Question 1
A first-person narrator in an Orientalism unit describes a foreign marketplace as 'chaotic and frightening, full of people who stared at me like I didn't belong.' What does this sentence most reveal about the narration?No clue? Show me the answer
Correct answerCorrect!
IncorrectStep-by-step walkthrough
Choose a solution method
Method #1Direct reasoningStep 1: Identify the narration type
The sentence uses 'I' and describes personal feelings like fear, so this is first-person narration filtered through one character's emotions.
Step 2: Apply what first-person reveals
First-person narration reveals the narrator's real-time emotional response and personal bias, not neutral facts about the world.
Step 3: Interpret the word choices
Words like 'chaotic', 'frightening', and 'like I didn't belong' show judgment coloured by the narrator's own assumptions about the unfamiliar place.
Step 4: Select the answer
The sentence reveals the narrator's fear and assumptions, not objective truth, other events, or another character's mind.
Method #2Process of eliminationStep 1: Eliminate events elsewhere
First-person narrators cannot describe events they did not witness, so this option contradicts the limits of the perspective.
Step 2: Eliminate other character's thoughts
A first-person narrator cannot access another character's private thoughts, so this is impossible within this narration.
Step 3: Eliminate objectivity claim
The emotional language shows bias, not an unbiased or neutral account, so this option misreads the passage.
Step 4: Confirm remaining option
Only the option about the narrator's fear and assumptions matches the emotionally loaded, subjective language used.
Question 2
A student is writing a PEJ paragraph analysing a first-person description of a foreign city as 'strange and backward.' Which sentence correctly completes the Justification step?No clue? Show me the answer
Correct answerCorrect!IncorrectStep-by-step walkthrough
Choose a solution method
Method #1Direct reasoningStep 1: Identify the PEJ step needed
The question asks specifically for the Justification step, which explains what the evidence reveals about the narrator and reader.
Step 2: Apply the purpose of Justification
Justification must explain meaning and effect, not just restate the plot or repeat that evidence exists.
Step 3: Interpret the phrase 'strange and backward'
These loaded words suggest the narrator is judging the culture through their own biased lens rather than describing it neutrally.
Step 4: Select the correct completion
The option explaining that the word choice reveals bias correctly performs the Justification function of PEJ.
Method #2Process of eliminationStep 1: Eliminate plot summary
Describing buildings and smells is plot detail, not analysis of what the language reveals, so it fails as Justification.
Step 2: Eliminate irrelevant reasoning
Claiming the writer wanted a longer paragraph ignores the actual literary effect and is not a valid justification.
Step 3: Eliminate mislabeled step
Calling the sentence 'evidence' confuses steps, since Evidence should be a quoted line, not a statement about analysis.
Step 4: Confirm remaining option
Only the option identifying bias correctly explains what the evidence shows, fulfilling the Justification requirement.
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