PrepTest 150, Section 2, Question 25
Sociologists study folktales because they provide a means(26 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(13 more words not shown)
- ABecause no single(21 more words not shown)
- BFolktales are often(12 more words not shown)
- CThe manner in(14 more words not shown)
- DThe ancient narratives(14 more words not shown)
- EFolktales are often(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Maybe the shared plot is the starting point, and the local changes are what reveal the culture.
Imagine two cultures adapting the same flood story. One version might emphasize a person succeeding alone; another might emphasize neighbors helping one another survive. Those are hypothetical differences, but they show how a common narrative could acquire a different local flavor. We wouldn't have to find an entirely original story to learn something distinctive.
What we’re looking for
That's the apparent discrepancy we need to resolve: the tales reveal distinctive values even though their ancient sources are largely shared. I'd look for the adaptations to carry the information about each culture, rather than assume the underlying shared story has to do all the work.
Working the answers
- A
This distinguishes a culture's values from an individual author's values. But our puzzle is about distinguishing one culture from another when their stories come from the same sources. Even if a tale reflects collective values, those could be values shared across all the cultures telling that story. A doesn't explain where the distinctive information comes from.
- B
Oral transmission could explain how stories survived from a time with little writing. It doesn't explain how versions of the same ancient narratives reveal different cultures' distinctive values. We need the source of the cultural differences, not just a way the stories were preserved.
- CCorrect
The adaptations reveal the culture's values. Two groups can inherit the same story and change it in ways that show different priorities, as in our hypothetical flood versions. That lets both statements stand: the ancient narratives are shared, while the ways cultures adapt them provide distinctive information.
- D
Universal themes help explain why the same narratives appeal across cultures and persist over time. But that addresses what the stories share. It doesn't explain how sociologists can use them to learn what is distinctive about a particular culture.
- E
Teaching children cultural values explains a use for the tales. It still doesn't tell us why versions of the same stories reveal distinctive values rather than only common ones. Several cultures could use the same morality tale to teach the same lesson. C supplies the missing role of the local adaptations.
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