The Whispering Garden - Personification in literary text (Grade 8)

This is the correct answer because sleeping is a human action. The passage gives the bulldozer the human-like quality of sleeping to make it seem like a resting monster.

The passage directly states that the sunflowers 'now droop their heads in sorrow,' giving them a human emotion to describe their wilted state.

A 'chorus' implies many voices together. By personifying the garden this way, the author shows that the fear is a collective, shared experience among all the plants, creating a unified sense of harmony under threat.

The phrases describing the plants and natural elements (sunflowers, wind, oak, roots) personify them with emotions and intentions related to life and survival, representing harmony. The phrases describing the machines (bulldozer, concrete mixer) personify them with aggressive and consuming actions, representing destruction.

The passage ends with Alistair stating, 'They’re being defiant.' This directly attributes the human quality of defiance to the plant roots.

Calling the mixer a 'hungry beast' implies it wants to consume or destroy something. This word choice gives the machine a threatening and predatory quality, connecting it to the theme of destruction.

The passage states the bulldozer was 'dreaming of tearing,' the wind was 'whispering worried secrets,' the oak tree felt like a 'tired guardian,' and the sunflowers 'droop their heads in sorrow.' Each match correctly pairs the object with its personified action or feeling.