I think it means to have hard boat shells meaning hard sides as in something that is hard and wont brake and will last in strong storms for a period of time.
Direct characterization is when the author specifically tells the reader the traits of a character. In this excerpt, Dickens tells you that the woman is elderly, wise, experienced and knows what is "good for children". If Dickens had used indirect characterization, he would have need to shown her wisdom and experience by including specific examples. The reader would then be lead to develop his own conclusion about the whether or not the woman was wise and experienced.
If the options are: <span>A. excited, B. ironic, C. indignant, and D. playful, the correct answer is C. indignant.
The narrator is very disappointed with </span><span>Stephen Mackaye. There is a stark contrast between what he used to feel for him and what he feels now. He used to trust, love, and respect him, and now he loathes him. The feeling of indignance spreads from Stephen to all people, as the narrator says he would never trust people again.</span>