It can most reasonably be inferred from the passage that the critics mentioned in line 23 hold which one of the follo...

Ross-Rinehart on February 7, 2022

This question asks us to identify what the author thinks about the view, held by critics, that “Jacobs shortchanged her experiences” by using the conventions of the domestic novel. In the rest of the paragraph, the author describes how Jacobs subtly illustrates the extreme hardships of her situation by using the conventions of the domestic novel. The author shows how Jacobs applied the conventions of the domestic novel to her experiences as a person forced into slavery to depict the difficulties she faced and question the values of the domestic novel. So the author doesn’t think the critics are right at all. Jacobs shrewdly depicted her experiences through the domestic novels’ conventions, she didn’t “shortchange” them at all.

Moreover, there’s nothing “reluctant” in the author’s rebuttal. The author doesn’t acknowledge any good points the critics made, or express any doubt about the conclusion the author drew. Therefore, (A) is the correct answer.