Reading comp PrepTest 124 · Section 4 · Question 4

Topic: Humanities

Paragraph 1

• Paragraph note
  • Two common types of Asian American poetry from Hawaii (multicultural paradise vs. familiar themes like generational conflict) and how Lum breaks from it (doesn't romanticize multiculturalism, different sensibility from mainland Asian Americans)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • List of two common types of Asian American poetry from Hawaii, according to the author:
    • Portrayal of a modern multicultural paradise (first sentence)
    • Exploration of familiar Asian American themes, like generational conflict (first sentence)
  • Comparisons, according to the author:
    • Wing Tek Lum's Expounding the Doubtful Points is different from the typical Asian American poetry from Hawaii because it does not romanticize Hawaii's multiculturalism and, while it explores some traditional themes, it doesn't sacrifice its local sensibility (second and third sentences)
    • Lum's sensibility is informed by the fact that Hawaii's population is majority Asian/Pacific Islander, making it different than the mainland U.S.'s population and distinguishing Hawaiian's experience from mainland Asian Americans (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "generally characterizable" (first sentence); "striking for its demand" (second sentence); "offers no romanticized notions" (third sentence); "does not do so at the expense of" (third sentence); "is informed" (last sentence); "somewhat different" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

• Paragraph note
  • Examples of how Lum's poems are connected and distinct from Chinese heritage (lunar new year on beach, Lip Po ode/criticism)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Examples of how Lum's poems are connected and distinct from Chinese history, according to the author:
    • Chinese lunar celebration on the beach: Connects to past through immigrants but emphasizes the importance of "new family" in Hawaii (first and third sentences)
    • Ode to Li Po: Places Lum's work in literary tradition, but LUm has no nostalgia, pointing out Po and other's elitism (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "significant" (third sentence); "has been integral" (third sentence); "refuses" (last sentence); "often elitist tendencies" (last sentence)

Paragraph 3

• Paragraph note
  • Example of a poem that addresses how heritage and local culture form identity (figures eating form a communal pot)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Example of a poem that addresses how heritage and local culture form identity, according to the author:
    • Varied figures eating from a communal pot; doesn't have a romantic view of U.S., but acknowledges dream of U.S.; hopeful, but wary of U.S. individualism; integrate homeland traditions with new culture first through last sentences
  • Author's attitude: "further points to the complex relationships between heritage and local culture" (first sentence); "vastly disparate" (second sentence); "avoids an excessively romantic vision" (second sentence); "hopeful" (last sentence); "appears to caution" (last sentence); "healthy new sense of identity" (last sentence)

Main Point: Lum's work stands apart from other Asian American poetry from Hawaii by searching for a new identity incorporating Lum's heritage and experiences in a unique locality.

Innovative [Subject]: This passage best fits the "Innovative [Subject]" Meta-Structure. In these passages, the author describes why the subject was unique, pioneering, or disruptive. So, "[Subject]" is a placeholder for whatever the subject of the passage happens to be. The subject of this passage is the poet Wing Tek Lum, so we can think of this as an Innovative Poet passage.

In this passage, the author shows how Lum innovated from what "generally" characterizes Asian American poetry from Hawaii. While this passage is more about differences between Lum and other poets than about innovation per se, we can view it through the same lens. And in that manner, we can use the differences between his work and the general work of Asian American poets from Hawaii to define the main point, as we wrote out above.

Example: The author uses examples of Lum's poems from his volume Expounding the DoubtfulPoints to show the ways that Lum's poetry differs from the typical poetry written by Asian Americans from Hawaii. That makes the example the most prominent minor Meta-Structure in this passage. Each of these examples is just one supporting detail in the passage. But, together, they define the author's proof, so they'll be important in the questions.

The examples here do overlap a little bit, so it's going to be difficult to find the correct one when there are Minor Point or Application questions about them. Whenever one comes up in a question (or answer), let's be sure to take a second to think about which of the three poems mentioned is most likely to include the detail in question.