Question

question 5 of 20 read the following excerpt from the poem \the fish\ by elizabeth bishop. i caught a tremendous fish and held him beside the boat half out of water, with my hook fast in a corner of his mouth. he didnt fight. he hadnt fought at all. he hung a grunting weight, battered and venerable and homely. here and there his brown skin hung in strips like ancient wallpaper, and its pattern of darker brown was like wallpaper. which best describes the effect of the figurative language on the overall meaning in this excerpt? a. it describes the fish as battered and homely to build on the theme of disillusionment. b. it compares the fishs skin to wallpaper to support the image of a shabby but admirable fish. c. it makes the fish take on the qualities of a grandparent to show how much the speaker respects it. d. it explains that the fish is like a pattern to illustrate just how old it appears to the speaker.

Explanation:

The figurative language compares the fish's skin to ancient wallpaper, emphasizing its shabby - looking yet somehow venerable appearance. This supports the image of a fish that is shabby but still admirable. Option A's mention of disillusionment is not well - supported, option C's comparison to a grandparent is not as directly in the text, and option D's focus on just the age through the pattern is too narrow.

Answer:

B. It compares the fish's skin to wallpaper to support the image of a shabby but admirable fish.