Question

15 at me, daring
me
to answer incorrectly.
i will like kofi offin
to answer the question, please, he says.
20 dunwòtwe, i proudly answer,
standing among
my classmates, smiling
like i just bit into
the sweetest mango.
25 i do not see
the lightning
almost slice
the skin
from my palm,
30 but i do feel the scorch
of the rod
across my hand
and in my bones.
i even taste its sting
35 in my mouth.
queen’s english, please, mr. phillip says,
as calm as rain, like
he did not just attack me
with his loaded cane.
what is the purpose of the author including
two different similes about mangoes?
○ to contrast the speaker’s feeling of success with his feeling
of being mocked by his cousin
○ to describe the speaker’s dislike of mangoes even though
they are his teacher’s favorite fruit
○ to compare the speaker’s confusion about the question
with his cousin’s clarity
○ to show the speaker’s intense fear about public speaking
and his cousin’s confidence about academics

Explanation:

The first mango simile (lines 20-24) shows the speaker's proud, successful feeling after answering correctly, smiling like he bit into the sweetest mango. The context of the cousin's earlier taunt (lines 15-19) sets up a contrast: the speaker's moment of success is framed against the cousin's attempt to make him answer incorrectly, so the two mango-related contexts (the positive success simile and the cousin's mocking prompt) serve to contrast these two feelings. The other options do not align: the speaker does not dislike mangoes, the simile does not relate to confusion vs clarity, and it does not focus on fear of public speaking vs academic confidence.

Answer:

A. To contrast the speaker's feeling of success with his feeling of being mocked by his cousin