We’re Sikh. That’s our faith. We have a lovely temple south of Milwaukee that looks a little like an office building from the outside. Anyway, today I’m helping my mother and aunts in the kitchen for an event. When I take out the trash, I find an antique lamp. It’s rusted and battered, but magnificent. I like to collect items others throw away and make art from them.
Paintings on scraps of discarded wood. Sculptures from empty soda cans and cardboard. Models from twine and sticks. You get the idea.
I like to give my art away to those I love, which is mainly my family. I’m too young to be a Romeo or Juliet. Anyway, back to the lamp. I pick it up and use my fingernail to scrape at a spot of what looks like tar.
Steam escapes from the top, where the light bulb usually goes. I almost drop the lamp because the mist takes shape and settles on the asphalt in front of me, next to the dumpster, at the very back of the Sikh temple.
It’s a creature—part fox, part lion, but more the size of a medium range dog. It sits back on its hind legs and grins, which could be mistaken for baring pointy teeth. I grip the lamp tighter, ready to strike if needed. But I don’t have to—the creature speaks eloquently. Yeah, that’s right. It speaks.
“Thank you for bringing me through the portal. Now I would like to share gifts with you. Tell me: What do you wish for? I will grant you three. . .”
Question
Use the passage to answer the question.
Cite evidence of an allusion to classical literature.
(1 point)
Responses
“I like to collect items others throw away and make art from them.”
“I like to collect items others throw away and make art from them.”
“It’s a creature—part fox, part lion, but more the size of a medium range dog.”
“It’s a creature—part fox, part lion, but more the size of a medium range dog.”
“I’m too young to be a Romeo or Juliet.”
“I’m too young to be a Romeo or Juliet.”
“My name is Ali. I’m from Punjab, India, but my family and I live in Milwaukee—a city in Wisconsin.”
1 answer
The allusion to classical literature in the passage is found in the line:
“I’m too young to be a Romeo or Juliet.”
This reference to Romeo and Juliet, the iconic characters from William Shakespeare's play, illustrates a connection to themes of young love and longing, which are central to the work.
