Question

"We lived on Waverly Place, in a warm, clean, two-bedroom flat that sat above a small Chinese bakery specializing in steamed pastries and dim sum. In the early morning, when the alley was still quiet, I could smell fragrant red beans as they were cooked down to a pasty sweetness. By daybreak, our flat was heavy with the odor of fried sesame balls and sweet curried chicken crescents. From my bed, I would listen as my father got ready for work, then locked the door behind him, one-two-three clicks." Based on the word choice at the end of this selection what words would best describe Waverly's feelings when her father leaves for work in the morning? A. joyful and expectant B. mysterious and confused C. hungry and sleepy D. safe and secure

Answer 1

The answer is D. safe and secure.

Waverly is only six when this short story begins. She lives in Chinatown, in San Francisco, and at such a young age, she sees the world in a simple way. As a first-person narrator she says, for instance, that she didn't think of herself as a poor child because her bowl was always full.

In the excerpt, she seems to wish to convey that comfortable simplicity. The smell of food combined with her father leaving to work and the door being locked evoke a sensation of safety, the belief that everything is and will always be just fine.