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Craft and StructureHardFunction of a detail in a literary passage

Craft and Structure practice question

The following text is from a novel. Her father's watch still kept time, which she found faintly unreasonable of it. Everything else of his had stopped: the letters, the phone calls, the Sunday visits. The watch went on, indifferent, ticking through afternoons he would never see.

Which choice best describes the function of the watch in the text?

  1. A. Its continued ticking emphasises, by contrast, that everything else connected to her father has ended.Correct
  2. B. It shows that her father was punctual.
  3. C. It suggests that her father is still alive.
  4. D. It indicates that she plans to sell it.

Answer: A. Its continued ticking emphasises, by contrast, that everything else connected to her father has ended.

'Everything else of his had stopped'; the watch 'went on, indifferent'.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. It shows that her father was punctual.
His punctuality is not discussed.
C. It suggests that her father is still alive.
'Afternoons he would never see' says he is gone.
D. It indicates that she plans to sell it.
No sale is mentioned.

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