Question

Describe how authors use ellipsis in their writing . Then , choose an example from "the two offers" in which it is used .

Answer 1

Frances Harper's short story, "The Two Offers," makes use of ellipses in order to eliminate certain parts of the sequence of events in the story. This is so that the reader is forced to fill in the gaps of the narrative all by themselves. In doing so, Harper is utilizing her technique of persuading her audience--which consists primarily of sympathetic readers--to lay support on the abolition of slavery as well as the women's rights movement. One such excerpt in which Harper makes use of ellipses is the following: "In her the down-trodden slave found an earnest advocate; the flying fugitive remembered her kindness as he stepped cautiously through our Republic, to gain his freedom in a monarchial land, having broken the chains on which the rust of centuries had gathered." In this paragraph, the reader does not know that Janette is in support of abolitionism. In leaving out her beliefs, the reader connects Janette to the women's rights movement in their minds so that, by the end of the paragraph, the reader has now connected both abolitionism to women's rights.

Step-by-step explanation:

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Answer 2

Authors use ellipsis to show a pause or trail of thought. For example in ‘The Two Offers’ it reads “probably…an American Negro’s first attempt at the short-story form”. The use of the ellipsis creates the affect of tension and anticipation as well as the idea that the speaker is thinking before answering a question.