Question

The night was magnificent, one of those nights which bring grand, vague ideas to the soul—more sensations than thoughts, perhaps—that bring a desire to open the arms as if they were wings and embrace the heavens—but how can I express it? One always feels that these unknown things can be comprehended.

There was a dreaminess, a poesy in the air, a happiness of another kind than that of earth, a sort of infinite intoxication which comes from the stars, the moon, the silver, glistening water. These are the best moments of life. They are a glimpse of a different existence, an embellished, delicious existence; they are the revelation of what could be, of what will be, perhaps.

In this excerpt from “The Wedding Night,” Maupassant uses _____ to develop characters. Select all that apply.

a. direct characterization
b. indirect characterization
c. revealing dialogue
d. vivid description

Answer 1

In this passage from “The Wedding Night”, the author uses “vivid description” to develop the characters. So, option D) is the correct one.

Throughout the passage, there are several examples that reinforce the use of vivid descriptions such as “a sort of infinite intoxication which comes from the stars, the moon, the silver, glistening water”, “They are a glimpse of a different existence, an embellished, delicious existence”, “The night was magnificent, one of those nights which bring grand, vague ideas to the soul”.

Vivid descriptions are literary resources used to describe emotions and memories in a very clear and detailed way so that the reader produces those vivid images of the descriptions.

Option C does not apply to this part of the excerpt as there are no dialogues introduced. As regards direct and indirect characterization, the author is not describing the character’s personality through these literary resources.