Question

waysiders by seumus okelly
1 that day the building was begun. martin cosgrave tackled the donkey and drew a few loads of limestone from the nearby quarry. some of the neighbors who came his way found him a changed man, a silent man with his eager face set, a man in whose eyes a new light shone, a quiet man of the fields into whose mind a set purpose had come. he struggled up the road with his donkey - cart, his hand gripping the shaft to hasten the steps of the slow brute, his limbs bent to the hill, his head down at the work. by the end of the week a pile of grey - blue stones was heaped up on the crest of the hill. the walls of the fields had been broken down to make a carway. late into the night when the donkey had been fed and tethered the neighbors would see martin cosgrave moving about the pile of grey - blue stones, sorting and picking, arranging in little groups to have ready to his hands. a house he is going to put up on the hill, they would say, lost in wonder.
2 the spring came, and with it all the strenuous work on the land. but martin cosgrave went on with the building. the neighbors shook their heads at the sight of neglect
which sentence from the story most contributes to the theme?
martin cosgrave knew what the neighbors were saying about him.
when the shell of the building had been finished martin cosgrave hired a carpenter to do all the woodwork.
in his dreams in the night he would reach out his hands for the feel of the hard stone, a burning desire in his breast to put it into shape, to give it nobility in the scheme of a building.
it was while martin cosgrave walked through the building that ellen miscal came to him with the second letter from america.

Explanation:

The theme of a story is its central idea or message. The sentence “In his dreams in the night he would reach out his hands for the feel of the hard stone, a burning desire in his breast to put it into shape, to give it nobility in the scheme of a building” shows Martin's deep passion and vision for his building project. This passion and vision likely contribute to a theme about perseverance, ambition, or the pursuit of a dream. The other options are more about plot details (hiring a carpenter, Ellen bringing a letter) or just stating Martin knew neighbors' opinions (which is more of a character - related detail rather than a theme - contributing element).

Answer:

In his dreams in the night he would reach out his hands for the feel of the hard stone, a burning desire in his breast to put it into shape, to give it nobility in the scheme of a building.