The following text is adapted from Frederick Douglass's 1845 narrative. "Slavery aimed to crush the human spirit, but education proved...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
The following text is adapted from Frederick Douglass's 1845 narrative. "Slavery aimed to crush the human spirit, but education proved to be liberation itself. Knowledge would illuminate the path to freedom, though slaveholders worked tirelessly to suppress any learning among the enslaved population."
As used in the text, what does the word "suppress" most nearly mean?
Assume
Prevent
Express
Compress
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Slavery aimed to crush the human spirit, but education proved to be liberation itself." |
|
| "Knowledge would illuminate the path to freedom, though slaveholders worked tirelessly to suppress any learning among the enslaved population." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Education and knowledge represented the path to freedom that directly opposed slavery's attempt to crush the human spirit.
Argument Flow: Douglass establishes slavery's dehumanizing aim, then contrasts it with education's liberating power. He explains that knowledge specifically creates the pathway to freedom, which is exactly why slaveholders worked so hard to prevent enslaved people from learning.
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 see that slaveholders "worked tirelessly to suppress any learning among the enslaved population."
- The context shows opposition between knowledge leading to freedom and slaveholders' efforts.
- So "suppress" here means to actively work against, stop, or prevent something from happening.
- The right answer should capture the idea of stopping, blocking, or preventing learning from occurring.
Assume
- "Assume" means to take something for granted or suppose something is true
- This doesn't fit the context where slaveholders are actively working against learning
Prevent
- "Prevent" means to stop something from happening or keep it from occurring
- This perfectly matches the context where slaveholders actively worked to stop learning
Express
- "Express" means to communicate or show something
- This is the opposite of what's happening - slaveholders aren't expressing learning, they're stopping it
Compress
- "Compress" means to squeeze or press together to make smaller
- While it sounds similar to "suppress," it doesn't fit the context of stopping learning