What is the literal and symbolic function of Kino's canoe?

Kino's canoe is the tool he uses to provide for his family and is an essential part of his life. Kino's canoe enables him to catch fish and carries him to deeper waters, where he dives for pearls. Steinbeck writes that Kino's canoe was the "one thing of value he owned in the world" and was passed down through generations in his family. Symbolically, the canoe represents Kino's heritage, culture, and family. Kino's life and future are intricately linked to his canoe.
After Kino finds the Pearl of the World, he plans on traveling across the sea to the capital in his canoe, where he can sell the pearl for a high price. Kino then kills a man in self-defense and plans on using the canoe to escape from the village and flee the authorities. Unfortunately, Kino discovers that there is a gaping hole in the bottom of his canoe. Steinbeck writes,

"This was an evil beyond thinking. The killing of a man was not so evil as the killing of a boat. For a boat does not have sons, and a boat cannot protect itself, and a wounded boat does not heal" (32).

Given the fact that Kino planned on escaping the village in his canoe, the destroyed canoe symbolically represents the loss of hope and peace in Kino's life. The Song of Evil surrounds the sunken canoe, and Kino's life takes a turn for the worse. Kino's family, heritage, and peaceful existence are destroyed once his canoe is irreparably damaged.

In The Pearl by John Steinbeck, Kino's canoe is an important symbol and has several functions. First of all, the literal function of the canoe is to provide Kino and his family with their livelihood. Without the canoe, Kino could not search for oysters, and without the canoe, he would have never found the pearl. Furthermore, on a literal level, the canoe is the "one thing of value he owned" (Chap 2, para 6). In chapter two when the canoe is introduced, Kino is filled with the Song of the Family and that is a good song, filled with love.
However, on a symbolic level, the canoe represents more than Kino's material wealth and his ability to dive for oysters. The canoe functions as the symbol of the traditions of both his family and culture. It has been passed down from his grandfather to his father and then to Kino and represents their way of life. Later, when the canoe is destroyed, so is Kino's life. In fact the killing of the canoe is considered more important than killing a man: "This was an evil beyond thinking.The killing of a man was not so evil as killing of a boat" (Chap 5, para 15). The canoe represents all that is important in Kino's culture, and once his canoe is destroyed, the Song of Evil overtakes the entire family.

Done properly, product placement can create a realistic scene and a general feeling of familiarity. Is there more to it than that? Do you think consumers notice the placement?Are they consciously motivated to purchase that product, or are they actually reached on a more subconscious level?

Product placement in movies and TV shows involves more than just invoking a feeling of familiarity. It also involves targeting a specific demographic or age group, particularly those who tend to skip ads, to make them become more emotionally connected to a product and develop an association with it. 
Research shows consumers remember product placement and that it has conscious and unconscious effects. For example, people tend to recall the product to a greater extent when they see it placed within a show or movie, which is a conscious effect. They also tend to exhibit a higher intention to purchase a product after seeing it placed within entertainment, which is a subconscious effect of product placement. Research suggests effective product placement can also lead the audience to reject that product's competitors, which also operates on a subconscious level. The less disruptive the placement is to the content, the more effective it is shown to be. 
Which product placement you choose to write about is up to you. Famous examples include the placement of Reese's Pieces in the movie E.T., which resulted in a major increase in the product's profits in the weeks after the movie was released. The TV show Sex in the City famously mentioned Manolo Blahnik shoes in a way that equated the brand with have-to-own luxury and increased brand awareness. James Bond films have featured famous car brands over the years, such as the Aston Martin DB5 featured in the earlier film Goldfinger and the more recent Skyfall. 

Is there any evidence that Montressor premeditated Fortunato’s murder?

There is a great deal of evidence to suggest that Fortunato's murder was premeditated.  In the first line of the story, the narrator and murderer, Montresor, says that when Fortunato insulted him, "[he] vowed revenge."  This certainly suggests that Montresor conceived of and planned the murder in advance.  He also says,

It must be understood, that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will.  I continued, as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile was at the thought of his immolation.

Here, Montresor claims that he has continued to pretend he is friends with Fortunato, never revealing that he is, all the while, planning the man's total destruction.  
Furthermore, Montresor has with him a "mask of black silk, and . . . a roquelaire," or long cloak, with which he can hide his identity from anyone who might see him with Fortunato.  In addition, Montresor told his servants that he would be gone all night and that they should not leave the house, knowing full well that this would "insure their immediate disappearance" as soon as he left.  In other words, Montresor has thought to bring a disguise and has made sure that the house would be empty; this shows forethought.
Finally, Montresor also has, hidden beneath the folds of his cloak, a small trowel, precisely the tool that one would use in brickwork (and he is planning to wall Fortunato in).  All of these facts show that Montresor did plan this murder beforehand.

Why was the Battle of Midway significant?

The Battle of Midway occurred between June 4th and June 7th, 1942, six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This battle served as a decisive victory for the United States in which Japan became weaker and weaker in military strength until the end of Japan's participation in World War II. During this naval battle, the US used aircrafts to viciously bomb Japanese naval ships. After this decisive battle, the US continued to out-produce Japan in terms of weapons production and continued to show more and more military strength. The battle was such a turning point because until that point, Japan had an upper hand within the Pacific Theatre and were aiming to use a victory during the Battle of Midway to secure their dominance in the Pacific Theatre. However, when Japan lost this battle, they lost their dominance in the Pacific Theatre permanently. When the US won this battle, they were able to establish a submarine base at Midway and further extend military operations.

The Battle of Midway was important because it was the turning point in the Pacific theater during World War II. This was the first naval battle in which the ships never fired on each other directly, but both sides used their airplanes to attack the enemy. The United States military intercepted Japanese naval codes and were able to set a trap for the Japanese fleet. The Japanese navy lost four aircraft carriers and suffered 2,500 casualties, while the United States lost one aircraft carrier and suffered a little over three hundred casualties. Japan was not able to capture Midway Island. After this battle, the Japanese Empire started to erode slowly each month as the United States produced more munitions—Japan simply could not match the United States in terms of production. Japan was also hurt by the amount of trained aircraft mechanics who went down with the ships.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway

In The Merchant of Venice, how does Shakespeare use literary devices to create a vivid image of Antonio and Bassanio's friendship?

Act 1, Scene 1 is the first time we see Antonio and Bassanio interact, and in this scene we also see several literary devices that show us they are very good friends.  
Antonio's first words are to ask,

Well, tell me now what lady is the same / To whom you swore a secret pilgrimage, / That to-day you promised to tell me of.

From this we see that Antonio and Bassanio trust one another with their secrets, and that Antonio really cares to hear the latest news about his friend's life.  
Bassanio does not immediately tell Antonio about the lady, because he has a large favor to ask of Antonio, and he wants to make sure that he is free to ask it.  Antonio assures him:

... be assured / My purse, my person, my extremest means / Lie all unlocked to your occasions.

This is the literary device of foreshadowing.  "My person" means "my body."  Although Antonio could not possibly imagine it at this point in the play, his "person" will almost be "unlocked" (opened up) for the sake of Bassanio, when Shylock comes to take a pound of Antonio's flesh. 
Even with this assurance, Bassanio remains uncomfortable asking Antonio for anything, because Antonio has already lent him money, which Bassanio has failed to repay.  So in lines 140 - 153, Bassanio engages in a long metaphor.  He talks about how, as a boy, if he lost one arrow, he would shoot a second arrow after it.  Then going after the second arrow, he was often able to find the first.  In the same way, he says, if Antonio will lend him money yet again, Bassanio is sure this loan will allow him to repay all his debts to Antonio, or at least the latter debt.  
At this point, Antonio gets a little hurt that Bassanio is trying to motivate him with the hope of getting his money back; or, as he puts it, "to wind about my love with circumstance."  Antonio thinks his love for Bassanio should be motivation enough.  It should not have to be re-enforced with other considerations, like wrapping additional string around an already sturdy rope or chain.  This is a beautiful metaphor.  
Antonio adds that Bassanio is doing him a wrong "In making question of my uttermost."  Here, for those who know how the play will go, there is more chilling foreshadowing.  At this point neither man can imagine how far to the "uttermost" Antonio will have to go for the sake of his loyalty to Bassanio. 

What organization was Kaplan affiliated with before he retired?

Leopold Kaplan was, in fact, once General Leopold Kaplan. He is a retired army general and is completely unknown to the protagonist of the story, John Anderton.
Leopold Kaplan is a skeptic as regards the efficacy of the Precrime Unit, which John Anderton founded and now heads. The Precrime Unit exists to try and stop crimes from happening before they have actually taken place, using information sourced from human beings—now treated almost as animals—who are blessed with the gift of precognition. Kaplan is actually working to bring down Precrime with the help of a new army that he heads; his supposed retirement is really a front for his true intentions. Upon discovering this, Anderton kills Kaplan, whom he was originally sent out to protect from a murder.

According to the text, Leopold Kaplan is retired from the Army of the Federated Westbloc Alliance, of which he was once the general. He hates the idea of the Precrime, an organization that uses people with the gift of precognition to predict and stop future crimes. He doesn't believe that this system works, and he is certain that a lot of innocent people were sent to prison for crimes they had not yet committed—or may never have had any intention of committing.
Kaplan's identity is completely bound up in his old life as a general, and he is only too happy to have the chance to put the uniform back on and lead the charge to try to stop the system he believes is wasting valuable resources.

In chapter one of Lord of the Flies, how does Golding's diction reveal a theme of contrasting civilization with savagery?

There are various ways that Golding establishes a dichotomy between civilization and savagery since, indeed, that is one of the novel’s major themes. That theme becomes apparent from the very outset, as chapter one immediately describes how the boys are stranded on the island. To clearly identify this theme, we must examine the specific language Golding uses to describe the behavior of Ralph and Piggy as they become aware of their circumstances.
In the novel’s opening lines, Golding places special emphasis on clothing and dress to establish the difference between proper and improper behavior. Ralph has “taken off his school sweater and trailed it now from one hand, his grey shirt stuck to him and his hair was plastered to his forehead.” Ralph has removed his school uniform, effectively casting off the proper dress of a student, so that it “trailed” behind him. Thus, school -- with all its rules and boundaries -- is now in his past, a part of a civilized society that Ralph discards so that he might live like a person with uncombed hair “plastered to his forehead.” Yet the habits of proper dress and behavior are not so easily forgotten, as a few lines later we are told that Ralph “jerked his stockings with an automatic gesture that made the jungle seem for a moment like the Home Counties.” By describing this mannerism as an “automatic gesture,” Golding shows that dressing is a conditioned behavior that is out of place in the jungle, emphasizing the difference between the wilderness and the “Home Counties.”
This is not the only time when clothing reveals the difference between wild and civilized behavior. Later in the chapter, Ralph becomes “conscious of the weight of clothes …” and the accompanying social obligations with being dressed. Thus, he removes all his clothing in a wild manner: he “kicked his shoes off fiercely and ripped off each stocking with its elastic garter in a single movement.” Ralph does not just willingly remove his clothes, he “ripped” them off, “fiercely.” Thus, Ralph undresses with savage-like behavior and excitement; however, after swimming, his dressing is described as follows: “to put on a grey shirt once more was strangely pleasing.” The pleasure of putting his clothes back on indicates that Ralph’s savage behavior, though temporarily enjoyable, cannot completely remove his desire for civilization, a desire that has been instilled in him and that continues to affect him as the novel proceeds.
The mixed benefits of being removed from civilization are further reflected in Ralph and Piggy’s conversations during the first chapter. When Ralph tells Piggy that he does not believe there are any adults, he “said this solemnly; but then the delight of a realized ambition overcame him.” Without any adults, Ralph realizes with “delight” that he is free to do as he pleases since no one can enforce rules or social obligations upon him, which includes not bothering to learn Piggy’s name. Piggy is bothered that Ralph does not do the socially polite thing and ask for his name, which forces Piggy into admitting to Ralph that the kids at school made fun of him. When learning this, “Ralph shrieked with laughter.” The fact that Ralph “shrieked” is a very wild way of laughing, one that would hardly be acceptable in polite society; however, at this point Golding very cleverly inverts our definition of what is civilized: he points out that taunting and name-calling are often common practices at schools. Thus, we are forced to admit that children often indulge in savage behavior and that our very nature is one of cruelty. The reader is forced to consider that we might all behave like savage children if there were no social institutions.
Thus, the difference between civilization and savagery may actually be only a very slight difference, one that does not even exist in a natural state. By looking at specific descriptions of such behavior in the first chapter, we can see how Golding immediately challenges the concept of civilization, which assists him in establishing his major theme of social breakdown throughout the rest of the novel.

How does social policy manage interdependencies? I'm doing an assignment on the role of social policy in addressing poverty. My lecturer always says that humans are interdependent and that social policy has a key role in managing interdependencies, but I'm not sure what this actually means. I'm currently writing about the interdependent nature of humans and the power that social cohesion can have in addressing social problems. I feel like this would be a good place to talk about social policy's role in managing these interdependencies, but I have no idea what this actually means! I would really appreciate some help, thank you!

Let's look at a concrete example here. Imagine that Mary, a sixteen-year-old girl from a relatively poor family, became pregnant after having a relationship with 17-year-old Bob. Let's think about how social policy could affect whether these two young people and their child would prosper or be trapped in a cycle of poverty.
The first interdependency we should consider is the relationship between the two young parents. If they are encouraged to stay together and have access to shared social housing, they will do a better job of raising the child. If both young people can find jobs in their neighborhoods, they are more likely to stay together and provide a secure environment for their child. If the state creates special classes for pregnant teenagers in which they can bond with others in the same situation, they can provide mutual support and babysitting. 
On the other hand, if there are no jobs in the neighborhood and no support structures for the young parents, both may drop out of school, try to earn money by selling drugs or prostitution, Bob may join a gang or end up in jail, and their kid could end up trapped in a cycle of poverty. 
Essential social policies concerning jobs, schools, housing, etc. can have a huge effect on building or ruining communities. 

There are two major types of interdependencies that are impacted by social policy, including the interdependency of individuals and small communities and the interdependencies of nation states. On a smaller scale, social policies such as healthcare and the welfare system play a large role in the degree to which individuals are dependent upon one another and their communities. On a larger scale, the prevalence of globalism governs the international shift towards the greater interdependence of the world's nations. As nations share resources in the interest of implementing new social policies, they become more interdependent. Intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations are designed to manage many of the aspects of global interdependency. On a local level, charities and local government programs play a large role in managing interdependencies such as education, poverty and health.
As social creatures, humans are inherently interdependent. The degree to which those interdependencies exist varies according to many different factors, including the social policies in place in a given area. Poverty is a significant variable in the relationship between interdependencies and social policy. Research shows that poverty is caused by both cyclical and cumulative interdependencies, which makes it a useful variable to study when trying to understand the role social policy plays in addressing interdependencies. Cyclical interdependencies are those in which individual and community resources are mutually dependent. For example, impoverished individuals are not able to contribute economically to their communities, which in turn makes fewer community resources available for individuals to benefit from.
Cumulative poverty is a natural extension of cyclic poverty. As the cycle of poverty continues in a given community, more economic issues accumulate. From a lack of affordable housing to under-funded school districts and social programs, social policy suffers when the interdependent relationship between individuals and their community is one of poverty.
Economic status is just one of the many interdependencies that exist both between individuals and communities and between one community and another. While social policies are typically put in place to address dysfunctional interdependencies in a community, those same interdependencies can end up limiting the ability of a social policy to work. From healthcare to education programs, social policies require resources for successful implementation.

Compare and contrast Hamlet and Oedipus in regard to their societies.

Both men are profoundly at odds with their respective societies, albeit for different reasons. Although Creon is king of Thebes and his word is law, he cannot overcome Antigone's stubborn defiance. In his role as king, Creon is supposed to protect his society from all manner of threats—both internal and external. To that end, he believes himself to be doing the right thing in refusing to allow Polynices's body to be buried. Polynices was a threat to Thebes; he wanted to take over the city and was planning to desecrate the temples. However, in due course, Creon's stubbornness puts the safety and security of Theban society in serious jeopardy. By willfully ignoring the prophesies of Tiresias and the entreaties of his son, he risks not just his throne, but also the very integrity of his kingdom.
Hamlet's alienation from society stems largely from his wicked uncle's usurpation of the throne. The state of Denmark is so rotten, so contaminated by moral corruption, that it pollutes the very air that Hamlet breathes—"a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors" no less. The status of Denmark as a Christian country has been seriously compromised by Claudius's murderous actions; to some extent, Hamlet has taken upon himself the immense challenge of restoring the moral health of the kingdom.
But for multiple reasons, Hamlet is unable to do so. Torn between his desire for revenge and the need to preserve his self-image as a goodly Christian prince, he finds himself trapped in a rut of torpor and indecision. Though alienated from society, he also gradually begins to imbibe its moral corruption. As well as preventing him from doing what is necessary to avenge his father's murder, the prevailing moral climate incites and inspires Hamlet to engage in unacceptable behavior toward Ophelia, Gertrude, Polonius, and the unfortunate Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

College Algebra, Chapter 8, 8.1, Section 8.1, Problem 56

Suppose that a telescope has $200$-in mirror that is constructed in a parabolic shape that collects light from the stars and focuses it at the prime focus, that is, the focus of the parabola. The mirror is $3.79$-in deep at its center. Determine the distance from the vertex to the focus.



If we let the vertex of the parabola lies on the origin and halfway between $200$-in. Then its equation is $x^2 = 4py$ where the focus is located at $(0, p)$ and endpoints at $(100, 3.79)$ and $(-100, 3.79)$. Hence, the endpoints are the solution of the equation, so..


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

x^2 =& 4py
\\
\\
(100)^2 =& 4p(3.79)
\\
\\
p =& 659.6306 \text{-in}

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$


It shows that the distance from the vertex to the focus is approximately $660$ inches.

A study was created to test the effects of fear in children. The hypothesis of the experimenters was that if babies were exposed to fuzzy bunnies and at the same time a loud cymbal was struck close behind them then that child would be afraid of all fuzzy things. Another group of children would be exposed to bunnies without any loud nosies. The study was carried out as planned. As a result, hundreds of young children developed fear of cute, furry rabbits. What would be the dependent variable and what would be the independent variable?

I will start with the independent variable. The independent variable in an experiment is the variable the experimenter has control over. For example, if you are testing the effect of amounts of water on plant growth, the independent variable is the amount of water since that is was the experimenter is controlling. In the experiment you are referring to, the independent variable is the presence of the loud cymbal noises, since this is what the experimenter is controlling. Another way to think about the independent variable is to think about what is different between the experimental and control group. In this experiment, the only thing that was different was the presence of the loud noises, making that the independent variable.
The dependent variable in an experiment is the variable that is being measured and cannot be controlled. In the plant example, the amount of plant growth is being measured and cannot be controlled by the experimenter. In the experiment above, the dependent variable is how afraid the children are of fuzzy things because this is being measured and cannot be controlled by the experimenter. Another way to think about the dependent variable is to remember that the dependent variable 'depends on' the independent variable. For example, the amount of plant growth depends on the amount of water, and how afraid the children are depends on the presence of loud noises.

Is Oedipus responsible for his fate? What is he responsible for? Should we blame him?

Ah, the "fate-vs-free will" question. High school English teachers usually get this wrong. Oedipus absolutely has free will. In Greek myth, prophecies exist to come true.This fact does not, however, preclude Oedipus’ own agency in his (and others’) ruin. Apollo (the god of prophecy) knows what will happen; he does not make them happen.
Ah, comes the objection, but without Apollo's prophecy Oedipus would have lived footloose and fancy-free in Corinth for the rest of his life. But the Delphic Oracle wasn’t a door-to-door enterprise. Oedipus went to them. Some random drunk questioned his parentage. Now, Polybus and Merope could have done a lot of people a big favor by leveling with their adoptive son, but they were more interested in protecting the line of succession at Corinth. They tell Oedipus to let it go, but he just has to know the truth — his very name is suggestive of knowledge. (Gr. oida = “I know”.)
Oedipus tells Jocasta that the Oracle did not answer his question, but instead told him that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Wrong! The Oracle did answer his question — You’re going to kill a man who turns out to be your father and marry a woman who turns out to be your mother. Learning this new piece of information, Oedipus makes the further mistake of treating as certain (Polybus and Merope are his birth parents) the very idea that had filled him with such doubt in the first place.
Because he chose to consult the Oracle, and because he misinterpreted the prophecy, Oedipus inadvertently achieves the opposite of what he intended. We find the story of Oedipus so compelling because it shows us a good man trying to do the right thing with spectacularly disastrous results.

I would argue that Oedipus is not responsible for his fate. It is decreed by the oracle at Delphi that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Although the people around him go to great lengths to make sure the prophecy wouldn't come true, it nevertheless does, because, as the play illustrates, one's fate is predetermined and can't be beaten.
Oedipus does not know the man he murders on the road is his father. He also does not know Jocasta is his mother when he marries her. He therefore does not knowingly murder his father or wed his mother, and so shouldn't be held responsible. In fact, when he hears the prophecy, he leaves Corinth to avoid his horrible fate, not expecting it to meet him on the road.
Oedipus is responsible, however, for having too much pride, or hubris. Whether or not one of the men he kills in the carriage is his father, he shouldn't have killed the people in the carriage in the first place. It is excessive and unwarranted to murder them merely because his pride is injured by their running him off the road. Oedipus is also guilty of having too much pride to even imagine he could be the cause of the plague visiting Thebes. He is wrong too to mock Tiresias for being blind, when he himself is blind to his own flaws.

What is the significance of Pi's unusual name in Life of Pi?

When Pi begins being teased about his full name, Piscine, and mockingly nicknamed "Pissing Patel," he decides to take matters into his own hands. When he begins as a student at a new school, he claims a new identity for himself:

I got up from my desk and hurried to the blackboard. Before the teacher could say a word, I picked up a piece of chalk and said as I wrote: My name is Piscine Molitor Patel, known to all as—I double underlined the first two letters of my given name—Pi Patel. For good measure I added Pi =3.14 and I drew a large circle, which I then sliced in two with a diameter, to evoke that basic lesson of geometry.

With his new name established, Pi thinks, "I was saved. I could breathe. A new beginning . . . [S]o, in that Greek letter that looks like a shack with a corrugated tin roof, in that elusive, irrational number with which scientists try to understand the universe, I found refuge."
The number "pi" represents the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. This irrational number's decimal representation is never-ending; that is, no person can grasp the entire number. Similarly, Pi's story is equally difficult to grasp, as Mr. Tomohiro Okamoto and Mr. Atsuro Chiba of the Maritime Department in the Japanese Ministry of Transport elucidate when they tell Pi that they find his story "extremely hard to believe." Just as the number is elusive, so too is Pi's story, for it is left up to the reader to determine which version is "truth."
Additionally, Pi is a relentlessly curious person. His pursuit of knowledge, be it religious or biological, is endless, similar to the decimal representation of pi. He also finds the ocean to be endless as he floats adrift during his days stranded at sea, conjuring the seeming endlessness of pi.

Pi's full name is Piscine Molitor Patel. Pi's parents named him after a family friend of theirs who loved to swim.  Well, that's not exactly true.  The family friend loved to swim and his favorite swimming pool was the Piscine Molitor in Paris.  Instead of naming Pi after the family friend, Pi's parents named him after the pool.  As Pi grew up, he was teased about his name because the pronunciation isn't far off of "pissing" and nobody wants the name Pissing Patel.  Pi simply shortened his name.  Perhaps being named after a friend that loved swimming and pools is a bit of foreshadowing to Pi's survival for weeks and weeks on the water.  Perhaps Pi's act of shortening his name is meant to remind people of the mathematical number.  Pi is an irrational number, and Pi admits at the end of the book that his story might sound irrational, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a good story.  

"So tell me, since it makes no factual difference to you and you can't prove the question either way, which story do you prefer? Which is the better story, the story with animals or the story without animals?"

What are the ongoing debates among historians about Chicago Organized Crime?

According to Robert M. Lombardo, author of Organized Crime in Chicago: Beyond the Mafia, the study of crime in Chicago has long been plagued with controversies. While the media and public focused intense attention on notorious organized crime figures such as Al Capone, very few sociologists studied organized crime in a scholarly way. One of the few was John Landesco, who published Organized Crime in Chicago in 1929 (this book was reprinted in 1968). Landesco differed from most sociologists in the Chicago School of Sociology by laying blame for organized crime on the business community and the government of Chicago, and he advocated a reform of the social structure of Chicago, including services to integrate Sicilian immigrants into society, and the reform of the police department. He believed that the business, government, and social stratification of Chicago gave rise to organized crime, not immigrants themselves. 
Another debate among historians and sociologists is how to even classify organized crime. The term "organized crime" has become interchangeable with terms such as "the Mafia," "the Mob," and "Cosa Nostra," though each group has a different meaning and different membership. The study of organized crime has been muddied by public opinion and media reports on organized crime, which often give it an entirely Italian-American character. The "alien conspiracy theory," as Lombardo calls it, states that organized crime originated in the Sicilian Mafia, but other researchers, such as Lombardo, believed it developed in the United States as a response to the American social structure. The historians and sociologists who believe organized crime originated in the U.S. state that it was a vehicle of social mobility in certain communities and a means of providing social services. 

College Algebra, Chapter 3, 3.2, Section 3.2, Problem 58

Determine whether the equation $3x + 7y = 21$ defines $y$ as a function of $x$.

Solving for $y$ in terms of $x$ gives


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

3x + 7y =& 21
&& \text{Subtract } 3x
\\
\\
7y =& 21 - 3x
&& \text{Divide both sides by } 7
\\
\\
y =& \frac{21 - 3x}{7}
&& \text{Simplify}
\\
\\
y =& 3 - \frac{3}{7} x
&& \text{Answer}

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$


The last equation is a rule that gives one value of $y$ for each value of $x$, so it defines $y$ as a function of $x$. We can write the function as $\displaystyle f(x) = 3 - \frac{3}{7} x$

Was Victor Hugo opposed to the Catholic Church?

Interesting question! Victor Hugo opposed the corruption within the Catholic Church rather than the institution itself. If we rely on the text of his novel Les Miserables, we can see that this is true. Take, for instance, the incomparable Bishop Myriel: he is the reason for Jean Valjean's exceptional spiritual transformation. Bishop Myriel, however, is the antithesis of members of the clergy during Hugo's time.
For his part, Hugo relinquished his Catholic faith in his later years. Historians maintain that he became a sort of rational Deist. Hugo kept his faith in God but chose to separate himself from organized Catholicism. In that sense, he opposed the Catholic Church. More specifically, however, Hugo opposed the corruption within the hierarchy of the church. Members of the clergy were predominantly focused on retaining their wealth and influence. They cared little for the working poor.
It is not a coincidence that the June Rebellion is mentioned in Hugo's Les Miserables. In the story, the Friends of the ABC participate in an anti-monarchical rebellion prior to the June 5th uprising. The June 5th mutiny in the story refers to the actual June Rebellion, which occurred from June 5th to June 7th in 1832. The Friends of the ABC in Les Miserables is a fictional organization consisting of French republican students.
During the actual June Rebellion in 1832, it was Parisian republicans who staged an anti-monarchical insurrection against the French monarchy. For his part, Hugo supported the republicans. At the time of the rebellion, France was in great turmoil. The average citizen endured famine, disease, and privations of every sort. Meanwhile, the resplendent monarchy continued on as before, with little thought of solving the challenges faced by the populace.
By 1832, tempers had boiled over. Understand that the French Revolution of 1789 was meant to topple the monarchy. By 1832, the monarchy was still entrenched in power. Additionally, the monarchy was supported by the Catholic Church. In fact, both institutions worked together to protect their common interests. When Hugo threw his support behind the French republicans, he was vilified by the Catholic Church.
Hugo's mention of the June Rebellion in Les Miserables led his work to be listed in the Church's Index Librorum Prohibitorum (List of Prohibited Books). All books or publications listed on the Index were banned for general use by the Catholic faithful. Ever mindful of the suffering of the working classes, Hugo parted ways with the Church. For the rest of his life, he remained fully committed to exposing its excesses. In that sense, Hugo was opposed to the Catholic Church.
https://isreview.org/issue/89/enduring-relevance-victor-hugo

What do you think Hawthorne's purpose was for writing this story?

It can be hard to tell what an author's intention was in writing a particular text, but Hawthorne often returns to the same subjects again and again: religion, sin, and guilt.  "Young Goodman Brown" doesn't seem to be an exception.  Goodman Brown treats religious faith, symbolized by Faith, his wife, rather casually.  Though Faith "sadly" asks him not to go into the forest that night, he insists that he must, and though she seems "melancholy" when he looks back at her, he continues on his path.  He thinks to himself, "'after this one night, I'll cling to her skirts and follow her to Heaven.'"  However, this is not how faith is supposed to work: one cannot simply lay it down and pick it up whenever it is convenient.  Brown takes his faith, and Faith, for granted, assuming that they will be waiting for him, unchanged, whenever he is ready to return to them.  In short, they aren't.  Whether he actually sees Faith in the woods at the witches' Sabbath, or whether it was just a dream, his relationship with God and the world has been changed forever by his own faithless behavior.  Therefore, I believe that Hawthorne may have intended this text to be a sort of meditation on faith, as it conveys the theme that real faith is something a believer always carries with them.

What are two internal changes in Scout throughout To Kill a Mockingbird?

Throughout the novel, Scout matures and develops into a morally upright individual like her father. As the novel progresses, Scout heeds her father's lessons and gains perspective on life. She begins to perceive situations from other people's points of view, which gives her insight into how people feel and behave throughout Maycomb. By the end of the novel, Scout has the ability to sympathize with and have empathy for others, particularly innocent individuals like Boo Radley. In addition to increasing her perspectives and gaining insights into people and situations, Scout also becomes tolerant by the end of the novel. At the beginning of the story, Scout was known for her quick temper and continually trying to solve problems with her fists. After sitting down and talking with her father, Scout learns the importance of tolerance and self-control. Scout first exercises her tolerance by walking away from Cecil Jacobs on the playground. As the novel progresses, Scout witnesses her father treat their racist neighbors with kindness and walk away from a certain fight with Bob Ewell. Scout develops into a tolerant young girl who no longer reacts out of anger, but instead exercises self-control when faced with adversity.

How did globalization effect foreign policy in the 1990's?

Foreign policy became increasingly linked to trade policy in this period. Perhaps the most important event was the end of the Soviet Union in 1991 and thus the end of the Cold War. This meant that countries of the former Soviet Union became transformed from geopolitical threats to potential trading partners of the west and lower-wage countries to which manufacturing could be outsourced as well as potential markets for the west.
The European Union was established by the Maastricht Treaty in 1993. The initial creation of the Common Market followed by the EU, and its subsequent expansion, exemplify this notion of foreign policy working hand in hand with trade policy to facilitate both movement of goods and people and foster closer political and economic ties among nations. A similar synergy can be seen in the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement which signaled both economic and political cooperation. Perhaps the most ambitious organization growing out of globalization was the World Trade Organization, formed in 1995, which regulates international trade.
What these organizations do is move many of the economic aspects of foreign policy from bilateral agreements to multi-lateral talking shops, facilitating globalization by reducing barriers to trade and creating a more global and stable regulatory environment.

College Algebra, Chapter 5, 5.5, Section 5.5, Problem 6

The observed relative growth rate of Ukraine is $4\%$ per year. In 2006 the population of Ukraine is 112,000.

a.) Determine a function that will model the population after t years.

b.) Determine the projected population in year 2012.

c.) On what year will Ukraine have a total population of 200,000.




a.) Recall the formula for growth rate

$n(t) = n_0 e^{rt}$

where

$n(t)$ = population at time $t$

$n_0$ = initial size of the population

$r$ = relative rate of growth

$t$ = time

If we let $112000$ be the initial population, then the model of the population after $t$ years is $n(t) = 112000 e^{0.04t}$

b.) The projected population in the year 2012 where $t = 6$ is..


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

n(6) =& 112000 e^{0.04(6)}
\\
\\
=& 142379.90 \text{ or } 142379

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$


c.)


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

\text{if } n(t) =& 200,000 \text{ then}
&&
\\
\\
200,000 =& 112,000 e^{0.04 t}
&& \text{Divide both sides by } 112,000
\\
\\
\frac{25}{14} =& e^{0.04 t}
&& \text{Take $\ln$ of each side}
\\
\\
\ln \left( \frac{25}{14} \right) =& 0.04 t
&& \text{Recall } \ln e = 1
\\
\\
t =& \frac{\displaystyle \ln \left( \frac{25}{14} \right)}{0.04 }
&& \text{Solve for } t
\\
\\
t =& 14.50
&&
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$


It shows that the population will reach $200,000$ in the year 2020 plus 6 months.

What are three specific scenes in the novel where Scout and Jem come to understand and value Atticus?

Early on in the novel, Cecil Jacobs criticizes Scout's father on the playground for "defending niggers." Scout gets upset and wishes to fight Cecil. That night, Scout comes home and asks Atticus if it's true that he defends Negroes. Atticus explains to Scout that he will be defending an African American named Tom Robinson and challenges her to hold her head high and keep her fists down. The next day, Cecil Jacobs continues to criticize Atticus, but Scout remembers Atticus's comments about keeping her cool. Scout applies his lesson and calmly walks away while Cecil Jacobs calls her a coward.
At Tom Robinson's trial, Jem witnesses his father defend an innocent, harmless man. In Chapter 25, Jem applies Atticus's lesson about not harming mockingbirds when Scout attempts to squash a rolly-polly bug. Jem tells Scout, "Don't do that, Scout. Set him out on the back steps" (146). Jem understands the importance of protecting innocent beings by stopping Scout from squashing the harmless bug.
At the beginning of the novel, Atticus teaches Scout a lesson in perspective. He tells her that in order to understand someone, she must stand in their shoes and walk around in them. In Chapter 31, Scout stands on Boo Radley's stoop and views the neighborhood from his perspective. She applies Atticus's lesson and is able to understand Boo Radley as an individual.

Please write a summary of the article "Terrorism and Relative Justice" from the following link: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/5384/1/findlaym3.pdf

This article discusses the connection between terror and what the author calls "violent justice," or how states punish acts of terrorism. Findlay, the author, calls for "a more detailed empirical examination of the relationships suggested between terrorism and violent justice." He feels that the justification for using violent justice to respond to terrorism comes from the worlds of journalism and politics, not from validated research. This paper establishes a theoretical framework that the author believes can guide this empirical research. 
The first question the author examines is the utility and purpose of violence, both in acts of terrorism and in the response of the justice system. While the author states that both terror and its punishment have elements of what he calls "purposeful justice," he believes that if the violence of the response to terror approaches the magnitude of the terror itself, its utility is limited.
The author also states that the "contested meanings" of truth among those who perpetrate terror and those who punish it must be examined as part of the necessary empirical research into this area. He uses examples, such as the violence in Ireland, to demonstrate that truth is relative in terrorism and its punishment.
The author also examines the idea of the "victor's justice" and the denial of victimhood to terrorist communities. The punishment of terrorism validates the idea that the state should have hegemony over other groups. The author believes that the image of a victim drives the international response to terror, but this paradigm runs the risk of alienating the terrorist communities. The author calls for the recognition of the subjective meaning of violence in the larger communities of which terrorists are a part rather than seeing their acts as unmitigated evil. The author states that looking at terrorism through the dichotomies of us versus them or good versus evil is not as useful as looking at terrorism as a rational act. He believes that while controversial, examining the connections between terrorism and violent justice is more conducive to providing effective responses to the war on terror. 
 

Calculus: Early Transcendentals, Chapter 1, 1.6, Section 1.6, Problem 40

Use the Properties of Logarithm to evaluate each logarithm correct to six decimal places.
a.) $\log_{12} 10$
b.) $\log_{2} 8.4$


a.) $\displaystyle \log_{12}10 = \frac{\ln 10}{\ln 12} = 0.926628$
b.) $\displaystyle \log_{2} 8.4 = \frac{\ln 8.4}{\ln 2} = 3.070489$

Intermediate Algebra, Chapter 5, 5.2, Section 5.2, Problem 13

Write the polynomial $2x^3 + x - 3x^2 + 4$ in descending power of the variable. Then give the
leading term and leading coefficient.


Reorder the polynomial $2x^3 + x - 3x^2 + 4$ alphabetically from left to right, starting with the highest order term.
$2x^3 - 3x^2 + x + 4$

A polynomial consists of terms, which are also known as monomials. The leading term in a polynomial is the highest degree term.
In this case, the leading term in $2x^3 - 3x^2 + x + 4$ is the first term, which is $2x^3$

The leading coefficient in a polynomial is the coefficient of the leading term. In this case, the leading term is $2x^3$ and the leading coefficient is 2.
While the leading term in a polynomial is the highest degree term. In this case, the leading term is the first term, which is $2x^3$

What is the mood and the tone of the poem "A Time to Talk"?

The mood and tone of a poem help us assess both how we are supposed to respond to it, the atmosphere it creates, and the attitude the poet is taking towards his subject. In this short poem by Robert Frost, the poet adopts a tone of acceptance towards "all the hills I haven't hoed," or things he hasn't done—he is suggesting that he does not, and we should not, waste time agonizing about everything that is yet to be done, particularly if it means that we miss out on the pleasures of the current moment.
The mood of this poem is a slow, gentle one: the friend's horse "slows," as if he too is content to "plod" and indulge in "a friendly visit." The speaker has determined, like his friend, that now is a "time to talk." Rather than demanding to know what the friend wants to talk about, as he might if his intention was to hurry on to his next destination, the poet is content to pause in this "mellow" spot and engage in some quiet interchange with his friend. There is an undertone of frustration in the poem, suggesting that if others took such an attitude—rather than shouting "What is it?" whenever they are addressed or engaged by someone else—our lives might also be more "mellow."

In "A Time to Talk," Robert Frost takes the attitude that "as there is a time to talk," it is best not to "look around/on all the hills [you] haven't hoed" and push yourself to work rather than indulge in "a friendly visit" from time to time. The mood and tone are gentle, contemplative, and slow, as we can see from the use of such language as "plod," "slows," "time," and "mellow." The poem seems to indicate that we should take time to engage with our friends rather than believe that work is the be-all and end-all of life. In taking this attitude, Frost seems to be presenting an alternative to a life driven by blind ambition at the expense of friendship and "mellow" moments.

What are the biblical allusions in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?

In chapter XIV Huck Finn and Jim are discussing kings. The subject of Solomon comes up:

I read considerable to Jim about kings and dukes and earls and such, and how gaudy they dressed, and how much style they put on, and called each other your majesty, and your grace, and your lordship, and so on, 'stead of mister; and Jim's eyes bugged out, and he was interested. He says:
“I didn' know dey was so many un um. I hain't hearn 'bout none un um, skasely, but ole King Sollermun, onless you counts dem kings dat's in a pack er k'yards. How much do a king git?”

Even an illiterate slave has some vague understanding of the Bible. Indeed, the Bible was most likely to be the only book with which slaves had any acquaintance. Huck tells Jim that Solomon had a million wives. In that case, Jim concludes, he couldn't have been that wise otherwise he wouldn't have chosen to live with all those quarreling wives. He'd never get a moment's peace.
In chapter XXIV, Jim and Huck are drifting along on their raft with the King and the Duke, a couple of charlatans and con artists. But Huck has to admit that the King looks quite distinguished in his all-black outfit:

Why, before, he looked like the orneriest old rip that ever was; but now, when he'd take off his new white beaver and make a bow and do a smile, he looked that grand and good and pious that you'd say he had walked right out of the ark, and maybe was old Leviticus himself.

Huck's knowledge of the Bible is a tad hazy. He is, of course, referring to Noah; Leviticus is one of the books of the Old Testament.
But Hines is onto the King and the Duke. He knows all about their dastardly plan to rob the Wilks family of the gold left to them by their dearly departed father and husband, Peter. But he doesn't just point the finger at those two old rapscallions; as far as he's concerned, Huck's also part of the gang and so is ripe for a good old lynching. There's only one thing for it: Huck needs to split, and fast. But big old Hines won't let go of him, dragging him all the way to the cemetery for the exhumation of Peter Wilks's body:

I couldn't bear to think about it; and yet, somehow, I couldn't think about nothing else. It got darker and darker, and it was a beautiful time to give the crowd the slip; but that big husky had me by the wrist—Hines—and a body might as well try to give Goliar the slip.

Huck is referring to Goliath, the giant warrior of the Phillistines. And just like the hulking great monster of a man in the Bible, Hines also loses out to a smaller, more nimble opponent. He's so thrilled at the sight of the bag of gold on Peter's chest that he starts whooping and hollering, letting go of his viselike grip of Huck's wrist. Our hero doesn't need a second invitation and quickly makes a run for it.
Finally, we're in chapter XXXIII. Tom Sawyer, cunningly disguised as one William Thompson, is enjoying the gracious Southern hospitality of his Aunt Sally. Suddenly, he gives her a big kiss, and on the lips. It's fair to say she's confused. But she's not to know that it's her nephew Tom. (Or her nephew Tom pretending to be her other nephew, Sid.) Anyway, before she finds any of this out, she lets "William" know exactly what she thinks of his outrageous presumption:

“No'm, I'm honest about it; I won't ever do it again—till you ask me.”
“Till I ask you! Well, I never see the beat of it in my born days! I lay you'll be the Methusalem—numskull of creation before ever I ask you—or the likes of you.”

In the Book of Genesis, Methuselah lived to the ripe old age of 969. By calling him a "Methusalem-numskull (sic)," Aunt Sally's saying in no uncertain terms that the impertinent little pup in front of her would have to be nearly Methuselah's age before she'd ever consider asking him for a kiss.

 

 
 

How is Art (poetry,in particular) like the "belle dame" that the knight has been betrayed by in La Belle Dame Sans Merci?

In Keats's ballad "La Belle Dame Sans Merci," the knight, who is the speaker of the poem, tells of his misadventure with la belle dame, who steals his vitality and the vitality of other men who fall under the spell of her beauty and her song. Poetry, like other forms of art, can be understood as the belle dame if the reader of the poem considers the knight in the role of the poet writing the poetry.
Imagine a poet, like the knight in the ballad, happening upon something beautiful. This image, whether it be a vision or a sound or even a smell or taste, stays with the poet, who eventually obsesses over the beautiful image in his or her imagination, much like the knight obsesses over the lady in the meads.
While trying to translate the image into art, the poet struggles under the greatness and power of the beauty of the image, and eventually, the poet succumbs, weakened by the effort of trying to create something as beautiful as what inspired the art in the first place. This submission of the poet to poetry is like the submission of the knight, and the kings, princes and warriors before him, to the beauty of the belle dame sans merci. The creative impulse is as merciless as the belle dame in its power to overwhelm the artist poet and entrap him or her, leaving the artist feeling unfulfilled when creativity and art fail to materialize.

When Parris says that "these people have great weight in society," what does he mean?

In act 4, Reverend Parris tells Deputy Governor Danforth that he ought to consider postponing the hangings scheduled to take place today.  He says that "it were another sort that hanged till now," by which he means that the people that have already been hanged were not as respected in the town; those people were outcasts, but these people are known to be upstanding citizens and good Christians.  He says,

I would to God it were not so, Excellency, but these people have great weight yet in the town.  

In other words, the people about to be hanged—Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor, among others—are still thought of as good people.  The citizens of Salem already question their guilt and could riot if Rebecca "send[s] up some righteous prayer" as she is about to die.

What is the situational irony present in "The Machine That Won the War?"

Situational irony is irony that occurs when something happens that is different from the expected outcome. In "The Machine that Won the War," this happens a few times as readers discover how the three main characters treat the supercomputer named "Multivac."
The humans in the story have been at war with the Denebians for a very long time. They feel that the only sure way to victory is to put their fates into the "hands" of a supercomputer that will analyze the enemy's tactics and come up with its own battle plans and countermeasures to win the war. Based on this initial setup, a reader would expect that Swift, Henderson, and Jablonski are all going to talk about how amazingly the computer executed its job.  
That is when the irony of the situation starts to come through. Each man admits that he didn't pay attention to the computer at all. Henderson admits that the field data coming in was so biased that he couldn't trust it; therefore, he simply uses his own intuition and guesses at what data should be fed into Multivac. Jablonski admits basically the same thing. Before the war was over, he realized that Multivac was not working properly, and the reports given by the machine weren't credible. Jablonski then guesses at what information should be passed to Swift. Finally, Swift admits that he never trusted Multivac in the first place.  When it came time for him to make an important decision, Swift flipped a coin. While readers begin the story expecting that a supercomputer was integral to winning a war, they are surprised to find out that the war victory was ultimately won through human intuition, guessing, and blind chance.

How does Bilbo show leadership and courage in The Hobbit?

Bilbo’s increase in confidence and courage is the defining aspect of his character arc. At the beginning of the novel, he is shut away content in his Hobbit hole, happy to remain separate and coddled from the rest of the world. In the movie, Bilbo chooses to join the dwarves on their quest out of a sense for adventure. In the book, however, Bilbo wants nothing to do with them and only joins because he had been duped into signing a contract. Despite being on the adventure somewhat against his will, Bilbo still proves himself time and again, saving the dwarves from the spiders, the trolls, and a number of other dangers they encounter along the way. Bilbo’s character arc has even been cited as a sort of Christian metaphor for the growth of the soul, though how much Tolkien intended on this front is up for debate.
From a thematic standpoint, the ring of invisibility also plays into Bilbo’s brand of bravery. If Hobbits are the overlooked creatures of Middle Earth, then it is noteworthy that a ring which literally turns him invisible leads to so many of Bilbo’s most courageous moments. It is wrong to underestimate Bilbo. The world sees through him and looks over him—literally while he is wearing the ring—and yet, even people who look invisible to the outside world can display bravery in their own way.

Bilbo's development throughout the novel The Hobbit is one of the biggest factors in the plot. He begins as rather cowardly and much more of a follower than leader. However, throughout the story, he shows more courage and leadership as time goes on.
For instance, he shows great courage during his confrontation with Gollum in the cave—standing his ground and conversing with him, when the creature was deadly—and when he was at the bottom of a mountain full of deadly goblins. He showed leadership when he rescued his friends from the spiders in the forest later (using the very ring he found in Gollum's cave).
At the climax of the novel, he shows leadership and courage by being the one to enter Smaug's lair. He goes in and confronts the giant dragon, stealing evidence of the beast's horde of riches. This leads to Thorin retrieving his family's treasure and the dwarves eventually succeeding in their quest.

Arguably, Bilbo shows courage just by deciding to go on the quest in the first place. In Tolkien's mythos, hobbits are the everyman figures; they're homebodies who appreciate the good things in life (food, parties, etc.), and they don't really welcome change or uncertainty. For Bilbo, then, courage tends to be about pushing past his instinctive fears and reservations, and he does this throughout the novel—for instance, when he confronts the trolls in chapter 2, or (even more impressively) when he enters Smaug's lair in chapter 12. Bilbo is frightened enough in both instances to berate himself for ever agreeing to go on the quest, but his sense of duty and loyalty ultimately proves stronger than his fear.
With that said, the kind of courage and leadership Bilbo displays never quite map onto our conventional definitions of either. In literature—and especially in genres like fantasy or medieval romance—being a hero tends to mean being exceptional in some way (strength, power, wisdom, etc.). This, of course, is a better description of a character like Thorin than it is of Bilbo, and yet Tolkien portrays Thorin as deeply flawed (if still sympathetic). Thorin is brave and noble, and he generally observes a very strict behavioral code (think, for instance, of the formality of the contract he asks Bilbo to sign). Ultimately, however, he is much more susceptible to the corrupting influence of wealth than Bilbo. By contrast, Bilbo plays somewhat fast and loose with the rules; he's very good, for instance, at talking himself out of situations where a more traditional hero would fight (e.g., his interaction with the trolls, or the riddle game he plays with Gollum). This ability to think on his feet and bend the truth when necessary ultimately wins him the respect of the dwarves; by the time the group reaches the Lonely Mountain, Bilbo "has become the real leader in their adventure," with the dwarves looking to him for plans (chapter 12).More even then cleverness, though, Tolkien suggests that it is Bilbo's humble and grounded sense of morality that makes him brave and a good leader. He steals the Arkenstone, for instance, not to keep it for himself but rather in an effort to prevent war (and save his newfound friends in the process). Thorin casts him out of the Lonely Mountain in response but ultimately acknowledges that Bilbo was in the right, suggesting that Bilbo's "courage" and "wisdom" spring in part from his valuing "food and cheer and song above hoarded gold" (chapter 18). Perhaps most significant, however, is Bilbo's decision to spare Gollum's life at a moment when it might have been safer or more prudent to kill him; although Gollum was blocking Bilbo's path out of the goblin tunnels, Bilbo's "pity" for Gollum prevented him from harming him (chapter 5). Tolkien's work was deeply influenced by his Christian worldview, so it is Bilbo's ability to show compassion, even at great risk or sacrifice to himself, that ultimately makes Bilbo a true hero.

Simpkin dislikes Alan and John. Why?

Simpkin the miller previously cheated the college that John and Alan attend by overcharging them for the flour he grinds in his mill. They come and try to trick him by claiming that they're interested in milling; they want to watch him grind it, in reality, so that they can make sure he's not charging too much. So he doesn't like them at first because they are trying to prevent him from making as much money as he has in the past and also because they are treating him like he's stupid by trying to play this trick.
Simpkin responds by stealing the grain and having his wife bake it into a loaf of bread for his family. He also unties the students' horse so that they have to leave and chase it down while the stealing and baking happens. When they return, they ask to pay him to stay there overnight, and he agrees. Their plan is to get revenge against the miller for untying their horse and stealing their grain. To do so, the students have sex with the miller's wife and daughter. Understandably, Simpkin hates the students even more after this, so he attacks them. In the fight, his wife ends up injuring him by accident instead of one of them. The students beat him up, take the loaf of bread and their horse, and run away.
The Reeve's Tale has to have an unhappy ending for the miller character because the Reeve tells it to make fun of the Miller. The drunken Miller has just told a tale that made a carpenter—the Reeve's former profession—look bad. So the Reeve gets back at him by telling this story, which doesn't end well for Simpkin.

Is the Robert Frost poem "The Road Not Taken" about the road not taken or about the road less traveled?

I believe his poem alludes to the choices we make in our lives that are sometimes unpopular but provide us with the benefit we are seeking.  The "road not taken" implies he is speaking of the choices he did not make; the roads or paths he chose not to travel.  He "took the one less traveled by" suggesting that the path he chose for himself was not the one his peers may have taken or one his family wanted for him; a path society approved of.  The final line of "that has made all the difference" suggests that he has considered what would have happened had he taken the more popular or well traveled path, but the reader is left to consider how that choice impacted his life.  It also leaves us with one of the most burning questions we all face: what if?  What if he had taken to road that was more traveled, then the other road would be the one less traveled, and there still would be a difference in his life.  We cannot see the out comes of choices we do not take, nor can we see where paths we do not take will lead.  However, when we look back on the roads we took to arrive at our current destination, we can reflect on whether or not it was a popular or positive choice.  

The poem appears to be about the road not taken.
In actuality, there is no "road less traveled by". In the second stanza the speaker describes this road:
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
 
The last two lines of this stanza seem to be overlooked by most. The speaker sees that one road "was grassy and wanted wear". Then, looking at the other road realizes "Though as for that the passing there/Had worn them really about the same". Both roads are essentially the same.
 
The only time the speaker mentions that it was "the road less traveled by" is in the final stanza, which begins, "I shall be telling this with a sigh/Somewhere ages and ages hence:" He is only going to say how less traveled the road is when he is later retelling the story. The speaker seems to want people (and arguably himself as well) to believe that when he was faced with this decision, he chose the one that "made all the difference." We know this to be false, however, based on his earlier account of the two roads.
 
There was no benefit for taking the road less traveled by, because the roads were essentially the same. The speaker has no way of knowing if the road he chose actually made more of a difference in his life or not. Which is why it is about the road not taken. When we travel down the road we choose we will validate our decision by convincing the world and ourselves that it was the road less taken, that it was somehow different, that we were even adventurous for choosing this road and not the other. When in reality, we will always be left wondering what was down that other road.

I believe the poem is about both the road not taken and the road less traveled.  
That sounds like a cop out, but I believe the answer is up to individual readers. Your question is reminiscent of the age-old question of whether the glass is half empty or half full. The poem's narrator says he took the road less traveled and that doing so "made all the difference."
The narrator doesn't say whether that was a good difference, though. He doesn't say if his choice was good and beneficial to him. He simply tells his reader his choice made a difference. It's possible the poem is about the advantages of taking the road less traveled; however, it is equally possible the poem is about the disadvantage caused by missing the road not taken. By taking the road less traveled, the narrator misses the road that is more traveled. There might be better life rewards by taking the more well-traveled road, which could explain why it is more well traveled.
 
A positive and uplifting interpretation of the poem would say the poem is about the benefits of taking the less-traveled road. A negative interpretation might say it is about missing the road not taken.

Is Claudio justified in deserving Hero as his life partner?

I would echo the sentiments of the previous Educator and also say that no, Claudio does not deserve Hero. For one thing, he's way too immature. Just look at how he's so easily manipulated by the scheming Don John, who makes Claudio think that Don Pedro is wooing Hero. As well as immaturity, Claudio's reaction to Don John's blatant lies indicates naivety and insecurity—certainly not character traits that any self-respecting woman would want in a life partner.
Even worse, Claudio is way too emotional, forever going ballistic at the slightest provocation. Once again, he's putty in the hands of Don John, who effortlessly makes him believe that Hero's been cheating on him the night before their wedding. Claudio is so furious at what he thinks is his intended's infidelity that he angrily confronts his blushing bride on their wedding day, publicly humiliating Hero by making all kinds of outrageous slurs and accusations against her.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say something that might be unpopular. No, I do not think that Claudio deserves Hero. If she were my friend in real life, I would absolutely tell her to dump him after the stunt he pulls. The fact that he could believe something so ugly about her—that she was so foul as to choose to sleep with a man for the first time on the night before her wedding—shows that Claudio does not have much trust in her at all. If there is one thing needed for a successful and fulfilling relationship of any kind, let alone a marriage where one chooses to live with and love another person forever and ever, it is trust. Not only does Claudio not trust Hero enough to believe her when she denies any knowledge of an affair, but he also ruins her publicly and cruelly. Yes, he feels bad about it after he thinks she is dead, but that would do her little good if she actually had died of shame.

In the novel Speak, how does Melinda change as a student?

I don't think that it can be said that Melinda changes as a student over the course of the novel.  When the novel starts, Melinda is on her way to the first day of high school.  Her first quarter grades are not good, and her grades continue to stay poor from grading quarter to grading quarter.  If anything, Melinda's grades actually get worse as her school year goes on.  Her parents go through a range of tactics to help.  They want to be helpful and encouraging, but their frustrating eventually begins to show, and they become angry at Melinda's increasingly poor grades.  Her parents do attempt to have Melinda seek out a tutor, but Melinda doesn't do this.  What her parents fail to understand is that Melinda isn't in need of a tutor.  She needs a therapist.  Short of that, she needs somebody to understand what she went through the previous summer.  In her words, Melinda needs "to hand over the guilt and mistake and anger to somebody else."  Her emotional turmoil is the reason behind her dwindling grades.  It is not until the very end of the book that readers get a sense that Melinda's grades and life as a student will get better.  Andy has finally been caught, everybody knows what he did to Melinda, and she begins telling Mr. Freeman her story.  She has finally been given the chance to speak.  

"You get an A+. You worked hard at this." He hands me the box of tissues. "You've been through a lot, haven't you?"
The tears dissolve the last block of ice in my throat. I feel the frozen stillness melt down through the inside of me, dripping shards of ice that vanish in a puddle of sunlight on the stained floor. Words float up.
Me: "Let me tell you about it."

Although Melinda was once a good student, her schooling takes a serious hit after the trauma of being raped at the house party over the summer. In her freshman year, Melinda does not study, participate, or put in any effort to her academics. Simply put, she does not have the emotional energy to do so. 
Rather than acting concerned about her obvious shift in personality (from outgoing and positive to reclusive and moody), Melinda's parents spend a great deal of their time obsessing about her grades and threatening, begging, and bargaining with her to put more effort into her schoolwork. 
Nevertheless, about halfway through the novel, Melinda's grades are still horrible: a "D, C, B-, D, C-, C, A," as Ms. Connors points out to her in their meeting, with a GPA of 1.7. Unfortunately, much like Melinda's parents, Ms. Connors fails to see that Melinda is truly suffering and is only interested in improving her grades so that she may draft Melinda to the school's basketball team (another activity Melinda has no interest in).
Ultimately, the only class that truly engages Melinda is Mr. Freeman's art class (which is also the only class she is doing well in). Through her artwork, Melinda finds a way to express her pain and to finally face what happened to her. 
 
 

Please discuss and summarize the arguments within The Federalist Papers (79-82).

The Federalist essays 79 through 82 were each written by Alexander Hamilton. They are an extended discussion of the role of the federal judiciary under the Constitution. In number 79, Hamilton addresses a few key concerns. He observes that the justices will be guaranteed a salary from the federal government, so they will not be beholden to any one party in their decision-making. He also points out that they are liable to be impeached if their behavior violates the law. He further explains that since they are appointed for life, it guarantees that they will be experienced, which does justice to the kinds of people who agree to serve their country as judges.
Number 80 has to do with the jurisdiction of the federal judiciary, and in it Hamilton explains why the federal courts are given jurisdiction in cases involving treaties, maritime cases, cases involving the federal government, cases between states, and others. In this essay, Hamilton anticipates how important the federal courts will be. In the next essay, he argues for the propriety of creating "inferior courts" in addition to the Supreme Court, which was the only court explicitly created by the Constitution. He discusses, in light of the arguments of the previous essay, the reasons why federal courts should be established in districts encompassing each of the states. This is in response to the fears voiced by many Anti-Federalists that the federal courts would make the state courts obsolete.
Essay number 82 addresses several issues, but the most important is establishing when concurrent, or shared jurisdiction, would exist between the states and the federal courts. He imagines scenarios in which cases might be appealed from the state courts to the federal courts, and makes clear that the question of whether federal courts would have original or only appellate (on appeal) jurisdiction was still undecided at the Constitution Convention.
https://www.congress.gov/resources/display/content/The+Federalist+Papers

Why does Machiavelli liken Fortune to a woman?

In the minds of most Renaissance writers, as well as the classical writers they emulated, Fortune, or "Fortuna," was gendered female. In fact, Fortuna was the Roman goddess of luck and chance, a fact of which Machiavelli, a classicist through and through, was keenly aware. So Machiavelli is by no means being original, nor notably sexist, by referring to Fortune with a feminine pronoun. Like most of his contemporaries, Machiavelli would have believed that women were more fickle, spiteful, and irrational than men. This belief, which of course is part and parcel of a patriarchal society, is probably why the Romans associated fortune with the feminine. Machiavelli, though, takes this gendered view of fortune much further:

Fortune is a woman, and if you wish to keep her under it is necessary to beat and ill-use her; and it is seen that she allows herself to be mastered by the adventurous rather than by those who go to work more coldly. She is, therefore, always, woman-like, a lover of young men, because they are less cautious, more violent, and with more audacity command her.

The misogynistic attitude expressed in this passage is a direct consequence of Machiavelli's understanding of fortune, which he views as a destructive, almost evil, force that can nevertheless be restrained through force. Elsewhere in this chapter, he compares fortune to a flood that destroys everything, and he points to examples of leaders who did not wait for fortune to bring them to their knees, but rather took bold action to assert their will. It reveals much about contemporary attitudes about gender that he drew parallels between this aggressive approach and a man's relationship with a woman.
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/machiavelli/

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1232/1232-h/1232-h.htm

To Machiavelli, fortune or luck, like a woman, is fickle: it is unreliable and changeable. You can't depend on it. It will betray you.
Machiavelli is leaning into some unfortunate Renaissance stereotypes about women—the same stereotypes that led Othello to kill Desdemona in Shakespeare's Othello. Women in that time period were often regarded by men as unfaithful, a stereotype that had more to do with men's projections and misunderstandings of women than with women themselves. Nevertheless, Machiavelli uses the comparison because he expects men to understand it in a personal way: the light bulb should turn on in their minds as they grasp fortune's likeness to women.
"Fortune," in this period, was often depicted as a wheel, hence the term "wheel of fortune." It was ever turning, so that even if a person was on the top today, eventually the wheel would crush him as it turned. Machiavelli, therefore, advises princes not to think their fortune will last forever, but to take precautions and work to hedge their bets as far as possible. Just as a man should try to control a woman rather than take chances with her unpredictable nature, so should a prince cautiously treat fortune.

In chapter 25 of The Prince Machiavelli infamously describes fortune as being like a woman. Fortune is a very important concept for Machiavelli; it's crucial for a successful ruler to learn how to master it. That's not to say that fortune can ever be controlled any more than you can control a river. But just as you can divert the course of a river or build a dam to prevent it from causing flooding, so too can the potentially damaging consequences of fortune be mitigated by taking wise precautions.
In doing so, it's always better to be bold rather than timid. After all, fortune favors the brave, as they say. Adopting such an approach does not guarantee success, of course, but it does increase one's chances. Fortune was often portrayed in Renaissance art as a female figure, forever spinning her wheel (the wheel of fortune, no less). At that time, the prevailing attitude towards women was completely at odds with what's considered acceptable today. Then, it was widely believed that women were physically and intellectually weaker than men and therefore needed to be kept firmly under the control of their husbands, brothers, and fathers. Fortune, according to Machiavelli, must be treated the exact same way.

Calculus: Early Transcendentals, Chapter 9, 9.3, Section 9.3, Problem 12

This is differential equation with separable variables. We can separate the variables by putting y on the left side and dx to right side to get
int y dy=int (ln x)/x dx (1)
This looks like we multiplied the whole equation by y dx but that is not really the case. If you want to learn more about theory behind this I would suggest you read
W. E. Boyce, R. C. DiPrima, Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems
or some other book on ordinary differential equations.
Now back to solving the equation by integrating. Let us first integrate the right side because it is harder.
int ln x/x dx=
We make substitution t=ln x=>dx/x=dt
int t dt=t^2/2=(ln^2x)/2+C
Now we return to (1).
y^2/2=(ln^2x)/2+C
y^2=ln^2x+C
y=pm sqrt(ln^2x+C)
Now we use initial condition y(1)=2.
2=pm sqrt(ln^2 1+C)
2=pm sqrt C
Obviously there is no solution for minus sign.
C=4
Therefore, the solution is y=sqrt(ln^2x+4)

What does Romeo tell the Nurse to have Juliet do that afternoon?

In act 2, scene 4, the Nurse meets up with Romeo, who tells her to relay an important message to Juliet. Romeo tells the Nurse to let Juliet know that she needs to devise a plan to leave her home and visit Friar Lawrence's cell in the afternoon. Romeo then tells the Nurse that Friar Lawrence will marry them in secret once Juliet arrives. After Romeo gives the Nurse some coins to relay his important message, he tells the Nurse that one of his men will stop by the Capulet home and deliver a rope ladder to her in secret. Romeo plans on climbing the rope ladder into Juliet's bedroom that night in order to consummate their marriage. In the following scene, the Nurse relays Romeo's message to Juliet and tells her to immediately travel to Friar Lawrence's cell to get married while she retrieves the rope ladder from Romeo's men.

Can social reality be interpreted objectively?

John R. Searle in The Construction of Social Reality makes a distinction between "institutional facts" and "brute facts." The brute facts of the physical universe such as the distance between the earth and sun or the speed of light exist independent even of human existence.
Institutional facts are agreed on by convention. Thus whether, for example, someone is the citizen of a country or whether a couple is considered as married under the laws of a particular country is an institutional fact, dependent on a legal context.
Nevertheless, there is an objective component to many such facts. Either a couple is or is not married under a certain legal system, independent of whether, for example, they deeply love each other or feel a great deal of emotional closeness over an extended period. Similarly, someone born and raised in a country, who may emotionally be quite patriotic and assimilated to a country's culture may not be a legal citizen.
Many social reform movements such as ones concerning gay marriage or DACA focus on this disconnect between an emotional truth and an objective one concerning institutional facts.

Many anthropologists believe that it is not possible to objectively perceive a culture (especially one’s own culture) that exists within the world we also inhabit. We are inevitably influenced by our own sociocultural reality; it is the only reality we could possibly know, for our very subjectivities have been shaped by this reality, and collectively we are responsible for the continual creation and maintenance of this reality. In other words, if reality is socioculturally constructed, we are necessarily the constructors, and therefore bias is inescapable. James Faubion’s thoughts about freedom in Anthropology of Ethics offer a way of understanding this inevitable entrapment within a culturally constructed reality and the possibility of freedom from this structure. Faubion suggests that as social scientists, our best shot at freedom (or objectivity) is to always think critically about the fact of our limitations, to at least acknowledge our culturally constructed reality and the biases that accompany it.
http://aotcpress.com/articles/ethical-subjects-freedom-constraint-anthropology-morality/

What are your thoughts on the cost of food, types of food, and availability of family meals in different countries. What are the similarities/differences. What does this say about businesses internationally?

The family in Italy spends about 39% of its income on food, while the family in Mexico spends about 58% of its yearly income on food. Interestingly, according to the photos, the types of food they eat are somewhat similar. Both families—that in Sicily and that in Italy—eat a lot of processed foods (cereals and canned foods, for example). They also drink what appear to be sodas and eat a lot of carbohydrates in the form of bread. The family in Mexico appears to have more produce as part of their meals. This means that family meals in both countries are somewhat similar.
The similarity of the meals between the two families suggests that international food businesses have been effective at marketing their products around the globe. For example, both families appear to eat American breakfast cereals and to consume American sodas. International businesses have been so effective at changing local food patterns that family meals in different parts of the world are similar. Though eating locally made products might be less expensive, families will apparently still buy products that are marketed commercially, as these products seem desirable (perhaps particularly to children). International businesses have been effective at getting people to buy their products, even if these products are expensive in some markets. 

How do you separate sodium chloride, ammonium chloride, and sand?

Ammonium chloride, sodium chloride, and sand can be separated from each other by using the following steps:
1) Sublimation for separation of ammonium chloride:
Ammonium chloride undergoes sublimation at a temperature of about 337.6 degrees Celsius and forms ammonia gas and hydrogen chloride gas. We can heat the mixture at this temperature and collect the gases that are produced to separate ammonium chloride from the mixture.
2) Water dissolution, filtration, and evaporation:
Sodium chloride is easily soluble in water, while sand does not dissolve in water. To separate out sodium chloride from sand, one can dissolve the mixture of sodium chloride and sand (left over after step 1 for ammonium chloride separation) in water. Heating and stirring will speed up the process of sodium chloride dissolution in water. The sand will settle down at the bottom of the container and can be filtered out from the liquid phase, using a filter paper, piece of cloth, etc. Finally, the sodium chloride can be obtained by evaporating the water from the liquid phase (water containing sodium chloride in it) by boiling it at 100 degrees Celsius. 
Hope this helps. 

Why do you think Morrison would choose to include racial slurs when telling the story of how the hilltop town of Medallion came to be called "The Bottom"?

Morrison may have chosen to include the racial slurs to underline how pervasive racism was in her time. The unofficial name of Medallion (The Bottom) was actually derived from sophistry and deception; essentially, "The Bottom" was a cruel joke played by a white farmer on his slave.
According to Morrison, a white farmer had promised his slave freedom and a piece of bottom land if he consented to perform some very difficult chores. Bottom land is a reference to the fertile land of the valleys (as opposed to hilly land). However, the white farmer pretended that the hilly land was actually bottom land (or valley land). Unwilling to part with the fertile land he owned, the farmer tricked his slave into believing that the hilly land he was giving him was essentially good land. He even reiterated his lie by asserting that the hilly land was the bottom of Heaven and "the best land there is."
However, the slave soon discovered the lie when he tried to farm the hilly land, where "planting was backbreaking, where the soil slid down and washed away the seeds, and where the wind lingered all through the winter." So, the racial slurs Morrison mentioned underlines how the slave was played for a fool by the white farmer. It also highlights the themes of suffering and betrayal in the novel.

 
 

What are two characteristics of the medieval period?

Of course there were many things that characterized the Medieval Period. The two that might distinguish the period the most are the dominance of the Catholic Church and the institution of feudalism.
Throughout the medieval period, nearly everyone in Western Europe was Catholic. This was before the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth Century and the split of many factions of the Church. There were notable populations of Jews scattered around the continent, Muslims in Spain, and Eastern Orthodox Christians in the east. However, the Catholic Church held dominance over most of Europe and Europeans.
The pope often held more power than even monarchs. A king who disobeyed the wishes of the Church often did so at great risk. For instance, when King Henry IV of the Holy Roman Empire disagreed with the pope he found himself in a dire situation. When an argument arose over who had the power to appoint local clergy, Pope Gregory VII demonstrated his authority by excommunicating the king and announcing that Henry's subjects were no longer under his rule. King Henry's excommunication was only revoked after he begged the pope for forgiveness.
The Church held sway over kings and peasants alike. It was a truly religious time. Laws of states were usually in accordance with the Church's biblical interpretations. The belief in heaven, hell, and salvation was very real. The Church used its influence during the medieval period to become the richest and most powerful institution in Europe.
In addition to the role of the Church, the medieval period was also dominated by feudalism. Feudalism was the hierarchy structure in which land and power was divided and shared. Feudalism is often described as a pyramid. The monarch was at the top. He (and sometimes she) owned all the land in the kingdom. To manage this land, the king divided parcels of the kingdom, or fiefs, among his nobles. In return for the land and the privilege of noble rank, the nobles payed taxes to the monarch and supported him politically and militarily. These nobles then divided up their fiefs among lower-ranking nobles and so forth.
Feudalism placed a strict hierarchy on medieval society. Monarchs owned the land, but it was managed by nobles. Knights, who were usually lower-ranking nobles promised to serve the nobles and king on whose land they managed. To work the land, peasants and serfs toiled in the fields. They paid taxes, usually in the form of a percentage of the harvest, to nobles. These nobles, in turn, allowed the peasants to live and work on their land and protected them during times of war.
http://www.lhschools.org/Downloads/Gregory%20vs%20Henry.pdf

What is the tone of the poem "I taste a liquor never brewed" by Emily Dickinson?

The tone of the poem "I taste a liquor never brewed" by Emily Dickinson is rapturous. However, although the poet seems to be describing the rapturous feeling experienced with intoxication or inebriation by alcoholic liquor, this state is in fact brought on by observance of nature.

When people drink alcoholic beverages and become drunk, they may feel dizzy and euphoric as a result of the effects of the alcohol. Dickinson uses this as a metaphor to describe the natural rapturous effect of being in the midst of nature. The "liquor never brewed" does not have to be made, because it occurs naturally. "Inebriate of air" means that the poet becomes inebriated or drunk just by breathing in fresh air. A "debauchee" is someone addicted to excess, such as excess of alcohol; "reeling" means swaying back and forth as if dizzy through drunkenness. A "tippler" is someone who drinks too much liquor. Additionally, the poet writes of observances of bees and butterflies causing her to "drink the more"—in other words, to open her senses more to the wonders of nature. All of these expressions reinforce the tone of rapturous intoxication that suffuses the poem.

The tone of "I taste a liquor never brewed" is that of mystical ecstasy. The narrator compares the joy of a summer's day to the joy of being drunk. In the second stanza, she calls herself "an inebriate of the air," meaning she has become drunk from drinking in air. The other words in this stanza, including "debauchee" and "reeling," also convey the sense of utter enjoyment that the narrator experiences in nature. The tone is also mystical because the narrator is so exhilarated by nature that she acquires the supernatural ability to drink more than the bees and butterflies. In addition, in the final stanza, the narrator says that she will continue to drink from the sun even as the angels and saints rush to the windows to see her, adding to the mystical tone of the poem.

What are some details in "Father Malloy"?

"Father Malloy" is one of the few poems in Spoon River Anthology that is not narrated in the first person by its central character. As a result, the use of detail by the poem's unnamed narrator becomes crucial in establishing who Father Malloy was in life.
One significant detail is that Father Malloy is not buried in the cemetery on the hill with most of Spoon River's residents, but rather at a Catholic cemetery, indicating a religious divide between himself and the predominantly Protestant community. The fact that he is referred to as "Father Malloy," as well as the references to St. Peter at the end of the poem, confirms this, establishing an apparent conflict between himself and many of his fellow citizens.
However, Father Malloy's response to this divide is also a critical detail. For example, we are told that the Father evidently did not see religious differences as a reason to isolate himself. He spent time in fellowship with residents by "taking a friendly glass sometimes" and did not seem to ascribe to the piousness one might expect from someone in his position. In fact, he exhibited a sincerity about his faith and his enjoyment of life that the town seemed to find refreshing from "the coldness and dreariness of village morality."
One of the most memorable details used in the poem occurs when the speaker describes Father Malloy as "like a traveler who brings a little box of sand / From the wastes about the pyramids / And makes them real and Egypt real." Father Malloy's background, rather than serving as a dividing factor, instead allows him to bring new knowledge to the town's spirituality, as well as a new appreciation for life in general. It is also important to note that Father Malloy even seems to have almost persuaded some people in Spoon River to become Catholic because of his joy and love of people: "Some of us almost came to you, Father Malloy / Seeing how your church had divined the heart / And provided for it."
In short, the key to farming this poem for details is discovering how Edgar Lee Masters develops this character and what elements of the poem reveal something about who he is. Try reading the poem again with this basic character description in mind and see what other phrases strike you as significant.
https://www.bartleby.com/84/187.html

Beginning Algebra With Applications, Chapter 7, 7.2, Section 7.2, Problem 90

Simplify $\displaystyle 5a^2 b (ab^2)^2 + b^3 (2a^2 b)^2$


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

5a^2 b (ab^2)^2 + b^3 (2a^2 b)^2 =& 5a^2 b \left( a^2 b^4 \right) + b^3 (2)^2 \left( a^4 b^2 \right)
&& \text{Multiply each exponent in $ab^2$ and in $2a^2 b$ by the exponent outside the parentheses}
\\
\\
=& 5a^2 b \left( a^2 b^4 \right) + b^3 \left( 4a^4 b^2 \right)
&& \text{Simplify } (2)^2
\\
\\
=& 5 \left( a^2 \cdot a^2 \right) (b \cdot b^4) + 4 (a^4) \left( b^3 \cdot b^2 \right)
&& \text{Use Properties of Multiplication to rearrange and group factors}
\\
\\
=& 5a^4 b^5 + 4a^4 b^5
&& \text{Multiply variables with the same base by adding the exponents}
\\
\\
=& 9a^4 b^5
&&

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$

What are the reasons for leaving the EU?

I am assuming that you are referring to the reasons that many people in the UK gave for voting to leave the European Union on June 23, 2016, a.k.a. Brexit. If not, we can still look at Brexit as a case example of why any country might want to withdraw from the European Union.
There were a number of reasons UK citizens gave for voting to leave. The most common one was a desire to limit immigration into the UK. Over the last decade or so, millions of people immigrated to the United Kingdom under the freedom of movement allowances that membership in the EU allows. Those who felt that too many immigrants from other EU nations were coming into the UK unchecked tended to vote to leave the European Union so that their country could institute its own controls over who gets to cross its borders.
A desire to stop paying membership fees to the EU is another reason why some might want to withdraw from the EU. The UK paid £13.1 billion to the EU in 2016 alone. Some saw this as a large and disproportional payment of a nation's capital when smaller nations pay much less.
The ability to control its own imports and exports is another often cited reason for withdrawal from the European Union. The EU is a large "single-market," and trade within the EU does not incur any tariffs. Some feel that by withdrawing from this market, a nation would be better able to take control of trade so as to specifically benefit itself. It should be noted that many economists see little validity in this argument.
A less tangible, but still important argument has to do with the issue of national sovereignty. Being a member of the European Union means that a certain degree of the decisions that affect a country are made by people of other nationalities. Many nationalists feel that withdrawing from the EU means taking back control of their country's affairs.
https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2017/04/29/explaining-britains-vote-to-leave-the-eu

https://www.theweek.co.uk/brexit-0

College Algebra, Chapter 4, Chapter Review, Section Review, Problem 76

Analyze the graph of the rational function $\displaystyle r(x) = \frac{2x^3 - x^2}{x + 1}$ by using a graphing device. Find all $x$ and $y$ intercepts and all vertical, horizontal and slant asymptotes. If the function has no horizontal or slant asymptote, find a polynomial that has the same end as the rational function.







Based from the graph, the $x$ intercepts are and $0.5$ On the other hand, the value of $y$ intercept is . Also, the vertical asymptote is $x = -1$. More over, since the degree of the numerator is greater than the degree in the denominator by a factor of $2$, then the rational function has no horizontal or slant asymptote. Thus by applying long division,







Hence, if $\displaystyle r(x) = \frac{2x^3 - x^2}{x + 1} = 2x^2 - 3x + 3 - \frac{3}{x + 1}$

Then, the polynomial $f(x) = 2x^2 - 3x + 3$ has the same end behavior as the given rational function.

How is George Orwell's Animal Farm an example of an allegorical story?

George Orwell's novella Animal Farm is considered an allegorical tale because all of the characters and events in the story symbolically represent various people, places, and events that correspond to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the early years of the Soviet Union under the leadership of Josef Stalin. Old Major symbolically represents Karl Marx or Vladimir Lenin and the school of thought known as Animalism represents Communism. Snowball represents Leon Trotsky, while Napoleon's character represents Josef Stalin. At the beginning of the story, Mr. Jones is expelled from his farm, which symbolically represents the initial Russian Revolution when Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate. The Battle of the Cowshed represents the infighting during the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922, and the Battle of the Windmill allegorically represents the Battle of Stalingrad.
Other characters in the novella allegorically symbolize groups and aspects of the early Soviet Union. Boxer represents the proletariat workers, while Squealer stands for Stalin's propaganda machine. Molly symbolizes the bourgeoisie, the nine ferocious dogs represent Stalin's secret police force, and Moses allegorically represents the Russian Orthodox church. Overall, Orwell's Animal Farm is an allegorical tale that tells the story of the 1917 Russian Revolution and the early years of the Soviet Union.

What were the primary three reasons for the Spanish to be exploring North America?

The primary three reasons for the Spaniards to be exploring North America (and, by default, Central and South America) stem from imperial ambitions. Spain, like Portugal and other European countries (especially England, France, and the Netherlands), was a seafaring nation. At the time, Spain had begun to set its sights outside of its borders in order to expand trade and gain territory ahead of its chief rivals, namely, the Portuguese. Imperial ambition was the first primary reason. In this spirit, Christopher Columbus sought a western passage to India, so he set sail across the Atlantic—only to find the Americas. Alongside ambition, wealth from land, gold, or silver was on his and other explorers' minds. Gaining wealth was the second primary reason. As Spain made inroads in the "New World," laborers, basically slaves, were needed to build, mine, and cultivate on the scale that Spain (and other countries) envisioned. One way to bring the native population under submission to the explorers and, later, to the colonists, was by converting them to the faith of the colonists: Catholicism. Conversion would lead to obedience; obedience would facilitate labor. So, the third primary reason was spreading the Catholic faith by converting the natives. Officially, this sounded good and reasonable; unofficially, it was an excuse to manipulate the native population to do the bidding of the colonizing power.

How did immigration affect social and economic development in America from 1800 to the twentieth century?

During the 1800s and 1900s, immigrant had a significant social and economic effect on the United States. There were two major immigration waves. There was the Old Immigration wave (1840-1890) and the New Immigration wave (after 1890). Immigrants from northern and western Europe moved to the United States during the old wave and immigrants from southern and eastern Europe moved to the United States during the new wave. Drawn to the United States for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to democracy and economic opportunities, these immigrants brought their unique customs and cultures to the northeastern, southwestern, and western areas of the U.S. The immigrants caused cities to grow. This was largely due to the economic opportunities in large cities such as New York City and Boston. The populations in these cities skyrocketed.
Therefore, the immigrants, including women and children, caused the number of factory workers to proliferate. The immigrants also became carpenters, bricklayers, and street vendors. Thus, immigrants contributed to the spread of industry. Since immigrants often had low-paying jobs, they often had hard city lives. This economic situation affected Americans socially because immigrants from certain ethnic groups tended to work together and cluster together into the same neighborhoods. The immigrants liked to live close to where they worked. Groups such as the Italians and Irish liked to keep their families together and work at the same places. Immigrants in large cities often lived in tenements, which frequently lacked running water. This sanitation situation was often poorly handled. However, settlement homes were formed to help immigrants learn how to communicate in the native language. Teachers had these settlement homes, such as Hull House, also taught immigrant children how to cook and clean.
Sometimes the immigrants were often socially mistreated by nativists groups who harbored prejudices against the immigrants' ways and cultures. The nativists were groups of native-born Americans who desired to keep immigrants, particularly Jews and Catholics, from coming to the United States. Moreover, the nativists sought to keep the Chinese from moving to the United by forcing the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which stopped immigration from China for ten years. The Chinese could do nothing to prevent the passage of this act. However, despite nativist efforts, immigrants largely continued to enter the United States and have effects on the economic and social conditions of the country.

Immigration impacted the social development of the United States. When immigrants came to this country, many settled in ethnic neighborhoods in large cities. In these neighborhoods, they could speak their own language and practice their own customs. By settling in neighborhoods such Little Italy and Chinatown, immigrants could learn about American ways of living from people of their own background, allowing these immigrants to get a foothold in the country while still maintaining some aspects of the culture and tradition from their homeland. Additionally, immigration contributed to the development of the diversity of the country, as people from all parts of the world settled in the United States, bringing with them their unique cultural characteristics.
Immigrants impacted the country economically because many of these immigrants provided a large supply of workers who could work in various jobs. Many immigrants did unskilled or physical labor such as running machines, working in mines, or building railroads. These immigrants added to the supply of available workers, which helped to keep wages lower and enabled these companies to increase their profit levels. Immigrants also helped to increase the demand for products and services, which benefitted American companies as well as the economy.