Function of Allusion: Short Fiction Practice Test

Read the excerpt from a short story:

When the wildfire warnings came, the town pretended not to hear them. People watered lawns, planned barbecues, posted pictures of sunsets that looked too red to be harmless. On the third day, ash drifted onto the playground like gray snow. Mrs. Han packed her car anyway, even as her neighbors laughed and said she was overreacting. As she drove out, she thought of Cassandra, not cursed prophecy, but the loneliness of being right when no one wants to listen.

What is the primary function of the allusion to Cassandra?

Read the excerpt from a short story:

At the community garden, Ms. Ruiz labeled each row with popsicle-stick signs: TOMATO, BASIL, KALE. The labels made the place feel orderly, as if naming a thing could guarantee it would grow. But the summer heat didn’t care about her handwriting. Leaves browned; soil cracked. One morning, Ms. Ruiz found a single tomato, small and stubbornly red, hanging under a wilted vine. She held it like a miracle and thought of manna, not heaven exactly, but the relief of receiving something you didn’t earn when you were running out.

What is the primary function of the allusion to manna?