Q23

 
lhermary
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Q23

by lhermary Mon May 28, 2012 3:37 pm

Why is C right and D wrong? I'm look at 24-28 as to why D is right.
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Re: Q23

by ohthatpatrick Fri Jun 01, 2012 1:58 pm

Let's make sure we're on the same page in terms of our conversational understanding of the passage, before we deal with their terribly worded answer choices. :)

The "recent criticism" basically says that Jewett was writing domestic novels (of the type popular in the early/mid 1800's).

Our author thinks these critics are wrong. Even though there are some similarities to domestic novels (as our author enumerates in the 1st paragraph), there are very important differences, which the author ultimately attributes to the fact that by the time Jewett was writing in the late 1800's, the concept of what a novel was supposed to be/accomplish had changed.

(C) is correct because everything in it is accurate. The passage does admit that the critics' claim has some merit (lines 4-7), but the rest of the passage goes on to support that the critics' claim is wrong.

(D) is incorrect because it has some inaccurate phrases.
It says that the critics' view "relies on a currently dominant literary aesthetic".

Where in the passage do we hear about a "currently dominant literary aesthetic"?

What we do hear about is that one dominant literary aesthetic in the early 1800's was that of the domestic novel "instructive, religious, family-based", and then we hear about a transition in the late 1800's into a different literary aesthetic.

But we never speak of a current literary aesthetic.

Also, the phrase "too narrow a view of the proper goals of fiction" seems a bit loaded and opinionated.

The line reference you cited talks about "different conceptions of the nature and purpose of fiction". It never says that one of those conceptions is "too narrow" or "has improper goals".

The passage is just saying that the goals of the domestic novel were different from those of the late 1800's novel, and suggesting that critics' view Jewett's work from the latter perspective.

Hope this helps.
 
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Re: Q23

by timsportschuetz Wed Nov 27, 2013 3:08 am

Can someone please provide a more in-depth explanation of why (D) is wrong? I interpreted the very last two sentences of the passage to directly align with (D). The author states that more weight should be given to assessing affinities - hence, the critics seem to be taking "too narrow a view".
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Re: Q23

by ohthatpatrick Sat Nov 30, 2013 2:59 pm

I'm happy to talk about the last couple sentences, but let me first just pose these questions:
Did the passage mention a 'currently' dominant literary aesthetic?
Did the passage discuss the 'proper' goals of fiction?

Since the answer to both of those questions is 'No', this answer is unsupported. The reason I bring this us up is that many students make RC answer choices harder on themselves by trying to focus on what they LIKE about an answer choice, when 80% (4 out of 5) of what we're doing is finding something we DON'T LIKE about an answer choice.

=====

The 2nd to last sentence has the author saying that Jewett's work should be interpreted as an end in itself, not as a means to an end.

(the author believes that Jewett was trying to write novels as autonomous works of art, while critics think that Jewett was writing domestic novels, which not only served as novels but also as parenting guides and religious tracts)

So if anything, the critics' interpretation is too BROAD, not too narrow.

(But, really, the passage doesn't have anything to do with narrow vs. broad ... it's just a debate between "Is Jewett writing domestic novels or not?")

In regards to the last sentence, the author is NOT saying that more weight should be placed on assessing affinities.

The author is saying that as critics assess affinities (evaluate similarities) between Jewett's novels and domestic novels, they should place LESS weight on the superficial similarities between Jewett's novels and domestic novels (i.e. the fact that her novels also largely take place in a home and don't deal that much with men) and should place MORE weight on the 'fundamental difference': that Jewett was writing novels from the "pure art" / "high-cultural" conception of fiction, not as a domestic novel.

If you suggest to someone that they place LESS weight on this factor and MORE weight on that factor, you're not accusing someone of thinking too narrowly. You're just saying "this vs. that".

Hope this helps.