During Dostoyevskys time there were two significant and opposing dire

During Dostoyevsky’s time there were two
significant and opposing directions in Russian literary
criticism. One position maintained that art stood high
above the present and the everyday, while the radical
(5) view maintained that art had a right to exist only if it
found its sources in concrete reality, and, through the
exposure of want and injustice, it contributed to the
creation of a new society; literature, in other words,
should be useful. Dostoyevsky took a third position.
(10) As a realist, he never doubted that reality was
literature’s crucial source. But his understanding of
reality went deeper than the one prevailing among
radical critics, since for Dostoyevsky there was no
distinction in principle between fantasy and reality,
(15) and reality was far more than the merely tangible.

The radical critics’ demand that reality be depicted
“as it is” was meaningless for Dostoyevsky; reality
was necessarily shaped by the person who experienced
it: what may not be reality for you may be reality for me.
(20)The task of the writer was to explode the boundaries
of the so-called real world. Within perceptible “reality”
exists another sphere, the fantastic, which is not in any
way superfluous to a writer’s concerns: “The fantastic
must be so intimately bound up with the real that one
(25) almost believes in it.”

The radical critics’ insistence that art must serve a
particular political view was for Dostoyevsky the
equivalent of assigning to art “a shameful destiny.”
A literary work must stand or fall on its “artistic
(30) merit,” he explained. The utilitarian claim that the
formal aspects of a work were of secondary importance
so long as its goal was good and its purpose clear
struck Dostoyevsky as a contradiction in terms. Only
fully realized artistic works could fulfill their goals.
(35) But what does it mean to say that a work is “artistic”?
Dostoyevsky defined it thus: “To say that a novelist is
‘artistic’ means that he possesses a talent to express his
thoughts in characters and images so that when the
reader has finished the novel, he has fully understood
(40) the author’s thoughts. Therefore, artistry is quite
simply the ability to write well.”

The radical critics’ requirement that art must at all
costs be “useful” to people and society seemed to
Dostoyevsky unsatisfactory. How can we know what
(45) will show itself to be useful? Can we say with
assurance how useful the Iliad has been to humankind?
No, Dostoyevsky believed, when it comes to this we
encounter breadths that cannot be measured with any
precision; sometimes a work of art may appear to
(50) deviate from reality and serve no useful purpose
because we cannot see clearly what paths it may take
to become useful.

1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

(A) By drawing on elements from the two opposing strains of Russian literary criticism, Dostoyevsky developed the theoretical apparatus for a new direction in Russian literature.
(B) In opposition to the views of the two most prominent groups of Russian literary critics, Dostoyevsky believed that literature should keep itself removed from reality.
(C) Dostoyevsky’s indictment of the radical Russian critics rested solely on his objection to the radical critics’ stipulation that literature be useful to society.
(D) In his critical writings, Dostoyevsky championed the freedom of the artist against the narrow constraints imposed by the radical Russian critics’ concern with the depiction of reality.
(E) Dostoyevsky’s position on literature differed sharply from that of the radical Russian critics with respect to the nature of reality, the importance of formal aspects in a literary work, and the utility of art.


2. Which one of the following works most clearly exemplifies writing Dostoyevsky would have deemed “artistic”?

(A) a fictionalized account based on interviews with patients that illustrates the brutal facts of illness
(B) a novel in which the author’s ideas are given substance through suitable characters and events
(C) a novel in which the author attempted to use allegory to communicate a criticism of feudal society
(D) an autobiographical essay in which the author chronicles the outstanding events in his life
(E) a short story in which the characters debate how to solve various social problems


3. According to the passage, Dostoyevsky disagreed with the radical critics’ view of realism in literature because he believed

(A) reality is not independent of the experiences of individuals
(B) realism is unequal to the task of representing political views
(C) art should be elevated above the portrayal of reality
(D) realism does not in fact facilitate the exposure of social inequities or contribute to the creation of a new society
(E) reality is not the crucial source of successful literature


4. In the context of the passage, the description of a work of literature as “useful” mainly refers to its

(A) proficiency at depicting the realm of the fantastic
(B) effectiveness at communicating the author’s ideas
(C) ability to help bring about social change
(D) facility for exploding the boundaries of the tangible world
(E) capacity to advance a particular theory of literature


5. Which one of the following most accurately describes the organization of the material presented in the passage?

(A) Three positions are presented and each is elaborated in detail.
(B) Three positions are presented and the third is differentiated from the first two in detail.
(C) Three positions are presented and the third is differentiated from the second in detail.
(D) Three positions are presented and the third is shown to be superior to the first two.
(E) Three positions are presented and the third is shown to be inferior to the second.


6. It can be inferred from the passage that Dostoyevsky would most likely have agreed with which one of the following statements about the view held by some Russian critics that art should stand high above the present and everyday?

(A) It is correct because of its requirement that art have a strong element of the fantastic.
(B) It is correct because it recognizes that reality is more than just an enumeration of the mundane details of life.
(C) It is incorrect because reality must be the foundation of all literature.
(D) It is incorrect because it makes no distinction between reality and fantasy.
(E) It is incorrect because of its insistence that art further some societal end.


7. Given the information in the passage, Dostoyevsky would have been most likely to agree with which one of the following statements about works of literature?

(A) Only works of literature that are well written can serve a particular political view.
(B) Only works of literature that serve a particular political view can be said to be well written.
(C) Works of literature that are not well written always attempt to serve a particular political view.
(D) A work of literature that is well written cannot serve any particular political view.
(E) A work of literature that serves a particular political view cannot be well written.


8. The passage suggests that Dostoyevsky’s attitude toward the radical critics’ view would be most softened if the radical critics were to

(A) draw a sharper distinction between reality and fantasy when evaluating the content of a literary work
(B) put clarity of purpose ahead of formal aspects when evaluating a literary work
(C) acknowledge the importance of eliminating elements of concrete reality from literary works
(D) recognize the full significance of artistic merit when evaluating literary works
(E) explain more fully their demand that reality be depicted as it is