Question

question 1 of 10
read the following passage from the grapes of wrath.

the little farmers watched debt creep up on them like the
tide. they sprayed the trees and sold no crop, they pruned
and grafted and could not pick the crop.

which statement best describes the syntax of this passage?

a. the author feels frustrated for the farmers.

b. the author describes the farmers with action verbs.

c. the author uses repetition and parallelism.

d. the author shows how the farmers work was done in vain.

Explanation:

To determine the syntax of the passage, we analyze each option:

• Option A: Discusses the author's emotion, not syntax. Syntax refers to sentence structure, not the author's feelings. Eliminate A.
• Option B: While action verbs are present, the key aspect of syntax here is not just the use of action verbs but the structure of the sentences. The passage's syntax is more about repetition and parallelism. Eliminate B.
• Option C: The passage has parallel structures like "sprayed the trees and sold no crop" and "pruned and grafted and could not pick the crop", and repetition in the structure of the sentences (similar sentence patterns). This is a syntactic feature.
• Option D: Describes the meaning or theme of the passage (the farmers' work being in vain), not the syntax (sentence structure). Eliminate D.

Answer:

C. The author uses repetition and parallelism.