Question

"A full hour before the party reached the city they had begun to note the perplexing changes in the atmosphere. It grew darker all the time, and upon the earth the grass seemed to grow less green. Every minute, as the train sped on, the colors of things became dingier; the fields were grown parched and yellow, the landscape hideous and bare. And along with the thickening smoke they began to notice another circumstance, a strange, pungent odor. They were not sure that it was unpleasant, this odor; some might have called it sickening, but their taste in odors was not developed, and they were only sure that it was curious. Now, sitting in the trolley car, they realized that they were on their way to the home of it—that they had traveled all the way from Lithuania to it. It was now no longer something far off and faint, that you caught in whiffs; you could literally taste it, as well as smell it—you could take hold of it, almost, and examine it at your leisure. They were divided in their opinions about it. It was an elemental odor, raw and crude; it was rich, almost rancid, sensual, and strong. There were some who drank it in as if it were an intoxicant; there were others who put their handkerchiefs to their faces. The new emigrants were still tasting it, lost in wonder, when suddenly the car came to a halt, and the door was flung open, and a voice shouted—Stockyards!"

Why does the author most likely use the term it so frequently in paragraph 3?

a) To emphasize that the people on the train knew each other so well they could speak informally about the work they would soon undertake
b) To emphasize that the people on the train were viewing plants and trees from the window that they did not know the names of
c) To emphasize that the people on the train spoke a different language than the people living in the city from which they departed
d) To emphasize that the people on the train were traveling in an unknown environment and could not identify a new odor

Answer 1

The author uses 'it' to convey a sense of the unknown and unfamiliar, reflecting the characters' experience in a novel and industrial environment they are unable to fully understand. Option b.

Step-by-step explanation:

The author's frequent use of 'it' is employed to create a sense of the unknown and unfamiliar, reflecting the perspective of the passengers who are entering a new environment. This term encapsulates the unknown odor and atmosphere of the industrial city they are approaching, which is a stark contrast to their homeland.

By referring to the odor as 'it', the author allows readers to share in the characters' initial experience of confusion and curiosity, emphasizing how the characters are entering an alien and ominous environment that they cannot yet fully comprehend or name.

So option b