The novel opens with a curse word, uttered in frustration by Mariam’s mother, when Mariam breaks a treasured heirloom. What does Mariam’s memory of this suggest about her sense of herself and her relationship with her mother? How does this open the tone for the novel?

Read the following passage "you're not here to read books, you're here to learn! " the childwrangler's voice screeched as we kept our picks moving rhythmically against the school walls. we had all heard about a time, back in the dark ages, when children read books at school. they say school was even a building above ground. but that was obviously dangerous. how could society thrive if all the children sat around reading all day? when would they have time to learn about veins of coal, processing fuel, and all that stuff? school was important.what two central ideas in this story are most closely related? a. the importance of literature and the dangers of miningb. humankind's basic survival needs and independence c. the nature of learning and societal dysfunctiond. the powers of rumors and abuse of authority

Romeo and juliet have fallen in love, even though their families despise one another. based on the excerpt, what are the two main purposes of this prologue?

Brendan is playing in the backyard.