Final answer:
The correct answer is option C) Alive, the elephant was worth at least a hundred pounds. Dead, he would only be worth the value of his tusks; five pounds, possibly.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct answer is option C) Alive, the elephant was worth at least a hundred pounds. Dead, he would only be worth the value of his tusks; five pounds, possibly.
Semicolons are used to connect two independent clauses when the second clause restates the first or when the two clauses are closely related. In this case, the semicolon is used to separate the two independent clauses 'Alive, the elephant was worth at least a hundred pounds' and 'Dead, he would only be worth the value of his tusks; five pounds, possibly.'
The semicolon is used here because the second clause 'Dead, he would only be worth the value of his tusks' is closely related to the first clause and provides additional information about the elephant's worth. Option C correctly implements a semicolon in the italicized sentence.