Set 12: Transitions
Explanation
PASSAGE
Dostoevsky's 'Notes from Underground' is often considered the first existentialist novel, predating Kierkegaard's recognition in the West. Its narrator rejects rational self-interest as the basis of human action, insisting that people sometimes choose suffering just to assert their freedom. _______ the narrator's spiteful defiance is itself presented as pathological, complicating any simple endorsement of his philosophy.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Detailed Answer Explanation
This question asks you to choose the transition that best connects two ideas. The narrator's philosophy is compelling but also shown to be unhealthy. 'Significantly, though' introduces this complicating factor. Transitions signal the relationship between sentences or paragraphs. Determine the logical relationship (addition, contrast, cause-effect, example) and select the transition that accurately expresses it. The right transition makes the relationship between ideas crystal clear. Consider what logical connection exists: Is the second idea adding to the first? Contrasting it? Showing a result? The transition should accurately reflect this relationship.
Key Evidence:
• "rejects rational self-interest"
• "defiance is itself presented as pathological"
Why others are wrong: D (Addition - this complicates, not adds to, the previous point.), B (Example - the pathology is a critique, not an example of defiance.), C (Emphasis - the pathology complicates, not confirms, the philosophy.).
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