AnswersCR English 3 S2 E3060OXAuthor's Style and Layers of Meaning in Cane

Author's Style and Layers of Meaning in Cane Answers

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1
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Read the excerpt from "Fern” in Cane.Nothing ever really happened. Nothing ever came to Fern, not even I. Something I would do for her. Some fine unnamed thing. . . . And friend, you? She is still living, I have reason to know. Her name, against the chance that you might happen down that way, is Fernie May Rosen.

A
by repeating “ever” to create hyperbole
B
by referring to the reader as “friend” and “you”
C
by using the word “I” to signal a personal story
D
by including the proper name of “Fern”
2
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Read the excerpt from "Rhobert” in Cane.He is way down. Down. Mud, coming to his banty knees, almost hides them. Soon people will be looking at him and calling him a strong man. No doubt he is for one who has had rickets. Lets give it to him. Lets call him great when the water shall have been all drawn off. Lets build a monument and set it in the ooze where he goes down. A monument of hewn oak. [. . .] Lets open our throats, brother, and sing "Deep River” when he goes down. Brother, Rhobert is sinking.Lets open our throats, brother,Lets sing Deep River when he goes down.

A
The phrase “open our throats” shows that Rhobert cannot speak.
B
The use of the word “oak” implies that Rhobert is large like a tree.
C
The phrase “for one who has had rickets” suggests Rhobert is not in fact strong.
D
The connotation of the word “monument” emphasizes Rhobert’s greatness.
3

Read the excerpt from "Fern” in Cane.From force of habit, I suppose, I held Fern in my arms—that is, without at first noticing it. Then my mind came back to her. Her eyes, unusually weird and open, held me. Held God. He flowed in as I’ve seen the countryside flow in. Seen men. I must have done something—what, I don’t know, in the confusion of my emotion.

A
The em dashes imply that the narrator is flustered during this situation.
B
The em dashes establish an interruption in the narrator’s thought process.
C
The commas show that the narrator is able to be calm in this moment.
D
The commas suggest that the narrator feels conflicting emotions.
4

Read the excerpt from "Fern” in Cane.From the train window I saw her as I crossed her road. Saw her on her porch, head tilted a little forward where the nail was, eyes vaguely focused on the sunset. Saw her face flow into them, the countryside and something that I call God, flowing into them. . . . Nothing ever really happened. Nothing ever came to Fern, not even I. Something I would do for her. Some fine unnamed thing. . . . And friend, you? She is still living, I have reason to know. Her name, against the chance that you might happen down that way, is Fernie May Rosen.

A
It creates a defiant tone.
B
It creates a desperate tone.
C
It creates a resigned tone.
D
It creates a critical tone.
5

Read the excerpt from "Fern” in Cane.One evening I walked up the Pike on purpose, and stopped to say hello. Some of her family were about, but they moved away to make room for me . . . if I knew how to begin. Would you? Mr. and Miss So-and-So, people, the weather, the crops, the new preacher, the frolic, the church benefit, rabbit and possum hunting, the new soft drink they had at old Pap’s store, the schedule of trains, what kind of town Macon was, Negro’s migration north, boll-weevils, syrup, the Bible—to all these things she gave a yassur or nassur, without further comment.

A
It suggests that the narrator feels excited.
B
It shows that Fern inspires conversation.
C
It demonstrates the narrator’s obsession with the community.
D
It emphasizes what the narrator and Fern have in common.
9

Read the excerpt from "Fern” in Cane.From the train window I saw her as I crossed the road. Saw her on her porch, head tilted a little forward where the nail was, eyes vaguely focused on the sunset. Saw her face flow into them, the countryside and something that I call God, flowing into them.

A
The repetition of the phrase “saw her” suggests that the speaker is intensely focused on Fern.
B
The word “vaguely” implies that the speaker does not have much memory of his time with Fern.
C
The description of Fern’s head as “tilted a little forward” suggests that she be sleeping.
D
The use of the word “God” illustrates that the narrator and Fern are relying on religion to comfort them.
10

Which sentence contains a metaphor?

A
María’s couch weighs 10 tons, so she needs to recruit the help of several friends to move it to her new apartment.
B
Jolene’s new bed is like a cloud; when she sleeps on it, she feels like she is transported to an entirely new plane of existence.
C
When Ella went sailing, she found that the winds were majestic trumpet blasts, allowing her to speed away into the distance.
D
Sahita went to the seashore yesterday, and she spent time searching for sheer and shiny seashells from the ocean.
11

Read the excerpt from "Rhobert” in Cane.He is way down. Down. Mud, coming to his banty knees, almost hides them. Soon people will be looking at him and calling him a strong man. No doubt he is for one who has had rickets. Lets give it to him. Lets call him great when the water shall have been all drawn off. Lets build a monument and set it in the ooze where he goes down. A monument of hewn oak. [. . .] Lets open our throats, brother, and sing "Deep River” when he goes down. Brother, Rhobert is sinking.Lets open our throats, brother,Lets sing Deep River when he goes down.

A
The phrase “open our throats” shows that Rhobert cannot speak.
B
The use of the word “oak” implies that Rhobert is large like a tree.
C
The phrase “for one who has had rickets” suggests Rhobert is not in fact strong.
D
The connotation of the word “monument” emphasizes Rhobert’s greatness.
12

Read the excerpt from "Fern” in Cane.She sprang up. Rushed some distance from me. Fell to her knees, and began swaying, swaying. Her body was tortured with something it could not let out. Like boiling sap it flooded arms and fingers till she shook them as if they burned her. It found her throat, and spattered inarticulately in plaintive, convulsing sounds, mingled with calls to Christ Jesus.

A
Alliteration in “convulsing,” “calls,” and “Christ” mimics the sounds Fern made.
B
A simile compares Fern’s feelings to “boiling sap.”
C
A metaphor describes how Fern’s body is burned.
D
Hyperbole is used to describe how Fern moves after falling on her knees.
13

Read the passage.Isaac glared at the clock on his desk as he waited for the phone call that would change his life—he wasn’t sure if the change would be for the better or the worse, but he knew that his life was going to change. It was an old clock that had belonged to his grandmother. Usually the quiet, dependable sound of the seconds ticking by comforted him, if he noticed them at all. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Today, it occurred to him that the clock was mocking him. Tick-tock. Tock-tick. Tock-tock. "I wonder if Jenny wants this clock. . . .” His thought was interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing.

A
The em dash indicates a shift in Isaac’s mood.
B
The change in the second description of the clock’s sounds emphasizes Isaac’s unease.
C
The ellipsis suggests that Isaac cannot concentrate.
D
The quotation marks indicating Isaac’s thoughts emphasize his uncertainty about the future.
14

Read the excerpt from "Rhobert” in Cane.Rhobert is an upright man whose legs are banty-bowed and shaky because as a child he had rickets. The earth is round. Heaven is a sphere that surrounds it. Sink where you will. God is a Red Cross man with a dredge and a respiration pump who’s waiting for you to die at the opposite periphery. God built the house. He blew His breath into its stuffing. It is good to die obeying Him who can do these things.

A
It indicates that God had help creating Earth.
B
It emphasizes how the narrator is willing to give his life for God.
C
It illustrates that the narrator has belief in God’s power.
D
It demonstrates how God interacts with human beings.
15

Read the excerpt from "Fern” in Cane.And then she sang, brokenly. A Jewish cantor singing with a broken voice. A child’s voice, uncertain, or an old man’s. Dusk hid her; I could only hear her song. It seemed to me as though she were pounding her head in anguish upon the ground. I rushed to her. She fainted in my arms.

A
the repetition of “brokenly” and “broken”
B
the comparison of a “child’s voice” to that of “an old man’s”
C
the use of commas to create pauses
D
the use of sentence fragments between complete sentences
16

Read the passage.This jungle presented a new challenge for Enid. Sure, she had been on many safaris before. Yes, she had spent hours unsupervised with large animals in her position as a head zookeeper. Her resume listed her qualifications. But something felt different. This day would likely not be smooth sailing. She would have to rely on her finely tuned set of survival skills, but she knew she’d succeed.

A
the reference to her qualifications in “Her resume”
B
the use of short words and commas at the beginning of sentences
C
the alliteration in “set,” “survival,” and “skills”
D
the alternation of short and long sentences in the passage
17

Read the passage.Isaac glared at the clock on his desk as he waited for the phone call that would change his life—he wasn’t sure if the change would be for the better or the worse, but he knew that his life was going to change. It was an old clock that had belonged to his grandmother. Usually the quiet, dependable sound of the seconds ticking by comforted him, if he noticed them at all. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Today, it occurred to him that the clock was mocking him. Tick-tock. Tock-tick. Tock-tock. "I wonder if Jenny wants this clock. . . .” His thought was interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing.

A
The em dash indicates a shift in Isaac’s mood.
B
The change in the second description of the clock’s sounds emphasizes Isaac’s unease.
C
The ellipsis suggests that Isaac cannot concentrate.
D
The quotation marks indicating Isaac’s thoughts emphasize his uncertainty about the future.
18

Read the excerpt from "Rhobert” in Cane.Rhobert is an upright man whose legs are banty-bowed and shaky because as a child he had rickets. The earth is round. Heaven is a sphere that surrounds it. Sink where you will. God is a Red Cross man with a dredge and a respiration pump who’s waiting for you to die at the opposite periphery. God built the house. He blew His breath into its stuffing. It is good to die obeying Him who can do these things.

A
by using brief sentences to convey key points
B
by comparing God to a Red Cross man
C
by capitalizing words in the middle of sentences
D
by repeating the actions that God has taken
19

Read the excerpt from "Rhobert” in Cane.It is a sad thing to see a banty-bowed, shaky, ricket-legged man straining the raw insides of his throat against smoothed air. Holding furtive thoughts about the glory of pulp-heads strewn in water. . . . He is way down. Down. Mud, coming to his banty knees, almost hides them.

A
The hyphens show Rhobert’s lack of earthly connection.
B
The hyphens emphasize Rhobert’s scattered thoughts.
C
The ellipsis emphasizes the oppression Rhobert is feeling.
D
The ellipsis suggests that Rhobert could not think coherently.
20

Read the excerpt from "Fern” in Cane.We walked down the Pike with people on all the porches gaping at us. "Does it make you mad?” She meant the row of petty gossiping people. She meant the world.

A
the use of varying sentence length
B
the strong diction of “gaping”
C
the use of the question mark
D
the comparison of gossiping people to the world

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