Argument:
"At the heart of European Romanticism was the humanist presupposition that language can depict the real world and convey what the author wants to say, and that the author writes to communicate his experiences or thoughts. Thus, the author becomes the creator and, hence, the progenitor of what he writes."
Conclusion:
The author becomes the creator and progenitor of what he writes.
Premises:
Language can depict the real world.
Language can convey what the author wants to say.
The author writes to communicate his experiences or thoughts.
Key Assumption:
The author's writings are solely derived from his own experiences or thoughts.
Evaluate Answer Choices:
(A) At the core of any literature is the voice of the writer.
Does not challenge the idea that the author is the progenitor.
(B) Writing is viewed as a derivative of the spoken.
Irrelevant to the argument about the author as the progenitor.
(C) Most authors seek inspiration from observations of life around them.
Supports the idea that authors are influenced by external factors but does not directly challenge the author's role as progenitor.
(D) Authors inhabit existing structures that help them to generate written text.
Challenges the conclusion by implying that authors are influenced by existing structures, thus not solely creating their work.
(E) If literacy is considered the cornerstone of civilization, then to be literate is to be able to read and write.
Irrelevant to the argument about the author's creative role.
Conclusion:
Choice (D) is the strongest challenge to the conclusion as it suggests that authors are influenced by external structures, undermining the idea that they are the sole progenitors of their work.