What other steps did the Birmingham protestors do prior to demonstrating?

The year 1963 was a pivotal one in the Civil Rights and Birmingham, Alabama was at the epicenter of the movement.  The Freedom Riders made a stop in the spring and were met with fierce resistance and violence.  The Birmingham Campaign was a very coordinated and organized effort to defeat racism and discrimination in the state of Alabama.  In addition to the protests that involved mostly young people, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference under the leadership of Martin Luther King organized a number of peaceful demonstrations to protest segregation.  Lunch counter sit-ins were organized as were marches on city hall.  Boycotts of local segregated businesses and institutions were also organized.  These efforts were met with violence, sometimes by the police officers themselves.  
http://www.pbs.org/black-culture/explore/civil-rights-movement-birmingham-campaign/

Single Variable Calculus, Chapter 7, 7.8, Section 7.8, Problem 64

Determine the $\displaystyle \lim_{x \to \infty} \left( \frac{2x-3}{2x+5} \right)^{2x + 1}$. Use L'Hospital's Rule where appropriate. Use some Elementary method if posible. If L'Hospitals Rule doesn't apply. Explain why.
If we let $\displaystyle y = \left( \frac{2x-3}{2x+5} \right)^{2x + 1}$, then

$\displaystyle \ln y = (2x +1) \ln \left( \frac{2x-3}{2x+5} \right)$
So,

$\displaystyle \lim_{x \to \infty} \ln y = \lim_{x \to \infty} \left[ (2x+1) \ln \left( \frac{2x-3}{2x+5} \right) \right]$
But, we can rewrite the limit as...

$\displaystyle \lim_{x \to \infty} \left[ (2x+1) \ln \left( \frac{2x-3}{2x+5} \right) \right] = \lim_{x \to \infty} \frac{\ln\left(\frac{2x-3}{2x+5}\right)}{\frac{1}{2x+1}}$
Also, we can use the Laws of Logarithm to simplify it further
$\displaystyle \lim_{x \to \infty} \frac{\ln\left(\frac{2x-3}{2x+5}\right)}{\frac{1}{2x+1}} = \lim_{x \to \infty} \frac{\ln(2x-3)-\ln(2x+5)}{(2x+1)^{-1}}$

Now, by applying L'Hospital's Rule...


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
\lim_{x \to \infty} \frac{\ln(2x-3)-\ln(2x+5}{(2x+1)^{-1}} &= \lim_{x \to \infty} \frac{\frac{2}{2x-3} - \frac{2}{2x+5}}{-1(2x+1)^{-2}(2)} = \lim_{x \to \infty} \frac{\frac{2(2x+5)-2(2x-3)}{(2x-3)(2x+5)}}{\frac{-2}{(2x+1)^2}}\\
\\
&= \lim_{x \to \infty} - \frac{2[(2x+5)-(2x-3)](2x+1)^2}{2(2x-3)(2x+5)} = \lim_{x \to \infty} \frac{-8(2x+1)^2}{(2x-3)(2x+5)}\\
\\
&= -\lim_{x \to \infty} \frac{8(2x+1)^2}{4x^2 + 4x - 15}
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$


If we evaluate the limit, we will still get an indeterminate form, so we must use L'Hospital's Rule once more. Then,

$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
-\lim_{x \to \infty} \frac{8(2x+1)^2}{4x^2 + 4x - 15} &= - \lim_{x \to \infty} \frac{8[2 (2x+1) (2)]}{8x +4}\\
\\
&= -\lim_{x \to \infty} \frac{32(2x+1)}{4(2x+1)}\\
\\
&= -\lim_{x \to \infty} \frac{32}{4}\\
\\
&= -8
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$


Hence,
$\displaystyle \lim_{x \to \infty} \ln y= \lim_{x \to \infty} \left[ (2x+1) \ln \left( \frac{2x-3}{2x+5} \right) \right] = -8$
Therefore, we have...
$\displaystyle \lim_{x \to \infty} = \left( \frac{2x-3}{2x+5} \right)^{2x+1} = \lim_{x \to \infty} e^{\ln y} = e^{-8}$

College Algebra, Chapter 2, Review Exercises, Section Review Exercises, Problem 60

According to physics, the maximum range $R$ of a projectile is directly proportional to the square of its velocity $\nu$. A baseball pitcher throws a ball at $60 \frac{\text{mi}}{\text{h}}$, with a maximum range of $242 \text{ft}$. What is his maximum range if he throws the ball at $70 \frac{\text{mi}}{\text{h}}$

$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
R_1 &= k (\nu_1)^2\\
\\
k &= \frac{R_1}{(\nu_1)^2} && \Longleftarrow\text{Equation 1}
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
R_2 &= k (\nu_2)^2\\
\\
k &= \frac{R_2}{(\nu_2)^2} && \Longleftarrow\text{Equation 2}
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$


Using Equations 1 and 2

$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
\frac{R_1}{(\nu_1)^2} & = \frac{R_2}{(\nu_2)^2} && \text{Apply cross multiplication}\\
\\
R_2 (\nu_1)^2 &= R_1 (\nu_2)^2 && \text{Solve for } R_2\\
\\
R_2 &= \left( \frac{\nu_2}{\nu_1} \right)^2 R_1 && \text{Substitute the given}\\
\\
R_2 &= \left( \frac{70}{60} \right)^2 (242 \text{ ft})\\
\\
R_2 &= 329.38 \text{ or } 329 \text{ ft}
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$

Single Variable Calculus, Chapter 3, 3.2, Section 3.2, Problem 26

Find the derivative of $\displaystyle g(t) = \frac{1}{\sqrt{t}}$ using the definition and the domain of its derivative.

Using the definition of derivative


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

\qquad g'(t) &= \lim_{h \to 0} \frac{g(t + h) - g(t)}{h}
&&
\\
\\
\qquad g'(t) &= \lim_{h \to 0} \frac{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{t + h}}- \frac{1}{\sqrt{t}}}{h}
&& \text{Substitute $g(t + h)$ and $g(t)$}
\\
\\
\qquad g'(t) &= \lim_{h \to 0} \frac{\sqrt{t} - \sqrt{t + h}}{(h)(\sqrt{t}) (\sqrt{t + h})}
&& \text{Get the LCD of the numerator and simplify}
\\
\\
\qquad g'(t) &= \lim_{h \to 0} \frac{\sqrt{t} - \sqrt{t + h}}{(h)(\sqrt{t})(\sqrt{t + h}) } \cdot \frac{\sqrt{t} + \sqrt{t + h}}{\sqrt{t} + \sqrt{t + h}}
&& \text{Multiply both numerator and denominator by $(\sqrt{t} + \sqrt{t + h})$}
\\
\\
\qquad g'(t) &= \lim_{h \to 0} \frac{t - (t + h)}{(h)(\sqrt{t})(\sqrt{t + h})(\sqrt{t} + \sqrt{t + h})}
&& \text{Combine like terms}
\\
\\
\qquad g'(t) &= \lim_{h \to 0} \frac{-\cancel{h}}{\cancel{(h)}(\sqrt{t})(\sqrt{t + h})(\sqrt{t} + \sqrt{t + h}) }
&& \text{Cancel out like terms}
\\
\\
\qquad g'(t) &= \lim_{h \to 0} \frac{-1}{(\sqrt{t})(\sqrt{t + h})(\sqrt{t} + \sqrt{t + h})} = \frac{-1}{(\sqrt{t})(\sqrt{t + 0})(\sqrt{t} + \sqrt{t + 0})}
&& \text{Evaluate the limit}
\\
\\
\qquad g'(t) &= \frac{-1}{(\sqrt{t})(\sqrt{t})(\sqrt{t} + \sqrt{t})}
&& \text{Simplify the equation}
\\
\\
\qquad g'(t) &= \frac{-1}{2t \sqrt{t}}

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$



Both functions involve square root that is continuous on $x \geq 0$. However, $\sqrt{x}$ is placed in the denominator that's why is not included. Therefore, the domain of $g(t)$ and $g'(t)$ is $(0, \infty)$

In Macbeth, what is the importance of what the porter says in Act II, Scene III?

In Act Two, Scene 3, Shakespeare offers the audience much needed comic relief by introducing the intoxicated Porter who makes several witty, yet significant remarks during the scene. The Porter pretends to be the gatekeeper of Hell while Macduff repeatedly knocks at the door. He comments that he was pretending to be the devil's porter so that he could let someone from every profession into hell. The Porter's comments are ironic as Shakespeare links Macbeth's castle in Inverness, the place where Duncan's brutal murder takes place, to Hell. The Porter then jokes with Macduff about the effects of alcohol by mentioning that it increases desire but simultaneously impedes sexual performance. The effects of alcohol also allude to Macbeth's confusion and lust for power. The Porter's comments about sexual performance also echo Lady Macbeth's taunts directed towards her husband. 

What is the overall purpose of Silent Spring, and which literary devices does the author use to accomplish this?

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring was written to show the way that pesticides hurt the environment. Carson shows how the toxins in pesticides can travel through the food chain to kill animals who don’t linger near them such as birds, including eagles. She explains that toxins can cause cancer in humans by hanging out in fat cells where they break down and affect other cells in the body. Carson closes the book by offering natural alternatives to pesticides that will allow for safer food and air.
Throughout the book, Carson uses a number of literary devices to further drive home her message.
Fable: The first chapter of the book explores the juxtaposition of two worlds. In one, nature is healthy and thriving and in the other it is diseased and dead. The fable that Carson creates forces the reader to consider how to avoid the diseased world in favor of a safe and happy existence. Carson herself ends the story by asking, “What has already silenced the voices of spring in countless towns in America?”
Metaphor: Writers use metaphors to compare scenarios and things to well-understood concepts to further drive home the image. In the first chapter, Carson writes:

It was a spring without voices. On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and scores of other bird voices there was now no sound; only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh.

Pairing this with the title of the work, Silent Spring, Carson is hammering the point that the very objects that make nature “sing” will be replaced with silence if pesticides are allowed to reign.
Imagery: Carson uses imagery throughout the book to show, rather than simply tell, how important and beautiful nature can be and to encourage readers to preserve it. She writes, “In autumn, oak, and maple, and birch set up a blaze of color that flamed and flickered across a backdrop of pines.” The reader can picture the nature she describes.

As other answers have stated, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring was intended as a diatribe against the use of pesticides, as evidenced by the detailing of the toxification of wildlife, water systems and thus ourselves--humans. However, there are three other interrelated points Carson attempts to make. Foremost, there is an argument for sound epistemology as the foundation for environmental practice; this is to say, if something has the potential to radically alter the environment, then we should really know its effects before implementing it. Secondly, there is a call for the realization that nature is interconnected. She details how pesticides filter into runoff water, then finds its way into fish and thus into birds, and finally into humans, while each step incurs biomagnification--a concentration of toxic material. Thirdly, there is a sentiment that humans have waged war against nature. She notes how pesticides were used as nerve agents; however, in the face of the interconnectivity of nature, she displays that we also wage war on ourselves. While the work is not particularly literary, Carson does use two devices to advance her argument. First, we have personification; however, she actually does believe that nature has agency, a line of thought, "new materialism", which has been gaining support in recent years. She writes, "Nature has introduced great variety into the landscape, but man has displayed a passion for simplifying it. Thus he undoes the built-in checks and balances by which nature holds the species within bounds." This serves to show that nature has a direct effect on us and that we are contingent on it; all to say, nature acts in the world. Carson also uses allusion, " We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost's familiar poem, they are not equally fair." We also see the device in the opening; she tells of an idyllic town that turns miserable, a continuation of the fall from paradise, alluding to Milton or Voltaire's El Dorado. This device serves to establish that the position we find ourselves in with the environment is not new; rather, severe dichotomies have been a part of human thought for a long time, which can mitigate our maneuvering through the environmental issue.

Further Reading:

Russell, Edmund. War and nature: fighting humans and insects with chemicals from World War I to Silent Spring. Cambridge University Press, 2001

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson was first published in September 1962. Carson was a scientist who became increasingly convinced of the negative effects of pesticides on the environment in the 1950s. She realized that indiscriminate use of pesticides on farms and even private lawns could harm birds and insects. In her studies, she was one of the pioneers in understanding how ecosystems work and the way that any disruption to one part of an ecosystem harmed the system as a whole. Her purpose in writing was to persuade the government to ban or limit use of pesticides and to make people aware of their dangers. Her main target was DDT, which was banned in a large part due to the influence of the book and of Carson herself.
While Carson uses many different types of literary devices, perhaps the most striking is the fictional narrative at the start of the book when she describes an eerily quiet town without birds. This combines imaginative narrative with "ekphrasis" or vivid description in a way that makes the factual scientific evidence of subsequent chapters come alive to the readers.

Rachel Carson's purpose in writing Silent Spring was to show the harmful effects of using pesticides on the natural world and on human health. She also wanted to expose the false claims of the chemical industry that their pesticides were not harmful. The literary device she uses in the first chapter is to present a fable about an ideal and beautiful town in America that is destroyed by a blight. This town is fictitious, but Carson's presentation of a fable helps the reader understand the metaphor of a blight--which is in reality the use of pesticides--affecting the country and its wildlife. Then, before presenting information about the harmful effects of pesticides, she presents an overview of the interconnectedness of the ecosystem and the story of its evolution in layperson's terms. She presents scientific information in a narrative format and only includes scientific citations at the end of the book in an appendix. The literary device of using a narrative helps her convey scientific information to non-scientists.

Calculus of a Single Variable, Chapter 9, 9.3, Section 9.3, Problem 12

1/4+2/7+3/12+.....+n/(n^2+3)+........
We can write the series as sum_(n=1)^oon/(n^2+3)
The integral test is applicable if f is positive , continuous and decreasing function on infinite interval [k,oo) where k>=1 and a_n=f(x) . Then the series sum_(n=1)^ooa_n converges or diverges if and only if the improper integral int_1^oof(x)dx converges or diverges.
For the given series a_n=n/(n^2+3)
Consider f(x)=x/(x^2+3)
Refer to the attached graph of the function. From the graph we observe that the function is positive, continuous and decreasing on the interval [1,oo)
We can also determine whether function is decreasing by finding the derivative f'(x) such that f'(x)<0 for x>=1
Now let's determine whether the corresponding improper integral int_1^oox/(x^2+3)dx converges or diverges.
int_1^oox/(x^2+3)dx=lim_(b->oo)int_1^bx/(x^2+3)dx
Let's first evaluate the indefinite integral intx/(x^2+3)dx
Apply integral substitution:u=x^2+3
=>du=2xdx
intx/(x^2+3)dx=int1/u(du)/2
Take the constant out and use the common integral:int1/xdx=ln|x|
=1/2ln|u|+C where C is a constant
Substitute back u=x^2+3
=1/2ln|x^2+3|+C
int_1^oox/(x^2+3)dx=lim_(b->oo)[1/2ln|x^2+3|]_1^b
=lim_(b->oo)1/2ln|b^2+3|-1/2ln|1^2+3|
=oo-1/2ln4
=oo
Since the integral int_1^oox/(x^2+3)dx diverges, we can conclude from the integral test that the series diverges.

Describe briefly how act 3, scene 3 prepares the audience for the climax of the trial scene?

Act III, scene iii of The Merchant of Venice is relatively short, but it is still significant, nonetheless, especially in how it prepares us for the trial scene. Shylock is presented here as a rather vindictive character, hell-bent on having his pound of flesh. Antonio, for his part, is relatively calm and stoical, accepting of his fate (at least, he is after he begs Shylock for mercy and realizes that he's getting nowhere).
Shakespeare's negative portrayal of Shylock in this scene prepares us for his comeuppance in the trial scene. At various points in the play, Shylock has come across as a sympathetic character, the victim of hypocrisy and anti-Semitic prejudice. Yet here, Shylock's vindictiveness and refusal to yield undercut any sympathy we may have felt toward him. It seems that, in this scene, Shakespeare's setting up Shylock to be taught a valuable lesson on the quality of mercy.

Precalculus, Chapter 9, 9.5, Section 9.5, Problem 30

You need to use the binomial formula, such that:
(x+y)^n = sum_(k=0)^n ((n),(k)) x^(n-k) y^k
You need to replace x for x, 2y for y and 4 for n, such that:
(x+2y)^4 = 4C0 x^4 + 4C1 x^3*(2y)^1 + 4C2 x^2*(2y)^2 + 4C3 x*(2y)^3 + 4C4 (2y)^4
By definition, nC0 = nCn = 1 , hence 4C0 = 4C4 = 1 .
By definition nC1 = nC(n-1) = n , hence 4C1 = 4C3 = 4.
By definition nC2 = nC(n-2) = (n(n-1))/2 , hence 4C2 = (4(4-1))/2 = 6
(x+2y)^4 = x^4 + 4x^3*(2y)^1 + 6x^2*4y^2 + 4x*8y^3 + 16y^4
(x+2y)^4 = x^4 + 8x^3*y + 24x^2*y^2 + 32x*y^3 + 16y^4
Hence, expanding the complex number using binomial theorem yields the simplified result (x+2y)^4 = x^4 + 8x^3*y + 24x^2*y^2 + 32x*y^3 + 16y^4.

How can Romanticism be defined in “The Poor Singing Dame” by Mary Robinson?

Robinson's "The Poor Singing Dame" can be defined as part of the Romantic tradition for a number of reasons. To begin with, in its opening stanzas, it makes abundant use of the Romantic trope of nature celebration, with the countryside in which the titular old dame lives being described vividly; the "summer sun" shines on the "rushy roof" of the woman's house, and "sweet birds" chant above it. We see personification in the depiction of how "the tempest would roar" upon the house while it, itself, "defied the wild winds." Moreover, however, we also see pathetic fallacy, in which the behavior of nature or the external environment reflects what is happening in the internal environment. Here, the defiance of the old woman's little house, and the fact that "sweet birds" choose to grace it with their presence, stands in contrast to the grim castle which is "haunted and dreary." The external landscape of the old lady reflects her internal constitution and her worthy soul, whereas the castle, as an external manifestation of the man who lives within it, is cold and unappealing. This is a common trope in Romantic and early Gothic literature, and here foreshadows what will follow in the poem. It is particularly notable that the old lady is associated with nature's abundance and "sweet music," which the lord of the castle hears and is enraged by. The old lady is happy in her environment in summer and winter alike; she "carolled" in the woods even when winter's frost lay on the ground, which the lord of the castle cannot stand.
The structure and tone of this poem suggests pastiche, a deliberate imitation of the ballad form which seems to set it in a quasi-medieval past time, another common trope in Romantic literature. The concerns of the poem, however, revolve around the idea of tyranny against the poor, which was a primary focus of the Romantic poets and which reflected topical concerns at the time of writing. The lord of the castle, the poet says, "hated that poverty should be so cheerful." His idea of poverty does not include its being a happy and content natural state; instead, he is resentful that the old woman seems to be free of cares, and he sends soldiers to bear her "all trembling, to prison, away."
Tyranny, the poem suggests, is born out of the basest of motives on the part of the rich: largely, the idea that poor people are not entitled to be happy. However, even after the old lady dies in prison, nature continues to be on her side. "Primroses" spring up to mark her grave, while "breezes...bid the fresh flowerets in sympathy wave." The old lady continues to be at one with nature, even in her death, while its manifestations express sympathy for her plight. Her external environment continues to reflect her purity of heart.
Meanwhile, the lord finds that "screech owls" visit him every night, "hooting a terrible song" and haunting him day and night. Eventually, he is overwhelmed with shame, and

the tomb of rich marble, no soft tear displaying, O'ershadows the grave of the poor singing dame!

The tyranny of the rich man in the poem, then, not only causes him to literally "decay" from shame at his own misdeeds, but sets him out of place in nature to the extent that nature attacks him. In this poem, as in many Romantic works, Robinson draws a connection between the deserving poor and the idyllic nature of the countryside, a birthright from which the industrial revolution had separated them. Meanwhile, the rich are associated with a destruction of nature's ways, a perversion of what should be. Tyrannical behavior warps the way society should function and will eventually, the poem suggests, rebound upon the oppressor.

How does O. Henry undertake a critique of urban space in "The Gift of the Magi"?

O. Henry vaguely describes the simplicity of Jim and Della's city apartment. They live in an urban setting and have very little money. O. Henry moved to New York City in 1902, and he published "The Gift of the Magi" in 1905. He experienced life in a large urban setting firsthand in the years leading up to writing this story.
Those living in poverty in urban settings during the early 1900s often had small, simple apartments like the one in the story. These spaces were typically cramped and often had low levels of cleanliness.
Della and Jim rent a furnished apartment, which they pay $8.00 per week for. The included furnishings are meager, and include a "shabby little couch." O. Henry also describes the cheap glass in the apartment window:

There was a pier-glass between the windows of the room. Perhaps you have seen a pier-glass in an $8 flat. A very thin and very agile person may, by observing his reflection in a rapid sequence of longitudinal strips, obtain a fairly accurate conception of his looks. 

The descriptions of the worn sofa and the mirrors one can scarcely gaze into give the reader a sense of simplicity. This simplicity shows O. Henry's analysis of life in a humble urban apartment.

Why does Turtle figure that Doug, Theo, Otis, and Sandy owe her $24?

The answer to this question can be found in chapter 4 of The Westing Game; however, chapter 2 is a good place start the explanation. The residents of Sunset Towers have all moved in, and Westing's mansion/house can be seen from the apartments. Turtle and the others see smoke coming from the house, and they all start wondering how that's possible. Westing hasn't been seen in a very long time. Then Sandy (who really is Westing) starts feeding everybody's curiosity by hinting that it might be "those kids" again. This piques everybody's interest, and Sandy tells Otis to explain. Otis gives a great little spook story to everybody.

The delivery boy stroked the gray stubble on his pointed chin. “Seems it all started with a bet; somebody bet them a dollar they couldn’t stay in that spooky house five minutes. One measly buck! The poor kids hardly got through those French doors on this side of the Westing house when they came tearing out like they was being chased by a ghost. Chased by a ghost—or worse.”

Turtle and the others are hooked, and by chapter 4, Turtle has agreed on a new bet. She gets two dollars per minute that she spends in the house. At minute twelve she comes running out of the house. She sees a dead body in one of the beds, and she thinks that she heard a creepy whisper as well.

Turtle had seen the corpse in the Westing house, but it was not rotting and it was not sprawled on an Oriental rug. The dead man was tucked in a four-poster bed.

Turtle might have been scared, but she's not stupid. She knows that she stayed in the house for twelve minutes, so she knows that she is entitled to twenty-four dollars.

At last slow morning crept up the cliff and raised the Westing house, the house of whispers, the house of death. Two dollars times twelve minutes equals twenty-four dollars.

What is a theme of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"?

At the most literal level,the central theme is undoubtedly the pleasure which a person derives from an awareness of his or her solitude or isolation.The speaker realizes that the pleasure he receives by appreciating the beauty of the snow-covered landscape is an act of stealth ,a guilty pleasure,if you will, and this realization intensifies his enjoyment.The speaker is therefore a man of heightened sensibility since he can enjoy the beauty of the enchanting snow covered landscape even though the property does not belong to him.It is a Romantic poem since it describes how Nature can evoke feelings of awe, enchantment through its manifold splendour.The poet realizes thathis natural surroundings are alluring and splendid yet he must continue his journey because as a human being his life is transitory and of brief duration.The phrase 'miles to go before l sleep' is therefore a reminder of the myriad mundane pursuits which a human being labours after before his demise overtakes him

One theme is the theme of isolation.  
This is probably my personal favorite theme of the poem. It's a lonely poem. The speaker is a man who has stopped with his horse beside a lonely wood. He doesn't know who the woods belongs to, but he is sure that the owner lives in the town that is in the area.

Whose woods these are I think I know.   
His house is in the village though;  

There's nobody else around. In fact, he is so alone that the only sound that he hears is the wind and the harness bells. 

He gives his harness bells a shake   
To ask if there is some mistake.   
The only other sound’s the sweep   
Of easy wind and downy flake.  

I never get the feeling that the man is scared by his isolation. In fact, I get the opposite feeling. I think that he enjoys his isolation and alone time. I feel that is especially evident by the positive way in which he talks about the dark and snowy woods.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep, 

The ending of the poem seems to indicate that he is tired and not looking forward to keeping those promises. Those promises are likely reminders of his busy, people-centered life. I always get the feeling that the man is thinking those final two lines with a heavy sigh.

Calculus of a Single Variable, Chapter 8, 8.4, Section 8.4, Problem 27

Indefinite integral are written in the form of int f(x) dx = F(x) +C
where: f(x) as the integrand
F(x) as the anti-derivative function
C as the arbitrary constant known as constant of integration
For the given problem int 1/(xsqrt(4x^2+9)) dx , it resembles one of the formula from integration table. We may apply the integral formula for rational function with roots as:
int dx/(xsqrt(x^2+a^2))= -1/aln((a+sqrt(x^2+a^2))/x)+C .
For easier comparison, we apply u-substitution by letting: u^2 =4x^2 or (2x)^2 then u = 2x or u/2 =x .
Note: The corresponding value of a^2=9 or 3^2 then a=3 .
For the derivative of u , we get: du = 2 dx or (du)/2= dx .
Plug-in the values on the integral problem, we get:
int 1/(xsqrt(4x^2+9)) dx =int 1/((u/2)sqrt(u^2+9)) *(du)/2
=int 2/(usqrt(u^2+9)) *(du)/2
=int (du)/(usqrt(u^2+9))
Applying the aforementioned integral formula where a^2=9 and a=3 , we get:
int (du)/(usqrt(u^2+9)) =-1/3ln((3+sqrt(u^2+9))/u)+C
Plug-in u^2 =4x^2 and u =2x on -1/3ln((3+sqrt(u^2+9))/u)+C , we get the indefinite integral as:
int 1/(xsqrt(4x^2+9)) dx=-1/3ln((3+sqrt(4x^2+9))/(2x))+C

In "There Will Come Soft Rains," what are the sources of the voices that can be heard from time to time? What does this suggest about the type of house that it is?

The source of the voices in the house is the house itself. How many voices are speaking in the house is unknown, but I know at least two different voices are present. When the story begins, readers are told about a voice from the living room clock. Then, readers are specifically told a second voice is heard coming from the kitchen.  

"Today is August 4, 2026," said a second voice from the kitchen ceiling, "in the city of Allendale, California."

Late in the story, readers are told about a voice coming from the study. Whether or not that is a third voice is unclear. It could be the kitchen voice in a different room. I do think it is a third voice, though. I imagine each room has an individual voice. That way, occupants of the house can more easily tell which part of the house is speaking to them.  
The voices in the house suggest to readers that the house is a "smart home" from the future. I don't believe that the house is from a future all that far off though. Modern-day smart homes can be voice controlled. Amazon sells their "Echo" for $179. It allows you complete voice control over much of your house. Simply say "Alexa," and then tell it what you want done. If your house has electrical outlets that are WiFi capable, Alexa can turn on and off lights. Alexa can control thermostats too. You can order stuff from Amazon by speaking to the device, and then ask it to tell you the weather followed by a joke. In my own home, I have two robot vacuum cleaners. Add those to Alexa, and my home is becoming eerily similar to the home from "There Will Come Soft Rains."

What are the figures of speech in "Death, be not proud"?

The most important figure of speech in the poem is the personification of "Death." By personifying death, Dickinson makes it seem less powerful. In fact, she makes it seem mortal, and vulnerable, just like people. This is the point that Dickinson makes throughout the poem. Toward the end of the poem, she emphasizes the point by posing a rhetorical question, addressed to death. She asks, "why swell'st thou then?" The point of a rhetorical question is to put an implied answer in the listener's mind. The implied answer here, based on what Dickinson has said about death previously in the poem, is that death should not be arrogant, and so has no reason at all to "swell."
Throughout the poem Dickinson also uses a lot of imperative phrases. An imperative phrase begins with a verb, and is expressed as an order. For example, "be not proud," and "Die not, poor Death." By using imperative phrases like this, Dickinson is implying that death is not the one with the power. Death is the one who must take the orders.
Dickinson continues to, as it were, put "Death" in its place, by describing how it is, metaphorically, "slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men." In other words death comes when summoned or ordered by kings, or when called upon by desperate, suicidal men, or sometimes simply when fate or chance decides that death should occur. The point of the "slave" metaphor is to compound the idea discussed above, that death does not have dominion over men, or fate, but is a "slave" to the whims of both.

First of all we have personification. This is a figure of speech where something that isn't human is given human characteristics. In this particular case, that something is death. All of the character traits given by Donne to death are negative ones. Death has no reason to be proud; some may call it "mighty and dreadful," but it really isn't. Death can really be nothing more than sleep:

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure . . .

And what's so special about sleep? Sleep potions and drugs can do the job just as well as death:


And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?



In any case, death is but a short sleep, a prelude to better things: the elevation of our souls to eternal life:


One short sleep past, we wake eternally
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.



Sleep is used by Donne, then, as an extended metaphor. This is in keeping with his strategy in the poem to disabuse death of its pride and arrogance. In reducing death to little more than a short sleep, he's depriving it of its tyrannical power over us.

Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part of something stands for the whole. An example would be "hand" as in "hand in marriage." You don't marry someone's hand; the hand is used to stand for the whole person. Donne's use of synecdoche here is much less obvious, more subtle:

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.


"Me" doesn't simply refer to the speaker of the poem; it refers to all of us. So the speaker is standing for the whole of humanity as part of the general theme of the piece.


And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.


Of course it's not just our bones that rest when we die, but our whole bodies. But "bones" is being used here to stand for our bodies.


Alliteration is used throughout the poem. In particular, the repetition of the "d" sound induces a deadening, sleepy rhythm that perfectly captures the spirit of Donne's extended metaphor of death as sleep. Also, the repetition of "k" introduces a note of sparky defiance to the poem, a bold challenge to the deadening weight of death's sleep:


Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

In the previous line the spirit of defiance is also represented by the repeated use of the "th" digraph:

For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow . . .

Finally, Donne ends the poem with a paradox. He's emphasizing his main point once more—that individuals and societies should stop fearing death. And if they can do this, then death will effectively lose its power over people:

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44107/holy-sonnets-death-be-not-proud

What is the difference between disability and difficulty?

The difference between difficulty and disability is hard to determine. In a broad sense, a difficulty causes a task to take longer or require more effort to complete, but it remains possible to perform the task. A disability prevents the performance of the task.
Examining specific cases is easier to analyze the difference between disabilities and difficulties. A learning difficulty is classified and includes diagnoses such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and dyslexia. Sufferers can still learn, but often require coping mechanisms. People with learning disabilities have a mental impairment which affects their learning. 
Outside the world of education, the distinction becomes more difficult to discern and much more emotional. The difference is more technical and any label should be carefully reviewed. A person with a missing leg is technically disabled because that person cannot walk without an artificial aid. Still, that person might not call themselves disabled because he or she can achieve the task with mechanical coping mechanisms. 
The inability to complete a task does not imply a disability. The inability must be caused by some defect which prohibits completion under any circumstance. An overweight individual may not be able to complete a marathon, but that does not create a disability for him or her because it is still theoretically possible to train to complete the task.
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/learning-disabilities/a-to-zl/204300

What would be a good thesis statement for "The Lottery"?

A good thesis statement presents a claim (an interpretive stance on a story that can be defended using textual evidence) and is a position with which someone else could disagree. Concerning Jackson's short story, "The Lottery," you could certainly argue that the behavior of the villagers makes it clear that people have a difficult time letting go of traditions or accepting change.
In order to defend this claim, you might discuss the fact that Mr. Summers, who runs the lotteries, has asked people about making a new box for use during the ceremony because the old one is so splintered, faded, and stained. However, the narrator says, "no one like to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box." People tend to cling to the things that they know, and these individuals know their lottery; why should they consider making changes if things have always run relatively smoothly for them? Anyone who has ever been selected to die in the lottery might have quickly developed a problem with it, but those people are—obviously—all dead. When Old Man Warner hears that people in the north village have talked about ending the lottery, he calls them a "Pack of crazy fools" and declares that nothing is good enough for young people. A fear of becoming obsolete, of being left behind, then, is perhaps the reason people cling so tightly to what is familiar and have such a difficult time embracing change, however small or however unjust the familiar tradition is.

When constructing a thesis statement, my students often find it helpful to build the main points of the body paragraphs right into the wording. A thesis statement constructed this way might read:

A society that blindly accepts all societal traditions is dangerous, divisive, and demoralizing.

You now have three body paragraphs to build. In the first, you’ll be looking for examples of this being a dangerous society. Tessie Hutchinson dies for no other reason than random luck. She has committed no crime, but the blind acceptance of tradition is not questioned as people pick up their rocks for her stoning. In the second body paragraph, you’ll look for examples of this society being divisive. In a desperate attempt to save herself, Tessie is willing to throw her own daughters under the bus to decrease her own chances of death by stoning.
Still, this divisive attempt to spare herself doesn’t open anyone’s eyes to the injustices of the situation. And in the third body paragraph, you will look for examples of how this society demoralizes people. Tessie is reduced to an insignificant entity, suddenly not deserving to live another day as she simply draws an unlucky piece of paper. Even children’s names can be drawn to die. The lack of societal values are horrific because people blindly accept nonsensical traditions.
A defendable thesis is crucial to a well-constructed paper. Be sure your points are textually significant and use a few quotes to further defend your position.

A good thesis would clearly state would you believe to be the theme or meaning of the story. To be solid, a thesis statement must state an opinion that is both specific and defensible.
You might, for example, want to point out that the story makes an argument that clinging to outworn traditions can be destructive, but that it is difficult to change. In the story, the town continues to have an annual lottery to choose a human sacrifice, believing that stoning a person to death will insure a good harvest.
But by the late 1940s, when the story was written, most people would have been well aware that human sacrifices don't guarantee a bountiful harvest. However, the village as a whole is unwilling to relinquish a tradition that seems to be a part of who they are. They are uncomfortably aware of how barbaric the practice is, but they can't seem to change.
You could write the following as a thesis:

Shirley Jackson shows in "The Lottery" that clinging to outmoded traditions is both destructive and difficult to change.

You would then collect quotes and details from the story that back up both claims. You want to be sure that your support is both sufficient and relevant. "Sufficient" means that you have enough evidence to convincingly support your claim, and "relevant" means that the quotes and facts you have chosen actually back up the claim you are making.

One thesis statement for "The Lottery" could be a declarative sentence about the atavistic propensity for violence that still lies in the nature of man, along with a blind adherence to tradition, an adherence that Emerson termed "the opium of custom."
That there is yet a proclivity for violence in the boys is evinced in their excited gathering of stones and placing of certain ones into their pockets in the exposition of the story. Bobby Jones, Harry Jones, and Dickie Delacroix make a massive pile of rocks and guard it against raiders so that they will have them available when they need more during the stoning. The fathers, who stand around quietly talking and joking, make no comment to the boys about their actions.
When Tessie Hutchinson's name is called, no one expresses any sympathy or tries to have her excused from the proceedings. Instead, the woman who has just finished a friendly conversation with Tessie, Mrs. Delacroix, now tells her to "be a good sport, Tessie." Another woman, Mrs. Graves—the wife of the postmaster, who helps with the procedure—says unsympathetically, "All of us took the same chance. Even Tessie's husband scolds her, "shut up." This complicit behavior of the community with the proceedings of the lottery suggests that no one empathizes with Tessie, nor does anyone demonstrate sympathy for her plight and protest the violent death Tessie faces. Moreover, when the stoning begins, Mrs. Delacroix, who has been friendly with Tessie, has a stone "so large she had to pick it up with both hands." She turns to another woman, saying, "Come on. . . . Hurry up," apparently eager to inflict violence on her neighbor.

What moral dilemmas does Jem Finch face in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Jem faces several moral dilemmas in the story as he struggles to decide what is the right course of action to take during difficult moments. One of the first moral dilemmas Jem encounters takes place towards the end of chapter 6. Jem has to make the difficult decision whether to return to the Radley yard to retrieve his pants or allow Atticus to discover that he was responsible for raiding the Radley yard. Jem ends up deciding to return to the Radley yard to retrieve his pants in order to avoid disappointing Atticus. Jem explains his rationale to Scout for returning to the Radley yard by saying,

I—it’s like this, Scout . . . Atticus ain’t ever whipped me since I can remember. I wanta keep it that way . . . We shouldn’a done that tonight, Scout (Lee, 57).

Jem is faced with another moral dilemma in chapter 14 when Dill crawls out from underneath the bed. While Jem wants Dill to stay with them and enjoys his presence, he knows that Dill's parents are probably worried about him. Jem makes the difficult, yet responsible decision to inform Atticus of the situation.
Jem is again faced with a moral dilemma in the next chapter. When the Old Sarum bunch surrounds Atticus outside of the Maycomb jailhouse, Atticus tells Jem to leave the scene and take Scout and Dill with him. Jem's moral dilemma concerns whether he should obey his father and leave or disobey his father and stay in order to protect him from the mob. Jem makes the difficult decision to obey his father, which illustrates his loyalty, love, and courage.

What qualities of the epic do you find in Beowulf?

In addition to the qualities mentioned in the citation linked below, we can find other typical qualities of epic poetry in Beowulf.
We expect an epic to begin in media res, in the middle, and for the most part we can see that this poem offers first a prologue on Shield Sheafson but then jumps into the tale of Hrothgar. We don't start with Beowulf's history, which is somewhat shrouded, nor do we learn much about Hrothgar other than that his meadhall is under siege. We get flashbacks on culture-defining moments and the backstory of Grendel as we go. In this epic, the value of looking back to Shield is important as he is an exemplar of a good king, the theme of the poem. The focus on the epic theme of what a good king must do is important in epic poetry and this poem offers Shield, Hrothgar, and Beowulf as examples of those who are admirable but not perfect in their execution of political leadership.
The elevated language of alliterative verse, kennings, use of epithets, and statements defining cultural values are also important qualities in an epic. This poem seems to have been part of the oral tradition and we see the way its majestic poetry would enhance conversations about what the Anglo-Saxon tribes valued. In particular, the ideal of the comitatus, or the duties of bravery, loyalty and generosity or hospitality, runs throughout the poem. The culture is strong when all do their part, with the king and the thane each performing an appropriate role in keeping the land safe. Beowulf's tragedy in the end seems to emerge from his willingness to fight the dragon—a thane's battle, not an aged king's—thus leaving the Geats unprotected once Beowulf dies.

Beowulf is an epic because the hero of the story is exceptional. Beowulf is seen battling and slaying great monsters. He also demonstrates outstanding physical abilities such as staying underwater for hours, wielding a heavy sword forged by giants, and tearing Grendel’s arm from his body.
The setting of the poem is considerably vast. It covers different countries, and Beowulf is seen traveling to the Danes across a great sea to fight Grendel.
Beowulf demonstrates supernatural power and significant courage because he reaches out to the Danes and offers his assistance at a time when no other warriors were forthcoming. He not only fights Grendel, he also faces off with the mother.
The story features supernatural beings in the form of monsters and dragons. Beowulf fights sea monsters, Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a dragon that fatally wounds him.
https://www.britannica.com/art/epic

Beginning Algebra With Applications, Chapter 2, 2.3, Section 2.3, Problem 50

Translate the phrase "the quotient of seven more than twice a number and the number" into a variable expression.

$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
& \text{The unknown number: } n && \text{Assign a variable to one of the number quantities}\\
\\
& \text{Twice the number: } 2n && \text{Use the assigned variable to write an expression for any other unknown quantity.}\\
\\
& \text{Seven more than twice the number: } 2n + 7 && \text{Again, by using the assigned variable to write an expression for any other unknown quantity.}\\
\\
&= \frac{2n + 7}{n} && \text{Use the assigned variable to write the variable expression.}
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$

In Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat, if wolves were not the cause of the decline in caribou and deer, then what was?

First, we should note that wolves and large herbivores such as deer and caribou have been coexisting with quite stable populations for many centuries and thus there are no grounds for arguing that wolves are responsible for population declines of caribou. Instead, wolves tend to prey on weak, sickly individuals, culling the herds. Even more important, wolves serve to keep herbivore populations in check. In areas where wolves have been exterminated, deer populations spiral out of control, leading to overgrazing, which eventually causes starvation and mass deaths. Large predators keep populations of herbivores at sustainable levels.
The two main causes of the decline in caribou found by Mowat were disease and human predation. Human hunters are quite efficient at killing caribou and much of the effort to claim bounties on wolves and reduce their numbers was instigated by hunters, especially sport hunters, who wanted to have more freedom to hunt caribou with modern weapons (as opposed to the Inuit, who take only a small number of animals at a subsistence level) and to blame declining numbers on wolves rather than to take responsibility for their own actions.

Calculus: Early Transcendentals, Chapter 3, 3.5, Section 3.5, Problem 38

Note:- 1) If y = x^n ; then dy/dx = n*x^(n-1) ; where n = real number
2) If y = u*v ; where both u & v are functions of 'x' , then
dy/dx = u*(dv/dx) + v*(du/dx)
3) If y = k ; where 'k' = constant ; then dy/dx = 0
Now, the given function is :-
(x^4) + (y^4) = a^4
Differentiating both sides w.r.t 'x' we get;
4(x^3) + 4(y^3)*(dy/dx) = 0 .........(1)
or, dy/dx = -(x^3)/(y^3)..........(2)
Differentiating (1) again w.r.t 'x' we get
12(x^2) + {12(y^2)*(dy/dx)^2} + [(y^3)*y"] = 0..........(3)
Putting the value of dy/dx from (2) in (3) we get
12(x^2) + 12{(x^6)/(y^4)} + [(y^3)*y"] = 0
or, y" = -[(12(x^2)*{1 + (x^4)/(y^4)}/(y^3)
or, y" = -[(12(x^2)*{(y^4) + (x^4)}]/(y^7)

What might the birds' restlessness and large number foreshadow?

In the opening paragraphs of the story, Du Maurier describes how the birds have become "restless" and "uneasy" as they flock to the peninsula. The purpose of this description is to foreshadow the events which take place later in the story. Specifically, Du Maurier is using the birds' strange behavior to hint to the reader that something strange and unusual will happen. As we see later on, it foreshadows the birds' violent attacks on people and property.
By using foreshadowing in this way, Du Maurier not only creates interest for the reader, as they wait to see what unfolds, but she also creates a sense of tension. This tension is effective in establishing a foreboding and uneasy atmosphere—an atmosphere which Nat Hocken, the main character, is the first to notice. Nat knows that something is not quite right, and this functions as another clue to the reader that strange events are about to happen.

The phantom disappeared into Scrooge's bedpost. Has Scrooge in A Christmas Carol really traveled with the ghosts?

We actually cannot know with certainty whether or not Scrooge really encountered the four ghosts (including the ghost of Jacob Marley, his former business partner) or whether he only dreamed that he did.  He certainly believes that he really did travel from his bedroom into his past, into the streets of London, and into the future. 
Ultimately, does it really matter whether or not Scrooge actually met the ghosts?  I don't think so.  Because he believes that he did, he's been inspired to change the way he lives his life, to treat his employee, Bob Cratchit, more nicely, to foster a relationship with the only family he has left, and to respond to the needs of the poverty-stricken with humanity.  Maybe Scrooge only dreamed that the ghosts visited him, but the point is that he has learned that the most important part of being alive is helping and enjoying other people, and this lesson is valuable regardless.

In the book The Help, what are some ways that Minny shows that she cares about Miss Celia?

Even though Minny is often baffled by Miss Celia’s behavior—since the woman is new to society life in Jackson—she does care about her and even feels sorry for her at times, too. As Celia has asked, Minny has tried to teach her how to cook. The lessons are far from successful. Minny has also gone along reluctantly with Celia’s plan to keep the maid’s employment a secret from her husband, Johnny. Even after Johnny and Minny accidentally meet (in Chapter 10), both keep the encounter a secret from Celia, letting her believe that her plan is working. When Minny finds out that Celia has an alcohol problem, she tries to talk her out of drinking (in Chapter 17). As a result, she’s fired—but not really. When Celia has her fourth miscarriage and is deathly ill, Minny takes care of her as best as she can and calls the doctor to come (in Chapter 18). Minny feels badly that Celia keeps calling the ladies of the Jackson Junior League, and that they never return her calls. It’s obvious that Celia needs a friend. Minny serves as one, even though she knows the lines between maid and employer. She tells her plainly that Hilly and Elizabeth do not accept her, and she does as much as she can to warn Celia about attending the Benefit banquet, to no avail (in Chapter 25). This event ends badly for Celia, who wears an outrageous dress and gets drunk, to boot. When she stays in bed to sulk for days afterward (in Chapter 26), it is Minny who pokes her and prods her and gets her out of her funk. And at last, when it’s obvious that Celia will never bear children, Minny is saddened but sympathetic (in Chapter 30). The Footes ask her to stay on with them, and she will. Certainly Celia needs someone to take care of her and to care about her, in addition to Johnny. When she first encountered the woman, Minny was no doubt ready to dislike her immediately, because she was different from the other Jackson ladies Minny had worked for. But this job didn’t turn out the way Minny had expected at all.

What is the former relation between Duncan and The thane of Cawdor? ("No more that Thane of Cawdor shall deceive our bosom interest")

The Thane of Cawdor is portrayed as a disloyal traitor, who joined forces with the enemy Norwegians against the Scots. King Duncan had once trusted the Thane of Cawdor and gave him the title of thane, as well as his land. However, King Duncan learns that the Thane of Cawdor has engaged in treason by aiding the Norwegian king against the Scottish troops in act 1, scene 2 of the play. Fortunately for King Duncan, Macbeth and Banquo were able to successfully defeat the Norwegians and the Thane of Cawdor in battle. After Ross speaks to King Duncan about the outcome of the battle, King Duncan reveals his punishment for the Thane of Cawdor by saying,

No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive Our bosom interest: go pronounce his present death, And with his former title greet Macbeth. (Shakespeare, 1.2.64-66)

King Duncan essentially swears that the Thane of Cawdor will never deceive his country again and orders his execution. Duncan also strips him of his title, making Macbeth the new Thane of Cawdor.
In act 1, scene 4, King Duncan learns that the former Thane of Cawdor confessed to committing treason, begged for forgiveness, and repented deeply for his crimes before he was executed. Duncan then comments that he had no way of reading the man's mind and admits that he completely trusted the former Thane of Cawdor. Unfortunately, Macbeth is also a treacherous man, who ends up committing regicide after being given the title Thane of Cawdor.

Why does the minister's wife send Miss Emily's relations a letter in "A Rose for Emily"?

The ladies want to write to Emily’s relatives to intervene for her in the matter of Homer Barron.
Emily had a man, Homer Barron, who was not the marrying kind—so he said. The townspeople were not sure who was going to win. Emily was strange enough that she might have won him over, but Homer was stubborn enough that he might have held out.
The case of Emily and Homer was complex. The townspeople were concerned that Emily was going to kill herself when she bought arsenic. The women of the town felt that eccentric Emily was a bad influence on other young ladies because of her relationship with Homer.
No one knew how to proceed. The men wanted to leave her alone. The ladies convinced the Baptist minister, who was not of Emily’s religion, to talk to her.

He would never divulge what happened during that interview, but he refused to go back again. The next Sunday they again drove about the streets, and the following day the minister's wife wrote to Miss Emily's relations in Alabama.

We do not know what she said to this minister, but it must have been something that caused the minister's wife to write to her family. Miss Emily was peculiar, and not quite stable. Clearly the minister thought so, and so did his wife.
As a result, Emily had “blood-kin under her roof again.” However, Emily did not become a social butterfly after that, suddenly engaging with the town. The townspeople were not sure what was happening because she did not really communicate. She seemed to be preparing for a man, and then nothing happened. Homer was never seen or heard from again.
It was not until years later that they found out that Emily had killed Homer, and that he had been in bed next to her for years as a rotting corpse. She got to keep him after all, even though he was not the marrying kind.

The man himself lay in the bed.
For a long while we just stood there, looking down at the profound and fleshless grin. The body had apparently once lain in the attitude of an embrace . . .

Emily never left the house, so no one ever realized what was in the house. When there was a strange smell, they just sprinkled some lime because it would have been rude to ask. The townspeople were afraid to confront this lady about taxes, so there was no way they were going to find out about Homer.

Why doesn't Victor want to marry Elizabeth immediately?

Victor is initially hesitant to marry Elizabeth. So much so that Elizabeth thinks that there is another woman involved. But Victor, as we might expect, has other things on his mind—in particular, the monster. During the meeting with his hideous creation on the glacier, Victor reluctantly promises to make the monster a bride of its own. The monster will then take her to the jungles of South America, well away from prying human eyes. The monster persuades Frankenstein to do this by telling him that having a mate will mean that he will no longer have to kill people. Victor, possibly scared at what the monster might do to him, refuses to marry Elizabeth until he has cobbled together a new mate for his fiendish creation.
But straight away, Victor starts having second thoughts about his latest science project. He starts to think through the consequences of what might happen if he actually does create a mate for his monster. Perhaps they would breed a "race of devils" that would unleash terror upon the world. One terrifying monster out of control is bad enough, but a whole race of them? The very idea is just too horrible to contemplate. So Victor destroys his latest project, infuriating the monster peeping at him through the window. Frankenstein's monster immediately vows revenge, warning Frankenstein that he will be with him on his wedding night. Victor now has an even greater incentive not to rush into marrying Elizabeth.

Single Variable Calculus, Chapter 7, 7.4-1, Section 7.4-1, Problem 16

Determine the function $y = \ln \left( x^4 \sin^2 x \right)$

$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
y' &= \frac{d}{dx} \ln \left( x^4 \sin^2 x \right)\\
\\
y' &= \frac{1}{x^4 \sin^2 x} \cdot \frac{d}{dx} \left( x^4 \sin^2 x \right)\\
\\
y' &= \frac{1}{x^4 \sin^2 x} \left[ x^4 \frac{d}{dx} (\sin x)^2 + \sin^2 x \frac{d}{dx} (x^4) \right]\\
\\
y' &= \frac{1}{x^4 \sin^2 x} \left[ x^4 \cdot 2 \sin x \frac{d}{dx} (\sin x) + \sin^2x \cdot 4x^3 \right]\\
\\
y' &= \frac{1}{x^4 \sin^2 x} \left( 2x^4 \sin x \cos x + 4x^3 \sin^2 x\right)\\
\\
y' &= \frac{x^3 \sin x (2x \cos x + 4 \sin x)}{x^4 \sin^2 x}\\
\\
y' &= \frac{2\cancel{x}\cos x}{\cancel{x}\sin x} + \frac{4\cancel{\sin x}}{x \cancel{\sin x}}\\
\\
y' &= 2 \cot x + \frac{4}{x}
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$

What is at the top of Melba's list of New Year's resolutions in Warriors Don't Cry?

When Melba can't go out on New Year's Eve, she sits at home compiling her New Year's resolutions. At the top of her list is to survive until May 29 (the last day of school). She also resolves to have the strength not to fight back against the students who are tormenting her at Central High School, where she is part of the Little Rock Nine who are desegregating the school. Her other resolutions include understanding how Gandhi behaved when his life presented him with difficulties. Gandhi, like the Little Rock Nine, was an adherent of non-violence, and she wants to study his reaction to violence to understand how to respond to violent students and other problems in her life in a non-violent way. Clearly, her resolutions are different than those of most people of her age. 

Does Shakespeare have only heroines and no heroes?

First, we need to think about the relationship between the notion of protagonist and "hero" or "heroine." The notion of a hero belongs to oral tradition and orally derived works, and is normally a relatively flat character, usually of noble background, that excels in distinctly gendered virtues, warlike prowess for men and family loyalty and self-sacrifice for women. The epic hero follows an arc that normally culminates in triumph. 
Tragic protagonists differ from epic heroes in being more three dimensional and in following a plot arc that declines from good to bad fortune due to a combination of bad choices, character flaws, and fate. Shakespeare, though, is a modern dramatist, and his protagonists do not follow the epic model. Comedy as a genre does not have heroes.
Many of the characters in Shakespeare follow the pattern of the tragic hero. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are strong aristocratic characters whose inherent flaws lead to their downfalls. Similarly, Othello, a brave and noble character whose jealousy, inflamed by the evil Iago, leads to his downfall, is a typical tragic hero. King Lear has heroic male and female characters as well as villains of both genders. Romeo and Juliet both follow similar narrative arcs of falling in love with each other and committing suicide. Thus if one uses the term "hero" as a literary term, meaning one conforming to the Aristotelian model of the tragic hero, Shakespeare's plays do have "heroes." Shakespeare's plays, not being epics, do not have epic heroes, and not being 21st century comic books or movies, do not have the comic book types of flat "good" superheroes who triumph over equally flat cartoon villains. 

In at least 100 words, describe how setting contributes to the plot in The Crucible.

This is an interesting question because Miller did not really have much flexibility regarding this story's setting, as it is based on real historical events and people. He even quoted portions of actual court proceedings. So, in some ways, this question is asking how setting contributed to actual historical events. The Salem witch trials occurred in 1693, very early in colonial American life. (For reference, the pilgrims arrived in Plymouth in 1620.) Many of the people immigrating to America were doing it for religious reasons. People had very real beliefs about the spiritual world. Combine that with living in small populated pockets of society surrounded by untamed nature, and any given town is setup for possible hysteria.
The threat of witchcraft was a very real thing to people during this time period, so even the hint of it is enough to get a small town like Salem talking about it and worried about how to handle it. As more and more people talk about it, the notion becomes more real. Once authorities like Hale are sent for, a certain "scientific" credibility is given to the rumors. From that point forward, anything that might be witchcraft is taken as fact due to the incredibly deep faith and superstition of the people in this setting.

The setting—both the time period and physical place—are crucial to Arthur Miller's plot in The Crucible. The events of the play could not have happened in this way in any other place. However, it is well-known that Miller wrote The Crucible as a kind of allegory in reference to the Red Scare and McCarthy investigations into supposed American communists. That historical event was, to Miller, another sort of "witch hunt," while the play's 17th-century Salem setting depicts the famous actual witch hunt of the colonial period.
The Puritan community of colonial Salem, Massachusetts is depicted as strict and superstitious. Miller's characters live in a world of rigid requirements, where many activities are banned and considered unholy. In this world, any transgressions or rebellions would be considered "witchcraft," almost in the sense that identifying someone as a witch was like saying that the person was simply "different" or did not follow the society's strict rules. In this strange new world, it was perhaps natural for the colonists to be fearful and superstitious. The witch hunt could be seen as a way to control the chaos of the unknown that was very much a part of daily life.
The basic plot of The Crucible is that a few of the daughters of the prominent Puritan townsfolk are caught dancing in the woods with a slave named Tituba. This basically looks like a satanic ritual. In order to protect themselves and hide their own transgressions, the girls begin to lash out at other members of the community by accusing them of being witches. For example, Abigail names Elizabeth Proctor as a witch after having an affair with Elizabeth's husband, John Proctor. Eventually, a witch investigator comes to Salem and the girls accuse Tituba of being a witch and of having contacted the devil. The girls even pretend to be possessed by the supposed witches during their trials, and there is really no way to prove that what they say is happening is not actually happening. Again, these girls project their own guilt onto others as a means of self-preservation. Their actions have very serious consequences, and some townspeople are even put to death as witches. The setting is inherently linked with this plot because the hysteria that ensues is directly tied to the religious beliefs of the townspeople, the superstitions of their faith, and the unknown setting of the "New World." 

College Algebra, Chapter 9, 9.2, Section 9.2, Problem 48

Determine the partial sum $s_u$ of the arithmetic sequence that satisfies $a_2 = 8, a_5 = 9.5$ and $n = 15$.

First, we need to find the common difference of the sequence to find the first term. So,
For $a_2$,

$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
a_n &= a + (n - 1) d\\
\\
a_2 &= a + (2 - 1) d\\
\\
8 &= a + d && \text{Equation 1}
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$

For $a_5$,

$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
a_5 &= a + (5 -1 ) d\\
\\
9.5 &= a + 4d && \text{Equation 2}
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$

Using Equations 1 and 2, we get

$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
8 -d &= 9.5 - 4d \\
\\
3d &= 1.5\\
\\
d &= 0.5
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$

Thus, the first term is

$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
8 &= a + 0.5\\
\\
a &= 7.5
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$

Therefore, the sum is

$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
s_n &= \frac{n}{2}[2a + (n - 1) d]\\
\\
s_{15} &= \frac{15}{2} [ 2 (7.5) + (15 -1) (0.5)]\\
\\
&= 165
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$

Why is Atticus so insistent that Jem killed Bob Ewell?

In chapter 30, Atticus and Sheriff Tate are discussing Bob Ewell's death, and Atticus mentions that he believes Jem was responsible for murdering Bob in self-defense. However, Sheriff Tate disagrees with Atticus and insists that Bob Ewell fell on his own knife and died. Atticus initially believes that Sheriff Tate is attempting to cover up Jem's role in Bob Ewell's death and refuses to allow Tate to protect Jem. As a morally upright man, Atticus has tried his best to raise his children with integrity and does not want to let them down as a parent. Atticus explains his reasoning for not allowing Sheriff Tate to cover up Jem's involvement by saying,

"Before Jem looks at anyone else he looks at me, and I’ve tried to live so I can look squarely back at him . . . if I connived at something like this, frankly I couldn’t meet his eye, and the day I can’t do that I’ll know I’ve lost him. I don’t want to lose him and Scout, because they’re all I’ve got" (Lee, 277).

Essentially, Atticus does not want his children to discover that he attempted to manipulate the law in any way to protect Jem, because that would make him a hypocrite like the other Maycomb citizens. Eventually, Sheriff Tate indirectly informs Atticus that Boo Radley was the person who stabbed and killed Bob Ewell during the struggle.

What is Takaki's thesis about American history in chapter 1?

In chapter 1, "A Different Mirror: The Making of Multicultural America," Ronald Takaki's thesis about American history is that it's always been told wrongly as a story about how European settlers and their descendants are the true Americans.
Let me restate that thesis in a more detailed way, borrowing some of Takaki's wording: Embedded deep within American history is a "Master Narrative" that is "powerful and popular but inaccurate," acting as a "filter" that still affects our perceptions of each other as either American or "Other," and that false narrative is this: ". . . our country was settled by European immigrants, and Americans are white."
In other words, Takaki's thesis is that American history has always been told as a story with the wrong structure, the wrong basic belief. "Not all of us came originally from Europe!" he points out, citing how a third of us have no European ancestry and even how major cities—in addition to the state of California—are predominated by people with other ancestries.
In chapter 1, Takaki goes on to develop this thesis by spotlighting the historians whose work created the false narrative and allowed it to propagate. Takaki challenges the false narrative, pointing out how it's crumbling today in the face of reality. (The reality is that "our expanding racial diversity is challenging the Master Narrative.")
He strikes an optimistic tone when he traces how multiculturalism is now being acknowledged and embraced in universities across the nation, but he asserts that we must "study race and ethnicity" in an inclusive manner, rather than missing the point by studying one race at a time in isolation.
Next, he relates the history of the various ethnic groups who constitute America, explaining how and when they arrived en masse—and, in the case of Native Americans, how they were here all along. Takaki ties these groups together, conceptually, by arguing that they all shared "experiences and dreams" as well as a love of America's principle of "equality for everyone, regardless of race or religion."
He summarizes the history of all these multicultural Americans, tracing their participation in wars and major cultural upheavals such as the Civil Rights Movement.
Takaki concludes by reiterating his thesis: that the false Master Narrative must be replaced by the true narrative that America has been settled by "the people of all nations."

This question is referring to historian Ronald Takaki's 1993 book A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. The title is significant, because it basically outlines Takaki's main argument. In the first chapter, Takaki takes aim at what he calls the "Master Narrative of American History." This, he argues, is a sort of assumption that pervaded the writing and teaching of American history for more than a century, described by Takaki as follows:

. . . [O]ur country was settled by European immigrants, and Americans are white. "Race," observed Toni Morrison, has functioned as a "metaphor" necessary to the "construction of Americanness": in the creation of our national identity, "American" has been defined as "white." Not to be "white" is to be designated as the "other"—different, inferior, and unassimilable.

In A Different Mirror Takaki offers a different narrative, one based on the conclusion of decades of historical scholarship that the United States is "a nation peopled by the world, and we are all Americans." He attempts to go beyond scholarship that has focused on one minority group in order to emphasize the multicultural nature of the United States.
Throughout the first chapter, he outlines the narrative, which includes, by way of analysis and comparison, the experiences of Americans of African, Asian, Irish, Jewish, Mexican, Muslim, and Native ancestry or cultural identification. United States history looks very different when seen from these multiple perspectives. It is Takaki's argument in chapter 1 that this understanding is more accurate, relevant, and explanatory than the so-called "Master Narrative."

Calculus of a Single Variable, Chapter 2, 2.2, Section 2.2, Problem 60

So I will start by rewriting this equation in the form:
f(x)=x^2+9
We know that if we have f'(x) then we can plug in any value for x, and the result will be what the slope of the function is at that given point.
So if we find the derivative of this original function, we should be left with the following:
f'(x)=2x
If the tangent line to this graph is a horizontal line, then the slope should be 0/x or just 0.
So we can set what we calculated for f'(x) equal to zero and we can solve for our x-value:
2x=0
x=0
So, this tells us that if our "x" value is zero, then the slope should be horizontal. Now that we know the x-value of the coordinate, lets plug this into the original equation to find the y-coordinate!:
y=0^2+9=9
Therefore, our coordinates for the point where the tangent line to the graph is horizontal would be (0,9)

Consider the power of a lie. Oedipus grew up thinking he was someone else's son and the truth unfurled destiny. Othello was happy in his marriage until he was plagued by the lies and schemes of Iago. How much of a role did fate play in the fault of men? Argue whether in those plays it is men's will and their words which will shape the tragic hero's destiny, the hand of fate, or both. Take into account Aristotle's definition of what makes a tragic hero.

Aristotle defined the tragic hero as one whose error in judgment leads to his downfall. While fate plays the major role in Oedipus's downfall, both Oedipus and Othello make mistakes due to a tragic flaw in themselves that leads to errors in judgment.
Oedipus is destined to murder his mother and marry his mother. That is his inescapable fate, and why initially, he is meant to be killed as an infant. He doesn't know this fate, because people have lied to him about his real identity. On some fundamental level, the lies don't matter--his fate is going to be the same regardless of what people say to him. And the lies are well meant, part of a hope he can defy his destiny.  
Although his fate is preordained, his own flaw, his hubris or pride, makes the situation worse. He simply can't imagine that he might be the cause of the plague in Thebes. Had he had less pride, the truth might have been easier for him to bear; the consequences less dire. He might, for example, have been able to truly see with his inner eyes without having had to blind himself.
In Othello, there is no sense that Othello's fate is preordained. No gods or oracles have  decreed he will murder his wife. In this case,  therefore, Iago's lies and Othello's own tragic flaws loom larger in the tragedy that unfolds.
Othello's flaw is his insecurity. For all his success as a military leader, he can't truly believe that Desdemona could love him. His error in judgment is in trusting Iago. Iago's lies are not well-meant. Iago wants to destroy him. If Othello had had more confidence in his ability to be loved by a woman and more ability to discern Iago's falseness, this tragedy could have been averted. 
 
 

What are some things that have changed when the group of men came back from the safari? (A sound of Thunder)

When the safari participants return, many things have changed in the year 2055, due to an act of carelessness on Eckels's part.
In Ray Bradbury's short story "A Sound of Thunder," Eckels, the main character, pays for a time travel safari to the Cretaceous period to hunt a tyrannosaurus rex. The safari guide, Travis, warns the participants not to leave the metal, anti-gravity path that has been laid by Time Safari, Inc., to ensure that nothing is touched in the past. When Eckels asks why Travis explains the chain reaction of events in great detail: 

"Eventually, it all boils down to this: Fifty nine million years later, a cave man, one of a dozen in the entire world, goes hunting wild boar or saber toothed tiger for food. But you, friend, have stepped on all the saber toothed tigers in that region. By stepping on one single mouse. So the cave man starves. And the cave man, please note, is not just any expendable man, no! He is an entire future nation. From his loins would have sprung ten sons. From their loins one hundred sons. And thus onward toward civilization." 

Despite the detailed warnings, Eckels becomes so awestruck and afraid when he sees the tyrannosaurus rex, that he steps off the path and into the jungle moss. In doing this, he killed a butterfly, which changed the course of human history through a chain reaction of events. 
Some things that changed as a result of Eckels killing the butterfly were: the chemical taint to the air when he returned, the man sitting at the desk was "not quite the same," the spelling on the sign at Time Safari, Inc., had changed, and of course, the biggest change was that Deutscher, the anti-everything man, had been elected president instead of Keith. 

In "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, how is Mama's parenting effective?

In this story, Mama's parenting is effective because the right daughter ends up finally receiving the recognition she deserves.  It seems as though Mama has spent a lot of time getting Dee the things she wants and dreaming of being enough to satisfy (and not embarrass) her worldly daughter. Humble Maggie has been left somewhat in the shadows.  Toward the end of the story, when Dee insists that she get to take the family quilts—quilts she actually rejected when she went off to school—Mama has a sort of epiphany. She recalls,

When I looked at her like that something hit me in the top of my head and ran down to the soles of my feet. Just like when I'm in church and the spirit of God touches me and I get happy and shout. I did something I never done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero's hands and dumped them into Maggie's lap.

Mama finally seems to understand that Maggie has never felt special or deserving in the way her sister seems to have always felt. She recognizes that Maggie truly deserves the quilts because she's the one who truly appreciates the quilts, uses them, and knows her heritage; Dee only seems to want the quilts in order to show them off. She doesn't know the stories the way Maggie does. Finally, Mama rewards Maggie by giving her all the quilts and denying them to the less-appreciative and somewhat exploitative Dee.

How did Granger and the other men carry their books?

In Fahrenheit 451, Granger and the other men and women at the camp of intellectual outlaws carry their books by not carrying them at all; they memorize the texts in order to avoid physically possessing them. By memorizing the texts, they essentially embody, or contain, the books, hoarding the words and information in their own heads. Their plan is to collect enough "criminals" who are willing to memorize the most important texts and consequently build a sort of library of people.
Granger memorizes Republic by Plato. Montag ends up with the assignment of memorizing the books of Ecclesiastes and Revelation from the Christian Bible.
Granger introduces the other men and women at the camp:

Here we all are, Montag. Aristophanes and Mahatma Gandhi and Gautama Buddha and Confucius and Thomas Love Peacock and Thomas Jefferson and Mr. Lincoln, if you please. We are also Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

The idea of memorizing the books rather than physically possessing shows the importance of one of the themes of Fahrenheit 451: the ideas and words of books are greater than the physical books themselves. Fahrenheit 451, for instance, contains themes and ideas bigger than the novel itself. It challenges society and the outrageous idea of banning texts.

Does Fences, set in 1957, still have relevance for the 21st century?

Yes, August Wilson's play Fences absolutely still has relevance in the 21st century. The setting of the play, in 1957, allows Wilson to explore how racial discrimination and oppression at the time impact the main characters; however, we must admit that racial inequity is still a problem in the United States in the 21st century, even if the context is not exactly the same as the setting of the play.
Further, the play is still relevant because it investigates universal themes and issues that readers in different time periods and places can relate to. The two main themes that I see in the play are the effects of dashed dreams and the difficulties of family dynamics. These are intertwined in Wilson's play, as Troy's disappointment with his life, namely with his athletic career, causes him to project anger onto his family, especially his son, Cory. Troy's wife, Rose, also suffers as a result of Troy's bitter demeanor. He feels like he is the one who has had to give up on his dreams to support a family, but she reminds him that she has been with him throughout it all. Troy does not seem to appreciate the sacrifices his wife makes and focuses only on himself. Troy also has extramarital affairs and ends up impregnating one of his mistresses. After his death, Rose helps to care for the little girl, which is an interesting take on forgiveness and family. The story of the Maxson family is poignant and realistic; it is a human story, with flawed relatable characters with whom readers now and in the future will still be able to connect.

In Beowulf, is Grendel an actual monster, a wicked man, or a symbol of immorality?

Grendel is indeed a very vicious monster, a fearsome, blood-thirsty creature waging a brutal war of terror and destruction against the Danes. What makes Grendel particularly scary is that there's no rhyme or reason to his wanton blood-lust; he appears to kill because it's in his nature to kill. And there's not much the Danes, or anyone else, can do to change that.
At the same time, there's something disturbingly human about Grendel's savagery. Then as now, there's sadly nothing unusual about the kind of bloodshed and suffering that Grendel inflicts with such gleeful abandon. Grendel's actions may be monstrous, but there's absolutely nothing he's done that hasn't already been done—and continues to be done—by so-called humans. In that sense, Grendel is a living embodiment of man's wickedness down the ages, with its callous disregard of the sanctity of human life.

I believe a reader could make a case for each of those labels about Grendel. I think it is legitimately possible to say that Grendel is all three as well.
Let us start with Grendel's morality. He is not a moral character. He is a murderous killing machine that eats people. That sounds pretty much like the antithesis of a moral character. In fact, it sounds eerily similar to the modern day character of Hannibal Lecter, and I do not believe anybody would say that he is a moral person. 
As for whether or not Grendel is a man or a nonhuman monster, I think he is human. I think that because of his ancestry:  

Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild Marshes, and made his home in a hell Not hell but earth. He was spawned in that slime, Conceived by a pair of those monsters born Of Cain, murderous creatures banished By God, punished forever for the crime Of Abel's death.

Grendel is a descendant of Cain. In the Bible, Cain is guilty of fratricide, which is killing your own brother. Cain killed Abel, and God banished Cain. God also marked Cain and all of his future descendants. The story never says what the mark looks like, but it makes Cain clearly identifiable to anybody who sees him.
Because Grendel is a descendant of Cain (a human), I believe that Grendel is human. He is a demon-possessed, man-eating, violence-loving man, so I think it is safe to call him a monster as well.

What occurred during World War I and World War II that tested the nation's commitment to the rights and civil liberties of its people? Why did these things happen?

It is important, when considering domestic and social issues in the United States during the early part of the twentieth century, to keep in mind how recent was the seminal event of the previous century: the Civil War. The Founding Fathers of the United States of America had, during the Constitutional Convention and in the years that followed, failed to resolve key differences regarding slavery and the rights of those of African heritage. Unable to resolve those differences, the civil rights can was, so to speak, repeatedly kicked down the proverbial road until the question of Southern secession forced the issue. The war, and the period of Reconstruction that followed it, was still relatively fresh in peoples' minds, while the "Great Powers of Europe" moved inexorably toward the massive conflagration that would become known as "the Great War" and, later, as "World War I."
In addition to the continued denial of basic civil rights to the nation's African Americans, the United States had continued to deny certain rights to women, including, most notably, the right to vote. So, again, as war approached across the Atlantic Ocean, and as the United States struggled to reconcile its ideals with its practices, the issue of women's suffrage loomed large. The suffragette movement was gaining in strength as the twentieth century began, and as American troops were sent overseas to fight in the Great War, the debate in Washington, DC, over suffrage intensified. The result of this debate, as we know, was ratification, on August 18, 1920, of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, the text of which reads:

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."

Overlapping with this development in women's rights was the "Great Migration," the mass movement of African Americans from the segregated South to the more promising locales above the Mason-Dixon Line. 
While major developments on the civil rights front were being experienced, however, the Great War allowed for the passage of laws that were considered inimical to the aforementioned ideals upon which the country was founded. The first such law was the Espionage Act of June 15, 1917. As American entry into the war was underway, and in the context of specific German activities that helped propel the United States into the war on the side of England and France (i.e., the so-called "Zimmerman Telegram" and German submarine warfare affecting shipping between the United States and Europe), Congress passed legislation making it a crime to collect or provide information "respecting the national defense" the intent or purpose of which "is to be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation...." In other words, do not get caught photographing potentially sensitive locations or buildings and certainly do not get caught passing those photographs to nationals of foreign nations with which the United States is at war.
The other legislation passed into law was the Sedition Act of 1918, a considerably more controversial measure that made it a crime to act in a manner deemed unpatriotic. While certain of the Sedition Act's provisions simply reinforced the provisions of the Espionage Act, this latter law went well beyond the earlier legislation by criminalizing disloyal actions that should have fallen within the constitutional protections outlined in the Bill of Rights. The Sedition Act specified as criminal the intentional conveyance of statements, written or spoken, that were "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States or the Constitution of the United States...." In addition, the Act made it a crime to interfere in the federal government's efforts at conscripting individuals into the Armed Forces or interfering in any way with the government's actions with respect to an ongoing war, in this case, the Great War.
The Espionage and Sedition Acts both represented serious challenges to the rights of Americans, and both were, obviously, passed in the context of American entry into and participation in the war.
As what would become known as World War II approached, the United States continued to be seriously divided on the issue of civil rights. While women had secured the right to vote, discrimination in the workplace continued, and, with respect to African Americans, racial segregation and other forms of discrimination continued to exist. The Great Depression had ravaged the economy of most industrialized nations, and massive unemployment figures only exacerbated the situation for black people and women already limited in opportunities. The Second World War, however, helped move the yardstick to a certain degree. With able-bodied men being sent to Europe and Asia to fight in the war, their jobs were filled by women. For black people, however, the situation remained dismal. The United States Army was segregated, with African Americans restricted to menial assignments because they were deemed inadequate for the discipline and rigors of combat--notions that were dispelled when they were finally provided the opportunity to serve their country in combat positions. In fact, both African American and Japanese American units were eventually formed, and both served with distinction. The sons of Japanese Americans interned by President Roosevelt after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor were eventually allowed to serve, and the 442 Infantry Regiment, comprised almost solely of such individuals, was the most highly decorated US unit in the war, while the Tuskegee Airmen, African American fighter pilots, similarly served heroically once given the chance.
The facts of World War II made the domestic status quo untenable with respect to minorities in the Armed Forces, and, on July 26, 1948, President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981 officially and effectively desecrating the Armed Forces of the United States.
Back on the home front, President Roosevelt had, early in American participation in the war, signed Executive Order 8802 (June 25, 1941), which established the Committee on Fair Employment Practices. This act made it unlawful to discriminate in the workplace on the basis of race, although, as we know, far more would need to be done to eliminate racial discrimination in the United States. While Roosevelt's action was intended to address problems experienced by black people working in factories that supported the war effort, the executive order served as a model for future legal measures.
These, then, are the main civil or human rights-related developments associated with American participation in the world wars. Of particular relevance was the ratification in the Second World War's aftermath, by the newly established United Nations, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the text of which reiterated the fundamental rights guaranteed to all humans. 
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/humanrights/1914-1945/

https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=72

Examples of Direct and Indirect characterization in "Hunters in The Snow"

There are three named characters in Tobias Wolff's story "Hunters in the Snow": Tub, Frank, and Kenny. These three men are ostensibly friends, going out for a day of deer hunting in the land around Spokane, Washington. The direct characterization of each man is fairly sparse. We only know that:

Tub is fat, clumsy and ungainly.

Frank is a truck driver with hairy knuckles and a flashy gold ring.

Kenny has a mean sense of humor.
Most of the characterization is indirect, which contributes to the tense and uncomfortable tone of the story. Nobody's feelings are mentioned in the narrative; they must be gleaned from the context of their words and actions. We do not have a window into the mind of any character, so we can only assess them based on what they say about each other and themselves.

Tub is Frank's old friend, who feels he's been thrown over in favor of Kenny. The other men accuse him of "pissing and moaning," implying that Tub is a sensitive, neurotic sort of person. They mock his weight repeatedly, and Tub responds defensively, blaming his obesity on his "glands." It later transpires that Tub has a binge-eating disorder, which he describes as "pretty disgusting." He has a great deal of shame about his weight, shame which is complicated by his need for Frank's approval. When Frank calls him a "fat moron" and says, "You aren't good for diddly," Tub loses his temper and shakes Frank violently, demanding:

"No more talking to me like that. No more watching. No more laughing."

Tub values loyalty very highly. He and Frank used to be good friends, and he's hurt that Frank no longer seems to care for him:


"You've got a short memory," Tub said.
"What?" Frank said. He had been staring off.
"I used to stick up for you."

Later in the story, he tells Frank:

"Frank, when you've got a friend it means you've always got someone on your side, no matter what. That's the way I feel about it anyway."

He is willing to ignore any number of sins in the name of loyalty, which contributes to his indifference toward Kenny's plight at the end—Kenny is fundamentally less important than Frank, because Frank is Tub's friend, and Kenny is not.

Frank used to be Tub's friend but seems to have started pulling away from him in favor of Kenny. He is positioned quite literally between Tub and Kenny in the truck at the beginning of the story, and both of them look to him repeatedly for approbation. He has a wife and children, but he is in love with the children's 15-year-old babysitter. He knows his interest in the girl is morally dubious, and he tries to justify it to Tub, while at the same time admitting that he is a selfish person:

"I guess I've just been a little too interested in old number one . . . I guess you think I'm a complete bastard."

Frank is pragmatic and clearly the leader of the group. When Tub shoots Kenny, Frank stays calm, gets directions to the nearest hospital, and loads Kenny into the bed of the truck. He has no loyalty to either Kenny or Tub, however. At the beginning of the story, he is allied with Kenny, leaving Tub behind in the winter woods, mocking him for his weight, disparaging his intelligence, and accusing him repeatedly of "bitching." Once Tub shoots Kenny, Frank switches smoothly over to Tub as if he and Kenny had no relationship at all:

"Tub," Frank said. "what happened back there, I should have been more sympathetic. I realize that. You were going through a lot. I just want you to know it wasn't your fault. He was asking for it."


This might seem like genuine sympathy to a friend in a bad situation, but Frank complicates it by actively disregarding Kenny's health and safety while lavishing attention and affection on Tub. They stop not once, but twice, on their way to the hospital, and leave Kenny in the truck to bleed and freeze. Frank soothes Tub's self-loathing by inviting him to indulge his eating disorder, and it becomes evident that Frank does this to strengthen Tub's loyalty to him when he reveals that he has a sexual interest in his children's underage babysitter. Tub is initially very uncomfortable, and says the girl is too young, but Frank talks circles around him and Tub ends up believing that Frank's interest in the girl is justified, because Tub's loyalty comes before any other considerations. In fact, he feels privileged to have been told of Frank's illicit desire—exactly as Frank intended he should feel:


"You know," Tub said, "what you told me back there, I appreciate it. Trusting me."
Frank opened and closed his fingers in front of the nozzle. "The way I look at it, Tub, no man is an island. You've got to trust someone."

Frank's behavior is so calculating, it's disturbing, and the reader is left wondering if he cares about anyone.

Kenny is the odd man out of the three. He enters the story by pretending to drive his car into Tub, a cruel prank which frightens Tub and causes Kenny to double up with laughter. The stunt was apparently performed for Frank's enjoyment:

[Kenny] was bent against the steering wheel, slapping his knees and drumming his feet on the floorboards. He looked like a cartoon of a person laughing, except that his eyes watched the man on the seat beside him.

Kenny doesn't have Tub's sense of loyalty, though; everything is a joke to him. He threatens to reveal Frank's interest in the babysitter when Frank tells him to shut up:


"That's between us," Frank said, looking at Kenny. "That's confidential. You keep your mouth shut."
Kenny laughed.


He spends the day mocking Tub and occasionally Frank. He's angry that they're not having any luck hunting, and blames it on Tub for failing to notice deer tracks earlier in the day.

Kenny swore and threw down his hat. "This is the worst day of hunting I ever had, bar none." He picked up his hat and brushed off the snow. "This will be the first season since I was fifteen I haven't got my deer."

In a juvenile display of temper, he picks up his rifle and shoots a fence post and then the dog at the nearby farmhouse. He turns his gun on Tub last and says "I hate you," when Tub, in genuine fear, shoots him instead. Kenny is shocked: like most bullies, he never expected his victim to fight back.

"I was just kidding around," Kenny said. "It was a joke."

Tub and Frank load Kenny into the bed of the truck to drive him to the hospital, but they decide to renew their friendship in preference to getting Kenny medical care. He is freezing cold and bleeding to death for the latter half of the story, trusting that Tub and Frank will take him to get help. It turns out that shooting the fence post was a stupid act of aggression, but that shooting the dog was actually a favor Kenny agreed to do for the farmer at the farmhouse; he did not kill it in anger. Kenny is mean-spirited and immature, but not actually a dangerous person. Tub, who is a slave to his emotions and appetites, is more dangerous than Kenny, who did not shoot someone in a rage. And Frank, who is coldly detached from everything except what is best for himself, is far more dangerous than either of them, because Frank only does what Frank wants to do, very deliberately, and careless of the consequences to others.
All of this characterization is present in the story, but you must read between the lines to extract it. The text itself does not yield up any information without interrogation.

Single Variable Calculus, Chapter 8, 8.2, Section 8.2, Problem 52

Find the indefinite integral $\displaystyle \int \sin^3 x \cos^4 x dx$. Illustrate by graphing both the integrand and its antiderivative (taking $c = 0$).

$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
\int \sin^3 x \cos^4 x dx &= \int \sin^2 x \sin x \cos^4 x dx \qquad \text{Apply Trigonometric Identity } \sin^2 x + \cos^2 x = 1 \text{ for } \sin^2 x\\
\\
\int \sin^3 x \cos^4 x dx &= \int \left( 1 - \cos^2 x \right) \sin x \cos^4 x dx\\
\\
\int \sin^3 x \cos^4 x dx &= \int \left( \cos^4 x - \cos^6 x \right) \sin x dx
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$

Let $u = \cos x$, then $du = -\sin x dx$, so $\sin x dx = - du$. Thus,

$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
\int \left( \cos^4 x - \cos^6 x \right) \sin x dx &= \int \left( u^4 - u^6\right) - du\\
\\
\int \left( \cos^4 x - \cos^6 x \right) \sin x dx &= \int - \left( u^4 - u^6\right) du\\
\\
\int \left( \cos^4 x - \cos^6 x \right) \sin x dx &= \int \left( u^6 - u^4 \right) du\\
\\
\int \left( \cos^4 x - \cos^6 x \right) \sin x dx &= \frac{u^{6+1}}{6+1} - \frac{u^{4+1}}{4+1} + c\\
\\
\int \left( \cos^4 x - \cos^6 x \right) \sin x dx &= \frac{u^7}{7} - \frac{u^5}{5} + c\\
\\
\int \left( \cos^4 x - \cos^6 x \right) \sin x dx &= \frac{(\cos x)^7}{7} - \frac{(\cos x)^5}{5} + c\\
\\
\int \left( \cos^4 x - \cos^6 x \right) \sin x dx &= \frac{\cos^7 x }{7} - \frac{\cos^5 x}{5} + c
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$

Are Pokemon based on mythological creatures?

In many cases, yes! While a lot of Pokémon are based on animals from the real world, and all are at least the partial product of the creators’ vivid imaginations, many Pokémon are drawn from world mythology. Japan, where the Pokémon franchise originates, has a particularly rich tradition of myths and legends of kami—gods, deities, or spirits—and the spookier yokai—demons and ghosts. Worship of kami and tales of yokai and other supernatural beings have their origins in Japan’s native religion of Shinto, which predates the arrival of Buddhism in the islands. Shinto is an animist tradition, which means it teaches that trees, rivers, rocks, animals, and even inanimate objects are alive with spiritual energy. Much like the gods and spirits of Shinto belief, Pokémon inhabit the natural world, and can be won over with incense, food (or candy), and other offerings.
There are thousands of kami and yokai described in Shinto teachings and Japanese folklore, and they have served as a source of inspiration for art and literature for thousands of years—and, more recently, for anime and games like the brand-new Pokémon Go. Let’s take a closer look at some kami- and yokai-based Pokémon and their mythological counterparts.
Whiscash. The inspiration for Whiscash, the Water/Ground-type Pokémon who evolves from Barboach, comes from the myth of Namazu, a giant catfish said to live in the mud beneath the Japanese archipelago. Like Whiscash, Namazu has the power to cause earthquakes by thrashing in the mud—but on a much bigger scale. The only thing restraining this mythic fish’s immense power is the stone the thunder kami known as Kashima uses to pin him in place. The legend of Namazu may have evolved from a belief among Japanese fishermen that catfish became more active just before an earthquake, just like how in several of its Pokédex entries, Whiscash is reported to be able to cause tremors as well as warn of them. After a devastating earthquake shook Japan in 1855 (during what is known as the Edo Period), people began to worship Namazu as a god who could right the wrongs he and others had caused. Accordingly, artists began to depict Namazu in colorful woodblock prints—where the catfish deity is often shown wearing a big smile that looks a lot like Whiscash’s goofy grin.
Ninetales. Ninetales, the fox-like Fire-type that evolves from Vulpix, is the Pokémon version of a kitsune, or fox spirit. In Japanese folklore, foxes are considered intelligent, magical, and particularly long-lived beings able to shape-shift into human forms, and while they sometimes use this ability to make mischief, there are also stories of fox spirits befriending and even marrying ordinary humans. Similarly, Ninetales is intelligent enough to understand human speech, magical enough to control minds, and can live up to a thousand years—but like the kitsune in its role as a trickster, Ninetales can also be a vengeful creature. Kitsune are said to gain an extra tail every hundred years, and just like Vulpix when it evolves into Ninetales, a fox spirit “evolves” when its number of tails reaches nine, and its fur turns golden-white. When a kitsune gains its ninth tail, it supposedly reaches a state of infinite wisdom—pretty impressive! The prosperity kami Inari is considered their guardian, and has a fleet of nine-tailed white foxes for messengers.
Espeon. Tales of the yokai known as bakeneko, or “changed cats,” provide the inspiration for Espeon, the Psychic-type final form (or Eeveelution) of the lovable Pokemon known as Eevee. In yokai lore, a cat was sometimes said to change into a bakeneko when it lived to be a certain age, and/or when it developed a second tail—similar to the split tail Espeon sports. Also like Espeon, which uses its psychic abilities to protect its Trainer and predict the weather or its opponent’s next move, these cat spirits were said to possess supernatural powers similar to those of kitsune, including speaking Japanese, transforming into humans, cursing or possessing people, and—most terrible of all?—dancing with napkins on their heads.
Drowzee. If you’ve been playing Pokémon Go, you may have already encountered a few Drowzees in the wild. These Psychic-type Pokémon, which evolve into Hypno, are inspired by a type of supernatural creature—not a yokai, but not quite a kami either—known as the baku. According to legend, these beings were formed from the spare parts left over after the gods had finished creating all the other animals, leaving them with a tapir-like appearance similar to Drowzee’s, which has been depicted in Japanese art for hundreds of years. And just like their Pokemon counterparts, baku are known for eating people’s dreams. While Drowzee prefers good dreams and can become sick from eating bad ones, baku could traditionally be called upon to come and eat the nightmares of restless sleepers.
Frosslass, Jynx, Mawile, and Misdreavus. These unusual-looking Pokémon are all drawn from legends of spooky female yokai. Frosslass, the Ice/Ghost-type evolution of Snorunt, is based on Yuki-onna, a spirit who floats around on snowy nights (and in some versions of the tale, has no feet), freezing lost travelers dead in their tracks in her white kimono. Just like Yuki-onna, Frosslass can be found in snowy areas, hovers above the ground, has no feet, and freezes her opponents. Her body resembles a white kimono. Yuki-onna and Frosslass are both sometimes said to be the spirits of women who froze to death in the mountains—and if that doesn’t give you the chills, I don’t know what will!
Well, maybe this: Jynx, an Ice/Psychic-type that evolves from baby Smoochum, is based on another terrifying spirit: the yokai known as Yama-uba, who lives alone in the snowy mountains and, rather than freezing lost travelers, prefers to snack on them. And while Jynx’s signature dance moves are her attempt to communicate with humans, when Yama-Uba dances, watch out—that’s how she distracts her victims before turning them into her dinner! Interestingly, Jynx is also considered a parody of a certain Japanese fashion trend called ganguro and nicknamed yamanba by those who thought these trendsetters’ bleached hair, eye-catching clothes, and heavy makeup made them look like Yama-Uba, whose appearance and story were immortalized in the form of Japanese theater known as Noh drama.
The Steel/Fairy-type Pokémon called Mawile is based on another type of yokai called a futakuchi-onna, or “two-mouthed woman.” A futakuchi-onna looks like an ordinary woman at first—until you catch a glimpse of the second mouth on the back of her head, which, in stories, often demands an endless supply of food. Mawile, on the other hand, uses the powerful jaws on the back of its head to bite its enemies in battle, often using its otherwise cute appearance to distract them.
The equally creepy Misdreavus is based on the yokai known as nukekubi—disembodied women’s heads said to fly around at night shrieking and scaring people. Sound familiar? Like the nukekubi, Misdreavus resembles a bodiless head in a dress, floats through the air, feeds on fear, and enjoys a good shriek.
Manectric. On the less eerie side, the blue, wolf-like, Electric-type Pokémon called Manectric was inspired by Raiju, the mythic animal companion of Raijin, the Shinto kami of thunder and lightning. While Raiju, whose body is said to be made of lightning, can take several different shapes, he is commonly depicted as a blue wolf. Similarly, Manectric is supposedly born from lightning, which it also gathers in its mane and uses to create the thunderclouds it deploys in battle. One trait the two don’t share, however, is Raiju’s supposed penchant for sleeping in people’s belly buttons! This bit of lore may have arisen as a way to warn kids of the danger of going out to play during thunder and lightning storms.
Absol. This mysterious Pokémon is based on a mythical being known as the kutabe. Stories of this legendary creature came to Japan from China, where it was known as Bai Ze. Absol and the kutabe are both known for coming down from the mountains to warn humans of the oncoming disasters they are able to sense (in Absol’s case, through its horn), and the oval in the middle of Absol’s forehead echoes the third eye the kutabe is said to possess.
Many other Pokémon are either directly based on or draw some inspiration from Japanese folklore and Shinto belief: Ho-oh is based on Ho-o, the phoenix; Shiftry is based on a spirit known as a tengu; Sneasel is based on a kamaitachi, a weasel-like creature with sickle-like claws; Dunsparce is based on a tsuchinoko, or “bee snake”; Dusclops is inspired by the chochin-obake, or “lantern spook” yokai; Tornadus is inspired by Fujin, the wind kami; and the list goes on. So just remember: when going out to catch magical monsters with Pokémon Go, be careful you don’t get swept up by a band of marching yokai while you’re absorbed in the game. In Japan, the spirits have been said to congregate on summer nights in what is known as the hyakki yagyo—the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons!