Antonia Castañeda has utilized scholarship from womens studies and Me

Question

Antonia Castañeda has utilized scholarship from women's studies and Mexican-American history to examine nineteenth-century literary portrayals of Mexican women. As Castañeda notes, scholars of women's history observe that in the Unites States, male novelists of the period─during which, according to these scholars, women's traditional economic role in home-based agriculture was threatened by the transition to a factory-based industrial economy─define women solely in their domestic roles of wife and mother. Castañeda finds that during the same period that saw non-Hispanic women being economically displaced by industrialization, Hispanic law in territorial California protected the economic position of "Californianas" (the Mexican women of the territory) by ensuring them property rights and inheritance rights equal to those of males.

For Castañeda, the laws explain a  stereotypical plot  created primarily by male, non-Hispanic novelists: the story of an ambitious non-hispanic merchant or trader desirous of marrying an elite Californiana. These novels' favourable portrayal of such women is noteworthy, since Mexican-American historians have concluded that unflattering literary depictions of Mexicans were vital in rallying the United States public's support for the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). The importance of economic alliances forged through marriages with Californianas explains this  apparent contradiction . Because of their real-life economic significance, the Californianas were portrayed more favourably than were others of the same nationality.   1 
 1. The “ apparent contradiction ” mentioned in line 29 refers to the discrepancy between the

A. legal status of Mexican women in territorial California and their status in the United States
B. unflattering depiction of Mexicans in novels and the actual public sentiment about the Mexican-American War
C. existence of many marriages between Californianas and non-Hispanic merchants and the strictures against them expressed in novels
D. literary depiction of elite Californianas and the literary depiction of other Mexican individuals
E. novelistic portrayals of elite Californianas’ privileged lives and the actual circumstances of those lives

2 
 2. Which of the following could best serve as an example of the kind of fictional plot discussed by Antonia Castañeda?

A. A land speculator of English ancestry weds the daughter of a Mexican vineyard owner after the speculator has migrated to California to seek his fortune.
B. A Californian woman of Hispanic ancestry finds that her agricultural livelihood is threatened when her husband is forced to seek work in a textile mill.
C. A Mexican rancher who loses his land as a result of the Mexican-American War migrates to the northern United States and marries an immigrant schoolteacher.
D. A wealthy Californiana whose father has bequeathed her all his property contends with avaricious relatives for her inheritance.
E. A poor married couple emigrate from French Canada and gradually become wealthy as merchants in territorial California.

3 
 3. Which of the following, if true, would provide the most support for Castañeda’s explanation of the “ stereotypical plot ” mentioned in lines 18-19?

A. Non-Hispanic traders found business more profitable in California while it was a territory than when it became a state.
B. Very few marriages between Hispanic women and non-Hispanic men in nineteenth-century territorial California have actually been documented.
C. Records from the nineteenth century indicate that some large and valuable properties were owned by elite Californianas in their own right.
D. Unmarried non-Hispanic women in the nineteenth-century United States were sometimes able to control property in their own right.
E. Most of the property in nineteenth-century territorial California was controlled by Hispanic men.

4 
 4. The primary purpose of the passage is to

A. trace historical influences on the depiction of Mexican Americans in the nineteenth century
B. explain how research in history has been affected by scholarship in women's studies
C. describe the historical origins of a literary stereotype
D. discuss ways in which minority writers have sought to critique a dominant culture through their writing
E. evaluate both sides in a scholarly debate about a prominent literary stereotype

RC00548-01.02

GMATNinja · Accepted Answer

1. The “apparent contradiction” mentioned in line 29 refers to the discrepancy between the

The apparent contradiction is, in fact, explained before line 29.

This sentence says that elite Californians (i.e. "such women") were portrayed favorably by male, non-Hispanic novelists. Thus, the literary depiction of elite Californianas was favorable.

In contrast, this sentence implies that literary depictions of Mexicans, in general, were unflattering (and, thus, unfavorable), because such unflattering depictions were vital in rallying support for the M-A War.

So we have an apparent contradiction: in general, literary depictions of Mexicans were unflattering, but elite Californianas (Mexican women in California) were portrayed favorably. This is the contradiction described by choice (D) in the first question.

AndrewN · Answer

Wow, a lot of digital ink has been spilled recently on  Question 4 . Interestingly enough, the question was dropped from both the 2019 and 2020 editions of the OG Verbal Review. Nevertheless, in the interest of helping  willacethis ,  SanjaySrini , and  NandishSS , as well as the community at large, here are my thoughts on this tricky question.

4. The primary purpose of the passage is to

Okay, a  primary purpose/main idea  question should be pretty straightforward. One consideration in your approach to such questions is to justify the presence of each paragraph. That is, it is not good enough to choose an answer that summarizes a paragraph at the exclusion of another or, worse yet, focuses on a detail within a single part of the passage. So what is this passage about, both paragraphs considered? What is the authorial presence? Let us see what the answers have in store.

I typically put problematic parts of an answer choice in  red  font, but this one warrants more of a yellow-light, look-before-you-leap highlight. To be clear, I have no problem with  trace historical influences , and the passage does, in fact, discuss how Mexican Americans were depicted in nineteenth-century literature. However, the first line of the passage makes it clear that Castañeda, through whose lens we view the content of the text, has peered into scholarship on the period  to examine... portrayals of Mexican  women  . It is the women, not all Mexican Americans, who are the focus of the research. Although the second paragraph mentions  unflattering depictions of Mexicans , the description only serves as a contrast to the more favorable portrayal of the Californianas-- the Mexican  women  of the territory , as the group is defined at the end of paragraph one. Finally, this answer omits the keyword  literary . The passage mentions  literary  depictions from beginning to end. To say that the primary purpose is to examine influences on the general depiction of any or all Mexican Americans of the time is an overstatement. I would not get rid of this answer choice right away, but I would explore other options that might place women in particular front and center.

Phew, this one is much easier to eliminate. To straighten the answer out, scholarship in women's studies is affecting research in history? Women's studies is mentioned as a discipline through which Castañeda has conducted research, but so, too, is history itself. Look at the first line of the passage again:

Antonia Castañeda has utilized scholarship from  women's studies  and  Mexican-American history  to examine nineteenth-century literary portrayals of Mexican women.

Women's studies and Mexican-American history are mentioned side by side, with no cause-and-effect relationship in sight. Keep moving.

This is a difficult one to make heads or tails of in a first pass. If  a literary stereotype  lies at the heart of the passage, then first, what is that stereotype, and second, do  both  paragraphs, or, in other words, does the entire passage, center on this idea? It takes a little detective work, but yes, the passage map is clear. The literary stereotype is not mentioned explicitly until the beginning of the second paragraph, conveniently with the word  stereotypical  preceding it— the story of an ambitious non-hispanic merchant or trader desirous of marrying an elite Californiana . Aha, so the    plot    is the stereotype! Now the pieces start to fall into place. The first paragraph sets the stage, providing the historical information, while the second paragraph delves into the literature itself. The concluding line of the first paragraph tells us that although non-Hispanic women were being  economically displaced by industrialization , their Mexican counterparts in territorial California, the "Californianas," were  ensured property rights and inheritance rights equal to those of males . And now the stereotypical or patent plot makes sense: scheming men wanted to marry up to an elite social status, and marriage to Californianas was the vehicle through which that upward mobility could be achieved. A little  Barry Lyndon -ish, right? If you were a little standoffish on your first read, I would understand. (I was, too.) But this is a qualified answer.

This is a fitting description of another passage, perhaps, but not the one in front of us, in which  minority writers  are not even mentioned. No, this passage focuses on the works of primarily  male, non-Hispanic novelists  of the nineteenth century. Another answer that is clearly incorrect.

About the only thing this answer choice is good for is that it shines more light on this notion that the passage concerns a  literary stereotype . The scholarly debate is noticeably absent, however, with Castañeda serving as our only guide.

To sum up, between (A) and (C), (A) presents too much of a blanket statement. In a passage that starts and ends with a focus on women, it is too broad to say the primary purpose concerns the depiction of Mexican Americans in general. Meanwhile, choice (C) ties together the information from the two paragraphs of the passage in a manner that is hard to argue against, even if we usually think of a stereotype as a description of a type of person.

I hope that helps. I would love to know why GMACTM decided to exclude the question from more recent editions of the Verbal Review. In any case, good luck, everyone, with your studies.

- Andrew

GMATNinja · Answer

This is a tough passage! Thinking about RC strategy as a whole, the most important things are to avoid getting bogged down in the details and to  focus on the structure  of the passage. What does the author really want you to get out of a particular paragraph? And how does that paragraph fit in with the rest of the passage?

As an example, here is one way to think about paragraph #1 (which should shed some light on your points #1, 2, and 3):

The author introduces the subject studied by Casteneda: "nineteenth-century literary portrayals of Mexican women" 
 Some scholars make an observation about male novelists in the US as a whole: they "define women solely in their domestic roles of wife and mother." 
 These scholars provide a reason for the observation above: "women's traditional economic role in home-based agriculture was threatened by the transition to a factory-based industrial economy" 
 Casteneda notes a difference between Californianas and non-hispanic women: "California protected the economic position of "Californianas" by ensuring them property rights and inheritance rights equal to those of males."

Overall, the  purpose  of this paragraph is to introduce Casteneda's area of research (literary portrayals of Mexican women), and explain one of Casteneda's findings (the difference in economic status between Californianas and other American women).

If you're struggling to understand one particular piece of the passage (for example, the stuff about economic status), try to piece together the WHY author included that information. In this case, the author talks about economic status in order to explain how women are portrayed in literature -- male novelists only wrote about women in a wife or mother role  because  their economic role was threatened by the transition to industrialization. BUT, the economic role of Californianas was more protected than the economic role of other women! How does this impact the literary portrayal of Mexican women? You'll find the answer in the next paragraph.

By focusing on structure and purpose, you can pick apart a difficult passage and hone in on what the author really cares about.

I hope that helps!

LeoGT · Answer

I just share my opinion, hope it may help somehow.
Paragraph 1: Castañeda finding
while on-Hispanic women being economically displaced by industrialization, Californianasthere was proteced by law. 
Paragraph 2: implication of the law
the law helps explain desirous of marrying an elite Californianas over other: economic significance.

Q1: The “apparent contradiction” mentioned in line 29 refers to the discrepancy between the

A. legal status of Mexican women in territorial California and their status in the United States
B. unflattering depiction of Mexicans in novels and the actual public sentiment about the Mexican-American War
C. existence of many marriages between Californianas and non-Hispanic merchants and the strictures against them expressed in novels
D. literary depiction of elite Californianas and the literary depiction of other Mexican individuals
E. novelistic portrayals of elite Californianas’ privileged lives and the actual circumstances of those lives

in the second paragraph, the law helps explain the contradiction between Californianas and the other: "  Californianas  were portrayed more favorably than were  others of the same nationality. " choice D does this

Q2: Which of the following could best serve as an example of the kind of fictional plot discussed by Antonia Castañeda?

A. A land speculator of English ancestry weds the daughter of a Mexican vineyard owner after the speculator has migrated to California to seek his fortune.
B. A Californian woman of Hispanic ancestry finds that her agricultural livelihood is threatened when her husband is forced to seek work in a textile mill.
C. A Mexican rancher who loses his land as a result of the Mexican-American War migrates to the northern United States and marries an immigrant schoolteacher.
D. A wealthy Californiana whose father has bequeathed her all his property contends with avaricious relatives for her inheritance.
E. A poor married couple emigrate from French Canada and gradually become wealthy as merchants in territorial California.

in paragraph 2: "Because of their real-life economic significance, the Californianas were portrayed more favorably than were others of the
same nationality."
it clearly tells "economic significance", so choi A: seek fortune
A land speculator of English ancestry  weds the daughter of a Mexican vineyard owner  after the speculator has migrated to California  to seek his fortune

Q3: Which of the following, if true, would provide the most support for Castañeda’s explanation of the “stereotypical plot” mentioned in lines 18-19?

A. Non-Hispanic traders found business more profitable in California while it was a territory than when it became a state.
B. Very few marriages between Hispanic women and non-Hispanic men in nineteenth-century territorial California have actually been documented.
C. Records from the nineteenth century indicate that some large and valuable properties were owned by elite Californianas in their own right.
D. Unmarried non-Hispanic women in the nineteenth-century United States were sometimes able to control property in their own right.
E. Most of the property in nineteenth-century territorial California was controlled by Hispanic men.

According to the passage, stereotypical plot refers to the reason why the Californianas were portrayed more favorably than were others of the same nationality: economic significant.
- so if scholar found that Californianas were poor, it weakens the explaination. 
-If studies found Californianas were rich, it supports the explaination. choice C does this.

generally, this paragraph is hard for me. very happy to see other opinions.

ukunal · Answer

Hi faced difficulty in answering First Question itself ,I hope You can help here-

The below Sentence in the Paragraph is quite Confusing For me  The importance of economic alliances forged through marriages with Californianas explains this apparent contradiction . The use of word "This " here , From my perspective if we have word this then that thing is already explained before not in the following sentence.

I spent my time in searching answer before this sentence but i was wrong. Please help.

Gmatsaiyan · Answer

Official Answers and Explanations

1. The “apparent contradiction” mentioned in line 29 refers to the discrepancy between the

A. legal status of Mexican women in territorial California and their status in the United States
B. unflattering depiction of Mexicans in novels and the actual public sentiment about the Mexican-American War
C. existence of many marriages between Californianas and non-Hispanic merchants and the strictures against them expressed in novels
D. literary depiction of elite Californianas and the literary depiction of other Mexican individuals
E. novelistic portrayals of elite Californianas’ privileged lives and the actual circumstances of those lives

Supporting idea

The apparent contradiction in line 29 refers to the difference, noted in the previous sentence, between favorable literary portrayals of elite Californianas— that is, Mexican women of the California territory—on the one hand and novels’ generally unflattering depictions of Mexicans on the other.

A. The passage discusses the difference between the legal rights of Mexican women in the California territory and those of non-Hispanic women. The legal rights of Mexican women outside territorial California are not mentioned.

B. The passage suggests that there is no contradiction between unflattering depictions of Mexicans in novels and public sentiment about the MexicanAmerican War: such depictions of Mexicans served to stir up sentiment in support of the war.

C. According to the passage, novels expressed no strictures against marriages between Californianas and non-Hispanic merchants. Instead, the novels portrayed such marriages favorably.

D. Correct.  Non-Hispanic novelists glorified elite Californianas based on the importance of forging economic alliances with them, whereas novelists depicted other Mexicans in unflattering terms.

E. The passage indicates that elite Californianas’ lives were in fact privileged, at least in comparison to those of non-Hispanic women. It does not suggest that there was any contradiction between elite Californianas’ lives and how those lives were portrayed in novels.

The correct answer is D.

2. Which of the following could best serve as an example of the kind of fictional plot discussed by Antonia Castañeda?

A. A land speculator of English ancestry weds the daughter of a Mexican vineyard owner after the speculator has migrated to California to seek his fortune.

B. A Californian woman of Hispanic ancestry finds that her agricultural livelihood is threatened when her husband is forced to seek work in a textile mill.

C. A Mexican rancher who loses his land as a result of the Mexican-American War migrates to the northern United States and marries an immigrant schoolteacher.

D. A wealthy Californiana whose father has bequeathed her all his property contends with avaricious relatives for her inheritance.

E. A poor married couple emigrate from French Canada and gradually become wealthy as merchants in territorial California.

Application

According to the passage, Castañeda focuses on a particular plot in which an elite Californiana is pursued by a non-Hispanic merchant or trader for the purpose of gaining economic advantage.

A. Correct.  The story of a non-Hispanic land speculator wedding a Californiana who is likely, based on the inheritance rights granted her by the Hispanic law in territorial California, to inherit her father’s vineyard would precisely fit the plot that Castañeda discusses.

B. This description fails to identify the ethnicity of the Californiana’s husbandand the reason he married her, so there is no way to determine whether the story would fit Castañeda’s plot.

C. Castañeda’s plot involves a non-Hispanic male protagonist, so a Mexican rancher could not play the main male role in such a story.

D. The presence of a wealthy Californiana who inherits property might make this story seem to be an example of the fictional plot that Castañeda discusses, but there is no mention of a non-Hispanic merchant or trader who seeks her hand in marriage.

E. Simply taking place in territorial California would not make a story an appropriate example of the plot discussed by Castañeda.

The correct answer is A.

3. Which of the following, if true, would provide the most support for Castañeda’s explanation of the “stereotypical plot” mentioned in the lines 18–19?

A. Non-Hispanic traders found business more profitable in California while it was a territory than when it became a state.

B. Very few marriages between Hispanic women and non-Hispanic men in nineteenth-century territorial California have actually been documented.

C. Records from the nineteenth century indicate that some large and valuable properties were owned by elite Californianas in their own right.

D. Unmarried non-Hispanic women in the nineteenth-century United States were sometimes able to control property in their own right.

E. Most of the property in nineteenth-century territorial California was controlled by Hispanic men.

Evaluation

Castañeda explains the stereotypical plot of a non-Hispanic merchant seeking to marry an elite Californiana based on economics: these women had property and inheritance rights equal to men. Novelists based their plots on the women’s reallife economic power, which resulted in men’s wishing to build economic alliances with them. Supporting this explanation requires supporting these economic ideas in some way.

A. The profitability of non-Hispanic traders’ business is not an issue in Castañeda’s explanation; thus the change described has no significant relevance to that explanation.

B. The lack of the type of documentation described, rather than providing support for Castañeda’s explanation, signifies a deficit in documentary support for that explanation.

C. Correct.  If elite Californianas did in fact own valuable properties,Castañeda’s economic explanation gains force. The women did have the real economic significance upon which Castañeda suggests the novelists drew.

D. If it were true that some non-Hispanic women controlled property in this way, Castañeda’s explanation of Californianas’ uniqueness would be somewhat undermined.

E. If most of the property in nineteenth-century territorial California was controlled by Hispanic men, that suggests that Californianas were less likely to possess the kind of economic power described in Castañeda’s argument.

Leonaann · Answer

Could someone help to explain what role the phrase 'stereotypical plot' plays? Didn't really understand. Hence, was unable to decide which option to choose for question 2? Please advise. thanks

GMATNinja · Answer

According to the passage, Antonia Castañeda examined the portrayal of Mexican women in works of literature from the 19th century. Some of these works followed a "stereotypical plot." In other words, a bunch of novels form this time period all had the same story line.

The passage describes this stereotypical plot as "the story of an ambitious non-hispanic merchant or trader desirous of marrying an elite Californiana." An example of this plot is found in answer choice (A):

Here, the "land speculator of English ancestry" corresponds to the "ambitious non-hispanic merchant or trader." This guy migrates to California and weds "the daughter of a Mexican vineyard owner," who corresponds to the "elite Californiana" mentioned in the passage.

I hope that helps!

Priyanka1293 · Answer

In Question 1 how do you eliminate C and choose D. 
Because the marriages did exist and that could also be considered as a contradiction to the literary depiction.

GMATNinja · Answer

Question #1   asks about the "apparent contradiction" in line 29 of the passage.

Let's first look at the exact wording of (C):
 
"Strictures" in this context means criticisms or condemnations. So, according to (C), the novels discussed in the passage  criticize  marriages between Californianas and non-Hispanic merchants. The passage just does not support this view -- Californianas are portrayed in a favorable light, and nothing suggests that their marriages are condemned in any way. If anything, novels following the "stereotypical plot" mentioned in the passage  support  these kind of marriages due to "their real-life economic significance." Because the information in (C) is not supported by the passage, (C) is out.

To find evidence about the "apparent contradiction" referenced in question #1, look at this sentence from the second paragraph: 
 
The contradiction is that while most Mexicans were depicted in an "unflattering" way, Californianas were given a "favourable portrayal."

Take a look at (D):
 
This gives an accurate summary of the "apparent contradiction" in the passage -- Californianas were portrayed in a positive light, while other Mexicans were portrayed in a negative light. (D) is the correct answer to question #1.

I hope that helps!

shivarora306 · Answer

The passage talks about the "Californianas (Mexican women in California)", the option A, talks about a Mexican women, we dont have enough information on whether she is a Californiana or not. Hence, we cannot use this as an example for author's fictional plot.

Can anyone help me understand, if I missed something here?

Thanks !
Shivam

Can anyone help me understand, if I missed something here?

Thanks !
Shivam

GMATNinja · Answer

2. Which of the following could best serve as an example of the kind of fictional plot discussed by Antonia Castañeda?

Because (A) specifies that the land speculator marries the daughter of a Mexican vineyard owner  "after the speculator has migrated to California,"  we can infer that the woman is likely a Californiana.

Remember, the question asks which answer choice " could best  serve as an example" of the stereotypical plot -- which is different than asking which option is  absolutely  a novel with such a plot. The other answer choices clearly do NOT follow the stereotypical plot, so even with the slight doubt over whether the daughter in (A) is a Californiana, (A) is still the best choice.

I hope that helps!

shabuzen102 · Answer

Dear  GMATNinja ,

To be honest, this is one of the more challenging RC that I've done because there are so many plot twists/subtleties in the paragraph that require me to re-read to finally grasp them. I still have a few things I'd like to clear up that I could not find anywhere on Google:

1. What does the author mean by "economically displaced by industrialization"? Does that mean these women's wealth are being diminished because of industrialization? i.e. Usually these women would be selling milk or some agricultural products but because of industrialization, customers don't buy from them anymore and buy from big corps, making these women poor?

2. Economic position - what does it mean? Does it mean the level of wealth/ how much money these women have?

3. This sentence  "Castañeda finds that during the same period that saw non-Hispanic women being economically displaced by industrialization, Hispanic law in territorial California protected the economic position of "Californianas" (the Mexican women of the territory) by ensuring them property rights and inheritance rights equal to those of males."  basically means that these Hispanic law-maker, seeing how non-Hispanic women are getting so poor because of this industrialization trend, decided to have an upper hand and quickly wrote laws to protect their Hispanic women before industrialization finally caught up with them? Is that correct?

4. This apparent contradiction (that people have talked so much about in this thread)  "The importance of economic alliances forged through marriages with Californianas explains this apparent contradiction ."   basically means: Hispanic women were described favorably not because the U.S. don't care about supporting their troops during the war anymore - they STILL support the war. They're only being nice to these women for their economic gains since such "economic alliances forged through marriages" is important to them? (that's not very nice in my opinion but whatever). Did I interpret it correctly?

Thank you!

saby1410 · Answer

VeritasKarishma   GMATNinja 
please explain last question specially options A & C

KarishmaB · Answer

4. The primary purpose of the passage is to

Note what the passage is all about. I have removed a lot of extra info:

Antonia Castañeda has... examined 19th century literary portrayals of Mexican women... Male novelists of the period ... define women solely in their domestic roles of wife and mother. During the same period that saw  non-Hispanic women being economically displaced  by industrialization,  Hispanic law in territorial California protected the economic position of "Californianas"  (the Mexican women of the territory) by ensuring them property rights and inheritance rights equal to those of males.

Novels' favour these Californiana women which is noteworthy, since Mexican-American historians have concluded that unflattering literary depictions of Mexicans were vital in ... The importance of economic alliances forged through marriages with Californianas explains this apparent contradiction. Because of their real-life economic significance, the Californianas were portrayed more favourably than were others of the same nationality.

First para explains how in 19th century a Hispanic law protected economic position of Hispanic women in California (called "Californianas") while non-Hispanic women lost economic privileges. Second paragraph tells us that this is why novels favour these "Californianas" though they usually did not favour other Mexicans. Important economic alliances were forged by marriage to these "Californianas"

A. trace historical influences on the depiction of Mexican Americans in the nineteenth century

No. The passage does not deal with how all Mexican Americans were depicted and neither does it trace multiple influences. It only explains why "Californianas" were treated favourably in novels while others were not. The passage deals with "Californianas" only.

C. describe the historical origins of a literary stereotype

Correct. It describes why novels favour "Californianas" - a literary stereotype
This is much more precise.

Answer (C)

SDW2 · Answer

Hello  GMATNinja ,
I didn't understand if the women were transitioned to factory based role then why does the passage say that their traditional agriculture based role was threatened? Isn't that transition supposed to be good for women?
Also I didnt clearly understand why would male novelists write about women in wife or mother role if women's economic role was threatened by transition to industrialization?
Lastly, I didn't understand how does economic alliances forged through marriages explain apparent contradiction. Could you please explain the same?

Other experts can also reply  VeritasKarishma   egmat

GMATNinja · Answer

The passage does not say that women transitioned from a home-based agricultural role to a factory-based industrial role. Rather, it says the economy’s transition to a factory-based industrial economy threatened the traditional economic role of women in home-based agriculture. Even if this transition ultimately benefited women (which is not indicated in the passage), the economic transition still threatened their traditional role.

Although the passage does not explain why male novelists wrote about women exclusively in their domestic roles, the last sentence of the passage indicates that they often wrote about women in those roles favorably because of their real-life economic significance.

Finally, the apparent contradiction is that elite Californianas were depicted favorably, but other Mexican individuals received unflattering depictions. The fact that Californianas held economic significance explains why they would be portrayed favorably, whereas other Mexicans without such economic significance were portrayed unflatteringly.

I hope that helps!

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 2 
 
The situation described by the author in the first paragraph is not a “plot.” The fact that “women's traditional economic role in home-based agriculture was threatened by the transition to a factory-based industrial economy” is not a plot, but rather a historical reality of “the period” under consideration. Castenada notes that during this period male novelists “define women solely in their domestic roles of wife and mother.” But that still is not a plot. It’s merely the way that the authors describe female characters, not a story or the sequence of events that would be required to constitute a plot. For that reason, we should consider the plot described in the second paragraph, and (A) is the correct answer for question 2.

I hope that helps!

egmat · Answer

Question 4: This is not an easy question by any means. There are already some solid explanations for this question on this forum. Let me try to address this, nevertheless. Hope this is helpful! Let us understand the passage (keep the passage handy to visualize this better): - AC's focus: How Mexican-American women were portrayed in 19th century literature. - Observation 1: Male novelists depicted women solely in domestic roles (wife, mother). - Context for Observation 1: This was a time when women's role in economic endeavors (say, agriculture) was threatened by industrialization. Non-Hispanic women got displaced from their roles due to industrialization. Implication: The depiction was probably a reflection of the time (women ending up solely in domestic roles, women depicted the same way). - Observation 2: At the same time, Hispanic law protected Californianas (Mexican women of the area), ensured equality with men on property rights, inheritance (in essence, these women were economically in a good position). - Think: How does the above sentence connect to what AC is doing? How does this connect to AC's study of how literature portrayed Mexican women? We do not know exactly at this point. All we know is that Hispanic women may have been in a good position at this time, the same time when Non-Hispanic women got subjugated economically to some extent. But, does this difference translate to a different depiction of Mexican women in literature? Maybe, maybe not. Let us read on to find out

- As per AC, the Hispanic laws, highlighted above indicate a literary stereotypical plot about Mexican women created by male, Non-Hispanic novelists. Now, we are back to AC's core focus: depiction of Mexican women in literature. Observation 2 seems to be setting context for us to understand the stereotype - something to do with the rich, well-off Mexican woman maybe? Let us move on. - Stereotypical plot: ambitious Non-Hispanic merchant marrying an elite Californiana (Mexican woman of the area). - Think: how is this depiction of women different from the depiction we saw in the first para -> there is a contrast here, this is a much more positive portrayal of women (the other delegated women to domestic!) - Author says: The favorable/positive portrayal is noteworthy i.e. somehow interesting. Why? Because traditional depiction of Mexican-Americans was negative. - Inherent Contradiction here: how Mexican-Americans were typically depicted in literature was negative, but these novels portray a more favorable depiction of Mexican Americans (women) - Explanation provided for the contradiction: In reality, these women had some economic significance, thanks to the laws (see how that line connects back to depiction in literature), hence Non-Hispanics forged economic alliances with them through marriage, and last but not the least, this reality is depicted in the literature as a literary stereotype. Summarizing the first para: (The historical context/history/origin which led to the stereotypical plot - Non Hispanic men marrying Californiana women due to their economic significance) - AC focused on studying the depiction of Californianas (Mexican-American women) in 19th century literature - The traditional depiction of women was purely in domestic roles (Non-Hispanics). Not economically significant, threatened by industrialization... - But Californianas, thanks to Hispanic laws were economically in a significant position. This created the basis for the stereotype! Summarizing the second para: (the explanation of the stereotypical plot - what it is, why it is noteworthy, what explains the contradiction it creates) - The above laws are indicative of a particular literary stereotypical plot in literature - Non Hispanic men marrying Californiana women due to their economic significance) - What makes this literary stereotype noteworthy - a contradiction - Explanation for the contradiction created by the stereotype The logical connect between the 2 paragraphs is simply that paragraph provides much of the historical context that led to a particular literary stereotype, and the second paragraph is an explanation of various aspects of the stereotype. Hope this explanation helps a little bit to understand why option C is correct here.

Regards, Harsha

Antonia Castañeda has utilized scholarship from womens studies and Me

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