PrepTest 108

[lcid:3528] Prep Test 108 LSAT — Reading Comp — S1 Reading comp

Passage

Questions 1-8  .        Painter Frida Kahlo (1910–1954) often used  . harrowing images derived from her Mexican heritage  . to Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

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.

Key Lines?

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

Meta-Structure?

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.

Last Thoughts?

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.

Question prompt

With which one of Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: B

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Humanities

Strategy Overview

Consult your notes or passage to recall the author's attitude about the topic in question, and find the answer that best reflects your understanding of the author's opinion on that topic

Answer Anticipation

This question asks us to find the answer choice about psychoanalytic and political interpretations of Kahlo's work that the author would most likely agree with. We can review our notes and what we highlighted/underlined to determine where the discussion of this topic takes place. Once we locate the relevant parts of the passage, we can review those to anticipate what the correct answer might say.Looking at our notes, we'll notice the author mentions the political interpretation of Kahlo's work as an "underappreciated aspect" in the first paragraph. Reviewing that paragraph, we can see that there have been many psychoanalytic investigations of Kahlo's work but few political ones. Specifically, the author uses the phrase "exhaustively psychoanalyzed" (P1, S2). The use of that phrase (as opposed to a more complimentary phrase like "discussed thoroughly" and "comprehensively studied") suggests the author thinks the psychoanalytic interpretations are a little overdone. But the author also notes that Kahlo sought to both "explore her own roots" and also "champion Mexico's struggle for an independent political and cultural identity" (P1, S3). So, the author thinks both interpretations are valid ways to appreciate Kahlo's work.We should also consider the author's main point when assessing each answer choice. After all, the author wrote the passage to prove the main point — it's the view the author holds with the most conviction, in all likelihood. The correct answer will need to be consistent with the main point. In fact, we may be able to eliminate one or more answer choices because they conflict with the main point.Now, let's head into the answer choices and try to find one that lines up with what we reviewed in the passage and the author's main point.

Answer choices

  1. A
    The psychoanalytic interpretations of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Does this seem consistent with the author's views, based on our review of the first paragraph and the main point?

    No — quite the opposite. The author implies that both approaches are valid responses to Kahlo's work (P1, S3), so the author doesn't suggest that the that these two types of interpretation are, in any way, contradictory. We can cross off (A).

  2. B
    Political and psychoanalytic interpretations Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem

    (B) Does this seem consistent with the author's views, based on our review of the first paragraph and the main point? 

    Yes! Our review revealed that both interpretations are valid ways to appreciate Kahlo's work. Since Kahlo sought to both "explore her own roots" and also "champion Mexico's struggle for an independent political and cultural identity" in her work (P1, S3), the two interpretations can reveal insight into both sides of Kahlo's work. So, the author would agree that the political and psychoanalytic interpretations are complementary. Since (B) so closely matches what we reviewed in the passage, we can select it and advance to the next question.

  3. C
    Recent political interpretations of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) Does this seem consistent with the author's views, based on our review of the first paragraph and the main point? 

    No. In fact, the author might disagree with this claim. After all, the author implies that both approaches are valid responses to Kahlo's work (P1, S3). So it seems doubtful that the psychoanalytic critics would have to revise their arguments in light of the political interpretations. We can elimiante (C) for this reason.

  4. D
    Unlike the political interpretations, Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Does this seem consistent with the author's views, based on our review of the first paragraph and the main point?

    No. The political interpretations still utilize the biographical fact that Kahlo lived in an era of revived Mexican nationalism. (D) is out.

  5. E
    Kahlo's mythic status among Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) Does this seem consistent with the author's views, based on our review of the first paragraph and the main point?

    Nope. We didn't review anything about Kahlo's "mythic status" in the first paragraph. So, we don't have any reason to select (A).

    If we needed to review the passage to eliminate (E), we'd see that the last paragraph tells us that Kahlo's popularity was assisted by the accessibility of her style (P4, S2), but that's not a distinctly psychoanalytical or political element. (E) is out.

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