Question
In one paragraph, explain how the playwright’s use of sound imagery in The Last Signal shapes the mood of the scene. Use specific evidence in your response.
Passage: The Last Signal
(excerpt from an original one-act play)
Setting: A dimly lit train station, late evening. A distant whistle blows. Two characters, MARIA and ANDREJ, wait with packed bags. A single flickering lamp illuminates the platform.
MARIA: [clutching her coat tightly] Do you hear it? Every whistle sounds like goodbye.
ANDREJ: [checking his watch] Or like a beginning. Don’t you think?
MARIA: A beginning? [laughs bitterly] You call fleeing a beginning?
ANDREJ: Sometimes survival is the bravest craft of all. [pauses, lowering voice] But the stories we tell… they will outlast this night.
[The whistle grows louder. Both characters look toward the tracks.]
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Flag question: Question 24
Question 2417 pts
In one paragraph, analyze how the speaker in A Voice in the Flood uses repetition to build a persuasive tone. Support your answer with evidence.
Passage: “A Voice in the Flood” (speech excerpt)
Delivered at a relief rally following a devastating hurricane:
“We do not stand here as broken people. We stand as builders. The flood waters may have swallowed our homes, but they have not swallowed our voices. And when thousands of voices rise together, they are stronger than the storm itself.”
Passage: The Last Signal
(excerpt from an original one-act play)
Setting: A dimly lit train station, late evening. A distant whistle blows. Two characters, MARIA and ANDREJ, wait with packed bags. A single flickering lamp illuminates the platform.
MARIA: [clutching her coat tightly] Do you hear it? Every whistle sounds like goodbye.
ANDREJ: [checking his watch] Or like a beginning. Don’t you think?
MARIA: A beginning? [laughs bitterly] You call fleeing a beginning?
ANDREJ: Sometimes survival is the bravest craft of all. [pauses, lowering voice] But the stories we tell… they will outlast this night.
[The whistle grows louder. Both characters look toward the tracks.]
p
Flag question: Question 24
Question 2417 pts
In one paragraph, analyze how the speaker in A Voice in the Flood uses repetition to build a persuasive tone. Support your answer with evidence.
Passage: “A Voice in the Flood” (speech excerpt)
Delivered at a relief rally following a devastating hurricane:
“We do not stand here as broken people. We stand as builders. The flood waters may have swallowed our homes, but they have not swallowed our voices. And when thousands of voices rise together, they are stronger than the storm itself.”
Answers
GPT-4o mini
In "The Last Signal," the playwright's use of sound imagery significantly shapes the mood of the scene, evoking a deep sense of melancholy and tension. The distant train whistle, described as sounding "like goodbye," establishes an atmosphere of impending departure and loss, illustrating Maria's emotional turmoil and fear of the unknown as she clutches her coat tightly. This imagery contrasts with Andrei's hopeful perspective of the whistle as a "beginning," underscoring the tension between their differing interpretations of their situation. As the sound of the whistle grows louder, it becomes a tangible symbol of time running out, drawing the characters—and the audience—into a shared moment of uncertainty. The flickering lamp further enhances the mood, creating a dim, unstable environment that mirrors their emotional state and amplifies the underlying anxiety about leaving and survival.