PSAT Writing and Language Practice Question 620

Question: 620

Dali and Surrealism
23 The use of discrete symbolism is essential to the surrealist movement. One of the most highly regarded surrealist artists, Salvador Dali, often drew on symbols that he saw in his dreams and incorporated them into his paintings. Dali's formal art education began in 1921 at the School of Fine Arts in Madrid, where he studied for several years. However, Dali was expelled shortly before graduating because he claimed 24 for his teachers were insufficiently competent to examine him. In this same year, he painted Basket of Bread, which features four slices of buttered bread in a basket with one set off from the others and missing a bite. 25 Dali was recognized for the great skill that his uniquely crafted paintings demonstrated.
By 1931, Dali had officially joined the surrealist group in Paris and 26 completes perhaps his most famous work, The Persistence of Memory, which depicts several pocket watches melting away in an immense landscape that includes a mountain and seascape. 27 There are [1] several symbols [2] in this painting [3] that Dali used in many other paintings from the same [4] period—one of which is ants that cover the watch in the lower left of the piece. Dali used ants as a symbol for death in several of his other paintings. Supposedly, The Persistence of Memory is partially 28 inspired by a dream sequence while sleeping that Dali experienced, where the clocks represented the passage of time as felt by the dreamer.
In 1940, Dali and his wife Gala moved to the United States, and he 29 reclaimed his Catholic faith. Following their return to Spain in the late 1940s, Dali began drawing inspiration from his faith for his work. During this period of Dali's life, he produced La Gare de Perpignan, which contains several religious symbols and references. 30 In contrast, there is the shadow of Christ on the cross bearing his thorny crown near the center of the painting. Additionally, there is a boat passing 31 to a calm sea, which is an ancient depiction symbolizing the passage of death to life and which strengthens the symbol of Christ in reference to the Resurrection.
Dali's interests weren't limited to painting; 32 he had an intense interest in great literary works. One of his most prominent sculptural pieces is the Lobster Telephone, also called the Aphrodisiac Phone. In his book The Secret Life, Dali inquired as to why in a restaurant when he requested a grilled lobster, he was never 33 brung a boiled telephone. The lobster phone is a prime example of surrealist sculpture since it evokes immense introspection.

Which choice would most specifically support Dali's beliefs about his abilities?

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