Question

this question has two parts. first, answer part a. then, answer part b.
reread paragraph 3 of the essay. then answer the multiple - choice questions that follow.
from \georgia okeeffe\ by joan didion.
3 \hardness\ has not been in our century a quality much admired in women, nor in the past twenty years has it even been in official favor for men. when hardness surfaces in the very old we tend to transform it into \crustiness\ or eccentricity, some tonic pepperiness to be indulged at a distance. on the evidence of her work and what she has said about it, georgia okeeffe is neither \crusty\ nor eccentric. she is simply hard, a straight shooter, a woman clean of received wisdom and open to what she sees. this is a woman who could early on dismiss most of her contemporaries as \dreamy,\ and would later single out one she liked as \a very poor painter.\ (and then add, apparently by way of softening the judgment: \i guess he wasnt a painter at all. he had no courage and i believe that to create ones own world in any of the arts takes courage.\) this is a woman who in 1939 could advise her admirers that they were missing her point, that their appreciation of her famous flowers was merely sentimental. \when i paint a red hill,\ she observed coolly in the catalogue for an exhibition that year, \you say it is too bad that i dont always paint flowers. a flower touches almost everyones heart. a red hill doesnt touch everyones heart.\
part a
based on the context clues in the passage, what is most likely the meaning of the word dreamy?
a. soothing and restful
b. marvelous and unique
c. creative and visionary
d. sentimental and cowardly
part b
what clues in the text best suggest the meaning of the word from part a?
a. \... clean of received wisdom...\
b. \... had no courage\
c. \... create ones own world...\
d. \... softening the judgment...\

Explanation:

For Part A:
Georgia O'Keeffe is described as "hard" and "a straight - shooter, a woman clean of received wisdom". The word "dreamy" is used to contrast with her qualities. Since she is practical and not following the norm (clean of received wisdom), "dreamy" likely means the opposite. "Creative and visionary" (Option C) is not the opposite. "Soothing and restful" (Option A) is not relevant. "Sentimental and cowardly" (Option D) has "sentimental" which is mentioned later about flower appreciation but not directly related to "dreamy" in this context. "Marvelous and unique" (Option B) also doesn't fit the contrast.

For Part B:
The context of Georgia O'Keeffe being able to "create one's own world" (Option C) shows her practical and non - "dreamy" (in the sense of not being impractical) nature. "Clean of received wisdom" (Option A) is about her being free from norms but not directly related to defining "dreamy". "Had no courage" (Option B) is about another person. "Softening the judgment" (Option D) is about her after - thought on a painter.

Answer:

Part A: B. marvelous and unique
Part B: C. “...create one’s own world...”