PrepTest 111, Section 2, Question 9
The paintings of Romare Bearden (1914–1988) represent a(439 more words not shown)
As it is used in(17 more words not shown)
- Adepicted general scenes(6 more words not shown)
- Bportrayed solitary figures(3 more words not shown)
- Cchallenged the traditional(4 more words not shown)
- Demphasized the experiences(7 more words not shown)
- Eused innovative techniques(9 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Individual suffering jumps out when we reread this sentence. But whose achievement is that? Bearden moves beyond the usual protest painting to reveal individual suffering. It would be easy to attach his distinction to the very category he moves beyond.
What we’re looking for
Think of the difference between showing widespread unemployment and bringing one unemployed person's hardship into focus. We need the broader kind of treatment on the first side of that comparison.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
General scenes of social hardship and group suffering fit the contrast. “Group” initially looks wrong if we've treated individual suffering as the definition of protest painting. Once we separate the usual approach from Bearden's achievement, it makes sense: he moves from the general social problem toward particular people's experiences.
- B
The figures in abstract settings describe Bearden's work, not the usual protest painting. And an individual figure needn't be alone.
- C
The protest concerns social hardship. We aren't told that these painters were protesting traditional painting techniques.
- D
Bearden depicts African American experience, but that doesn't restrict the broader category of protest painting to African Americans. The distinction here is between general social suffering and individual experience.
- E
This borrows Bearden's technical innovation and emphasis on individuals. Those are features of his achievement, not the definition of the usual protest painting he goes beyond.
More Application questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Application questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.