Conflict. A conflict is a struggle between people or things in a literary work. A plot is formed around conflict. A conflict can be internal or external. A struggle that takes place between a character and some outside force—such as another character, society, or nature—is called an external conflict. A struggle that takes place within a character is called an internal conflict. As you read “Zebra,” determine whether the conflict in this story is external or internal.
Description. A description gives a picture in words of a character, object, or scene. Descriptions make use of sensory details—words and phrases that describe how things look, sound, smell, taste, or feel. In “Zebra,” the author uses description to create vivid pictures of characters, objects, and scenes. As you read the story, look for examples of description. Create a graphic organizer of descriptive phrases like the one shown below. Add phrases that describe a variety of the senses—sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
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• This short story features a boy who was injured in an accident and a man who was injured while serving in the Vietnam War.
• History Connection. The Vietnam War (1965–1975), was the longest war in America’s history and the nation’s first military defeat. Of the nearly 2.7 million Americans who served in Vietnam—many of whom enlisted right out of high school—more than 58,000 were killed, 300,000 were wounded, and 75,000 were permanently disabled. More than 2,000 people still are listed as missing in action.
• Maya Ying Lin, an architecture student at Yale University, designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which stands on the Mall in Washington, DC. Since the beginning of its construction in 1982, visitors have left more than 25,000 keepsakes at the memorial—or “the Wall,” as it is commonly called—in honor of the men and women who died fighting the war.
What special talent or ability do you have that you would most hate to lose, and why?
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