A
It is a claim for which no support is provided, and which is used to support only the argument’s main conclusion.
B
It is a claim for which no support is provided, and which is used to support a claim that is itself used to support the argument’s main conclusion.
C
It is a claim for which support is provided, and which is in turn used to support the argument’s main conclusion.
D
It is the argument’s main conclusion and is inferred from two other statements in the argument, one of which is used to support the other.
E
It is the argument’s main conclusion and is inferred from two other statements in the argument, neither of which is used to support the other.
For a work to be rightly thought of as world literature, it must be received and interpreted within the writer’s own national tradition and within external national traditions. A work counts as being interpreted within a national tradition if authors from that tradition use the work in at least one of three ways: as a positive model for the development of their own tradition, as a negative case of a decadent tendency that must be consciously avoided, or as an image of radical otherness that prompts refinement of the home tradition.
Summary
For a work to be considered world literature, it must be received and interpreted by the writer’s own national tradition and by other national traditions. A work is interpreted by a national tradition if writers from that tradition use it in at least one of three ways: as a positive model for the development of their tradition, as a negative model to avoid in the development of their tradition, or as a way to refine the development of their tradition.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
A work can be a negative model in some contexts and a positive model in others and still be considered world literature.
In order to be interpreted by a national tradition, a work of literature must affect the development of that tradition in some way.
A
A work of literature cannot be well received within an external national tradition if it is not well received within the writer’s own national tradition.
Unsupported. The stimulus doesn’t connect the the writer’s own national tradition with external national traditions. Perhaps a work can still be received well in an external tradition without being received well in the writer’s own tradition.
B
A work of world literature offers more to readers within external national traditions than it offers to readers within the writer’s national tradition.
Unsupported. The stimulus does not give any information about what a work of world literature offers to different audiences.
C
A work should not be thought of as world literature if it is more meaningful to readers from the writer’s national tradition than it is to readers from external national traditions.
Unsupported. Whether a work is more meaningful to one group or another has no effect on whether it should be thought of as world literature.
D
A work of world literature is always influenced by works outside of the writer’s national tradition.
Unsupported. For a work to be world literature, it must be received and interpreted by the writer’s own national tradition and by other national traditions. We aren’t told that it’s always influenced by other works outside of the writer’s national tradition.
E
A work is not part of world literature if it affects the development of only one national tradition.
Strongly supported. A work of world literature must be interpreted by the writer’s national tradition and other national traditions. Thus, it must affect the development of both traditions either as a positive model, a negative model, or a model of refinement.