PSAT Reading Question 616: Answer and Explanation

Question: 616

Based on the passage as a whole, the narrator can best be characterized as

• A. calmly resolute.
• B. completely morbid.
• C. overly dramatic.
• D. patiently optimistic.

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

(C) The narrator focuses melodramatically on his own sickness and mortality throughout the passage. He is so dramatic that Hollingsworth, his purported friend, grows weary of listening to his many protests—see lines 25–28 in particular for this. The narrator's negativity contradicts being "calmly resolute" or "patiently optimistic," and his negativity is far too mild to be considered "completely morbid."