After several defeats in wars, Robert Bruce went in exile and wanted to commit suicide. Just before committing suicide, he came across a spider attempting tirelessly to have its net. Time and again, the spider failed but that did not deter it to refrain from making attempts. Such attempts by the spider made Bruce curious. Thus, Bruce started observing the near-impossible goal of the spider to have the net. Ultimately, the spider succeeded in having its net despite several failures. Such act of the spider encouraged Bruce not to commit suicide. And then, Bruce went back again and won many a battle, and the rest is history.
Which one of the following assertions is best supported by the above information?
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Answer: D
To find the assertion best supported by the passage, let us analyze the central theme of the narrative:
- The Situation: Robert Bruce faced severe adversity (multiple defeats in war and exile) and was on the verge of giving up hope entirely by contemplating suicide.
- The Turning Point: He observed a spider repeatedly failing but persistently trying to spin its net until it finally succeeded.
- The Outcome: This display of resilience inspired Bruce to abandon his thoughts of suicide, regain hope, and return to win his battles.
Let us evaluate the given options based on this context:
- Option A (Failure is the pillar of success): While the passage shows that persistence after failure leads to success, it does not address the core conflict of Bruce wanting to end his life due to despair.
- Option B (Honesty is the best policy) and Option C (Life begins and ends with adventures): These are completely irrelevant to the events described in the passage.
- Option D (No adversity justifies giving up hope): This directly addresses the central theme. Bruce's extreme adversity (defeats and exile) led him to lose hope (contemplate suicide). The spider's persistence taught him that no matter how difficult the circumstances, one must never lose hope.
Therefore, Option D is the most accurate and best-supported assertion.
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