Use Inference and Extrapolation to Answer Questions about a Text
CORRUPTION. (1991). In The Reader’s Companion to American History. Retrieved from Credo Reference Database.
Corruption nourished by these changes permeated the executive and legislative branches of the federal government throughout the nineteenth century, peaking in the scandals that rocked the Grant administration in the mid-1870s. What most aroused concern, though, was corruption identified with municipal and state governments—focal points of business pressure for concessions and privileges, and nurseries of the great nineteenth-century political machines. Its characteristic form, pioneered by New York’s Tammany Hall, was a web of understandings between party leaders, officeholders, and businessmen willing to cut corners. In return for getting out the vote, the machine received exclusive control of government appointments and programs—the spoils of office. Its placemen returned a fixed percentage of their salaries to the organization, along with a cut of whatever bribes, kickbacks, and the like they could devise. The resulting stream of “boodle” (a lush new vocabulary of corruption was being created, too) then passed down to county and district leaders, ward heelers, and precinct captains. They completed the cycle by distributing the gifts and favors that ensured voter loyalty to the organization on election day.
Instructions: In a separate document, answer each of the following questions based on the above provided text. For each question, identify the most correct answer and provide a brief explanation (1-3 sentences) of why it is the most correct.
- According to this passage, the area of political corruption of most concern in the late 19th Century was:
a. The extent of corrupting business influences within the Grant Administration of the mid-1870’s.
b. Insidious networks of understandings developed by local and state political machines between business and party leaders and officials.
c. The bribery of officials elected to federal office by local governmental political machines.
d. The equitable distribution of “boodle” between party officials, government appointees, and other officials.
- It can be inferred from this passage that groups such as Tammany Hall:
a. Were highly organized and effective organizations devoted to developing and maintaining political power for their operators.
b. Devoted themselves to the betterment of their constituencies through whatever means necessary.
c. Could never have been successful without the increases in corruption at the level of the federal government as exhibited within the Grant Administration.
d. Were ultimately ineffectual in maintaining a political hold over their various localities.
- Based on this passage, it would be most correct to say:
a. The executive branch of the 19th Century lacked the will, political or otherwise, to deal with issues of corruption at the local and state levels.
b. The leaders of the local business communities were the true driving forces behind Tammany Hall.
c. Many members of a political machine paid into the system, which was used to maintain and expand its hold on power.
d. The political machines were a mechanism created to redistribute an excess of wealth held by the industrial barons of the 19th Century.
Sample Solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
