We learn that he is going to cover up the murder of Bob Ewell. He is doing this to protect Boo. He doesn't want this reclusive and odd man exposed to the entire community in a trial. So he explains to Atticus, who initially thinks Jem is responsible for Ewell's death, that Mr. Ewell just fell on his knife. He even goes so far as to demonstrate what happened using a knife he took of a drunk man earlier (this is Mr. Ewell who was drunk when he attacked the kids). While he wasn't able to do much for an innocent man, Tom Robinson (or maybe he wasn't willing to do too much for him - though Atticus explains earlier to Jem how Heck Tate really was on Tom's side), he is willing to cover for a guilty man, Boo. Remember, Boo might be odd and reclusive, but he is white. Is that the main reason why he covers up the murder?
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
What do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern fail to reveal to Claudius in Hamlet?Rosencrantz and Guildenstern didn't find out the cause of Hamlet's madness.
In Act II, Claudius has told these two men to find out what is wrong with Hamlet -- why he is acting so strangely. The two were good friends of Hamlet and Claudius thinks that they will be able to find out what is wrong.
In Act II, Scene 2, the two men find out that Hamlet is only pretending to be crazy (or so he says). He tells them that when the wind is coming from the right direction, he can tell "a hawk from a handsaw."
The two men keep this from Claudius, just telling him they don't know why Hamlet is crazy.
Please summarize and analyze "Mountain Language" by Harold Pinter.
Monks, (anyone) not knowing, not seeing eyes as it really is, not knowing, not seeing material shapes... visual consciousness... impact on the eye as it really is, and not knowing, not seeing as it really is the feeling, whether pleasant, painful or neither nor pleasant, that arises conditioned by impact on the eye, is attached to the eye, is attached to material shapes, is attached to visual consciousness, is attached to impact on the eye; and as for that feeling, whether pleasant, painful or neither painful nor pleasant, that arises conditioned by impact on the eye- to that too is he attached.
While he,k observing the satisfaction, is attached, bound and infatuated, the five khandhas of grasping go on to future accumulation. And his craving, which is connected with again-becoming, accompanied by attachment and delight, finding its pleasure here and there, increases in him. And his physical anxieties increase,k and mental anxieties increase, and physical torments increase, and mental torments increase, and physical fevers increase, and mental fevers increase. He experiences anguish of body and anguish of mind.
How did the debate over federalism contribute to the Civil War?
Remember that the Civil War was essentially about secession. The southern states left the Union and the northern states remaining fought to restore it. As historian Shelby Foote argues, the southern states never would have joined the country in the beginning if they didn't think they could leave. Therefore they believed it was a state's right to secede and the federal government could not stop them.
The fact that Lincoln had been elected in 1860 without a single southern electoral vote (his name wasn't on the ballot there) was the last straw, as they felt his abolitionist tendencies would trample on their entire way of life regarding slavery. So this was a war caused by the states vs. the federal government over issues of power.
Monday, March 7, 2016
What purpose do the firemen serve according to Beatty in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury?
As it turns out, the above answerer posted while I was typing. I completely agree with her answer...
The firemen are there to keep people happy by making sure they don't have to think too much.
Beatty tells Montag this when he gives him a long speech at Montag's house after they have burned the old woman along with her books.
Beatty tells Montag that books made too many people unhappy by forcing them to think, or by telling them things they didn't want to hear. THat's why Beatty tells Montag that
We stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought.
The firemen, along with things like the parlour walls, keep people from having to think because thinking would make them unhappy.
In chapter 7 of The Great Gatsby, how does Nick compare Daisy and Jordan?
Both of these answers seem to be correct, but in regards to chapter seven, a quote of Nick's compares them as well - "But there was Jordan beside me, who, unlike Daisy, was too wise ever to carry well-forgotten dreams from age to age". The answers above compare Jordan and Daisy in a similar way, but to compare is to also note the differences. I gather from Nick's quote that he recognizes that Jordan, unlike Daisy, would not let abandoned dreams weigh her down, such as how Daisy's lingering love for Gatsby that had remained for 5 years caused a fall-out between her, Gatsby, and Tom. Jordan, unlike Daisy, is wise enough to avoid that kind of situation.
Which is the value for the real number x, knowing that 2x-3, 5x+1, 4x-7, are the consecutive terms of an arithmetical progression?
I looked at it this way:
Some number (let's call it y) is added to each term to get the next, right? So, let's take the first term and write and equation that states this:
2x - 3 + y = 5x + 1
Now, use inverse operations to solve for y. If you add 3 to both sides, and then subtract 2x from both sides, you're left with
y = 3x + 4
Now, to get the third term, we need to add y again, right? So, let's do some fancy substitutions.
2nd term + y = 3rd term:
5x + 1 + y = 4x - 7
Substitute the equivalent value of the 2nd term (from the first equation) and of y that we found:
5x + 1 + y = 4x - 7
2x - 3 + 3x + 4 + 3x + 4 = 4x - 7
Combine like terms on the left to get:
8x + 5 = 4x - 7
Use inverse operations to solve for x (on both sides: subtract 4x, subtract 5, and then divide by 4) and you get x = -3. Substitute this into each of the three original terms and check to see that you have an arithmetic progression (adding -5, which would be our y).
That was a more algebraic approach. I didn't do this as a first instict, but you can easily solve it with systems:
2x - 3 + y = 5x + 1
5x + 1 + y = 4x - 7
Subtract the second from the first and you eliminate the y. Your resulting equation is
-3x - 4 = x + 8
Inverse operations (on both sides: add 4, subtract x, and divide by -4) will lead to x = -3.
Always, substitute and check to ensure the accuracy of your answers!