Passage: again i say: it is a foolish question. the answer means nothing. and yet it is a question that has been asked so often – – that has caused so much talk and doubt a misunderstanding – – that i feel, after long thought, that the answer must be given. as will be clear, it is not fair for my own sake that i give it. nor is it for hillary‘s. it is for the sake of everest – – the prestige of everest – – and for the generations who come after us. “why,”they will say, “should there be a mystery to this thing? is there something to be ashamed of? to be hidden? why can we not know the truth? ” very well: now they will know the truth. everest is too great, too precious, for anything but the truth.
1. how is paradox used in this passage? identify and explain it.
2.what effect does using this literary technique have on the passage? explain.