Today you will analyze a passage from The Georges and the Jewels and a passage from Black Beauty: The Autobiography of a Horse. As you read these passages, you will gather information and answer questions about how the authors develop each narrator's point of view so you can write an essay.
The Georges and the Jewels
by
Jane Smiley
(1) Sometimes when you fall off your horse, you just don't want to get right back on. Let's say he started bucking and you did all the things you knew to do, like pull his head up from between his knees and make him go forward, then use a pulley rein on the left to stop him. Most horses would settle at that point and come down to a walk. Then you could turn him again and trot off—it's always harder for the horse to buck at the trot than at the lope. But if, right when you let up on the reins, your horse put his head between his knees again and took off bucking, kicking higher and higher until he finally dropped you and went tearing off to the other end of the ring, well, you might lie there, as I did, with the wind knocked out of you and think about how nice it would be not to get back on, because that horse is just dedicated to bucking you off.
(2) So I did lie there, looking up at the branches of the oak tree that grew beside the ring, and I did wait for Daddy to come trotting over with that horse by the bridle, and I did stare up at both their faces, the face of that horse flicking his ears back and forth and snorting a little bit, and the face of my father, red-cheeked and blue-eyed, and I did listen to him say, "Abby? You okay, honey? Sure you are. I saw you bounce! Get up, now."
(3) I sighed.
(4) "How am I going to tell those folks who are looking to buy these horses that a little girl can ride them, if you don't get up and ride them?"
(5) I sat up. I said, "I don't know, Daddy." My elbow hurt, but not too badly. Otherwise I was okay.
(6) "Well, then."
(7) I stood up, and he brushed off the back of my jeans. Then he tossed me on the horse again.
(8) Some horses buck you off. Some horses spook you off—they see something scary and drop a shoulder and spin and run away. Some horses stop all of a sudden, and there you are, head over heels and sitting on the ground. I had a horse rear so high once that I just slid down over her tail and landed in the grass easy as you please, watching her run back to the barn. I started riding when I was three. I started training horses for my dad when I was eight. I wasn't the only one—my brother, Danny, was thirteen at the time, and he did most of the riding (Kid's Horse for Sale), but I'm the only one now.
(9) Which is not to say that there aren't good horses and fun horses. I ride plenty of those, too. But they don't last, because Daddy turns those over fast. I had one a year ago, a sweet bay mare. We got her because her owner had died and Daddy picked her up for a song from the bank. I rode her every day, and she never put a foot wrong. Her lope was as easy as flying. One of the days she was with us, I had a twenty-four-hour virus, so when I went out to ride, I tacked her up and took her down to the crick at the bottom of the pasture, out of sight of the house.
Part A
How does the horse feel about wearing riding gear in the passage from Black Beauty: The Autobiography of a Horse?
A
The horse dislikes wearing the gear and will never get used to wearing it.
B
The horse is displeased with wearing the gear but learns to accept it.
C
The horse believes the saddle is the worst part of wearing the gear.
D
The horse wishes to be like his mother and enjoy wearing the gear.
(b)
Part B
Which two statements support the correct answer to Part A?
A
Being broken in means to carry a man, woman, or child on his back.
B
A bit is placed in the horse's mouth and is held by a strap over the head.
C
The horse's mother always wore a bit when she went out.
D
The horse complains about how uncomfortable the bit feels in his mouth.
E
The master rides the horse around a meadow.
F
The horse enjoys the attention he receives from wearing his saddle.
1 answer
To answer the questions you posed regarding the passage, let's analyze them step by step.
Part A
The question asks how the horse feels about wearing riding gear in Black Beauty: The Autobiography of a Horse.
The correct answer would likely be related to the feelings described by the horse regarding discomfort or acceptance of the gear. Based on common themes in the book regarding the horse's perspective on being ridden and the discomfort of equipment, the answer is most likely:
B - The horse is displeased with wearing the gear but learns to accept it.
Part B
For the second part, we need to find two statements that support the choice made in Part A.
Based on the context given, the two statements that would support B are:
A - Being broken in means to carry a man, woman, or child on his back.
This statement highlights the condition that the horse must accept, which implies some level of discomfort or displeasure initially.
D - The horse complains about how uncomfortable the bit feels in his mouth.
This directly indicates the horse's displeasure regarding the discomfort experienced with wearing the gear.
