CAT 2023 Slot 1 VARC Question & Solution
Passage
The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.
For early postcolonial literature, the world of the novel was often the nation. Postcolonial novels were usually [concerned with] national questions. Sometimes the whole story of the novel was taken as an allegory of the nation, whether India or Tanzania. This was important for supporting anti-colonial nationalism, but could also be limiting - land-focused and inward-looking.
My new book “Writing Ocean Worlds” explores another kind of world of the novel: not the village or nation, but the Indian Ocean world. The book describes a set of novels in which the Indian Ocean is at the centre of the story. It focuses on the novelists Amitav Ghosh, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Lindsey Collen and Joseph Conrad [who have] centred the Indian Ocean world in the majority of their novels. . . . Their work reveals a world that is outward-looking - full of movement, border-crossing and south-south interconnection. They are all very different - from colonially inclined (Conrad) to radically anti-capitalist (Collen), but together draw on and shape a wider sense of Indian Ocean space through themes, images, metaphors and language. This has the effect of remapping the world in the reader’s mind, as centred in the interconnected global south. . . .
The Indian Ocean world is a term used to describe the very long-lasting connections among the coasts of East Africa, the Arab coasts, and South and East Asia. These connections were made possible by the geography of the Indian Ocean. For much of history, travel by sea was much easier than by land, which meant that port cities very far apart were often more easily connected to each other than to much closer inland cities. Historical and archaeological evidence suggests that what we now call globalisation first appeared in the Indian Ocean. This is the interconnected oceanic world referenced and produced by the novels in my book. . . .
For their part Ghosh, Gurnah, Collen and even Conrad reference a different set of histories and geographies than the ones most commonly found in fiction in English. Those [commonly found ones] are mostly centred in Europe or the US, assume a background of Christianity and whiteness, and mention places like Paris and New York. The novels in [my] book highlight instead a largely Islamic space, feature characters of colour and centralise the ports of Malindi, Mombasa, Aden, Java and Bombay. . . . It is a densely imagined, richly sensory image of a southern cosmopolitan culture which provides for an enlarged sense of place in the world.
This remapping is particularly powerful for the representation of Africa. In the fiction, sailors and travellers are not all European. . . . African, as well as Indian and Arab characters, are traders, nakhodas (dhow ship captains), runaways, villains, missionaries and activists. This does not mean that Indian Ocean Africa is romanticised. Migration is often a matter of force; travel is portrayed as abandonment rather than adventure, freedoms are kept from women and slavery is rife. What it does mean is that the African part of the Indian Ocean world plays an active role in its long, rich history and therefore in that of the wider world.
Question 1
Which one of the following statements is not true about migration in the Indian Ocean world?
Solution:
The passage focuses on the interconnectedness within the global south in the context of the Indian Ocean world's migration networks. It emphasizes historical connections between the coasts of East Africa, the Arab coasts, and South and East Asia. The passage does not specifically highlight migration networks connecting the Indian Ocean world with the global north. Instead, it underscores the significance of geographical location, religious histories, and commercial interactions within the region, pointing to a more localized and regional perspective on migration. Therefore, Option A is not true according to the passage. Additionally, the passage mentioned the Indian Ocean as “a term used to describe the very long-lasting connections among the coasts of East Africa, the Arab coasts, and South and East Asia.” and not north and south.
Option B is correct as the passage mentions that for much of history, travel by sea in the Indian Ocean was easier than by land, emphasizing the importance of geographical location.
Option C is correct as the passage indicates that the novels in the book draw on and shape a wider sense of Indian Ocean space through themes, images, metaphors, and language, including religious and commercial aspects.
Option D is correct as the passage notes that migration is often portrayed as abandonment rather than adventure, indicating a complex and ambivalent nature of the migration experience in the Indian Ocean world.
Question 2
On the basis of the nature of the relationship between the items in each pair below, choose the odd pair out:
Solution:
Options A, C and D have the following format World/Novels : Characteristic of that particular world/novel. Option B is the odd one out as the characteristic of Border-crossing does not belong to the Postcolonial novels world.
From the passage, we can infer that the Indian Ocean novels were "outward-looking - full of movement, border-crossing and south-south interconnection". At the same time, they showcased elements of the global south like Slavery, Forced Migration etc. Hence, A and C showcase valid elements of the Indian Ocean Novels World.
On the other hand, postcolonial novels were usually [concerned with] national questions, land-focused and inward-looking. They featured anti-colonial nationalism. Hence, option D is also a valid Theme:Characteristic combination.
However, we note that Border-crossing is an element of the Indian Ocean novel world and not the Postcolonial novel world. Hence, option B is not a valid combination and thus is the odd one out.
Question 3
All of the following statements, if true, would weaken the passage’s claim about the relationship between mainstream English-language fiction and Indian Ocean novels EXCEPT:
Solution:
“For their part Ghosh, Gurnah, Collen and even Conrad reference a different set of histories and geographies than the ones most commonly found in fiction in English. Those [commonly found ones] are mostly centred in Europe or the US, assume a background of Christianity and whiteness, and mention places like Paris and New York. “
The passage argues that the novels discussed in "Writing Ocean Worlds" diverge from the common representations found in English fiction, which often center on Europe or the US, assume a background of Christianity and whiteness, and mention places like Paris and New York. If Option D were true, it would support the passage's claim rather than weaken it. Therefore, Option D is the correct answer.
Through the passage, the author claims that the Indian Ocean novels provide a more realistic picture of the Indian Ocean space, particularly in the representation of Africa. The author claims that the depiction is more authentic and free from Eurocentricity that is seen in other novels.
Option A weakens the passage by contradicting these claims and suggesting that the depiction of Africa is influenced by postcolonial nostalgia.
Option B weakens the passage by suggesting a potential bias or negative stereotyping in the portrayal of Africa in Indian Ocean novels.
Option C weakens the author's claim by disputing that there is eurocentric perspective in other novels.
Question 4
All of the following claims contribute to the “remapping” discussed by the passage,
EXCEPT:
Solution:
Option C is the correct answer because it contradicts the idea of "remapping" discussed in the passage. The passage emphasizes that the novels under consideration challenge the common representations found in English fiction, particularly those centered in the West. Option C, suggesting that cosmopolitanism originated in the West and traveled to the East through globalization, aligns with the conventional Western-centric narrative rather than the passage's argument of reshaping perspectives and centralizing the interconnected global south, particularly the Indian Ocean world, as a key space in the reimagined literary landscape.
Option A aligns with the passage's discussion of the novels focusing on the Indian Ocean world, contributing to the "remapping" beyond national concerns.
Option B aligns with the passage's emphasis on the interconnected Indian Ocean world, challenging the Eurocentric perspective on trade and commerce.
Option D supports the passage's claim that historical evidence suggests that globalization first appeared in the Indian Ocean, contributing to the "remapping" of the world's historical and geographical perspectives.