Question

In "The Fallacy of Success," Chesterton writes that the biographer of Vanderbilt "merely wished to prostrate himself before the mystery of a millionaire." This metaphor suggests that Chesterton views the biographer as ____.

1. a friend who sees only Vanderbilt's good qualities
2. an historian who exaggerates Vanderbilt's importance
3. a liar who deliberately misquotes Vanderbilt and his admirers
4. an author who worships wealth rather than reports on Vanderbilt

Answer 1

A

A is not correct. Vanderbilt is not seen as a friend, nor is he mentioned as one. We only have this paragraph to go by. There is no friendship here.

B

Maybe. This could be the second best answer, but it is certainly not the best answer. We do not know if the writer of the biography is a historian. We cannot choose what we do not know.

C

Same reasoning as the first two. There are no quotations (misquoted or otherwise) to judge Vanderbuilt.

D

That really only leaves us with D. Money is involved in the quotation, so that much is at least true.

I would pick D.