In 2 or 3 paragraphs, analyze your personal response to the story “The Lumber Room” by Saki. As you write about your response, you may want to consider some of these questions:

Were you puzzled by Nicholas’s behavior?
Did you sympathize with the aunt?
Did you find the ending funny?
Did you relate to a desire to outwit an older and more powerful opponent?
In your essay, discuss the ways Saki’s use of literary elements and devices evoked your reactions to the characters, plot, and theme. What was the theme? How was it conveyed? Be sure to cite evidence from the story to support your main ideas.

Read the excerpts from “take the tortillas out of your poetry” and “speaking arabic.” my friend had concluded that if he took his language and culture out of his poetry, he stood a better chance of receiving a fellowship. he took out his native language, the poetic patois of our reality, the rich mixture of spanish, english, pachuco and street talk which we know so well. in other words, he took the tortillas out of his poetry, which is to say he took the soul out of his poetry. at a neighborhood fair in texas, somewhere between the german oom-pah sausage stand and the mexican gorditas booth, i overheard a young man say to his friend, “i wish i had a heritage. sometimes i feel—so lonely for one.” and the tall american trees were dangling their thick branches right down over his head. which best states how the structures of both excerpts support ideas about cultural diversity? each incorporates non-english words. each incorporates academic words. each incorporates offensive words. each incorporates nonsense words.