PSAT Writing and Language Practice Test 28: James Joyce

Questions 24-29 refer to the following information.

James Joyce

As we contemplate the state of literature in our modern era, it is difficult to resist a longing for the epic writers of eras gone by. At times, we take great pains to merely remember that there were once authors such as Homer, Dante, and Melville: authors 24 whom were able to relate stories of heroic travels and struggles. They did not waste their time or ours with trivial affairs; they compelled 25 you to mull over the great philosophical questions of all time in stories that stand up to readers' repeated perusal from generation to generation.26 They took extensive care to depict accurately the best and worst aspects of human nature; strove to ensure that they would be enhancing, rather than degrading, the public's intellect; and did not resort to tricks or devices in order to garner readership for their writings. In all these regards, past writers are firmly distinguished from many modern writers: the most notorious of these modern writers is the Irish novelist James Joyce.

While literary critics typically offer vastly different assessments of its quality after 27 our readings of Ulysses, Joyce's novel that retells Homer's The Odyssey, my contention is that Joyce sullied the very form of the epic genre. Whereas The Odyssey was a great tale of a noble hero's struggle against a seemingly insurmountable series of trials in order to restore order and honor to his household, 28 his book is nearly the direct opposite. The protagonist is no hero: his actions are listless and forgettable, and his obsession with obscene and undignified behavior is virtually nauseating. And even more shamefully, Joyce wasted his talent; subject matter aside, the art of masterfully crafting words came naturally to 29 him. Sadly, it is the literary world's loss that he was not born a few centuries earlier, when his talents could have been utilized in a more dignified manner.

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