The following text is adapted from Susan Glaspell's 1912 short story "Out There." An elderly shop owner is looking at a picture that he recently acquired and hopes to sell. It did seem that the picture failed to fit in with the rest of the shop.A persuasive young fellow who claimed he was closing out his stock let the old man have it for what he called a song. It was only a little out-of-the-way store which subsisted chiefly on the framing of pictures. The old man looked around at his views of the city, his pictures of cats and dogs his flaming bits of landscape. "Don't belong in here," he fumed. And yet the old man was secretly proud of his acquisition. There was a hidden dignity in his scowling as he shuffled about pondering the least ridiculous place for the picture. Which choice best states the main purpose of the text? A) To reveal the shop owner's conflicted feelings about the new picture B) To convey the shop owner's resentment of the person he got the new picture from C) To describe the items that the shop owner most highly prizes D) To explain differences between the new picture and other pictures in the shop

## Step 1<br />The first step in solving this problem is to understand the main purpose of the text. The text revolves around an elderly shop owner who has recently acquired a new picture and is trying to find a place for it in his shop. The text describes the shop owner's feelings and actions in relation to the new picture.<br /><br />## Step 2<br />Next, we need to analyze each of the given options and determine which one best represents the main purpose of the text.<br /><br />### Option A: <br />This option suggests that the text is about revealing the shop owner's conflicted feelings about the new picture. This seems to align with the text as it describes the shop owner's mixed feelings about the new picture.<br /><br />### Option B: <br />This option suggests that the text is about the shop owner's resentment towards the person he got the new picture from. However, the text does not focus on the shop owner's feelings towards the person he got the picture from.<br /><br />### Option C: <br />This option suggests that the text is about describing the items that the shop owner highly prizes. However, the text does not focus on the shop owner's prized items.<br /><br />### Option D: <br />This option suggests that the text is about explaining the differences between the new picture and other pictures in the shop. However, the text does not focus on the differences between the new picture and other pictures in the shop.<br /><br />## Step 3<br />Based on the analysis, option A seems to be the most accurate representation of the main purpose of the text.