Read the excerpt from Black Boy . Finally I heard my mother’s name called; she rose and began weeping so copiously that she could not talk for a few moments; at last she managed to say that her husband had deserted her and her two children, that her children were hungry, that they stayed hungry, that she worked, that she was trying to raise them alone. Then my father was called; he came forward jauntily, smiling. He tried to kiss my mother, but she turned away from him. Which best describes the author’s purpose in including this anecdote?
Answer
A
to clarify Wright’s father’s attitude, personality, and values
B
to explain the reason’s behind Wright’s father’s decisions
C
to explain Wright’s specific feelings toward his father
D
to clarify the nature of Wright’s relationships with his father
Explanation
The anecdote contrasts the mother’s distress as she describes raising hungry children alone with the father’s cheerful, jaunty manner when he appears. That contrast helps show the father’s attitude and personality, especially his apparent lack of concern about the family’s hardship. The passage does not mainly explain his motives or Wright’s own feelings toward him.
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