Comparing and Contrasting Two Versions of The War of the Worlds — Quiz
Question 6 • English Language Arts 12
Read the excerpt from H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds . The end of the cylinder was being screwed out from within. Nearly two feet of shining screw projected. Somebody blundered against me, and I narrowly missed being pitched onto the top of the screw. I turned, and as I did so the screw must have come out, for the lid of the cylinder fell upon the gravel with a ringing concussion. I stuck my elbow into the person behind me, and turned my head towards the Thing again. For a moment that circular cavity seemed perfectly black. I had the sunset in my eyes. How does the author create an aesthetic impact in the excerpt?
Answer
A
with the use of gory details
B
with the inclusion of factual data
C
through the suspenseful mood
D
through the relaxed tone
Explanation
The author builds suspense by describing the cylinder opening slowly and the narrator nearly falling onto the protruding screw. The lid then crashes down, and the narrator sees a perfectly black cavity, leaving the reader uncertain about what will emerge. This suspenseful mood creates the excerpt’s aesthetic impact; the passage is not relaxed and does not rely on factual data or gory details.
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