Read the following excerpt from As I Lay Dying:

The animal magnetism of a dead body makes the stress come slanting, so the seams and joints of a coffin are made on the bevel.

You can see by an old grave that the earth sinks down on the bevel.

While in a natural hole it sinks by the center, the stress being up-and-down.

So I made it on the bevel.

It makes a neater job.

Which best explains how the structure of this excerpt reveals Cash's personality?

A. It lacks dialogue to illustrate that Cash prefers solitude to society.

B. It avoids paragraphs to show that Cash has rejected tradition.

C. It numbers Cash's ideas to show that he is logical and organized.

D. It orders ideas sequentially to illustrate Cash's idea of a perfect coffin.

Question

English

Ellis Savage

20 February, 13:20

Read the following excerpt from As I Lay Dying:

The animal magnetism of a dead body makes the stress come slanting, so the seams and joints of a coffin are made on the bevel.

You can see by an old grave that the earth sinks down on the bevel.

While in a natural hole it sinks by the center, the stress being up-and-down.

So I made it on the bevel.

It makes a neater job.

Which best explains how the structure of this excerpt reveals Cash's personality?

A. It lacks dialogue to illustrate that Cash prefers solitude to society.

B. It avoids paragraphs to show that Cash has rejected tradition.

C. It numbers Cash's ideas to show that he is logical and organized.

D. It orders ideas sequentially to illustrate Cash's idea of a perfect coffin.

+2

Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Jadon Dickson · Answer 1

The right answer is D. The end of this chapter is a numbered list of ways to build a perfect coffin, which includes carpentry terminology such as "bevel", "slanting", "seams and joints" which allude to Cash's main activity as a carpenter. However, the list itself is a way to cope with his mother's death through work: building the perfect coffin for her is a way to avoid dealing with grief head-on.