The Man and the Snake is a short story written by Ambrose Bierce. The story is about the death of Harker Brayton, who died out of 'fear of fits' by the presence of a toy snake in his bedroom.
The story begins with Brayton reading a newspaper article from 'Marvell's of Science.' The article talked about the quality of snakes that can lead a person to death without snake biting him or her. The quote in the first paragraph from the magazine suggested that a man can die merely by looking intently into the eyes of the snake.
This quote foreshadows the presence of a snake in Brayton's room and his ultimate death by gazing into the snake's eyes and die out of fright. The quote established a persuasive power which led Brayton to fearful fits.
A. Interrogative, question mark. "Have you ever been to North Carolina?" is a question, hence the question mark. If one is being interrogated, he or she is being questioned.
The sea has waves. They go up and crash back down. You can think of this as hard times. When you think your doing good and start rising to the top you often crash back down. This (the crash) leads to difficulties or troubled times.
