Topic Test Answers

Responses may vary but should include some or all of the following information: Every piece of literature you read has a voice, an overall presence of a personality behind the text. This voice is intimately linked to characterization, the process of conveying information about a character. The characterization is also linked to an author's choice of narrator. In this passage by Stephen Chbosky, the voice is down-to-earth, one that a reader can really engage with. This down-to-earth voice is reflected in the way that the characters are described with sentences such as, "Sam's mom is very pretty and tells great jokes" and "Patrick's dad is very tall and has a great handshake." It is also important to note that the "voice" in the passage is the first-person narrator. When an author uses a first-person narrator, the characterization is limited to what the narrator can experience, either within his/her own head or direct interaction with other characters. With the narrator's description of Patrick, "[he] did his best impersonation of being surprised," and the narrator's personal commentary, "which was nice of him," the reader sees a bit of both Patrick and the narrator: Patrick is a nice person, which is something that others are acutely aware of.

Responses may vary but should include some or all of the following information: In the story "Civil Peace," Jonathan says "Nothing puzzles God" every time something miraculous happens. It means that anything can happen, but God, being omniscient, is not surprised even when mortals are surprised. The first time Jonathan uses it, he's marveling that his bike is still in working condition after having spent a year buried in the ground. The second time he uses it, he's gazing at the miracle that his house is still standing. The third time he uses it, Jonathan receives twenty pounds as an ex gratia reward for turning in Biafran money. The last time he uses it is at the end of the story after his family is robbed of the ex gratia. It may seem that this is an unusual place to use the phrase because, throughout the story, he used it after something wonderful happened. In this case, however, he's using it after something terrible has happened. It shows that Jonathan values the lives of his family members more than his money and is optimistic that things will get better. If he has to give up his fortune so that the violence will end, he'll do it.

Responses may vary but should include some or all of the following information: The choice of narrator, especially a first-person narrator, affects the plot because a first-person narrator's knowledge is limited to what that person is present to see and hear. We can't know what anyone else is thinking and much action is left out because the narrator may not have seen or heard it. That information must be conveyed through dialogue with other characters. In this excerpt, using a different point of view or choosing a different first-person narrator would change the information we receive. For example, Sam or Patrick would probably not feel like being in their own house was like being "someplace better," and the impression we are given of the parents would also be affected.

Responses may vary but should include some or all of the following information: Although Anne Frank writes from the perspective of a young girl in hiding during a war that persecuted her ethnic group and Zlata Filipovic writes from the perspective of a child witnessing the firsthand the brutalities of war, they both have so much in common in terms of their basic beliefs. Despite all the pain and destruction that they’ve experienced and observed, both of them have hope for the future. Filipovic is positive that people will win because “war has nothing to do with humanity.” Frank is convinced that despite the terrible actions that people have taken, people are good at heart and the world is a good place.

Responses may vary but should include some or all of the following information: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is the firsthand account of a teenager whose family has gone into hiding in order to escape persecution by the Nazi regime. It is related to the themes and issues of its historical period because so many other families either had to go into hiding or suffered the consequences of following the law during the Holocaust.

Responses may vary but should include some or all of the following information: Filipovic’s diary entries are more brutal and harsh than Frank’s. While Frank writes from captivity, Filipovic writes with bombs exploding around her and killing her friends. While Frank comments on the politics and jokes about Hitler’s “command” of his soldiers in her entries, Filipovic is painfully unaware of what caused people to destroy the buildings and people of her town. Both of them despise war and are confident that war would end. Tragically, only Filipovic saw it end.

Responses may vary but should include some or all of the following information: The central or main idea either refers to the point or purpose of a paragraph or it refers to the summary of a piece of writing. These two concepts are closely related in a piece of writing because the point of each paragraph should contribute to the point of the entire piece of writing. In order to discover the point or purpose of a paragraph, one must first identify the topic of the piece of writing. Then, one must identify the structure or medium used to discuss the topic. Finally, for a paragraph, one should identify the sentences that the other sentences seem to support, and for an entire text, one should identify the statement or idea that the paragraphs seem to discuss or support. When this process is applied to the excerpt from An Interview with Marielle Tsukamoto, I come up with the following answers: Topic: Japanese internment Structure: Interview Central Idea: “I think the saddest memory is the day we had to leave our farm.” Why: The first sentence is the main idea because the sentences that follow it support it. The first few sentences explain why the memory is so devastating. The last few sentences explain that the most devastating aspect was that the family was forced to leave for no legal or just reason.

Responses may vary but should include some or all of the following information: While “Birmingham Sunday” was a folk song meant to create community and enable the community to mourn together, the “Ballad of Birmingham” was initially published as a poem to affirm the significance of activism. While “Birmingham Sunday” lamented the injustice of the destruction of youth and the death of the four young girls (named in the poem), “Ballad of Birmingham” uses irony to remind everyone that there is no safe haven from injustice. The mother did not want her daughter to risk her life to march for freedom, but the consequences of racism still affected both mother and daughter. While “Birmingham Sunday” ends by affirming the fight for freedom, “And the choirs keep singing of Freedom” despite the pain of loss, the “Ballad of Birmingham” ends with a warning: both the protesters and those who want to avoid risk still suffer the same consequences of hate. The theme changes slightly due to the genre. While the first song’s message is clearly meant as a mourning song to unite multiple listeners (“Come round by my side, and I’ll sing you a song”), the poem’s message is one of warning and awareness. The latter takes quiet contemplation to understand the irony.

Responses may vary but should include some or all of the following information: Every piece of literature you read has a voice, an overall presence of a personality behind the text. This voice affects the tone, which is the attitude that the author, narrator, or speaker has toward the subject or reader. The voice of the text determines the range of attitudes that a text can effectively express; that is, the tones that are expressed must be consistent with the overall voice of a text. For example, a passage with a down-to-earth, personable voice would not match a tone that is boastful or condescending. Voice in a work of literature is created predominantly by word choice, imagery, and choice of details. These together, in addition, help to indicate the author's attitude toward the subject matter. Formal, sophisticated language would match a proud or respectful tone better than a tentative tone; while the inclusion of humorous language would likely match a mocking or agreeable tone over a polite tone. Creation of voice in a piece of literature is intimately connected to the tone of the piece.