whereas invisible people have privacy and anonymity in greater quantities. Visibility is a form of labor--again, think of celebrities--wherein there is less opportunity and/or more labor requred to be free from the gaze of others, and to be free from acting as a representative of the visible population. Invisible people can access parts of societies that are secluded, amazing, undisturubed, and sometimes disturbing.
"Lower frequencies" may be the spaces where invisible people have power, privilege, and access that visible people do not. "Lower frequencies" may refer to spaces that are unseen and unheard by visible people, as in how lower frequencies in sound cannot be heard by humans without technological assistance, or how once humans reach physical adulthood, there are some frequencies of sound they can no longer hear, but younger humans can. To adults, the sounds youth can hear but they can't, are invisible, yet they exist, just like the narrator. He is invisible to most, but he still exists. The same can be said about "lower frequencies" of light. There are people who experience partial and/or complete color blindness, making some frequencies of light, such as the lower ones, invisible to their eyes. The colors a colorblind person cannot see still exist, but for them they are invisible, again, simiilarly to the narrator and his relationship to society at large.
Finally, moving focus to: "...I speak for you?" The novel is extremely personal and has a highly individualized perspective. This text is very much from the unique view and experience of the narrator. Ellison succeeds in cultivating and sustaining the narrator's point of view that is his own that comes from his life. Yet, the final phrase of this question communicates that this story, this narrator, and this mode of communication could be used to speak for and represent the reader, who is, very much not Ralph Ellison or the narrator. Ellison, through the narrator, posits how someone's unique experience can be used to speak for others who are marginalized and who are invisible in some respect, despite differences in nationality, sex, race, age, time, and more.
The question connects the marginal, individual view to what is universal for all in the human condition. At some point, for some reason, for some particular duration of time, each person feels invisible in life. The question communicates this both directly and abstractly, which may contribute to the lack of clarity or solid finality some readers experience upon reading the final line. One reading of "Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you?" is that this is asking, in other words, "I don't know, somehow, somewhere, maybe my story, in some way, is yours, too?" The final line of the novel asks a question the narrator does not and cannot answer.


Throughout Invisible Man, the narrator struggles with the recurrent theme of erasure through labor. No matter what situation the narrator finds himself in—as a driver for Mr. Norton at the novel’s opening, as a machine worker at the Optic White paint factory, or as a speaker for the Party—the Invisible Man finds himself ignored and made invisible by white society that sees him only as a black body capable of fulfilling some sort of labor. One way to interpret the final line of this novel is as a reference to this theme. Because of Ellison’s reliance upon technology as a tool to convey this theme of erasure, it is unsurprising that he uses a final allusion to technology (this time in the form of radio waves) to end his novel.
At the novel’s close, the Invisible Man lives secretly in a house normally rented to whites and siphons electricity (the life force of machines) from the building. When the Invisible Man speaks technologically about using “lower frequencies” to communicate, he reminds the reader of his invisibility as a laboring machine. However, this invisibility is not as oppressive as it was before. By continuing to tell his story and share his experiences while existing where he should not and siphoning electricity, the Invisible Man’s invisibility can be seen as a subversive act that both upends societal norms and reclaims invisibility as a subversive, beneficial trait. Finally, the Invisible Man can escape some of the oppression he experienced throughout the novel by utilizing invisibility to his advantage.


There are a number of different ways of looking at the final sentence. In keeping with the title, the unnamed narrator is invisible throughout to those who patronize, insult, and oppress him. Like many African Americans in society, his experiences of a hostile world are at best ignored and at worst treated with contempt.
Yet the narrator still has a voice. And he still needs to use that voice to communicate the full range and depth of his life experience. But most people, never having gone through the narrator's experience, will never truly comprehend what he has to say. His message, then, is subtle and clandestine. It operates on a lower frequency that will only be picked up if we attune ourselves to it, if we listen carefully and imagine ourselves in the shoes of society's invisible.
On a specific and immediate level, the final sentence of Invisible Man is of course addressed to those who've endured a similar degree of prejudice and racial intolerance in their lives. At the same time, in an increasingly atomized society in which more and more people become "invisible" for one reason or another, it can also speak to anyone who feels themself cut adrift from their fellow human beings.

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