PT76.S1.Q03 - never was anything as incoherent

OneFortyDotSix

Based on the correct answer to an RC question I just saw I'm wondering how to distinguish this from trap answers...

The question asks for the purpose of an introductory quote to a passage, to which the correct answer reads "[to] suggest that music that is at first seen as alienating need not seem alienating later"

The issue I'm having with this is that reading comprehension questions sometimes contain trap answers that go "beyond" the message of the passage, misconstruing or overextending the message beyond what the author intended.

This looked like one of those typical trap answers. Nowhere in the passage does the author suggest the work of either composer was ever considered alienating. Disturbing, shrill, incoherent, and dissonant were all used to describe the works of the two composers, none of these or other descriptive elements in the passage seem to equate to the concept of alienation in music.

In ambiguous cases like this, how do we distinguish a right answer from to a trap answer that is drawing a false equivalency or overextending the author's prose?

I'm rounding off my prep before this Saturday's LSAT, it would be great if someone could lend some guidance before then

Thanks in advance!

FixedDice

The passage is the one that compares Schoenberg to Beethoven, and the question asks for the purpose of the opening quote from von Kotzebue, right? I would think that it is reasonable to say that a disturbing, shrill, incoherent, and dissonant work of classical music is alienating (your personal musical preferences notwithstanding).

FixedDice

Also, I believe there was a paragraph discussing how Beethoven and Schoenberg brought about controversies (i.e. alienating) but were eventually embraced by critics and audiences alike. In fact, Beethoven is considered a cultural icon. So Beethoven's music initially alienated consumers, but found favorable reception among them later.

mew41195

This caught me for a second too! More than D being right, for me it was POE. A and B are out because "accurate" is irrelevant to a subjective quote. C is out because it was about a single piece, not all of Beethoven's music, so it wouldn't have been referring to uneven quality among works when speaking of one single work. E is out because this is 1 critic's opinion of 1 piece of Beethoven's work - even if this was referring to Schoenberg's work, it says just after the quote that this is the "reaction of many listeners", so it wouldn't have been out of step.

D is supported through the reference in lines18-19 to repeated listening after stating the Beethoven was eventually recognized as a cultural icon. So, while it might have been "incoherent, shrill, and chaotic" at first, after repeated listening + more than a century, the works were eventually accepted (and cherished). So, the general attitude toward his music changed from more negative to more positive.

OneFortyDotSix

thanks everyone...My instinct was D but I tried to find fault with it, a case of overthinking, perhaps. Based on the responses here, I guess the right sort of "fuzzy logic" to apply would be that if one can reasonably infer a concept from the author's prose (ie - controversial music is potentially alienating) then it's not necessarily a trap answer.

Thanks again!