Question

the trouble started right away as soon as we got into the school yard, because all the boys knew, from the moment miss ralston had spoken, that something of theirs was being threatened and that, as long as there was the remotest chance that any girl might get to carry the water, they had to do everything in their power to stop it. like driving a tractor or playing hockey for the toronto maple leafs, carrying water was real, and because it was real it belonged to them. so they went right for alma as soon as she came out of school and that was when another funny thing happened. instead of just standing back and watching alma get beaten up, as we usually did when the boys were after someone, the girls rushed right in to try and help her. in the first place we all liked alma, and in the second place we all had seen, as clearly as the boys, what our carrying the water might mean; that, incredibly, we, too, might get to skip school for half an hour at a time, that we, too, might get to sneak into rowsells store on the way back and, most dizzying thought of all, that we too might get to do something real. and, because we were so intoxicated by the whole idea, and took the boys so much by surprise by standing up to them, we somehow managed to get alma and ourselves out of the schoolyard with only a few bruises and torn stockings, leaving the boys in possession of the schoolyard where, as we could glimpse over our shoulders as we ran down the hill, they had begun to gather together in a single ominous knot. and for the rest of that weekend, though of course we never talked about it in front of our parents, all we could think of, both boys and girls, was what was going to happen at school that coming week. question 4 4. write: how do the boys react to miss ralstons response to alma? why do they react this way?

Explanation:

The boys react aggressively towards Alma as soon as she comes out of school. They do this because they perceive Miss Ralston's response to Alma as a threat to their exclusive right to carry water, which they consider a 'real' activity that belongs to them. They fear that if girls are allowed to carry water, they will lose their privilege of skipping school for half - hour intervals and engaging in this 'real' task.

Answer:

The boys react aggressively towards Alma. They do this because they see Miss Ralston's response as a threat to their exclusive claim on the activity of carrying water.