# 20: Based on the passage, which one of the following statements is more likely to have been made

[elishahasan18@gmail.com]

Hi, I was just wondering why the answer to this question is not A?

Thank you!

[Jeff Wren]

Hi Elisha,

This question is asking for a statement that would have been more likely to have been made by a member of the Communist party during the Third Period than during the Popular Front.

The first step in answering this question is to return to the passage to find descriptions of the Communist groups during each of these periods and to note how they differ.

The third paragraph describes the Third Period as "wild, often sectarian" (line 22). When referring to political parties/groups, "sectarian" often refers to groups having extreme or even dangerous views. A few lines later, the paragraph mentions "the extreme rhetoric of the Third Period communists" (lines 25-26). In other words, the Third Period communists were willing to take drastic actions, including violence, revolt, etc. to bring about change.

The Popular Front, on the other hand, was less extreme, more moderate/cautious. Describing the Popular Front, the passage states "the party's increasing cautiousness, born out of a desire to appeal to moderates ..." (lines 44-46).

Based on these key differences, you should be looking for an answer that has a more extreme viewpoint, as this would be more likely to come from the Third Period than the Popular Front.

Answer B perfectly fits with this extreme rhetoric, as it is advocating revolt to overthrow capitalist oppressors.

The problem with Answer A is that both groups would agree with this statement, so it doesn't really capture the key difference between these two groups. The passage does mention that the Popular Front "had a tendency de-emphasize, however slightly, involvement in local African-American issue-oriented politics" (lines 41-43), but this does not mean that they didn't want African-Americans to join their cause.

[Catallus]

I struggled on this question between (B) and (C). We know that the Third Period, compared to the Popular Front, was more likely to "attack[] white chauvinism" and emphasize involvement in African-American issue-oriented politics. (C) addressed the Third Period communists' greater tendency to confront racism, which made it a tempting answer choice to me.

(B), by contrast, seemed too fundamental to communism—a tenet that communists of either period would likely subscribe too. (If they're not willing to make that statement, are they really communists?)

Ultimately, I do understand that the Popular Front moderated, perhaps making them less likely to make an assertion like (B), but why is (C) wrong?

[ryanpalmer1717]

Hi Catullus, crazy odds that you just left this comment, because I just did this passage for the first time myself and had the same difficulty you had with it. After closely analyzing the passage and answer choices, I think I have a better idea of why C is wrong. Precisely because the Third Period of organizers were more radical than the Popular Front, they would have been much less likely to propose solutions that involve working with the current government. The idea of there existing a "highest level of government" would have been somewhat antithetical to the Third Front since they were more radical, and probably wanted to completely reform the government. Thus, they wouldn't have wanted to say something like this and would be more likely to say something closer to "Africans Americans should join us in resistance against a government that uses racism as a form of oppression."

Idk if it's a perfect answer, but it's what is helping me come to terms with why C is wrong. Let me know what you think of my explanation! I'm curious to hear!

[Catallus]

Hi Ryan! That helps a lot. I think I put too much weight on the overcoming racism aspect of answer choice (C) and not enough on the "highest levels of government" part, which does seem to go against the Third Period's more radical stance compared to the Popular Front. Also, I just noticed that the passage talks about Third Period emphasis on "local" political issues, rather than the highest levels of government, another reason why that part of (C) is questionable. Thanks for the explanation; I appreciate it!

[Jeff Wren]

Hi Ryan and Catallus,

Good job catching the problems with Answer C!

Catallus, I'd like to offer a word of caution against bringing in outside information/assumptions when answering reading comp questions.

Your earlier comment:

(B), by contrast, seemed too fundamental to communism—a tenet that communists of either period would likely subscribe too. (If they're not willing to make that statement, are they really communists?)

is not something that can be inferred from the passage.

The main difference between these groups according to the passage is that the Third Period was more radical/extreme and the Popular Front was more moderate/cautious, so you want to focus on that difference when approaching this question.