SAT II Literature - June 4th

<p>What did you guys put for the “Charles on Fire” poem, the question about his hand being “eerie”? I put because the alcohol was burning off?</p>

<p>Dragon’s teeth: I put something about “generations” there, but it’s quite possible I’m wrong.</p>

<p>@Tantoes: I didn’t really think they were subjective. It was a matter of correctly spotting the answer in the text. For example, at first I considered the “ragged objects” question subjective, but I then decided otherwise when I carefully re-read it". The real problem is, there certainly is not enough time to actually spot these context clues that reveal the answers to these seemingly subjective question.</p>

<p>Another one I found subjective, the answer to which I still have been able to reach any conclusion, was the one about the aspect of character introduced through the incident with the uncle and the aunt (Indian text). I ended up answering the one about “painful childhood memories”. I couldn’t justify it, but it was less non-reasonable than the other ones. Any ideas on that? Or on the “EXCEPT” question of the Lady Blount passage? It was the last question of the section.</p>

<p>@ swebber I put something about a towel for that one</p>

<p>@swebber: I put blood, because it said he “cleaned his arm and it was flesh again”. Not sure about it though.</p>

<p>swebber: I put alcohol burning off too.</p>

<p>As far as the dragon goes… Not really sure to make of it. I put “because dragons were attacked by barbians” or something like that, because he was talking about people who destroy books, so it just seemed to make sense but idk.</p>

<p>If you look up “dragon’s teeth”, it’s some mythological object out of which, when planted, armed soldier would grow.</p>

<p>Dragon’s teeth: I put generating life. I believe the passage described that even a dragon that is roped or tied down can spring back and fend off an army with its teeth, or something along those lines.</p>

<p>Ragged objects: corpses, right?</p>

<p>uncle and aunt: I put something along the lines of, dismissing others’ emotions. Based on his strong conviction in his beliefs, I think he’d leave home even if he grew up solely under the care of his birth parents, and his tragedy is only briefly mentioned between dashes.</p>

<p>The dragon’s teeth was an allusion to Hercules, wasn’t it? Or one of the Greek myths… someone had to plant rows of dragon’s teeth, only to have them attack him as armed men. </p>

<p>I put that both books and dragon’s teeth offer punishment for retribution or whatever, but I’m not sure about it.</p>

<p>I also put the towel answer.</p>

<p>As I was taking the test, I had the impression that Charles wanted to dismiss the incident, so he would wipe away the event with a towel?</p>

<p>I did have to rush through this passage.</p>

<p>@littlepemguin: Yes, we got the same answer on both Dragon’s teeth and Ragged Objects. :D</p>

<p>I did however answer different about uncle and aunt. It’s true his tragedy is mentioned only between dashes, so there’s certainly some validity in your point. However, isn’t the dismissing others’ emotions answer assuming too much about the text? That’s the main reason why I ended up not choosing it.</p>

<p>Oh, and when you say dead corpses, do you mean dead insects or human corpses? I can’t remember if both were possible answer choices.</p>

<p>@littlepenguin - the ragged shapes were incomprehensible objects in advanced stages of deterioration, I thought. I thought likening them to laundry and carnage was just figurative language?</p>

<p>@smacking- I think my interpretation of subjective may be a bit off. There were a lot of questions where I had to say, “I think it expresses tone/attitude/feeling X, but they are looking for me to put answer Y.” Everyone’s reaction to a piece of literature or prose is a response to their experiences, and their unique outlook on life. This, is of course, only true to a certain extent. You can’t tell me this post is actually a comment upon societal norms in Scandinavia or post war disillusionment. But at the same time, the tone of an author of a passage can come across very differently to different people.</p>

<p>I’m off, have a great summer!</p>

<p>“In each case, the dragon’s teeth, once planted, would grow into fully armed warriors”</p>

<p>@Tantoes: I absolutely agree. Literature is in the end, about personal experiences. The problem is that with the SAT Literature one needs to do his best to attain an objective point of view, which I myself have had a very hard time achieving.</p>

<p>Yup, insect corpses.</p>

<p>I’m not certain of my “lack of emotional response” answer to the aunt and uncle question, but I couldn’t justify the other answers, either. I chose it because both the aunt and uncle were complaining about being tossed aside and the insensitivity of “young people these days”, but the husband ignored these comments and adhered to his own beliefs.</p>

<p>^ How was it insect corpses? The whole thing was about the past and memories and everything deteriorating, and she likened those same “ragged shapes” to laundry, as well.</p>

<p>Weren’t they mainly complaining about the wife’s behavior though?</p>

<p>And yep. Insects. That one had me stumped. Until I realized that within 2 lines it said “graveyard - ragged objects - indelicate spiders”</p>

<p>Okay, this whole insect corpse thing, where are you guys getting it from? We’re talking about the ragged shapes, right?</p>

<p>@Swebber: The narrator complained about the spiders, and about how the attic was both a graveyard and a feasting ground. He then complained abut the ragged objects. After saying exactly that, he said “How indelicate these spiders are”. Do you see where we’re coming from? All the answer choices beyond the one about insects were tempting, but in reality it probably was a trap, as the context was very different in that exact part. The “graveyard” seemed to be related to a graveyard of insects.</p>

<p>The ragged shapes question didn’t stump me much at all. As soon as I saw “graveyard” and all the spider imagery, I was pretty confident in my answer.</p>

<p>They were? I think they were complaining about the couple as a unit and of the changing conscience of people in their country, but it was in reference to their nephew’s marriage/departure. I’d have to see the passage again…</p>