Question

Read the excerpt from chapter 7 of Night.

When at last a grayish light appeared on the horizon, it revealed a tangle of human shapes, heads sunk deeply between the shoulders, crouching, piled one on top of the other, like a cemetery covered with snow. In the early dawn light, I tried to distinguish between the living and those who were no more. But there was barely a difference. My gaze remained fixed on someone who, eyes wide open, stared into space. His colorless face was covered with a layer of frost and snow.

Which statement best describes the atmosphere the author creates?

It is an atmosphere of relief.
It is an atmosphere of hesitation.
It is a skeptical atmosphere.
It is a nightmarish atmosphere.

Answer 1

It is a nightmarish atmosphere. The imagery (bodies piled like a cemetery, barely distinguishable living and dead, frost-covered, staring faces) creates a chilling, horrific mood.