Use the passage to answer the question:

Question

"The man who was engaged in being hanged was apparently about thirty-five years of age. He was a civilian, if one might judge from his habit, which was that of a planter. His features were good—a straight nose, firm mouth, broad forehead, from which his long, dark hair was combed straight back, falling behind his ears to the collar of his well fitting frock coat. He wore a moustache and pointed beard, but no whiskers; his eyes were large and dark gray, and had a kindly expression which one would hardly have expected in one whose neck was in the hemp. Evidently this was no vulgar assassin. The liberal military code makes provision for hanging many kinds of persons, and gentlemen are not excluded.
The preparations being complete, the two private soldiers stepped aside and each drew away the plank upon which he had been standing. The sergeant turned to the captain, saluted and placed himself immediately behind that officer, who in turn moved apart one pace. These movements left the condemned man and the sergeant standing on the two ends of the same plank, which spanned three of the cross-ties of the bridge. The end upon which the civilian stood almost, but not quite, reached a fourth. This plank had been held in place by the weight of the captain; it was now held by that of the sergeant. At a signal from the former the latter would step aside, the plank would tilt and the condemned man go down between two ties. The arrangement commended itself to his judgement as simple and effective. His face had not been covered nor his eyes bandaged. He looked a moment at his “unsteadfast footing,” then let his gaze wander to the swirling water of the stream racing madly beneath his feet. A piece of dancing driftwood caught his attention and his eyes followed it down the current. How slowly it appeared to move! What a sluggish stream!"

Analyze the passage. What is one structural choice the author has made?

a. The author uses a flashback to explain the background and motivations of the condemned man.

b. The author uses foreshadowing to suggest that the soldiers will allow the condemned man to escape.

c. The author uses a third-person omniscient point of view to describe the thoughts of the soldiers and the man.

d. The author uses a third-person limited omniscient point of view to describe the actions of the soldiers and the thoughts of the man.

Answer 1

The correct answer is:

d. The author uses a third-person limited omniscient point of view to describe the actions of the soldiers and the thoughts of the man.

In the passage, the author focuses primarily on the thoughts and perceptions of the condemned man while providing some details about the actions of the soldiers around him. This indicates a third-person limited omniscient perspective, as the narrative reveals the inner thoughts of one character rather than an all-knowing viewpoint that includes the feelings of all characters.