Question

"To come all that way, rifle in hand, with two thousand people marching at my heels, and then to trail feebly away, having done nothing—no, that was impossible." What purpose does the end phrase separated by the em dash serve in this sentence?

1) The phrase is meant to draw the reader away from the sentence.
2) The phrase is meant to qualify the author's actions in relation to his first statement.
3) excluded- I know it's wrong
4) The phrase is meant to contrast what is possible and what is impossible.

Answer 1

The answer is option #3

Answer 2

2: the phrase is meant to qualify the author's actions in relation to his first statement.

Step-by-step explanation:

The purpose of the end phrase separated by the em dash is of taking the place of a colon, which is used do emphasize the conclusion of a sentence. In this case, when the author writes "--no, that was impossible.", he uses this way to qualify or emphasize what he considers at the moment in relation to what he said before.