Quiz on Techniques that Build Tension

What is the effect of the repetition of the phrase "I had seen no one, felt nothing" in the following sentence? "I had seen no one, felt nothing. There had been no movement, no brush of a sleeve against mine, no disturbance of the air, I had not even heard a footstep."

• a) It creates a sense of confusion and uncertainty

• b) It emphasizes the narrator's fear

• c) It builds tension by suggesting the presence of something unseen

• d) It highlights the narrator's loneliness

What is the significance of the narrator's intense emotional reaction upon entering the nursery room?

• a) It suggests a connection between the narrator and the room's past occupants

• b) It foreshadows a future event in the story

• c) It represents the narrator's fear of the supernatural

• d) It highlights the narrator's mental instability

According to the passage, what does the narrator go to retrieve from the nursery room?

• a) A candle

• b) His torch

• c) A book

• d) His coat

Which literary device is used in the following sentence to create a sense of tension and unease? "But then they ceased. There was no living occupant of Eel Marsh House other than myself and Samuel Daily's dog."

• a) Foreshadowing

• b) Juxtaposition

• c) Alliteration

• d) Hyperbole

What is the significance of the sound at the end of the chapter?

• a) It suggests the arrival of help

• b) It represents a new threat or danger

• c) It symbolizes the narrator's isolation

• d) It foreshadows a future event in the story

What is the purpose of the author's use of sensory details in the description of the narrator's efforts to save Spider?

• a) To create a vivid and realistic setting

• b) To build tension and suspense

• c) To highlight the narrator's physical strength

• d) To symbolize the narrator's resilience

Which literary device is used in the following sentence to create a sense of foreboding and tension? "At one of the upper windows, the only window with bars across it, the window of the nursery, I caught a glimpse of someone standing. A woman. That woman."

• a) Foreshadowing

• b) Symbolism

• c) Imagery

• d) Allusion

Which language technique is used in the following sentence to create a sense of tension and unease? "I was back within my own person, my own emotions, I was myself again."

• a) Personification

• b) Simile

• c) Metaphor

• d) Repetition

What is the main source of tension in the opening paragraphs?

• a) The narrator's fear of the wind

• b) The narrator's memories of childhood

• c) The narrator's uncertainty about the presence of another person in the house

• d) The narrator's discomfort with the darkness

Which language technique is used to create a sense of foreboding and tension? "Then from somewhere, out of that howling darkness, a cry came to my ears, catapulting me back into the present and banishing all tranquility."

• a) Personification

• b) Metaphor

• c) Simile

• d) Onomatopoeia