Read the excerpt and answer the question.

when i think of the hometown of my youth, all that i seem to remember is dust – the brown, crumbly dust of late summer – arid, sterile, dust that gets into the eyes and makes them water, gets into the throat and between the toes of bare brown feet.

which story element does the excerpt above best develop?
a. setting
b. climax
c. conflict
d. characters

What is the effect of the author's choice of the word loathsome rather than hateful in this sentence from the count of monte cristo? two soldiers were accordingly sent for, and the inspector descended a stairway, so foul, so humid, so dark, as to be loathsome to sight, smell, and respiration. it reveals that the unpleasant aspects of the stairway are manmade. it stresses the disgusting, offensive nature of the stairway. it suggests that the soldiers are used to the place and do not hate it. it implies that the effects of the stairway are felt only by the inspector.

Robert was not waiting for her in the little parlor. he was nowhere at hand. the house was empty. but he had scrawled on a piece of paper that lay in the lamplight: "i love you. good-by—because i love you." what significant idea, presented throughout the novel, does robert's final departure and note highlight? edna is ultimately alone in her rebirth. edna needs to find solace in her children. edna will never be truly loved by anyone. edna should not have forsaken her family.

Which of these rhetorical devices is most clearly used in the underlined portion of the text?