Question

Read this description of Phippsburg from Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. So [Turner] went on toward the sea. He passed the yellow-shuttered house, half wishing that Mrs. Hurd were on the porch. He passed the picket fence of Mrs. Cobb's, steering as clear of it as if it were the wall of Jericho about to fall. He kept his face to the sea breeze as the line of white houses at the end of Parker Head sputtered, revived in a solid row, and finally gave out and let the road twist by itself up into cedars. Turner held himself to a slow walk, his hands politely out of his pockets. (Who knew if Mrs. Cobb might still be watching him from some murky spot where dark things lurked?) But as he climbed into the thicket of trees and the air grew cooler, and as the road thinned to a path, and as the cedars gave way to birches, then aspens, then pines, Turner felt as though he were taking off the black robes that enveloped his father. What aspect of Phippsburg contributes to Turner’s internal conflict at this point in the story? The town is very small, and everybody can observe and comment on what Turner is doing. The town is built by the sea, and Turner is afraid of one day being unexpectedly swept away by the high waves of the ocean. The town is occupied mainly by women who remind Turner of characters and places from the Bible. The town’s houses are all white and look the same, which makes the town seem boring, which makes Turner want to leave.

Answer 1

Answer: The town is very small, and everybody can observe and comment on what Turner is doing.

In this excerpt, the author implies that the town is very small. We can see this by the fact that the narrator knows all the streets, the houses, and the people that live in them. Moreover, we also see that because of the size of the town, people can easily know what everybody else is doing. The narrator feels that people will notice him, and will comment on his behaviour.

Answer 2

The answer to this small passage is 

"The town is very small, and everybody can observe and comment on what Turner is doing."

It is shown that Turner had a frustrating course wherein he thought the town would be inhospitable. His frustration is shown at the beginning wherein he disagrees in moving in a small town.