272
Explanations for Sample Examination V
Passage One: From Eugene O'Neill's The Hairy Ape
Those familiar with O'Neill's short play, The Hairy Ape, are no doubt conscious of its brilliant
commentary on Social Darwinism. Focused around Yank, a oft-swearing, shovel-shaking, systemdefying brute of a man who toils below decks in the ship's boiler room, the play catalogs Yank's
encounter with the upper levels of the social strata and his blunt rejection by each. "Injured" by the
offhand remark of a beautiful socialite, who on a tour of the boat encounters Yank's coarse and
begrimed being and, revolted, labels him a "hairy ape," Yank sets out on a personal quest to avenge this
insult to his persona. However, during his highly unrealistic quest to hunt her down in New York City,
Yank discovers the true depths of his outcast state. Ignored by the wealthy socialites on Fifth Avenue,
forcibly removed by a workers' union he has mistaken for a group of anarchists, and ultimately
trounced and thrown into jail by the local constabulary, Yank's experience anticipates the existential
condition explored by later writers: man as wayfarer in a hostile and indifferent universe. The
surrealistic final scene, in which Yank is crushed to death by a gorilla he frees from a cage at the zoo,
symbolically places him at the bottom of the evolutionary chain and social strata.
The passage used in this examination, however, does not feature Yank, but Mildred, the young
socialite who insults him, and her rather pretentious chaperon of an aunt. The dialogue immediately
establishes what appears to be a distinct difference in their personalities: Mildred commenting dreamily
about the beauty of the liner's black smoke against the horizon, her aunt dryly retorting "I dislike
smoke of any kind" (lines 4-5). The ensuing exchange, in which Mildred and her aunt lock horns over
the smoking habits of her great-grandmother, features sardonic and condescending remarks by the aunt
and snide attacks by Mildred on her aunt's person. The aunt, whose choice of the word "must" (line
28) confirms her distaste for chaperoning Mildred, attempts to establish an "armed truce" (line 30) with
her niece, telling Mildred she is "quite free to indulge any pose of eccentricity" (lines 30-31) she
desires on the condition that she herself not accompany Mildred on her "slumming" (line 40).
Mildred, whom we learn has done social service on New York's Lower East Side and who is now
bound for a similar experience in London's Whitechapel, initially comes off as a young lady with
genuine concern for the poor and unfortunate, someone totally different from her socially pretentious
aunt who readily confesses to "loathe deformity" (line 43). However, Mildred's pale retort, said with a
"trace of genuine earnestness" according to the stage directions in lines 46-47, does little to confirm
this sentiment. Rather, though Mildred suggests an interest in discovering "how the other half lives"
(line 48), she admits that it is little more than a "groping sincerity" (line 49), a feeble and ineffectual
attempt "to be sincere, to touch life somewhere" (line 52). Mildred's ready confession that she lacks
the "vitality [and] integrity" (line 54) to make a genuine social endeavor, as well as her vision of self as
a "waste product" in her family's lucrative steel business (lines 59-60), reveal that the only real
difference between Mildred and her aunt is the her limited perception of the gulf between her social
elitism, the poverty of the masses, and her aunt's blissful disconcem.
The passage's parenthetical comments pique additional interest, serving less as stage directions
than as an indirect means of enhancing the characterization and determining the tone. Finally, the
images of giant "blast furnaces, flaming to the sky, melting steel, making millions" (lines 56-57), and
the objective correlative of the Bessemer waste product (lines 59-60), vividly convey how wealth can
vitiate empathy and sever the connection between social worlds.
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Explanations for Sample Examination V
273
1. The first intimation of Mildred's specious sensitivity is her (A) romantic reaction to the
steamship's smoke (line 3).
The word "specious," defined as "having a false look of truth," suggests that Mildred's aesthetic
appreciation and empathy for the underprivileged are nothing but pretensions, something she
herself later admits. For example, she refers to her social service as "attempts to discover how the
other half lives" (lines 47-48) and labels her efforts a "groping sincerity" (line 49). She also
confesses with "weary Wtterness" (line 53) that she lacks the vitality or integrity to engage in such
work. Though there are several instances in which this speciousness shines through, the very first
intimation of it is the opening lines, in which Mildred gazes up at the steamship's smoke with
"affected dreaminess." The choice of the adjective "affected" is synonymous with "specious,"
suggesting that Mildred's romantic sensitivity is less than genuine.
2. In the passage Mildred most vehemently disagrees with her aunt over which of the following?
(C) the earnestness of Mildred's social commitment.
The passage depicts Mildred's relationship with her aunt as somewhat combatative. Their
disagreement begins with their antithetical reactions to smoke, extends through their disparate level
of interest in dead relations, and climaxes in their polar affinities for social service. Mildred's aunt
is particularly sardonic about the latter, referring to her niece's work on the Lower East Side as
"morbid thrills" (line 36), suggesting that the poor hated her interference in their lives, and
labeling her new social service interest in Whitechapel "slumming" (line 40). This clearly bothers
Mildred the most as is evidenced by her protestation, "Please do not mock at my attempts to
discover how the other half lives. Give me credit for some sort of groping sincerity in that at least
I would like to help them. I would like to be of some use in the world" (lines 47-51). Even though
it is clear that Mildred aristocratic nature effectively impedes her ever having a genuine
commitment to social improvement, she still resents her aunt's mockery of her attempt.
3. The characterization of Mildred's aunt is primarily established through her (B) candid and
pretentious tone.
The comments which Mildred's aunt makes-stating her dislike of smoke, labeling her niece a
"ghoul," characterizing the poor as a "deformity"-are blunt, even cruel, and reveal her as an
aristocratic snob. Her tone, which is on occasion sarcastic, is primarily pretentious once she begins
her commentary on Mildred's social work. Phrases such as "morbid thrills" (line 36), "slumming"
(line 40) and "deformity" (line 43) confirm this as do stage directions such as "Pretending
boredom" (line 11).
4. The most pointed barb directed at Mildred by her aunt concerns Mildred's (D) ironic humiliation
of the downtrodden.
Lines 37-39, "how they must have hated you, by the way, the poor that you made so much poorer
in their own eyes!," infer that Mildred's aristocratic nature made the poor she was endeavoring to
help feel even more deprived. Mildred, who states with some earnestness, "I would like to help
them. I would like to be of some use in the world...! would like to be sincere, to touch life
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Explanations for Sample Examination V
<5<>Tna«jkara" (litv»e 40.52), has sincere if ineffechial intentions. She is aware of how foreign such
people and conditions are to her experience, and self-deprecatingly refers to her concern as a
"groping sincerity" (line 49). Her aunt's comments, however, indict her of a concomitant cruelty:
the humiliation of those she is trying to assist. This is a particularly cruel comment.
5. The attitude of Mildred's aunt towards the poor is BEST characterized as being one of (D) revulsion.
Mildred's aunt clearly indicates that she has neither the desire nor the intent to accompany Mildred
to Whitechapel. As she firmly states, "Do not ask me to chaperon you there, however. I told your
father I would not" (lines 42-43). Her subsequent admission that she "loathe[s] deformity" (line 43)
is as shocking in its choice of verb as it is in its choice of noun to describe the mentally ill. This is
best represented by choice (D), "revulsion."
6. Which of the following does NOT refer to Mildred's attempts to discover "how the other half lives"?
(A) "natural born ghoul" (lines 18-19).
The phrase "pose of eccentricity" (line 31) refers to Mildred's unusual decision (to her aunt, at
least) to involve herself with the lower classes, while "morbid thrills" (line 36) is her aunt's
sardonic assessment of what she must experience when doing so. The word "slumming" (line 40)
has both the denotative resonance of the locales which she visits and the connotative association of
sullying oneself by mingling with an inferior. Similarly, the phrase "nerve tonic" (line 41) is a
sardonic euphemism for Mildred's empathetic sojourn into Whitechapel. This accounts for choices
(B), (C), (D) and (E).
On the contrary, the phrase "natural born ghoul" (lines 18-19) refers to Mildred's insistence on
talking about deceased members of the family, making (A) the exception.
7. Mildred's response to her aunt's disparagement of her social service implies that she is (B) painfully
conscious of the feebleness of her altruism.
Lines 47-49, "Please do not mock at my attempts to discover how the other half lives. Give rne
credit for some sort of groping sincerity in that at least," suggest that Mildred realizes her attempt
to connect to the "other half is clumsy and inept. Though her subsequent observation, "I would
like to help them. I would like to be of some use in the world" (lines 49-51), suggests an
empathetic spirit, her later admission, "But I'm afraid I have neither the vitality nor integrity. All
that was burnt out in our stock before I was born" (lines 53-55), reveals she knows how her wealth
and aristocratic status have effectively insulated her from the underprivileged. Mildred's
description of her grandfather's fiery blast furnaces and her father's highly successful domestic
refinement of the business shows that she knows her stock well. Her candid self-appraisal-"!'m a
waste product in the Bessemer process" (lines 59-60)-reflects an acute understanding of the degree
to which her wealth has eroded her connection to the financially less fortunate.
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Explanations for Sample Examination V
such
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vulsion.
Mildred
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This is
275
The passage is marked by all of the following EXCEPT (D) social commentary on the sufferings
of the poor.
The fact that all but one line of the dialogue is preceded by some sort of italicized direction; the
fact that Mildred, who appears empathetic and diametrically opposed to her aunt's aristocratic
snobbishness, is actually quite like her; the fact that Mildred and her aunt engage in a subtle
sardonic exchange; and the fact that Mildred perceives herself as a "waste product in the Bessemer
process" (lines 59-60) confirm choices (A), (B), (C) and (E). However, though the underprivileged
are alluded to several times in the passage, there is no graphic catalog of their sufferings.
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276
Explanations for Sample Examination V
Passage Two: From Thornton Wilder's The Bridge of San Luis Rey
This passage from Thornton Wilder's somewhat neglected novel catalogs the existence of Uncle
Pio, whose life from birth to adulthood is best characterized as colorful and itinerant. The compact but
detailed exposition of Pio's character provides a rich and mysterious subtext for the student to explore.
The opening sentence, which immediately qualifies Uncle Pio's social status by the insertion of
the word "illegitimately" (line 2), "sets the stage," so to speak, for the character's eventful existence.
The suggestion that upon Pio's running away at age ten he was "pursued without diligence" (lines 3-4)
implies that, as a bastard, Pio was an unwanted addition to the good Castilian household, someone
whose absence was a boon rather than a loss. His subsequent employ-as a errand boy, as an animal
trainer, as a cook, and as a double-agent-is abetted by the six attributes that the speaker says he
naturally possessed: "a memory for names and faces, with the aptitude for altering his own; the gift of
tongues; inexhaustible invention; secrecy; the talent for falling into conversation with strangers; and
that freedom of conscience that springs from a contempt for the dozing rich he preyed upon" (lines 511). These gifts, a potent mixture of imagination, espionage and lack of compunction, quickly elevate
Pio's role from subordinate factotum to trusted confidant. Invaluable to theaters, landowners and
politicians alike, he lithely graduates from spreading rumors and slanders in tavern doorways to
trafficking in the deeper shadows of political espionage.
The opening sentence of the second paragraph-"He never did one thing for more than two weeks
at a time even when enormous gains seemed likely to follow upon it" (lines 29-31)-provides the first
clue to Pio's peripatetic existence. While his early mobility can readily be explained by his initial flight
and his subsequent struggle for subsistence, his later refusal to commit to any single activity for more
than two weeks reveals a disdain for conformity, predicability, and money. While his brief forays into
thievery are quickly checked by his fear of incarceration, his involvement with the Inquisition is cut
short by his keen perception that such mercurial executioners could change allegiance quickly.
Having accrued a lifetime's worth of experiences by twenty, the speaker indicates that Pio
narrowed his interests to three: a desire to maintain his independence, a need to cultivate relationships
with beautiful women, and a wish to be proximate to people who loved Spanish literature and theater.
The first of these, consistent with the independent experiences of his early life, is further illuminated by
the speaker's observation that Pio was "willing to renounce the dignities of public life, if in secret he
might feel that he looked down upon men from a great distance" (lines 46-49). Clearly, the bastardy
which labeled him an outcast from birth also fueled Pio's later desire for superiority. The second, less
easily linked to his early existence, was perhaps subliminally motivated by a need for maternal
affection. The speaker's comment that, "all he asked was to be accepted casually, to be trusted, to be
allowed like a friendly and slightly foolish dog to come and go into their rooms and to write their
letters for them" (lines 51-55), paints a portrait of a fawning individual, attracted not by lust but by
sentiment. The fact that Pio cared for these women when they were ill or when they had suffered
financial reversals suggests that his motives were in no way mercenary. The third and final interest,
Pio's fascination with literature, reflects a thirst for knowledge and an artistic sensibility that the
conditions of his early life denied. The final lines of the passage, "He had discovered all that treasure
for himself, borrowing or stealing from the libraries of his patrons, feeding himself upon it in
secrecy-behind the scenes, as it were, of his mad life...." (lines 60-64), provide an appropriate
metaphor for Pio's clandestine existence since in all of his involvements-romantic, economic, or
political-he had been content to function in the background.
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Explanations for Sample Examination V
277
9. The primary purpose of the passage is to examine (C) the motivation behind Pio's peripatetic
nature.
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From the age of ten, when Pio ran away to the city of Madrid from his father's hacienda, Pio was
on the move. Forced to earn his keep exclusively by his wits, Pio quickly graduated from an errand
boy for local merchants, to an animal trainer in traveling circuses, to a shady figure providing
"insider" information, slandering reputations, speciously applauding new shows, and even
engineering minor rebellions. The speaker indicates that he "never did one thing for more than two
weeks at a time even when enormous gains seemed likely to follow upon it" (lines 29-31),
suggesting that his impatience was surprisingly not motivated by financial gain. In fact, the
passage suggests that Pio's talents were such that he "could have become a circus manager, a
theatrical director, a dealer in antiquities, an importer of Italian silks, a secretary in the palace or
the Cathedral" (lines 31-34) had he the desire to devote his attentions exclusively to one task or
profession. However, his need for independence effectively prevented him from ever settling into a
particular routine.
10. Pio's illegitimacy may be seen as the cause of which of the following?
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I. His decision to run away to Madrid.
II. The failure of his family to pursue him.
III. His later contempt for the rich and powerful.
(E) I, II and III.
The qualifier, "illegitimately" (line 2) which closes the first sentence, immediately establishes Pio
as belonging to the literary type known as the outcast. His sudden decision to flee his father's
house at the youthful age of ten implies that his bastard status promoted a measure of unhappiness.
Moreover, the fact that he was "pursued without diligence" (lines 3-4) implies that his departure
was thought to be no great loss. Pio's shadowy dealings and his brief career as a thief are later said
to be spawned by his "contempt for the dozing rich he preyed upon" (lines 10-11). This, and the
observation in lines 46-50 that "He was willing to renounce the dignities of public life, if in secret
he might feel that he looked down upon men from a great distance, knowing more about them
than they knew themselves," suggests that Pio detested the world of money, power, and prestige
into which he had undesirously been conceived.
11. Pio's career is BEST described as a (B) persevering climb toward social acceptance.
be
it,
sure
This answer is consistent with the explication of question #11. The passage suggests that "From
ten to fifteen he distributed handbills for merchants, held horses, and ran confidential errands.
From fifteen to twenty he trained bears and snakes for traveling circuses; he cooked, and mixed
punches; he hung about the entries of the more expensive taverns and whispered information into
the travelers' ears....He was attached to all the theaters in town and could applaud like ten. He
spread slanders at so much a slander. He sold rumors about crops and about the value of land.
From twenty to thirty his services came to be recognized in very high circles-he was sent out by
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278
Explanations for Sample Examination V
the government to inspirit some half-hearted rebellions in the mountains, so that the government
could presently arrive and wholeheartedly crush them" (lines 11-26). The sequence of
employments, from chores and errands to clandestine political assignments, is suggestive of his
gradual acceptance into social circles.
12. Which of the following labels most accurately captures the nature of Pio's youthful employment?
(A) factotum.
The term "factotum," more commonly known as a "jack of all trades," is clearly the best choice of
the five since Pio's youthful employment takes him from tavern to circus to theater to palace. Lines
31-34, "He could have become a circus manager, a theatrical director, a dealer in antiquities, an
importer of Italian silks, a secretary in the palace or the Cathedral," further confirm this.
13. The passage suggests that Pio was trusted by all of the following groups EXCEPT (D) criminals and
other ne'er-do-wells.
Lines 11-13 suggest that merchants trust Pio with handling their horses and running "confidential
errands." In addition, the speaker points out how "From twenty to thirty his services came to be
recognized in very nigh circles-he was sent out by the government to inspirit some half-hearted
rebellions in the mountains, so that the government could presently arrive and wholeheartedly
crush them" (lines 21-26) and how "he had been reduced for a time to making investigations for
the Inquisition" (lines 36-38). Later, lines 33-34 suggest that he could have been a "secretary in the
palace or the Cathedral." Finally, the speaker points out that women permitted him to "to come and
go into their rooms and to write their letters for them" (lines 53-55). This information confirms
choices (A), (B) (C) and (E). Choice (D) is not in evidence anywhere in the passage.
14. In which of the following capacities did Pio spend the largest portion of his early life?
(E) secret-agent.
The passage indicates that "From twenty to thirty his services came to be recognized in very high
circles-he was sent out by the government to inspirit some half-hearted rebellions in the
mountains, so that the government could presently arrive and wholeheartedly crush them. His
discretion was so profound that the French party used him even when they knew that the Austrian
party used him also..." (lines 21-28). The ten-year span in which he functions as a double-agent is
longer than the duration of any of his other involvements.
15. According to lines 34-36, Pio's brief career as a thief was cut short by (D) trepidation.
As the speaker states, Pio "had stolen several times, but the gains had not been sufficient to offset
his dread of being locked up" (lines 34-36). Though Hamlet suggests that "conscience makes
cowards of us all," Pio's thievery is checked not by compunction, but by the specter of being
caught and incarcerated.
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Explanations for Sample Examination V
nent
his
lyment?
279
16. Lines 36-41 imply that Pio's involvement with the Inquisition was a by-product of his
(B) desire to avoid penury.
Again, this derives directly from the passage, specifically lines 36-38 which state "he had been
reduced for a time to making investigations for the Inquisition." The word "reduced," suggestive of
a lack of gainful employment, couples with Pio's brief career as a thief to imply that he had done
these things to avoid poverty.
17. The word "mad," as used in line 63, is BEST interpreted as (D) adventurous.
tals and
Pio's life, a free-wheeling exodus from one temporary employment to another, brings him in
contact with an extraordinary diversity of realms: the theater, business, religion, politics, the circus,
the military, and the tavern among others. The intrigue he experiences as a professional slanderer,
as a double-agent, or as a confidant to beautiful women can only be labeled "adventurous."
18. Upon considering the passage as a whole, which of the following inferences CANNOT safely be
made about Pio? (E) that he exploited the women he attended.
rly life?
ry high
The fact that Pio ran away at the tender age often supports (A), while lines 5-11, "He possessed
the six attributes of the adventurer-a memory for names and faces, with the aptitude for altering
his own; the gift of tongues; inexhaustible invention; secrecy; the talent for falling into
conversation with strangers; and that freedom of conscience that springs from a contempt for the
dozing rich he preyed upon," confirm (B). Choice (C) is proven by lines 46-49, which indicate that
Pio was "willing to renounce the dignities of public life, if in secret he might feel that he looked
down upon men from a great distance," while choice (D) draws credence from the final
paragraph, which shows how Pio "wanted to be near those that loved Spanish literature and its
masterpieces, especially in the theater" (lines 58-60).
The speaker's description of Pio's relationship with women, however, portrays him as a devotee,
someone who fawned over them and whose main desire "was to be accepted casually, to be
trusted, to be allowed like a friendly and slightly foolish dog to come and go into their rooms..."
(lines 52-54). This makes (E) the clear exception.
19. Which of the following seems LEAST compatible with Pio's "behind the scenes" persona?
(E) his connoisseurship of women.
:o offset
ikes
ing
Pio's role as an animal trainer, his function as a one man claque in the theaters, his sly passing on
of information to travelers' ears outside taverns, and his function as an provocateur and special
agent of the government are all consistent with a "behind the scenes" persona. However, hisactivity with women, though undoubtedly conducted in subtle and clandestine ways, differs from
the rest in that such intimate involvement with beautiful women would clearly place him into a
discomfiting relationship with their husbands and lovers. Lines 46-50, "He was willing to renounce
the dignities of public life, if in secret he might feel that he looked down upon men from a great
distance, knowing more about them than they knew themselves," suggest that Pio himself was not
only conscious of this precariousness, but that he reveled in it as well.
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Explanations for Sample Examination III
:gest the
Passage Two: John Hollander's ''Science and Human Behavior"
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187
John Hollander's poem "Science and Human Behavior" is centered about a well-known classical
allusion, the Greek personification of Fate as three women who stretch the fabric of one's life across a
loom, weave into it the events of one's earthly existence, then cut the threads, determining an
individual's life span. In the poem, dedicated to B.F. Skinner, a prominent behavioral scientist, the
speaker begins with a series of participial phrases that attempt to convey our discomfort with
predictable behavior. The instances of behavior-ranging from asking a certain girl to dance, to
personal idiosyncrasies involving eating or travel, to curiosity about the source of terror and libidinous
desires-exemplify things that we would like to believe are not controlled by some external engine that
determines what we do by behavioral conditioning. The speaker suggests that humans naturally reject
the notion that their habits and preferences can be controlled by some "Golden Rope / By which (they]
feel bound, determined, and betrayed" (lines 13-14). In short, the speaker believes that all humans
naturally reject the notion that they are no different from Pavlov's dog, whose conditioning made him
slather in response to a bell rather than a meal.
If, however, human behavior is deterministic in nature, the speaker opts for the classical
conception of it, "Three nasty Thingummies" who twist the string of command into overlapping,
DNA-like strands and who stalwartly resist our human curiosity to tug on the line and see what occurs
or to sadistically enjoy the suffering of others:
Our own old impulse to pull the string and see
Just what would happen, or to feel the small
But tingling tug upon the line, to free
The captives so that we might watch them crawl
Back into deeper water again....(lines 18-22).
Though the speaker is intrigued by this control and power, he nevertheless concedes that it does
not belong in the hands of humans but rather in the "blase discretion of disgusting / Things like the
two who spin and measure, and / The Third and surely The Most Horrible, / Whom we'd best forget,
within whose bony hand / Lies crumpled the Secret she will never tell" (lines 24-28). The description
of the "Thingummies" reflects the speaker's distaste for behavior modification of any sort. They are
depersonalized as "disgusting things," and the "Most Horrible" of the three, Atropos, is portrayed as a
cadaverous and secretive creature who zealously guards the nature of our destinies. Lines 32-36,
...in the end
The question is whether merely Determining
Or really Knowing is what we most pretend
To honor because it seems most frightening
Or worship because we hold it most to blame,
concisely frame the most intriguing issue. Are we most frightened by the prospect of our actions
being the product of some chain of events, or by the possibility that the pattern of our lives is
subject to some furtive and vicarious intent? The closing allusion to Dr. Johnson, who imperiously
declaims that humans exercise free will in all their doings, is humorously balanced by the image
of the Three Fates grinning wickedly in some cloudy domain. In the end both speaker and reader
remain benighted as to the reality or extent of deterministic control. Who (if anyone) controls the
"Golden Rope" (line 13), the "line" (line 20), or the "wire / Designed to receive the message"
(lines 30-31) remains an impenetrable but perpetually disturbing mystery.
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188
Explanations for Sample Examination III
15. The primary figure of speech used in the poem is (E) allusion.
Though the first stanza's ambiguity may hinder the immediate recognition of the central allusion,
the passage's focus upon the Three Fates and their manipulation of human destiny becomes
increasingly more accessible as the poem progresses. The exact identity of the "They" mentioned
in line 9 is first hinted at by the speaker's reference to the "Golden Rope / By which we feel
bound, determined, and betrayed" (lines 13-14). A more helpful hint perhaps is the phrase "Three
nasty Thingummies" (line 16), which in its rather severe description of three old crones may lead
some students to think of the three witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth, a play with which many
high school students are familiar. For those students with a background in mythology, lines 24-28,
which refer to "...the blase discretion of disgusting / Things like the two who spin and measure,
and / The Third and surely The Most Horrible, / Whom we'd best forget, within whose bony hand /
Lies crumpled the Secret she will never tell," may provide the clincher in their precise description
of each Fate's task. The mention of "Atropos and her sisters" grinning overhead (lines 41-42) even
provides one of their names. This clinches (E) as the best possible choice.
16. The subject of the long sentence which comprises most of the first stanza is (D) "we" (line 11).
The syntax of the opening line of the poem provides as much difficulty as its content. The
sentence, which actually runs the entire fourteen lines of the first stanza and up to the word
"again" in line 22, is initiated by four separate participial phrases. These phrases, which begin with
the participles "Feeling" (line 1), "Abashed" (line 5), "afraid" (line 8), and "shocked" (line 10), all
describe the word "we" in line 11, and illustrate what humans feel about others knowing their
innermost thoughts and desires.
17. The things cataloged by the speaker in the first eleven lines are most accurately labeled
(C) behaviors that people believe are their own.
The things mentioned in the opening eleven lines-romantic inclination, eating idiosyncrasies,
irrational preferences, innate fears, and erotic impulses-are private and personal things. What the
speaker is suggesting is that humans are discomfited by any suggestion that these behaviors could
be known, even manipulated, by others. This is confirmed by lines 11-14, "...we vainly hope /That
certain predictions never can be made, / That the mind can never spin the Golden Rope / By which
we feel bound, determined, and betrayed." These lines further intimate that these "certain
predictions" involve our most morbid inquisitiveness-into the moment and nature of our deaths.
18. The "Golden Rope" mentioned in line 13 is a symbol of (D) slavish determinism.
This is pretty much derived from the diction in line 14, "bound, determined, and betrayed," which
is suggestive of captivity and predestination. The "Golden Rope" is later referred to as an "endless
strand" (line 17), a "string" (line 18), and a "line" (line 20), further suggesting that humans are
marionettes on a string. In the third stanza the rope becomes a "wire" (line 30) which either
triggers the relay or receives the message, but in either case remains an instrument of control.
Choice (D) best captures this sentiment.
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Explanations for Sample Examination III
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19. The "Golden Rope" (line 13) is later compared to a (B) telegraph wire.
As was suggested in the analysis of the previous question, lines 30-32, "...whether it be the wire /
Designed to receive the message or to fire / The tiny initial relay," figuratively present the "Golden
Rope" as a telegraph cable, thus making (B) the best answer.
20. In light of the poem's subject, the "Three nasty Thingummies" (line 16) are clearly the (C) Fates.
Though both the initial explication and the analysis of question #15 are probably more than
sufficient to verify the answer as (C), a more precise answer is provided by Bulfinch, who
describes the office of the three, Clothos, Lachesis, and Atropos, as to spin the thread of human
destiny and to sever it with shears at their arbitrary discretion. The Sirens (A), as afficionadoes of
the Odyssey will know, were the beautiful voices that tempted sailors to shore and wrecked their
ships on the rocks. The nine Muses (B) were goddesses of literature, art, or science, who offered
inspiration to those involved in these fields. The Graces (D) were three goddesses who presided
over dance, banquets, and social occasions, while the Furies (E) were three goddesses who, as
instruments of vengeance, punished those who managed to evade public justice.
21. The speaker likely brands the third Thingummy "The Most Horrible" because of her (E) fatal secret.
Those familiar with the Three Fates will already know that it is Atropos who wields the shears, but
the text provides sufficient clues that suggest this answer. Lines 26-28, for example, suggest that
Atropos holds crumpled within her bony hand "the Secret she will never tell." And though the
subsequent lines suggest that this "secret" involves the nature of the Thingummies' control over
human destiny, both Atropos' designation as "Most Horrible" and her position after "the two who
spin and measure" (line 25) reveal her to be the agent of death; thus, (E) is the best choice.
22. In light of the entire poem, Dr. Johnson's summative comment in lines 39-40 is BEST seen as a(n)
(A) cavalier miscalculation.
There is a painting of Dr. Johnson, our great lexiconist, on the wall of his residence just off Fleet
Street that we believe to be the inspiration for this vision. In any case, Johnson's boast, that "Our
will is free, and there's an end on 't" (lines 39-40), is shown to be pompous, dogmatic, and
ultimately erroneous when Atropos and her sisters are seen grinning mischievously overhead. This
laughter suggests that they are mocking both his surety and his naivete.
23. The speaker implies that the Thingummies' amusement at the poem's end is primarily a reaction to
which of the following?
I. Johnson's mention of their name
II. Johnson's naive conviction that human beings exercise free will.
III. Johnson's pose and attire.
(B) II only.
Though the speaker overtly suggests that the Thingummies laugh at the invocation of their name,
the fervency with which Dr. Johnson voices his conviction that man's will is free implies that this
is the real source of their laughter.
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Explanations for Sample Examination III
24. When one considers the poem as a whole, it is clear that the author sees the attempts by Skinner and
others to control human behavior as (C) aberrant.
This follows logically from the poem as a whole. If our simplest fears, inclinations and tendencies
can be foreseen by others in random and inconsequential ways, then it follows that our deepest and
most intimate secrets can also be laid bare or presaged. Though only the title and dedication allude
to Skinner and his work in the field of conditioned behavior, the speaker's position on such
research is clearly established in the second stanza. Here he advocates that "if such a thing exists
at all, / Three nasty Thingummies should hold it, twisting / Strand unto endless strand, always
resisting / Our own old impulse to pull the string and see / Just what would happen" (lines 15-19).
This delegation of responsibility is reemphasized in lines 22-24, which state "It is well / To leave
such matters in their power, trusting / To [their] blase discretion." This implies that human efforts
to enforce such control are misguided.
25. Ultimately, the speaker implies all of the following EXCEPT (E) that free will is a scientifically
established fact.
That scientists should not manipulate human behavior (A) and that the darkest human impulses are
best restrained by others (D) have been sufficiently validated by the analysis of question #24. That
humans have an innate desire to know the future (B) is clear in lines 18-19, which acknowledge
the innately human impulse "to pull the string and see / Just what would happen." Similarly, lines
20-22, "to free / The captives so that we might watch them crawl / Back into deeper water again,"
confirm (C), the human desire to vicariously enjoy the predicaments of others. However, the
laughter of the Three Fates at Dr. Johnson's confident assertion suggests that (E) cannot have any
validity.
26. The most unusual aspect of the poem is its (B) pattern and choice of rhymes.
The use of classical (the Fates) and contemporary (B.F. Skinner) allusions is clever but not rare,
while the use of a central conceit (the "Golden Rope," string, wire, etc) goes back to the early
sonneteers. Similarly both a philosophical concern and comic situations pervade poetry from
Donne to Chaucer. This eliminates choices (A), (C), (D) and (E).
The choice and pattern of rhyme, however, is extraordinarily intricate. For example, the rhyme
scheme of stanza one seems to be ABBCACADEEFGFG. Though some may argue that lines 9-10
should be AA since they both end in "ing," it should be noted that these contain double rhymes
and that the root words "choose" and "refuse" aurally differ from "scream" and "dream." This
double rhyme is also present in stanza two in the words "twisting" and "resisting" (lines 16-17),
and again in "trusting" and "disgusting" (lines 23-24). It is of further interest to note that each of
the three stanzas is actually a self-contained sonnet. This makes (B) the most persuasive choice.
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