Question

He looked like a man cut away from the stake, when the fire has overrunningly wasted all the limbs without consuming them, or taking away one particle from their compacted aged robustness. His whole high, broad form, seemed made of solid bronze, and shaped in an unalterable mould, like Cellini’s cast Perseus. Which best states the theme that is developed in this excerpt?
a. man’s ability to exercise free will
b. the paralysis that fate inflicts on man
c. the flexibility of man’s intellect
d. man’s inability to impact nature

Answer 1

Answer:

B

Explanation:

The narrator talks about how the fire wasting a man that was tied to a stake. Assuming that the fire is symbolic for fate, it makes sense for this passage to describe parraylissis. Especially when looking in the context of the last sentence, describing the man as a "unalterable mold" "made of solid bronze" someone who is unaltered is unable to move, and solid bronze is unmovable by human hands after a certain amount is gathered. I was debating between A and D though, so I'll tell you why I didn't pick D. d refers to nature and mans lack of ability to change it, however where nature is involved in the passage (fire) the man doesn't try to shape or change it, it changes the man.