Which repeated action in "Better Wait Till Martin Comes" shows that John is beginning to get nervous? John watches the cat powder its nose with coal. John hears the cats talking about him to each other. John recalls that the mansion might be haunted. John says his prayers, but faster than before.

John says his prayers, but faster than before.

Explanation:

In one of the stories from The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton and Leo Dillon, the story titled "Better Wait Till Martin Comes" tells the story of how John escaped from the 'haunted' mansion in the plantation house. He knew he was a good man, offering is prayers on time and thus had nothing to fear in that deserted home. But with the constant muttering of the cats near the fireplace and the constant mention of "better wait for Martin" made him believe that there is some danger ahead. SO, he began to offer his prayers faster than before and even tried to divert his mind from it all. This act of prayer unlike his normal manner is indicative of his nervousness.

The suspense in "Better Wait Till Martin Comes" grows when Martin falls through the seat of the chair and becomes stuck. The reader fears for John since each new cat is larger than the last one, and the reader worries that John won't be able to escape once Martin arrives. The situation seems more and more hopeless for John, so it is hilarious when John breaks the suspense by making a funny comment and running away with a chair stuck to his rear.

Explanation:

1. read the following excerpt from franklin d. roosevelt's "fireside chat 19":

on the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know that guerilla warfare against the germans in, let us say serbia or norway, us; that a successful russian offensive against the germans us; and that british successes on land or sea in any part of the world strengthen our hands.

remember always that germany and italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the united states at this moment just as much as they consider themselves at war with britain or russia. and germany puts all the other republics of the americas into the same category of enemies. the people of our sister republics of this hemisphere can be honored by that fact.  

the true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field of battle. when we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. we americans are not destroyers — we are builders.

analyze the effectiveness of this excerpt. how does it function within the speech as a whole? how does the structure of the excerpt to convey the speech's purpose and key points? support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)