Question

excerpt from the scarlet ibis
when he was two, if you laid him on his stomach, he began to try to move himself, straining terribly. the doctor said that with his weak heart this strain would probably kill him, but it didnt. trembling, hed push himself up, turning first red, then a soft purple, and finally collapse back onto the bed like an old worn - out doll. i can still see mama watching him, her hand pressed tight across her mouth, her eyes wide and unblinking. but he learned to crawl (it was his third winter), and we brought him out of the front bedroom, putting him on the rug before the fireplace. for the first time he became one of us.
there is within me (and with sadness i have watched it in others) a knot of cruelty borne by the stream of love, much as our blood sometimes bears the seed of our destruction, and at times i was mean to doodle. one day i took him up to the barn loft and showed him his casket, telling him how we all had believed he would die. it was covered with a film of paris green sprinkled to kill the rats, and screech owls had built a nest inside it.
doodle studied the mahogany box for a long time, then said, its not mine.
it is, i said. and before ill help you down from the loft, youre going to have to touch it.
doodle was frightened of being left. dont go leave me, brother, he cried and he leaned toward the coffin. his hand, trembling, reached out, and when he touched the casket he screamed. a screech owl flapped out of the box into our faces, scaring us and covering us with paris green. doodle was paralyzed, so i put him on my shoulder and carried him down the ladder, and even when we were outside in the bright sunshine, he clung to me, crying, dont leave me, dont leave me.
multiple choice 8 points
what does the underlined imagery in this excerpt show about doodle?
he is silly and enjoys making others laugh.
he is easily upset and likes to throw tantrums.
he is physically weak and avoids hard work.
he is determined and does not give up easily.
multiple choice 8 points
which object from the excerpt is used to symbolize death?
the stream
the owls
the loft
the casket
multiple choice 8 points
what do doodles repeated pleas of dont leave me foreshadow?
once the narrator returns to school, he leaves doodle at home and forgets all of his plans to help him.
after doodle refuses to touch the casket, the narrator refuses to help doodle and leaves him alone in the loft.
later in the story, the narrator races ahead and leaves doodle to struggle behind during a terrible storm.

Explanation:

1. In the excerpt, Doodle is described as having physical limitations and being unable to perform tasks easily, indicating he is physically weak. He also tries to keep up with his brother's demands but struggles, showing he doesn't avoid hard - work. There is no indication of him being silly or enjoying making others laugh. So the answer is that he is physically weak and avoids hard work is incorrect. He is physically weak and determined not to give up easily.
2. Caskets are often associated with death in literature. In the text, the casket is a prominent object and is related to Doodle's vulnerability and the narrator's early fears about Doodle's survival, symbolizing death.
3. The repeated plea "Don't leave me" foreshadows the narrator leaving Doodle behind later in the story during the storm. When the narrator races ahead and leaves Doodle struggling behind during the storm, it is a fulfillment of this foreshadowing.

Answer:

1. He is physically weak and determined and does not give up easily.
2. the casket
3. Once the narrator returns to school, he leaves Doodle at home and forgets all of his plans to help him. Later in the story, the narrator races ahead and leaves Doodle to struggle behind during a terrible storm.