Question

Which of these answers is an indicator that the prisoners are emotionally numb? Sons abandon their fathers without emotion. The men tell each other to have courage.

Answer 1

“Sons abandon their fathers without emotion.”

To conclude that the prisoners are emotionally numb, you would use keywords/phrases. In the quote above, words such as “abandon” and “without emotion” show that the characters are void, show no remorse as they do not care. They are numb. -Can’t feel anything.

“The men tell each other to have courage” does not quite fill the line for “emotionally numb” as though they are probably feeling a sense of dread. Trying to encourage each other for the future.