How Do You Analyze Internal and External Struggles?

Which two scenarios best show an example of internal conflict?

- Toby is always compared to his more talented cousin Martin. He feels uncomfortable at family gatherings when Martin is around. Martin never passes up an opportunity to talk down to Toby.
- Gina and her sister had a heated exchange over who would clean the room they share. Gina is weighing the option of making peace with her sister or continuing to ignore her.
- Rita is new in school. She is finding it difficult to make friends. Her British upbringing is making it difficult for her to adapt to school in the United States.
- Chris has not done well on his school exams. He wants to hide this fact from his parents, but he can’t decide if he should. He is torn between what his head tells him to do and what his heart wants him to do.

What is the meaning of “point of view” in a short story?
A.
the perspective from which a story is told
B.
the central idea of the story
C.
the time when the story takes place
D.
the place where the story is set

What is the meaning of the term foreshadowing?
A.
a person remembering past events in a story
B.
a hint of events to come later in a story
C.
elements that are repeated throughout a story
D.
an atmosphere of gloom or horror throughout a story

Which two elements contribute to the setting of a story?
- time
- location
- theme
- characters

Which sentence best describes the theme of a story?
A.
The message that the author wants to convey.
B.
The idea stated in the opening lines of the story.
C.
The idea stated at the end of the story.
D.
The author’s view of the characters in the story.

What is the situational irony in this passage?

A boy is late for school. As he rushes down the street, he notices a fence with a hole in it. He knows that on the other side of the fence there is a shortcut he can take. So he tries to crawl through the hole. Unfortunately, he gets stuck there, and it’s quite a while before anyone comes to his rescue. He ends up missing school for the day.

A.
The boy takes a shortcut instead of following his usual routine.
B.
The boy takes a shortcut to save time and ends up missing school completely.
C.
The boy’s laziness in waking up late and taking shortcuts led to his downfall.
D.
The boy would have reached class on time if he woke up earlier.

Which sentence is the most formal in diction and style?
A.
I request the honor of your presence for a meal at my humble abode.
B.
Hey! Please come over for dinner at my house.
C.
Hey man, want to catch up over a meal at my place?
D.
Let’s have dinner at my house tonight!

Read the following sentence from “The Gift if the Magi” by O. Henry. What is the meaning of the word sterling?

Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare and sterling—something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim.

A.
cheap
B.
of great value
C.
priceless
D.
of poor quality