PrepTest 126, Section 2, Question 20
With their recognition of Maxine Hong Kingston as(422 more words not shown)
The author's specific purpose in(14 more words not shown)
- Ashow why Kingston's(10 more words not shown)
- Bsupport the claim(16 more words not shown)
- Cdispute the critics'(8 more words not shown)
- Dargue for Kingston's(13 more words not shown)
- Eprovide an alternative(13 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Why give us that long list of themes, characters, balanced structures, and repetition? These are forms associated with talk-story, and China Men uses them. Listing what the book and tradition share gives us concrete evidence of the connection we've been discussing.
Working the answers
- A
The opening already recognizes Kingston as an important literary figure. The list isn't explaining why this particular book earned her that status; it's showing how her writing fits the tradition.
- BCorrect
These are “typically oral techniques,” and Kingston uses them in writing. Don't read that as saying she performs the book aloud. Techniques associated with spoken storytelling can also appear in a written text, which is exactly how this example supports her participation in talk-story.
- C
The critics' claim concerns Kingston's works, not Chinese American literature as a whole. C expands the position the author is disputing.
- D
The list illustrates her connection to talk-story rather than arguing that an artist is merely a keeper of stories. Kingston's earlier account also includes being a transmitter and creator, not a keeper “at best.”
- E
We aren't given a critical view that her work should primarily count as literature instead of something else. Its relationship to talk-story doesn't stop it from being literature.
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