"Gift-Wrapped Fathers" Selection Quiz

Which statement best expresses a theme of “Gift-Wrapped Fathers”?

• Fathers naturally feel pride and love for their sons.

• Sons handle separation from their fathers better than the fathers do.

• Relationships between fathers and sons naturally weaken over time.

• Sons cannot fully understand the struggles of being a father until they grow up.

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Read line 2 of the poem.

but gone before words cartwheeled off his tongue

The imagery in this line suggests a young child —

•        losing his balance

• yelling at his parent

• excited about learning to speak

• attempting to take his first steps

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CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Read lines 7–14 of the poem. Based on these lines, the reader can reasonably infer that the speaker —

• feels he was overly protective when he was a new father

• enjoyed being a new father despite the challenges he faced

• was more frustrated by the challenges of fatherhood than he expected

• thinks children should show more appreciation for the sacrifices parents make

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CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Which statement best paraphrases lines 20–25 of the poem?

• When people come to visit him at prison, the speaker feels like a character from a crime movie.

• Film portrayals of prisons are mostly accurate, but the speaker’s prison uses mirrors instead of Plexiglas.

• The speaker compares the experience and emotions of receiving a visit in prison with how they are portrayed in films.

• When he sees his son through the glass during a visit in prison, the speaker is saddened by how much his son looks like him.

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CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Read lines 37–39 of the poem.

praying to one day
see your son rise
then your son set

Which statement best explains the figurative meaning of the poet’s play on the words sunrise
and sunset?

• The speaker wants to see his son grow up and get on the path to success.

• The speaker wants to be able to watch the sun rise and set with his son.

• The speaker wishes his son would visit for a whole day instead of a few hours.

• The speaker hopes to have another son and be present for his childhood.

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CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Which statement best paraphrases lines 43–49 of the poem?

•  Even though the speaker and his family are exhausted by their visits to the prison, he can never sleep after they leave.

• The speaker keeps track of every moment he spends with his family and every moment he is separated from them.

• The speaker wonders whether the visits are worth it because each visit is shorter than the time it takes his family to get there.

• After each visit, the speaker tries to remember every moment, while his family goes home saddened by what might have been.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Based on lines 55–62 of the poem, the reader can infer that the speaker —

• resents the fact that another man gets to act like a father to his son

• has a negative view of himself that he struggles to keep hidden

• is afraid that his son will eventually forget about him

• cares more about his son’s mother than his son  

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CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Read lines 73–74 of the poem.

so you write in second person
cause you feel like that’s the kind of father you’ve been

Which statement best explains why the speaker writes in second person?

• He is partly speaking to his own father, who was absent just like he has been.

• He feels like a secondary father figure compared to his son’s stepfather.

• He feels like he has experienced his son’s childhood from a distance instead of firsthand.

• He is speaking to all fathers who have ever been imprisoned and missed their sons.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Read line 77 of the poem.

just another father gift-wrapped in sorry

What tone does the phrase gift-wrapped in sorry convey?

• Angry but distant

• Impersonal but true

• Regretful but loving

• Uncertain but optimistic

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CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Read the following line from the poem "then baby-wiped your own tears when the chains came" (line 14). What literary device is present in this line?

• Situational irony, because it is not expected that a child would have wipe a parent's tears.

• Situational irony, because the baby in the poem is not aware his father is going to be imprisoned.

• Metaphor, because the baby in the poem is being compared to an adult.

• Verbal irony, because the speaker is not referring to an actual baby.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9