Laugh and be merry, remember, better the world with a song,
better the world with a blow in the teeth of a wrong.
laugh, for the time is brief, a thread the length of a span.
laugh and be proud to belong to the old proud pageant of man.

(laugh and be merry/john masefield/public domain)

which of these is the main idea of the poem?

a. life is short; laugh and be merry.
b. take pride in being a human being.
c. fighting doesn't resolve problems.
d. music makes people happy.

Read the paragraph. theodore roosevelt was the greatest president because as a leader of the progressive party, he brought about much-needed social, political, and economic reform. one of his economic reforms was to break up many large business trusts. by doing so, he took economic power out of the hands of the wealthy and powerful corporations and placed it in the hands of the ordinary people. theodore roosevelt’s reform policies, known as the square deal, to give the average citizen an equal share of opportunities. which sentence is the thesis of this paragraph? theodore roosevelt was the greatest president because as a leader of the progressive party, he brought about much-needed social, political, and economic reforms. one of his economic reforms was to break up many large business trusts. by doing so, he took economic power out of the hands of the people and placed it in the hands of the ordinary people. theodore roosevelt’s reform policies, known as the square deal, to give the average citizen an equal share of opportunities.