The Latehomecomer guiding questions

Collections Grade 8 Guiding Questions

Collection 1

“from The Latehomecomer” by Kao Kalia Yang

Read the selection from the memoir The Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang. Then, reread the lines indicated with each question below. Answer each question, citing text evidence.

1. Lines 9–15: What sense or senses does Yang’s description appeal to? What is the effect of her description?

2. Lines 16–25: Examine Yang’s comparison of her family’s situation to that of a pioneer family. What does the comparison reveal about her?

3. Lines 66–74: What simile does Yang use to give a first view inside the house? What is the effect of the comparison?

4. Lines 92–93: What simile does Yang use to give readers a final impression of the house? What does this comparison suggest about the house?

5. Lines 101–107: Which word or phrase is repeated in these lines? What idea or feeling does the repetition emphasize?

6. Lines 124–133: What does Yang mean when she says that she “pushed against the skin that contained” her?

7. Lines 154–162: What does Yang’s statement that she and her sister “wanted to make the life journeys of our family worth something” suggest about their views of their roles in the Hmong community?

8. Lines 163–172: What does Yang mean when she says that in comparison to her sister she “was lost”?

9. Lines 171–193: What does the fact that Yang connects key events in her life to works of literature suggest about her?

10. Lines 199–216: What language in these lines shows Yang’s parents persevering through hardships? Why does Yang believe that her parents are a better example of love than Romeo and Juliet?

11. Lines 275–285: What is the impact of Yang’s metaphor about the lives lost during the Vietnam War?

12. Lines 293–296: What imagery does Yang use to describe her aunt and uncle’s studying? What impression of them does Yang create?

13. Lines 338–350: What is the difference in Yang’s father’s response and her own? How is Yang’s reaction also different from her earlier feelings about their house?

14. Lines 359–384: Which words and phrases help you imagine what Yang is experiencing? What is the impact of similes such as “felt like needles were twisting their way into my chest”?

15. Lines 428–430: What does Yang’s use of the word murky in line 429 suggest about the origins of the Hmong people?

16. Lines 437–451: What is Grandma’s explanation of why she chose the elephant bracelet? How does Yang emphasize her own weakness in comparison to the powerful protection of the elephants?

17. Lines 463–467: How do you know that the bracelet continues to be a symbol to Yang, even after she begins to feel better?