Question

Jane Lively appeared on Laurie Pritchart’s front porch while morning frost was still on the grass. The scattered clouds on the horizon were orange and pink, painting those same colors in reflections from the aluminum silo. The faint mooing of cows drifted from the barn, and Jeb Pritchart was busy fiddling with the spark plugs on his aging John Deere tractor. He didn’t seem to notice the arrival of Jane’s pickup truck. Perhaps he didn’t care to notice it.

“Morning, Jane,” Laurie said, stepping out onto the porch. “What brings you over so early?”

As usual, Jane’s mouth had a sour twist to it. “Laurie,” she said, “I think you know why.”

Laurie forced a smile. “Is this about our fence line?”

Jane folded her burly arms across her chest, looked grim, and nodded. “Two of your steers are poking around in our south pasture again.”

Laurie laughed. “Well, I’ll get Jeb to send Bobby over there to collect them—soon as I get a minute.”

“Well,” Jane said sharply, “I expect you to get to it right away. And I expect Jeb to get to fixing that fence real quick. I don’t trust that Bobby Loomis to fix it right.”

Laurie was about to ask Jane if she wanted to come in for coffee, but she just couldn’t get the words out. Instead, she just nodded.

Jane turned on her heels, stomped off the porch, and marched back to her pickup. Laurie remained standing on the porch taking deep breaths.

Jeb still had his head buried under the engine cover of the tractor. He never looked up until the dusty trail of Jane’s pickup was a half mile down the road. Finally, with a clang, he closed the engine cover and looked up at Laurie. “What is it this time?” he called out.

“Same as last time,” Laurie called back. “Jane still thinks that pasture fence is on our land.”

What can you infer about Jane Lively’s personality?

What evidence did you find to support your inference?

The passage doesn’t reveal who Bobby Loomis is, but what can be inferred about his relationship to the Pritcharts?

How could you infer that Jane Lively has a bias about Bobby Loomis?

Answer 1

1. She seems to be a sour, negative person.

2. She was rude and demanding with Laurie. She stomped off the porch. Meanwhile, Jeb made a point of ignoring her. Also, it seems that the fence problem is the Livelys’ responsibility, not the Pritcharts’.

3. He could be a hired hand, or he could be a friend of the family.

4. She told Laurie that she didn’t trust him to fix the fence properly.

Answer 2

Jane's personality does not seem very friendly. It seems like she cares a lot about her property and is not very nice to anyone (or any cow) who comes on it.

You can infer these things from the words the author chooses to describe her and her actions, such as "sour", "burly", "sharply", "stomped". The Pritcharts also seem to be used to this, as they comment that her angry visits seem to happen often.

You can infer that Bobby Loomis works for the Pritcharts because Laurie says she'll have Jeb send Bobby over to get the cows from Jane's property.

Jane says she doesn't trust Bobby to fix the fence right, that she would rather have Jeb take care of it himself. This shows that she has a bias about Bobby and it isn't positive.