This question is based on Literary Principles. 'At the start of the winter came the permanent rain and with the rain came the cholera. But it was checked an...

Assessment: JAMB UTME - Literature In English - 1998 Subject: Literature In English

Question 1 Report

This question is based on Literary Principles.

'At the start of the winter came the permanent rain and with the rain came the cholera.

But it was checked and in the end only seven thousand died of it in the army'.

Hemingway 'Farewell to Arms'

The passage above is an example of

Answer Details
The passage above from Hemingway's "Farewell to Arms" is an example of understatement. Understatement is a figure of speech in which something is intentionally represented as less important than it really is. In this passage, the narrator mentions the outbreak of cholera in the army, but downplays its severity by saying that "only seven thousand" died from it. While the loss of even one life to cholera is tragic, the phrase "only seven thousand" suggests that the narrator views this number as relatively small compared to what it could have been. This understatement is a characteristic technique of Hemingway's spare, understated writing style.

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