After earning a few dollars working on my brother-in law's farm near Portage [Wisconsin], I set off on the first of my long lonely excursions, botanising in glorious freedom around the Great Lakes and wandering through innumerable tamarac and arbor-vitae swamps, and forests of maple, basswood, ash, elm, balsam, fir, pine, spruce, hemlock …

Identify and explain the tone of this passage. What specific words contribute to the tone? Then, explain how the tone of the passage would change if the words "burdensome labor" replaced the words "glorious freedom." Be sure to identify the new tone and explain how the changed words create that tone. Your response should be a paragraph of 3–5 sentences.

The tone of the passage is "optimistic" because it shows the positive feeling of the narrator and his eagerness to do what he always wanted after earning some money. The words which contributed to such tone are glorious freedom, innumerable tamarac, forests of maple, etc. These words give the narrator the eagerness to be one with nature and discover its beauty. If the "burdensome labor" would replace the words "glorious freedom," then it would change the tone into a pessimistic one. This will make the perception of the narrator on nature a negative one because for him, the journey is a burden.

Explanation:

The question above is related to the story entitled "The Calypso Borealis." This was written by John Muir, popularly known as "The Father of the National Parks," in order to highlight his experience upon searching the Calypso Borealis (an orchid).

the answer is a, c, d, e