Contemporary Indigenous American Voices

Question 9 • ELA 11B-CR

Which excerpt from Leslie Marmon Silko’s story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds" contains an example of personification?

Answer

The priest approached the grave slowly, wondering how they had managed to dig into the frozen ground. . . .

His fingers were stiff, and it took him a long time to twist the lid off the holy water.

The wind pulled the priest’s brown Franciscan robe and swirled away the corn meal and pollen that had been sprinkled on the blanket.

He felt good because it was finished, and he was happy about the sprinkling of the holy water. . . .

Explanation

Personification gives human actions or qualities to something nonhuman. In choice C, the wind is described as pulling the priest’s robe and swirling the corn meal and pollen, making the wind act like a person. The other choices describe people’s actions or feelings without giving human traits to a nonhuman thing.

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