THE LADY, OR THE TIGER?
by Frank R. Stockton
arena, king
3- But even here the exuberant and barbaric fancy asserted itself. The arena of the king was built, not to give the people an opportunity of hearing the rhapsodies of dying gladiators, nor to enable them to view the inevitable conclusion of a conflict between religious opinions and hungry jaws, but for purposes far better adapted to widen and develop the mental energies of the people. This vast amphitheater, with its encircling galleries, its mysterious vaults, and its unseen passages, was an agent of poetic justice, in which crime was punished, or virtue rewarded, by the decrees of an impartial and incorruptible chance.
Which would be the best summary of paragraph 3 of "The Lady, or the Tiger?"
The citizens produce plays and musicals to encourage unity in a large theater.
The king wants to punish the guilty people so that there is peace in his land.
The king builds an arena in which the fate of the accused is decided by chance.