Read the excerpt from chapter 7 of Night . A piece fell into our wagon. I decided not to move. Anyway, I knew that I would not be strong enough to fight off dozens of violent men! I saw, not far from me, an old man dragging himself on all fours. He had just detached himself from the struggling mob. He was holding one hand to his heart. At first I thought he had received a blow to his chest. Then I understood: he was hiding a piece of bread under his shirt. With lightning speed he pulled it out and put it to his mouth. His eyes lit up, a smile, like a grimace, illuminated his ashen face. And was immediately extinguished. A shadow had lain down beside him. And this shadow threw itself over him. Stunned by the blows, the old man was crying: "Meir, my little Meir! Don't you recognize me . . . You're killing your father . . . I have bread . . . for you too . . . for you too . . .” In this passage, the author suggests that cruelty can occur when people face horrible conditions. Which evidence best supports this viewpoint? Choose two correct answers.
Answer
A
“Anyway, I knew that I would not be strong enough to fight off dozens of violent men!”
B
“I saw, not far from me, an old man dragging himself on all fours. He had just detached himself from the struggling mob.”
C
“Then I understood: he was hiding a piece of bread under his shirt. With lightning speed he pulled it out and put it to his mouth.”
D
“A shadow had lain down beside him. And this shadow threw itself over him.”
E
“Meir, my little Meir! Don't you recognize me . . . You're killing your father . . . I have bread . . . for you too . . . for you too . . .”
Explanation
The old man’s son attacks him for the bread, showing how deprivation and desperation can make people cruel: “this shadow threw itself over him” (D). The father’s plea, “You’re killing your father,” identifies the attacker as his son and makes that cruelty within a family explicit (E). The other choices describe the mob, the old man’s weakness, or his attempt to eat bread, but do not show the cruel act as directly.
AI-written and checked against the verified answer.