Function of Contrasting Characters: Fiction/Drama Practice Test

Read the following excerpt from an original drama set in a radio studio during a live call-in show, where a producer counts down with fingers.

HOST VERA: "We give people a microphone so they can feel heard."

PRODUCER CAL: "We give them a microphone so they forget who owns the station."

VERA: "Cynicism is easy."

CAL: "So is comfort."

What is the primary function of the contrast between Vera and Cal?

In this excerpt from an original drama, a public defender, Ellis, and a prosecutor, Chen, speak privately in a courthouse stairwell after a plea deal is offered to a young defendant.

ELLIS: You’re offering him a choice between guilt and exhaustion.

CHEN: I’m offering him certainty. Trials are roulette wheels with better suits.

ELLIS: Certainty isn’t justice. It’s paperwork that closes a file.

CHEN: And justice isn’t a poem. It’s a system that has to move.

ELLIS: Move where? Past him?

CHEN: Past all of us, if we let it stop.

What is the primary function of the contrast between Ellis and Chen?