Asked by qp
What evidence supports the idea that the narrator’s motivation is intrinsic?
“Last week I sent a tuner over to my parents’ apartment and had the piano reconditioned, for purely sentimental reasons.”
“My mother had died a few months before and I had been getting things in order for my father, a little bit at a time.”
“I put the jewelry in special silk pouches. The sweaters she had knitted in yellow, pink, bright orange—all the colors I hated—I put those in moth-proof boxes.”
“I found some old Chinese silk dresses, the kind with little slits up the sides.”
All Answers 1
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
Intrinsic motivation means acting from internal values, feelings, or personal meaning rather than for external rewards, approval, or obligation. The passage gives several clear signs of that:
- “for purely sentimental reasons.” — explicit statement that the piano was reconditioned for an internal, emotional motive rather than for money, utility, or social expectation.
- “My mother had died a few months before and I had been getting things in order for my father, a little bit at a time.” — the slow, steady pace (“a little bit at a time”) and the grief context imply a personal, inward process of coping and caretaking rather than a rushed, externally driven task.
- Packing choices (silk pouches for jewelry; moth-proof boxes for sweaters) — careful, respectful preservation of belongings shows value placed on memory and meaning, not on immediate material gain.
- “The sweaters she had knitted in yellow, pink, bright orange—all the colors I hated”—the narrator preserves things she personally dislikes, which indicates she is motivated by respect for her mother’s memory rather than by her own preferences or convenience.
- Finding “old Chinese silk dresses” — noticing and preserving culturally or sentimentally significant items reinforces that the actions are driven by personal attachment and remembrance.
Taken together, the language of sentiment, the careful preservation, the slow, private work, and the willingness to set aside personal dislike all support an intrinsic motivation.
- “for purely sentimental reasons.” — explicit statement that the piano was reconditioned for an internal, emotional motive rather than for money, utility, or social expectation.
- “My mother had died a few months before and I had been getting things in order for my father, a little bit at a time.” — the slow, steady pace (“a little bit at a time”) and the grief context imply a personal, inward process of coping and caretaking rather than a rushed, externally driven task.
- Packing choices (silk pouches for jewelry; moth-proof boxes for sweaters) — careful, respectful preservation of belongings shows value placed on memory and meaning, not on immediate material gain.
- “The sweaters she had knitted in yellow, pink, bright orange—all the colors I hated”—the narrator preserves things she personally dislikes, which indicates she is motivated by respect for her mother’s memory rather than by her own preferences or convenience.
- Finding “old Chinese silk dresses” — noticing and preserving culturally or sentimentally significant items reinforces that the actions are driven by personal attachment and remembrance.
Taken together, the language of sentiment, the careful preservation, the slow, private work, and the willingness to set aside personal dislike all support an intrinsic motivation.
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