Sentence Correction

The work of short fiction writer Charles Chesnutt reflects characteristic interests of his contemporary "local colorsists" as much as the intellectual ferment and historical reassessments of Black American culture during the late 19th century.

A - as much as the intellectual ferment and historical reassessments of Black American culture during the late 19th century.

B - as much as it did the intellectual ferment and historical reassessments of Black American culture during the late 19th century.


C- as much as it had reflected the intellectual ferment and historical reassessments of Black American culture during the late 19th century.


D - as much as it was reflective and characteristic of the intellectual ferment and historical reassessments of Black American culture during the late 19th century.


E- as much as it does the intellectual ferment and historical reassessments of Black American culture during the late 19th century.

The correct answer is (E).

I chose (A) because I thought the idiom (reflects X as much as Y) was used correctly in (A) where as in choice (E) the "it does" was redundant.
Is it because of "the" in front of "intellectual ferment" that it is not parallel with "characteristic interests"?

Reflects and does seem parallel hence E is better than A

Thanks!
I am still a bit confused as when we should have clauses in parallel and when we can have adjectives/adverb in parallel. I thought X and Y in the above sentence above are adjectives and thus in parallel.

Another question I have is that when we have the idioms of the type "X as good as Y", "X as bad as Y", "X as much as Y", should X and Y be either nouns(phrases acting as nouns) or clauses?

B and N:

Thanks for sharing your question with all of us. For the example question in your post:

Right off, it either has to be A or E. The difference between the two is that A does not have a reference pronoun phrase after "as much as". You said that you understood the idiom to be "reflects X as much as Y". It's actually usually "reflects X as much as it does Y" when X and Y are characteristics of the subject, as it is here. you can drop the "it does" in the case of a different expression (which is close and can be confusing), "reflects X as well as Y".

Also, you will also see a reference pronoun in cases like this where there are alot of words and/or phrases between the subject (i.e. short work) and the direct objects (in this case three long ones: characteristic interests, intellectual ferment, and historical reassessment). This is because the length of space between the subject or verb and the direct objects obscures the action of the sentence. (There is no definite rule for the this, although I may be wrong and I welcome anyone to post, if they have something).

Lastly, the "it does" is a better choice because it clarifies the meaning of the sentence. The sentence is actually arguing that although the short work reflects intellectual ferment and historical reassessment (which seem to be the accepted views), it reflects characteristic interests just as much as it does the other two. This is a nuanced meaning that does not come across as clearly as without "it does".

To be continued on the questions in your most recent posts -- guests coming over, and my famous macaroni and cheese in the oven calls!

So in the end, you're right. "It does" is a reiteration of the subject, but in this case a desirable one.

"This is because the length of space between the subject or verb and the direct objects obscures the action of the sentence."

Danielle, would a similar rule apply to clauses introduced by which or that?


Consider the following sentence:
a) Jurassic Park, which was written by Michael Crichton, and which was first printed in 1988, is a novel about a theme park of the future in which dinosaurs roam free.

b) Jurassic Park, which was written by Michael Crichton and was first printed in 1988, is a novel about a theme park of the future in which dinosaurs roam free.

So do both a and b convey the same meaning ?

thanks

In the case that you presented, both cases convey the exact same meaning, and both are allowable in speaking. B is more concise though (and is therefore the GMAT answer), because in this case, you can convey the exact same meaning without the additional "which".