Question

“The Elephant Man:” What is most likely the author’s intent in having Ross repeat the phrase “Tuppence only, step in and see” in the passage below?
“ROSS: Tuppence only, step in and see: This side of the grave, John Merrick has no hope nor expectation of relief. In every sense his situation is desperate. His physical agony is exceeded only by his mental anguish, a despised creature without consolation. Tuppence only, step in and see! To live with his physical hideousness, incapacitating deformities and unremitting pain is trial enough, but to be exposed to the cruelly lacerating expressions of horror and disgust by all who behold him—is even more difficult to bear. Tuppence only, step in and see!”
Question 17 options:

a)

To add humor to an otherwise serious subject

b)

To build mystery and anticipation for Merrick’s introduction

c)

To introduce the character of Treves

d)

To establish that Ross is not trustworthy

Answer 1

To build mystery and anticipation for Merrick's introduction.

Answer: Option B.

Explanation:

In "The Elephant Man", in the excerpt that has been shown above, the phrase has been used a lot of times by the author a lot of times. The meaning and the intention of the author for using this phrase is that he wanted to create an anticipation for the introduction of Merrick.

The author in his introduction says that he has no hope and neither does he have any expectations. He has certain deformities in him and because of these deformities, he has to bear a lot of pain. To add to this introduction, he uses this phrase many times and adds mystery.