Read the passage carefully:
Charlotte stood by the window of the drawing-room, her fingers tracing the cold gilt edge of the heavy velvet curtains. Outside, the rain descended in a steady, monotonous sheet, blurring the outlines of the boxwood hedges and turning the gravel driveway into a series of muddy channels. Within the room, the peat fire burned with a low, sullen red, throwing long, distorted shadows across the portrait of her late uncle that hung above the mantelpiece. The portrait, painted in his prime, depicted a man of severe resolve, his eyes seemingly tracking her every movement with silent judgment. To her right, the massive walnut sideboard stood loaded with heavy silver plate, polished to a mirror-like shine that reflected nothing but the gloomy grey light filtering through the window. For months, Charlotte had believed that remaining in this house was a duty she owed to her family’s legacy, a sacred trust to preserve the memories of those who had built it. But as she watched the rain wash away the gravel outside, the heavy silver and the dark portraits began to feel less like monuments of honor and more like anchor chains dragging her down into the cold, silent depths of the past.
A student writing an essay about the passage wants to develop the following thesis statement:
*In the passage, the author uses the oppressive setting of the ancestral home to trace Charlotte’s transition from a sense of familial obligation to a suffocating realization of her entrapment.*
Which of the following claims, if inserted into the student's essay, would best support the line of reasoning established by this thesis?
- AThe passage begins with Charlotte standing at the window looking at the rain, then describes the room's fireplace and portrait, and concludes with her realization about the house.
- BCharlotte’s late uncle was a tyrannical man who controlled every aspect of her life, causing her to fear his judgment even after his death.
- CThe author’s belief that ancestral duties are inherently destructive is demonstrated by the rain washing away the gravel outside.
- The description of the polished silver plate and severe portrait shifts from representing ancestral pride to illustrating the suffocating weight of inherited expectations.Answer
- ECharlotte is completely correct that her family legacy is a sacred trust, meaning she must remain in the house regardless of her personal desires.