#21 - Global Reference, Must Be True, Author's Perspective

[est15]

From the third passage of the section.

I again had trouble deciding between A and D because I saw both elements appear in the passage. I ended up choosing D because the author talked about ancient sources in paragraph 2 and cultural derivations throughout the passage. Could you explain why A is correct and D is incorrect?

[KelseyWoods]

Hi est!

Here again, the distinction is subtle and part of it just goes back to finding the best answer. In this case, I would say that answer choice (A) edges out (D) because the author mentions the origins of talk-story briefly in the second paragraph but he seems more impressed by how it lived on with the Chinese immigrants to the U.S. as well as how sophisticated it was (lines 20-23). We don't get much of the author's opinion on the sources of talk-story and his attitude toward the art-form seems stronger than just "respect;" he clearly admires and appreciates the genre.

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey

[ArizonaRobin]

I was able to eliminate answer choice D on the basis of the word "diversity." The author certainly showed respect for its ancient sources and cultural derivations, but the sources weren't diverse. They were all from Chinese storytellers. Even in the United States, the oral heritage incorporated new subject matter, but its sources didn't change or expand to include other cultures.

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

I would agree there, Arizona Robin. We don't know anything of the diversity of sources for talk-story. We know it's part of a long history and tradition, but we can't say anything more specific than that.

Great job!

[annabelle.swift]

Hi, I was between A and D.

D: I thought the passage did discuss "the diversity of [talk-story's] ancient sources" when it mentioned that talk-story was "traditionally performed in the dialects of VARIOUS ethnic enclaves." Although the sources are all Chinese, there still appears to be diversity and variety.

I also thought the passage discussed the "cultural derivations" of talk-story when it said "this transplanted oral heritage simply embraced NEW subject matter or NEW forms of WESTERN discourse." Although the genre did not take on aspects of wholly different cultures (e.g. Latino or Black), it sounds like the genre developed a distinctly Chinese-American flavor.

How do I know that the author appreciates the genre, not just respects it? What specific words in the passage point to that? Thank you!

[Robert Carroll]

Annabelle,

I don't see how the reference to " dialects of various ethnic enclaves" says anything about sources specifically. There is arguably diversity there, but not of sources. I think an analogy can help there. A lot of myths in various different cultures speak of a hero defeating an evil beast, an embodiment of evil. There's thus an adaptation of this idea into a diverse number of different cultural idioms, and, of course, each culture's myth will have some specifics of it even if the idea is general. Similarly, talk-story's being performed in a diversity of dialects does not mean it originates from a diversity of different sources.

The second point is less clear, but I think there is generally not enough diversity in cultural derivations to feel safe saying this - it's been adapted to new subject matter or new Western forms of discourse, but how diverse is that? I think that's unclear, so I'm not comfortable with that part. I think the first paragraph of mine makes it clear that "diversity of ancient sources" is off the mark, so I'd rely on that - even if this second part is right (which is debatable), a half right, half wrong answer is completely wrong.

"Scholarly appreciation" doesn't require much of a positive attitude by the author. The author is writing about a genre and thinks it's interesting enough to write about - that's about all required for that. I can have a "scholarly appreciation" for the musical genre of jazz, even if I don't really like jazz or "get it" myself - I can recognize from what I learn about it that it's a thing worthy of study and a fitting genre for the expression of musical genius. Similarly, the author can appreciate talk-story without our being clear whether the author actually likes it.

Robert Carroll

[LSATStudent2023]

Hello,

My contenders were A and E, but I selected E because both seem to be communicating the same idea, but I don't understand how A is a better answer than E.

Thank you for any help you can provide!

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi lsatstudent,

The problem with answer choice (E) is that it focuses on only part of talk-story. Talk-story is both song and narrative. Answer choice (E) says that the author of the passage admires the song element, but that is not reflective of the passage. The author doesn't focus on either the song or narrative exclusively but talks about the genre of talk-story as a whole. Answer choice (A) better reflects the author's attitude here toward the overall subject matter.

Hope that helps!