Ramadan
The speaker feels that fasting is…
What are themes of the poem? SELECT TWO.
A. Parents' small actions can have a big impact on how we understand the world.
B. Moments of ingratitude towards our parents can lead to regret.
C. Memories from the past can impact our actions in the present.
D. Pain is a temporary experience that we all must deal with.
E. Children tend to exaggerate the emotions that they feel.
A. Parents' small actions can have a big impact on how we understand the world.
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C. Memories from the past can impact our actions in the present.
Which statement would the speaker most likely agree with?
What does the speaker mean when he describes his father's voice as "a well / of dark water" (Lines 7-8)?
A. His father's voice is frightening and unknown.
B. His father's voice is clear and authoritative.
C. His father's voice is far away and unclear.
D. His father's voice is soothing and deep.
D. His father's voice is soothing and deep.
Which statement best describes a central theme of the poem?
A. Hunger makes you act in ways that you will not be proud of.
B. The best way to improve is by practicing a skill over and over again.
C. Fasting forces you to pay attention to the meaning in life's smallest details.
D. If you do not understand something the first time, listen closely the second time.
C. Fasting forces you to pay attention to the meaning in life's smallest details.
Lines 18-23 are different from the rest of the poem because they — SELECT TWO.
A. share an imagined experience.
B. directly address the audience of the poem.
C. use exaggeration to imply how the speaker felt.
D. use a metaphor to explain the speaker's actions.
E. bring the narrative of the poem into the present.
F. repeat the same story the speaker was told by his father.
B. directly address the audience of the poem.
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E. bring the narrative of the poem into the present.
How does the figurative language in lines 5-6 develop the text's theme?
A. It compares the stretching of a net to the stretching of one's appetite to show that fasting makes one stronger.
B. It contrasts the search for water during a drought with the search for food when someone is breaking their Ramadan fast.
C. It shows that something vital can be found in a time of scarcity the way that meaning can be found from the hunger of fasting.
D. It describes how people can find ways to survive in any situation which shows that surviving during the Ramadan fast is not a challenge.
C. It shows that something vital can be found in a time of scarcity the way that meaning can be found from the hunger of fasting.
How is line 5 similar to lines 29-32?
A. They use hyperbole to exaggerate the importance of the event on the speaker.
B. They use hyperbole to overstate the impact of the father's action on his son.
C. They use hyperbole to exaggerate the pain that young children often feel.
D. They use hyperbole to emphasize the size of the metal splinter.
C. They use hyperbole to exaggerate the pain that young children often feel.
Which line shows the speaker believes subtle moments can be important?
A. "You wanted to be so hungry, you would break into branches" (Line 1)
B. "The liturgy begins to echo itself and why does it matter?" (Line 4)
C. "Hunger opens you to illiteracy" (Line 7)
D. "The thick night is so quiet, the spinning spider pauses" (Line 9)
D. "The thick night is so quiet, the spinning spider pauses" (Line 9)
What is "the gift" that the father gives the speaker in the poem?
Use ACES to respond on an index card.
"The gift" that the speaker's father has given him is the ability to be patient and have self-control in difficult situation. In stanza 2, the speaker shares that "Had you entered that afternoon / you would have thought you saw a man / planting something in a boy's palm," (Lines 14-16). This shows that the reader would have seen "the gift" that the father was giving the speaker: a lesson in how to deal with pain with patience and calmness.
The speaker goes on to confirm that this "gift" from his father has impacted his entire life: "Had you followed that boy / you would have arrived here, / where I bend over my wife's right hand" (Lines 18-20). Now, as and adult, when his wife faces a similar situation, he is able to respond in a self-controlled and patient way, just as his father helped him. The "gift" his father has given him is the ability to deal with difficult and painful situation.