Read gwendolyn brooks's poem, "the bean eaters" and answer the question. they eat beans mostly, this old yellow pair.

dinner is a casual affair. plain chipware on a plain and creaking wood, tin flatware. two who are mostly good. two who have lived their day, but keep on putting on their clothes and putting things away. and remembering… remembering, with twinklings and twinges, as they lean over the beans in their rented back room that is full of beads and receipts and dolls and cloths. tobacco crumbs, vases and fringes.

what can we infer about this couple from the fact that they eat beans?

a)that they're retired
b)that they're old
c)that they're poor
d)that they're wealthy

why does brooks choose this dramatic situation instead of one that might be more "exciting"?

a)part of what brooks wants to communicate is the everyday nature of their very minimal existence.
b)she wants to emphasize how exciting their lives are.
c)part of what brooks wants to communicate is how special this day is.
d)she wants to communicate the symbolic importance of the dining table.

which line suggests that despite their poverty, the couple is content if not somewhat happy?

a)"remembering, with twinklings and twinges,"
b)"two who are mostly good."
c)"as they lean over the beans in their rented back room flat"
d)"plain chipware on a plain and creaking wood,"

who is the speaker of this poem?

a)an observer, like a fly on the wall
b)the old woman
c)the old man
d)the plates

1. C) that they're poor

Beans are one of the cheapest food in the world, although yummy and nutritive, people who are not poor are less likely to buy beans on a regular basis, unlike this old couple the author is describing, which eat beans mostly. In the poem, of course, eating beans is just one of the several characteristics from which we can infer that they are poor.

2. A)Part of what Brooks wants to communicate is the everyday nature of their very minimal existence.

Brook describes a simple scene: an old poor couple who are having dinner in their "rented back room", and their overall everyday actions and characteristics: they are "Mostly Good", they live their day, keep on putting on their clothes, keep on putting things away, and remembering (like old people normally do). At first sight, the characters are not interesting, exciting, something worth watching as they do normal things. However, the author's intention is to turn the reader's attention to the simple and everyday things and communicate the everyday nature of the couple's very minimal existence.

3)  A) "Remembering, with twinklings and twinges,"

For many old people, remembering good times is one of the main sources of joy, it may affect their everyday life, even if it does not makes them excited as before. For the couple, these memories are strong enough in the present to give them “twinklings and twinges.".

4) The speaker of this poem is  A) an observer, like a fly on the wall.

The poem is narrated from a third-person perspective, from an outside looker, as he or she uses pronouns like "They", and refers to them as "Two".

me  

what's the sales price

- a.) the man dies after he is unable to keep a fire lit.