"My Grandmother Washes her Feet in the Bathroom at Sears" MCQs

The imagery in stanza one is primarily used to —

• 1. Exemplify the elegance of the American women

• 1. Describe the interior of the Sears bathroom

• 1. Reveal the narrator’s discomfort with her grandmother’s actions

• 1. Emphasize the importance of her grandmother’s ritual through describing its intricacies

In line 13, the author's choice of the word "august" to describe the grandmother's ritual washing for prayer suggests:

• 1. The grandmother's sense of urgency and haste as she performs the ritual.

• 1. The grandmother's feelings of discomfort and unease while washing her feet.

• 1. The grandmother's strong sense of tradition and cultural significance in her actions.

• 1. The grandmother's indifference towards the opinions of the other shoppers.

Based on stanza 2, how do the other women feel about the grandmother?

• 1. The women wish the grandmother would return to shopping so they can have more privacy.

• 1. The women hate the grandmother.

• 1. The women resent the granddaughter for not intervening earlier.

• 1. The women feel the grandmother’s actions are offensive.

What is the purpose of allusion in these lines:

"I have washed my feet over Iznik tile in Istanbul

with water from the world's ancient irrigation systems

I have washed my feet in the bathhouses of Damascus

over painted bowls imported from China

among the best families of Aleppo"

• 1. To provide examples of the grandmother’s cultural knowledge and experiences

• 1. To detail outdated civilizations

• 1. To share the narrator’s interest in world history

• To explain the travel plans of the American women

What is most likely a theme of these lines (stanzas 3-4)?

"My grandmother knows one culture—the right one,

as do these matrons of the Middle West. For them,

my grandmother might as well have been squatting

in the mud over a rusty tin in vaguely tropical squalor,"

• The grandmother thinks her culture is inferior to American culture.

• 1. The women are ashamed of American culture.

• 1. We tend to believe our own culture is superior.

• 1. We tend to believe other cultures are superior to our own.

 Which line(s) from the text best supports the correct answer to the previous question?

• “in the mud over a rusty tin in vaguely tropical squalor”

• 1. “my grandmother might as well have been squatting”

• 1. “My grandmother knows one culture—the right one,/as do these matrons of the Middle West.”

• 1. “My grandmother knows one culture—the right one,”

Which tone is most fitting to describe the dialogue of the matrons in the Sears bathroom?

• 1. Respectful

• 1. Objective

• 1. Curious

• 1. Disgusted

Which tone word best describes the narrator's dialogue to the matrons in the Sears bathroom?

• 1. Angry 

• Indifferent

• 1. Polite

• 1. Amused

In "My Grandmother Washes Her Feet in the Sink of the Bathroom at Sears," what type of shift occurs?

• 1. The poem starts with a serious tone and shifts to a humorous tone as the grandmother interacts with other shoppers.

• 1. The poem begins with the narrator feeling embarrassed, but shifts to her feeling proud of her cultural heritage.

• 1. The poem opens with the grandmother feeling confident, then shifts to her feeling ashamed of her actions.

• 1. The poem initially describes the grandmother's daily routine, then shifts to her memories of growing up in Aleppo.