Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
KC wrote:
A mixture of poems and short fiction, Jean Toomer’s Cane has been called one of the three best novels ever written by Black Americans—the others being Richard Wright, author of Native Son, and Ralph Ellison, author of Invisible Man.
(A) Black Americans—the others being Richard Wright, author of Native Son, and Ralph Ellison, author of Invisible Man
(B) Black Americans—including Native Son by Richard Wright and Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
(C) a Black American—including Richard Wright, author of Native Son, and Ralph Ellison, author of Invisible Man
(D) a Black American—the others being Richard Wright, author of Native Son, and Ralph Ellison, author of Invisible Man
(E) a Black American—the others being Richard Wright’s Native Son and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that Jean Toomer’s Cane has been called one of the three best novels ever written by a Black American, and Richard Wright’s Native Son and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man are also among the three best novels ever written by a Black American.
Concepts tested here: MeaningA: The sentence formed by this answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "three best novels ever written by Black Americans"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that Jean Toomer’s
Cane has been called one of the three best novels ever written,
specifically, by
multiple Black Americans; the intended meaning is that Jean Toomer’s
Cane has been called one of the three best novels ever written by
any number of Black Americans,
in general. Moreover, Option A further alters the meaning of this sentence through the phrase "the others being Richard Wright...and Ralph Ellison"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that
Richard Wright and
Ralph Ellison are also among the three best novels written by a Black American; the intended meaning is that
Native Son and
Invisible Man are also among the three best novels written by a Black American.
B: The sentence formed by this answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "three best novels ever written by Black Americans"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that Jean Toomer’s
Cane has been called one of the three best novels ever written,
specifically, by
multiple Black Americans; the intended meaning is that Jean Toomer’s
Cane has been called one of the three best novels ever written by
any number of Black Americans,
in general. Moreover, Option B further alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "including Native Son by Richard Wright and Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning of this part of the sentence is that
Native Son and
Invisible Man are also among the three best novels written by a Black American.
C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "including Richard Wright, author of Native Son, and Ralph Ellison, author of Invisible Man"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning of this part of the sentence is that
Native Son and
Invisible Man are also among the three best novels written by a Black American.
D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "the others being Richard Wright...and Ralph Ellison"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that
Richard Wright and
Ralph Ellison are also among the three best novels written by a Black American; the intended meaning is that
Native Son and
Invisible Man are also among the three best novels written by a Black American.
E: The sentence formed by this answer choice uses the phrases "one of the three best novels ever written by a Black American" and "the others being ...
Native Son and...
Invisible Man", conveying the intended meaning - that Jean Toomer’s
Cane has been called one of the three best novels ever written by
any number of Black Americans,
in general, and
Native Son and
Invisible Man are also among the three best novels written by a Black American.
Hence, E is the best answer choice.All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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