Question

beyond even them. there was a folded old piece of paper with drawn - on hearts and designs and words in german. his mother had once tried to explain the paper to him, but he hadnt wanted to listen. a thing so old disgusted him. and there were giant bibles, and squat books with plush covers and a little square mottled mirror buried in the plush of one. these books had fat pages edged in gold, thick enough to hold, on both sides, stiff brown pictures, often oval, of dead people. he didnt like looking into these albums, even when his mother was explaining them to him. the chest went down and down, into the past, and he hated the feeling of that well of time, with its sweet deep smell of things unstirring, waiting, taking on the moldy flavor of time, not moving unless somebody touched them.
then everything moved: the moving men came one day and everything in the house that had always been in a certain place was swiftly and casually uplifted and carried out the door. in the general upheaval the week before, he had been shocked to discover, glancing in, that at some point the chest had come to contain drawings he had done as a child, and his elementary - school report cards, and photographs—studio photographs lovingly mounted in folders of dove - gray cardboard with deckle edges—of him when he was five. he was now thirteen.
select the correct answer.
what is significant about the boy finding his own drawings in the chest?
a. the boy finally understands that the value of the chest is in preserving his family history in documents and other mementos.
b. the boy takes comfort knowing that he will live on in his family history in the generations to come, even after he dies.
c. the boy comprehends that, despite his best efforts, he cannot escape time, and he too will become a part of history.
d. the boy becomes emotional thinking about his childhood and is thankful to the chest for preserving his memories.

Explanation:

• Option A: The chest initially had old family items (German - written paper, old albums). When the boy finds his own childhood items (drawings, report cards, photos) in it, he realizes the chest preserves family history (including his own past as part of it).
• Option B: The text doesn't mention future generations or his legacy after death.
• Option C: The boy's discovery is about the chest's role in preserving history (his own and family's), not about escaping time. The "well of time" feeling was about old items, but his drawings show his past is now part of the chest's history - preserving, not about being unable to escape time.
• Option D: The text says he was "shocked" to discover, not emotional or thankful. He disliked the old items before, and the discovery is more about realizing the chest's purpose for his own past too.

Answer:

C. The boy comprehends that, despite his best efforts, he cannot escape time, and he too will become a part of history.

Wait, correction: After re - evaluating, the correct answer should be A. Because the chest had family history items (old papers, albums of dead people). When he finds his own childhood items, he understands the chest's value is preserving family history (his own past is now part of that history - preserving). Option C's "cannot escape time" is not the main point here. The key is the chest's role in preserving family (including his) history. So the correct answer is A. A. The boy finally understands that the value of the chest is in preserving his family history in documents and other mementos.