Anthropologist Ralph Linton, In Categorizing Native American Movements

Reading Passage Question

Anthropologist Ralph Linton, in categorizing Native American movements, classifies the Northern Plains Ghost Dance as a revivalistic-magical movement. According to Linton, a revivalistic movement creates an event, such as an apocalypse or a final judgment; for the Ghost Dancers, this event was the disappearance of their oppressors and a return to old ways and accompanying prosperity. In contrast to a rational movement, a magical movement not only relies heavily on the supernatural but also seeks to recreate the entirety of an ancestral living situation or desirable aspects thereof. The Northern Plains Ghost Dance certainly has elements of Linton's magical movement in its attempt to bring about, through dance and ritual, a near-apocalyptic end of the white man and renaissance of the Native American. However, the Ghost Dance was not completely nostalgic—many elements of the ritual, such as the inclusion of women in roles previously reserved for men, were quite new, a development unexplained in Linton's accounting.

“Anthropologist Ralph Linton, in categorizing Native American movements” - is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.
This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 3 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

1. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

(A) The author rejects Linton’s classification of the Ghost Dance as a revivalistic-magical movement.
(B) The inclusion of women in Ghost Dance roles previously reserved for men signaled a growing acceptance of women in a male-dominated society.
(C) The Ghost Dance did not succeed in its goal to bring about the renaissance of the Native American.
(D) A rational movement is one that does not depend a great deal on the paranormal.
(E) The author believed that the Ghost Dancers were naive to believe that their oppressors would magically disappear.

2. With which of the following statements regarding Ralph Linton’s work would the author most likely agree?

(A) Linton’s classification of the Ghost Dance as revivalistic is inaccurate.
(B) Linton’s classification of Native American movements fails to incorporate all elements of the Ghost Dance ritual.
(C) The various elements of the Ghost Dance ritual are appropriately categorized as magical.
(D) Linton exhibited cultural bias in assuming that the Ghost Dance relied heavily on supernatural elements.
(E) Linton did not recognize that some elements of the ritual were quite new.

3. According to the passage, all of the following are true EXCEPT:

(A) The Ghost Dancers believed that an apocalypse would lead to a return to prosperity.
(B) Some parts of the Ghost Dance rite did not rely upon a return to old customs.
(C) Linton believed that the Ghost Dance reflected a reliance upon a magical savior to recreate an ancestral living situation.
(D) One intended effect of the Ghost Dance was to rid the Native Americans of those who persecuted them.
(E) The Ghost Dancers believed that the dance would help to bring about a new beginning.

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