Sat2 lit

Test Preparation SAT Subject Test Preparation
1

<p>I found this at a private SAT 2 Lit prep book:</p>

<p>THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General.</p>

<p>Some things about living still weren’t quite right, though. April for instance, still drove people crazy by not being springtime. And it was in that clammy month that the H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron’s fourteen-year-old son, Harrison, away.</p>

<ol>
<li>The narrator's tone can best be described as
(A) satirical
(B) harshly critical
(C) wholly frustrated
(D) mildly emotional
(E) excessively casual</li>
</ol>

<p>The answer is A. I chose D. .. Seriously, after some months of taking my last SAT, it's pretty hard to get back to CR prep.
Frankly, I see how A can be right, but I am still unsure. The narrator seems like a detached person in the first paragraph. He/She sounds like an automaton.. However, I felt that his tone changed in the second paragraph, becoming slightly more personal and well, emotional..? Hum..
Can someone tell me a convincing evidence of why this is satirical? (Without merely repeating how the narrator says "finally equal.")
He doesn't seem "harshly" critical nor "casual" (at least he's not in the second paragraph).</p>

<p>Thanks in advance :D</p>

2

<p>I see it as satirical because the narrator is making fun of people’s obsessions with equality. He shows this with a lot of hyperbole, such as having that ridiculously huge number of amendments, and with exaggerated examples of equality, such as everyone being of the same strength and level of attractiveness. I think the best example is the “United States Handicapper General”, which seems to be purposely handicapping (or fixing handicaps?) to ensure everyone is absolutely equal on every possible level.</p>

3

<p>I read the passage like xquiksilverx.</p>

<p>Since you’re based in Asia you may not be familiar with the details of American government. The notion of someone being the “Handicapper General” is clearly tongue in cheek. It’s a play on Attorney General (the chief attorney/prosecutor of the United States). Since its ratification some 230 years ago the United States Constitution has been amended only 27 times. The amendment process is complex, deliberate and protracted. Many amendments have taken 5+ years from concept to ratification. So the addition of 180 amendments to the constitution between now and 2081 is ludicrous.</p>

4

<p>thanx xquiksilverx and fogcity !</p>

<p>Wow, your rationales are really convincing…
Hyperbole definitely shows the narrator’s cynicism/satirical attitude, xquiksilverx :slight_smile:
Thanx for the background knowledge as well, fogcity :smiley:
Quite meticulous of you to notice that I’m based in Asia, </p>

<p>Thanx once again guys</p>