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- Fri May 13, 2016 4:10 pm
#24573
Complete Question Explanation:
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=10524)
The correct answer choice is (C)
This is a relatively challenging question, because most of the passage compares Dostoyevsky’s views to those of the radical critics’, not to the critics who see art as elevated above the present and the everyday (lines 3—4). As you point out, however, that Dostoyevsky is a realist who “never doubted that reality was literature’s critical source” (lines 10—11). His understanding of the relationship between art and reality is antithetical to the position held by the critics in question.
Answer choice (A): This answer choice is incorrect, because Dostoyevsky would probably reject the views held by these critics.
Answer choice (B): As with answer choice (A), Dostoyevsky would probably consider these critics’ views as incorrect, which eliminates answer choice (B) from consideration. Note, however, that answer choice (B) correctly describes Dostoyevsky’s perception of reality as more than just an enumeration of the mundane details of life. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that the critics mentioned in lines 3—4 would agree with his views. If they did, their demand that art be entirely independent of reality would seem somewhat counterintuitive.
Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. Dostoyevsky would probably regard the critics’ views as incorrect, because reality is foundational to literature, not extraneous to it (lines 10—11).
Answer choice (D): This answer choice is incorrect, because the critics in question are actually quite keen on distinguishing reality from fantasy (or art). It is Dostoyevsky who resists making a sharp distinction between the two.
Answer choice (E): This answer choice alludes to a view held by the radical critics, not by the critics mentioned in lines 3—4.
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=10524)
The correct answer choice is (C)
This is a relatively challenging question, because most of the passage compares Dostoyevsky’s views to those of the radical critics’, not to the critics who see art as elevated above the present and the everyday (lines 3—4). As you point out, however, that Dostoyevsky is a realist who “never doubted that reality was literature’s critical source” (lines 10—11). His understanding of the relationship between art and reality is antithetical to the position held by the critics in question.
Answer choice (A): This answer choice is incorrect, because Dostoyevsky would probably reject the views held by these critics.
Answer choice (B): As with answer choice (A), Dostoyevsky would probably consider these critics’ views as incorrect, which eliminates answer choice (B) from consideration. Note, however, that answer choice (B) correctly describes Dostoyevsky’s perception of reality as more than just an enumeration of the mundane details of life. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that the critics mentioned in lines 3—4 would agree with his views. If they did, their demand that art be entirely independent of reality would seem somewhat counterintuitive.
Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. Dostoyevsky would probably regard the critics’ views as incorrect, because reality is foundational to literature, not extraneous to it (lines 10—11).
Answer choice (D): This answer choice is incorrect, because the critics in question are actually quite keen on distinguishing reality from fantasy (or art). It is Dostoyevsky who resists making a sharp distinction between the two.
Answer choice (E): This answer choice alludes to a view held by the radical critics, not by the critics mentioned in lines 3—4.
