Could you please explain why the answer is D? Thank you!
RaviJanuary 13, 2019
@Alex and @Boram,
Happy to help. The question says, "The author characterizes the Greek tradition of the "law-giver" (line 21) as an effect of mythologizing most probably in order to..."
In other words, why did the author associate the tradition with mythologizing? Let's take a look at the relevant text. In the second paragraph, the author is providing support for her contention that the association with literacy and political democracy can be problematic. She's basically trying to show why it's not necessarily true that a literate population will yield a more democratic rule. She says, "In Athens, the early development of a written law code was retrospectively mythologized as the critical factor in breaking the power monopoly of the old aristocracy: hence the Greek tradition of the "law-giver," which has captured the imaginations of scholars like Goody."
Then, the author offers a qualification: "But the application and efficacy of all law codes depend on their interpretation by magistrates and courts, and unless the right of interpretations is 'democratized,' the mere existence of written laws changes little." In other words, the author is saying that scholars like Goody are falsely attributing increased literacy rates to the development of political democracy. The author contends that the early development of written law is not enough to meaningfully change anything; the law must be interpreted in a democratic manner in order for there to be continued development of political democracy.
Now let's take a look at the answers.
Answer A is incorrect because it does not describe why the author characterizes law-giver as an effect of mythologizing. The whole reason the author says "retrospectively mythologized" is to suggest that the idea of written law being the main driver in developing democracy in Athens is false. This answer doesn't say that, so we can get rid of it.
Answer B is incorrect because it is descriptively inaccurate. We can eliminate it.
Answer C is incorrect because the author does not mention anything about the high regard in which the Athenians held their legal tradition. We can eliminate this choice.
Answer D is correct because it accurately matches the reason we identified as to why the author characterized law-giver as an effect of mythologizing: it's to imply that the creation of a written law code was not the main driver in reducing the power of the Athenian aristocracy/developing democracy further. This is our choice.
Answer E is incorrect because the author is not suggesting the tradition of law-giver should be understood in the context of Greek mythology. This is false, and we can get rid of this choice. Remember, the author is using "mythologized" as a way to say that the notion of written law developing democracy in Greece is false.
Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any more questions!
