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- Mon May 23, 2016 3:54 pm
#25370
Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=10524)
The correct answer choice is (B)
To answer this question correctly, we need to refer to Dostoyevsky’s definition of “artistic” in the third paragraph of the passage: “To say that a novelist is ‘artistic’ means that he possesses a talent to express his thoughts in characters and images so that when the reader has finished the novel, he has fully understood the author’s thoughts” (lines 35-41). The correct answer choice must describe a literary work that meets these criteria.
Answer choice (A): Although the fictionalized account described here is based on reality, this is not sufficient to consider it as being “artistic.” Dostoyevsky’s definition of “artistic” requires writers to convey their thoughts through characters and images, not merely to illustrate reality “as it is.”
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. The description of a novel in which the author’s ideas are given substance through suitable characters and events fulfills Dostoyevsky’s definition of “artistic,” as described in lines 35-51 of the passage.
Answer choice (C): Dostoyevsky would probably view a novel criticizing feudal society as serving utilitarian or political goals. He is unlikely to regard it as “artistic,” unless its allegorical language successfully conveys the novelist’s thoughts through characters and images. Given that the writer’s use of allegory is described as a mere “attempt,” it is unclear whether this attempt was actually successful.
Answer choice (D): The passage provides no reason to suspect that Dostoyevsky would regard as artistic an autobiography that simply chronicles the author’s life events.
Answer choice (E): A story in which the characters debate how to solve social problems is unlikely to be deemed “artistic,” because Dostoyevsky would view its purpose as primarily utilitarian. Such a story does not exemplify Dostoyevsky’s definition of artistry, which is simply “the ability to write well” (line 41).
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=10524)
The correct answer choice is (B)
To answer this question correctly, we need to refer to Dostoyevsky’s definition of “artistic” in the third paragraph of the passage: “To say that a novelist is ‘artistic’ means that he possesses a talent to express his thoughts in characters and images so that when the reader has finished the novel, he has fully understood the author’s thoughts” (lines 35-41). The correct answer choice must describe a literary work that meets these criteria.
Answer choice (A): Although the fictionalized account described here is based on reality, this is not sufficient to consider it as being “artistic.” Dostoyevsky’s definition of “artistic” requires writers to convey their thoughts through characters and images, not merely to illustrate reality “as it is.”
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. The description of a novel in which the author’s ideas are given substance through suitable characters and events fulfills Dostoyevsky’s definition of “artistic,” as described in lines 35-51 of the passage.
Answer choice (C): Dostoyevsky would probably view a novel criticizing feudal society as serving utilitarian or political goals. He is unlikely to regard it as “artistic,” unless its allegorical language successfully conveys the novelist’s thoughts through characters and images. Given that the writer’s use of allegory is described as a mere “attempt,” it is unclear whether this attempt was actually successful.
Answer choice (D): The passage provides no reason to suspect that Dostoyevsky would regard as artistic an autobiography that simply chronicles the author’s life events.
Answer choice (E): A story in which the characters debate how to solve social problems is unlikely to be deemed “artistic,” because Dostoyevsky would view its purpose as primarily utilitarian. Such a story does not exemplify Dostoyevsky’s definition of artistry, which is simply “the ability to write well” (line 41).