Question

Many migrants have had their caps stolen, so they wrap their heads in T-shirts. They gaze enviously at villagers cooling themselves in streams and washing off after a day of fieldwork and at others who doze in hammocks slung in shady spots near adobe and cinder-block homes. The train cars sway from side to side, up and down, like bobbing ice cubes.

—Enrique’s Journey,

Sonia Nazario

How do the figurative language and narrative techniques in the passage support the author’s purpose? Check all that apply.

They show the difficulty of the journey.
They emphasize the natural environment.
They emphasize Enrique’s determination.
They show how cold it felt inside the train.
They show the hardships migrants endured.

Answer 1

- They show the difficulty of the journey.
- They show the hardships migrants endured.

Explanation: The imagery (stolen caps, wrapping heads, envious watching of villagers, swaying cars like bobbing ice cubes) highlights the migrants’ uncomfortable, precarious travel and contrasts their suffering with villagers’ comfort — not Enrique’s determination, the cold inside the train, or an emphasis on the natural environment.