Question

"Off there to the right – somewhere – is a large island," said Whitney. "It's rather a mystery–"

"What island is it?" Rainsford asked.

"The old charts call it 'Ship-Trap Island,'" Whitney replied. "A suggestive name, isn't it? Sailors have a curious dread of the place. I don't know why. Some superstition–"

"Can't see it," remarked Rainsford, trying to peer through the dank tropical night that was palpable as it pressed its thick warm blackness in upon the yacht.

"You've good eyes," said Whitney, with a laugh, "and I've seen you pick off a moose moving in the brown fall bush at four hundred yards, but even you can't see four miles or so through a moonless Caribbean night."

—"The Most Dangerous Game,"
Richard Connell

What purposes does the dialogue serve? Check all that apply.

to create a mysterious mood
to show the location
to reveal that Rainsford is a hunter
to explain what Whitney looks like
to show the time of day

Answer 1

Applicable purposes (with brief reasons):

- to create a mysterious mood — Yes. ("Ship-Trap Island," sailors' dread, suggestive name)
- to show the location — Yes. (reference to a large island off to the right; Caribbean setting)
- to reveal that Rainsford is a hunter — Yes. (Whitney's line about Rainsford picking off a moose at 400 yards)
- to explain what Whitney looks like — No. (no physical description of Whitney)
- to show the time of day — Yes. ("dank tropical night," "moonless Caribbean night")