A fact that draws our attention is that, according to his position in life, an…
2025
A fact that draws our attention is that, according to his position in life, an extravagant man is either admired or loathed. A successful business man does nothing to increase his popularity by being prudent with his money. A person who is wealthy is expected to lead a luxurious life and to be lavish with his hospitality. If he is not so, he is considered mean, and his reputation in business may even suffer in consequence. The paradox remains that if he had not been careful with his money in the first place, he would never have achieved his present wealth.
Among the low income group, a different set of values exists. The young clerk, who makes his wife a present of a new dress when he has not paid his house rent, is condemned as extravagant. Carefulness with money to the point of meanness is applauded as a virtue.
Nothing in his life is considered more worthy than paying his bills. The ideal wife for such a man separates her housekeeping money into joyless little piles – so much for rent, for food, for the children’s shoes; she is able to face the milkman with equanimity every month, satisfied with her economizing ways, and never knows the guilt of buying something she can’t really afford.
As for myself, I fall neither of these categories. If I have money to spare I can be extravagant, but when, as is usually the case, I am hard up and then I am the meanest man imaginable.
The word ‘paradox’ in the last sentence of the first paragraph means.
- A.
Statement based on the popular opinion
- B.
statement that seems self-contradictory but in reality expresses a possible truth.
- C.
Statement based on facts
- D.
A word that brings out the hidden meaning
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept
A paradox is a statement or situation that appears self-contradictory or absurd at first glance, but on closer examination reveals a coherent, possible truth. It is distinct from a mere popular opinion, a plain factual statement, or a device (like symbolism) that merely hides a meaning.
Application
In the passage, the businessman needed prudence with money to build his wealth in the first place, yet once wealthy he is expected to be lavish — continuing to be careful now gets him branded ‘mean’ and can even hurt his business reputation. Both demands — prudence built the wealth, extravagance is now expected — hold true at once, which is exactly the structure of a paradox: an apparent contradiction that nonetheless expresses a real truth.
Why the other options fall short
‘Statement based on the popular opinion’ — describes a widely-held view, with no reference to any contradiction; a paradox is about two conflicting ideas, not popular consensus.
‘Statement based on facts’ — describes an ordinary factual assertion; a paradox is defined by its apparent self-contradiction, not simply by being fact-based.
‘A word that brings out the hidden meaning’ — this describes symbolism or implication, a different literary device; a paradox does not hide its meaning, it openly holds two seemingly clashing ideas that are both true.