#11 - Specific Reference, Must Be True, Purpose/Function

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (D).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (E):

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

[cardinal2017]

Hi, I chose (B) here considering the contents of the second paragraph and the above statements at the end of the first paragraph.

And I do not understand how (D) is the correct answer since it is saying 'Hopi names 'may' have semantics' while at the end of the first paragraph it is stated that names of Hopi 'refer' to ritual events.

Anyone could explain about this issue?

Thanks in advance.

[Emily Haney-Caron]

Hi cardinal2017,

Keep in mind that you're specifically looking for features of the names that contribute to their poetic quality. D, conferring identity on individuals, is something that the Hopi names do, but there is no reason from the passage to think that the conferring of identity itself is part of or contributes to the poetic nature of the names. B, however, is something that enhances the poetic nature, as illustrated by the example given in lines 30-45. Hopefully that helps!

[NeverMissing]

Hi Powerscore,

I believe the explanation given above by Emily is in reference to question 13.

To piggyback off the other user above, I also chose answer choice B for question 11. It does seem that the primary focus of paragraph two is to explain the ways in which Hopi personal names can reference events in the recipient's life (birth, entry into ritual society, and puberty are all given as examples of such life events).

Could you help explain why B is incorrect?

[Francis O'Rourke]

Hi NeverMissing,

If a name references an event in a person's life I would expect that we can glean something about the event from that name. The name "little rabbit," used as an example in this paragraph, does not tell you anything about an event in the child's life. Rather, according to the paragraph, it signifies the child's size and a representational animal.

Consider the following. In Western, Catholic tradition, young teens are given a confirmation name. This name is typically the name of a particular saint that has meaning for the individual. This name is given at a particular point in a person's life, during a religious ritual, but does it reference an event in the person's life? If you knew that someone's confirmation name was Paul, would the name "Paul" tell you anything about that event? It would tell you that the person was confirmed, but this does not reference the event.

In other words, having been given a name during a certain ritual or at a certain age, does not necessarily refer to events. The third paragraph does provide a lot of details for names referencing events, but paragraph two focuses on other aspects of Hopi names: specifically, that they carry semantic (meaningful) content of physical appearance or clan affiliation.

The first sentence of the Third paragraph seems to bolster the idea that the second paragraph does not discuss event-referencing meaning. The opening words of this paragraph - "More often though" - indicates that what follows is contrary to what was just discussed.

[ellieeiff4]

Hi - I'm struggling to understand why D is correct here. I chose A - "Present reasons why Hopi personal names can be treated as poetic compositions" because I thought it followed from the last sentence of the first paragraph.
I'm having trouble understanding how paragraph 2 supports the first paragraph, and how it differs from paragraph 3 (since paragraph 3 begins with "More often, though," which suggests to me that they are representing different points).
Thanks for your help!

[Amber Thomas]

Hi ellieeiff4!

What does Paragraph Two serve to tell us? a) Hopis receive several names throughout their lives, b) these names are tied to ritual initiations, and c) children are given names by an adult from a different clan, and said name will be referential to the name-giver's clan.

How does this function in relation to the rest of the passage?

Answer Choice A states: "present reasons why Hopi personal names can be treated as poetic compositions."

This is much more related to Paragraph Three, that describes how names are often related to complex ceremonies, and convey some sort of imagery. Instead, Paragraph Two introduces how Hopi names tend work (i.e. how they are given, their cultural context, and a potential meaning).

Answer Choice D states: "illustrate ways in which Hopi personal names may have semantic content."

The phrase "semantic content" here just means content that has independent meaning. Paragraph Two tells us that Hopi names are a) related to a sequence of ritual initiations, and b) convey some cultural context relating to the clan of the name-giver, thereby giving it independent meaning, and some message that it contains. Therefore, this makes Answer Choice D our correct answer!

I hope this helps!