Question

Three days after watching The Ed Sullivan Show, my mother told me what my schedule would be for piano lessons and piano practice. She had talked to Mr. Chong, who lived on the first floor of our apartment building. Mr. Chong was a retired piano teacher and my mother had traded housecleaning services for weekly lessons and a piano for me to practice on every day, two hours a day, from four until six.

When my mother told me this, I felt as though I had been sent to hell. I whined and then kicked my foot a little when I couldn't stand it anymore.

"Why don't you like me the way I am? I'm not a genius! I can't play the piano. And even if I could, I wouldn't go on TV if you paid me a million dollars!" I cried.

My mother slapped me. "Who ask you be genius?" she shouted. "Only ask you be your best. For you sake. You think I want you to be genius? Hnnh! What for! Who ask you!"

"So ungrateful," I heard her mutter in Chinese, "If she had as much talent as she has temper, she would be famous now."

Which statement best explains the conflict revealed in the passage?

The conflict is internal within the narrator, who has to choose between playing music and going on television.
The conflict is internal within the narrator’s mother, who cannot decide whether her daughter is talented or not.
The conflict is external and takes place between the narrator and her mother over whether the narrator will learn to play piano.
The conflict is external and takes place between the narrator’s mother and Mr. Chong over the payment for the narrator’s piano lessons.

Answer 1

Answer: C

Explanation: The conflict is external and takes place between the narrator and her mother over whether the narrator will learn to play piano.

Answer 2

The conflict is external and takes place between the narrator and her mother over whether the narrator will learn to play piano.

Step-by-step explanation:

In literary terms, a conflict occurs when there is a struggle between two opposing forces. It causes tension in a story and also ignites the curiosity and attention of readers. Conflict could be internal or external. Internal conflict occurs within a person. The person might be struggling to overcome a dilemma or weakness. External conflict creates tension between a character and another character or element.

External conflict occurs in the story above because the narrator does not agree with her mother on going to learn how to play the piano.