Question

What does the simile in the following sentence reveal about the horse and its owners?

A miserable horse, whose ribs were as articulate as the bars of a gridiron, stalked about a field.


The horse was happy and well-kept by its owners


The horse was wild and enjoying its freedom only to be tamed by Tom Walker


The horse was a hard worker in the fields and earned his keep


The horse was malnourished and unkempt by its owners




What statement BEST explain why the author includes the following sentence?

They lived in a forlorn looking house that stood alone and had an air of starvation.


to describe how the characters' setting relates to their personalities


to show how setting often contrasts with the characters


to depict typical conditions for the eighteenth century


using words like 'forlorn' and 'starvation' makes the author seem smarter

Answer 1

Answer:

Question 1: What does the simile in the following sentence reveal about the horse and its owners?

Answer 1: The horse was malnourished and unkempt by its owners.

Question 2:  What statement BEST explain why the author includes the following sentence?

Answer 2: LIKELY  to describe how the characters' setting relates to their personalities

Explanation:

Question 1 Explanation:

A simile is a direct comparison using "Like," or "As."

In the sentence, the simile is the statement: "ribs were as articulate as the bars of a gridiron."

To understand this quote, you must use vocabulary knowledge, knowledge of rhetorical techniques, and context clues.

To begin with, a "gridiron" is generally a term applied towards the layout of a football field, with largely-spaced vertical lines covering its surface. The word ITSELF can relate to a "grid" or "grate."

Secondly, the word "Articulate" typically means fluently, expressively, effectively, or eloquently. It's largely used to refer to SPEECH, however, in this context, one can assume it means "eloquent" or "expressive/graphic." If we use the first definition, we can infer that the author is being sarcastic, due to the "bars of a gridiron" being the opposite of eloquent. If we use the second definition, we can infer the author is being quite literal, because the bars of a gridiron are generally far-spaced. If your ribs are very pronounced and widely spaced, this signifies sickness and ill-health.

Thirdly, we can use another word in the sentence as assistance with context clues... the word "Stalked."

"...stalked about the field."

Now, the definition of this word relates to an aggressive pace/stride, and can equally signify anger, depression, dismay, or frustration. These are ALL negative aspects, which further build on our reasoning of the previous two aspects in the sentence, as well as the word "Miserable."

Of your choices, D. "The Horse was malnourished and unkempt by its owners" is the only logical option.

Question 2 Explanation:

This generally depends on other information necessary. I've yet to read the book this was quoted from, so the answer depends on this context. HOWEVER, an educated guess IS reasonable. The use of the words "Forlorn," "Alone," and "Starvation," are all very negative. The use of the word "They" indicates the main subject of the sentence, indicating it focuses more on potential characters being affected BY the conditions rather than the conditions themselves.

You can immediately eliminate options C and D because of this. Authors don't typically use words to make themselves appear "smarter," and the sentence does NOT focus on the time placement.

Now, this is where further knowledge of the story would be of use. IF the characters live in this gritty, harsh world and have entirely OPPOSITE personalities, then B would be correct.

If they live in this reality and their personalities MIRROR this, then this would make A correct.

From an educated guess based off the last question, I can likely assume that the "characters" are not happy, but disheartened, starving, and aggrieved.

Because of this, I'd say A: "to describe how the characters' setting relates to their personalities" is correct