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Read these lines: "I forget your arms." "A huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel." "And the motto?" "Nemo me impune lacessit." The family emblem matters at this moment because it pictures
Atwo old friends who have agreed to protect each other
Ba crushing answer delivered to whatever has stung
Ca serpent that escapes the foot set upon its back
Da family grown wealthy through its own vineyards
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. a crushing answer delivered to whatever has stung
1. The emblem has two parts that act on each other: a serpent whose fangs are in the heel, and a foot that crushes the serpent.
2. The bite comes first, and the crushing is the reply to it.
3. The motto attached to the emblem carries the same shape, a promise that nobody wounds this family without paying.
4. The speaker recites it while leading the man who insulted him deeper underground.
5. So the emblem is a picture of the very answer being carried out, option B.
6. Option C reverses the image, since the serpent is crushed rather than escaping.
7. Options A and D read friendship and wealth into a device that shows an injury and a reprisal.
_Source: Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado, public domain_
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