Answer:
D. He uses metaphor to portray the government as something driven by greed and evil.
Explanation:
Option D is the correct answer.
Looking at the excerpt, we see that Thoreau actually uses metaphor. He likens the government as a machine. As all machines have their friction, there is need for some good in order to counterbalance the evil. The author sees that when the friction comes is likened to when oppression and robbery are set in and organized.
Metaphor is actually a figure speech that is used to compare two things. It is done without the use of "as" and "like".
According to the excerpt, the option that identifies an implicit meaning one could draw from it would be the second one: "Locke is unfamiliar with the term <em>idea</em>".
In the excerpt, Locke is not asking what Idea is nor is he being uncertain about the relationship between speculative and practical ideas. He seems to never heard it before and the exact meaning fades away.
That's why he asks what it represents and not its definition or for someone to repeat the explanation. He just needs an example to clarify the boundaries of the <em>idea's</em> meaning.
1. look over it quickly to get a sense of its contents.
