Read the following passage carefully before answering the question.
The wind howled against the thick glass of the lantern room, but inside, the only sound was the steady, rhythmic scrape of Thomas’s cloth against the brass reflector. Clara stood near the spiral stairs, holding a copy of the *Scientific Gazette* rolled tightly in her hand.
"Uncle," she began, her voice soft but steady, "the commissioners in Boston have approved the new electric beacon for the harbor lighthouse. They say it shines twice as far with half the labor."
Thomas did not stop his rhythmic polishing. His hand, calloused and stained with oil, moved in a perfect circle, a motion he had repeated every evening for forty years.
"Let Boston play with lightning, Clara," he said, his voice flat as the sea on a windless day. "A wire can snap; a generator can fail. But oil and a clean wick? They only fail if the man fails. And I do not intend to fail."
Clara looked down at the rolled journal in her hand, the damp paper softening under her grip. "It isn’t about failure, Uncle. It’s about being seen when the fog rolls in. The world is moving forward."
Thomas finally paused, his cloth hovering an inch from the brass. He looked at Clara, not with anger, but with a heavy, quiet pity that made her feel more distant from him than the ships passing in the dark.
Based on the passage, the primary conflict between Clara and Thomas arises from their contrasting views on which of the following?
- AClara's desire to leave the lighthouse versus Thomas's insistence that she remain and work.
- Clara's belief in technological advancement versus Thomas's reliance on traditional duty and human reliability.Answer
- CThomas's anger over Clara's disobedience versus Clara's resentment of her uncle's authority.
- DClara's trust in the city commissioners versus Thomas's suspicion of their financial corruption.
- EThomas's concern over safety during storms versus Clara's disregard for the lighthouse's physical maintenance.