Questions+for+My+Papa's+Waltz

Questions for "My Papa's Waltz"

Name: ..................................................................... Period: ............. Date: ......................

1. Who is the speaker?

2. Is it pleasant or unpleasant to be made dizzy from the smell of whiskey on someone's breath?

3. Does it sound like fun to hang on "like death"?

4. How does it change the usually pleasant experience of waltzing to call it "not easy"?

5. What sort of "romping" would be necessary to cause pans to slide from a shelf?

6. Is it unusual to hold your dancing partner by the wrist? How is this different from being held by the hand?

7. Would it be enjoyable or painful to have your ear repeatedly scraped by a buckle?

8. Would you like or resent having someone "beat time" on you head with a hard, dirty hand?

9. If the father is gripping the boy's wrist with one hand and thumping his head with the other, does this explain why the boy must hang on for dear life?

10. What other line in the poem does the last line echo?

11. Considering your answers to the above questions, what is the speaker's attitude toward his father?