Question

read the passage from a sound of thunder, in which travis explains to eckels the perils of time travel.
all right, travis continued,say we accidentally kill one mouse here. that means all the future families of this one particular mouse are destroyed, right?
right.
and all the families of the families of the families of that one mouse! with a stamp of your foot, you annihilate first one, then a dozen, then a thousand, a million, a billion possible mice!
so theyre dead, said eckels. so what?
so what? travis snorted quietly.
how does the authors use of dramatic irony create suspense in this passage?
readers understand that travis is exaggerating the possible problems caused by time travel.
readers understand that eckels is actually very frightened.
readers can guess that eckels overconfidence will end up getting him into trouble.
readers are aware that travis is being overly cautious about time travel and is worrying too much.

Explanation:

Dramatic irony occurs when the audience/reader knows something that the characters do not. In this passage, Eckels is non - chalant ("So what?") about the potential consequences of time travel (killing a mouse having huge ripple effects). But readers, through Travis' explanations (and typical knowledge of time - travel stories where small changes can have big impacts), can guess that Eckels' overconfidence (his dismissive attitude) will lead him into trouble. The first option is incorrect as Travis is not exaggerating (in the context of the story's logic of time travel). The second option is not supported by the text (Eckels seems more dismissive than frightened). The fourth option is wrong because Travis' warnings are in line with the story's premise of the dangers of time travel.

Answer:

Readers can guess that Eckels' overconfidence will end up getting him into trouble.