Critics maintain that the fiction of Herman Melville (1819–1891) has

For question #8, D is the OA. Can someone point out where "reference to Melville's own criteria" is provided in the passage?

Question 8 asks us to find the answer choice with which the author would most likely agree -- so, we aren't necessarily looking for something that is explicitly stated in the passage. It is enough to find a statement that is in line the author's argument.

Here is the exact wording of (D):

The best support for this statement is found in the second paragraph:

"A more reasonable position is that Melville is a different kind of writer, who held, and should be judged by, presuppositions about fiction that are quite different from James's."

Here, the author refutes the argument of critics who believe that Melville sucks because he isn't a "Jamesian novelist." Instead, the author thinks that Melville should be judged by different criteria. Specifically, Melville should be judged by his own "presuppositions about fiction," not by James' presuppositions about fiction.

From this, we can confidently say that the author would agree that a writer's fiction should be evaluated by "how well that fiction fulfills the premises about fiction maintained by the writer of the fiction." (D) is the correct answer to question #8.

I hope that helps!

GMATNinja IanStewart AnthonyRitz

i have doubt in Q.5 option C

5. Which of the following statements best describes the author's method of argumentation in lines 24–31?[/b]

A. The author describes an important standard of evaluation used by critics of Melville and then attacks that standard.
B. The author admits a contention put forward by critics of Melville but then makes a countercharge against those critics.
C. The author describes a charge advanced by critics of Melville and then points out a logical flaw in this charge.
D. The author provides evidence that seems to support a position held by critics of Melville but then demonstrates that the evidence actually supports a diametrically opposed position.
E. The author concedes an assertion made by critics of Melville but then mitigates the weight of the assertion by means of an explanation.

Critic asserted that Melville is a 'Deficient Writer' ( CHARGE BY THE CRITICS)in the first para. However, in the second Para Author disagreed & further explains why Melville is not 'deficient writer' by stating reasons that he Presupposes.( FLAW IN THE CHARGE)

With such understanding i market option C.Please help on this one

The question asks specifically about how the author argues in lines 24-31. Answer C says that in those lines, "the author describes a charge advanced by critics of Melville." The assertion that Melville is "deficient" is not made in lines 24-31, so answer C is not describing the charge that Melville is "deficient". The only thing C could be talking about is the suggestion that Melville wrote "romances." From the passage, it's hard to characterize that as a "charge" made by critics, and the lines from 24-31 do not point out a "logical flaw" with that "charge" anyway, which is why C is wrong. The lines from 24-31 merely describe what we might call a "definitional flaw" -- the word "romance", when applied to Melville's writing, does not mean what many people think it means. So from lines 24-31, the author grants ("concedes") that Melville wrote "romances", but then explains why that fact doesn't mean what many people might think, because the word "romance" means something different in this context than what it often means.

The only "charge" (if it can even be called that; in and of itself it's barely a "charge" at all) mentioned in the lines in question is that Melville was a "romantic" -- a "charge" that the author technically grants. There is no significant "description" of this charge, but maybe we could live with that. The charge that Melville is a "deficient writer" is not mentioned or addressed in the quoted lines.

The bigger problem is that the author does not point out a "logical flaw" in these or any other charge. Quibbles with how a certain appellation should be interpreted absolutely do not count as "logical flaws"; we would need to see something far stronger, in which the author perhaps shows that the critics' argument is somehow self-contradictory or otherwise defective in its internal logic. Simply reframing the interpretation of a term is not enough.

I think that answer C would be a stretch in every aspect. E would not. The latter is correct.

Hi Genoa2000,

It's a 700 level passage.


Thanks.

para1
put forward the critic’s view to the fiction style of Herman Melville and comment on the flaw inherently in its way of expression, such as romance, in that Melville cannot present the quintessence of fiction as Henry James does

para2
offer another interpreting way to view on Melville’s way of expression to the fiction in order to make a defensible turnaround, in that, though its style quite different to James, it still has its significance as it uses “romance” in para1 to explore more moral questions and values-the ultimate purpose of fiction





1. The primary purpose of the passage is to


A. make a case for the importance of skillful psychological motivation in well-written novels and romances

no psychological motivation ever mention in the passage

B. contrast the romantic and novelistic traditions and assert the aesthetic superiority of the romantic tradition

contrast the romantic and novelistic traditions…this is true in para1
however, does the passage mention anything about the aesthetic superiority of romantic tradition? no

C. survey some of the responses to Melville's fiction put forward by James and twentieth-century literary critics

the whole passage doesn’t intend to survey anything

D. argue that the charges made against Melville's fiction by literary critics are suspect and misleading

there indeed has charges made against Melville, but does the author argue those charges suspected and misleading?

E. note several accusations made against Melville's fiction by literary critics and refute one of these accusations…correct

the former part of this statement, same as (D),is correct, and the author, indeed, in para2 refute one of them-romance style of expression



2. The author draws which of the following conclusions about the fact that Melville's fiction often does not possess the qualities of a Jamesian novel?


A. Literary critics should no longer use Jamesian standards to judge the value of novels.

the author just want to present the difference between Jamesian and Melville novel and by comparing these two to defend on Melville style of fiction in the passage, not to comment on Jamesian standards that its not a good one and thus shouldn’t be used on the judgement of novels

B. Literary critics who have praised Melville's fiction at the expense of James's fiction should consider themselves justified.

does the critics, by the time he praised Melville’s fiction, sacrifice the reputation of James one? no

C. Literary critics should no longer attempt to place writers, including Melville and James, in traditions or categories.

nowhere in the passage ever mention about placing Melville or James in categories, they’re just different in their style of fiction

D. Melville and James should be viewed as different sorts of writers and one should not be regarded as inherently superior to the other. ....correct

the first sentence in para1 clearly states this, and this can be the author’s view, or say, ultimate conclusion to the difference between Melville’s and Jamesian novel style

however, although Melville is not a Jamesian novelist, he is not therefore a deficient writer. A more reasonable position is that Melville is a different kind of writer, who held, and should be judged by, presuppositions about fiction that are quite different from James's.

E. Melville and James nevertheless share important similarities and these should not be overlooked or slighted when literary critics point out differences between the two writers.

Melville and James are different kind of writer as we already know Melville isn’t a Jamesian novelist



3. Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for the passage?


A. Melville's Unique Contribution to Romantic Fiction

the romance fiction is just one example the author raise to make a refute on what he thought in para1,by how, that it’s just another way in Melville’s expression in his novel

B. Melville's Growing Reputation Among Twentieth-Century Literary Critics

no growing reputation being discussed in the whole passage

C. Melville and the Jamesian Standards of Fiction: A Reexamination ....correct

as we know para1 made some negative comments on how Melville differentiate from Jamesian fiction style, and when it comes to para2 there comes a turnaround-a reexamination that is aim to defend Melville’s fiction style, so this choice best fit to the overall concept to the whole passage as well as this question(3) asks


D. Romantic and Novelistic: The Shared Assumptions of Two Traditions

Romantic and Novelistic are just examples raised to illustrate the author’s thinking on the expression of fiction, not the main point to the whole passage

E. The Art of Fiction: James's Influence on the Novelistic Tradition

James's Influence…? though the author talks Jamesian to criticize Melville’s style in para1, but no “influence” ever show up in the discussion, so this one just be out of scope



4. The author probably mentions Melville's Pierre to

Indeed, most twentieth-century commentators
(10)⠀⠀regard Melville not as a novelist but as a writer of
⠀⠀⠀ romance, since they believe that Melville's fiction
⠀⠀⠀ lacks the continuity that James viewed as essential
⠀⠀⠀ to a novel: the continuity between what characters
⠀⠀⠀ feel or think and what they do, and the continuity
(15)⠀⠀between characters' fates and their pasts or original
⠀⠀⠀ social classes. Critics argue that only Pierre (1852),
⠀⠀⠀ because of its subject and its characters, is close to
⠀⠀⠀ being a novel in the Jamesian sense.




A. refute those literary critics who have made generalizations about the quality of Melville's fiction

this is opposite to what the passage conveys, the author mention Melville’s Pierre is used as illustration, not refute, to the generalizations about the quality of Melville’s fiction

B. argue that the portrayal of characters is one of Melville's more accomplished literary skills

though portrayal of characters to Melville's fiction style indeed mention in para1, but for the author’s viewpoint as well as the passage, its just not the main focus as a whole

C. give an example of a novel that was thought by James to resemble his own fiction

James thought Pierre’s way of expression resemble his own fiction? nowhere talks about this ever

D. suggest that literary critics find few exceptions to what they believe is a characteristic of Melville's fiction....correct

exceptions to what they believe is a characteristic of Melville's fiction—this statement directly refer to Jamesian fiction style
and just in the last sentence of para1 we know critics can only find Pierre to be in resemblance to the Jamesian style, so these above combined clearly correspond to what (D) states

E. reinforce the contention of literary critics

“mentions Melville's Pierre” is just used as an example to illustrate the contention of critics in para1 as that no reinforce or weaken involved in this



5. Which of the following statements best describes the author's method of argumentation in lines 24–31?

It is true that Melville wrote
(25)⠀⠀“romances”; however, these are not the escapist
⠀⠀⠀ fictions this word often implies, but fictions that
⠀⠀⠀ range freely among very unusual or intense human
⠀⠀⠀ experiences. Melville portrayed such experiences
⠀⠀⠀ because he believed these best enabled him to
(30)⠀⠀explore moral questions, an exploration he assumed
⠀⠀⠀ was the ultimate purpose of fiction.



A. The author describes an important standard of evaluation used by critics of Melville and then attacks that standard.

no standard of evaluation ever mention in the passage, also the tone in the passage doesn’t try to attack anything

B. The author admits a contention put forward by critics of Melville but then makes a countercharge against those critics.

does the author “admit’ those critic’s contention? no, as in para1 the author just holds a quite neutral tone in stating those critic’s comments, also there’s no countercharge concerned in the passage

C. The author describes a charge advanced by critics of Melville and then points out a logical flaw in this charge.

no logical flaw ever mention in the passage, para2 is only intend to illustrate how Melville’s fiction, though criticize by literary critics, still has significance for its way of expression

D. The author provides evidence that seems to support a position held by critics of Melville but then demonstrates that the evidence actually supports a diametrically opposed position.

no evidence ever being discussed about in the passage, all in discussion in para1 are just opinions to Melville’s expression of fiction style

E. The author concedes an assertion made by critics of Melville but then mitigates the weight of the assertion by means of an explanation.….correct

in para1 the author is on the side of the critic’s assertion and then in para2 make a turnaround to weaken the assertion in para1, (E) perfectly fit the gist to this



6. Which of the following can logically be inferred from the passage about the author's application of the term “romance” to Melville's work?


A. The author uses the term in a broader way than did Melville himself.
B. The author uses the term in a different way than do many literary critics....correct

in para1 literary critics put some critical comments on Melville’s way of expression in romance, and when it comes to para2 the author try to use different way to illustrate how Melville’s romance fiction style still be a prominent way in depicting and exploring moral values

C. The author uses the term in a more systematic way than did James.
D. The author's use of the term is the same as the term's usual meaning for twentieth-century commentators.
E. The author's use of the term is less controversial than is the use of the term “novel” by many commentators.



7. Which of the following can most logically be inferred about the author's estimation of the romantic and novelistic traditions of fiction?


para2
It is true that Melville wrote “romances”; however, these are not the escapist fictions this word often implies, but fictions that range freely among very unusual or intense human experiences. Melville portrayed such experiences because he believed these best enabled him to explore moral questions, an exploration he assumed was the ultimate purpose of fiction.



A. The romantic tradition should be considered at least as valuable as the novelistic tradition in the examination of human experience....correct.

this statement clearly correspond to the sentences in para2 as that Melville’s romance is important in its touch on the human experiences

B. The romantic tradition should be considered the more vital tradition primarily because Melville is part of that tradition.

this statement is wrong in its logic in that the author, in para1, comment on Melville’s fiction to take “romance” as an illustrated example to refute critic’s assertion, not to say because Melville's existence make more of the importance of romantic tradition

C. The romantic tradition should be considered the superior tradition because it is so widespread.

as mention before, there’re no superiority between romantic and novelistic tradition

D. The romantic tradition has had as much success in pleasing literary critics as has the novelistic tradition.

literary critics have never been pleased by romantic tradition as it is the author in the passage just want to defend this romantic to those critic’s criticize

E. The romantic and novelistic traditions have always made important contributions to literature, but their most important contributions have been in the twentieth century.

only in the second paragraph talks about the contribution of romantic traditions, nowhere ever touch on the contribution to the novelistic, such as Jamesian one, especially to the time aspect



8. The author of the passage would be most likely to agree that a writer's fiction should be evaluated by which of the following criteria?


A. How consistently that fiction establishes credibility with the reader

para2
He was content to sacrifice continuity or even credibility as long as he could establish a significant moral situation.

from above we only know that in romance style of fiction, if Melville could establish a significant moral question he would certainly sacrifice credibility, however, whether the fiction should be evaluated by credit establishment with the reader, we don’t know for sure

B. How skillfully that fiction supersedes the presuppositions or conventions of a tradition

this statement totally opposite to the what the passage says as we, from sentences in para2, know that Melville’s fiction should be judged, not superseded, by presuppositions

C. How completely that fiction satisfies the standards of judgment held by most literary critics

as in para2 we know that the author says the writer’s fiction should be judged by presuppositions that are quite different from literary critic’s Jamesian standards

D. How well that fiction fulfills the premises about fiction maintained by the writer of the fiction.....correct

this is how the author thought…
However, although Melville is not a Jamesian novelist, he is not therefore a deficient writer. A more reasonable position is that Melville is a different kind of writer, who held, and should be judged by, presuppositions about fiction that are quite different from James's.
so (D) perfectly fit what the question required

E. How well that fiction exhibits a continuity of subject and style over the course of the writer's career

same as (A), we only know if Melville could establish moral value he would certainly sacrifice continuity, so from this we could infer that the fiction won’t be evaluated by the exhibition of continuity

para1
put forward the critic’s view to the fiction style of Herman Melville and comment on the flaw inherently in its way of expression, such as romance, in that Melville cannot present the quintessence of fiction as Henry James does

para2
offer another interpretation to view on Melville’s expression to the fiction in order to make a defensible turnaround, in that, though its style quite different to James, it still has its significance as it uses “romance” in para1 to explore more moral questions and values-the ultimate purpose of fiction





1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

A. make a case for the importance of skillful psychological motivation in well-written novels and romances

from line(34) to (37) though it mentions about action be activated, however psychological motivation isn’t the main focus in the passage

B. contrast the romantic and novelistic traditions and assert the aesthetic superiority of the romantic tradition

para1 is center on Melville’s fiction not the contrast between romantic and novelistic traditions, the author want to present that how Melville’s fiction is deficient in that it cannot express character’s continuity as Jamesian does
however, does the passage mention anything about the aesthetic superiority of romantic tradition? No, the author doesn’t intend to compare these two traditions

C. survey some of the responses to Melville's fiction put forward by James and twentieth-century literary critics

no survey responses to Melville's fiction exist as the passage only states facts and opinions to Melville’s fiction

D. argue that the charges made against Melville's fiction by literary critics are suspect and misleading

there indeed has charges made against Melville, but does the author argue those charges suspected and misleading?

E. note several accusations made against Melville's fiction by literary critics and refute one of these accusations…correct

the author put some negative comments on Melville’s fiction in para1, so the former part of (E) correspond to this, and the author, indeed, in para2 choose one refute one of them-romance style of expression





2. The author draws which of the following conclusions about the fact that Melville's fiction often does not possess the qualities of a Jamesian novel?

A. Literary critics should no longer use Jamesian standards to judge the value of novels.

the author just want to present the difference between Jamesian and Melville novel and by comparing these two to defend on Melville style of fiction in the passage, not to comment on Jamesian standards that its not a good one and thus shouldn’t be used on the judgement of novels

B. Literary critics who have praised Melville's fiction at the expense of James's fiction should consider themselves justified.

does the critics, by the time he praised Melville’s fiction, sacrifice the reputation of James one? No, indeed, we should reverse the order in order for this statement to be true in that it is critics who on the side of Jamesian are at the expense of Melville, also no justification ever being discussed

C. Literary critics should no longer attempt to place writers, including Melville and James, in traditions or categories.

nowhere in the passage ever mention about placing Melville or James in categories or traditions, they’re just different in their style of fiction

D. Melville and James should be viewed as different sorts of writers and one should not be regarded as inherently superior to the other….correct

sentence in para1
A more serious, yet
(5)⠀⠀problematic, charge is that Melville is a deficient
⠀⠀⠀ writer because he is not a practitioner of the “art of
⠀⠀⠀ fiction,” as critics have conceived of this art since the
⠀⠀⠀ late nineteenth-century essays and novels of Henry
⠀⠀⠀ James.
…..this affirm the correctness of the former part of (D)


sentence in para2
However, although Melville is not a Jamesian
(20)⠀⠀novelist, he is not therefore a deficient writer.
…..this affirm the correctness of the later part of (D)


E. Melville and James nevertheless share important similarities and these should not be overlooked or slighted when literary critics point out differences between the two writers.

as we have already knew Melville and James are different kind of writer, so Melville isn’t a Jamesian novelist and they won’t similar with each other






3. Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for the passage?

A. Melville's Unique Contribution to Romantic Fiction

the romance fiction is just one example the author raise to make a refute on what the literary critic thought in para1, so this one just be too narrow in its scope to be the title

B. Melville's Growing Reputation Among Twentieth-Century Literary Critics

no growing reputation being discussed in the whole passage

C. Melville and the Jamesian Standards of Fiction: A Reexamination….correct

as we know para1 made some negative comments on how Melville’s fiction is flawed in that it cannot do as good as Jamesian do, and when it comes to para2 there comes a turnaround-a totally turning of the tone- that is aim to defend Melville’s fiction style, so this choice best fit to the overall concept for the whole passage as well as this question(3) asks

D. Romantic and Novelistic: The Shared Assumptions of Two Traditions

Romantic and Novelistic are just examples raised to illustrate the author’s thinking on the expression of fiction, not the main point to the whole passage

E. The Art of Fiction: James's Influence on the Novelistic Tradition

James's Influence…? though the author talks Jamesian to criticize Melville’s style in para1, but for the repercussion to Jamesian’s novelistic tradition, it never show up in the discussion, so this one just be out of scope





4. The author probably mentions Melville's Pierre to

Indeed, most twentieth-century commentators
(10)⠀⠀regard Melville not as a novelist but as a writer of
⠀⠀⠀ romance, since they believe that Melville's fiction
⠀⠀⠀ lacks the continuity that James viewed as essential
⠀⠀⠀ to a novel: the continuity between what characters
⠀⠀⠀ feel or think and what they do, and the continuity
(15)⠀⠀between characters' fates and their pasts or original
⠀⠀⠀ social classes. Critics argue that only Pierre (1852),
⠀⠀⠀ because of its subject and its characters, is close to
⠀⠀⠀ being a novel in the Jamesian sense.




A. refute those literary critics who have made generalizations about the quality of Melville's fiction

this is opposite to what the passage conveys, the author mention Melville’s Pierre is used as taking an example, not refute, to illustrate the quality of Melville’s fiction, in fact the author, through the whole passage, have never “refuted” anything

B. argue that the portrayal of characters is one of Melville's more accomplished literary skills

same as (A), this is opposite to the fact in that the author thought Melville is insufficient in its portral of characters, also though portrayal of characters to Melville's fiction style indeed mention in para1, for the author’s viewpoint as well as the passage, its just not the main focus as a whole

C. give an example of a novel that was thought by James to resemble his own fiction

James thought Pierre’s way of expression resemble his own fiction? nowhere talks about this ever, the passage never mention Jame’s view on Melville

D. suggest that literary critics find few exceptions to what they believe is a characteristic of Melville's fiction….correct
find few exception: can only find “Pierre” this writer, no other can be found
what they believe is a characteristic of Melville's fiction—this statement implicitly refer to Jamesian fiction style
just in the last sentence of para1 we know critics can only find Pierre to be in resemblance to the Jamesian style, so these above combined clearly correspond to what (D) states

E. reinforce the contention of literary critics

“mentions Melville's Pierre” is just used as an example to illustrate the contention of critics in para1 as that no tone being reinforce or weaken involved in this





5. Which of the following statements best describes the author's method of argumentation in lines 24–31?

It is true that Melville wrote
(25)⠀⠀“romances”; however, these are not the escapist
⠀⠀⠀ fictions this word often implies, but fictions that
⠀⠀⠀ range freely among very unusual or intense human
⠀⠀⠀ experiences. Melville portrayed such experiences
⠀⠀⠀ because he believed these best enabled him to
(30)⠀⠀explore moral questions, an exploration he assumed
⠀⠀⠀ was the ultimate purpose of fiction.



A. The author describes an important standard of evaluation used by critics of Melville and then attacks that standard.

no standard of evaluation ever mention in the passage, also the tone in the passage doesn’t try to attack anything

B. The author admits a contention put forward by critics of Melville but then makes a countercharge against those critics.

does the author “admit’ those critic’s contention? no, as in line(24)-(28) the author just holds a quite neutral tone in stating those critic’s comments, also there’s no countercharge concerned in the passage

C. The author describes a charge advanced by critics of Melville and then points out a logical flaw in this charge.

no logical flaw ever mention in the passage, line(28)-(31) is only intend to explain how Melville’s fiction, though doesn’t perfect anyway for literary critics, still has a purpose for its way of expression

D. The author provides evidence that seems to support a position held by critics of Melville but then demonstrates that the evidence actually supports a diametrically opposed position.

no evidence ever being discussed about in those sentences, all in discussion are just opinion and explanation to Melville’s fiction style, also its just too deviated if we say the later explanation as “diametrically” opposed position.

E. The author concedes an assertion made by critics of Melville but then mitigates the weight of the assertion by means of an explanation. ….correct

line(24)-(28) the author is on the side of the critic’s assertion that there posses inherent flawed and later explain to weaken the assertion to that, (E) perfectly fit the gist to this





6. Which of the following can logically be inferred from the passage about the author's application of the term “romance” to Melville's work?

A. The author uses the term in a broader way than did Melville himself.

we cannot, in fact, trace how Melville use the term “romance” in the passage since the author just take Melville’s fiction as an example to illustrate his opinion

B. The author uses the term in a different way than do many literary critics….correct

in para1 literary critics put some negative comments on Melville’s way of expression in romance, and when it comes to para2 the author try to use different way to illustrate how Melville’s romance fiction style still be a prominent way in depicting and exploring moral values

C. The author uses the term in a more systematic way than did James.

quite similar to (A), from the passage we aren’t able to know how James use the term

D. The author's use of the term is the same as the term's usual meaning for twentieth-century commentators.

totally opposite to what this (D) says, the author is different from those critic’s view on the term “romance”

E. The author's use of the term is less controversial than is the use of the term “novel” by many commentators.

we don’t know the degree of controversial for the use of the term “romance” from the passage




7. Which of the following can most logically be inferred about the author's estimation of the romantic and novelistic traditions of fiction?

para2
It is true that Melville wrote “romances”; however, these are not the escapist fictions this word often implies, but fictions that range freely among very unusual or intense human experiences. Melville portrayed such experiences because he believed these best enabled him to explore moral questions, an exploration he assumed was the ultimate purpose of fiction.




A. The romantic tradition should be considered at least as valuable as the novelistic tradition in the examination of human experience….correct

this statement clearly correspond to the sentences of para2 in that Melville’s romance is as important in its touch on the human experiences as Jamesian’s

B. The romantic tradition should be considered the more vital tradition primarily because Melville is part of that tradition.

this statement is wrong in its logic in that the author, in para1, comment on Melville’s fiction to take “romance” as an illustrated example to refute critic’s assertion which play down on “romantic tradition”, also from the passage we just know the way of expression for Romance is as important as Jamesian, so we cannot infer, indeed, which one would be more vital

C. The romantic tradition should be considered the superior tradition because it is so widespread.

as the passage indicates, there’re no superiority between romantic and novelistic tradition

D. The romantic tradition has had as much success in pleasing literary critics as has the novelistic tradition.

does literary critics be pleased by romantic tradition? no, totally opposite to this in that it is the author in the passage just want to defend this romantic to those critic’s criticize

E. The romantic and novelistic traditions have always made important contributions to literature, but their most important contributions have been in the twentieth century.

nowhere in the passage ever mention the contribution to the literature, whether its romantic or novelistic one, such as Jamesian one, especially to the time aspect




8. The author of the passage would be most likely to agree that a writer's fiction should be evaluated by which of the following criteria?

A. How consistently that fiction establishes credibility with the reader

para2
He was content to sacrifice continuity or even credibility as long as he could establish a significant moral situation.

from above we only know that in romance style of fiction, if Melville could establish a significant moral question he would certainly sacrifice credibility, however, whether the fiction should be evaluated by credit establishment with the reader, we don’t know for sure

B. How skillfully that fiction supersedes the presuppositions or conventions of a tradition

from the last sentence in the passage: …., values derived from a character's purely personal sense of honor, rather than, as in a Jamesian novel, from the conventions of society., so yes, conventions doesn’t be an important factor to consider
however, for the word “presupposition”, its totally opposite to the what the passage says as we, from sentences in para2, know that Melville’s fiction should be judged, not superseded, by presuppositions


C. How completely that fiction satisfies the standards of judgment held by most literary critics

as in para2 we know that the author says the writer’s fiction should be judged by presuppositions that are quite different from literary critic’s Jamesian standards

D. How well that fiction fulfills the premises about fiction maintained by the writer of the fiction…correct

this is how the author thought…
However, although Melville is not a Jamesian novelist, he is not therefore a deficient writer. A more reasonable position is that Melville is a different kind of writer, who held, and should be judged by, presuppositions about fiction that are quite different from James's.(so a writer of the fiction should be judged by its own standard)
so (D) perfectly fit what the question demand

E. How well that fiction exhibits a continuity of subject and style over the course of the writer's career

same as (A), we could infer from the passage that if Melville could establish moral value he would certainly sacrifice continuity, so from this we could infer that the fiction won’t be evaluated by the exhibition of continuity

Hi GMATNinja

As you mentioned above, the passage just mentioned "presuppositions different from James"...This presuppositions could be of of anyone or just a general view, that is different from James'. But the option states "OWN" pressupossitions. How is this inferred ?

GMATNinja

does standard of evaluation not refers to the way james write novel i.e jamiesen?

VeritasKarishma, GMATNinja

Ques 1 option choice E, talks about several accusations made against Melville's fiction. Are these the only two accusations or am i missing any other-
1. Melville is a deficient writer.
2. Melville is not as a novelist but a writer of romance.

It’s not readily apparent what “standard of evaluation” refers to in (A), and that’s part of the problem. But, in any case, it’s definitely a stretch to say that a particular style of writing (Jamesian) qualifies as a standard of evaluation.

More importantly, the question refers specifically to the author’s method of argumentation in lines 24-31. Even if we assume that “standard of evaluation” refers to the Jamesian style of writing, (A) still does not describe the author’s method of argumentation in lines 24-31. Nowhere in that portion of the passage is the Jamesian style of writing mentioned. The author neither describes nor attacks Jamesian writing there. He/she simply points out some of the advantages of Melville’s writing style. For that reason, we can eliminate (A).

I hope that helps!

The first paragraph gives the accusations against Melville:

such as its lack
⠀⠀⠀ of inventive plots after Moby-Dick (1851)

and its
⠀⠀⠀ occasionally inscrutable style.

A more serious, yet
(5)⠀⠀problematic, charge is that Melville is a deficient
⠀⠀⠀ writer because he is not a practitioner of the “art of
⠀⠀⠀ fiction,” as critics have conceived of this art since the
⠀⠀⠀ late nineteenth-century essays and novels of Henry
⠀⠀⠀ James.

Indeed, most twentieth-century commentators
(10)⠀⠀regard Melville not as a novelist but as a writer of
⠀⠀⠀ romance, since they believe that Melville's fiction
⠀⠀⠀ lacks the continuity that James viewed as essential
⠀⠀⠀ to a novel

Take another look at the relevant portion of the passage:

"A more reasonable position is that Melville is a different kind of writer, who held, and should be judged by, presuppositions about fiction that are quite different from James's."

In the phrase “who held”, the pronoun “who” refers to Melville and thus indicates that Melville held, and should be judged by, certain presuppositions. This means that Melville should be judged according to his own presuppositions about fiction, and consequently, other writers should be judged according to their own presuppositions about fiction.

I hope that helps!

Did nt get question no 7 explaination. can anybody throw light on the same, thanks.

Question 7

Here's question 7:

Before diving into the options, first gather hints about the author's thoughts about romantic and novelistic traditions of fiction:

• Critics think that romances aren't as good as Jamesian novels. The author disagrees -- he/she thinks that writers of romance "are not deficient."
• Continuity of feelings and thoughts are important in novels.
• The most important thing in Melville's romances are moral questions, not continuity.
• Romances aren't just escapism -- they are "fictions that range freely among very unusual or intense human experiences."

So, how to sum this up? The author thinks that romances are different than novels, but doesn't say that one form is better or worse than the other. They each just prioritize different aspects of literature. Critics may hate romances, but the author thinks they can capture aspects of the human experience.

Now look at the answer choices. Which one can most logically be inferred about the author's beliefs?

This is in line with the information in the passage. The critics crap on Melville's works because they are romances instead of novels. The author disagrees, saying that romances are just as good, but in a different way. So, we can infer that the author would think that romances are "at least as valuable" as novels in examining the human experience.

Keep (A) for now.


Hmm, the author never says that romances are better than novels. He/she just says that they not worse than novels. So we can't infer that the author would agree that romances are "more vital" than novels.

Eliminate (B).


Again, the author thinks that novels aren't better than romances. He/she doesn't go so far as saying that romances are better than novels.

Get rid of (C) for the same reason as (B).


Nope, the author makes it clear that critics look down on Melville for writing romances. So, the author would definitely not believe that romances please critics as much as novels do.

(D) is out.


The author doesn't compare the importance of contributions from different periods of time. Did both traditions always make important contributions to literature? It's simply not mentioned in the passage. And were the most important contributions made in the twentieth century? Again, we can't say -- the author discusses works from the twentieth century, but never says that these were the most important contributions of all time.

Eliminate (E), and (A) is the correct answer to question 7.

I hope that helps!

Hi KarishmaB GMATNinja! Why D (Q1) is wrong?! Tks!