Question

Use the summary of a story below to answer the question.

A woman discovers an old letter that tells a family secret. It turns out that the wealth the family has enjoyed for generations came from illegal activities. The woman agonizes over whether she should tell the rest of her family, who believe that their ancestors were honest shopkeepers. As she is mulling over this decision, a journalist contacts her. He is writing a newspaper article about the history of local businesses and wants to write about her ancestors. If the woman tells him the truth, it will embarrass her family. If she doesn’t, she will be perpetuating a lie. Finally, she decides not to speak to the journalist. Instead, she writes and publishes an article that reveals the truth about her ancestors and details a plan to use some of the family’s resources to help the community.
What is the central conflict of the story?

Responses

A woman writes an article that reveals the truth about her family.
A woman writes an article that reveals the truth about her family. - no response given

A woman finds an old letter and reads it.
A woman finds an old letter and reads it. - no response given

A woman must decide whether to tell the truth about the past.
A woman must decide whether to tell the truth about the past. - no response given

A journalist contacts a woman about a story he is writing.

Answer 1

A woman must decide whether to tell the truth about the past.

This captures the central moral conflict: she’s torn between exposing her ancestors’ crimes (and embarrassing her family) or keeping the lie to protect them.