The following text is from Ameen Rihani's 1921 poem 'The Wanderer.' I wander among the hills of alien lands Where...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
The following text is from Ameen Rihani's 1921 poem 'The Wanderer.'
I wander among the hills of alien lands
Where Nature her prerogative resigns
To Man; where Comfort in her shack reclines
And all the arts and sciences commands.
But in my soul
The eastern billows roll—
I hear the voices of my native strands.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined lines in the text as a whole?
It establishes that the speaker's enthusiasm about current travels conflicts with the growing urge to return home.
It illustrates the speaker's uncertainty about maintaining strong links with relatives in distant places.
It conveys the speaker's sense of feeling a pull toward home while traveling in an unfamiliar place.
It reveals that upon returning after an extended absence, the speaker longs for the way a location once felt.
Solution
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "I wander among the hills of alien lands" |
|
| "Where Nature her prerogative resigns / To Man" |
|
| "where Comfort in her shack reclines / And all the arts and sciences commands" |
|
| "But in my soul / The eastern billows roll—" |
|
| "I hear the voices of my native strands." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: While traveling in foreign, civilized lands, the speaker feels an inner spiritual pull toward his homeland.
Argument Flow: The poem establishes the speaker's physical location in unfamiliar, human-dominated territory, then contrasts this with his internal spiritual experience where he feels deeply connected to his distant homeland. The "But" creates a clear pivot from external reality to internal emotional truth.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? The function of the specific underlined lines within the overall text
What type of answer do we need? How these particular lines work within the poem's structure and meaning
Any limiting keywords? "underlined lines" limits us to just those specific lines, and "function...in the text as a whole" means we need to consider their role in the complete poem
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The underlined lines are the "But in my soul" section, which creates a clear contrast with everything before it
- While the first part describes the speaker's external environment (alien lands, human civilization), these lines shift to his internal experience
- The "eastern billows" and "native strands" both point toward his homeland
- So these lines function to show that despite being physically in a foreign place, the speaker feels emotionally and spiritually connected to home
It establishes that the speaker's enthusiasm about current travels conflicts with the growing urge to return home.
✗ Incorrect
- This suggests the speaker has "enthusiasm about current travels" but the poem doesn't show enthusiasm, just neutral description of the foreign lands
It illustrates the speaker's uncertainty about maintaining strong links with relatives in distant places.
✗ Incorrect
- This focuses on "relatives in distant places" but the underlined lines aren't about maintaining relationships with people; they're about the speaker's spiritual connection to his homeland itself
It conveys the speaker's sense of feeling a pull toward home while traveling in an unfamiliar place.
✓ Correct
- Perfectly captures the contrast structure: "pull toward home while traveling in an unfamiliar place." "Unfamiliar place" matches "alien lands" from the opening. "Pull toward home" exactly describes the "eastern billows roll" and hearing "voices of my native strands"
It reveals that upon returning after an extended absence, the speaker longs for the way a location once felt.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims the speaker has returned home, but he's still traveling. The underlined lines show him feeling connected to home while away, not experiencing disappointment after returning