Treasure Island is an 1883 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. When the narrator was a child, his father ran a...

GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions

Source: Practice Test

Information and Ideas

Command of Evidence

EASY

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Treasure Island is an 1883 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. When the narrator was a child, his father ran a hotel. A mysterious sailor came to stay at the hotel. The narrator was frightened of the sailor, as can be seen when the narrator says, ______

Which quotation from Treasure Island most effectively illustrates the claim?

'I remember [the sailor] as if it were yesterday, as he came plodding to the inn door, his sea-chest following behind him in a hand-barrow.'

'[The sailor] was a very silent man by custom. All day he hung round the cove or upon the cliffs with a brass telescope.'

'All the time he lived with us [the sailor] made no change whatever in his dress but to buy some stockings from a hawker. One of the [corners] of his hat having fallen down, he let it hang from that day forth, though it was a great annoyance when it blew.'

'How [the sailor] haunted my dreams, I need scarcely tell you. On stormy nights, when the wind shook the four corners of the house and the surf roared along the cove and up the cliffs, I would see him in a thousand forms, and with a thousand diabolical expressions.'

Solution

Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage

Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table

Text from Passage	Analysis
'Treasure Island is an 1883 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson.'	What it says: 1883 novel by Stevenson What it does: Identifies the source work What it is: Context/attribution
'When the narrator was a child, his father ran a hotel.'	What it says: narrator = child, father = hotel owner What it does: Establishes the setting and narrator's background What it is: Background context
'A mysterious sailor came to stay at the hotel.'	What it says: mystery sailor stays at hotel What it does: Introduces the key character What it is: Character introduction
'The narrator was frightened of the sailor, as can be seen when the narrator says, ______'	What it says: narrator = scared of sailor, evidence follows What it does: States the main claim and sets up the need for supporting evidence What it is: Claim requiring evidence

Main Point: We need to find a quotation that demonstrates the narrator's fear of the mysterious sailor who stayed at his father's hotel.

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 correct quotation should clearly show the narrator's emotional response of fear toward the sailor
We need language that demonstrates fear through the narrator's thoughts, feelings, or reactions—not just neutral descriptions of the sailor's appearance or actions
The best evidence would include words related to fear, anxiety, or distress

Answer Choices Explained

'I remember [the sailor] as if it were yesterday, as he came plodding to the inn door, his sea-chest following behind him in a hand-barrow.'

✗ Incorrect

This describes the sailor's arrival in purely factual terms with no emotional response or fear mentioned

'[The sailor] was a very silent man by custom. All day he hung round the cove or upon the cliffs with a brass telescope.'

✗ Incorrect

Describes the sailor's behavior but doesn't show the narrator's fearful reaction

✗ Incorrect

Focuses on the sailor's appearance with no emotional content from the narrator

✓ Correct

Contains direct emotional language showing the narrator's ongoing fear through nightmares and disturbing mental images

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