ShmoopTube

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[ musical flourish ]

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And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by civil war.

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Because there's nothing more civil than lopping off the heads of your countrymen.

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Ever heard that song by Guns N Roses?

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[ singing ] Ain't no civil war

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[ singing indistinctly ]

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Boy, they were good in the day. Ask your parents about them. They really were.

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All right, you done reading?

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[ mumbles ]

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All right, we're done.

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In the context of the passage, which of the following words

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from the second paragraph does the speaker use with the least negative tone?

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And here are the potential answers.

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Okay, so this speaker appears to have a big bug up his butt.

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A lot of negativity coming from over here.

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Someone woke up on the wrong side of the castle, didn't they?

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The question's asking of these five words, which was used least negatively?

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Is it A - ambition?

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Well, ambition can be a good thing.

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Your parents keep telling your big brother they wish he had more of it.

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But it's not such a good thing here.

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The speaker says that it would inspire men to attain higher offices

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where they would wreak all kinds of havoc.

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So A is out.

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Aspire. Uh, no.

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It's part of the whole "aspire to office" thing the speaker is criticizing.

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So B ain't it, either.

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D, as in debauchery. [ chuckles ]

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Well, we're not sure in what universe "debauchery" would be used

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in a positive manner, unless maybe you've been invited to

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the Playboy Mansion or something like that.

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But that isn't the case here. In fact, it's mentioned in the same breath as

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indolence, also never a good thing.

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E - fitter?

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Well, here "fitter" means "better suited,"

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and the speaker is saying they're better suited for an easy life,

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so it's a burn indicating that these guys aren't cut out for battle.

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All right, which leaves C - superior.

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Well, this word could have been used negatively, but in this paragraph,

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it actually wasn't.

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He's just referring to high society.

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So C it is. And, for once, our speaker isn't being a negative Nancy.

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[ sigh ]

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