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Passage A
It goes without saying that it is the content of art that constitutes its value, and the
form is merely the means of expression of whatever message, representation,
analogy or other content the artist wishes to bring before the viewer. Although much
attention has been given in recent years to the artistic form, and arguments have
been advanced that aesthetics are at least as important as content, the truth is that
a painting or other work of art that fails to say something to the viewer can hardly
be classified a work of art at all.
Such dissatisfaction, however, isnt necessarily indicative of a flaw in the work. The
flaw, if there is one, may be in the viewer, or rather in the urge to interpret and the
preconceived form of interpretation that makes it impossible for the viewer to
experience the work fresh and unfettered. Thus, it seems that the very standards
and analysis that we apply in an effort to determine the meaning and value of a work
of art may become the screen that clouds the true meaning and value, making an
accurate assessment of the worth of a work impossible.
1. Freudian interpretation does not yield an accurate view of the meaning and
value of a work of art
Question 2
Which of the following is mentioned by the author of Passage A, but not by the
author of Passage B, as a problem with the current state of artistic interpretation?
3. Too much emphasis is placed on what the artist intended and not enough on
what the work actually conveys
4. There is no clear standard for assessing the value and meaning of a work of
art
5. Modern interpretation seeks to project value onto works of art, which are
inherently limited in value because they are simply imitative
The authors of the two passages would be most likely to disagree over:
1. The best formula for interpreting the meaning of a work of art accurately
Question 4
The attitude of the author of Passage B toward artistic interpretation can best be
described as:
1. conflicted
2. cautiously optimistic
3. unfavorable
4. inconsistent
5. dismissive
The author of Passage B would be most likely to make which of the following
criticisms about the analysis contained in the last paragraph of Passage A?
Question 6
Which of the following most accurately describes the relationship between the
argument in Passage A and the argument in Passage B?
Of course, both passages have the same topic: the interpretation of art. The scope of
the passages is slightly different, though: in Passage A we're primarily concerned
with the best approach for assessing art, while Passage B focuses in on the value of
artistic interpretation overall.
Passage A
The author's main idea is that there is currently no clear standard for assessing the
meaning and value of art. His purpose is simply to identify this problem.
Passage B
The main idea in passage B is that the interpretation isn't a valuable exercise. The
authors purpose is simply to argue that point.
Having assessed topic, scope, purpose and main idea just as we do in regular
passages (except that we have two purposes/main ideas), we move on to the one
step that differs in reading comparative passages: before moving on to the
questions, we need to get a handle on the relationship between the passages.
The best starting point for that is to examine each passage's purpose/main idea.
Passage A points out the need for clearer standards in order to make artistic
interpretation valid and useful, while Passage B asserts that it is, by nature, neither.
But there isn't a direct connection between the two passageseach author writes as
though unaware of the other.
Since comparative passages are so short, we wont need roadmaps. Once we have
T/S/P/MI and the relationship between the passages in hand, we can jump into the
questions. Remember to look first for those questions that refer to only one passage,
and then to follow your usual order of operations with regard to question types.
This question refers to both passages, and it's not a global question, so it's not going
to be the first one you attack, even though it's printed first. "Assumption" has the
same meaning that it does in LR, so we're looking for something both authors treat
as true without directly stating. There isn't much point of agreement between the
two authors, but predicting may still be a challenge here, so you may have to assess
the answer choices.
1. What did each author tell us, or imply, about Freudian interpretation? The
author of Passage A doesn't talk about it at all, nor does he make any blanket
statement about interpretation that could be extended. Eliminate.
2. Correct! What does Author A think about this? He wants us to find the
"correct" approach to determining value, so he obviously thinks there's a right
answer to the value question. And Author B? This one is a little trickier, but
she tells us that the method of interpretation may be the screen that
obscures "the true meaning and value" and may make an "accurate
assessment of the worth of a work" impossibleshe, too, thinks there is a
"true" answer to the value question.
3. Author A wants us to find a clear approach to interpretation, so he must think
it's a valuable undertakingeliminate.
4. Author A seems to believe this, since he presents as a problem the fact that
we lack a clear standard for determining the artist's actual intention, but
Author B makes no reference to the artist's intention. Eliminate.
5. Author A mentions Plato's perspective, and disagrees with it but not with this
part. His issue with Plato had to do with art being valuable, not being
imitative. Author B doesn't talk about Plato or his theory at all. Either is
sufficient to eliminate answer choice (E).
A specific detail question, but one which requires reference to both passages.
1. This theory should sound familiar, but it's not Author A who advances this
theory; it's B. Watch out for answer choices that cover the right perspectives,
but attach them to the wrong passage.
2. Again, this is stated directly in Passage B, so it sounds familiar and might be
tempting, but we're looking for something that's NOT mentioned in Passage
B.
3. Author A does talk about the artist's intention, but this isn't his position
rather, he says we need better ways to determine the artist's actual intention.
Eliminate.
4. Correct! Our authors are in agreement that there isn't a clear and consistent
standard, so you might have been tempted to gloss over this one. That's a
good reminder never to lose sight of exactly what the question has asked us
for: we're looking for something Author A presents as a problem and Author B
does not. Author B is against interpretation altogether, so she certainly won't
see lack of a clear standard for interpretation as problematic.
5. That's Plato's view, but not one shared by either of our authors. Eliminate.
1. What do we know about our authors' views of the "best formula"? For Author
A, absolutely nothinghe wants consistency, but he doesn't advocate for a
particular approach. That alone may be enough to eliminate, but if you're not
sure, look at Author Bshe doesn't have a view on a "best" approach at all,
since she thinks interpretation is a negative.
2. Author A doesn't take a position on the validity of any particular school of
thoughtor say anything at all about Freud. Eliminate.
3. Plato thought art was without value, or at least of very limited value.
However, both of our authors talk about the ways in which the "true value" of
a work of art can be assessed, so both clearly reject Plato's idea that it's
without valueno disagreement on this point. Eliminate.
4. Only Author A talks about the artist's intentions; he clearly thinks they're
significant, based on the last sentence of the passage. However, we get no
indication of Author B's view of the significance of artist's intentions, so we
have no evidence that they'd disagree. Eliminate.
5. Correct! Author A laments the fact that we haven't yet arrived at the correct
approach, so clearly he thinks there is one; Author B, however, thinks we
shouldn't be interpreting at all, so she'll hardly believe that there's a "right"
way to do it.
The one and only question in this passage that focused on only one of the passages,
so it should have been the first one completed, particularly since it's also an
"author's attitude" question that should be easy to answer based on your initial
groundwork. It's a question we can predict, at least loosely. What does Author B
think about artistic interpretation? She doesn't like it. The Sontag quote about
depleting the world "says it all".
1. Author B's outlook is consistentshe doesn't give any indication at any point
that she has positive feelings about interpretation. We can eliminate (D) by
the same reasoning.
2. Optimistic? The qualifying "cautiously" doesn't help much hereAuthor B is
against interpretation, period.
3. Bingo. unfavorable = against. The answer choice might have given you
pause because it's pretty stark, and we're accustomed to steering away from
extreme language, but remember the exception: for extreme language to be
correct, the language of the passage must be strong enough to support it.
The author's statement that everything important about interpretation could
be summed up in Sontag's very negative statement certainly warrants
"unfavorable".
4. See the explanation for (A) above.
5. While the author is no fan of artistic interpretation, she gives no indication
that she takes it lightly. Rather, she describes it as a rather destructive force.
The last paragraph of passage A says conflicts arise when different interpretive
approaches are applied, and we don't have a clear idea what the artist intended, so
it's hard to get a handle on the real meaning and value of the work. What would
Author B say about all that? Well, the only thing we really know about Author B is
that she thinks this whole interpretation thing is wrong-headed and unhelpful. Thus,
we can predict that the part she'll take issue with is the idea that with a little
consistency and better information about the artist's intent, we could get a handle on
the meaning and value of a work.
Before jumping into the choices, review the relationship between our two passages.
Passage A says we have a problem because we don't have clear standards with
which to interpret art and thus determine its meaning and value. Passage B says we
don't need interpretation; it does more harm than good.
Like the previous question, this one deals with the relationship between the passages
overall, and like the previous question, it asks us to abstract the concepts in order to
find the right answer. However, this question calls our attention more to the
structure of the arguments than to the substance, as illustrated by the answer
choices.
1. Very specific illustrations? You might have been tempted by this at first
glance, since Passage B contains direct quotes, but in fact there is no
illustration to support the contentions of Author B. Eliminate.
2. The same conclusion? What would it be? Author A concludes we need clearer
standards, while Author B thinks we should leave interpretation alone.
Eliminate.
3. It's true that Passage A mentions various approaches, while Passage B does
not, which might have made this choice tempting. However, Passage B is not
limited in scope when compared with passage Ato the contrary, it includes
all interpretation. Eliminate.
4. Correct! Passage A says we need clear rules of interpretation, Passage B
says interpretation isn't going to work out, regardless of the rules we apply.
5. Passage B doesn't draw on any examples from Passage A. Eliminate.