Question

Read the excerpt from Rudolfo Anaya’s essay “Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry.”


Tortillas and poetry. They go hand in hand. Books nourish the spirit, bread nourishes our bodies. Our distinct cultures nourish each one of us, and as we know more and more about the art and literature of the different cultures, we become freer and freer. . . .


I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to sample different ethnic foods, the breads of many many groups; just as many of us enjoy sampling books from different areas of the world. I travel to foreign countries, and I know more about myself as I learn more about my fellow human beings. Censorship imposes itself in my path of knowledge, and that activity can be justified by no one.


Which phrase from the excerpt best helps the reader identify the author’s purpose?

“I know more about myself as I learn more about my fellow human beings”

“I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to sample different ethnic foods”

“many of us enjoy sampling books from different areas of the world”

“we know more and more about the art and literature of the different cultures”

Answer 1

The phrase of the excerpt of Rudolfo Anaya's essay "Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry" which best help the reader identify the author's purpose is "I know more of myself as I learn more about fellow human beings". In this essay, Anaya speaks about the inequity that Mexican-Americans face when they try to be published. They are compelled by publishers and editors to "take the tortillas out of their poetry" as a way of saying that to be published they have to take from their work the Mexican culture, which makes them special. "Tortillas", in this essay, mean both Mexican food and Mexican culture. Anaya says that he when he learns other ways and other cultures he knows more about himself and feels freer.

Answer 2

Answer:

A. “I know more about myself as I learn more about my fellow human beings”

Explanation:

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