Read the following line from Ambrose Bierce's "A Cold Greeting" and answer the question. As dramatic situations and literary effects are foreign to my purpose I will explain at once that Mr.
Barting was dead.
Which of the following is Bierce's most likely reason for including this line?

This line is included to create suspense and make the reader wonder what is going to  happen next.

Explanation:

The given question refers to the story A Cold Greeting written by Ambrose Bierce. The narrator, Mr. Foley, tells us about how he met two men - Mr. Conway and Mr. Barting. Conway told him that Barting and he agreed that, whoever died first, would contact the other from beyond the grave. A few weeks later, Conway complains to the narrator that Barting is no longer greeting him properly. The narrator tells him that Barting died, revealing this to us first with these lines: As dramatic situations and literary effects are foreign to my purpose I will explain at once that Mr.  Barting was dead. Conway decides that he must have mistaken someone else for Barting since the man he greeted didn't have a mustache, but Barting did. However, the narrator reveals to us that Barting didn't have a mustache a week before his death.

The options you were given are the following:

The line Bierce uses to tell us that Barting has died is an unusual one. He does this without providing any additional information or somehow preparing us for this. This line may startle us, especially considering the deal Barting and Conway had. It definitely creates suspense and makes the reader wonder what's going to happen next.

a. the man as a ruler