German theater practitioner Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) believed that theater should elicit an intellectual rather than an emotional response from audi...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
German theater practitioner Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) believed that theater should elicit an intellectual rather than an emotional response from audiences, provoking them to consider social and political realities that extend beyond the characters and events depicted onstage. Brecht's influence can be seen in English playwright Caryl Churchill's 1979 play Cloud 9: although the play sometimes invites empathetic reactions, it primarily works to engage audiences in an interrogation of patriarchy and colonialism, which it does by placing audiences at a distance, thereby encouraging them to ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
focus on the characters' beliefs about social and political issues as revealed by the characters' actions.
reflect on social and political phenomena not directly related to patriarchy and colonialism.
recognize pertinent social and political parallels between Germany during Brecht's time and England at the time when Churchill was writing Cloud 9.
be dispassionate as they think critically about the social and political questions raised by the play.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| German theater practitioner Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) believed that theater should elicit an intellectual rather than an emotional response from audiences, provoking them to consider social and political realities that extend beyond the characters and events depicted onstage. |
|
| Brecht's influence can be seen in English playwright Caryl Churchill's 1979 play Cloud 9: |
|
| although the play sometimes invites empathetic reactions, it primarily works to engage audiences in an interrogation of patriarchy and colonialism, |
|
| which it does by placing audiences at a distance, thereby encouraging them to ______ |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Brecht's philosophy of intellectual theater influenced Churchill's Cloud 9, which uses distancing techniques to encourage critical thinking about social and political issues.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- From our analysis, we know that Brecht wanted intellectual responses, not emotional ones
- Churchill's play follows this by making audiences examine social and political issues (patriarchy and colonialism) rather than just feeling for the characters
- The distance technique is meant to prevent audiences from getting too emotionally involved so they can think more clearly
focus on the characters' beliefs about social and political issues as revealed by the characters' actions.
- This focuses on characters' beliefs and actions, which contradicts the distancing purpose
- Brecht and Churchill want audiences to step back FROM characters to examine broader issues
reflect on social and political phenomena not directly related to patriarchy and colonialism.
- The passage specifically states the play examines patriarchy and colonialism
- An answer asking audiences to think about unrelated social/political issues contradicts this focus
recognize pertinent social and political parallels between Germany during Brecht's time and England at the time when Churchill was writing Cloud 9.
- The passage never mentions Germany or makes any historical comparison between countries/time periods
- This introduces completely new information not supported by the text
be dispassionate as they think critically about the social and political questions raised by the play.
- Dispassionate perfectly captures the intellectual (not emotional) response Brecht wanted
- Think critically about social and political questions directly connects to examining patriarchy and colonialism
- The distancing technique specifically aims to prevent emotional involvement so audiences can analyze objectively