Heritage and Multicultural American Identities — Test
Question 18 • CMS 2026-2027 English III CREDIT RECOVERY
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
“the place you have chosen to live,” “a forgetting place”
B
“a bare, cold room with no pictures on the walls”
C
“loneliness and exposure”
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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