#15 - Global Reference, Must Be True

[angie23]

I have trouble with a few questions from this passage. Here is my problem with #15:

I am stuck between C) and D) but I don't think any of them are correct. Particularly for D), which is the correct answer, I could point to lines 30-35 where it mentions "memory processes that do not emphasize on the retention of precise sequences of words." However, I do not know how it is justified to make a leap from Kingston's perception of talk-story to the general Chinese American talk-story.



Thank you!

[Lucas Moreau]

Hello, angie,

Answer choice D is in fact correct, and you correctly observed the basis for why it is correct. To answer your objection, look starting at Line 20:

"Thus, Chinese immigrants to the U.S. had a fully established, sophisticated oral culture, already ancient and capable of producing masterpieces, by the time they began arriving in the early nineteenth century. This transplanted oral heritage simply embraced new subject matter or new forms of Western discourse, as in the case of Kingston’s adaptations written in English."

This is meant to indicate that the idea-oriented instead of precision-oriented style of talk-story among Chinese American culture was mostly the same as it was back in China. The entire concept of talk-story had been "transplanted" intact into America.

Answer choice C is less correct because, as I just went into, there's no evidence in the passage that talk-story developed as an art form while within America, since it came here fully formed from China.

Hope that helps,
Lucas Moreau

[shanhickey]

Could someone help me distinguish between why B is wrong and D is right? I had D marked, then changed it to B. i felt like they were both inferences that could be made. I saw that the next question was related to the same part of the passage as D which felt strange so I went with B. In hindsight, that probably didn't matter and I should've gone with my gut.

[Robert Carroll]

shanhickey,

Lines 30-35, as referred to above in this thread, prove answer choice (D) right.

I don't see where answer choice (B) would come from. It looks like scholars have generally not even been very aware of oral storytelling - it says that certain critics have examined only the development of written texts, for instance (first paragraph).

Robert Carroll

[Henry Z]

I have a hard time with this one. I think C is much better than D.

D made several big jumps: Is Kingston’s personal belief true? Is Kingston, merely “one in the long line of performers”, using the same processes as all the others? And are her own “thematic storytelling memory processes” (whatever that means) necessary to all the “Chinese American talk-story”?

Furthermore, I think it’s a common trap in RC to confuse author’s opinion (which is what Inference Question like this really asking for) with someone else’s opinion. And we don’t know if the author agrees with Kingston here.

In contract, I think C is directly supported by the passage: "developed in the US through a process combining Chinese, Chinese American…” is supported by lines 20-26 (esp. “This transplanted oral heritage simply embraced new subject matter or new forms of Western discourse, as in the case of Kingston’s adaptations written in English.”) and "other oral storytelling forms" is supported by lines 45-46 which says that “in the tradition of talk-story”, Kingston’s China Men "utilizes forms typical of that genre and common to most oral cultures".

Thus, I don't think it's accurate to say that "there's no evidence in the passage that talk-story developed as an art form while within America." Apart from all the new stuff, even Kingston herself believes in the “development” of talk story in lines 40-42.

[blade21cn]

I also got this question wrong by choosing (C). I don't think previous posts have mentioned this, but I kinda felt it hinges on the interpretation of "Talk-story has developed in the United States ..." Previous posts eliminated (C) on the grounds that it was not developed in the U.S., as in "it did not originate in the U.S.," since it came from China. But that is just one definition of the word "develop" as: grow or cause to grow and become more mature, advanced, or elaborate. Another definition of "develop" is: start to exist, experience, or posses. I took the second definition and felt it does not necessarily contradict the origin of talk-story as a literary form. Any thoughts? Thanks!

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi Henry and blade,

The big problem with answer choice (C) is that the passage describes talk-story as "fully established" by the time it came to the U.S. The form itself did not develop through combining story forms from the United States because it had already established itself prior to arrival here. Talk-story didn't develop by combining different oral forms in the United States. It added subjects in the United States. It was adapted into written English. But the structure wasn't meaningfully changed or developed once it was in the United States.

For answer choice (D), we can pull that information directly from the passage, as it contrasts talk-story with the print-oriented culture that emphasizes precise sequences of words (see the third paragraph). Even though the third paragraph is focused on Kingston's viewpoint, we don't have to focus on her viewpoint to understand that the oral traditions would differ from written traditions in the way described. Oral traditions, either Kingstons or more generally, would not have the strict sequences of words expected in a written piece.

Hope that helps!