ShmoopTube

00:03

Here's an unshmoopy question you'll find on an exam somewhere in life...

00:10

Pause and read, s'il vous plait <<see-voo-play>>...

00:34

In lines 13 through 15, Uncle Howard is characterized as...what?

00:40

And here are the potential answers...

00:47

Uncle Howard, man of mystery...

00:48

In order to solve this question, we've got to crack that nut....

00:51

...or... "shuck that corn," as the case may be.

00:54

We don't get a whole lot of clues about Uncle Howard in the text, but lines 13 through

00:59

15 look helpful.

01:00

"Uncle Howard had characteristically delayed writing until, had I been away from home for

01:06

a day, I must have missed his wife altogether."

01:09

We'll keep this line in mind as we comb through the answers.

01:14

We can definitely get rid of (D). A guy who was highly organized would've sent the letter

01:19

in plenty of time. Is Uncle Howard extremely cold?

01:22

Nah, just because he slacked off in sending the letter, doesn't mean he's a jerk on purpose.

01:27

Choice (B) is a definite no. But is Uncle H unappreciative of hospitality?

01:31

Not necessarily. It's kind of rude that he didn't give the narrator more notice,

01:36

but it doesn't mean he's unappreciative.

01:38

Choice (C) is out of here. Choices (A) and (E) are both real contenders.

01:42

An "unpredictable" person might not give proper notice, and a "forgetful" person

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might not either.

01:48

However, "unpredictable" has kind of a... wilder connotation.

01:51

We're giving Uncle H the benefit of the doubt and saying he's just a forgetful dude.

01:56

(A) is the right answer.

01:57

Maybe Uncle Howard should start taking ginkgo biloba?

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