Senior ELA Bootcamp Support-Literature

How do the interactions between the narrator and Miss Whiteside in paragraphs 1-2 advance the plot of the passage?

• The interactions provoke a change in the narrator and compel her to defend herself against Miss Whiteside.

• The interactions raise awareness in the narrator and help her realize that Miss Whiteside does not like her.

• The interactions teach Miss Whiteside a lesson and make her understand that the narrator is actually a kind person.

• The interactions infuriate Miss Whiteside and add additional strain to her relationship with the narrator.

Which quotation supports the inference that the narrator is different than Miss Whiteside perceives?

• She told me that I was utterly unmindful of the little niceties of the well-groomed lady. (paragraph 2)

• When I had to say something to her, I mumbled and stuttered, and grew red and white in the face with fear. (paragraph 3)

• She did not see how I longed for beauty and cleanliness. (paragraph 5)

• I didn't care for myself, nor the dean, nor the whole laundered world. (paragraph 7)

Read the sentence from paragraph 14. What effect do the phrases “unclean one” and “fashioning the pedestal of their cleanliness” have on the passage?

• They show that the narrator believes that the students at the college are too concerned with their appearances.

• They show that the narrator believes that one day she will be as sophisticated as the other students at the college.

• They show that the narrator resents that her hard work in the laundry has gone largely unnoticed.

• They show that the narrator feels that she has helped create an image of perfection that she can never obtain.

Select two statements that best describe how the narrator changes as a result of her experiences at college.

• She finds the strength within to stand up for herself.

• She gains a better understanding of how to show authority respect.

• She grows to resent the society she once admired.

• She learns that people act cruelly toward others to mask their own pain.

• She realizes that the opinions of others do not matter.

Which two quotations from the passage support the idea that the narrator was judged based on personal appearance?

• At last I came to college. I rushed for it with the outstretched arms of youth’s aching hunger to give and take of life’s deepest and highest, and I came against the solid wall of the well-fed, well-dressed world—the frigid whitewashed wall of cleanliness.

• When I came to her office, and asked her why she did not pass me, she said that she could not recommend me as a teacher because of my personal appearance.

• I was too frenzied to know what I said or did. But I saw clean, immaculate, spotless Miss Whiteside shrivel and tremble and cower before me, as I had shriveled and trembled and cowered before her for so many years.

• Eight hours of work a day, outside my studies. Where were the time and the strength for the 'little niceties of the well-groomed lady'?

• Miss Whiteside had no particular reason for hounding and persecuting me. Personally, she didn’t give a hang if I was clean or dirty.

What is a theme of the passage?

• Hard work is essential to building a strong character.

• Appearances convey information about people's personalities.

• Opinions based solely on appearance often prove false.

• Education opens doors to opportunities that would otherwise be closed.

Which quotation from the passage supports the answer in Part A?

• Miss Whiteside, the dean of our college, withheld my diploma. When I came to her office, and asked her why she did not pass me, she said that she could not recommend me as a teacher because of my personal appearance.

• She never looked into my eyes. She never perceived that I had a soul. She did not see how I longed for beauty and cleanliness.

• But I, after college hours, had only time to bolt a soggy meal, and rush back to the grind of the laundry till eleven at night.

• For six years I went about nursing the illusion that college was a place where I should find self-expression, and vague, pent-up feelings could live as thoughts and grow as ideas.

How does the narrator’s background affect her perception of herself?

• Having struggled all of her life, the narrator feels ashamed and inferior to her peers.

• Having worked from an early age, the narrator lacks interest in making friends.

• Having struggled all of her life, the narrator believes she is entitled to success.

• Having worked from an early age, the narrator becomes obsessed with wealth.

Select two ways in which the author builds tension.

• by contrasting the narrator's life with the lives of her fellow students and teachers

• by describing the narrator's jealousy of Miss Whiteside's position as dean

• by explaining the reasons why the narrator is undeserving of her diploma

• by highlighting the cruelty Miss Whiteside displays toward the narrator

• by illustrating the narrator's ability to balance both work and school

How does the flashback in paragraphs 15-19 create suspense?

• The flashback conveys the experiences that helped prepare the narrator for college.

• The flashback describes the terrible environment in which the narrator was raised.

• The flashback reveals the narrator's determination to accomplish her goals.

• The flashback shows the narrator's feelings of uncertainty about her future.