Question

12th grade mid - year assessment
aa font size
notepad
pass the night. there was but one of their number, perhaps, who had become so estranged from natural sympathies by the absorbing spell of the pursuit as to acknowledge no satisfaction at the sight of human faces in the remote and solitary region whither they had ascended. seven men and one young woman, the adventurers warmed themselves together at the fire.
the eldest of the group - a tall, lean, weatherbeaten man some sixty years of age - was one of those ill - fated mortals whom in their early youth the great carbuncle smote with a peculiar madness and became the passionate dream of their existence. all who visited that region knew him as \the seeker,\ and by no other name. the next whom we shall notice was an enigma and had no name that his companions knew of, and was chiefly distinguished by a sneer that always contorted his thin visage, and by a prodigious pair of spectacles which were supposed to deform and discolor the whole face of nature to this gentlemans perception. there was also a handsome youth in rustic garb, matthew, and his wife, hannah. the simple pair seemed strangely out of place among the whimsical fraternity whose wits had been awakened and set agog by the great carbuncle.
beneath the shelter of one hut sat this varied group of adventurers, all so intent
assessment questions
\he was one of those ill - fated mortals whom in their early youth the great carbuncle smote with a peculiar madness and became the passionate dream of their existence.\ (paragraph 2)
a. it highlights the seekers obsession with finding the great carbuncle.
b. it suggests that the seeker feels optimistic about finding the great carbuncle.
c. it illuminates the seekers feelings of despair around losing the great carbuncle.
d. it highlights how adventurous the seeker was in his youth while searching for the great carbuncle.

Explanation:

The text describes the Seeker as being smitten with a peculiar madness by the Great Carbuncle in his early youth and it becoming the passionate dream of his existence. This indicates an obsession with finding it.

Answer:

A. It highlights the Seeker's obsession with finding the Great Carbuncle.