The Locket

Question

by Kate Chopin

She was so young and the world was so beautiful that there came over her a sense of unreality as she read again and again the priest’s letter. He told of that autumn day drawing to its close, with the gold and the red fading out of the west, and the night gathering its shadows to cover the faces of the dead. Oh! She could not believe that one of those dead was her own! with visage uplifted to the gray sky in an agony of supplication. A spasm of resistance and rebellion seized and swept over her. Why was the spring here with its flowers and its seductive breath if he was dead! Why was she here! What further had she to do with life and the living!

"The Locket" by Kate Chopin

The Brothers
by Louisa May Alcott

But this was something more than that; for the man was not dully brooding over some small grievance,—he seemed to see an all-absorbing fact or fancy recorded on the wall, which was a blank to me. I wondered if it were some deep wrong or sorrow, kept alive by memory and impotent regret; if he mourned for the dead master to whom he had been faithful to the end; or if the liberty now his were robbed of half its sweetness by the knowledge that some one near and dear to him still languished in the hell from which he had escaped. My heart quite warmed to him at that idea; I wanted to know and comfort him; and, following the impulse of the moment, I went in and touched him on the shoulder.

In an instant the man vanished and the slave appeared. Freedom was too new a boon to have wrought its blessed changes yet, and as he started up, with his hand at his temple and an obsequious "Yes, Ma'am," any romance that had gathered round him fled away, leaving the saddest of all sad facts in living guise before me. Not only did the manhood seem to die out of him, but the comeliness that first attracted me; for, as he turned, I saw the ghastly wound that had laid open cheek and forehead. Being partly healed, it was no longer bandaged, but held together with strips of that transparent plaster which I never see without a shiver and swift recollections of scenes with which it is associated in my mind. Part of his black hair had been shorn away, and one eye was nearly closed; pain so distorted, and the cruel sabre-cut so marred that portion of his face, that, when I saw it, I felt as if a fine medal had been suddenly reversed, showing me a far more striking type of human suffering and wrong than Michel Angelo's bronze prisoner. By one of those inexplicable processes that often teach us how little we understand ourselves, my purpose was suddenly changed, and though I went in to offer comfort as a friend, I merely gave an order as a mistress.

"The Brothers" by Louisa May Alcott

Question
Use the passages to answer the question.

Both passages contribute to society by developing themes on the topic of the

(1 point)
Responses

role of women during the Revolutionary War.
role of women during the Revolutionary War.

Civil War’s effects on women.
Civil War’s effects on women.

causes of the Civil War.
causes of the Civil War.

importance of nurses during the Revolutionary War.
importance of nurses during the Revolutionary War.

Answer 1

Both passages contribute to society by developing themes on the topic of the Civil War’s effects on women.

In "The Locket" by Kate Chopin, the protagonist reflects on the death of a loved one, which indicates the profound personal loss and emotional turmoil experienced during the Civil War. Meanwhile, in "The Brothers" by Louisa May Alcott, the depiction of a former slave's suffering and the complex emotions surrounding freedom and loss highlights the broader societal impacts of the war on individuals, especially women who were often caregivers and supporters during times of conflict. Both authors explore the emotional landscapes shaped by the Civil War, emphasizing the struggles and adaptations faced by women in these contexts.