ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos


ACT Reading Videos 80 videos

ACT Reading 1.5 Social Science Passage
1337 Views

ACT Reading 1.5 Social Science Passage. Based on its context in the passage, which of the following would be the best definition for the word...

ACT Reading 1.1 Prose Fiction
1308 Views

ACT Reading Prose Fiction Drill 1, Problem 1. Which of the following best describes the overall purpose of this passage?

ACT Reading 1.10 Prose Fiction
304 Views

Prose Fiction Drill 1.10. Which of the following best describes the narrator's attitude toward his father?

See All

ACT Reading 2.9 Prose Fiction 184 Views


Share It!


Description:

ACT Reading 2.9 Prose Fiction. Based on its context in the passage, which of the following words would be the best replacement for "immolation"?

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:03

Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by ritual sacrifice. It's good when... certain

00:08

things do go out of style.

00:24

Based on its context in the passage, which of the following words would be the best replacement

00:29

for "immolation" in line 16?

00:39

We know by now that the narrator means Fortunato nothing but harm.

00:44

So the first thing we can do is get rid of any choices that have a positive context.

00:49

This makes "happiness" easy to eliminate.

00:51

There's no way the narrator wants Fortunato to experience even the least bit of joy.

00:57

"Creation" sounds too positive as well, and it doesn't really make any sense in

01:01

the sentence.

01:02

How would the narrator be hiding "creation" behind his smile? Choice (D) is off the list.

01:08

The narrator's therapist might tell him that getting revenge on Fortunato is a way

01:11

of exerting power over him.

01:13

However, the context of the sentence tells us that the narrator is imagining Forunato's

01:15

immolation, not his own.

01:15

We can't imagine any situation where the narrator would want to give his enemy power,

01:20

so we can nix choice (B).

01:21

The word "immolation" actually means to kill someone as a sacrifice, especially by burning

01:30

them to death.

01:30

However, the narrator is using this term metaphorically. He doesn't necessarily want to set fire to

01:36

Fortunato; he wants revenge.

01:42

Answer (A) is the correct choice.

Related Videos

ACT Reading 1.5 Social Science Passage
1337 Views

ACT Reading 1.5 Social Science Passage. Based on its context in the passage, which of the following would be the best definition for the word...

ACT Reading 1.1 Humanities Passage
548 Views

ACT Reading: Humanities Passage Drill 1, Problem 1. Which of the following best describes the main purpose of this passage?

ACT Reading 1.1 Natural Science Passage
257 Views

ACT Reading: Natural Science Passage Drill 1, Problem 1. Which of the following best describes the overall purpose of this passage?

ACT Reading 1.1 Prose Fiction
1308 Views

ACT Reading Prose Fiction Drill 1, Problem 1. Which of the following best describes the overall purpose of this passage?

ACT Reading 1.1 Social Science Passage
276 Views

ACT Reading: Social Science Passage Drill 1, Problem 1. According to Freud, how were dreams understood in what he refers to as the "prescienti...