Question

geraldine moore the poet
short story by toni cade bambara
1
geraldine paused at the corner to pull up her knee socks. the rubber bands she was using to hold them up made her legs itch. she dropped her books on the sidewalk while she gave a good scratch. but when she pulled the socks up again, two fingers poked right through the top of other left one.
2
“that stupid dog,” she muttered to herself, grabbing her books and crossing against traffic. “first he chews up my gym suit and gets me into trouble, and now my socks.”
3
geraldine shifted her books to the other hand and kept muttering angrily to herself about mrs. watson’s dog. he which she minded two days a week for a dollar. she passed the hot - dog man on the corner and waved. he shrugged as to say business was very bad.
4
“must be, she thought to herself. three guys before you had to pack up and forget it. nobody’s got hot - dog money around here.
5
geraldine turned down her street, wondering what her sister anita would have for her lunch. she was glad she didn’t have to eat the free lunches in high school any more. she was sick of the funny - looking tomato soup and the dried - out cheese sandwiches and those oranges that were more green than orange.
6
when geraldine’s mother first took sick and went away, geraldine had been on her own except when miss gladys next door came in on thursdays and cleaned the apartment and made a meatloaf so geraldine could have dinner. but in those days geraldine never quite managed to get breakfast for herself. so she’d sit through social studies class, scraping her feet to cover up the noise of her stomach growling.
7
now anita, geraldine’s older sister, was living at home waiting for her husband to get out of the army. she usually kind of something round and dimmined to not in him or hold him from the...

1. when mrs. scott asks geraldine why she cannot write a poem, why is geraldine’s response in paragraphs 33 - 34 important to the plot?

options:
it shows the class that it is important to be honest.
it allows mrs. scott to demonstrate how poems can be written.
it encourages the rest of the students to keep trying to write poems.
it gives the author the opportunity to explain geraldine’s problems at home.

Explanation:

To determine the correct answer, we analyze each option:

• The first option about the class being honest is not related to Geraldine's inability to write a poem or her response's importance to the plot.
• The second option about Mrs. Scott demonstrating poem writing is irrelevant to Geraldine's situation.
• The third option about encouraging other students doesn't connect to why Geraldine's response matters to the plot.
• The fourth option is correct because Geraldine's problems at home (implied by her situation with family, home life details) are explained through her response about not writing a poem, which is important for the plot as it reveals her circumstances.

Answer:

The option "It gives the author the opportunity to explain Geraldine’s problems at home." (the last option with the blue dot)