#5 - Must Be True, Author's Perspective

[cardinal2017]

I do not understand how the answer becomes D).

I chose E at my first and then went to C in my second try.

I get why E doesnt make an answer since it is too extreme to conclude or claim that history doesnt matter in Mexican lit just bx their counterparts in America put greater importance---not just that, Mexican lit themes are more cosmopolitan shouldn't necessarily lead to this comparison between MexAmericans and Mex lit.

But D, Im unsure of its being an answer bx I can agree the first part of the sentence but not the latter part--than 'more urban thems'. I assume it tries to compare mexamerican lit with Mex lit but why mexamericans lit is more urban themes??

It seems just not so tenable for me to back this up with the given passage.

Thanks ahead!

[Emily Haney-Caron]

Hi Cardinal,

Sounds like you're just being tripped up by the phrase "urban themes," but otherwise agree D sounds right. For support for this (although not perfect, enough to make D work), look to lines 25-40. The literary establishment is in Mexico City (a large city, or urban area) and is more cosmopolitan writing. Although urban might still feel like a stretch to you, that's enough support, and D is much stronger than the other answer choices.

[avengingangel]

Hello! I did the same thing as cardinal (choosing E first, then went to C), but I am still unclear about D being the correct answer for a different reason. I get how the "more urban themes" is reflective of "cosmopolitanism" mentioned in the 3rd paragraph. I'm thinking that the answer choice D is referring to, specifically, lines 36-39, "Not surprisingly, the Mexican literary community views Mexican American literature as a variety of "regional writing." How does that translate to "finding it more difficult to attain reputation and success in Mexico" ?? The rest of the paragraph/passage does NOT talk about Mexican American writers attaining success or not. -- I do understand/realize that it notes that Mexican writers' reputation and success is held up to the "literary establishment"/"the Mexican literary community" But it does not talk about Mexican American's reputation or success. This answer would make sense if the passage read "Moreover, the work of successful Mexican writers is often...marked by greater cosmopolitanism...than is Mexican American writing (aka 'regional writing')." Don't you think?? Because then, the connection of success/reputation would be tied to their writings.

If someone could explain, that would be great. Thanks!

[David Boyle]

Hello! I did the same thing as cardinal (choosing E first, then went to C), but I am still unclear about D being the correct answer for a different reason. I get how the "more urban themes" is reflective of "cosmopolitanism" mentioned in the 3rd paragraph. I'm thinking that the answer choice D is referring to, specifically, lines 36-39, "Not surprisingly, the Mexican literary community views Mexican American literature as a variety of "regional writing." How does that translate to "finding it more difficult to attain reputation and success in Mexico" ?? The rest of the paragraph/passage does NOT talk about Mexican American writers attaining success or not. -- I do understand/realize that it notes that Mexican writers' reputation and success is held up to the "literary establishment"/"the Mexican literary community" But it does not talk about Mexican American's reputation or success. This answer would make sense if the passage read "Moreover, the work of successful Mexican writers is often...marked by greater cosmopolitanism...than is Mexican American writing (aka 'regional writing')." Don't you think?? Because then, the connection of success/reputation would be tied to their writings.

If someone could explain, that would be great. Thanks!

Hello avengingangel,

After line 25-some, we see, "Much of Mexican writing, on the other hand, has been criticized for being dominated by the prominent literary establishment concentrated in Mexico City. Literary reputation and success in Mexico--including the attainment of publicly sponsored positions in the arts--are often bestowed or denied by this literary establishment." This fits with answer D. Mexican Americans are not discussed by answer D, so some of what you mention above may not be apposite to the answer. (However, the sentence "Not surprisingly, the Mexican literary community views Mexican American literature as a variety of "regional" writing", shows that "regional" writing tends to be looked down on; therefore, "regional" writing by Mexicans, not just Mexican Americans, may hurt writers' reputation and success.)

Hope this helps,
David

[avengingangel]

Thanks, David. D makes total sense—not sure quite what I was thinking the first time around... But, now, I can't really see explicitly why C is wrong? It seems like the sentence in lines 27-29 nicely parallel with that answer choice. I'm guessing C is an "exaggerated answer" (bc of the "free to experiment in a way many Mexican writers are nowt" part)...

[Kristina Moen]

Avengingangel,

In L 27-29, we are told that Mexican writers are dominated by the literary establishment in Mexico City.
We are not told that Mexican American writers are not tied to any major literary establishment. They could be tied to a major literary establishment in the United States (say, a publishing house or school) that honored their "cultural borderland."
Hope that helps explain why answer choice (C) is incorrect.

[puppytiff]

I was between B and D thinking they're both reasonable inferences. Is B wrong because it stretch too far?

[James Finch]

Hi Tiff,

The issue with answer choice (B) is exactly as you describe; there is nothing in the passage that goes beyond Mexican-Americans and would allow us to extrapolate anything to immigrant groups in general. Without even a passing mention of other groups, we cannot reasonably infer that anything true of one group would be true of all immigrant groups.

Hope this helps!

[T.B.Justin]

Hi Cardinal,

Sounds like you're just being tripped up by the phrase "urban themes," but otherwise agree D sounds right. For support for this (although not perfect, enough to make D work), look to lines 25-40. The literary establishment is in Mexico City (a large city, or urban area) and is more cosmopolitan writing. Although urban might still feel like a stretch to you, that's enough support, and D is much stronger than the other answer choices.

In the latter part of answer choice "D"

"..than writers whose work is concerned with more urban themes." does this refer to Mexican writers, as they are the ones more concerned with the local literary establishment (Mexico City), so Mexican American writers find it more difficult than Mexican writers to attain success and reputation in Mexican culture.

[Brook Miscoski]

Justin,

The third paragraph establishes that "reputation and success" in Mexico is controlled by writers in Mexico City who view Mexican American authors as "parochial" and merely "regional." Elsewhere, the passage focuses on how Mexican American writers use agrarian, rural themes. There is no direct support whatsoever for the use of the word "urban," and in fact, the words used by the passage such as "cosmopolitan" have to do with universality rather than being urban (which does not equate with "urbane"). However, choice (D) is less crap than the other choices:

(A) MA not advocates.
(B) Scope of passage is just one group of immigrants.
(C) Scope of passage is not about experimentation.
(D) This is mostly correct even though the use of the word "urban" would make it an incorrect description in the real world--"urban" is not "cosmopolitan" nor does it reflect an even remotely accurate description of Mexican literature.
(E) Passage is about writers, not about the overall cultures, which in any case are defined as shared.

If you're looking to feel good about (D), that will never happen. You just need to learn how to hold your nose and pick (D) when there isn't another option.