Question

This was the king's semi-barbaric method of administering justice. Its perfect fairness is obvious. The criminal could not know out of which door would come the lady; he opened either he pleased, without having the slightest idea whether, in the next instant, he was to be devoured or married. On some occasions the tiger came out of one door, and on some out of the other.

—“The Lady, or the Tiger,”
Frank R. Stockton

Which element of a morality tale is being described in this passage?

The character makes a decision.
The consequences of a choice become clear
The essential conflict of the story is set up.
The moral of the story is revealed.

Answer 1

The element of a morality tale being described in this passage is **The essential conflict of the story is set up.** The passage presents the situation in which the criminal must choose between two doors, each representing a different outcome (either death by tiger or marriage to the lady), highlighting the central conflict of choice and the uncertainty that comes with it.