#6 - Global Reference, Must Be True, Author's Perspective

[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!

[vangorgc]

Hi Powerscore,

I was between A and D on this one. Could you explain how option D has an advantage over A? Where does the text imply that the author values his folk culture (D) more than his breaking with tradition from other Black works of art (A)?

Grace

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi vangorgc,

We see the support for answer choice (D) all through the passage, but most clearly at the beginning of paragraph 2. There it calls his expression of folk culture "landmark." It wasn't just that the style was new or novel, but according to the passage that it was novel in a specific way. The way in with he worked in folk culture in language, style, and rhythm.

The author doesn't object to the fact that the other works of African American literature weren't novel enough, but that they had been watered down and Europeanized in a way that didn't reflect actual cultural traditions.

Hope that helps!

[jwooon]

Hi,

I also ended up choosing (A) and I was wondering what the answer to a main point question would be like for this passage. I felt that the passage was more focused on how Hughes' work differed from Europeanized versions of African American literature/art rather than Hughes' work in itself. What am I missing? Should I have identified the main point as the latter because the majority of the second half of the passage focuses on Hughe's work?

[Jeff Wren]

Hi jwooon,

First, while this question is categorized as a global reference question because the general topic of what the author values in Hughes's poetry is discussed throughout the passage, the specific answer to this question can be found in the beginning of paragraph two. The passage states "Even more than his rebellion against this restrictive tradition in African American Art, Hughes's expression of the vibrant folk culture of Black people established his writing as a landmark in the history of African American literature" (my emphasis)(lines 33-37). The words "even more than" indicate that the author believes Hughes's expression of the folk culture of Black people to be Hughes's most important artistic contribution.

You asked about the Main Point of the passage, but it's important to understand that the aspect of Hughes's poetry that the author most values is not necessarily the same as the main point of the passage.

Here, the main point can be ascertained by looking at key ideas from the beginning of paragraph one, the beginning of paragraph two, and the end of paragraph two. It should include the ideas that Hughes broke with two well-established traditions in African American literature, that Hughes expressed the folk culture of Black people, and that his poetry broadened the linguistic techniques and subject matter of African American literature.