Read the following passage carefully:
The clock on the courthouse tower struck three, each stroke a dull, heavy blow that vibrated through the damp floorboards of the solicitor’s office. Mr. Vance did not look up from the ledger, though his pen remained suspended, a tiny bead of black ink trembling at the nib. Five minutes—or was it an hour?—had passed since the carriage had rattled away, carrying the last of his hopes toward the evening train. He watched the ink droplet, waiting for it to fall. In the silence, the scratch of his clerk’s quill in the adjoining room grew unnaturally loud, a rhythmic rasping that seemed to stretch the seconds into agonizing intervals. He remembered the hurried whispers in the library, the abrupt rustle of the letter being concealed, and the sudden, breathless rush to the station. Now, the quiet was absolute, a heavy, stagnant pool in which time itself seemed to have congealed, refusing to move forward until the droplet fell.
Which of the following best describes how the author uses narrative pacing in the passage to convey Mr. Vance's psychological state?
- The contrast between the slow, sensory-laden description of the present moment and the rapid, compressed summary of past events highlights Mr. Vance's sense of paralysis and dread while waiting.Cevap
- BThe passage begins at three o'clock, recounts the carriage's departure, flashes back to the library whispers, and concludes with the ink droplet falling.
- CThe author's use of a slow, stagnant pace reflects their own disdain for the tedious and mechanical nature of Victorian legal offices.
- DThe narrator's detailed focus on the clock and the clerk's quill establishes an objective, factual timeline of the afternoon's events.
- EThe sudden transition to the library memory reveals that the solicitor is confused about the chronological order of the day's events.