Kew Gardens by Virginia Wolff Long pauses came between each of these remarks; they were uttered in toneless and monotonous voices. The couple stood still on the edge of the flower bed, and together pressed the end of her parasol deep down into the soft earth. The action and the fact that his hand rested on the top of hers expressed their feelings in a strange way, as these short insignificant words also expressed something, words with short wings for their heavy body of meaning, inadequate to carry them far and thus alighting awkwardly upon the very common objects that surrounded them, and were to their inexperienced touch so massive; but who knows (so they thought as they pressed the parasol into the earth) what precipices aren't concealed in them, or what slopes of ice don't shine in the sun on the other side? Who knows? Who has ever seen this before? Even when she wondered what sort of tea they gave you at Kew, he felt that something loomed up behind her words, and stood vast and solid behind them; and the mist very slowly rose and uncovered—O, Heavens, what were those shapes?—little white tables, and waitresses who looked first at her and then at him; and there was a bill that he would pay with a real two shilling piece, and it was real, all real, he assured himself, fingering the coin in his pocket, real to everyone except to him and to her; even to him it began to seem real; and then—but it was too exciting to stand and think any longer, and he pulled the parasol out of the earth with a jerk and was impatient to find the place where one had tea with other people, like other people. "Come along, Trissie; it's time we had our tea." "Wherever does one have one's tea?" she asked with the oddest thrill of excitement in her voice, looking vaguely round and letting herself be drawn on down the grass path, trailing her parasol, turning her head this way and that way, forgetting her tea, wishing to go down there and then down there, remembering orchids and cranes among wild flowers, a Chinese pagoda and a crimson crested bird; but he bore her on. "Kew Gardens" by Virginia Woolf A Cup of Tea by Katherine Mansfield Rosemary had been married two years. She had a duck of a boy. No, not Peter—Michael. And her husband absolutely adored her. They were rich, really rich, not just comfortably well off, which is odious and stuffy and sounds like one’s grandparents. But if Rosemary wanted to shop she would go to Paris as you and I would go to Bond Street. If she wanted to buy flowers, the car pulled up at that perfect shop in Regent Street, and Rosemary inside the shop just gazed in her dazzled, rather exotic way, and said: “I want those and those and those. Give me four bunches of those. And that jar of roses. Yes, I’ll have all the roses in the jar. No, no lilac. I hate lilac. It’s got no shape.” The attendant bowed and put the lilac out of sight, as though this was only too true; lilac was dreadfully shapeless. “Give me those stumpy little tulips. Those red and white ones.” And she was followed to the car by a thin shopgirl staggering under an immense white paper armful that looked like a baby in long clothes.... "A Cup of Tea" by Katherine Mansfield Question Use the passages to answer the question. Which of the following summarizes how both passages support the theme of social class and its impact on a person’s sense of reality? (1 point) Responses A person’s social class can impact the way they see the reality by impacting their sense of nature. Someone of a lower social class may feel that nature is glorious and exciting. Someone of an upper social class may feel that nature is full of flaws, like “stumpy” tulips. A person’s social class can impact the way they see the reality by impacting their sense of nature. Someone of a lower social class may feel that nature is glorious and exciting. Someone of an upper social class may feel that nature is full of flaws, like “stumpy” tulips. A person’s social class can impact how they see reality by alienating them from the people around them. Someone of a lower class can feel like even nature is at odds with them. Someone of an upper class can feel uncomfortable around people who serve them, like shopkeepers and servants. They’re afraid of being judged. A person’s social class can impact how they see reality by alienating them from the people around them. Someone of a lower class can feel like even nature is at odds with them. Someone of an upper class can feel uncomfortable around people who serve them, like shopkeepers and servants. They’re afraid of being judged. A person’s social class can impact the way they see other people. Someone of a lower social class may see people of an upper class as being “heavenly,” and having perfect grace and harmony. Someone of an upper class might fail to see those who serve them, like shopgirls, as human beings. A person’s social class can impact the way they see other people. Someone of a lower social class may see people of an upper class as being “heavenly,” and having perfect grace and harmony. Someone of an upper class might fail to see those who serve them, like shopgirls, as human beings. A person’s social class can impact the way characters see the circumstances around them. When one is of a lower social class, they may get overly excited about being involved in rituals of the upper classes, like tea time. When one is of an upper social class, daily customs like shopping can become dazzling adventures.
1 answer
The best response that summarizes how both passages support the theme of social class and its impact on a person’s sense of reality is:
A person’s social class can impact the way characters see the circumstances around them. When one is of a lower social class, they may get overly excited about being involved in rituals of the upper classes, like tea time. When one is of an upper social class, daily customs like shopping can become dazzling adventures.
This response captures the essence of both passages, highlighting how the characters' perspectives and reactions to their surroundings are influenced by their social class. In "Kew Gardens," the couple's excitement about having tea reflects a sense of wonder associated with experiences that may be tied to a lower class seeking engagement with upper-class rituals. In "A Cup of Tea," Rosemary's extravagant shopping experiences illustrate how her upper-class status turns mundane activities into extraordinary events, reinforcing the divide in how each class perceives and interacts with the world around them.