Question

guided practice
from “the fall of the house of usher” by edgar allan poe
...a cadaverousness of complexion; an eye large, liquid, and luminous beyond comparison; lips somewhat thin and very pallid, but of a surpassingly beautiful curve; a nose of delicate hebrew model, but with a breadth of nostril unusual in similar formations; a finely molded chin, speaking, in its want of prominence, of a want of moral energy; hair of a more than web like softness and tenuity—these features, with an inordinate expansion above the regions of the temple, made up altogether a countenance not easily to be forgotten.
in this story, the narrator is shocked when he is reunited with usher. which phrase or sentence from the excerpt sums up how the narrator is feeling?
a. a cadaverousness of complexion; an eye large, liquid, and luminous beyond comparison; lips somewhat thin and very pallid
b. but of a surpassingly beautiful curve; a nose of delicate hebrew model, but with a breadth of nostril unusual in similar formations; a finely molded chin, speaking, in its want of prominence, of a want of moral energy; hair of a more than web like softness and tenuity
c. these features, with an inordinate expansion above the regions of the temple, made up altogether a countenance not easily to be forgotten.

Explanation:

This opening description of Usher's appearance emphasizes his gaunt, unnatural, unsettling physical traits, which would immediately shock the narrator upon their reunion. The other options focus on more neutral or specific facial details that do not convey the jarring, shocking first impression as directly.

Answer:

A. A cadaverousness of complexion; an eye large, liquid, and luminous beyond comparison; lips somewhat thin and very pallid