Directions:
Our world is filled with quotations that bring us insight, provide an interesting thought, or give an important
perspective. Take a moment to consider the quotations listed in the prompt. Choose one. In a short paragraph,
explain your interpretation of the quotation. Consider these questions:
•
What does this quotation mean to you?
Why do you think the author or character wrote or stated it?
Be sure to use specific examples or textual evidence from research, the readings in this class, or your own
experiences and knowledge.
Prompt:
Example 1: In "La Puerta," the character of Sinesio reacts to the thought of being separated from his family:
Sinesio's heart sank as if he was being pushed out or had already left his home. She would join
her compadres as another undocumented widow. Already he missed his three children, Celso, Jenaro, and
Natasia his eldest, a joy every time he saw her. "An absence in the heart is an empty pain," he thought.
Example 2: In "Two Kinds," Part 2, the first-person narrator describes her experience as she goes through her
deceased mother's possessions:
My mother had died a few months before and I had been getting things in order for my father, a little bit at a
time. I put the jewelry in special silk pouches. The sweaters she had knitted in yellow, pink, bright orange-all
the colors I hated-I put those in mothproof boxes. I found some old Chinese silk dresses, the kind with little
slits up the sides. I rubbed the old silk against my skin, then wrapped them in tissue and decided to take them
home with me.