Question

which figure of speech is used in this text? mr. wolfsheim, forgetting the more sentimental atmosphere of the old metropole, began to eat with ferocious delicacy. —f. scott fitzgerald, the great gatsby hyperbole oxymoron

Explanation:

An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms. In "ferocious delicacy", "ferocious" (suggesting aggression) and "delicacy" (suggesting gentleness) are contradictory, fitting the oxymoron definition. Hyperbole is an exaggeration, which doesn't apply here.

Answer:

oxymoron