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- Posts: 8916
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- Sat Jun 03, 2017 11:55 am
#35659
Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=14335)
The correct answer choice is (B)
Because the passage traces the evolution of Kate Chopin as a writer in the historical context of
nineteenth-century women’s literature, the author’s main point is of secondary importance. As a
result, the Main Point question merely asks us to summarize the content of the passage. As long as
you understand the relationship between Kate Chopin and the trends in nineteenth-century literature
described throughout the passage, you should be able to eliminate four of the five answer choices
relatively quickly.
Answer choice (A): Chopin indeed drew a great deal of the material for The Awakening from the
concerns of the New Women, but she never sought to recapture the atmosphere of the sentimental
novels she had read in her youth. Chopin modeled her early fiction after the local colorists instead.
This answer choice is incorrect.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. In developing her literary style, Chopin
avoided the excesses of the sentimental novelists (1st paragraph), but drew influence both from the
conventions of the local colorists (3rd paragraph) and from the impressionistic methods of the New
Women (4th paragraph).
Answer choice (C): This answer choice contains an exaggeration: there is no evidence to support the
assertion that Chopin’s The Awakening was unlike any work of fiction written during the nineteenth
century.
Answer choice (D): Although there is some evidence to support the view that Chopin devoted herself
to telling stories of loneliness and frustration (3rd paragraph), this answer choice has two problems:
First, Chopin did not rebel against the stylistic restraint of the local colorists; on the contrary—she
employed their conventions to solve a particular narrative problem (line 32). Second, the author
never described the language in The Awakening as elevated or romantic—these are attributes of the
sentimental novelists that Chopin made sure to avoid. This answer choice is incorrect.
Answer choice (E): This answer choice may seem attractive, as it accurately summarizes the
influence of the New Women on Kate Chopin’s writing. However, the first clause contains a reversal:
Chopin did not feel a kinship with the subject matter of the local colorists, but did embrace their
stylistic conventions. This answer choice is incorrect.
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=14335)
The correct answer choice is (B)
Because the passage traces the evolution of Kate Chopin as a writer in the historical context of
nineteenth-century women’s literature, the author’s main point is of secondary importance. As a
result, the Main Point question merely asks us to summarize the content of the passage. As long as
you understand the relationship between Kate Chopin and the trends in nineteenth-century literature
described throughout the passage, you should be able to eliminate four of the five answer choices
relatively quickly.
Answer choice (A): Chopin indeed drew a great deal of the material for The Awakening from the
concerns of the New Women, but she never sought to recapture the atmosphere of the sentimental
novels she had read in her youth. Chopin modeled her early fiction after the local colorists instead.
This answer choice is incorrect.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. In developing her literary style, Chopin
avoided the excesses of the sentimental novelists (1st paragraph), but drew influence both from the
conventions of the local colorists (3rd paragraph) and from the impressionistic methods of the New
Women (4th paragraph).
Answer choice (C): This answer choice contains an exaggeration: there is no evidence to support the
assertion that Chopin’s The Awakening was unlike any work of fiction written during the nineteenth
century.
Answer choice (D): Although there is some evidence to support the view that Chopin devoted herself
to telling stories of loneliness and frustration (3rd paragraph), this answer choice has two problems:
First, Chopin did not rebel against the stylistic restraint of the local colorists; on the contrary—she
employed their conventions to solve a particular narrative problem (line 32). Second, the author
never described the language in The Awakening as elevated or romantic—these are attributes of the
sentimental novelists that Chopin made sure to avoid. This answer choice is incorrect.
Answer choice (E): This answer choice may seem attractive, as it accurately summarizes the
influence of the New Women on Kate Chopin’s writing. However, the first clause contains a reversal:
Chopin did not feel a kinship with the subject matter of the local colorists, but did embrace their
stylistic conventions. This answer choice is incorrect.