Read the following passage from "The Happy Man."

He ate his breakfast with relish, and this time nothing distracted his attention while he was eating. He gave "Uncle" Bashir, who was waiting on him, such a beaming smile that the poor man felt rather alarmed and taken aback. Usually he would only look in his direction to give orders or ask questions, although on most occasions he treated him fairly well.

In this passage, the word uncle appears in quotation marks most likely to indicate that:

A. the man regards him with respect.

B. all servants are referred to as "uncle."

C. Bashir is not really related to the man.

D. Bashir is significantly older than the man.

D. Bashir is significantly older than the man.

Explanation:

The short story "The Happy Man" by Naguib Mahfouz tells the story of the protagonist who woke up with a great sense of happiness from which source, he had no idea about. The story dwells on the 'general' happiness of man, and how happiness can be the way to being human again, despite the many stressful patterns of life.

The writer of the story addresses Am Beshir as "uncle" to show that Bashir is significantly older than his master, the protagonist. He was serving the man, who he kept on addressing as "my master". This shows that the man who is serving the protagonist is in no relation with the master, and he is the servant of the master, even though he may be younger or even older than him. The use of the quotation mark in the word "uncle" to address the servant shows or signifies that the servant is significantly older than the man.