Question

Read this excerpt from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

I knew I could never let Mom hear the messages, because protecting her is one of my most important raisons d’être, so what I did was I took Dad’s emergency money from on top of his dresser, and I went to the Radio Shack on Amsterdam.

What assumption does the narrator make in this excerpt?
that his mother would not understand the messages
that the messages would increase his mother’s suffering
that his father’s emergency money should be replaced
that the employees at Radio Shack would sympathize with him

Answer 1

that the messages would increase his mother’s suffering

He says he "could never let Mom hear the messages" because protecting her is a chief purpose, implying he believes the messages would hurt or distress her.