Reading Comprehension

PT154 · S3 · P2 · Q8 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.

8.

Passage A, unlike passage B, seeks to advance its argument by

  1. examining one particular example in

    Fails Passage A: Not "in depth"

    While Passage A does introduce an example, it's only the last two sentences. So it's a stretch to say it covered that example in depth.

    6% picked this

  2. criticizing the views of opponents

    Fails Passage A

    It didn't seem like either author tried to attack any opponent.

    1% picked this

  3. describing the author’s own experiences

    Opposite

    This is a reverse of the question stem. This would be correct if the question had been, "the author of Passage B, unlike the author of A ... "

    3% picked this

  4. Correct

    citing a venerated author as

    Why this is right

    This is basically the same as (A), but here they got rid of the loaded phrase "in depth". Passage A cites Shakespeare. Is Shakespeare a venerated author? (venerated = respected, revered) The passage doesn't clarify that Shakespeare is a widely respected author, but feel free to use a little of your outside knowledge to make this answer work.

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

    87% picked this

  5. suggesting that the phenomenon under

    Opposite (if anything)

    It's debatable whether Passage A ever gets into whether this is ethically questionable, but we can easily eliminate this answer since we know for sure that Passage B definitely does get into it.

    3% picked this

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