Mississippi-born writer Tennessee Williams, one of America's most

Question

Mississippi-born writer Tennessee Williams, one of America's most celebrated playwrights, created some of the most triumphal dramas in American theater. His twenty-five full-length plays contain characters trapped in a world that often neglects and even punishes those who dream of escaping their circumstances. Fellow playwright Arthur Miller once said, "Tennessee wanted not to approve or disapprove, but to touch the germ of life and to celebrate it with verbal beauty." Williams's works reveal the disturbing complexities of the human condition with honesty and lyrical understanding.

Perhaps more than any other dramatist, Tennessee Williams inscribed his personal life---including his lifelong struggles with substance abuse---into his scripts. The Glass Menagerie, his first critical success, is a story of people too fragile to deal with the realities of their own lives. Williams's characters were inspired by members of his own family. The Glass Menagerie served as a model for many of the autobiographical dramas that followed it.

Prior to Menagerie, the Broadway play emphasized plot. But Williams pushed language to center stage. His characters' lines are fluid, idiomatic, full of imagery, and rhythmically composed. His use of symbolism invests his characters with mythic dimension. A rose, a bird, and a cat take on metaphorical significance in his other plays. While Williams uninhibitedly aired the "closets, attics and basements of human behavior," he treated his characters with compassion. His works also addressed issues such as sexuality and neurosis that had previously been taboo subjects.    1 
 1. The passage is primarily concerned with discussing

A. the significance of The Glass Menagerie on the development of Tennessee Williams's career
B. the influence of family on Tennessee Williams's dramas
C. the way American culture changed because of the revolutionary works of Tennessee Williams
D. the distinctive aspects of Tennessee Williams's plays
E. the effect The Glass Menagerie had on subsequent Broadway plays

2 
 2. Which of the following would have been a likely source of creative inspiration for Tennessee Williams?

I. Williams's schizophrenic sister, who spent much of her life institutionalized
II. Williams's own battles with hypochondria and depression, as well as his addictions to liquor, sedatives, and barbiturates
III. Sidney Lanier, a southern poet who captured the pauses, rhythms, and repetitions that are distinctive of southern speech

A. I only
B. II only
C. III only
D. I and II only
E. I, II, and III

3 
 3. The passage supports which of the following statements?

A. Tennessee Williams insisted that plot take precedence over dialogue.
B. The Glass Menagerie was the first autobiographical play that dealt with the complexities of the human condition.
C. Tennessee Williams considered himself to be a great playwright.
D. The characters in Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie find it difficult to confront the nature of their existence.
E. The Glass Menagerie used plants and animals to create metaphors of the human condition.

4 
 4. With which of the following statements regarding the impact that Tennessee Williams had on the American theater would the author most probably agree?

A. Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie generated an entirely new kind of play called the autobiographical drama.
B. No other playwright has been able to achieve the linguistic innovation that Tennessee Williams achieved.
C. Tennessee Williams's work re-defined the scope of the American theater.
D. Before The Glass Menagerie, symbols and imagery had never been used to develop multi-faceted characters.
E. Tennessee Williams's works are essentially concerned with the pain and confusion of being alive

ksht · Answer

1. The passage is primarily concerned with discussing
 a) the significance of The Glass Menagerie on the development of Tennessee Williams's career  - no focussed on William's career
 b) the influence of family on Tennessee Williams's dramas  - just one line address impact of family but not whole passage
 c) the way American culture changed because of the revolutionary works of Tennessee Williams  - Broadway changed not american culture
 d) the distinctive aspects of Tennessee Williams's plays  - Correct
 e) the effect The Glass Menagerie had on subsequent Broadway plays  - last para talks about effect and aspect of plays in general. Terms like -'in his other plays.' and 'His works' are used- so not focused on The Glass Menagerie

2. Which of the following would have been a likely source of creative inspiration for Tennessee Williams?
 I. Williams's schizophrenic sister, who spent much of her life institutionalized  - Williams's characters were inspired by members of his own family.
 II. Williams's own battles with hypochondria and depression, as well as his addictions to liquor, sedatives, and barbiturates  - Tennessee Williams inscribed his personal life---including his lifelong struggles with substance abuse---into his scripts.
 III. Sidney Lanier, a southern poet who captured the pauses, rhythms, and repetitions that are distinctive of southern speech 
a) I only
b) II only
c) III only
 d) I and II only  - correct
e) I, II, and III

3. The passage supports which of the following statements?
 a) Tennessee Williams insisted that plot take precedence over dialogue.  - rather opposite
 b) The Glass Menagerie was the first autobiographical play that dealt with the complexities of the human condition.  - nowhere mentioned first autobiographical play
 c) Tennessee Williams considered himself to be a great playwright.  - may be / may be not, not mentioned
 d) The characters in Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie find it difficult to confront the nature of their existence.  - Correct- 'people too fragile to deal with the realities of their own lives' 
 e) The Glass Menagerie used plants and animals to create metaphors of the human condition . - used in other plays not in The Glass Menagerie as mentioned in para 3

4. With which of the following statements regarding the impact that Tennessee Williams had on the American theater would the author most probably agree?
 a) Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie generated an entirely new kind of play called the autobiographical drama.  - author is not focused on autobiographical scope
 b) No other playwright has been able to achieve the linguistic innovation that Tennessee Williams achieved.  - Correct - 'Prior to Menagerie, the Broadway play emphasized plot. But Williams pushed language to center stage'
 c) Tennessee Williams's work re-defined the scope of the American theater.  - confused between b and c, went with b as specifically mentioned by author
 d) Before The Glass Menagerie, symbols and imagery had never been used to develop multi-faceted characters.  - symbols and imagery are used in other plays not sure if used in The Glass Menagerie
 e) Tennessee Williams's works are essentially concerned with the pain and confusion of being alive  - The Glass Menagerie deals with this but not sure about other works of William

varun325 · Answer

03:43
1. The passage is primarily concerned with discussing

a) the significance of The Glass Menagerie on the development of Tennessee Williams's career. This was his first critically acclaimed but no more info given.
b) the influence of family on Tennessee Williams's dramas. This also covers very small part. Only mentioned in para 2.
c)  the way American culture changed  because of the revolutionary works of Tennessee Williams. Out of context. Importance of T.W plays in American Drama is mentioned but culture change is not mentioned anywhere.
 d) the distinctive aspects of Tennessee Williams's plays ( correct) .The passage is all about the style & the uniqueness in T.W Plays , his preferences for subjects & language & His compassion for the characters. 
 The passage starts with the importance of T.W plays in American Drama and then gives an overview about the uniqueness in the plays.
More info about the characters in one of his critically acclaimed plays and from where these characters were inspired. More details about his plays and the topics he had covered. 
e)  the effect  The Glass Menagerie had on subsequent Broadway plays. Out of context

01:58

2. Which of the following would have been a likely source of creative inspiration for Tennessee Williams?

Fragile is a person who can't accept the ways of the world .

I. Williams's schizophrenic sister, who spent much of her life institutionalized ( Not conscious person so can't say she was fragile)
II. Williams's own battles with hypochondria and depression, as well as his addictions to liquor, sedatives, and barbiturates
III. Sidney Lanier, a southern poet who captured the pauses, rhythms, and repetitions that are distinctive of southern speech ( She looks natural)

a) I only. 
 b) II only (correct) The fragile unable to deal with realities of their lives. 
c) III only
d) I and II only
e) I, II, and III

02:15

3. The passage supports which of the following statements?

a) Tennessee Williams insisted that plot take precedence over dialogue.( opposite T.W took language to centre stage)
b) The Glass Menagerie was the first autobiographical play that dealt with the complexities of the human condition.( Not mentioned that whether it was the first play or not)
c) Tennessee Williams considered himself to be a great playwright.( Not mentioned)
 d) The characters in Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie find it difficult to confront the nature of their existence.( Correct) Fragile characters. 
e) The Glass Menagerie used plants and animals to create metaphors of the  human condition.  ( human condition is doubted)

02:42

4. With which of the following statements regarding the impact that Tennessee Williams had on the American theater would the author most probably agree?

a) Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie generated an entirely new kind of play called the autobiographical drama.( This is close ) The play served as model for other plays but not sure whether it was the first autobiographical drama.
b) No other playwright has been able to achieve the linguistic innovation that Tennessee Williams achieved.( T.W is one of the most celebrated but not the most) 
c) Tennessee Williams's work re-defined the scope of the American theater.( very extreme)
d) Before The Glass Menagerie, symbols and imagery had never been used to develop multi-faceted characters.( Not mentioned)
 e) Tennessee Williams's works are essentially concerned with the pain and confusion of being alive ( Correct)

AnirudhaS · Answer

Answers are in  bold .

1. The passage is primarily concerned with discussing
a) the significance of The Glass Menagerie on the development of Tennessee Williams's career
b) the influence of family on Tennessee Williams's dramas
c) the way American culture changed because of the revolutionary works of Tennessee Williams
 d) the distinctive aspects of Tennessee Williams's plays 
e) the effect The Glass Menagerie had on subsequent Broadway plays

Explanation of question 1 
A - Too narrow (only 2nd para is covered by this)
B - Too narrow (again the 1st and the 3rd para gets completely omitted if this is the main idea of the passage)
C - The main idea is not how the American culture changed. Also we do not know for certain if William's work can be considered as  revolutionary .
D - Yes this is a suitable choice. From the start the author talks about Williams and his plays. He then goes on saying what influenced him as a playwright. Finally he praises Williams of having significant effect on the play-scene of America during his time.
E - Too narrow again
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Which of the following would have been a likely source of creative inspiration for Tennessee Williams?
I. Williams's schizophrenic sister, who spent much of her life institutionalized
II. Williams's own battles with hypochondria and depression, as well as his addictions to liquor, sedatives, and barbiturates
III. Sidney Lanier, a southern poet who captured the pauses, rhythms, and repetitions that are distinctive of southern speech
a) I only
b) II only
c) III only
 d) I and II only 
e) I, II, and III

Explanation of question 2 
Lets go through all the statements 
I - Yes this goes well with  "Williams's characters were inspired by members of his own family." 
II - Yes again, this goes well with  "..inscribed his personal life---including his lifelong struggles with substance abuse---into his scripts." 
III - Its not mentioned that Williams was influenced by his contemporaries. 
Answer is D.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. The passage supports which of the following statements?
a) Tennessee Williams insisted that plot take precedence over dialogue.
b) The Glass Menagerie was the first autobiographical play that dealt with the complexities of the human condition.
c) Tennessee Williams considered himself to be a great playwright.
 d) The characters in Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie find it difficult to confront the nature of their existence. 
e) The Glass Menagerie used plants and animals to create metaphors of the human condition.

Explanation of question 3 
A - Opposite answer. Williams pushed language (dialogue) over plot.
B - Again this is too extreme. Is it really the first? So no other play before Menagerie was - a) autobiographical, b) dealt with complexities of human condition? No 
C - Out of scope. In the passage it only says he is considered a celebrated playwright. That does not mean he considered himself to be the greatest.
D - Yes this is the closest choice, check what the passage says -  "is a story of people too fragile to deal with the realities of their own lives."  Realities of won lives is equivalent to nature of their existence. hence this is supported by the passage.
E - Look at what the passage says -  "A rose, a bird, and a cat take on metaphorical significance  in his other plays ."  So yes in his other plays, other than Menagerie, he uses plants and animals to create metaphors.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. With which of the following statements regarding the impact that Tennessee Williams had on the American theater would the author most probably agree?
a) Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie generated an entirely new kind of play called the autobiographical drama.
b) No other playwright has been able to achieve the linguistic innovation that Tennessee Williams achieved.
 c) Tennessee Williams's work re-defined the scope of the American theater. 
d) Before The Glass Menagerie, symbols and imagery had never been used to develop multi-faceted characters.
e) Tennessee Williams's works are essentially concerned with the pain and confusion of being alive

Explanation of question 4 
A - It was a model which other plays followed, but to say it generated a new kind of play is too strong to imply. 
B - No other? We do not know that for certain. 
C - Yes it can be reasonably inferred that the author would agree to this. A lot of examples in favour of this - 1. emphasis on language rather than plot, 2. use of symbolism, 3. use of taboo subjects.
D - Had never been - again this is too strong an implication. We do not like extreme words when it comes to these type of questions, unless it is actually stated in the passage.
E - Distorted meaning.

VerbalBot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot: 

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

 This post was generated automatically.

Mississippi-born writer Tennessee Williams, one of America's most

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Mississippi-born writer Tennessee Williams, one of America's most

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards