Question

Tony: A short story is little more than a novelist's sketch pad. Only novels have narrative structures that allow writers to depict human lives accurately by portraying characters whose personalities gradually develop through life experience.

Raoul: Life consists not of a linear process of personality development, but rather of a series of completely disjointed vignettes, from many of which the discerning observer may catch glimpses of character. Thus, the short story depicts human lives more faithfully than does the novel.

The dialogue most supports the claim that Tony and Raoul disagree about whether
(A) human lives are best understood as series of completely disjointed vignettes
(B) novels and short stories employ the same strategies to depict human lives
(C) novels usually depict gradual changes in characters' personalities
(D) only short stories are used as novelists' sketch pads
(E) short stories provide glimpses of facts of character that are usually kept hidden

Answer 1

Tony and Raoul disagree about whether human lives are best understood as a series of disjointed vignettes, with Tony advocating for the novel's narrative structure and Raoul for the short story's ability to reflect life's vignettes.

Step-by-step explanation:

The dialogue between Tony and Raoul most strongly supports the claim that they disagree about whether human lives are best understood as a series of completely disjointed vignettes. Tony supports the idea that novels, due to their length and narrative structure, allow for the gradual development of characters, thus depicting human lives more accurately.

On the other hand, Raoul argues that because life is a series of disjointed vignettes, short stories are more capable of faithfully depicting human lives, as they can provide glimpses into character in a way that reflects this reality.

The dialogue between Tony and Raoul supports the claim that they disagree about whether novels usually depict gradual changes in characters' personalities.

Tony argues that only novels have narrative structures that allow writers to accurately portray characters whose personalities develop through life experience. Raoul, on the other hand, believes that human lives consist of completely disjointed vignettes, and short stories depict human lives more faithfully because they provide glimpses of character in these vignettes.