'The Young Girl' is a 1920 short story by Katherine Mansfield. In the story, the narrator takes an unnamed seventeen-year-old...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
'The Young Girl' is a 1920 short story by Katherine Mansfield. In the story, the narrator takes an unnamed seventeen-year-old girl and her younger brother out for a meal. In describing the teenager, Mansfield frequently contrasts the character's pleasant appearance with her unpleasant attitude, as when Mansfield writes of the teenager, ______
Which quotation from 'The Young Girl' most effectively illustrates the claim?
'I heard her murmur, 'I can't bear flowers on a table.' They had evidently been giving her intense pain, for she positively closed her eyes as I moved them away.'
'While we waited she took out a little, gold powder-box with a mirror in the lid, shook the poor little puff as though she loathed it, and dabbed her lovely nose.'
'I saw, after that, she couldn't stand this place a moment longer, and, indeed, she jumped up and turned away while I went through the vulgar act of paying for the tea.'
'She didn't even take her gloves off. She lowered her eyes and drummed on the table. When a faint violin sounded she winced and bit her lip again. Silence.'
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'The Young Girl' is a 1920 short story by Katherine Mansfield. |
|
| In the story, the narrator takes an unnamed seventeen-year-old girl and her younger brother out for a meal. |
|
| In describing the teenager, Mansfield frequently contrasts the character's pleasant appearance with her unpleasant attitude, |
|
Main Point:
The passage explains that Mansfield uses a specific literary technique of contrasting the teenager's pleasant appearance with her unpleasant attitude.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The right answer should mention something about the teenager's physical appearance that's described positively
- Also show her attitude or behavior that comes across as unpleasant or negative
- Ideally have these two elements appear close together to create a clear contrast
'I heard her murmur, 'I can't bear flowers on a table.' They had evidently been giving her intense pain, for she positively closed her eyes as I moved them away.'
- Shows her extreme reaction to flowers but doesn't mention her appearance at all
- Missing the "pleasant appearance" half of the contrast
'While we waited she took out a little, gold powder-box with a mirror in the lid, shook the poor little puff as though she loathed it, and dabbed her lovely nose.'
- Shows her treating the powder puff harshly while also mentioning her "lovely nose" in the same sentence
- Perfect contrast: unpleasant attitude plus pleasant appearance
'I saw, after that, she couldn't stand this place a moment longer, and, indeed, she jumped up and turned away while I went through the vulgar act of paying for the tea.'
- Focuses on her impatience and discomfort but says nothing about her physical appearance
- Only gives us half the contrast
'She didn't even take her gloves off. She lowered her eyes and drummed on the table. When a faint violin sounded she winced and bit her lip again. Silence.'
- Lists several unpleasant behaviors but no description of her appearance
- Missing the appearance component entirely