Freud's professional frustrations, and their political background in

Question

Freud's professional frustrations, and their political background in the growing anti-Semitism of Vienna in the Nineties, are reflected throughout his pivotal work,  The Interpretation of Dreams  . Political references abound both in the analyses of his own dreams that he used for illustrative purposes and in analogies he introduced to explain the dream work. To illustrate his principle that "a dream is a  disguised  fulfillment of a  suppressed  wish," Freud chose his Dream of the Uncle with the Yellow Beard. His analysis of that dream reveals a political wish to free himself from the fate of the Jews. This wish is disguised as a desire to "step into the minister's shoes," and by so doing eliminate his Jewish rivals and grant himself a promotion to a professorship. In the course of his analysis of the dream, Freud introduced a political analogy in order to explain the general principle of distortion, or disguise, of the wish in the dream work. The dream thought, or wish, confronts a "censor" in the dreamer's psyche, in the manner of "the political writer who has disagreeable truths to tell those in authority."   1 
 1. According to the passage, Freud's suppressed wish in the Dream of the Uncle With the Yellow Beard was to

(A) eliminate his Jewish rivals
(B) escape from political censorship
(C) reverse the rise of Austrian anti-Semitism
(D) secure an academic promotion
(E) free himself from the effects of anti-Semitism

2 
 2. The author's references to The Interpretation of Dreams support all of the following conclusions EXCEPT that

(A) politics can become the covert content of dreams
(B) dreams may express unacknowledged desires in a symbolic form
(C) Freud's understanding of his own dreams was subject to inevitable limitations
(D) the work played a crucial role in Freud's professional career
(E) Freud's writings reflect some of the political concerns of their time

3 
 3. Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the passage?

(A) Freud's writings reflect a concern with politics.
(B) Freud's central work is The Interpretation of Dreams .
(C) Freud wished to escape the effects of anti-Semitism.
(D) Freud wished to be promoted over his rivals to a professorship.
(E) Freud compared the dream thought with a political writer.

bM22 · Answer

3. Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the passage?

A) Freud's writings reflect a concern with politics.
 B) Freud's central work is The Interpretation of Dreams .
C) Freud wished to escape the effects of anti-Semitism.
D) Freud wished to be promoted over his rivals to a professorship.
E) Freud compared the dream thought with a political writer.

Correct Answer: A,
 Explanation: Can be inferred from the lines: "Freud's  professional frustrations, and their political background  in the growing anti-Semitism of Vienna in the Nineties, are reflected throughout his pivotal work, The Interpretation of Dreams .", implying that it was the concern with politics that also reflected in his dreams.
Other options are incorrect, since they are the either his work or the outcomes of the analysis of his dreams, and that cannot be counted as the central idea of the passage.

Thanks.

bM22 · Answer

1. According to the passage, Freud's suppressed wish in the Dream of the Uncle With the Yellow Beard was to

A) eliminate his Jewish rivals
B) escape from political censorship
C) reverse the rise of Austrian anti-Semitism
D) secure an academic promotion
 E) free himself from the effects of anti-Semitism

Correct Answer: E,
 Explanation: can be inferred from the lines: "Freud's professional frustrations, and their political background in the growing anti-Semitism of Vienna in the Nineties, are reflected throughout his pivotal work, The Interpretation of Dreams............His analysis of that dream reveals a political wish to free himself from the fate of the Jews ". The analysis of his dreams reveal that he was disturbed with the growing anti-Semitism and wanted to free himself from the same.
Other options are incorrect as they do not contribute to his suppressed wish in the dream but instead are the desires wants to fulfill with his dream of freeing himself from the fate of Jews.

2. The author's references to The Interpretation of Dreams support all of the following conclusions EXCEPT that

A) politics can become the covert content of dreams
B) dreams may express unacknowledged desires in a symbolic form
 C) Freud's understanding of his own dreams was subject to inevitable limitations
 D) the work played a crucial role in Freud's professional career
E) Freud's writings reflect some of the political concerns of their time

Correct Answer: C,
 Explanation: C is only option cannot be inferred from the passage. Rest of the options are mentioned in the passage.

Hope this Helps.
Thanks.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

2. The author's references to The Interpretation of Dreams support all of the following conclusions EXCEPT that

Read the Passage Strategically:

Here is an example of a Passage Map you could have created for this passage

Topic:  Freud's professional frustrations
 Scope:  Professional frustrations and their political background
 Purpose:  To describe the political references

Paragraph 1:  Analyses of his own dreams and in the analogies he introduced to explain the dream work

Analyze the Question Stem:

This is a Detail question, as it asks about specific references within the passage. Because this question asks  "The author's references to The Interpretation of Dreams support all of the following conclusions EXCEPT that"  the correct answer is the one that is not supported by the passage.

Research Relevant Text in the Passage:

The entire passage is about The Interpretation of Dreams, but the name of the work itself is found at the end of the first sentence, so that’s a good place to center our research when eliminating answers.

Make a Prediction:

All the incorrect answers will have evidence for them in the passage.

Evaluate the Answer Choices:

Choice (A)  is wrong. The passage states that a political issue (anti-Semitism in Vienna) was the covert content in Freud’s own dreams.

Choice (B)  is wrong. The passage details, with its example of the Dream of the Uncle, how a dream expresses unacknowledged desires in a symbolic form.

Answer  Choice (C) , however, is not supported by the passage and is thus the correct answer. The statement that Freud wouldn't be aware of the limitations of his own analysis is plausible but is not mentioned in the passage.

Choice (D)  is wrong. The passage refers to the work as "pivotal" in the first sentence.

Choice (E)  is also wrong. The passage’s first sentence directly states that political concerns are  "reflected throughout..The Interpretation of Dreams."

Answer: C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

1. According to the passage, Freud's suppressed wish in the Dream of the Uncle With the Yellow Beard was to

Explanation

Read the Passage Strategically:

Here is an example of a Passage Map you could have created for this passage

Topic:  Freud's professional frustrations

Scope:  Professional frustrations and their political background

Purpose:  To describe the political references

Paragraph 1:  Analyses of his own dreams and in the analogies he introduced to explain the dream work

Analyze the Question Stem:

This is a Detail question because it uses the phrase “According to the passage.” All the information we need to answer this question is in the passage.

Research Relevant Text in the Passage:

The passage’s mention of the Dream of the Uncle with the Yellow Beard is found about midway through the passage’s only paragraph.

Make a Prediction:

After stating that dreams are disguised fulfillments of suppressed wishes, the author says that Freud's Dream of the Uncle  "reveals a political wish"  on Freud's part  "to free himself from the fate of the Jews"  — namely, Vienna's  "growing anti-Semitism."

Evaluate the Answer Choices:

Choice (A)  is too extreme. This is a focus on an imagined outcome of Freud's dream, not on the suppressed wish that fuels it

Choice (B)  distorts a detail found in the passage. This is a distortion of the passage's last sentence, which describes the dreamer's psyche as containing a "censor."

Choice (C)  distorts a detail found in the passage. At the beginning of the passage the growing anti-Semitism of Vienna in the Nineties is introduced as a political background.

Choice (D)  is too extreme. The passage states it as a disguised political wish, not a way to advance himself.

Answer  Choice (E)  is directly supported by the passage. According to the passage, the dream reveals Freud's suppressed wish to personally avoid anti-Semitism.

Answer: E

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

2. The author's references to The Interpretation of Dreams support all of the following conclusions EXCEPT that

Explanation

Read the Passage Strategically:

Here is an example of a Passage Map you could have created for this passage

Topic:  Freud's professional frustrations

Scope:  Professional frustrations and their political background

Purpose:  To describe the political references

Paragraph 1:  Analyses of his own dreams and in the analogies he introduced to explain the dream work

Analyze the Question Stem:

This is a Detail question, as it asks about specific references within the passage. Because this question asks "The author's references to The Interpretation of Dreams support all of the following conclusions EXCEPT that" the correct answer is the one that is not supported by the passage.

Research Relevant Text in the Passage:

The entire passage is about The Interpretation of Dreams, but the name of the work itself is found at the end of the first sentence, so that’s a good place to center our research when eliminating answers.

Make a Prediction:

All the incorrect answers will have evidence for them in the passage.

Evaluate the Answer Choices:

Choice (A)  is wrong. The passage states that a political issue (anti-Semitism in Vienna) was the covert content in Freud’s own dreams.

Choice (B)  is wrong. The passage details, with its example of the Dream of the Uncle, how a dream expresses unacknowledged desires in a symbolic form.
 
Answer Choice (C) , however, is not supported by the passage, and is thus the correct answer. The statement that Freud wouldn't be aware of the limitations of his own analysis is plausible, but is not mentioned in the passage.

Choice (D)  is wrong. The passage refers to the work as "pivotal" in the first sentence.

Choice (E)  is also wrong. The passage’s first sentence directly states that political concerns are  "reflected throughout The Interpretation of Dreams."

Answer: C

Chadwik · Answer

Question 1:

According to the passage, Freud’s suppressed wish in the Dream of the Uncle with the Yellow Beard was to:

A) eliminate his Jewish rivals 
 B) escape from political censorship 
 C) reverse the rise of Austrian anti-Semitism 
 D) secure an academic promotion 
 E) free himself from the effects of anti-Semitism

⸻

Find the Direct Evidence in the Passage:

“His analysis of that dream reveals a political wish to free himself from the fate of the Jews. This wish is disguised as a desire to ‘step into the minister’s shoes,’ and by so doing eliminate his Jewish rivals and grant himself a promotion to a professorship.”

This gives us    two levels   : 
  •    Surface wish   : Step into the minister’s shoes → eliminate rivals + gain promotion 
  •    Deeper (suppressed) wish   :    Free himself from the fate of the Jews    (i.e., the oppression caused by anti-Semitism)

⸻ 
  •    (Opinion)   : Author explains Freud’s dream shows personal ambition    and    political frustration. 
  •    (Contradiction)   : Freud’s dream presents a    disguised    wish — not straightforward. 
  •    (Tone)   : Neutral, analytical. 
  •    (Awareness)   : The    real suppressed wish    was to    escape a political fate tied to anti-Semitism   . 
  •    (Avoid)   : Eliminate answers focusing only on    surface-level dream imagery   . 
  • (A) = Part of the disguise, not the real wish 
  • (D) = Also part of the disguise 
  • (E) = YES — matches the    deeper suppressed wish  
  •   (Eliminate)   : 
  • A, D → only refer to the    manifest content   , not the    latent wish  
  • B, C → out of scope or too broad

⸻ 
  Correct Answer: E

“Free himself from the effects of anti-Semitism.”

This matches    exactly    what the passage describes as Freud’s    true suppressed wish   , while A and D describe the    disguise (the dream’s manifest content)   .

Freud's professional frustrations, and their political background in

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Freud's professional frustrations, and their political background in

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