Question 8 • English III Remediation 1st Grading Period
Read the excerpt from chapter 23 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.When the place couldn't hold no more, the duke he quit tending door and went around the back way and come on to the stage and stood up before the curtain and made a little speech, and praised up this tragedy, and said it was the most thrillingest one that ever was; and so he went on a-bragging about the tragedy, and about Edmund Kean the Elder, which was to play the main principal part in it; and at last when he'd got everybody's expectations up high enough, he rolled up the curtain, and the next minute the king come a-prancing out on all fours, naked; and he was painted all over, ring-streaked-and-striped, all sorts of colors, as splendid as a rainbow. And—but never mind the rest of his outfit; it was just wild, but it was awful funny.Which best describes the source of the humor in this excerpt?
Answer
A
the fact that the place was packed
B
the duke’s speech to the audience
C
the image of the king performing
D
the audience’s high expectations
Explanation
The humor comes from the contrast between the duke’s grand introduction of a serious tragedy and the ridiculous sight that follows: the king prancing on all fours, naked, and painted in rainbow-like stripes. That comic image is the focus of the excerpt, so the best choice is “the image of the king performing.”
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