. What helps the reader most to infer a writer’s theme?

Read the excerpt from act i of the importance of being earnest. lady bracknell. well, i must say, algernon, that i think it is high time that mr. bunbury made up his mind whether he was going to live or to die. this shilly-shallying with the question is absurd. . i should be much obliged if you would ask mr. bunbury, from me, to be kind enough not to have a relapse on saturday, for i rely on you to arrange my music for me. it is my last reception, and one wants something that will encourage conversation, particularly at the end of the season when every one has practically said whatever they had to say, which, in most cases, was probably not much. what aspect of lady bracknell’s behavior does wilde use to poke fun at the importance placed on frivolous events in formal society? her concern with a party instead of mr. bunbury’s health her interest in playing classical music at her reception her jealousy over algernon’s friendship with the sickly mr. bunbury her concern about the health of algernon’s friend

Read the excerpt from julius caesar, act 1, scene 1. marullus. wherefore rejoice? what conquest brings he home? what tributaries follow him to rome to grace in captive bonds his chariot wheels? you blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless35 things! o, you hard hearts, you cruel men of rome, knew you not pompey? many a time and oft have you climbed up to walls and battlements, to towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops, your infants in your arms, and there have sat40 the livelong day, with patient expectation, to see great pompey pass the streets of rome. which summary of the passage is the best? marullus asks a lot of questions, such as, “why celebrate? what has caesar done? who is following him to rome? don’t you remember pompey? ” then he says that everyone is cruel because they do not remember pompey. they forget how they praised him and would climb to the highest places, carrying their children, just to catch a glimpse of him. marullus regrets that the people are celebrating caesar and is insulted that they forgot how they used to praise pompey. marullus thinks that the people should celebrate caesar the way they used to celebrate pompey, and that they should be in awe of caesar’s greatness. marullus remembers how the people climbed walls, battlements, towers, windows, and even chimney tops to see the great pompey.

What is the key similarity between the characters of gerasim and vladimir ivanich in tolstoy’s the death of ivan ilyich?