There are those who champion Moby Dick, and those who favor The Adven

Question

There are those who champion  Moby Dick , and those who favor  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , but there can be little doubt that the novel that had the greatest impact on American history was 1852’s  Uncle Tom’s Cabin . While it is rarely read for fun today, in its day it was the bestseller of all bestsellers, and its influence was felt for years.

Author Harriet Beecher Stowe was born into a family of ministers, teachers, and thinkers and received a classical education rarely available to girls at the time. While living in Cincinnati, Ohio, an important stop on the Underground Railroad, she became involved in the antislavery movement. She married an active participant in that movement, and for a time the two of them offered their home as a way station for runaway slaves.

Stowe and her husband moved to Maine, an actively antislavery state, and she decided to write about what she had seen along the Ohio River in her time in Cincinnati. She fueled her writing with borrowings from slave narratives of the time, which were beginning to be popular among abolitionist readers.  Uncle Tom’s Cabin , which at one time bore the subtitle

“The Man That Was a Thing,” was published first as a 40-part serial and then as a book. It sold hundreds of thousands of copies in its first year in print, both in the United States and abroad, and introduced many Northerners to the realities of slavery while enraging Southerners with its critique of their way of life. Southern criticism of the novel even led Stowe to publish a “Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” in which she dissected characters and events and offered real-life equivalents for each.

The melodrama of the novel, which has been widely panned since its publication, was the style of the times, especially for an audience of women, and it was that audience that built the novel’s reputation and spread its message. People who could not be bothered to read political tracts treated the novel as gospel and began to flock to the abolitionist cause. It is important to recognize that even in states that disapproved of slavery, Northerners had little sympathy for blacks, whom they often reviled as inferior. Stowe attributed familiar emotions and powerful beliefs to the slaves in her novel, bringing them to life in a way that changed attitudes across the Northern states. Especially significant was the message of familial love; scenes in which families were split apart were affecting and disturbing to Stowe’s readers, who often had never before considered this contemptible aspect of slavery.

Within a decade of its publication, Stowe’s novel had exacerbated the divide between proslavery and antislavery readers to the degree that Lincoln’s election seemed preordained and war inevitable. At no time before or since has a work of American fiction so inspired the course of American history.    1 
 1. Of the following titles, which would be most appropriate for the contents of this passage?

(A) “The Man That Was a Thing”
(B) “The Life and Works of Harriet Beecher Stowe”
(C) “One Novel’s Cultural and Historical Impact”
(D) “A Northerner’s Look at Southern Customs”
(E) “From Antislavery to Abolitionist”

2 
 2. The author appears to believe that Stowe was

(A) misguided
(B) misunderstood
(C) well educated
(D) insensitive
(E) droll

3 
 3. From information in the fourth paragraph, it can reasonably be inferred that the most immediately influential readers of Stowe’s work were

(A) Southern women
(B) Southern landowners
(C) Northern women
(D) young people
(E) politicians

4 
 4. Based on the fourth paragraph, which of the following could be inferred about the author’s attitude toward Stowe’s readers?

(A) They were woefully ignorant but easily swayed.
(B) They were perceptive and eager to learn.
(C) They remained unsympathetic and callous.
(D) They found change abhorrent and difficult.
(E) They had little tolerance for realistic fiction.

5 
 5. Which of the following modern events is most similar in effect to the publication of  Uncle Tom’s Cabin  as described in the passage?

(A) Spielberg’s film  Lincoln  leads to a reappraising of the 16th president.
(B)  The Plague of Doves , a novel exploring racial discord, is a Pulitzer finalist.
(C)  Times  reporter Marie Colvin is killed while covering the Syrian civil war.
(D)  The Help , a novel about black maids in the 1960s, becomes a bestseller in 2009.
(E) Egyptian bloggers and videographers stimulate Arab Spring uprisings.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

3. From information in the fourth paragraph, it can reasonably be inferred that the most immediately influential readers of Stowe’s work were

Explanation

(A) Southern women: 
This option is unlikely because the paragraph states that the novel enraging Southerners with its critique of their way of life. While it is possible that some Southern women may have read the novel, the paragraph does not suggest that they were the most immediately influential readers.

(B) Southern landowners: 
The paragraph does not provide any specific information about Southern landowners as the most immediately influential readers of Stowe's work. It primarily focuses on the impact of the novel among Northern readers and its ability to change attitudes across the Northern states.

(C) Northern women: 
This option is the most reasonable inference based on the information provided in the paragraph. It mentions that the melodrama style of the novel appealed to an audience of women, and it was this audience that built the novel's reputation and spread its message. The paragraph highlights the influence of women readers, particularly Northern women, in promoting the novel and its anti-slavery message.

(D) Young people: 
The paragraph does not provide any explicit information about the age group of the most immediately influential readers. While it is possible that young people may have been influenced by the novel, there is no specific mention of them in the paragraph.

(E) Politicians: 
The paragraph does not mention politicians as the most immediately influential readers of Stowe's work. It focuses more on the impact of the novel on public opinion and the divide between proslavery and antislavery readers, leading up to Lincoln's election and the inevitable war. The emphasis is on the influence of the novel among the general public, particularly Northern women.

Answer: C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

1. Of the following titles, which would be most appropriate for the contents of this passage?

Explanation

The passage as a whole is about Uncle Tom’s Cabin and its impact on U.S. history and culture.

Answer: C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Additional Explanation

1. Of the following titles, which would be most appropriate for the contents of this passage?

Explanation

The passage primarily discusses the impact of the novel  "Uncle Tom’s Cabin"  on American history and its cultural significance. The passage provides information about the author, Harriet Beecher Stowe, her background, the context in which she wrote the novel, and the reactions it elicited from both Northerners and Southerners. The passage also highlights how the novel played a pivotal role in exacerbating the divide between proslavery and antislavery readers, eventually leading to significant historical events such as Abraham Lincoln's election and the inevitability of war. In essence, the passage is focused on exploring the cultural and historical impact of this one novel.

The other options do not accurately represent the main focus of the passage:

(A)  is a subtitle mentioned within the passage, but it does not capture the broader theme of the novel's impact on American history.

(B)  would be too focused on the author's biography and works, which is not the primary focus of the passage.

(D)  is too specific and does not encompass the overall impact and significance of the novel on American history.

(E)  is somewhat related to the passage's content, but it is still not as comprehensive as the title  "One Novel’s Cultural and Historical Impact,"  which better captures the essence of the passage.

Answer: C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

4. Based on the fourth paragraph, which of the following could be inferred about the author’s attitude toward Stowe’s readers?

Explanation

The author seems distressed that Stowe’s readers had never before considered the perils of slave life. The readers were ignorant or obtuse about the realities of slavery, but they were certainly easily swayed by Stowe’s descriptions.

Answer: A

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Additional Explanation

4. Based on the fourth paragraph, which of the following could be inferred about the author’s attitude toward Stowe’s readers?

Explanation

(A)  This option suggests that Stowe's readers lacked knowledge or awareness about the issues of slavery, and they were easily influenced or persuaded by the content of her novel. The passage supports this idea when it mentions that people who couldn't be bothered to read political tracts were influenced by the novel and flocked to the abolitionist cause. It implies that they might not have been well-informed but were open to Stowe's perspective.

(B)  This option suggests that Stowe's readers were insightful and willing to acquire knowledge. However, this doesn't align with the passage's description, which implies that some of the readers might have been less informed or engaged in the abolitionist cause before reading Stowe's novel.

(C)  This option implies that Stowe's readers were indifferent and unfeeling toward the issues related to slavery. This is not supported by the passage, which suggests that the novel had an impact on the readers, causing them to support the abolitionist cause.

(D)  This option suggests that Stowe's readers were resistant to change. While the passage doesn't provide extensive information about the readers' willingness to change, it does imply that the novel influenced them to support the abolitionist cause, which indicates some level of change in their views.

(E)  This option implies that the readers had difficulty appreciating or tolerating realistic fiction. This is not supported by the passage, which describes how the melodramatic style of the novel was popular among its audience, especially women, and played a crucial role in spreading the novel's message.

Option (A)  aligns best with the information provided in the passage and the author's attitude towards Stowe's readers, as it acknowledges their potential lack of prior knowledge and their receptivity to the novel's influence.

Answer: A

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

5. Which of the following modern events is most similar in effect to the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin as described in the passage?

Explanation

Unlike any of the other examples, the work of Arab Spring bloggers and videographers led directly to a change in history and culture, as readers and viewers became aware of conditions they might have dismissed in the past.

Answer: E

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Additional Explanation

5. Which of the following modern events is most similar in effect to the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin as described in the passage?

Explanation

Option (E)  is the answer because it shares a key similarity with the impact of  "Uncle Tom's Cabin"  as described in the passage. Both events involve the use of media and communication to stimulate significant social and political movements. In the case of  "Uncle Tom's Cabin,"  the novel was a powerful medium for conveying the harsh realities of slavery, and it had a profound impact on public opinion and historical events. Similarly, in  option (E) , Egyptian bloggers and videographers used digital media to stimulate the Arab Spring uprisings, which were significant political and social movements. Both events highlight the influence of communication and media in shaping public awareness and driving change.

Now, let's discuss why the other options are not the answer:

(A)  This option does not share a similar effect with the publication of  "Uncle Tom's Cabin"  as it primarily discusses a reassessment of Abraham Lincoln's legacy rather than a widespread social or political movement.

(B)  While this option involves a novel related to racial issues, it does not describe an impact or social change similar to what  "Uncle Tom's Cabin"  had on American history.

(C)  This option describes the tragic event of a reporter's death but does not involve the dissemination of media content to stimulate a social or political movement, which is the key similarity emphasized in the passage.

(D)  Same as C

Answer: E

There are those who champion Moby Dick, and those who favor The Adven

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

There are those who champion Moby Dick, and those who favor The Adven

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