One theme of this story is coming of age, which is revealed through Kevin’s experiences at school and home. In the story, Kevin feels caught between his interactions with his father at home and his teacher at school. Waldo, Kevin’s teacher, humiliates Kevin because his father helped him complete his homework, which is incorrect. Consider the character interaction at the end of the story between Kevin and his father:
“How did it go today?” his father asked.
“All right.” They kept silent until they reached the corner of their own street.
“What about the Latin?”
Kevin faltered, feeling a babyish desire to cry.
“How was it?”
“OK. Fine.”
“Good. I was a bit worried about it. It was done in a bit of a rush. Son, your Da’s a genius.” He smacked him with the paper again. Kevin laughed and slipped his hand into the warmth of his father’s overcoat pocket, deep to the elbow.
Kevin has the “babyish desire to cry,” but he doesn’t let his father know about the problems at school. His restraint shows that through this experience Kevin has matured, and he is protecting his father from feeling the humiliation from his school experience.
First, I will ask her again if she understood what I said because there may be a language barrier between us. She may have misunderstood, which is why she held her hand out expecting money. If she says she understood what I was asking, I will ask her how much money she wants for the photo and base my final decision on that.
I would say A because the information skipped in B and C might be helpful to understanding more about the culture and there might be some important material in there.
It is important to understand why an author is writing something. As a reader, knowing the purpose or intent that the writer has for creating the piece of work helps you EVALUATE it better.
