Question

The mangled sinews of commerce in so much of the Southland only added to the despair.
Railroad tracks torn apart.
Fields fallow, hardened, and barren.
Bridges that once defied the physics of uncrossable rivers destroyed.
So many Southern cities had been reduced to smoldering rubble.

Use the passage to answer the question.
What effect does the use of short sentences in this excerpt have on the reader?

It suggests that the damage done to the Southern landscape was minimal.
It suggests that only a few harsh words are needed to describe the destruction done to the South.
It gives the reader an idea of how great the South was before the war and how much it lost.
It gives the reader a great sense of sympathy for the Southerners after the war.

Answer 1

It gives the reader a great sense of sympathy for the Southerners after the war.

The short, choppy sentences create emphasis and emotional impact, highlighting the extent of the destruction and prompting sympathy.