Read the passage from gulliver's travels. he has been eight years upon a project for extracting sunbeams out of cucumbers, which were to be put in phials hermetically sealed, and let out to warm the air in raw inclement summers. he told me, he did not doubt, that, in eight years more, he should be able to supply the governor’s gardens with sunshine, at a reasonable rate: but he complained that his stock was low, and entreated me "to give him something as an encouragement to ingenuity, especially since this had been a very dear season for cucumbers." which phrase from the passage best the reader to identify the passage as a satire? a. he has been eight years upon a project for extracting sunbeams out of cucumbers

b. which were to be put in phials hermetically sealed

c. he told me, he did not doubt, that, in eight years more, he should be able to supply the governor’s gardens

d. but he complained that his stock was low

I would say D. Try it.

The correct answer is A. He has been eight years upon a project for extracting sunbeams out of cucumbers

Explanation:

The word satire refers to a genre of literature and a literary device that uses mockery and exaggeration to show the vices and flaws of individuals or society which creates a social critique by showing the reader the negative aspects of people. In the excerpt presented, the main character Gulliver is visiting an academy to know the projects of the people that inhabit one of the islands he visits during his trips, in this island he found one man had been working for eight years to try to extract sunbeams out of cucumbers and the use the sunbeams to warm the air; however, it seems his attempts to do this have not been enough as he mentions Gulliver his supply is not enough and in eight more years he might reach his purpose.

This passage belongs to satire because the author or narrator is using exaggeration to show the way scientists can engage in projects that are useless even for a long time, as the idea of extracting sunbeams from cucumbers is not only absurd but has not had any results and despite this the person in charge of the project wants to continue with it, this is linked to the context in which the book was publishes as during the 18th century society was going through important changes and science began to emerge. Considering this, the phrase that clearly reflects this passage being to satire is "He has been eight years upon a project for extracting sunbeams out of cucumbers" because it describes the essence of this project and the way the narrator uses exaggeration to create a social critique which is exactly the purpose of satire.

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