Q11

[sbrandt85]

Why can't it be inferred that the Native Soil movement was a development from the consequence of the Scar Art movement? The Scar Art movement was becoming politically stronger so th Native Soil movement developed. I don't understand why answer choice A is incorrect.

[sissixz]

Well, let me try this.

I think it's because the word "inevitable" in answer A. According to Line 48-50, you can find no standing prove for that strong word.

So that's why you cannot choose A, hope that helps.

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

That's great! Exactly right.

Though I do feel for sbrandt85. Answer choice (E) doesn't sound great. It seems so specific and tough to prove. Answer choice (A) seems holistic and clean.

But if we take a look at (lines 53-57) the meaning is clear: the Native Soil painters were reacting to the ideological rigidity fo the Cultural Revolution - expressed in answer choice (E).

(A) is too strong, see above.
(B) is unsupported. The relative levels of recognition for each movement are not mentioned.
(C) should have said in "Western galleries."
(D) is unsupported. Many details are given about Revolutionary Realism and the Native Soil movement, and yet none of those details are something that both movements share in common.

[interestedintacos]

Yes, A is much too strong. But even if A were weaker, it still wouldn't be supported. This is all based on a distorted reading of the text. Just because two things are said next to each other doesn't mean there's a connection that the text doesn't actually support.

We learn that many artists abandoned Scar Art, yet there was still a focus on rural life, which gave rise to Native Soil. There's no implied connection at all between the increased use of Scar Art for political purposes and the Native Soil movement. It's possible that the Native Soil movement would have began regardless of the weakening of Scar Art. The passage is merely saying that the two happened in the same time period (1980s)--Scar Art weakened and Native Soil rose.

(D) is unsupported. Many details are given about Revolutionary Realism and the Native Soil movement, and yet none of those details are something that both movements share in common.

There is a reason this choice is attractive. Both movements share the quality of idealizing stuff. Whereas the Scar artists emphasized realism and depicting bleak stuff, both Revolutionary Realism and the Native Soil romanticized aspects of "Chinese society." This is all explicitly supported by the text.

Nevertheless, the answer choice says it had several key elements in common--which is not the case. But it's still worth noting there is some serious value to that choice, and this is part of the reason the reading comprehension section can be difficult.

E should stand out as the winner no matter what. While the Scar artists emphasized the damage from modernization, the Native Soil artists idealized the historical peasant life. Both movements were against modernization and the rigidity of the Cultural Revolution, but expressed it in different ways.

[Nina]

i have a quick question here: in answer E, does the "Revolutionary Realism" refers to "Maoist Revolutionary Realism", which states in paragraph 1, or the "Scar Art" movement?

Thanks!

[zen]

This was a really tough question. I chose (D) but see how (E) is right if you consider that the author does not mention "several" key elements in common with Rev. Realism.

I take issue with (E) though because it doesn't seem that the Native Soil movement is in opposition to Rev. Realism. Rather, it is in opposition to the cultural revolution which caused increased modernization. I don't think cultural rev=Rev. Realism. The latter is only a movement that was intensified by the former. The Native Soil art (from what little we are given) can be inferred to be similar to Rev. Realism in that it depicts an idealized China, focusing in this case on rural Chinese life.

Just thought I would continue the discussion. Like many RC questions, correctness is in shades of grey.

[maryadkins]

Like many RC questions, correctness is in shades of grey.

Indeed. And you know how we handle that...working wrong to right. SETTLING is the key to RC, if you ask me.

[erikwoodward10]

I think another reason to eliminate D is because we aren't explicitly told that the Native Soil movement originally developed in opposition to Revolutionary Realism... If anything, we could infer that it developed out of opposition to (the politicalization of) the Scar Art movement. Ultimately Scar Art did develop out of opposition to Rev. Realism, but I don't think we can make this kind of logical inference (A-->B, B-->C, thus A-->C) like we can in LR/LG. This is a big strike against D, and as another poster pointed out, "several" is another. 2 good reasons not to choose D.

[HeatherF897]

So for this one, I was torn between B and E. To me, they both seemed wrong - B because the passage never specifically talked about recognition, only that Nature Soil was "trivialized" (comparison trap?!) and E because it says that Native Soil "stood in opposition" and the passage only ever describes Native Soil as "reacting" and not "in opposition to" (degree, maybe?). Basically, it's what Erik said above me about D, but applied to E.

A, B, and D I threw out because they seemed contradicted or like leaps that were too far.

So in considering B and E, what should my thinking be to know that E is less wrong? Or is E just plain correct in a way I'm not seeing?

[Laura Damone]

Like you, I quickly got rid of A ("inevitable"), C ("most people"), and D ("ironically" + the contradiction: those paintings had wildly different subjects).

But I also got rid of B because it's an unsupported comparison. Even though E is ugly, there is clear textual support for it in the second-to-last sentence. To "stand in opposition" to something just means to be different in some way. It doesn't imply taking a stand, as in a purposeful act of resistance, so the degree of E is actually fine. Tricky, to be sure, but not actually problematic.

Since there's no real textual support for B, we get rid of it. That's harder than eliminating the answers with red flag language, but it's every bit as necessary as you work wrong to right in RC!

Hope this helps!