Question

a white heron
by sarah orne jewett (excerpt)
in the excerpt from this short story, a
hunter comes to the house of sylvia
and her grandmother. he is searching
for a white heron. sylvia knows where
the white heron lives, but she is not
sure she wants the hunter to find the
bird. she is soon faced with a dilemma.
(1) \so syivy knows all about birds,
does she?\ he exclaimed, as he looked
round at the little girl who sat, very
demure but increasingly sleepy, in the
moonlight. \i am making a collection of
birds myself. i have been at it ever
since i was a boy.\ (mrs. tilley smiled.)
there are two or three very rare ones i
have been hunting for these five years.
(2) \do you cage em up?\ asked mrs.
tilley doubtfully, in response to this
enthusiastic announcement.
1
select the correct answer.
which statement best expresses sylvias internal conflict?
a. she doesnt want to disappoint the hunter; he has worked so hard to build his
collection.

b. if she tells the hunter how to find the heron, she will help her family, but kill the
bird.

c. if she doesnt tell the hunter how to find the heron, she will be punished by her
mother.

d. she doesnt know where the heron is; she pretends so that the hunter will like her.
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Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• Option A: The excerpt doesn't emphasize the hunter's work on his collection as a reason for Sylvia's conflict. Eliminate A.
• Option B: Sylvia knows the heron's location. Telling the hunter would help her family (likely with the hunter's payment or favor) but would lead to the heron's death (since he hunts birds for collection). This matches her internal conflict of choosing between helping her family and protecting the heron.
• Option C: There's no mention of her mother punishing her. Eliminate C.
• Option D: The excerpt states Sylvia knows where the heron lives, so this is incorrect. Eliminate D.

Answer:

B. If she tells the hunter how to find the heron, she will help her family, but kill the bird.