How does the boys relationship change with his grandmother? In the story the horned toad

It's to know your purpose before you read something because a purpose can:

What are two goals of feminist literary criticism? select two options. to focus exclusively on female authors and female characters to explore restrictions placed on female characters in patriarchal societies to explore emotional rather than political or historical aspects of literature to evaluate the work of female authors who may be unappreciated to evaluate why female authors are morally superior to male authors

Plz asap read this sentence from paragraph 3 of the article. the boys and girls are merely asked to obtain the signatures of ten friends or relatives. how does the word "merely" affect the meaning of the sentence? a- it suggests that asking people to subscribe to the washington times is something negative. b- it implies that obtaining ten signatures is not a requirement for receiving a prize. c- it downplays the fact that to win the prize, children must ask people to subscribe to the washington times. d- it emphasizes that children receive the prize only if they obtain ten signatures.