首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Wherever the crime novels of P. D. James are discussed by critics, there is a tendency on the one hand to exaggerate her merits
Wherever the crime novels of P. D. James are discussed by critics, there is a tendency on the one hand to exaggerate her merits
admin
2014-07-25
54
问题
Wherever the crime novels of P. D. James are discussed by critics, there is a tendency on the one hand to exaggerate her merits and on the other to castigate her as a genre writer who is getting above herself. Perhaps underlying the debate is that familiar, false opposition set up between different kinds of fiction, according to which enjoyable novels are held to be somehow slightly lowbrow, and a novel is not considered true literature unless it is a tiny bit dull.
Those commentators who would elevate James’ books to the status of high literature point to her painstakingly constructed characters, her elaborate settings, her sense of place, and her love of abstractions: notions about morality, duty, pain, and pleasure are never far from the lips of her police officers and murderers. Others find her pretentious and tiresome; an inverted snobbery accuses her of abandoning the time-honored conventions of the detective genre in favor of a highbrow literary style. The critic Harriet Waugh wants P. D. James to get on with "the more taxing business of laying a tricky trail and then fooling the reader"; Philip Oakes in The Literary Review groans, "Could we please proceed with the business of clapping the handcuffs on the killer?"
James is certainly capable of strikingly good writing. She takes immense trouble to provide her characters with convincing histories and passions. Her descriptive digressions are part of the pleasure of her books and give them dignity and weight. But it is equally true that they frequently interfere with the story; the patinas and aromas of a country kitchen receive more loving attention than does the plot itself. Her devices to advance the story can be shameless and thin, and it is often impossible to see how her detective arrives at the truth; one is left to conclude that the detective solves crimes through intuition. At this stage in her career P. D. James seems to be less interested in the specifics of detection than in her characters’ vulnerabilities and perplexities.
However, once the rules of a chosen genre cramp creative thought, there is no reason why an able and interesting writer should accept them. In her latest book, there are signs that James is beginning to feel constrained by the crime-novel genre, here her determination to leave areas of ambiguity in the solution of the crime and to distribute guilt among the murderer, victim, and bystanders points to conscious rebellion against the traditional neatness of detective fiction. It is fashionable, though reprehensible, for one writer to prescribe to another. But perhaps the time has come for P. D. James to slide out of her handcuffs and stride into the territory of the mainstream novel.
The second paragraph serves primarily to______.
选项
A、contradict an assertion cited previously
B、present previously mentioned positions in greater detail
C、analyze a dilemma in greater depth
D、propose an alternative to two extreme opinions described earlier
答案
B
解析
细节题。第二段的内容很明显是进一步细化已提出观点。即P.D.James的叙述不够直接,过于迂回,铺垫太多等。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/mYpO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
Whenyouarefirstlearningorperfectingaskill,whetheritbebaking,archery,orpublicspeaking,itiseasytogetstuckwi
Whenyouarefirstlearningorperfectingaskill,whetheritbebaking,archery,orpublicspeaking,itiseasytogetstuckwi
MigrationandBusinessI.MigrationMap—sharplinesdivideuptheworldRealworld-—no(1)______betweenlandsII.Twochangesof
WhichofthefollowingisNOTthecharacteristicofa"languagehotspot"?
Chemistryplaysanimportantpartinourlife.The【1】______ofaclock,【1】______theclotheswewear,andourleathershoesar
A、Manyprofessionalwomenlaunchtheircareersfirst,thenhavechildrenlater.B、Peopleinthiscountryspendlesstimewithfr
Thechangesinlanguagewillcontinueforever,butnooneknowssure【M1】______whodoesthechanging.Onepossibilityis
Makinggooduseofthecollegelibrarymightbeamaximalhelptostudents’study.Togetaccesstothelibrary,thestudentsho
SevenTypesofEvidenceItisimportanttolearntouseevidenceinargumentativewriting,becausewithoutevidence,youcan’tp
OrMaybeMajorinCompLit?Let’snotexaggerate:scienceandengineeringarenotthenewCompLitorphilosophy,thoseunde
随机试题
下列何者是来源于原始间叶组织的肿瘤
某患者前不久有野外摔伤史,来院后出现苦笑面容、角弓反张症状,那么此患者非常有可能患有()
安定性不合格的水泥( )。
关于会计凭证的传递,下列表述中,不正确的是()。
集团项目组需要讨论由于舞弊或错误导致集团公司财务报表发生重大错报的可能性,但参与讨论的成员不宜包括()。
现代旅游活动的基本要素包括()。
在讲解立体几何的有关概念时,我们常常借助实物模型或图形,这体现了数学教学的哪一原则的要求?并作简要的分析。
他身体虽弱,但智力正常。
Quetues______!tuasencoreoubliétacravate!
Historically,dictionarieshavebeenthoughtofasdullandmechanicalwhichisperhapswhymanyteachersarereluctanttoexplo
最新回复
(
0
)