Masterpieces are dumb

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Masterpieces are dumb

by pnk » Thu Feb 25, 2010 9:33 am
Source: 1000RC

"Masterpieces are dumb," wrote Flaubert, "They have a tranquil aspect like the very products of nature, like large animals and mountains." He might have been thinking of War and Peace, that vast, silent work, unfathomable and simple, provoking endless questions through the majesty of its being. Tolstoi's simplicity is "overpowering," says the critic Bayley, "disconcerting," because it comes from "his casual assumption that the world is as he sees it." Like other nineteenth-century Russian writers he is "impressive" because he "means what he says," but he stands apart from all others and from most Western writers in his identity with life, which is so complete as to make us forget he is an artist. He is the center of his work, but his egocentricity is of a special kind. Goethe, for example, says Bayley, "cared for nothing but himself. Tolstoi was nothing but himself."
For all his varied modes of writing and the multiplicity of characters in his fiction, Tolstoi and his work are of a piece. The famous "conversion" of his middle years, movingly recounted in his Confession, was a culmination of his early spiritual life, not a departure from it. The apparently fundamental changes that led from epic narrative to dogmatic parable, from a joyous, buoyant attitude toward life to pessimism and cynicism, from War and Peace to The Kreutzer Sonata, came from the same restless, impressionable depths of an independent spirit yearning to get at the truth of its experience. "Truth is my hero," wrote Tolstoi in his youth, reporting the fighting in Sebastopol. Truth remained his hero-his own, not others', truth. Others were awed by Napoleon, believed that a single man could change the destinies of nations, adhered to meaningless rituals, formed their tastes on established canons of art. Tolstoi reversed all preconceptions; and in every reversal he overthrew the "system," the "machine," the externally ordained belief, the conventional behavior in favor of unsystematic, impulsive life, of inward motivation and the solutions of independent thought.
In his work the artificial and the genuine are always exhibited in dramatic opposition: the supposedly great Napoleon and the truly great, unregarded little Captain Tushin, or Nicholas Rostov's actual experience in battle and his later account of it. The simple is always pitted against the elaborate, knowledge gained from observation against assertions of borrowed faiths. Tolstoi's magical simplicity is a product of these tensions; his work is a record of the questions he put to himself and of the answers he found in his search. The greatest characters of his fiction exemplify this search, and their happiness depends on the measure of their answers. Tolstoi wanted happiness, but only hard-won happiness, that emotional fulfillment and intellectual clarity which could come only as the prize of all-consuming effort. He scorned lesser satisfactions.


1) Which of the following best paraphrases Flaubert's statement quoted in lines 1-4?
(A) Masterpiece seem ordinary and unremarkable from the perspective of a later age.
(B) Great works of art do not explain themselves to us any more than natural objects do.
(C) Important works of art take their place in the pageant of history because of their uniqueness.
(D) The most important aspects of good art are the orderliness and tranquility it reflects.
(E) Masterpieces which are of enduring value represent the forces of nature.

2) The author quotes from Bayley (line 8-20) to show that
(A) although Tolstoi observes and interprets life, he maintains no self-conscious distance from his experience
(B) the realism of Tolstoi's work gives the illusion that his novels are reports of actual events
(C) unfortunately, Tolstoi is unaware of his own limitation, though he is sincere in his attempt to describe experience
(D) although Tolstoi works casually and makes unwarranted assumption, his work has an inexplicable appearance of truth
(E) Tolstoi's personal perspective makes his work almost unintelligible to the majority of his readers

3) The author states that Tolstoi's conversion represented
(A) a radical renunciation of the world
(B) the rejection of avant-garde ideas
(C) the natural outcome of his earlier beliefs
(D) the acceptance of religion he had earlier rejected
(E) a fundamental change in his writing style

4) According to the passage, the explanation of Tolstoi's "magical simplicity" (line 55) lies partly in his
(A) remarkable power of observation and his facility in exact description
(B) persistent disregard for conventional restraints together with his great energy
(C) unusual ability to reduce the description of complex situations to a few words
(D) abiding hatred of religious doctrine and preference for new scientism
(E) continuing attempt to represent the natural in opposition to the pretentious

Pls share your explanation as well.

[spoiler]OA: B, A, C, E[/spoiler]

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by kstv » Fri Feb 26, 2010 1:20 am
IMO E A C E
Realised my mistake in the first Q.

Good paragraph. Thanks.

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by tanviet » Fri Mar 05, 2010 12:46 am
I can understand nothing

I am very weak at social passages like above one. It is very abstract. though I can understand science passage I can not read the above passage

any one can help me read the above passage

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by pnk » Sat Mar 06, 2010 4:14 am
Thanks kstv.

Could you pls explain how you selected answers for Q3 & 4. I selected E for 3 & A for 4.

3) The author states that Tolstoi's conversion represented
(C) the natural outcome of his earlier beliefs
(E) a fundamental change in his writing style

4) According to the passage, the explanation of Tolstoi's "magical simplicity" (line 55) lies partly in his
(A) remarkable power of observation and his facility in exact description
(E) continuing attempt to represent the natural in opposition to the pretentious

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by bhaskarjain » Sat Mar 06, 2010 5:48 am
IMO: B, B, C, A.

Could you please explain Q4 in detail?

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by gmatmachoman » Sat Mar 06, 2010 6:08 am
bhaskarjain wrote:IMO: B, B, C, A.

Could you please explain Q4 in detail?

4) According to the passage, the explanation of Tolstoi's "magical simplicity" (line 55) lies partly in his

(A) remarkable power of observation and his facility in exact description
(B) persistent disregard for conventional restraints together with his great energy
(C) unusual ability to reduce the description of complex situations to a few words
(D) abiding hatred of religious doctrine and preference for new scientism
(E) continuing attempt to represent the natural in opposition to the pretentious


A talks about 2 factors : power of observation & facility in exact description .

But we can derive suport from the passage only for power of observation and No support for facility in exact description .

So this makes to reject A

E gets the direct support from the passage.Others are pretentious.....

quote from passage :

".......Truth remained his hero-his own, not others’, truth. Others were awed by Napoleon, believed that a single man could change the destinies of nations, adhered to meaningless rituals, formed their tastes on established canons of art....":

this shows others are not pretentious...

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by kstv » Sat Mar 06, 2010 6:44 am
@ pnk
I enjoyed the passage not cos I understood it completely but feel it closely represents GMAT .
Infact for both the Qs 3 & 4 I referred repeatedly to the portions referred to in the passage. For Q 3 the portion referred to is -
The famous conversion� of his middle years, movingly recounted in his Confession, was a culmination of his early spiritual life, not a departure - leads to C. Early spiritual life led to the conversion .
3) The author states that Tolstoi’s conversion represented
(A) a radical renunciation of the world
(B) the rejection of avant-garde ideas
(C) the natural outcome of his earlier beliefs
(D) the acceptance of religion he had earlier rejected
(E) a fundamental change in his writing style
Option E pl. see this portion
The apparently fundamental changes that led from epic narrative to dogmatic parable, from a joyous, buoyant attitude toward life to pessimism and cynicism, from War and Peace to The Kreutzer Sonata, came from the same restless, impressionable depths of an independent spirit yearning to get at the truth of its experience. “Truth is my hero,� wrote Tolstoi in his youth, reporting the fighting in Sebastopol. Truth remained his hero-his own, not others’, truth.
The word apparently should signal that there was no real change. Truth was his hero in youth and remained so.
I

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by max37274 » Sat Mar 06, 2010 5:39 pm
1) Which of the following best paraphrases Flaubert's statement quoted in lines 1-4?
(A) Masterpiece seem ordinary and unremarkable from the perspective of a later age. Incorrect Time not discussed in the passage
(B) Great works of art do not explain themselves to us any more than natural objects do.
(C) Important works of art take their place in the pageant of history because of their uniqueness. Incorrect Important works of art MAY OR MAY NOT BE masterpiece not all mps are primeminister
(D) The most important aspects of good art are the orderliness and tranquility it reflects. Incorrect: The most important aspects not discussed out of scope
(E) Masterpieces which are of enduring value represent the forces of nature. Incorrect speaks about a specific masterpiece not all. ONLY THOSE MASTERPIECES THAT ARE OF ..

2) The author quotes from Bayley (line 8-20) to show that
(A) although Tolstoi observes and interprets life, he maintains no self-conscious distance from his experience
(B) the realism of Tolstoi's work gives the illusion that his novels are reports of actual events Incorrect whether actual event or not not discussed also illusion is not the main point here
(C) unfortunately, Tolstoi is unaware of his own limitation, though he is sincere in his attempt to describe experience Incorrect "Unfortunately" goes too far
(D) although Tolstoi works casually and makes unwarranted assumption, his work has an inexplicable appearance of truth Incorrect out of scope nothing to conclude tolstoy works casually
(E) Tolstoi's personal perspective makes his work almost unintelligible to the majority of his readers Incorrect OUT OF SCOPE personal perspectivemakes it unique impressive not unintelligible

3) The author states that Tolstoi's conversion represented
(A) a radical renunciation of the world
(B) the rejection of avant-garde ideas
(C) the natural outcome of his earlier beliefs correct "culmination of his earlier belief
(D) the acceptance of religion he had earlier rejected
(E) a fundamental change in his writing style Incorrect "Apparent" means not sure MAY or MAY not be

4) According to the passage, the explanation of Tolstoi's "magical simplicity" (line 55) lies partly in his (if you read the last para it says he used to observe and contrast that with currently held values"
(A) remarkable power of observation and his facility in exact description INCORRECT as it is not just observing and writing down on paper
(B) persistent disregard for conventional restraints together with his great energy incorrect it is not disregard it is disagreement
(C) unusual ability to reduce the description of complex situations to a few words nope same as a
(D) abiding hatred of religious doctrine and preference for new scientism nope same as b
(E) continuing attempt to represent the natural in opposition to the pretentious