Question

Read the excerpt from "Broken Chain."

Alfonso studied the magazine pictures of rock stars for a hairstyle. He liked the way Prince looked—and the bass
player from Los Lobos. Alfonso thought he would look cool with his hair razored into a V in the back and streaked
purple. But he knew his mother wouldn't go for it. And his father, who was puro Mexicano, would sit in his chair
after work, sullen as a toad, and call him "sissy."
Alfonso didn't dare color his hair. But one day he had it butched on the top, like in the magazines. His father had
come home that evening from a softball game, happy that his team had drilled four homers in a thirteen-to-five
bashing of Color Tile. He'd swaggered into the living room but had stopped cold when he saw Alfonso and asked,
not joking but with real concern, "Did you hurt your head at school? ¿Qué pasó?"
A student is writing a paragraph that makes the point that Alfonso's father is not a very likable character. Which
would provide the best example of this point?
O Soto's description of the father swaggering and being "sullen as a toad"
Soto's description of the father as "happy that his team had drilled four homers'
Soto's description of the father who would just sit in his chair" and had just stopped cold"
Soto's description of the father asking with real concern" if Alfonso hurt his head

Answer 1

To shows Alfonso's father is not a very likable character, the best option is:

A. Soto's description of the father swaggering and being "sullen as a toad".

Step-by-step explanation:

"Broken Chain" is a story by author Gary Soto. Alfonso is the main character, a seventh grader who is constantly worried about his looks.

From the passage, we can extract a couple of pieces of evidence that show Alfonso's father is not a very likable character. First, the narrator says he would sit "sullen as a toad". Sullen already conveys a negative meaning - bad-tempered or gloomy. Now, "sullen as a toad" makes us imagine this man looking really grumpy, the corners of his mouth pointing downward. Second, the narrator uses the verb swagger to describe the way the father walked in. To swagger means to behave arrogantly. As we can see, Alfonso's father has a difficult, authoritative personality. Those two pieces of evidence show he is not very likable.