The
first time I remember feeling jealous was many years ago when I was three or
four. I had been carefully choosing the right crayons to color pictures in a
new coloring book on the floor in the dining room. Satisfied that I had done a good job, I wanted to show my masterpieces
to my mother, who was busy with morning chores in the kitchen. My father, too,
might like the pictures, but he was sleeping. So into the kitchen I went
carrying the new pictures. I found my mother there, but to my dismay, she was
not waiting to ¡°ooh¡± and ¡°aah¡± at my artwork. Instead,
she was in the arms of this man, who was kissing her. My attempt to interrupt this nonsense
was met by, ¡° We¡¯re busy, can¡¯t you see?¡± from my father. There
was no response from that woman – that woman who preferred him to me, that
nonsense to my masterpieces. I ran to my room broken-hearted.
1. Narration tells a story by carefully choosing the
details to make a point. Does this paragraph paint a picture of jealousy that
you understand?
2. Is there a topic sentence here? If so, which sentence
is it?
3. Which detail (which sentence) does not seem
particularly relevant to the paragraph? Can it be omitted? Why or why not?
4. In terms of organization, the essential characteristic
of a narrative is that events are in chronological order or the order in which
they happened. Without looking back, can you relate the events of this
narrative paragraph in order?