Reading comp PrepTest 108 · Section 1 · Question 2

Topic: Humanities

Paragraph 1

• Paragraph note
  • An underappreciated aspect of Kahlo (the political dimension, championing Mexico's struggle for political/cultural independence)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Cause-and-effect relationship, according to the author:
    • Kahlo's disabling accident and marriage caused suffering, which she expressed through images derived from Mexican heritage (first sentence)
  • Comparison, according to the author:
    • The psychological element of her work has been extensively studied, but less attention has been paid to Kahlo's activism and desire to champion Mexican independence (second and last sentences)
  • Author's attitude: "harrowing images" (first sentence), "exhaustively psychoanalyzed" (second sentence), "less studied" (second sentence), "ardent" (last sentence), "champion" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

• Paragraph note
  • Political background of Kahlo's work (Marxism, Mexicanidad, idealized Aztec society)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Author's view on Kahlo's political background:
    • Kahlo was influenced by Marxism and Mexican Nationalism, with an emphasis on the contemporary culture of the indiginista and a reverence for the Aztecs as the last, independent, indigenous political unit (first through third sentences)
  • Definition of Mexicanidad: a kind of romantic Mexican nationalism that focused on traditional art (last sentence)
  • Cause-and-effect relationship, according to the author:
    • S. political intervention and past Spanish domination caused Mexican nationalism to grow (third sentence)
  • Comparison between Aztecs and Marxists, according to the Kahlo:
    • Aztec society was based on communal labor, a Marxist ideal (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "influenced by" (first sentence)

Paragraph 3

• Paragraph note
  • Images in Kahlo's paintings (Aztec symbols associated with creation/light representing Mexico's struggle for independence) and example (border)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Author's view on Kahlo's use of Aztec symbols:
    • Symbols associated with life coming from death and light emerging from darkness represented her personal suffering and the Mexican struggle to emerge as a nation (first and second sentences)
  • Examples of Aztec symbols: skeletons and bleeding hearts (first sentence)
  • Example of Kahlo's use of symbols:
    • Self–Portrait on the Border between Mexico and the United States, which depicts Kahlo standing on the border between U.S. and Mexico; U.S. side has industrial images (e.g., smokestacks & robots), and Mexico side has organic/ancient images (e.g., vegetation & Aztec sculpture)
  • Author's attitude: "repeatedly" (first sentence)

Paragraph 4

• Paragraph note
  • The political importance of those images and Kahlo's legacy
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Cause-and-effect relationships, according to the author:
    • The traditional style of Kahlo's paintings causes us to appreciate the clash between modern materialism and indigenous tradition (first sentence)
    • Kahlo's images are familiar and easily understood, which has caused Kahlo to become a mythic representation of Mexican nationalism to some (last sentence)
  • Comparison, according to the author:
    • The clash between modern materialism and indigenous tradition in Kahlo's paintings parallels Kahlo's belief in Mexico's simultaneous economic development and cultural conservation (first sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "readily accessible style" (last sentence); "served her goal" (last sentence)

Main Point: An important but underappreciated aspect of Frida Kahlo's art is her use of symbols to demonstrate support for certain Mexican political causes.

Paragraph 1, Sentence 2 (P1, S2): The underappreciated political aspect of Kahlo's work

P2, S2: Kahlo's Mexican nationalism

P4, S2: Kahlo's legacy

Importance of Subject: This passage utilizes an Importance of Subject Meta-Structure.* In such a structure, the author describes why a particular person, artistic work, law or legal accomplishment, scientific breakthrough, etc. was historically significant or meaningful.

In this particular passage, the author begins by introducing the painter Frida Kahlo. According to the author, the psychoanalytic dimension of Kahlo's work has been extensively studied, while the political content related to Mexico's independence and culture has gone underappreciated. According to the author, this political elements adds to the importance of Kahlo's work and contributes to her legacy as an artist.

In passages that utilize an Importance of Subject Meta-Structure, the main point will be the author's opinions on why the subject was important. Since there's not a concise summary of that opinion in the passage, we can come up with our own. Thus, the main point will be something like this: "An important but underappreciated aspect of Frida Kahlo's art is her use of symbols to demonstrate support for certain Mexican political causes."

*We wouldn't argue with you if you thought this is a Correcting the Record passage. After all, the author wants to correct the "exhaustive[]" focus on the personal aspect of Kahlo's work by providing an overview of the political dimension of her artwork.

Example: The most prominent minor Meta-Structure is the example that takes up most of the third paragraph. We can expect at least one question about some specific detail conveyed in that example or the general point that the example illustrates.

The main focus of this passage is the political dimension of Kahlo's art. The author thinks, as they say in the first paragraph, that this dimension has gone underappreciated. As we read on, the author demonstrates why this aspect of Kahlo's art is important to understanding her work as a whole. It's precisely this idea — the importance of the political messages in Kahlo's art — that allows us to identify the Importance of Subject Meta-Structure in this passage.