What does the structure of the word altruism tell the reader about it’s meaning

Plz asap read this sentence from paragraph 3 of the article. the boys and girls are merely asked to obtain the signatures of ten friends or relatives. how does the word "merely" affect the meaning of the sentence? a- it suggests that asking people to subscribe to the washington times is something negative. b- it implies that obtaining ten signatures is not a requirement for receiving a prize. c- it downplays the fact that to win the prize, children must ask people to subscribe to the washington times. d- it emphasizes that children receive the prize only if they obtain ten signatures.

“to build a fire” what does the man realize as he’s trying to light the matches? what difficulty occurs when the man finally lights all of his matches at once?

In this excerpt from his famous virginia convention speech patrick henry employees which literary device