I need to write an essay for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and the theme is "what is the purpose of science? Do you think it’s actually...

That's a tough essay.  I am a bit confused about why the reference to the book is there though.  Based on the essay's themes, none of them explicitly tell you to apply them to the book.    

Your first step is to decide how you feel about those questions.  You don't need long drawn out thoughts . . . yet.  What is the purpose of science?  I always like to think that science is the search for knowledge.  Scientists seek to better understand how and why something works.  To me, that's science's main purpose.  

The next question listed is "Do you think it’s actually helpful?"  You may feel differently, which is fine.  But for me, yes, I think science is actually helpful.  I don't feel that everything that has ever been done scientifically has been useful, but in general, I think that science studies and produces useful knowledge.  A healthy portion of your essay can be focused on this question, because you can go into a lot of specific science knowledge that you think has been useful.  

The final question is "Does it help humanity become better, or does our foolishness or selfishness get in the way of doing science well?" The other half of your main efforts should be here.  In general, I believe that studying science helps humanity to be better.  But does our selfishness get in the way at times? Absolutely.  Humans are not perfect.  I think you should write about where you see human imperfection within scientific studies.  For me, that topic is focused on scientists asking whether or not something can be done before asking if it should be done.  This is when I think that selfishness arises.  A scientist might be seeking out personal glory and recognition and doesn't consider the consequences of his/her studies.  

I believe that you can use that debate to relate your essay to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  Deep Thought reveals the answer to life, the universe and everything.  The answer is 42.  Awesome!  The problem though is that we don't know what the question is.  Deep Thought was created to find the answer without ever considering the question.  That's what I sometimes feel about science.  It is finding answers to all kinds of things without considering the ethical and moral questions.  

What is thyroid cancer?

Related conditions:
Autoimmune thyroiditis, sarcoma of the thyroid, Gardner syndrome, Cowden syndrome

Definition:
Thyroid cancer is a malignant tumor in the thyroid gland, a butterfly-shaped gland in the neck that makes hormones essential for normal body function. The thyroid contains cells that grow and divide to form new ones as needed; however, when this process goes awry, tissue masses called nodules develop; these may be benign or malignant (cancerous). There are several types of thyroid cancer, with varying degrees of incidence according to the American Cancer Society. Papillary, the most common type (about 80 percent of all thyroid cancers), has a very high cure rate. It usually appears in people thirty to fifty years old. About 10 to 15 percent of thyroid tumors are follicular carcinoma. This cancer is more aggressive, occurs in a slightly older age group, and rarely occurs after radiation exposure but is more common in an iodine-deficient environment. Hurthle cell carcinoma is a rare variant that makes up about 3 percent of thyroid cancers. Medullary thyroid cancer (about 4 percent) is not associated with radiation exposure and is inherited. Anaplastic carcinoma is the rarest type (about 2 percent) but the most deadly; it may appear many years following radiation exposure. Thyroid lymphomas account for a very small percentage of thyroid cancers.

Risk factors: Increased risk of papillary carcinoma is associated with external-beam irradiation to the head and neck areas, especially during childhood. Exposure to ingested radioactive isotopes and radioactive fallout also poses a cancer risk. Having a parent with multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) types 2A or 2B or familial medullary cancer increases the chance of having the genetic mutation that causes thyroid cancer by as much as 50 percent. Women are two to three times as likely as men to develop thyroid cancer; women whose last pregnancy occurs at or later than age thirty are also at greater risk. Whites and Asians are more susceptible than are blacks. Other risk factors include dietary iodine deficiency; ingestion of goitrogenic (goiter-causing) or cruciferous vegetables (such as cabbage) and seafood and shellfish, especially when fished from sites near active volcanoes, as in Hawaii and Iceland; and chronic elevation of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).

Etiology and the disease process: In many cases, the etiology, or cause, of thyroid cancer is unknown. Thyroid cancers are either differentiated or undifferentiated. Differentiated cells look and act like normal ones and actually assist in making thyroxine. They reproduce more slowly than undifferentiated ones do. Papillary and follicular carcinoma are two types of differentiated cancer. Around 85 percent of papillary thyroid cancers are caused by radiation exposure. Follicular cancer is more prevalent in countries where people are iodine deficient.

Undifferentiated cancer is made up of very primitive cells that do nothing but reproduce; this produces the rare anaplastic cancer that is not effectively treatable and therefore has a high mortality rate. Even rarer is medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), which is inherited. A specific cell, the C cell, is involved. It makes the hormone calcitonin, which helps regulate calcium in the body, but when it overproduces, medullary carcinoma must be suspected.

Incidence: Compared with other types of cancer, thyroid cancer is uncommon; only about 1.1 percent of men and women in the United States are diagnosed with it, and the annual number of deaths is just 0.5 per one hundred thousand people. The overall incidence of thyroid cancers, especially in women, has been on the rise due in part to improved diagnosis methods, but earlier detection, improved treatment, and a decline in the very aggressive anaplastic type have resulted in fewer deaths.

Symptoms: In its early stages, thyroid cancer often does not exhibit symptoms. As the disease progresses, however, the affected person may develop a nodule (lump) in the front of the neck; hoarseness or changes in the normal speaking voice; swollen lymph nodes, especially in the neck; swallowing or breathing difficulty; and pain in the throat or neck.

Screening and diagnosis: More often than not, a nodule felt in the thyroid during a routine physical examination or found incidentally during an imaging test for some other condition signals a tumor’s presence. When symptoms suggest thyroid cancer, a number of tests may be performed: An ultrasound scan outlines a growth but does not rule out malignancy. That determination is made with biopsy. Biopsy may be fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy, in which a needle is inserted in different parts of a nodule to remove cell samples that are analyzed in a laboratory, or surgical biopsy to remove the nodule and check the tissue for cancer cells.

Blood tests may also be done to detect abnormal levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone in the blood. If a physician suspects medullary cancer, blood tests are run to check for abnormally high levels of calcitonin in the blood or to detect an altered gene (RET gene), which aids diagnosis.

A radionuclide scan involves administering a small amount of radioactive material to make thyroid nodules show up on a picture. When thyroid cancer is diagnosed, tests are done to determine whether the cancer has spread; this process is called staging. Tests such as ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT) scanning, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can help the doctor determine if the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes or to other areas. A special scan may be used to check for the spread of medullary cancer. Staging is essential to choose treatment options and predict odds for cure and long-term survival. A common system is that of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC), called TNM staging (tumor/lymph node/metastasis). This system looks at the size of the tumor, whether it has spread to the lymph nodes, and whether it has metastasized to distant organs, ranking their progress with Roman numerals from I to IV. In the case of papillary or follicular thyroid carcinoma, age is also taken into account. All anaplastic thyroid cancers are considered Stage IV to reflect the poor prognosis of this particular kind of thyroid cancer.

Treatment and therapy: Treatment for thyroid cancer includes surgery, thyroid hormone therapy, radiation, and chemotherapy. Total or near-total surgical removal is the treatment of choice in most cases. Following surgery, thyroid hormone medication is required for life to supply the hormone the thyroid would normally produce. Frequent blood tests are done until the proper dosage can be established. Radioactive iodine may be used for follow-up screening to detect remaining normal or abnormal tissues. Moderate doses can eliminate the normal tissue, and larger doses destroy any cancerous cells. External beam radiation also destroys cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be used when the cancer has metastasized, especially for the medullary type, which does not respond to radioiodine therapy. Other follow-up care includes blood tests for thyroglobulin levels that would indicate recurrence, and imaging such as ultrasonography.

Prognosis, prevention, and outcomes: The type of thyroid cancer affects the prognosis to a large extent. In papillary and follicular cancer, Stages I and II have a near 100 percent five-year relative survival rate. Stage III decreases to 93 percent for papillary and 71 percent for follicular types. Stage IV drops to 51 percent in papillary cancer and 50 percent for follicular. Stage I medullary thyroid cancer also has a near 100 percent five-year survival rate, then drops to 98 percent and 81 percent, respectively, for Stages II and III; however, the rate falls to only 28 percent for Stage IV. The five-year survival rate for anaplastic thyroid cancer is around 7 percent.

Thyroid cancer prevention measures are limited. However, certain steps can be taken in situations in which there is heightened risk. A genetic test can determine if there is increased risk for medullary thyroid cancer. If the results are positive, thyroid gland removal (thyroidectomy) may prevent development of cancer later in life. Also, government guidelines recommend that people living within ten miles of a nuclear power plant take potassium iodide tablets just before or immediately after exposure to fallout. Anyone who has received radiation to the head and neck during childhood should be examined carefully every year or two. More general measures include diets high in fruit and vegetables and low in animal fats and consumption of unsaturated fats, which contain omega-3 fatty acids. Maintaining a healthy weight may also help.

Braverman, Lewis E., and David Cooper. Werner and Ingbar’s The Thyroid: A Fundamental and Clinical Text. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 2012. Print.

Foley, John R., Julie M. Vose, and James O. Armitage. Current Therapy in Cancer. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Saunders, 1999. Print.

Lenhard, Raymond E., Jr., Robert T. Osteen, and Ted Gansler. Clinical Oncology. Atlanta: American Cancer Society, 2001. Print.

Rosenthal, M. Sara. The Thyroid Sourcebook: Everything You Need to Know. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.

"Thyroid Cancer." Cancer.org. American Cancer Society, 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2014.

"Thyroid Cancer." MayoClinic.org
. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2014.

Use a 0.05 Significance level to test the claim that 20% of all skittles candies are red. 243 skittles were red out of 1245 skittles.

We are told that 243 of 1245 skittles(tm) are red, and we are asked to test the claim that 20% of skittles are red at the .05 significance level.

(1) The null hypothesis is H0: 20% of skittles are red. (The claim)

The alternative hypothesis H1: The true percentage is not 20%.

(2) This is a two-tailed test. Since we are dealing with proportions we use a z-test to find the critical value(s) and the critical region(s):

For alpha = .05 we have critical values of -1.96 and 1.96. (These are from a standard normal table; the area to the left of z=-1.96 is approximately .025, while the area to the right of z=1.96 is approximately .025.)

(3) To compute the test value we take the observed value  (approximately .1952) minus the expected value (.2); divide this by the standard error which is given by the square root of the product of p (.2), 1-p (.8) divided by n=1245. Thus the test value is -.0048/.0113 or z=-.425

(4) The test value is not in the critical region (-1.96<-.425<1.96 ) so we do not reject the null hypothesis.

(5) There is insufficient evidence to reject the claim that 20% of skittles are red.

** My calculator gives the p-value as .6707; since this is greater than alpha we do not reject the null hypothesis as above.

Compare and contrast an electric discharge with an electric current.

Both electric discharge and electric current are produced by the movement of electric charge.

Electric current is the continuous flow of electric charge. When there is a potential difference applied to a conductor (for example, a wire), there will be a flow of electric charge from the higher potential to the lower potential. In order for the current to be maintained, there has to be electromotive force, usually supplied by a battery, which brings the charges back from the lower potential to the higher potential. Thus, there has to be a closed circuit in order for the electric current to be produced.

Electric discharge also happens when there is a potential difference; for example, between the two plates of a charged capacitor. A capacitor is typically filled with a dielectric material which does not conduct current well. However, if the potential difference is very large, the motion of the charge from the plate with higher potential to the plate with the lower potential becomes possible. A familiar example of it is lightning, which is an electric discharge between a cloud with the charged water droplets and the ground. However, usually there is no closed circuit present to maintain the flow of charge after the discharge.

To summarize, the electric current is the continuous flow of charge, while electric discharge is a one-time movement of the charge.

What do the reader and Calvin learn about Meg's math ability?

The answer to your question can be found in chapter three of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time.  Calvin and Meg are at Meg's house, and Meg's mother is getting dinner reader.  Mrs. Murry suggests that they finish up their homework before the food is ready.  Calvin says that he does have some math homework, and the mother suggests that Meg help out.  Calvin doesn't think that Meg will be able to help, because he is several grades ahead of her.  

Mrs. Murry smiled. "Why don't you get Meg to help you?"

"But, see, I'm several grades above Meg."

"Try asking her to help you with your math, anyhow," Mrs. Murry suggested.

It turns out that Meg is really, really good at math.  She knows a bunch of short cuts, because she and her father used to play math games together.  Apparently, Meg is not only good at math, but she is also a good teacher as well, because Calvin finally begins to understand his math homework.  

"Well, we have to do it their way. Now look, Calvin, don't you see how much easier it would be if you did it this way?" Her pencil flew over the paper.

"Hey!" Calvin said. "Hey! I think I get it. Show me once more on another one."

What are some literary devices in Seamus Heaney's poem, "Follower"?

Poetry is a literary form that enhances meaning through the use of literary devices. A word in a poem may be connected to other words not just through the standard grammar of English but also through sound and through its pointing to more than one concept. Seamus Heaney reveals truths about his relationship with his father (and our relationships with our parents) in “Follower,” by using sound- and meaning-based poetic practices.

“Follower” describes how a young boy follows his father while the father plows a field and then at the end reveals how the tables have turned over time. Heaney employs two sound-based poetic devices in the poem, rhyme and meter. Rhyme unites words through sound, creating connections between words that are not semantically related, such as “sod” and “plod.” Regular, predictable rhyme as in the abab form of this poem gives the poem a sense of unity.

The meter of the poem is basically iambic tetrameter; the first stanza establishes the meter and other stanzas use alternate meters occasionally for contrast. The back and forth rhythm of the iambs (“...his SHOULDers GLOBED like a FULL sail STRUNG” line 2) provides the reader with a sense of plodding along behind a horse plowing a field.

Two meaning-based literary devices also stand out in the poem. One is a simile. The reader gets a sense of the rounded shoulders of the father and how those shoulders are integral to the movement forward in line 2 with a comparison between the shoulders and the sail of a ship.

The other device is metonymy, where a large idea is represented through a single detail. In the first line of the fourth stanza, “hob-nailed wake” not only carries on the ship metaphor, but the father's heavy boots and thus his large self both physically and psychologically are represented by the single shoe detail, “hob-nailed.”

Poets craft for sound-related and meaning-related literary devices in order to give readers a richer experience in understanding their meaning. Through their use, Heaney allows his readers to consider the influences on their lives of their own parents.  

What four things led to American distaste for the Vietnam War?

From the way this question is worded, I infer that you have been given four ways that you are supposed to remember.  If that is the case, you should check your textbook and/or class notes because that is the only way you can be sure to get the exact answer your teacher expects to see.  Different people could answer this question in different ways and we have no way of knowing which answers are the ones you are supposed to give.  That said, here are some factors that helped lead to American distaste for this war.  Please note that not all Americans would have believed each of these things.

• The war did not seem important to US interests.  To many Americans, a war in far-off Vietnam was not worth the cost in blood and money because it did not have a direct impact on the US. 


• The war seemed imperialistic.  To some Americans, this was a war in which the US was simply trying to impose its will on a Third World country.  It seemed that we were trying to control Vietnam rather than letting them determine their own type of government.


• The way the war was being waged seemed immoral.  To some Americans, the US military in Vietnam were the bad guys.  They were destroying villages in order to save them.  They were killing innocent civilians, whether by accident or by negligence.  They were spraying chemicals on the forest, harming the environment in order to make it easier to find the enemy.  All of these things made the US military seem, to many Americans, as if it was fighting a “dirty” war.


• Communism was not such a bad thing in the minds of some Americans at that time.  In those days, many young Americans felt that communism was really not a bad ideology.  They felt that it was wrong for the US to kill people and destroy property in order to stop the spread of this ideology.


• The US government was lying to the people about the war.  The government constantly put out upbeat messages about how the war was going.  These turned out to be untrue, or at least debatable.  As the war dragged on, a “credibility gap” arose that sapped American support for the war.


• The US was not able to win the war easily.  Our military was able to inflict defeats on the enemy but we were never able to erode their will to fight.  This led to a situation where Americans were frustrated with our seeming inability to win the war.

All of these are possible reasons why Americans turned against the Vietnam War.  However, I do not know which four of these your instructor wants to see (or even if I have listed all of the four factors he or she wants).  Therefore, I strongly suggest that you consult your book and/or notes.

What are the reasons for the conflict between Oupa and Veronica?

The major reason for the conflict between Oupa and Veronica was Veronica’s wish to leave the valley for the city. Oupa, her grandfather, was opposed to this idea because of a similar situation that resulted in the death of her daughter, Veronica’s mother. Veronica’s mother eloped with her boyfriend and settled in Johannesburg. A year later, she became very ill and later died, leaving behind Veronica as a baby.

Veronica was taken in and raised by her grandparents. Her grandfather worked as a tenant farmer, and her grandmother doubled as a servant in the landowner’s house. Veronica’s grandmother passed on, and Oupa expected Veronica to step into her responsibilities.

While all this was happening, Oupa was at risk of losing his farmland to a new landowner. The new developments worried him, but Veronica saw the situation as an opportunity to pursue her dreams in the city. She wanted to become a musician and made arrangements to stay with her friend Priscilla, who lived in Johannesburg with her mother.

At first, Oupa strongly objected to Veronica’s wish to leave the valley. Instead, he wanted her to work as a servant for the landowner. Veronica was strongly opposed to this: ‘‘You will never see me on my knees scrubbing a white man's floor." The conflict was resolved after she convinced Oupa to let her go.

Why is it necessary for the masses to use transportation and consume other products?

The economic well being of the society in Brave New World is based on factories churning out mountains of consumer goods. If people don't buy these goods, the economy will grind to a halt. Therefore, the masses have to be conditioned to buy, buy, buy. Games are required to have complex parts, and in fact, no game less complex than what is already manufactured may be made. People are encouraged to throw out and replace clothes rather than repair them. People are taught through endless repetition that happiness lies in having new things. Students in this culture learn that consuming transport is all important too, presumably because it keeps the factories churning to produce helicopters, trains and other modes of transportation, as well as supporting a vacation and recreation industry:

A love of nature keeps no factories busy. It was decided to abolish the love of nature, at any rate among the lower classes; to abolish the love of nature, but not the tendency to consume transport. For of course it was essential that they should keep on going to the country, even though they hated it. The problem was to find an economically sounder reason for consuming transport than a mere affection for primroses and landscapes. It was duly found. “We condition the masses to hate the country,” concluded the Director. “But simultaneously we condition them to love all country sports. At the same time, we see to it that all country sports shall entail the use of elaborate apparatus. So that they consume manufactured articles as well as transport.

Clearly, the novel was written before any concerns had come up about the ecological impact of all this manufacture and consumption. 

What is the average surface temperature of Mars?

Mars is the fourth planet from the sun and is situated at the edge of the habitable zone in the solar system.

The surface temperature of Mars varies depending on time and location. For example, the temperature of the equator at midday can be as high as 20 degrees Celsius. On the other hand, the temperature at the poles can be as low as -153 degrees Celsius. 

Mars' orbit can also influence its temperature. When Mars orbits closer to the sun, it can be as much as 20 degrees warmer. 

Overall, Mars is much colder than Earth for two reasons: 1) Mars is farther from the sun, 2) Mars has a thin atmosphere which prevents it from retaining heat.

The average surface temperature on Mars is - 55 degrees Celsius.

What is the contribution of Ansoff's product-market model to a firm's competitiveness?

Ansoff's product-market model is a simple model that many businesses use to organize and define their marketing strategy. It breaks marketing into two dimensions: Products and markets.

These two dimensions result in four possible cases to consider (and direct investment toward):

Current products in current markets is market penetration---trying to ensure that you reach as much of your current market with your current product as possible.

Current products in new markets is market development---trying to expand the customer base of your existing products.

New products in current markets is product development---making new products (or versions of products) to satisfy your existing customer base.

Finally, new products in new markets is diversification---expanding your business in fundamentally new directions, making new products and finding new customers for them.
Organizing thinking in this way can help businesses prioritize their investments and make sure they are not spending too little on one part of the market and too much on another.

What is an analysis of Anthony Hecht's poem "The End of the Weekend"?

Anthony Hecht's poem "The End of the Weekend", written in the first person, ostensibly describes the narrator's conflicted experience of sex with his girlfriend ("my girl") in his father's house. In combining sexual undertones, religious connotations and images of nature, Hecht underscores the narrator's self-consciousness and guilt about sexual intimacy.

After heading upstairs with his girlfriend, the narrator hears "an endless wind/ Whips against the headstones of the dead and wails/ In the trees for all who have and have not sinned", prompting him to lock the bedroom door even though "we are alone". The constant transitioning between language of sensuality and imagery of watchful and violent nature reflects the narrator's conflict between his physical desires and his spiritual self. He allows himself to be distracted during lovemaking by a noise upstairs, resulting in his encounter with "A great black presence beats its wings in wrath". From descriptions of mice skeletons and a grey fur mass in the creature's mouth, the "presence" is clearly an owl, yet it also represents a watchful, all-seeing, vengeful god-figure in the narrator's subconscious. In that moment, the narrator seems to identify with the mouse caught in the owl's beak, revealing his guilt at succumbing to physical desires; his perception of the owl's "wrath" implies an awareness of having sinned.

The poem adheres to an ABCBCA rhyme scheme -- the first two stanzas follow this form strictly, but the last two are increasingly loose in structure, mimicking the narrator's growing distraction.

What is tumor lysis syndrome?

Related conditions:
Acute renal failure, arrhythmias, metabolic acidosis

Definition:
Tumor lysis syndrome is a potentially life-threatening metabolic emergency caused when tumor cells are destroyed and broken down faster than the body can get rid of them. This causes an increase in various electrolyte levels in the blood, which can lead to renal failure. The cancer cells may be destroyed by chemotherapy, radiation, or the disease process itself. The complication may be categorized as laboratory tumor lysis syndrome (LTLS), in which no symptoms are present, or as clinical tumor lysis syndrome (CTLS), featuring both laboratory and clinical symptoms.

Risk factors: People at risk are those who are diagnosed with a rapidly growing cancer that responds well to chemotherapy. Some cancers that place patients at risk for tumor lysis syndrome are leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Burkitt lymphoma, soft-tissue sarcoma, small-cell lung cancer, and medulloblastomas. The more involved or aggressive the disease is, the more the risk for developing tumor lysis syndrome. Other risk factors include high levels of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), tumors that affect genitourinary function, increased age, and dehydration.

People who have preexisting kidney failure are also at increased risk for developing tumor lysis syndrome.

Etiology and the disease process: Chemotherapy causes the patient’s cancer cells to lyse, or break down, releasing the contents of the cancer cell into the bloodstream. This causes an increase in the serum potassium, phosphate, and uric acid levels and a decrease in the calcium levels. The levels change at such a rapid rate that the body is unable to maintain a balance and potentially lethal symptoms arise. Tumor lysis syndrome is most common within a week of the initiation of cancer treatment, but can happen at other times as well.

Incidence: The exact incidence of tumor lysis syndrome is not known, though it is estimated to occur in 5 to 20 percent of all cancer patients. Patients who are diagnosed with leukemia in blast crisis have a higher incidence of tumor lysis syndrome. It is more commonly seen with hematologic cancers than those with solid tumors.

Symptoms: Symptoms include the following changes in blood values:

• Hyperkalemia: Increased levels of potassium in the blood. Normal potassium levels are about 3.5 to 5.0 millimoles/deciliter (mmol/dl). In tumor lysis, the potassium will increase to greater than 6 mmol/dl. Symptoms commonly associated with an increase in potassium levels are muscle weakness, muscle cramps, and paralysis. High potassium levels also contribute to cardiac problems including a racing heart rate, decrease in heart rate, and sudden death. Additional symptoms associated with high potassium levels include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and loss of appetite.





• 
  Hyperphosphatemia: Increased levels of phosphorus in the blood. Cancer cells contain about four times more phosphorus than normal cells. When the cancer cells are killed, the phosphorus is released into the blood. This increased level of phosphate can cause the kidneys to misfunction and can cause acute renal failure. The increase in the phosphorus combines with the increased calcium levels and affects the kidney and muscle tissue. This causes a rapid decrease in calcium levels, which can then cause the patient to experience severe muscle cramping and twitching, and problems with the heart.





• Hypocalcemia: Calcium deficiency in the blood. When phosphate increases, the calcium decreases. Symptoms of hypocalcemia can include seizures, Parkinson-like movements, swelling of the optic disk, agitation or anxiety, painful muscle spasms, and muscle weakness.





• Hyperuricemia: Increased levels of uric acid in the blood. This can cause acute renal failure. Symptoms may include nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and loss of appetite.

Screening and diagnosis: Patients who are at high risk of developing tumor lysis syndrome should have baseline labs drawn before therapy begins. Many times patients may not exhibit any signs and symptoms but will begin to have altered lab values. It is important that the patient who is at risk have frequent blood tests taken to monitor for changes. Blood tests should monitor calcium, potassium, phosphate, magnesium, and uric acid levels.

Treatment and therapy: The best treatment is prevention. Treatment is targeted to the altered laboratory value as well as symptoms as they arise. Intravenous (IV) fluids should be initiated in patients before therapy begins and continue to be infused throughout therapy. If high flow rate is used for IV fluids, then a diuretic, such as furosemide (Lasix), may be added to assist with urine excretion. Patients are also given allopurinol, an antigout medication, to stop the formation of uric acid. Urine alkalization may be done by adding sodium bicarbonate to the IV fluids. More severe cases of tumor lysis syndrome may require kidney dialysis to help support the patient through the crisis. The dialysis helps remove the excess potassium and phosphorus when the patient’s kidneys are unable to do so.

Patients who have increased potassium levels are treated with sodium polystyrene (Kayexalate). Sodium polystyrene draws the potassium into the bowel to be excreted. Diuretics can also be used to help eliminate the potassium in the urine. In severe cases of elevated potassium, patients are treated with insulin and dextrose, which causes the cells to take in more potassium, decreasing the potassium levels in the blood.

Increased phosphorus is treated with oral doses of aluminum hydroxide. Aluminum hydroxide will draw the phosphorus into the bowel to be excreted. Diuretics can also be given to increase the amount of phosphorus excreted in the urine. Decreasing the phosphorus level also causes the calcium level to increase.

Low calcium levels are not typically treated unless the patient becomes symptomatic, and then the patient receives calcium gluconate.

Prognosis, prevention, and outcomes: Tumor lysis may be prevented by administering intravenous fluids and allopurinol. Tumor lysis syndrome can occur rapidly, within hours, and have a poor prognosis. As lab values can start changing before the patient experiences side effects, patients who are at risk for tumor lysis syndrome should be hospitalized with preventive therapy initiated, allowing for aggressive treatment to start before the patient’s condition worsens.

Itano, Joanne, et al. Core Curriculum for Oncology Nursing. 5th ed. St. Louis: Elsevier, 2016. Print.

Johnson, Bonny L., and Jody Gross. Handbook of Oncology Nursing. 3rd ed. Sudbury: Jones, 1998. Print.

Lenhard, Raymond E., Robert T. Osteen, and Ted Gansler. Clinical Oncology. Atlanta: American Cancer Soc., 2001. Print.

Otto, Shirley E., Martha E. Langhorne, and Janet S. Fulton. Oncology Nursing. 5th ed. St. Louis: Elsevier, 2007.

"Tumor Lysis Syndrome." Canadian Cancer Soc. Canadian Cancer Soc., 2015. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.

Yarbro, Connie Henke, Debra Wujcik, and Barbara Holmes Gobel. Cancer Nursing: Principles and Practice. 7th ed. Sudbury: Jones, 2011. Print.

Yarbro, Connie Henke, Debra Wujcik, and Barbara Holmes Gobel. Cancer Symptom Management. 4th ed. Sudbury: Jones, 2014. Print.

What is atomicity?

Atomicity can be defined as the number of atoms in a molecule. Atomicity can be defined for both elements as well as other substances. For example, nitrogen gas is made up of two individual atoms of the element nitrogen and has a chemical formula of N2. That is, each molecule of nitrogen gas contains 2 atoms and thus, nitrogen gas has an atomicity of 2. We can similarly calculate the atomicity of other elements. 

Water is made up of atoms of oxygen and hydrogen, mixed in a fixed 1:2 ratio (1 atom of oxygen and 2 atoms of hydrogen). It has a chemical formula of H2O and since it contains 2 atoms of hydrogen and 1 atom of oxygen, each water molecule has an atomicity of 3. We can similarly calculate the atomicity of other substance.

Hope this helps. 

How can the financial fitness of women and minorities be improved?

As women and minorities tend to earn less than white men on average, they also have lower lifetime earnings. In addition, many women work part-time or take time off to care for their families, lowering their lifetime earnings. 

Everyone has to set a realistic budget for their household expenses and designate part of their income to savings and retirement funds. When women are planning for retirement, they should also factor into their calculations the fact that women tend to have longer lifespans than men (meaning that they have longer retirements). If people fail to plan for their longer retirements, they may unfortunately face poverty and hardship as senior citizens. Women and minorities who are veterans can improve their financial fitness by using some of the services that the government provides to veterans, including help with home loans, pensions, and life insurance. 

In addition, employers can play a role in helping women and minorities by providing retirement funds for part-time or temporary workers and by making it possible for employees to contribute to the retirement funds automatically through their paychecks. In addition, employers can help women and minorities by allowing them to work part-time past the age of retirement so that these workers have more money in retirement. 

Which child picks his nose in the story?

Thank you for asking this question! I don't know how I ever happened to miss this detail in the story before. It is a disgusting paragraph, and I found myself laughing and cringing at the same time. 

Ravi is the child picking his nose. 

Ravi heard the whistling and picked his nose in a panic. . . 

The paragraph goes on to explain that Ravi is attempting to burrow his way further into a hiding spot. He is trying to hide from Raghu, but his hiding spot is not so great. While Ravi is attempting to burrow into his hiding spot, his finger burrows its way into his nose. The text says that it gave Ravi comfort because his finger had found a secure, deep, "soft tunnel."  Gross. 

Despite the comfort of his nasal cave, Ravi is still scared of Raghu finding him. The paragraph ends by telling readers that Ravi is now so frightened that he is swallowing small snot balls.  His finger probably helped push them that direction. 

Which term describes the maximum number of individuals an ecosystem can support?

The maximum number of individuals an ecosystem can support is known as the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. When the population of the individuals goes beyond that number, overpopulation is said to exist.

An ecosystem is composed of a number of factors, including both biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic factors include living organisms, while abiotic factors include non-living things like water, air, space, etc. Since these quantities are in a finite amount, there is a limit to how many individuals can be supported by them. Think about the seating arrangement at a wedding reception. If there are only 40 seating spaces available, only 40 guests can be accommodated, not more. Same is the scenario with the ecosystem. 

In the case of human beings, overpopulation results in emigration or expansion of habitation to newer regions.

Hope this helps.  

What are three quotes from Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird that depict Scout's outspoken personality?

There are several scenes throughout the novel that depict Scout's outspoken personality. In Chapter 3, Walter Cunningham is eating at the Finch residence, and he begins to pour syrup all over his vegetables and meat. Scout is appalled and asks him what the "sam hill" he is doing. When Atticus shakes his head, Scout protests and says, "But he's gone and drowned his dinner in syrup" (Lee 32). Calpurnia gives Scout a lecture about manners in the kitchen following Scout's candid comments.

In Chapter 4, the children are bored, and Dill looks at the Radley yard and says, "I---smell---death" (Lee 48). Dill then sniffs Scout and claims that she will die in three days. Scout threatens Dill and Jem says, "Yawl hush...you act like you believe in Hot Steams" (Lee 48). Scout rebuttals by saying, "You act like you don't" (Lee 49). Scout's outspoken response upsets Jem, and he gets his revenge by pushing Scout in the tire as hard as he can.

In Chapter 14, Scout tells Atticus about their exciting trip to Calpurnia's church. Scout then asks Atticus if she can go over to Calpurnia's house next Sunday. Out of nowhere, Alexandra says, "You may not" (Lee 181). Scout quickly responds by saying, "I didn't ask you!" (Lee 181). Atticus stands up and makes Scout apologize to her aunt. Scout's "smart" comment gets her into trouble, and she walks into the bathroom to regain her "dignity."

How can the witches in Macbeth be seen as manipulative?

On one level, the witches in Macbeth can be seen as responsible for all the grisly events in the play. They tell Macbeth he will be both Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland. When their first prediction comes true almost immediately, Macbeth then believes he is destined to gain power by killing Duncan. Furthermore, they lull Macbeth into a false sense of security by telling him that no one born of woman can defeat him. As such, it's possible to argue the witches manipulate Macbeth by telling him partial truths, but not the whole truth, and so they falsely present the future in a way that causes Macbeth to pursue a murderous rampage.

It's important to interrogate this idea somewhat, though. While it's absolutely possible the witches are manipulative, it's also possible they are more neutral than they first appear. After all, their prophecies are rather vague, and it's Macbeth who interprets them as excuses to murder. As such, though it's certainly possible that the witches manipulate Macbeth, it's also possible that Macbeth's own ambitions and interpretations of the prophecies are to blame.

What were the reasons for the Soviet-Afghanistan war and Vietnam war?

The Soviet-Afghanistan War started in 1979 when the Soviet Union replaced the Islamic radical leader Hafizullah Amin with the Communist Babrak Karmal.  The Soviet Union sought to lessen the influence of Islamic extremism and potential Western influences near its borders.  This is key because the Soviet Union has long had problems with extremism in its own territories in Chechnya.  The ensuing war was a disaster for the Soviets as American-backed rebels fought the Soviet army to a standstill.  This would be the last major war of the Soviet regime.  

America assisted South Vietnam against Communist North Vietnam initially by using advisers.  After the Gulf of Tonkin incident, where the U.S.S. Maddox was attacked off the coast of North Vietnam, Lyndon Johnson ordered more troops sent to South Vietnam to assist in fighting both the North Vietnamese Army and the Vietcong.  America fought in the Vietnam War due to the domino theory, which stated that if one country fell to Communism, the other nations around it would soon follow.  America worried about its position in Asia and did not want Communist takeovers to happen in the Philippines and Japan.  It was important for American politicians not to look soft on Communism for political reasons back home, and also it was supposed to improve the morale of our European allies who felt threatened by Soviet encroachment.  The logic was that if America fought against Communism in the developing world, then it definitely would fight the Soviets if they decided to invade Europe.  

What does the Battle of the Windmill in Animal Farm symbolize in real life events? In other words, what event in real life can be tied to the...

The Battle of the Windmill in Chapter 8 of Animal Farm represents the fighting in World War II, particularly the Soviet victories over the Nazis fought at great cost to the Soviets. Before this battle in the novel, Mr. Frederick of Pinchfield, a neighboring farmer, buys wood from Napoleon but pays for it with fake bank notes. As a result, Napoleon puts Frederick under a death sentence. This situation is similar to the relationship between the Soviet Union, represented by the animals, and the Nazis, represented by Frederick, at the outset of World War II. The Soviet Union and the Nazis had signed a Non-Aggression Pact in 1939, but then the Nazis went back on their word and attacked the Soviet Union in 1941. 

Frederick and his men attack the farm, and they blow up the windmill. The animals fight back, although Frederick's men have guns, and chase the men away. As a result, the animals suffer heavy losses, as several animals die. This result is similar to the heavy losses the Soviets suffered as they pushed the Nazis out of Russia. Like the Soviets, the animals celebrate their victory in the Battle of the Windmill with great fanfare. 

According to Ray Bradbury's story "August 2016: There Will Come Soft Rains," how are people living in close proximity to a nuclear disaster affected?

After nuclear bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII, scientists and the military discovered that objects and people within a close radius of the point of impact created what are called “nuclear shadows.”  The UV rays from a nuclear bomb will “bleach” out everything around it, much like an x-ray produces a negative.  For example, if a person is standing between the blast and a building, a shadow will be created of the person on the wall of the building.  

This is what happened to the family in “There Will Come Soft Rains.”  Here is Bradbury’s description of the event: 

The entire west face of the house was black, save for five places. Here the silhouette in paint of a man mowing a lawn. Here, as in a photograph, a woman bent to pick 3 flowers. Still farther over, their images burned on wood in one titanic instant, a small boy, hands flung into the air; higher up, the image of a thrown ball, and opposite him a girl, hands raised to catch a ball which never came down. The five spots of paint—the man, the woman, the children, the ball—remained. The rest was a thin charcoaled layer.

Bradbury’s image of the last remaining moments of the family shows how death was instant.  The family’s shadows are permanently etched into the wall while they are still in full motion.  The family playing catch, picking flowers, and mowing the lawn sets the scene that is in opposition to the destructiveness of the nuclear bomb.  Unfortunately, after the blast, all that is left are their silhouettes like “charcoal” on the home’s wall.   

I have included a website with pictures from Hiroshima and Nagasaki below. 

In "The Yellow Wallpaper," is the narrator afraid of her husband, John?

The narrator certainly does not feel that her husband understands or believes her when she describes her feelings of illness.  She says, "John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in a marriage."  He tends to speak down to her, as though she were a child who requires coddling or correcting.  Further, she says, "he does not believe I am sick!"  John doesn't seem to give his wife any credit for knowing her own mind or body, what she can or cannot handle, and he keeps her locked away in her room under the pretense of helping her to avoid too much stimulation.  She is to engage in perfect rest, he says, if she is to improve.

As the story progresses, the narrator says, "The fact is I am getting a little afraid of John" because he looks at her wallpaper as though he were trying to figure it out.  She doesn't fear that he will hurt her or anything like that, but she becomes suspicious of him and his interest in her wallpaper, especially after she begins to believe that there is a woman in the paper who is trapped there.  

Why did God allow Corrie and Betsie to be arrested?

 According to the book, God allowed Corrie and Betsie to be arrested so they could be witnesses of Christ's love and light in the concentration camps where they were interned and so that Corrie could be a witness after the war to what went on in the camps. The two sisters were sent to several camps and ended up in the notorious Ravensbruck. While at the camps, they held Bible studies in the evenings, using a small cloth Bible that miraculously escaped detection and confiscation. Betsie believed that if people could learn to hate, which is what the Nazis taught, they could also be taught to love. She devoted herself, as Carrie did, though Carrie was more bitter, to spreading God's love in the camps. At one point, the women shared their precious medicine with other inmates instead of hoarding it for themselves, which was a stunning thing to do in those circumstances, and it miraculously lasted extra long. Although Betsie died in the camps, she never lost her faith. Both women helped others keep hope alive in a terrible situation.

After the war, God used Corrie's experience through her book and her tours to show other people that God is with them even in the most terrible situations. 

In Games at Twilight by Anita Desai, what truth about life does Ravi discover?

This question does not have a happy answer.  "Games at Twilight" is wonderful story.  It's too bad that it ends on such a depressing note.  The life lesson that Ravi learns is that people are mean, life is full of disappointment, and a person's actions might be viewed as completely insignificant by other people.  

Ravi works so hard in the story to win the game of hide and seek.  He is dedicated to obtaining a victory over the bully, Raghu.  Ravi hides in a shed that he himself describes as "creepy."  He has to fight down overwhelming urges to bolt out of there.  He gets through it by envisioning what it would be like to claim victory over everybody.  

To defeat Raghu—that hirsute, hoarse-voiced football champion—and to be the winner in a circle of older, bigger, luckier children—that would be thrilling beyond imagination. He hugged his knees together and smiled to himself almost shyly at the thought of so much victory, such laurels.

Ravi believes that by claiming victory, he will catapult his status upward.  He will be significant.  

Unfortunately, the other kids don't believe Ravi's victory.  They dismiss him completely and resort to name calling.  

Stop it, stop it, Ravi. Don’t be a baby . . . Don’t be a fool.

Nobody even remembers that he is still playing.  That's insignificance.    

All this time no one had remembered Ravi. Having disappeared from the scene, he had disappeared from their minds. Clean. . .  He lay down full length on the damp grass, crushing his face into it, no longer crying, silenced by a terrible sense of his insignificance.

I have to research a radioactive isotope and write a discussion about its half life. I'm doing carbon 14. I have researched it but I'm unsure on...

Isotopes are atoms of an element that have the same atomic number but different atomic mass, as compared to other atoms. A material is said to be radioactive if it decays into more stable nuclei.  All the heavier elements, with an atomic number of more than 83, are radioactive. For elements with lesser atomic numbers, some isotopes are stable, while others may be radioactive.

Carbon is an element and has a number of isotopes. Among these isotopes, C-12 and C-13 (carbon atoms with atomic numbers 12 and 13) are stable, while C-14 is the radioactive isotope. C-14 decays into N-14, along with the emission of an electron (beta decay). C-14 has a half life of 5730 years, which means whatever amount of C-14 is present today, it will decay to 50% of its current value in next 5730 years.

This decay reaction of C-14 and a knowledge of its half-life is used by scientists to determine the age of fossils.

Hope this helps.   

How is Macbeth seen as a tragic hero?

Macbeth is a tragic hero because of his rather spectacular and dramatic corruption: he begins the play as a good, brave, and loyal man who allows his pride and ambition to overwhelm his better qualities.  If Macbeth were a villain to begin with, and he simply stayed villainous throughout the play, then it wouldn't really be such a tragedy.  The end, with his destruction, would really just be the just desserts of a very bad man.  However, because Macbeth is so good in the beginning, a man known for his courageous and excellent service to Scotland, his story becomes much more tragic.  He is manipulated by the Weird Sisters and by his own wife, persuaded to act against his conscience, and -- once he does -- the violence to which he gives in becomes a slippery slope, and he must commit more and more in order to retain what he has acquired. 

What is a strabismus?

Causes and Symptoms

Strabismus affects approximately 5 percent of the population. It may be caused by a problem with the nerve supply to the muscles that move the eye or by poor vision or obstruction of vision in one or both eyes.

The most common type of strabismus is an esotropia (inward deviation) of the eye, which accounts for 75 percent of the cases of crossed eyes. There is also exotropia (outward deviation), hypertropia (upward deviation), and hypotropia (downward deviation) of the eye. When a child with strabismus has a penlight shone in the eye, the light reflected back does not fall on the pupil in the same place. This is referred to as the "corneal light reflex test." When the eyes are aligned, the corneal light reflex will be placed symmetrically on the pupil. It is important to identify strabismus and to have it evaluated to prevent amblyopia (dimness of vision) or blindness in the eye that is deviated. It is also important because, without input from both eyes, it is difficult to perceive depth.

A condition called "pseudostrabismus" gives the appearance of having crossed eyes. It occurs because there is a flat bridge of the nose or extra skin near the nose. In this situation, the corneal light reflex will be symmetrical in the pupil.

Treatment and Therapy

Treatment of strabismus is aimed at avoiding amblyopia and realigning the eyes to restore depth perception. This realignment frequently requires eye muscle surgery. Some cases can be treated with glasses and bifocals. Patients with strabismus and amblyopia are typically prescribed glasses and may be given an eye patch to be worn over the stronger eye in order to strengthen the affected eye. Eye drops are may be substituted for patching. An ophthalmologist should be consulted for the treatment of strabismus.

Bibliography

A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia. "Strabismus." MedlinePlus, September 17, 2012.

Buettner, Helmut, ed. Mayo Clinic on Vision and Eye Health: Practical Answers on Glaucoma, Cataracts, Macular Degeneration, and Other Conditions. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2002.

Cooper, Jeffrey, Rachel Cooper, and Leonard Press. "All about Strabismus." Optometrists Network, 2012.

Eden, John. The Physician’s Guide to Cataracts, Glaucoma, and Other Eye Problems. Yonkers, N.Y.: Consumer Reports Books, 1992.

Flynn, John T. Strabismus: A Neurodevelopmental Approach. New York: Springer, 1991.

Hollenstein, Jenna, and Michael Woods. "Strabismus." Health Library, November 26, 2012.

Riordan-Eva, Paul, and John P. Whitcher. Vaughan and Asbury’s General Ophthalmology. 18th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011.

Sutton, Amy L., ed. Eye Care Sourcebook: Basic Consumer Health Information About Eye Care and Eye Disorders. 5th ed. Detroit, Mich.: Omnigraphics, 2012.

Van Noorden, Gunter K., and Emilio C. Campos. Binocular Vision and Ocular Motility: Theory and Management of Strabismus. 6th ed. St. Louis, Mo..: Mosby, 2002.

How would you describe "Loveliest of Trees, the Cherry Now" as philosophical poetry?

The philosophy underlying A. E. Housman's deceptively simple poem might be summed up as "carpe diem," or seize the day. The poem, narrated by a 20-year-old, dwells on how fleeting or ephemeral life is. The narrator looks at the bloom of a beautiful cherry bough and reflects that, since he is expecting to live to 70, he only has 50 springtimes left to enjoy the beauty of the cherry bough. That is not much time, he notes, to grasp and drink in all the beauty it offers. The poem says we need to live life to fullest while we have it because it goes by far too fast. The narrator ends the poem by saying he will take the time to enjoy the cherry bough while he can. The cherry bough represents all the small beauties and joys in the world that we can too easily miss by not seizing the day.

In The Great Gatsby, why is the the Valley of the Ashes so dirty? What does it mean?

Nick's description of the valley of ashes is so poetic, eerie, and otherworldly that it can leave the reader confused. Ashes growing like wheat, forming into "grotesque gardens," and taking the forms of men? Is Nick, who is usually so specific and prosaic, describing a real scene?

The sense of unreality deepens when Nick goes on to describe "the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg." Evidently, these are on a billboard or a hanging sign, but Nick never says so. He describes the eyes as if they hover on an invisible face.

Below, I have posted a link to an article (GatsbysTracks) in which the author researches the location of the valley of ashes. Apparently, in Fitzgerald's day there really was "a gigantic trash-burning operation on the road between Great Neck ['West Egg' in Gatsby] and Manhattan." There really was a river, bridge, railroad, and even a store that sold signs. Fitzgerald would have been familiar with this place, and according to one biographer, the sight of it was an early inspiration for this novel. 

Nobody lives near a gigantic trash-burning operation by choice. People live in dirty, unlivable places only when they can't afford to live anywhere nicer. This is the situation for George and Myrtle Wilson, who live in the garage near the side of the road at the edge of the valley of ashes. They are barely surviving economically. Myrtle is discontented with their life; George is beaten down by her discontent. The dirtiness of the valley makes obvious the difference between the Wilsons' lives and the lives of the wealthier characters, who live in lovely East and West Egg, in their mansions with ocean views.  

Basically, the valley of ashes means poverty. It means the harsh realities of life from which the rich can, to some extent, insulate themselves, and the poor cannot.  

It is interesting to note that the richer characters in Gatsby cannot completely escape the valley of ashes.  They have to pass through it on their way to New York City, and Tom's choice to take a mistress who lives in the valley ultimately leads to some very fateful things happening right there in the valley of ashes, in front of George Wilson's garage. Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby might not live in the valley of ashes, but they still have to deal with it.

The valley might mean a little more than poverty. It might mean the brokenness in the world, fallen human nature, or even something worse. In the other link I have posted below (GatsbyDante), see the author's suggestion that the valley of ashes is supposed to give us the impression that the characters are entering hell itself. 

In "A Retrieved Reformation," what does the conversation between Jimmy and the warden tell you about Jimmy?

Jimmy is young and cocky. He has a winning personality. Everybody likes him. The warden takes a special interest in him because he sees that Jimmy is a cut above the hardened cons he has to deal with every day. Jimmy seems to be ignoring the warden's well-meant advice, but some of it must be making an impression on him. No doubt Jimmy appreciates the fact that the warden likes him and is trying to save him from the downhill path of a life of crime. Jimmy is acting cheerful and confident, but he has been sobered by the fact that his stay in the prison lasted much longer than he expected. He is beginning to realize that his expertise as a safecracker is a handicap as well as an asset. It is becoming easier to get arrested and harder to get out. He may have important connections on the outside, but these people can forget about him very quickly if he becomes so notorious that he is no longer a good person to know. It is appropriate that the story opens inside a prison. It illustrates the fact that Jimmy is not as smart as he thinks he is. The best thing the warden tells him is the following:

“Now, Valentine,” said the warden, “you'll go out in the morning. Brace up, and make a man of yourself. You're not a bad fellow at heart. Stop cracking safes, and live straight.”

A man who has the intelligence, personality, and talent to be a successful criminal can use the same intelligence, personality, and talent to become even more successful as an honest citizen. When Jimmy decides that he is getting too notorious in the Indiana area and moves to Arkansas, his falling in love with Annabel Adams is not exactly a cause of his decision to reform but more of a catalyst. He has been changing gradually without even realizing it. He has been more or less unconsciously to the realization of the truth he expresses in a letter to his old friend.

Say, Billy, I've quit the old business—a year ago. I've got a nice store. I'm making an honest living, and I'm going to marry the finest girl on earth two weeks from now. It's the only life, Billy—the straight one. I wouldn't touch a dollar of another man's money now for a million. 

Jimmy is still in danger of having his past catch up with him. His nemesis Ben Price is on his trail because of the four bank jobs Jimmy pulled off in Indiana right after his interview with the warden. But Ben Price decides to give him a break after witnessing how he sacrifices his whole future in order to rescue a little girl who has accidentally become locked in Annabel's father's bank vault.

How can I start on an English assignment to compose a script in which Friar Lawrence reflects upon his actions and his part in the tragedy of the...

Perhaps, the scene could open at the end of Act V as the mourners depart and Friar Lawrence remains behind, reflecting upon his own words and deeply regretting his actions. That is, a soliloquy could be created as the major part of the script.

Taking from his monologue these lines--

She wakes, and I entreated her come forth,
And bear this work of Heaven with patience.
And then a noise did scare me from the tomb,
And she too desperate would not go with me,
But, as it seems, did violence on herself. (5.3.275-279)

--the student can begin the soliloquy. The key words here are "this work of Heaven," which means, of course, fate. For, throughout the play, Romeo and Juliet have tried to defy fate (Romeo even declares, "Then I defy you, stars!" (5.1.24). The friar, too, has essayed to manipulate circumstances so that Romeo and Juliet can be married and happy while he works to reconcile the feuding families because their beloved children have acted in love, thus setting the example.
But, of course, the friar has committed the cardinal sin of pride in thinking that he can ameliorate the antagonism between the Capulets and the Montagues. Moreover, he has broken one of the vows that he has taken as a priest: the vow of humility.

Therefore, as he stands alone, reflecting upon his sin of pride as he has thought himself god-like in that he could manipulate circumstances and relationships, the priest must berate himself for his sins against Heaven and the breaking of his priestly vows. Indeed, his acts of pride have wrought the deaths of two of God's creatures. In this soliloquy, too, he may cry out to Heaven, asking why he could not have died instead of the innocent Juliet.

Perhaps, the student can begin in this manner,

Death, dismay, grief, loss have I alone caused in my pride!
How have I thought myself so designing that I could deceive man and Heaven both?
I once asked Romeo if he were not "uproused by some distemperature" (see 2.3)
When it was I who wast swelled with arrogance
Oh! shame and sin must I now bear forever.....

[Here Friar Laurence can remember certain things that have happened and think what he should have done, instead. The end of his speech can be his exclamation that he has betrayed, rather than helped the families. He has been a Judas.]

"I don't know, but they did it. They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again and when they do it — seems that only...

This quote is on page 285, near the beginning of Chapter 22 of To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus has just returned home after the devastating verdict in Tom's trial — Tom was found guilty despite Atticus's clear demonstration that Bob and Mayella were lying. Jem was particularly optimistic about the possibility that Tom would be acquitted, and he asks Atticus how the jury could have ruled as they did, knowing that Tom was likely not guilty of the crime. This quote is Atticus's response, and it demonstrates that he is as disappointed by the verdict as Jem, and he does not know how to explain the racism that informed the decision to his children. The final line of this quote is especially powerful; it reflects a persistent theme of the book — the idea that children haven't "learned" to be bigoted. This suggests that racism is not a basic part of the human condition, but rather something we learn from our surroundings.

In Chapter 9 of Whirligig, what are the five comparisons of whirligigs to other objects/people?

In Chapter 9, I actually found seven references comparing whirligigs to other objects and people. I've listed them below in the order in which they appear in the chapter.

1. The final whirligig Brent is creating in Maine is compared to a dish or a meal, something that requires a delicate combination of ingredients:

But in his mind there materialized the notion of a whirligig all his own, its plan found in no book in the world, its ingredients his remaining scraps and whatever he could scavenge, as the campground owner had.

2. The new whirligig is compared to a moving gravestone, a colorful memorial for Lea:

But his clacking, flashing, jingling memorial would give off sound and color all year, holding back the tide of death. It was a kinetic gravestone, painted in ever-blooming greens and yellows and reds. Lea would not be swallowed up.

3. As Brent carries his completed whirligig up the hill to the artist's house, the narrator strongly implies a comparison between the whirligig and the cross carried by Jesus:

The whirligig was heavy, awkward to carry, and conspicuous in the extreme. He ignored the stares he drew in the campground, decided it would be easier to take the road, and was the cause of much braking and head-swiveling. The day was hot. His arm muscles burned. He shifted the contraption onto his head just as a breeze flowed over him, setting it ringing and spinning. It was engaged with the wind as if by a gear. Making his way up a hill, he listened to his respiration, his own wind surging in and out, and felt at one with the whirligig.

4. and 5. The unnamed artist compares Brent's new whirligig first to a flag and then to a musical performance:

"It reminds me of those Tibetan flags that flap in the wind, sending out prayers." She flicked a propeller and admired the sea glass. "It's a one-man band for the eyes. Bravo!"

6. Brent realizes that the group of dancers resemble a living whirligig:

Couples turned in circles, skirts rippling. Brent stared. It was a human whirligig, set in motion by music instead of wind. He sank into a chair and watched dance after dance.

7. Finally, Brent extends his understanding of the interconnections of humans as he compares a whirligig to the entire world:

In his mind, his whirligigs were meshed the same way, parts of a single coast-to-coast creation. The world itself was a whirligig, its myriad parts invisibly linked, the hidden crankshafts and connecting rods carrying motion across the globe and over the centuries.

Provide examples of emotional courage in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird.

The clearest example of emotional courage throughout the novel takes place in Chapter 11. Mrs. Dubose, the community's most outspoken racist, upsets Jem as he is walking past her home, prompting him to destroy her camellia bush. Jem's punishment is to read to Mrs. Dubose every day, except for Sunday, for two hours for a full month. Shortly after Jem's punishment is over, Mrs. Dubose passes away. Atticus tells his children that Mrs. Dubose was the bravest person he'd ever met because she chose to break her addiction to morphine before she died. Atticus explains that Mrs. Dubose suffered from a chronic illness, and the morphine numbed her pain. She told him that "she was going to leave this world beholden to nothing and nobody" (Lee 69). Jem's reading occupied Mrs. Dubose for a long enough time to take her mind off of the pain, and she eventually was able to break her addiction. Mrs. Dubose displayed emotional courage and resolve by enduring the pain to die free from addiction.

Another scene throughout the novel that depicts emotional courage takes place in Chapter 20 when Atticus addresses the jury during his closing remarks. Atticus courageously challenges Maycomb's prejudice by revealing the truth and commenting on their systemic racist beliefs. By defending Tom Robinson, Atticus knows that he is alienating himself from his community members, but he chooses to do the right thing and follow his conscience.

What major changes occur in a developing fetus during the second trimester of pregnancy?

The second trimester of pregnancy (the fourth, fifth, and sixth months) may be best described as the time when the fetus really begins to look like what we think of as a baby. During the first trimester, the embryo grows from just a small clump of cells to a recognizable fetus. Beginning with the fourth month, or about the fourteenth week of pregnancy, some major changes begin to take place! The fetal brain is beginning to fire nerve impulses, and the fetus may be gaining a sense of control over their facial muscles. The fetus may be observed moving on an ultrasound during the fourth month, though the mother may not feel it for several more weeks. The liver and pancreas begin producing secretions, and cartilage is beginning to harden into bone.

During the fifth month, the mother is more likely to feel "kicking" or quickening, as the fetus has increased control over their muscles and many of the bones and joints have hardened. The senses will also begin to develop around this time, and myelin is laid down as a protective coating of the nerves. Because the fetus' sense of hearing is developing during this time, some parents like to talk or play music and observe for fetal movement.

During the sixth month of gestation, the fetal heartbeat may now be heard with a stethoscope. A fine, peach-fuzz like fur covers all of the fetus' body and will help to keep them warm after birth. Meconium--the baby's first poo after being born--is developing inside the gastrointestinal tract. By this time, the fetus is far more recognizable as a baby, and even develops eyelashes and eyebrows. The nails also finish growing during this time. Towards the end of the sixth month, the fetus will begin to store fat in their soft tissues, and the lower airways of the lungs are beginning to develop.

When heavy rain falls, where is flash flooding most likely to occur?

Flash flooding is most common in low lying regions like valleys, river beds, and geographic depressions. The main cause of flash flooding is when there is nowhere for water to go. This is caused when the ground has little to no absorption capability. Where I live, flash flooding is most often caused when there is an extended period of rain to saturate the soil, preventing quick absorption into the soil, or after a long period of drought when the ground acts as a fired clay and causes water to runoff. In other areas, rain falling on stone can cause flooding, and in rivers surrounded by highlands such as in the mountains, even a small rain can raise water levels significantly, resulting in a flash flood.

How does author show in the very first paragraph that the Cratchit family was poor?

Although I'm not sure which "first paragraph" you are referring to, I will take the first two paragraphs of when the Spirit of Christmas Present brings Scrooge to Cratchit's house. Here the narrator comments that "Bob had but fifteen 'Bob' a-week himself." This explains how much income Bob Cratchit earned for the family. A "bob" is slang for a shilling, which was 1/20 of a British pound. It's hard for modern American readers to know what this meant, although the way it is presented suggests it is a very low income. According to the source below, in the late 19th century, a family needed 18 shillings a week to get by, and assuming the "get by" rate was a bit lower in 1843 when this book was written, the Cratchit family is at that level of barely scraping by, especially considering that they have several children. 

The next paragraph makes the Cratchit level of income more understandable. Mrs. Cratchit wears a "twice-turned gown." That means her dress has been made over twice--she cannot afford new clothing. She has to dress up her outfit with cheap ribbons, as do her daughters. Their son, Peter, has to wear a hand-me-down shirt from his father that is much too large for him because they cannot afford new clothes for their growing son. They are eating potatoes, a cheap food, and have splurged on a goose for the day, showing that they can't afford even mildly expensive foods on a routine basis. 

Even if one does not understand the value of the money Dickens talks about, the way that the Cratchits have to skimp on clothing and food shows how poor they are.

What are natural treatments for bipolar disorder?

Introduction

Previously known as manic-depressive disease or disorder, bipolar
disorder is a relatively common mental health condition
manifested in its classic form by alternating periods of mania (extreme high
energy) and deep depression. In the “up” or manic phase, people may sleep
little, talk fast, develop grand and unworkable plans, and sometimes behave
bizarrely (for example, giving away all their money overnight). In the “down”
phase, they may contemplate suicide. In many people with this disorder, the down
phase predominates, so the diagnosis may be missed. Other, more subtle versions of
the condition also exist.

Bipolar disorder is dangerous unless treated, leading to a high rate of
suicide and injury. The mineral lithium has been shown to
dramatically improve symptoms of mania and reduce the rate of suicide. Various
antiseizure medications also appear to reduce mania.

Proposed Natural Treatments

There are no natural treatments that can substitute for medications in the treatment of bipolar disorder. However, some natural treatments might enhance the effectiveness of standard treatment.

In a double-blind study reported in 1999, thirty people with bipolar disorder took either fish oil capsules or placebo for four months, in addition to their regular medications. Those taking the fish oil had longer symptom-free periods than those taking placebo. The researchers used five different standardized tests to measure symptoms, examining levels of depression, mania, and overall progress. The people taking fish oil proved emotionally healthier than those taking placebo on all but one of these tests. Another study found that ethyl-EPA (a modified form of a constituent of fish oil) was helpful with standard treatment for the depressed phase of bipolar disorder. A third study failed to find ethyl-EPA helpful for rapid cycling bipolar disorder. Overall, the evidence for benefit is not convincing. A 2012 clinical study in which a test group was given fish oil capsules with oral cytidine, which is a pyrimidine that has shown promise as an antidepressant, failed to produce an outcome that indicated it would be effective in combating bipolar syndrome.

The same researchers who conducted the fish oil study also experimented with flaxseed oil for bipolar disorder. Flaxseed oil contains alpha-linoleic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fatty acid related to the fatty acids in fish oil. In the researchers’ informal observations of twenty-two people with bipolar disorder, all but four appeared to benefit from flaxseed oil. However, lacking a double-blind study, these results cannot be taken as meaningful.

One somewhat questionable study reported that an herbal combination utilized in
traditional
Chinese medicine (called Free and Easy Wanderer) may augment
the effectiveness of carbamazepine treatment for bipolar disorder. Weak evidence
suggests possible benefits with choline, lecithin, vitamin C,
and inositol. Inositol may also reduce psoriasis symptoms caused by lithium.
However, caution is advised with inositol.

A special form of magnet therapy, called rTMS (repetitive
transcranial magnetic stimulation), has shown some promise for bipolar disorder.
Also, the use of an anion generator (an air ionizer that produces negative ions)
has shown promise for mitigating the symptoms of acute mania.

Various supplements may help reduce the side effects of antiseizure drugs. Also, despite promising preliminary indications, a double-blind study failed to find that folate enhances the effect of the drug lithium. Lithium is sometimes sold as a mineral supplement for treating bipolar disorder. However, this proposed use is based on a misunderstanding. When lithium is used medically as treatment for bipolar disorder, it is taken at doses far above any possible nutritional need. No researcher has seriously suggested that lithium deficiency causes bipolar symptoms, and low doses of lithium are unlikely to have any effect.

Herbs and Supplements to Use Only with Caution

Antidepressant drugs may cause manic episodes in people with
bipolar disorder. For this reason, herbs and supplements with antidepressant
properties might also be risky. Case reports suggest that S-adenosylmethionine,
St. John’s wort, and inositol can trigger manic episodes.

The supplement L-glutamine, while not normally considered to have antidepressant properties, has reportedly triggered episodes of mania in two people not previously known to have bipolar disorder. A ginseng product has also been associated with an episode of mania.

The supplement chromium is often sold in the form of chromium picolinate. Picolinate can alter levels of neurotransmitters. This has led to concern among some experts that chromium picolinate might be harmful to people with bipolar disorder.

It has been suggested that the drug lithium works, in part, by reducing the body’s level of vanadium. Persons with bipolar disorder should avoid using supplements that contain vanadium. Numerous herbs and supplements may interact adversely with drugs used to prevent or treat bipolar disorder. For example, people who use lithium should avoid herbal diuretics.

Bibliography

Allan, S. J., et al. “The Effect of Inositol Supplements on the Psoriasis of Patients Taking Lithium.” British Journal of Dermatology 150 (2004): 966–69. Print.

Attenburrow, M. J., et al. “Chromium Treatment Decreases the Sensitivity of 5-HT(2A) Receptors.” Psychopharmacology 159 (2002): 432–36. Print.

Dolberg, O. T., et al. “Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Patients with Bipolar Depression.” Bipolar Disorders 4 (2002): 94–95. Print.

Frangou, S., et al. “Efficacy of Ethyl-Eicosapentaenoic Acid in Bipolar Depression.” British Journal of Psychiatry 188 (2006): 46–50. Print.

Giannini, A. J., et al. “Treatment of Acute Mania with Ambient Air Anionization: Variants of Climactic Heat Stress and Serotonin Syndrome.” Psychological Reports 100 (2007): 157–163. Print.

Keck, P. E., Jr, et al. “Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trials of Ethyl-Eicosapentanoate in the Treatment of Bipolar Depression and Rapid Cycling Bipolar Disorder.” Biological Psychiatry 60 (2006): 1020. Print.

Marchand, William R. Mindfulness for Bipolar Disorder: How Mindfulness and Neuroscience Can Help You Manage Your Bipolar Symptoms. Oakland: New Harbinger, 2015. Print.

Lin, P. Y., and K. P. Su. “A Meta-analytic Review of Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trials of Antidepressant Efficacy of Omega-3 Fatty Acids.” Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 68 (2007): 1056–61. Print.

Sylvia, Louisa Grandin. The Wellness Workbook for Bipolar Disorder: Your Guide to Getting Healthy and Improving Your Mood. Oakland: New Harbinger, 2015. Print.

Vazquez, I., and L. F. Aguera-Ortiz. “Herbal Products and Serious Side Effects: A Case of Ginseng-Induced Manic Episode.” Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 105 (2002): 76–77. Print.

Zhang, Z. J., et al. “Adjunctive Herbal Medicine with Carbamazepine for Bipolar Disorders.” Journal of Psychiatric Research 41 (2005): 360–69. Print.

Where does the death of Antinous in The Odyssey take place?

The death of Antinous takes place in Ithaca, inside of Odysseus's palace.  Odysseus asks Eurycleia to close all the doors to the palace, while the suitors make fun of Odysseus, still disguised as an old beggar, as he handles his old bow.  None of the suitors have been able to so much as string the bow, let alone shoot it with the accuracy demanded by the trial.  Odysseus strings it with ease, quieting the suitors, and then shoots an arrow through the twelve axe handles.  Odysseus leaps up, throwing off his ragged clothes, says a quick prayer to Apollo, and aims his arrow at and shoots Antinous directly in the throat.  He is actually the first suitor Odysseus kills because he has, certainly, been the one who caused the most offense and is the leader of the noble youths of Ithaca.

In Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night," how are teaching and learning displayed by Thomas towards his father?

In this poem, the narrator (though not necessarily the author) is speaking to his dying father, providing numerous examples of various kinds of people, all of whom fight death and refuse to go quietly and peacefully into its "good night."  The narrator first addresses the way "wise men" fight death: it is, perhaps, because they feel they haven't had enough of an impact that they refuse to die.  That they are described as "wise" implies that they are intelligent, and therefore being incredibly intelligent doesn't mean that it is any easier to accept one's inevitable death.  The same goes for good men, wild men (who really lived a full life), and grave (or serious) men.  In this way, the narrator seems to be trying to teach his father that fighting death doesn't mean that he is unwise or bad or frivolous; on the contrary, the smartest and best kinds of people try to stay alive for as long as possible.  He hopes that his father will learn from him and that he will fight off death and remain with his son as long as humanly possible.  Often, we think of parents as being the ones to teach their children, but -- in this poem -- those roles are reversed.  The child attempts to instruct the father, and he desperately hopes that his father will learn the truth of what he's saying.

Which statement about the Missouri Compromise is true? a. It resulted in an unequal number of free states and slave states. b. It allowed...

The Missouri Compromise was a very important event in our history. Slavery was already becoming an issue in the early 1800s. The North and the South tried to keep an equal balance of free state and of slaves. When Missouri wanted to join the Union, this would have created an unequal number of states. This was a big deal because there would have been two more senators in the Senate from the side that had more states.

The Missouri Compromise did several things. It allowed Missouri to join the Union as a slave state. It allowed Maine to join the Union as a free state. This would keep the number of free states and the number of slave states in balance. To prevent this discussion from occurring every time a new state would want to join the Union from the territory we got from the Louisiana Purchase, an agreement was reached that there would be no slavery allowed north of the 36°30’ line in the Louisiana Territory except for Missouri. There was no mention of Nebraska in the Missouri Compromise as the land that eventually made up the Nebraska Territory was part of the Unorganized Territory at this time.

Thus, the correct answer to your question is answer choice B. The Missouri Compromise allowed Missouri to be a slave state.

Did the French lose the Battle of Agincourt because of poor leadership?

Aside from poor leadership, there are a number of reasons why the French lost the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. According to the testimony of one eyewitness, Jehan de Wavrin, the son of a Flemish knight, the French occupied a poor position on the battlefield. As a result, it did not matter that there were considerably more French troops than English:

The French had arranged their battalions between two small thickets…The place was narrow, and very advantageous for the English, and, on the contrary, very ruinous for the French, for the said French had been all night on horseback, and it rained, and the pages, grooms, and others, in leading about the horses, had broken up the ground, which was so soft that the horses could with difficulty step out of the soil.

In addition, Wavrin tells us that the French wore so much armour that movement was almost impossible. (See the reference link provided).

Another reason for the French defeat comes from their choice of weapon. The French archers, for example, used the crossbow while the English used the longbow, a very different type of bow. The longbow could fire more arrows per minute, for instance, and reach a target over a far greater distance. This gave the English archers a considerable advantage on the battlefield and caused chaos among the French foot soldiers and horses. 

Who is Owl-Eyes in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald?

Owl-Eyes is a minor character Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker encounter in Gatsby's library when they are attending one of Gatsby's big parties in Chapter Three. Nick describes him as follows:

A stout, middle-aged man with enormous owl-eyed spectacles, was sitting somewhat drunk on the edge of a great table, staring with unsteady concentration at the shelves of books.

The spectacles likely had tortoise-shell rims around the lenses, which would make them resemble an owl's eyes. The man whom Nick will later refer to as Owl-Eyes is examining Gatsby's big collection of expensive books. He is delighted to find they are real books and not fakes. Evidently, he does not believe Gatsby actually reads the books, but he praises him for creating such an impressive and expensive facade. Owl-Eyes tells Nick and Jordan,

"This fella's a regular Belasco."

Owl-Eyes is alluding to the famous producer and playwright David Belasco, signifying that Gatsby spared no expense to put on a spectacular production of his own with his mansion, parties, and everything else. 

Towards the end of Chapter Three, Nick will run into Owl-Eyes again. The drunken man with the huge glasses has crashed his car and can't comprehend why it won't start again. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses this character to illustrate the amount of heavy drinking going on at Gatsby's parties in spite of the fact that the story takes place during the Prohibition Era (1920-1933). 

Near the very end of the novel, Nick is amazed to see Owl-Eyes at Gatsby's funeral. When Nick tells him that hardly anybody else showed up, the owl-eyes man exclaims:

"Why, my God! they used to go there by the hundreds...." He took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in.
"The poor son-of-a-bitch," he said.

What is the incubation period?

Definition

The
incubation period is the time between exposure to a virus or bacterium and the development of symptoms.

Length of Incubation Periods

Symptom onset is determined by factors such as pathogen
growth and invasion, excretion of toxins, and initiation of host-defense
mechanisms. The length of incubation time varies greatly and depends on pathogen
replication rate, mechanism of disease development, infection route, and other
underlying factors. The incubation period of infectious diseases may be as short
as a few hours (common in food poisoning) or may last many months
(such as with rabies). Incubation periods can also be several years, such
as those for leprosy, tuberculosis, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, and as
long as thirty years, as with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Incubation
periods for other common diseases are generally shorter and include one to two
days for influenza, two to five days for the common cold, two to fourteen days for
Rocky Mountain spotted fever, twelve days for smallpox, eight to twelve days for
measles, and fourteen to twenty-one days for German measles (rubella).

In infections in which the pathogen travels a short distance before it reaches
the target organ, the incubation period is brief (commonly one to three days).
Incubation periods of more generalized infections are usually longer because the
pathogen needs to move through the body before reaching target organs. Mechanisms
involved with long incubation periods, those from months to years, of persistent
infections are not well understood. Disease may also result from delayed immune
reactions to viral antigen, such as with adenoviruses;
from unknown mechanisms during which no immune response can be detected, as in the
scrapie-kuru group; or mutations in host genetic material that leads to cell
transformation and ultimately, cancer.

Carriers

Depending on the disease, a person may or may not be contagious during the
incubation period. A person may be a carrier of a disease, such as
Streptococcus infection, without exhibiting symptoms.

Epidemiology

In the mid-sixteenth century, an Italian physician, Girolamo
Fracastoro, provided the first documentation of the
incubation period for rabies. The earliest study of the incubation period of
pandemic influenza was conducted in 1919. The study, which recorded daily
incidence on ships departing from Australian ports, provided estimates of the
incubation period of Spanish flu.

Impact

The incubation period for infectious disease is directly relevant to prevention
and control. Incubation periods provide valuable insight into clinical and public
health practices and are important for epidemiologic and ecological studies. In
clinical practice, the incubation period can be used to determine causes and
sources of infection in individual cases and in developing treatment strategies to
extend the incubation period, such as during antiretroviral therapy for
human
immunodeficiency virus infection, and to project disease
prognosis. During an outbreak of emerging diseases, the incubation period can
assist in estimating quarantine periods for potentially exposed persons.

Bibliography

Aschengrau, Ann, and George R. Seage. Essentials of Epidemiology in Public Health. 2d ed. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett, 2007.

Giesecke, Johan. Modern Infectious Disease Epidemiology. 2d ed. London: Hodder Arnold, 2001.

Hawker, Jeremy, et al. Communicable Disease Control Handbook. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2005.

Murphy, Kenneth, Paul Travers, and Mark Walport. Janeway’s Immunobiology. 7th ed. New York: Garland Science, 2008.

What are some examples of personification in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 3, Scenes 1 and 2?

Personification is a literary device that gives human qualities or characteristics to inanimate objects, ideas, animals, or abstractions. It's a popular form of figurative language, and so it should be no surprise that examples of personification abound in Shakespeare's dramatic works. Here are a couple of examples of personification in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 3, Scenes 1 and 2:

1. "The moon, methinks, looks with a wat'ry eye;/ And when she weeps, weeps every little flower,/ Lamenting some enforced chastity" (3.1.183-5). In this quote, Titania gives the moon human qualities, describing it as a woman weeping. Furthermore, she suggests that the moon objects to forces that aim to keep her from desired romance. Thus, it's obvious that, in this scene, the fairy queen imagines the moon as a human-like entity. 


2. "Dark night, that from the eye his function takes" (3.2.177). In this short quote, Hermia uses personification twice. The first instance of personification is applied to night, which is given the human ability to steal from someone else. Second, Hermia refers to the human eye as a "he," thus giving the body part a human personality. This idea might be potentially confusing because the eye is part of the human body, and so one might consider it human already. However, even if it is a body part, the eye is not a human being, and so personification is still used in this instance.


3. "Till o'er their brows death-counterfeiting sleep/ With leaden legs and batty wings doth creep" (3.2.364-5). In this quote, Oberon describes the abstract idea of sleep as having the human ability to walk over a person's brows. This is a distinctively human quality, and so even though he also imbues sleep with "batty wings" (something humans don't have), Oberon's quote is still an example of personification.