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

Critics maintain that the fiction of Herman Melville
⠀⠀⠀ (1819–1891) has limitations, 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: 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.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀However, although Melville is not a Jamesian
(20)⠀⠀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. 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. He was content
⠀⠀⠀ to sacrifice continuity or even credibility as long
⠀⠀⠀ as he could establish a significant moral situation.
⠀⠀⠀ Thus Melville's romances do not give the reader
(35)⠀⠀a full understanding of the complete feelings and
⠀⠀⠀ thoughts that motivate actions and events that shape
⠀⠀⠀ fate. Rather, the romances leave unexplained the
⠀⠀⠀ sequence of events and either simplify or obscure
⠀⠀⠀ motives. Again, such simplifications and obscurities
(40)⠀⠀exist in order to give prominence to the depiction of
⠀⠀⠀ sharply delineated moral values, values derived from
⠀⠀⠀ a character's purely personal sense of honor, rather
⠀⠀⠀ than, as in a Jamesian novel, from the conventions of
⠀⠀⠀ society.

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
B. contrast the romantic and novelistic traditions and assert the aesthetic superiority of the romantic tradition
C. survey some of the responses to Melville's fiction put forward by James and twentieth-century literary critics
D. argue that the charges made against Melville's fiction by literary critics are suspect and misleading
E. note several accusations made against Melville's fiction by literary critics and refute one of these accusations

RC59461.01-10



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.
B. Literary critics who have praised Melville's fiction at the expense of James's fiction should consider themselves justified.
C. Literary critics should no longer attempt to place writers, including Melville and James, in traditions or categories.
D. Melville and James should be viewed as different sorts of writers and one should not be regarded as inherently superior to the other.
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.

RC59461.01-20



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

A. Melville's Unique Contribution to Romantic Fiction
B. Melville's Growing Reputation Among Twentieth-Century Literary Critics
C. Melville and the Jamesian Standards of Fiction: A Reexamination
D. Romantic and Novelistic: The Shared Assumptions of Two Traditions
E. The Art of Fiction: James's Influence on the Novelistic Tradition

RC59461.01-30



4. The author probably mentions Melville's Pierre to

A. refute those literary critics who have made generalizations about the quality of Melville's fiction
B. argue that the portrayal of characters is one of Melville's more accomplished literary skills
C. give an example of a novel that was thought by James to resemble his own fiction
D. suggest that literary critics find few exceptions to what they believe is a characteristic of Melville's fiction
E. reinforce the contention of literary critics

RC59461.01-40



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

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.

RC59461.01-50



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.
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.

RC59461.01-60



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

A. The romantic tradition should be considered at least as valuable as the novelistic tradition in the examination of human experience.
B. The romantic tradition should be considered the more vital tradition primarily because Melville is part of that tradition.
C. The romantic tradition should be considered the superior tradition because it is so widespread.
D. The romantic tradition has had as much success in pleasing literary critics as has the novelistic tradition.
E. The romantic and novelistic traditions have always made important contributions to literature, but their most important contributions have been in the twentieth century.

RC59461.01-70



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
B. How skillfully that fiction supersedes the presuppositions or conventions of a tradition
C. How completely that fiction satisfies the standards of judgment held by most literary critics
D. How well that fiction fulfills the premises about fiction maintained by the writer of the fiction
E. How well that fiction exhibits a continuity of subject and style over the course of the writer's career

RC59461.01-80