Read the following excerpt from Sandra Cisneros’s story “Mericans.” “¿Quieres chicle?” the lady asks in a Spanish too big for he
r mouth. “Gracias.” The lady gives him a whole handful of gum for free, little cellophane cubes of Chiclets, cinnamon and aqua and the white ones that don’t taste like anything but are good for pretend buck teeth. “Por favor,” says the lady. “¿Un foto?” pointing to her camera. “Si.” She’s so busy taking Junior’s picture, she doesn’t notice me and Keeks. Which statement best describes the irony of the woman’s actions? She speaks Spanish better than any of the children. She assumes that the children speak Spanish instead of English. She is too busy taking a picture to notice the other two children. She mistakenly believes that the children have never had Chiclets before.
