PrepTest 119, Section 3, Question 15
Critic: Works of literature often present protagonists who(68 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- ASome individuals in(15 more words not shown)
- BIt is to(14 more words not shown)
- CSome individuals must(16 more words not shown)
- DThe aesthetic merit(14 more words not shown)
- EModern literature is(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
The characters are opting out. They don't want to help their society, and modern literature is more likely to portray them sympathetically. The critic worries that readers will adopt that attitude too.
Would a sympathetic character really change someone's sense of responsibility? I'd want more evidence before predicting that a book would transform a committed citizen. But look at how modest the conclusion is. The critic says this literature can cause damage, not that every reader changes or that society is about to collapse. The argument concerns people who do adopt the attitude, so merely observing that other readers resist it wouldn't answer the claim.
What we’re looking for
I'm not seeing a precise missing link yet. For the required-assumption question, let's test the choices against what the critic needs in order to get from the attitude to the claimed damage. An answer must be something the argument depends on, not just another criticism of modern literature. The conclusion mentions damage both to individuals and to society; keep both parts in view.
Working the answers
- A
We don't need anyone in an earlier era to have cared more than every modern person. The critic compares how literature treats a kind of character, then identifies a possible harmful effect. That effect could occur even if today's most civic-minded people were just as committed as anyone in the past.
- BCorrect
Here is the connection to the individuals. The argument treats losing concern for the societal good as something that can harm the people who adopt that attitude. It therefore depends on such concern being beneficial to at least some individuals.
Otherwise, why count adopting the unconcerned attitude as damage to those people? It might affect other members of society, but we would still lack the proposed harm to the readers themselves. B supplies a benefit they can lose. It doesn't say every civic-minded person benefits or that every reader of a sympathetic portrayal becomes worse off.
- C
People can care about improving a society without believing it is better than most others. They might contribute precisely because they think it has serious problems. The critic doesn't need concern for society to depend on ranking it above other societies.
- D
The issue is what literature can do to readers and society, not how to judge its artistic quality. A beautifully written book could have the harmful effect the critic describes. The argument needn't make artistic merit depend on moral effects in order to identify that possible harm.
- E
This compares the overall contribution of modern and earlier literature. The critic identifies one potentially harmful feature, not the balance of every effect. Modern works could have other beneficial themes or messages that outweigh this drawback. The argument can stand without concluding that modern literature is generally worse for society.
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