"Going Steady" Ind. Practice

"Going Steady" Independent Practice

Multiple Choice

How does the narrator’s failed conversation with Linda in paragraph 70 affect him? [RL.3]

Linda smiled, stood up, and kissed me. Then we went back to the party. Ten minutes later, after one slow dance, a glass of punch, and endless cooing and pet name calling, I asked her to come outside with me again. I was determined to succeed this time, determined to sit her down, speak my piece, 13and regain 14my freedom. So I took her by the hand, walked her back to the diving board, sat her down, and after a few false starts, told her I loved her again and walked her back to the party.

• He decides to make his friendships a more important part of his life.

• He becomes discouraged about relationships in general.

• He becomes determined to express his true feelings.

• He decides to continue his relationship with Linda.

Multiple Choice

Which detail from the story best reveals the narrator’s true feelings toward Linda? [RL.1]

• “I was tired of cooing, kissing the air, and carrying her books. I was tired of looking love-struck and docile and content.” (Paragraph 47)

• “So Linda Lieban, one of the prettiest girls in the seventh grade, liked me. I was immensely proud of my conquest” (Paragraph 3)

• “A half hour into our conversation she asked me if I loved her, and I said, ‘Of course,’” (Paragraph 12)

• “To be absolutely honest, she felt very good in my arms, and for one brief moment I was actually happy that she was mine.” (Paragraph 59)

Multiple Choice

In paragraph 11, the narrator observes: "Also, Linda was a girl who, though lovely, was looking for someone to love much as a boa constrictor looks for a small pig or an owl to swallow.” Which word best describes how the narrator views Linda? [RL.4]

• worried

• confident

• uncertain

• controlling

Multiple Choice

How does the interaction between the narrator and Linda in paragraphs 19-46 develop the theme of “Going Steady”? [RL.2]

Naturally, we talked on the phone that night:

[20]“Hi, lover,” she said.

“Hi,” I said in my breathy baritone.

“Do you miss me?”

“Yes.”

“Come over.”

[25]“Now?”

“Right now.”

“It’s nine o’clock at night, Linda.”

“So? Sneak out.”

“I can’t sneak out.”

[30]“Sneak out now and throw a pebble at my window.”

I laughed nervously.

“Then I’ll sneak out and throw a pebble at your window,” she said.

Here was the Linda I had feared. Here was the bohemian, free-spirited Linda who would come to my house, throw a pebble at my window, alarm my parents, and ruin my life.

“No, no,” I said. “Let’s just go to sleep instead and think about each other.”

[35]“I’m thinking about you now!”

“It’s different when you’re in bed. Pretend we’re lying under the stars together.”

“In Oregon?”

“Okay, Oregon.”

“I love you, lover,” she said.

[40]“I love you, too,” I said.

“Not as much as I love you.”

“Yes, I do.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do.”

[45]“No, you don’t.”

Then she giggled and I giggled and she hung up and I felt queasy again

• It shows how the narrator and Linda both wish they could find a way out of the relationship.

• It shows how the narrator and Linda both struggle to express how they really feel.

• It shows how the narrator copies Linda’s actions rather than expressing his own feelings.

• It shows how the narrator is honest with Linda until she gives him gifts.