Question

Which statement best explains how Lowell uses the aquarium and the statue of Colonel Shaw as symbols?

Answer 1

Answer:

C) Both the aquarium and the monument are architectural structures that have been destroyed or almost destroyed, and are symbols for a decent past.

Explanation:

"For the Union Dead" is a seventeen stanza poem by Robert Lowell (1917 – 1977). Colonel Shaw was an abolitionist who fought for Union Army during American Civil War and commanded first all-black regiment.

Lowell starts the poem with his childhood memory of an old South Boston Aquarium built near Colonel Shaw's statue to increase its beauty. He mentions these and some other monuments as symbol of decent and traditional past in which men fought for equality and for American dream. But now in modern times, their sacrifices have faded since capitalism has taken hold of American society, and slavery to money has mode the society servile.