How does the author show the emergence of the text's theme: being alone in an unfamiliar setting can bring feelings of sadness and isolation?A The author uses the line "The men employed in the indigo factory had no leisure; moreover, they were hardly desirable companions," to suggest the postmaster was too occupied with work to befriend the workers. B The author uses the line "Oh, if only some kindred soul were near-" to illustrate his regret of having no one to share his deepest feelings. C The author uses the line "He felt like a fish out of water in this remote village." to reveal that the postmaster feels out of place and has trouble connecting with the villagers. D The author uses the line "The postmaster's salary was small" to contrast the poverty of the postmaster to the wealth of the villagers.

Explain how the author shapes and refines the development of the text's theme: being alone in an unfamiliar setting can bring feelings of sadness and isolation. Be sure to use two details from the text.

Select the correct text in the passage.Which detail builds on the themes that a person's environment can shape his or her view of life and that people can bear difficult circumstances for a long time?adapted from Life in the Iron Millsby Rebecca Harding Davis     A cloudy day—do you know what that is in a town of iron works? The sky sank down before dawn—muddy, flat, and immovable; the air is thick—clammy with the breath of crowded human beings, and it stifles me. I open the front window and can scarcely see through the rain the grocer's shop opposite, and I can detect the scent through all the foul smells ranging loose in the air.     The idiosyncrasy of this town is smoke as it rolls sullenly in slow folds from the great chimneys of the iron foundries and settles down in black, slimy pools on the muddy streets. Smoke on the wharves, smoke on the dingy boats, on the yellow river clinging in a coating of greasy soot to the house, the two faded poplars, the faces of the passerby—smoke everywhere! A dirty canary chirps desolately in a cage beside me; its dream of green fields and sunshine is a very old dream—almost worn out, I think.     From the back window, I can see a narrow brickyard sloping down to the riverside, where the river—dull and tawny-colored—drags itself sluggishly along, tired of the heavy weight of boats and barges. When I was a child, I used to fancy a look of weary, dumb appeal upon the face of the river, bearing its burden day after day. Something of the same idle notion comes to me today, when I look on the slow stream of human life creeping past, night and morning, to the great mills. Masses of men with dull, besotted faces bent to the ground, sharpened here and there by pain or cunning; skin and muscle and flesh begrimed with smoke and ashes; stooping all night over boiling cauldrons of metal; breathing from infancy to death an air saturated with grease and soot—vileness for soul and body. What do you make of a case like that, amateur psychologist? You call it an altogether serious thing to be alive: to these men it is a jest, a joke—horrible to angels perhaps, but to them commonplace enough.

Based on this stanza from the poem “Alone” by Edgar Allen Poe, what is the poem’s main idea?From childhood's hour I have not beenAs others were—I have not seenAs others saw—I could not bringMy passions from a common spring—From the same source I have not takenMy sorrow—I could not awakenMy heart to joy at the same tone—And all I loved—I loved alone.The poet is remembering being a child.The poet believes he is happier than others.The poet is very sad and lonely.The poet thinks he is different from other children.

The poem begins with a peaceful depiction of summer idleness but ends with a reflection on the presence of cruelty and suffering in the world. This contrast between the tranquillity of nature and the harshness of human behaviour creates a sense of irony, highlighting the complexities of life.

Click to read the passage from The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka. Then answer the question.Which words from the passage best support the theme that people are lonely and feel isolated from one another?A.You'll be amazed how nice it isB.I'm glad you're hereC.He never goes out in the eveningsD.He isn't well, please believe me.SUBMITarrow_backPREVIOUS