The story "Games at Twilight" by Anita Desai is set in India on a hot summer day. Children are forced to stay indoors but are eager to go out. Which words in the excerpt suggest this sense of suffocation?

It was still too hot to play outdoors. They had had their tea, they had been washed and had their hair (brushed), and after the long day of (confinement) in the house that was not cool but at least a (protection) from the sun, the children (strained) to get out. Their faces were red and bloated with the effort, but their mother would not open the door, everything was still curtained and shuttered in a way that (stifled) the children, made them feel that their lungs were stuffed with cotton wool and their noses with dust and if they didn't burst out into the light and see the sun and feel the air, they would (choke)

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Miah Bautista

27 May, 23:22

The story "Games at Twilight" by Anita Desai is set in India on a hot summer day. Children are forced to stay indoors but are eager to go out. Which words in the excerpt suggest this sense of suffocation?

It was still too hot to play outdoors. They had had their tea, they had been washed and had their hair (brushed), and after the long day of (confinement) in the house that was not cool but at least a (protection) from the sun, the children (strained) to get out. Their faces were red and bloated with the effort, but their mother would not open the door, everything was still curtained and shuttered in a way that (stifled) the children, made them feel that their lungs were stuffed with cotton wool and their noses with dust and if they didn't burst out into the light and see the sun and feel the air, they would (choke)

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Marshall Owens · Answer 1

In this excerpt, " ... the children strained to get out" suggests the sense of suffocation. Although they got ready by brushing their hair and such, their mothers still don't allow them to leave the house. "Strained" is a negative word and is similar to the word "Exhausted."

" ... made them feel that their lungs were stuffed with cotton wool and their noses with dust ... they would choke," also shows suffocation. This show readers that the children want to go outside badly; but they aren't able to. They feel trapped inside the house and just want to experience the outside world.