Unit 4 Contemporary Postmodernism Unit Test.

57. Read the following poem by Grace Paley and answer the question that follows. Your
response should be 2–3 sentences in length. (4 points)

"Family"

by Grace Paley

My father was brilliant embarrassed funny handsome

my mother was plain serious principled kind

my grandmother was intelligent lonesome for her

other life her dead children silent

my aunt was beautiful bitter angry loving

I fell among these adjectives in earliest childhood

and was nearly buried with opportunity

some of them stuck to me others

finding me American and smooth slipped away

What does the speaker of the poem imply about being American?

Student answer: The speaker implies that being American means you have ideal
qualities. When she writes that, "...finding me American and smooth slipped away," she
is implying that American's are smooth and "perfect" and only have positive qualities.
So with all the adjectives that she describes above, she says that she only inherits the
good qualities.

58. Explain the impact of female writers during the Post-modernist literary period. Using the
stories I Want to Be Miss America and The Struggle to Be an All-American Girl, explain how
stereotypes were discussed in literature during this time period. Use two examples from
either of the stories to support your response. (16 points)

Student Response: Female writers impacted the Post-Modernist Literary period because
they gave people a chance to see things from a woman's point of view. The Post-
Modernist period had writings from people of all different races, ethnicities, and
heritages. It was a time when the diversity of America was showcased through different
styles of writing from lots different people. Women's voices were heard more clearly
during this time. Women were able to more freely express themselves and their
thoughts. And others were able to learn from them through their works.

In the literature of this time period, stereotypes were sought-after. Many immigrants,
especially kids and teens, felt the need to become more "American." They wanted to fit
in and just be like everyone else. For example, Alvarez writes, "Although we wanted to
look like we belonged here... our looks didn't seem to fit in. We complained about how
short we were, about how our hair frizzed..." They didn't like how they looked different,
or had parents that spoke a different language, or had different food for dinner. They
wanted to be beautiful by what they thought was the American standard of beauty.
They wanted to be the stereotypical American. Alvarez writes, "I knew I would never be
one of those girls, ever... It was who she was - an American - and we were not." This
gap between what they were and the stereotype they wanted to be shows how some
people of that time looked at what being American meant.

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