In the midst of the prayer a fly had lit on the back of the pew in front of him and tortured his spirit by calmly rubbing its hands together, embracing its head with its arms, and polishing it so vigorously that it seemed to almost part company with the body, and the slender thread of a neck was exposed to view; scraping its wings with its hind legs and smoothing them to its body as if they had been coat-tails; going through its whole toilet as tranquilly as if it knew it was perfectly safe. As indeed it was; for as sorely as Tom's hands itched to grab for it they did not dare„he believed his his soul would be instantly destroyed if he did such a thing while the prayer was going on.

Based on the information provided in this excerpt, how would you characterize Tom? Answer in two to three complete sentences using supporting details from the text.

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16 March, 23:20

In the midst of the prayer a fly had lit on the back of the pew in front of him and tortured his spirit by calmly rubbing its hands together, embracing its head with its arms, and polishing it so vigorously that it seemed to almost part company with the body, and the slender thread of a neck was exposed to view; scraping its wings with its hind legs and smoothing them to its body as if they had been coat-tails; going through its whole toilet as tranquilly as if it knew it was perfectly safe. As indeed it was; for as sorely as Tom's hands itched to grab for it they did not dare„he believed his his soul would be instantly destroyed if he did such a thing while the prayer was going on.

Based on the information provided in this excerpt, how would you characterize Tom? Answer in two to three complete sentences using supporting details from the text.

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Rayne Ray · Answer 1

I think Tom is a religious person. This attitude was shown in the lines "the prayer has not yet finished." But it also contrasted his action of grabbing the fly. I think he conflicts with his belief and his curiosity over things that catch his attention.