TOEFL Integrated Writing Practice

Passage

Chevalier de Seingalt (1725–1798) recounted his life and adventures in a long

memoir written toward the end of his life. the Chevalier was a controversial
figure, but because of the people he met, his memoir became a valuable
historical source about eighteenth century European society. However, the
accuracy of the memoir has been brought into question by critics claiming that
the Chevalier distorted or invented events to make his life seem more glamorous
than it was.

One point brought into question was that, in his memoir, he Chevalier claims he
was very wealthy while living in Switzerland. While it was known he spent large
amounts of money on parties and gambling there, evidence has recently
surfaced showing that the Chevalier borrowed large sums from a Swiss
merchant. Critics argue that because of his need for borrowing money he could
not have really been very rich.

Critics also question the accuracy of the conversations the Chevalier records in
his memoir between himself and the famous writer Voltaire. There is no doubt
that these two men met and conversed; however, critics state that it is impossible
for the conversations to accurately be captured because they were recorded
many years after they occurred. Critics point out that exact phrases from the
extended conversation held years before are impossible to remember.

Another disputed event is the Chevalier's account of his escape from a notorious
prison in Venice, Italy. The Chevalier claims he used a piece of metal to make a
hole in the ceiling and climb out of his cell. Critics argue that, while it makes for
an enjoyable reading, it is more likely that the jailers were bribed to free him.
They note that the Chevalier had many politically well-connected friends in
Venice capable of offering a bribe.

Audio Script

Professor: Even though no memoir can be exactly correct, the Chevalier's

memoir is pretty accurate as a reliable historical source. Let's look at the
accuracy of the events mentioned in the reading. First, the loan from the
merchant doesn't necessarily mean the Chevalier was poor. Since we know the
Chevalier spent huge amounts of money on parties and gambling in Switzerland,
and he had wealth, but it was a kind of property that had to be sold first to get
money. It usually took a few days to convert his assets into money, because of
this when he ran out of cash he had to borrow money to use while waiting for his
money to arrive. Second, the accuracy of his conversations with Voltaire are
explained in his memoir. The Chevalier states that he recorded everything he
could remember about their conversation each night immediately after they
conversed. He evidently kept his notes through the years and referred to them
while writing his memoir. Witnesses from his later life confirmed that he regularly
consulted notes and journals while composing the memoir. As for his escape
from the prison in Venice, other prisoners in the same prison had even more
powerful friends and were unable to bribe their way to freedom. This being the
case, bribery is a very unlikely explanation. Some old Venetian government
documents proved the best evidence. According to the documents the ceiling of
the Chevaliers prison room had to be repaired shortly after his escape. Why else
would they need to repair the ceiling if he hadn't escaped exactly as he
described?