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The following text is from Louise Erdrich’s 1986 novel The Beet Queen. The narrator discusses her relationship with her young niece, Dot. Celestine, the narrator’s sister-in-law, is Dot’s mother.
Dot was as impatient with babyhood as I. She tried at once to grow out of it. Celestine never saw that, because she, and only she, took pleasure in Dot’s helpless softness. Only Celestine was saddened by her daughter’s fierce progress. Day by day, Dot grew stronger. In her shopping-cart stroller she exercised to exhaustion, bouncing for hours to develop her leg muscles.
©1986 by Louise Erdrich
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
Explanation
Choice A is the best answer because it most accurately describes how the underlined sentence functions in the text as a whole. In the text, the narrator makes observations about her young niece, Dot, noting that Dot is making progress toward outgrowing babyhood and is growing stronger "day by day." The description of Dot purposefully exercising by "bouncing for hours" reinforces the narrator’s earlier characterization of Dot. The underlined sentence thus offers a detail that shows how Dot is growing stronger.
Choice B is incorrect. While a sentence earlier in the text mentions Celestine’s psychological state (sadness because Dot is growing fast), the underlined sentence doesn’t focus on Celestine at all. Instead, the sentence focuses on Dot’s physical activities to show that she is getting stronger. Choice C is incorrect because the underlined sentence describes Dot’s behavior, not the narrator’s psychological characteristics. While a sentence earlier in the text establishes that the narrator, like Dot, was "impatient with babyhood," the underlined sentence specifically addresses Dot’s physical activities in her stroller. Choice D is incorrect. While an earlier sentence in the text mentions that Celestine is sad, the underlined sentence doesn’t focus on how Celestine feels nor does it describe a behavior that Celestine engages in. The sentence focuses entirely on Dot’s actions, describing her as "bouncing for hours" to show that she is growing stronger.