Question

Which three sentences in this excerpt from Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Contest" suggest that the author's tone is mocking?

Answer 1

Answer:

• Then suddenly the singer threw up his face, straightened his tubby figure, rose upon his tiptoes, and with wagging head and scarlet cheeks emitted such a howl as the same dog might have given had his growl been checked by a kick from his master.
• Every Greek was a trained critic, and as unsparing in his hisses as he was lavish in his applause.
• Many a singer far better than this absurd fop had been driven amid execration and abuse from the platform.

Explanation:

In these three lines, we can see that the tone is a mocking one. In the first sentence, the singer's singing is compared to a dog's howl when being kicked. This implies that the singing was not pleasant in any way. In the second sentence, the author tells us that the audience disliked the singing just as much, being "unsparing in their hisses." Finally, we learn that the author refers to the singer as an "absurd fop."

Answer 2

He wants them to feel good reading his story .