SSAT Middle Level Reading : Recognizing the Main Idea in Literary Fiction Passages
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SSAT Middle Level Reading
All SSAT Middle Level Reading Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #51 : Analyzing Tone, Style, And Figurative Language In Literature Passages
Adapted from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (1883)
He was a very silent man by custom. All day he hung round the cove or upon the cliffs with a brass telescope; all evening he sat in a corner of the parlor next the fire and drank rum and water very strong. Mostly he would not speak when spoken to, only look up sudden and fierce and blow through his nose like a fog-horn; and we and the people who came about our house soon learned to let him be. Every day when he came back from his stroll he would ask if any seafaring men had gone by along the road. At first we thought it was the want of company of his own kind that made him ask this question, but at last we began to see he was desirous to avoid them. When a seaman did put up at the Admiral Benbow (as now and then some did, making by the coast road for Bristol) he would look in at him through the curtained door before he entered the parlor; and he was always sure to be as silent as a mouse when any such was present. For me, at least, there was no secret about the matter, for I was, in a way, a sharer in his alarms. He had taken me aside one day and promised me a silver fourpenny on the first of every month if I would only keep my "weather-eye open for a seafaring man with one leg" and let him know the moment he appeared. Often enough when the first of the month came round and I applied to him for my wage, he would only blow through his nose at me and stare me down, but before the week was out he was sure to think better of it, bring me my four-penny piece, and repeat his orders to look out for "the seafaring man with one leg.”
How that personage haunted my dreams, I need scarcely tell you. I would see him in a thousand forms, and with a thousand diabolical expressions. Now the leg would be cut off at the knee, now at the hip; now he was a monstrous kind of a creature who had never had but the one leg, and that in the middle of his body. To see him leap and run and pursue me over hedge and ditch was the worst of nightmares. And altogether I paid pretty dear for my monthly fourpenny piece, in the shape of these abominable fancies.
Which of the following words describes the man described at the beginning of the passage's first paragraph LEAST well?
Distant
Gruff
Paranoid
Intimidating
Charming
Charming
Based on the way in which the man is described in the passage, “charming” describes him least well. We can call him “gruff,” “intimidating,” or “distant” because of the way in which he is described in the quotations “He was a very silent man by custom” and “Mostly he would not speak when spoken to, only look up sudden and fierce and blow through his nose like a fog-horn; and we and the people who came about our house soon learned to let him be.” We can call him paranoid because of his overt concern about other seafaring men and in particular, the man with one leg. He exhibits paranoid behavior in looking through the window curtains to identify any seafaring men that happen to be staying at the inn before entering the parlor himself. So, “charming” is the best answer.
Example Question #61 : Literary Fiction Passages
Passage adapted from Peter and Wendy (1911) by J.M. Barrie
Mrs. Darling first heard of Peter when she was tidying up her children's minds. It is the nightly custom of every good mother after her children are asleep to rummage in their minds and put things straight for the next morning, repacking into their proper places the many articles that have wandered during the day. If you could keep awake (but of course you can’t) you would see your own mother doing this, and you would find it very interesting to watch her. It is quite like tidying up drawers. You would see her on her knees, I expect, lingering humorously over some of your contents, wondering where on earth you had picked this thing up, making discoveries sweet and not so sweet, pressing this to her cheek as if it were as nice as a kitten, and hurriedly stowing that out of sight. When you wake up in the morning, the naughtiness and evil passions with which you went to bed have been folded up small and placed at the bottom of your mind; and on the top, beautifully aired, are spread out your prettier thoughts, ready for you to put on.
Which of these best describes the main idea of the passage?
Children's minds are messy.
Mother's often invade their children's privacy.
Children keep many secrets.
Children should keep their rooms clean.
Children's minds are messy.
The passage primarily describes how mothers tidy up their "children's minds." This is an extended metaphor, comparing a child's mind to a child's room by describing how both can become messy. While the passage invokes the image of a child's room, it does so only to describe the messiness of a child's mind, and so we can eliminate the answer choice "Children should keep their rooms clean." And though the mother in this passage regularly "rummage[s]" through her children's thoughts, she is described as doing so in a way similar to that of mother tidying up her children's rooms; this is more of a loving act than an invasive one, so we can eliminate the answer choice "Mother's often invade their children's privacy." And though the children have many thoughts --- some of which surprise their mother -- they are not described as private or concealed from their mother, so we can probably eliminate the answer choice "Children keep many secrets."
"Children's minds are messy," most directly describes the subject of the extended metaphor -- and therefore the main idea of the passage -- and so this is our best choice.
Certified Tutor
All SSAT Middle Level Reading Resources
