Identical earthquakes cannot have different Mercalli readings: true or false?

This statement is probably false, but the question is a little ambiguous.

If the statement intends "identical" to mean that the earthquakes are literally identical in all respects, then the earthquakes will have identical Mercalli scale readings as well. But this is tautological and uninteresting.

I'm assuming that what the teacher means are tectonically identical earthquakes, occurring with identical force in identical faults but at different times and places.

In this case, a number of...

This statement is probably false, but the question is a little ambiguous.

If the statement intends "identical" to mean that the earthquakes are literally identical in all respects, then the earthquakes will have identical Mercalli scale readings as well. But this is tautological and uninteresting.

I'm assuming that what the teacher means are tectonically identical earthquakes, occurring with identical force in identical faults but at different times and places.

In this case, a number of effects outside the earthquake itself can alter the Mercalli scale rating. Unlike the Richter scale, which measures the physical force behind an earthquake, the Mercalli scale measures the visible effects of an earthquake on people, terrain, and construction. Therefore, factors such as the epicenter's location relative to populated areas, the engineering of local buildings, and the physical composition of local soil and bedrock could transform an earthquake of identical magnitude into a minor nuisance or a major disaster, moving it far down or up the Mercalli scale.

Does Antigone treat Ismene fairly?

It all depends on how much you sympathize with Antigone and her defiance of Creon. If we accept that Antigone is doing the right thing, then her admonition of Ismene seems perfectly justified. Ismene is too frightened of Creon and his wrath to see the bigger picture. Antigone defies Creon because he defies the gods. For Antigone, this is everything, and she simply can't understand why Ismene cannot see this.

On the other hand, if...

It all depends on how much you sympathize with Antigone and her defiance of Creon. If we accept that Antigone is doing the right thing, then her admonition of Ismene seems perfectly justified. Ismene is too frightened of Creon and his wrath to see the bigger picture. Antigone defies Creon because he defies the gods. For Antigone, this is everything, and she simply can't understand why Ismene cannot see this.

On the other hand, if we think that Antigone is in the wrong, then her treatment of Ismene would seem unacceptable. We can easily imagine ourselves in Ismene's shoes and realize that we too would probably react the way she does to Antigone's defiance.

But even if we can sympathize with Antigone's plight, we might still think that she is still a little harsh in her criticism of Ismene. Antigone is clearly a woman of immense courage and strength, and those are admirable qualities indeed. However, people like Antigone often have an intolerance of those not quite as strong or as courageous as them. They find it hard to understand that not everyone can do the right thing, often for reasons beyond the individual's control. This is the situation that Ismene finds herself in. In her own way, she too thinks that she is doing the right thing by not assisting Antigone. In fact, Ismene's submission to the will of Creon is typical of just about everyone in Athens—and certainly the city's women, who accept their socially allocated gender roles.

On the whole, Antigone is a sympathetic character, despite certain all-too-human imperfections. But in showing sympathy to Antigone, it is also possible to extend it to Ismene, who is no less human, no less imperfect.

How does Achebe vividly convey Obi's changing feelings towards Nigeria in No Longer at Ease?

The answer to your question has to do with Achebe's ability to use both direct and indirect characterization. Achebe uses these methods of characterization to highlight the character of Obi and how he changes throughout the course of No Longer at Ease. Achebe sometimes directly tells us about Obi’s changing feelings about Nigeria (which is part of direct characterization). Other times, Obi speaks and acts accordingly (which is part of indirect characterization). With direct characterization, we are told about the personality of the character. With indirect characterization, we are shown the personality of the character.

Obi is enamored with Nigeria at the beginning of the novel. Achebe uses both indirect and direct characterization to show this to the reader. Obi is happy to be in London studying to better his life and his education; however, he misses his homeland. The narrator directly tells us about Obi’s feelings:

Four years in England had filled Obi with a longing to be back in Umuofia. This feeling was sometimes so strong that he found himself feeling ashamed of studying English for his degree. He spoke Ibo whenever he had the least opportunity of doing so. Nothing gave him greater pleasure than to find another Ibo-speaking student in a London bus. But when he had to speak in English with a Nigerian student from another tribe he lowered his voice.

Through this direct characterization, the reader can see that Obi "longs" to be back in Nigeria. This example of direct characterization is especially pertinent in that Achebe actually uses the word “feeling” multiple times in regards to Obi. Obi even feels "ashamed" when he considers himself to be studying English instead of Law. Obi is so proud of his idealistic Nigerian ideals that he lowers his voice when speaking English to another Nigerian student. This is an example of direct characterization. Achebe tells us of Obi’s exact feelings here. Achebe describes all of this to the reader instead of using Obi's own words. However, there are some examples of indirect characterization when Obi recites his own poetry about Nigeria. These poems reveal Obi’s idealism about Nigeria through Obi’s own word choice. In these poems, Obi focuses on Nigeria's natural beauty and the honorable values among its people. At this point in the book, Obi truly wants to believe that the corruption among the learned in Nigeria can be overcome.

By the end of No Longer at Ease, Obi has lost his idealism completely. Obi has gone back to Nigeria and become one of those corrupt academics by accepting bribes. Obi has set aside his idealistic poetry and has just tried to "get by." Obi tries to convince himself that his financial situation excuses the "necessary" practice of accepting bribes. At one point, Obi tells the reader about his disillusionment and lack of idealism that he once had:

The impatient idealist says: "Give me a place to stand and I shall move the earth." But such a place does not exist. We all have to stand on the earth itself and go with her at her pace.

Obi, in fact, is only an idealist at the beginning of the novel. His poetry and his actions at university prove this. However, here we are shown Obi’s feelings only through his own words instead of being told directly that Obi has lost his idealism. However, with the help of Obi’s own words and indirect characterization, he tells us that this idealistic "place" actually "does not exist." Obi has given up and become a passive character who accepts the corruption as it comes. The rationalization here is that Obi attempts to "stand on the earth" by going "with her at her pace." In this case, the earth's "pace" now requires Nigerian academics to participate in the corrupt practice of bribery.

What is the plot summary of "Kew Gardens" by Virginia Woolf?

There really is not much plot to speak of in "Kew Gardens." However, there is a lot of drama, little human dramas played out against a luscious landscape one hazy summer's afternoon. The epicenter of the story is a flowerbed, which Woolf describes in lush detail. This is the still point of a rapidly turning world, round which various groups of people revolve. The characters of the story are likened to butterflies, aimlessly fluttering around the flower bed, utterly absorbed in their own little worlds.

First, we are introduced to a married couple, Simon and Eleanor. Despite the passage of time, Simon cannot get Lily, a former lover who rejected his proposal of marriage, out of his mind. This immediately alerts us to the fact that all is not well with his marriage to Eleanor, a suspicion confirmed as Simon noticeably walks ahead of his wife and his children, rather than beside them. The beauty and simplicity of the natural world around them is reflected in Eleanor's childhood memories when she came to Kew Gardens to paint. The well-worn symbol of the garden as a paradise of lost innocence is suggested here,and forms a contrast to the complexity of the adult world, a world of lost loves and marital unhappiness that Simon and Eleanor now grimly inhabit.

Then we see two men, a young man and an older gentleman. The older man's movements are jerky and erratic, suggesting some sort of mental abnormality. Our initial impression is confirmed when he starts shouting random, seemingly unrelated words. Nevertheless, they are revealing in that they hint at his service in the recently concluded War. Just like Simon and Eleanor, he cannot let go. Simon is still haunted by Lily's rejection of his proposal in Kew Gardens fifteen years earlier; Eleanor yearns for the blissful moments she spent at Kew as a little girl; the older man's shattered mind harks back to the conflict that destroyed his sanity.

Still, life goes on, in the figure of two ordinary lower middle-class women. Their normal, everyday conversation introduces an element of much needed stability into this maelstrom of conflict. Their very banality is their strength. Unlike the people we have been introduced to so far, they are not irredeemably stuck in the past; the gardens do not symbolize anything of note for them; they are simply at a nice place in which to chat and have a nice sit down.

As a result, there is hope amidst the human conflict. Our sense of hope is heightened still further by a loving couple who appear toward the end of the story. In their obvious happiness, they represent the antithesis of Simon and Eleanor, providing a tantalizing glimpse of what they might have been. Their hands touch as the young lady pushes her parasol into the ground, firmly establishing a connection not just with each other, but also with the natural world around them. For the first and last time in the story, we are introduced to people with a genuine connection to the world around them, hinting at a stable happiness for their future together and acting as an example to us all.

In Liam O'Flaherty's "The Sniper," what does the woman symbolize?

Liam O'Flahtery wrote "The Sniper" as a means of showing the harsh realities and complexities of war. "The Sniper" exhibits the theme that war turns humans into objects and friends (or brothers) into enemies. As the sniper is hiding from enemy fire, he spots the old woman speaking to the man in the armored car. The old woman reveals the sniper's hiding spot to the man in the armored car and the sniper then realizes...

Liam O'Flahtery wrote "The Sniper" as a means of showing the harsh realities and complexities of war. "The Sniper" exhibits the theme that war turns humans into objects and friends (or brothers) into enemies. As the sniper is hiding from enemy fire, he spots the old woman speaking to the man in the armored car. The old woman reveals the sniper's hiding spot to the man in the armored car and the sniper then realizes that the old woman is actually an informer. When the sniper shoots and kills the old woman, he is not thinking of her as a human being; the sniper is only thinking of her as being his enemy and a threat to his safety. The old woman is symbolic of war's ability to dehumanize people and turn them into objects and enemies. The sniper, being in immediate danger, was not able to take into account that the old woman was a human being like himself. The sniper's decision to kill the woman was fueled by his immediate need to protect himself from his enemy. The sniper does not view the woman as a person; he only views her as an enemy and a resource for the opposing side.

How does Amulya die? |

Amulya dies from a bullet wound to the heart.

In the story, Bimala is happy when she succeeds in thwarting Sandip's influence over Amulya, who is like an adopted son to her. Bimala is especially thrilled when Amulya agrees to return the money he stole from Nikhil's treasury. 

Pleased by Bimala's approving manner, Amulya leaves to keep his promise. However, he is not heard from again. Bimala begins to worry, fearing that she has sent...

Amulya dies from a bullet wound to the heart.

In the story, Bimala is happy when she succeeds in thwarting Sandip's influence over Amulya, who is like an adopted son to her. Bimala is especially thrilled when Amulya agrees to return the money he stole from Nikhil's treasury. 

Pleased by Bimala's approving manner, Amulya leaves to keep his promise. However, he is not heard from again. Bimala begins to worry, fearing that she has sent Amulya into a dangerous situation. She castigates herself for encouraging the young man to embark on such a difficult mission.

Later, it is discovered that Amulya brought the money back to the manager of Nikhil's office in Chakna and confessed his part in taking the 6,000 rupees.

Amulya later dies; however, it is not entirely clear why he was shot. The text hints that he may have been caught up in a conflict between Nikhil's men and Muslims who were raiding Harish Kundu's treasury and assaulting the women of Kundu's home. During the skirmish, Nikhil was wounded in the head, but Amulya received a fatal bullet wound to the heart.

A substance changes from a solid to a liquid during the process of melting. What happens to the temperature and arrangement of the particles in the...

First of all you need to understand that molecules have motion.  All molecules higher than the temperature of absolute zero (0 degrees Kelvin) move in proportion to their temperature.  In other words, hot molecules will have a higher degree of motion than cold molecules.  When a solid is heated up, its molecules will absorb that energy and increase their molecular motion.  So as the material goes from a solid to a liquid, the molecular motion...

First of all you need to understand that molecules have motion.  All molecules higher than the temperature of absolute zero (0 degrees Kelvin) move in proportion to their temperature.  In other words, hot molecules will have a higher degree of motion than cold molecules.  When a solid is heated up, its molecules will absorb that energy and increase their molecular motion.  So as the material goes from a solid to a liquid, the molecular motion increases as does the space between the molecules.  This increased space and motion is what allows a liquid to be less dense than a solid (in general) and allows it to move spontaneously to fill the space of its container.  Continued heating will allow the liquid to absorb even more energy and boil to become a gas, which is even less dense with more space between molecules and a higher degree of molecular motion than either a liquid or a solid.