Bag of Bones Quiz

Which statement best describes the theme of this poem?

• Death itself is cruel because everyone dies alone and leaves their loved ones behind.

• The inevitability of death erases differences between individuals.

• Tragedy occurs both on the grand, collective scale and on the smaller, individual scale.

• War desensitizes people to loss and death over time.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RI.11-12.9

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Which quote from the poem best supports the answer to Part A?

• “To depart without death or birth certificates / the dictator does not give receipts / when he takes your life” (Lines 30-32)

• “It solved by itself a math problem / that multiplied the one death by millions / to equal homeland.” (Lines 37-39)

• “He has an audience, too, / an audience that claps / until the bones begin to rattle —” (Lines 41-43)

• “the full bag finally in her hand, / unlike her disappointed neighbor” (Lines 45-46)

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.8.5

The focus of the poem shifts at line 30. How does this shift contribute to the meaning of the poem?

• As the speaker turns from mourning murder victims to accusing their executioner, the poem focuses on the injustice of the dictator’s rule.

• The focus of the poem shrinks from that of a mass grave to the life of one man, and this emphasizes survivors’ feelings of guilt.

• The scope of the poem expands from a meditation on death to a criticism of tyranny, and this develops the poem’s call to action.

• As the speaker walks away from the mass grave, the poem emphasizes how survivors can secure closure.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.11-12.8