While teaching a creative writing class in India. I was surprised at receiving stories from Q.9 the students that were all set in distant places: in the American West with cowboys and in Manhattan penthouses with clinking ice cubes. This was, till an eminent Caribbean writer gave the once-colonized countries the confidence to see the shabby lives around them as worthy of being “told”. The writer of this passage is surprised by the creative writing assignments of his students, because ________ .

The correct option is: None of the students had written stories set in India.

Step-by-step Explanation:

1. Analyze the Context: The author mentions that they were teaching a creative writing class in India. They expected students to draw inspiration from their immediate surroundings and culture. However, they were surprised because all the stories submitted by the students were set in "distant places" such as the American West and Manhattan.

2. Identify the Disconnect: The surprise stems from the fact that despite living and studying in India, none of the students chose to set their stories in their own country. Instead, they wrote about foreign settings and lifestyles (like cowboys and Manhattan penthouses) which were distant and unfamiliar to their daily lives.

3. Connect to the Correct Option: The passage states that the students' stories "were all set in distant places." If all the stories were set in distant places, it logically follows that none of the students set their stories in India. This lack of local representation is precisely what surprised the teacher, making the option "None of the students had written stories set in India" the correct explanation.