Read the following passage and answer the questions that follows:
Poetry in its use of language continually distorts and denies the structure of reality to exalt the structure of the selF) By means of rhyme, assonance or alliteration it couples together words which have no rational connection, that is, no nexus through the world of external reality. It breaks the word up into lines of arbitrary length, cutting across their logical construction. It breaks down their associations, derived from the world of external reality, by means of inversion and every variety of artificial stressing and counterpoint. Thus the world of external reality recedes and the world of instinct, the affective emotional linkage behind the words, becomes the world of reality… In the novel, too, the subjective elements are valued for themselves, and rise to view, but in a different way. The novel blots out external reality by substituting a more or less consistent mock reality which has sufficient ‘stuff’ to stand between the reader and reality. This means that in the novel the emotional associations attach not to words but to the moving current of mock reality symbolised by the words. This is why rhythm, ‘preciousness’, and style are alien to the novel; why the novel translates so well; why novels are not composed of words. They are composed of scenes, actions, stuff, people, just as plays arE)
What does Caudwell imply by the statement: “The novel blots out external reality by substituting a more or less consistent mock reality which has sufficient ‘stuff’ to stand between the reader and reality”?
Correct Answer :
The implication is that the reality of fiction has no existence independent of the words, and our emotional responses are directed by the words
Solution :
The correct option is: The implication is that the reality of fiction has no existence independent of the words, and our emotional responses are directed by the words
Step-by-step Explanation:
1. Analyze the passage's description of the novel:
The passage states: "The novel blots out external reality by substituting a more or less consistent mock reality which has sufficient ‘stuff’ to stand between the reader and reality. This means that in the novel the emotional associations attach not to words but to the moving current of mock reality symbolised by the words."
2. Deconstruct the mock reality and the role of words:
The "mock reality" in a novel is constructed entirely by the text. It has no independent existence outside of the words written by the author. Since this mock reality is "symbolised by the words," the reader's emotional connection and responses to the characters, actions, and scenes (the "stuff") are ultimately directed and mediated by those very words.
3. Why this option is correct:
The statement implies that the fictional world (the mock reality) exists solely because the words evoke it, and therefore our emotional responses to this fictional world are guided and directed by the choice and arrangement of those words.
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