Question

(scene - the dining room in the country house of james k. gardner on long island...the time is the day after christmas, near midnight. after the curtain rises, one hears the noise of a file scraping on iron. it comes apparently from outside the house at a point distant from the dining room. the filing is repeated cautiously, with a wait between each stroke, as though the person using the file had paused to listen. alice gardner enters...and goes to telephone. she speaks in a whisper.) alice: hello, central. hello, central...(there is a pause, during which the sound of the file grows louder. alice listens apprehensively.) hello, are you the station agent? good! listen! i am miss gardner, james k. gardners daughter. yes, james k. gardner, the president of the road. this is his house. my mother and i are here alone. there are three men trying to break in. yes, burglars, of course. my mother is very ill. if they frighten her the shock might - might be very serious... stop the engine at the foot of our lawn. yes, yes, at the foot of our lawn. and when you have the house surrounded, when the men are all around the house, blow three whistles so ill know youre here. what? oh, thats all right. the burglars will be here. ill see to that. all you have to do is to get here. if you dont you, youll lose your job! i say, if you dont, youll lose your job, or im not the daughter of the president of this road. (a pane of glass falls from the window and breaks on the sill.) hatch: (speaking over his shoulder) hush! be careful, cant you? harry: hush, you fool. hatch: has he broken anything? reddy: (on floor, rubbing his head) ive broke my head. hatch: thats no loss. has he smashed that silver? harry: (feeling in bag) it feels all right. (the light from a candle is seen approaching the curtains.) hatch: hush! look there! alice: (whispering) hush! dont make a noise. dont make a noise. how does alices final line, \dont - dont alarm my mother,\ contribute to her character development? it shows that she is more concerned about being rescued than she is about her mothers safety. it indicates that she is very afraid of her mother. it reveals how exhausted she is after a long night. it shows she is more concerned about waking her mother than she is about her own safety.

Explanation:

Alice explicitly states her mother is very ill, and shock from alarm could be serious. Her final whisper prioritizes not waking/upsetting her mother over her own fear of the intruders, showing her care for her mother's well-being over her own safety. The other options are incorrect: she is focused on her mother, not her own rescue; she is not afraid of her mother; exhaustion is not indicated here.

Answer:

D. It shows she is more concerned about waking her mother than she is about her own safety.