Question

Read this excerpt from “Life Without Go-Go Boots” by Barbara Kingsolver and answer the question.

We lived in the country, in the middle of an alfalfa field; we had no immediate access to Bobbie Brooks sweaters. I went to school in the hand-me-downs of a cousin three years older. She had excellent fashion sense, but during the three-year lag her every sleek outfit turned to a pumpkin. … My black lace-up oxfords, which my parents perceived to have orthopedic value, carried their own weight in the spectacle. I suspected people noticed, and I knew it for sure on the day Billy Stamps announced to the lunch line, “Make way for the Bride of Frankenstein.”

Also judging from the diction in the above excerpt, what would you say is the tone of this personal essay?

satire
humor

Answer 1

I think it would be satire, but im not sure

Answer 2

The correct answer is A. Satire

Step-by-step explanation:

The word satire refers to the use of exaggeration and mockery to criticize negative aspects of a person or a society, this means satire uses humor to expose and criticize something negative especially in terms of vices. In the excerpt presented from "Life Without Go-Go Boots" the narrator describes the way in which she had to wear the clothes of her older cousin during the school and how because of her clothes other students at school mocker at her, for doing this the narrator uses expressions such as "her every sleek outfit turned to a pumpkin" or "carried their own weight in spectacle" that mainly use exaggeration to show the clothes were extravagant or different to the ones wear by most students at school. Also, this exaggeration shows a negative aspect of society which is the ability to criticize others and the way fashion constantly changes. Due to the previous ideas, it can be concluded the choice of words and expressions mainly reveal the tone of the text is satirical as it uses exaggeration to show negative aspects of society.