­Although it has been suggested that Artons plays have a strong

dhwanit2412

C fails because the argument doesn't rely on the idea that Arton was not prospering. So even if C were true AND it turned out that Arton was one of those who was prospering despite the high unemployment, that doesn't necessarily tell us she was any more likely to be patriotic. The argument tells us that crime was soaring and general morale was low. Does that mean she was unpatriotic? No--only if she was part of this trend toward low morale. That's where D comes in. But the premises do establish that she may have had *reason* not to feel patriotic, and these factors might affect her whether or not she was doing well financially herself.

­KarishmaB, MartyMurray, GMATNinja, @bsudarshan

Could you please explain why to not choose B and E?

Thank you!

­
Although it has been suggested that Arton’s plays have a strong patriotic flavor, we must recall that, at the time of their composition, her country was in anything but a patriotic mood. Unemployment was high, food was costly, and crime rates were soaring. As a result, the general morale of her nation was at an especially low point. Realizing this, we see clearly that any apparent patriotism in Arton’s work must have been intended ironically.

The conclusion of the argument is the following:

Realizing this, we see clearly that any apparent patriotism in Arton’s work must have been intended ironically.

The support for the conclusion is the following:

at the time of their (Arton's plays) composition, her country was in anything but a patriotic mood. Unemployment was high, food was costly, and crime rates were soaring. As a result, the general morale of her nation was at an especially low point.

We see that the reasoning of the argument is basically that, even though Arton's plays may seem patriotic, their apparent patriotism must have been intended ironically since, at the time of their composition, the morale of the nation was low.

One thing that may jump out at us as we go through the argument is that it goes from evidence about "the general morale of her nation" to a conclusion about apparent patriotism in Arton's work specifically. In other words, it assumes a strong connection between the the general morale and this specific playwright's intention in writing plays.

The reasoning above is questionable because it

This is a Logical Flaw question, and the correct answer will describe a way in which the argument is flawed.

(A) posits an unstated relationship between unemployment and crime

This choice is incorrect because the argument doesn't do what it says.

The argument does say that "unemployment was high ... and crime rates were soaring." At the same time, it simply mentions unemployment and crime rates in a list of issues, unemployment, costly food, and crime, without suggesting that there is a relationship between unemployment and crime.

Eliminate.

(B) takes for granted that straightforward patriotism is not possible for a serious writer

This choice is incorrect because the argument does not take for granted, i.e., assume without a clear reason for doing so, that straightforward patriotism is simply not possible for a serious writer.

Rather, the argument provides evidence, the fact that "the general morale of her nation was a an especially low point," in support of the conclusion that a particular writer, Arton, did not intend to present "straightforward patriotism" at that time.

In other words, the argument provides reason to believe that, while patriotism may be possible for a serious writer, this particular writer was not being patriotic in this case.

Eliminate.

(C) takes for granted that Arton was attuned to the predominant national attitude of her time

This choice is interesting.

As discussed above, the argument jumps from evidence about "the general morale of her nation" to the conclusion that "any apparent patriotism in Arton’s work must have been intended ironically."

We see that, basically, the argument has assumed that Arton's work must reflect the general morale of her nation. In other words, it "takes for granted that Arton was attuned to the predominant national attitude of her time."

That the argument does so is a flaw because there's no clear reason to believe that, just because the general morale of the nation was low, the apparent patriotism in Arton's work was actually intended ironically. After all, it could have been that, even though morale was low, Arton meant to present patriotism straightforwardly.

So, this choice captures exactly how the argument is flawed.

Keep.

(D) overlooks the fact that some citizens prosper in times of high unemployment

The evidence used by the argument to support the conclusion is about "the general morale of her nation." That evidence could support the conclusion even if, in times of high unemployment, some citizens prosper. After all, even if some citizens were prospering during the time in question, generally low morale could have influenced Arton.

So, while the argument does not address the fact that some citizens prosper in times of unemployment, and thus could be said to "overlook" that fact, the fact that the argument does not address that fact is not a flaw since the argument works regardless of that fact.

Eliminate.

(E) confuses irony with a general decline in public morale­

This choice is tricky because the argument does go from evidence about "the general morale of her nation" to the conclusion that "any apparent patriotism in Arton’s work must have been intended ironically." So, we could get the impression that the argument confuses irony with a general decline in public morale.

Notice, however, that the argument does not confuse low morale with irony or act as if the two are the same thing. Rather, it suggests that, because there was low morale, Arton must not have been feeling patriotic and therefore must have been engaging in irony. In other words, the point of the argument is that low morale led to irony, not that low morale is irony.

Eliminate.

Correct answer: C

 
­
We need to look for the flaw in the author's reasoning, the mistake the author is making. Pre-thinking is often useful in these questions. 

Premises:

­Although it has been suggested that Arton’s plays have a strong patriotic flavor, we must recall that, at the time of their composition, her country was in anything but a patriotic mood.
Unemployment was high, food was costly, and crime rates were soaring.
As a result, the general morale of her nation was at an especially low point.

Conclusion: Any apparent patriotism in Arton’s work must have been intended ironically.

Her country was not in a patriotic mood but does it mean she wasn't either? This is the logical error of applying an average to a specific case.  The general morale of her nation was at an especially low point, but was hers too?
If the general case does not apply to her, apparent patriotism in Arton’s work may not have been ironical. 

(A) posits an unstated relationship between unemployment and crime

The argument is not discussing any relationship between unemployment and crime.

(B) takes for granted that straightforward patriotism is not possible for a serious writer

It does not suggest or imply any such thing. First, we don't even know if she was a serious writer. Second, there is no general statement being made or assumed about serious writers. The argument doesn't say that patriotism is not possible for a serious writer. It says that since people were not generally feeling patriotic, she must not have been feeling patriotic either. 

(C) takes for granted that Arton was attuned to the predominant national attitude of her time

Correct. It takes for granted that Arton's views were same as the predominant national attitude of her time.

(D) overlooks the fact that some citizens prosper in times of high unemployment

Prosperity is out of scope for us. We are discussing whether Arton could have been patriotic or not. 

(E) confuses irony with a general decline in public morale­

This option doesn't make much sense. The author is not confused at all. The argument proceeds on the following lines: Public's morale was down. Arton's morale must have been down too. So she must not have been feeling patriotic. So her patriotic references must have been irony. 
The author gives reason for why her work has patriotic flavour - she was being ironical. There is no confusion. 

Answer (C)Discussed Flaw in Reasoning here: https://youtu.be/3s0tWn3tiT8­

Patriotism of Arton’s countrymen is low (as they are facing food shortage, employment etc.).
So, for Arton also, her patriotism should be low (this is the assumption in the argument).
Hence, Arton’s work on patriotism is a work of satire (....intended ironically) in the current scenario as per the argument.


Here, the assumption that ‘Arton’s patriotism is low, similar to her countrymen’ is flawed.
It may happen that Arton’s patriotism is still high (when her countrymen’s patriotism is low) and she is actually writing the book out of her patriotic feeling.

Option C is the correct answer.

Patriotism of Arton’s countrymen is low (as they are facing food shortage, employment etc.).
So, for Arton also, her patriotism should be low (assumption in the argument).
Hence, Arton’s work on patriotism is a work of satire (....intended ironically) in the current scenario.

Here, the assumption that ‘Arton’s patriotism is low, similar to her countrymen’ is flawed.
It may happen that Arton’s patriotism is still high (when her countrymen’s patriotism is low) and she is actually writing the book out of patriotic feeling.

Option C is the correct answer.