Question

read the excerpt from \the storyteller.\
\she did all that she was told, she was always truthful, she kept her clothes clean, ate milk puddings as though they were jam tarts, learned her lessons perfectly, and was polite in her manners.\
\was she pretty?\ asked the bigger of the small girls.

ot as pretty as any of you,\ said the bachelor, \but she was horribly good.\
there was a wave of reaction in favour of the story; the word horrible in connection with goodness was a novelty that commended itself. it seemed to introduce a ring of truth that was absent from the aunts tales of infant life.
how does the underlined sentence contribute to the theme that culture can limit our thinking?
○ it indicates that the aunts portrayal of right and wrong is inauthentic and unconvincing.
○ it shows that children and adults have opposing perspectives on what goodness is.
○ it characterizes the children as eager to accept any viewpoint that disagrees with their aunts.
○ it satirizes the bachelors conception of goodness by comparing it to the one in the aunts story.

Explanation:

To determine the answer, analyze each option:

• Option 1: The underlined sentence says the bachelor’s story has a "ring of truth" absent from the aunt’s tales. The aunt’s tales likely presented an inauthentic, idealized view of goodness (e.g., the girl being overly perfect), so this sentence implies the aunt’s portrayal of right/wrong is inauthentic. This aligns with the theme that culture (the aunt’s traditional, perhaps limiting, storytelling) can limit thinking by presenting a false view.
• Option 2: The sentence doesn’t compare children’s and adults’ perspectives on goodness, but focuses on the authenticity of the aunt’s tales vs. the bachelor’s. Eliminate.
• Option 3: The sentence is about the bachelor’s story vs. the aunt’s, not the children’s eagerness to accept opposing viewpoints. Eliminate.
• Option 4: The sentence doesn’t satirize the bachelor’s goodness; it contrasts the aunt’s inauthentic tales with the bachelor’s more truthful one. Eliminate.

Answer:

A. It indicates that the aunt's portrayal of right and wrong is inauthentic and unconvincing.