Select the correct answer.
Read this sentence from Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment," and choose the word that best describes the narrator's tone in the sentence.
Mr. Gascoigne's mind seemed to run on political topics, but whether relating to the past, present, or future, could not easily be determined, since the same ideas and phrases have been in vogue these fifty years.
A.
condescending
B.
ironic
C.
melancholic
D.
sarcastic
B. ironic
To determine the narrator's tone in the sentence, it is important to analyze the overall feeling or attitude that the narrator conveys. In this sentence from Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment," the narrator is describing Mr. Gascoigne's mind and political topics.
To identify the tone, we can look for clues in the choice of words and phrases used by the narrator. In this sentence, the narrator acknowledges that Mr. Gascoigne's mind revolves around political topics, but adds that it is difficult to determine whether it relates to the past, present, or future because the same ideas and phrases have been in vogue for the past fifty years.
Based on this information, the most appropriate word to describe the narrator's tone in this sentence would be "ironic." The use of the phrase "the same ideas and phrases have been in vogue these fifty years" implies a subtle mockery or contradiction. The narrator seems to be suggesting that Mr. Gascoigne's obsession with political topics may not be as profound or relevant as he thinks. Therefore, the correct answer is B. ironic.