#9 - Concept Reference, Must Be True

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (A).

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

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):


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

[ksandberg]

I chose answer C. although the word "never" was a red flag for me, as the answer says "They have never been adequately understood by critics". Nonetheless, I thought all the other answers were wrong and this answer made sense to me as the general feeling of the article is that the author thinks the critics lack understanding of Webster's influences and thus are analyzing his work through an inappropriate lens. A is the correct answer. I initially thought A was wrong because Webster's influencers are concerned with the conflict between good vs. bad and the duality of human nature. Without the dramatization of good and bad, human nature could be viewed as non-dualistic. However, I think this is the correct answer because the focus of these influencers is more on human nature than on good vs. bad by itself. Did I overthink this question? Any explanation is much appreciated.

[Jonathan Evans]

Hi, KSandberg,

Excellent question! You are correct that "never" is a good indication that there is not adequate support for (C).

Let's evaluate this question by its task. It is a "Must Be True" or inference-type question for which we must find an answer choice that has adequate support within the passage. In other words, we must select an answer that must be true or is very strongly supported. To make such a valid inference, we must find adequate evidence within to passage.

Thus, the reason why "never" is such an excellent red flag is that it will be very difficult to find adequate support for the contention that critics have never understood these works.

To construct a good prephrase to support the credited answer choice, return to the passage (this is almost always a good idea) and find the portion of the text that discusses the topic of this question, to wit the area that discusses the "morally complicated Italian dramas" (ll 34). What do we know about these dramas? Well not much except that because of their influence on Webster, "his characters cannot be evaluated according to reductive formulas of good and evil."

Based on this evidence, it stands to reason that the author suggests that they "were not concerned with dramatizing the conflict between good and evil that was presented in morality plays." Does this mean that they are not concerned with good and evil? No, notice that this statement suggests that these Italian plays were not concerned with dramatizing the conflict [...] that was presented in morality plays. In other words, these plays were not concerned with a central trope of morality plays, which is true based on the information in the passage.

Thank you for the great question, and I hope this helps!

[Khodi7531]

Is it just me or is this a really tough question... I circled E. History has taught me to avoid answers like C because of never...so E I thought was something the author suggested. Influence is 31 and incompetence was 45 but I thought because it was something the author was suggesting it could taken from that whole area.

Critics didn't like/weren't able to evaluate Italian drama (basically Websters work) correctly...and so it's safe to assume that they didn't like his influence.

What's the thought process behind this?

[Daniel Stern]

Hi Khodi:

E is what we might refer to as a "shell game" answer: it references concepts from the passage, but relates them in a way that the passage does not.

The question is asking us what the author suggests about the works that influenced Webster.

We find the works that influenced Webster around lines 34-35, the "more morally complicated Italian drama." It is clear from reading the areas around these lines that the passage author is drawing a contrast between these Italian dramas and the morality plays which the author states did not influence Webster as much.

Answer choice E brings in Webster's "artistic incompetence." Modern critics are said to chalk up inconsistencies in Webster's character's actions to "artistic incompetence." (Line 45) However, the passage author is not suggesting that the Italian plays that influenced Webster are the reason for his incompetence.

E tosses a few concepts that you've seen in the passage together, but in an incorrect way that does not address the question stem.

Good luck in your studies,
Dan

[cgleeson]

In this question I originally chose answer C because simply of what it said in the text. I re-read the passage and I realized I missed some things. I knew B and D were wrong right off the bat so on the re-test B,C,and D are gone. That left me with E and A. I realized that the critics and audiences popularized these plays in recent time, and that (to me any way) the confusion still laid with critics. Ok, so now I can dump E..BUT WHY A? LOL I think I found it.. second paragraph "Yet Webster seems...." he wasn't caught up with good and evil.....he was caught up with the Italian dramas that were morally complicated.
My question to the LSAT gurus? If I am prephrasing and summarizing viewpoints after each paragraph how am I missing this? Is there another question I need to ask myself or technique I am not employing properly?
Thank you kindly in advance.
Chris

[Robert Carroll]

cgleeson,

I don't think the answer to this question is something I would retain after reading the passage itself. You have to go back to the passage to prephrase. You could look up the word "influence" with Control+F and find the reference you need directly at that point - it's only used once, in the exact part that answers this question.

Robert Carroll

[cgleeson]

Thanks Robert!

cgleeson,

I don't think the answer to this question is something I would retain after reading the passage itself. You have to go back to the passage to prephrase. You could look up the word "influence" with Control+F and find the reference you need directly at that point - it's only used once, in the exact part that answers this question.

Robert Carroll

[unfairbear]

I was down to A and C but this question I flagged because it was a huge timesink for me.
One thing about questions that are referential, I always try to substitute it with the referred object, which in this case, is "italian dramas."

In other words, the question boils down to: the author suggests which one of the following about italian dramas?
A- I definitely had this as a candidate when I saw it because it was contrasted to morality plays but I was hesitant because of the wording that made me think it was very broad.
italian dramas: did not present characters as the embodiment of good and evil vs. "not concerned with dramatizing the conflict between good and evil that was presented in morality plays."
in other words, i thought A could mean that the "conflicts between good and evil" presented in morality plays can also be presented in Italian dramas just not in terms of HOW it's presented-- ie. italian dramas present conflicts between good and evil but not as "characters being defined as the embodiment of the conflict."

C- this also stood out to me but I also had reservations with the wording.
If C means that critics did not adequately understand italian dramas IN RELATION to Webster's tragedies, then I would certainly go with C, the question was, can I interpret C in this manner?

The only alternative in understanding the wording of C: the critics never adequately understood italian dramas.

For this question, as with all concept/local questions, my strategy has always been taking the literal definitions/meanings if there are no reasons that would suggest a metaphor or a relation to a different part of the passage.
Hence, reading it at face value would make C's interpretation fall on the latter whereas with A, i did not have to take it to any particular extreme and understand it as "typically speaking". This took a few minutes which is more than usual for me but are there any strategies that can help shorten my evaluation other than more practice with the same framework?

[Robert Carroll]

unfairbear,

I think this question is a time sink anyway, but you did make a mistake which you eventually corrected. The question is about the Italian plays, as you point out. Your first interpretation of answer choice (C) requires distorting the question. I think some of the time you wasted here was distorting the question's referent. It's not asking what it has to ask for answer choice (C) to be correct. So that time trying to make answer choice (C) work under a certain misinterpretation of the question is a loss of time.

You figured this out, but it seems like this was most of what lost time for you here!

Robert Carroll