Question

Read the excerpt from The Feminine Mystique. But on an April morning in 1959, I heard a mother of four, having coffee with four other mothers in a suburban development fifteen miles from New York, say in a tone of quiet desperation, "the problem." And the others knew, without words, that she was not talking about a problem with her husband, or her children, or her home. Suddenly they realized they all shared the same problem, the problem that has no name.

Which best describes the connotation of the word "desperation"?

A.negative, because the woman is feeling confused
B.negative, because the woman is expressing hopelessness
C.positive, because the woman is expressing herself
D.positive, because the woman and the mothers are in agreement

Answer 1

The answer is: B.negative, because the woman is expressing hopelessness.

Step-by-step explanation:

Let's start by discarding the other options first...

Letter A is not possible, as she's completely aware of what's she's saying, just like the rest of the women, no confusion from anyone. Letters C and D aren't possible, as "positivity" doesn't quite relates to this words, it's actually the opposite, also, the fact that they're all in agreement, doesn't mean it's positive, at the end, they're there for a reason, she feels she can trust them as she possibly has trusted other things in the past, just as the fact of expressiong herself.

Finally, the second option is the most suitable, as actually "desperation" means "hopelessness", "recklessness", in addition to the fact that she is talking about "the problem" which implies a negative feeling.