Reading Comprehension

PT125 · S1 · P3 · Q18 Aida Overton Walker

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Aida Overton Walker (1880-1914), one of the most widely acclaimed African American performers of the early twentieth century, was known largely for popularizing a dance form known as the cakewalk through her choreographing, performance, and teaching of the dance.

Topic

Aida Overton Walker and the evolution and popularization of the cakewalk dance

Framework

Highlight Noteworthy

Main Point

Aida Overton Walker’s ability to adapt the cakewalk’s highly layered, parody-rich roots to fit the tastes of diverse audiences allowed her to popularize it and bridge the racial divide in early 20th-century America. ( — start of P4)

P1: Origins and African Roots of the Cakewalk

This paragraph introduces Aida Overton Walker and explains how the cakewalk dance originated within enslaved African American communities, drawing on African dance traditions that featured improvisation and certain movement styles.

P2: Blending and Satire—African Meets European Influence

Here, we learn that the cakewalk picked up elements from European dances but did so in a satirical way—mocking the dances and manners of slave owners. Ironically, these European-influenced features helped the cakewalk become popular among white Americans, and then whites later parodied the cakewalk itself.

P3: Cakewalk’s Multi-layered Evolution and Mass Appeal

The paragraph discusses how the layered, ever-evolving nature of the cakewalk (including all the parody elements) made it especially appealing during a time of major social changes in the U.S. Art that could be “many things to many people” had the best shot at popularity.

18.

The passage most strongly suggests that the author would be likely to agree with which one of the following statements about Walker's significance in the history of the cakewalk?

  1. Correct

    Walker broadened the cakewalk's appeal

    Why this is right

    This is tough. We can support the idea that Walker broadened the appeal, because Walker is famous for popularizing the dance. To popularize something means to broaden its popularity / appeal. This answer makes a causal claim, that she popularized it by highlighting stuff already there. The first sentence of the 4th paragraph is making a causal claim: Walker's remarkable success at popularizing rested on her ability to address varying demands. As she addressed the various demands, was she appealing to elements "already present in the dance"? Yeah. She won over the first audience by "emphasizing the cakewalk's fundamental grace". And she won over the second audience by selling her version as "the most authentic" version. Stuff that is 'fundamental' was already there. If her version is the 'most authentic', then it's drawing on whatever is considered the truest past tradition.

    Skill tested: Author Opinion · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    41% picked this

  2. Walker's version of the cakewalk

    Unsupported Causal Claim

    The first sentence of the 4th paragraph gives us a different causal difference-maker for why Walker's version of the cakewalk appealed to bigger audiences: it rested on her ability to address various demands We do learn that one of her audiences demanded the most authentic version, and since the original dance did have satiric dimensions to it, it's probably fair to say that some of that satiric stuff was preserved. But that's just how Walker won over one segment of her audience. The way that her version appealed to larger audiences is explicitly identified as her ability to appeal to other segments of the population as well.

    7% picked this

  3. Walker popularized the cakewalk by

    Unsupported: various interpretations of it

    This answer is very tempting because the last paragraph gives off this vibe off Walker customizing the cakewalk to different audiences. But she wasn't creating new versions for each crowd. She was just telling them different stuff / emphasizing different stuff about one, singular version. The way we know this is that there are multiple references to Walker's version (singular) of the dance. The first sentence of the 4th paragraph says: "her interpretation of it" The last sentence of the 4th paragraph says: "her version of the cakewalk"

    43% picked this

  4. Walker added a "mimetic vertigo"

    Unsupported Word Salad

    This is just grabbing the memorable phrase "mimetic vertigo" from an irrelevant part of the passage (early 3rd paragraph), and using that to write a brand new idea that was never talked about. The 2nd and 3rd paragraphs weren't about Walker. We were never told she added a "mimetic vertigo". If anything, since Walker's version was the most authentic, she was not doing some postmodern,, layered, self-referential crap. She was doing the original, untainted pure junx.

    2% picked this

  5. Walker revitalized the cakewalk by

    Unsupported Causal Claim

    The first sentence of the 4th paragraph gives us a different causal difference-maker for why Walker's version of the cakewalk appealed to bigger audiences: it rested on her ability to address various demands The three specific details we're given for what means are these: - emphasized grace - presented "most authentic" version - helped newly rich feel flashy None of those are a mix for "disentangling the mix of African / European".

    6% picked this

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