Read the excerpt from “Raymond's Run.” But once I spread my fingers in the dirt and crouch over the Get on Your Mark, the dream goes and I am solid again and am telling myself, Squeaky you must win, you must win, you are the fastest thing in the world, you can even beat your father up Amsterdam if you really try. And then I feel my weight coming back just behind my knees then down to my feet then into the earth and the pistol shot explodes in my blood and I am off and weightless again, flying past the other runners, my arms pumping up and down and the whole world is quiet except for the crunch as I zoom over the gravel in the track.

Which theme is shown most clearly in this excerpt?

D. Success is possible if one truly believes in oneself.

Explanation:

The choice D is supported by the positive self-talk and the resulting physical response (running faster) that the passage describes. This is why I believe D is the best answer.

I hope this helped =)

vey information about pap? physical description beliefs actions interactions

throughout the ancient epic of gilgamesh, the protagonist, gilgamesh of course, exhibited many character traits that made him a true epic hero. one great trait that gilgamesh acquires of an epic hero is that he's a courageous and confident leader. in the text enkidu is too afraid to fight, but he's positive that gilgamesh has the ability to triumph against humbaba. gilgamesh tells enkidu to not be afraid and then continues on to remind him of all the victories he's had against similar foe. gilgamesh proves that he's confident by encouraging enkidu and shows he's courageous when enkidu ask gilgamesh to battle humbaba alone because he knows that gilgamesh will reign victorious.

another characteristic that makes gilgamesh an epic hero is that he's brave and takes risks. "dread surged through gilgamesh, terror flooded his muscles, his heart froze, his mouth went dry, his legs shook, his feet were rooted to the ground. / gilgamesh felt his courage return. they charged at humbaba like two wild bulls." when reading the first part of the quote you see that gilgamesh is terrified of humbaba, and realizing that humbaba is the antagonist he's about to battle is taking a big risk. gilgamesh soon shows how brave he is by not letting his fear of humbaba overtake him, instead he went charging into the face of fear and triumphs.