Reading Comprehension

PT154 · S3 · P2 · Q13 Literary Falsehoods

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Passage A The path a historical novelist has to tread is clearly beset by dangers.

Topic

The necessity and complexity of "lying" (inventing or altering facts) in historical novels and autobiographical writing.

Framework

Present Debate (both passages wrestle with the tension between truth and invention in writing about the past).

Main Point

Both passages argue that factual inaccuracies—what they call "lies"—are sometimes necessary and even desirable for writers of historical novels (Passage A) or autobiographies (Passage B), as these "lies" can enhance narrative, character, and emotional truth. However, both also express that there's a line between productive invention and unintentional errors or misleading distortions. - Most Valuable Sentences: - Passage A: (End of P1) - Passage B: (P3)

P1A: The Dilemma for Historical Novelists

Writers of historical novels face a challenge: being completely accurate means unreadable or dull books, so they must invent dialogue and details to bring characters to life, which means "telling lies" to some extent.

P2A: Distinguishing Lies from Mistakes

It's important to differentiate between intentional "lies" (deliberate creative liberties) and accidental mistakes (unforgivable inaccuracies). Good historical fiction uses constructive "lies" to serve the story; mistakes harm it.

P3A: Lying Done Well (Shakespeare as Model)

Not all lies are acceptable—some are too obvious or off-putting—but well-done lies are necessary. Shakespeare intentionally distorted facts for emotional impact, which made his plays memorable.

13.

Which one of the following comes closest to capturing what the author of passage B means to suggest in asking, at the end of the first paragraph, “Which, then, is the truest memory?”

  1. In autobiographical writing, is there

    Too Strong: any / all

    The author knows what truth means, in an objective sense. She's debating which is more optimal for the purposes of an autobiography.

    2% picked this

  2. Given the unreliable nature of

    Too Strong: possible

    The author specifically brings up a situation where we know a memory is wrong, but we still feel the false memory as "truer" somehow. So she knows it's possible to ascertain which is representing facts accurately.

    15% picked this

  3. If there are gaps in

    Out of Scope: gaps

    Again, the context here is not that we've forgotten certain things, so we fabricate the unknown. It's that we remember X happening, and then we learn that X didn't really happen. Should we tell the objective truth or the subjective truth?

    2% picked this

  4. Should autobiographical authors concern themselves

    Weaker Match

    Weaker Match: Not As Good As (E) This one is more temptingly close than the others. But the author already knows her answer to this question. Yes, authors of autobiographies should be asking themselves what does "true" mean. In fact, that's literally what the author is doing in this paragraph / final sentence. If this answer had read, "What is a "true" representation of events from my life?", it would be a good rendering of that final question. Instead, it's saying, "should I ask myself the question in the final sentence?" Given that the author is trying to decide whether to insert the actual memory or the more emotionally vivid memory into her book, our correct answer should be posing a question that, if answered, helps her decide which version of the memory to include. The answer to the question in (E) helps her pick which one to use. The answer to the question in (D) only tells her whether or not she should debate which memory to use.

    3% picked this

  5. Correct

    Does truth in autobiographical writing

    Why this is right

    The author is wrestling over whether it would be better to insert the factually accurate version of the story in her book, or the version she's emotionally lived with all these years in her inaccurate memory of it.

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

    78% picked this

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