Read the excerpt from "Fern" in Cane.
One evening I walked up the Pike on purpose, and
stopped to say hello. Some of her family were about, but
they moved away to make room for me... if I knew
how to begin. Would you? Mr. and Miss So-and-So,
people, the weather, the crops, the new preacher, the
frolic, the church benefit, rabbit and possum hunting, the
new soft drink they had at old Pap's store, the schedule
of trains, what kind of town Macon was, Negro's
migration north, boll-weevils, syrup, the Bible to all
these things she gave a yassur or nassur, without further
comment.
What is the effect of this long list of conversation topics
in this excerpt?
O It suggests that the narrator feels excited.
O It shows that Fern inspires conversation.
It demonstrates the narrator's obsession with the
community.
O It emphasizes what the narrator and Fern have in
common.