In his classic novel Nineteen Eighty-Four

Question

In his classic novel  Nineteen Eighty-Four , author George Orwell depicts a society ruled by oligarchic dictatorship  so draconian as to suppress  any individual who refuses to subordinate to the state.

A) so draconian as to suppress
B) so draconian it suppressed
C) so draconian that it suppressed
D) draconian enough to suppress
E) draconian enough so as to suppress

generis · Accepted Answer

• CONCEPTS

Meaning?
The government in George Orwell's book  1984  is a dictatorship. 
The dictators are excessively harsh ( draconian )—so harsh that any person who resists the government is silenced (suppressed).

Idioms?
When the extreme degree of a characteristic of something results in something else, GMAC uses two similar idioms.
(1) So X as to Y
-- He was so grateful for the kindness as to be moved to tears.
(2) So X that Y
-- He was so grateful for the kindness that he wept.

This sentence describes an extreme cause and effect situation.
Options A, B, and C hint that an idiom is at issue. ("So . . .")

PROCESS OF ELIMINATION   (explanation and analysis are below POE)

• Split #1:   Incorrect idiom
The correct idioms are  So X as to Y,  and  So X that Y.

Option B incorrectly uses  So X  it  Y. 
-- if you have to choose between  so  and  so that  in a question that involves consequence, use  so that . 
-- the word  so  by itself (without that) is rarely correct on the GMAT
Eliminate B

• Split #2 - verb tense mismatch

In the non-underlined portion of the sentence, we have the present tense verbs  depicts  and  refuses. 
In option C,  suppressed  should be  suppresses.

Most of the time, the verb tense in reported speech is "shifted" one tense back from what the tense would be in direct speech.
But if the reporting verb ( depicts ) is in the present tense as it is in this sentence, we do not have to "backshift."

Option (C) would be fine if the verb tense were correct. 
That is, the idiom is correct. The verb tense is not.

(C) a society ruled by oligarchic dictatorship  so draconian that it  suppressed   any individual who  refuses  to subordinate to the state
Eliminate C

• Split #3: meaning and idioms

Enough to  is not quite the right meaning. 
 Enough  suggests reaching a minimum, or reaching a threshold, whereas this sentence and the correct idioms emphasize the  extreme  degree of something and its results.

So = extreme
Enough = sufficient

So X as to Y 
The professor's grading was so unfair as to outrage every single student.
→ The professor's grading was extremely unfair.
→ The professor's grading was very unfair.
The emphasis is on the  extreme  degree of unfairness.

The professor's grading was harsh enough to give pampered students a reality check. 
The professor's grading is not extremely harsh. 
Its harshness is sufficient (enough) to teach students a lesson.

The meaning of Options D and E is not correct.

-- The regime was not trying to meet a threshold of harshness, at which point insubordinate people would be punished. 
The regime was not trying to be "sufficiently" harsh.
The regime was well past that threshold. 
It was extremely harsh, as opposed to "just harsh enough."
-- In addition, (E) uses yet another idiom that doesn't work here ( so as to ) and scrambles it with "enough to."
--  so as to  (with the words all together, in one phrasal piece) is an idiom different from So X as to Y.
 So as to  indicates purpose. GMAT does not like this idiom. I cannot find even one question in which the correct answer includes  so as to.  
Eliminate D and E

The answer is A.

SPOILER ALERT : If you click on the link, the answer to an official question is revealed.
 Here  is one official question whose correct answer uses the idiom  So X as to Y.

• ANALYSIS   (ignore what follows if you understood everything)

• The correct idioms are   
 So X as to Y 
and
 So X that Y

Structure?
So   as to
So   that

• In these idioms, "so" emphasizes the degree of the adjective (or much less frequently, the adverb).*

The words "as to" and "that" follow X's characteristic and tell us what  results  from the intensity of the adjective.

The oil painting was  so  realistic  as to  be mistaken for a photograph. 
--  realistic  is the adjective. Cause? A painting is very realistic. Result? The painting is mistaken for a photograph.

The professor was  so  grouchy  that  he intimidated students.  
--  grouchy  is the adjective. The professor is very grouchy. What is the result of his being very grouchy? He intimidates students.
His grouchiness causes the students to feel intimidated.

Both idioms are acceptable in this question. Option C botches the verb.
Option A does not.

The answer is A

ravigupta2912 · Answer

Do B & C (supressed) have to be eliminated on the grounds of parallelism (depicts - simple present) or it can be eliminated also on the basis that the sentence is conveying a general idea about the novel and hence simple past may not be the correct usage?

071999 · Answer

So draconian is used for the subject Society in the above question, Option "A" is the only option which is in present tense and give the correct verb for th subject

VerbalBot · Answer

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In his classic novel Nineteen Eighty-Four

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