B. THE SERIES DESCRIBES THE DIFFERENT OUTCOMES OF TWO MEN WHO STAR...

12. b. The series describes the different outcomes of two men who start off in similar circumstances asapprentices but arrive at vastly different ends. The most logical conclusion to draw is that the choicesthe men make regarding their behavior determine the difference in their outcomes—one succeeds inbusiness and politics, whereas the other lives a life of corruption and dies a criminal. The passage doesnot mention that people were too quick to judge each other (choice a); the alderman’s job was to judgehis former apprentice who was guilty of murder, so the judgment does not appear to be hasty. Nothingsuggests that the corrupt apprentice reflects that corruption was common among apprentices in Hoga-rth’s day, so choice cis incorrect. The morally incorruptible apprentice becomes a successful politician,but it is a leap of false logic to assume that all successful politicians are morally incorruptible, so choicedis incorrect. Finally, the passage does not provide any description of the alderman’s emotions as hesentences his former coworker, so choice eis also incorrect.