"An Uncomfortable Bed," by Guy de Maupassant

He shows limited understanding of the situation to produce suspense.

He shows omniscience to produce humor.

He shows omniscience to produce tension.

He shows limited understanding of the situation to produce irony.

"I said to myself: 'Look out, old ferret! They have something in store for you" (paragraph 4).

"They must have planned some good joke. Assurely I am to be the victim of some joke" (paragraph 5)

" I scented a practical joke in the air, as a dog scents game. But what was it?" (paragraph 6).

"Everything seemed quiet in the château" (paragraph 12).

He pretends that nothing is wrong.

He shares that he is fond of practical jokes.

He goes to bed later than the other guests.

He guards against a practical joke.

"I do not care to know people who are not" (paragraph 2).

"And I did not want to be caught" (paragraph 11).

"I dragged all these objects into the very middle of the room, facing the entrance door" (paragraph 11).

"Then I extinguished all the candles, and, groping my way, I slipped under the bedclothes" (paragraph 11).

It helps create a hopeless tone.

It helps to create a cynical tone.

It helps to create a frightening tone.

It helps create a jovial tone.

" . . . the whole household came to escort me to my room" (paragraph 7).

"The shutters, large wooden shutters, were open"

(paragraph 10).

"If they were spying on me, as I supposed, they must . . . " (paragraph 11).

"So, I made up my mind to go to bed" (paragraph 11).

Acting on one's fears can cause them to come true.

Old friends can quickly turn into new enemies.

One's first instincts should always be trusted.

The unexpected should always be expected.

"I thought, 'Here are people who have more than their share of amusement, and apparently without reason'" (paragraph 5).

"I was going perhaps to receive a cold shower-bath from overhead, or perhaps, the moment I stretched myself out, to find myself sinking to the floor with my mattress" (paragraph 11).

"For at least another hour I remained awake, starting at the slightest sound" (paragraph 12).

"The precautions I had taken in closing the shutters and going to sleep in the middle of the room had only brought about the practical joke I had been trying to avoid" (paragraph 16).