Comprehension
The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.
For early postcolonial literature, the world of the novel was often the nation. Postcolonial novels were usually [concerned with] national questions. Sometimes the whole story of the novel was taken as an allegory of the nation, whether India or Tanzania. This was important for supporting anti-colonial nationalism, but could also be limiting - land-focused and inward looking.
My new book "Writing Ocean Worlds" explores another kind of world of the novel: not the village or nation, but the Indian Ocean world. The book describes a set of novels in which the Indian Ocean is at the centre of the story. It focuses on the novelists Amitav Ghosh, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Lindsey Collen and Joseph Conrad [who have] centred the Indian Ocean world in the majority of their novels. . . Their work reveals a world that is outward-looking full of movement, border-crossing and south-south interconnection. They are all very different - from colonially inclined (Conrad) to radically anti-capitalist (Collen), but together draw on and shape a wider sense of Indian Ocean space through themes, images, metaphors and language. This has the effect of remapping the world in the reader's mind, as centred in the interconnected global south. ... The Indian Ocean world is a term used to describe the very long-lasting connections among the coasts of East Africa, the Arab coasts, and South and East Asia.
These connections were made possible by the geography of the Indian Ocean. For much of history, travel by sea was much easier than by land, which meant that port cities very far apart were often more easily connected to each other than to much closer inland cities. Historical and archaeological evidence suggests that what we now call globalisation first appeared in the Indian Ocean. This is the interconnected oceanic world referenced and produced by the novels in my book. For their part Ghosh, Gurnah, Collen and even Conrad reference a different set of histories and geographies than the ones most commonly found in fiction in English. Those [commonly found ones] are mostly centred in Europe or the US, assume a background of Christianity and whiteness, and mention places like Paris and New York. The novels in [my] book highlight instead a largely Islamic space, feature characters of colour and centralise the ports of Malindi, Mombasa, Aden, Java and Bombay. . . . It is a densely imagined, richly sensory image of a southern cosmopolitan culture which provides for an enlarged sense of place in the world.
This remapping is particularly powerful for the representation of Africa. In the fiction, sailors and travellers are not all European. . . African, as well as Indian and Arab characters, are traders, nakhodas (dhow ship captains), runaways, villains, missionaries and activists. This does not mean that Indian Ocean Africa is romanticised. Migration is often a matter of force; travel is portrayed as abandonment rather than adventure, freedoms are kept from women and slavery is rife. What it does mean is that the African part of the Indian Ocean world plays an active role in its long, rich history and therefore in that of the wider world.
For early postcolonial literature, the world of the novel was often the nation. Postcolonial novels were usually [concerned with] national questions. Sometimes the whole story of the novel was taken as an allegory of the nation, whether India or Tanzania. This was important for supporting anti-colonial nationalism, but could also be limiting - land-focused and inward looking.
My new book "Writing Ocean Worlds" explores another kind of world of the novel: not the village or nation, but the Indian Ocean world. The book describes a set of novels in which the Indian Ocean is at the centre of the story. It focuses on the novelists Amitav Ghosh, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Lindsey Collen and Joseph Conrad [who have] centred the Indian Ocean world in the majority of their novels. . . Their work reveals a world that is outward-looking full of movement, border-crossing and south-south interconnection. They are all very different - from colonially inclined (Conrad) to radically anti-capitalist (Collen), but together draw on and shape a wider sense of Indian Ocean space through themes, images, metaphors and language. This has the effect of remapping the world in the reader's mind, as centred in the interconnected global south. ... The Indian Ocean world is a term used to describe the very long-lasting connections among the coasts of East Africa, the Arab coasts, and South and East Asia.
These connections were made possible by the geography of the Indian Ocean. For much of history, travel by sea was much easier than by land, which meant that port cities very far apart were often more easily connected to each other than to much closer inland cities. Historical and archaeological evidence suggests that what we now call globalisation first appeared in the Indian Ocean. This is the interconnected oceanic world referenced and produced by the novels in my book. For their part Ghosh, Gurnah, Collen and even Conrad reference a different set of histories and geographies than the ones most commonly found in fiction in English. Those [commonly found ones] are mostly centred in Europe or the US, assume a background of Christianity and whiteness, and mention places like Paris and New York. The novels in [my] book highlight instead a largely Islamic space, feature characters of colour and centralise the ports of Malindi, Mombasa, Aden, Java and Bombay. . . . It is a densely imagined, richly sensory image of a southern cosmopolitan culture which provides for an enlarged sense of place in the world.
This remapping is particularly powerful for the representation of Africa. In the fiction, sailors and travellers are not all European. . . African, as well as Indian and Arab characters, are traders, nakhodas (dhow ship captains), runaways, villains, missionaries and activists. This does not mean that Indian Ocean Africa is romanticised. Migration is often a matter of force; travel is portrayed as abandonment rather than adventure, freedoms are kept from women and slavery is rife. What it does mean is that the African part of the Indian Ocean world plays an active role in its long, rich history and therefore in that of the wider world.
Question: 1
On the basis of the nature of the relationship between the items in each pair below, choose the odd pair out:
On the basis of the nature of the relationship between the items in each pair below, choose the odd pair out:
Updated On: Aug 16, 2024
- Postcolonial novels : Anti-colonial nationalism
- Indian Ocean novels : Outward-looking
- Indian Ocean world : Slavery
postcolonial novels : Border-crossing
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The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
The format for options B, C, and A is as follows: World/Novels Typical of that specific universe/book. Because border-crossing is not a feature of postcolonial fiction, Option D stands out from the rest.
The sentence suggests that the books of Indian Ocean were "full of movement, border-crossing and south-south interconnection" and were "outward-looking." They also highlighted aspects of the global south, such as forced migration and slavery. As a result, A and C present relevant aspects of the Indian Ocean Novels World.
On the other hand, postcolonial novels were usually land-focused, inward-looking, and [concerning] national issues. They had nationalism against colonialism. Because of this, choice A is thus an appropriate Theme:Characteristic pairing.
It should be noted, nevertheless, that border-crossing is a feature of the Indian Ocean fiction universe rather than the Postcolonial one. Option B is the odd one out because it isn't a valid combination.
Therefore, the odd pair is option (D): postcolonial novels: Border-crossing.
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Question: 2
All of the following statements, if true, would weaken the passage's claim about the relationship between mainstream English-language fiction and Indian Ocean novels EXCEPT:
All of the following statements, if true, would weaken the passage's claim about the relationship between mainstream English-language fiction and Indian Ocean novels EXCEPT:
Updated On: Aug 16, 2024
- the depiction of Africa in most Indian Ocean novels is driven by a postcolonial nostalgia for an idyllic past.
- most mainstream English-language novels have historically privileged the Christian, white, male experience of travel and adventure.
- the depiction of Africa in most Indian Ocean novels is driven by an Orientalist imagination of its cultural crudeness.
- very few mainstream English-language novels have historically been set in American and European metropolitan centres.
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The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
The statement states that books from the Indian Ocean and mainstream English-language fiction are distinct from one another and take place in distinct universes.
If true, Option B supports the passage's assertion. If accurate, none of the other statements strengthen the passage's argument.
If the Orientalist perception of Africa's cultural coarseness drives the majority of Indian Ocean novels' depictions of the continent, then these works of fiction would be identical to mainstream English-language literature. If accurate, option C thereby undermines the passage's assertion.
According to the text, American and European metropolitan centers have historically served as the backdrop for the majority of mainstream English-language books. If accurate, Option D undermines the passage's assertion.
The passage claims that the portrayal of Africa in the Indian Ocean novels is not idealized. And if Option A is accurate,
Therefore, the correct option is (B): most mainstream English-language novels have historically privileged the Christian, white, male experience of travel and adventure.
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Question: 3
Which one of the following statements is not true about migration in the Indian Ocean world?
Which one of the following statements is not true about migration in the Indian Ocean world?
Updated On: Aug 16, 2024
- The Indian Ocean world's migration networks were shaped by religious and commercial histories of the region.
- Migration in the Indian Ocean world was an ambivalent experience
- Geographical location rather than geographical proximity determined the choice of destination for migrants.
- The Indian Ocean world's migration networks connected the global north with the global south.
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The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
The chapter makes no mention of or suggests anything about the migration networks that linked the global north and south over the Indian Ocean region. It is not true that Option D.
Option C is accurate.Because it was easier to travel by sea than by land for a large portion of history, port cities located far apart were frequently more easily connected to one another than they were to much closer interior communities.
Also true is option A. As stated in the paragraph, the Indian Ocean world makes reference to a distinct set of histories and geographical areas than those seen most frequently in English-language fiction, which 'assume a background of Christianity and whiteness, and cite places like Paris and New York'. A predominantly Islamic space can be found in the networked cities of the global south.
Option D is accurate as well. "Migration is often a matter of force; travel is portrayed as abandonment rather than adventure, freedoms are kept from women, and slavery is rife," the paragraph says in reference to migration in the Indian Ocean region.
Therefore, decision D is the right response.
Option C is accurate.Because it was easier to travel by sea than by land for a large portion of history, port cities located far apart were frequently more easily connected to one another than they were to much closer interior communities.
Also true is option A. As stated in the paragraph, the Indian Ocean world makes reference to a distinct set of histories and geographical areas than those seen most frequently in English-language fiction, which 'assume a background of Christianity and whiteness, and cite places like Paris and New York'. A predominantly Islamic space can be found in the networked cities of the global south.
Option D is accurate as well. "Migration is often a matter of force; travel is portrayed as abandonment rather than adventure, freedoms are kept from women, and slavery is rife," the paragraph says in reference to migration in the Indian Ocean region.
Therefore, decision D is the right response.
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Question: 4
All of the following claims contribute to the "remapping" discussed by the passage, EXCEPT:
All of the following claims contribute to the "remapping" discussed by the passage, EXCEPT:
Updated On: Aug 16, 2024
- the global south, as opposed to the global north, was the first centre of globalisation.
- cosmopolitanism originated in the West and travelled to the East through globalisation
- Indian Ocean novels have gone beyond the specifics of national concerns to explore rich regional pasts
- the world of early international trade and commerce was not the sole domain of white Europeans
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The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
The passage refers to the "Indian Ocean world" as the interconnected oceanic region of the global south, which includes East Africa, the coasts of the Arab world, South and East Asia, and other regions. These linkages are long-lasting and are made possible by maritime traffic in the Indian Ocean. According to the passage, white Europeans were not the only ones involved in early international trade and commerce; the global south was also the first hub of globalization ("historical and archaeological evidence suggests that what we now call globalisation first appeared in the Indian Ocean") and "Those [commonly found ones] are mostly centered in Europe or the US, assume a background of Christianity and whiteness, and mention places like Paris and New York."
Instead, a basically Islamic space is highlighted in the novels in [my] book. Thus, choices A, C, and D are accurate.
The verse says the opposite of what Option B says.
Instead, a basically Islamic space is highlighted in the novels in [my] book. Thus, choices A, C, and D are accurate.
The verse says the opposite of what Option B says.
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