Asked by raj
In my parents’ closet, tucked behind my mom’s dresses, the wrapped present looked shinier than a diamond. It was wrapped in smooth silver paper and decorated with a cherry red ribbon. My birthday was in two days, so I knew this gift must be for me. Mom and Dad were at work, and Shiloh was at saxophone practice, so I was all alone in the house.
Temptation drove me forward to shake the box and try to guess what was inside. Could it be the new game I wanted so badly? Or maybe the jacket I fell in love with at the store last month? The only way to figure out what was inside would be to unwrap the gift and open the box.
No one else would ever know, so what would it matter if I opened it just enough to take a peek? I lied to myself that it would be acceptable to open it for just a moment. Peeling back a corner of wrapping paper, I felt my heart drum in my chest. I lifted a square sheet of paper off the side of the box as my heart pounded harder. The gift was halfway unwrapped, and in a matter of seconds, I would know what was inside.
A vision of my mom carefully picking out the right gift in the store flickered in my mind. My dad’s disapproving frown blended with the vision of my mom as I pressed the wrapping paper back onto the box. Reattaching the tape, I set the gift back down where I’d found it on the floor behind the dresses. My curiosity wasn’t strong enough to ruin the surprise I would feel on my birthday. Most of all, I didn’t want to destroy my parents’ trust, so I headed into the living room to curl up and read my new library book.
Questions
How does the author convey the theme of the story?
The author compares the character’s struggles with their sibling’s similar struggles.
The author builds a strong relationship between the character and the present they are trying to open.
The author describes the character’s inner conflict over the course of the story.
The author uses dialogue between the character and their parents.
Temptation drove me forward to shake the box and try to guess what was inside. Could it be the new game I wanted so badly? Or maybe the jacket I fell in love with at the store last month? The only way to figure out what was inside would be to unwrap the gift and open the box.
No one else would ever know, so what would it matter if I opened it just enough to take a peek? I lied to myself that it would be acceptable to open it for just a moment. Peeling back a corner of wrapping paper, I felt my heart drum in my chest. I lifted a square sheet of paper off the side of the box as my heart pounded harder. The gift was halfway unwrapped, and in a matter of seconds, I would know what was inside.
A vision of my mom carefully picking out the right gift in the store flickered in my mind. My dad’s disapproving frown blended with the vision of my mom as I pressed the wrapping paper back onto the box. Reattaching the tape, I set the gift back down where I’d found it on the floor behind the dresses. My curiosity wasn’t strong enough to ruin the surprise I would feel on my birthday. Most of all, I didn’t want to destroy my parents’ trust, so I headed into the living room to curl up and read my new library book.
Questions
How does the author convey the theme of the story?
The author compares the character’s struggles with their sibling’s similar struggles.
The author builds a strong relationship between the character and the present they are trying to open.
The author describes the character’s inner conflict over the course of the story.
The author uses dialogue between the character and their parents.
Answers
There are no human answers yet.
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
The author describes the character’s inner conflict over the course of the story.
Evidence: the narrator wrestles with temptation to peek, imagines outcomes, then remembers parents’ trust and decides not to open the gift—showing the theme through internal struggle.
Evidence: the narrator wrestles with temptation to peek, imagines outcomes, then remembers parents’ trust and decides not to open the gift—showing the theme through internal struggle.
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