Rita slowly climbed the stairs. the wood beneath her feet creaked like an ancient door on rusty hinges. she thought she heard something and froze in her tracks. her heart was a speeding train. hearing nothing more, she continued walking. she wished she could see better. she was surrounded by blackness darker than deep space. which option best describes the role of the simile in the passage? a. to convey a sense of how high the steps are b. to convey a sense of what might be upstairs c. to convey a sense of how tense rita is d. to convey a sense of what rita is hearing

Figures of speech are used in literary text to help the reader create an image in his or her mind about what is happening in the story. Comparisons are important because they help the reader relate certain situations we have experienced or things we know to some others that are unknown to us. A simile is a figure of speech that creates this comparison effect by using words such as "like". In this passage, the simile helps to convey a sense of what Rita is hearing because it compares the sound that the wood is making to a sound that may be familiar to the reader.

yes, we appreciate these things!

are you kidding? from that description of two mansions, you can't figure out which one is bleak and desolate? maybe you should consider looking those words up in a dictionary, if you don't know what they mean already.