Which action does Ma perform with the stew?

Which action does Ma perform with the stew?

• A. She cooks it
• B. She discards it
• C. She gives it to the deputy
• D. She feeds the stew to the camp kids

Answer: (D)

Ma uses food to care for others and anchor the camp’s sense of community. Sharing the stew with the camp kids shows her as the family’s steady, nurturing leader who turns scarce resources into nourishment and solidarity for everyone around them. This moment highlights a theme in the story: food as a communal act that sustains both body and hope in hard times. The other options don’t fit that moment as well—cooking it would be preparing food for later, discarding it would waste scarce resources, and giving it to the deputy would miss Ma’s instinct to feed those in need rather than flatter an authority figure. Feeding the camp kids embodies her practical compassion and communal spirit.

Ma uses food to care for others and anchor the camp’s sense of community. Sharing the stew with the camp kids shows her as the family’s steady, nurturing leader who turns scarce resources into nourishment and solidarity for everyone around them. This moment highlights a theme in the story: food as a communal act that sustains both body and hope in hard times. The other options don’t fit that moment as well—cooking it would be preparing food for later, discarding it would waste scarce resources, and giving it to the deputy would miss Ma’s instinct to feed those in need rather than flatter an authority figure. Feeding the camp kids embodies her practical compassion and communal spirit.