#22- On the surface, Melville’s Billy Budd is a simple story

[srcline@noctrl.edu]

Hello

I am not understanding why B is not the correct answer. B states that " the only relevant evidence in deciding in which genre to place a novel is the author's stated intention. Ive read other explanations stating the problem with this answer choice is the word "only". However I do not see why that's an issue given this is a MP question and in the stimulus where it says that " however the central questions remains" Did Melville intend an allegorical reading? Since there is no textual or historical evidence that he did, and becasue of this we should read his novel as a simple tragedy.

I thought question D was to general, in that it says that without relevant evidence as to a novel's intended reading, one should avoid viewing the work allegorically. the stimulus isnt talking about novels in general, its talking about Melville's Billy Budd.

Thankyou
Sarah

[Adam Tyson]

To start with, this question is a Justify - Principle question, not Main Point. We are looking for a principle (a general rule) which, if true, makes the conclusion as near to perfect as one could ask for.

The problem with answer B is that it relies on something that we don't know anything about - Melville's intention. We don't know what his intention was, so how could we place the story in ANY category (whether allegory or tragedy)? How does this principle lead us to the conclusion that we should read it as tragedy, or that we should avoid reading it as allegory? This principle leaves us in the dark, wondering what to do rather than knowing.

Answer D, though, gets us where we need to be - to paraphrase, it says "when in doubt, avoid allegory". We have doubt because we don't know what Melville intended, so that, coupled with the principle in D, proves that we should avoid treating this work as allegory.

Hope that clears things up!

[srcline@noctrl.edu]

Hello Adam

I think I accidently typed MP instead! I think I understand your explanation. Would B also not be correct becasue the language is too strong (only) versus D (one should avoid)?

Thankyou
Sarah

[Ladan Soleimani]

Hey Sarah,

You are right that answer choice (B) does have strong language that the stimulus does not necessarily support. However, when finding a principle that justifies an argument, strong language is not always a problem and can actually be really helpful, so be careful not to dismiss answers because of it. The key here is what Adam has pointed out. Answer choice (B) would not get you to the conclusion that the work should be viewed as a simple tragedy because we have no knowledge of the author's intentions.

I hope that helps!

Ladan

[portia]

Why can’t E be the answer? Can you compare D and E?

[Brook Miscoski]

Portia,

The problem with (E) is that it is contradictory to the analysis in the stimulus and hence is not comparable to (D) and cannot possibly express the principle the stimulus uses. The stimulus actually considers whether there is historical evidence, but (E) claims that historical evidence should not be considered ("the only relevant evidence...is the text itself").