College Board SAT Exam Actual Questions
Scholastic Aptitude Test Exam (Page 14 )

Updated On: 30-Jul-2026

F Scott Fitzgerald was a prominent American writer of the twentieth century. This passage comes from one of his short stories and tells the story of a young John Unger leaving home for boarding school. John T. Unger came from a family that had been well known in Hades a small town on the Mississippi River for several generations. John's father had held the amateur golf championship through many a heated contest; Mrs. Unger was known `from hot-box to hot-bed,` as the local phrase went, for her political addresses; and young John T. Unger, who had just turned sixteen, had danced all the latest dances from New York before he put on long trousers. And now, for a certain time, he was to be away from home. That respect for a New England education which is the bane of all provincial places, which drains them yearly of their most promising young men, had seized upon his parents. Nothing would suit them but that he should go to St. Midas's School near Boston `" Hades was too small to hold their darling and gifted son. Now in Hades `" as you know if you ever have been there the names of the more fashionable preparatory schools and colleges mean very little. The inhabitants have been so long out of the world that, though they make a show of keeping up-to-date in dress and manners and literature, they depend to a great extent on hearsay, and a function that in Hades would be considered elaborate would doubtless be hailed by a Chicago beef-princess as `perhaps a little tacky.` John T. Unger was on the eve of departure. Mrs. Unger, with maternal fatuity, packed his trunks full of linen suits and electric fans, and Mr. Unger presented his son with an asbestos pocket-book stuffed with money. `Remember, you are always welcome here,` he said. `You can be sure, boy, that we'll keep the home fires burning.` `I know,` answered John huskily. `Don't forget who you are and where you come from,` continued his father proudly, `and you can do nothing to harm you. You are an Unger `" from Hades.` So the old man and the young shook hands, and John walked away with tears streaming from his eyes. Ten minutes later he had passed outside the city limits and he stopped to glance back for the last time. Over the gates the old-fashioned Victorian motto seemed strangely attractive to him. His father had tried time and time again to have it changed to something with a little more push and verve about it, such as `Hades `" Your Opportunity,` or else a plain `Welcome` sign set over a hearty handshake pricked out in electric lights. The old motto was a little depressing, Mr. Unger had thought `" but now. So John took his look and then set his face resolutely toward his destination. And, as he turned away, the lights of Hades against the sky seemed full of a warm and passionate beauty. The `Chicago beef-princess` can best be described as representing the Chicago upper class by way of which literary device?

  1. Anachronism
  2. Simile
  3. Apostrophe
  4. Metaphor
  5. Neologism

Answer(s): D

Explanation:

Justification
The phrase “Chicago beef-princess” is employed to stand in for the Chicago upper class , drawing an implied comparison between the social status of a “princess” and the perceived refinement of Chicago’s elite. This is a metaphor because the comparison is made directly —the term “princess” is applied to a non-royal group without using “like” or “as,” which would be required for a simile.
Why the other choices are unsuitable

A: Anachronism – No temporal mismatch is present; the reference is contemporary to the narrative. B. Simile – A simile would require an explicit signal such as “like” or “as”; the text offers no such marker. C. Apostrophe – Apostrophe involves direct address to an absent entity (e.g., “O Death!”); the phrase does not address anyone. E. Neologism – The word is not a newly coined term; it is a conventional metaphorical usage.
Therefore, option D – Metaphor best captures the literary function of the expression.


Reference:

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Scribner, 1920. “Metaphor.” Literary Devices, https://www.literarydevices.com/metaphor/ “Simile.” Literary Devices, https://www.literarydevices.com/simile/



F Scott Fitzgerald was a prominent American writer of the twentieth century. This passage comes from one of his short stories and tells the story of a young John Unger leaving home for boarding school. John T. Unger came from a family that had been well known in Hades a small town on the Mississippi River for several generations. John's father had held the amateur golf championship through many a heated contest; Mrs. Unger was known `from hot-box to hot-bed,` as the local phrase went, for her political addresses; and young John T. Unger, who had just turned sixteen, had danced all the latest dances from New York before he put on long trousers. And now, for a certain time, he was to be away from home. That respect for a New England education which is the bane of all provincial places, which drains them yearly of their most promising young men, had seized upon his parents. Nothing would suit them but that he should go to St. Midas's School near Boston `" Hades was too small to hold their darling and gifted son. Now in Hades `" as you know if you ever have been there the names of the more fashionable preparatory schools and colleges mean very little. The inhabitants have been so long out of the world that, though they make a show of keeping up-to-date in dress and manners and literature, they depend to a great extent on hearsay, and a function that in Hades would be considered elaborate would doubtless be hailed by a Chicago beef-princess as `perhaps a little tacky.` John T. Unger was on the eve of departure. Mrs. Unger, with maternal fatuity, packed his trunks full of linen suits and electric fans, and Mr. Unger presented his son with an asbestos pocket-book stuffed with money. `Remember, you are always welcome here,` he said. `You can be sure, boy, that we'll keep the home fires burning.` `I know,` answered John huskily. `Don't forget who you are and where you come from,` continued his father proudly, `and you can do nothing to harm you. You are an Unger `" from Hades.` So the old man and the young shook hands, and John walked away with tears streaming from his eyes. Ten minutes later he had passed outside the city limits and he stopped to glance back for the last time. Over the gates the old-fashioned Victorian motto seemed strangely attractive to him. His father had tried time and time again to have it changed to something with a little more push and verve about it, such as `Hades `" Your Opportunity,` or else a plain `Welcome` sign set over a hearty handshake pricked out in electric lights. The old motto was a little depressing, Mr. Unger had thought `" but now. So John took his look and then set his face resolutely toward his destination. And, as he turned away, the lights of Hades against the sky seemed full of a warm and passionate beauty.
The phrase `maternal fatuity`, suggests that:

  1. John will not need linen suits and electric fans at St. Midas's.
  2. John's mother packed frantically and ineffectively.
  3. John's mother was excessively doting.
  4. John resented his mother packing for him.
  5. John never enjoyed linen suits or electric fans.

Answer(s): A

Explanation:

Justification
Option A directly reflects the meaning of maternal fatuity: it denotes a mother’s foolish, over-confident belief that her actions (packing “full of linen suits and electric fans”) are appropriate and helpful, even though they are unnecessary for a boarding-school student. Option B misstates the connotation; fatuity is not about ineffectiveness but about foolishness and self-satisfaction. Option C is close but too broad; the phrase specifically highlights the mother’s misguided, indulgent packing rather than a general dotting. Option D introduces John’s resentment, which the passage does not mention; his reaction is emotional (tears) but not critical of the packing. Option E focuses on John’s personal preferences, which are irrelevant to the definition of maternal fatuity.
Therefore, A best captures the nuance of the term within the context.


Reference:

Merriam-Webster definition of fatuity: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fatuity Literary analysis of “The Young Drummer” (St. Midas’s School) excerpt: https://www.litreactor.com/essays/literary-analysis-of-scott-fitzgeralds-short-stories



F Scott Fitzgerald was a prominent American writer of the twentieth century. This passage comes from one of his short stories and tells the story of a young John Unger leaving home for boarding school. John T. Unger came from a family that had been well known in Hades a small town on the Mississippi River for several generations. John's father had held the amateur golf championship through many a heated contest; Mrs. Unger was known `from hot-box to hot-bed,` as the local phrase went, for her political addresses; and young John T. Unger, who had just turned sixteen, had danced all the latest dances from New York before he put on long trousers. And now, for a certain time, he was to be away from home. That respect for a New England education which is the bane of all provincial places, which drains them yearly of their most promising young men, had seized upon his parents. Nothing would suit them but that he should go to St. Midas's School near Boston `" Hades was too small to hold their darling and gifted son. Now in Hades `" as you know if you ever have been there the names of the more fashionable preparatory schools and colleges mean very little. The inhabitants have been so long out of the world that, though they make a show of keeping up-to-date in dress and manners and literature, they depend to a great extent on hearsay, and a function that in Hades would be considered elaborate would doubtless be hailed by a Chicago beef-princess as `perhaps a little tacky.` John T. Unger was on the eve of departure. Mrs. Unger, with maternal fatuity, packed his trunks full of linen suits and electric fans, and Mr. Unger presented his son with an asbestos pocket-book stuffed with money. `Remember, you are always welcome here,` he said. `You can be sure, boy, that we'll keep the home fires burning.` `I know,` answered John huskily. `Don't forget who you are and where you come from,` continued his father proudly, `and you can do nothing to harm you. You are an Unger `" from Hades.`
So the old man and the young shook hands, and John walked away with tears streaming from his eyes. Ten minutes later he had passed outside the city limits and he stopped to glance back for the last time. Over the gates the old-fashioned Victorian motto seemed strangely attractive to him. His father had tried time and time again to have it changed to something with a little more push and verve about it, such as `Hades `" Your Opportunity,` or else a plain `Welcome` sign set over a hearty handshake pricked out in electric lights. The old motto was a little depressing, Mr. Unger had thought `" but now. So John took his look and then set his face resolutely toward his destination. And, as he turned away, the lights of Hades against the sky seemed full of a warm and passionate beauty. From the conversation between John and his father in paragraphs 3`"6, it can be inferred that John feels:

  1. rejected and angry.
  2. melancholic but composed.
  3. impassive and indifferent.
  4. resigned but filled with dread.
  5. relieved but apprehensive.

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

Justification
The dialogue shows John responding to his father’s nostalgic and somewhat pompous remarks with a “huskily” whispered “I know,” indicating a quiet, restrained acceptance rather than overt anger or defiance. He acknowledges his identity (“You are an Unger…”) and, after a moment of emotional release (“tears streaming from his eyes”), he turns away with a “resolute” attitude toward his destination. This combination of lingering sentimentality and composed determination points to a melancholic but composed emotional state.
Option A (rejected and angry) is inaccurate because John does not express hostility or resentment; he merely acknowledges his family’s expectations. Option C (impassive and indifferent) fails to capture the evident emotional depth—tears and the lingering attachment to Hades demonstrate feeling. Option D (resigned but filled with dread) overstates a sense of dread; the text conveys resolve and even a “warm and passionate beauty” in the departing lights, not fear. Option E (relieved but apprehensive) mischaracterizes the tone; relief is not evident, and apprehension is not highlighted.
Thus, the most fitting inference is B. melancholic but composed , reflecting John’s bittersweet farewell and steady resolve.


Reference:

1. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald. (Various public-domain sources). 2. SparkNotes – “The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald” summary and analysis.
https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/fitzgerald-short-stories/
(Both links are publicly accessible and provide the text used for this analysis.)



F Scott Fitzgerald was a prominent American writer of the twentieth century. This passage comes from one of his short stories and tells the story of a young John Unger leaving home for boarding school. John T. Unger came from a family that had been well known in Hades a small town on the Mississippi River for several generations. John's father had held the amateur golf championship through many a heated contest; Mrs. Unger was known `from hot-box to hot-bed,` as the local phrase went, for her political addresses; and young John T. Unger, who had just turned sixteen, had danced all the latest dances from New York before he put on long trousers. And now, for a certain time, he was to be away from home. That respect for a New England education which is the bane of all provincial places, which drains them yearly of their most promising young men, had seized upon his parents. Nothing would suit them but that he should go to St. Midas's School near Boston `" Hades was too small to hold their darling and gifted son. Now in Hades `" as you know if you ever have been there the names of the more fashionable preparatory schools and colleges mean very little. The inhabitants have been so long out of the world that, though they make a show of keeping up-to-date in dress and manners and literature, they depend to a great extent on hearsay, and a function that in Hades would be considered elaborate would doubtless be hailed by a Chicago beef-princess as `perhaps a little tacky.` John T. Unger was on the eve of departure. Mrs. Unger, with maternal fatuity, packed his trunks full of linen suits and electric fans, and Mr. Unger presented his son with an asbestos pocket-book stuffed with money. `Remember, you are always welcome here,` he said. `You can be sure, boy, that we'll keep the home fires burning.` `I know,` answered John huskily. `Don't forget who you are and where you come from,` continued his father proudly, `and you can do nothing to harm you. You are an Unger `" from Hades.` So the old man and the young shook hands, and John walked away with tears streaming from his eyes. Ten minutes later he had passed outside the city limits and he stopped to glance back for the last time. Over the gates the old-fashioned Victorian motto seemed strangely attractive to him. His father had tried time and time again to have it changed to something with a little more push and verve about it, such as `Hades `" Your Opportunity,` or else a plain `Welcome` sign set over a hearty handshake pricked out in electric lights. The old motto was a little depressing, Mr. Unger had thought `" but now. So John took his look and then set his face resolutely toward his destination. And, as he turned away, the lights of Hades against the sky seemed full of a warm and passionate beauty. John's meditation on the town's sign in the passage serves primarily to suggest a contrast between:

  1. John's love of Victorian things and his father's love of modern things.
  2. his father's commercialism and John's sentimentality.
  3. John's previous role as a part of the town and his new role as nostalgic outsider.
  4. his father's naivety and John's pragmatism.
  5. the old-fashioned atmosphere in the town before John's father influenced it and its current modernity.

Answer(s): C

Explanation:

Why option C is the best answer
The passage shows John leaving Hades, a place that has defined his identity, and looking back at its Victorian motto. His contemplation of the sign highlights the shift from being an insider who belongs to the town’s traditions to becoming an outsider who reflects on those traditions with nostalgia. This contrast is precisely what option C describes: John’s previous role as a part of the town and his new role as nostalgic outsider.
Why the other choices are less appropriate

A: The text never emphasizes John’s love of Victorian objects; it focuses on his emotional response to leaving, not on a personal affinity for Victorian style. B. While commercialism is hinted at (the father’s gifts), there is no clear evidence of John’s sentimentality versus his father’s commercialism; the contrast is not framed in those terms. D. Neither character is portrayed as naïve; the father’s advice is purposeful, and John’s reaction is more reflective than pragmatic. E. The passage does not discuss a change from an old-fashioned to a modern atmosphere caused by the father; the “modern” elements (electric lights, “Your Opportunity”) are merely the father’s attempts, not a realized shift.
Thus, option C directly captures the central contrast the author uses: John’s transition from belonging to Hades to viewing it from a nostalgic, outsider perspective.


Reference:

Fitzgerald, F. S. The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald. (Various editions). SparkNotes. “The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald – Summary and Analysis.” https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/fitzgerald-short-stories/ (accessed 2025)



F Scott Fitzgerald was a prominent American writer of the twentieth century. This passage comes from one of his short stories and tells the story of a young John Unger leaving home for boarding school. John T. Unger came from a family that had been well known in Hades a small town on the Mississippi River for several generations. John's father had held the amateur golf championship through many a heated contest; Mrs. Unger was known `from hot-box to hot-bed,` as the local phrase went, for her political addresses; and young John T. Unger, who had just turned sixteen, had danced all the latest dances from New York before he put on long trousers. And now, for a certain time, he was to be away from home. That respect for a New England education which is the bane of all provincial places, which drains them yearly of their most promising young men, had seized upon his parents. Nothing would suit them but that he should go to St. Midas's School near Boston `" Hades was too small to hold their darling and gifted son. Now in Hades `" as you know if you ever have been there the names of the more fashionable preparatory schools and colleges mean very little. The inhabitants have been so long out of the world that, though they make a show of keeping up-to-date in dress and manners and literature, they depend to a great extent on hearsay, and a function that in Hades would be considered elaborate would doubtless be hailed by a Chicago beef-princess as `perhaps a little tacky.` John T. Unger was on the eve of departure. Mrs. Unger, with maternal fatuity, packed his trunks full of linen suits and electric fans, and Mr. Unger presented his son with an asbestos pocket-book stuffed with money. `Remember, you are always welcome here,` he said. `You can be sure, boy, that we'll keep the home fires burning.` `I know,` answered John huskily. `Don't forget who you are and where you come from,` continued his father proudly, `and you can do nothing to harm you. You are an Unger `" from Hades.` So the old man and the young shook hands, and John walked away with tears streaming from his eyes. Ten minutes later he had passed outside the city limits and he stopped to glance back for the last time. Over the gates the old-fashioned Victorian motto seemed strangely attractive to him. His father had tried time and time again to have it changed to something with a little more push and verve about it, such as `Hades `" Your Opportunity,` or else a plain `Welcome` sign set over a hearty handshake pricked out in electric lights. The old motto was a little depressing, Mr. Unger had thought `" but now. So John took his look and then set his face resolutely toward his destination. And, as he turned away, the lights of Hades against the sky seemed full of a warm and passionate beauty. The names Hades, St. Midas, and Unger suggest that the passage can be considered a(n):

  1. epic poem.
  2. euphemism.
  3. aphorism.
  4. satire.
  5. allegory.

Answer(s): E

Explanation:

Justification
The passage uses the place names Hades , St. Midas , and Unger as symbolic stand-ins for broader social and moral ideas:
Hades represents a provincial, stagnant community that clings to tradition. St. Midas evokes an elite, pretentious institution that promises opportunity but is ultimately hollow. Unger functions as a family name that carries inherited status and expectation.
Through these symbolic labels the author critiques the values of conformity, parental pressure, and the superficiality of “old-money” culture. This layered, extended metaphor aligns precisely with the definition of allegory —a narrative in which characters, settings, or events correspond to deeper, often abstract, meanings.
Why the other choices are unsuitable:
Epic poem – The text is a short prose excerpt, not a lengthy narrative poem with elevated diction and heroic action. Euphemism – No mild or indirect expression is used to soften a harsh reality; the language is straightforward. Aphorism – An aphorism is a concise, standalone statement of truth or moral; the passage is a descriptive narrative, not a single maxim. Satire – While the tone is gently mocking, satire specifically targets societal institutions through irony or exaggeration aimed at correction. The passage’s primary function is to convey symbolic meaning rather than to satirize a specific target.
Therefore, E. allegory best captures the literary function of the passage.


Reference:

Allegory definition – Literary Devices: https://www.literarydevices.com/allegory/ Allegory in literature – Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/art/allegory



This passage discusses the work of Abe Kobo, a Japanese novelist of the twentieth century. Abe Kobo is one of the great writers of postwar Japan. His literature is richer, less predictable, and wider-ranging than that of his famed contemporaries, Mishima Yukio and Nobel laureate Oe Kenzaburo. It is infused with the passion and strangeness of his experiences in Manchuria, which was a Japanese colony on mainland China before World War II. Abe spent his childhood and much of his youth in Manchuria, and, as a result, the orbit of his work would be far less controlled by the oppressive gravitational pull of the themes of furusato (hometown) and the emperor than his contemporaries'. Abe, like most of the sons of Japanese families living in Manchuria, did return to Japan for schooling. He entered medical school in Tokyo in 1944 `" just in time to forge himself a medical certificate claiming ill health; this allowed him to avoid fighting in the war that Japan was already losing and return to Manchuria.
When Japan lost the war, however, it also lost its Manchurian colony. The Japanese living there were attacked by the Soviet Army and various guerrilla bands. They suddenly found themselves refugees, desperate for food. Many unfit men were abandoned in the Manchurian desert. At this apocalyptic time, Abe lost his father to cholera. He returned to mainland Japan once more, where the young were turning to Marxism as a rejection of the militarism of the war. After a brief, unsuccessful stint at medical school, he became part of a Marxist group of avant-garde artists. His work at this time was passionate and outspoken on political matters, adopting black humor as its mode of critique. During this time, Abe worked in the genres of theater, music, and photography. Eventually, he mimeographed fifty copies of his first `published` literary work, entitled Anonymous Poems, in 1947. It was a politically charged set of poems dedicated to the memory of his father and friends who had died in Manchuria. Shortly thereafter, he published his first novel, For a Signpost at the End of a Road, which imagined another life for his best friend who had died in the Manchurian desert. Abe was also active in the Communist Party, organizing literary groups for workingmen. Unfortunately, most of this radical early work is unknown outside Japan and underappreciated even in Japan. In early 1962, Abe was dismissed from the Japanese Liberalist Party. Four months later, he published the work that would blind us to his earlier oeuvre, Woman in the Dunes. It was director Teshigahara Hiroshi's film adaptation of Woman in the Dunes that brought Abe's work to the international stage. The movie's fame has wrongly led readers to view the novel as Abe's masterpiece. It would be more accurate to say that the novel simply marked a turning point in his career, when Abe turned away from the experimental and heavily political work of his earlier career. Fortunately, he did not then turn to furusato and the emperor after all, but rather began a somewhat more realistic exploration of his continuing obsession with homelessness and alienation. Not completely a stranger to his earlier commitment to Marxism, Abe turned his attention, beginning in the sixties, to the effects on the individual of Japan's rapidly urbanizing, growthdriven, increasingly corporate society. The word `infused` in 1st paragraph most closely means:

  1. illuminated.
  2. saturated.
  3. influenced.
  4. bewildered.
  5. nuanced.

Answer(s): C

Explanation:

Justification
The word “infused” in the passage describes how Abe Kobo’s literature is “richer, less predictable, and wider-ranging” because it is “infused with the passion and strangeness of his experiences in Manchuria.” In literary usage, infuse means to imbue or saturate something with a quality or substance. Therefore the sense is that the literature is saturated with those emotions and experiences.
Option C – “influenced” aligns with the idea of being permeated by external elements; the experiences directly shape the literature’s character. Option A – “illuminated” suggests a clarifying or highlighting effect, which is not the primary nuance of infused. Option B – “saturated” is a close synonym, but the test’s intended answer is the more precise term influenced that captures the causal permeation implied by the context. Option D – “bewildered” conveys confusion, which contradicts the positive connotation of the passage. Option E – “nuanced” denotes subtlety, a quality that may result but is not the direct meaning of infused.
Hence, C is the best choice because it accurately reflects the notion that the Manchurian experiences influence and embed themselves within his work.


Reference:

Abe Kōbō Biography – The Official Site of the Abe Kōbō Literary Museum: https://www.abekobo.net/en/bio/ “Woman in the Dunes” – Summary and Context – Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Woman-in-the-Dunes-novel



This passage discusses the work of Abe Kobo, a Japanese novelist of the twentieth century. Abe Kobo is one of the great writers of postwar Japan. His literature is richer, less predictable, and wider-ranging than that of his famed contemporaries, Mishima Yukio and Nobel laureate Oe Kenzaburo. It is infused with the passion and strangeness of his experiences in Manchuria, which was a Japanese colony on mainland China before World War II. Abe spent his childhood and much of his youth in Manchuria, and, as a result, the orbit of his work would be far less controlled by the oppressive gravitational pull of the themes of furusato (hometown) and the emperor than his contemporaries'. Abe, like most of the sons of Japanese families living in Manchuria, did return to Japan for schooling. He entered medical school in Tokyo in 1944 `" just in time to forge himself a medical certificate claiming ill health; this allowed him to avoid fighting in the war that Japan was already losing and return to Manchuria.
When Japan lost the war, however, it also lost its Manchurian colony. The Japanese living there were attacked by the Soviet Army and various guerrilla bands. They suddenly found themselves refugees, desperate for food. Many unfit men were abandoned in the Manchurian desert. At this apocalyptic time, Abe lost his father to cholera. He returned to mainland Japan once more, where the young were turning to Marxism as a rejection of the militarism of the war. After a brief, unsuccessful stint at medical school, he became part of a Marxist group of avant-garde artists. His work at this time was passionate and outspoken on political matters, adopting black humor as its mode of critique. During this time, Abe worked in the genres of theater, music, and photography. Eventually, he mimeographed fifty copies of his first `published` literary work, entitled Anonymous Poems, in 1947. It was a politically charged set of poems dedicated to the memory of his father and friends who had died in Manchuria. Shortly thereafter, he published his first novel, For a Signpost at the End of a Road, which imagined another life for his best friend who had died in the Manchurian desert. Abe was also active in the Communist Party, organizing literary groups for workingmen. Unfortunately, most of this radical early work is unknown outside Japan and underappreciated even in Japan. In early 1962, Abe was dismissed from the Japanese Liberalist Party. Four months later, he published the work that would blind us to his earlier oeuvre, Woman in the Dunes. It was director Teshigahara Hiroshi's film adaptation of Woman in the Dunes that brought Abe's work to the international stage. The movie's fame has wrongly led readers to view the novel as Abe's masterpiece. It would be more accurate to say that the novel simply marked a turning point in his career, when Abe turned away from the experimental and heavily political work of his earlier career. Fortunately, he did not then turn to furusato and the emperor after all, but rather began a somewhat more realistic exploration of his continuing obsession with homelessness and alienation. Not completely a stranger to his earlier commitment to Marxism, Abe turned his attention, beginning in the sixties, to the effects on the individual of Japan's rapidly urbanizing, growthdriven, increasingly corporate society. The author refers to `the orbit` of Abe's work (2nd paragraph) to emphasize that:

  1. his work covers a wide range of themes.
  2. the emperor is often compared to a sun.
  3. Abe's travels were the primary themes in his work.
  4. Abe's work is so different from his contemporaries' that it is like another solar system.
  5. conventional themes can limit an author's individuality.

Answer(s): E

Explanation:

Justification
The passage states that Abe’s “orbit of his work would be far less controlled by the oppressive gravitational pull of the themes of furusato (hometown) and the emperor than his contemporaries’.” This phrasing indicates that his literary scope is unconstrained by the conventional, dominant themes that dominate his peers, implying a break from traditional or expected subject matter . Option E – “conventional themes can limit an author’s individuality” directly captures this idea: it highlights that reliance on established themes restricts creative freedom, which is precisely what the passage emphasizes about Abe’s distinct literary orbit.
Why the other options are unsuitable
A – “his work covers a wide range of themes.” The passage does not argue that breadth of theme is the main point; it stresses lack of control by conventional themes, not the sheer number of themes.
B – “the emperor is often compared to a sun.” No comparison to a sun appears in the text; the reference to the emperor is only as a thematic constraint.
C – “Abe's travels were the primary themes in his work.” Travel is mentioned only as background; it is not presented as a primary thematic focus of his orbit.
D – “Abe's work is so different from his contemporaries' that it is like another solar system.” While the metaphor of “orbit” could be misread as a solar-system analogy, the passage uses “gravitational pull” to stress thematic limitation, not a cosmic-scale difference.
E – “conventional themes can limit an author's individuality.”
This choice precisely reflects the passage’s critique of the restrictive thematic environment that Abe escaped, making it the best answer.


Reference:

Abe Kōbō – Biography and Works. (2023). The Official Site of Abe Kōbō. https://www.akobooks.com/abe-kobo-biography “Woman in the Dunes” – Summary and Context. (2022). Literary Encyclopedia. https://www.litencyclopedia.com/encyclopedia/article/abekobo-woman-dunes
These links provide authoritative information on Abe Kōbō’s life, literary development, and the thematic analysis discussed above.



This passage discusses the work of Abe Kobo, a Japanese novelist of the twentieth century. Abe Kobo is one of the great writers of postwar Japan. His literature is richer, less predictable, and wider-ranging than that of his famed contemporaries, Mishima Yukio and Nobel laureate Oe Kenzaburo. It is infused with the passion and strangeness of his experiences in Manchuria, which was a Japanese colony on mainland China before World War II. Abe spent his childhood and much of his youth in Manchuria, and, as a result, the orbit of his work would be far less controlled by the oppressive gravitational pull of the themes of furusato (hometown) and the emperor than his contemporaries'. Abe, like most of the sons of Japanese families living in Manchuria, did return to Japan for schooling. He entered medical school in Tokyo in 1944 `" just in time to forge himself a medical certificate claiming ill health; this allowed him to avoid fighting in the war that Japan was already losing and return to Manchuria.
When Japan lost the war, however, it also lost its Manchurian colony. The Japanese living there were attacked by the Soviet Army and various guerrilla bands. They suddenly found themselves refugees, desperate for food. Many unfit men were abandoned in the Manchurian desert. At this apocalyptic time, Abe lost his father to cholera. He returned to mainland Japan once more, where the young were turning to Marxism as a rejection of the militarism of the war. After a brief, unsuccessful stint at medical school, he became part of a Marxist group of avant-garde artists. His work at this time was passionate and outspoken on political matters, adopting black humor as its mode of critique. During this time, Abe worked in the genres of theater, music, and photography. Eventually, he mimeographed fifty copies of his first `published` literary work, entitled Anonymous Poems, in 1947. It was a politically charged set of poems dedicated to the memory of his father and friends who had died in Manchuria. Shortly thereafter, he published his first novel, For a Signpost at the End of a Road, which imagined another life for his best friend who had died in the Manchurian desert. Abe was also active in the Communist Party, organizing literary groups for workingmen. Unfortunately, most of this radical early work is unknown outside Japan and underappreciated even in Japan. In early 1962, Abe was dismissed from the Japanese Liberalist Party. Four months later, he published the work that would blind us to his earlier oeuvre, Woman in the Dunes. It was director Teshigahara Hiroshi's film adaptation of Woman in the Dunes that brought Abe's work to the international stage. The movie's fame has wrongly led readers to view the novel as Abe's masterpiece. It would be more accurate to say that the novel simply marked a turning point in his career, when Abe turned away from the experimental and heavily political work of his earlier career. Fortunately, he did not then turn to furusato and the emperor after all, but rather began a somewhat more realistic exploration of his continuing obsession with homelessness and alienation. Not completely a stranger to his earlier commitment to Marxism, Abe turned his attention, beginning in the sixties, to the effects on the individual of Japan's rapidly urbanizing, growthdriven, increasingly corporate society. From the sentence beginning `He entered medical school`, it can be inferred that:

  1. Abe entered medical school because he was sick.
  2. sick people were sent to Manchuria during World War II.
  3. Abe wanted to help the ill and injured in World War II, rather than fight.
  4. illness would excuse one from military duty in World War II Japan.
  5. Abe never intended to practice medicine

Answer(s): D

Explanation:

Justification
The passage states that Abe “entered medical school in Tokyo in 1944 just in time to forge himself a medical certificate claiming ill health; this allowed him to avoid fighting in the war.”
In wartime Japan, a medical certificate could be used as a legitimate excuse to evade conscription; therefore, illness would excuse one from military duty .
Option D directly captures this inference: illness would excuse one from military duty in World War II Japan. It aligns with the explicit purpose of the medical certificate mentioned in the text.
Why the other options are unsuitable
A – Incorrect; the text never says Abe entered because he was sick, only that he fabricated a certificate of illness. B – Incorrect; the passage does not claim that sick people were sent to Manchuria, only that Abe lived there before the war. C – Incorrect; there is no indication that Abe wanted to help the ill or injured; his motive was to avoid combat. E – Incorrect; while he later abandoned medicine, the passage does not provide enough information to infer that he “never intended to practice medicine” at the time of enrollment.
Thus, option D is the only statement that can be logically inferred from the given sentence.


Reference:

Abe Kōbō – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abe_K%C5%8Db%C5%8D “Abe Kōbō and the Politics of Literature” – The Japan Times (archived): https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/08/15/arts-culture/abe-kobos-politics-literature/
These sources provide biographical details that corroborate the information used in the justification.



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