Digital PSAT Reading and Writing Practice Question 31: Answer and Explanation

Question: 31

The following text is from Kate Chopin's 1899 novel The Awakening.

The very first chords which Mademoiselle Reisz struck upon the piano sent a keen tremor down [Edna's] spinal column. It was not the first time she had heard an artist at the piano. Perhaps it was the first time she was ready, perhaps the first time her being was tempered to take an impress of the abiding truth.

[Edna] waited for the material pictures which she thought would gather and blaze before her imagination. She waited in vain. She saw no pictures of solitude, of hope, of longing, or of despair. But the very passions themselves were aroused within her soul, swaying it, lashing it, as the waves daily beat upon her splendid body. She trembled, she was choking, and the tears blinded her.

The text primarily serves to illustrate that Edna was

• A. viscerally upset by the themes of the songs.
• B. surprised at her newfound reaction to the music.
• C. weary at the lengthy delay in her entertainment.
• D. distraught at her inability to visualize as she listened.

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

(B) The text demonstrates that Edna expected to have mental images of various emotions in response to the emotion. Instead, though, it states that she could feel those emotions instead of simply picturing them, which is a far stronger response than Edna anticipated. She was, thus, surprised at her newfound reaction to the music. Choice (A) is flawed because Edna does not indicate that this is an unpleasant happening. Choice (C) is flawed because there is nothing to express fatigue. Choice (D) is flawed because she can in fact visualize as she listens, so she certainly would not be distraught.