Question

Read the excerpt from “Broken Chain.”

He asked his mother if he could have braces, like Frankie Molina, her godson, but he asked at the wrong time. She was at the kitchen table licking the envelope to the house payment. She glared up at him. “Do you think money grows on trees?”

His mother clipped coupons from magazines and newspapers, kept a vegetable garden in the summer, and shopped at Penney’s and Kmart.

What is a theme expressed in this excerpt?

Mothers have better things to do than managing money.
Spending money is not always an option.
Many people enjoy the rewards of gardening.
Summer is a busy time of year for mothers and retailers.

Answer 1

"Spending money is not always an option."

The details (mother licking the envelope to pay the mortgage, clipping coupons, gardening, shopping at discount stores) show she must be careful with money and can't afford extras like braces.