PrepTest 134, Section 4, Question 20
During Dostoyevsky's time there were two significant and(437 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- ABy drawing on(22 more words not shown)
- BIn opposition to(22 more words not shown)
- CDostoyevsky's indictment of(20 more words not shown)
- DIn his critical(24 more words not shown)
- EDostoyevsky's position on(31 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
We've already formed a main-point prediction: Dostoyevsky objects to the radical critics' insistence that literature be useful. Look for that disagreement, while checking whether the answer covers the full discussion rather than just its final part.
Working the answers
- A
We're told how his views differ from the critics' views. We aren't told that he combined their ideas to develop a new direction in Russian literature.
- B
He doesn't want literature removed from reality. The opening says he regarded reality as its crucial source; he disputes the radicals' narrow understanding of it.
- C
This fits my initial prediction, but “solely” exposes its limitation. His objections also concern the nature of reality and the importance of artistic form. Usefulness isn't the whole disagreement.
- D
The concern with depicting reality is part of the contrast. But framing everything as artistic freedom against that constraint leaves out the separate discussions of artistic quality and usefulness.
- ECorrect
This improves on my first summary by naming all three differences: reality, formal qualities, and usefulness. The second paragraph develops the first, the third develops the second, and the last develops the third. E brings the full argument together.
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