HUM WP 14/15: STUDENT ACTIVITY
“THE JACKET” BY GARY SOTO
Reading Comprehension Questions / Thought and Inference Questions
1. “My clothes have failed me.” What does this mean? What was your first
impression as you read the opening sentence of this story?
2. What are the two similes in the second sentence? What description do you
expect the narrator to choose for himself? Why?
3. What descriptive words indicate that the narrator hates the jacket from first
glance?
4. Why do you suppose the narrator describes the jacket as human: as if it were
a stranger, like an enemy?
5.
Imagine the narrator in front of the mirror. What does he do when he puts
on the jacket? After many poses, what is his conclusion?
6. How did the narrator respond to his mother? Is this what you expected?
7. What actions does the narrator take when he puts on the jacket and goes
outside? How do these actions show the reader what the boy is feeling?
HUM WP 14/15: STUDENT ACTIVITY
8. The narrator describes in detail what happened to him when he wore his new
jacket to school. Do you think these events really happened? Why or why
not?
9. The paragraphs that begin And so I went, in my guacamole jacket and I wore
that thing for three years list a series of events. What role does the jacket
play in these years?
10. Does the boy imply a relationship between his growing up and the jacket
falling apart?
11. Twice in this story, the boy is out in the alley watching his breath puff white
and disappear. In your opinion, what is the effect of this repetition?
12. Does the way the narrator describes his life begin to change as he gets older?
13. What does the meal in the final paragraph tell you about the family’s
economic status?
14. What does the narrator mean when he says that green ugly brother who
breathed over my shoulder that day and ever since ?
15. Do you think the ending is effective? Why or why not?