Throughout the twentieth century, literary scholars generally viewed James Joyce's Finnegans Wake as an experimental but ultimately unsuccessful novel...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Throughout the twentieth century, literary scholars generally viewed James Joyce's Finnegans Wake as an experimental but ultimately unsuccessful novel, too obscure and fragmented to sustain coherent interpretation. However, in 1999, scholar John Bishop published Joyce's Book of the Dark, which demonstrated that the entire work follows the structure of a single night's sleep, complete with dream logic and unconscious associations. Bishop's analysis revealed systematic patterns of language and imagery that previous critics had dismissed as random wordplay, fundamentally transforming how scholars approach this challenging text.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
James Joyce's Finnegans Wake contains systematic patterns that were previously overlooked by literary critics.
John Bishop's analysis of Joyce's work in 1999 focused primarily on dream logic and unconscious associations.
A scholar has provided a revolutionary interpretation that transformed understanding of a previously dismissed literary work.
Literary critics in the twentieth century lacked the analytical tools necessary to interpret experimental novels.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Throughout the twentieth century, literary scholars generally viewed James Joyce's Finnegans Wake as an experimental but ultimately unsuccessful novel, too obscure and fragmented to sustain coherent interpretation.' |
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| 'However, in 1999, scholar John Bishop published Joyce's Book of the Dark, which demonstrated that the entire work follows the structure of a single night's sleep, complete with dream logic and unconscious associations.' |
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| 'Bishop's analysis revealed systematic patterns of language and imagery that previous critics had dismissed as random wordplay, fundamentally transforming how scholars approach this challenging text.' |
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Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: John Bishop's 1999 analysis revolutionized scholarly understanding of Finnegans Wake by revealing systematic patterns that previous critics had missed.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes the traditional negative view of Joyce's work, then presents Bishop's groundbreaking reinterpretation that showed the novel has coherent structure, and concludes by explaining how this fundamentally changed scholarly approaches to the text.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? The main idea of the entire text
What type of answer do we need? A statement that captures the central message or most important point
Any limiting keywords? 'main idea' means we need the overarching point, not a supporting detail
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The main idea should capture the most important thing happening in this passage
- We have a scholarly work that was dismissed for decades, then one scholar came along and completely changed how people understand it
- The key elements the correct answer must have: 1) Recognition that there was a major change or transformation in understanding 2) Bishop's role as the catalyst for this change 3) The revolutionary nature of his interpretation
James Joyce's Finnegans Wake contains systematic patterns that were previously overlooked by literary critics.
- This focuses only on the patterns being overlooked, not the broader transformation
- Misses Bishop's crucial role and the revolutionary impact of his work
John Bishop's analysis of Joyce's work in 1999 focused primarily on dream logic and unconscious associations.
- This makes Bishop's focus on dream logic the main point
- Dream logic was just Bishop's method, not the main idea of the passage
- Completely misses the transformation aspect
A scholar has provided a revolutionary interpretation that transformed understanding of a previously dismissed literary work.
- Captures the revolutionary nature of Bishop's interpretation
- Includes the transformation of understanding from dismissed to respected
- Matches our prethinking about a scholar changing how people view a previously dismissed work
Literary critics in the twentieth century lacked the analytical tools necessary to interpret experimental novels.
- Makes a broad claim about 20th century critics lacking tools
- The passage doesn't suggest critics lacked tools, just that they had a different interpretation