Answer: His melancholy tone highlights the despair of the excerpt.
Explanation: In the given excerpt from Irving's "The Mysterious Stranger" we can see the description of a man struggling with strong emotions, his gestures (like clasping his hands together until his fingers were imprinted in his flesh, or sinking his face upon his knees) are signs of despair and suffering. So the statement that best describes the tone in the excerpt is: His melancholy tone highlights the despair of the excerpt.
"Throughout the years, numerous organizations offered aid to immigrants at Ellis Island."
that is the best one from the sentences you provided, hope it helps
Ekphrastic poems focus on vivid description of work of art. It means "description" in Greek. Ekphrasis came across mainly on paintings, photographs, or statues. Modern ekphrastic poems show the obsession with antiquity. The poet tries to narrate the meaning of the art. According to that, the correct answer is C.