Question

My Sweet Old Etcetera
by E.E.Cummings

my sweet old etcetera

aunt lucy during the recent

war could and what

is more did tell you just

what everybody was fighting

for, my sister

Isabel created hundreds

(and hundreds) of socks not to

mention fleaproof earwarmers

etcetera wristers etcetera, my

mother hoped that

i would die etcetera

bravely of course my father used

to become hoarse talking about how it was

a privilege and if only he

could meanwhile my

self etcetera lay quietly

in the deep mud etcetera

(dreaming, et cetera, of Your smileeyes knees and of your Etcetera)Use the poem to answer the question.

What interpretation can be supported based on the poet’s decision to describe how each of his family members views the war? Select the two correct answers.

(1 point)
Responses

The poet reveals the favoritism he shows toward some family members.
The poet reveals the favoritism he shows toward some family members.

The poet indicates his own views using capitalization to rank importance.
The poet indicates his own views using capitalization to rank importance.

The poet stresses the overall uselessness of violence and war.
The poet stresses the overall uselessness of violence and war.

The poet is showing the contrast between the perception of war and its reality.
The poet is showing the contrast between the perception of war and its reality.

The poet is mocking the glorification of war as noble and necessary.

Answer 1

- The poet is showing the contrast between the perception of war and its reality.
- The poet is mocking the glorification of war as noble and necessary.

Rationale: Each family member spouts patriotic clichés or domestic responses (knitting, calling dying a privilege) while the speaker lies "in the deep mud" dreaming of a lover, highlighting the gap between romanticized talk about war and its grim, absurd reality.