The author describes the socioeconomic flux of the turn–of–the–century United States in the third paragraph primarily...

SamA on September 17, 2019

Hello @Julie-V,

The third paragraph characterizes the turn of the century in the USA as a time of rapid cultural and socioeconomic change. As you already know, this was the right environment for the cakewalk to flourish, which is why D is correct.

The reason that answer choice E is incorrect, is that the author is not talking specifically about the European adaptation of the cakewalk. Also, the layering of parody or "mimetic vertigo" is what made the dance appealing to a wide audience. The socioeconomic flux did not make the cakewalk appealing to a wide audience, but rather created an environment in which successful art had to mean different things to different people.