Question

directions: read the passage and then answer the questions that follow
from dubliners
by james joyce
1
mr. james duffy lived in chapelizod because he wished to
live as far as possible from the city of which he was a citizen
and because he found all the other suburbs of dublin mean,
modern and pretentious. he lived in an old sombre house and
from his windows he could look into the disused distillery or
upwards along the shallow river on which dublin is built. the
lofty walls of his uncarpeted room were free from pictures. he
had himself bought every article of furniture in the room: a
black iron bedstead, an iron washstand, four cane chairs, a
clothes-rack, a coal-scuttle, a fender and irons and a square
table on which lay a double desk. a bookcase had been made
in an alcove by means of shelves of white wood. the bed was
clothed with white bedclothes and a black and scarlet rug
covered the foot. a little hand-mirror hung above the
washstand and during the day a white-shaded lamp stood as
the sole ornament of the mantelpiece. the books on the white
wooden shelves were arranged from below upwards according
to bulk. a complete wordsworth stood at one end of the lowest
shelf and a copy of the maynooth catechism, sewn into the
cloth cover of a notebook, stood at one end of the top shelf.
writing materials were always on the desk. in the desk lay a
manuscript translation of hauptmann’s michael kramer, the
stage directions of which were written in purple ink, and a little
sheaf of papers held together by a brass pin. in these sheets a
sentence was inscribed from time to time and, in an ironical
moment, the headline of an advertisement for bile beans had
which word best describes the narrator’s perspective of mr. duffy?
(a) biased
(b) neutral
(c) mocking
(d) admiring

Explanation:

To determine the narrator’s perspective of Mr. Duffy, we analyze the tone and style of the passage. The narrator provides a detailed, factual description of Mr. Duffy’s living situation, habits, and surroundings without adding personal judgment, praise, or mockery. A “biased” perspective would show favor or disfavor, “mocking” would be sarcastic or critical, and “admiring” would show approval—none of which are present. The narrator’s tone is objective and factual, indicating a neutral perspective.

Answer:

b. neutral