Correct. The answer is a. By choosing to focus on an ordinary working-class man and by emphasizing his physical sensations, Zola embraced the realists’ desire to explore the commonplace, particularly aspects of society, an experience that had been excluded by earlier literary schools.

Incorrect. The answer is a. By choosing to focus on an ordinary working-class man and by emphasizing his physical sensations, Zola embraced the realists’ desire to explore the commonplace, particularly aspects of society, an experience that had been excluded by earlier literary schools.

1. In what ways does the excerpt from Germinal exemplify literary realism?

Correct. The answer is b. Descriptions of working-class experiences like this one reveal Zola’s sympathy for socialism.

Incorrect. The answer is b. Descriptions of working-class experiences like this one reveal Zola’s sympathy for socialism.

2. The excerpt from Germinal might be used as evidence of Zola’s ideological affinity with