After reading Barrio Boy, students were asked to write a response about the role of family and friends in the story. Malcolm wrote the response below. Family and friends are very important to Ernesto. A lot of people help him on the way to the United States. Which answer option shows the best way to revise the above sentences for clarity and detail? Some family and friends who help Ernesto are Doña Henriqueta and José and Gustavo. The grown ups in the neighborhood help him learn to run errands. These are just some of the people who help him. Family and friends are an important element in this story. Not only do they teach Ernesto important life lessons, but they also help him journey to the United States and provide his family with some essentials when they arrive. Ernesto could not have made it to the United States without his family and friends. They did lots of nice things for him and kept him safe. He really loves his friends and family in Mexico. Family is very important to Ernesto. Friends are very important to Ernesto too. They are the people who took him to the United States. They are a very important part of his life.

Read the excerpts from part 3 of "an occurrence at owl creek bridge." a rising sheet of water curved over him, fell down upon him, blinded him, strangled him! the cannon had taken a hand in the game. as he shook his head free from the commotion of the smitten water he heard the deflected shot humming through the air ahead, and in an instant it was cracking and smashing the branches in the forest beyond. *** a whiz and rattle of grapeshot among the branches high above his head roused him from his dream. the baffled cannoneer had fired him a random farewell. he sprang to his feet, rushed up the sloping bank, and plunged into the forest. *** as he is about to clasp her he feels a stunning blow upon the back of the neck; a blinding white light blazes all about him with a sound like the shock of a cannon—then all is darkness and silence! what function does the motif of the cannon serve throughout the story? the cannon continually pushes farquhar to continue his journey through his dream and back to reality. the cannon encourages farquhar to investigate whether his escape was a dream or reality. the cannon reminds farquhar that time is subjective and encourages him to move quickly in order to reach his home. the cannon represents farquhar’s romantic dream that he escaped his execution and will return home.