Surprisingly, there are old comic book fans, a small army of them: adults wearing school ties and tweeds, teaching in universities, writing ad copy, writing for chic magazines, writing novels–who continue to be addicts, who save old comic books, buy them, trade them, who publish mimeographed “fanzines,” strange little publications deifying what is looked back on as “the golden age of comic books.” Ruined by the critics. Ruined by growing up.
The charges against comic books in the 1950’s–that they were participating factors in juvenile delinquency, that they were, in general, a corrupting influence, glorifying crime and depravity-- can only, in all fairness, be answered: “But of course. Why else read them?”
Comic books, first of all, are junk. To accuse them of being what they are is to make no accusation at all: there is no such thing as uncorrupt junk or moral junk or educational junk --though attepts at latter have from time to time, been foisted upon us. But education is not the purpose of junk (which is one reason why half-hearted attempts to bring reality or literature to comic books invariably look embarrassing.)
Question 14: It can be inferred that the author of Passage 2 considers “attempts at the latter” (line 52) to have been
A) unpolished products
B) popular changes
C) misunderstood creations
D) ill-conceived failures
E) foolish imitations
The answer is D. I chose C and I do not clearly understand what makes D a correct answer, but C a wrong answer. Help!
The author says “To accuse them of being what they are is to make no accusation at all” aka “They are junk.” then, he goes on to say “Thought attempts at latter have been foisted upon us”, meaning that people have tried to classify comics as “uncorrupt, educational, or moral” junk… The key phrase here is “attempts”… people have attempted to reclassify comics as uncorrupt moral or educational “junk”. Thus people have tried and failed to reclassify, giving us letter D. Nothing in the passage says that the author would sympathize with people who call comics “uncorrupt” junk, etc.
Actually, I think that line means that people have attempted to impose “moral comics” on consumers, but that they’re still junk and therefore not actually educational. The fact that it was merely an “attempt” makes clear that it was a failure, and the word “foisted” suggests it was a bad idea (“ill-conceived”).
A) unpolished products
B ) popular changes
C) misunderstood creations
D) ill-conceived failures
E) foolish imitations
A, C, and E are all pointing to what the “products” might have been. This is distinct from the “attempts to” classify the books. C refers to misunderstood creations and that again is related to the comic books. This leaves us with D which is clearly related attempts that did not work.
The correct answer can easily be found via the POE as four answers are irrelevant, but could also be picked by recognizing the terms “foisted upon us” and “embarrassing.”
@marvin100 I respectfully disagree, but it’s a moot point. Nothing can really be definitively argued either way, here, I don’t think. Clear answer is still D.