Central Idea of Grimm Brothers Story Collection

Question:

“What is the central idea of this excerpt?

A) The stories are not collected from peasants, but from literate people.

B) The Grimms collected stories about real living conditions from people they trusted.

C) The Grimms did not know the informants who gave contributors their stories.

D) The 19th century was the golden age of folk and fairy tales.

Excerpt:

All of the tales in the first edition bear the marks of their diverse storytellers who believed in the magic, superstitions, and miraculous transformations of the tales. It may be difficult for us to understand why this is the case, but for the storytellers and writers of these tales, the stories contained truths about the living conditions of their times. The tales in the first edition were collected not from peasants, as is commonly believed, but mainly from literate people whom the Grimms came to know quite well. Evidence shows that these people often obtained their tales from illiter”

Answer and Explanation:

The central idea of the excerpt is:

B) The Grimms collected stories about real living conditions from people they trusted.

Why This Option is Correct:

Explanation in Excerpt: The excerpt highlights that the stories collected by the Grimms reflect the living conditions of the time and were obtained from literate individuals who were familiar to the Grimms. This suggests that the Grimms gathered stories that provided insights into real-life conditions and trusted their sources.

Why Other Options Are Less Effective:

A) The stories are not collected from peasants, but from literate people: While this statement is true, it does not capture the full central idea of the excerpt. The main focus is on the real-life conditions reflected in the stories, not just the source of the stories.

C) The Grimms did not know the informants who gave contributors their stories: This is incorrect as the excerpt mentions that the Grimms did know the people who provided the stories.

D) The 19th century was the golden age of folk and fairy tales: This option does not directly relate to the excerpt, which focuses on the sources and content of the stories collected by the Grimms rather than the broader historical context.

In Summary: The excerpt centers on how the Grimms collected stories from literate people they trusted, which reflected the living conditions of their time. This option best encapsulates the main point of the excerpt.