Question

JOKE: PUNCH LINE::

• A. sermon: congregation
• B. conceit: allegory
• C. rhetoric: persuasion
• D. conspiracy: arrest
• E. plot: denouement

Hint:

Analogies often draw from literary or narrative terms. Knowing the basic structure of a story (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement/resolution) is helpful for these questions.

Answer 1

Answer: (E)

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This analogy relates a narrative structure to its concluding or climactic part.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The relationship is: A PUNCH LINE is the final part of a JOKE that makes it funny and provides the resolution. It is the climax and conclusion.
- (A) sermon: congregation: A congregation is the audience for a sermon, not its concluding part.
- (B) conceit: allegory: A conceit is an extended metaphor, and an allegory is a story with a hidden meaning. These are literary devices, not a structure and its conclusion.
- (C) rhetoric: persuasion: Rhetoric is the art of effective speaking or writing; persuasion is its goal. This is a "technique and purpose" relationship.
- (D) conspiracy: arrest: An arrest may be the outcome or failure of a conspiracy, but it is not its inherent concluding part.
- (E) plot: denouement: A DENOUEMENT is the final part of a PLOT in which the strands of the story are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved. This is a perfect parallel to the role a punch line plays in a joke.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The PUNCH LINE is the resolution of a JOKE, just as the DENOUEMENT is the resolution of a PLOT.