#2 - Concept Reference, Must Be True

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

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!

[kcho10]

I understand why B is correct. However, I had a very tough time eliminating E.

I get that paragraph 2 says that the book 'received a mixture of positive and negative reviews' (18-19) which does not suggest that MOST reviewers responded a certain way. But it later says 'MOST critics' and readers' expectations of black literature rendered them unable to appreciate Hurston's subtle delineation...and the novel went quietly out of print". How is E incorrect? Is it because they may have not appreciated this aspect of Their Eyes, but still had an overall positive response to the book?

[Jonathan Evans]

Hi, Kcho,

Excellent question and analysis of this question, text, and answer choices.

In fact, your explanation is largely correct. Since we have to find an answer choice that has explicit support in the passage, answer choice (E) actually fails this criterion since it is possible that on balance the reviewers were still able to respond positively to the text even though they were ill-equipped to appreciate the "subtle delineation of the life of an ordinary Black woman in a Black community."

However, there is an even stronger case against (E) than this observation: The statement in line 36 addresses the responses of both critics and readers. Answer choice (E) contends that a majority of early reviewers of the text responded negatively. When you lump critics together with readers, it becomes impossible to make an inference about only the critics; therefore this answer choice is not supported.

Great question and observations!

[JotaDay]

Help please. I had trouble identifying the correct answer here primarily because of their use of the word "obscure".

The eventual obscurity of Their Eyes was not the result of complete neglect by reviewers.

I do not understand the novel "Their Eyes" as one that eventually became obscure. I would argue that eventually was rediscovered and regained some popularity as suggested in the last paragraph by the line "The Afrocentric standards of evaluation were equally important to the rediscovery of Their Eyes, for such standards provided readers with the tools "

In this case are they referring to three different periods? The time the book was released (when it got some critical attention, the time in the middle (when it was obscure) and the present time (when it has received some additional attention)?

Thanks!

[Amber Thomas]

Hi JotaDay!

Let’s examine the text. Lines 17-22 tell us that “Their Eyes was not totally ignored by book reviewers upon its publication. In fact, it received a mixture of positive and negative reviews both fromWhite book reviewers working for prominent periodicals and from important figures within Black literary circles.” This section of the text tells us that Their Eyes Were Watching God was not critically ignored upon its release.

Now, let’s look at Lines 36-40: “ Most critics’ and readers’ expectations of Black literature rendered them unable to appreciate Hurston’s subtle delineation of the life of an ordinary Black woman in a Black community, and the novel went quietly out of print.” Here, we can see that because of the expectations of Black literature at the time Their Eyes was published caused it to be unappreciated for its merits, eventually causing it to go out of print. Lines 46-50 elaborate on this, referring to “neglected works such as Hurston’s,” in reference to Their Eyes.

This evidence can lead us to indicate that Their Eyes was, in fact, obscure until new forms of literary criticism emerged, allowing Their Eyes to be reexamined and popularized. The phrase “eventual obscurity” in Answer Choice B is in reference to this intermediary period, between Their Eyes’ release, and its later rediscovery and reexamination. During this time, the book was not critically appreciated nor understood, and thus went out of print, becoming temporarily obscure.

I hope this helps!