AP Lang Multiple Choice Prep

The passage is most likely excerpted from which of the following?

• A Lakota folk tale that encourages youth to emulate an important elder

• A cultural analysis that reveals the mythology of Lakota warrior society

• A Lakota author's account of his ancestral culture's history and values

• An attempt to reconcile the different values expressed in Lakota society

• An instructional guide that teaches readers the Lakota path to humility

Answer explanation

The passage presents a series of historical facts and cultural observations in ways that suggest that the context and purpose of the passage are a modern-day Lakota author offering an account of his ancestral culture’s history and values. In the final sentence of the fourth paragraph, the use of the expression “we Lakota” indicates that the author is himself a Lakota. Toward the middle of the fourth paragraph, the author indicates that the passage discusses significant events involving the Lakota that occurred during the 1870s. The passage itself was published early in the twenty-first century, so these events are elements of his ancestral culture’s history. The final phrase of the fourth paragraph stresses the importance of a particular Lakota cultural value by indicating that the Lakota warrior Crazy Horse is remembered by the Lakota for his humility rather than his accomplishments on the battlefield. Thus, it is likely that the passage is excerpted from a Lakota author’s account of his ancestral culture’s history and values.

Which of the following statements best summarizes the main claim about Crazy Horse's cultural legacy that is developed in the passage?

• He exemplifies the Lakota culture's devotion to truth

• He embodies the virtue of humility in Lakota Society

• He symbolizes the fate of Lakota warriors who fail at waktoglaka

• He epitomizes the Lakota warrior who enhances his status by telling stories

• He typifies the Lakota warrior who is overly concerned with appearances

Answer explanation

The author’s main claim about Crazy Horse’s cultural legacy is that he embodied the virtue of humility in Lakota society. The author expresses this claim by introducing Crazy Horse in the final sentence of the third paragraph as “one of the most humble of all Lakota” and by asserting in the final sentence of the fourth paragraph that the Lakota remember him primarily for his humility rather than his accomplishments. He develops a line of reasoning to justify the claim over the course of the fourth through seventh paragraphs by alternating accounts of Crazy Horse’s numerous accomplishments with anecdotes about the extreme nature of his humility, such as his never participating in the waktoglaka ceremony (paragraph 6, final sentence) and his plain dress (paragraph 7).

According to the fourth paragraph, the battles of June 1876 established Crazy Horse's reputation for which of the following?

• Denunciation of his people's praise

• Commitment to telling only true war stories

• Generosity of his enemies as well as his friends

• Shyness about ceremonial displays

• Leadership skill on the battlefield

Answer explanation

In the fourth paragraph, the author describes two significant battles that took place in June 1876 in which Crazy Horse played a leadership role for the victorious side. The author offers commentary on these successes, such as terming them “larger-than-life achievements” in the final sentence of the fourth paragraph, to establish a logical relationship between the factual evidence he presents and the claim it supports that these battles established Crazy Horse’s reputation for leadership skill on the battlefield.

Which of the following best describes how the author represents "western American history, written by Euro-Americans" (paragraph 4, sentence 4)?

• He rejects it as a false and biased account of the Lakota people

• He acknowledges it while suggesting Lakota stories offer a different perspective

• He reveres it for its precise methodology and its adherence to objective truth

• He denounces it as an attempt to excuse the ineptitude of Crook and Custer

• He ignores it in order to present the Lakota people's more comprehensive account

Answer explanation

In the fourth paragraph, the author acknowledges western American history as written by Euro-Americans by offering no objections to the basic facts of the battles of June 1876 as presented by those histories, but he offers a different, contrasting perspective on those facts by indicating in the last sentence of the fourth paragraph that Crazy Horse is memorable to the Lakota for his humility rather than for the accomplishments on the battlefield that make him an important figure in histories written by Euro-Americans.

In his description of the United States Army’s plan “to capture and herd all the Lakota onto reservations once and for all” toward the end of the fourth paragraph, the author’s tone conveys which of the following?

• Admiration for the scope of the military's ambitions

• Disapproval of the Army’s dehumanizing treatment of the Lakota

• Awe at the Army’s sophisticated strategies and superior weaponry

• Indignation at the Army’s previous failures to follow through on the plan

• Pride in the Army’s foresight and superior managerial skills

Answer explanation

After giving a detailed and positive description of Lakota cultural values in the first three paragraphs, the author’s tone in the phrase “to capture and herd all the Lakota onto reservations once and for all” conveys disapproval of the Army’s behavior by characterizing it as dehumanizing through choices such as the use of the word “herd,” whose primary meaning relates to work with animals rather than respectful treatment of fellow human beings.

In the last sentence of the fourth paragraph, the author’s focus shifts from

• the turbulent nineteenth century to the peaceful present

• the Oglala Lakota to the other six Lakota groups

• Crazy Horse to General Crook and Lieutenant Colonel Custer

• Euro-American history to Lakota cultural memory

• Crazy Horse’s reputation among the Lakota to his place in history books

Answer explanation

In the last sentence of the fourth paragraph, the author shifts his focus from Euro-American history, in which Crazy Horse is remembered “primarily because he defeated Crook or Custer,” to Lakota cultural memory, in which he stands out for having been “a humble man.” This shift is an example of the way in which the author uses contrast to develop his ideas by examining differences between two ways in which Crazy Horse is remembered.

Sitting Bull’s example in the fifth paragraph illustrates which feature of Lakota culture?

• Lakota politicians were contemplative while Lakota warriors were men of action.

• Warrior societies offered a path of entry into political power structures.

• Athletic victories in the arena were as significant as military victories in battle.

• Different groups within the Lakota prioritized different methods of leadership.

• Age and experience are even more desirable leadership qualities than bravery to the Lakota.

Answer explanation

In the last sentence of the fifth paragraph, the author indicates that Sitting Bull’s success as a leader within a warrior society offered him a path of entry into a leadership role within Lakota political power structures. The author strategically uses this example to illustrate the point that warrior societies offered such a path and to amplify the point made in the third sentence of the fifth paragraph that in Lakota culture, success on the battlefield earned status in Lakota society at large.

In the sixth paragraph, the author uses the story of the name His Horse Stands in Sight to illustrate which of the following?

• Crazy Horse’s combination of recklessness and calculating calm

• Mounted battle tactics that came to characterize Lakota warfare

• The importance of a Lakota warrior’s skill in horseback riding

• Crazy Horse’s reputation among his people as a model of humility

• The storytelling style of a participant in the waktoglaka ceremony

Answer explanation

In the sixth paragraph, the author explains that the name His Horse Stands in Sight derived from Crazy Horse’s reckless behavior of dismounting during battle and kneeling beside his war horse but that while engaging in this behavior he demonstrated calculating calm by taking “deliberate aim at the enemy” (paragraph 6, sentence 2). Thus, it can be said that the author uses evidence strategically and purposefully to illustrate the point that the story of the name His Horse Stands in Sight demonstrates Crazy Horse’s combination of recklessness and calculating calm.

The passive constructions “he became known” (paragraph 6, sentence 2) and “he was known” (paragraph 7, sentence 2) suggest that the author holds which of the following beliefs about Crazy Horse?

• Crazy Horse did not know himself as well as his tribesmen knew him.

• Stories by his contemporaries offer a credible record of Crazy Horse’s life.

• Crazy Horse’s habits and appearance are thoroughly documented by historians.

• Common knowledge supports the author’s firsthand observations of Crazy Horse.

• Crazy Horse’s reputation and appearance are unknown to present-day readers.

Answer explanation

The author’s use of the passive voice in these two sentences without attributing the claims they make to specific observers suggests that the author believes that these claims are generally accepted and that the stories about Crazy Horse passed on by his contemporaries offer a credible record of Crazy Horse’s life.

In describing Crazy Horse as “painfully shy” near the beginning of the seventh paragraph, the author offers which of the following?

• An analysis of Crazy Horse’s refusal to tell his war stories

• A personal identification with Crazy Horse’s fear of public speaking

• An attribution of an emotional quality to explain Crazy Horse’s humble demeanor

• A derogatory assessment of Crazy Horse’s inept storytelling performance

• A charge that Crazy Horse was less brave than legend suggests

Answer explanation

In describing Crazy Horse as “painfully shy,” the author explains his reasoning by offering commentary that connects evidence chosen to demonstrate that one aspect of Crazy Horse’s humble demeanor—his never having discussed his exploits in battle at a public waktoglaka ceremony (paragraph 6, final two sentences)—can be explained by the attribution of the emotional quality of being shy