Question

Together we stepped out to stand in silent contemplation of a landscape at once weird and beautiful. Before us a low and level shore stretched down to a silent sea. As far as the eye could reach the surface of the water was dotted with countless tiny isles—some of towering, barren, granitic rock—others resplendent in gorgeous trappings of tropical vegetation, myriad starred with the magnificent splendor of vivid blooms.
3 Behind us rose a dark and forbidding wood of giant arborescent ferns intermingled with the commoner types of a primeval tropical forest. Huge creepers depended in great loops from tree to tree, dense under-brush overgrew a tangled mass of fallen trunks and branches. Upon the outer verge we could see the same splendid coloring of countless blossoms that glorified the islands, but within the dense shadows all seemed dark and gloomy as the grave.

Which MOST COMPLETELY analyzes this excerpt for a comment about life?

A) Beauty is kind and inviting.
B) Nature is evil and forbidding.
C) There is no risk in following beauty.
D) What appears beautiful can also be deadly.

Answer 1

Answer: The right answer is the D) What appears beautiful can also be deadly.

Explanation: Just to elaborate a little on the answer, it can be added that in this excerpt from At the Earth's Core (1914) the two characters, Perry and David, are looking at a landscape that both captivates and puzzles them. What they first saw was calm, inviting, and beautiful (notice the words he is using: silent, resplendent, gorgeous, magnificent splendor). However, just upon turning their backs they saw something completely different: dark, forbidding, tangled, dark, and gloomy. Since they are asking you to choose an idea that analyses the excerpt for a comment about life in general, and not so much about nature, I believe this is the most suitable one—although the excerpt does suggest that nature can be evil and forbidding. Things can appear beautiful but they can be deadly. Perry and David just had to turn their backs to go from a view of a calm shore to one of a dark, gloomy, and forbidding space.  

Answer 2

Your answer would be "D" because it explained everything is beautiful but at the end it said, "But within the dense shadows, all seemed dark and gloomy as the grave." Hope this helps!