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Narrative Elements in "How I Learned English" Answers

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Read the excerpt from "How I Learned English.”Someone said "shin” again,There was a wild stamping of hands on the ground,A kicking of feet, and the fitOf laughter overtook me too,And that was important, as importantAs Joe Barone asking me how I wasThrough his tears, picking me upAnd dusting me off with hands like swatters,And though my head felt heavy,I played on till duskThis excerpt shows that the speaker no longer feels like an outsider because

he enjoys a funny moment with the other boys.

he becomes a better baseball player.

he learns how to correctly use English words.

he allows the other boys to make fun of him.

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Read the lines from "How I Learned English.”It was an empty lotRinged by elms and fir and honeysuckle . . .In the field, a blue sky above themTipped with cirrus.The imagery in these lines helps readers picture

how colorful and beautiful the setting is.

how thick and green the lot’s grass is.

how windy and warm the weather is.

how dry and dusty the land is.

Read the excerpt from "How I Learned English.”I played on till duskMissing flies and pop-ups and groundersAnd calling out in desperation things like"Yours” and "take it,” but doing all right,Tugging at my cap in just the right way,Crouching low, my feet set."Hum baby” sweetly on my lips.The reader can tell that this excerpt is part of the poem’s resolution, because the speaker

finally feels a sense of belonging.

finally learns how to play baseball.

no longer wants to get home before dusk.

no longer tries to catch the ball.

Read the excerpt from “How I Learned English.”Someone said “shin” again,There was a wild stamping of hands on the ground,A kicking of feet, and the fitOf laughter overtook me too,And that was important, as importantAs Joe Barone asking me how I wasThrough his tears, picking me upAnd dusting me off with hands like swatters,And though my head felt heavy,I played on till duskMissing flies and pop-ups and groundersAnd calling out in desperation things like“Yours” and “take it,” but doing all right,Tugging at my cap in just the right way,Crouching low, my feet set.“Hum baby” sweetly on my lips.How do things change for the speaker after he laughs with the other boys?

He tries harder to impress others.

He finally has a sense of belonging.

He no longer cares about fitting in.

He no longer avoids playing baseball.

Read the excerpt from “How I Learned English.”It was in an empty lotRinged by elms and fir and honeysuckle.Bill Corson was pitching in his buckskin jacket,Chuck Keller, fat even as a boy, was on first,His t-shirt riding up over his gut,Ron O’Neill, Jim, Dennis, were talking it upIn the field, a blue sky above themTipped with cirrus.And there I was,Just off the plane and plopped in the middleOf Williamsport, Pa. and a neighborhood game,Unnatural and without any moves,My notions of baseball and AmericaGrowing fuzzier each time I whiffed.Which detail from this excerpt helps readers determine that the poem is written from a first-person point of view?

the description of the speaker as “unnatural”

the description of the boys “talking it up”

the use of the words “I” and “my”

the use of the words “his” and “them”

Which excerpt from “How I Learned English” uses the first-person point of view to show that the main character feels out of place in his new environment?

It was in an empty lotRinged by elms and fir and honeysuckle.Bill Corson was pitching in his buckskin jacket,

Unnatural and without any moves,My notions of baseball and AmericaGrowing fuzzier each time I whiffed

I watched it closing inClean and untouched, transfixedBy its easy arc before it hit

There was a wild stamping of hands on the ground,A kicking of feet, and the fitOf laughter overtook me too,

Read the excerpt from “How I Learned English.”I fell back,Dazed, clutching my brow,Groaning, “Oh my shin, oh my shin,”And everybody peeled away from meAnd dropped from laughter, and there we were,All of us writhing on the ground for one reasonOr another.Readers can tell that this is the climax of the poem, because it

gives information about what the speaker thinks and feels.

adds to the idea that the speaker feels like an outsider.

changes the speaker’s struggle to fit in with the other boys.

shows how the speaker’s problems with the boys are solved.

Read the excerpt from "How I Learned English.”And that was important, as importantAs Joe Barone asking me how I wasThrough his tears, picking me upAnd dusting me off with hands like swatters,What does the imagery in the excerpt best help readers picture?

the awful stinging sensation of being dusted off

the quick slapping motion of Joe’s hands

how roughly the speaker is pulled off the ground

how loud and hard Joe is laughing

Which excerpt from "How I Learned English” helps the reader imagine the sound of the scene in the poem?

It was in an empty lotRinged by elms and fir and honeysuckle.

In the field, a blue sky above themTipped with cirrus.

Banished to the outfield and daydreamingOf water, or a hotel in the mountains,

By its easy arc before it hitMy forehead with a thud.

Why does Gregory Djanikian most likely use the first-person point of view in "How I Learned English”?

to share directly what the main character is thinking and feeling

to help readers create a mental picture of what is happening in the story

to show the conflict between the main character and the other boys

to better develop the events that are part of the story’s rising action

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Narrative Elements in "How I Learned English" Answers

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