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 Robert Carroll
PowerScore Staff
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#73661
Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (E).

This Author's Perspective question asks us to consider the author's attitude toward the rift between poetry and fiction in the US. The author discusses that rift extensively in the first paragraph. Though the rift exists, the author seems to wish it did not. The clearest statement of the author's viewpoint is in line 21, where the author thinks it "fortunate" that the distrust of genre-mixing is being mitigated somewhat. Though that's the clearest statement of the author's view, it's not the only one - throughout the first paragraph, the author treats the rift as if it's a result of prejudicial US views of literary genres and not a very desirable thing.

Answer choice (A): The author does not seem perplexed by the origin of the rift. Line 15 and the discussion that follows explains what the author thinks is the origin of the rift. There's no indication here that the explanation is unsatisfactory - no perplexity remains, from the author's perspective.

Answer choice (B): There is no indication that academics have overlooked the rift. The author can't be astonished by a state of affairs that the author never even brings up!

Answer choice (C): The author is not ambivalent about the effect of the rift. The second paragraph expresses the author's view that diminishing the rift is a good thing. There is no place where the author seems to find any benefit to the rift, so the author's attitude is entirely negative toward it, not ambivalent.

Answer choice (D): The second paragraph begins a discussion of events that may be diminishing the rift. The author thinks those developments are fortunate, so the author seems to regard the rift as being less of an issue than before. The author is not pessimistic about overcoming it, but quite the opposite - optimistic that it is starting to be overcome to some extent.

Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice.: As pointed out earlier, the author begins line 21 by expressing pleasure that the rift is being overcome. The author spends the first paragraph talking about the rift in terms that make the rift seem undesirable and like an artifact of a biased way of viewing literature common in the US. Because the author thinks the rift is a result of undesirable attitudes, and because the author is happy to see the rift closed, we know the author has a negative attitude toward the foundational attitudes of the rift. This is why answer choice (E) is correct.
 sakfi
  • Posts: 18
  • Joined: Dec 04, 2018
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#95608
Hello,
I chose answer D, but I think I misunderstood the meaning of the word "permission".
I thought it means he is "positive" about the rift can be overcome, but it actually means "pessimistic"?
I'm so confused.....
Although I do understand why answer E is correct.
Thank you.
 Robert Carroll
PowerScore Staff
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  • Joined: Dec 06, 2013
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#95645
sakfi,

I don't see the word "permission" used here. The word "pessimism" is in answer choice (D), which is an incorrect answer, but that word is in there - there's no need to debate the meaning of another word which might mean "pessimistic". Based on your post, you seem to think that the author is not pessimistic about the possibility of overcoming the rift, as that seems to be something you don't want an answer to say. But answer choice (D) does say that. Based on your reasoning, you already know that answer choice (D) is wrong. Is it possible your copy of the test has a typo?

Robert Carroll
 sakfi
  • Posts: 18
  • Joined: Dec 04, 2018
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#95737
Hi Robert you are right, the test I have does have a typo…I found the correct version just now

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