Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumMetaphorical Comparisons and Allusions

Read the following passage from a short story:

"For forty years, Martha inhabited the conservation room of the historical society, a subterranean vault where the air was thick with the scent of lavender and decaying silk. To her, the garments hung in the cedar wardrobes were not mere relics of fashion, but a silent congregation of souls awaiting a resurrection that only her needle could perform. She treated each frayed hem and detached button with the solemnity of a high priestess tending an altar. When the board of directors proposed digitizing the collection and dispersing the physical archives, Martha felt as though a barbarian horde was at the gates of her sanctuary. She defended the fragile lace of a Victorian wedding gown as if it were a sacred relic under siege. To view these pieces through a screen, she argued, was to dip them into the waters of Lethe, washing away the lived sweat and perfume of the dead to leave only a clean, sterile outline."

In the final sentence, the allusion to the "waters of Lethe" primarily serves to do which of the following?

  1. A
    summarize the board's procedural transition from physical storage to a new digital repository
  2. B
    suggest that the board of directors' proposal is motivated by a desire to cover up historical inaccuracies in the archive
  3. characterize the digital cataloging process as an act of erasure that strips the garments of their tangible, human pastAnswer
  4. D
    reveal the author’s philosophical opposition to any form of technological progress in modern society
  5. E
    label the reference as a classical allusion to Greek mythology in order to establish Martha's formal educational background

Answer

The correct answer is the option characterizing the digital cataloging process as an act of erasure that strips the garments of their tangible, human past.
The classical allusion to Lethe, the mythological river of forgetfulness, emphasizes Martha's view that digital reproduction washes away the physical, lived human connection of the past, resulting in cultural oblivion.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the allusion and its classical context.
The 'waters of Lethe' refers to the Greek mythological river of forgetfulness, whose waters cause the dead to lose all memory of their past lives.
Understanding the source of the allusion is necessary to decode its metaphorical application in the passage.
2
Analyze the context in which the allusion is used.
Martha compares viewing garments through a screen to dipping them in Lethe, which washes away the physical traces (lived sweat and perfume) of the original owners.
Connecting the allusion to the surrounding details reveals what is being compared to forgetfulness.
3
Determine the thematic effect of this comparison.
The comparison suggests that digitization erases the tangible, intimate human history of the past, representing a form of cultural oblivion.
This matches the option stating that digitization acts as an erasure of the tangible, human past.

Key Concept

Metaphorical Comparisons and Allusions
Rate this question

Topics

Metaphorical Comparisons and Allusions

More questions from this topic