The attitude displayed in passage A toward blues musicians and the attitude displayed in passage B toward griots can ...

shunhe on July 16, 2020

Hi @colleen_,

Thanks for the question! So this question is asking about the attitudes displayed in passage A towards blues musicians and the attitude displayed in passage B toward griots. Now, part of this answer choice is going to be an overall feeling of the two passages, though you should also be able to find specific line references as well.

So let’s start off with passage A and what they think about the blues musicians. What are some lines that concern this? Take a look at lines 25-26, where we’re told that the blues had an “unparalleled symbolic power” (which obviously is expressed through its musicians). We’re also told in lines 34-38 that blues music reflected life dynamics that gave it powerful poetic expression, and that it captured a larger social truth. And it is the blue musicians that “honed a music of personal expression” (lines 14-15). So in other words, the author seems to deeply appreciate blues music.

So now let’s take a look at passage B and what it thinks about griots. Well, take a look at line 44, where we’re told that “griots alone specialized in the spoken word,” which suggests that they had a unique position. And griots would sing “always with great eloquence” (line 49). We also know that griots would relate histories and sing praises to sway public opinion, and were “a blend of community historian, storyteller, spokesperson, and ultimately, guardian of norms and culture” (lines 59-61). And they still had to conduct themselves in a socially appropriate way. Again, the author of passage B also seems to deeply appreciate griots and their music.

Both of these opinions are summed up in (E), where we’re told that both the authors of the passages would view blues musicians and griots respectively by having respect for the musicians’ artistry.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.