Text 1Literary scholar Margaret Winters argues that the recurring mirror imagery in Virginia Woolf's novels represents the fragmentation of modern...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Literary scholar Margaret Winters argues that the recurring mirror imagery in Virginia Woolf's novels represents the fragmentation of modern consciousness. She contends that Woolf deliberately employed reflective surfaces to symbolize the disconnected, fractured nature of twentieth-century psychological experience. Winters notes that other modernist writers also used fragmentation techniques, while Woolf uniquely emphasized mirrors as her primary symbolic vehicle.
Text 2
In a 2021 analysis, Professor James Chen and his research team examined Woolf's manuscript revisions and personal correspondence. They discovered that mirror imagery appeared consistently throughout Woolf's drafts, but Chen's team concluded that these reflective elements primarily served to explore themes of self-discovery and personal identity formation—concerns that intensified in Woolf's later works rather than representing psychological fragmentation.
Based on the texts, how would Chen's team (Text 2) most likely respond to Winters' interpretation in Text 1?
By asserting that Woolf's mirror imagery wasn't primarily about psychological fragmentation but rather focused on identity formation
By agreeing that mirrors represent fragmentation while also acknowledging their role in identity themes
By questioning why Winters assumes that other modernist writers influenced Woolf's symbolic choices
By declaring that mirror imagery appeared more frequently than Winters suggests in her analysis
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Text 1: Literary scholar Margaret Winters argues that the recurring mirror imagery in Virginia Woolf's novels represents the fragmentation of modern consciousness. |
|
| She contends that Woolf deliberately employed reflective surfaces to symbolize the disconnected, fractured nature of twentieth-century psychological experience. |
|
| Winters notes that other modernist writers also used fragmentation techniques, while Woolf uniquely emphasized mirrors as her primary symbolic vehicle. |
|
| Text 2: In a 2021 analysis, Professor James Chen and his research team examined Woolf's manuscript revisions and personal correspondence. |
|
| They discovered that mirror imagery appeared consistently throughout Woolf's drafts, but Chen's team concluded that these reflective elements primarily served to explore themes of self-discovery and personal identity formation—concerns that intensified in Woolf's later works rather than representing psychological fragmentation. |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Two scholars offer competing interpretations of mirror imagery in Woolf's work—fragmentation versus identity formation.
Argument Flow: Text 1 presents Winters' view that mirrors represent psychological fragmentation in modern consciousness. Text 2 introduces Chen's research-based counter-argument that mirrors actually serve to explore identity and self-discovery themes, explicitly rejecting the fragmentation interpretation.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? How Chen's team would likely respond to Winters' specific interpretation
What type of answer do we need? Chen's team's reaction/response to Winters' fragmentation theory
Any limiting keywords? Chen's team (Text 2) and Winters' interpretation in Text 1 - we need to focus on their direct disagreement
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- Chen's team directly contradicts Winters' interpretation
- They found that mirrors primarily serve identity formation purposes, not psychological fragmentation
- Chen's team would likely reject Winters' fragmentation theory as the primary explanation
- They would assert their own finding that mirrors are about identity/self-discovery instead
- They would use their manuscript evidence to support this alternative interpretation
- The right answer should show Chen's team disagreeing with the fragmentation interpretation while offering their identity-formation alternative
By asserting that Woolf's mirror imagery wasn't primarily about psychological fragmentation but rather focused on identity formation
- This matches exactly what we see in the texts
- Chen's team concluded mirrors primarily served to explore themes of self-discovery and personal identity formation rather than representing psychological fragmentation
- Captures both the rejection of Winters' view and Chen's alternative interpretation
By agreeing that mirrors represent fragmentation while also acknowledging their role in identity themes
- Chen's team doesn't agree that mirrors represent fragmentation at all
- The text explicitly states they concluded mirrors were about identity formation rather than representing psychological fragmentation
By questioning why Winters assumes that other modernist writers influenced Woolf's symbolic choices
- Chen's research focused on Woolf's manuscripts and correspondence, not on questioning Winters' assumptions about other modernist writers' influence
- This misses the main point of disagreement about what the mirrors actually represent
By declaring that mirror imagery appeared more frequently than Winters suggests in her analysis
- The disagreement isn't about frequency of mirror imagery appearing in Woolf's work
- Chen's team focuses on the meaning and purpose of the mirrors, not how often they appear