<p>On my last SAT test, I missed this one question on the CR reading passages section that I really believed I had gotten right. </p>
<p>Here is the relevant part of the passage and the question I missed:</p>
<pre><code> Consequently, Salinger’s
reputation, at least in the latter part of his
life, is based not on the books he has
written but on the books he has allowed to
be published. Of course, The Catcher in
</code></pre>
<p>85 the Rye is his major work. “Salinger is a
writer of great charm and purposefully
limited scope and a perfection within that
narrow compass,” says Harold Bloom.
“The Catcher in the Rye struck a nerve for
90 one generation but it seems to appeal to
sensitive young people who are going to
develop a consciousness and a distrust of
the adult world. Probably it will survive.”
Tom Wolfe agrees: “The Catcher in the
95 Rye captures the mood of the adolescent
who wants desperately to fit in but doesn’t
want to seem as if he does, who wants to
act flippantly but who, underneath that
flippancy, has a great sorrow.”</p>
<p>The author uses the quotations by Bloom and Wolfe to</p>
<p>(A) support the argument that Salinger’s reputation is based on unpublished books
<a href=“B”>b</a> demonstrate that The Catcher in the Rye appeals to a young audience**
<a href=“C”>b</a> bolster the claim that The Catcher in the Rye is an important work<a href=“D”>/b</a> illustrate two competing perspectives on Salinger’s work
(E) undermine the idea that Salinger has successfully avoided publicity</p>
<p>I chose answer B because both quotes dealt with how Catcher in the Rye appealed to adolescents by capturing their moods and such, but the answer turned out to be C. I can see why C would work, and I was tempted to put that answer too, but doesn’t B seem like the more appropriate answer? Although the second sentence says that the book was a major work (choice C), the quotes directly talked about the appeal to a young audience (choice B). It seemed to me that C was more general than B, although both answers are true, and the question, limited to the quotations, was asking for a more specific answer. </p>
<p>I’m not a CR expert, but the quotations seem to back up the statement, “Of course, The Catcher in the Rye is his most major work.” The best answer is C.</p>
<p>That sentence you just said is not in quotations. The sentence after ‘said Harold Bloom’ is in quotations, and tells how the book appeals to young people, so B is the right answer. Not C.</p>
<p>Its C because when he intros the quote hes all like, he was famous because he published a great book, so you then assume that the quotes he uses will back this statement up, so when there are two answers that are both supported by the quotes but one of them is also supported by the preceding paragraph (why would the writer say Salinger got famous because he published great works and then quote someone talking about how it impacts youth) then thats gonna be the right answer</p>
<p>“Of course, The Catcher in the Rye is his major work.” is one sentence that give us a hint. The other is “Probably it will survive.” (line 93) </p>
<p>The whole point was to tell that the book will survive for a long time because the problem that is presented in the book will be always relevant for young people. So the work is really important.</p>
<p>Notice the use of “appeal” in the wrong answer and in the text. Common trick on the SAT.</p>
<p>The second quote has NOTHING to do with the appeal of the book to young people. It’s about the mood and attitude of young people which is captured by the book—not that young people LIKE the book.</p>
<p>You’re overthinking it. The quotes DO show that the CitR appeals to young people - that’s not why B is wrong though.</p>
<p>@OP</p>
<p>The paragraph starts with the assertion that Salinger’s reputation is based on his published books, the predominant example being Catcher in the Rye. And how is this work crucial to his fame/reputation? It’s crucial because it appeals to angsty teenagers all over.</p>
<p>The question asks, “Why does the author use these quotes?” The author uses these quotes to show how important the work is.</p>