Question
adapted from The Last of the Mohicans
by James Fenimore Cooper
According to the orders of the preceding night, the heavy sleep of the army was broken by the rolling of the warning drums. The rattling echoes of the drums were heard issuing, on the damp morning air, out of every vista of the woods, just as day began to draw the shaggy outlines of some tall pines of the vicinity, on the opening brightness of a soft and cloudless eastern sky. In an instant, the whole camp was in motion. The meanest soldier aroused from his lair to witness the departure of his comrades, and to share in the excitement and incidents of the hour. The simple array of the chosen band was soon completed. While the regular and trained hirelings of the king marched with haughtiness to the right of the line, the less pretending colonists took their humbler position on its left, with a docility that long practice had rendered easy. The scouts departed. Strong guards preceded and followed the lumbering vehicles that bore the baggage; and before the gray light of the morning was mellowed by the rays of the sun, the main body of the combatants wheeled into column, and left the encampment with a show of high military bearing, that served to drown the slumbering anxieties of many a beginner, who was now about to make his first essay in arms. While in view of their admiring comrades, the same proud front and ordered array was observed, until the notes of their fifes grew fainter in distance. The forest at length appeared to swallow up the living mass which had slowly entered its bosom.
2
What does the author achieve in his detailed description of the setting throughout the passage?
A.
He lets the reader know that there is tension between the king's army and the colonists.
B.
He lets the reader know that the weather will soon affect the course of events in the story.
C.
He gives the reader the feeling that military life is romantic.
D.
He gives the reader an uneasy feeling about what is to come.
by James Fenimore Cooper
According to the orders of the preceding night, the heavy sleep of the army was broken by the rolling of the warning drums. The rattling echoes of the drums were heard issuing, on the damp morning air, out of every vista of the woods, just as day began to draw the shaggy outlines of some tall pines of the vicinity, on the opening brightness of a soft and cloudless eastern sky. In an instant, the whole camp was in motion. The meanest soldier aroused from his lair to witness the departure of his comrades, and to share in the excitement and incidents of the hour. The simple array of the chosen band was soon completed. While the regular and trained hirelings of the king marched with haughtiness to the right of the line, the less pretending colonists took their humbler position on its left, with a docility that long practice had rendered easy. The scouts departed. Strong guards preceded and followed the lumbering vehicles that bore the baggage; and before the gray light of the morning was mellowed by the rays of the sun, the main body of the combatants wheeled into column, and left the encampment with a show of high military bearing, that served to drown the slumbering anxieties of many a beginner, who was now about to make his first essay in arms. While in view of their admiring comrades, the same proud front and ordered array was observed, until the notes of their fifes grew fainter in distance. The forest at length appeared to swallow up the living mass which had slowly entered its bosom.
2
What does the author achieve in his detailed description of the setting throughout the passage?
A.
He lets the reader know that there is tension between the king's army and the colonists.
B.
He lets the reader know that the weather will soon affect the course of events in the story.
C.
He gives the reader the feeling that military life is romantic.
D.
He gives the reader an uneasy feeling about what is to come.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The correct answer is **D. He gives the reader an uneasy feeling about what is to come.**
In the passage, Cooper's detailed descriptions of the early morning setting and the army's movements create an atmosphere of tension and anticipation. The mention of the warning drums and the organized departure combined with the suggestion of new soldiers making their first experience in arms implies that something significant, and potentially dangerous, is about to happen. This builds an uneasy feeling in the reader about the unfolding events.
In the passage, Cooper's detailed descriptions of the early morning setting and the army's movements create an atmosphere of tension and anticipation. The mention of the warning drums and the organized departure combined with the suggestion of new soldiers making their first experience in arms implies that something significant, and potentially dangerous, is about to happen. This builds an uneasy feeling in the reader about the unfolding events.