Question

Read these lines from the excerpt again:

There was a rustling of dresses, and the standing congregation sat down. The boy whose history this book relates did not enjoy the prayer, he only endured it—if he even did that much. He was restive all through it; he kept tally of the details of the prayer, unconsciously—for he was not listening, but he knew the ground of old, and the clergyman's regular route over it—and when a little trifle of new matter was interlarded, his ear detected it and his whole nature resented it; he considered additions unfair, and scoundrelly.

Based on the information provided in this excerpt, how would you characterize Tom? Answer in two to three complete sentences using supporting details from the text.

Answer 1

Tom is like all teenagers or children are today-restless,uninterested in religion,distracted,just waiting for the cult or mass to finish,so that he could run out and play with his friends.

Answer 2

The character in this excerpt, Tom, is a very young man, a teenager I would say, that is forced, probably by his family, to assist to church and hear the clergyman. He doesn't seem to be interested at all in the prayers, he doesn't feel connected with the rest of the congregation.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the whole excerpt, the reader can see how little Tom cares about what happens in this place. As it is said in the second sentence, he "did not enjoy the prayer, he only endured it". Also, in the middle of the text, it says: "he was not listening", he was kind of used to listen to the same old story time after time, he was bored of it.