Question

Read the excerpt below and answer the question.

It was about dusk, one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival season, that I encountered my friend. He accosted me with excessive warmth, for he had been drinking much. The man wore motley. He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells. I was so pleased to see him that I thought I should never have done wringing his hand.

In the excerpt above, the use of the word madness is meant to _____.

provide the reason for Fortunato's ridiculous outfit.
invoke a feeling of anger in the scene.
create a sarcastic tone in the narrator.
describe the lawlessness of the carnival season.

Answer 1

describe the lawlessness of the carnival season.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

describe the lawlessness of the carnival season.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the story, when the carnival comes to town, there are no rules - everyone behaves the way they want to and no one can stop them. It is as if laws do not exist during carnival-time. Fortunato's outfit is not described in the excerpt, so A cannot be correct. There is no mention of anger or sarcasm in the scene, so B and C are also incorrect.

The word madness here refers to the craze, the anarchy, the disorder due to the carnival.