Read the excerpt from Anthem . Perhaps they cried out in protest and in warning. But men paid no heed to their warning. And they, these few, fought a hopeless battle, and they perished with their banners smeared by their own blood. And they chose to perish, for they knew. To them, I send my salute across the centuries, and my pity. The imagery of “a hopeless battle” helps to develop the theme that group thinking limits man’s potential because it
Answer
A
suggests that the group with the larger numbers always wins the battle.
B
depicts the collective society as a destructive force that represses the independent thinker.
C
gives details of how violent societies can be when faced with overwhelming obstacles.
D
implies that the narrator will also be killed for questioning authority.
Explanation
The phrase “a hopeless battle” describes the struggle of a few people against the larger collective, which ignores their warnings and ultimately causes their deaths. This imagery supports the idea that a society built on group thinking represses independent people and their potential. Choice D captures that destructive force; the excerpt does not say the narrator will also be killed.
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