All night, they had walked silently. the mules were flagging. the wind blew hard. their stomachs, empty since yesterday, no longer made noise. the girl walked numbly on, as in a trance. she could no longer feel the earth beneath her feet. why would the author most likely include this passage at the beginning of a story? a. to set up a conflict among the main characters b. to establish the motivation of the main character c. to identify the story as an example of a particular tradition d. to make the reader question what is happening in the story

Part a which statement best describes a central idea in this narrative? in times of tragedy, it is difficult to determine how best to be of service. in times of crisis, people prefer to be alone. young people tend to look to older people to take action in times of tragedy. when people publicly commit to being of service, they are more likely to follow through. part b which detail from the text best to shape the central idea in part a? "'i thought you might have too much going on already. i saw everyone post online.' martin said, 'i don’t think anyone wanted to be in the way today, so i’m glad you came.'" "finally, he said, 'i don’t know what to do. i guess i should tell him to let me know if he needs anything, but that doesn’t feel like enough.'" "he wondered how many people would actually show up to out and how many would simply hope that enough others did." "he explained to her that martin’s mom had died, and told her how he felt about his friend’s loss. 'what do you plan to do for him? ' his mother asked."