PT158.S1.P2.Q9 > Analytics

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Native American stories often feature a character called the trickster, a comic figure who has both mortal weaknesses and supernatural powers. ███

Trickster · Native American comic figure

"Trickster" · Term has been applied to the picaro of European literature

Both are heroes; live on the peripheries of society; are morally flawed

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Main Point · Applying "trickster" to picaro obscures essential differences

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Premise · Picaro satirizes society

Picaro is human. He indulges in vices which enrages society. He is authentic. He acts as foil to society to reveal its hypocrisy. Society marginalizes him because he is viewed as dangerous.

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Premise · Trickster does not satirize society

Trickster serves as moral instruction: do not behave like the trickster. Trickster is animal; lives in world of myth; flaws are the trickster's own, not the society's; is a comic figure and socially marginalized because he is fundamentally antisocial. Trickster only makes himself look bad.

Sub-Premise · Example of a trickster fable

Coyote trickster embodies a moral lesson: reaching beyond proper limits will result in negative consequences.

Passage Style

Critique or debate

Based on the author's view ██ ███ ████████ ████████ ███ ████ ███████████ ██ ███ █████████ ██ ███ ██████ ██ ████ ███████ ██ █████ ███ ██ ███ ██████████

Question Type

Analogy (RC)

The author’s main point in the passage is that applying the term “trickster” to the picaro “obscures essential differences between them.” Although the picaro does have some similarities to the trickster character from European literature, many important differences make “trickster” not the most appropriate term to use to describe picaros. Let’s look for an answer that (1) involves a term being applied to something based on similarities between that thing and other things to which that term is applied, but (2) the term obscures important differences between the thing and the other things to which that term is applied.

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This involves a term that is simply inaccurate. It’s not correct to say that a person supports an extreme view if they actually support a centrist view. This isn’t analogous, because the term “trickster” as applied to picaros is not inaccurate. It may not be appropriate, because it may be misleading, or because it obscures important differences between picaros and other figures called tricksters, but this doesn’t imply that it’s inaccurate to call picaros tricksters.

characterizing the panda ██ █ ████ █████ ██ ███████████ ████████████ ████ █ ██████ █████████████ █████ ██ ██ ██ ███████ ███████ ██ ███ ███████

This is the most analogous. “Bear” is a term applied to pandas, even though the term obscures the fact that a panda is more related to the raccoon, rather than to other bears.

77%

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This doesn’t involve a term being applied in a way that obscures differences.

classifying a species ██ ████ ████ ██ ██ █████████ ████ ██████ ████ ██ ███ ███████ ████ █████ ███ ████ ███ ██████ ███████ ███████

It’s not clear that (D) involves application of a term that obscures differences. A pine tree is called evergreen — but is the pine tree different from other evergreens? We don’t know. It’s possible there’s nothing at all unusual about classifying the pine tree as evergreen despite its needles turning brown.

10%

describing a common ████ ██ ██████████ ███████ ██ ███████████ ███████ ██████ ███████ ███ ███ ███ █████

This doesn’t involve a term being applied in a way that obscures differences.

PrepTest 158 - Section 1 - Passage 2 - Question 9

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