Question

identifying conflict in the story

what is victors main conflict in the story? choose the best answer.

he wants to travel to france someday but is struggling to learn french.
he wants to impress michael and his other friends, but they are obsessed with girls.
he wants to do well in school but is afraid he will do poorly in math.
he wants to impress teresa but does not know how to do so.

Explanation:

Analyze the character's motivation

Using the Character Motivation knowledge point
The question asks for Victor's main conflict in the story. In Gary Soto's short story "Seventh Grade," Victor's primary goal is to make Teresa his girlfriend this year. His thoughts, actions, and decisions throughout the school day revolve around this desire.

Identify the central conflict

Using the Literary Comprehension knowledge point
Victor's main struggle is that he wants to get Teresa's attention and impress her, but he is incredibly awkward and does not know how to go about it. This leads him to make choices like pretending to speak French in class, which creates the central tension of the plot.

Evaluate the given options

• Option 1: While Victor takes French hoping Teresa will be in his class, his primary struggle is not the difficulty of learning the language itself, but rather using it to impress her.
• Option 2: Victor is not trying to impress Michael; instead, Michael is trying to impress girls by scowling.
• Option 3: Doing well in math is a minor detail mentioned when he looks at his schedule, not his main conflict.
• Option 4: This directly captures his primary motivation and the resulting struggle: he wants to impress Teresa but lacks the know-how, leading to his embarrassing moments.

Answer:

• (A) He wants to travel to France someday but is struggling to learn French.
• (B) He wants to impress Michael and his other friends, but they are obsessed with girls.
• (C) He wants to do well in school but is afraid he will poorly in math.
• (D) He wants to impress Teresa but does not know how to do so. (Correct answer)