What can literary critics look at in order to find the more complex theme of a story?

Read the passage below and answer the question. marcus had a reputation for being craven. no one had ever seen him do a single brave thing. using context clues, how would you define the word craven in the passage? intense courageous cowardly thoughtful

Some one drawing water and my theater placed my hand under the spout. as the cool stream gushed over one hand she spelled into the other the word water , first slowly , then rapidly . i stood still ,my whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers . suddenly i felt misty consciousness as of soothing forgotten --a thrill of returning thought and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me this passage from the stoyof my life is an wxample of which element of plotclimax action

The point of view in the novel can best be described as third-person omniscient third-person limited second-person first-person