The topic of criminality in Andrew Blanchard’s work is a commonly purs

Question

Project RC Butler 2020  -  Participate and win GMAT Club Tests.   
Passage # 55, Date: 28-Apr-2020
 This post is a part of Project RC Butler 2020 .  Click here for Details

The topic of criminality in Andrew Blanchard’s
work is a commonly pursued one. Its richness lies as
much within the thematic framework of Blanchard’s
prose as it does within the author’s own scandalous
 (5)  life. Not surprisingly, scholars frequently examine
Blanchard’s fictional world for clues that could reveal
the “real” story of their author. While the verdict of
such critiques traverses the entire spectrum of moral
judgments, from wholehearted compassion to reluctant
 (10)  absolution and dismissive condemnation, they all share
a certain smugness that prevents them from appreciating
the poetic brilliance of their  objet de critique .

At the less commendable end of this critical
spectrum is Mark Newman’s 1989 study titled,  Andrew 
 (15)   Blanchard : Biography of Deceit. In his book, Newman
undertakes the formidable challenge of correcting and
clarifying certain aspects of Blanchard’s biography.
The study, a detective narrative in its own right, seeks
to expose Blanchard not only as a petty thief, but also
 (20)  as a bad playwright. Newman holds no punches in
condemning Blanchard’s plays as disturbing, distasteful,
even disgusting. He even dislikes the playwright’s
penchant for meta-theater, arguing that only a highly
skilled dramaturge can interweave multiple plays-
 (25)  within-a-play and still maintain a coherent narrative
structure. The implication being, of course, that
Blanchard was far from being a skilled dramaturge.    1 
  1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) examine Blanchard’s fictional world for clues that could reveal his criminal past.
(B) clarify certain aspects of Blanchard’s biography.
(C) reject Blanchard’s critical reception as unappreciative of his creative genius.
(D) correct a common misconception regarding the work of a famous playwright.
(E) defend a playwright against accusations that may be factually incorrect

2 
 2. Which one of the following summarizes the main point of the passage?

(A) By judging Andrew Blanchard’s personal life rather than the quality of his work, critics fail to accord him the appreciation he deserves.
(B) Some of the themes that inhabit Andrew Blanchard’s fictional world are drawn from his criminal past.
(C) Mark Newman’s biography of Andrew Blanchard is well-informed, but the judgments it reaches are overly harsh.
(D) Andrew Blanchard’s fictional world provides a valuable insight into his personal life.
(E) Andrew Blanchard’s moral failings have prevented him from reaching his true artistic potential.

3 
 3. The author most likely uses the phrase “fictional world” (line 6) to refer to

(A) a body of work produced by an artist
(B) a true belief that something is objectively false
(C) an artistic concept
(D) a potentially deceptive work
(E) a body of work that has no relation to its author’s real life

4 
 4. It can be inferred from the passage that Mark Newman would be most likely to agree with each one of the following statements about the work of Andrew Blanchard, EXCEPT:

(A) It is written by someone with a criminal past.
(B) It is not the product of a highly skilled dramaturge.
(C) It requires correction and clarification.
(D) It can be offensive as well as incoherent.
(E) It makes an unsuccessful attempt at meta-theater.

Sajjad1994 · Accepted Answer

To all whom it may concern, i am posting official analysis and explanation of the passage, if you still have any doubt kindly let me know.

Official Explanation

Analysis:

The passage outlines the critical reception of Andrew Blanchard’s work, elaborating on a particularly unfavorable critical view.

Paragraph One:

In the first paragraph, we learn that Andrew Blanchard is a writer with a criminal past, which seems to bear some resemblance to the subject matter of his work. We also learn that Blanchard’s scholars use his fictional world to find clues about his life. Most importantly, the first paragraph provides an insight into the author’s own views regarding Blanchard and his critical reception: the judgmental attitude shared by his critics has prevented them from appreciating the  “poetic brilliance”  of Andrew Blanchard.

Paragraph Two:

This paragraph provides an example of a particularly negative critical view of Blanchard and his work. Mark Newman regards Blanchard as a thief as well as a bad playwright, and seems particularly bothered by the latter’s penchant for meta-theater. While  “metatheater”  is not explicitly defined here, you can infer that—in its ideal form—it interweaves multiple plays-within-a-play and still maintains a coherent narrative structure. Notably, according to Newman, Blanchard failed to achieve this artistic objective.

VIEWSTAMP Analysis:

There are three main Viewpoints expressed in the passage: The viewpoint of the scholars, who use Blanchard’s fictional worlds to find clues about his life; that of Mark Newman, who illustrates this trend in its most critical form; and that of the author, who clearly believes that critics did not appreciate the poetic brilliance of Andrew Blanchard  (lines 12-14).

The Structure of the passage is as follows:

Paragraph 1:  Introduce Andrew Blanchard’s work and its critical reception.

Paragraph 2:  Exemplify a particularly negative critical view of Andrew Blanchard. The author’s Tone is somewhat condescending (if not overtly hostile) toward Blanchard’s critics, whose  “smugness”  prevents them from appreciating the brilliance of Andrew Blanchard.

The only implicit Argument is that of the author, who regards the critics’ views as smug and misguided. The author also argues that Blanchard is a brilliant playwright, but does not elaborate upon the qualities that make his work outstanding. The critics’ perspective is outlined in the first paragraph and an example of it is provided in the second, but these are not arguments as much as they are mere viewpoints.

The  Main Point  of the passage is that the critics did not accord Blanchard the appreciation he deserves.

The  Primary Purpose  of the passage is to dismiss Blanchard’s critical reception as unappreciative of Blanchard’s poetic brilliance.

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

The answer to this Main Purpose question is prephrased in the VIEWSTAMP analysis above.

Answer choice (A)  is incorrect, because it describes the purpose of those who criticize Blanchard  (lines 7-9) , which is not the author’s purpose.

Answer choice (B)  is incorrect, because it is Mark Newman, not the author, who seeks to  “correct  and clarify  certain aspects of Blanchard’s biography”   (lines 16-17) .

Answer choice (C)  is the correct answer choice, given the discussion at the end of the  first paragraph.

Answer choice (D)  is attractive, but incorrect. The author clearly rejects the critics’ views of Blanchard, but there is no evidence that their views amount to a  “common misconception.”  The extent to which the critics’ position is commonly shared remains unknown. Furthermore, we have no evidence suggesting that Blanchard was a famous playwright. This answer choice fails the Fact Test—twice—and is therefore incorrect.

Answer choice (E)  is incorrect, because the passage makes no assertions regarding the factual veracity of the critics’ accusations. The author takes issue with the general direction of their criticism, rather than with the historical accuracy of their observations.

Answer: C

2. Which one of the following summarizes the main point of the passage?

Difficulty Level:   650

Explanation

The answer to this Main Point question is prephrased in the VIEWSTAMP analysis above.

Answer choice (A)  is the correct answer choice. The first paragraph outlines the negative critical reception of Andrew Blanchard’s work, and the second paragraph supports this view by describing one study that exemplifies this reception. The author’s own position is revealed in  lines 12-14 , in which she expresses regret that the critics have not appreciated Blanchard’s  “poetic brilliance.”

Answer choice (B)  is incorrect. The author neither illustrates nor elaborates on the idea that some of the themes that inhabit Andrew Blanchard’s fictional world are drawn from his criminal past. Even if true, this is not the main point of the passage.

Answer choice (C)  is incorrect for two reasons: First, we have no evidence that the author regards Newman’s study as  “well-informed.”  As an avid fan of Andrew Blanchard’s work, the author would have little appreciation for the views expressed in the study. Second, the main point of the passage is not to discuss Mark Newman’s biography of Andrew Blanchard, which is merely mentioned as an example meant to substantiate a broader claim.

Answer choice (D)  is incorrect, because it describes an assumption of the  “scholars   frequently examine Blanchard’s fictional world for clues that could reveal the ‘real’ story of their author”   (lines 7-9) . This is not the author’s position, let alone the main point of the passage.

Answer choice (E)  is incorrect, because it presents a position most likely shared by some of Blanchard’s critics, not by the author herself.

Answer: A

3. The author most likely uses the phrase “fictional world” (line 6) to refer to

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

The answer to this question should be prephrased. In  lines 7-9 , the author describes how scholars examine Blanchard’s fictional world looking for clues that could reveal the  “real”  story of the author. In this context, “fictional world” refers to the body of work produced by Blanchard.

Answer choice (A)  is the correct answer choice, as it correctly describes the function of the phrase in the context in which it appears.

Answer choice (B)  is incorrect, because the phrase does not reflect a true belief that something is objectively false. Do not be tempted by the use of convoluted language here, unless you can definitively rule out the remaining answer choices.

Answer choice (C)  is incorrect, because  “fictional world”  does not refer to an artistic concept as much as to an actual body of work produced by an artist.

Answer choice (D)  is incorrect, because there is no evidence suggesting that Blanchard’s artistic work is potentially deceptive (though the critics might have been deceived by it).

Answer choice (E)  is the Opposite answer, because Blanchard is described as a writer with a scandalous life, which does bear some resemblance to the subject matter of his work  (lines 1-6).

Answer: A

4. It can be inferred from the passage that Mark Newman would be most likely to agree with each one of the following statements about the work of Andrew Blanchard, EXCEPT:

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

This Subject Perspective-EXCEPT question requires us to identify four statements about Andrew Blanchard that Mark Newman is likely to agree with. Given the structure of the passage, the second paragraph is likely to prove useful in validating the four incorrect answer choices.

Answer choice (A)  is incorrect, given Newman’s attempt to expose Blanchard as a  “petty thief” (line 19) . Clearly, Newman would regard Blanchard’s work as written by someone with a criminal past.

Answer choice (B)  is incorrect. Newman argues that only a highly skilled dramaturge can interweave multiple plays-within-a-play and still maintain a coherent narrative structure— something Blanchard clearly failed to do. Given Newman’s negative opinion of Blanchard, it is reasonable to infer that the critic would view Blanchard’s work as produced by a less than highly skilled dramaturge.

Answer choice (C)  is the correct answer choice. It is Blanchard’s biography that requires correction and clarification  (lines 16-17) , not Blanchard’s work as a dramaturge.

Answer choice (D)  is incorrect. Newman condemns Blanchard’s plays as  “distasteful” (line 21) , which is synonymous with  “offensive.”  It is also clear that Newman regards Blanchard’s foray into meta-theater as a failure, i.e. lacking in coherent narrative structure  (lines 25-26).

Answer choice (E)  is incorrect, because Newman clearly dislikes Blanchard’s foray into meta-theater, arguing that only a skilled dramaturge can pull it off  (lines 22-28).

Answer: C

Hope it helps

varun325 · Answer

Answers:
1)E
2)A
3)E
4)C

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

The authors tone in the passage is against the scholars who are reviewing the works of A.B on the basis of his personal life.
"Not surprisingly, scholars frequently examine Blanchard’s fictional world for clues that could reveal the “real” story of their author"
"The study, a detective narrative in its own right, seeks to expose Blanchard not only as a petty thief, but also as a bad playwright"

(A) examine Blanchard’s fictional world for clues that could reveal his criminal past.
(B) clarify certain aspects of Blanchard’s biography.
(C) reject Blanchard’s critical reception as unappreciative of his creative genius.
(D) correct a common misconception regarding the work of a famous playwright.
 (E) defend a playwright against accusations that may be factually incorrect ( Correct) Author maintains a tone in the passage as if he is trying to defend the works of A.B
 
2. Which one of the following summarizes the main point of the passage?

Author states the main point that "Not surprisingly, scholars frequently examine Blanchard’s fictional world for clues that could reveal the “real” story of their author" and then goes on to evaluate a scholar's biography of A.B
( A) By judging Andrew Blanchard’s personal life rather than the quality of his work, critics fail to accord him the appreciation he deserves.( Correct) 
(B) Some of the themes that inhabit Andrew Blanchard’s fictional world are drawn from his criminal past.
(C) Mark Newman’s biography of Andrew Blanchard is well-informed, but the judgments it reaches are overly harsh.
(D) Andrew Blanchard’s fictional world provides a valuable insight into his personal life.
(E) Andrew Blanchard’s moral failings have prevented him from reaching his true artistic potential.

3. The author most likely uses the phrase “fictional world” (line 6) to refer to

Fictional means not real and the purpose of using the words clearly fits as mentioned in option E

(A) a body of work produced by an artist
(B) a true belief that something is objectively false
(C) an artistic concept
(D) a potentially deceptive work
 (E) a body of work that has no relation to its author’s real life ( Correct)

4. It can be inferred from the passage that Mark Newman would be most likely to agree with each one of the following statements about the work of Andrew Blanchard, EXCEPT:

(A) It is written by someone with a criminal past.
(B) It is not the product of a highly skilled dramaturge.
 (C) It requires correction and clarification.correct 
( no where M. N has mentioned that the works requires correction and clarification. M.N simply rejects the works of A.B) 
(D) It can be offensive as well as incoherent.
(E) It makes an unsuccessful attempt at meta-theater.

AnirudhaS · Answer

Answers are in  bold .

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) examine Blanchard’s fictional world for clues that could reveal his criminal past.
(B) clarify certain aspects of Blanchard’s biography.
 (C) reject Blanchard’s critical reception as unappreciative of his creative genius. 
(D) correct a common misconception regarding the work of a famous playwright.
(E) defend a playwright against accusations that may be factually incorrect

Explanation of question 1 
A - Well that was what others do. This is a trap answer. But author does not agree with the others. He thinks Blanchard's work is praiseworthy.
B - No clarification is going on here.
C - This is the primary purpose. Author thinks Blanchard was a creative genius, but his past life always comes in the way. Hence the world, rather than appreciating his work, tries to pass moral judgement.
D - If you are thinking the misconception is that Blanchard's work had reference to his past crimes, then no this is not a misconception. All the author is trying to do is defend the brilliance of his works. The author does not attempt to defend Blanchard as an individual.
E - author is not trying to defend Blanchard. He is only trying to defend Blanchard's work, which he thinks is of substance.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Which one of the following summarizes the main point of the passage?
 (A) By judging Andrew Blanchard’s personal life rather than the quality of his work, critics fail to accord him the appreciation he deserves. 
(B) Some of the themes that inhabit Andrew Blanchard’s fictional world are drawn from his criminal past.
(C) Mark Newman’s biography of Andrew Blanchard is well-informed, but the judgments it reaches are overly harsh.
(D) Andrew Blanchard’s fictional world provides a valuable insight into his personal life.
(E) Andrew Blanchard’s moral failings have prevented him from reaching his true artistic potential.

Explanation of question 2 
A - Absolutely. The essence of the passage is very subtly written in this line -  "..they all share a certain smugness that prevents them from appreciating the poetic brilliance of their objet de critique."  Object of criticism is Blanchard's poetic brilliance (according to author). But his past criminal records malign his brilliance, and that is what the author is trying to convey.
B - This may well be true, but it is not the main point of the passage.
C - This passage is not about Newman. Newman is a tool, an example, which the author uses to show how the works of Blanchard has been criticized.
D - May be. May not be. A lot of people have tried to uncover this, but nothing can be said about this with absolute certainty.
E - This is a close choice, but not the answer because of one key point. Although the author believes that Blanchard is a good artist, it is never mentioned if anything PREVENTED him from REACHING HIS BEST. Therefore, this may well be true, but is not discussed in the passage and hence cannot be the main idea.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. The author most likely uses the phrase “fictional world” (line 6) to refer to
(A) a body of work produced by an artist
(B) a true belief that something is objectively false
(C) an artistic concept
(D) a potentially deceptive work
 (E) a body of work that has no relation to its author’s real life

Explanation of question 3 
Two choices come close A and E
Fictional work in general means imaginary work, not related to the real world.
A - true it is a body of work produced by the author. But why does he use the word FICTIONAL. It could have been just world then. 
C - In this choice the problem of A is dealt with. it now clearly means that it is imaginary work, which has no relation to the author's real life.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. It can be inferred from the passage that Mark Newman would be most likely to agree with each one of the following statements about the work of Andrew Blanchard, EXCEPT:
(A) It is written by someone with a criminal past.
(B) It is not the product of a highly skilled dramaturge.
(C) It requires correction and clarification.
(D) It can be offensive as well as incoherent.
 (E) It makes an unsuccessful attempt at meta-theater.

Explanation of question 4 
EXCEPT question, so we need to find the odd one out. With 4 choices Newman would agree.
A - Newman wants to expose Blanchard as a petty thief. So he believes he has a criminal past.
B - The last line suggests Newman believes this -  "The implication being, of course, that Blanchard was far from being a skilled dramaturge." 
C - Stated here -  "In his book, Newman undertakes the formidable challenge of correcting and clarifying certain aspects of Blanchard’s biography." 
D - Stated here -  "Blanchard’s plays as disturbing, distasteful, even disgusting." . 
Incoherent because is stated here -  "arguing that only a highly skilled dramaturge can interweave multiple plays- within-a-play and still maintain a coherent narrative structure." 
E - So this is the odd one out. The meaning is distorted in this choice. Lets see what is stated in the passage -  "He even dislikes the playwright’s penchant for meta-theater"  Newman dislikes Blanchard's liking for narrative stucture. But this does not mean it makes an unsuccessful ATTEMPT at meta-theatre.

adstudy · Answer

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) examine Blanchard’s fictional world for clues that could reveal his criminal past.    
(B) clarify certain aspects of Blanchard’s biography.
(C) reject Blanchard’s critical reception as unappreciative of his creative genius.    
(D) correct a common misconception regarding the work of a famous playwright.    
(E) defend a playwright against accusations that may be factually incorrect

Answer should be   B  , IMO. Elimination points mentioned against each option.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2. Which one of the following summarizes the main point of the passage?

(A) By judging Andrew Blanchard’s personal life rather than the quality of his work, critics fail to accord him the appreciation he deserves.
(B) Some of the themes that inhabit Andrew Blanchard’s fictional world are drawn from his criminal past.
(C) Mark Newman’s biography of Andrew Blanchard is well-informed, but the judgments it reaches are overly harsh.
(D) Andrew Blanchard’s fictional world provides a valuable insight into his personal life. 
(E) Andrew Blanchard’s moral failings have prevented him from reaching his true artistic potential.

Answer should be   A  , IMO.

The correct answer A is expressed by the author two times in the passage in the below lines. Other options are all of partial scope and not the main point of the passage.

While the verdict of such critiques traverses the entire spectrum of moral judgments, from wholehearted compassion to reluctant (10) absolution and dismissive condemnation, they all share a  certain smugness that prevents them from   appreciating the poetic brilliance   of their objet de critique. At the   less commendable end   of this critical spectrum is Mark Newman’s 1989 study titled, Andrew (15) Blanchard: Biography of Deceit.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. The author most likely uses the phrase “fictional world” (line 6) to refer to

(A) a body of work produced by an artist
(B) a true belief that something is objectively false
(C) an artistic concept
(D) a potentially deceptive work
(E) a body of work that has no relation to its author’s real life

Answer should be   D  , IMO.

The answer can be inferred from the below set of lines from the passage - 
 Its  richness lies  as much wi thin the thematic framework of Blanchard’s prose as it does within the author’s own scandalous (5) life . Not surprisingly, scholars frequently examine Blanchard’s fictional world for clues that could reveal the  “real” story of their author.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. It can be inferred from the passage that Mark Newman would be most likely to agree with each one of the following statements about the work of Andrew Blanchard, EXCEPT:

(A) It is written by someone with a criminal past.
(B) It is not the product of a highly skilled dramaturge.
(C) It requires correction and clarification.
(D) It can be offensive as well as incoherent.
(E) It makes an unsuccessful attempt at meta-theater.

Answer should be   C  , IMO.

All others can be found as part of the passage except this. Although a reference of the 'correction and clarification' is found in the passage but only in reference to the biography of Blanchard. This can be inferred from the below mentioned lines - 
 In his book, Newman undertakes the formidable challenge of  correcting and clarifying certain aspects of Blanchard’s biography .

Gowtham91 · Answer

Q1. 
A. This is true for the work of the scholars and not the primary purpose of the passage. 
B. This is the purpose of Newman's work.
 C. Correct  This can be inferred from - "they all share a certain smugness that prevents them from appreciating the poetic brilliance of their objet de critique." and "At the less commendable end of this critical spectrum is Mark Newman’s 1989 study". 
D. Same as B.
E. This is partially correct. Nothing can be inferred on factual correctness of the critics view of Blanchard's work.

Q2.
 A. Correct  Same explanation as option C of Q1.
B. No. The critics believe that the works of Blanchard hide his criminal past.
C. This is true, but not the main point of the passage.
D. Same as C.
E. This can't be inferred.

Q3.
A. This is true, but does not show the intension of using the word "fiction"
B. this is convoluted and not correct. We cannot infer that his work is objectively false, it is subjectively false as each critic portrayed in a different manner.
C. Blanchard's work is not just a concept, its an art work.
D. This is true for Newman's work only. 
 E. Correct  Fiction, in general means made up things and does not coorelate to real life. Ex - harry potter. Hence the author uses fictional world because he believes it has nothing to do with Blanchard's personal life.

Q4.
A. Can be inferred from - "expose Blanchard not only as a petty thief,"
B. Can be inferred from - "Blanchard was far from being a skilled dramaturge"
C. Can be inferred from - " challenge of correcting and clarifying certain aspects of Blanchard’s biography"
 D. Correct  This is partially correct that Newman agrees Blanchard's work to be incoherent, but not offensive. 
E. Can be inferred from " He even dislikes the playwright’s penchant for meta-theater, arguing that only a highly skilled dramaturge can interweave multiple plays- within-a-play and still maintain a coherent narrative structure. "

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OAs of this RC are as follow:

1. C
2. A
3. A
4. C

Not impressive work by any one here, if you have any question kindly let me know.

adstudy · Answer

Hi SajjadAhmad Can you please help in posting the OE for all the questions. The passage was relatively easy, but the questions were quite tricky as we can certainly expect on the GMAT

Overall a great passage for learning. Thanks for all your efforts

AnirudhaS · Answer

Sometimes I wonder if the choices are actually tricky, or a failed attempt to make the answers harder!

Lets look at question 4.
4. It can be inferred from the passage that Mark Newman would be most likely to agree with each one of the following statements about the work of Andrew Blanchard, EXCEPT:
(A) It is written by someone with a criminal past.
(B) It is not the product of a highly skilled dramaturge.
(C) It requires correction and clarification.
(D) It can be offensive as well as incoherent.
(E) It makes an unsuccessful attempt at meta-theater.

Here "it" is WORK of Blanchard. This is clearly stated in the question. Also in the passage it says -  " Newman undertakes the formidable challenge of correcting and clarifying certain aspects of Blanchard’s biography."

Now why would he correct and clarify if Newman felt it did not need correction or clarification?

Gowtham91 · Answer

AnirudhaS . Totally agree with you and I have the same feeling. May be OE's would help clarify.  SajjadAhmad  please post OE's for all questions.

VerbalBot · Answer

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The topic of criminality in Andrew Blanchard’s work is a commonly purs

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