In the story "spunk" what do you learn about the men at the store in the first section?

The story "Spunk" begins with Walter Thomas and Elijah Mosley, the men on the porch of the store. They witness Lena Kanty wondering off into the bushes with a man that is not her husband, Spunk. As they talk about Spunk and his bravery, Joe (Lena's husband) walks into the store. Joe is highly timid compared to Spunk, and he is mocked for being cuckolded by his wife. Elijah then advises Joe that they saw his wife and Spunk together, causing Joe to go after them with a knife.

The men appear to entertain each other with gossip, and instigating conflict between people. They most likely have nothing more interesting to do.

today we'd use social media to quickly spread a controversial idea, but in the eighteenth century, the printed pamphlet was highly effective. and thomas paine took full advantage of it. on january 9, 1776, when paine published his pamphlet, "common sense," he wanted to push the american people toward independence from britain. it ultimately ignite the american revolution. thomas paine argued that the monarchy was evil and should be rejected as a form of government. to underscore his point, he cited the bible to argue his case -- in judges 8: 22-23: "the israelites said to gideon, 'rule over us, you and your son and your ' gideon told them, 'i will not rule over you. the lord will rule over you'" (nrsv).

it translates into:

read the letter of your pen pal. write and answer 3 questions.