AP Literature Essential Skills

Reminder:

A narrator’s or speaker’s perspective may influence the details and amount of detail in a text and may reveal biases, motivations, or understandings.

The speaker begins the poem by stating “I come back to your youth, my Nana” (line 1), but the primary transformation sought overall is

• an escape from her own immaturity

• a release from her memories of Nana

• a recapturing of a sense of life’s possibilities

• a reconciliation with her aging Nana

• a reengagement with her present circumstances

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CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

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CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Reminder:

Descriptive words, such as adjectives and adverbs, qualify or modify the things they describe and affect the readers’ interaction with the text.

In line 6, the phrase “middle age” describes the

• speaker’s age in the poem

• age the speaker imagines Nana to be

• age of the speaker when she last saw Nana

• age the speaker remembers most clearly

• speaker’s age when Nana returned from Paris

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CCSS.RL.11-12.8

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Reminder:

Words with multiple meanings or connotations add nuance or complexity that can contribute to interpretations of a text.

Line 11 (“I have kept up”) is in reference to both

• feeling “mad” (line 3) and being in a state of “not knowing” (lines 16 and 17)

• “howling” (line 5) and spending “Each night” (line 13) awake

• having “high hair” (line 7) and being an “actress” (line 14)

• the “miles” (line 8) walked and the “letters” (line 12) read

• riding in a “carriage” (line 9) and tending a “sore toe” (line 19)

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CCSS.RL.11-12.8

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Reminder:

Similes liken two different things to transfer the traits or qualities of one to another.

In line 14 (“and learn...lines”), the speaker uses a simile to

• display her need for attention

• reminisce about childhood dreams

• describe Nana as a young woman

• emphasize the importance of hard work

• evoke a sense of deep passion and commitment

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CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.4

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CCSS.RL.9-10.10

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Reminder:

Interpretation of a metaphor may depend on the context of its use; that is, what is happening in a text may determine what is transferred in the comparison.

Which of the following best paraphrases the meaning of line 16, “not knowing I would be your last home”?

• Nana’s letters were intended for her family at home.

• Nana’s letters were unappreciated until the speaker read them.

• The speaker now provides a figurative home for Nana’s memories.

• Neither Nana nor the speaker has a real home.

• The speaker now lives in a home like Nana’s.

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CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Reminder:

The syntactical arrangement of phrases and clauses in a sentence can emphasize details or ideas and convey a narrator’s or speaker’s tone.

In lines 30-31 (“my husband...hot baths”), the primary effect of using a list is to

• establish the speaker’s inability to support her family

• show that the speaker has no reliance on material goods

• demonstrate how the speaker’s routine has been organized

• emphasize the speaker’s detachment from her daily life

• highlight the speaker’s aversion to daily customs

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CCSS.RL.5.6

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Reminder:

Narrators may function as characters in the narrative who directly address readers and either recall events or describe them as they occur.

The fourth stanza (lines 37-51) makes particular use of

• third-person point of view

• an unreliable speaker

• stream of consciousness

• direct address

• epiphany

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CCSS.RL.1.6

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Reminder:

An image can be literal or it can be a form of comparison that represents something in a text through associations with the senses.

The images of “I too have the sore toe you tend with cotton” (line 19) and “our blue fingers” (line 45) serve primarily to

• comment on the effects of Paris’s harsh climate

• imply that living in Paris is especially dangerous for the speaker

• signify a bond between the speaker and Nana

• suggest that the speaker is delusional

• invoke a perception of Nana as a doting caretaker

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CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

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CCSS.RL.9-10.10

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Reminder:

A character’s perspective may shift during the course of a narrative.

The difference between “we will be sisters!” (line 38) and “Come, my sister” (line 48) indicates that

• a desire has been fulfilled

• the speaker is desperate

• the speaker deceives herself

• the original Nana has disappeared

• a request has been ignored

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CCSS.RL.11-12.3

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Reminder:

Words with multiple meanings or connotations add nuance or complexity that can contribute to interpretations of a text.

The claim that “we are two virgins” (line 49) is meant figuratively to emphasize the speaker’s pursuit of

• femininity and purity

• restoration and renewal

• devotion and asceticism

• caution and reserve

• romance and elation

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CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

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