{30 points ! } read this excerpt from “the gift of the magi” and answer the question that follows.

it did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad. in the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no letter would go, and an electric button from which no mortal finger could coax a ring. also appertaining thereunto was a card bearing the name "mr. james dillingham young."

in about one hundred words, describe the setting in the excerpt above. what elements of the setting are the most influential to the story?

Which sentences from part 1 of the call of the wild would best serve as evidence of the theme "sometimes survival depends on knowing when not to fight"? buck had accepted the rope with quiet dignity. to be sure, it was an unwonted performance: but he had learned to trust in men he knew, and to give them credit for a wisdom that outreached his own. he had merely intimated his displeasure, in his pride believing that to intimate was to command. but to his surprise the rope tightened around his neck, shutting off his breath. he saw, once for all, that he stood no chance against a man with a club. he had learned the lesson, and in all his after life he never forgot it. that had given them an unfair advantage; but now that it was off, he would show them. they would never get another rope around his neck.