Question

(HC)

The text below was written in 1918:

"When the mariner, sailing over tropic seas, looks for relief from his weary watch, he turns his eyes toward the southern cross, burning luridly above the tempest-vexed ocean. As the midnight approaches, the southern cross begins to bend, the whirling worlds change their places, and with starry finger-points the Almighty marks the passage of time upon the dial of the universe, and though no bell may beat the glad tidings, the lookout knows that the midnight is passing and that relief and rest are close at hand. Let the people everywhere take heart of hope, for the cross is bending, the midnight is passing, and joy cometh with the morning."

What is the purpose of the final paragraph in Eugene Debs' statement to the court?

to prove his innocence to the judge and jury

to appeal to the religious sentiment of the audience

to portray a better world through metaphor

to predict the future of socialism

Answer 1

The purpose of this final paragraph from his 'Statement to the Court Upon Being Convicted of Violating the Sedition Act' is to portray a better world through metaphor since, at the end of his speech, Debs pictured humanity seeking for hope just beyond the horizon through this poetic statement, believing that Socialism would take over Capitalism like a growing force in the country as he expressed in the previous lines of this speech.

Answer 2

Eugene Debs was a candidate that ran for president of the United States, for the Socialist Party. In this case the correct option is option C. To portray a better world through metaphor, he gives the objects, human and animated characteristics, in this case to the cross, "for the cross is bending". He made this to give his speech a softer way to communicate his message.