Reading Comprehension

PT101 · S4 · P1 · Q6 P.D. James

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Wherever the crime novels of P. D. James are discussed by critics, there is a tendency on the one hand to exaggerate her merits and on the other to castigate her as a genre writer who is getting above herself.

Topic

P. D. James’s crime novels and the debate over her place in literary and genre fiction.

Framework

Present Debate (with elements of Highlight Noteworthy)

Main Point

There is an ongoing debate among critics about whether P. D. James’s crime novels are high literature or just genre fiction, but the author suggests that James may be outgrowing the constraints of the crime-novel genre and might be ready to write mainstream literary fiction. *The Most Valuable Sentence:* Seen in the last paragraph —

P1: Framing the Debate About P. D. James

There's a split among critics about P. D. James — some overpraise her, others dismiss her as an overly ambitious genre writer. The whole debate is really rooted in a false split between "enjoyable" and "serious" fiction.

P2: Different Critics’ Views

Supporters say James writes with depth, intricate characters, and explores big ideas, while detractors think she's pretentious and not true to the detective genre. Some critics just want her to focus on classic whodunit tricks instead of being "literary."

P3: Balanced Assessment of James’s Work

The author thinks James writes well and gives depth to her characters and worlds, which is enjoyable — but admits these qualities can slow down or muddle the mystery plots. Sometimes, her mysteries are solved more by intuition than by clear clues, as she seems more invested in character than the mechanics of detection.

6.

It can be inferred from the passage that, in the author's view, traditional detective fiction is characterized by

  1. concern for the weaknesses and

    Unrelated to Goal: doubts / weaknesses

    We're looking for, - unambiguous solution to the crime - the guilt is not distributed among many parties; it's concentrated on one person This is talking about whether or not the book talks about the weaknesses and doubts of the characters, so it's not matching either of the available details. And since this answer is talking about the book having concern for the subtle inner psychology of the characters, it sounds more like James than like traditional detective fiction. She "provides her characters with convincing histories and passions".

    2% picked this

  2. transparent devices to advance the

    James, not Traditional

    We're looking for, - unambiguous solution to the crime - the guilt is not distributed among many parties; it's concentrated on one person This is talking about neither of those. Instead, it's talking about something the passage told us about James: her devices to advance the story can be shameless and thin

    27% picked this

  3. the attribution of intuition to

    James, not Traditional

    We're looking for, - unambiguous solution to the crime - the guilt is not distributed among many parties; it's concentrated on one person This is talking about neither of those. Instead, it's talking about something the passage told us about James: it is often impossible to see how her detective arrives at the truth; one is left to conclude that the detective solves crimes through intuition.

    4% picked this

  4. Correct

    the straightforward assignment of culpability

    Why this is right

    We were looking for - unambiguous solution to the crime - the guilt is not distributed among many parties; it's concentrated on one person This answer matches both of these, in a way. In detective fiction, the detective is trying to solve a crime. The central question of the book is "who is responsible/culpable for the crime"? The solutions in James's novels are ambiguous and diffused across multiple parties. Traditional detection fiction has more neatness -- "The butler did it!"

    Skill tested: Inference · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    65% picked this

  5. attention to the concepts of

    James, not Traditional

    We're looking for, - unambiguous solution to the crime - the guilt is not distributed among many parties; it's concentrated on one person This is talking about neither of those. Instead, it's talking about something the passage told us about James in the 2nd paragraph: her painstakingly constructed characters, her elaborate settings, her sense of place, and her love of abstractions: notions about morality ...

    2% picked this

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