What's the meaning of this sentenece?

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And what more was Rupert’s infantile paralysis, I thought, than muscular convulsions that would drag on cruelly, all day every day, until the last day of his life?

Surfer · Accepted Answer

Hello.

The speaker is telling how he thought of Rupert’s infantile paralysis as being no more than muscular convulsions that would make for a lasting pain and/or misery for the rest of the man's life.

Eipjoo · Answer

Surferas being no more than muscular convulsions

If the sentence is the interrogative one of this:
And Rupert’s infantile paralysis was what more, I thought, than muscular convulsions that would drag on cruelly, all day every day, until the last day of his life,
the speaker says Rupert’s infantile paralysis is more than muscular convulsions.
Is this the wrong guess?

Surfer · Answer

eipjooAnd Rupert’s infantile paralysis was what more, I thought, than muscular convulsions that would drag on cruelly, all day every day, until the last day of his life.

If I understand you right, this is the original statement that came in the passage, and the one you asked about first, And what more was Rupert’s infantile paralysis, I thought, than muscular convulsions that would drag on cruelly, all day every day, until the last day of his life? was your production as to what the intoregative version may be; you're asking whether your guess at that is correct or not. I'm not sure about this, but I think you just took the first part of the sentence (And Rupert’s infantile paralysis was what more) and worked on it, not the whole statement, so I believe it isn't correct.

I'd answer:
And Rupert’s infantile paralysis was what more, did I think, than muscular convulsions that would drag on cruelly, all day every day, until the last day of his life?

The way I understand it, the orignal statement isn't suggesting that Rupert’s infantile paralysis is was more than muscular convulsions, in fact, it's giving the opposite meaning. In that statement, the speaker is reporting what he thought, in your sentence, you changed the meaning so that he's now kind of quoting himself, not reporting. Both statements, yours and the original, imply that Rupert’s infantile paralysis was no more than muscular convulsions.

You realy should wait for a teacher's input on this.

Surfer · Answer

SurferYou really..

Sorry.

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