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RC Passage
Direction for the questions 1 to 5: The passage below is accompanied by a set of five questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question. Mode of transportation affects the travel experience and thus can produce new types of travel writing and perhaps even new âidentities.â
Modes of transportation determine the types and duration of social encounters; affect the organization and passage of space and time; ... and also affect perception and knowledgeâhow and what the traveler comes to know and write about. The completion of the first U.S. transcontinental highway during the 1920s . . . for example, inaugurated a new genre of travel literature about the United Statesâ the automotive or road narrative. Such narratives highlight the experiences of mostly male protagonists âdiscovering themselvesâ on their journeys, emphasizing the independence of road travel and the value of rural folk traditions.
Travel writingâs relationship to empire buildingâ as a type of âcolonialist discourseââhas drawn the most attention from academicians.
Close connections have been observed between European (and American) political, economic, and administrative goals for the colonies and their manifestations in the cultural practice of writing travel books. Travel writersâ descriptions of foreign places have been analyzed as attempts to validate, promote, or challenge the ideologies and practices of colonial or imperial domination and expansion. Mary Louise Prattâs study of the genres and conventions of 18th- and 19th-century exploration narratives about South America and Africa (e.g., the âmonarch of all I surveyâ trope) offered ways of thinking about travel writing as embedded within relations of power between metropole and periphery, as did Edward Saidâs theories of representation and cultural imperialism. Particularly Saidâs book, Orientalism, helped scholars understand ways in which representations of people in travel texts were intimately bound up with notions of self, in this case, that the Occident defined itself through essentialist, ethnocentric, and racist representations of the Orient. Saidâs work became a model for demonstrating cultural forms of imperialism in travel texts, showing how the political, economic, or administrative fact of dominance relies on legitimating discourses such as those articulated through travel writing. . . .
Feminist geographersâ studies of travel writing challenge the masculinist history of geography by questioning who and what are relevant subjects of geographic study and, indeed, what counts as geographic knowledge itself. Such questions are worked through ideological constructs that posit men as explorers and women as travelersâor, conversely, men as travelers and women as tied to the home. Studies of Victorian women who were professional travel writers, tourists, wives of colonial administrators, and other (mostly) elite women who wrote narratives about their experiences abroad during the 19th century have been particularly revealing. From a âliberalâ feminist perspective, travel presented one means toward female liberation for middle- and upper-class Victorian women. Many studies from the 1970s onward demonstrated the ways in which womenâs gendered identities were negotiated differently âat homeâ than they were âaway,â thereby showing womenâs self-development through travel. The more recent post structural turn in studies of Victorian travel writing has focused attention on womenâs diverse and fragmented identities as they narrated their travel experiences, emphasizing womenâs sense of themselves as women in new locations, but only as they worked through their ties to nation, class, whiteness, and colonial and imperial power structures
RC Line-wise Explanation
Paragraph 1
"Mode of transportation affects the travel experience and thus can produce new types of travel writing and perhaps even new 'identities.'"
Explanation: The way people travel (car, train, foot, etc.) shapes their experiences and can lead to new forms of travel literature and self-perception.
"Modes of transportation determine the types and duration of social encounters; affect the organization and passage of space and time; ... and also affect perception and knowledgeâhow and what the traveler comes to know and write about."
Explanation: Transportation influences who travelers meet, how they experience time and space, and even the knowledge they gain and express in their writings.
"The completion of the first U.S. transcontinental highway during the 1920s . . . for example, inaugurated a new genre of travel literature about the United Statesâ the automotive or road narrative."
Explanation: The 1920s highway led to the rise of road trip stories as a new genre of American travel writing.
"Such narratives highlight the experiences of mostly male protagonists 'discovering themselves' on their journeys, emphasizing the independence of road travel and the value of rural folk traditions."
Explanation: These stories often focus on men finding themselves while traveling by car, celebrating freedom and traditional rural values.
Paragraph 2
"Travel writingâs relationship to empire buildingâ as a type of 'colonialist discourse'âhas drawn the most attention from academicians."
Explanation: Scholars are especially interested in how travel writing supported or reflected colonial ambitions.
"Close connections have been observed between European (and American) political, economic, and administrative goals for the colonies and their manifestations in the cultural practice of writing travel books."
Explanation: Travel writing often mirrored or promoted colonial goals, showing cultural alignment with imperialism.
"Travel writersâ descriptions of foreign places have been analyzed as attempts to validate, promote, or challenge the ideologies and practices of colonial or imperial domination and expansion."
Explanation: Researchers study travel descriptions as ways of supporting or questioning colonial rule.
"Mary Louise Prattâs study of the genres and conventions of 18th- and 19th-century exploration narratives about South America and Africa (e.g., the 'monarch of all I survey' trope) offered ways of thinking about travel writing as embedded within relations of power between metropole and periphery, as did Edward Saidâs theories of representation and cultural imperialism."
Explanation: Pratt and Said showed how travel writing reveals power dynamics between the imperial center and its colonies through specific literary styles and stereotypes.
"Particularly Saidâs book, Orientalism, helped scholars understand ways in which representations of people in travel texts were intimately bound up with notions of self, in this case, that the Occident defined itself through essentialist, ethnocentric, and racist representations of the Orient."
Explanation: Saidâs Orientalism argued that Western identity was built through biased and stereotypical portrayals of Eastern people.
"Saidâs work became a model for demonstrating cultural forms of imperialism in travel texts, showing how the political, economic, or administrative fact of dominance relies on legitimating discourses such as those articulated through travel writing."
Explanation: His work revealed that cultural domination often supports political power, using writing as a tool to justify imperial rule.
Paragraph 3
"Feminist geographersâ studies of travel writing challenge the masculinist history of geography by questioning who and what are relevant subjects of geographic study and, indeed, what counts as geographic knowledge itself."
Explanation: Feminist scholars critique traditional geography for focusing mainly on men and redefining what and who should be considered in geographic studies.
"Such questions are worked through ideological constructs that posit men as explorers and women as travelersâor, conversely, men as travelers and women as tied to the home."
Explanation: These debates involve stereotypes: men are seen as adventurers, while women are portrayed as domestic or passive.
"Studies of Victorian women who were professional travel writers, tourists, wives of colonial administrators, and other (mostly) elite women who wrote narratives about their experiences abroad during the 19th century have been particularly revealing."
Explanation: Research into 19th-century upper-class women who traveled and wrote about it offers valuable insights.
"From a 'liberal' feminist perspective, travel presented one means toward female liberation for middle- and upper-class Victorian women."
Explanation: Some feminists see travel as a way these women broke free from traditional roles.
"Many studies from the 1970s onward demonstrated the ways in which womenâs gendered identities were negotiated differently 'at home' than they were 'away,' thereby showing womenâs self-development through travel."
Explanation: These studies show that women often experienced and expressed their identities differently while traveling versus when at home.
"The more recent post structural turn in studies of Victorian travel writing has focused attention on womenâs diverse and fragmented identities as they narrated their travel experiences, emphasizing womenâs sense of themselves as women in new locations, but only as they worked through their ties to nation, class, whiteness, and colonial and imperial power structures."
Explanation: Newer research explores how womenâs identities were shaped by complex influences like race, class, nationality, and colonialism while they traveled.
RC Paragraph Explanation
Paragraph 1 Summary
Transportation methods shape not only how people travel but also how they perceive, experience, and write about travel. The rise of car travel in the 1920s led to a new genreâthe road narrativeâtypically portraying male self-discovery and independence.
Paragraph 2 Summary
Travel writing has deep ties to colonialism. Scholars like Pratt and Said have shown how these texts reflect imperial ideologies and power, with Western identity often formed through stereotypical representations of non-Western cultures.
Paragraph 3 Summary
Feminist scholars have challenged male-dominated perspectives in geography and travel writing. Studies of Victorian women travelers reveal how travel enabled womenâs self-exploration and identity formation, shaped by broader structures of class, race, and empire.
RC Quick Table Summary
| Paragraph Number | Main Idea |
|---|---|
| Paragraph 1 | Transportation influences travel experiences and gives rise to new genres and identities. |
| Paragraph 2 | Travel writing often reflects and supports colonial ideologies and power. |
| Paragraph 3 | Feminist geography rethinks travel writing by highlighting women's roles and identity formation through travel. |
RC Questions
Ques 1. From the passage, we can infer that feminist scholarsâ understanding of the experiences of Victorian women travellers is influenced by all of the following EXCEPT scholars':
Ques 2. American travel literature of the 1920s:
Ques 3. From the passage, it can be inferred that scholars argue that Victorian women experienced self-development through their travels because:
Ques 4. According to the passage, Saidâs book, âOrientalismâ:
Ques 5. From the passage, we can infer that travel writing is most similar to:
