Answer:
E. All of the above
Explanation:
According to a different source, these are the options that come with this question:
A. Jim’s mother lacks religious faith, whereas the school book mothers are pious.
B. She is neither loving nor devoted to her son, whereas the school book mothers are.
C. She is healthy, whereas the school book mothers are always dying of consumption.
D. She physically hits him, whereas the school book mothers are gentle and affectionate.
E. All of the above
This question refers to the story "The Story of the Bad Little Boy" by Mark Twain. In this story, Twain talks about a boy who was very bad, but who never felt guilty, received a punishment or was particularly unhappy. According to Twain, this shows that the moral stories that we find in "Sunday-school books" do not reflect reality.
One of the elements in the boy's life (Jim) that did not resemble those stories was his mother. Jim's mother was not a sick and pious woman like those often found in such stories. Instead, she was tough, healthy and "stout." Moreover, she was not religious, and she did not worry about Jim in any way. Instead, she cared little for him and physically hit him, spanking him and boxing his ears.
