In the passage, the elderly man furrows his brow deeply, confused by the logical reasoning of the syllogism, while another character looks at him with a victorious smirk. Eventually, the elderly man admits that although the story is interesting, he finds some parts hard to believe. The storyteller then confesses he himself doubts half of it. What literary device does this excerpt best illustrate?
Explanation
This passage is a classic example of a narrative frame, where a story is told within another story. The dialogue between the characters sets up the main narrative, creating layers of storytelling.