How do you do determine the figurative meaning of a text?

analyze its use of symbols.
take it literally.
figure out the definitions of each word used.

Read this excerpt from holes. a patrol car pulled alongside him. a policeman asked him why he was running. then he took the shoes and made a call on his radio. shortly thereafter, stanley was arrested. it turned out the sneakers had been stolen from a display at the homeless shelter. that evening rich people were going to come to the shelter and pay a hundred dollars to eat the food that the poor people ate every day for free. clyde livingston, who had once lived at the shelter when he was younger, was going to speak and sign autographs. his shoes would be auctioned, and it was expected that they would sell for over five thousand dollars. all the money would go to the homeless. why does sachar include this description of the shoes in the flashback? a.to show where the shoes came from b.to show how valuable the shoes were c.to reveal why stanley was arrested d.to give background on the homeless shelter

Read the excerpt from part 3 of the call of the wild. but it was in giving the law and making his mates live up to it, that buck excelled. dave and sol-leks did not mind the change in leadership. it was none of their business. their business was to toil, and toil mightily, in the traces. so long as that were not interfered with, they did not care what happened. billee, the good-natured, could lead for all they cared, so long as he kept order. the rest of the team, however, had grown unruly during the last days of spitz, and their surprise was great now that buck proceeded to lick them into shape. what theme is most supported by the ideas in this excerpt? good leaders are strong and intelligent. loyalty can be a very powerful force. only the strong survive in the wilderness. we are all ruled by our natural instincts.

Which best explains this excerpt’s purpose in the novel’s plot structure? the excerpt creates conflict between characters as part of the rising action. the excerpt provides background information on a character as part of the exposition. the excerpt returns a character to equilibrium as part of the falling action. the excerpt is the point of greatest tension and acts as the climax.