Question

read the excerpt from the interview with e y (yip) harburg.
i was walking along the street at that time, and youd see the bread lines. the biggest one in new york city was owned by william randolph hearst. he had a big truck with several people on it, and big cauldrons of hot soup, bread. fellows with burlap on their shoes were lined up all around columbus circle, and went for blocks and blocks around the park, waiting.
which statement explains the irony of harburgs description of the bread line?
while millions of americans were suffering from the effects of poverty, hearst remained one of the wealthiest individuals of his time.
harburg was eating and living well while these individuals had to stand in bread lines to receive food.
the men who were distributing the soup from the trucks did not receive any of the food themselves.
the individuals, dressed in burlap shoes, needed new footwear more than they needed hot soup and bread.

Explanation:

The text describes a scene where many people are in bread lines (waiting for food, likely due to poverty) while Hearst (who owned the biggest bread - line in NYC at that time) is a wealthy individual. The irony is in the contrast between the suffering of the masses (due to poverty) and Hearst's wealth.

• Option 2: There is no indication in the text that Harburg was "eating and living well" while others were in bread lines.
• Option 3: The text says "Fellows with burlap on their shoes were lined up...", not the men distributing the soup.
• Option 4: The text focuses on the people waiting for food (hot soup and bread), not their footwear needs relative to food.

Answer:

While millions of Americans were suffering from the effects of poverty, Hearst remained one of the wealthiest individuals of his time.