AP Literature Skills Unit

Reminder:

Description, dialogue, and behavior reveal characters to readers.

The description in the middle of the first paragraph (“Chanu bought...head”) implies that Chanu

• seeks to impress his new acquaintances in the city

• does not normally wear such items

• has no idea what tourists actually wear

• would prefer to stay home rather than leave the house

• prefers inexpensive to expensive clothing

Reminder:

Punctuation is often crucial to the understanding of a text.

Toward the end of the first paragraph, the quotation marks around the phrase “entertainment factor” imply that

• none of the places Chanu wants to visit are entertaining

• the measurement is largely personal and largely idiosyncratic

• the measurement is not as important as other elements of the rating system

• Chanu has little faith that his rating system is actually worthwhile

• Chanu’s primary wish is to entertain his daughters

Reminder:

Character changes can be visible and external, such as changes to health or wealth, or can be internal, psychological or emotional changes; external changes can lead to internal changes, and vice versa.

In the first and second paragraphs respectively, Chanu’s mood shifts from

• purposeful to reflective

• idealistic to realistic

• practical to fantastical

• self-confident to self-pitying

• hopeful to disillusioned

Reminder:

Characters’ choices--in speech, action, and inaction--reveal what they value.

The first sentence of the passage and the words spoken by Chanu in the second paragraph (“I’ve spent...around”) indicate that he

• is largely apprehensive about the outside world

• has had priorities other than pleasure for much of his life

• prefers avoiding the company of others

• secretly dislikes the city in which he lives

• finds it challenging to navigate city streets

Reminder:

Perspective is how narrators, characters, or speakers understand their circumstances, and is informed by background, personality traits, biases, and relationships.

Shahana’s complaints in the third paragraph (“You’ll stink...with you”) primarily suggest that she

• wants to ruin her father’s project

• had wanted to eat at a restaurant instead

• feels embarrassed by her family’s ways

• is jealous of Bibi

• is angered by her father’s passivity

Reminder:

When readers consider a character, they should examine how that character interacts with other characters, groups, or forces and what those interactions may indicate about the character.

In the fifth paragraph, the sentence “She had neglected them, these feet” indicates that Nazneen’s attitude toward her husband is marked by all of the following EXCEPT

• deference and duty

• tenderness and love

• care and attentiveness

• responsibility and guilt

• indifference and contempt

Reminder:

Characters reveal their perspectives and biases through the words they use, the details they provide in the text, the organization of their thinking, the decisions they make, and the actions they take.

Nazneen’s gesture at the end of the fifth paragraph (“She brushed...shoulder”) is one of

• desperation

• affection

• exasperation

• determination

• hopefulness

Reminder:

Contrasts often represent conflicts in values related to character, narrator, or speaker perspectives on ideas represented by a text.

The interaction between Chanu and his daughters in the sixth paragraph (“He turned...window”) serves to

• show Chanu’s impatience for exciting events to happen

• suggest that Chanu is more affectionate toward his daughters than toward Nazneen

• illustrate a contrast between Chanu’s two daughters

• indicate Chanu’s regrets about his life

• foreshadow Chanu’s encounter with the conductor

Reminder:

When readers consider a character, they should examine how that character interacts with other characters, groups, or forces and what those interactions may reveal about the character.

Chanu’s attempt to converse with the conductor in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth paragraphs (“Can you tell...from a local”) indicates his

• insistence upon making decisions systematically

• preference for avoiding serious topics with strangers

• desire to befriend everyone he meets

• indifference about the city in which he lives

• anxiety about social interactions

Reminder:

When readers consider a character, they should examine how that character interacts with other characters, groups, or forces and what those interactions may indicate about the character.

During the exchange between Chanu and the conductor in the fourteenth and fifteenth paragraphs (“Where’ve you...thirty years”), Chanu most likely assumes that the conductor

• is taken aback by the clothing that he is wearing

• has previously seen him traveling on this bus route

• incorrectly assumes he is a visiting tourist

• thinks the answers to his questions are obvious

• shrewdly assesses the dynamic of his family