Heritage and Multicultural American Identities: Contemporary Voices — Test
Question 16 • English Language Arts 11
Read the passage from the poem "El Olvido" by Julia Ortiz Cofer. dangerous to disdain the plaster saints before which your mother kneels praying with embarrassing fervor that you survive in the place you have chosen to live: a bare, cold room with no pictures on the walls, a forgetting place where she fears you will die of loneliness and exposure. What imagery in this passage creates a visual of the speaker’s heritage?
Answer
A
“loneliness and exposure”
B
“the place you have chosen to live,” “a forgetting place”
C
“a bare, cold room with no pictures on the walls”
D
“plaster saints,” “mother kneels praying”
Explanation
The images of “plaster saints” and the mother kneeling in prayer suggest the speaker’s religious and cultural heritage. The bare room and “forgetting place” describe the speaker’s present life, rather than the traditions passed down by the family.
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