Read the excerpt from a short story.

The apartment house had a communal attic rarely visited by its tenants. The labeled boxes and cast-off furniture offered little intrigue, so few explored its depths. Then one rainy afternoon, I ventured there seeking solitude. Roaming beyond the beams of the lone ceiling bulb, I spied only cobwebs until I rounded the corner of a hulking armoire. Beyond this antique was unrelenting shadow, but I willed myself to advance. Then a grim bellow of thunder resounded, sending me to the floor. Prostrate on the splintered beams, my hands felt a shaft of cold steel and I could but imagine the evil article I'd encountered.

What technique does the author use to build suspense in the excerpt?

A. The word choice darkens the tone.

B. Odd characters are introduced.

C. The setting details are intentionally omitted.

D. The outcome of events becomes uncertain.

The correct answer is A. The word choice darkens the tone.

Explanation:

In literature, suspense occurs as the tone, setting, mood, and other elements create an atmosphere that makes the reader feel anxious to know the outcome of events. This feeling of anticipation makes the reader be more interested in the story. In the case presented, anticipation occurs because the main character goes to an attic and in there he encounters a mysterious presence.

This suspense is created mainly through the use of words that create a dark tone, this includes "I ventured there seeking solitude" that explain the motives of the character to go to the attic and others such as "a grim bellow of thunder resounded" or "I could but imagine the evil article I'd encountered" that are used to explain the tensest moment in the story. Therefore, the technique used in this case to create suspense is the word choice that contributes to a dark tone (Option A).

SHE IS WRONG! its A. The word choice darkens the tone.