How does describing Mr. Brocklehurst's "grim" physical features reflect that he is a grim person internally? Why does the fact that he is a tall, rigid, narrow, black column of architecture, eliminate him from being anything other than grim on the inside? I recall classic movie scenes where there is ominous music playing and a large, dark silhouette or ominous character turns out to be a friendly character. I cannot judge a book by its cover and make an assumption that Mr. B's internal characteristics match (or "reflect") his physical description. The physical description is, after all, from the viewpoint of a young girl who holds a lot of bias towards Mr. B.
Hey Jared! Great question, and I'm happy to hear that you're thinking so critically about the passage. I'm going to respond to this question as if you're challenging that roman numeral II of question 5 is indeed true. If my assumption about that is incorrect, please feel free to correct me and point me to where you're looking. Although Josh mentioned that Mr. Brocklehurst's physical feature description makes him seem grim internally, roman numeral II is simply discussing whether or not the physical description could provide insight into his internal characteristics. As often seen in literature, the physical description of a character is used to convey this "internal" information. Therefore, even if Mr. Brocklehurst is a really nice guy, that fact doesn't refute the author using a physical characteristic description to provide information about Mr. Brocklehurst's internal characteristics. Finally, as a thought experiment, let's say an MCAT question did ask you to judge Mr. Brocklehurts's internal characteristics based on the physical description presented in the passage. While you're right that Mr. Brocklehurst could actually be a very nice person, what is the most likely reason an author would describe someone as a tall, rigid, narrow, black column of architecture? Since the MCAT CARS section will require you to choose the most correct answer, if we had to choose between a negative and positive answer choice, we would likely choose a more negative answer as that is the MOST LIKELY reason to use those words while describing Mr. Brocklehurst. A positive description COULD be right, but we would need a greater indication from the passage. If negative words are used to describe someone or something in a passage, unless the passage gives us an overwhelming indication to the contrary about that "someone" or "something," we should assume that the author/narrator's view is indeed negative. While you're right that you can't judge a book by it's cover, the MCAT will require you to make the simplest or most logical assumption. In this case, negative words describing Mr. Brocklehurst are most likely being used to convey negative information about him. I hope this explanation was helpful!
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How does describing Mr. Brocklehurst's "grim" physical features reflect that he is a grim person internally? Why does the fact that he is a tall, rigid, narrow, black column of architecture, eliminate him from being anything other than grim on the inside? I recall classic movie scenes where there is ominous music playing and a large, dark silhouette or ominous character turns out to be a friendly character.
I cannot judge a book by its cover and make an assumption that Mr. B's internal characteristics match (or "reflect") his physical description. The physical description is, after all, from the viewpoint of a young girl who holds a lot of bias towards Mr. B.
Hey Jared! Great question, and I'm happy to hear that you're thinking so critically about the passage. I'm going to respond to this question as if you're challenging that roman numeral II of question 5 is indeed true. If my assumption about that is incorrect, please feel free to correct me and point me to where you're looking.
Although Josh mentioned that Mr. Brocklehurst's physical feature description makes him seem grim internally, roman numeral II is simply discussing whether or not the physical description could provide insight into his internal characteristics. As often seen in literature, the physical description of a character is used to convey this "internal" information. Therefore, even if Mr. Brocklehurst is a really nice guy, that fact doesn't refute the author using a physical characteristic description to provide information about Mr. Brocklehurst's internal characteristics.
Finally, as a thought experiment, let's say an MCAT question did ask you to judge Mr. Brocklehurts's internal characteristics based on the physical description presented in the passage. While you're right that Mr. Brocklehurst could actually be a very nice person, what is the most likely reason an author would describe someone as a tall, rigid, narrow, black column of architecture? Since the MCAT CARS section will require you to choose the most correct answer, if we had to choose between a negative and positive answer choice, we would likely choose a more negative answer as that is the MOST LIKELY reason to use those words while describing Mr. Brocklehurst. A positive description COULD be right, but we would need a greater indication from the passage. If negative words are used to describe someone or something in a passage, unless the passage gives us an overwhelming indication to the contrary about that "someone" or "something," we should assume that the author/narrator's view is indeed negative. While you're right that you can't judge a book by it's cover, the MCAT will require you to make the simplest or most logical assumption. In this case, negative words describing Mr. Brocklehurst are most likely being used to convey negative information about him.
I hope this explanation was helpful!
Appreciate your guidance. Thanks much.
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Very helpful. Thank you.