Question 2
TrungTiger wrote:
2. Which of the following studies would proceed in a way most similar to the way in which, according to the passage. Scharf's book interprets Eleanor Roosevelt's career?
(A) An exploration of the activities of a wealthy social reformer in terms of the ideals held by the reformer
(B) A history of the leaders of a political party which explained how the conflicting aims of its individual leaders thwarted and diverted the activities of each leader
(C) An account of the legislative career of a conservative senator which showed his goals to have been derived from a national conservative movement of which the senator was a part
(D) A biography of a famous athlete which explained her high level of motivation in terms of the kind of family in which she grew up
(E) A history of the individuals who led the movement to end slavery in the United States which attributed the movement's success to the efforts of those exceptional individuals
GMATNinjaDear sir,
Reagarding question 2, I am confused for option E: "A history of the individuals who led the movement to end slavery in the United States which attributed the movement's success to the efforts of those exceptional individuals"
Why is it wrong?
exceptional individuals = a generation of privileged women. Should it mean that ER involved in the movement at a broader social context?
How does Scharf's book interpret Eleanor Roosevelt's career?
To shed some light this question, notice how the author presents Scharf's book in
contrast to Lash's. So to understand Scharf, we should probably understand Lash as well.
More specifically, notice that Lash presents Roosevelt as an "idiosyncratic figure," but NOT as a "figure comprehensible in terms of broader social developments." Scharf, by contrast, depicts Roosevelt in a "more richly detailed context" which allows her to be "intelligible in terms of this
social context."
Examining the description of Scharf's book more closely supports this idea. That is, Scharf's book presents Roosevelt as part of a "generation of privileged women." The passage goes on to describe the characteristics of this generation, and how they make Roosevelt's activities "intelligible."
So basically, where Lash presents Roosevelt WITHOUT reference to "broader social developments," Scharf presents Roosevelt in the "social context" of a "generation of privileged women."
Let's now consider (E):
Quote:
2. Which of the following studies would proceed in a way most similar to the way in which, according to the passage. Scharf's book interprets Eleanor Roosevelt's career?
(E) A history of the individuals who led the movement to end slavery in the United States which attributed the movement's success to the efforts of those exceptional individuals
Scharf describes Roosevelt (an individual) in relation to her social context. Does (E) do that?
Not really. In a way, it gets the relationship backwards. It attributes the success of a
movement to the efforts of exceptional
individuals. But Scharf is describing an individual in relation to her social context.
From another angle: the author tells us that Lash presents Roosevelt as both "idiosyncratic" and "somehow self-generated." In other words, instead of explaining her in terms of her social surroundings, Lash explains Roosevelt as unique and self-made. Scharf does just the opposite, explaining Roosevelt through the social context of a "privileged generation."
Going back to the answer choice: notice the individuals presented in (E) are described as "exceptional," which sounds more like Lash (who thought Roosevelt was "idiosyncratic") than Scharf. In other words, if you describe someone as "exceptional," that implies they are really unique, or
different from their social context, not a part of it. At the same time, although we're told the individuals in (E) belonged to a social movement, this social movement is NOT used to explain them.
For both those reasons, we can eliminate (E).
I hope that helps!
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