Amy followed, but she poked her hands out stiffly before her, and jerked herself along as if she went by machinery, and her “Ow!” was more suggestive of pins being run into her than of fear and anguish. Jo gave a despairing groan, and Meg laughed outright, while Beth let her bread burn as she watched the fun with interest. “It’s no use! Do the best you can when the time comes, and if the audience laughs, don’t blame me. Come on, Meg.”
Then things went smoothly, for Don Pedro defied the world in a speech of two pages without a single break. Hagar, the witch, chanted an awful incantation over her kettleful of simmering toads, with weird effect. Roderigo rent his chains asunder manfully, and Hugo died in agonies of remorse and arsenic, with a wild, “Ha! Ha!”
“It’s the best we’ve had yet,” said Meg, as the dead villain sat up and rubbed his elbows.
How do phrases such as “as if she went by machinery,” “agonies of remorse and arsenic,” and “dead villain sat up” contribute to the author’s voice?
Group of answer choices
The diction and syntax are exaggerated, moving the action to gently make fun of the characters.
The diction and syntax are ridiculous for a domestic scene, characterizing the girls as childish.
The diction and syntax are intensified, putting readers directly in the girls’ minds.
The diction and syntax are extremely precise, giving the narrator the key role of observer.