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Read the excerpt from "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry. What is the tone of the opening passage?

One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty- seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.

There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.

While the mistress of the home is gradually subsiding from the first stage to the second, take a look at the home. A furnished flat at $8 per week. It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad.

In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no letter would go, and an electric button from which no mortal finger could coax a ring. Also appertaining thereunto was a card bearing the name "Mr. James Dillingham Young."

The "Dillingham" had been flung to the breeze during a former period of prosperity when its possessor was being paid $30 per week. Now, when the income was shrunk to $20, though, they were thinking seriously of contracting to a modest and unassuming D. But whenever Mr. James Dillingham Young came home and reached his flat above he was called "Jim" and greatly hugged by Mrs. James Dillingham Young, already introduced to you as Della. Which is all very good.

A.) dissatisfied
B.) humorous
C.) sarcastic
D.) unhappy

Respuesta :

Answer: B. Humorous

Explanation:  The tone of the opening passages meant to be humorous and to engage the reader into reading on into the story.

The tone is how the writer feels, remember that.

Dissatisfied means the writer wasn't not content or happy with something, which is not true in this case.

It's obviously not unhappy because that is the same thing as dissatisfied.  

Sarcasm is language that is strongly negative and often shows anger about something or mocks an opposing point of view. The writer was not being sarcastic while writing this opening passage.

The writer had a rather humorous tone. Remember that in the "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry, the tone is rueful and affectionate. Rueful is expressing sorrow or regret, especially when in a slightly humorous way.  This confirms the tone was humorous.

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