All of the quotes are examples of foreshadowing from "The Swimming Contest", by Benjamin Tammuz, except <em>"My Abdul-Karim is a fine, loyal man. Don't you tease him."</em> All the other quotes are foreshadowing what will happen later in the story. Foreshadowing is when an author gives the reader clues or suggestions that will happen later. Frequently, future events are merely hinted through dialogue, as in this case.
Answer:
It was told in the present tense to give an illusion of realism. This affected the reaction of some people by making them believe that it was truly happening.
Explanation:
There were two significant changes between the novel and radio adaptation. One was the change of place on which the story took place, in the novel the action was in England while in the Welles´s broadcast happened on United States soil.
The other change, that is about the question asked, was the change of the tense in which the story was told. For the novel, H.G. Wells used the past tense to told a fictional story that had already happened. But in the radio version the tense used was present to be more realistic and persuade the audience that the action was happening on that same time.
I hope this answer helps you.
Translated version:
I’m from Messaline. Sebastian was my father’s name, and my brother was named Sebastian too. He was dressed just like you are when he drowned. If ghosts can take on someone’s body and clothes, you must be a spirit who’s come to frighten us.
