6
QuizMultiple Choice

Imagery and Symbolism in "The Scarlet Ibis" — Quiz

Question 6 • English Language Arts 9

Read the excerpt from “The Scarlet Ibis.” Daddy, Mama, and I went back to the dining-room table, but we watched Doodle through the open door. He took out a piece of string from his pocket and, without touching the ibis, looped one end around its neck. Slowly, while singing softly “Shall We Gather at the River,” he carried the bird around to the front yard and dug a hole in the flower garden, next to the petunia bed. Now we were watching him through the front window, but he didn’t know it. His awkwardness at digging the hole with a shovel whose handle was twice as long as he was made us laugh, and we covered our mouths with our hands so he wouldn’t hear. When Doodle came into the dining room, he found us seriously eating our cobbler. He was pale and lingered just inside the screen door. “Did you get the scarlet ibis buried?” asked Daddy. Doodle didn’t speak but just nodded his head. Which example of sensory imagery from the excerpt best shows that Doodle is upset about the death of the scarlet ibis?

Answer
A
He took out a piece of string from his pocket and, without touching the ibis, looped one end around its neck.
B
Slowly, while singing softly “Shall We Gather at the River,” he carried the bird around to the front yard and dug a hole in the flower garden, next to the petunia bed.
C
When Doodle came into the dining room, he found us seriously eating our cobbler.
D
He was pale and lingered just inside the screen door.

Explanation

The description “He was pale” creates visual imagery: it lets the reader picture Doodle’s drained appearance, suggesting he is upset by the ibis’s death. His lingering just inside the screen door also shows that he is hesitant to join the others. The other choices describe the burial or the family eating, but do not show Doodle’s emotional reaction as clearly.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.

Previous
Next