I enjoyed A Dream of Light & Shadow: Portraits of Latin American Women

Question

I enjoyed A Dream of Light & Shadow: Portraits of Latin American Women Writers for the same reasons that, as a child, I avidly consumed women’s biographies: the fascination with how the biographical details of another female’s life are represented and interpreted. A Dream offers a rich read, varied in both the lives and texts of the women portrayed, and the perspectives and styles of the sixteen essayists. Yet, as an adult, I have come to demand of any really “great” book a self-consciousness about the tenuous nature of representations of reality, a critical contextualization of florid detail, and a self awareness of the role of ideology in our lives. In these critical senses, A Dream is inadequate.    1 
 For the following question, consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.

1. The author of the passage suggests that  A Dream  falls short in which of the following respects?

A. It does not appear to recognize that representations of reality can be unreliable.
B. It seems to focus on stylistic variety at the expense of accuracy of detail.
C. It offers a wealth of detail without suffcient critical examination of that detail.

2  
 2. Which of the following best describes the function of the second sentence (“A Dream . . . essayists”) in the context of the passage as a whole?

A. To give examples of how A Dream presents fascinating portraits that display awareness of the tenuous nature of representations of reality
B. To elaborate on how A Dream fulflls the author’s childhood criteria for a pleasurable book
C. To suggest that the author enjoyed A Dream for reasons more sophisticated than the reasons she enjoyed certain books as a child
D. To illustrate ways in which the author fnds A Dream to be inadequate in certain critical senses
E. To imply that A Dream is too varied in focus to provide a proper contextualization of the biographical details it offers

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

1. The author of the passage suggests that    A Dream    falls short in which of the following respects?

Explanation

Choices A  and  C  are correct. We know from the final sentence that the collection falls short of several criteria established by the author.

Choice A is correct:  the book does not demonstrate sufficient awareness of the  “tenuous nature of representations of reality.”

Choice B is incorrect:  there is no mention in the passage of any concern on the part of the author about the accuracy of detail.

Choice C is correct:  the book does not offer an adequate  “critical contextualization of florid detail.”  
 
  Answer: A,C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

2. Which of the following best describes the function of the second sentence (“A Dream . . . essayists”) in the context of the passage as a whole?

This question asks about the function of the second sentence. The correct choice is  Choice B.  As discussed in the description of the passage, that sentence describes what is appealing about the collection in the context of the author’s childhood tastes.

Choice A  is incorrect both because the sentence does not provide examples and because the collection does not display an awareness of the tenuous nature of representations of reality.

Choice C  is not correct: although one might suspect that the author’s enjoyment of collections as an adult would be on a more sophisticated level than when she was young, there is no discussion or even suggestion of that in the passage.

Choice D  is incorrect because the sentence describes the virtues of the collection. The aspects of the collection that the author finds inadequate are not addressed until later.

Choice E  is incorrect because, according to the passage, the fact that the collection is varied makes it a  “rich”  read. There is no suggestion that the variety hinders proper contextualization. 
 
  Answer: B

I enjoyed A Dream of Light & Shadow: Portraits of Latin American Women

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