Read the following passage, and answer the questions that follow: (91-95)
However, faced with this world of faithful and complicated objects, the child can only identify himself as owner. as user, never as creator, he does not invent the world. he uses it: there are. prepared for him, actions without adventure, without wonder, without joy. He is turned into a little stay-at-home householder who does not even have to invent the mainsprings of adult causality: they are supplied to him ready-made: he has only to help himself. he is never allowed to discover anything from start to finish. The merest set of blocks. provided it is not too refined, implies a very different learning of the world: then, the child does not in any way create meaningful objects, it matters little to him whether they have an adult class: the actions he performs are not those of a user but those of a demiurge. He creates forms which walk, which roll, he creates life. not property: objects now act by themselves; they are no longer an inert and complicated material in the palm of his hand. Roland Barthes “Toys” (Excerpt from Mythologies)
The word “demiurge” connotes
Correct Answer :
Their creative abilities
Solution :
The correct option is: Their creative abilities
Detailed Explanation:
To understand why "demiurge" connotes the child's creative abilities, we must examine the contrast Roland Barthes sets up in the passage:
1. The Child as a User/Consumer: With highly refined, ready-made adult toys, the child is reduced to an owner or user. The child does not invent or discover; they merely accept pre-packaged adult causality.
2. The Child as a Creator: When playing with a simple, unrefined set of blocks, the child's role shifts. Barthes writes that the child's actions become "those of a demiurge" because the child "creates forms which walk, which roll, he creates life, not property."
A demiurge (from the Greek demiurgos) historically refers to a deity or creative force responsible for fashioning and maintaining the physical universe. By using this word, Barthes elevates the child from a passive consumer to an active creator who shapes their own reality. Therefore, "demiurge" strongly connotes the children's active creative abilities to invent, construct, and bring new ideas to life.
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