#15 - Literary critic: The meaning of a literary work is not fixed but fluid, and therefore a number

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Assumption. The correct answer choice is (B).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[Mmjd12]

I narrowed down between (A) and (B) and ultimately didn't pick B because it seemed like a just a rephrase of the last sentence in the question stem "Thus, any interpretation of a literary work tells more about the critic than the writer."

That's almost the same statement as (B) so not necessarily an "assumption"?

[Jeff Wren]

Hi Mmjd12,

You're going to want to be more careful and precise with your reading because often changes in wording between the premises and the conclusion are the key to answering many LR questions.

Here, the relevant premise to the argument is:

"Interpretations primarily involve imposing meaning on a literary work."

And the conclusion is:

"Thus, any interpretation of a literary work tells more about the critic than about the writer."

At this point, there is new information in the conclusion. How do we know that an interpretation tells us more about the critic (i.e. the interpreter)?

All we know is that interpretation involves imposing meaning on a literary work.

There is a logical gap in this argument, and the assumption (which is a Supporter assumption), will close that gap by linking the new information back to the premise.

A good prephrase would be:

"If somebody imposes meaning on a literary work, then that will tell us something about that person (such as their personality, viewpoint, etc.)."

This is basically what Answer B states. B is stating that the meaning imposed by the interpreter reflects that interpreter. In other words, that we can use the meaning of the interpretation to understand something about the interpreter.

Answer B is not just stating what the conclusion states, it is providing the missing piece of the argument to get us from the premise to the conclusion.

Last but not least, always be on the lookout for new information in the conclusion of an argument. It will be important regardless of the question type (flaw, weaken, strengthen, assumption, justify, etc.).