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Information and IdeasVery hardQuotation illustrating a claim about tone

Information and Ideas practice question

A critic argues that the memoirist writes about her own failures with a dry humour that refuses self-pity.

Which quotation from the memoir most effectively illustrates the critic's claim?

  1. A. "My first shop lasted eleven weeks, which, my accountant observed, was longer than the lease."Correct
  2. B. "My first shop failed, and I have never forgiven the town for letting it."
  3. C. "My first shop was a triumph from the day it opened."
  4. D. "Failure is a terrible thing, and I have known it too often."

Answer: A. "My first shop lasted eleven weeks, which, my accountant observed, was longer than the lease."

Eleven weeks, longer than the lease: the joke against herself.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. "My first shop failed, and I have never forgiven the town for letting it."
Grievance.
C. "My first shop was a triumph from the day it opened."
No failure.
D. "Failure is a terrible thing, and I have known it too often."
Self-pity.

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