Show:
MOTHER TONGUE
ADAM
INVISIBLE MAN
STRAW INTO GOLD
MISCELLANEOUS
100
What supporting idea do the details about the stockbroker and the hospital support?
How well a person speaks English can make a difference in the way that person is treated.
100
Why is Heinz anticipating this child’s birth so greatly?
he promised to name a child after his father to carry on the family legacy
100
What is an allusion in Invisible Man? (not Louis Armstrong)
Dante's Inferno
100
How is the author’s informal voice expressed in this excerpt? “School was lots of rules and sitting with your hands folded and being very afraid all the time.”
She describes school as a child would.
100
In "Mother Tongue," What point is Tan trying to make by using the example of the talk she gave about her book?
people use different forms of languages for different audiences
200
What is the author’s purpose in writing this essay?
to describe the different forms of language in her life to show that different forms language are valuable
200
How does Sousa show his contempt of Heinz?
belittling Heinz’s stature
200
What does the narrator’s distinction between physical eyes and “inner eyes” mean?
a contrast between the ability to see and people’s choice to ignore others
200
What does the author compare the job of making tortillas to?
writing critically
200
What does Heinz mean when he calls his son a “treasure house” in "Adam"?
Heinz believes that the hope of all of his dead ancestors is stored in the baby
300
Which detail does Tan include to help readers understand what she means by “family talk”?
taping and transcribing a long passage as an example
300
What is Vonnegu’s purpose for including the scene at the bar?
to emphasize Heinz's isolation
300
What is the author’s purpose for not including the narrator’s name?
to emphasize the narrator's invisibility
300
What effect does the language in this excerpt have on Cisneros’s voice? “ Asi como sea. Any ol’ way, they said and went back to their cooking.”
It illustrates the informal nature of the party.
300
Why does Heinz’s walking away without using the pay phone show?
that he has no family but Avchen
400
What supporting idea does the detail about the analogy questions support?
different minds/people interpret language differently; language cannot be standardized
400
\What is one way that the author characterizes the differences between Heinz and the other men in the bar?
Sousa and the bartender walk away from Heinz when he professes disinterest in baseball.
400
List three effects of the narrator’s “invisibility” in the prologue?
he can take advantage of city resources, he relates to music, people bump into him
400
Why would Cisneros structure her essay by describing the type of woman she is now before describing her family and childhood?
to illustrate how others influenced what she became later in life
400
How does Louis Armonstrong's music help the narrator in Invisible Man?
it helps him to transcend reality and mentally retreat to another place and time
500
How did Amy Tan's view of her mother's English evolve from the time she was a child to the time she wrote the essay?
As a child, she viewed her mom's thoughts as "broken" just because of her English, but as an adult she realized how beautiful and valuable her mother's way of speaking English was.
500
What does Heinz’s repetition of and announcement of his last name after his child is born contrast?
others’ repeated mispronunciation of his name
500
What is the narrator’s view of violence as a response to discrimination?
he views it as a natural response, but not a solution
500
In this essay, what does “straw” represent?
the raw material of experiences that she spins into the “gold” of stories
500
In Invisible Man, how does the narrator view his invisibility (at the time of his writing)?
he views it as an asset