Question

select the correct answer.

read paragraph 23.

(23) we had, of course, a good many callers at this time, and i told most of them about the book. for reasons to be seen by and by i regret this now.

how does the author use this paragraph to build anticipation?

by emphasizing the growing frustration that the callers felt toward george
by foreshadowing what will or will not happen by the end of the story
by explaining how angry the wife will be if her husband never completes his book
by alluding to george changing his mind about when he will start writing

Explanation:

Analyze the paragraph's text

The paragraph states: "We had, of course, a good many callers at this time, and I told most of them about the book. For reasons to be seen by and by I regret this now." Through Textual Analysis, we look at the phrase "For reasons to be seen by and by I regret this now." This explicitly hints at future negative consequences or events that have not yet been revealed to the reader.

Identify the literary device

By hinting at future events ("to be seen by and by") and expressing a future regret, the narrator is using foreshadowing. This technique builds Narrative Tension and anticipation by making the reader wonder why the narrator regrets sharing information about the book and what will happen later in the story.

Evaluate the given options

• Option 1: "by emphasizing the growing frustration..." is incorrect because there is no mention of callers' frustration in this paragraph.
• Option 2: "by foreshadowing what will or will not happen by the end of the story" directly matches the function of hinting at future regrets.
• Option 3: "by explaining how angry the wife will be..." is incorrect as the wife is not mentioned in this paragraph.
• Option 4: "by alluding to George changing his mind..." is incorrect because the paragraph focuses on the regret of telling callers about the book, not George's writing schedule.

Answer:

• by emphasizing the growing frustration that the callers felt toward George
• by foreshadowing what will or will not happen by the end of the story (Correct answer)
• by explaining how angry the wife will be if her husband never completes his book
• by alluding to George changing his mind about when he will start writing