by H.H. Munro (Saki)
Norman Gortsby sat on a bench in the Park, with his back to a strip of bush-planted sward, fenced by the park railings, and the Row fronting him across a wide stretch of carriage drive. Hyde Park Corner, with its rattle and hoot of traffic, lay immediately to his right. It was some thirty minutes past six on an early March evening, and dusk had fallen heavily over the scene, dusk mitigated by some faint moonlight and many street lamps. There was a wide emptiness over road and sidewalk, and yet there were many unconsidered figures moving silently through the half-light, or dotted unobtrusively on bench and chair, scarcely to be distinguished from the shadowed gloom in which they sat.
The scene pleased Gortsby and harmonised with his present mood. Dusk, to his mind, was the hour of the defeated. Men and women, who had fought and lost, who hid their fallen fortunes and dead hopes as far as possible from the scrutiny of the curious, came forth in this hour of gloaming, when their shabby clothes and bowed shoulders and unhappy eyes might pass unnoticed, or, at any rate, unrecognised.
Use the passage to answer the question.
What does the author's tone tell the reader about Norman Gortsby?
(1 point)
He is bitter toward others because he is so lonely.
He is unhappy with his life and has many regrets.
He is too proud to admit that he envies those around him.
He considers himself to be superior to those around him.
1 answer
The author's tone suggests that Norman Gortsby considers himself to be superior to those around him. His perception of dusk as the "hour of the defeated" and his thoughts on how people conceal their "fallen fortunes and dead hopes" indicate a judgmental stance toward others. He seems to take solace in observing those who are struggling and views himself as distinct from them. Therefore, the most fitting answer is:
He considers himself to be superior to those around him.
