Read the excerpt from "Rhobert” in Cane.It is a sad thing to see a banty-bowed, shaky, ricket-legged man straining the raw insides of his throat against smoothed air. Holding furtive thoughts about the glory of pulp-heads strewn in water. . . . He is way down. Down. Mud, coming to his banty knees, almost hides them.
Answer
A
The hyphens show Rhobert’s lack of earthly connection.
B
The hyphens emphasize Rhobert’s scattered thoughts.
C
The ellipsis emphasizes the oppression Rhobert is feeling.
D
The ellipsis suggests that Rhobert could not think coherently.
Explanation
The ellipsis after “water” creates a pause before the description continues, making the words feel heavy and lingering. That pause reinforces Rhobert’s bleak, oppressed state, as the passage describes him as “way down” and nearly hidden by mud. The excerpt contains no hyphens, so choices A and B do not fit.
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