Question

Read the following brief passage from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

We walked through a high hallway into a bright rosy-coloured space, fragilely bound into the house by French
windows at either end. The windows were ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside that seemed to
grow a little way into the house. A breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out the other like
pale flags, twisting them up toward the frosted wedding-cake of the ceiling, and then rippled over the wine-
coloured rug, making a shadow on it as wind does on the sea.

Which of the following best describes the mood created by the author's use of language in the passage?

(1 point)

O dreamy and uneasy

O playful and amused

O hopeful and cheerful

O terrifying and violent

Answer 1

Dreamy and uneasy.

The language is lyrical and ethereal (rosy-coloured, pale flags, rippled like the sea) creating a dreamlike atmosphere, while words like "fragilely" and the drifting shadows introduce a subtle sense of fragility/unease.