Question

but it was all he could do, hold its body encircled in his arms and sit there. he realized that he could not kill the dog. there was no way to do it. with his helpless hands he could neither draw nor hold his sheath - knife nor throttle the animal. he released it, and it plunged wildly away, with tail between its legs, and still snarling. it halted forty feet away and surveyed him curiously, with ears sharply pricked forward. the man looked down at his hands in order to locate them, and found them hanging on the ends of his arms. it struck him as curious that one should have to use his eyes in order to find out where his hands were. he began threshing his arms back and forth, beating the mittened hands against his sides. he did this for five minutes, violently, and his heart pumped enough blood up to the surface to put a stop to his shivering. but no sensation was aroused in the hands. he had an impression that they hung like weights on the ends of his arms, but when he tried to run the impression down, he could not find it.

1. what tone does the scientific observation style of writing create? underline the word choices that best reveal the tone. what tone do you think you would have in this situation?

Explanation:

To determine the tone of the scientific observation - style writing, we analyze the text: the narrator describes the man's actions (holding the dog, examining his hands, thrashing arms) and the dog's behavior (plunging away, surveying) in a detached, factual way, focusing on details like "forty feet away", "five minutes" - this creates an objective, matter - of - fact tone (also could be seen as clinical or observational). For the second part, in a situation where one's hands are numb and they can't control them (like the man), a tone of frustration, confusion, or desperation would be likely, as the man is struggling to regain control of his hands and is in a harsh, cold environment (implied by the context of needing to kill the dog for survival maybe, and his shivering). Words that reveal the tone in the text: "helpless", "curiously", "violently", "no sensation" (these show the man's struggle and the objective reporting of his state).

Answer:

• Tone of scientific observation - style writing: Objective (matter - of - fact, observational).
• Tone one would likely have in this situation: Frustrated (or confused, desperate).
• Words revealing the tone: "helpless", "curiously", "violently", "no sensation" (underline these in the text).