Read the excerpt from Eleven Years in the Rocky Mountains and Life on the Frontier by Frances Fuller Victor below and think about what part of it Victor may have embellished to make her story flow.

Question

When young Joe was about eighteen years of age, he grew tired of the monotony of plantation life, and jumping into the wagon of a neighbor who was headed to Kentucky, started out in life for himself. He "reckoned they did not grieve for him at home,” which anyone hearing about his attitude toward schooling and farming would also conclude. Joe probably believed that should his father grieve for him, his step-mother would be able to console him; this step-mother, though a pious woman, was not one of the lad's favorites.
What did Victor likely add to Meek's story in this paragraph?

the part about not liking his step-mother

the part about him heading to Kentucky

the part about him leaving home

the part about his father grieving for him

Answer 1

Victor likely embellished the part about Joe's feelings toward his step-mother. This is indicated by the phrase that she "was not one of the lad's favorites," which suggests an interpretation of Joe's emotional state and relationships that may not be substantiated by factual evidence. The details about Joe leaving home and heading to Kentucky are more straightforward and factual, while the commentary on his step-mother's relationship with him adds a layer of narrative interpretation that could be seen as Victor's embellishment.