Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel’s years in a prison during struggle for independence had little impact on his writing. A comparison of Patel’s pre-imprisonment novels with the short stories he published in the years following his release shows a continuity of ideas, representation and approach. Which of the following, if true, most weakens the conclusion drawn above?

In concluding that Sardar Patel’s imprisonment had no effect on his writing, the author assumes that because the stories were published after his release, they were written after his release. If however, the stories were written before his imprisonment, but published after his release, there’s nothing on which to base the assertion that his writing was unaffected by prison.