Question

Which of the following passages from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is an example of exposition?
A) And then the chair was facing Frank, and he saw what was sitting in it. His walking stick fell to the floor with a clatter. He opened his mouth and let out a scream. He was screaming so loudly that he never heard the words the thing in the chair spoke as it raised a wand. There was a flash of green light, a rushing sound, and Frank Bryce crumpled. He was dead before he hit the floor.
B) Harry was used to getting onto platform nine and three quarters by now. It was a simple matter of walking straight through the apparently solid barrier dividing platforms nine and ten. The only tricky part was doing this in an unobtrusive way, so as to avoid attracting Muggle attention. They did it in groups today; Harry, Ron, and Hermione went first; they leaned casually against the barrier, chatting unconcernedly, and slid sideways through it as they did so, platform nine and three-quarters materialized in front of them.
C) There were rocks littering the lake bottom. He dived and snatched up a particularly jagged one and returned to the statue. He began to hack at the ropes binding Ron, and after several minutes hard work, they broke apart. Ron floated, unconscious, a few inches above the lake bottom, drifting a little in the ebb of the water.
D) All of the above.

Answer 1

Hint: Exposition is a detailed summary and interpretation of a premise or a concept, with the intention of presenting details that sheds light on a character or drives the plot along. Its history details can assist the reader in engaging with the narrative's emotional stakes.

Complete answer:
Exposition is a fictional device used to express context details about a story's main character, context, or occurrence. It is important that an exposition feels seamless, the information should either emerge naturally or it should seem like it is something the reader noticed as they were witnessing the story.
In a story exposition provides information regarding the setting explained in the beginning of the story and gives information about the characters in the story. It is often known as a very first part of the plot as it has information about the events that happened before the story began.

In the above question,
Option (A) and (C) reveal plot actions such as Frank was dead before he hit the floor and Ron floated above the lake bottom. An exposition does not reveal plot actions. So, we can say these options are incorrect. Since, option (A) and (C) are incorrect they make option (D) incorrect too.

Now, Option (B) describes the scene where Harry, Hermione and Ron were getting onto platform nine and three quarters without the muggles noticing. It is an example of exposition. Hence, option (B) is the correct option.

The passage from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that is an example of an exposition. Therefore, the correct answer is (Option B).

Note: Remember that an exposition is a literary device that relays background information about some event or character. It helps in giving a comprehensive description of an idea which is essential to the story. It includes four main components: characters, setting, resolution and plot.