Question

Patrick lived in Emoryville, but every Saturday morning he rode two city buses to his uncle’s bookstore in Northview, where he worked. He didn’t mind the commute because he loved his job. He loved spending time with his uncle, but he also loved going to work because he had become friends with Andrew, one of his co-workers. The boys would talk about everything from baseball scores to movies to favorite pizza toppings.

So this Saturday, when Patrick got to work, he and Andrew got to talking as they always did.

“Hey, Pat,” Andrew said casually.

“Hey,” said Patrick. “Did you have a good week?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Great week. My basketball team made it into the semifinals. The game is tonight. We’re playing Emoryville, our nemesis.”

Before Patrick could say another word, Andrew continued. “I don’t like Emoryville. I don’t think I could ever be friends with someone from that town. Our schools are such rivals.”

Patrick was speechless.

“Where are you from, Pat? I can’t believe I’ve never asked you that before!”

Patrick fumbled over his words. “Not too far from here,” he said before he quickly changed the subject to the new shipment of graphic novels.

In 3–5 sentences, identify the two characters' points of view in the story, and describe the humor and suspense created by the differences in point of view.

(4 points)

Answer 1

Andrew’s point of view is that people from Emoryville are enemies and he can’t imagine being friends with anyone from that town; he’s casual, confident, and proudly biased because his team faces Emoryville in the semifinals. Patrick’s point of view is that he actually lives in Emoryville, loves his job and his friendship with Andrew, and is shocked, hurt, and desperate to hide his hometown. The difference creates humor through dramatic irony and awkwardness—Andrew’s anti-Emoryville rant is funny because the reader (and Patrick) know it’s aimed at someone in the room. It also creates suspense about whether Patrick will reveal his origin and how Andrew will react if he does.