#23 - Concept Reference, Must Be True

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (E).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C): This is a classic half-right answer: the Griots were clearly preserving the existing social structure by praising their patrons/social superiors, but passage A explicitly notes that the blues were a reaction to the disruption that slavery and life in the USA had on African-Americans, who had been forcibly separated from their traditional societies.

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer. "Circumscribed" is referring both to the blues musicians' focus on smaller, more personal themes, rather than the larger injustices of American society, while Griots were limited by their own social status to praising their patrons, as opposed to choosing their own subject matter. In both cases, the word is being used as a synonym for "limited," nothing more. So (E) works as both types of music had a limited set of themes that they drew from.


This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[nicole12]

For answer (E), I didn't choose it because I thought the word "circumscribed" was a little too restrictive. Instead, I chose (C) because it said in line 30 that African Americans tried to find substitutes for what was lost in their "traditional socities" in blues music. Also, in line 60-61, it said griots were guardians of culture. Why is E the better answer? I can see both working. Thanks!

[Bread&Jam]

I'm having the same issue as Nicole- I still feel like C is also a correct answer, and can't figure out why E is better. Line 6 specify that the Griots were representatives of time honoured traditions, and lines 10-13 way that they filled the role of institutions such as libraries, which preserve information. There's not concrete support for blues, but I still feel that it's tied to slavery/partly tradition? I think that's why C is wrong, but I see less concrete support for E, because Griots are said to preserve lore and cultural identity in passage A, while they sing about prominent people and their history in passage B, which doesn't seem like a circumscribed set of themes.

[James Finch]

Hi Nicole and Bread,

"Circumscribed" is referring both to the blues musicians' focus on smaller, more personal themes, rather than the larger injustices of American society, while Griots were limited by their own social status to praising their patrons, as opposed to choosing their own subject matter. In both cases, the word is being used as a synonym for "limited," nothing more. So (E) works as both types of music had a limited set of themes that they drew from.

(C) is a classic half-right answer: the Griots were clearly preserving the existing social structure by praising their patrons/social superiors, but passage A explicitly notes that the blues were a reaction to the disruption that slavery and life in the USA had on African-Americans, who had been forcibly separated from their traditional societies.

Hope this clears things up!

[yuxuan]

I chose A because both blues and Wolof griots' music were drawn from feelings of alienation of a social structure. Line 14 said the blues evoke feelings and alienation and anomie. Griot was ranked the lowest of the six subcastes. Please help.

[Adam Tyson]

It's true that Griots were the lowest caste, yuxuan, but that doesn't mean their music was drawn from feelings of isolation. Passage B tells us that their songs were all about praising their masters and swaying public opinion in favor of them, so the music had nothing to do with how the Griots themselves felt.