One way an author uses direct characterization is by telling the reader about the character through

a. what the character says.
b. what the narrator says.
c. what the character does.
d. what the narrator does.

Which word best describes the author's tone in this excerpt from "that spot" by jack london? i don’t think much of stephen mackaye any more, though i used to swear by him. i know that in those days i loved him more than my own brother. if ever i meet stephen mackaye again, i shall not be responsible for my actions. it passes beyond me that a man with whom i shared food and blanket, and with whom i mushed over the chilcoot trail, should turn out the way he did. i always sized steve up as a square man, a kindly comrade, without an iota of anything vindictive or malicious in his nature. i shall never trust my judgment in men again. why, i nursed that man through typhoid fever; we starved together on the headwaters of the stewart; and he saved my life on the little salmon. and now, after the years we were together, all i can say of stephen mackaye is that he is the meanest man i ever knew. a. excited b. ironic c. indignant d. playful

Which best explains this excerpt’s purpose in the novel’s plot structure? the excerpt creates conflict between characters as part of the rising action. the excerpt provides background information on a character as part of the exposition. the excerpt returns a character to equilibrium as part of the falling action. the excerpt is the point of greatest tension and acts as the climax.

Read the passage below and answer the question. somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer’s day; bony mules hitched to hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. men’s stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. in the excerpt above, the phrase "stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning" suggests that despite the heat, men still dressed up the men in the town were vain men's clothing appeared its best on hot days the men were not accustomed to wearing nice clothes