Question

the following text is from edith whartons 1905 novel the house of mirth. she had learned by experience that she had neither the aptitude nor the moral constancy to remake her life on new lines; to become a worker among workers, and let the world of luxury and pleasure sweep by her unregarded. she could not hold herself much to blame for this ineffectiveness, and she was perhaps less to blame than she believed. inherited tendencies had combined with early training to make her the highly specialized product she was: an organism as helpless out of its narrow range as the sea - anemone torn from the rock. 5 mark for review which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole? a it illustrates the preceding claim that the character has become highly specialized to endure specific adversities. b it explains how the characters background produced her current limitations. c it introduces a perspective on the character that contrasts with her own self - assessment. d it conveys the degree to which the character is dependent on her particular circumstances.

Explanation:

1. Analyze Option A: The underlined part uses a sea - anemone analogy to show the character's helplessness outside her usual “range” (circumstances), not about enduring adversities. So A is incorrect.
2. Analyze Option B: The part before the underlined text explains her limitations come from inherited tendencies and early training. The underlined part is an analogy to show her dependence on her circumstances, not explaining how background produced limitations. So B is incorrect.
3. Analyze Option C: The character's self - assessment is that she can't blame herself much, but the underlined part is an analogy about her helplessness, not a contrasting perspective. So C is incorrect.
4. Analyze Option D: The analogy of the sea - anemone torn from the rock shows that the character is as helpless outside her narrow range (particular circumstances) as the sea - anemone is without the rock. This conveys how dependent she is on her particular circumstances.

Answer:

D. It conveys the degree to which the character is dependent on her particular circumstances.