Only Daughter Essay

1. Which of the following inferences is best supported by the following passage?

“I was/am the only daughter and only a daughter. Being an only daughter in a family of six sons forced me by circumstance to spend a lot of time by myself because my brothers felt it beneath them to play with a girl in public.”

• A. She is proud that she is the only girl sibling.

• B. She wishes she had been born a boy.

• C. She wishes she had sisters.

• D. She believes that she may not be considered as valuable as a son.

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2. What does the following paragraph mainly reveal about the author’s father?

“Being only a daughter for my father meant my destiny would lead me to become someone’s wife. That’s what he believed. But when I was in fifth grade and shared my plans for college with him, I was sure he understood. I remember my father saying, “Que bueno, mi’ja, that’s good.” That meant a lot to me… What I didn’t realize was that my father thought college was good for girls—for finding a husband.”

• A. He fears for his daughter’s safety.

• B. He is afraid to stand up to his sons.

• C. He wants his daughter to get married.

• D. He thinks his daughter should attend college so that she can get a high-paying job.

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3. Which of the following quotes best supports the author’s need for her father to be proud of her?

• A. “She teaches. “Es maestra—teacher.”

• B. “I wanted my father to understand what it was I was scribbling, to introduce me as “My only daughter, the writer.”

• C. “What I didn’t realize was that my father thought college was good for girls—for finding a husband.”

• D. “After four years in college and two more in graduate school, and still no husband, my father shakes his head even now and says I wasted all that education.”

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4. What information mainly does this excerpt convey about the author?

"Each time, my father would seek out the parish priest in order to get a tuition break, and complain or boast: “I have seven sons.” He meant siete hijos, seven children, but he translated it as “sons”. “I have seven sons.” To anyone who would listen. “I have seven sons.” As if he deserved a medal from the state.”

• A. It explains the author’s feeling that she is not important to her father.

• B. It reveals the author prefers to speak English.

• C. It shows the author’s dislike of her brothers.

• D. The author believes that her father deserves to be recognized by the state.

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5. Which of the following inferences about the author is best supported by this passage?

“I was/am the only daughter and only a daughter. Being an only daughter in a family of six sons forced me by circumstance to spend a lot of time by myself because my brothers felt it beneath them to play with a girl in public. But that aloneness, that loneliness, was good for a would-be writer—it allowed me time to think, to imagine, to read and prepare myself.”

• A. She visualizes being a good wife and mother one day.

• B. She enjoys playing with her brothers.

• C. She is glad that her father encourages her from the get-go.

• D. She believes her loneliness as a child helped to make her a better writer.

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6. Which sentence most strongly supports your answer to Question 5?

• A. “It meant it didn’t matter if I majored in something silly like English.”

• B. “Being only a daughter for my father meant my destiny would lead me to become someone’s wife.”

• C. “But that aloneness, that loneliness, was good for a would-be writer—it allowed me time to think, to imagine, to read and prepare myself.”

• D. “Being an only daughter in a family of six sons forced me by circumstance to spend a lot of time by myself because my brothers felt it beneath them to play with a girl in public.”

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7. Which of the following inferences about the author’s success is best supported in the excerpt?

• A. She is thrilled that she is famous.

• B. The fact that her father likes her story means the most to her.

• C. She never stops trying to be the center of attention in her family.

• D. She makes certain that every family member reads her story.

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8. Which sentence from the excerpt best supports your answer to Question 7?

• A. “Of all the wonderful things that happened to me last year, that was the most wonderful.”

• B. “In retrospect, I’m lucky my father believed daughters were meant for husbands.”

• C. “Why would anyone go to college and then choose to be poor?”

• D. “Last year, after ten years of writing professionally, the financial rewards started to trickle in.”

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9. Which one of the following definitions is not correct?

• circumstance = a condition that influences some event or activity

• embroider = to add imaginative details in order to make something more elaborate or interesting

• nostalgia = a feeling of longing for the past

• retrospect = looking forward to the future

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Which of the following occurs last in the essay?

• Her father misses Mexico, and routinely packs up the car and takes his family back home, only to return to Chicago, again and again.

• Since her father expects her to use college to find a husband, he doesn’t interfere with the author’s choice of an English major.

• After 10 years of writing, the author achieves success from receiving two fellowships, a professorship at a prestigious university, and a publishing contract.

• The author’s brothers do not invite her to join in their playtime, so she gets used to spending many hours by herself, to develop her intellect.