Tone Based Questions - 2 | English for CLAT PDF Download

Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
Friedan thought that these students would live to regret not taking advantage of their education, because they would have no resources for pursuing work or other activities outside the home. “Perhaps the girls might listen to 200 women who are leading the very lives they want to lead—the women of my own Smith generation,” she concluded her article. “We could tell the pretty girls of Smith ’59 and ’60—and all the other girls on all the other campuses who are wasting their time in college today—that they have it all wrong  … I think it’s high time someone questioned the truth of this picture that is making the girls waste time in college.”76 It’s not hard to see why this article was rejected by McCall’s, Ladies’ Home Journal, and Redbook.  
Friedan was not saying that suburban housewives were frustrated. She was saying that contemporary women college students were mindless. She was attacking the next generation of subscribers. In the Smith alumnae magazine, Friedan reported that, based on the questionnaire, the education she and her classmates received had not prevented them from achieving sexual fulfillment or enjoying motherhood.
A majority of her respondents reported that they were “not frustrated” as housewives; 74 percent said they had “satisfying interests beyond our homes or within ourselves—the serious interests our education gave us.” Their only regret was that they had not worked harder in college.77 By the time that article appeared, the manuscript of The Feminine Mystique was almost finished.
Friedan originally had a very different book in mind. It was to be called “The Togetherness Woman,” and was designed as an attack on this product of what she called “the sexual counter-revolution.” The term “togetherness” derived from McCall’s, which in 1954 started calling itself “the magazine of togetherness.” Editorially, the idea was that McCall’s would be a magazine for the nuclear family as a whole, not just the housewife.
This was, of course, a strategy to attract advertisers by providing a wider readership base. Friedan thought that the term captured the trap she saw Smith students entering. In a book proposal, she explained that “The Togetherness Woman” would make “the heretical suggestion that ‘togetherness’ is a form of revenge—women making their husbands share the meaningless tasks of their role.” It’s easy to see what was happening.
At her reunion, Friedan had been confronted with young women who identified self-fulfillment as “togetherness” and who saw their education as a way station to marriage. What shocked her was that these women were not being coerced into an unfulfilling life. They wanted that life. They had a very clear picture of what it would be like, including the probability that it would require some pretense of subordination to their husbands, and they were actively choosing it.
Q1: What tone does Betty Friedan adopt when discussing the attitudes of women college students towards their education in the context?
(a) Indifferent
(b) Optimistic
(c) Critical
(d) Supportive
Ans: (c)
Sol: Friedan expresses a critical tone towards the attitudes of women college students, particularly those at Smith College. She views their approach to education as misguided and believes they are not fully utilizing their educational opportunities, instead focusing on a future of domesticity. This critical stance is evident in her suggestion that these students would later regret not making the most of their education.

Q2: In the context, how does Friedan's tone reflect her views on the 'togetherness' concept popularized by McCall’s magazine?
(a) Approving
(b) Sceptical
(c) Enthusiastic
(d) Neutral
Ans: (b)
Sol: Friedan’s tone is sceptical regarding the concept of 'togetherness.' She perceives it as a trap for women, leading them away from individual fulfillment and towards a life centered around the nuclear family. This scepticism is highlighted in her view that 'togetherness' is a strategy to attract advertisers rather than genuinely beneficial for women.

Q3: Which tone does Friedan use when describing the initial reactions of Smith alumnae to their life choices based on her questionnaire?
(a) Dismissive
(b) Reflective
(c) Pessimistic
(d) Amused
Ans: (b)
Sol: Friedan adopts a reflective tone when discussing the responses of Smith alumnae. She notes that many were not frustrated with their roles as housewives and had interests nurtured by their education. This reflective tone suggests a nuanced understanding of the alumnae's experiences, which do not entirely align with her criticisms of contemporary college students.

Q4: What tone does Friedan exhibit towards the concept of 'The Togetherness Woman' as a book idea?
(a) Inspirational
(b) Condemnatory
(c) Inquisitive
(d) Ambivalent
Ans: (b)
Sol: Friedan's tone is condemnatory towards the concept of 'The Togetherness Woman.' She originally intended this book to be an attack on what she called “the sexual counter-revolution,” indicating strong disapproval of the societal norms that the term 'togetherness' represented.

Q5: In the context, Friedan's tone while addressing the future of young women choosing a life of 'togetherness' can be best described as:
(a) Resigned
(b) Alarmed
(c) Disdainful
(d) Curious
Ans: (b)
Sol: Friedan's tone is one of alarm when discussing the future of young women who choose a life of 'togetherness.' She is shocked and concerned that these women are actively opting for a life she views as unfulfilling, despite being aware of its implications, including "pretense of subordination to their husbands." This tone reflects her concern about the choices these young women are making.