Question

Read this passage: "How can I get at it?" thought Kovaloff. "Everything the uniform, the hat, and so on show that it is a state-councillor. How the deuce has that happened?" He began to cough discreetly near it, but the nose paid him not the least attention. "Honourable sir," said Kovaloff at last, plucking up courage, "honourable sir." "What do you want?" asked the nose, and turned round. "It seems to me strange, most respected sir you should know where you belong and I find you all of a sudden where? Judge yourself." "Pardon me, I do not understand what you are talking about. Explain yourself more distinctly." Nikolai Gogol, "The Nose" What evidence from the text gives you the impression that Kovaloff is intimidated by his nose? A. He has to gather his courage before he is able to speak to the nose. B. He is unable to say anything, and the nose leaves in confusion. C. He kisses the nose's hand and tells him how happy he is to meet him. D. He fearfully asks the nose if it is alright if he asks it a question.

Answer 1

Answer:

A. He has to gather his courage before he is able to speak to the nose.

Explanation:

In the Nose, the strange and humorous story written by Gogol, the main character (Kovaloff) wakes up one day to find that he no longer is in possession of his own nose and, later, he finds out that the nose has been around in town and, socially, it seems to be more successful than Kovaloff himself. In the passage above, one can see that Kovaloff is intimidated by the nose since he ponders the social standing that the nose seems to have earned so quickly, and this makes him nervous and insecure, so much so that he has to gather his courage to barely mutter a few questions to it.