Question

Read the passage. From “The First Seven Years” by Bernard Malamud “Thanks,” Max said, nervously alert. He was tall and grotesquely thin, with sharply cut features, particularly a beak-like nose. He was wearing a loose, long slushy overcoat that hung down to his ankles, looking like a rug draped over his bony shoulders, and a soggy, old brown hat, as battered as the shoes he had brought in. Identify the plot element in this passage.

Answer 1

Exposition. You get an idea of what kind of guy the man is from the way he is being described.

Answer 2

The plot element in this passage focuses on the physical appearance and poor overall look of Max. It describes physical features like the form of his nose and how thin he looks. Afterward, it describes the state of his clothes, which are clearly in a bad one by the detailed description he makes about them.