How to succinctly and effectively

answer questions about reading

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 In “Champion of the World,” an excerpt from her autobiography,  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou
presents us with the portrait of a rural African-American community in the 1940s, people who are riveted to the radio
broadcast of the heavyweight world championship boxing match.  The contenders are a white challenger and the black
champion, the great Joe Louis.  On the surface it is just a sporting event, but beneath the surface their fate as a people
seems to ride on whether the champion loses or once again prevails.
The excerpt presents us with a clear, moving portrait of the people of Stamps, Arkansas, who come across as an
extended family sticking together through good times and bad.  They are crammed into Maya’s uncle’s store to listen to
the only radio for miles around—a detail which tells us just how poor and deprived these people are.  Everyone is there,
even the “Christian ladies” who would otherwise never condone any kind of violence.  During the time of the fight, all
differences are erased.  They are as one: “We didn’t breathe.  We didn’t hope.  We waited” (8).  Everyone is in synch as
they ride the roller-coaster of the fight. 
In fact, they are more than just a rural Black community; they are representatives of the entire African-American
race.  When Joe is losing, the metaphoric implications extend beyond the people in the store:  “”My race groaned.  It was
our people falling.  It was another lynching, yet another Black man hanging on a tree.  One more woman ambushed and
raped.  A Black boy whipped and maimed.  It was hounds on the trail of a man running through slimy swamps.  It was a
white woman slapping her maid for being forgetful” (8). The prospect of Joe’s loss conjures up all these classic, tragic
images of prejudice and discrimination.
This little story tells us a great deal about the difficulty of race relations at the time.  African Americans were
discriminated against and kept down by being made to feel inferior.  Segregation in this country kept Black and White
Americans from going to school together, from working together, and from marrying together.  We can see from this
little town of Stamps just how completely segregated the American South was at the time.  Boxing is one of the few
areas in which they could compete on a level playing field, and it is a chance for a man like Joe Louis to prove his
toughness and resourcefulness.  For him to win and maintain the championship belt means that African Americans can
aspire to equality with Whites, and this means everything to them.  They can dream of a better future for themselves
and their children.  However, they are not so foolish as to assume that Joe’s victory changes everything.  At the end of
the story we are told that they know better than to be outside on the night of this victory; they will face the wrath and
retribution of their oppressors:  “It wouldn’t do for a Black man and his family to be caught on a lonely country road on
a night when Joe Louis had proved that we were the strongest people in the world” (9).
“Champion of the World” is a powerful, memorable story.  It brings us directly into the minds and experiences of the
people in Stamps.  The images are very strong, for example the one about the babies perched on their mothers’ laps,
nearly falling to the floor as their mothers get wrapped up in the fight.  The story gives us a clear understanding of how
much the championship bout meant to them.  It is uplifting, while also being very real.  It allows us to learn, and to feel.

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A stands for answer the question.
Before we answer the question, we must
restate the question that is asked…

 Model: What are two examples of figurative language in

the short story “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan?

 Application: How does the narrator's age affect the tone of this essay? 
Give examples of language particularly appropriate to a fourteen-
year-old?

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 To restate the question we use the same
words in the question to form a sentence.
 Example What are two examples of figurative
language in the short story “Fish Cheeks” by Amy
Tan?

 In “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan, two

examples of figurative language
are…

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 After
restating- we must add our
answer.

 In“Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan, two

examples of figurative language
are simile and hyperbole.

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 After
we answer the question, we
must CITE our answer by finding a
DIRECT QUOTE from the story to
show support/proof.
 You MUST put quotation marks
around your proof because you
are borrowing words from the
author that are not your own.

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A In “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan, two examples of


figurative language are simile and hyperbole.

 “He was not Chinese, but as white

C
as Mary in the manger. For
Christmas I prayed for this blond-
haired boy, Robert, and a slim new
American nose.”

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 Expanding your answer is a SIMPLE and DIRECT ONE
sentence CONNECTION to your answer.
 Avoid the what and answer the WHY or HOW.
 Do NOT introduce any new information in your
conclusion statement.
 Do not make your explanation more than one sentence!
 Keep it simple! Stay on the main topic!
 This is where you dig deep. What other details are
there about the evidence that you could point out?

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A  In “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan, two examples of figurative
language are simile and hyperbole.

C “He was not Chinese, but as white as Mary in the



manger. For Christmas I prayed for this blond-haired

boy, Robert, and a slim new American nose.”

E
 Considering that the biblical Mary was
probably not a Cinderella lookalike, and
that Santa Clause traditionally delivers
toys makes the story even funnier.

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The Rough Draft
 In “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan, two examples of figurative language the author uses are simile and

hyperbole.
 “He was not Chinese, but as white as Mary in the manger. For Christmas I prayed for this blond-haired

boy, Robert, and a slim new American nose.”

 Considering that the biblical Mary was probably not a Cinderella lookalike, and that Santa Clause

traditionally delivers toys makes the story even funnier.

Write your answer in paragraph form!@!

In “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan, two examples of figurative language the

author uses are simile and hyperbole. “He was not Chinese, but as
white as Mary in the manger. For Christmas I prayed for this blond-
haired boy, Robert, and a slim new American nose.” Considering that
the biblical Mary was probably not a Cinderella lookalike, and that Santa
Clause traditionally delivers toys instead of noses only makes this
narrative about a school-girl crush even more comical.

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 There will be one question on your
test that will ask one question about
BOTH stories, this is called either a
crossover (2012), paired (2013) or
connecting (2014).

 Whatever calls it THIS

year, you can still ACE it.
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Howare Amy Tan’s “Fish
Cheeks” and Maya
Angelou’s “Champion of the
World” similar?

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Restate and Answer the question…

 Maya Angelou’s “Champion of the

World” and Amy Tan’s “Fish Cheeks”
are similar in that both grapple
with cultural shame in Anglo
worlds.

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 Maya Angelou’s “Champion of the World” and Amy
A Tan’s “Fish Cheeks” are similar in that both grapple
with cultural shame in Anglo worlds.
Tan is mortified at what her crush Robert will “think
of our shabby Chinese Christmas” and goes so far as
C1 to wish for a “slim new American nose” to
compliment Robert’s blond hair.

Angelou recounts the anguished triumph of a negro

boxer beating a white contender in segregated
C2 America and admits that it would be detrimental for
“a black man and his family to be caught on a lonely
road on a night when Joe Louis had proved that we
were the strongest people in the world.”

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 Both stories deal with
E humiliation, feeling inferior.

(But what else? Needs more elaboration

based on the answer and cite??? Need to dig
deeper. Hmmm? What else does the cited
evidence already show? Tone? Diction?
Mood?

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A Maya Angelou’s “Champion of the World” and Amy Tan’s


“Fish Cheeks” are similar in that both grapple with cultural

shame in the Anglo world. Tan is mortified at what her
crush Robert will think of her “shabby Chinese Christmas”
C1 and goes so far as to wish for a “slim new American nose”
to compliment [her crush] Robert’s blond hair. Angelou
recounts the anguished triumph of a negro boxer beating a
white contender during The Great Depression and
laments that it would be detrimental for “a black man and
C2 his family to be caught on a lonely road on a night when
Joe Louis had proved that we were the strongest people in
the world.” Even though both stories deal with feelings
of inferiority, Angelou’s tone is poignant and Tan’s
E is comical.

The End
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 In “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan, two examples of figurative language the
author uses are simile and hyperbole. “He was not Chinese, but as white as
Mary in the manger. For Christmas I prayed for this blond-haired boy,
Single = Robert, and a slim new American nose.” Considering that the biblical Mary
3 sentences was probably not a Cinderella lookalike, and that Santa Clause traditionally
delivers toys instead of noses only makes this narrative about a school-girl
crush even more comical. __________
__________
________ __________
________ __________

Angelou’s “Champion of the World” and Tan’s “Fish Cheeks” are similar in
that both grapple with cultural shame in the Anglo world. Tan is mortified
at what her American crush will think of her “shabby Chinese Christmas”
Paired = and goes so far as to wish for a “slim new American nose” to compliment
4 sentences Robert’s blond hair. Angelou recounts the anguished triumph of a negro
boxer beating a white contender during The Great Depression and laments
that it would be detrimental for “a black man and his family to be caught
on a lonely road on a night when Joe Louis had proved that we were the
strongest people in the world.” Even though both stories deal with feelings
of inferiority, Angelou’s tone is poignant and Tan’s is comical. ________

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