Read the excerpt from "Pilgrimage.” At the museum, we marvel at their clothes— preserved under glass—so much smaller than our own, as if those who wore them were only children. We sleep in their beds, the old mansions hunkered on the bluffs, draped in flowers—funereal—a blur of petals against the river’s gray. The brochure in my room calls this living history. The brass plate on the door reads Prissy’s Room . A window frames The river’s crawl toward the Gulf. In my dream, The ghost of history lies down beside me, rolls over, pins me beneath a heavy arm. What does this excerpt express about the impact of the past on the present?
Answer
A
Learning about history can help humanity avoid past mistakes.
B
The past should be viewed and experienced without emotion.
C
The legacy of the past leaves important marks on the present.
D
Humanity must progress forward to the present from the past.
Explanation
The speaker encounters the past through the preserved clothes, old mansions, and a room identified as Prissy’s. In the dream, history becomes a ghost that lies beside and pins the speaker down, suggesting that the past continues to affect people in the present. This supports C, that the legacy of the past leaves important marks on the present.
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