Question

No matter. Mama told me I was leaving, so I was leaving. End of discussion. I had a couple of months to get used to that idea, and during this last period at home I was treated the same as a normal child. Fact is, I was made to do the same chores I had done when I could see. Mama was a country woman with a whole lot of common sense. She understood what most of our neighbors didn’t - that I shouldn’t grow dependent on anyone except myself. "One of these days I ain’t gonna be here," she kept hammering inside my head. Meanwhile, she had me scrub floors, chop wood, wash clothes, and play outside like all the other kids. She made sure I could wash and dress myself. And her discipline didn’t stop just ‘cause I was blind. She wasn’t about to let me get away with any foolishness.

The author includes the details in these two paragraphs most likely to -
A. Show how Ray Charles’s mother helped him develop independence
B. Cause the reader to feel sympathy for Ray Charles
C. Emphasize how difficult chores were for Ray Charles because of his blindness
D. Contribute to the setting of the story by informing readers that Ray Charles’s mother was from the country

Answer 1

The author most likely included the details to show how Ray Charles's mother encouraged his independence, not to elicit sympathy or emphasize the difficulty of chores due to his blindness.

Step-by-step explanation:

The inclusion of detailed information about Ray Charles's upbringing by his mother in the given text is most likely intended to highlight how Ray Charles's mother helped him develop independence. Despite his blindness, Ray Charles was expected to perform the same chores and tasks as a child with sight, demonstrating his mother's emphasis on self-reliance. The chores served not as a sign of sympathy or an indication of the difficulty of the tasks due to his blindness, but rather as a means to prepare him for a future where he had to be self-sufficient.