Which excerpt from “Good Country People” is the best example of figurative language?

A. The reason for her keeping them so long was that they were... good country people.

B. If she don’t get there before the dust settles, you can bet she’s dead, that’s all.

C. She would make these statements, usually at the table, in a tone of gentle insistence as if no one held them but her.

D. It was hard for Mrs. Hopewell to realize that her child was thirty-two now and that for more than twenty years she had had only one leg.

Answer

The best example of figurative language in the excerpts from "Good Country People" is option B, which uses hyperbole to emphasize urgency and fear regarding the character's timely arrival. The other options provide descriptive context but do not effectively utilize figurative language. Option B vividly illustrates how dire the situation is by exaggerating the consequences of missing an arrival.

Explanation

To determine the best example of figurative language in the excerpts from "Good Country People," we need to understand what figurative language is. Figurative language includes various literary devices such as metaphors, similes, hyperbole, personification, and others that convey ideas in a more imaginative way than literal expressions.

Now, let's analyze the options:

A. This line explains the reason for Mrs. Hopewell keeping the characters around her but does not use figurative language. It is a straightforward statement.

B. "If she don’t get there before the dust settles, you can bet she’s dead, that’s all."

C. "She would make these statements, usually at the table, in a tone of gentle insistence as if no one held them but her."

D. "It was hard for Mrs. Hopewell to realize that her child was thirty-two now and that for more than twenty years she had had only one leg."

Based on this analysis, the best example of figurative language is option B, as it makes an exaggerated claim to emphasize how serious the situation is for the character.