Put yourself into Mary's shoes how do you think Mary felt when she becomes more independent and why do u think that?
I believe that the answer is his body will become a part of the earth, because 'bequeath' means to pass something on or leave to someone else, and he is leaving his body and letting it become one with the earth.
The answer to that question is them. The class is a collective noun for a bunch of students that are learning from a teacher. Since we are referring to people, then we cannot use it because the noun it is used for inanimate objects. Pronouns like them are used to refer to people
