#9 - Concept Reference, Must Be True

[Administrator]

Please post below with any questions!

[gourdo96]

I am confused about how the answer is "E" here. I put C, as I could not discern any tone words in the passage that would indicate that the author had a positive or negative attitude toward the aristocratic and middle classes. The only indication of the author's tone towards these classes that I found was "The taste of the aristocracy and the upper middle class has not always been apt to produce an art that endures," but I didn't think this showed a tone so negative that it could be called scornful. Could you help me figure out this question? Thanks!

[Luke Haqq]

Hi gourd96!

It looks like you were really close to the portion of the passage that would help you answer this one. Namely, the sentence following the one you quoted is, "In his characterization of nineteenth-century English culture, cultural critic Matthew Arnold identified the aristocracy as Barbarians, interested largely in fox hunting and gaming, and the middle class as Philistines, obsessed with respectability."

Given this language, answer choice (E)--"scorn"--seems to provide an accurate description of Matthew Arnold's attitude towards the aristocracy (which he calls "Barbarians") and the middle class (which he describes as "Philistines, obsessed with respectability"), which is certainly strong and negative language, rather than "indifference" as in answer (C).

Hope that helps!

[emccready24]

I chose answer choice D, but I was between D and E. To me, these two answer choices were somewhat similar, but I chose disappointment because it didn't seem like his attitude was strong enough to equal "scorn". Could you explain why E is correct over D?

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi emccready24,

Let's start to the author's description of Arnold's views. Arnold describes the upper class as "barbarians," and the upper-middle class as "obsessed with respectability." Those terms sound scornful---he's writing off both groups with contempt. Disappointment on the other hand would indicate that Arnold had a hope for the behavior of the groups that was not backed up by his findings. To be disappointed or let down, the reality has to conflict with your hopes, and there's no indication here that Arnold hoped for anything other than the reality. Remember that we don't care what the author thinks of these groups. We are only being asked for what Michael Arnold's attitude toward the groups would likely be.

Hope that helps!
Rachael