Critical Reasoning

Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula portrayed vampires—the “undead” who roam at night to suck the blood of living people—as able to turn into bats. As a result of the pervasive in?uence of this novel, many people now assume that a vampire’s being able to turn into a bat is an essential part of vampire myths. However, this assumption is false, for vampire myths existed in Europe long before Stoker’s book.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

(A) At least one of the European vampire myths that predated Stoker’s book did not portray vampires as strictly nocturnal.
(B) Vampire myths in Central and South America, where real vampire bats are found, portray vampires as able to turn into bats.
(C) Vampire myths did not exist outside Europe before the publication of Stoker’s Dracula.
(D) At least one of the European vampire myths that predated Stoker’s book did not portray vampires as able to turn into bats.
(E) At the time he wrote Dracula, Stoker was familiar with earlier European vampire myths

dont like assumption questions but ill go for D

Musicolo wrote:dont like assumption questions but ill go for D

will you please elaborate??

IMO D

2010gmat wrote:IMO D

please justify your answer

ppl assume that vampires must be able to turn into bat---this is essential--> author says this assumption is wrong --->for vampire myths existed in europe much before the stokers book....

wat i cud infer was --> as per the myths prevailing b4 the book's release it was not essential for a vampire to be able to turn into bat---so D is saying that only....

2010gmat wrote:ppl assume that vampires must be able to turn into bat---this is essential--> author says this assumption is wrong --->for vampire myths existed in europe much before the stokers book....
wat i cud infer was --> as per the myths prevailing b4 the book's release it was not essential for a vampire to be able to turn into bat---so D is saying that only....

well done. essential is, IMO, an important, tell-tale word here. OA D

avenus wrote:Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula portrayed vampires—the “undead” who roam at night to suck the blood of living people—as able to turn into bats. As a result of the pervasive in?uence of this novel, many people now assume that a vampire’s being able to turn into a bat is an essential part of vampire myths. However, this assumption is false, for vampire myths existed in Europe long before Stoker’s book.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

(A) At least one of the European vampire myths that predated Stoker’s book did not portray vampires as strictly nocturnal.
(B) Vampire myths in Central and South America, where real vampire bats are found, portray vampires as able to turn into bats.
(C) Vampire myths did not exist outside Europe before the publication of Stoker’s Dracula.
(D) At least one of the European vampire myths that predated Stoker’s book did not portray vampires as able to turn into bats.
(E) At the time he wrote Dracula, Stoker was familiar with earlier European vampire myths

My choice is D since author is trying to state that it is not essential for vampires to turn into bats and he has stated his proof of the same in the passage. Now the assumption clearly is that there are Myths that did not portray vampires as able to turn into bats. Hence D is the choice.

I would pick D