Use the paragraphs to complete the activity.

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 different points of view in the story, and describe the humor and suspense created by the differences in point of view.

(4 points)

Answer 1

The two different points of view in the story are Andrew's negative view of Emoryville and Patrick's reluctance to reveal that he is from Emoryville. The humor in the story is created by the dramatic irony of Patrick knowing that he is from the town that his co-worker hates, and the audience wondering if Andrew will find out. There is also suspense created by the possibility of Andrew discovering that Patrick is from Emoryville and how he will react.