When analyzing a story, what is the best characteristic to examine?

Read the two excerpts from act 4, scene 3, and act 5, scene 5, of julius caesar. cassius. ha! portia? brutus. she is dead. cassius. how scaped i killing when i crossed you so? o insupportable and touching loss! upon what sickness? brutus. impatient of my absence, and grief that young octavius with mark antony have made themselves so strong—for with her death that tidings came. with this, she fell distraught, and, her attendants absent, swallowed fire. brutus. why this, volumnius. the ghost of caesar hath appeared to me two several times by night—at sardis once, and this last night, here in philippi fields. i know my hour is come. volumnius. not so, my lord. brutus. nay, i am sure it is, volumnius. thou seest the world, volumnius, how it goes. our enemies have beat us to the pit, [low alarums] it is more worthy to leap in ourselves than tarry till they push us. good volumnius, thou know’st that we two went to school together. even for that, our love of old, i prithee, hold thou my sword hilts, whilst i run on it. . so fare you well at once, for brutus’ tongue hath almost ended his life’s history. night hangs upon mine eyes; my bones would rest, that have but laboured to attain this hour. . i prithee, strato, stay thou by thy lord. thou art a fellow of a good respect. thy life hath had some smatch of honour in it. hold then my sword, and turn away thy face while i do run upon it. wilt thou, strato? which statement best compares brutus’s remarks at the death of his wife, portia, to his words before his own death? brutus shows more sadness for portia’s death than he does for his own. brutus is more philosophical about his own death than he is about portia’s. brutus uses more imagery when speaking about portia’s death than about his own. brutus reacts more matter-of-factly about his own death than he does about portia’s.

21) this excerpt involves david, who travels with an inventor named perry. they test their experimental invention, a vehicle that burrows into the earth's crust. which statement best reflects the human experience that is represented in this excerpt? a) humans are not always reliable guides. b) humans desire wealth and a life of ease. c) humans are drawn to explore and experiment. d) humans attempt to conquer and control nature. 22) which statement best reflects the human experience that is represented in this excerpt? a) humans desire to control nature. b) humans are frightened by nature. c) humans are fascinated by nature. d) humans cannot understand nature. 23) 8 “what do you mean perry? ” i cried. “do you think that we are dead, and this is heaven? ” suppose the author changed section eight as listed below. 8 “perry, i have to object! ” i cried. “you don't think that we are dead, and this is heaven, do you? ” which correctly identifies the author's meaning for the word object? consider the effect of the stressed or unstressed syllable in the word object. a) you would stress the second syllable because the word is a noun and means a goal or purpose. b) you would stress the second syllable because the word is a verb and means to express or feel disapproval. c) you would stress the first and second syllable because the word is a verb and means to modify an adjective. d) you would stress the first syllable because the word is a noun and means a thing that has a finite, physical form. 24) 2 together we stepped out to stand in silent contemplation of a landscape at once weird and beautiful. before us a low and level shore stretched down to a silent sea. as far as the eye could reach the surface of the water was dotted with countless tiny isles—some of towering, barren, granitic rock—others resplendent in gorgeous trappings of tropical vegetation, myriad starred with the magnificent splendor of vivid blooms. 3 behind us rose a dark and forbidding wood of giant arborescent ferns intermingled with the commoner types of a primeval tropical forest. huge creepers depended in great loops from tree to tree, dense under-brush overgrew a tangled mass of fallen trunks and branches. upon the outer verge we could see the same splendid coloring of countless blossoms that glorified the islands, but within the dense shadows all seemed dark and gloomy as the grave. which most completely analyzes this excerpt for a comment about life? a) beauty is kind and inviting. b) nature is evil and forbidding. c) there is no risk in following beauty. d) what appears beautiful can also be deadly.

Returning from vietnam, we were indeed given a parade. crowds of screaming people waving signs — not just on one road, one day. no, they were everywhere. every day. on the streets, on the television, on the radio. a hot, angry tangle of shaking fists and ugly words that threatened us like a monster with a hundred heads. our country had chewed us up and spit us out, and now we were being treated as if it were our fault. what is one way the author's use of language contributes to the tone of this passage? a. the use of figurative language creates a feeling of resentment. b. the phrase "hot, angry tangle" is used sarcastically to create irony. c. the word "parade" is used sarcastically to create a lighthearted mood. d. the parallelism draws attention to the confusion of those returning.