#9 - Concept Reference, Must Be True, Subject Perspective

[OneSeventy2019]

Hello,

I got this question wrong, choosing (A) instead of (D).

The reason I chose A was because in quickly scanning through the passage the following caught my eye, "These forces are not only external to the protagonist; they are also experienced by the protagonist as an internal compulsion...". I thought that answer choice (A) which mentions protagonists being "deluded by the gods into thinking he or she is free" as to be more or less a paraphrase.

Further, when evaluating choice (D), I made the conclusion that choice (D) goes too far; perhaps, I thought to myself, what LSAC was trying to say was the "the tragic protagonist cannot make a [ANY] decision that is free of divine compulsion". This would surely not be supported.

I think I understand why choice (D) is better - because it better fits with the Rivier's view vis-a-vis the other others in a more general sense.

That being said, going back over this question, I'm not sure if I would approach this question differently. Can you offer any insight into how I might have avoided the traps I feel into?

Thanks in advance!

[Claire Horan]

Hi OneSeventy2019,

I can definitely explain why D is a better option than A, but first I want to address your process since you asked about the best way to approach the question. You mention "quickly scanning through the passage"--I'm not sure if that means you read the passage very quickly before proceeding to the questions or if you read the passage over carefully and annotated, but then scanned quickly to find the answer to this specific question. Either way, scanning is a technique that many test-takers have used successfully on other standardized tests, but it's not one I recommend for the LSAT. That's because most LSAT questions require you to synthesize themes from the entire passage, not just locate details. Try these steps instead:

1) Read and annotate the passage, pausing to summarize each paragraph in your own words. Remember ViewSTAMP. As part of "View," you need to compare and contrast the viewpoints represented in the passage.

2) Read the question carefully, rephrasing it if necessary into a simpler question. Then PREPHRASE BEFORE LOOKING AT THE ANSWER CHOICES. For this question, you should put Rivier's view into your own words.

3) Let's say your prephrase was something like "Rivier sees the gods as constraining human choices, both externally and internally, in Greek tragedies." (Note that this prephrase required understanding River's viewpoint in contrast with Snell's viewpoint, so scanning would not allow you to come up with it. Also realize that you don't have to come up with the best prephrase, but you need one to guide you through the answer choices to avoid letting them distract you.)

4) Consider the answer choices against your prephrase, and sort them into contenders and losers. My prephrase would keep A and D and exclude the others, since only A and D involve the amount of control the protagonist has in his decisionmaking.

5) Finally, compare these contenders, reading each closely and making sure that every part of the response is entirely supported by the passage. Considering A first, I look for ideas of "delusion" and "freedom" in the paragraph that describes Rivier's view. The idea that the hero is deluded into thinking he is free seems contradictory to the claim in line 39 that he "recognize" that there is only one option. If he recognizes his lack of freedom, he can't be "deluded" into thinking he is free, as answer choice A describes. Now considering D, you are right to try to rephrase that choice in your own words. But "a decision" doesn't necessarily have to mean "any decision" or "every decision"--the passage speaks of "the decision" as the major decision required of the protagonist, and I would choose this interpretation because it matches best with the context of the passage. At any rate, the word "compulsion" is used in the paragraph about Rivier's viewpoint and also matches best with my prephrase about constraint. There is no idea in answer choice D that is not discussed in the passage. Therefore, Answer D is the best choice.

Don't stress too much about any individual question. Instead, focus on practicing the process and your scores will improve! Thanks for your great question!