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Packing Up
Two weeks after the funeral, we were at our grandmother’s
house to pack up her things. We had rented a truck for the
next morning, and everything she had ever owned would
be gone from the house by midnight the next night.

It was a daunting task. To pack up a person’s entire life is

always hard, but it was especially difficult to pack up the life
of a person who had lived to be 94 years old; our
grandmother had collected a great deal of things over the
course of her life, many of them were rather heavy. It was
harder still when that person was someone to whom you
were close, meaning that everything that needed to be
packed had personal significance. Every time one of us
picked up something particularly evocative, we’d have to
share it with everyone else in the house. Stories and memories would then be shared, and packing
would momentarily cease. Occasionally tears would trickle lightly as though out of a leaky faucet, but
for the most part the memories would trigger laughter. Still, it made a slow process that much slower.

Our grandmother’s house was not big, and she had kept it clean, even cleaning it the day before she
passed away peacefully in her sleep. That made the packing task a little bit easier. But our
grandmother had seemingly never thrown anything out. She had come of age during the Great
Depression and, remembering the pains of paucity, she had made a silent promise to never do
without again. Thus, she had enough preserved foods in her basement to survive the apocalypse for
at least five years; she had scraps of used wrapping paper from the 1970s that we all recognized as
the adornments of Christmas gifts past (after we’d unwrap the gifts “delicately so not to rip too
much,” she’d always ask for the paper back); she had pots and pans missing handles but still being
technically utile; she had boxes from department stores long since nonexistent anywhere in the
United States; and she had enough used tinfoil pans and trays to make a hundred pies. Some might
call this hoarding, but she wasn’t a slob. She kept things that she knew she would use again, things
that she knew she would someday need. It wasn’t like we discovered stacks of newspaper from forty
years before, empty soda cans, or bags full of misprinted election ballots. No, she just simply had
never adjusted to the disposable culture of our parents’ generation, the generation that bought things
to use once and then threw them out. Our grandmother was an anachronism, but she was not
insane.

Of course, most of the stuff she kept had no use for those of us clearing out her house. We were all
fully immersed in the disposable culture and did not feel the need to prepare for future economic
crises. We threw away everything once we were done with it, and our grandmother’s stuff was no
exception. We packed up the things we deemed valuable—photo albums, the few family heirlooms,
odd trinkets and bric-a-brac that had sentimental value to us. The rest—the collection of
preservatives, the four-times-repaired lamps, the sewn-and-resewn pillows, the chipped coffee
cups—went into the trash. Our grandmother’s life was over, and with it the need to amass a safety
net for a future feared only by those who could remember the last time a safety net was needed. We
said goodbye to our grandmother by packing up her life, and we said goodbye to her generation by
throwing out the products of her fears. Finally, we said goodbye to her empty house.

1) The second paragraph states that packing up the grandmother’s house

I. was emotionally difficult for the packers
II. was a physically demanding chore
III. induced memories and reminiscences

A. I only
B. III only
C. I and II only
D. I and III only
E. I, II, and III

2) As used in paragraph 2, the word evocative belongs in which of the following word groups?

A. vague, indirect, roundabout

B. exciting, arousing, alluring
C. haunting, indelible, memorable
D. reminiscent, suggestive, redolent
E. annoying, infuriating, vexing

3) Each of the following could be found in the grandmother’s house EXCEPT

A. nearly broken pans

B. stacks of newspaper
C. old department store boxes
D. photo albums
E. used wrapping paper

4) A dichotomy is a division between two things that are represented as opposites. In this passage,
a dichotomy is made between

A. the grandmother’s culture and the culture of later generations

B. difficult tasks and ones that are much easier to accomplish
C. saving things for no reason and throwing everything away
D. the grandmother’s lifetime and the short lives of the people packing up her things
E. being very clean and orderly and being sloppy and messy

5) According to the passage, the grandmother kept so much stuff because

A. her mental faculties had deteriorated in her old age

B. her husband had died, and he was responsible for taking out the trash
C. she had experienced need when she was younger
D. she had a sentimental connection with everything she owned
 E. she did not have enough money to buy new things in her old age

6) Each of the following questions is answered by the passage EXCEPT

A. How long did the grandmother live in her house?

B. What did the packers decide was worth keeping from their grandmother’s house?
C. What is the difference between a hoarder’s behavior and the grandmother’s?
D. How long did the packers have to clear out the house?
E. Why did the packers not save everything they found in the house?

7) Which of the following narrative voices is employed in this passage?

A. first person singular

B. first person plural
C. second person plural
D. third person limited
E. third person omniscient

8) Do you personally participate in “disposable culture”? Why or why not?

 Answers and Explanations

1) E
Core Standard: Key Ideas and Details

To answer this question, use process of elimination by skimming paragraph 2. In the second
paragraph, the narrator states that “it was harder” to pack up a person’s life “when that person was
someone to whom you were close, meaning that everything… had personal significance.” This
supports option (I), then, as it implies that the packing process was emotionally difficult for the
packers.

In the second paragraph, the narrator refers to packing the grandmother’s house as being “a
daunting task” and something that “was especially difficult” because of the age the grandmother
lived to be. The author also mentions that "our grandmother had collected a great deal of things over
the course of her life, many of them were rather heavy." The idea that there were many things to
move and that many of these things were rather heavy implies that packing up the grandmother's
house was a physically demanding chore. This supports option (II).

Finally, in the second paragraph, the narrator states that “everything that needed to be packed had
personal significance” and led to “stories and memories.” This supports option (III), as the passage
states that the packing process led to memories and reminiscences.

Because all three options are supported by the passage, choice (E) is correct.

Choices (A), (B), (C), and (D) are each incorrect because none of them provides the complete list of
true options.

2) D
Core Standard: Craft and Structure

evocative (adjective): bringing strong images, memories, or feelings to mind.

In paragraph 2, the narrator refers to picking up “something particularly evocative” that would lead to
“stories and memories.” This implies that evocative means something that brings about memories
and recollections, suggesting that evocative is closest in meaning to words such as reminiscent,
suggestive, and redolent. As such, choice (D) is correct.

In paragraph 2, the narrator refers to picking up “something particularly evocative” that would lead to
“stories and memories.” There is no indication that these memories are unclear in any way, though,
so evocative must not be similar in meaning to vague, indirect, or roundabout. As such, choice (A) is
incorrect.
In paragraph 2, the narrator refers to picking up “something particularly evocative” that would lead to
“stories and memories.” There is no indication that these memories cause thrills in any way, though,
so evocative must not be similar in meaning to exciting, arousing, or alluring. As such, choice (B) is
incorrect.

In paragraph 2, the narrator refers to picking up “something particularly evocative” that would lead to
“stories and memories.” This implies that things that are evocative cause memories, but it does not
imply that they are themselves memorable. Thus, evocative must not be similar in meaning to
haunting, indelible, or memorable. As such, choice (C) is incorrect.

In paragraph 2, the narrator refers to picking up “something particularly evocative” that would lead to
“stories and memories.” There is no indication that these memories are unpleasant or aggravating in
any way, though, so evocative must not be similar in meaning to annoying, infuriating, or vexing. As
such, choice (E) is incorrect.

3) B
Core Standard: Key Ideas and Details

To answer this detail question, look for the part of the passage that describes the items that could
and could not be found in the grandmother’s apartment. This occurs in two parts of the passage:
paragraph 3 and paragraph 4. In paragraph 3, the narrator states that “it wasn’t like we discovered
stacks of newspaper from forty years before.” Thus, stacks of newspaper could NOT be found in the
grandmother’s house, and, since this question asks for the items that could not be found in the
house, choice (B) is correct.

In paragraph 3, the narrator states that the grandmother “had pots and pans missing handles but still
being technically utile.” Thus, the house did contain nearly broken pans, and, since this question
asks for the items NOT found in the house, choice (A) is incorrect.

In paragraph 3, the narrator states that the grandmother “had boxes from department stores long
since nonexistent anywhere in the United States.” Thus, the house did contain old department store
boxes, and, since this question asks for the items NOT found in the house, choice (C) is incorrect.

In paragraph 4, the narrator states that the people packing up the house kept “things [they] deemed
valuable,” including “photo albums.” Thus, the house did contain photo albums, and, since this
question asks for the items NOT found in the house, choice (D) is incorrect.

In paragraph 3, the narrator states that the grandmother “had scraps of used wrapping paper.” Thus,
the house did contain old wrapping paper, and, since this question asks for the items NOT found in
the house, choice (E) is incorrect.

4) A
Core Standard: Integration of Knowledge
In paragraph 3, the narrator makes it clear that the grandmother is not a hoarder, but the narrator
also makes a comparison between the grandmother’s thrifty generation—one that kept everything
because of the memory of the Great Depression—and the “disposable culture of our parents’
generation.” Paragraph 4 further makes it clear that the grandmother was not unique for her
generation, as the narrator discusses saying “goodbye to her generation,” not just her. Thus, a
dichotomy is made between two contrasting generations, so choice (A) is correct.

Though the passage does discuss the difficult task of packing up a late grandmother’s belongings, it
never describes any tasks that are easy. Thus, no dichotomy is made between difficult and easy
tasks, so choice (B) is incorrect.

The narrator does make a comparison between saving things and throwing them away, and the
narrator makes a comparison between keeping things for a reason and just hoarding things for no
reason. However, the narrator never makes a comparison between hoarding and throwing things
away. Thus, there is no dichotomy made between saving things for no reason and throwing
everything away. As such, choice (C) is incorrect.

Though the narrator does describe how long the grandmother lived for, there is no reference to the
lives of those packing up her things. The reader can assume they are not 94 years old, but that’s
about it. Thus, there is no dichotomy about lifespans, and choice (D) is incorrect.

The narrator does state that the grandmother kept a very clean household, but there is no mention of
others being dirty or messy. As such, no dichotomy about cleanliness is made in the passage, and
choice (E) is incorrect.

5) C
Core Standard: Key Ideas and Details

There are a few spots in the passage in which the narrator explains why the grandmother kept so
much stuff. In paragraph 3, the passage states that, “she had come of age during the Great
Depression and, remembering the pains of paucity, she had made a silent promise to never do
without again.” It goes on to say that “she just simply had never adjusted to the disposable culture of
our parents’ generation.” In paragraph 4, it implies that she felt “the need to prepare for future
economic crises.” As such, the passage states that the grandmother kept so much stuff because she
had experienced need when she was younger and did not want to find herself in need in the case of
another economic depression. Choice (C) is correct as a result.

The passage never implies nor states that the grandmother’s mind had begun to deteriorate in her
old age. In fact, it states unequivocally, “she was not insane.” As such, choice (A) is incorrect.

The passage never makes any reference to the grandmother’s husband, so there is no evidence to
support choice (B), making choice (B) incorrect.

Though the narrator references sentimental connections between the things the grandmother kept
and the people packing them up, there is no suggestion that the grandmother herself kept various
objects for sentimental reasons. As such, choice (D) is incorrect.

The passage does not imply that the grandmother was struggling financially at the end of her life or
at any other part of her life, excepting during the Great Depression. As such, there is no evidence to
support choice (E), making it incorrect.

6) A
Core Standard: Integration of Knowledge

The passage never discusses how long the grandmother lived in her house. It does say how old she
was when she died, but it does not say that the she lived in that same house for 94 years or any
other number of years. Thus, choice (A) is correct, as the question asks for the question that is NOT
answered by the passage.

Choice (B) is incorrect because it provides a question that is answered by the passage. In paragraph
4, the narrator writes that “we packed up the things we deemed valuable—photo albums, the few
family heirlooms, odd trinkets and bric-a-brac that had sentimental value.”

Choice (C) is incorrect because it provides a question that is answered by the passage. In paragraph
3, the narrator describes the types of things the grandmother kept and how her behavior did not fit
what people would call “hoarding.” The narrator goes on to suggest that a hoarder would keep
“stacks of newspaper… empty soda cans, or bags of misprinted election ballots,” while the
grandmother “kept things that she knew she would use again.” Thus, a hoarder keeps things for the
sake of keeping things, while the grandmother kept things for a purpose.

Choice (D) is incorrect because it provides a question that is answered by the passage. In paragraph
1, the narrator states that “everything she had ever owned would be gone from the house by the
next night.” Thus, the packers had two days to move everything out of the house.

Choice (E) is incorrect because it provides a question that is answered by the passage. In paragraph
4, the narrator states that “most of the stuff she kept had no use for those of us clearing out her
house” because the packers “were all fully immersed in the disposable culture.” They did not “feel
the need to prepare for future economic crises,” so they did not see the value in keeping most of the
stuff in the grandmother’s house.

7) B
Core Standard: Integration of Knowledge

Throughout the passage, the narrator refers to “we” and “our grandmother.” This indicates that the
narrator is a collective narrator, a group of people rather than an individual. Additionally, the use of
“we” and “our” also indicates that the passage is in the first person; that is, it is told from the
perspective of a character (or in this case, characters) in the story. As such, choice (B) is correct.
Though the passage is written in the first-person voice, it is not a singular voice but a plural. The
narrator refers to “we” and “our grandmother” rather than “I,” “me,” and “my grandmother.” Thus, the
narrator must be a plural speaker, not a singular voice, so choice (A) is incorrect.

This passage is not written in the second person. In the second person, the narrator refers to “you”
and describes what that “you” does in the story. This story is told form the perspective of “we,” not
“you,” so choice (C) is incorrect.

This passage is not written in the third person. In the third person, the narrator describes the actions
of other people, and the protagonist is not a speaker in the story but a character. This story is told
from a character’s perspective, as the narrator refers to “we” and “our grandmother.” Because of
this, both choices (D) and (E) are incorrect.