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180 Unit 2 ■ Analyzing Comparisons and Representations

SUGGESTED ANSWERS FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: Word Choice, Imagery, and Symbols
TO THE QUESTIONS
5. The narrator’s word choice reveals the tension within the story and within
5. Responses may vary. The author’s choice herself. Give an example of a specific word or phrase that highlights this
for the character Susie to use the word underlying tension within Lourdes or the text.
“portorican” first in line 50 reflects how 6. The story’s conclusion includes a range of images. How do these images
Lourdes perceived others’ insensitivity to her contribute to the story’s figurative meaning?
heritage. Moreover, when both Susie and
Mrs. Phillips misconstrue Lourdes’s (and FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: Comparisons
Copyright (c) 2023 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Uncorrected proofs were used with this sample chapter.
Christina’s) names, the author communicates
that Lourdes is not seen, understood, or 7. There are many comparisons in the text. Choose one example and then explain
accepted truly as she is because she is poor how the comparison contributes to your interpretation of the story.
and not white. 8. “Cloud Nine” is often defined as a feeling of elation. Explain how the title
6. Responses may vary. The poster in Mrs. functions as a metaphor for the story.
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.
Phillips’s room (described in lines 234–263)
is a representation of the feelings/concepts IDEAS IN LITERATURE: Opportunity and Loss
that Lourdes wants: she seeks the feeling of
an idyllic family, belonging (as represented 9. How does this story dramatize a struggle with opportunity and loss? What
elements represent opportunity? What aspects represent loss? How does the
by the children with blond hair), sustenance relationship between these two ideas create tension within the story?
(the sandwiches), and leisure/participation
in American popular culture (watching The PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Brady Bunch). She wishes to “Be Healthy, Be
Happy” as the poster instructs, but finds it to 10. The story functions on both the literal and figurative levels. What happens
be unattainable, which is why she yearns for in “Cloud Nine,” literally? How do the actions and dialogue contribute to the
Cloud Nine. ambiguous and more figurative ending of the story?
7. Responses may vary. In lines 315–316,
Mami’s mouth is “like a bruise, angry and
hard.” Comparing her mouth to a bruise is
a clear indication that Lourdes associates
her mother with pain (physical pain inflicted
upon Mami by her father, as well as the
emotional pain Mami inflicts upon her
daughter Lourdes). Lourdes’s relationship
with her parents (and with her mother) is
characterized by anger, rigidity, and difficulty.
8. Lourdes seeks Cloud Nine because she
seeks peace of mind, belonging, fulfillment,
affection, and safety in her life. Because
she is so young, she believes that if she can
run away and to another place (much like a
perfect imaginary world), she’ll experience
what she’s yearning for.
9. The American Dream is a belief that all
people can find opportunities for a better
life in the United States. The Martinez
family likely came from Puerto Rico to
pursue opportunities (economic mobility,
for example) and now experience personal
loss within the family, social standing
within the community, and potentially in
economic standing as well. Immigration is an 03_williamlit1e_46174_ch02_116_207.indd 180 22/09/22 9:47 AM
experience of both opportunity for a potential
of a brighter future and loss of one’s identity
at the same time.
10. On Cloud Nine, the sources of Lourdes’s
pain cease to exist and are instead replaced
with sources of happiness and fulfillment.
This may be interpreted to mean that the
perfect state of being that Lourdes longs
for is immaterial or even beyond death.
Lourdes’s interactions with Bambi support
this interpretation; however, it’s possible to
interpret the end of the selection as Lourdes
literally being enveloped in a cloud and
seeking release from an imaginary state of
being given the rush of the physical activity in
swinging.

180 Unit 2 Analyzing Comparisons and Representations

03_williamlitte1e_47545_ch02_116_207_3pp.indd 180 08/12/22 5:38 PM