Question

fyodor dostoevsky (1821-1881) was a russian author. the following excerpt is from one of his most
acclaimed novels, crime and punishment, which centers around a young man who struggles with guilt
after committing murder.
carefully read the text \excerpt from crime and punishment: chapter 1.\ then, answer each
question by choosing the best response. for the short response prompt, write your answer in
complete sentences, and cite any evidence used to support your answer.

on an exceptionally sweltering evening early in july,
a young man exited the garret in which he lodged in
s. place and walked slowly, as though in hesitation,
toward c. bridge.
he had successfully avoided encountering his
landlady on the staircase. his garret was located
under the roof of a towering, five - storied house and
resembled more of a cupboard than a room. the
landlady who provided him with the garret, dinners,
and attendance, lived on the floor below, and every
time he went out, he was obliged to pass her kitchen,
the door of which invariably stood open. and each
time he passed, the young man experienced a nauseous, frightened feeling, which made him scowl
and feel ashamed, as he was hopelessly in debt to his landlady and, consequently, feared crossing
paths with her.
this was not because he was cowardly and abject (quite the contrary), but for some time past, he
had been in an overstrained, irritable condition, verging on hypochondria. he had become so
completely absorbed in himself and isolated from his fellows whom he dreaded meeting - not only
his landlady, but anyone at all. he was crushed by poverty, but the anxieties of his position had of
late ceased to weigh upon him. he had given up attending to matters of practical importance,
having lost all desire to do so. nothing that any landlady could do had a real terror for him. but to be
stopped on the stairs, to be forced to listen to her trivial, unpleasant gossip, to yielding demands for
payment, threats and complaints, and to rack his brains for excuses, to prevaricate, to lie - no, rather

Explanation:

The text describes the young man's state due to poverty. He was in an overstrained, irritable condition (verging on hypochondria), completely absorbed in himself and isolated from others. He was crushed by poverty, and the miseries of his position had ceased to weigh upon him as he had given up attending to practical matters. This indicates that poverty caused him great distress.

Answer:

B. It has caused him great distress.