The following text is from Shyam Selvadurai's 1994 novel Funny Boy. The seven-year-old narrator lives with his family in Sri...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
The following text is from Shyam Selvadurai's 1994 novel Funny Boy. The seven-year-old narrator lives with his family in Sri Lanka. Radha Aunty is the narrator's aunt.
Radha Aunty, who was the youngest in my father's family, had left for America four years ago when I was three, and I could not remember what she looked like. I went into the corridor to look at the family photographs that were hung there. But all the pictures were old ones, taken when Radha Aunty was a baby or young girl. Try as I might, I couldn't get an idea of what she looked like now. My imagination, however, was quick to fill in this void.
©1994 by Shyam Selvadurai.
According to the text, why does the narrator consult some family photographs?
He wants to use the photographs as inspiration for a story he is writing.
He is curious about how his father dressed a long time ago.
He hopes the photographs will help him recall what his aunt looked like.
He wants to remind his aunt of an event that is shown in an old photograph.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Radha Aunty, who was the youngest in my father's family, had left for America four years ago when I was three, and I could not remember what she looked like." |
|
| "I went into the corridor to look at the family photographs that were hung there." |
|
| "But all the pictures were old ones, taken when Radha Aunty was a baby or young girl." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: A young narrator attempts to use old family photographs to remember what his aunt looks like after a long absence, but the photos are too outdated to help.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes a memory problem (can't remember aunt's appearance), describes an attempted solution (consulting photographs), reveals why that solution failed (photos too old), and notes how imagination compensated for the missing visual information.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? The reason/motivation behind the narrator's specific action of consulting family photographs
What type of answer do we need? A purpose or intention that explains why the narrator went to look at the photos
Any limiting keywords? "According to the text" - we need to stick to what's explicitly stated
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The narrator couldn't remember what Radha Aunty looked like
- The photos would help visualize her current appearance
- This action was a direct response to the memory gap mentioned in the first sentence
He wants to use the photographs as inspiration for a story he is writing.
- Claims the narrator wants photos for story inspiration
- Nothing in the passage mentions writing or stories
- Completely unrelated to the narrator's actual motivation
He is curious about how his father dressed a long time ago.
- Focuses on how his father dressed in the past
- The passage shows the narrator looking specifically for information about Radha Aunty, not his father
He hopes the photographs will help him recall what his aunt looked like.
- Directly connects the narrator's inability to remember what Radha Aunty looked like with his decision to consult the photographs
- Matches the clear sequence: can't remember appearance, then looks at photos to help recall
He wants to remind his aunt of an event that is shown in an old photograph.
- Suggests the narrator wants to remind his aunt of something
- The aunt isn't even present (she's in America), so this makes no sense