When considering why Henry was irritated with his mother in The Red Badge of Courage, the most effective reading strategy to realize this is reading between the lines to infere. At any moment it is said that he feels irritated with her, but there are two instances in chapter 1 that shows that. The first one is when he prepared himself emotionally for a warm welcome from his mother and she seemed cold and far away from him, while the other is when he was about to leave to the army and his mother gave him a moral speech. 'It had not been quite what he expected.' Whe can infere that he expected a hug, a kiss and an <em>I love you</em>, instead of rules of good behavior.
Is there anything else that goes with this question?
1) C) weak and gaunt
Buck is described as have muscles which "had wasted away" and it goes on to say that "each rib and every bone...were outlined cleanly through the loose hide..." This description shows that he is weak and gaunt.
2) hearing
Sensory details appeal to the senses. In this excerpt, there are many sounds, such as bursting, throbbing, soft-sighing, snapping, and trickle. These all appeal to the sense of hearing.
3) B) His muscles had wasted away to knotty strings, and the flesh pads had disappeared, so that each rib and every bone in his frame were outlined cleanly through the loose hide...
This is the best answer. Thin is another word for gaunt. The reasons this excerpt is the answer is the same as for number one.
4) A) how furious and upset Thornton is
We can see Thornton's anger when it says "suddenly...John Thornton sprang upon the man". In this line he is being described as verbally attacking the man with the club. He does so because he is furious. His feelings about the situation show when his voice is described as "choking". This choice of words shows that Thornton cares about his son and is upset when he speaks.
<span>A- "We can take comfort in this much: we teach our children even when we're not trying to."</span>
