Q22

[ahaq90]

My answer key for the exam states that 'D' is the correct answer. However, an explanation I found online argued that 'C' is the correct answer. Which one is it?

[maryadkins]

The correct answer is (D).

Do you still want help discussing why/why (C) is incorrect?

[mgold68]

can someone please explain why (c) is incorrect and why (D) is the answer?

Thanks!

[hyewonkim89]

I also picked (C) as my answer after debating between (C) and (D).

But here is why I think (C) is incorrect after re-reading the passage.

In the second paragraph, the migration of the rural young to cities is mentioned as a factor that MAY help to explain the differences between domestic writers and Jewett. But then the passage goes on and states that it also "can be argued that these differences ultimately reflect different conceptions of the nature and purpose of fiction." In other words, the migration to urban areas may not have had an effect on the development of domestic fiction.

For (D), I found it in the last paragraph - the "high-cultural" conception.

Any thoughts?

[maryadkins]

(C) mentions migration to urban areas but this would have affected Jewett's fiction--which was secular and not about children--rather than the development of the domestic novels of the 1850s, which were not. This is why it's incorrect.

(A) isn't addressed in the passage; it says that the domestic novels were focused on women, but it doesn't say who wrote them.

(B) is likewise out of scope.

(D) is correct. Lines 24-28 and 36-40.

(E) is not mentioned.

[ganbayou]

Hi,

I'm not sure this is the right place to ask this, but I could not understand this sentence: "The more didactic aims are absent from Jewett's writing.." What does this "The more" mean? I looked up my dictionary but it only says "something in addition to what you already have" or "a greater number or amount of people or things." It does not seem to mean either of these here.

I'd really appreciate your explanation...thank you.

[Jmaksimiuk]

Hey,

The sentence is on line (36): "The more didactic aims are absent from Jewett's writing, which rather embodies the late nineteenth century "high-cultural" conception of fiction as an autonomous sphere with value in and of itself."

"The more didactic aims" is referring to the aims of the books mentioned in the previous sentence. "Didactic" means educational, and the didactic aims of the multipurpose books described in previous sentences included instructions on child-rearing and how to fulfill one's Christian duty. In the sentence you mentioned, the author is saying that the more educational aims are absent from Jewett's writing, which treated fiction as an independent genre and not one with an educational aim.

Hope this helps. For future reference, I think questions like this should be posted in the passage summary section.

[crocca]

Hello,

I'm still not sold on answer D because the passage never mentions Jewett's conception. From lines 39-39, we learn that her work "embodies 'high-cultural' conception of fiction", but it's never given to us that it was Jewett's intention or perspective. Is there something else that I am missing?

Thank you in advance.