Question

Which inference about the author is best supported by the following passage (paragraph 6)?

I return the dark snake to its nest among my mother’s slips, arranging it so that its thin tail hides beneath the wide mouth sheared by scissors. My mother keeps her promise and lets my hair grow long, but I am only half of her; my thin brown braids will reach the middle of my back, and in maturity will look like tiny garden snakes.

A. She is afraid of her mother’s braid, as if it were a snake.

B. She sees the braid as a symbol for the tragedy of her mother’s lost hair.

C. She sees long braids of hair as symbols of strength.

D. She deeply misses her father.

Answer 1

B

The passage emphasizes the mother's hair being "sheared by scissors" and the narrator's braids described as "tiny garden snakes" returned to the mother's slips, suggesting the braid image stands for the mother's lost hair and its tragic absence rather than fear, strength, or missing a father.