GMAT-Reading Comprehension
Great comic art is never otherworldly, it does not seek to mystify us, and it does not deny ambiguity by branding as evil whatever differs from good. Great comic artists assume that truth may bear all lights, and thus they seek to accentuate contradictions in social action, not gloss over or transcend them by appeals to extra social symbols of divine ends, cosmic purpose, or laws of nature. The moment of transcendence in great comic art is a social moment, born out of the conviction that we are human, even though we try to be gods. The comic community to which artists address themselves is a community of reasoning loving, joyful, compassionate beings, who are willing to assume the human risks of acting rationally. Without invoking gods or demons, great comic art arouses courage in reason; courage which grows out of trust in what human beings can do as humans. (The difficult words in this passage are otherworldly (strange), mystify (puzzle), ambiguity (doubt), accentuate (emphasize), gloss over (disregard), transcend (go beyond), compassionate (sympathetic) and rationally (logically). 2. It can be inferred from the passage that the author admires great comic artists primarily for their A. ability to understand the frequently subtle differences between good and evil B. ability to reconcile the contradictions in human behavior C. ability to distinguish between rational and irrational behavior D. insistence on confronting the truth about the human condition E. insistence on condemning human faults and weaknesses This is also an ‘inference’ question, the key phrase being ‘the author admires great comic artists primarily for’. Every sentence in the passage is in praise of comic artist. But, in the sixth line, the author says, “…. The moment of transcendence in great comic art is born out of the conviction that we are human, though we try to be gods". The admiration of the author for great comic artists is therefore based primarily on their insistence on (or conviction about) the truth of the human condition. So, (D) is the answer. You can easily see that none of the other choices is mentioned as attributes of great comic artists.
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