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SAT English QUESTION #5356
Question 1
Literary theorists often separate 'fabula' (story content) from 'syuzhet' (how the story is told). For instance, in The Godfather Part II, the fabula is the Corleone family history, while the syuzhet is the back-and-forth timeline structure. However, Mikhail Bakhtin argued these two terms aren't enough to describe a narrative, as they ignore the complex meaning created between the artist, the work, and the viewers. Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
  • Literary theorist Mikhail Bakhtin argued that there are important characteristics of narratives that are not fully encompassed by two concepts that other theorists have used to analyze narratives.✔️
  • Literary theorist Mikhail Bakhtin claimed that meaning is not inherent in a narrative but is created when an audience encounters a narrative so that narratives are interpreted differently by different people.
  • The storytelling methods used in The Godfather Part II may seem unusually complicated, but they can be easily understood when two concepts from literary theory are utilized.
  • Narratives that are told out of chronological order are more difficult for audiences to understand than are narratives presented chronologically.
Correct Answer Explanation
The main point is Bakhtin's critique that the existing concepts of fabula and syuzhet are 'insufficient' to describe narratives fully.