Q15

[dfay91]

How is E a better answer than C? Duke Ellington is only discussed in the second half of the passage, while the entire passage is concerned with how unique it is that Morrison drew "upon a musical genre as the structuring principle for an entire novel." (line 13), which seems to indicate that the passage is about how unique jazz as a central metaphor is, i.e. C.

[crazinessinabox]

My reasoning in choosing (E) over (C) was:

1. (C) does not actually state the main idea. It tries to distract us by saying that Morrison's novel was unique and innovative (true) "for using jazz as its central metaphor." The last part is what makes this answer choice wrong - the whole point of the passage is that she's using jazz to structure her novel, not just as a metaphor (e.g., l. 10-16)

2. (E) Although Duke Ellington may not be explicitly named as many times throughout the passage as his importance may warrant, it's ultimately crucial to the passage that Morrison structured her novel Jazz based on Ellington's compositions.

[esultana]

I didn't really like any of these answers. I ended up going with D. I decided against E because while the author compares Morrison's Jazz to Ellington's work, I felt that the author never really came out and said explicitly that Morrison "based" her novel on Ellington's compositions. I didn't like D, but I felt E was too strong. Where did I go wrong?

[wtrcoins3]

To me the main point is from lines 13 to 15 (...none had... Jazz...). Morrison did something unique--- she was able to use a musical genre as a structuring principle for an entire novel with her novel Jazz.
The next paragraph shows how. The 3rd shows how this was the same effect Ellington had in his jazz music.
Final paragraph: relates to Ellington further (without mentioning him by name here). Further shows importance.

So A is out--- it's too specific to jazz and really isn't the main point here.
B- "important model for other writers" is definitely a red flag. And are we talking about her description of an ensemble performance? Eliminate.
C- this one is tricky at first read. But "many African-American writers have used music as a central metaphor in their works," and Morrison is only differentiated because she picks jazz? No- there's something way bigger this passage got at.
D- firstly, Morrison didn't build off the works of others anywhere in the passage. For main point questions, if any part of the AC just isn't there, huge red flag. And "over the years"? The passage doesn't show a development as much as an achievement. And the end too- "...used especially effectively"-- jazz wasn't just "better," it was something new.

So lets look at E. Jazz is definitely original, and the authors tone seems like she did a pretty good job (effective). While Ellington isn't central to much of the passage, and seeing this would make me double check the other AC's just in case, she did create a literary analogue of Ellington.

To previous posters: IMO just because its a literary analogue doesn't necessarily mean she based it off Ellington. They just did the same thing using different forms. E isn't the *best possible* answer IMO but it is the best of what were given, and it's fully correct since no information in the passage conflicts with it, and it encapsulates the main points of the passage.

[ohthatpatrick]

EXCELLENT response.

Let us know if there are any unresolved questions about any of these answer choices.

[sojisong]

I excluded E because it didn't say anything about 'jazz'. It hinted at it, but I thought that following the narration style of jazz was a really important point.
Could an answer to a main point question not include such a word that's so significant in the passage?

[hyewonkim89]

As wtrcoins3 pointed out, the main point of this passage is that Morrison was the first African American writer that drew upon a musical genre as the structuring principle for an entire novel.

Since (E) covers the main point of the passage (explained in wtrcoins3's post), I don't think the word 'jazz' needs to be stated necessarily.

[judaydaday]

I just had a quick question about the scale. It seems like the author is siding with Toni Morrison right away and he/she does not really provide the "other people's argument." So, is there a scale here at all?

[ohthatpatrick]

Good question!

No, it doesn't have a scale.

Many, if not most, Arts/Humanities passages at some point have a "some critics say ____" point of view, which the author will undoubtedly argue with.

I think of those as "Defend Against Criticism" passages.

But this passage is simply a flattering puff piece about Morrison's novel.

When there's no scale, when the author is essentially just writing a descriptive essay, you have to find the Main Point by looking for sentences that highlight what the author finds noteworthy or distinctive about the topic.

Line 10-16 is our Most Valuable Sentence. It telegraphs its important by giving us the structural clue of,
"While many have _____, NONE had attempted to ____ until Toni Morrison did it in this novel."

Clearly, THIS is why the author thinks Toni Morrison is noteworthy or distinctive.

It's reinforced a little bit in line 18, when the author says "more strikingly".

Hope this helps.