Question

What is the effect of changing the story to present tense in the radio broadcast version?

But looking, I presently saw something stirring within the shadow. . . . Then something resembling a little gray snake, about the thickness of a walking stick, coiled up out of the writhing middle and wriggled in the air toward me and then another.
-H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds

Good heavens, something's wriggling out of the shadow like a gray snake. Now it's another one, and another. They look like tentacles to me.
-Orson Welles's radio adaptation of War of the Worlds

A)It makes the events feel like they are happening more slowly and dramatically.
B)It makes the story feel like it is happening live rather than in the past.
C)It makes the audience feel that they are safe from the events of the drama.
D)It makes the story feel less old fashioned.

Answer 1

The correct answer is B. It makes the story feel like it is happening live rather than in the past

Step-by-step explanation:

In literature, the tense used in a narrative affect the atmosphere of it and the perception the audience has on events. In the case presented an excerpt for The War of the Worlds has been adapted for radio and in this process, the tense has changed from past to present tense. In both cases, one character who is also the narrator describes the way he or she observed an object or creature that resembled a snake.

However, in the case of the original excerpt the use of past shows this event already occurred and the character is just reporting them, while in the case of the second excerpt the use of present means the character is experiencing the events at that moment or that the story is happening which makes the actions go faster but also makes the story more dynamic and alive. Considering this, it can be concluded the effect of changing the tense to present is that it makes the story feel like it is happening live rather than in the past.