Question

purpose for reading: in this excerpt from laura hillenbrands unbroken, a soldier returns home from world war ii. during the war, he was held as a prisoner and abused both physically and emotionally for over two years. pay attention to how the author uses descriptive language and contrasting emotions to develop the mood of the passage.
excerpt from unbroken, by laura hillenbrand
(1) on an october afternoon, louie stepped out of an army car and stood on the lawn at 2028 gramercy avenue, looking at his parents house for the first time in more than three years.
(2) \this, this little home,\ he said, \was worth all of it.\
(3) as his parents and siblings filed into the house, louie paused, overcome by a strange uneasiness. he had to push himself to walk up the steps.
(4) the house was done up top to bottom for his homecoming. the surface of the dining room table was a traffic jam of heaping dishes. three years worth of christmas and birthday presents sat ready for
in paragraph 4, how does the descriptive language contribute to the mood of the scene?

Explanation:

The fourth paragraph describes a dining - room table that was a "traffic jam of heaping dishes" and three years' worth of Christmas and birthday presents "sat ready for" something. This kind of description with a large quantity of items in a somewhat disorganized way (a traffic jam of dishes) and presents just sitting there (not being distributed or used in a celebratory way yet) gives a sense of a heavy, solemn mood. It's not a festive welcome (as there's no indication of celebration in the description of the table and presents yet), there's no sign of neglect (the presents are there, ready, which might imply some preparation), and it doesn't show a lack of preparation (the presents are there).

Answer:

It indicates a somber, mournful mood.