Which detail most strongly builds a sense of isolation in the setting?
The bus coughed twice and stopped at the edge of Wirrawa, where the road gave up pretending to be a street. Maya stepped down into the dust. Nothing had changed. The same sagging fence leaned toward the same silent paddock, and the water tank still wore its rust like a medal. For fourteen years she had rehearsed this return, practising the words she would say to her father, but now every sentence dissolved like salt in the heat. A screen door banged somewhere. She did not look up. She picked up her bag, lighter than she remembered, and began to walk.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. The road at the edge of town, the silent paddock and the lone banging door
- Step 1: Isolation is shown through emptiness and silence.
- Step 2: The edge-of-town road, the silent paddock and one lone sound suggest few people and little life.
Answer
the edge of town, the silent paddock and the lone sound.
Why not the others: The bus stops at the edge, not the centre; the fence is sagging, not new; nobody greets Maya.
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More Analysing Texts and Passages questions
- In an analytical response, the main function of a thesis statement is to:
- Which paragraph opening is the strongest for an analytical response to a text about loneliness?
- The phrase "where the road gave up pretending to be a street" is an example of:
- The tank "still wore its rust like a medal". What does this image suggest?
- What is the main effect of the short sentence "Nothing had changed."?
- Which reading of Maya's feelings is best supported by "every sentence dissolved like salt in the heat" and "She did not look up"?