Why does the author say that neither the admiring nor the hostile biographer is 'serving the reader'?
A biographer who admires the subject faces a temptation to leave out what does not fit: the cruelty, the debts, the sulks. A biographer who dislikes the subject faces the opposite. Neither is serving the reader. Yet the ideal of simply 'telling it all' is also not available, since no life can be told in full, and selection is unavoidable. What can be asked is that the selection should be made honestly: that the evidence is represented fairly, that doubts are acknowledged and that the biographer does not hide facts that would change the reader's judgement. A biography which shows its reasoning invites the reader to disagree. In that respect, trust is earned less by claims of objectivity than by visible workings.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Each is tempted to suppress evidence that does not fit their view
- Step 1: The passage says the admirer leaves out what does not fit, and the dislike leads to the opposite.
- Step 2: Both distort the picture.
Answer
Each is tempted to suppress evidence that does not fit their view.
Why not the others: The fault of both biographers is bias in selecting evidence; the passage does not mention long accounts of childhood, ignoring family, unclear style or payment by the subject.
Practise more Biography.
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