Question

the following text is adapted from domenico starnone’s 2025 short story tortoiseshell. the narrator reflects on self - deception. i have never been honest with myself. it’s an attribute that has always disturbed me. i can’t accept even the most basic truths. what i am good at is coming up with excuses; it’s easy for me to invent excuses. and giuseppe trevisani, wonderful guy, is my favorite excuse of all. many years ago, trevisani, a translator, wrote an ending to a short story that, when i read it at the age of sixteen, led me to believe that the evil i felt inside me might actually be the mark of an exceptional character. 7 which choice best states the main purpose of the text? a to explain how a figure working with literature motivated the narrator to embrace an undesirable personality trait with genuine sincerity. b to trace the narrator’s habit of rationalization back to a literary moment that distorted his understanding of what his inner emotions might signify. c to recount a conversation between the narrator and a translator that inspired him to embrace a more forgiving attitude toward his flaws d to describe how a character from fiction became a model for how the narrator should conduct himself in his personal and professional life

Explanation:

The text centers on the narrator's self-deceptive habit of making excuses, then links this habit to a 16-year-old experience with a translator's short story that led him to frame his inner "evil" as a mark of an exceptional character. Option A is incorrect because the narrator does not show genuine sincerity about the trait. Option C is wrong as no conversation is recounted. Option D is incorrect because the story did not serve as a professional/personal conduct model, but rather a justification for his flawed trait.

Answer:

B. To trace the narrator's habit of rationalization back to a literary moment that distorted his understanding of what his inner emotions might signify.