Read this sentence from paragraph 2. The explosion released as much energy as a modern nuclear
bomb.

What is the purpose of this comparison?

This depends if it's a multiple-choice or a writing question.

IF you have to write the answer this might help you:

Explanation:

The purpose of the comparison is to :

1.  To give the reader a mental image of how prodigious the explosion was.

2. IF you can tell that the comparison seems a bit overboard the author might be exaggerating.

the correct answers are:

c. “never in the history of his people had a man married a woman who spoke a different tongue.”

d. “‘it has never been heard,’ was the verdict of an old man speaking a few weeks later.”

e. “this man had come with others to commiserate with okeke.”