I choose prompt 2:
This response is to show how the author used various words to make the reader understand that the story is happening in the past. One of the ways the author did this is by describing the "ideal life". She listed many things the children had. For example, in the passage, the author stated how beautiful and "modern" their home was, how children had pretty clothes, a 'lovely' nursery with lots of toys. One other way the author shows that the events took place in the past is by saying things like "Mother Goose wall-paper". Wallpaper is rarely used today.
The story also described their "perfect" mother, who "does not sit and entertain herself but is simply there to entertain her children". She is "almost always there", and "ready to play with the children, read to them, and help them to do their home-lessons." This is also rare today, as most mothers are working and do not spend as much time with their children as in the past. The father is described as "perfect", he is "never cross, never unjust, and always ready for a game". The descriptions such as these make the reader think that the events in the story are happening in the past.
Some additional words that make it sound that the story took place in the past, are the mention of mumps (this is very rare today) and using word such as "dull".
All of these different ways are used to make the reader feel that the story is happening in the past time.
