To some extent, Van Gogh began to dress like a street waif because A. he wanted to show his longing

To some extent, Van Gogh began to dress like a street waif because A. he wanted to show his longing for the up-class society. B. he regarded the polite society as hypocritical. C. the polite society was willing to take him as a member. D. he often lived a miserable life.

The most fitting answer is likely B. he regarded the polite society as hypocritical.

Here’s the reasoning:

Van Gogh intentionally adopted coarse, worn clothing not out of necessity alone (though he was often poor), but as a deliberate rejection of bourgeois norms and social conventions.

He saw the “polite society” of his time as artificial and dishonest in its values, and his personal style became a form of sincere self-expression and a protest against that hypocrisy.

Option A is opposite to his known attitudes — he identified with workers and peasants, not the upper class.

Option C is incorrect — polite society generally rejected him, and he did not seek conventional membership in it.

Option D (living a miserable life) was true, but doesn’t explain the choice to dress like a “street waif”; his clothing was part of his philosophical and artistic identity, not just a result of poverty.