#17 - Global Reference, Must Be True, Subject Perspective

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=10965)

The correct answer choice is (D)

This question asks us to identify a view most likely held by Valdez. Due to the general nature of this question, the method of elimination is likely to prove useful—any answer choice that cannot be proven by the passage will be incorrect. Keep in mind that Valdez’s efforts are described mainly in the second paragraph, which will be a relevant reference point.

Answer choice (A): If the Teatro Campesino adapted the carpas to their improvisations (lines 53-54), they were probably not ill-suited to the type of theater Valdez wanted to create. Broyles-Gonzalez finds a close connection between the actos and the carpas, and there is no reason to suspect that Valdez would object to this view.

Answer choice (B): The author never suggests that Valdez was critical of Chavez in any way.

Answer choice (C): The actos may have been a departure from the European tradition of Valdez’s academic training, but that does not mean that the European tradition was irrelevant to them. In lines 56-60, the author clearly states that the actos had connections to both carpas and traditional European theater.

Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice. Given that Valdez asked farm workers to improvise in his actos (lines 21-26), he clearly did not consider formal training to be a prerequisite for successful theatrical performances.

Answer choice (E): There is no reason to believe that Valdez evaluated the aesthetic aspects of a theatrical work separately from its political ramifications.

[lanereuden]

Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=10965)

The correct answer choice is (D)

This question asks us to identify a view most likely held by Valdez. Due to the general nature of this question, the method of elimination is likely to prove useful—any answer choice that cannot be proven by the passage will be incorrect. Keep in mind that Valdez’s efforts are described mainly in the second paragraph, which will be a relevant reference point.

Answer choice (A): If the Teatro Campesino adapted the carpas to their improvisations (lines 53-54), they were probably not ill-suited to the type of theater Valdez wanted to create. Broyles-Gonzalez finds a close connection between the actos and the carpas, and there is no reason to suspect that Valdez would object to this view.

Answer choice (B): The author never suggests that Valdez was critical of Chavez in any way.

Answer choice (C): The actos may have been a departure from the European tradition of Valdez’s academic training, but that does not mean that the European tradition was irrelevant to them. In lines 56-60, the author clearly states that the actos had connections to both carpas and traditional European theater.

Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice. Given that Valdez asked farm workers to improvise in his actos (lines 21-26), he clearly did not consider formal training to be a prerequisite for successful theatrical performances.

Answer choice (E): There is no reason to believe that Valdez evaluated the aesthetic aspects of a theatrical work separately from its political ramifications.

As to Answer choice C, it is clearly talking about a distinction between European tradition and working class (I.e. Carpas—performed to working class, NOT ACTOS). In the one of last lines, it says actos were neither carpas, nor European), meaning that actos is a blend of two different types. That is, there has to be significant difference between European tradition and carpas (i.e carpas has to, in a sense, be irrelevant to European tradition), I.e answer choice C is correct. Hope this makes sense

[lanereuden]

Also, maybe a similar argument to one I just made...but if we look earlier on this test...to question 7 which says:

The second paragraph most strongly supports the inference that the New Urbanists make which one of the following assumptions?
(A) Most of those who buy houses in sprawling suburbs do not pay drastically less than they can afford.
(B) Zoning regulations often cause economically uniform suburbs to become economically diverse.
(C) City dwellers who do not frequently travel in automobiles often have feelings of hostility toward motorists.
(D) Few residents of suburbs are aware of the potential health benefits of walking, instead of driving, to carry out daily tasks.
(E) People generally prefer to live in houses that look very similar to most of the other houses around them.

Here, the answer that was correct was A NOT E. It was not E, according to PowerScore, because, at least partly because, “The fact that suburban houses tend to look alike does not mean that people generally prefer to live in such houses.”

Now we have this question on Valdez:
It can be inferred from the passage that Valdez most likely held which one of the following views?
(A) As a theatrical model, the carpas of the early twentieth century were ill-suited to the type of theater that he and the Teatro Campesino were trying to create.
(B) César Chávez should have done more to support the efforts of the Teatro Campesino to use theater to organize striking farm workers.
(C) Avant-garde theater in the European tradition is largely irrelevant to the theatrical expression of the concerns of a mainly working-class audience.
(D) Actors do not require formal training in order to achieve effective and artistically successful theatrical performances.
(E) The aesthetic aspects of a theatrical work should be evaluated independently of its political ramifications.

Here the correct answer is D. Yet, D here could be wrong for the same reason that E in 7 is wrong. We cannot say, just because these actors do not require formal training that all actors do not require formal training. Wait...this does not make sense...but do you see what I am getting at?

[Adam Tyson]

I think you may have somewhat contradicted yourself here, lanereuden. The actos were a blend of the European tradition and the carpas, and the actos were performed for a working-class audience (initially on the back of flatbed trucks at the edge of the fields, for an audience of farm workers). Saying that the European tradition was "irrelevant" to that audience (a very, VERY strong claim that would be hard to defend) is like saying peanut butter is irrelevant to someone eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Also, just because the workers were the target audience for the actos doesn't mean that European theatrical traditions have nothing to offer that is relevant to that same audience. That would be like saying that because I enjoy Marvel superhero movies I cannot also find something of value in an evening at the symphony.

[Coleman]

I don't understand why (A) is wrong and (D) is correct. The thing that convinced me to choose (A) over (D) was the subtle wording in each statement.

(A) the carpas of the early 20C were "ill-suited" to the type of theater that he and the TC were trying to create. This is the reason why the TC didn't adopt or imitate the carpas completely, but rather created TC which demonstrates its distinctive style.

(D) I agree that actors do not require formal training in order to achieve effective theatrical performances, BUT not the "artistically successful" part. Is there any clue in the passage that actors reached artistic level during the performances despite the fact that they were ordinary farmers without any sort of theatrical training?

Thank you!

[Adam Tyson]

To say that carpas were "ill-suited" to Valdez's purpose is a very strong statement, and thus a hard one to defend, Coleman. Yes, he and his troupe adapted the form to create the actos, but that doesn't mean the carpas were a poor model. In fact, one could say that the carpas WERE the model upon which the actos were based. That seems to be what Broyles-Gonzalez is arguing. So in that sense, answer A is an opposite answer.

I think there is strong support for answer D's "artistically successful" claim in the last line of the second paragraph:

Because actos were based on participants' personal experiences, they had palpable immediacy.

That means that the participants - the actors - were the same farm workers who had helped create them based on their own experiences, and that they had at least some success as an art form. "Palpable immediacy" sure sounds to me like something an artist would strive for!