The correct answer is B. She keeps busy and tries to ignore bad news. The narrator expresses a desire to "employ myself" and "hope for the best," indicating that she is attempting to remain optimistic despite the unsettling situation.
Can it be that our country is to be carried on and on to the horrors of civil war? I shut my eyes and hold my breath when the thoughts of what may come upon us obtrudes itself; yet I cannot believe it. I know the breach will be healed without the effusion of blood. The taking of Fort Sumter without bloodshed has somewhat soothed my fears, though I am told by those who are wiser than I that men must fall on both sides by the score, by the hundred, and even by the thousand. But it is not my habit to look on the dark side, so I try hard to employ myself, and hope for the best.
Today our house seems so deserted that I feel more sad than usual, for on this morning we took leave of our whole household. I go from room to room, looking at first one thing and then another, so full of sad associations. The closed piano, the locked bookcase, the nicely arranged tables, the formally placed chairs, ottomans and sofas in the parlor! Oh, for someone to put them out of order!
I heard distinctly the drums beating in Washington. The evening was so still that I seemed to hear nothing else.
(Source)
Question 9
9.
Though the country is preparing for civil war, the narrator tries to remain optimistic because
Aher children are safe far away from the fighting.Bshe keeps busy and tries to ignore bad news.Cthe family possessions are locked and secured in the house.Dshe knows she will be protected by the troops in Washington.
1 answer