Question

Connecting Climax and Conflict

I fell back,

Dazed, clutching my brow,

Groaning, “Oh my shin, oh my shin,”

And everybody peeled away from me

And dropped from laughter, and there we were,

All of us writhing on the ground for one reason

Or another.

—“How I Learned English,”
Gregory Djanikan

Which conflict does the climax start to resolve in this passage from the poem?

the main character’s struggle to fit in with his new community
the main character’s struggle to catch the baseball
the main character’s struggle to speak English
the main character’s struggle to find humor in his life

Answer 1

the main character’s struggle to fit in with his new community

Explanation: the shared laughter and everyone writhing together show the narrator becoming part of the group — the social barrier is broken. The lines don’t focus on catching a baseball or learning English itself, nor on finding humor in life in general as the central resolved conflict.