A Mayor and His People by Theodore Dreiser (adapted excerpt) Here is the story of an individual whose political and social example should have been of the greatest importance to every citizen of the United States He was the mayor of one of those dreary New England mill towns in northern Massachusetts. "The prosperity of the city is not greater than the prosperity of the largest number of its component individuals,"replied the mayor, in a somewhat altruistic and economically abstruse argument on the floor of the council hall. "We must find contractors." tic^1 "We'll see about that "said the members of the opposition. "Why,the man's crazy. If he thinks he can run this town on a goody-good basis and make everybody rich and happy, he's going to get badly fooled, that's all there is to that." Fortunately for him three of the eight counci members were fellows of the mayor's own economic beliefs, individuals elected on the same ticket with him. These men could not carry a resolution, but they could stop one from being carried over the mayor's veto. Hence it was found that if the contracts could not be given to men satisfactory to the mayor they could not be given at all,and he stood in a fair way to win 3 Select the correct answer. How is the mayor characterized? A. The author uses imagery to describe the mayor's attitude and behavior as a politician B. The author uses dialogue to show how the mayor's character is distinct from the others. C. The author shows the reactions of others to the events to highlight the mayor's character. D. The author describes the mayor's character as one that should be admired and modeled.

Question

A Mayor and His People by Theodore Dreiser (adapted excerpt) Here is the story of an individual whose political and social example should have been of the greatest importance to every citizen of the United States He was the mayor of one of those dreary New England mill towns in northern Massachusetts. "The prosperity of the city is not greater than the prosperity of the largest number of its component individuals,"replied the mayor, in a somewhat altruistic and economically abstruse argument on the floor of the council hall. "We must find contractors." tic^1 "We'll see about that "said the members of the opposition. "Why,the man's crazy. If he thinks he can run this town on a goody-good basis and make everybody rich and happy, he's going to get badly fooled, that's all there is to that." Fortunately for him three of the eight counci members were fellows of the mayor's own economic beliefs, individuals elected on the same ticket with him. These men could not carry a resolution, but they could stop one from being carried over the mayor's veto. Hence it was found that if the contracts could not be given to men satisfactory to the mayor they could not be given at all,and he stood in a fair way to win 3 Select the correct answer. How is the mayor characterized? A. The author uses imagery to describe the mayor's attitude and behavior as a politician B. The author uses dialogue to show how the mayor's character is distinct from the others. C. The author shows the reactions of others to the events to highlight the mayor's character. D. The author describes the mayor's character as one that should be admired and modeled.

Answer 1

To characterize someone is to describe the distinctive nature or features of that individual. The passage gives information about the mayor's individual approach towards running the town with an economic belief that prioritizes the prosperity of the majority of the citizens. The mayor is seen as an altruistic individual with an economic plan opposed by some members of the council. However, he had support from three council members who were of similar economic belief and who could prevent the passing of resolutions detrimental to the mayor’s plan. The answer to the question of how the mayor is characterized can be found in the ways the author presents the mayor's qualities in the passage. Option A is incorrect as there is no imagery used to describe the mayor's attitude or behavior. Option B is correct as it matches the description, given the author uses dialogue to distinctly show the mayor's character and his economic beliefs which are not received well by the members of the opposition. Option C points out reactions of the others, but it is not the primary method used to highlight the mayor's character. Option D is incorrect as the author doesn't explicitly describe the mayor's character as admirable or to be modeled.

Question

Answer

Answer

Explanation