Frank McCourt, Whose Irish Childhood Illuminated His Prose, Is Dead at 78:” How does the anecdote about McCourt assigning studen
ts to write “an excuse letter” in the paragraph below add to the development of his story? “Mr. McCourt developed an idiosyncratic teaching style that found a somewhat more receptive audience at the elite Stuyvesant High School, where he taught creative writing after earning a master’s degree in English from Brooklyn College in 1967. He had students sing Irish songs to break down their resistance to poetry. After discovering a sheaf of written excuses from past years, he recognized an unexplored literary genre and asked students to write, say, an excuse letter from Adam or Eve to God, explaining why he or she should not be punished for eating the apple.” Question 44 options: a) It illustrates another example of writing through using one’s own experiences. b) It puts forth the idea that McCourt was an even better teacher than he was a writer. c) It shows where he got the idea for what the format of Angela’s Ashes should be. d) It provides another instance of McCourt bringing one of his childhood traditions from Ireland and sharing it in America.
