The narrator is deeply conflicted and traumatized by the affection of the man mentioned, indicating a complex emotional state driven by both fear and relief. This is supported by the evidence that, despite feeling "stunned" and "bewildered," the narrator expresses a sense of gladness at the man's departure, highlighting the inner turmoil between their fear and the societal expectation of gratitude for affection.
He was gone. I never felt so stunned, so distressed, so
bewildered in my life. But in my soul I was glad he was
gone. With all his gentleness of manner and his soft
voice, I shuddered whenever he turned his hungry eye
upon me; and when I heard that I had achieved his
perilous affection, and that I stood almost with the late
Harris in his esteem, my heart fairly stood still!
I was bewildered beyond description. I did not doubt his
word; I could not question a single item in a statement
so stamped with the earnestness of truth as his; but its
dreadful details overpowered me, and threw my
thoughts into hopeless confusion.
"Cannibalism in the Cars" by Mark Twain
Use the passage to answer the question.
In 1–2 sentences, explain an inference about the
narrator based on the details in the passage, and
provide at least one piece of strong evidence to
support your inference.
1 answer
1 answer