Question

captain singleton
by daniel defoe (excerpt)
at this juncture comes one of those sort of people who, it seems,
made it their business to spirit away little children. this was a hellish
trade in those days, and chiefly practised where they found little
children very well dressed, or for bigger children, to sell them to the
plantations.
the woman, pretending to take me up in her arms and kiss me, and
play with me, draws me a good way from the house, till at last she
makes a fine story to the girl, and bids her go back to the maid, and tell
her where she was with the child; that a gentlewoman had taken a
fancy to the child, and was kissing of it, but she should not be frightened,
or to that purpose; but i was just there; and so, while the girl
went, she carries me quite away.
moll flanders
by daniel defoe (excerpt)
however it was, this they all agree in, that my mother pleaded her belly,
and being found with child, she was respited for about seven
months. in which time having brought me into the world, and being
about again, she was called down, as they term it, to her former
judgment, but obtained the favour of being transported to the
plantations, and left me about half a year old; and in bad hands, you
may be sure.
this is too near the first hours of my life for me to relate anything of
myself but by hearsay; it is enough to mention, that as i was born in
such an unhappy place, i had no parish to have recourse to for my
nourishment in my infancy; nor can i give the least account how i was
kept alive, as i have been told, some relation of my mother’s took me
away for a while as a nurse, but at whose expense, or by whose
direction, i know nothing at all of it.
7
select the correct answer.
which trait is common to the narrators in these excerpts?
a. the narrators were born in poverty.
b. the narrators were separated from their birth parents.
c. the narrators grew up to be criminals.
d. the narrators worked hard in life to improve their social status.
e. the narrators blamed themselves for their misfortunes.
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Explanation:

To determine the common trait, analyze the excerpts:

• From Captain Singleton, children are sold to plantations. From Moll Flanders, the narrator is separated from her mother at birth and later moved around.
• Option A: Not both born in poverty (Moll's birth context doesn't imply poverty).
• Option B: Both narrators are separated from birth parents (Singleton's children sold, Moll separated from mother).
• Option C: No indication of growing up as criminals.
• Option D: No focus on social status improvement.
• Option E: No self - blaming.

So the common trait is separation from birth parents.

Answer:

B. The narrators were separated from their birth parents.