COMPREHENSION
How does the narrator feel when he sees his new green jacket and how do you know (evidence)?
-The narrator feels disgusted, angry, and annoyed because he didn't like the jacket.
-He feels this way because he knows he will be stuck with the jacket for a long time (it was big).
All of the following are settings in "The Jacket" EXCEPT:
A) A park
B) The narrator's house
C) A playground
A
"Even my hands, those fleshy hammers, showed bravely through the cuffs."
Name FIGURATIVE DEVICE.
Metaphor
Give a synonym for the word VINYL (paragraph 2)
Plastic
"I put my hands in the pockets and flapped the jacket like a bird's wings."
Name FIGURATIVE DEVICE.
Simile
What is the central idea of the story?
A) A young boy is embarrassed by his traditional Mexican family.
B) A young boy gets rejected by girls because he's ugly.
C) A young boy loses his father and is thrown into poverty.
D) A young boy hates the only jacket his mother can afford.
D
Name a conflict in the story.
-Internal: character vs. himself (embarrassment, social norms)
-External: character vs. the jacket (not the jacket he wants)
What FIGURATIVE DEVICE best highlights the jacket's ugliness? What type of device is it?
-"My clothes have failed me."
-Personification
Give a synonym for the word VICIOUS (paragraph 11)
Ruthless, fierce, dreadful, intense
What are the TWO ways the jacket affects the narrator's life?
- He feels like an outsider at school
-He struggles to focus on quizzes and completing homework.
What is the most LIKELY reason Gary had no friends in 6th grade?
A) He purposefully isolated himself because he was ashamed of his jacket.
B) The girls thought he wasn't cute.
C) They were afraid the playground bully would come after them, too.
A
Explain how the jacket could have affected any of our lives.
Our appearance can sometimes be connected to our self-perception.
What does the phrase "blew away like loose flowers" mean as it is used in paragraph 8? What type of FIGURATIVE DEVICE is it?
-The girls who are friendly to the narrator scatter quickly after he wears his new jacket.
-Simile
Give a synonym for the word PROFILE (paragraph 4)
Side view, shape, outline
What can we infer about Gary Soto based on his actions in "The Jacket"?
A) He gets along well with his brothers and sisters.
B) He isn't confident.
C) He makes enemies easily.
D) He doesn't care what anyone thinks of him.
B
Why does Gary call the jacket "a green ugly brother"?
A) Because he hates the jacket and he hates his brother.
B) Both the jacket and his brother are ugly.
C) Both the jacket and his brother are annoyances he must accept.
C
Which of the following best supports the answer to the theme of "The Jacket"?
A) "During the morning recess Frankie T., the playground terrorist, pushed me to the ground and told me to stay there until recess was over."
B) "I threw it on my brother’s bed and looked at it for a long time before I slipped it on and went out to the backyard, smiling a “thank you” to my mom as I passed her in the kitchen."
C) "And so I went, in my guacamole-colored jacket. So embarrassed, so hurt, I couldn’t even do my homework. I received Cs on quizzes, and forgot the state capitals and the rivers of South America, our friendly neighbor. Even the girls who had been friendly blew away like loose flowers to follow the boys in neat jackets."
D) "I blame my mother for her bad taste and her cheap ways."
C
"I was a small kid, thin as a young tree."
Name FIGURATIVE DEVICE.
Simile
Give a synonym for the word PROPELLER (paragraph 9)
Blade or paddle
Why do you think Gary Soto's mother told him about the children in Mexico who would love the jacket?
To remind him that others were worse off than he was.
How can you tell the narrator cares about his mother's feelings?
-He still wears the jacket.
-This tells us that Soto is not a spoiled or ungrateful child.
"I threw it on my brother's bed and looked at it for a long time before I slipped it on and went out to the backyard, smiling a "thank you" to my mom as I passed her in the kitchen."
Being grateful for what you have is a major theme in the story. Name another theme.
-Things we dislike at first can become special to us over time.
-You will not always have what you want
"I wore that thing for three years until the sleeves grew short."
Name the FIGURATIVE DEVICE.
Personification
Give a synonym for the word SHRIVELED (paragraph 10)
Collapsed, deflated, wilted, wrinked
How does the speaker's POV about the jacket change throughout the text?
The speaker goes from hating the jacket because it was "so ugly and so big" to appreciating it for what it is and allowing it to gain sentiment value.
He calls the jacket his "green ugly brother" to demonstrate that even though he might not like the jacket, he will always cherish it.