Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser

With the wane of the afternoon went her hopes, her courage and her strength. She had been astonishingly persistent. So earnest an effort was well deserving of a better reward. To her tired senses, the great business quarter grew larger, harder, more indifferent. It seemed as if it was all closed to her, that the struggle was too fierce for her to hope to do anything at all. Men and women hurried by in long, shifting lines. Sick at heart and in body, she turned to the west, the direction of her sister's flat, and began that wearisome, baffled retreat which the seeker for employment at nightfall too often makes. In passing through Fifth Avenue, south toward Van Buren street, where she intended to take a car, she passed the door of a large wholesale shoe house, through the plate glass window of which she could see a man sitting at a small desk. One of those forlorn impulses which often grow out of a sense of defeat caused her to walk through the door.

"Can you give me something to do?" asked Carrie.

He answered, not unkindly, "You might go round to the side and inquire upstairs. They did want some help a few days ago. Ask for Mr. Brown. "...

"Well," said Mr. Brown, "you report here at eight o'clock Monday morning. I think I can find something for you to do." Carrie walked out into the busy street and discovered a new atmosphere. Behold, the throng was moving with a light step. She noticed that men and women were smiling. Scraps of conversation and notes of laughter floated to her. The air was light. People were already pouring out of the buildings, their labor ended for the day. She noticed that they were pleased.

Why does Carrie discover a new atmosphere when she reenters the street?
A.
It is twilight in the city, so the quality of light and air have changed.
B.
Carrie’s outlook has become more positive since she got a job.
C.
People are happy because the workday has ended.
D.
She has given in to a forlorn impulse and taken on a more negative perspective.