Question
Growing Pains
Angela Harmon
1As Benjamin trudges past his older brother’s bedroom, which he is not supposed to enter, something catches his eye. He pushes open the door to reveal boxes containing Gary’s personal belongings lining the bare walls, where cluttered posters of sports teams used to hang. The room appears mostly vacant, but Gary hasn’t left yet. In a few weeks, Gary will be going to college, and Benjamin can tell by the way Gary's items are already packed that he is eager to leave.
2Benjamin hadn’t thought about what life would be like without his big brother. Benjamin is eight years Gary’s junior and, because of this, they have spent most of their lives as strangers. They barely talk—except when Gary tells Benjamin to stay out of his room. As Benjamin scans his brother’s room, he is immediately drawn to a framed photograph propped against Gary’s nightstand. He peers at the picture taken on a family camping trip last summer, and remembers how much fun he had with his brother.
3Benjamin longs to relive that summer because he realizes that now he'll have fewer opportunities to spend time with his brother. His mother walks by with some laundry and sees Benjamin in Gary’s room. She stops and walks in the room to question Benjamin. After noticing the picture clutched in his hands, she sits down on the bed to comfort him.
4The next day at school, Benjamin sits fidgeting at his desk, while his English teacher, Ms. Sullivan, prepares for class. His mother’s words still ring in his ears: “Honey, everyone grows up and leaves home—someday you'll grow up and leave, too.”
5He snaps out of his memory when Ms. Sullivan announces that she will be reading a passage from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, one of Benjamin’s favorite books. As the students listen, Ms. Sullivan begins to read.
6Just at this moment Alice felt a very curious sensation, which puzzled her a good deal until she made out what it was: she was beginning to grow larger again, and she thought at first she would get up and leave the court; but on second thoughts she decided to remain where she was as long as there was room for her.
7“I wish you wouldn't squeeze so.” said the Dormouse, who was sitting next to her. “I can hardly breathe.”
8“I can't help it,” said Alice very meekly: “I’m growing.”
9“You've no right to grow here,” said the Dormouse.
10“Don't talk nonsense,” said Alice more boldly: “you know you're growing too.”
11“Yes, but I grow at a reasonable pace,” said the Dormouse: “not in that ridiculous fashion.”And he got up very sulkily and crossed over to the other side of the court.
12When Mrs. Sullivan finishes, she asks the students to write about what the passage means to them. Benjamin writes that Alice has to admit she is growing, even though it bothers the Dormouse. Suddenly, Benjamin realizes that he too is bothered by Gary’s upcoming departure.
Question
Which of these characters is Gary MOST like?
Responses
A AliceAlice
B BenjaminBenjamin
C his mother
Angela Harmon
1As Benjamin trudges past his older brother’s bedroom, which he is not supposed to enter, something catches his eye. He pushes open the door to reveal boxes containing Gary’s personal belongings lining the bare walls, where cluttered posters of sports teams used to hang. The room appears mostly vacant, but Gary hasn’t left yet. In a few weeks, Gary will be going to college, and Benjamin can tell by the way Gary's items are already packed that he is eager to leave.
2Benjamin hadn’t thought about what life would be like without his big brother. Benjamin is eight years Gary’s junior and, because of this, they have spent most of their lives as strangers. They barely talk—except when Gary tells Benjamin to stay out of his room. As Benjamin scans his brother’s room, he is immediately drawn to a framed photograph propped against Gary’s nightstand. He peers at the picture taken on a family camping trip last summer, and remembers how much fun he had with his brother.
3Benjamin longs to relive that summer because he realizes that now he'll have fewer opportunities to spend time with his brother. His mother walks by with some laundry and sees Benjamin in Gary’s room. She stops and walks in the room to question Benjamin. After noticing the picture clutched in his hands, she sits down on the bed to comfort him.
4The next day at school, Benjamin sits fidgeting at his desk, while his English teacher, Ms. Sullivan, prepares for class. His mother’s words still ring in his ears: “Honey, everyone grows up and leaves home—someday you'll grow up and leave, too.”
5He snaps out of his memory when Ms. Sullivan announces that she will be reading a passage from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, one of Benjamin’s favorite books. As the students listen, Ms. Sullivan begins to read.
6Just at this moment Alice felt a very curious sensation, which puzzled her a good deal until she made out what it was: she was beginning to grow larger again, and she thought at first she would get up and leave the court; but on second thoughts she decided to remain where she was as long as there was room for her.
7“I wish you wouldn't squeeze so.” said the Dormouse, who was sitting next to her. “I can hardly breathe.”
8“I can't help it,” said Alice very meekly: “I’m growing.”
9“You've no right to grow here,” said the Dormouse.
10“Don't talk nonsense,” said Alice more boldly: “you know you're growing too.”
11“Yes, but I grow at a reasonable pace,” said the Dormouse: “not in that ridiculous fashion.”And he got up very sulkily and crossed over to the other side of the court.
12When Mrs. Sullivan finishes, she asks the students to write about what the passage means to them. Benjamin writes that Alice has to admit she is growing, even though it bothers the Dormouse. Suddenly, Benjamin realizes that he too is bothered by Gary’s upcoming departure.
Question
Which of these characters is Gary MOST like?
Responses
A AliceAlice
B BenjaminBenjamin
C his mother
Answers
Answered by
GPT-4o mini
Gary is most like **A. Alice**.
Both characters are experiencing growth and change in their lives. Alice is going through a physical transformation, growing larger, which symbolizes the challenges and discomforts of growing up. Similarly, Gary is preparing to leave home for college, indicating his transition into adulthood. Both are undergoing significant changes that affect their relationships with those around them.
Both characters are experiencing growth and change in their lives. Alice is going through a physical transformation, growing larger, which symbolizes the challenges and discomforts of growing up. Similarly, Gary is preparing to leave home for college, indicating his transition into adulthood. Both are undergoing significant changes that affect their relationships with those around them.