Question

The tractors] ignored hills and gulches, water courses, fences, houses.
Which sentence best describes Steinbeck's diction here?
A. He uses the word "ignored" to show that the tractors had no connection with the land.
B. He uses the words "hills and gulches" to describe the highs and lows of the tenant experience.
C. He omits "and" at the end of the sentence to show how many things were ignored.
D. He uses words about farming to show his reader that he knows what he's talking about.

Answer 1

The answer is A because if they didn't ignore the land, the overall meaning would be different

Answer 2

Answer:

A). He uses the word "ignored" to show that the tractors had no connection with the land.

Explanation:

As per the question, option A i.e. 'He uses the word "ignored" to show that the tractors had no connection with the land' exemplifies the sentence that most appropriately describes Steinbeck's diction or word-choice in the given excerpt. It helps the author to convey the idea that 'the tractors did not possess any connection to the land' and thus, it 'ignored the hills and gulches, fences, etc.' Had Steinbeck employed a different word(rather than 'ignored') the entire idea and meaning would have got changed. Therefore, option A is the correct answer.