from "The Way of the Bow"

by Paulo Coelho



1 "Tetsuya."

2 The boy looked at the stranger, startled.

3 "No one in this city has ever seen Tetsuya holding a bow," he replied. "Everyone here knows him as a carpenter."

4 "Maybe he gave up, maybe he lost his courage, that doesn't matter to me," insisted the stranger. "But he cannot be considered to be the best archer in the country if he has abandoned his art. That's why I've been travelling all these days, in order to challenge him and put an end to a reputation he no longer deserves."…

In paragraphs 1-4, how does the author's choice to begin the story with a conversation between the boy and the stranger most impact the story?

by creating confusion about Tetsuya's profession

by defining the primary conflict in the story

by developing an alliance between the stranger and the boy

by intriguing readers about Tetsuya's mysterious background