Read the excerpt from "Homesick" by Jean Fritz.
Of course it wasn't the same as one of the forty-eight states; still, when we stepped off the President Taft in Honolulu
(where we were to stay a couple of days before going on to San Francisco), we wondered if we could truthfully say we
were stepping on American soil. I said no.
With these sentences, the narrator is
expressing confusion about the relationship between Honolulu and America.
providing useful background information about Honolulu and San Francisco.
revealing that she and other passengers may have different points of view about America.
asserting that her opinion about America is correct and should be respected by the other passengers.

to leave the reader thinking and wandering on their own. without a resolution we are clueless to what happens next, and why it does. it may even cause suspension with the reader.

explanation:

in other words

to put it differently

for one thing

as an illustration

in this case

for this reason

to put it another way

that is to say

with attention to

by all means

important to realize

another key point

first thing to remember

most compelling evidence

must be remembered

point often overlooked

to point out

on the positive side

on the negative side

with this in mind

notably

including

like

to be sure

namely

chiefly

truly

indeed

certainly

surely

markedly

such as

especially

explicitly

specifically

expressly

surprisingly

frequently

significantly

particularly

in fact

in general

in particular

in detail

for example

for instance

to demonstrate

to emphasize

to repeat

to clarify

to explain

to enumerate