Question

Read the excerpt from The Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England. If you are hungry, you might feel inclined to turn to poaching. But be careful: this is risky. Taking livestock is theft, and theft is a felony which carries the death sentence. Killing wild animals that live on another man’s land is also against the law; even taking a single fish from a river can result in a fine of a shilling or more. It is unlikely that you will be hanged for taking a wild animal such as a rabbit; but, even so, you will get a fine amounting to three times the value of the animal as well as three months in prison, and you will have to enter into a bond to guarantee your good behavior in the future; a second offense will be treated more harshly. If a gamekeeper attacks you and you defend yourself, you can be charged with assault. You may find yourself on the gallows if you injure him. What is the author’s purpose in this excerpt?

Answer 1

The author's intent is to inform the reader.

Step-by-step explanation:

The author hopes to inform the reader of the consequences of poaching and to discourage them from taking large prey (you'll end up in jail for 3 months) or to harm a gameskeeper (charged with assult and possibly death).

So know the risks and 'be careful'.

Answer 2

The author’s purpose in this excerpt is to explain why poaching was dangerous

Step-by-step explanation:

The question is not complete since it does not provide the options to answer it, here are the options:

A. to explain why many Elizabethans tried poaching

B. to explain why poaching was dangerous

C. to explain why landowners punished poachers

D. to explain why poaching often was forgiven

This excerpt shows how poaching is highly punished, some people might commit a crime because of hunger but it does not matter under this conditions since this person will most likely pay for that crime with their life, even the least severe punishment concerning taking an animal from others represents a much bigger loss than gain.