Critical Reading Question! Please help!

<p>His ignorance was as remarkable as his knowledge. "Of contemporary literature, philosophy and politics he appeared to know next to nothing. Upon my quoting Thomas Carlyle, he inquired in the naivest way who he might be and what he had done.</p>

<p>The question is: It can most reasonably be inferred from lines 1-5 ("His . . . done") that the narrator believes that<br>
(A) Carlyle was the foremost writer of his age<br>
(B) educated people should know who Carlyle was
(C) Carlyle's views are unpopular in some quarters
(D) Carlyle*s ideas are not relevant to most people's daily lives
(E) most readers do not fully appreciate the complexity of Carlyle1 s thinking</p>

<p>The Answer is B. I got D. Could somebody please clarify this for me? Thank you so much!</p>

<p>The writer is trying to say that this “he” person is ignorant. That is… “He” didn’t know about “contemporary literature, philosophy, and politics…” Carlyle is an example of the “contemporary literature…” Therefore, because “he” didn’t know what it is and he’s ignorant, people that are TRULY EDUCATED (unlike “him”), then they should know who Carlyle is.</p>

<p>I hope that was helpful. I’m not 100% sure my explanation’s correct either, but that’s how I deduced the answer. </p>

<p>P.S.
It is not D because the author didn’t like “him” for not knowing about Carlyle. Therefore, Carlyle is important and relevant to most people’s daily lives.</p>

<p>oh i get it. thank you! i misunderstood that paragraph; i thought the “he” the narrator was referring to WAS carlyle XD</p>