High School

**Part A**

In "The Voyage of the James Caird," why does the author include this sentence about an unrelated casualty at sea?

"They would later learn that a 500-ton steamer had foundered with all hands in the same hurricane they had just weathered."

A. Help readers understand how remarkable the success of the voyage was.
B. Explain what had happened to the ship the James Caird had left behind.
C. Demonstrate that the size of a boat is unimportant in a storm.
D. Add drama and suspense to her work of narrative nonfiction.

**Part B**

Which quotation from "The Voyage of the James Caird" most clearly has the same basic purpose as the quotation in Part A?

A. "Below was a dreaded ordeal: the space amid the increasingly waterlogged ballast was only five by seven feet."
B. "Hail, sleet, and snow hammered down, and by noon the gale had become a full-fledged hurricane whipping a mountainous sea into foam and obscuring every trace of land."
C. "The wind howled and the sea shattered over them, the men took turns crawling across the precariously glassy deck to chip away the ice."
D. "[In] the carefully weighed judgment of authorities yet to come, the voyage of the James Caird would be ranked as one of the greatest boat journeys ever accomplished."

Answer :

The sentence about the foundered steamer highlights the remarkable success and exceptional navigation skills of the James Caird's crew, adding drama by showing the dangerous conditions they survived.

The inclusion of the sentence about the 500-ton steamer that foundered in the same hurricane emphasizes the remarkable success of the James Caird's voyage. By contrasting the fate of the larger, seemingly more capable steamer with the successful navigation of the small lifeboat through the same storm, the author intensifies the perilous conditions and highlights the exceptional navigation and determination of the James Caird's crew. It underscores the unpredictability and ferocity of the sea, and by extension, the triumph of human spirit and skill against overwhelming odds.

Part B of the question asks for a quotation with a similar purpose, and the most fitting one is: "[In] the carefully weighed judgment of authorities yet to come, the voyage of the James Caird would be ranked as one of the greatest boat journeys ever accomplished." This quotation, like the first, underscores the significance of the crew's achievement in the face of dire conditions at sea.

Other Questions