read the excerpt from heart of a samurai.

manjiro didn’t care if the rice were poisoned. he gobbled it up gratefully. and the soft, steaming sweet potato. and the warm broth. and the half cup of cool, fresh water. and, finally, a strange kind of food was placed in his hands.

which heroic quality does manjiro show in the excerpt?

he examines the food carefully before he starts eating the meal.
he keeps a watchful eye on the barbarians during the meal.
he puts aside his fear and shows gratitude for the meal.
he does not allow himself to relax and enjoy the meal

The answer is He puts aside his fear and shows gratitude for the meal.

Explanation:

Heart of Samurai is a historic novel from 2010, written by Margi Preus. It is based on a true story and tells us about Manjiro Nakahama, one of first Japanese people who had the chance to go to America. He contributed to the ending of Japanese isolation period. At the beginning of the story he was just a fisherman, his voyage  took him from that position to being a man who had a trust of a Japanese emperor.

Let`s take a look at some key phrases here:

- did not if the rice were poisoned

- gobbled it up gratefully

From these bold phrases we see that he expresses gratitude for the meal that was given to him showing that by eating it hastily, overcoming his fear by doing so.

We can not see any trace of suspicion or feeling of discomfort shown by Manjiro.