Answer:
In this passage, Willis is expressing that literature is a message from the past telling us about the lives of those before us. We are told that these messages are trying to tell us how we live and how we die based on others experiences. Willis tries to explain this through a concerned, yet passionate tone that urges us, the readers, to learn from the mistakes and the fortunes of the lives of people before us. We can only do this through literature, as it is the gateway to seeing how the world works.
The correct answer is C.
The comic tone of the play is solely given by the characters' calm reaction to the the huge fire that is surely to burn down the whole hotel.
If the characters were to react like normal people would -screaming and panicking- the play would lose its whole essense.
