Question

it drew blood just to get there, but i was queen of that place, at ten, though the berries shook like fists 5 in the wind, daring anyone to come in. i was trying so hard to love this world - real rooms too big and full of worry to comfortably inhabit - but believing i was born to live in that cloistered 1 green bower. 2 the raspberry patch in the back acre of my grandparents orchard. i was cross - stitched and beaded by its fat, dollmakers needles. the effort 10 of sliding under the heavy, spiked tangles that tore my clothes and smeared me with juice was rewarded with space, wholly mine, a kind of room out of the crush of the bushes with a canopy of raspberry 15 dagger - leaves and a syrup of sun and birdsong. hours would pass in the loud buzz of it, blood made it mine - the adventure of that red sting singing down my calves, the place the scratches brought me to: just space enough for a girl to lie down. 1 secluded, protected 2 a shady place under trees or plants
within the context of the poem, lines 5 - 9 (\i was... orchard\) primarily serve to
a illustrate that the speaker has a positive relationship with her grandparents
b explain why the speaker was initially reluctant to enter the \solid hedge\
c contrast
eal rooms\ with the room the speaker creates for herself in the raspberry patch.
d compare the speakers experiences as a child with her experiences as an adult

Explanation:

The lines "I was... orchard" describe the speaker's experience in the orchard. The speaker mentions being "cross - stitched and beaded by its fat, dollmaker's needles" which shows the effort (negative aspects like getting hurt) but also the reward of having "a kind of room out of the crush of the bushes with a canopy of raspberry dagger - leaves and a syrup of sun and birdsong". This illustrates that despite the difficulties (like the thorns), the speaker has a positive relationship with the place (the orchard which is part of her grandparents' space). There is no comparison of childhood and adult experiences (eliminating D), no contrast of "real rooms" (eliminating C), and no explanation of initial reluctance (eliminating B).

Answer:

A. Illustrate that the speaker has a positive relationship with her grandparents.