Reading Comprehension

PT127 · S4 · P1 · Q1 Amos Tutuola

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With his first published works in the 1950s, Amos Tutuola became the first Nigerian writer to receive wide international recognition.

Central Topic / Purpose

Nigerian writer Amos Tutuola / Clarify a Misconception (Challenge Position)

Main Point

Some of Tutuola's critics think he was a novelist who was ripping off and retelling local tales, but in reality Tutuola was more of a teller of folktales than a novelist.

Passage Map

P1: Intro to Tutuola / Misconception -- He was the first famous Nigerian writer. Lots of critics praised him, but other critics thought he wrote very derivative, unoriginal novels. P2: Author's Clarification -- He's not writing novels. We should approach him as a folktalist in the African oral tradition. P3: Background on African oral folktale tradition -- you tell familiar stories with a personal twist. P4: Relating Tutuola back to African oral folktale -- examples of Tutuola doin' folktale stuff.

Other Commentary

Most Humanities passages will either defend an artist against criticism (often with a "these critics just don't get it" feel, like Clarify Misconception) or they will simply present an informative summary of that artist / art movement (in which case the Purpose is just to Highlight Something Noteworthy) .

The main point/purpose of this passage is foreshadowed in the most common spot: right after a "but/yet/however/recently" pivot, at the end of the first paragraph.

1.

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

  1. Amos Tutuola is an internationally

    Wrong Emphasis First Sentence Trap

    This answer is pretty close. "Unique" is a strong word that doesn't have a good match in the passage, but it's also such a common thing to say about artists that I wouldn't consider it a deal breaker. Mainly this comes down to emphasis -- the author never made a big deal out of the blend of the three languages, so elevating that to the Main Point doesn't work as well as the correct answer. Our author spent a couple paragraphs telling us about how the African folktale tradition works and how Tutuola's writing adheres to that tradition, so we'd expect more of a tilt towards that discussion. This answer choice uses a lot of language from the first two sentences. Usually, the first two sentences establish some context, but the main point doesn't come until later (most often, the end of the first or beginning of the second paragraph),

    4% picked this

  2. Correct

    Amos Tutuola's literary works should

    Why this is right

    This speaks more to the Clarify Misconception arc of the whole passage. It also uses the word "unique", which they are probably justifying with the early quote we hear that he was praised for "fresh, inventive approaches".

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

    92% picked this

  3. Amos Tutuola is an important

    Wrong Emphasis Not a Novelist

    The passage makes it seem like Tutuola is an important author because he was the first Nigerian writer to receive wide global acclaim. And it would be weird to say that he received acclaim for incorporating an oral tradition into his novels, when half the critics didn't realize he was writing in an oral tradition (they thought he was writing derivative novels). Most importantly, the author does not think of Tutuola as a novelist, so she wouldn't accept her main point being that "Tutuola incorporates ___ into his novels."

    2% picked this

  4. Critics are divided as to

    Misses The Author

    This sounds like a detached description of the debate, but this passage had an author who had a very strong, vocal opinion on the debate. The main point of her passage isn't to summarize that a debate is being had, but rather to announce her side of the debate (he's writing folktales, yo!)

    2% picked this

  5. The folktale is a valuable

    Too Strong: "singular expression" Wrong Emphasis

    This answer puts African folktales at the center and make Tutuola more of a supporting character. The author's main objective is to clarify that we should be evaluating Tutuola as a folktale writer, not a novelist. Meanwhile, this answer makes it sound like the author wants to say that Tutuola is the best folktale writer? The truest? I'm not sure how we interpret the strong sounding idea of "singular expression" but it sounds overly congratulatory. The author isn't crowning Tutuola king of folktales, she's just clarifying that we shouldn't be judging his works as though they're novels.

    1% picked this

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