Question

What conflict occurs in the passage?

an internal conflict within the mother, who wishes she could buy more things for her family
an internal conflict within the narrator, who wants to perform better than the little girl on the talent show
an external conflict between the narrator and her mother over whether the girl on television is playing well
an external conflict between the narrator, who wants to play piano, and her mother, who cannot afford to buy one

Answer 1

I don’t have the passage, so I can’t pick the correct option yet. Please paste the passage or give a short excerpt.

Meanwhile, here’s how to decide which choice is right when you look at the text:

- Internal conflict within the mother (option 1): look for the mother’s thoughts, feelings, or wishes (she wishes she could buy more things). If the passage describes the mother’s private regret or desire, that’s an internal conflict.

- Internal conflict within the narrator (option 2): look for the narrator’s private feelings about wanting to perform better than the girl on the show. If the narrator is struggling with jealousy, insecurity, or ambition, that’s an internal conflict.

- External conflict between narrator and mother about whether the girl on TV is playing well (option 3): look for dialogue or disagreement between the narrator and her mother about the TV performance. If they argue or disagree, that’s an external interpersonal conflict.

- External conflict between narrator (wants piano) and mother (can’t afford one) (option 4): look for a tangible clash of goals/resources — the narrator wants a piano but the mother explicitly cannot buy one (financial/practical obstacle). If the passage shows the narrator’s desire blocked by the mother’s inability to provide, that’s an external conflict.

Paste the passage and I’ll identify the correct choice.