Question
ust after we turned 16, my best friend and I got jobs at our favorite shoe store. One our first day we were in the storage room, gazing up at the racks of merchandise we would spend the next several weeks hauling out to the floor for customers.
My friend promptly knocked a cart into the rack and sent a small stack of boxes careening into the wall. He moved to clean up the mess, but I quickly stopped him. On the way in, he’d nearly tripped over his own feet. Enough was enough.
“Please, let me,” I said. “You’re having a clumsy day. Let’s not make things worse.”
He laughed as I picked the boxes up and spun to put them back on the shelf. But as I spun, my hip caught the cart hard. It bounced into the rack again—and this time, the rack collapsed entirely. Boxes tumbled, shoes went everywhere, and soon we were staring at a huge mess.
“At least we didn’t make it worse,” my friend said. “That would have been bad.”
What narrative effect does the technique used in the final paragraph have on the story?
1. mystery
2. humor
3. surprise
4. suspense
** I believe it is humor **
My friend promptly knocked a cart into the rack and sent a small stack of boxes careening into the wall. He moved to clean up the mess, but I quickly stopped him. On the way in, he’d nearly tripped over his own feet. Enough was enough.
“Please, let me,” I said. “You’re having a clumsy day. Let’s not make things worse.”
He laughed as I picked the boxes up and spun to put them back on the shelf. But as I spun, my hip caught the cart hard. It bounced into the rack again—and this time, the rack collapsed entirely. Boxes tumbled, shoes went everywhere, and soon we were staring at a huge mess.
“At least we didn’t make it worse,” my friend said. “That would have been bad.”
What narrative effect does the technique used in the final paragraph have on the story?
1. mystery
2. humor
3. surprise
4. suspense
** I believe it is humor **
Answers
GPT-4o mini
You are correct. The narrative technique used in the final paragraph creates a humorous effect. The irony of the situation—where the speaker initially tries to avoid making things worse but ends up causing an even bigger mess—creates a funny moment. The friend's quip about not making it worse adds to the lightheartedness and provides comic relief amidst the chaos. So, yes, humor is the right answer!