Read the quote from Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique . Sometimes a woman would say “I feel empty somehow . . . incomplete.” Or she would say, “I feel as if I don’t exist.” Sometimes she blotted out the feeling with a tranquilizer. Which best describes the connotation of “blotted” in the excerpt?
Answer
A
It has a negative connotation, because it implies women were merely temporarily lessening the feelings of emptiness.
B
It has a positive connotation, because it implies the emptiness was able to be replaced with happiness.
C
It has a negative connotation, because it implies women were actually strengthening the feelings of emptiness.
D
It has a positive connotation, because it implies the women were able to erase the feelings of emptiness.
Explanation
“Blotted out” suggests covering up or suppressing a feeling, rather than resolving it. The tranquilizer may make the emptiness feel less noticeable for a while, but it does not replace it with happiness or make it disappear permanently. Therefore, “blotted” has a negative connotation because it implies women were only temporarily lessening their feelings of emptiness.
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