Question

close read: analyze the text
identify the choice that best answers the question
which of these lines from \a retrieved reformation\ best expresses the storys central idea?
a. jimmy, looking like an athletic young senior just home from college, went down the board sidewalk toward the hotel
b. he, himself, was something of a pattern of fashion to the thinly gilded youth of elmore
c. she believes in me, and i wouldnt do another crooked thing for the whole world
d. he told the teller that he didnt want anything, he was just waiting for a man he knew

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze the central idea of "A Retrieved Reformation" (about a safecracker, Jimmy Valentine, who reforms after falling in love) and then evaluate each option:

Step 1: Recall the Story’s Central Idea

The story’s central idea revolves around redemption/transformation—Jimmy Valentine abandons his life of crime (safecracking) because of love and a desire to start over.

Step 2: Analyze Each Option

• Option A: Describes Jimmy’s appearance and his movement toward a hotel. This is just a descriptive detail about his actions/ looks, not the central idea.
• Option B: Talks about his style being fashionable among Elmore’s youth. This is a minor detail about his social image, not the core theme of reform/redemption.
• Option C: (Assuming the full context: likely a line about Jimmy’s love making him want to change, e.g., “She believed in him; he was another man for the whole world” or similar). This aligns with the central idea: love and trust lead him to reform and become a “new man.”
• Option D: Mentions him waiting for a man (likely his old criminal associate). This relates to his past, not the transformative change (central idea) of leaving crime behind.

Since the central idea is Jimmy’s reformation through love, the line that best expresses this is Option C (the one about her believing in him and him becoming “another man” for the world).

Answer:

To solve this, we analyze the central idea of "A Retrieved Reformation" (about a safecracker, Jimmy Valentine, who reforms after falling in love) and then evaluate each option:

Step 1: Recall the Story’s Central Idea

The story’s central idea revolves around redemption/transformation—Jimmy Valentine abandons his life of crime (safecracking) because of love and a desire to start over.

Step 2: Analyze Each Option

• Option A: Describes Jimmy’s appearance and his movement toward a hotel. This is just a descriptive detail about his actions/ looks, not the central idea.
• Option B: Talks about his style being fashionable among Elmore’s youth. This is a minor detail about his social image, not the core theme of reform/redemption.
• Option C: (Assuming the full context: likely a line about Jimmy’s love making him want to change, e.g., “She believed in him; he was another man for the whole world” or similar). This aligns with the central idea: love and trust lead him to reform and become a “new man.”
• Option D: Mentions him waiting for a man (likely his old criminal associate). This relates to his past, not the transformative change (central idea) of leaving crime behind.

Since the central idea is Jimmy’s reformation through love, the line that best expresses this is Option C (the one about her believing in him and him becoming “another man” for the world).