Question

read the excerpt from \clara barton’s childhood.\
meanwhile, her family whispered to each other.
\it’s not good for her to be locked away in that room so much,\ her mother would say.
\i’ve tried to encourage her to leave, to ride the horses or visit the animals in the barn,\ her father explained, \but she refuses to leave david’s side.\

clara is best characterized in this excerpt when the author uses the
○ actions of her parents to show that clara is determined
○ thoughts of her parents to show that she is angry with her family
○ words of her parents to show that they think clara is foolish
○ words of her parents to show that clara is stubborn

Explanation:

1. Analyze Option 1: The parents' actions (whispering) don't directly show Clara's determination. The focus is on their words about her refusal, not their actions to show her determination. Eliminate this.
2. Analyze Option 2: The parents' thoughts aren't presented; their words are. Also, there's no indication Clara is angry with her family. Eliminate this.
3. Analyze Option 3: The parents' words don't imply they think Clara is foolish. They are concerned about her being locked away and note her refusal to leave, not calling her foolish. Eliminate this.
4. Analyze Option 4: The parents' words ("she refuses to leave David’s side" despite encouragement to do other things) show Clara is stubborn (unwilling to change her behavior of staying by David). This matches.

Answer:

D. words of her parents to show that Clara is stubborn.