Read the excerpt from "the story of an hour." when she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. she said it over and over under her breath: “free, free, free! ” the vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. they stayed keen and bright. her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body. which words best establish a mood of relief in the excerpt? “slightly,” “vacant,” “eyes,” and “beat” “whispered,” “stare,” “terror,” and “pulses” “lips,” “stayed,” “keen,” and “blood” “escaped,” “free,” “warmed,” and “relaxed”

The right answer is "free", "warmed" and "relaxed".

Explanation:

The excerpt describes a woman in the experience of relief. The visual imagery in the text revolves around the word "free" after which signals of trauma stop in the character ( "the vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes"). Moreover, the words "warmed" and "relaxed" describe the positive acompanying bodily sensations of said relief.

free, warm and relaxed

Explanation:

In the short story there is a mood of relief established by the choice of words; the words that help create it are free, warm, and relaxed. "Story of an Hour" builds up to the moment when Mrs. Mallard experiences the sudden revelation of her liberty and utters the words "free, free, free!". Not until that moment did she come to the understanding that her husband's death is a great opportunity for her to start a new life of freedom. The word "relaxed serves a similar purpose. And the word "warm" suggests the idea of well being.