I need some help with some literature questions based on this passage:
From the winter of 1821, . . . I had what might
truly be called an object in life; to be a reformer of
the world. My conception of my own happiness was
entirely identified with this object. The personal
sympathies I wished for were those of fellow labourers (5)
in this enterprise. I endeavoured to pick up as many
followers as I could by the way; but as a serious and
permanent personal satisfaction to rest upon, my whole
reliance was placed on this; and I was accustomed to
felicitate myself on the certainty of a happy life (10)
which I enjoyed, through placing my happiness in some-
thing durable and distant, in which some progress might
be always making, while it could never be exhausted by
complete attainment. This did very well for several
years, during which the general improvement going on in (15)
the world and the idea of myself as engaged with others
in struggling to promote it, seemed enough to fill up
an interesting and animated existence. But the time
came when I awakened from this as from a dream. It was
in the autumn of 1826. I was in a dull state of nerves, (20)
such as everybody is occasionally liable to; unsuscepti-
ble to enjoyment or pleasurable excitement; one of those
moods when what is pleasure at other times, becomes
insipid or indifferent; the state, I should think, in
which converts to Methodism usually are, when smitten (25)
by their first "conviction of sin." In this frame of
mind it occurred to me to put the question directly to
myself: "Suppose that all your objects in life were
realized, that all the changes in institutions and
opinions which you were looking forward to, could be (30)
completely effected at this very instant: would this
be a great joy and happiness to you?" And an irrepress-
ible self-consciousness distinctly answered, "No!" At
this my heart sank within me: the whole foundation on
which my life was constructed fell down. All my happi- (35)
ness was to have been found in the continual pursuit of
this end. The end had ceased to charm, and how could
there ever again be any interest in the means? I seemed
to have nothing left to live for.
At first I hoped that the cloud would pass away of (40)
itself; but it did not. A night's sleep, the sovereign
remedy for the smaller vexations of life, had no effect
on it. A awoke to a renewed consciousness of the woeful
fact. I carried it with me into all companies, into all
occupations. Hardly anything had power to cause me even (45)
a few minutes oblivion of it. For some months the cloud
seemed to grow thicker and thicker. The lines in
Coleridge's "Dejection" --I was not then acquainted
with them -- exactly describe my case:
"A grief without a pang, void, dark and drear, (50)
A drowsy, stifled, unimpassioned grief,
Which finds no natural outlet or relief
In word, or sigh, or tear."
In vain I sought relief from my favourite books;
those memorials of past nobleness and greatness from (55)
which I has always hitherto drawn strength and
animation. I read them now without feeling, or with
the accustomed feeling minus all its charm; and I
became persuaded, that my love of mankind, and of
excellence for its own sake, had worn itself out. I (60)
sought no comfort by speaking to others of what I felt.
If I had loved anyone sufficiently to make confiding my
griefs a necessity, I should not have been in the
condition I was.
--John Stuart Mill
1. The "object" (lines 2 and 4) is best understood as the speaker's
A. psychological identity
B. mental development
C. physical vigor
D. conscious goal
E. emotional health
**My answer=D
2. The "personal sympathies" mentioned in lines 4-5 refer to the speaker's desire for
A. gratitude from those to whom he had been kind
B. approval from his family
C. tolerance from those who disagreed with him
D. understanding from those who rebuked his failures
E. fellowship with other like-minded people
**My answer=D
3. The passage as a whole records a process best described as:
A. deepening self-delusion
B. overcoming insanity
C. sudden enlightenment
D. imperceptible deterioration
E. slow maturation
**my answer=C
4. The image of the cloud (lines 40 and 46) suggests primarily the
A. oppressiveness
B. fleeting nature of the speaker's mood
C. advent of a political storm
D. unpredictable influence of the speaker's ideas
E. sinister origins of psychosis
**my answer=E
5. The last sentence of the passage (lines 62-64) emphasizes the irony of the speaker's attempt to
A. stress the importance of excellence in achievement
B. continue on a course that proved unprofitable
C. confide in others who could never understand
D. analyze his emotions on the basis of past experience
E. do good for mankind without love for any individual
Am I correct? Thank you.
#5 is C. Forgot to put that in the original post!
I disagree with your answers to 2, 3, and 4. Please note, though, that these questions ask for interpretations which may vary from reader to reader.
1 and 5 are correct.
Let's analyze each question and see if your answers are correct.
1. The "object" (lines 2 and 4) is best understood as the speaker's
A. psychological identity
B. mental development
C. physical vigor
D. conscious goal
E. emotional health
In this context, the word "object" refers to the speaker's conscious goal, as mentioned in line 4. Therefore, the correct answer is D. Your answer is correct.
2. The "personal sympathies" mentioned in lines 4-5 refer to the speaker's desire for
A. gratitude from those to whom he had been kind
B. approval from his family
C. tolerance from those who disagreed with him
D. understanding from those who rebuked his failures
E. fellowship with other like-minded people
The phrase refers to the speaker's desire for fellowship with other like-minded people, as mentioned in line 5. Therefore, the correct answer is E. Your answer is correct.
3. The passage as a whole records a process best described as:
A. deepening self-delusion
B. overcoming insanity
C. sudden enlightenment
D. imperceptible deterioration
E. slow maturation
Based on the passage, it describes the process as a sudden enlightenment or realization, as mentioned in line 10. Therefore, the correct answer is C. Your answer is correct.
4. The image of the cloud (lines 40 and 46) suggests primarily the
A. oppressiveness
B. fleeting nature of the speaker's mood
C. advent of a political storm
D. unpredictable influence of the speaker's ideas
E. sinister origins of psychosis
The image of the cloud suggests primarily the oppressiveness of the speaker's mood, as mentioned in line 41. Therefore, the correct answer is A. Your answer is incorrect.
5. The last sentence of the passage (lines 62-64) emphasizes the irony of the speaker's attempt to
A. stress the importance of excellence in achievement
B. continue on a course that proved unprofitable
C. confide in others who could never understand
D. analyze his emotions on the basis of past experience
E. do good for mankind without love for any individual
The last sentence emphasizes the irony of the speaker's attempt to do good for mankind without love for any individual. This is implied by the phrase "I sought no comfort by speaking to others of what I felt" in line 62. Therefore, the correct answer is E. Your answer is incorrect.
Based on the analysis, you got 3 out of 5 correct. You have answered questions 1, 2, and 3 correctly. However, your answers for questions 4 and 5 are incorrect.