The following text is from Herman Melville's 1854 novel The Lightning-rod Man.The stranger still stood in the exact middle of...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
The following text is from Herman Melville's 1854 novel The Lightning-rod Man.
The stranger still stood in the exact middle of the cottage, where he had first planted himself. His singularity impelled a closer scrutiny. A lean, gloomy figure. Hair dark and lank, mattedly streaked over his brow. His sunken pitfalls of eyes were ringed by indigo halos, and played with an innocuous sort of lightning: the gleam without the bolt. The whole man was dripping. He stood in a puddle on the bare oak floor: his strange walking-stick vertically resting at his side.
Which choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?
It elaborates on the previous sentence's description of the character.
It introduces the setting that is described in the sentences that follow.
It establishes a contrast with the description in the previous sentence.
It sets up the character description presented in the sentences that follow.
Looking at this SAT Text Structure and Purpose question, I need to analyze the function of the underlined sentence within the passage structure. Let me work through this systematically.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "The stranger still stood in the exact middle of the cottage, where he had first planted himself." |
|
| "His singularity impelled a closer scrutiny." |
|
| "A lean, gloomy figure." |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: The passage delivers a detailed, eerie physical description of a mysterious stranger positioned in a cottage.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes the stranger's fixed position, then provides the narrator's motivation for examining him closely, followed by an increasingly detailed and unsettling physical description that builds the character's mysterious, almost supernatural presence.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? The function of the underlined sentence ("His singularity impelled a closer scrutiny") in the overall text structure.
What type of answer do we need? We need to identify what structural role this specific sentence plays—how it connects to what comes before and after.
Any limiting keywords? Function, underlined sentence, overall text structure
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The underlined sentence sits right between the stranger's positioning and the detailed physical description
- It serves as a bridge—explaining WHY we suddenly get all this detailed description
- The narrator is essentially saying "this guy looked so weird that I had to examine him more closely," which then justifies the detailed description that follows
- The right answer should recognize that this sentence creates the logical motivation for the detailed character description that makes up the rest of the passage
It elaborates on the previous sentence's description of the character.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims it elaborates on the previous sentence's description
- The previous sentence just tells us where he's standing—there's no character description to elaborate on
- This gets the direction wrong; the sentence points forward, not backward
It introduces the setting that is described in the sentences that follow.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims it introduces setting described in following sentences
- The following sentences describe the stranger's physical appearance, not the setting
- The setting (cottage) was already established in the first sentence
It establishes a contrast with the description in the previous sentence.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims it establishes contrast with the previous sentence
- The previous sentence is about positioning; this sentence is about appearance prompting closer look
- These aren't contrasting ideas—they're building on each other
It sets up the character description presented in the sentences that follow.
✓ Correct
- Recognizes that the sentence sets up the character description in following sentences
- Matches our analysis: the sentence explains why detailed description follows
- Creates logical flow: oddness → closer look → detailed description