Baker uses the sentence “Women’s purses, despite their great weight, frequently travel through six or seven rooms to find hiding space under a couch” in his essay to create _[blank]_.

a neutral mood

heated suspense

an unhappy tone

a humorous tone

Would this be heated suspense?

I think it's humorous.

I don't think so.

Maybe a neutral mood

To determine the answer to this question, we need to analyze the given sentence from Baker's essay: "Women's purses, despite their great weight, frequently travel through six or seven rooms to find hiding space under a couch."

To identify the intended tone or effect created by this sentence, we can consider the use of language and the description being presented. In this case, the sentence describes purses being carried through multiple rooms to finally end up under a couch, despite their weight.

Based on this description, we can eliminate the options of "a neutral mood" and "an unhappy tone," as these do not accurately align with the sentence's content.

Between "heated suspense" and "a humorous tone," we can argue that the sentence is more likely trying to create a humorous tone. The contrast between the weight of the purses and the exaggerated journey they take adds an element of absurdity and playfulness to the statement.

Therefore, the correct answer is "a humorous tone."