Question

Read the excerpt from “Speaking Arabic.”

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 explains how Nye’s text structure helps establish her voice in the excerpt?
Nye relates a story about something she heard to emphasize the point she wants to make about heritage.
Nye compares her experience to a stranger’s experience to express her ideas about the importance of heritage.
Nye lists food booths at a neighborhood fair in Texas to make a statement about diverse foods in America.
Nye uses a cause-and-effect format to show how heritage can limit a person’s cultural diversity.

Answer 1

Nye relates a brief anecdote she overheard to emphasize her point about heritage. The first-person recounting of the moment (the fair, the quoted line) creates an observant, reflective voice and supports her argument about longing for cultural roots.