Read the excerpt from "Fern” in Cane.From force of habit, I suppose, I held Fern in my arms—that is, without at first noticing it. Then my mind came back to her. Her eyes, unusually weird and open, held me. Held God. He flowed in as I’ve seen the countryside flow in. Seen men. I must have done something—what, I don’t know, in the confusion of my emotion.
Answer
A
The em dashes imply that the narrator is flustered during this situation.
B
The em dashes establish an interruption in the narrator’s thought process.
C
The commas show that the narrator is able to be calm in this moment.
D
The commas suggest that the narrator feels conflicting emotions.
Explanation
The em dash marks a break in the narrator’s sentence as he adds the clarification “that is, without at first noticing it.” This pause reflects a shift in his thought before he explains that his mind returned to Fern. So the em dash establishes an interruption in the narrator’s thought process, rather than proving that he is flustered.
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