U3 A Celebration of Grandfathers - Skill

Define

The central or main idea of a text is the most important point that an author makes about a topic. In other words, it answers the
question What’s it all about? In order to find the answer, you must look for supporting ideas and details that the author supplies
about the topic. Ask yourself, What do these supporting ideas or details have in common? What ideas do they express, explain,
or describe? The answer to this question will lead you to the central or main idea.

Identification and Application:

●Authors may or may not explicitly state the central or main idea of a text.

●As the author develops a central idea, he or she will include details and ideas that support it. When it is not explicitly
stated, you can determine a central idea by identifying and analyzing particular details:

○Ask, What is the subject of each paragraph? What details describe it?

○Ask, What idea do the details in all the paragraphs have in common?

●Each paragraph has a main idea, and you can use the details to help you figure each one out. All the main ideas and details
of the text help develop the author’s central idea. A memoir or personal essay, for example, may include several memories
from the past that together support a central idea that is developed over the course of the text.

●Analyze how the main ideas in the paragraphs of a text build on one another to develop a central idea. Then you can
objectively summarize the text:

○Identify the main ideas in the paragraphs and note the details that support each main idea.

○As briefly as possible, explain how the ideas and details from the paragraphs support the central idea.

○Use your own words to summarize the ideas of text.

○Do not include personal opinions or judgments about the text in your summary.

Model

The central or main idea of an informational text is the most important point that the author wants readers to remember. In order to identify the
central idea of this personal essay, “A Celebration of Grandfathers,” readers need to note the important details the author includes, as well as what
the details have in common. In the first part of the essay, author Rudolfo Anaya explores the idea that society needs to respect older generations.
He does this by sharing memories of growing up among “the old ones,” especially his grandfather. The central idea is hinted at in the first paragraph.
The author begins by discussing the greeting, “God give you a good day, grandfather.” From this sentence, the reader can infer that Anaya wants us
to think deeply about his grandfather and people like him. The author goes on to talk about “a cultural value to be passed on from generation to
generation, this respect for the old ones.”

The old ones had looked deep into the web that connects all animate and inanimate forms of life, and they recognized the great design of
creation.

These ancianos from the cultures of the Rio Grande, lived side by side, sharing, growing together, they knew the rhythms and cycles of time,
from the preparation of the earth in the spring to the digging of the acequias that brought the water to the dance of harvest in the fall. They
shared good times and hard times. They helped each other through epidemics and the personal tragedies, they shared what little they had
when the winds burned the land and no rain came. They learned that to survive one had to share in the process of life.

Hard workers all, they tilled the earth and farmed, ran the herds and spun wool, and carved their saints and their kachinas from cottonwood
late in the winter nights. All worked with a deep faith which perplexes the modern mind.

Their faith shone in their eyes; it was in the strength of their grip, in the creases time wove into their faces.

To begin analyzing the text, readers can note that as the author remembers what he has observed about the old ones, he also interprets what they
did. He is not just telling stories; he is pointing out how the life that the old ones lived was meaningful and important. Further analysis of the details
in these paragraphs will help a reader summarize the important ideas.

Model

The author explains that the old ones understand great mysteries because they “recognize the great design of creation.” They also appreciate how a
life is lived in repeated patterns, for “they knew the rhythms and cycles of time.” He notes their hard work but points out that their lives are lessons
because “they learned that to survive one had to share.” He believes that the old ones had something younger people lack: “a deep faith which
perplexes the modern mind.” The details suggest the central or main idea is that younger people should respect the old ones. He develops this idea
throughout the memoir.

Because “A Celebration of Grandfathers” is a memoir, the author recalls details from the past that express his opinions about his grandfather, which
form his main idea.

I remember him driving his horse-drawn wagon into Santa Rosa in the fall when he brought his harvest produce to sell in the town. What a
tower of strength seemed to come in that small man huddled on the seat of the giant wagon. One click of his tongue and the horses obeyed,
stopped or turned as he wished. He never raised his whip. How unlike today when so much teaching is done with loud words and threatening
hands.

Anaya recalls his grandfather as “a tower of strength” but honestly admits that he was, physically, a “small man.” Anaya shows, through examples,
how his grandfather impressed him with special skills like commanding the horses with “one click of his tongue.” Anaya drives home his point that his
grandfather’s strength has something to teach people today when he says, “unlike today when so much teaching is done with loud words.” These
details support the author’s belief that his grandfather was a strong man who needed few words to show his power.

The main ideas and supporting details of these paragraphs build upon each other to help develop the central or main idea of the memoir. A summary
of the central idea up to this point might read: Through the example of his grandfather, Rudolfo Anaya shows how the ancianos who lived close to
the rhythms of nature and who held great faith have much to teach people living in the modern world.

Your Turn

Read this section from “A Celebration of Grandfathers” to determine the central or main idea and answer the follow-up
questions.

For some time we haven’t looked at these changes and needs of the old ones. The American image created by the mass media is
an image of youth, not of old age. It is the beautiful and the young who are praised in this society. If analyzed carefully, we see
that same damaging thought has crept into the way society views the old. In response to the old, the mass media have just
created old people who act like the young. It is only the healthy, pink-cheeked, outgoing, older persons we are shown in the
media. And they are always selling something, as if an entire generation of old people were salesmen in their lives. Commercials
show very lively old men, who must always be in excellent health according to the new myth, selling insurance policies or real
estate as they are out golfing; older women selling coffee or toilet paper to those just married. That image does not illustrate
the real life of old ones.

Multiple Choice

Part A

What is the main idea of the passage?

• Our modern society’s view of old people keeps us from understanding them.

• Old people encourage and praise young people but secretly envy them, too.

• Young people can learn life lessons from older people.

• Commercials today present a positive, encouraging view of old age.

Multiple Choice

Part B

Which sentence or phrase from the passage is a key detail that best supports your answer?

• “The American image created by the mass media is an image of youth, not of old age.”

• “In response to the old, the mass media have just created old people who act like the young.”

• "Commercials show very lively old men, who must always be in excellent health.…”

• “That image does not illustrate the real life of old ones.”