Sentence Structure

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CHARACTERS: WILLY LOMAN LINDA, his wife BIFF, the oldest son HAPPY, the youngest son SCENE

Plot

Sympathy Pains
by J. Robbins

“What’s the matter, Betty?” asked Mycroft as he sat down next to his best friend. The library was almost deserted, and his voice echoed eerily through the stacks of books.

     “It’s my brother again,” Betty replied. “He reviewed my English paper and tore it to shreds. He didn’t even like the title! I think he enjoys making me feel stupid. If I'm as stupid as he thinks I am, I'll probably fail this class.” She felt tears well up in her eyes again and angrily blinked them away.
     “Don’t let him get to you, Betty,” said Mycroft as he patted her hand sympathetically. Betty’s brother Thedrick was a straight-A student, but he had no clue when it came to treating people with respect. “Why don’t we work on your paper together?”
     “That would be great if it weren’t due today,” Betty told him. “I feel like I should start over from scratch, but how can I get it finished in time?”
     “You worked on that paper for weeks!” Mycroft exclaimed. “There is no way you’re going to throw it out.”
     “Hello, sis,” called Thedrick as he approached the two friends. Betty averted her eyes, and Mycroft scowled at the intruder. “If you needed more help with that mess of a paper, you should have called me. I can run intellectual circles around this guy.”
     “Please leave, Thed,” Betty replied firmly. “We may be idiots compared to you, but at least we’re nice idiots. Your kind of ‘help’ isn’t welcome here.” Her brother smirked as he walked away. Mycroft grabbed Betty’s paper and started reading the angry red comments scribbled on every page.
     “These comments don’t make any sense,” he said in frustration. “Your paper was fine the way it was. I don’t think you should make a single change.” Betty suddenly sat upright.
     “I know!” she exclaimed. “We can take it to Adirondack Jones. She’s never gotten a bad grade on a paper. She can help us figure out what to do.” Mycroft and Betty rushed out of the library to find the star pupil of Hanover High. When Adirondack heard the situation, she got a fierce glint in her eyes.
     “I would love to see Thedrick taken down a few notches,” Adirondack told Betty. “You have a great paper here, and you should turn it in as it is. I think once you have a few A-pluses under your belt, you’ll have the self-confidence to stand up to Thed’s bullying.” Betty sighed in relief as she and Mycroft walked to class.
      “Thank goodness,” she told her friend. “I didn’t think I could face writing another word. I forgot to ask what topic you chose for your paper, Mycroft.”
     “Oh, no,” groaned Mycroft as his face paled. “I think I left my notebook on the table in the library. My paper was inside that notebook!” The two of them rushed into the library to find that the notebook and the paper had vanished without a trace.
     “Well, it looks like one of us will be writing a paper from scratch after all,” sighed Betty. Mycroft was too busy pulling blank paper and a pen out of his backpack to reply. He began scribbling furiously as Betty patted his shoulder in sympathy.

91. What happens after Betty and Mycroft talk to Adirondack?

Adirondack teaches Thedrick a lesson about cheating.

Mycroft discovers that he has to write another paper.

Betty refers to herself and her best friend as "idiots."

Thedrick learns that Betty has not changed her paper.

Plot

	CHARACTERS: WILLY LOMAN LINDA, his wife BIFF, the oldest son HAPPY, the youngest son SCENE: The action takes place in Willy Loman’s house and yard and in various places he visits in the New York and Boston of today.

	(Biff gets up and moves restlessly about the room.)
BIFF:	Why does Dad mock me all the time?
HAPPY:	He’s not mocking you, he—
BIFF:	Everything I say there’s a twist of mockery on his face. I can’t get near him.
HAPPY:	He just wants you to make good, that’s all. I wanted to talk to you about Dad for a long time, Biff. Something’s—happening to him. He—talks to himself.
BIFF:	I noticed that this morning. But he always mumbled.
HAPPY:	But not so noticeable. It got so embarrassing I sent him to Florida. And you know something? Most of the time he’s talking to you.
BIFF:	What’s he say about me?
HAPPY:	I can’t make it out.
BIFF:	What’s he say about me?
HAPPY:	I think the fact that you’re not settled, that you’re still kind of up in the air . . .
BIFF:	There’s one or two other things depressing him, Happy.
HAPPY:	What do you mean?
BIFF:	Never mind. Just don’t lay it all to me.
HAPPY:	But I think if you just got started—I mean—is there any future for you out there?
BIFF:	I tell ya, Hap, I don’t know what the future is. I don’t know—what I’m supposed to want.
	adapted from Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

92. In this passage, which of the following contributes to the conflict between Biff and his father?

Biff's lack of definite plans for the future

Biff's disappointment in his father's career

Biff's younger brother's hatred for his father

Biff's desire to move his family to Florida

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