SAT OwlQuestion bank / Command of Evidence
In Josephine Arden's 1910 novel The Long Field, the narrator presents Will Barlow as a man who hides his kindness behind a gruff manner. The narrator conveys this when describing Will: ______
Which quotation from The Long Field most effectively illustrates the claim?
"He never thanked a hired hand in words, but every one of them found an extra coin in his wages at the end of a hard week, and Will would scowl if anyone mentioned it."
"Will Barlow was the gruffest man in the county, and he wanted everyone to know it."
"Will had been kind once, the old women said, before his wife died."
"The children of the village ran when they saw him coming, and he did nothing to call them back."
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A
The claim needs present kindness that Will conceals with gruffness. In choice A he gives his workers extra money (kindness) without words and scowls when it is mentioned (hiding it behind a gruff manner).
Choice C refers to kindness Will showed in the past, according to gossip, rather than kindness he currently hides.
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