Reading Comprehension

PT127 · S4 · P1 · Q3 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.

3.

Which one of the following most accurately characterizes the author's attitude toward Tutuola's position in world literature?

  1. Correct

    convinced that Tutuola's works should

    Why this is right

    The last sentence of the 2nd paragraph firmly establishes that the author classifies Tutuola in the oral folktale tradition of Africa.

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

    93% picked this

  2. certain that Tutuola's works will

    Too Strong: "certain"

    Although the author might consider it plausible that Tutuola, a famous teller of folktales in the African oral tradition, might generate a renewed interest in oral traditions, nowhere in the passage is that hinted at, and we need strong textual support to pick an answer that calls the author "certain".

    1% picked this

  3. pleased at the reception that

    Opposite

    The whole purpose of the passage is to clarify a misunderstanding about how literary critics have viewed Tutuola's writing, so "pleased at how lit critics have received the works" seems like an opposite.

    1% picked this

  4. confident that the original integrity

    Trap

    Out of Scope "preserving integrity through translations" No part of the passage discusses the likelihood of Tutuola's work being distorted or preserved as it undergoes the process of translation. This also has seemingly nothing to do with his "position in world literature".

    2% picked this

  5. optimistic that Tutuola's works reflect

    Out of Scope "growing new trend"

    This is very similar choice (B). It's certainly possible that people will get excited by Tutuola and want to study oral traditions or that writers will turn this into a new trend, but the passage never speaks about either thing.

    2% picked this

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