PrepTest 115, Section 3, Question 13
Fairy tales address themselves to two communities, each(459 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- AOnly those trained(10 more words not shown)
- BOnly adults are(10 more words not shown)
- COnly one of(12 more words not shown)
- DThe meanings we(15 more words not shown)
- EThe latent meanings(10 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
We need a principle behind the account of interpretation, rather than another description of a plot event. I don't have a definite prediction here. Let's check what the writer says about why Bettelheim reads stories as he does and why other readers might read them differently.
Working the answers
- A
The writer never makes formal training a requirement for finding hidden meanings.
- B
Nor are we told that only adults have the psychological maturity to find them. Discussing adult readers doesn't exclude children from doing so.
- C
Criticizing Bettelheim's interpretation doesn't establish that every story has exactly one correct meaning. We aren't given that rule.
- DCorrect
The third paragraph compares his readings with those of people who have “different cultural assumptions and expectations.” They construct different meanings and don't necessarily find his rigid moral lessons. That comparison supports the principle that what readers bring to a story influences what they find in it.
- E
This shifts from the reader's interpretation to the writer's intention. We're not told that every latent meaning was deliberately planted by the author.
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