Read the excerpt from Gary Soto’s story "Like Mexicans."We talked for an hour and had apple pie and coffee, slowly. Finally, we got up with Carolyn taking my hand. Slightly embarrassed, I tried to pull away but her grip held me. I let her have her way as she led me down the hallway with her mother right behind me. . . . Carolyn waved again. I looked back, waving . . . . Her people were like Mexicans, only different.Which best describes the irony in this excerpt?
Answer
A
The narrator is embarrassed about his own Mexican identity even though there is no reason to be.
B
Carolyn is exactly like a good Mexican girl even though her family is Japanese American.
C
After worrying about marrying a woman from a different culture, the narrator learns that her family is a lot like his own.
D
Although the narrator has dreamed about marrying a Mexican girl for most of his life, he finds a Japanese American girl instead.
Explanation
The irony is that the narrator has been concerned about marrying someone from a different culture, but meeting Carolyn’s family shows him that they feel familiar. His description, “like Mexicans, only different,” captures both their similarities and their cultural differences. So the best choice is that he learns Carolyn’s family is a lot like his own.
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