Reading Comprehension

PT149 · S2 · P4 · Q21 Charlotte Perkins Gilman

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The novelist and social theorist Charlotte Perkins Gilman, whose writings were widely read and discussed in the early twentieth century, played an important role in the debate about the theories of Charles Darwin and their application to society.

Topic

Charlotte Perkins Gilman's views on Social Darwinism and her advocacy for social change, especially regarding women's roles in society.

Framework

Challenge Position + Highlight Noteworthy

Main Point

Gilman belonged to a school of thought that believed humans, unlike other organisms, could and should consciously direct their own societal evolution, and she advocated for ethical responsibility and active efforts—especially by women—to reshape society beyond traditional, gender-based roles. (The statement that best encapsulates the main point appears at the end of paragraph 2 and beginning of paragraph 3: )

P1: Introduction to Gilman and Social Darwinism Debate

Gilman was a key figure in debates about how Darwin’s theory of evolution should apply to society. She aligned with Social Darwinists who thought social evolution could be shaped by human action, not just competition, and who believed collective human effort could direct societal progress.

P2: Gilman’s Ideology and Ethical Responsibility

Gilman believed evolutionary principles made it possible—and even ethically necessary—for humans to consciously shape social evolution by engaging in meaningful work, focusing on contributions that serve society and make use of individual talents.

P3: Gilman’s Activism and Vision for Women’s Roles

Gilman acted on her beliefs, pushing for women (and others) to break out of restrictive social roles to help reorganize society. She envisioned getting rid of strictly defined, hierarchical gender roles, arguing that past male-driven competitiveness was once useful for society’s growth, but that society’s future needed to emphasize cooperation and nurturance—traits she associated with women.

21.

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

Gilman’s activist social theory, which
Too Strong: the central
We don't have good support for claiming that Gilman contributed "the central doctrine", since that sounds like Gilman was the definitive thinker in one form of Social Darwinism. All we heard is that she "played an important role in the debate" and "identified with this latter ideological camp".
11% picked this
Although Gilman aligned herself with
Wrong Emphasis Out of Scope: rejected
The main clause of this answer is that, "Gilman rejected some of the doctrines of the activist group of Social Darwinists". That doesn't sound anywhere close to, "Gilman played an important role in the debate about Darwin, emphasizing an ethical responsibility to do good work and reorganize society in a way that restores male/female balance". We also don't have any support for the idea that she rejected some doctrines of this activist group.
3% picked this
Unlike most Social Darwinists of
Too Strong
Too Strong: most Social Darwinists Wrong Emphasis: transcending abstract concerns Nothing in the passage generalizes about most Social Darwinists, so we don't really have any support for that part of this answer. The main clause of this answer is that, "Gilman saw the issues involved in Social Darwinist debate as transcending abstract theoretical concepts and having important implications for society". That is definitely true, because Gilman "wasn't just engaged in debate / she felt a moral imperative to DO stuff about this!". But this answer claims that "most SD's of the time did not see the issues that way. They thought it was merely an abstract debate without important implications." We don't have any support for that idea. Even if we fixed that unsupported part, this answer would still lose to the correct one. If the author could only convey one sentence to us, would he rather convey "Gilman thought this was more than just debate; there were important implications" or convey "Gilman thought that Darwin's evolutionary theory implied _______ ." This answer alludes to the idea that she had some takeaways from evolutionary theory, whereas the correct answer actually NAMES those takeaways.
8% picked this
Correct
Gilman’s version of Social Darwinism
Why this is right
This is not a super lovable correct answer because (like a lot of Main Point correct answers), it feels a bit narrow. This doesn't comment on her important role in the general debate about how Darwin's theories apply to society. But it effectively summarizes some big ideas inherent in the writing she contributed to this debate. Towards the end of the 2nd paragraph, we get the first distillation of her message: [she thought contributing consciously to the evolutionary process] was not just descriptively true but an ethically responsibility. That's how we support "people can and should contribute actively to evolution". In the 3rd and 4th sentences of the final paragraph we get support for "advised women to do so through efforts to eliminate traditional gender roles": In both her fiction and her social theory she urges women to further social evolution by collectively working toward a remake of society, with a central goal of abandoning gender-specific work roles and hierarchical relationships. Overall, we might think of this correct answer as simply "best available" and not particularly satisfying.
Skill tested: Main Point · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.
75% picked this
Gilman, whose important contributions to
Out of Scope: her other writings
This passage is concerned with Gilman's Social Darwinist writings, which all fall under the category of "important contributions to the debate over the application of Darwinism to social ideology". Those writings addressed women's social issues. This answer is making it seem like there's this whole other set of writings that have been under-appreciated. There's nothing like that in the passage. The passage is about the impact her writings had on the debate over Darwin.
3% picked this

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