PrepTest 78, Passage 2, Question 9
It can be inferred from the passage that the attitude of Matthew Arnold toward the aristocratic and middle classes can be best described as one of, so this is an inference of tone question, so we want to pinpoint how Matthew Arnold feels about the aristocratic and middle classes. So going back to where we see Matthew surface in the passage, Matthew was a cultural critic who identified the aristocracy as Barbarians, largely interested in fox hunting, and gaming, and then the middle class as Philistines who were obsessed with respectability.
So, based on this Matthew Arnold thought that the more talented artist sometimes had to find a place in the margins of the establishment when they were engaged by rich patrons with eccentric tastes. So, again, to recap, he calls the aristocracy Barbarians and the middle class, Philistines obsessed with respectability. So his opinion of the elite classes are far from positive here, so our answer choice will need to reflect that.
The correct answer is E, scorn. So scorn best represent the author's attitude towards the aristocracy and the middle class. So, in that passage that we just looked at, he criticises their hobbies and their aloofness, and really shows little inclination to highlight any of their positive traits.
So that makes E spot on in terms of characterizing his view points of the aristocracy and the middle class. So, this is our correct answer. Now there were iffy answer choices in this section, so, let's look at that. Answer Choice C: indifference. So this answer choice really isn't strong enough, and Arnold took the time to rail against the elite classes, so he certainly isn't indifferent, and is pretty clear in his opinion, so this isn't properly characterizing Arnold's viewpoint of the aristocracy and the middle class.
And then disappointment was another iffy answer choice in this section that's sometimes chosen. So disappointment might sound like it's going in the right direction, but disappointment, perhaps, also implies that there were maybe some expectations that were not met. So Arnold seems to have pretty low expectations, if any at all, of the elite classes.
So this just seems a little bit out of scope in terms of mischaracterizing how Arnold views these classes.
Read full transcriptSo, based on this Matthew Arnold thought that the more talented artist sometimes had to find a place in the margins of the establishment when they were engaged by rich patrons with eccentric tastes. So, again, to recap, he calls the aristocracy Barbarians and the middle class, Philistines obsessed with respectability. So his opinion of the elite classes are far from positive here, so our answer choice will need to reflect that.
The correct answer is E, scorn. So scorn best represent the author's attitude towards the aristocracy and the middle class. So, in that passage that we just looked at, he criticises their hobbies and their aloofness, and really shows little inclination to highlight any of their positive traits.
So that makes E spot on in terms of characterizing his view points of the aristocracy and the middle class. So, this is our correct answer. Now there were iffy answer choices in this section, so, let's look at that. Answer Choice C: indifference. So this answer choice really isn't strong enough, and Arnold took the time to rail against the elite classes, so he certainly isn't indifferent, and is pretty clear in his opinion, so this isn't properly characterizing Arnold's viewpoint of the aristocracy and the middle class.
And then disappointment was another iffy answer choice in this section that's sometimes chosen. So disappointment might sound like it's going in the right direction, but disappointment, perhaps, also implies that there were maybe some expectations that were not met. So Arnold seems to have pretty low expectations, if any at all, of the elite classes.
So this just seems a little bit out of scope in terms of mischaracterizing how Arnold views these classes.
