Question

Which statement best explains how Lowell uses the aquarium and the statue of Colonel Shaw as symbols?

a) Neither the aquarium nor the monument are able to stand the test of time because they are man-made symbols, as only natural things can endure.

b) The aquarium that has been destroyed is a symbol for the natural, beautiful things that are destroyed, while Shaw's statue is a symbol of the future.

c) Both the aquarium and the monument are architectural structures that have been destroyed or almost destroyed, and are symbols for a decent past.

d) The monument to Colonel Shaw was a symbol for the Civil Rights movement, and was replaced by the aquarium, which is merely a commercial enterprise.

Answer 1

C) Both the aquarium and the monument are architectural structures that have been destroyed or almost destroyed, and are symbols for a decent past.

Step-by-step explanation:

"For the Union Dead" is a seventeen stanza poem by Robert Lowell (1917 – 1977). Colonel Shaw was an abolitionist who fought for Union Army during American Civil War and commanded first all-black regiment.

Lowell starts the poem with his childhood memory of an old South Boston Aquarium built near Colonel Shaw's statue to increase its beauty. He mentions these and some other monuments as symbol of decent and traditional past in which men fought for equality and for American dream. But now in modern times, their sacrifices have faded since capitalism has taken hold of American society, and slavery to money has mode the society servile.