What is the purpose of the scene in which Frank and Tub stop at the tavern for food and coffee, leaving the wounded Kenny in the back of the truck?...

When Frank and Tub stop to warm themselves up, this demonstrates how little they care about Kenny. Most people would rush a friend to the hospital immediately, but Frank and Tub think of themselves first, leaving Kenny to suffer in the truck alone.

The hunting trip is symbolic of what should be a male-bonding experience based on the environment the three men have been raised in. Kenny bullies the other two, teases them, and plays jokes on them. The three men do anything but bond with one another, until Kenny gets shot. Once Kenny's practical joke goes wrong, and he's shot, then Frank and Tub begin to bond with each other. The ironic part of this is that Kenny is out in a cold truck dying while Tub and Frank are inside sharing their secrets. Frank and Tub are selfish, taking care of their own wants and needs first. I also find it's ironic that the weakest member of the group, Tub, is the one to shoot Kenny, the strongest of the group.

Frank feels the need to open up to Tub and share his fears about deserting his family. At the next stop, Tub shares his secret about his overeating. The two men have managed to reveal their innermost thoughts and fears, probably for the first time, to another man. This bonding experience, however, is at Kenny's experience. The two men are so oblivious to Kenny's situation at the end that they even take his blankets away because he keeps throwing them off.

given f(x)=2x-6 and g(x)=9x^2-7x-4. Find (f*g)(-6).

In order to find the value of the composition of 2
functions, in our case f and g, we have to follow the
steps:

Step 1: First, we have to find out the expression of
the composition of the 2 functions:

(f*g)(x) =
f(g(x))

To find f(g(x)) we have to substitute x by g(x) in
the expression of f(x):

f(g(x)) =
2*(g(x))-6

Now, we'll substitute g(x) by it's
expression:

2*g(x)-6 = 2*(9x^2-7x-4) -
6

We'll open the
brackets:

2*(9x^2-7x-4) - 6 = 2*9x^2 - 2*7x - 2*4 -
6

f(g(x)) = 18x^2 - 14x  -
14

Step 2:

Now, we'll
calculate the value (f*g)(-6), substituting x from the expression of (f*g)(x), by
(-6).

(f*g)(-6) = 18(-6)^2 - 14(-6)  -
14

(f*g)(-6) = 648 + 84 -
14

(f*g)(-6) =
718

Please help with Othello's character.

Othello, a Moor, a dark skinned warrior, has risen to rank of general in the Venetian army. The other officers are all white. Hence, it has created in others jealousy that Othello foolishly ignores. The manipulative Iago seeks to destroy Othello for reasons that Shakespeare leaves unanswered, but it is safe to say evil motivates him for evil's sake.

Othello secretly marries the white daughter of a Venetian senator, a mistake in that it turns others against him. A wiser man would know that others may be plotting against him; Othello doesn't take stock of those around him.

Iago manages to manipulate the weakened Othello into thinking that his new wife is having an affair with Cassio. Had Othello made the decision to marry Desdemona with the father's consent, he might not have had lingering feelings of his wife's ability to fool others. Iago is now free to manipulate others against the weakened Othello. Iago plants evidence of Desdemona's infidelities and has Roderigo planning to kill Cassio, right under Othello's nose. Yet, he refers to "his friend" Iago as "good" and "honest".

After having killed Desdemona and Iago is found to be the culprit of the whole sordid take, Othello does the only noble thing left for a soldier who has killed dishonorably: he commits suicide. A man of immense character and great flaws.

How is Elesin Oba portrayed as a tragic hero?

A tragic hero is a hero who comes to a tragic end, usually death.  The hero does so in performance of his duty.  Elesin is the King’s Horseman in a small tribe in Nigeria during Word War II.   Like many cultures, Elesin’s tribe believes that there is an afterlife.  Elesin is honor-bound to commit suicide in order to keep his late king company.

Elesin says:

“Life is honour. It ends when honour ends.”

This sums up Elesin’s belief that his suicide is honorable and his duty.  In the end, Elesin is able to commit suicide, even if he does not do it as he intends.  He dies, and he dies doing his duty.

What are the climax, resolution, and examples of simile, irony, suspense, personification, foreshadowing, and onomatopoeia in this story?

The climax of Richard Connell's story is when Rainsford suddenly appears in General Zaroff's bedroom after Zaroff has assumed the Rainsford committed suicide (this is also irony).  The resolution of the conflict between the two is when Zaroff is killed by his own dogs, and Rainsford gets to sleep in his bed.

When Rainsford is aboard the yacht, Whitney tells the story of Ship-Trap Island where sailors have gone, yet never returned.  This foreshadows that Rainsford is somehow going to end up on this island so that the reader learns the truth of the tale. 

When Connell writes, "the sea was as flat as a plate-glass window", he uses a simile to create a visual effect in the reader's mind.  This demonstrates just how still the water was at that point.

Suspense is created through the various traps that Rainsford sets for Zaroff, yet the general manages to escape them.  Each time he escapes, he comes closer to capturing his prey-- Rainsford.

As for personification, Rainsford says, "Who cares how a jaguar feels?" to which Whintey replies, "Perhaps the jaguar does."

What does Scout think of current fashions in education?

Scout certainly had a big letdown after attending her
first day of school in To Kill a Mockingbird. Although Miss
Caroline is fresh out of college, she seems to have few social skills when dealing with
her students. Scout stood up for Walter Cunningham Jr. when Miss Caroline
unintentionally offends him. The students didn't understand the "imaginative literature"
of Mrs. Cat and the drugstore, and Miss Caroline didn't bother to explain it. Miss
Caroline made Scout feel as if she had committed a crime by learning to read before the
first grade. When punished later by a ruler-spanking of her hands, Scout found Miss
Caroline's action more amusing than academic.

Jem does not
help matters. He tells Scout to be patient about the new teaching method being initiated
by Miss Caroline. "'It's the Dewey Decimal System,'" Jem tell Scout, who "never
questioned Jem's pronouncements." However, Jem was also confused: Miss Caroline's new
teaching style was based on the educational reformer John Dewey (1859-1952)--not the
library system of organizing founded by Melvil Dewey. 

Why does Odysseus want to test his servants and his wife before revealing his identity in book 17?

Odysseus has been away from home over twenty years. When he finally reaches the shores of Ithaca, he is stopped from entering his home by Athena. There is no joyous reunion, instead finds that his home has been overwhelmed by the greedy suitors who have corrupted some of his servants. The test of the servants is only nature. He has to know how far the corruption has gone.

As for the test of Penelope, a wife who has been on her own for twenty years, Odysseus maybe suspicious that like himself, she found companionship during those years. Remember also that the test goes both ways, Penelope tests Odysseus to make sure that it is really him. She does this when she asks him the question about their bed.