Sunbeams were golden threads piercing the clouds .meaning simile or a metaphor

Which does not identify the symbolism of the white umbrella

It was said that my new york license plates would arouse interest and perhaps questions, since they were the only outward identifying marks i had. and so they did – perhaps twenty or thirty times in the whole trip. but such contacts followed an invariable pattern, somewhat as follows: local man: “new york, huh? ” me: "yep." local man: “i was there in nineteen thirty-eight – or was it thirty-nine? alice, was it thirty-eight or thirty-nine we went to new york? " alice: "it was thirty-six. i remember because it was the year alfred died.” local man: "anyway, i hated it. wouldn't live there if you paid me.” what is the purpose of this conversation in travels with charley? to show that most people in the united states hate new york to show that most people in the united states visit new york to show that most people do not treat the author differently because he is from new york to show that being from new york disrupts the author’s relationships with the people he meets

What is the meaning of the word repent based on its context in this passage? charley knew it was his fault that the whole family had to cancel their winter vacation. it all started when he’d snuck out of his house and hid at his friend laurie's place. the whole family had spent the morning looking for charley all over the neighborhood. by the time they’d found him, it was afternoon. they had missed their flight for hawaii. now charley felt guilty for his actions. he approached his father to repent for his poor behavior. but his father would not listen to him and instead declared that there would be no vacation this winter.