AnswersVT-ACT Reading 26-27Experiencing and Reliving Vietnam

Experiencing and Reliving Vietnam Answers

30 verified answers5 views
1
Free Preview

In the story “Ambush,” what is revealed to the reader through the frame-story structure?

A
The narrator is never able to discuss the event with his fellow troops.
B
The narrator feels deep regret that he did not tell his daughter the truth.
C
The narrator continues to feel haunted by the events in Vietnam.
D
The narrator has been able to forgive himself for what happened.
2
Free Preview

Which lines from the poem “Facing It” best reflect the narrator’s struggle between his desire to maintain control and the strong emotions that he feels?

A
I’m stone. I’m flesh. My clouded reflection eyes me
B
I turn that way—I’m insidethe Vietnam Veterans Memorial
C
I touch the name Andrew Johnson;I see the booby trap’s white flash.
D
Brushstrokes flash, a red bird’swings cutting across my stare.
3

Which structural element do “Ambush” and “Facing It” share?

A
They contain a story within a story.
B
They contain multiple points of view.
C
They present events in sequential order.
D
They include a flashback about an event.
4

The first paragraph of “Ambush” contains a conversation that takes place

A
before the narrator killed a man in Vietnam.
B
before the birth of the narrator’s daughter.
C
after the narrator’s experiences in the Vietnam War.
D
after the narrator told his daughter the truth about war.
5

Which best describes the central conflict in “Ambush”?

A
The narrator is bothered by the fact that he lied to his daughter.
B
The narrator is haunted by the experience of killing another man.
C
The narrator is tormented by the grave dangers he once faced.
D
The narrator is frustrated by the empty assurances of Kiowa.
6

Which lines from the poem “Facing It” best communicate the author’s internal conflict to the reader?

A
I said I wouldn’t,dammit: No tears. I’m stone. I’m flesh.(lines 3-5)
B
My clouded reflection eyes melike a bird of prey, the profile of nightslanted against morning. (lines 6-8)
C
I go down the 58,022 names, half-expecting to findmy own in letters like smoke.(lines 14-16)
D
A white vet’s image floatscloser to me, then his pale eyeslook through mine. I’m a window.(lines 25-27)
7

How do the authors differ in the way they present the war in “Facing It” and “Ambush”?

A
O’Brien describes it in narrative form, while Komunyakaa describes it with free-flowing thoughts.
B
O’Brien describes it with flashback, while Komunyakaa describes it through the eyes of others.
C
O’Brien describes exactly what happened, while Komunyakaa describes only his emotional state.
D
O’Brien describes it with sensory language, while Komunyakaa describes it with personification.
8

Which best describes why “Ambush” contains a frame story?

A
The narrator situates a flashback of his experience in Vietnam between related events that take place after the war.
B
The narrator describes events that take place in two different countries: the United States and Vietnam.
C
The narrator situates a flashback to his boyhood between related events that take place in the present, when he is an old man.
D
The narrator describes events that take place in two different locations: a living room and a jungle.
9

In “Ambush,” which line signals the beginning of the narrative within the frame story?

A
When she was nine, my daughter Kathleen asked if I had ever killed anyone.
B
“You keep writing these war stories,” she said, “so I guess you must’ve killed somebody.”
C
It was a difficult moment, but I did what seemed right, which was to say, “Of course not,” and then to take her onto my lap and hold her for a while.
D
He was a short, slender young man of about twenty.
10

Which pair of sentences from “Ambush” best reflects that a flashback, or a shift in time, has occurred?

A
She knew about the war; she knew I’d been a soldier. “You keep writing these war stories,” she said, “so I guess you must’ve killed somebody.”
B
Even now, I haven’t finished sorting it out. Sometime I forgive myself, other times I don’t.
C
When she was, nine, my daughter Kathleen asked if I had ever killed anyone.I reached out and found three grenades and lined them up in front of me; the pins had already been straightened for quick throwing.
D
I did not hate the young man; I did not see him as the enemy; I did not ponder issues of morality or politics or military duty. I crouched and kept my head low.
11

Which excerpt from “Ambush” best reflects the story’s central conflict?

A
He was a short, slender young man of about twenty.
B
I had already pulled the pin on a grenade.
C
Almost certainly the young man would have passed me by.
D
Sometime I forgive myself, other times I don’t.
12

The first paragraph of “Ambush” contains a conversation that takes place

A
before the narrator killed a man in Vietnam.
B
before the birth of the narrator’s daughter.
C
after the narrator’s experiences in the Vietnam War.
D
after the narrator told his daughter the truth about war.
13

Which best describes the sequencing of “Ambush”?

A
It relates events in the exact order in which they occurred.
B
It includes multiple flashbacks about a variety of events.
C
It contains a narrative that is told within another narrative.
D
It recounts the narrator’s reflections of past experiences.
14

Which structural element do “Ambush” and “Facing It” share?

A
They contain a story within a story.
B
They contain multiple points of view.
C
They present events in sequential order.
D
They include a flashback about an event.
15

Which lines from the poem “Facing It” best reflect the narrator’s struggle between his desire to maintain control and the strong emotions that he feels?

A
I’m stone. I’m flesh. My clouded reflection eyes me
B
I turn that way—I’m insidethe Vietnam Veterans Memorial
C
I touch the name Andrew Johnson;I see the booby trap’s white flash.
D
Brushstrokes flash, a red bird’swings cutting across my stare.
16

In “Ambush,” why does the author begin the passage in the present rather than during the war?

A
to emphasize that he survived the event
B
to create a feeling of tremendous loss
C
to build tension within the story itself
D
to illustrate the importance of the past
17

Read the excerpt from “Ambush.” He was a short, slender young man of about twenty. I was afraid of him—afraid of something—and as he passed me on the trail I threw a grenade that exploded at his feet and killed him.The excerpt is an example of

A
flashback, because the narrator is remembering a conversation with his daughter.
B
flashback, because the narrator is recalling an event that occurred during the Vietnam war.
C
frame story, because the narrator is describing an action that he deeply regrets.
D
frame story, because the narrator is explaining why he feels he must tell his daughter what he did.
18

Which lines from the poem “Facing It” best communicate the author’s internal conflict to the reader?

A
I said I wouldn’t,dammit: No tears. I’m stone. I’m flesh.(lines 3-5)
B
My clouded reflection eyes melike a bird of prey, the profile of nightslanted against morning. (lines 6-8)
C
I go down the 58,022 names, half-expecting to findmy own in letters like smoke.(lines 14-16)
D
A white vet’s image floatscloser to me, then his pale eyeslook through mine. I’m a window.(lines 25-27)
19

In “Ambush,” why does the author begin the passage in the present rather than during the war?

A
to emphasize that he survived the event
B
to create a feeling of tremendous loss
C
to build tension within the story itself
D
to illustrate the importance of the past
20

Which pair of sentences from “Ambush” best reflects that a flashback, or a shift in time, has occurred?

A
She knew about the war; she knew I’d been a soldier. “You keep writing these war stories,” she said, “so I guess you must’ve killed somebody.”
B
Even now, I haven’t finished sorting it out. Sometime I forgive myself, other times I don’t.
C
When she was, nine, my daughter Kathleen asked if I had ever killed anyone.I reached out and found three grenades and lined them up in front of me; the pins had already been straightened for quick throwing.
D
I did not hate the young man; I did not see him as the enemy; I did not ponder issues of morality or politics or military duty. I crouched and kept my head low.

Did you find these answers helpful?

More from this Course

Quiz
10 verified answers

Vietnam Literary Journalism

Quiz
10 verified answers

Critiques of American Society in Science Fiction

Quiz
10 verified answers

Vietnam Literary Journalism