Question

present: mastery test
select the correct answer
what similarity exists in these two excerpts?
a christmas carol
by charles dickens (excerpt)
\they are mans,\ said the spirit, looking down upon them. \and they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. this boy is ignorance. this girl is want. beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow i see that written which is doom, unless the writing be erased. deny it!\ cried the spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. \slander those who tell it! admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse. and abide the end!\
the book of proverbs, 1:20
wisdom calls aloud outside. she raises her voice in the open squares.
she cries out in the chief concourses, at the openings of the gates in the city
for scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge.
a. both excerpts show the evils of human foolishness and hypocrisy
b. both excerpts create suspense through the element of dramatic irony.
c. both excerpts represent abstract concepts as human characters.
d. both excerpts reflect the theme of social awareness and reform.

Explanation:

1. In A Christmas Carol, Dickens personifies the abstract concepts of "Ignorance" and "Want" as two children clinging to the Ghost of Christmas Present.
2. In Proverbs 1:20, the abstract concept of "Wisdom" is personified as a woman calling out publicly in the city.
3. Option A is incorrect: Proverbs focuses on folly, but the Christmas Carol excerpt's primary parallel is personification, not just highlighting evils. Option B is incorrect: dramatic irony is not present in either excerpt. Option D is incorrect: social awareness/reform is not the shared core similarity; personification is.

Answer:

C. Both excerpts represent abstract concepts as human characters.