What was the author's purpose for providing the details in the first paragraph of "A Simple Act." It was the first day of September in 1986, and the morning rain had given way to bright sunshine. A successful
advertising executive made her way across 56th street toward Broadway, on the west side of Manhattan. A young boy
-all of eleven years old and dressed in scruffy clothes-asked for some change for something to eat. Laura Schroff
Lowered her head and walked on: Manhattan was full of panhandlers, and she hardly even noticed them any more.