Read the excerpt from a short story. I descended the steps to the cellar, reminding myself that the smell of dirt was not to be
feared. The earthen walls shone with moisture, and the rows of jarred fruit gleamed. I loathed these errands and doubted my ability to discern a peach from a pear in the dim light. I held a jar inches from my eyes and concluded it was some undesirable green—beans or peas—to be retrieved at a later date. As I mused, something crept stealthily from the shadows, and pounced unexpectedly from the summer’s stash. Which best describes the tone of the excerpt?
Answer: I would argue that the tone produces unease and uncertainty.
Explanation: I don't know if this is a multiple choice question or not, but the fact that the narrator is describing with such detail something as arguably insignificant as the type of canned food that was stored in the cellar, just to recall that all of the sudden something unexpectedly and quietly appeared from the shadows, produces a feeling of unease and uncertainty, since it is not known what will happen next. The speaker was simply musing on the jars and their contents, and on his or her ability to discern the type of canned food that they preserved, when suddenly something drastically changed the course of events. The author of this text is successful in catching the reader's attention and intriguing him.
