This question is missing the excerpt with the stage direction. I have found it online. It is the following:
Read the excerpt from part 1 of "Trifles".
SHERIFF (unbuttoning his overcoat and stepping away from the stove as if to the beginning of official business".
Answer:
The word "official" in the stage direction affects the mood of the scene in the sense that:
C. It suggests that the Sheriff is going to attempt to act professionally.
Explanation:
"Trifles" is a short play by Susan Glaspell. Three men, among them the sheriff, and two women enter a house where a man has been killed. The sheriff and the other men believe it was the man's wife who has killed him, so they are back to look for evidence that may prove that.
The play's theme concerns sexism and oppression. The sheriff and the other men see women as inferior to them, saying they worry about trifles while they, the men, worry about truly important things. With that attitude, it is obvious that the sheriff will not act professionally in his search for evidence. His prejudice is already hindering him. However, as he acts as if he is doing "official business", we can tell he is at least trying to act professionally.
In the end, it is the women who find the evidence that explains the murder. They do not, however, reveal it to the men.
Answer:
C. It suggests that the Sheriff is going to attempt to act professionally.
Explanation:
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