Hispanic-American Writers

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Reading Comprehension question.

TopicsPrimary PurposeHumanities

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Passage

Despite the great differences among the cultures from which we spring, there is a trait shared by many Hispanic-American writers: the use of a European language, Spanish, transplanted to the Western hemisphere. This fact has marked our literature profoundly and radically. We Hispanic Americans who write in Spanish have attempted from the peoples who live there. These often conflicting tactics can be described as cosmopolitanism and nativism, respectively.

The opposition between cosmopolitanism and nativism has divided the Hispanic-American literary consciousness for generations. For example, the work of one Mexican-American novelist was praised by some Hispanic-American critics for its skillful adaptation of European literary techniques but criticized for its paucity of specifically Mexican-American settings or characters. On the other hand, a characters' daily lives but faulted for its "roughness" of form and language.

Cosmopolitanism is the venturing forth into the public or mainstream culture; nativism, the return to the private or original culture. There are periods in which the outward-oriented sensibility predominates, and others in which tendencies toward self-absorption and introspection prevail. An example of the former was the rich period of the avant-garde between our history, a concern for novelty and experimentation has been followed by a return to origins.

We contemporary Hispanic-American writers who write in Spanish live somewhere between the European tradition and the reality of the Americas. Our roots may be European, but our horizon is the land and history of the Americas. This is the challenge that we confront each day: in order to appreciate the value of In this way, we attempt to reconcile the opposing tendencies of cosmopolitanism and nativism.

What this question is testing

Primary Purpose

Anticipate

This is a Primary Purpose question. Step back and ask: across all four paragraphs, what is the author doing?

The author names a tension (cosmopolitanism pulls one way, nativism pulls the other), then shows it shaping how critics review books, how history swings back and forth, and how writers live with it day to day. The author isn't refuting anyone or summarizing accomplishments — they're shining a light on a tension that defines the literature.

Goal

Look for an answer that says: this passage illuminates / explores a tension within a specific culture's literature. Common traps:

Answers that scale up from "Hispanic-American literature" to "literature in general"

Answers that frame the passage as a refutation (the author is observing, not refuting)

Answers that turn the tension into something else (politics, achievements)

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The question

21.

The primary purpose of the passage

Answer choices

Too Broad5% picked this
illustrate a general problem of literature by focusing on a particular
The passage is not framing Hispanic-American literature as an instance of a "general problem of literature." The cosmopolitanism/nativism tension is presented as specific to Hispanic-American literature — shaped by writing in a transplanted European language, the relationship to Spain, and the particular history of the Americas. (A) generalizes beyond what the author actually does.
5%
Correct89% picked this
illuminate a point of tension in a particular
Why this is right
This captures the passage exactly: the author "illuminates" — sheds light on, brings into focus — a "point of tension" (cosmopolitanism vs. nativism) in a "particular culture's literature" (Hispanic-American literature in Spanish). All four paragraphs serve that goal: P1 names the tension, P2 shows it in criticism, P3 shows it across history, P4 shows how contemporary writers live with it.
Skill tested: Primary Purpose · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.
89%
Wrong Purpose1% picked this
summarize the achievements of a particular
The passage is not a summary of achievements. The author names specific works only as illustrations of the tension (a Mexican-American novel praised for one side and faulted for the other; the avant-garde of 1918–1930). The point isn't "look at all this great work" — it's "look at this defining tension."
1%
Wrong Purpose3% picked this
provoke a discussion of the political aspect of literature by focusing on a
The passage is not about the political aspect of literature; it's about an aesthetic and cultural tension between two literary tendencies. Politics never appears as a focus — the discussion is about literary forms, styles, and how writers position themselves between European and American cultures.
3%
Wrong Purpose2% picked this
refute a prevailing assumption about the development of a particular
The author isn't refuting a prevailing assumption about how Hispanic-American literature developed. The author is describing the tension that has shaped it. There's no view set up only to be knocked down — both cosmopolitanism and nativism are presented as legitimate strands the author treats with respect.
2%

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