Question

from Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad "Do you see the story? Do you see anything? It seems to me I am trying to tell you a dream -- making a vain attempt, because no relation of a dream can convey the dream-sensation, that commingling of absurdity, surprise, and bewilderment in a tremor of struggling revolt, that notion of being captured by the incredible which is of the very essence of dreams. . . ." He was silent for a while. ". . . No, it is impossible; it is impossible to convey the life-sensation of any given epoch of one's existence -- that which makes its truth, its meaning -- its subtle and penetrating essence. It is impossible. We live, as we dream -- alone. . . ." What is the best way to summarize the central claim made in this passage? A) Nobody can really understand anyone else's story, because nobody knows what is really like to see from another's perspective. B) Life is like dreaming, and sometimes it is hard to tell where the one begins and the other ends. C) Dreams are weird and mysterious, and will never really be understood. D) One person's dreams could easily be another person's reality, and vice versa.

Answer 1

Answer:

The correct answer is A.

Explanation:

In this passage, the author is trying to convey the idea that personal experiences are hard to convey -just like dreams- because it is difficult to make the other person understand the perspective from which we experienced them.

This means that no one can trully understand other people's stories, since we do not have the necessary insight to see it from their point of view.

Answer 2

Answer:

A) Nobody can really understand anyone else's story, because nobody knows what it is really like to see from another's perspective.

Explanation:

Support in the text:

"Do you see the story? Do you see anything? ... No, it is impossible; it is impossible to convey the life-sensation of any given epoch of one's existence -- that which makes its truth, its meaning -- its subtle and penetrating essence. It is impossible. We live ... -- alone".