Read the passage.

Question

In 1924, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were convicted of killing a fourteen-year-old neighbor boy. Leopold and Loeb were in their late teens, came from wealthy families, and attended college. They wanted to commit the “perfect crime.” Attorney Clarence Darrow, a lifetime opponent of the death penalty, was their defense attorney.

excerpt from Clarence Darrow’s closing argument in Illinois v. Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, August 22–25, 1924

I do not know what it was made these boys do this mad act, but I do know there is a reason for it. I know they did not beget themselves. I know that any one of an infinite number of causes reaching back to the beginning might be working out in these boys’ minds, whom you are asked to hang in malice and in hatred and injustice, because someone in the past has sinned against them.

I am sorry for the fathers as well as the mothers, for the fathers who give their strength and their lives toward educating and protecting and creating a fortune for the boys that they love, for the mothers who go down into the shadow of death for their children, who nourish them and care for them, who risk their lives for them, who watch them with tenderness and fondness and longing, and who go down into honor and disgrace for the children they love.

They are helpless. We are all helpless. But when you are pitying the father and the mother of poor Bobby Franks, what about the fathers and mothers of these two unfortunate boys, and what about the unfortunate boys themselves, and what about all the fathers and all the mothers and all the boys and all the girls who tread a dangerous maze in the darkness from the cradle to the grave?
Which statement best describes the effect of the imagery in the quotation "all ... who tread a dangerous maze in the darkness from the cradle to the grave" at the end of Paragraph 3?

Responses

a It paints a picture of a situation that is unfamiliar to most people, which helps the reader understand the speaker's beliefs.
a It paints a picture of a situation that is unfamiliar to most people, which helps the reader understand the speaker's beliefs.

b It describes how treacherous the crime was and how evil the criminals are, which helps the reader side with the speaker.
b It describes how treacherous the crime was and how evil the criminals are, which helps the reader side with the speaker.

c It illustrates how difficult and unpredictable life can be for anyone, which helps the reader relate to the speech.
c It illustrates how difficult and unpredictable life can be for anyone, which helps the reader relate to the speech.

d It reflects the speaker's thoughts on who is truly to blame for this crime, which helps the reader feel connected to the speaker.
d It reflects the speaker's thoughts on who is truly to blame for this crime, which helps the reader feel connected to the speaker.

Answer 1

The statement that best describes the effect of the imagery in the quotation "all ... who tread a dangerous maze in the darkness from the cradle to the grave" at the end of Paragraph 3 is:

c It illustrates how difficult and unpredictable life can be for anyone, which helps the reader relate to the speech.

This option captures the essence of the imagery, emphasizing the universal struggles and challenges faced by individuals throughout their lives, aligning with Darrow's broader argument about the influence of circumstances on behavior.