Question

what is the effect of the following passage? Now, though there were no parents to fall a heavy hand, Maurice still felt the unease of wrongdoing. At the back of his mind formed the uncertain outlines of an excuse.

Answer 1

Answer. It emphasizes the boys' desire to follow rules.

The writer makes this clear when he says that even when the parents were not around to discipline his actions, Maurice still felt the guilt or the 'unease of wrongdoing'. Even though that he was thinking about an excuse, he was not feeling good about wrongdoing.