In the line, "Such laughter is worse than the crackling of thorns under a pot, for it denotes not merely the vacant mind, but th
e heart in which high emotions have been choked before they could grow to fruition," the word "but" shows an opposite relationshlp between a vacant mind and high emotions, so we can conclude that high emotions are
In this excerpt, we can see that the author builds an opposite relationship between a vacant mind and high emotions. In other words, people who have a vacant mind cannot have high emotions. A vacant mind is an undesirable trait, as it means that the person does not have very complex and worthy thoughts. Therefore, the opposite of this, which are high emotions, is a desirable trait. So we can conclude that high emotions are admirable.
Santiago says he will clean all the merchant’s crystal overnight in exchange for money to get to Egypt. The merchant replies that the trip to Egypt is so long and expensive that Santiago couldn’t earn enough for the trip in a year. Santiago feels disappointed but agrees to take the job.