THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM
by Edgar Allan Poe

Read the excerpt below from "letter from birmingham jail" and then answer the question below: "my citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. but i must confess that i am not afraid of the word "tension." i have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. just as socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood." how does king's repetition of the term "tension" impact the meaning of the text? dr. king says that he is afraid of the word tension and he doesn't think it is necessary. dr. king repeats the word tension to explain how he sees the word as a negative force that discourages change. dr. king repeats the word tension unintentionally, and it doesn't impact the meaning of the text. dr. king repeats the word tension to support how he views the word tension as positive and growth-producing.

What is similar about a satire and a parable? o a. both are based on a previous work. o b. both attempt to persuade an audience. o c. both use humor to entertain an audience. o d. both are very short in length.

Read the excerpt from elie wiesel’s all rivers run to the sea. why were those trains allowed to roll unhindered into poland? why were the tracks leading to birkenau never bombed? i have put these questions to american presidents and generals and to high-ranking soviet officers. since moscow and washington knew what the killers were doing in the death camps, why was nothing done at least to slow down their “production”? that not a single allied military aircraft ever tried to destroy the rail lines converging on auschwitz remains an outrageous enigma to me. birkenau was “processing” ten thousand jews a day. stopping a single convoy for a single night—or even for just a few hours—would have prolonged so many lives. based on the paragraph, the author would most likely agree that it is best to avoid confrontation at all costs. people need to be proactive when they witness an injustice. countries should remain neutral to keep alliances strong. moscow and washington are to be blamed for the holocaust.