Read the following passage carefully:
"Arthur stared at the brass telescope mounted on the library window sill. For forty years, he had polished its barrel every morning, yet he had never once looked through the lens. To Arthur, the instrument was not a window to the stars, but a barrier against them. As long as he kept his eyes on the gleaming metal, the vast, terrifying silence of the night sky remained at bay, safely locked behind glass and brass. His daughter, Clara, often urged him to point it toward the heavens, to witness the craters of the moon or the rings of Saturn. But Arthur always shook his head, claiming his eyes were too weak, his hands too unsteady. In truth, he feared that looking through the glass would collapse the small, tidy world he had constructed for himself, revealing a universe far too grand and indifferent to care for a retired clerk."
A student writing an essay about the passage wants to argue that Arthur’s relationship with the telescope symbolizes his fear of the unknown. Which of the following thesis statements is the most defensible and effective for this analysis?
- In the passage, Arthur’s meticulous care for the telescope contrasts with his refusal to look through it, illustrating how he uses routine to protect himself from the overwhelming scale of the universe.Cevap
- BArthur has spent forty years cleaning a brass telescope in his library because he is afraid of looking at the stars and planets.
- CBy refusing to use the telescope, Arthur demonstrates his anger toward Clara, showing that his fear of the unknown is rooted in family conflict.
- DThe author uses the brass telescope to show that astronomy is a terrifying science that destroys a person's peace of mind.
- EArthur's refusal to use the telescope is caused solely by his weak eyesight and unsteady hands, which prevent him from seeing the stars clearly.