In Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress you may recall the description of the Man with the Muck-rake, the man who could look no way but downward, with the muck-rake in his hand; who was offered a celestial crown for his muck-rake, but who would neither look up nor regard the crown he was offered, but continued to rake to himself the filth of the floor.
In Pilgrim's Progress the Man with the Muck-rake is set forth as the example of him whose vision is fixed on carnal instead of on spiritual things. Yet he also typifies the man who in this life consistently refuses to see aught that is lofty, and fixes his eyes with solemn intentness only on that which is vile and debasing. Now, it is very necessary that we should not flinch from seeing what is vile and debasing. There is filth on the floor and it must be scraped up with the muck-rake; and there are times and places where this service is the most needed of all the services that can be performed. But the man who never does anything else, who never thinks or speaks or writes, save of his feats with the muck-rake, speedily becomes, not a help to society, not an incitement to good, but one of the most potent forces for evil.
There are, in the body politic, economic and social, many and grave evils, and there is urgent necessity for the sternest war upon them. There should be relentless exposure of and attack upon every evil man whether politician or business man, every evil practice, whether in politics, in business, or in social life. I hail as a benefactor every writer or speaker, every man who, on the platform, or in book, magazine, or newspaper, with merciless severity makes such attack, provided always that he in his turn remembers that the attack is of use only if it is absolutely truthful. . . To assail the great and admitted evils of our political and industrial life with such crude and sweeping generalizations as to include decent men in the general condemnation means the searing of the public conscience. There results a general attitude either of cynical belief in and indifference to public corruption or else of a distrustful inability to discriminate between the good and the bad. Either attitude is fraught with untold damage to the country as a whole. The fool who has not sense to discriminate between what is good and what is bad is well-nigh as dangerous as the man who does discriminate and yet chooses the bad. There is nothing more distressing to every good patriot, to every good American, than the hard, scoffing spirit which treats the allegation of dishonesty in a public man as a cause for laughter. Such laughter is worse than the crackling of thorns under a pot, for it denotes not merely the vacant mind, but the heart in which high emotions have been choked before they could grow to fruition.
grex10
one year ago
Why does Roosevelt say, in the second paragraph, "Yet he also typifies the man who in this life consistently refuses to see aught that is lofty, and fixes his eyes with solemn intentness only on that which is vile and debasing"? (5 points)
a. To make the audience want to read Pilgrim's Progress so they can understand his message
*****b. To make a connection between the character in Pilgrim's Progress and muckraking journalists******
c. To make journalists and politicians seem superior to the character in Pilgrim's Progress
d. To show the difference between the character in Pilgrim's Progress and muckraking journalists
Yes, I think so too.
The correct answer is b. To make a connection between the character in Pilgrim's Progress and muckraking journalists.
In this paragraph, Roosevelt is drawing a parallel between the character in Pilgrim's Progress, referred to as the Man with the Muck-rake, and muckraking journalists. He is implying that just like the character in the book who only focuses on the filth on the floor and refuses to see anything lofty or spiritual, muckraking journalists are also fixated on exposing and criticizing the vices and wrongdoings in society.
By making this connection, Roosevelt is emphasizing the importance of not solely focusing on the negative aspects of society, but rather striving for a balance between exposing wrongdoing and also understanding and pursuing lofty ideals. He suggests that while it is necessary to address and tackle social and economic evils, it should be done with a sense of truthfulness and discernment, avoiding generalizations that condemn all individuals.
Thus, the purpose of this statement is to establish a connection between the character in Pilgrim's Progress and muckraking journalists, highlighting the need for a more thoughtful and discerning approach in addressing societal problems.