<span>The author’s purpose in this excerpt is to prompt an emotion in the reader. The descriptive way of delivering the situation to the reader gives a sense of emotion to the reader. The prompt is by the use of words such as, "hurting," and "tears in his eyes," are words used to convey such message.</span>
Seems to me the answer is.
"Every mouthful of food was an acute positive pleasure, now that it was truly their own food, produces by themselves and for themselves, not doled out to them by a grudging master".
maybe...it seems it to me though.
