Single Variable Calculus, Chapter 4, 4.4, Section 4.4, Problem 58

Sketch the curve $y = x^n$ ($n$ an integer) for the following five cases:

i) $n = 0$







ii) $n > 0, n $ odd







iii) $n > 0, n$ even







iv) $n < 0, n$ odd







v) $n < 0, n$ even







Then use these sketches to find the following limits:

a) $\lim_{x \to 0^+} x^n$

Referring to the graphs,

$\lim_{x \to 0^+} x^n = \left\{
\begin{array}{cc}
1 & \text{if } n = 0 \\
0 & \text{if } n > 0, n \text{ is odd} \\
0 & \text{if } n > 0, n \text{ is even} \\
\infty & \text{if } n < 0, n \text{ is odd} \\
\infty & \text{if } n < 0, n \text{ is even}
\end{array}
\right.$

b) $\lim_{x \to 0^-} x^n$

Referring to the graphs,

$\lim_{x \to 0^-} x^n = \left\{
\begin{array}{cc}
1 & \text{if } n = 0 \\
0 & \text{if } n > 0, n \text{ is odd} \\
0 & \text{if } n > 0, n \text{ is even} \\
- \infty & \text{if } n < 0, n \text{ is odd} \\
\infty & \text{if } n < 0, n \text{ is even}
\end{array}
\right.$

c) $\lim_{x \to \infty} x^n$

Referring to the graphs,

$\lim_{x \to \infty} x^n = \left\{
\begin{array}{cc}
1 & \text{if } n = 0 \\
\infty & \text{if } n > 0, n \text{ is odd} \\
\infty & \text{if } n > 0, n \text{ is even} \\
0 & \text{if } n < 0, n \text{ is odd} \\
0 & \text{if } n < 0, n \text{ is even}
\end{array}
\right.$

d) $\lim_{x \to -\infty} x^n$

Referring to the graphs,

$\lim_{x \to - \infty} x^n = \left\{
\begin{array}{cc}
1 & \text{if } n = 0 \\
- \infty & \text{if } n > 0, n \text{ is odd} \\
\infty & \text{if } n > 0, n \text{ is even} \\
0 & \text{if } n < 0, n \text{ is odd} \\
0 & \text{if } n < 0, n \text{ is odd}
\end{array}
\right.$

College Algebra, Chapter 7, 7.4, Section 7.4, Problem 60

A roadside fruit stand sells apples at $75$ cents a pound, peaches at $90$ cents a pound, and pears at $60$ cents a pound. Muriel buys $18$ pounds of fruit at a total cost of $\$ 13.80$. Her peaches and pears together cost $\$ 1.80$ more than her apples.

a.) Set up a linear system for the number of pounds of apples, peaches and pears that she bought.

b.) Solve the system using Cramer's Rule.

a.) Make a linear system for the number of pounds of apples, peaches and pears that she brought.

If we let $x, y$ and $z$ be the number of pounds of apples, peaches and pears, respectively. Then we have

$x + y + z = 18$

In terms of the cost,

$0.75 x + 0.90 y + 0.60z = 13.80$, remember that $100$ cents = $\$ 1$

If the peaches and pears together, cost $\$ 1.80$ more than the apples, then we have

$0.90y + 0.60z = 1.80 + 0.75x$

Thus, the system is


$
\left\{
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

x + y + z =& 18
\\
0.75x + 0.90y + 0.60z =& 13.80
\\
-0.75x + 0.90y + 0.60z =& 1.80

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
\right.
$


b.) Solve for the system using Cramer's Rule

We can write the system as


$
\left\{
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

x + y + z=&18
&&
\\
75x+90y+60z =& 1380 && 100 \times \text{ Equation 2}
\\
-75x + 90y+60z =& 180
&& 100 \times \text{ Equation 2}

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
\right.
$


For this system we have


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

|D| =& \left| \begin{array}{ccc}
1 & 1 & 1 \\
75 & 90 & 60 \\
-75 & 90 & 60
\end{array} \right|
\\
\\
|D| =& 1 \left| \begin{array}{cc}
90 & 60 \\
90 & 60
\end{array} \right| -1 \left| \begin{array}{cc}
75 & 60 \\
-75 & 60
\end{array} \right| + \left| \begin{array}{cc}
75 & 90 \\
-75 & 90
\end{array} \right|
\\
\\
|D| =& (90 \cdot 60 - 60 \cdot 90) - (75 \cdot 60 - 60 \cdot (-75)) + (75 \cdot 90 - 90 \cdot (-75))
\\
\\
|D| =& 4500
\\
\\
|D_x| =& \left| \begin{array}{ccc}
18 & 1 & 1 \\
1380 & 90 & 60 \\
180 & 90 & 60
\end{array} \right|
\\
\\
|D_x| =& 18 \left| \begin{array}{cc}
90 & 60 \\
90 & 60
\end{array} \right| - 1 \left| \begin{array}{cc}
1380 & 60 \\
180 & 60
\end{array} \right| + 1 \left| \begin{array}{cc}
1380 & 90 \\
180 & 90
\end{array} \right|
\\
\\
|D_x| =& 18 (90 \cdot 60 - 60 \cdot 90) - (1380 \cdot 60 - 60 \cdot 180) + (1380 \cdot 90 - 90 \cdot 180)
\\
\\
|D_x| =& 36,000
\\
\\
|D_y| =& \left| \begin{array}{ccc}
1 & 18 & 1 \\
75 & 1380 & 60 \\
-75 & 180 & 60
\end{array} \right|
\\
\\
|D_y| =& 1 \left| \begin{array}{cc}
1380 & 60 \\
180 & 60
\end{array} \right| - 18 \left| \begin{array}{cc}
75 & 60 \\
-75 & 60
\end{array} \right| + 1 \left| \begin{array}{cc}
75 & 60 \\
-75 & 60
\end{array} \right|
\\
\\
|D_y| =& (1380 \cdot 60 - 60 \cdot 180) - 18 (75 \cdot 60 - 60 \cdot (-75)) + (75 \cdot 60 - 60 \cdot (-75))
\\
\\
|D_y| =& 27,000
\\
\\
|D_z| =& \left| \begin{array}{ccc}
1 & 1 & 18 \\
75 & 90 & 1380 \\
-75 & 90 & 180
\end{array} \right|
\\
\\
|D_z| =& 1 \left| \begin{array}{cc}
90 & 1380 \\
90 & 180
\end{array} \right| - 1 \left| \begin{array}{cc}
75 & 1380 \\
-75 & 180
\end{array} \right| + 18 \left| \begin{array}{cc}
75 & 90 \\
-75 & 90
\end{array} \right|
\\
\\
|D_z| =& 18,000

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$


The solution is


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

x =& \frac{|D_x|}{|D|} = \frac{36000}{4500} = 8
\\
\\
y =& \frac{|D_y|}{|D|} = \frac{27000}{4500} = 6
\\
\\
z =& \frac{|D_z|}{|D|} = \frac{18000}{4500} = 4

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$


This means that Muriel buys 8 pounds of apples, 6 pounds of peaches and 4 pounds of pears.

Based upon the Preface, Introduction, and chapters 1-4 of Ian Haney López's Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class.Discuss how Nixon used race when running for president and serving as president.

When Richard Nixon realized in 1968 that he was losing Republican support to George Wallace, who was running as an American Independent Party candidate, he "opted to tack right on race," as Lopez writes. 
Nixon made a "backroom deal" with Senator Strom Thurmond from South Carolina, a strong segregationist who had supported Goldwater. He secretly promised the senator that if he were elected, he would restrict school desegregation. Once he was elected, as promised, President Nixon took a stand against "forced busing," in which children were bused sometimes up to an hour's trip across a city to another school in order to establish integration.Lopez further claims that Nixon took a racial stand when he "hammer[ed] away at the issue of law and order" ("dog whistle") as Southerners protested against racial activists as "lawbreakers" since they violated Jim Crow statutes.

Dismissing these protesters as criminals shifted the issue from a defense of white supremacy to a more neutral-seeming concern with "order" while simultaneously stripping the activists of moral stature.

With the issue of law and order at the forefront, there was, then, justification for making arrests of the civil rights activists for "trespassing and delinquency." So, by using the "dog whistle" phrases, "forced busing," "law and order," and "protection from unrest" Nixon was able to subliminally appeal to the anti-black voters. 
When George Romney, Nixon's secretary of housing and urban development planned to integrate the suburbs by cutting federal funds to any community that refused to integrate, his plan was arrested by President Nixon, who declared that forced integration was not in the "national interest." Lopez comments, "That dog whistle blasted like the shriek of an onrushing train."
https://books.google.com/books?id=cZe1AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA15&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=2

f(x)=3/(3x+4) ,c=0 Find a power series for the function, centered at c and determine the interval of convergence.

A power series centered at c=0 is follows the formula:
sum_(n=0)^oo a_nx^n = a_0+a_1x+a_2x^2+a_3x^3+...
The given function f(x)= 3/(3x+4) resembles the power series:
(1+x)^k = sum_(n=0)^oo (k(k-1)(k-2)...(k-n+1))/(n!) x ^n
or
(1+x)^k = 1+kx +(k(k-1))/(2!)x^2+(k(k-1)(k-2))/(3!)x^3+(k(k-1)(k-2)(k-3))/(4!)x^4+...
For better comparison, we let 3x+4 = 4 ((3x)/4 + 1) . The function becomes:
f(x)= 3/4 ((3x)/4 + 1)
Apply Law of exponents: 1/x^n = x^(-n) .
f(x)= 3/4((3x)/4 + 1)^(-1)
 
Apply the aforementioned formula for power series on  ((3x)/4 + 1)^(-1) , we may replace "x" with "(3x)/4 " and "k " with "-1 ". We let:
 (1+(3x)/4)^(-1) = sum_(n=0)^oo (-1(-1-1)(-1-2)...(-1-n+1))/(n!) ((3x)/4) ^n
 =sum_(n=0)^oo (-1(-2)(-3)...(-1-n+1))/(n!)((3x)/4) ^n
 =1+(-1)((3x)/4) +(-1(-2))/(2!)((3x)/4)^2+(-1(-2)(-3))/(3!)((3x)/4)^3+(-1(-2)(-3)(-4)/(4!)((3x)/4)^4+...
=1-(3x)/4 +(2)/2((3x)/4)^2- 6/6((3x)/4)^3+24/24((3x)/4)^4+...
=1-(3x)/4 +((3x)/4)^2- ((3x)/4)^3+((3x)/4)^4+...
=1-(3x)/4 +(9x^2)/16- (27x^3)/64+(81x^4)/256+...
Applying (1+(3x)/4)^(-1) =1-(3x)/4 +(9x^2)/16- (27x^3)/64+(81x^4)/256+...  we get:
3/4((3x)/4 + 1)^(-1)= 3/4*[1-(3x)/4 +(9x^2)/16- (27x^3)/64+(81x^4)/256+...]
                      =3/4-(9x)/16 +(27x^2)/64- (81x^3)/256+(243x^4)/1024+...
                     = sum_(n=0)^oo (-1)^n(3/4)^(n+1)x^n
The power series of the function f(x)=3/(3x+4) centered at c=0 is:
3/(3x+4)=sum_(n=0)^oo (-1)^n(3/4)^(n+1)x^n
or 
3/(3x+4)=3/4-(9x)/16 +(279x^2)/64- (81x^3)/256+(243x^4)/1024+...
To determine the interval of convergence, we may apply geometric series test wherein the series sum_(n=0)^oo a*r^n  is convergent if |r|lt1  or -1 ltrlt 1 . If |r|gt=1 then the geometric series diverges.
Applying (3/4)^(n+1) = (3/4)^n * (3/4) on the series sum_(n=0)^oo (-1)^n(3/4)^(n+1)x^n , we get:
sum_(n=0)^oo (-1)^n(3/4)^n(3/4)x^n =sum_(n=0)^oo(3/4) (-(3x)/4)^n
By comparing sum_(n=0)^oo(3/4) (-(3x)/4)^n with  sum_(n=0)^oo a*r^n , we determine:r =-(3x)/4 .
Apply the condition for convergence of geometric series: |r|lt1 .
|-(3x)/4|lt1
|-1| *|(3x)/4|lt1
1 *|(3x)/4|lt1
|(3x)/4|lt1
-1lt(3x)/4lt1
Multiply each sides by 4/3 :
-1*4/3lt(3x)/4*4/3lt1*4/3
-4/3 ltxlt4/3
Check the convergence at endpoints that may satisfy |(3x)/4|=1 .
Let x=-4/3 on sum_(n=0)^oo(3/4) (-(3x)/4)^n , we get:
sum_(n=0)^oo(3/4) (-3/4*-4/3)^n=sum_(n=0)^oo(1)^n
Using geometric series test,  the  r =1 satisfy |r| gt=1 . Thus, the series diverges at x=-4/3 .
 Let x=4/3 on sum_(n=0)^oo(3/4) (-(3x)/4)^n , we get:
 sum_(n=0)^oo(3/4) (-3/4*4/3)^n=sum_(n=0)^oo(-1)^n
 Using geometric series test,  the r =-1 satisfy |r| gt=1 . Thus, the series diverges at x=-4/3 .
 Thus, the power series sum_(n=0)^oo (-1)^n(3/4)^(n+1)x^n has an interval of convergence: -4/3 ltxlt4/3 .

How does Atticus define rape?

In chapter 12 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout learns from Calpurnia that Tom is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. When Scout asks what rape is, Calpurnia advises Scout to ask Atticus because he can answer that question better than she can. In chapter 14, while in town, Scout and Jem hear a man say, "They c'n go loose and rape up the countryside for all 'em who run this country care." This comment reminds Scout of her question for Atticus. That night, she asks Atticus, "What's rape?" With a sigh, Atticus informs her that rape is "carnal knowledge of a female by force and without consent."
Atticus is typically straightforward in his conversations with his children. He believes in being truthful. However, while he does provide an honest answer for Scout, it is a response that is intended to satisfy her need for an answer without providing too much information. Scout clearly does not understand Atticus's definition, but it seems to be enough. Scout responds with, "Well if that's all it is why did Calpurnia dry me up when I asked her what it was?" The conversation immediately changes direction when Atticus learns that the children attended church with Calpurnia.

How does the book Of Love and Shadows compare to Isabel Allende's life experiences?

There are many similarities between author Isabel Allende's life experiences and the events she depicts in her book Of Love and Shadows. In this response, I will touch on a few key examples that demonstrate these parallels.
Isabel Allende and the Personal Costs of Political Violence in Chile
The novel Of Love and Shadows depicts the horrors of political violence, including an assassination that plays an important role in the plot. Unfortunately, this portrayal of political violence and how it can devastate a family certainly has connections to the author's own life experiences. Allende was forced to leave Chile after her uncle, the socialist Chilean president Salvador Allende, was assassinated. After this brutal murder, she feared for her own life and the lives of her husband and children.
Isabel Allende's Former Career as a Journalist
Another connection between Isabel Allende's life and the plot of her novel Of Love and Shadows is the profession of the main character, Irene Beltrán. Irene works as a reporter. Her job leads her to make dangerous discoveries relating to the nation's death squads. In her own life, Allende had established a successful career as a journalist while living in Chile. However, once she moved to Venezuela, she found it difficult to fund her journalistic work.
http://isabelallende.com/en/book/love/summary

https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/latin-american-literature-biographies/isabel-allende

When looking at the plot of the novel and Allende’s life in Chile during the military coup led by Pinochet in 1973, readers can draw definite parallels between Isabel Allende and Irene. Both Irene and Isabel are (or were) journalists during this turbulent time in Chilean history. Also, Irene comes from an affluent family, but her mother is left impoverished after her father leaves. Similar to Irene, Isabel Allende comes from an affluent family. Isabel’s father was a diplomat and left her mother when Isabel was just two years old. Alone and without any money, Isabel’s mother returned to Chile to live with her parents. Lastly, both Irene and Isabel are (or were) forced to flee Chile for fear of being imprisoned or killed by the Pinochet regime because their work supported the opposition.

Describe how Moby Dick is a symbol in the novel Moby Dick:

Moby Dick’s symbolic meaning is hard to pin down, and the indeterminateness of it is in large part the point of Melville’s novel. There are a few things we can say for sure:
Moby Dick is, firstly, the object of Ahab’s vengeance. The whale bit off his leg, and in so doing represents for Ahab the essential hostility of nature towards man.
Alternatively, Moby Dick represents the blankness or indifference of nature towards man. That is, while Ahab may seek vengeance on the whale, the whale itself doesn’t know anything about Ahab.
The whale can be seen as an avatar of God or some divine power. In this case, Ahab’s revenge is more cosmic in scope; his quarrel is with God, not the whale.
The whale can be seen as symbolic of a certain lack of meaning – however much we want to assign significance to reality, the whale symbolizes how “inscrutable” reality truly is.
And so forth. Some key chapters to look at where this idea of symbolism is developed are “The Whiteness of the Whale,” Chapter 42, or “The Quarterdeck,” Chapter 36. Good luck!

Discuss how Williams presents the primary theme of decay in the play Sweet Bird of Youth.

In Sweet Bird of Youth, the theme of decay is embodied in Heavenly, whose unnamed disease is apparently an STD passed to her by Chance. While his nostalgic belief in her purity is one reason for his return to town, instead she has been physically declining following the surgery.
Chance’s declining good looks and possibilities in life also express decay, as does the Princess, who is terrified of contemplating the end of her own life.
The overall theme of moral decay is conveyed through other characters as related to happenings in the town. As Tom Junior moves toward castrating and perhaps killing Chance, the castration of a local African American man is revealed. Boss Finley, who tries to take the moral high road with his daughter, is a symptom of the decay through his hypocrisy in keeping a mistress and his political endorsement of purity of blood.

There are numerous examples of this theme throughout the play. The protagonist, Chance Wayne, was once a high-school jock and drama star who thought he could make it big in the movies. But he failed, and instead he's ended up as a gigolo to an alcoholic, has-been film star called Alexandra Del Lago. He's desperately trying to recapture his youth while his soul and his looks decay.
Alexandra in turn also personifies the theme of decay. Once upon a time, she was a big Hollywood star, but she quit the movies when her looks started to fade, and since then has thrown herself into a self-destructive lifestyle of booze, drugs, and loveless sex.
Then there's Chance's high school sweetheart, Heavenly Finley. Her soul has been in decay ever since she slept with Chance and he gave her a sexually-transmitted disease (which led to physical decay). Just like Chance's youthful looks and popularity, and Alexandra's former stardom, Heavenly's virginity is something she'll never get back no matter how many times she puts on a white dress.

What importance does the life raft serve in Summer of My German Soldier?

In the story, Ruth is characterized as Patty's life raft. To Patty, Ruth (the family housekeeper) represents love, loyalty, and courage. She is the one constant in Patty's life.
Ruth is also the only one who visits Patty at the reform school. In discussing her parents, Patty is devastated when she discovers that her mother is indifferent to her fate. She begs Ruth to tell her what is wrong with her and why she is always getting into trouble. Ruth carefully explains that there's nothing wrong with Patty, and she reassures her that she loves her the way she is.
Ruth tells Patty the truth: that her parents aren't exactly the best parents around. They will always be what Ruth calls "irregular seconds," and she advises Patty to stop hoping that she will receive acceptance and love from them. Eventually, Ruth's visiting hours are up, and she has to leave. In watching her go, Patty imagines that her own "life raft" is "floating away towards the sea."
However, Patty experiences an epiphany as she watches her beloved friend and mentor leave. She thinks that she can see "land" in the distance and finally realizes what life rafts are really for: "taking the shipwrecked, not exactly to the land, but only in view of land. The final mile being theirs alone to swim." Patty comes to appreciate the role of a human "life raft" like Ruth.
In encouraging Patty to finish high school and to go on to college, Ruth has outlined for Patty a way out of her dismal situation. However, Ruth's encouragement and support can only go so far; it will be up to Patty to steer her own path and to work for her own success and eventual freedom. In this, the importance of a life raft cannot be underestimated: Ruth's support will enable Patty to see the possibilities in her life and to succeed in her attempts to break free.

g(t) = ln(t)/t^2 Find the derivative of the function.

g(t)=ln(t)/t^2
Find the derivative of the function using the quotient rule.
g'(t)={t^2[1/t]-ln(t)[2t]}/t^4
g'(t)=[t-2tln(t)]/t^4
g'(t)=(t(1-2ln(t)))/t^4
g'(t)=(1-2ln(t))/t^3
 
The derivative of g(t) is (1-2ln(t))/t^3.
 
 

What role do the telescreens play in the novel? How do they influence Winston’s actions?

The telescreen has the general effect of driving everyone, including Winston, into a state of emotional and mental disarray. At least through the daytime hours, the telescreen never stops blaring, and there is no way of turning it off. (Later, Winston discovers that the Inner Party members such as O'Brien are the only ones allowed the privilege of shutting off the telescreen.) Since the telescreen both transmits and receives, it is impossible for Winston and all Party members to do anything that is not being watched, so Winston is in a constant state of fear that he might inadvertently give himself, and his heretical thoughts, away. The anomaly of his flat is that there is a culvert or niche where he can stay out of view of the telescreen, and it is here that he writes his diary.
Though the Party intends the telescreen as a device of total control, including mind control, it actually does the opposite with Winston. The constant stream of nonsense that comes out of the telescreen, such as the falsified statistics about the production of goods and the "glorious" victories Oceania is achieving in the "war" against either Eurasia or Eastasia, exacerbate Winston's rebelliousness. It's partly because, in his job in the Ministry of Truth, he is engaging in the falsification of documents himself that he realizes the propaganda coming from the telescreen is lies, claptrap. And the obligatory exercise program in the morning increases his resentment. But the most significant fact of all is his knowledge that because of this ubiquitous device, he cannot do anything without the voyeuristic mechanism of the Party seeing and hearing it.
The fact is almost casually stated at one point that "most of the proles did not even have telescreens in their homes." This accords with the Party's ideology that "the proles are not human beings." Oddly, though, it also gives the proles the freedom from being spied on that Winston and others of his status lack. His affair with Julia has to be conducted in places where they can assume there are no telescreens. This is why they must first go to a remote rural spot and then take a room in a slum quarter, not knowing, of course, that the man who rents the room to them, Mr. Charrington, is actually an agent of the Thought Police.
The rural world is presented as the opposite of the poisonous urban environment, as Orwell viewed the real London, even in the peaceful time of the 1930s. Yet this Eden-like countryside turns out to be an illusion. And even without the telescreen watching, Winston knows that at some point his disobedience to the Party will be found out, and he will be punished.
When we see Winston at the close of the novel, after he has been "re-educated" into a Big Brother-worshiping zombie, the telescreen and the news it pours forth are now the only thing he has to live for. He drinks glass after glass of the cheap gin in the Chestnut Tree Cafe and listens and watches eagerly for news of Oceania's victories in the field, paradoxically realizing, as he does so, that the "longed-for bullet" is now entering his head. In being reeducated, he has become one of the dead, just as he and Julia said to each other in their final moment before being arrested by the Thought Police.

I need a summary about "Where the kissing never stops" by Joan Didion please.

This essay follows Joan Baez, a celebrity and recent founder of The School for Non-Violence. A singer and activist, Baez has followers with vague dreams of non-violent activism but is inexperienced and lacks any real grounding in her topic. She is neither an academic, nor a thought leader, nor a cultural leader—Baez is a singer and celebrity, but she has started an institution.
The essay appears in a book called Slouching Towards Bethlehem, which is a line from a W.B. Yeats poem in which the first stanza ends, "The best lack all conviction / while the worst are full of passionate intensity."
This line expresses Baez well, as she is full of an intense desire to make her school viable but attracts followers without much substance. Baez herself seems to lack substance—who is she to start a peace school, anyway? Today, she has stuck with her message and has established herself as a person with gravitas, but at the time of the essay, the "kissing never stops" refers to the peace and free love atmosphere of the group—a little over-the-top.
Baez was the person who began the American chapter of Amnesty International, and Didion (who was as green as Baez when she wrote the essay) went on to become a celebrated essayist who made a good living as a social commentator and a respected writer on cultural topics. Didion does not really approve of Baez or her institution and takes a fairly cynical tack, but Baez has proven herself over the decades.
Joan Baez continues to teach peace and practice it, both personally and professionally. Didion has continued to write. Which is "the best" and which "the worst" is still debatable. The essay still holds up, however, as observation-fueled narrative of a time and place in American life.

"Where the Kissing Never Stops" is an essay from Joan Didion's landmark 1968 essay collection Slouching Towards Bethlehem. The essay originally appeared under a different title, "Just Folks at a School for Non-Violence," in The New York Times Magazine in 1966.
This essay is about the folk singer Joan Baez and her Institute for the Study of Nonviolence in the Carmel Valley. Didion is fiercely critical of her subject, characterizing her, and her attempts at activism, as superficial. In Didion's view, Baez is overly earnest, too emotionally open, and generally ineffective. To quote the author:

Joan Baez was a personality before she was entirely a person, and, like anyone to whom that happens, she is in a sense the hapless victim of what others have seen in her, written about her, wanted her to be and not be.

Why is the author so hard on Baez, we might ask? Didion sees Baez as representative of a larger problem she sees in her home state of California. Indeed, this essay collection is mostly about this very topic: Didion's experiences in California in the 1960s and her critique of the culture there. (In another essay in the collection, Didion writes about a preschool-aged child in San Francisco whose parents give her LSD.)
In Didion's view, California is a place where the sun-dappled outward image hides a darker side. And Baez's institute is a perfect example. As Didion writes:

 [It's] a place where the sun shines and the ambiguities can be set aside a little while longer, a place where everyone can be warm and loving and share confidences.

Californians (like Baez, in this case) appear to be happy and free, but in many cases, they're lost, disconnected from reality. "Where the Kissing Never Stops" focuses on Joan Baez and her institute, but it's best understood within the larger critique that Didion is making in the collection.

How were attitudes towards the Catholic Church changing in the late Middle Ages?

During the late Middle Ages, the influence of the Catholic Church began to dwindle. Many factors included the Black Plague, internal conflicts, and a renewed interest in Greek and Roman literature. People became less reliant on the Church, with some challenging the practices and theology.
Because of the growing literacy that wasn't directly connected to Catholic doctrine, those who were discontent with the Church could now read about other philosophies and gravitate to what resonated the most with them. With the Holy Roman Empire divided, there was no unifying power that could keep each country together. Although the Catholic tradition wasn't completely abandoned, alternate paths began to open for the populace. As Europe was progressing towards a new age, the Church would have many difficulties to face as it struggled to maintain its relevance.
 

1/(x-2)+2=(3x)/(x+2) Solve the equation by using the LCD. Check for extraneous solutions.

LCD is an acronym for least common denominator. It is  the product of distinct factors on the denominator side. Basically, find LCD is the same as finding the LCM (least common multiple) of the denominators.
For the given equation 1/(x-2)+2=(3x)/(x+2) , the denominators are (x-2) and (x+2) . Both are distinct factors.
Thus,
LCD = (x-2)(x+2) or (x^2-4)
To simplify the equation,we multiply each term by the LCD.
1/(x-2)*(x-2)(x+2)+2*(x-2)(x+2)=(3x)/(x+2)*(x-2)(x+2)
Cancel out common factors to get rid of the factor form.
1*(x+2)+2*(x^2-4)=(3x) *(x-2)
Apply distribution property.
x+2+2x^2-8= 3x^2-6x
Combine like terms.
2x^2+x-8+2= 3x^2-6x
2x^2+x-6= 3x^2-6x
Subtract 2x^2 from both sides of the equation.
2x^2+x-6-2x^2= 3x^2-6x-2x^2
x-6= x^2-6x
Subtract x from both sides of the equation.
x-6-x= x^2-6x-x
-6= x^2-7x
Add 6 on both sides of the equation.
-6+6= x^2-7x+6
0 = x^2-7x+6
Apply factoring on the trinomial: x^2-7x+6 .
0 = (x-1)(x-6)
Apply zero-factor property to solve for x by equating each factor to 0.
x-1=0
x-1+1=0+1
x=1
and
x-6=0
x-6+6=0+6
x=6
To check for extraneous solution, plug-in each x on 1/(x-2)+2=(3x)/(x+2) .
 Let x=1 on 1/(x-2)+2=(3x)/(x+2).
1/(1-2)+2=?(3*1)/(1+2)
1/(-1)+2=?3/3
-1+2 =?1
1=1    TRUE
 Let x=6 on 1/(x-2)+2=(3x)/(x+2) .
1/(6-2)+2=?(3*6)/(6+2)
1/4+2=?18/8
1/4+8/4=?9/4
9/4=9/4   TRUE
Therefore, there are no extraneous solutions.
Real exact solutions of the given equation 1/(x-2)+2=(3x)/(x+2) :
x=1 and x=6

In Raising the bar and closing the gap (DuFour, 2010), what evidence of the effectiveness Professional Learning Communities ideas can be seen? If you see no evidence, where might a school begin?

In Raising the Bar and Closing the Gap: Whatever it Takes, the authors argue that professional learning communities (PLCs) can be instrumental in a school's attempts to reach all of its students.  Evidence of this lies in the way leadership teams work with teachers and how time is managed in the course of a day.
DuFour and his team display different examples of evidence of PLC effectiveness in the desire to raise student achievement.  One such instance is seen in chapter three in the discussion of the "educational lottery."  When attempts to reach all of a school's students are not institutionally embedded,   school-wide success decreases.  The authors argue that a PLC is instrumental to student achievement. When initiatives are not widely embraced, then students are subject to the whims of individual teachers.  Some teachers might be practicing techniques and strategies that work. Others might not.  This makes students subject to an "educational lottery" approach, where if they luck into a successful setting, their needs are met.  DuFour and his team's work suggest that the PLC is a vital part in establishing that initiatives meant to help all students should be an ingrained part of the institutional framework in our schools.  When the PLC does this, all students have a greater chance of experiencing student achievement because the PLC is a school-wide approach to speak to all children.
PLC effectiveness is also seen in how time is used in the course of the day. For example, in chapter five, the story of Boones Mill school illustrates how PLCs can assist in creating space in the day to assist academically struggling students.  The PLC helped to establish a portion of a day when students received the intensive instruction they needed.  Teachers were able to offer support because time was created in the course of the day.  This was more advantageous than initiatives offered outside of the school day because it utilized the time that students were already in school.  In this setting, teachers were able to devise individualized approaches to help students.  The PLC was instrumental in utilizing what was already in place, in terms of time, to make a more meaningful experience for the students.
Another similar example of how the PLC helped to use time more effectively was evident in the creation of professional space for teachers.  In chapter 7, the narrative of Lakeridge Junior High School illustrates how a PLC can help support professional learning and articulation.  Teachers found that their weekly scheduled was altered so that they could have more time to communicate with one another.  The creation of this professional space helped to spawn student achievement because teachers could share ideas and had time during the week to embrace authentic collaboration.  Just as with the students at Boones Mill, utilizing time during the school day in a more effective manner illustrated the effectiveness of PLCs in increasing student achievement.

What is the purpose or the main thesis of A Room of One's Own?

The central thesis of A Room of One's Own as it is generally understood is well captured in the title and is only slightly expanded by the often-quoted statement, "A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."
It is clear, however, that Virginia Woolf knew this simple statement was not literally true. The brief history of women's writing she gives in the essay obviously includes Jane Austen who, famously, never had a room of her own, but wrote in a draughty hallway with a creaking-door to warn her when anyone was coming. Jane Austen, moreover, was one of the more privileged female writers. Alice Walker, the American novelist, observes,

Virginia Woolf, in her book A Room of One's Own, wrote that in order for a woman to write fiction she must have two things, certainly: a room of her own (with key and lock) and enough money to support herself. What then are we to make of Phillis Wheatley, a slave, who owned not even herself? (In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose)

One might respond that Phillis Wheatley wrote poetry, not fiction, which may not be subject to exactly the same constraints, but Jane Austen obviously wrote fiction, and it would be absurd to say that Virginia Woolf was unaware that women had written without financial independence and rooms of their own. The more modest but more accurate claim that is substantiated, in particular, by Woolf's remarks on Shakespeare's imagined sister Judith, is that women have labored under much greater difficulties than men in their quest to become writers, and that these difficulties include lack of privacy and lack of independence (though other formidable obstacles, such as the difficulty of accessing education or institutional misogyny, also exist). The chief purpose of the essay is to illustrate and draw attention to these obstacles and suggest how much greater the field of women's literature might be if they were removed.

Virginia Woolf has long been held as one of the most influential modernist writers of the twentieth century. In her book-length essay A Room of One’s Own, Woolf tackles the idea of a woman’s place in literary society and the writing life in general in the face of socio-political and economic forces.
One of her quintessential and oft-cited lines states, “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” This quote captures the simultaneous simplicity and impossibility of women writers to realize their potential within an oppressive, misogynistic society that educated them differently, dismissed their works as fancies, and privileged male writers within the literary canon. While the above-mentioned line has been criticized for leaving out women writers of color and of lower socioeconomic status, the spirit of Woolf’s exploration endears.
By imagining the life of sisterly counterpart to Shakespeare, one which goes unrecognized and ultimately languishes in an unhappy marriage, Woolf shows us the fate of highly intelligent women of society who are kept from realizing their potential. Woolf goes on to highlight the lives and works of major nineteenth-century women novelists, and emphasizes the role of tradition by examining Mary Carmichael’s Life’s Adventure in particular and the state of contemporary literature in general. She then closes with a call to arms to women writers to inspire them to produce their own works and endow future generations with a tradition that can live on.

Single Variable Calculus, Chapter 3, 3.6, Section 3.6, Problem 26

Find an equation of the tangent to the curve $x^2+2xy-y^2+x=2$ at the point $(1,2)$ using Implicit Differentiation.
If $y'= m\text{ (slope)}$ then,
$\displaystyle \frac{d}{dx} (x^2) + \frac{d}{dx} (2xy) - \frac{d}{dx} (y^2) + \frac{d}{dx} (x) = \frac{d}{dx} (2)$

$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
\frac{d}{dx} (x^2) + 2 \left[ (x) \frac{d}{dx} (y) + (y) \frac{d}{dx} (x) \right] - \frac{d}{dx} (y^2) + \frac{d}{dx} (x) & = \frac{d}{dx} (2)\\
\\
2x + 2 \left[ (x) \frac{dy}{dx} + (y)(1) \right] - 2y \frac{dy}{dx} + 1 &= 0\\
\\
2x + 2x \frac{dy}{dx} + 2y - 2y \frac{dy}{dx} + 1 &= 0\\
\\
2x + 2xy' + 2y - 2yy' + 1 &= 0\\
\\
2xy' - 2yy' &= -2x-2y -1 \\
\\
y'(2x-2y) &= -2x-2y-1\\
\\
\frac{y'\cancel{(2x-2y)}}{\cancel{2x-2y}} & = \frac{-2x-2y-1}{2x-2y}\\
\\
y' = m &= \frac{-2x-2y-1}{2x-2y}
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$

For $x = 1 $ and $y = 2$, we obtain


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
m &= \frac{-2(1)-2(2)-1}{2(1)-2(2)}\\
\\
m &= \frac{-2-4-1}{2-4}\\
\\
m &= \frac{-7}{-2}\\
\\
m &= \frac{7}{2}

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$


Using point slope form

$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
y-y_1 &= m(x-x_1)\\
\\
y-2 &= \frac{7}{2} (x-1)\\
\\
y- 2 &= \frac{7x-7}{2}\\
\\
y &= \frac{7x-7}{2}+2\\
\\
y &= \frac{7x-7+4}{2}\\
\\
y &= \frac{7x-3}{2} && \text{Equation of the tangent line at } (1,2)
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$

Why do Romeo and Juliet kill themselves?

Romeo and Juliet are fated to die; that much is known from the prologue. And we're also told that they will take their own lives but not why. In act 4, scene 1 Juliet is in dread at her impending marriage to Paris; Romeo is her true love, the man that she wants. She expresses her great sadness to Friar Lawrence:

O, shut the door! And when thou hast done so,
Come weep with me, past hope, past cure, past help.


The friar hits upon a fateful plan—Juliet will drink a sleeping potion the night before her wedding. Then, once everyone thinks she is dead, she'll be laid to rest in the Capulet tomb. This will allow Friar Lawrence to get word to Romeo, and Romeo will return to Verona and take Juliet away with him back to Mantua, where he is living in exile.
It is a potentially dangerous plan, but Juliet still goes along with it enthusiastically. As we can tell from the prologue, however, all does not go according to plan. Juliet drinks the potion and, as expected, falls into a deep sleep, so deep in fact that her family thinks she's dead. Friar Lawrence duly sends a letter to Romeo inviting him to come and fetch Juliet. Unfortunately, his messenger is unable to deliver the letter as he is placed in quarantine due to an outbreak of the plague. Instead, Romeo receives bad tidings from Balthasar, informing him that Juliet is dead.
Romeo, overcome with grief, buys some poison, determined that he will kill himself and lie with Juliet in her tomb. When he arrives to see her, Juliet looks asleep rather than dead—which of course she is, but Romeo doesn't know that—and after bestowing a kiss upon her Romeo takes poison and dies. When Juliet awakes and realizes the full horror of what has taken place, she resolves to join Romeo in death. She kisses his poison-tainted lips in the hope that she too may die the same way but to no avail. Instead she unleashes Romeo's dagger and stabs herself.
Romeo and Juliet are so passionately in love that they literally can't live without each other. They are both equally prepared to die for love as live for it. Their deaths destroy their earthly love, a love forever fated to die. At the same time, their tragic end represents the consummation of a higher love, one that will live on for eternity.

How does Harper Lee use language to develop a sense of fear and mystery regarding Boo Radley and his house?

In chapter one, Lee uses predatory and animalistic diction to dehumanize Boo Radley. To most Maycomb community members, he is a mystery and something to be feared. He is described as having a blood-lust for household pets and animals. like squirrels and cats. Instead of being characterized as a dynamic person with an identity, Boo is described as the neighborhood villain and the town's greatest kept secret. His nightmarish description is set in contrast with the slow, sleepy town of Maycomb and their southern social hierarchy.
It is expected that members in this sleepy town participate in the comings and goings of Maycomb, but Boo is a shut-in and defies these social norms. His way of living is foreign to the people of this town and they seem to fear the unknown. His youth was corrupted, his family was corrupted when he stabbed his father with scissors, and his deteriorating home corrupts the normalcy of their downtown. 

Scout's first mention of Boo's house in chapter one is with the words "The Radley Place," this does not connote feelings of a home, let alone a house. It is a "place."  Scout goes on to describe it as once white but now "the color of the slate-gray yard around it."  The shingles are rotted and tall oak trees block out sunlight.  
Additionally, Scout's first words to describe Boo (an ominous nickname, since he is actually named Arthur) are "a malevolent phantom."  There is town mythology surrounding Boo; "any stealthy small crimes" are attributed to him, including the mutilation of animals, and, improbably, people's azaleas freezing as a result of his breathing on them.  Children in the school yard adjacent to the Radley Place would not eat pecans that dropped from Radley's trees, because "Radley pecans would kill you."
The Radleys do not socialize with the other citizens of Maycomb, something Scout describes as "alien to" the town's culture.  It is said that Boo Radley had attacked his father with scissors, and it is rumored that Mr. Radley keeps Boo "chained to the bed most of the time."  It is also rumored that Boo comes out "when it's pitch dark," a belief furthered by Jem based on a claim that Boo peeped in the window of Miss Crawford.
Jem offers a "reasonable description of Boo," despite never having seen him, as, 

About six-and-a-half feet tall. . . he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch. . . with bloodstained hands, a long jagged scar that ran across his face. . . teeth. . . yellow and rotten. . . he drooled most of the time.

Precalculus, Chapter 3, 3.4, Section 3.4, Problem 77

Start by factoring out the x from each of the two terms on the left side of the equation. This gets you:
x(2lnx + 1) = 0 which implies that x = 0 as well as 2lnx + 1 = 0.
Now let's solve 2lnx + 1 = 0 by moving the 1 from the left to the right, getting 2lnx = -1. Divide off the 2 getting lnx = -1/2. Un-natural log the left side by using "e". It will look like: e^(lnx) = e^(-1/2). The "e" and the ln cancel leaving just x. Therefore, x = e^(-1/2). If you punch this into your calculator you get 0.607. Don't forget, you started this process out with x = 0 and now you have x = 0.607. Hopefully you remember that it is impossible to find the ln of 0, so you must exclude x = 0 from your answer. This leaves x = 0.607 as the only answer.

During one hanging Elie and the other prisoners cried. What made this hanging different from others?

In Chapter 4, Elie witnesses the horrific, tragic execution of a young pipel, who is hanged in front of the prisoners. What makes the pipel's execution particularly difficult to watch is the way he suffers during the hanging and the fact that he resembles an innocent angel. After the block leader is arrested and executed for possessing a small arsenal in the Buna camp, the SS officers arrest the small pipel, who worked for the block leader and is describes as a "sad-eyed angel." As the young boy stands on the gallows, one of the prisoners asks, "Where is merciful God, where is He?" (Wiesel, 89). The two prisoners and the pipel are then hanged in front of the crowd of Jewish prisoners.
Tragically, the pipel is too light and does not die immediately when he is dropped from the platform. The young boy simply swings from the rope, lingering between life and death for a half an hour. The prisoners are both disgusted and deeply saddened after witnessing the awful execution of the young pipel. They not only shed tears but begin questioning God as the young boy suffers in his death.

Eliezer, like all the other prisoners, is forced to witness many atrocities in the camp, including many hangings. But one in particular has a profound effect upon him. One day, a young assistant of a Kapo is arrested along with the Kapo and two other prisoners for blowing up the Buna power station. All the suspects are brutally tortured by their Nazi captors, but they refuse to confess their guilt or implicate others.
Inevitably, they are all subsequently hanged. And it is the hanging of the young boy, the Kapo's assistant, that sticks in Eliezer's memory. There is something about his face that is so fresh-faced and innocent. The other prisoners feel the same way. It seems that, even by Nazi standards, this represents a new low in cruelty and degradation.
A man in the crowd cries out, "Where is God now?" As Eliezer walks past the boy, dying a slow and painful death on the end of a rope, his belief in God finally ebbs away. Earlier, he stopped praying to God because he no longer believed that he was just. Now, the brutal execution of an innocent child has convinced him that God isn't simply unjust; he doesn't even exist.

Why is Macbeth so mad that Fleance wasn’t killed too?

Fleance is one of the sons of Banquo. Because in act 1 the three witches tell Macbeth that Banquo "shalt get kings" (be the father of kings), Macbeth is necessarily concerned with the possibility that Banquo's sons, rather than Banquo himself, will usurp his power. As such, he arranges to have Banquo and Fleance killed, stating that "Fleance's absence is no less material to me / Than is his father's" (that is, it is just as important to me that you kill Fleance as that you kill Banquo). Arguably, it is actually even more important that Fleance himself be disposed of, because the witches have already alerted Macbeth to the fact that it is Fleance, rather than Banquo, who will occupy the throne.
Lennox, when explaining how "Fleance fled" in act 3, scene 6, suggests that they could simply say that Fleance had murdered his father, making it thus convenient enough for them that he has gone, but Lennox fails to grasp the complexity of the situation for Macbeth. As far as Macbeth is concerned, it is of vital importance that Fleance be removed from the situation, because while Fleance lives, Macbeth has to worry about him returning to take Macbeth's throne as was prophesied (especially because Macbeth has come to believe in the veracity of the prophecy by this point in time). In the historical context, the Elizabethan audience would have recognized the character of Fleance as the legendary ancestor of the House of Stuart, who did become kings of Scotland (and, later, England, after Elizabeth I's death).

College Algebra, Chapter 7, 7.3, Section 7.3, Problem 6

Find the products $AB$ and $BA$ to verify that $B$ is the inverse of $A$ where $\displaystyle A = \left[ \begin{array}{ccc}
3 & 2 & 4 \\
1 & 1 & -6 \\
2 & 1 & 12
\end{array} \right]$ and $B = \left[ \begin{array}{ccc}
9 & -10 & -8 \\
-12 & 14 & 11 \\
\displaystyle \frac{-1}{2} & \displaystyle \frac{1}{2} & \displaystyle \frac{1}{2}
\end{array} \right] $

We perform the matrix multiplications to show that $AB = I$ and $BA = I$


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

AB =&
\left[ \begin{array}{ccc}
3 & 2 & 4 \\
1 & 1 & -6 \\
2 & 1 & 12
\end{array} \right]
\left[ \begin{array}{ccc}
9 & -10 & -8 \\
-12 & 14 & 11 \\
\displaystyle \frac{-1}{2} & \displaystyle \frac{1}{2} & \displaystyle \frac{1}{2}
\end{array} \right]

=&

\left[ \begin{array}{ccc}
\displaystyle 3 \cdot 9 + 2 \cdot (-12) + 4 \cdot \left( \frac{-1}{2} \right) & \displaystyle 3 \cdot (-10) + 2 \cdot 14 + 4 \cdot \frac{1}{2} & 3 \cdot (-8) + 2 \cdot 11 + 4 \cdot \frac{1}{2} \\
\displaystyle 1 \cdot 9 + 1 \cdot (-12) + (-6) \cdot \left( \frac{-1}{2} \right) & \displaystyle 1 \cdot (-10) + 1 \cdot 14 + (-6) \cdot \frac{1}{2} & 1 \cdot (-8) + 1 \cdot 11 + (-6) \cdot \frac{1}{2} \\
\displaystyle 2 \cdot 9 + 1 \cdot (-12) + 12 \cdot \left( \frac{-1}{2} \right) & \displaystyle 2 \cdot (-10) + 1 \cdot 14 + 12 \cdot \frac{1}{2} & \displaystyle 2 \cdot (-8) + 1 \cdot 11 + 12 \cdot \frac{1}{2}
\end{array} \right]

\\
\\
\\

=&
\left[ \begin{array}{ccc}
1 & 0 & 0 \\
0 & 1 & 0 \\
0 & 0 & 1
\end{array} \right]

\\
\\
\\
\\

BA =& \left[ \begin{array}{ccc}
9 & -10 & -8 \\
-12 & 14 & 11 \\
\displaystyle \frac{-1}{2} & \displaystyle \frac{1}{2} & \displaystyle \frac{1}{2}
\end{array} \right]

\left[ \begin{array}{ccc}
3 & 2 & 4 \\
1 & 1 & -6 \\
2 & 1 & 12
\end{array} \right]

=&
\left[ \begin{array}{ccc}
9 \cdot 3 + (-10) \cdot 1 + (-8) \cdot 2 & 9 \cdot 2 + (-10) \cdot 1 + (-8) \cdot 1 & 9 \cdot 4 + (-10) \cdot (-6) + (-8) \cdot 12 \\
-12 \cdot 3 + 14 \cdot 1 + 11 \cdot 2 & -12 \cdot 2 + 14 \cdot 1 + 11 \cdot 1 & -12 \cdot 4 + 14 \cdot (-6) + 11 \cdot 12 \\
\displaystyle \frac{-1}{2} \cdot 3 + \frac{1}{2} \cdot 1 + \frac{1}{2} \cdot 2 & \displaystyle \frac{-1}{2} \cdot 2 + \frac{1}{2} \cdot 1 + \frac{1}{2} \cdot 1 & \displaystyle \frac{-1}{2} \cdot 4 + \frac{1}{2} \cdot (-6) + \frac{1}{2} \cdot 12
\end{array} \right]

\\
\\
\\

=&
\left[ \begin{array}{ccc}
1 & 0 & 0 \\
0 & 1 & 0 \\
0 & 0 & 1
\end{array} \right]



\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$


This shows that $A$ is the inverse of $B$, vice versa.

What is the biblical significance of the story title "Do Seek Their Meat From God" by G.D. Roberts? How can the invocation of God be seen as ironic?

The Biblical allusion within this story's title refers to Psalm 104, verse 21: "The young lions roar after their prey And seek their food from God."  The purpose of this psalm is really to praise God for his creation of the beauty and wonder of the Earth: the sun knows when and where to set, the mountains knew when to rise, and the valleys know when to sink; the grass grows to feed the cattle, the ground produces food for us so that we may plant and grow more food, and so forth.  Ultimately, then, it is God that has supplied the young lions with the prey they seek in order to satisfy their hunger.  The lions are not malicious or evil—they are merely carrying out the job God created for them in the manner in which God must want it done.
We might see the invocation of God as ironic because the wild animals in the psalm as well as the story do not know God exists; they do not understand the belief that their instincts are created by something outside of themselves or even that it is instinct that compels them to seek food and search out their prey.  They only know that they must eat and that they have to feed and protect their young, just as the man in the story feels compelled to protect his son.  For them, there is no concept of God, so it might seem ironic to invoke him in the story's title.
https://biblehub.com/psalms/104-21.htm

What was the colonial reaction to the French and Indian War?

In general, the colonial reaction to the French and Indian War led to rebellion against their former allies in the war. The colonies felt a sense of confidence and unity from the victory. More and more colonial leaders were feeling isolated and independent from the politics of England. At the same time, the British crown and Parliament was feeling that the colonies should be contributing more to the debt that was incurred by the French and Indian War. In that vein, the Crown decided to enforce taxes on the colonists and added new taxes like the Stamp Act. The Thirteen Colonies felt that in order to be taxed, they should have a representation in the government that was taxing them. The confidence and unity felt as a result of the French and Indian War led the colonists to eventually fight for separation from England.
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/essays/before-1800/french-and-indian-wars/effects-of-the-war.php

What topics related to the following quotes can I discuss in my essay on Lord of the Flies by William Golding? "You can feel as if you're not hunting, but being hunted, as if something's behind you all the time in the jungle." The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist." "'Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!'"

You have a good start here with a selection of important passages. In your introduction, you might want to discuss how the narrative arc of the novel is reflected in the intensification of fear and violence from one quotation to the next. At first, the boys feel a formless fear of the primitive, reacting on a primal rather than rational level. The destruction of the conch represents a violent break with civilized values. The final call for murder completes the descent into primal terror and ensuing violence. 
For themes, you might start with talking about how the act of hunting, although intended to obtain food, also stimulates a sense of insecurity, and that efforts of the boys to make their lives more secure in terms of survival also expose them to the raw insecurity of primitive existence in the absence of a civilized safety net providing food and shelter.
For the second quotation you should look at how both the conch and Piggy represent the civilized, rational intellect, and how their destruction represents the disintegration of the superego.
The boys' final descent into murder of "the beast" portrays the boys trying to silence their fears by externalizing them and then killing a scapegoat. This reification of formless fear, however, seems to intensify fear and rage rather than removing it. Had the rescuers not arrived, it is likely that the boys would have descended into a downward spiral of violence and superstition. 

Single Variable Calculus, Chapter 3, Review Exercises, Section Review Exercises, Problem 60

Suppose that $f$ and $g$ are the functions whose graphs are shown, let $P(x) = f(x) g(x), \displaystyle Q(x) = \frac{f(x)}{g(x)}$ and $C(x) = f(g(x))$. Find a.) $P'(2)$, b.) $Q'(2)$ and c.) $C'(2)$.

*Refer to the graph in the book.

a.) $P'(2)$


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

P'(x) =& \frac{d}{dx} f(x) g(x)
\\
\\
P'(x) =& f(x) \frac{d}{dx} g(x) + g(x) \frac{d}{dx} f(x)
\\
\\
P'(x) =& f(x) g'(x) + g(x) f'(x)
\\
\\
P'(2) =& f(2) g'(2) + g(2) f'(2)
\\
\\
P'(2) =& (1) \left( \frac{4}{2} \right) + (4)\left( \frac{2}{-2} \right)
\\
\\
P'(2) =& 2 + (4)(-1)
\\
\\
P'(2) =& 2 - 4
\\
\\
P'(2) =& -2

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$


b.) $Q'(2)$


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

Q'(x) =& \frac{d}{dx} \frac{f(x)}{g(x)}
\\
\\
Q'(x) =& \frac{\displaystyle g(x) \frac{d}{dx} f(x) - f(x) \frac{d}{dx} g(x)}{[g(x)]^2}
\\
\\
Q'(x) =& \frac{g(x) f'(x) - f(x) g'(x)}{g^2(x)}
\\
\\
Q'(2) =& \frac{g(2) f'(2) - f(2) g'(2)}{g^2 (2)}
\\
\\
Q'(2) =& \frac{(4) \left( \frac{-2}{2} \right) - (1) \left( \frac{4}{2} \right)}{(4)^2}
\\
\\
Q'(2) =& \frac{(4)(-1) - (1)(2)}{16}
\\
\\
Q'(2) =& \frac{-4 - 2}{16}
\\
\\
Q'(2) =& \frac{-6}{16}
\\
\\
Q'(2) =& \frac{-3}{8}

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$

What made the Greasers become hardened and jaded? Can you "stay gold" when you live on the East Side?

Throughout the novel, traumatic events make the members of the Greaser gang become hardened and jaded. Dally laments to Johnny about how he became hardened after he went to prison. Following Johnny's death, Dally loses his mind and robs a store. Shortly after robbing the store, the police shoot and kill Dally in a vacant lot. The two traumatic events drastically affect Ponyboy's mental stability. Ponyboy starts to become hardened and callous like Dally. He becomes extremely depressed and stops caring about his life. Experiencing significant tragedies at such a young age causes Ponyboy and the other Greasers to become jaded about their future. They essentially feel hopeless because they live in constant fear and poverty. Johnny encourages Ponyboy to "stay gold," which is another way of telling him to remain innocent. In my opinion, it would be impossible to "stay gold" in such a violent society with little to no support. Growing up on the East Side, tragedies are frequent and traumatic experiences are inevitable. An adolescent could not avoid tragedy and remain innocent in such a tough environment.

What was the technology used in WWII?

Technology played a significant role in world war II. Some of the technologies used during the war were developed during the interwar years of the 1920s and 1930s, much was developed in response to needs and lessons learned during the war, while others were beginning to be developed as the war ended. Many wars had major effects on the technologies that we use in our daily lives. However, compared to previous wars, World War II had the greatest effect on the technology and devices that are used today. Technology also played a greater role in the conduct of World War II than in any other war in history, and had a critical role in its final outcome.
Many types of technology were customized for military use, and major developments occurred across several fields including:
Weaponry: ships, vehicles, submarines, aircraft, tanks, artillery, small arms; and biological, chemical, and atomic weapons.
Logistical support: vehicles necessary for transporting soldiers and supplies, such as trains, trucks, tanks, ships, and aircraft.
Communications and intelligence: devices used for navigation, communication, remote sensing, and espionage.
Medicine: surgical innovations, chemical medicines, and techniques.
Rocketry: atomic bombs and automatic aircraft.

Technological advances made WWII unlike any war that had previously been fought. Existing technologies were refined, and entirely new weapons emerged as a result of technical advances. This answer focuses on three areas of advancement that revolutionized air, land, and naval warfare.

IN THE AIR
The airplane had been around since the turn of the century and had been used in combat in WWI, but WWII brought about technical advances and new uses for the airplane. As steel, mono-wing planes replaced wood and canvas biplanes, fighters became faster and bombers could fly farther to deliver larger bomb loads. These advances allowed strategic bombing to become an important tactic, especially for the allies against the Germans. The large bombers of the period could fly far enough behind enemy lines to attack population and industrial centers. This same long-range bombing technology allowed the United States to drop atomic bombs on Japan. WWII also brought about the first jet-powered airplanes.

ON THE GROUND
Tanks had been around in various forms since WWI, but it was during WWII that they became a major force on the battlefield. They became faster, more reliable, and more lethal so that by the 1930s, trench warfare had become obsolete. The German “blitzkrieg” or lightning war in Poland demonstrated how tanks, in conjunction with airplanes and infantry, could quickly defeat an unprepared nation.

AT SEA
In WWII, aircraft carriers became the most important ship in the navy, especially in the conflict between the United States and Japan in the Pacific. No longer tied to land bases, fighters and bombers could be brought to a battle along with traditional battleships, destroyers and submarines. This made for a whole new doctrine of naval warfare whereby traditional surface ships became less valuable because they were vulnerable to air attack.
https://www.ducksters.com/history/world_war_ii/technology_of_ww2.php

https://www.thoughtco.com/world-war-ii-overview-2361501

What is The Scarlet Pimpernel?

The Scarlet Pimpernel is the title of a historical novel by the prolific novelist and short story writer Baroness Emma Orczy (see reference link below). It is the first novel in a series of historical fiction which is set during the Reign of Terror at the time of the French Revolution. The Scarlet Pimpernel was first published in 1905. It features the daring exploits of an English gentleman who uses the alias of "The Scarlet Pimpernel." His real name is Sir Percy Blakeney. He poses as a fop and an idler, but in reality is devoting his time and resources to rescuing French aristocrats from the guillotine. The hero of the whole series of historical novels typically leaves his calling card behind after each of his successful exploits. The card simply bears a picture of the small red flower named "the scarlet pimpernel." No one is able to discover the true identity of the mysterious adventurer and brilliant swordsman who calls himself The Scarlet Pimpernel. The character became a favorite with Hollywood filmmakers. There were a dozen Scarlet Pimpernel movies made between 1917 and 1982. The best-known of these is The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934) starring Leslie Howard, an English actor who is now mainly remembered as one of the leading characters in the movie Gone With the Wind (1940). The 1934 film version of The Scarlet Pimpernel is available on DVD. A British television series titled The Scarlet Pimpernel was brought out in 1999. It is also available on DVD.

Precalculus, Chapter 1, 1.3, Section 1.3, Problem 62

Determine the equation of the line that is parallel to the line $x - 2y = -5$ containing the point $(0,0)$. Express your answer using the general form or the slope intercept form of the equation of a line, which ever you prefer.

Since the two lines are parallel, the slope of the line that we
need to find equals the slope of the line $x - 2y = -5$. We start by writing the equation $x - 2y = -5$ in slope-intercept form.


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

x-2y =& -5
\\
-2y =& -x-5
\\
y =& \frac{1}{2}x + \frac{5}{2}

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$


The slope is $\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}$. The other equation should have a slope $\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}$ and contains the point $(0,0)$. By using Point Slope Form to find the equation


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

y - y_1 =& m (x- x_1)
&& \text{Point Slope Form}
\\
\\
y - 0 =& \frac{1}{2} (x-0)
&& \text{Substitute } m = \frac{1}{2}, x = 0 \text{ and } y = 0
\\
\\
y =& \frac{1}{2}x
&& \text{Slope Intercept Form}

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$

In Night, what was Elie Wiesel's first impression of Auschwitz after leaving Birkenau?

Eliezer's first impression of Auschwitz was that it was better than Birkenau.
Witnessing the massive amount of killing in Birkenau was Eliezer's introduction to the horrors of the Holocaust.  He experienced personal trauma because it was the last time he saw his mother and sister.  They were sent to a different line than Eliezer and his father.  He also saw the extent of the Nazi death machinery.  Eliezer recalls the faces of the children he saw enter the crematorium, and the vastness of suffering surrounding him: "This is what the antechamber of hell must look like. So many crazed men, so much shouting, so much brutality."  
Eliezer suggests that the prisoners "had already lived through a lot that night" and that "nothing could frighten us anymore."   As a result, Eliezer's first impressions of Auschwitz was that it was better than Birkenau.  He explains how the buildings were made of concrete, an improvement from Birkenau's wooden barracks.   Additionally, Auschwitz is the first place where Eliezer experienced being treated as a person.  As the prisoners enter their block, the Polish man in charge addresses them.  Eliezer describes him as smiling as he speaks about what the prisoners will experience.  Eliezer notes how he wished them a "good night" as they slept.  Such a gesture carried tremendous importance given what Eliezer had seen and experienced in Birkenau.

What is the theme of Chile Harold's Pilgrimage?

In general, the most prevalent theme in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage is the cognitive transition from adolescence to adulthood. The protagonist of the narrative poem finds himself jaded, disillusioned with life and somewhat blindly seeking stimulation and meaning in far-flung places. The protagonist of this tale experiences a number of transitions toward this end.
For instance, in Canto I, Harold sings a long song about leaving his home while aboard a ship.

'Adieu, adieu! my native shoreFades o'ver the waters blue;The Night-winds sigh, the breakers roar,And shrieks the wild sea-mew.Yon Sun that sets upon the seaWe follow in his flight;Farewell awhile to him and theeMy native Land—Good Night!

Harold embraces the tumult of the sea and the unknown and does not have sorrow in his heart when he parts with his "native shore," a childhood home he feels he has outgrown. 
Throughout the following cantos, Harold continues to strive for independence and singularity in thought; he wishes to candidly observe life's bittersweet quality. In canto III, he states:

My springs of life were poison'd. 'Tis too late!Yet am I changed; though still enough the sameIn strength to bear what time can not abate,And feed on bitter fruits without accusing Fate.

Harold continues to seek novel experiences and ideas, but he also confronts painful revelations about the state of human existence: our violence, our futility, and our "bitter fruits." This is a common enough conflict. Harold both appreciates the beauty and variety in life and resents its constant strife and destruction. It is a painful transition which often plagues young adults to reconcile these two qualities of being, after the simple complacency of adolescence.
In fact, "Childe" is very much a term which expresses transition or of shifting from one state to another. "Childe" is essentially a ranking assigned to sons born of English noblemen, who may qualify to become a knight or squire. Both Childe Harold's station in life and state of mind are somewhat liminal, in between two mutually exclusive places. 

Why is The Receiver the most honored position in Lois Lowry's The Giver?

The Receiver is the most honored person in the community because it is a unique position only one person can hold at a time. This position requires a person who has some very unique traits. When Jonas is selected, he knows almost nothing about the Receiver except that he is an old man with a beard who almost never attends community functions. 
At his Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas learns the Receiver of Memory is selected because he or she has the traits of courage, wisdom, integrity, intelligence, and something called the Capacity to See Beyond, which is an almost supernatural power to receive memories.
At first, Jonas doesn’t think he has this power. Then, he understands why he thought he saw an apple change, and why the faces of the crowd took on a strange dimension. Jonas accepts his assignment.

"I think it's true," he told the Chief Elder and the community. "I don't understand it yet. I don't know what it is. But sometimes I see something. And maybe it's beyond" (Ch. 8).

The community has other reasons to treat the Receiver of Memory with honor. The Receiver stores the community’s memories, which are the community’s collective consciousness. These memories are important because the community itself has no sense of history. When making decisions, they rely on the Receiver. Without him, they will repeat past mistakes. They do not want to be burdened by their history, so they ask the Receiver for advice. 
The Giver, Jonas’s mentor, explains the community does not have to take the Receiver’s advice. 

"I have great honor. So will you. But you will find that that is not the same as power” (Ch. 11).

The Giver explains to Jonas that when the community asked him if they should add to the population, he advised against it because he alone knew what hunger, war, poverty, and death looked like. It was ultimately up to the community Elders to decide. The Receiver of Memory is the community’s most painful position because it is one of immense knowledge but no power. 

How is oxygen available for both plants and human beings at night?

Human beings and plants absorb and expel different gasses from their systems as needed. In human beings, oxygen is important for the functioning of the cells. Oxygen is the fuel our body cells use to convert the food we eat into energy. During the energy generation process, carbon dioxide is produced as waste, and the body gets rid of it through respiration. Thus, during respiration, human beings take in oxygen and remove carbon dioxide based on the body's requirements.
During photosynthesis, which occurs during the day, plants use light energy, carbon dioxide, and water to produce food/ energy. Oxygen is also produced and released as waste. In the dark, plants take in oxygen for respiration and expel carbon dioxide.
At night, both plants and human beings use up oxygen, as it is available for both organisms. Plants and human beings do not utilize the net available atmospheric oxygen. In addition, the current number of organisms is incapable of using all the atmospheric oxygen available. Competition for oxygen between the two would only occur in an air-tight or poorly ventilated room with inadequate or no access to atmospheric air.
https://www.oxygen-review.com/human-body.html

https://www.rsc.org/Education/Teachers/Resources/cfb/gas.htm

Why does Montresor want revenge on Fortunato?

Montresor never makes specific what Fortunato has done to him, suggesting that the "thousand injuries" he may or may not have suffered are less important than Montresor's perception of injury. 
We do get a hint that Fortunato considers himself superior to Montresor. When Montresor says he is a mason, Fortunato takes this to mean a Freemason, a group which apparently Fortunato is a part of--and Forunato exclaims "You! Impossible!" He "recoils" when Montresor shows him the trowel, and says "You jest." Then his mind returns to his quest for the Amontillado, and he urges Montresor on.
This dialogue, though short and merely suggestive, speaks volumes in a compact story. It hints that Fortunato considers that he is lowering himself to be with Montresor, a man he cannot seriously consider a fellow Mason, and only condescends to do so because of the bait of the rare wine.
On the other hand, Fortunato's snobbery is not stated directly as fact by either of the characters. One of the most interesting facets of this story is its porousness, the way it leaves itself open to construction and interpretation. 

Poe actually never has Montresor state the specific reasons behind his wanting revenge, though he hints at several possibilities. Although he does mention injuries and insults, he never reveals details.
First, Montresor seems vindictive and almost paranoid. It could well be that the wrongs for which he is obtaining revenge never actually happened and are products of Montresor's imagination. 
Another possibility is that Montresor comes from a wealthy family now on hard times. He may blame Fortunato for the change in his family's fortunes or may simply resent Fortunato for being a nouveau riche.
Both men are wine connoisseurs and possibly merchants. There appears to be some rivalry concerning expertise in wines, or perhaps there was some sort of commercial rivalry in the past.
Part of the point of of this vagueness is to convey the idea that the desire for vengeance has become so overwhelming that the original cause no longer matters; instead, the vengeance and its planning have become an obsession for Montresor.

Intermediate Algebra, Chapter 2, 2.1, Section 2.1, Problem 40

Solve the equation $4(x + 2) -8x - 5 = -3x + 9 - 2(x + 6)$, and check your solution. If applicable, tell whether the equation is an identity or contradiction.


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

4(x + 2) -8x - 5 =& -3x + 9 - 2(x + 6)
&& \text{Given equation}
\\
4x + 8 - 8x - 5 =& -3x + 9 - 2x - 12
&& \text{Distributive property}
\\
-4x + 3 =& -5x - 3
&& \text{Combine like terms}
\\
-4x + 5x =& -3-3
&& \text{Add $(5x - 3)$ from each side}
\\
x =& -6
&& \text{Combine like terms}

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$


Checking:


$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

4(-6+2) - 8(-6)-5 =& -3(-6) + 9 - 2 (-6 + 6)
&& \text{Substitute } x = - 9
\\
4(-4) - 8(-6) - 5 =& -3(-6) + 9 - 2 (0)
&& \text{Add inside parentheses first}
\\
-16 + 48 - 5 =& 18 + 9 - 0
&& \text{Multiply}
\\
27 =& 27
&& \text{True}

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$

What did Armand have to put in the bonfire?

A few weeks after he throws his wife, Desiree, out of his house for giving birth to a black baby, Armand Aubigny orders his black servants to build a bonfire in the backyard and burn everything that reminds him of her. He watches from his hallway as they burn Desiree's velvet, silk and lace gowns, her "priceless" layette, her bonnets and gloves, her embroideries, and the letters she wrote to him during their courtship.
In last few lines of the story, the author says that, while sorting through his things, Armand found a letter from his mother stating that he has black ancestry. The reader is therefore left to wonder if Armand is burning Desiree's belongings because he is angry with her or because he wants cover up the truth of his own origins.

Once Armand has discovered what he regards as the terrible truth of Désirée's racial heritage, he wants nothing more to do with her or the baby they've had together. He proceeds to build a huge bonfire, on which he throws just about everything he can lay his hands on that might conceivably relate to Désirée and the baby. In particular, he gathers together all of Désirée's letters and consigns them to the roaring flames in an attempt to forget her, and to expunge all traces of the emotional pain, trauma, and public humiliation which this whole sorry episode has caused him.
But it's not quite so simple. For in burning Désirée's correspondence, Armand doesn't simply destroy all the mementos of his marriage: he also destroys himself and his family's good name. A piece of burning paper in the heat of the flames reveals a dark secret that not only exposes his prejudice but will lead to shame and humiliation far greater than anything Désirée could ever have brought him.

What is Zinn's main argument in Chapter 2 of A People's History of the United States?

In chapter 2 of A People's History of the United States, entitled "Drawing the Color Line," Howard Zinn argues that the first black Americans, though technically considered servants, were likely treated like slaves from the time they were first brought to Virginia in 1619. Zinn also asserts that the circumstances in Jamestown agitated in the direction of the rapid institutionalization of racism and race-based slavery. Food was scarce, but the white settlers were not inclined to work and could not entirely enslave the local native population. They needed someone to farm corn for their subsistence and to grow tobacco, which they had begun to plant in 1617, for export. The black Africans had already been treated as slaves by the Spaniards and the Dutch for about one hundred years, so there was a precedent for enslaving blacks. Furthermore, the English settlers were in desperate straits and likely embarrassed at their inability to use their proclaimed "cultural superiority" to their material advantage in the colony, particularly when the surrounding natives were doing quite well. As the plantation economy grew, so too did the institution of race-based slavery and the racism and legislation to back it up. The racism was not natural or inevitable—rather, it was dictated by individual choices and historical circumstances.
https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/peoples-history-of-the-united-states

Zinn's main argument in this chapter is that slavery developed as a response to the economic need for labor in America. As a result, the "color line" and a severe form of racism developed in the United States. Zinn traces the development of racial slavery to the need for labor in the 1600s in Virginia.
Though racist ideology has deemed African culture inferior, Zinn shows that African culture was quite sophisticated. There was an African form of slavery, but it was similar to the European idea of "serfdom," according to Zinn. The disorienting effects of slavery made Africans easy targets and victims after they had been brutally transported to the New World. Over time, whites in the New World turned to the use of African slaves after they found Native Americans unfit for the tasks of slaves. Zinn asks whether the racism that developed around slavery in the New World was a result of the "'natural' antipathy" between the races. Zinn asserts that racism was not a result of an inborn antipathy but instead a result of the economic needs of whites and a result of the foundation of the institution of slavery.

In "Chapter Two: Drawing the Color Line," Howard Zinn seeks to find answers to two questions: where did American racism originate and what--if anything--can end it. Zinn's main argument is that American racism originated in the political, economic, and social systems the colonial elites established in America and which still, to a great extent, remain today. He explains that colonial conditions were ripe for the enslavement of the African race:

We see now a complex web of historical threads to ensnare blacks for slavery in America: the desperation of starving settlers, the special helplessness of the displaced African, the powerful incentive of profit for slave trader and planter, the temptation of superior status for poor whites, the elaborate controls against escape and rebellion, the legal and social punishment of black and white collaboration.

The colonial elites exploited these factors to their own advantage and profit, and the elites have continued to exploit them throughout the history of the United States. Zinn proposes that if the nation truly hopes to mend race relations, it must:

eliminat[e]...that class exploitation which has made poor whites desperate for small gifts of status, and has prevented that unity of black and white necessary for joint rebellion and reconstruction.

In plain terms, poor whites must recognize that their true enemy is not African-Americans, it is the powerful and wealthy elites who have used racism to distract the white lower class from recognizing the elites as the true source of their problems.

The contributions the Greeks gave Western civilization

The Greeks are rightly seen as a founding influence on western civilization. Athenian participatory democracy was a form of government the West long sought to emulate. The tradition of criticism of that same system and of society that first began with the philosophy of Socrates is another contribution. Greek philosophy has been very influential; the pre-Socratics and their attempts at naturalistic explanations laid the foundation for scientific inquiry. The philosophical idealism of Plato has been a powerful influence throughout Western history as have the writings of his student Aristotle. Aristotle's ideas about biology weren't eclipsed in some cases until the early 19th century.
Beyond this there is the importance of all of Greek mythology and literature, which became canonical in the Western tradition and echoed time and time again in countless works of fiction and non-fiction. The Greek alphabet became the framework for the English alphabet and Greek stories became foundational for the West more generally. Though it was adapted to Roman purposes, Greek mythology and thought was embedded in the Roman empire and this is one of the ways it first spread. Greek writings were also preserved in the Islamic tradition and it is these Arabic translations that helped spawn a revival of classical ideas during the Renaissance.
In essence, one can argue that Western civilization is founded on the ideas of the ancient Greeks.

What parts of the novel shows Holden in denial and what quotes help show him in denial?

As a highly critical, sensitive, jaded teenager, Holden is in denial about various aspects of his life, which reflects his low self-esteem and lack of self-awareness. Holden is in denial about his inexperience with women and his inability to understand them. He struggles to develop meaningful relationships with women and is inexperienced when it comes to sex. Holden's refusal to admit that he is not a ladies' man is depicted when he says,

"Women kill me. They really do. I don’t mean I’m oversexed or anything like that—although I am quite sexy. I just like them, I mean" (Salinger, 31).

Holden is also in denial about the fact that he is an extremely lonely person, who is in desperate need of a genuine friend to talk to. While Holden subconsciously acknowledges his loneliness, he refuses to act on his impulse to reach out to a genuine friend. Holden once again illustrates that he is in denial by saying,

"Then I thought of giving Jane Gallagher’s mother a buzz, and find out when Jane’s vacation started, but I didn’t feel like it" (Salinger, 35).

Holden is also in denial about entering the world of "phony" adults. Holden is not enthused about becoming an adult and living a fast-paced, competitive life. Holden's angst about entering the world of adults is expressed through several of his thoughts. Holden's fear of becoming an adult is metaphorically represented by his comment regarding the ducks in the Central Park lagoon. Holden says,

"I live in New York, and I was thinking about the lagoon in Central Park, down near Central Park South. I was wondering if it would be frozen over when I got home, and if it was, where did the ducks go. I was wondering where the ducks went when the lagoon got all icy and frozen over. I wondered if some guy came in a truck and took them away to a zoo or something. Or if they just flew away" (Salinger, 8).

Holden refuses to explicitly state that he fears entering the world of adults and once again reveals his denial by commenting on his affinity for the Museum of Natural History, which symbolically represents his attraction to his childhood. Holden says,

"The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was" (Salinger, 72).

Who was Paddy in the Thorn Birds most like in The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns?

The character of Paddy from Colleen McCullough's novel The Thorn Birds is arguably most like Baba in The Kite Runner. He also shares some pivotal similarities with Tariq from A Thousand Splendid Suns. 
Paddy Cleary can best be described as:

 ...a hardworking, simple, good hearted, and perpetually bewildered man who dies early. A man who believes in old ways and in keeping in one's place, he cannot afford for his children to remain in school, needing them on the home place to work; he believes as well in the strict delineation between woman's work and man's work. Both policies are hard on Fee and her eldest son, Frank, and this creates a rift between father and son. He is a character who imbues in his children the capacity for hard work and love for the land; an Irishman, he fled to New Zealand, where the novel begins, after killing an Englishman.

From this information, it is clear that Paddy shares some qualities with Baba. While Baba is wealthy and Paddy is poor, both men see the value of hard work and the importance of family loyalty.
Both men additionally have emotionally restrained relationships with their children. In Paddy's case, he finds himself experiencing tension with his eldest son, Frank, as the two compete for Fiona's attention. In Baba's case, his sense of moral superiority alienates Amir and makes him seem like a towering presence. 
Both Paddy and Baba have children responsible for atrocious acts. Like Paddy's son Frank--who ends up serving a thirty-year sentence for killing someone in a fight--Baba's son Amir ends up being complicit in a crime as well when he fails to stop the beating and rape of Hassan by an older bully. 
Both reveal critical information relating to their roles as fathers. Paddy winds up admitting that Frank is not actually his biological son, while Baba reveals that Hassan is actually his biological son. Both boys are "bastard" children born of affairs. 
Both travel far from their homelands, with Paddy migrating from Ireland to New Zealand and then to Australia, and Baba migrating from Afghanistan to California. 
Both committed transgressions of their own: Paddy killed a man in his home country, while Baba cheated on his wife. 
Finally, both men die under tragic circumstances; Paddy perishes in a lightning fire, while Baba passes away from cancer. 
We can also see how Paddy resembles Tariq in terms of their agreement to parent children who were not biologically their own. When Tariq returns to Laila after their long separation, he agrees to take care of Zalmai, even though the boy is the biological son of Rasheed. In much the same way, Paddy agrees to marry Fiona despite the fact that she has already given birth to the child of another man.
Paddy and Tariq are both also arguably similar in their disposition. They both have faced many trials and acted out against the law--as previously mentioned, Paddy killed a man, while Tariq was imprisoned for smuggling hashish--but both are inherently good-hearted individuals. 

What is critical appreciation?

A critical appreciation is performed by the reader or audience after reading some form of literature or watching a play. The reader evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the experienced form based on the plot, style, themes, and language among other variables. The reader will also communicate the impressive and disappointing aspects of the experienced form. It is important for the reader to provide reasons for both the positive and negative claims when conducting a critical appreciation. The critical appreciation may also consider the author and the type of work they develop. In this case, the reader or audience will evaluate the applicability and relevance of the work in real life situations. Thus, a critical appreciation is the reader’s response to the experienced form.
In A Midsummer’s Night Dream by Shakespeare, the reader can appreciate how the plot and subplots have been developed and connected. For instance, the subplot of the four Athenian youths in the forest is blended well with the unraveling subplot of the fairies and the spirits. The author finds a way to connect the fairies and spirits from a mystical realm to the real world of the human beings.

Oberon: … And with the juice of this I'll streak her eyes, And make her full of hateful fantasies. Take thou some of it, and seek through this grove: A sweet Athenian lady is in love(265) With a disdainful youth; anoint his eyes; But do it when the next thing he espies May be the lady. Thou shalt know the man By the Athenian garments he hath on.Effect it with some care, that he may prove(270) More fond on her than she upon her love. And look thou meet me ere the first cock crow.

What figurative language is used in The Hunger Games?

Suzanne Collins uses plenty of figurative language in her famous young adult novel The Hunger Games. Let's take a look at three of the most common types of figurative language: simile, metaphor, and personification.
A simile is a type of figurative language that uses the words "like" or "as" to compare two things that are alike. Here's an example of a simile from the very first page of the book:

"Prim’s face is as fresh as a raindrop, as lovely as the primrose for which she was named."

This simile, which compares the character Primrose Everdeen to both a raindrop and a flower, conveys the idea that Prim is very beautiful, as well as being young and innocent. Here's another example of a simile:

"But today, despite the bright banners hanging on the buildings, there's an air of grimness. The camera crews, perched like buzzards on rooftops, only add to the effect."

This simile here is used to show how unsafe Katniss feels during the reaping, like a vulnerable animal being watched by buzzards.
Metaphors, another type of figurative language, directly compare two things without the use of "like" or "as."

"Career tributes are overly vicious, arrogant, better fed, but only because they’re the Capitol’s lapdogs."

Collins is not literally saying that these people are lapdogs; this passage suggests they are given preferential treatment by those in the Capitol just as a beloved lapdog would be given preferential treatment by a human owner.
Yet another type of figurative language is personification, which gives human characteristics to something that is not human.

"The woods became our savior, and each day I went a bit farther into its arms."

Here Collins personifies the woods, figuratively giving them arms to be held in, conveying that this is a place where Katniss feels safer.

What were three goals of French colonization in the Americas?

New France (1534–1763) evolved slowly and its goals changed somewhat over time. The three primary goals were exploration, the fur trade, and proselytization.
The French, like the Spanish before them, sought to reach Asia for trading purposes. In 1524, explorer Giovanni da Verrazano sought a westward route to Asia. His quest, though unsuccessful, enabled France to claim areas in modern-day North America.
In 1534, explorer Jacques Cartier formalized the French claim. He was also seeking spices and—above all—gold. Because gold was not found, France lost interest in the colonies for many years.
As the founder of Quebec in 1608, Samuel de Champlain is known as the "Father of New France." The main French economic activity in the colony at the time was the fur trade. But this activity was not profitable at first, and agriculture did not develop either. The fur trade continued, but relatively few French settled in North America.
Religion played an important part in New France, too. New France was Catholic. Non-Catholics were not permitted to settle there. Jesuit missionaries traveled throughout the vast regions of New France to convert the Indians.
Around 1670, Jean-Baptiste Talon tried to strengthen New France by diversifying its economy in the late 1660s and early 1670s. But his efforts were not successful. His failure ultimately led to the colony's demise in the next century.

Another key goal of French colonization was to take advantage of the lucrative agricultural trade in the Caribbean, particularly the cultivation of sugarcane. Like the British crown, the French government, both before and after the revolution, sought to exploit the colonies as sources of goods and tax revenue.
According to the historian C.L.R. James (The Black Jacobins), any manufactured goods that the colonists needed had to be purchased from France. They could also only sell their produce to France and could only transport their goods in French ships. Sugar produced in the Antilles was only allowed to be refined in France, and "the French imposed heavy duties on refined sugar of colonial origin."
A second goal of French colonialism was to profit from the very lucrative slave trade. France did not keep slaves on its own soil, but Africans were traded by France at slave markets. Nantes, for example, was a center of the slave trade. As early as 1666, 108 ships went to the coast of Guinea and seized 37,430 slaves. Those kidnapped people cost more than 37 million pounds in 1666, which would be hundreds of millions of British pounds today. James writes that by 1700 Nantes was sending out fifty ships a year to the Antilles with goods produced in and traded within Europe, such as Irish salt beef, linens for the household, clothing for slaves, and machinery for sugar mills. Furthermore, he confirms the following: "Nearly all the industries which developed in France during the eighteenth century had their origin in goods or commodities destined either for the coast of Guinea or for America." Capital gained from the slave trade facilitated France's ability to trade in other goods and provided the financial grist that the bourgeoisie would need to overthrow the aristocracy in 1789.

One crucial goal of French colonization was to tap into the rich fur trade that was available in modern-day Canada and the Northeast. To this end, French companies chartered by the Crown sent traders to trade with Natives, particularly Algonquian peoples around the Great Lakes. Another motive was to spread Catholicism. Many French Jesuit priests ministered to Indian peoples throughout New France and Louisiana, the massive tract of land to the west of the Mississippi River. Unlike Spanish priests, who had frequently provoked resentment and even rebellions by their insistence that Indian peoples adhere to a dogmatic form of Christianity, French Jesuits converted them on their own terms, but still with limited success. Finally, a third motive for French settlement was to check English expansion in North America. This was especially true in the Ohio Valley, which became a scene of conflict that would lead to the Seven Years' War, a massive global conflict involving France and Great Britain. Indeed, it was the culmination of years of frontier conflict between France (and its Indian allies) and Britain and its colonies.

How do materials pass in and out of a cell nucleus?

The nucleus of a cell is enclosed in a membrane. The membrane acts as a barrier to passage into the nucleus of the cell, but is selectively permeable. The membrane around the nucleus of a cell, otherwise known as the nuclear membrane, is impermeable to larger molecules but allows for the regular passage of smaller molecules.
The nuclear membrane is also known as the nuclear envelope and is made up of two cellular membranes arranged parallel to one another. The membrane encircles and completely contains the genetic material within the nucleus of the cell.
Access to the nucleus is achieved with the aid of nuclear pores, which are regularly arranged on the surface of the nuclear membrane. These pores allow the free passage of smaller molecules and ions while they prevent larger molecules such as nucleic acids and proteins from randomly entering the nucleus. These larger molecules must be transported into the nucleus of the cell through the nuclear pores, a process that is mediated by a number of factors.
The nuclear envelope essentially controls access to the nucleus of the cell, only allowing larger molecules like DNA and proteins into the nucleus during processes like gene expression.

How can I compare "To My Mother" by George Barker and "Father" by Elaine Feinstein? How are the two poems different and similar in language, style, and form? How do these aspects of the poems contribute to each poet's portrayal of the parent figure? How do they link to the meaning and effect of the poems? How do they reflect a few relevant key traits of modern poetry?

The two poems have similar themes in that both are eulogizing a parent. It is obvious that both speakers have great love, affection, and respect for the subjects of their poems. Barker clearly displays these sentiments in the poem dedicated to his mother, and Feinstein likewise shares such sentiments about her father.
Barker's diction is somewhat more involved than Feinstein's more direct language. Feinstein's poem is also less complicated than Barker's, although the language in both pieces is fairly straightforward and simple. Barker's poem consists of two stanzas: the first constituting eight lines (octave) and the second six (sestet). The poem is written as an Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet. Each of the two stanzas focuses on a distinct idea. The first describes his mother and his sentiment, while the second carries a plea. Feinstein's poem consists of four quatrains, each relating to a particular aspect of her father.
Barker's poem has a clear rhyme scheme, while Feinstein's has none. Feinstein's poem is written in free verse. It seems as if she, through such a structure, wishes to portray her father as a man unfettered by convention, a man dedicated to his task as a carpenter, and a man who laughed freely and provided her pleasure during her childhood by purchasing trout, unseasonal strawberries, and holidays in Switzerland. These acts enriched her life and metaphorically made her father a rich man.
Barker's use of rhyme and rhythm gives his piece a lyrical quality, which effectively adds tenor to the eulogistic nature of his writing. He employs repetition to accentuate the different sentiments he has about his mother. He repeats the word "most" to emphasize how emotionally close she is to him, and yet, paradoxically, she is also removed, perhaps in a physical sense. The poem conveys the image of someone larger than life. His allusion to the French Renaissance writer Rabelais confirms this since he was famous for his extraordinarily outrageous and honest writings and opinions. The mother is one who takes the lead, and her exuberant nature makes her "a procession." The implication is that she draws attention wherever she goes and none can outdo her in this regard; they can only follow in her wake "like a little dog following a brass band." 
Conversely, the elementary nature of Feinstein's diction suggests no such grandiose claims about her father and, as already mentioned, depicts him as a straightforward, stubborn, and simple man who was quite direct in his contact with her aunts, whose advice and admonitions he stubbornly refused and resisted. His honesty and direct attitude did not need further discussion or explanation. 
Feinstein is clearly proud of her uncomplicated father, and her description of him as "shabby and powerful as an old bus" conveys her admiration of his strength, even at age sixty, to persevere and continue doing what he loves most. No one is going to stop him.
Barker, in the second stanza of his poem, portrays his mother as, like Feinstein's father, stubborn. She is fearless and will not allow the arrival of bombers to make her drop her favorite cordial and rush down to a cellar for cover. She will "lean on the mahogany table like a mountain," suggesting the strength of her will. She is just as immovable as a mountain, and only faith can move her. Barker beautifully extends this simile to emphasize how he wishes to encourage his mother to believe that she should not grieve but face the next day knowing that he is safe. The use of "O" further stresses his plea that his mother should trust that he will be secure. 
The speakers in both poems effectively convey the deep feelings they have for their parents, and the reader is satisfyingly left in no doubt that both poets have only the greatest love, respect, and admiration for them.

Who was Mariam in A Thousand Splendid Suns most like in The Kite Runner and The Thorn Birds?

I would argue that Mariam is most like Hassan in The Kite Runner and Dane O'Neill in The Thorn Birds. That was my argument in my previous answer here.
In this answer, I will provide a few more details to substantiate my thesis. In my opinion, Mariam, Hassan, and Dane are similar in that they share traits of compassion, selflessness, and loyalty. The text from all three novels substantiates this fact. Hassan is utterly devoted to Amir and Baba. As for Miriam, she becomes intensely devoted to Laila, Aziza, and Zalmai as time progresses. Meanwhile, Dane is devoted to Meggie (his mother) and Justine (his sister) from the very beginning. Later, Dane pledges his commitment to the Church and becomes Father Ralph de Bricassart's loyal understudy. Tragically, Dane dies without learning the truth about his paternal heritage.
One trait Hassan shares with Mariam is a rare perception, a deep insight into human nature and the workings of life. When the Taliban moves into Kabul, Rahim Khan urges Hassan to rejoice, but the latter understood that there would be no peace for the beleaguered city. Hassan's answer to Rahim Khan's exhortation is a simple and prophetic "God help the Hazaras now, Rahim Khan sahib."
Hassan's fears are realized when the Taliban banned kite-fighting (his favorite pastime) only a few weeks after taking over the Kabul region. The text tells us that, two years later, the Taliban massacred the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif. Thus, Hassan had been right in his outlook. As for Mariam, the exchange between her and Laila after Rasheed's death is one of the most poignant moments in the novel.
When Laila begs Mariam to go with her and the children, Mariam refuses. Her simple answer is at once heartbreaking and damning in the truth it contains: "They chop off hands for stealing bread. . . . What do you think they'll do when they find a dead husband and two missing wives?" Mariam knows that neither of them will survive if they try to escape together. To console Laila, Mariam tells her friend to think like a mother.
Mariam dies to give Laila and her two children a chance at life. In giving herself, Mariam (like Hassan) dies in the knowledge that she has never betrayed her principles. Despite the cruelty of others (whether it be from Rasheed or the Taliban), Mariam is able to retain her humanity to the last. Her perception of what constitutes the most important things in life is unerring. This is also true for Dane; he dies knowing that his last act on earth is an unselfish one. In death, all three characters are able to transcend injustice, hatred, and cruelty.