Which word best describes the mood of this passage?

A) Gloomy
B) Menacing
C) Cautious
D) Lighthearted

Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens (excerpt)


"Show us where you live," said the man. "Pint out the place!"
I pointed to where our village lay, on the flat in-shore among the alder-trees and pollards, a mile or more from the church.
The man, after looking at me for a moment, turned me upside down, and emptied my pockets. There was nothing in them but a piece of bread. When the church came to itself,—for he was so sudden and strong that he made it go head over heels before me, and I saw the steeple under my feet,—when the church came to itself, I say, I was seated on a high tombstone, trembling while he ate the bread ravenously.
"You young dog," said the man, licking his lips, "what fat cheeks you ha' got."
I believe they were fat, though I was at that time undersized for my years, and not strong.
"Darn me if I couldn't eat em," said the man, with a threatening shake of his head, "and if I han't half a mind to't!"
I earnestly expressed my hope that he wouldn't, and held tighter to the tombstone on which he had put me; partly, to keep myself upon it; partly, to keep myself from crying.

Respuesta :

Answer: C) Cautious

This excerpt transmits a cautious mood. The narrator is telling us of the man he has met. The man is slightly scary, but not outright dangerous. It is clear that he makes the narrator slightly uncomfortable, but he does not seem to be completely threatening. Therefore, while the narrator continues to interact with him, he does so with a cautious attitude.