How has Joseph Conrad explored the corruption of the human soul in Heart of Darkness?

Kurtz's descent into savagery while stationed in the heart of the Congolese jungle underscores Conrad's exploration into the corruption of the human soul throughout his classic novella Heart of Darkness. Kurtz is portrayed as an enigmatic figure, who initially traveled into the Congolese jungle with admirable intentions of carrying the torch of civilization to the primitive Natives of Africa. Once Kurtz arrived in the dark jungle, he dramatically transformed into an unscrupulous, ruthless tyrant, who appeared as a god before the Natives and led violent campaigns against neighboring tribes in order to accumulate more ivory.
As Marlow reads in Kurtz's report to the International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs, Kurtz's primary goal was to portray himself as a deity and "Exterminate all the brutes!" In the heart of darkness, Kurtz regressed to his primitive, uncivilized state and his soul became corrupted in an environment without rules, regulations, or restrictions. Similarly, Marlow admits that he was experiencing the same degradation as he traveled further into the Congolese jungle and witnessed unimaginable atrocities. Kurtz's enigmatic final words can be interpreted as him acknowledging of his corrupt soul as well as a reflection of the atrocities he committed. Overall, Marlow's journey into the depths of the Congolese jungle allegorically represents a psychological journey into mankind's corrupt soul, which is reflected through Kurtz's descent into savagery and the atrocities he committed in the heart of darkness.

Along with the cruel, almost inhuman Kurtz, the men on Marlow's excursion into the Congo are corrupted by the darkness of the jungle. These men are sent partially into the jungle to "civilize" the native people that live along the river; ironically, these colonizing men become increasingly uncivilized and inhuman as they further enter the jungle. Kurtz's senseless brutality in murdering men and crushing their skulls is senseless; he, too, entered the jungle as a traditionally "civilized" man, but ultimately finds a fate as a brutally violent god-like figure.
As Kurtz dies, his final words are, "The horror! The horror!". What precisely is this horror that Kurtz is afraid of? Is it the Congo itself, the brutal colonization, Kurtz's own actions, or something else entirely? The "horror" almost certainly refers to the corrupted soul of mankind; men are easily swayed by greed, lust, jealousy, vanity, power, corruption, or a number of other vile traits. Kurtz is horrified by the imperfect and often immoral nature of men as they follow their primal impulses in a wholly non-primal world. The soul is corrupted once the veil of society is lifted; human behavior is either impulsive or learned, and as the men stray from their society, their souls become shrouded in darkness.

Conrad explores the corruption of the human soul primarily through the characterization of Kurtz. Kurtz develops megalomania during his time in the heart of the Congo, which was being pillaged by European countries like the one that produced him.
Kurtz is not subject to anyone's direct oversight, and in that vacuum, loses his way as he exploits his crew, the natives, and the African continent itself to feed his voracious appetite for autonomy, power, and ivory. He reinvents himself as a demigod to be feared and worshipped by those who don't dare to question or oppose him, and one to be admired by the ones he wins with charisma, like the Harlequin, and Charlie Marlow, to a much lesser extent.

In James Hurst's "The Scarlet Ibis," who notices the bird first?

In "The Scarlet Ibis," Doodle, the narrator's younger brother, notices the bird first. The family is eating lunch in their dining room on a very hot Saturday at the end of the summer, and Doodle stops eating when he hears a "strange croaking noise" from outside. Doodle reaches the yard first, where he sees a large bird, about the size of a chicken with scarlet feathers and long legs, poised awkwardly in a tree. As they watch, the bird tumbles from the tree and dies, its eyes becoming veiled and its beak "unhinged." As the family admires the bird's elegance, "it lay on the earth like a broken vase of red flowers." 
It is important that Doodle notices the bird first because he clearly identifies with the bird, who the father says is a scarlet ibis. Soon after he sees the bird, Doodle, in some ways also an exotic and delicate creature, dies with his neck and chest stained red with blood. The bird is a symbol of Doodle's inability to adapt to his environment, in which Brother subjects Doodle to physical rigors he cannot handle. 

What are three features of lyric poetry, and where are they are used in "Song Concerning a Dream of the Thunderbirds"?

Lyric poetry has three academically recognized features that are usually stated as emotion, imagination and melody.

Friends, behold!In a sacred mannerI have been influencedAt the gathering of the clouds.Sacred I have been made. (excerpt from "Song Concerning a Dream of the Thunderbirds")

Upon examining this excerpt from the poem, we see that the poetic phrase "gathering of the clouds" in association with being made sacred ("Sacred I have been made") is an example of the feature of imagination. Imagination envisions clouds and the glory of sacredness.The stirring line "Sacred I have been made" is an example of melody. The word "sacred" conveys an innate musicality because of meaning combined with phonetic sounds [/s/ /a/ /r/]. When "sacred" is in arrangement with the personal pronoun "I" and the state of having "been made" (or transformed), melody is produced. In its simplest terms, melody is vocal pitch and rhythm: melody is how vocal pitch moves up or down, doing so fast or slow.The speaker's emotion is first displayed in this excerpt in the excited line "Friends, behold!" The speaker is metaphorically standing on the mountaintop or shouting from the rooftop the good news of sacred transformation. The speaker is emotionally triumphant, rejoicing and calling friends to celebrate.Lyric poetry is expressive of the speaker's deepest emotions. Deep emotions are described through the speaker's deepest flights of imagination (imagination is inspiration which is beyond intellectual thought). Expressions of imagination are arranged according to the speaker's deepest sense of melody. A lyre was historically tied to the performance of lyric poetry, which was historically sung and accompanied, but the melody of the lyric poem derives from the speaker's sense of melody within words and between words: melody is shown in the arrangement of words, as explained by Ni Wayan Swardhani W. of Universitas Brawijaya, Indonesia, in "Defining Poetry and Characteristics of Poetry."

Intermediate Algebra, Chapter 2, 2.3, Section 2.3, Problem 60

How much water must be added to $6$ gal of a $4\%$ insecticide solution to reduce concentration to $3\%$?

Step 1: Read the problem, we are asked to find the amount of water in the solution.
Step 2 : Assign the variable. Then organize the information in the table.
Let $x = $ amount of water added in the solution.
Since we are concern with the percent of concentration of the insecticide in the solution, then we can say
that the water is $0\%$ insecticide. So,


$
\begin{array}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|}
\hline
& \text{Liters of solution} & \cdot & \text{Percent concentration} & = & \text{Liters of pure insecticide} \\
\hline
\text{Water} & x & \cdot & 0 & = & 0 \\
\hline
\text{$4\%$ insecticide} & 6 & \cdot & 0.04 & = & 0.04(6) \\
\hline
\text{$3\%$ insecticide} & x + 6 & \cdot & 0.03 & = & 0.03(x + 6) \\
\hline
\end{array}
$

The sum of the quantities of each solution is equal to the quantity of the resulting solution

Step 3: Write an equation from the last column of the table
$0 + 0.04(6) = 0.03(x + 6)$

Step 4: Solve

$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
0.24 &= 0.03x + 0.18 \\
\\
-0.03x &= 0.18 - 0.24\\
\\
-0.03x &= -0.06\\
\\
x &= 2
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$


Step 5: State the answer
In other words, $2$ gal of water must be added in the solution.

A major characteristic of Romanticism is its focus on the individual. Its artistic expression was bound to individual impressions, moods, feelings, and sentiments. What does this mean?

This statement means that Romantic writers and artists focused on the experiences and feelings of the individual as their primary subject matter. Romantics called for a privileging of emotion, which does not have to be taught, over reason and logic, which, they argued, do have to be taught. For example, a baby is born knowing how to feel intensely but must be coached in logic and reason; for Romantics, this meant that feelings are more fundamental, more natural, to the human experience than anything else. Further, they prized individual creativity and championed the idea of individual genius: that which is uncultivated and uncorrupted by society's influence. Finally, Romantics were especially interested in nature and nature's positive effects and influences on the individual. Therefore, anything to do with the individual's emotions, creativity, and unique perspectives could easily form the focus of a Romantic text or piece of visual art.

Romanticism was in part a reaction to the Enlightenment and its focus on reason. The style of Classicism that prevailed during the Enlightenment focused on order, calm, and balance. Romanticism, on the other hand, made personal experience and sensation the most important mean of expression. In addition, Romanticism was a reaction against industrialization and its emphasis on progress instead of on the beauties of nature and on groups rather than the individual. In Europe and the U.S., many intellectuals and artists believed that industrialization threatened the individual and nature, and Romanticism was their attempt to recover the experience of the individual. Romanticism prioritized turning back the clock to recover experiences that were characteristic of life before industrialization, including individual experience; feeling and emotion over progress and reason; and the importance of childhood and innocence.  

What book did Maniac give Grayson for Christmas?

Maniac gave Grayson a hand-made book on Christmas. The book was titled The Man Who Struck Out Willie Mays.
On Christmas morning, Maniac and Grayson enjoyed tea, cookies, and eggnog for breakfast. They sang carols and exchanged gifts. Maniac gave Grayson a pair of gloves, a woolen cap, and a hand-made book. The cover of the book was made out of blue construction paper, and the spine was kept together by staples. Maniac had personally hand-written all of the script and hand-drawn the stick figures in the book.
As for Grayson, he presented Maniac with a pair of gloves, a box of butterscotch Krimpets, and a new baseball. However, the best present was saved for last: Grayson's old Minor League leather baseball gloves. Although the leather was cracked, Maniac could not take his eyes off the gloves. To Maniac, the present made the Christmas celebrations meaningful to him. Sadly, however, Grayson died five days after Christmas.

What challenging task does Heck Tate ask Atticus to help him with, to the children's surprise?

In chapter 10, Jem spots a rabid dog staggering down the main street of Maycomb and tells Calpurnia who immediately informs the neighbors that there is a dangerous dog on the loose. Shortly after Calpurnia knocks on the Radley door to warn Nathan that a "mad dog’s comin‘," Sherrif Tate arrives at the scene with Atticus. After surveying the situation, Sheriff Tate hands Atticus his rifle and asks Atticus to shoot the rabid dog. Sheriff Tate tells Atticus that he cannot shoot well and is aware that Atticus is an expert marksman. Atticus reluctantly takes Sheriff Tate's rifle and kills the rabid dog in one shot. Both Jem and Scout are astonished at their father's marksmanship and never knew that Atticus had the most accurate shot in the county. After initially lamenting about Atticus's lack of talent earlier in the chapter, Jem and Scout are proud of their father's unique talent after witnessing him kill the rabid dog at Sherrif Tate's request. Following Atticus's shot, Miss Maudie informs the children that their father's nickname as a young man was Ol‘ One-Shot.