noxious: harmful or injurious to health or physical well-being is <em>denotative</em> meaning. Option B is the correct one.
<em>To denote</em> means to represent. This refers to an objective meaning of the word. Noxious means poisonous. The meaning <em>harmful or injurious to health or physical well-being</em> is synonymous with poisonous. For example, smoking is <em>noxious.</em>
<em>To connote</em> means to add feelings or subjective interpretation to a word. For example, " The <em>noxious</em> look on her face made us feel uncertain."
This quote is trying to pass across a message that prove hate books now because of fear of knowledge which would lead to the downfall of mankind. It states that people would rather thrive in illusion fantasy by likening it to flowers living on flowers instead knowing the underlying factor behind the existence of the flower. People choosing to see the world the way they want it instead of seeing it the way it is.
