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- Fri Jun 03, 2016 11:36 am
#26048
Passage Discussion
Paragraph One:
This passage begins with an introduction to its subject: Lorenzo Tucker, an African American entertainer who has not previously been discussed extensively, despite his having spent sixty years in the business of stage and screen, playing the roles of actor, singer, dancer, manager, photographer, and actors’ union administrator, among others. From 1926 until his death in 1986, Tucker witnessed 60 years of African American theater and film history, gathering a significant collection of memorabilia; these, the author provides, and Tucker’s personal memories help provide insight into an area of American entertainment that has not received enough attention.
Paragraph Two:
In this paragraph the author reviews the many sources used in this study of Tucker’s life: collections in public libraries of New York and Los Angeles that contain microfilms of letters, photographs, programs, and newspapers as well as ten of Tucker’s films (the primary basis for the author to study the actor’s technique). The author also relied on interviews with Tucker’s fellow actors and other contemporaries, but mostly on personal interviews with Tucker himself during the last two years of his life.
Paragraph Three:
Here the author points out both the good and bad sides to writing the biography of someone who is still alive. On one hand, having firsthand access to the subject himself can be very advantageous. On the downside, however, the author of such a biography must beware of the natural tendency that people have to remember things the way they want, no matter how objective they intend to be. Thus, the author concludes at the close of the paragraph, in such a project the biographer is obliged, whenever possible, to find outside verification of the information provided by the subject.
Paragraph Four:
This final paragraph begins with a continuation of the discussion from the third paragraph; as it is the duty of the biographer to verify, the author states that the present study has undergone such consideration, including (mostly) only the information that could be independently verified. The exceptions: Tucker’s personal recollections that could not be verified but had some bearing on the man’s professional career. Such recollections, the author notes, provide insight into, and corroborate, other historical evidence. As such, the author closes, the career biography is a blend of personal testimony and other outside sources.
VIEWSTAMP Analysis:
The primary Viewpoint presented in this passage is that of the author, who has a clear admiration for Tucker and is concerned with presenting an accurate depiction of historical events despite the subject’s being a major source of information for the biography discussed.
The Structure of the passage is as follows:
There is no real Argument presented here, except perhaps that the biographer’s responsibility is to verify personal historical accounts whenever possible, limiting the use of such accounts to narrow exceptions.
The Main Point of the passage is to discuss the Tucker biography and the sources used, and clarify how and to what extent the subject’s personal accounts were used in the process.
Paragraph One:
This passage begins with an introduction to its subject: Lorenzo Tucker, an African American entertainer who has not previously been discussed extensively, despite his having spent sixty years in the business of stage and screen, playing the roles of actor, singer, dancer, manager, photographer, and actors’ union administrator, among others. From 1926 until his death in 1986, Tucker witnessed 60 years of African American theater and film history, gathering a significant collection of memorabilia; these, the author provides, and Tucker’s personal memories help provide insight into an area of American entertainment that has not received enough attention.
Paragraph Two:
In this paragraph the author reviews the many sources used in this study of Tucker’s life: collections in public libraries of New York and Los Angeles that contain microfilms of letters, photographs, programs, and newspapers as well as ten of Tucker’s films (the primary basis for the author to study the actor’s technique). The author also relied on interviews with Tucker’s fellow actors and other contemporaries, but mostly on personal interviews with Tucker himself during the last two years of his life.
Paragraph Three:
Here the author points out both the good and bad sides to writing the biography of someone who is still alive. On one hand, having firsthand access to the subject himself can be very advantageous. On the downside, however, the author of such a biography must beware of the natural tendency that people have to remember things the way they want, no matter how objective they intend to be. Thus, the author concludes at the close of the paragraph, in such a project the biographer is obliged, whenever possible, to find outside verification of the information provided by the subject.
Paragraph Four:
This final paragraph begins with a continuation of the discussion from the third paragraph; as it is the duty of the biographer to verify, the author states that the present study has undergone such consideration, including (mostly) only the information that could be independently verified. The exceptions: Tucker’s personal recollections that could not be verified but had some bearing on the man’s professional career. Such recollections, the author notes, provide insight into, and corroborate, other historical evidence. As such, the author closes, the career biography is a blend of personal testimony and other outside sources.
VIEWSTAMP Analysis:
The primary Viewpoint presented in this passage is that of the author, who has a clear admiration for Tucker and is concerned with presenting an accurate depiction of historical events despite the subject’s being a major source of information for the biography discussed.
The Structure of the passage is as follows:
- Paragraph 1: Introduce the subject of a new book with a brief discussion of the man’s accomplishments and the historical significance of the current biography.
Paragraph 2: Provide list of sources used in the biographical study, noting that the subject himself was a significant source used for the book.
Paragraph 3: Briefly discuss some of the good and bad aspects of writing a biography about a living subject and using the subject as a major source, noting the biographer’s obligation to verify the subject’s firsthand account.
Paragraph 4: Note that generally the only firsthand accounts used were those that could be independently verified, with the only exceptions being personal memories that had bearing on the man’s career.
There is no real Argument presented here, except perhaps that the biographer’s responsibility is to verify personal historical accounts whenever possible, limiting the use of such accounts to narrow exceptions.
The Main Point of the passage is to discuss the Tucker biography and the sources used, and clarify how and to what extent the subject’s personal accounts were used in the process.