Read the excerpt from "Homesickness."He himself sat down behind his desk and fixed me with a penetrating but not unkindly eye.

The doctor sits behind his desk and looks at the narrator with a “penetrating” eye, suggesting he is observant and in control of the situation. These details make him seem like an authority figure, rather than a teacher or someone falling for a trick. The phrase “but not unkindly” also shows that he is not simply unkind.

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