Question

my heart goes out in sympathy to anyone who is making his first appearance before an audience of human beings. by a direct process of memory i go back forty years, less one month - for im older than i look.
i recall the occasion of my first appearance. san francisco knew me then only as a reporter, and i was to make my bow to san francisco as a lecturer. i knew that nothing short of compulsion would get me to the theater. so i bound myself by a hard - and - fast contract so that i could not escape. i got to the theater forty - five minutes before the hour set for the lecture.
my knees were shaking so that i didnt know whether i could stand up. if there is an awful, horrible malady in the world, it is stage fright - and seasickness. they are a pair. i had stage fright then for the first and last time. i was only seasick once, too. it was on a little ship on which there were two hundred other passengers. i - was - sick. i was so sick that there wasnt any left for those other two hundred.

1. based on the excerpt, how does mark twains perspective on stage fright affect the way he tells his story?

a. he describes stage fright as permanent and life - ruining, assuming readers want to avoid public speaking.
b. he portrays stage fright as terrifying but temporary, balancing empathy with humor.
c. he dismisses stage fright as trivial and unworthy of concern.
d. he uses stage fright as proof that he was never meant to be a lecturer

Explanation:

The text is from a literary work (Arts - Literature). Mark Twain uses vivid descriptions and a narrative style typical in literature. He recounts his experiences with stage fright in a way that portrays it as terrifying (e.g., "stage fright— and seasickness. They are a awful, horrible malady") but also mentions it in a somewhat matter - of - fact way about past events (e.g., "I was only seasick once, too. It was on a little ship..."). This shows a portrayal of stage fright as a terrifying but temporary (since he can look back on it years later) experience.

Answer:

B. He portrays stage fright as terrifying but temporary.