But we're outside in the sun. my big brother junior hunkered against the wall with his eyes shut. my little brother keeks running around in circles. maybe and most probably my little brother is imagining he's a flying feather dancer, like the ones we saw swinging high up from a pole on the virgin's birthday. i want to be a flying feather dancer too, but when he circles past me he shouts, “i’m a b-fifty-two bomber, you’re a german,” and shoots me with an invisible machine gun. i’d rather play flying feather dancers, but if i tell my brother this, he might not play with me at all.“girl. we can’t play with a  girl.”  girl. it's my brother's favorite insult now instead of “sissy.” “you  girl, they yell at each other. “you throw that ball like a  girl.”i've already made up my mind to be a german when keeks swoops past again, this time yelling, “i'm flash gordon. you’re ming the merciless and the mud people.” i don’t mind being ming the merciless, but i don't like being the mud people. something wants to come out of the corners of my eyes, but i don’t let it. crying is what  girls  do. i leave keeks running around in circles — i'm the lone ranger, you're tonto.” i leave junior squatting on his ankles and go look for the awful grandmother. why do churches smell like the inside of an ear? like incense and the dark and candles in blue glass? and why does holy water smell of tears? the awful grandmother makes me kneel and fold my hands. the ceiling high and everyone's prayers bumping up there like balloons. if i stare at the eyes of the saints long enough, they move and wink at me, which makes me a sort of saint too. when i get tired of winking saints, i count the awful grandmother's mustache hairs while she prays for uncle old, sick from the worm, and auntie cuca, suffering from a life of troubles that left half her face crooked and the other half sad. record any details that relate to the topic of american identity.

There are several details in this passage that could be considered to form part of an American identity. For example, the fact that the brother's name is "junior" reflects an American tradition of naming first-born babies after their father. Another example is that of referencing German soldiers, as well as American airplanes fighting against them. This is a consequence of the fact that the United States has fought against Germany in both World Wars. Finally, the last details that focus on an American identity are the references to characters from American pop culture, such as Flash Gordon, the Lone Ranger and Tonto.

in the short story the slip-over sweater by jesse stuart, the main character and narrator shan is friends with grace, an intelligent girl he has known since childhood and with whom he used to be in love.

at the beginning of the story, shan believes he’s no longer in love with grace, but loves jo-anne instead. in order to buy a slip-over sweater and have jo-anne wear it so that the other students would know she loved him too, shan takes a loan at the bank.

while jo-anne is wearing shan’s sweater, his friend grace starts to wear another popular boy’s one, roy’s sweater. because of that, the other students begin to pay attention to grace and compliment her perseverance and effort. they admire her for walking 5 miles to school every day, despite the weather, and still getting the best grades. shan, who knows all of that for a fact, says, as the narrator, ‘and i knew she had the durability and the toughness of a storm-battered mountain oak.’ he compares his friend’s strength – not only physical, but also of character – to an oak tree, whose wood is known for being sturdy.

as the story goes on, shan changes his behavior out of concern for the debt he has to pay at the bank. his new girlfriend jo-anne never asks him what is wrong nor offers any sort of . instead, she breaks up with shan for not being as fun as she thought he was supposed to be. grace, however, not only asks about shan’s problem, but him make the money he needs. shan can’t but notice how different the girls are and what a wonderful person grace is.   even though he used to find jo-anne prettier at the beginning of the story, he now says, ‘grace was as beautiful as our mountain was in april, prettier than a blossom of wild phlox or a mountain daisy.’ his comparing grace to a mountain or something that exists on a mountain (such as a mountain oak or daisy) certainly has important meaning since shan loves the mountain and everything about it and he knows the mountain thoroughly. shan also loves and knows grace as completely as he does the mountain.

whatever is after like is what is being compared they are comparing bumping into you like they are scared to catch germs you have and to you being contagious