Question

Read this sentence from the story

. If dinner were late, the men in the house—her dad, and especially her three brothers—would be howling and gnashing their teeth like the ravenous wolves in White Fang.

Which description best reveals the meaning of what the family would be doing?

arguing about what to eat

complaining about their hunger

making a big mess in the kitchen

recklessly searching for food

Answer 1

Answer: The description that best reveals the meaning of what the family would be doing is "complaining about their hunger".

Step-by-step explanation: In the sentence provided, the speaker compares the men in her family with wolves since she believes that, if dinner were late, they would howl and gnash. The verb "howl" is used to refer to the action of wolves of giving a long and loud cry, while the verb "gnash", which is also related to wolves, means to strike the teeth together in order to show anger. When animals are hungry, they howl and gnash; therefore, the speaker uses these two verbs in order to suggest that, if dinner were late, her family would complain strongly about their hunger.

Answer 2

The best description which reveals the meaning of what the family would be doing is “complaining about their hunger”. It is clearly stated with the use of the phrase “howling and gnashing their teeth like the ravenous wolves” which is a comparison between the way the family behave and wolves.