Read the passage below from “marigolds” and answer question.

miss lottie’s house was the most ramshackle of all our ramshackle homes. the sun and rain had long since faded its rickety frame siding from white to a sullen gray. the boards themselves seemed to remain upright not from being nailed together but rather from leaning together, like a house that a child might have constructed from cards. a brisk wind might have blown it down, and the fact that it was still standing implied a kind of enchantment that was stronger than the elements. there it stood and as far as i know is standing yet—a gray, rotting thing with no porch, no shutters, no steps, set on a cramped lot with no grass, not even any weeds—a monument to decay.

what tone is implied by the narrator’s description in the passage above?

sympathetic
hopeless
bitter
humorous

Which theme is best supported by the descriptive detail in this passage from my antonia

Which two elements does this excerpt from a christmas carol by charles dickens contain? "a small matter," said the ghost, “to make these silly folks so full of gratitude." "small! " echoed scrooge. the spirit signed to him to listen to the two apprentices, who were pouring out their hearts in praise of fezziwig: and when he had done so, said, "why! is it not? he has spent but a few pounds of your mortal money: three or four perhaps. is that so much that he deserves this praise? " "it isn’t that," said scrooge, heated by the remark, and speaking unconsciously like his former, not his latter, self. "it isn't that, spirit. he has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. say that his power lies in words and looks; in things so slight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and count ’em up: what then? the happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it cost a fortune." he felt the spirit's glance, and stopped. "what is the matter? " asked the ghost. "nothing particular," said scrooge. "something, i think? " the ghost insisted. "no," said scrooge, "no. i should like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk just now. that's all."

Comparing and contrasting is a form of