Conflict, Theme, and Figurative Language

It would have been the best dance ever if the seventh grade fashion police weren't there, staring at me all night like a bunch of eagles.

Which part of the sentence is a metaphor?

• best dance ever

• fashion police

• staring at me

• like a bunch of eagles

Which of these are opposing forces in The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton?

• Paul Newman and Sodapop

• West-side rich kids and East-side greasers

• Ponyboy and his second-oldest brother

• Two-Bit Mathews and Darry

What are two conflicts Ponyboy faces in "The Outsiders"?

• Ponyboy does not understand his schoolwork, and he does not get along with his brother Sodapop.

• Ponyboy does not find a ride home, and he does not like wearing the same type of clothing as those in the gang.

• Ponyboy does not understand his brother Darry, and he does not get along with the rich kids in town.

• Ponyboy does not know whom he loves the most, and he does not care about getting in trouble with the police.

Which statement is a theme in The Outsiders?

• Three brothers struggle to stay together after their parents’ deaths.

• This is a story of two fighting social groups: greasers and Socs.

• The Socials attack a younger boy because he’s a "greaser."

• Strong relationships help people through hard times.

Read this excerpt from The Outsiders.

I about decided I didn't like it so much, though, when I spotted that red Corvair trailing me. I was almost two blocks from home then, so I started walking a little faster. I had never been jumped, but I had seen Johnny after four Socs got hold of him, and it wasn't pretty. Johnny was scared of his own shadow after that. Johnny was sixteen then.

What is the universal theme of this excerpt?

• Hard work pays off.

• Love conquers all.

• Dramatic life events cause change.

• Things are seldom what they seem.

Which sentence paints the most vivid picture using the most examples of figurative language?

• The colorful leaves looked like dancers as a storm approached from the north.

• The tiny green plants broke through the soil's surface, looking for a hug from the sun.

• Winter paints a masterpiece with stars of ice that float like feathers to a frozen canvas.

• Summertime usually welcomes a host of flying insects and flowers as pretty as peacocks.

Read the sentence from Barrio Boy by Ernesto Galarza.

People talked to one another on the street in low tones; only drunks and muchachitos mal educados raised their voices, or the arrieros when they shouted to their donkeys.

Which words best signal that "muchachitos mal educados" has a negative connotation?

• People talked

• on the street

• raised their voices

• their donkeys

Read this line from The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton.

"I heard a muttered curse and got slugged again, and they were stuffing a handkerchief in my mouth."

Which statement best describes the conflict in this excerpt?

• This is an example of "indivdual vs self" conflict.

• This is an example of "individual vs environment" conflict.

• This is an example of "individual versus other people" conflict.

• This is an example of "individual versus society" conflict.