Tuesday, January 31, 2017

What do you like about the poem "Still I Rise"?

You are being asked to state your opinion about what you like about Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise.” This means you will have to do a close reading of the poem before deciding if it has meaning to you due to the subject matter, or if you enjoy the imagery, or if you find the way it rhymes pleasing. Does the poem cause you to have an emotional response?


I find Angelou’s technique of...

You are being asked to state your opinion about what you like about Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise.” This means you will have to do a close reading of the poem before deciding if it has meaning to you due to the subject matter, or if you enjoy the imagery, or if you find the way it rhymes pleasing. Does the poem cause you to have an emotional response?


I find Angelou’s technique of questioning the reader, while creating vivid images, pleasing. Her questions create a challenge to the reader, which is thought-provoking.



Does my sassiness upset you?


Why are you beset with gloom?


‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells


Pumping in my living room.



Angelou’s images and allusions cause me to think about the feelings of pride the narrator is demonstrating even though she is living a life of oppression. There is a lyrical quality to the words as they paint the picture of a proud woman walking with a swagger, instead of being downtrodden, in the face of adversity. As the words challenge the reader, they are empowering. Angelou continues the questioning throughout the poem until she uses repetition at the end to create a point of emphasis.



I am the dream and the hope of the slave.


I rise


I rise


I rise.


Monday, January 30, 2017

What are two good quotes from Animal Farm that indicate corruption?

Corruption is defined as doing something illegal or dishonest, especially by individuals or organizations in power. The goal is to gain an unfair advantage or to benefit from such conduct. 

In Animal Farm, there are a number of instances where the pigs, who took over leadership of the farm, behave in just such a manner to live in privilege. The first of these relates to the disappearance of five pails of milk and the windfall apples. These were supposed to be shared equally amongst all the animals in terms of the principle of equality, as expounded in the seven commandments. In chapter two, we read: 



But at this moment the three cows, who had seemed uneasy for some time past, set up a loud lowing. They had not been milked for twenty-four hours, and their udders were almost bursting. After a little thought, the pigs sent for buckets and milked the cows fairly successfully, their trotters being well adapted to this task. Soon there were five buckets of frothing creamy milk at which many of the animals looked with considerable interest.


"What is going to happen to all that milk?" said someone.


"Jones used sometimes to mix some of it in our mash," said one of the hens.


"Never mind the milk, comrades!" cried Napoleon, placing himself in front of the buckets. "That will be attended to. The harvest is more important. Comrade Snowball will lead the way. I shall follow in a few minutes. Forward, comrades! The hay is waiting."


So the animals trooped down to the hayfield to begin the harvest, and when they came back in the evening it was noticed that the milk had disappeared.



The following extract, from chapter three, explains what happened to the milk and mentions the apples:



The mystery of where the milk went to was soon cleared up. It was mixed every day into the pigs' mash. The early apples were now ripening, and the grass of the orchard was littered with windfalls. The animals had assumed as a matter of course that these would be shared out equally; one day, however, the order went forth that all the windfalls were to be collected and brought to the harness-room for the use of the pigs. At this some of the other animals murmured, but it was no use. All the pigs were in full agreement on this point, even Snowball and Napoleon. Squealer was sent to make the necessary explanations to the others.



Snowball provided an explanation as to why these had been reserved exclusively for the pigs by saying, in effect, that it was brain food which enabled them to perform their task of managing the farm efficiently. If they did not, Jones would come back. The animals accepted this as a reasonable explanation and, since they feared Jones' return, did not ask any further questions. This, of course, opened the door for more corrupt acts and many were soon to follow.


Another instance, mentioned in chapter five, is Snowball's expulsion from the farm. Napoleon raised Bluebell and Jessie's puppies in secret and trained them to become his fiercely brutal guard dogs. On the day on which Snowball was to present his final plans for the windmill, Napoleon summoned them:



But just at this moment Napoleon stood up and, casting a peculiar sidelong look at Snowball, uttered a high-pitched whimper of a kind no one had ever heard him utter before.


At this there was a terrible baying sound outside, and nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn. They dashed straight for Snowball, who only sprang from his place just in time to escape their snapping jaws. In a moment he was out of the door and they were after him. Too amazed and frightened to speak, all the animals crowded through the door to watch the chase. Snowball was racing across the long pasture that led to the road. He was running as only a pig can run, but the dogs were close on his heels. Suddenly he slipped and it seemed certain that they had him. Then he was up again, running faster than ever, then the dogs were gaining on him again. One of them all but closed his jaws on Snowball's tail, but Snowball whisked it free just in time. Then he put on an extra spurt and, with a few inches to spare, slipped through a hole in the hedge and was seen no more.



The other animals were clearly terrified. Napoleon, through this act, had asserted his power and brutality. He immediately commenced changing the rules of democracy to favor the pigs. Napoleon's behavior was clearly corrupt, since he removed his greatest opposition by using a deceitful and malicious tactic. This kind of aggressive response to all opposition would, from then on, become part of the natural order of things on the farm.

What is the power of the poet in "In an Artist's Studio" by Christina Rossetti?

That's an interesting question! The more obvious question to ask is, "What is the power of the artist in that poem?" In that case, the answer would be that the artist has the power to immortalize the woman in the paintings, forever preserving her youthful beauty and the hopeful dreams of love that she inspires in the artist.


But instead, what is the power of the poet here?


Apparently the poet (or the speaker) has...

That's an interesting question! The more obvious question to ask is, "What is the power of the artist in that poem?" In that case, the answer would be that the artist has the power to immortalize the woman in the paintings, forever preserving her youthful beauty and the hopeful dreams of love that she inspires in the artist.


But instead, what is the power of the poet here?


Apparently the poet (or the speaker) has the power to view with objectivity the relationship between the artist and his subject. She can stand aside, outside the minds of the painter and the painted yet still inside the "studio" in which the poem takes place, and she can understand the dynamic between the artist and his subject, then articulate that dynamic. She can point out how the artist has restored all the "loveliness" of the woman, turned her into a "queen" while keeping her a youthful "girl," even elevated her into "a saint, an angel." (We see this power of the poet as an objective observer in other poems by Rossetti as well, such as in "At Home.")


The important aspect of this poet's power reveals itself when the poet (or speaker) starts to see what the artist can't. For the artist, the woman is forever preserved in the paintings as she was at one point in time. But the poet can observe and explain that the woman is now no longer a real source of "hope [shining] bright" for the painter, nor is she any longer a part of the artist's real life but rather a still, silent, and inaccurate image that still "fills his dream."

Why is Equality afraid of the Uncharted Forest in Anthem?

In Chapter II of Anthem, we see our first description of the Uncharted Forest. The forest is outside the city and a place of the unknown. Equality is told by his society that it is a dangerous place to go, with wild beasts and “fearful secrets.” Equality also knows that anyone who ventures into the forest never comes back. The Uncharted Forest is a symbol of the fear Equality’s society perpetuates about the world...

In Chapter II of Anthem, we see our first description of the Uncharted Forest. The forest is outside the city and a place of the unknown. Equality is told by his society that it is a dangerous place to go, with wild beasts and “fearful secrets.” Equality also knows that anyone who ventures into the forest never comes back. The Uncharted Forest is a symbol of the fear Equality’s society perpetuates about the world in the past before a Great War destroyed an “evil” society. The myths and rumors that surround the Uncharted Forest are used as a scare tactic to keep the populace of the city afraid to venture out or rebel against the collective government. Equality’s curiosity keeps him looking towards the forest (especially after meeting Liberty) because he knows it may hold secrets to the society of the past that had electricity and other modern technology. At the end of the novel, Equality escapes to the forest, meets up with Liberty, and finds his identity in nature and through the books he reads in the house in the Uncharted Forest.

What is the link between Sergeant Major Morris and the White family in "The Monkey's Paw"?

The text of the story does not explicitly say how Sergeant Major Morris knows the White family; but, the connection is implied by the way Mr. White acts when he sees his old friend coming up the path.


"The old man rose with hospitable haste, and, opening the door was heard condoling with the new arrival."


If this had been a friend of Mrs. White or the son, either of these two would have gone...

The text of the story does not explicitly say how Sergeant Major Morris knows the White family; but, the connection is implied by the way Mr. White acts when he sees his old friend coming up the path.



"The old man rose with hospitable haste, and, opening the door was heard condoling with the new arrival."



If this had been a friend of Mrs. White or the son, either of these two would have gone to the door first to greet the visitor. As it is, Mr. White makes a great excited effort to be the first one to meet Morris and get him out of the inclement weather. Then, it is Mr. White who introduces Morris to his wife and son, suggesting that he and Morris are friends and the other two have not met him before. Mr. White also seems very proud to introduce this man to his family.


The only other clue the reader gets to how Mr. White knows Morris is when he says, "When he went away he was a slip of a youth in the warehouse. Now look at him." The reader can infer by this quote that Mr. White and Sergeant Morris probably knew each other from working in a warehouse when they were young.

Saturday, January 28, 2017

What are the three main laws of energy?

There are three main laws of thermodynamics that are universally applicable and can explain all phenomena related to energy, temperature and entropy.


The first law of thermodynamics states that in a closed system if there is no transfer of energy in the form of work done by the system, or movement of matter with inherent energy, the total energy of the system remains constant. For any change in total energy of a system, there has...

There are three main laws of thermodynamics that are universally applicable and can explain all phenomena related to energy, temperature and entropy.


The first law of thermodynamics states that in a closed system if there is no transfer of energy in the form of work done by the system, or movement of matter with inherent energy, the total energy of the system remains constant. For any change in total energy of a system, there has to be a transfer either into the system or out of the system. The energy in a closed system can change form but it cannot be created or destroyed.


The second law of thermodynamics states that when two systems interact there is an increase in their total entropy. This law explains why it is not possible to reverse certain phenomena.


The third law of thermodynamics states that as the entropy of a system decreases and moves towards zero, the temperature of the system approaches zero kelvin. This temperature is referred to as absolute zero and it is not possible for the temperature of an object to fall below 0 K.

Friday, January 27, 2017

A company has determined from its analysis of production and accounting data that, for a part number KC-438, the annual demand is equal to 10,000...

We know that we want to sell 10,000 units over the course of the year, but we don't know whether to order them all once, or split up our orders into smaller quantities to save on the cost of holding inventory. (Apparently the unit cost of buying each unit is the same either way, so we're ignoring it.)

Since our revenue won't change, we maximize profit by minimizing cost.

If we place n orders over the course of a year, we know that the size of each order must be 10,000/n.

The time that this order must be held in inventory is 1/n years; but since we're depleting it at a constant rate, the average item in each batch will only be held for half that, 1/(2n) years.

(If we were to draw a graph of how many units we hold in inventory at any given time, it would be a line slanted downward; the area under that line would give us the number of unit-days of inventory held. That area is a triangle, 1/2*base*height; that's how we get the 1/2 number.)

So, each order will cost Rs 36 to buy, and then we will need to hold 10,000/n units for an average of 1/(2n) years each, paying Rs 2 for each unit-year.

Thus, the cost of each order is:

c = 36 + (10,000/n)*(1/(2n))*2
c = 36 + 10,000/n^2

The total cost of n orders is therefore:

C = n c = 36 n + 10,000/n

We want to minimize this, so we take the derivative; the first-order condition is that the derivative is zero:

dC/dn = 0 = 36 - 10,000/n^2
10,000/n^2 = 36
10,000/36 = n^2
n = 16.666...

(It's a good idea to check the second-order condition and make sure this is really a minimum: d2C/dn2 = 20,000/n^3 > 0, so yes, it is.)

The size of each order is:
10,000/n = 600

So we want to place orders of 600 units.
That's answer (a) 600 units per order.

We can't actually place 16.666... orders; so each year we'll place 16 orders of 600 units, and then 1 final order of 400 units.

If we assume there are 300 business days in a year, and we sell 10,000 units in a year, then one day of units is 33.333...

Since each order is 600 units, the maximum inventory we need to be able to support is 600, which is 18*(33.333...); that is, we need enough inventory space to store 18 days worth of sales. On average, we will only have half that (9 days worth), but we need the space for 18. That's answer (b), 18 days of inventory.

If one part of the DNA molecule was ATGGCT, what would its protein look like?

DNA contains the genetic code which must be transcribed into another nucleic acid known as messenger RNA (mRNA) before a polypeptide can be assembled at the ribosome.


The RNA codons are complementary to the DNA code and follow base-pairing rules. In DNA, adenine pairs with thymine and cytosine with guanine. When RNA copies the genetic code, the only difference is that RNA has the base uracil instead of the base thymine. Whenever DNA has the...

DNA contains the genetic code which must be transcribed into another nucleic acid known as messenger RNA (mRNA) before a polypeptide can be assembled at the ribosome.


The RNA codons are complementary to the DNA code and follow base-pairing rules. In DNA, adenine pairs with thymine and cytosine with guanine. When RNA copies the genetic code, the only difference is that RNA has the base uracil instead of the base thymine. Whenever DNA has the base adenine, the complementary base in RNA is uracil.


The original DNA code reads ATGGCT. There are two triplets to be transcribed into messenger RNA. ATG is transcribed into UAC. The next triplet GCT is transcribed into CGA. 


Using the messenger RNA codon chart, UAC is the codon for the amino acid tyrosine. CGA is the codon for the amino acid arginine. 


Therefore, from the information given in the question, we can be sure that the two amino acids tyrosine and arginine are present in the protein. Whatever the rest of the chemical makeup of the protein is cannot be determined by the amount of information given in this question.

How many bones does a horse have?

The exact number of bones horses have vary from breed to breed. Generally horses have 205 bones (in comparison, adult human beings have 206 bones), not including the tail bones (generally 18). These 205 bones include:


  • 54 bones in the vertebral column

  • 36 ribs

  • 1 sternum

  • 34 bones in the skull

  • 40 bones in the front legs

  • 40 bones in the hind legs

The bones have the key functions of providing locomotion, supporting the body...

The exact number of bones horses have vary from breed to breed. Generally horses have 205 bones (in comparison, adult human beings have 206 bones), not including the tail bones (generally 18). These 205 bones include:


  • 54 bones in the vertebral column

  • 36 ribs

  • 1 sternum

  • 34 bones in the skull

  • 40 bones in the front legs

  • 40 bones in the hind legs

The bones have the key functions of providing locomotion, supporting the body and protecting the internal organs of the horse. 


Some breeds differ slightly in the distribution and total number of bones. For example, the Arabian breeds have 17 thoracic vertebrae and 5 lumbar vertebrae instead of the usual 18 and 6, respectively. 


These 205 bones can be divided into five different categories, including long bones, short bones, flat bones, irregular bones and sesamoid bones. 


Hope this helps. 

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Based on humanistic/existential theoretical perspectives, how can I compare free will and determinism?

The words "humanistic" and "existential" have a lot of different meanings, which makes this question somewhat ambiguous. But from the phrasing "humanistic/existential theoretical perspectives" it actually sounds to me like you're approaching this in terms of psychology or specifically psychopathology. There is a school of psychotherapy theory called "humanistic/existential theory" that we can draw from here. I'll just call it "humanistic" from this point because I think that's a better description and it's faster to type than the whole thing.

Humanistic psychology arose as a backlash against behaviorism, one of the earliest (and as a result, worst) theories of cognitive science. Behaviorism said that because cognition was not directly observable, it should be ignored and treated as beyond the bounds of science, and our understanding of the behavior of humans and other animals should be entirely based on the assumption that stimuli lead directly to responses. Behaviorism completely denied any concept of free will; it assumed that your behavior was completely determined by the inputs you received, making you essentially a robot that follows whatever commands it is programmed with.
Humanistic psychology basically started by saying, "Wait a minute; that's clearly not true." When presented with the same stimuli, different human beings often behave quite differently. The same person can respond to the same stimulus in different ways as they learn or change over time. Something important is going on inside the brain---if nothing else, processes like learning, memory, and emotions---which influences our behavior.

Humanistic psychology then went further, adopting a lot of concepts from philosophy that were felt to be lacking in cognitive science at the time. One of these was free will: It is a central tenet of humanistic psychology that all human beings have the free will to make their own choices and improve their own lives. Humanistic psychologists pride themselves on treating their patients as whole human beings and giving them the autonomy to choose their own paths; and humanistic psychotherapy is generally pretty effective (the most effective form of psychotherapy is cognitive-behavioral therapy which is sort of a formalized humanistic psychotherapy).

Thus, the success of humanistic psychology and the failure of behaviorism constitute evidence in favor of free will and against... well, that's the thing; I'm really not comfortable putting the bald word "determinism" there. It's evidence against narrow determinism, or greedy determinism, or stimulus-response determinism.

Because there is actually no conflict whatsoever between free will by any sensible definition and determinism. Determinism just says that all effects have causes; it could be wrong (the jury's still out on the determinism of quantum physics), but it's definitely a very good approximation. At least almost all macroscopic effects have causes.

Then we should ask, what does free will mean? That's the problem, different people mean different things by it. Some make some really strong requirement about "metaphysical freedom" or "independence from causality"; but those frankly don't even make any sense. If our behavior didn't have causes, that wouldn't make us free; it would just make us random. Dice rolls are not free will.

Instead, I think the humanistic psychologists have the right definition of free will: Free will is the capacity to make decisions. It's the capability to think about what you want to accomplish, and then form plans and intentions to accomplish it, and then actually go out into the world and try to do it. Humans absolutely do have this sort of free will, and at least to me it seems plenty good enough to justify things like personal autonomy and moral responsibility (which were really what we wanted free will for in the first place, right?).

Yet notice how this humanistic free will is completely compatible with determinism (it is in fact called compatibilism, linked below). Nowhere in there did we say that people acted without causes; we just said that their causes were based on things like desires and intentions rather than simply being meaningless particle interactions.

Now, the really hard part is that we are made of particle interactions; the trick is to realize that we are not meaningless particle interactions. Not all particle interactions are created equal. When particles get together to form something with the complexity, computational power, and above all capacity for consciousness that human brains have, they attain a special status. If this seems weird to you, consider that a table and a glass of milk are not the same thing, even though both are made of protons and electrons. Being made of particles isn't the same as being just particles. The arrangement matters.

At one point in the novel, Hyde is described as a “troglodyte.” To what does this term refer? What was its significance in Victorian England?...

The term "troglodyte" means "cave dweller". It is derived from two Greek words, "trogle" meaning "hole", and "dyein", meaning "to dive into." In Victorian English, it typically refers to prehistoric humans who were presumed to live in caves and carries with it the sense of the barbarian or primitive, roughly equivalent to the way we might now use the term "Neanderthal" colloquially to refer to someone whose attitudes we considered very old-fashioned or crude.


The Strange...

The term "troglodyte" means "cave dweller". It is derived from two Greek words, "trogle" meaning "hole", and "dyein", meaning "to dive into." In Victorian English, it typically refers to prehistoric humans who were presumed to live in caves and carries with it the sense of the barbarian or primitive, roughly equivalent to the way we might now use the term "Neanderthal" colloquially to refer to someone whose attitudes we considered very old-fashioned or crude.


The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was published in 1886, some 27 years after the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species, which was published in 1859. This use of the term to describe Mr. Hyde has a Darwinian flavor, in which the unrestrained, primitive nature of Mr. Hyde is shown in his looking like a troglodyte, or someone at an earlier stage in human evolution than the erudite and civilized Dr. Jekyll. This relates to the main theme of the novel, that we have a primitive human nature that has been restrained by civilization, and that one of the benefits of civilization is precisely the degree to which it restrains our baser instincts. 

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Visitors to our country treat us as we are unintelligent because we are underdeveloped. Especially if we express opinions they do not agree with....

"Visitors to our country treat us as we are unintelligent because we are underdeveloped."


a) Article Usage: The sentence does not have any articles and does not need them; therefore, there are no errors in article usage.


b) As vs. Like: The word "as" is used incorrectly here but substituting "like" wouldn't really work for formal English, although it would constitute an improvement. The best solution would be correcting it to "as ifwe...

"Visitors to our country treat us as we are unintelligent because we are underdeveloped."


a) Article Usage: The sentence does not have any articles and does not need them; therefore, there are no errors in article usage.


b) As vs. Like: The word "as" is used incorrectly here but substituting "like" wouldn't really work for formal English, although it would constitute an improvement. The best solution would be correcting it to "as if we were unintelligent" since it is a counterfactual conditional, requiring a subjunctive mood. The error in the way "as" is used does make the sentence syntactically unintelligible.


c) Comma: Commas are used after initial subordinate clauses but are not used when the subordinate clause occurs at the end of the sentence. An additional comma is not needed. 


d) Infinitive: The sentence does not contain an infinitive. 

Is MgO a weak acid or a base?

Magnesium oxide (MgO) is a base and not an acid. Magnesium is a metal and like most of the metals, it form basic oxides. When magnesium oxide reacts with water the following reaction takes place:


`MgO + H_2O -> Mg(OH)_2`


magnesium hydroxide is formed in this reaction. Since magnesium oxide accepts protons (H^+ ions), it is a base (as per Bronsted-Lowry definition of acids and bases). Acids, on the other hand, are donors of protons. 


...

Magnesium oxide (MgO) is a base and not an acid. Magnesium is a metal and like most of the metals, it form basic oxides. When magnesium oxide reacts with water the following reaction takes place:


`MgO + H_2O -> Mg(OH)_2`


magnesium hydroxide is formed in this reaction. Since magnesium oxide accepts protons (H^+ ions), it is a base (as per Bronsted-Lowry definition of acids and bases). Acids, on the other hand, are donors of protons. 


Magnesium oxide is not a very strong base, especially when compared with group I oxide, such as sodium oxide (Na2O). 


Metal oxides are generally basic in nature, especially the first oxides where the highest oxidation state of the metal is involved. Aluminum oxide is a transitory compounds (shows properties of both acids and bases).




Hope this helps.

Why was reading Helen Keller's favorite subject?

Despite being both deaf and blind, Helen Keller was taught by Anne Sullivan to read braille at a young age. Reading became a practical benefit and a lifelong passion for Keller, who would go on to advocate for education for the blind for the rest of her life. 


Helen Keller was widely regarded as a determined individual by her family and colleagues, so the fact that no one believed she would ever be able to...

Despite being both deaf and blind, Helen Keller was taught by Anne Sullivan to read braille at a young age. Reading became a practical benefit and a lifelong passion for Keller, who would go on to advocate for education for the blind for the rest of her life. 


Helen Keller was widely regarded as a determined individual by her family and colleagues, so the fact that no one believed she would ever be able to read was likely a major reason she was so passionate about it. After being largely separated from the world around her, gaining the ability to read introduced Keller to a world of stories, people and experiences she had never imagined before.


Keller noted that she loved to read anything she could find in braille when she was younger, but as she grew and obtained more education, the topics of politics and world events became her favorite to read about. Some of her favorite books included volumes of poetry and philosophical texts. She was also a talented student of languages and enjoyed reading foreign language books in French, Latin and German. 

Does George Orwell appear to be a coward and a racist in his essay "Shooting an Elephant"?

In his essay, “Shooting an Elephant,” George Orwell reveals a lot about himself. From what he tells the reader, he does seem to consider himself a coward for giving in to the crowd and shooting the escaped elephant. What is more difficult is determining whether his views about the Burmese are merely cowardly or also racist.

Orwell portrays himself as a critic of the British colonial government of Burma. As he tells us:



Theoretically – and secretly, of course – I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British.



As such, he understands his place in the social hierarchy. Whether he agrees with the colonial government or not, he is an agent of that government, and the Burmese view him as such.


This understanding leads to his dilemma about shooting the escaped elephant. Orwell realizes that he has stepped into a position in which he cannot show fear or indecision. He is, in short, afraid of looking foolish. Because of this, he decides to shoot the elephant, even thought it was no longer on a rampage:



A white man mustn't be frightened in front of "natives"; and so, in general, he isn't frightened. The sole thought in my mind was that if anything went wrong those two thousand Burmans would see me pursued, caught, trampled on and reduced to a grinning corpse like that Indian up the hill. And if that happened it was quite probable that some of them would laugh. That would never do.



In this, we see the coward he knows himself to be. The fear of looking foolish overcomes his better sense, and he acts to escape his fear.


The above passage also illustrates the racial issue in the essay. Orwell believes British imperialism to be, in his words, "evil." Still, he sees himself, as a white man, to be separate, even above, the Burmese, whom he seems to consider an undifferentiated mass, one which he must appease. He may not possess the same racial views as the colonial government, but neither does he seem to think of the Burmese people as individuals like himself. When we combine this with his statement at the end that he is glad that the “coolie” was killed because it gave him the pretext for shooting the elephant, we see that even though he is an opponent of colonial imperialism, it does not appear that he is free from seeing local peoples as something less than he thinks himself to be.

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

To what did the Democratic slogan "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight" refer?

This slogan referred to a line of latitude.  “Fifty four-forty” means fifty four degrees, forty minutes North latitude.  This was the line of latitude that some Democrats wanted the United States to have as its northern boundary in the Pacific Northwest.  The slogan calls for the US to go to war if it is not given this boundary.


In 1818, the United States and the United Kingdom signed a treaty in which they agreed to...

This slogan referred to a line of latitude.  “Fifty four-forty” means fifty four degrees, forty minutes North latitude.  This was the line of latitude that some Democrats wanted the United States to have as its northern boundary in the Pacific Northwest.  The slogan calls for the US to go to war if it is not given this boundary.


In 1818, the United States and the United Kingdom signed a treaty in which they agreed to jointly occupy what was called the Oregon Territory. This territory stretched from what is now the southern border of the state of Oregon up to the 54-40 line (the southern limit of Russian Alaska at that time).  By the 1840s, many Americans wanted to expand their territory.  This was, after all, the time of Manifest Destiny.  The most aggressive Americans wanted to expand both in the south and in the north.  They supported war with Mexico to gain more land in the south and they demanded that Britain give the US all of the Oregon Territory.


The slogan “fifty four-forty or fight” refers to this demand.  The slogan meant that the US should go to war with Britain if the British did not give the US all of the Oregon Territory.  The US did not end up going to war with Britain and Britain did not give the US all of the Oregon Territory.  Instead, the US and Britain divided the territory.  They set the border at the 49th parallel, where it now stands.

In the following extract how does Dickens present Scrooge? "Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grind- stone, Scrooge! a squeezing,...

In the following extract how does Dickens present Scrooge?


"Oh!  But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grind- stone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!  Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.  The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice.  A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin.  He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dogdays; and didn't thaw it one degree at Christmas.


External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge.  No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him.  No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty.  Foul weather didn't know where to have him.  The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet, could boast of the advantage over him in only one respect.  They often "came down" handsomely, and Scrooge never did.


Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, "My dear Scrooge, how are you?  When will you come to see me?"  No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge.  Even the blind men's dogs appeared to know him; and when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts; and then would wag their tails as though they said, "No eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!"


But what did Scrooge care?  It was the very thing he liked.  To edge his way along the crowded paths of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its distance, was what the knowing ones call "nuts" to Scrooge."

Monday, January 23, 2017

normal distribution tendency, how is it used by physicians?

The measures of tendency (central) in statistics is referred to as mean, median and mode. Mean refers to the average in a given set of data, median is the middle score in a given set of data that has been arranged in order of magnitude and mode is the most frequent score in a given data set.


Normal distribution tendency refers to how the measures on tendency (central), namely mean, median and mode, are being...

The measures of tendency (central) in statistics is referred to as mean, median and mode. Mean refers to the average in a given set of data, median is the middle score in a given set of data that has been arranged in order of magnitude and mode is the most frequent score in a given data set.


Normal distribution tendency refers to how the measures on tendency (central), namely mean, median and mode, are being positioned and the shape of distribution it forms. If the mean, median and mode are equal, then we will have a normal distribution, however if they are not identical we will have a skewed distribution (either positive or negative). 


The application of normal distribution tendency as a physicians:


In the medical field and with the aid of biostatistics, physicians used normal distribution tendency in statistical distribution of population. If physicians need to study a certain medical condition affecting a certain group of people in an area, then it will not be practical for the physician to perform test and examine an entire population. But they perform tests on a certain number of people and obtain a sample of the population. This will help physicians to solve medical problems affecting a certain population and find trends in a particular group that could help improve the health of that group of people. An example can be found in the link below.


In a "to what extent question," how would I address other ideas in my essay? Can I write "to a middle extent"?

You ask a good question and, while I appreciate the concept of "to a middle extent", the answer to your predicament is actually more straightforward.


To understand how the word "extent" is being used, let's first define it. The Oxford English dictionary has as the pertinent definition, "the amount to which something is or is believed to be the case." From this definition, we can see that you could also substitute the word "degree" for "extent"...

You ask a good question and, while I appreciate the concept of "to a middle extent", the answer to your predicament is actually more straightforward.


To understand how the word "extent" is being used, let's first define it. The Oxford English dictionary has as the pertinent definition, "the amount to which something is or is believed to be the case." From this definition, we can see that you could also substitute the word "degree" for "extent" in this instance. When we ask, "To what extent is XYZ", we are asking, "To what degree".  


If we are talking about just one thing, we would say to a "great extent", as you have noted in your question. When we are talking about more than one thing, however, we are making comparisons. So you could say that your first topic is to a "great extent", that your second topic is to a "lesser extent", and your third topic is to "an even lesser extent." (However, "to an even lesser extent" reads awkwardly, so you might just want to compare the second and third topics to the first and say that ideas two and three are both "to a lesser extent".)

How was there an increase in social and political tensions during the Vietnam War?

Social and political tensions increased during the Vietnam War. Many people were opposed to the war and were against the drafting of soldiers. Many students began to protest about our involvement in the war and the drafting of young people to serve in Vietnam. Some people felt the draft discriminated against minorities and against poor people. These groups were less likely to be in college, and therefore, they couldn’t postpone serving in the military. Other...

Social and political tensions increased during the Vietnam War. Many people were opposed to the war and were against the drafting of soldiers. Many students began to protest about our involvement in the war and the drafting of young people to serve in Vietnam. Some people felt the draft discriminated against minorities and against poor people. These groups were less likely to be in college, and therefore, they couldn’t postpone serving in the military. Other people just believed our involvement in the war was wrong, and they organized many protests to show their displeasure.


Political tensions also increased during the Vietnam War. As the war dragged on, many people believed we would not emerge victorious in this conflict. They believed the government was not being honest with them regarding how the war was really going. What the government was saying and what people were seeing on television were two very different stories. People also were convinced that we would need to dramatically increase our military commitment in order to be successful in Vietnam, and there was no political support for that to occur. Distrust of the government increased during the Vietnam War.

In the novel The Outsiders, how did Sodapop react when Mickey Mouse was sold?

In Chapter 3, Ponyboy is having a conversation with Cherry, and he begins to talk about Sodapop's horse, Mickey Mouse. Pony tells her that Sodapop had a dark-gold buckskin horse that wasn't his but belonged to a guy who owned the stables where Soda worked. He explains to Cherry that Soda was absolutely in love with the horse, and Soda would visit him every day.Ponyboy says that Mickey Mouse was ornery and would continually...

In Chapter 3, Ponyboy is having a conversation with Cherry, and he begins to talk about Sodapop's horse, Mickey Mouse. Pony tells her that Sodapop had a dark-gold buckskin horse that wasn't his but belonged to a guy who owned the stables where Soda worked. He explains to Cherry that Soda was absolutely in love with the horse, and Soda would visit him every day. Ponyboy says that Mickey Mouse was ornery and would continually kick the other horses. Even though Mickey Mouse belonged to someone else, he was still Sodapop's horse. When Cherry asks if Soda still has the horse, Ponyboy tells her that Mickey Mouse was sold. Ponyboy explains that Mickey Mouse was a valuable horse, and Sodapop was devastated when they came and took Mickey Mouse away. Pony says that all Sodapop ever wanted was a horse, and he bawled all night long the day Mickey Mouse was taken away. Sodapop kept his feelings to himself because he understood that his parents were not wealthy enough to buy Mickey Mouse back from the people who had bought him. 

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Can money perform its functions despite a high rate of inflation?

Money can conceivably perform its functions even when the rate of inflation is high.  However, it is much harder for money to do so in these conditions.  In addition, it can be completely impossible for money to perform its functions if the rate of inflation is both high and unpredictable.


We typically say that money has three functions.  Money is a store of value, meaning that our money that has value today will still have...

Money can conceivably perform its functions even when the rate of inflation is high.  However, it is much harder for money to do so in these conditions.  In addition, it can be completely impossible for money to perform its functions if the rate of inflation is both high and unpredictable.


We typically say that money has three functions.  Money is a store of value, meaning that our money that has value today will still have value in a year.  We can therefore keep our wealth in the form of money.  Second, money is a unit of account.  This means that we can express how much things are worth in terms of money.  We can say that a car costs X number of dollars and that our labor is worth Y number of dollars.  Finally, money is a medium of exchange.  This means that I can give you money and you will give me valuable things in exchange.  All of these functions become more difficult to perform when inflation is high and impossible if inflation is high and unpredictable.


If inflation is high, money cannot act as a store of value.  Inflation causes money to be less valuable.  If inflation is high enough, money can lose most of its value in a matter of days and no one can keep their wealth in the form of money.  If inflation is high and unpredictable, money cannot be a good unit of account.  If I do not know how much money will be worth tomorrow, I cannot tell you how much my labor (or anything else) is worth.  When the value of currency fluctuates, we cannot use it to clearly state how much various things are worth.  Finally, when inflation is high and unpredictable, money cannot be used as a medium of exchange, largely because it cannot be used as a store of value.  If I own a store and you want to give me money in exchange for my goods, I want that money to have value.  Otherwise, I will not give you goods in exchange for it.  If inflation is high and unpredictable, I will not believe that the money you bring will be worth anything tomorrow or next week so I will not agree to exchange goods for it.


In these ways, it is much harder for money to perform its function if inflation is high.  If inflation rates are high enough and are unpredictable, money cannot perform its functions at all.  This is one reason why hyperinflation is so dangerous for a country’s economy.

How did child labor affect people's lifestyles during the Industrial Revolution in Britain?

When children had to go to work in factories during the Industrial Revolution in Britain, there were many effects.  The children themselves were effected.  Their families were also impacted by it.


Usually when children went to work in factories, they did so because their family needed the extra income.  Their work had a positive impact on their families in that they were able to provide money for the household.  Factory workers were usually poor, and...

When children had to go to work in factories during the Industrial Revolution in Britain, there were many effects.  The children themselves were effected.  Their families were also impacted by it.


Usually when children went to work in factories, they did so because their family needed the extra income.  Their work had a positive impact on their families in that they were able to provide money for the household.  Factory workers were usually poor, and because of this any extra income was beneficial.


Children were impacted in negative ways by factory work.  Children who worked in a factory day after day were unable to attend school.  Working in the factory was often dangerous.  Small children were frequently sent into small spaces under and around factory machines to pick up things that had fallen, such as pieces of cotton.  Machines could be dangerous because there were few safety features.  Young girls had to wear their long hair pinned up because it could get caught in the machines.  This could injure or kill them.  The pollution caused by the factories could make children ill.  Many children became ill or died from what was called "mill fever."

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Critically examine the terms and conditions of the bet.

There is a great deal of exposition in the beginning of "The Bet." It is mostly told through a flashback representing the banker's memories. At the end of this introduction, and before the actual term of imprisonment begins, the precise terms and conditions of the bet are spelled out in a single paragraph, so that the reader will understand exactly what the bet involves.


It was decided that the young man should spend the years of his captivity under the strictest supervision in one of the lodges in the banker's garden. It was agreed that for fifteen years he should not be free to cross the threshold of the lodge, to see human beings, to hear the human voice, or to receive letters and newspapers. He was allowed to have a musical instrument and books, and was allowed to write letters, to drink wine, and to smoke. By the terms of the agreement, the only relations he could have with the outer world were by a little window made purposely for that object. He might have anything he wanted - books, music, wine, and so on - in any quantity he desired by writing an order, but could only receive them through the window. The agreement provided for every detail and every trifle that would make his imprisonment strictly solitary, and bound the young man to stay there exactly fifteen years, beginning from twelve o'clock of November 14, 1870, and ending at twelve o'clock of November 14, 1885. The slightest attempt on his part to break the conditions, if only two minutes before the end, released the banker from the obligation to pay him the two million.



The author Anton Chekhov does not state whether this agreement was in writing, but it seems likely that is was a verbal agreement. The banker was not obliged to put two million rubles in a trust fund. It was apparently a "gentleman's agreement," but Anton Chekhov takes pains to insure that the bet was mutually binding. Most importantly, the bet was made in front of many important witnesses. A verbal agreement should be binding if, as the author states, 



There had been many clever men there....among whom were many journalists and intellectual men...



The banker would be disgraced if he refused to pay the two million rubles after the lawyer stayed in solitary confinement for fifteen years. The "journalists" would spread the story all over Russia--and perhaps even into Europe. Chekhov specifies that the banker has so much money that two million rubles is a trifle to him. At the same time, the author specifies that the prisoner is a lawyer. He would know how to collect the money if he won the bet. It would not have to be called a bet in court; it would be called a "verbal contract," and it would be corroborated, if necessary, by a host of distinguished witnesses.


In case Chekhov overlooked anything included in the bet, he states that: The agreement provided for every detail and every trifle that would make his imprisonment strictly solitary... The lawyer is not like a typical prisoner in a state-run institution. He is to have all the comforts of a guest in one of the wealthy banker's guest lodges. His food will probably be the same as the banker eats himself. He will have comfortable furniture, plenty of books to read, a piano, and wine and tobacco if he desires. The only thing he cannot have is human contact. He can't receive letters, and he is not allowed to read newspapers, possibly because this might be regarded as a form of human contact. He doesn't even have any contact with the banker. 


This seems like a fantastic and improbable bet. But Chekhov manages to make it seems believable by the time the lawyer's imprisonment gets underway. One of the ways Chekhov achieves verisimilitude is by having the banker himself acknowledge that it is a "wild and senseless bet." Another way is by spelling out all the details of the bet, as he does in the long explanatory paragraph quoted above. It is the fantastic nature of this bet that makes the story so intriguing. The reader not only wonders if the lawyer will be able to stand fifteen years of solitary confinement, but can't help wondering whether he or she would be able to do so even in comfortable surroundings with the best food and plenty of the world's best books to read.

What is the difference between equity and debt financing? Is it better to finance a business such as a hospital using equity that you have or debt...

Equity financing describes a process by which investors put in cash or cash equivalents to buy shares in a company. If an investor were to purchase fifty percent of the shares of a hospital, that shareholder would own fifty percent of the profits of the company. If the hospital were to bring in one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) in revenue during the next year, and the total operating expenses of the hospital over the course of that same year were to equal fifty million ($50,000,000), then the equity investor would get half of that profit, which would equal twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000).

On the other hand, if the hospital were to lose money the next year, and make no profit, then the equity investor would get no money, because there would be no profit to split. However, an equity investor who owns fifty percent of a company would have certain voting rights, and could force the hospital to make changes to its operations in order to maximize profit in future years. Even so, the equity investor has far less power than the debt investor. That is because our legal system prioritizes debt over equity.


A debt investor would not buy stock in your hypothetical hospital, but would instead by bonds issued by your company. These bonds, unlike equity, give the debt investor collateral, and because these bonds are treated as loans, the investor also gets a guaranteed return on that investment every year. That return is based on the interest that the bonds yield. The riskier the investment, the higher the yield (or annual interest rate) the investor can demand. 


This point is extraordinarily important, because while equity investors can get wiped out (lose everything they invested) if the company they invest in goes under, a debt investor gets to pocket fixed yearly interest payments regardless of how profitable the company is. In the event of the company going bankrupt, these debt investors also would get the building, the land, the MRI and X-Ray machines, as well as any other tangible or intangible items of worth that could be sold off to pay those debt investors back.


In this hypothetical hospital situation, that would mean that if a debt investor put up half the capital to buy the hospital, say fifty million dollars ($50,000,000), the hospital management would have to use its profits first to pay the interest on those bonds, which are loans, every year or every quarter, or perhaps even every month.


As for what kind of investor (equity or debt) most companies prefer, the answer is usually equity, because equity investors don't need to be paid unless the company makes a profit. Also, equity investors have less leverage in the case of bankruptcy. In other words, it is far easier to walk away from one’s obligations to equity investors than it is to walk away from one’s obligations to debt holders.

In To Kill a Mockingbird in Chapter 4, why was Scout in danger and what kind of danger?

Jem thinks that Scout is in danger because she eats gum she found in the Radley tree and when she rolls in the tire. 

The first time Scout seems to be in danger is when Jem sees her chewing gum and asks her where she got it.  As gross as it may seem to use to chew someone else’s gum, Jem is more concerned with where the gum came from—a tree on the Radley property. 



“Spit it out right now!”


I spat it out. The tang was fading, anyway. “I’ve been chewin‘ it all afternoon and I ain’t dead yet, not even sick.”


Jem stamped his foot. “Don’t you know you’re not supposed to even touch the trees over there? You’ll get killed if you do!” (Ch. 4)



The neighborhood children are all afraid of Boo Radly and the Radley place.  They won't even eat pecans that fall off of the Radley trees, because they think they are poisoned.  Jem can't imagine why Scout would find gum in a tree on the Radley lot and chew it.  To Scout, gum is a real treat, even someone else's. 


Jem is not as concerned when later they find the pennies in the same tree.  These are two old Indian-head pennies.  Jem is excited about the pennies because he says that are strong good luck.  They wonder who might have left them in the tree, because adults do not have hiding places.  They decide finders' keepers.


Although the gum was probably not dangerous, Scout was in a bit more danger when she rolled in the tire.  She could have been seriously hurt when she got into the tire and Jem pushed her across the road.  



The tire bumped on gravel, skeetered across the road, crashed into a barrier and popped me like a cork onto pavement. Dizzy and nauseated, I lay on the cement and shook my head still, pounded my ears to silence, and heard Jem’s voice: “Scout, get away from there, come on!” (Ch. 4) 



Jem is more concerned that the tire stops next to the Radley place than for Scout’s safety in the tire itself.  They still think that the Radley place is dangerous, and are afraid to go anywhere near it.  Scout might have been hurt falling out of the tire, but Jem just tells her to get away from Radley gate.

What are five significant quotes from Chapter Two of Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser? Give an explanation for each quote.

Here are five significant quotes and their explanations from Chapter Two of Fast Food Nation. The first is "The Disneyesque tone of the museum reflects, among other things, many of the similarities between the McDonald’s Corporation and the Walt Disney Company" (page 33). This quote refers to the author's tour of the Ray A. Kroc Museum. Kroc was the founder of McDonald's, and like Walt Disney, he became an expert at selling food and experiences to children. 


The second quote is "He looked at the restaurant 'through the eyes of a salesman' and envisioned putting a McDonald’s at busy intersections all across the land" (page 36). This quote is also about Ray Kroc's ability to sell the McDonald's experience to make it a successful American chain. Kroc is quoted as saying, "This is rat eat rat, dog eat dog. I’ll kill ’em, and I’m going to kill ’em before they kill me. You’re talking about the American way of survival of the fittest” (page 38). This encapsulates his idea about his customers and about the fast food business, as he would do anything to make McDonald's succeed. 


Kroc's success also came from targeting kids in the midst of the national Baby Boom after World War II. As the author writes, "The McDonald brothers had aimed for a family crowd, and now Kroc improved and refined their marketing strategy. He’d picked the right moment. America was in the middle of a baby boom; the number of children had soared in the decade after World War II." In addition to targeting kids, he also made how McDonald's sold food as important as what it sold. As Schlosser writes about Kroc, "He liked to tell people that he was really in show business, not the restaurant business." This quote emphasizes the idea that McDonald's was a masterpiece of marketing. 

Friday, January 20, 2017

What does freedom mean in different religions?

Freedom means different things in different religious traditions. In Christianity, freedom is considered the opposite of bondage. The Christian notion of freedom is tied to righteousness or morality; whereas the notion of bondage is tied to sin. The relationship between sin and bondage is a common teaching in the Christian New Testament. In John 8:34, Jesus says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, anyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” 2 Peter 2:9...

Freedom means different things in different religious traditions. In Christianity, freedom is considered the opposite of bondage. The Christian notion of freedom is tied to righteousness or morality; whereas the notion of bondage is tied to sin. The relationship between sin and bondage is a common teaching in the Christian New Testament. In John 8:34, Jesus says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, anyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” 2 Peter 2:9 states, of those who commit corrupt acts: “[they] themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.” Freedom, in this view, is the state of not being controlled by one’s base desires, of not being dragged down by unwholesome (sinful) acts.


There is a denominational split within Christianity about how freedom is achieved. Some denominations assert that freedom is a state that is earned by pious works and/or upright moral behavior. This means that faith, charity, and morality can lead to a state of freedom. Other denominations (notably Calvinism) maintain that freedom -- that is, freedom from the bondage of sin --  is a state that God bestows upon believers out of mercy. In this view, freedom is tied to grace. It cannot be earned or achieved through effort, it can only be bestowed by God. Thus, Christians sometimes speak of being “saved by grace,” as opposed to, say, good works, or pious effort.

Thursday, January 19, 2017

In order to expand or reduce presidents' war making authority, a new constitutional amendment would need to be adopted. Propose a new amendment for...

We can justify the need for either type of amendment (one expanding or one contracting presidents’ powers) in the same way. In both cases, we need the amendment because it is currently not clear as to what the president can and cannot do if the Congress does not declare war.  It is important to clarify this issue.  This is important because we have seen, time and again since WWII, that there is no clear line...

We can justify the need for either type of amendment (one expanding or one contracting presidents’ powers) in the same way. In both cases, we need the amendment because it is currently not clear as to what the president can and cannot do if the Congress does not declare war.  It is important to clarify this issue.  This is important because we have seen, time and again since WWII, that there is no clear line between what the president can do as commander-in-chief and what the Constitution reserves for Congress because that branch has the power to declare war.  For example, there were more than 20,000 American troops in Vietnam before Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and there had been at least 10,000 troops for two years before that.  As another example, Presidents Bush and Obama have attacked and killed suspected terrorists in places like Pakistan and Yemen using remote-control drones without a declaration of war.


This is not necessarily a problem. We can believe different things about whether the president should have these powers.  What is a problem is the fact that we are not sure whether the president has those powers.  This means that we often disagree on whether presidents’ actions are legitimate and legal. When we kill people in other countries and when we expose our own soldiers to be killed, we need to be sure that we are doing so legally.  Therefore, we need to clarify when the president can commit troops to combat without Congress giving him (or her) permission.


The real problem comes in writing the amendments. There are various problems that you will face when you try to write these amendments.  Let us say that you want to write an amendment saying that the Congress must approve in order to send troops into combat for a given amount of time.  When you do this, you will need to think about how to define various things.  You will need to define what it means to send troops into combat.  Are they in combat any time when they might be attacked? Does there have to be organized warfare going on?  How will you define this?


Let us say that you want to say the president can send troops to war if the country is being threatened. How do you define a threat? How serious does that threat have to be in order to warrant sending troops?  Who gets to decide whether the threat is serious enough?


When you write your amendments, you will need to decide how you are going to resole these problems and others like them. You will have to decide how you could possibly write an amendment that would clarify the circumstances under which presidents can send troops to war in such a way that people would no longer agree about whether the president had the right to act.

What would be considered a cash cow or star for St. Jude's Children's Hospital?

St. Jude's is a children's hospital with national recognition.  St. Jude's first opened its doors in 1962. Since that time, the hospital has become synonymous with quality pediatric care. St. Jude's Children's Hospital offers a full array of services to pediatric patients and their families. St. Jude's main campus is in Memphis, TN. However, the hospital also has several outlying satellite clinics in Johnson City, TN, Charlotte, NC, Huntsville, AL, Shreveport, LA, Baton Rouge, LA,...

St. Jude's is a children's hospital with national recognition.  St. Jude's first opened its doors in 1962. Since that time, the hospital has become synonymous with quality pediatric care. St. Jude's Children's Hospital offers a full array of services to pediatric patients and their families. St. Jude's main campus is in Memphis, TN. However, the hospital also has several outlying satellite clinics in Johnson City, TN, Charlotte, NC, Huntsville, AL, Shreveport, LA, Baton Rouge, LA, Springfield, MO, and Peoria, IL. The best option for a large increase in operating revenue for St. Jude's Children Hospital at this time is to build a satellite hospital within their current market area. 


The best location for satellite hospital at this time would be in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area. A St. Jude affiliate clinic is currently available at Novant Health Hemby Children's Hospital. This creates a great avenue for cooperative competition in the market as St. Jude's attempts to grow its patient base in the region. 


Charlotte is also an ideal location because St. Jude's would be able to make a stronger presence in the eastern part of the United States. Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Durham, and Cincinnati would all be within a day's drive. 


Another reason to choose the Charlotte, North Carolina area is that North Carolina does not have certificate of need. St. Jude's would not need to meet bed requirements set forth by the state and could expand when and as needed. 

Find the sentences and phrases that at first suggest that Leonard Mead is the only person living in this setting in A.D. 2053.

Some of the words at the end of the first paragraph of "The Pedestrian" and at the beginning of the second paragraph seem intended to create the impression that Leonard Mead is all alone in the world of 2053 A.D., which was approximately one hundred years in the future at the time Ray Bradbury's story was published. These are the pertinent sentences and phrases:


...he was alone in this world of A.D. 2053, or as good as alone, and with a final decision made, a path selected, he would stride off, sending patterns of frosty air before him like the smoke of a cigar. Sometimes he would walk for hours and miles and return only at midnight to his house. And on his way he would see the cottages and homes with their dark windows....



The reader could easily get the initial impression that Mead is the survivor of a great nuclear war, like the few men huddled together in Walter Van Tilburg Clark's short story "The Portable Phonograph." But then it becomes apparent that there are many people living around the solitary pedestrian. He is all alone because everybody else stays inside watching their television sets. They have all become brainwashed, hypnotized, and spellbound  by television. The sidewalks are crumbling because no one ever uses them for walking anymore. This suggests that they use their automobiles for getting to and from their jobs and for getting to and from the supermarkets.



...to put your feet upon that buckling concrete walk, to step over grassy seams and make your way, hands in pockets, through the silences, that was what Mr. Leonard Mead most dearly loved to do...



Mead appears to be the only person who still wants to experience reality and think for himself, rather than looking at pictures of everything and being told what to think. This makes him a freak in the eyes of the authorities, and it is inevitable that sooner or later he should be stopped by the robot-controlled vehicle and carried off to some laboratory where he will be examined and reconditioned.


Leonard Mead, like his creator Ray Bradbury, is a "writer." But Mead doesn't write anymore because people don't read anymore. They watch pictures and listen to recorded words instead. This has turned the people of 2053 A.D. into passive consumers of entertainment and "information," just as they are consumers of everything else. They have gradually lost the capacity to think for themselves.


Ray Bradbury was always resistant to what he saw as the dehumanization caused by the relentless advance of technology. He never learned to drive a car. A number of his stories, such as "The Veldt," have to do with the threat posed by technological innovation. If he were alive today he would undoubtedly see a new threat in the recent appearance of all kinds of hand-held electronic gadgetry. 

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

How can I compare "The New Dress" with "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" in terms of the two main characters' obsession with...

Of the two short stories, Virginia Woolf's "The New Dress" has a more straight-forward message about appearances and their power over us. Mabel Waring opens the story by worrying about the appropriateness of her dress and overall aesthetic from the very first line. Her nearly debilitating terror is that the old-fashioned dress she attempted to cleverly remake for the party is hideous and everyone is secretly making fun of it. This fear not only eats away at her internally but also colors the reality she lives in:


"all were thinking– 'What's Mabel wearing? What a fright she looks! What a hideous new dress!'" 



The reader sees no evidence that anyone is acting judgmentally or mocking Mabel, but she is so caught up in her fear at not fitting in with the upper-middle class people at the party that she confuses appearances with reality. Mabel also thinks the housemaid gestures too emphatically at the hairbrush and mirror at the front door and that Rose Shaw (whose style she admires) is mocking her when she compliments her dress. Though readers can see this is all (or at least mostly) in Mabel's head, her anxiety and heightened sense of how she doesn't "look right" make her imagine a very different reality. 


This same take on perceptions versus reality is a key factor in Joyce Carol Oates' story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" and its protagonist, teenage Connie. Throughout the story, Connie has been focused on appearances and how they form her identity and opinions of others. The first thing we learn about Connie, after her name and age, is that



"...she had a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was all right."



Though her mother criticizes her for this, Connie knows she is pretty and her mother is not anymore and that this is the most important thing. For contrast, she considers her sister, whose chunky, plain looks seem to seal her fate of living at home at age 24 and working as a secretary at the high school. 


Connie's reliance on appearances to navigate the world is tested, though, when Arnold Friend pulls up in her driveway and tries to get her to come on a ride with him. As he flirts with her and tries to persuade her to come outside, Connie notices the way he is dressed,



"which was the way all of them dressed: tight faded jeans stuffed into black, scuffed boots, a belt that pulled his waist in and showed how lean he was, and a white pull-over shirt that was a little soiled and showed the hard small muscles of his arms and shoulders. He looked as if he probably did hard work, lifting and carrying things."



Connie is drawn in by the illusion of his clothing, car, and music, which allow him to imitate a teenager. Though she begins to suspect aspects of his looks aren't authentic (his hair is a wig, his boots are stuffed, etc.), it isn't until she gets close and sees his age that she senses the danger she's in, and by then it's too late. Connie's over-reliance on appearances seals her fate.

What did the narrator say about her second year at Radcliffe? Why did she consider the second year in the college as the happiest year of hers?

Helen Keller wrote her autobiography, The Story of My Life, as a first person narrative.  She described her second year at Radcliffe College as "the happiest."  This was because Helen enjoyed her classes very much in her second year at the college.  She studied "subjects that especially interest[ed]" her, such as Shakespeare and Elizabethan Literature, as well as philosophy and economics.  Helen also took other classes that year, such as those in history, Latin...

Helen Keller wrote her autobiography, The Story of My Life, as a first person narrative.  She described her second year at Radcliffe College as "the happiest."  This was because Helen enjoyed her classes very much in her second year at the college.  She studied "subjects that especially interest[ed]" her, such as Shakespeare and Elizabethan Literature, as well as philosophy and economics.  Helen also took other classes that year, such as those in history, Latin comedy, and English composition.  


Professor Kittredge, who was Helen's Shakespeare professor, was a man who she considered to be a "great scholar."  She loved how he presented Shakespeare's writings.  Studying the subject of philosophy gave Helen a "sympathy of comprehension into the traditions of remote ages and other modes of thought."  


Helen was a person who loved learning.  As a child, she spent many years in a sort of educational darkness.  She could not effectively communicate anything beyond basic wants and needs.  She could not read or write.  When her teacher, Annie Sullivan, arrived in her life, Helen entered a new world.  This was when she truly began to value learning.  Helen became a lifelong learner.  She valued education and worked hard in school.  It is no surprise that Helen loved learning at Radcliffe, despite challenges and difficulties.  Helen especially loved studying her favorite subjects, such as literature and philosophy.

How did overproduction and under-consumption contribute to the Great Depression?

During much of the 1920s, agricultural productivity rose in the United States, many homes installed electricity for the first time, people had jobs, and the economy boomed. In these "roaring twenties," people bought consumer goods: Henry Ford's model-T car made automobiles affordable to the average person, and feeling prosperous, many families purchased electrical appliances and furniture to fill their homes. Advertising and boosterism encouraged optimism, leading many people to buy on credit. But then the economy...

During much of the 1920s, agricultural productivity rose in the United States, many homes installed electricity for the first time, people had jobs, and the economy boomed. In these "roaring twenties," people bought consumer goods: Henry Ford's model-T car made automobiles affordable to the average person, and feeling prosperous, many families purchased electrical appliances and furniture to fill their homes. Advertising and boosterism encouraged optimism, leading many people to buy on credit. But then the economy began to slow down. Agricultural overproduction depressed prices in that sector, and farmers, at that time a signifcant segment of the US economy, began to cut back on spending. As they delayed purchases, inventories piled up in factory warehouses, leading factories to cut production. Reduced production meant that manufacturing businesses needed fewer workers, so they laid people off. These people, having no jobs, and at that time, no unemployment insurance, sharply cut back on their purchases. This began a vicious cycle, in which the drop in demand for consumer goods led to more layoffs, which led to even less purchasing, which led to more layoffs. None of this was terrible until the inflated, largely unregulated stock market crashed and many people's savings were wiped out over night. Factories, with warehouses full of merchandise manufactured on credit, could not pay their bills and were also wiped out. Banks failed because people couldn't pay back their loans. It was very much like a game of dominos, where one domino, weakened demand, hit the next domino, employment, which hit the next and the next until the whole economy had collapsed. It is difficult for us today to understand how bad the situation was in the early 1930s. 

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

How did the Spanish-American War affect American society?

The Spanish-American War impacted American society in several ways. One impact was that many Americans believed that the concept of Manifest Destiny should be spread around the world. The American people wanted the United States to become a world power. Americans believed that their way of living and governing was superior. When stories appeared in the newspapers about how the Spanish were supposedly mistreating the people of Cuba, Americans felt this would give their government a chance to go to war with Spain and possibly get colonies. Once the United States went to war against Spain and won the war, the Americans gained control of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. The Americans were now a colonial power and could begin to spread their way of living to other places. Many Americans were pleased with results of the Spanish-American War.

Many Americans also believed it was their duty to police and to protect the countries in the Americas. They supported President Roosevelt when he issued the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. This stated that the United States would handle any issues that the European countries had with countries in the Americas.


Many people also believed it was acceptable to exert American influence around the world. When the Americans were spreading westward across North America, many people believed the country needed to move westward in order for progress and growth to occur. Thus, many people supported relocating the Native Americans, annexing Texas, and going to war with Mexico. That same belief existed as the United States looked to improve conditions in the world. For example, many people supported the American involvement in the independence movement in Panama. These people believed that Columbia was holding back progress by refusing to sell the United States land in order to build the Panama Canal. Thus, they supported President Roosevelt as he helped Panama become an independent nation.


The Spanish-American War also showed how impactful the press could be in American society. The press over-exaggerated how poorly the Spanish treated the Cubans. The newspapers were able to sway public opinion to support going to war with Spain. This pressure impacted President McKinley’s decision to go to war. This type of influence by the press still remains strong today.


The Spanish-American War impacted American society in many ways.

How does Juliet finally get rid of her mother and the nurse in Act 4, Scene 3 of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet?

Juliet tells her nurse that she wants to be alone to pray and tells her mother that she will be busy preparing for the wedding and will need the nurse to help her, so she should leave Juliet alone.


Juliet’s father does not give her much time before she is supposed to marry Paris.  She needs to be alone in order to take the special sleeping potion Friar Laurence gave her to fake her death.  Her mother...

Juliet tells her nurse that she wants to be alone to pray and tells her mother that she will be busy preparing for the wedding and will need the nurse to help her, so she should leave Juliet alone.


Juliet’s father does not give her much time before she is supposed to marry Paris.  She needs to be alone in order to take the special sleeping potion Friar Laurence gave her to fake her death.  Her mother and the nurse won’t leave her side, however.  She worries that they will stay with her all night, so she comes up with excuses and tells them to leave her alone. 


Both Juliet’s mother and her nurse want to help her, because they are worried about her reaction to marrying Paris.  They know she doesn't really want to. Juliet tells the nurse she needs to be alone to pray.  She tells her mother that they already picked out all the clothes she needs and her mother will be busy getting ready for the wedding the next day and should worry about that instead of Juliet. 



JULIET


No, madam; we have cull'd such necessaries
As are behoveful for our state to-morrow:
So please you, let me now be left alone,
And let the nurse this night sit up with you;
For, I am sure, you have your hands full all,
In this so sudden business. (Act 4, Scene 3) 



This is really a sad scene, because Juliet knows there is to be no wedding.  She is already married, and her mother was not invited.  She married someone her mother did not approve of.  Her mother is going to find her dead in the morning.  Although Juliet will not really be dead, she knows that for her mother, the grief will be real.  She is about to give her mother great pain.

What is Oedipus' background?

The background of Oedipus is important in understanding the play. The key figure is Oedipus' father, King Laius. When Laius was a child, Amphion and Zethus usurped the Theban throne. Loyal citizens managed to rescue Laius. King Pelops took in the young Laius who repaid his hospitality by abducting Pelops' son. This abuse of hospitality brought down a curse on the house of Thebes. 


After Laius regains his throne he marries Jocasta. The oracle at Delphi...

The background of Oedipus is important in understanding the play. The key figure is Oedipus' father, King Laius. When Laius was a child, Amphion and Zethus usurped the Theban throne. Loyal citizens managed to rescue Laius. King Pelops took in the young Laius who repaid his hospitality by abducting Pelops' son. This abuse of hospitality brought down a curse on the house of Thebes. 


After Laius regains his throne he marries Jocasta. The oracle at Delphi predicts that his son will murder him and marry Jocasta. He gives the baby Oedipus to a servant to be exposed on a mountainside and left to die. Instead, Oedipus is rescued and raised as the son of the King of Corinth. Oedipus hears a prophecy that he will murder his father and marry his mother. Not realizing that he is adopted, he leaves Corinth to avoid his fate, kills Laius (whom he does not realize is his father), and marries Jocasta. 


Who is the protagonist in The Crucible?

John Proctor is the protagonist of this play.  He is the main character.  Although the play is, in large part, about the witch hunts and hysteria created by the lies of a few young girls (and the parents) who exploit their power, the play is also about Proctor's internal struggle to do the right thing and to again be able to think of himself as a good man.  His previous affair with Abigail (and her...

John Proctor is the protagonist of this play.  He is the main character.  Although the play is, in large part, about the witch hunts and hysteria created by the lies of a few young girls (and the parents) who exploit their power, the play is also about Proctor's internal struggle to do the right thing and to again be able to think of himself as a good man.  His previous affair with Abigail (and her continued desire for him) provides her motivation to accuse John's wife, Elizabeth; his initial reticence to share the information Abigail told him -- that Betty's and Ruth's illnesses have nothing to do with witchcraft -- gives Abigail the opportunity to accuse Elizabeth without having her motives called into question.  Finally, it is his own internal struggle in trying to decide whether to lie (and further tarnish his soul) and save his life or to maintain the truth and die for it that gives the last act so much emotional impact and meaning.  The Crucible is a story about vengeance and greed and lust, but it is also the story of John Proctor's journey to personal redemption.

What is the author’s preferred writing style in The Chrysalids? What are the narration and use of dialogue like? Does he favor literal or...

There are quite a few questions being asked in your post.  I will answer the question about Wyndham's preferred writing style.  My answer will touch upon the other questions being asked.  


Generally, there are four recognized types of writing styles.  They are expository, descriptive, persuasive, and narrative.  Wyndham makes the most use of the narrative writing style.  That shouldn't be much of a surprise, because it is the narrative style that most authors use...

There are quite a few questions being asked in your post.  I will answer the question about Wyndham's preferred writing style.  My answer will touch upon the other questions being asked.  


Generally, there are four recognized types of writing styles.  They are expository, descriptive, persuasive, and narrative.  Wyndham makes the most use of the narrative writing style.  That shouldn't be much of a surprise, because it is the narrative style that most authors use for novels.  


A key feature of the narrative writing style is that a person tells the story.  In The Chrysalids the story is told by David Strorm, and the story is told from the first person perspective.  The narrative writing style also makes use of multiple characters and dialogue between those characters.  Again, that is very true of The Chrysalids.  The character list is quite large, and the reader learns a lot about character's actions and decisions through the dialogue sequences.  For example:  



'Go on,' I told her impatiently.


She tried to move, and then called up,


'I can't. It hurts.'


I risked pushing off, anyway, and landed close beside her.


'What's the matter?' I asked.


Her face was screwed up. Tears stood in her eyes.


'My foot's stuck,' she said.



Much of the narration in the novel is similar to the above sequence.  Wyndham's narrative stays quite clipped and concrete throughout the novel.  There isn't much flowery, figurative language that is used.  Perhaps that is because the narrator is young and doesn't think like that yet.  Or perhaps it is because Wyndham knows that his audience is likely adolescents who want to read about actions more than they want to read about metaphors.  

Monday, January 16, 2017

How does Circe know who Odysseus is?

When Odysseus is on his way to Circe's home, Hermes gives him an herb called moly, and he tells Odysseus that it will protect him against her magic and prevent him from being turned into a pig like his crew were.  (This is actually where the expression "holy moly" comes from!)  Odysseus arrives at Circe's and she gives him a cup to drink from, and when he finishes, she flicks her wand at him and...

When Odysseus is on his way to Circe's home, Hermes gives him an herb called moly, and he tells Odysseus that it will protect him against her magic and prevent him from being turned into a pig like his crew were.  (This is actually where the expression "holy moly" comes from!)  Odysseus arrives at Circe's and she gives him a cup to drink from, and when he finishes, she flicks her wand at him and orders him off to the sties with his fellows.  Instead, however, he draws his blade and moves as though he is going to kill her, just as Hermes told him to do, and she begs him to spare her life.  She says, "Surely you are adventurous Odysseus, who the god of the golden wand, the killer of Argus, always declared would come upon his way from Troy, -- he and his swift black ship."  In other words, Hermes (the god to whom she alludes) has foretold the coming of Odysseus to Circe, and she recalls his words now.  She would be aware that the Trojan war has ended, and so it would make sense, according to what Hermes foretold to her, that this man is Odysseus on his way home.

In Shelley's "To a Skylark," what effects does the rhyme scheme have?

This is an interesting question, and one that will require some interpretation! All we can say for absolute certain is that the rhyme scheme in Shelley's "To a Skylark" is

  • Consistent throughout each stanza

  • In the pattern ABABB

  • Only violated slightly a few times (like when Shelley rhymes "not" with "not" in the seventh stanza, or when "leaves" and "gives" are presented as rhymes in the eleventh stanza)

So if we want to know what the effects of that rhyme scheme are, we should read it out loud and see what happens.


When you do this, you notice that the poem is a lofty tribute to a skylark, a bird who flies so high that it can't even be seen; the speaker of the poem seems jealous of the freedom and joy that the bird must possess. And each stanza is like its own little painting of something in the natural world.


1. So, by employing that repetitive, consistent rhyme scheme in each self-contained little stanza, Shelley seems to express the music and joyful simplicity of his topic (the skylark in particular, and nature in general).


2. Reading the poem and all of its well-knit, quickly-resolved, repetitive rhymes might call to mind any number of repeated movements in nature: the beating of a bird's wings in flight, the rise and fall of ocean waves, the pounding of spring rains on grass, and so on.


3. The fact that so many of the rhymes are predictable may also help you speed your way through the poem, anticipating what the speaker is about to say, and therefore vicariously experience more of the thrilling, fast movement of the skylark. Let's look at the thirteenth stanza to see this in action:



"Teach us, Sprite or Bird,


What sweet thoughts are thine:


I have never heard


Praise of love or wine


That panted forth a flood of rapture so ______."



Did your mind automatically fill in the word "divine" right there before you even read the word? Probably! You already heard "thine" and "wine," and seeing the word "rapture" probably prompted you to think of "divine" before processing it. You feel like you're racing through the poem, like a skylark zipping across the sky.


Again, these are just one reader's ideas regarding potential effects that the rhyme scheme may have. More effects are always possible!

Sunday, January 15, 2017

Describe the 105 North Tower in A Tale of Two Cities.

In Chapter 21 ("XXI,") as the men make their way to the cell known as "One Hundred and Five, North Tower," the mood is tense and spooky. They enter the room, and here's the narrator's direct description of the cell and of what the men discover there:


There was a small, heavily-grated, unglazed window high in the wall, with a stone screenbefore it, so that the sky could be only seen by stooping...

In Chapter 21 ("XXI,") as the men make their way to the cell known as "One Hundred and Five, North Tower," the mood is tense and spooky. They enter the room, and here's the narrator's direct description of the cell and of what the men discover there:



There was a small, heavily-grated, unglazed window high in the wall, with a stone screen before it, so that the sky could be only seen by stooping low and looking up. There was a small chimney, heavily barred across, a few feet within. There was a heap of old feathery wood ashes on the hearth. There were a stool, and table, and a straw bed. There were the four blackened walls, and a rusted iron ring in one of them.


“Pass that torch slowly along these walls, that I may see them,” said Defarge to the turnkey.


The man obeyed, and Defarge followed the light closely with his eyes.


“Stop!—Look here, Jacques!”


A. M.!” croaked Jacques Three as he read greedily.


“Alexandre Manette,” said Defarge in his ear, following the letters with his swart forefinger, deeply engrained with gunpowder. “And here he wrote ‘a poor physician.’ And it was he, without doubt, who scratched a calendar on this stone...”



So what we know about the cell known as the 105 North Tower is, for certain, that it's a creepy place where someone has been held captive for some time. The most interesting thing about the room is the marks left behind by the prisoner: there were the initials carved into the wall ("A. M.") and the phrase carved below that was "a poor physician." There was also a calendar that was scratched onto a stone, which makes sense: someone imprisoned would be interested in keeping track of the days as they go by, especially if he had nothing else to do.


Beyond those interesting features of the cell, we also learn from the narration that it's a claustrophobic kind of place. There's only one tiny window, and you have to scoot yourself into an awkward position to see out of it; there's a stone screen blocking your view, and all you can see is the sky anyway. There's a fireplace, which kind of sounds nice, but this one is barred up and all ashy. There's furniture, but it's really sparse and basic: just a table and a stool, plus a bed made out of straw (really cheap, really uncomfortable material). And finally, all four of the walls are blackened. Taken together, these details convey an image of a creepy prison cell.

What were some impacts of globalization on Nepal?

The process of globalization has a variety of effects on a nation's culture, sense of identity, economy, and politics. In the South Asian nation of Nepal, globalization was one cause of democratization. Nepal historically had a monarchist government, but with political and economic support from India and influence from Eastern European independence movements, the Nepalese people began a constitutional democracy in their country in 1990. This government had varying levels of success; the rural poor...

The process of globalization has a variety of effects on a nation's culture, sense of identity, economy, and politics. In the South Asian nation of Nepal, globalization was one cause of democratization. Nepal historically had a monarchist government, but with political and economic support from India and influence from Eastern European independence movements, the Nepalese people began a constitutional democracy in their country in 1990. This government had varying levels of success; the rural poor increasingly lacked access to resources, while the urban middle classes saw an increase in income. The Communist Party of Nepal- Maoist emerged shortly after, creating divisions within the government as the communists gained power in rural local governments. Globalization inspired a new form of government in Nepal, but increased tensions between political parties and widened income gaps between regions of the country.


Secular movements have also risen in Nepal as a result of globalization, particularly in social movements against the caste system. The use of Nepali has also decreased since the 90s, because globalization has increased investment in ethnic identity, rather than national identity, due to the decreasing political and economic relevance of borders. Finally, globalization in Nepal has created more dialogue about women's rights; several NGOs and other organizations have formed to combat female illiteracy, underage marriage, and widows being denied the right to remarry.

Saturday, January 14, 2017

In The Outsiders, why do the Curtis boys keep their door unlocked? What role does their house play for "the gang"?

In Chapter 7, Two-Bit and Steve walk into the Curtis home, and Ponyboy mentions that Darry always kept the front door unlocked in case any members of the gang needed a place to spend the night. Ponyboy goes on to say that Steve usually crashed on their couch because he was continually fighting with his father. Sometimes Dally would spend the night if he couldn't find a place to rest, and Tim Shepard even spent...

In Chapter 7, Two-Bit and Steve walk into the Curtis home, and Ponyboy mentions that Darry always kept the front door unlocked in case any members of the gang needed a place to spend the night. Ponyboy goes on to say that Steve usually crashed on their couch because he was continually fighting with his father. Sometimes Dally would spend the night if he couldn't find a place to rest, and Tim Shepard even spent the night on one occasion. Ponyboy recalls the time that Darry told Two-Bit's mother that he would risk having his home robbed if it meant keeping one of his friends from "blowing up and robbing a gas station or something" (89). Essentially, the Curtis home is a haven for the Greasers. Whenever a Greaser is upset at his parents or needs a place to stay for whatever reason, he can stay over. Darry doesn't want any of his friends to get into trouble, so he opens the door to his home for them to relax and compose themselves.

What mood does the Chains have when the barrel is kicked away?

The barrel that the question is asking about is found in chapter 18.  It is the barrel that Thomas Hickey is standing on moments before he is hanged.  Hickey is sentenced to death by hanging for his attempted assassination of General George Washington.  


The mood of the chapter builds and builds with tension.  It's a great chapter.  Anderson takes multiple pages describing the swells and actions of the crowd.   


The crowd had recovered...

The barrel that the question is asking about is found in chapter 18.  It is the barrel that Thomas Hickey is standing on moments before he is hanged.  Hickey is sentenced to death by hanging for his attempted assassination of General George Washington.  


The mood of the chapter builds and builds with tension.  It's a great chapter.  Anderson takes multiple pages describing the swells and actions of the crowd.   



The crowd had recovered its voice and was screaming vile curses.  Cabbages, rotten apples, and a dead cat were thrown in the direction of the traitor.  



Those moments are punctuated with descriptions of the ever increasing drum beats. 



The drums beat faster. My heart sped up to match the rhythm.  



The drums, crowd, and tension build to the breaking point.  At that moment, the drums suddenly stop.  The crowd falls silent, and the hangman kicks the barrel away.  Isabel and Ruth cover their eyes, and the crowd gasps.  


The mood of the chapter is interesting.  The reader is definitely propelled forward with a sense of excitement because of the actions of the crowd; however, that excitement is tempered with another feeling.  That feeling is disgust.  It's sad to watch the "good guy" Americans be so bloodthirsty.  The mob is behaving in a way that is directly counter to the Christian values that most of them openly claim.  By time the chapter ends, I feel that Anderson has been able to effectively convey an overall mood of guilt to readers.