Dusk

Question

by H.H. Munro (Saki)

Norman Gortsby sat on a bench in the Park, with his back to a strip of bush-planted sward, fenced by the park railings, and the Row fronting him across a wide stretch of carriage drive. Hyde Park Corner, with its rattle and hoot of traffic, lay immediately to his right. It was some thirty minutes past six on an early March evening, and dusk had fallen heavily over the scene, dusk mitigated by some faint moonlight and many street lamps. There was a wide emptiness over road and sidewalk, and yet there were many unconsidered figures moving silently through the half-light, or dotted unobtrusively on bench and chair, scarcely to be distinguished from the shadowed gloom in which they sat.

The scene pleased Gortsby and harmonised with his present mood. Dusk, to his mind, was the hour of the defeated. Men and women, who had fought and lost, who hid their fallen fortunes and dead hopes as far as possible from the scrutiny of the curious, came forth in this hour of gloaming, when their shabby clothes and bowed shoulders and unhappy eyes might pass unnoticed, or, at any rate, unrecognised.

A king that is conquered must see strange looks, So bitter a thing is the heart of man.

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Question
Use the passage to answer the question.

Which details from this story help develop the story into a satire? Select the two correct answers.

(1 point)
Responses

The three characters in the story are strangers whose lives cross paths only briefly.
The three characters in the story are strangers whose lives cross paths only briefly.

Gortsby is very cynical and distrusting of the young man he meets.
Gortsby is very cynical and distrusting of the young man he meets.

The setting, which takes place in Hyde Park at dusk, is dark and mysterious.

Answer 1

The two details from the story that help develop it into a satire are:

1. Gortsby is very cynical and distrusting of the young man he meets.

2. The setting, which takes place in Hyde Park at dusk, is dark and mysterious.

These elements contribute to the satirical tone by highlighting Gortsby's negative outlook on life and human nature, as well as the somber ambiance of the setting that reflects the broader themes of defeat and disillusionment in society.