Question

Read the following play and answer the question that follows. “The Garden Gate” Characters:Lena – A hardworking, artistic teenage girl.Papa – Her father, devoted to tradition and family.Mr. Rivera – The neighbor, encouraging Lena to pursue her dreams.Abuela – Lena’s wise and gentle grandmother.Scene: The backyard garden of a small home. Rows of vegetables line the edges. The sun is low in the sky. Papa is digging near the tomato plants. Lena enters, holding a letter.Lena: Papa, I got a letter today—from the scholarship board.Papa: (not looking up) Another contest?Lena: Not just a contest. I’ve been accepted. The international scholars program. (She hands him the letter. He reads slowly.) They want me to study in Florence. For a year.Papa: (pausing) Italy. So far away.Lena: I know. But it’s a dream, Papa. They chose only ten students in the country.Papa: And what of this land? Of your Abuela? Of me?Lena: You taught me to work hard. To dream. This is the result.Papa: (folding the letter) Dreams are not always meant to be chased, hija. Some grow best when they stay rooted.Abuela enters slowly from the porch, sitting on a bench nearby.Abuela: Lena, come sit.Lena: (kneeling beside her) Abuela, what would you do?Abuela: (smiling) When I was your age, I dreamed of being a nurse. But I stayed. I had your father. This garden. This life. (beat) But sometimes, I wonder what Florence would have looked like.Papa: (quietly) You don’t regret it?Abuela: No. But that doesn’t mean you have to make the same choice.(Abuela exits slowly. Papa returns to the soil. Lena stands alone center stage.)Lena’s Soliloquy:(to herself) They say roots give strength. But what if they keep you from growing? I love this earth—this life. But sometimes, love asks you to stay small. I want to fly, to paint colors the world hasn’t seen. Yet I see Papa’s hands—cracked, steady, always giving.If I go, am I ungrateful? If I stay, am I unfinished?(Lights dim as Lena gazes toward the horizon.) Why does the playwright most likely include Abuela’s reflection about her own dream of becoming a nurse but staying with her family?(1 point)ResponsesTo criticize past generations for giving up their ambitions.To criticize past generations for giving up their ambitions.To show how elders’ choices can give wisdom and perspective to the younger generation.To show how elders’ choices can give wisdom and perspective to the younger generation.To suggest that following dreams always leads to regret later in life.To suggest that following dreams always leads to regret later in life.To explain why Papa is unwilling to let Lena leave for Florence.To explain why Papa is unwilling to let Lena leave for Florence.Skip to navigation

Answer 1

To show how elders’ choices can give wisdom and perspective to the younger generation.

Abuela’s story gives Lena a nuanced example — she stayed and didn’t regret it, but she also acknowledges curiosity about what might have been and explicitly says Lena doesn’t have to make the same choice. This offers wisdom and perspective rather than criticism or an explanation for Papa.