Passage
For years, Dorian Gray could not free himself from the influence of this book. Or rather, the book seemed to him to contain the story of his own life, written before he had lived it. In one point he was more fortunate than the novel’s fantastic hero. He never knew—never, indeed, had any cause to know—that somewhat grotesque dread of mirrors, and polished metal surfaces, and still water, which came upon the young Parisian so early in his career... He procured from Paris no less than nine large-paper copies of the first edition, and had them bound in different colours, so that they might suit his various moods and the changing fancies of a nature over which he seemed, at times, to have almost entirely lost control.
Which of the following best describes the structural function of the narrator’s use of temporal compression ("For years...") in this passage?
- AIt provides a chronological list of Dorian's travels to Paris to purchase and bind different editions of the book.
- BIt creates a flashback that explains Dorian’s initial fascination with mirrors and polished surfaces during his youth.
- It condenses an extended period of time to emphasize the permanent and consuming nature of the book’s influence on Dorian's life.Answer
- DIt introduces a parallel subplot that tracks the concurrent adventures of the novel’s fantastic Parisian hero.
- EIt slows the narrative pace down to highlight the immediate, external conflict between Dorian and the book's author.