My grandmother gave me bad advice and good advice when I was in my early teens. For the bad advice, she said that I should becom
e a barber because they made good money and listened to the radio all day. “Honey, they don’t work como burros,” she would say every time I visited her. She made the sound of donkeys braying. “Like that, honey!” For the good advice, she said that I should marry a Mexican girl. “No Okies, hijo”—she would say— “Look, my son. He marry one and they fight every day about I don’t know what and I don’t know what.” For her, everyone who wasn’t Mexican, black, or Asian were Okies. The French were Okies, the Italians in suits were Okies. . . . she lectured me on the virtues of the Mexican girl. What inference can be made about the grandmother’s point of view in this excerpt?
A. She is eager to assimilate herself and her family into mainstream American culture.
B. She is unwilling to embrace any aspect of multiculturalism because she detests American culture.
C. She wants to preserve her family’s Mexican culture even though she no longer lives in Mexico.
D. She believes that marrying an “Okie” is equivalent to ruining any prospects of financial success.
The answer is C. She wants to preserve her family’s Mexican culture even though she no longer lives in Mexico.
Explanation:
In the excerpt presented, the narrator describes the ideas his grandmother has about the job he should have and the type of woman he should marry. In this, it is revealed the grandmother wants his grandson to become a barber, and also she opposes he marries an "Okie" or a woman that is not Mexican, this shows the grandmother resist part of the new culture and she aims at preserving her family's Mexican culture which explains she does not want influences from other cultures. This also means she does not necessarily hate American culture but she just opposes someone that is not Mexican becomes part of the family including Italians, Asians, French, etc. and not only Americans. Therefore, it can be inferred the grandmother "wants to preserve her family’s Mexican culture even though she no longer lives in Mexico".
The transition word in this passage is "but." Transition words (or phrases) connect ideas in writing, helping the writer follow a train of thought. They ease the transition between different statements, and when used properly, make reading easier. In this case, Janeczko brings the reader along from noting a state of peace between two factions to remembering that the peace did not eradicate suspicion.
