I think you got your question and answer choices mixed up.
For the actual question, the answer is: They represent the next generation of children and suggest the need for protection.
For the correct answer out of the choices: The stories that Thomas tells and his desire to be listened to allow Alexie to show that telling and listening to stories is an important way people shape and understand their lives.
I took the test and got 100% so I know both answers! lol
Answer:
The two sentences that best show that the composer drew inspiration from literature are:
Bernstein's music was influenced by many pieces he had heard - and even read - before.
West Side Story was also influenced by the famous play Romeo and Juliet, written in the late sixteenth century by William Shakespeare.
Explanation:
The excerpt makes it clear that music composer Leonard Bernstein was a very talented man, capable of writing different styles of music.<u> His inspiration, however, did not come only from other music pieces. The passage makes it clear that literature was also an important source of inspiration for the composer. That is clearly stated in two sentences:</u>
Bernstein's music was influenced by many pieces he had heard - and even read - before.
West Side Story was also influenced by the famous play Romeo and Juliet, written in the late sixteenth century by William Shakespeare.
<u>We are told that what he read was also influential on his work, and that a specific famous play, "Romeo and Juliet", inspired Bernstein's most famous work - the music for "West Side Story".</u>