Read the passage from The Grapes of Wrath. Had he not been 50 years old, and so one of the natural rulers of the family, Uncle John would have preferred not to sit in the honor place beside the driver. Uncle John, a lonely man and a loner since the death of his wife, sat uneasily. Being one of the heads of the family, he had to govern; and now he had to sit on the honor seat beside the driver. Which statement indicates direct characterization in this passage? A. Uncle John was a very young man. B. Uncle John was upset about the death of his wife. C. Uncle John was one of the people in charge of the family. D. Uncle John liked being in the honor seat.

C. Uncle John was one of the people in charge of the family.

Explanation:

Direct characterization is a literary device consisting of making direct statements about a character's personality, interests, motif, or physical appearance instead of revealing their traits through indirect means such as dialogue and description of behavior.

Unlike the other options, Option C indicates a true direct characterization about Uncle John (Option A, B and D make false statements about John): The author tells us that John is one of the natural rulers of the family, and one of the heads of the family, so “he had to govern.”

the first proposition is to question economic materialism and victorian christianity. the lines are:

“it moves us not.—great god! i'd rather be

a pagan suckled in a creed outworn; ”

wordsworth is stating that nature no longer interests mankind, that the latter is not “moved” by it and explains that ancient western paganism had a more positive attitude concerning nature since it lacked the perv erted judaeo-christian interpretation of having received the world and all its animals and elements from god to use as we , instead of humans actually being not only part of nature but its wardens, meant to appreciate it and protect it.

the next lines are:

“so might i, standing on this pleasant lea,

have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;

have sight of proteus coming from the sea;

or hear old triton blow his wreathed horn.”

wordsworth here make it very clear that by actually looking and contemplating nature, human beings would reconnect with happiness, serenity and purpose. the use of mythological figures is quite evocative as well, proteus is a greek mythological god of the changing sea. he personifies the sea that changes, which symbolizes the way nature changes and inevitably can change to be destructive not only due to natural causes but to human pollution. furthermore, the sea is even more symbolic since all life originated in the sea so it is not only our past but our future since no life form in our planet can survive without water and if all water is destroyed in earth all life will be gone as well.

he then uses triton which is symbolic of the synthesis of both nature and mankind. triton is a mythological greek god that has the upper body of a man and the lower body of a fish (a merman). this human fish duality evokes the fact that humans are not only human but also part of nature, the fish tail representing nature. the main attribute of this god was that he used a conch shell as a horn to calm the roaring seas. in other words, triton uses nature through science for the benefit of human sailors who risk death during tempests. with the use of such metaphor, wordworth is conveying the message that human technology   is supposed to use nature to preserve nature and thereby humanity as well.