Final answer:
The author uses vivid descriptive language, shifts the focus from the general scene to specific characters, and varies sentence structure and voice to build suspense in the passage, engaging the reader in a film-like narrative that heightens anticipation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The author utilizes various stylistic devices to build suspense in this passage. In the descriptive language that portrays a scene vividly, with terms like “curiously irregular” and “zig-zag”, we find a sense of unpredictability that adds to the suspense. This technique, paired with the shifting focus from a broad scene to specific characters, mirrors a film camera zooming in, which heightens anticipation. The narrative employs movement from a broad depiction to the minute details of characters, and their subsequent diminishing into the setting as an emotional and visual cue, reminiscent of a film losing focus. This provides an impressionistic, suspenseful effect without explicitly stating emotions. The author's choice to use variations in sentence structure and voice further adds to the suspense by engaging the reader with compelling language and vivid portrayal of events. These elements all contribute to how the author builds suspense and draws the reader into the unfolding action.