Which statement best explains the effect of the word
"firmly” in this excerpt?

It directs the reader's attention back to the squat pen.
It suggests that the spade is too heavy for the father.
It emphasizes the speaker's distaste for hard work.
It shows that the father works with skill and control

idk but i did find this

explanation:

in the story of the cowardly lion and the hungry tiger, we first see the two characters inside the empty throne room of ozma, bored and sadly very much aware of their uselessness as guardians. they talked about the good old days when they used to be feared. they proceeded to make up stories of how fearsome they were. the cowardly lion professed that he can tear men/women into pieces, while the hungry tiger said he would eat fat babies. but when they proceeded to act upon their words they were forced to realize that they were indeed harmless and good animals who would rather be called cowardly and hungry than harm a woman or eat a child.

femininity is conveyed through bernice's personality. she doesn't act how the other girls act and everyone thinks she is weird. she learns how to act in a way that was considered femininely appropriate at the time. she becomes so popular but her attempts to be liked end up backfiring when she is pressured into bobbing her hair. the author wrote that bernice cut off her cousin's hair in revenge for tricking her to cut her hair. this was the authors way of trying to change the way feminine is defined and the way women are expected to act.

gothic and dark natured