Quiz—“A Plate of Peas” by Rick Beyer Name: _______________________

Blk: _______
Choose the best answer and circle the letter of the answer.
1. The grandmother always carried with her a
a. cane
b. little dog
c. large purse.
d. pungent aroma.

2. The famous pea incident took place at

a. a picnic.
b. the Biltmore Hotel.
c. the kitchen table.
d. a pizzeria

3. What did the grandmother give the boy for eating his peas?
a. five dollars
b. a big hug
c. tickets to a ball game
d. a new skateboard

4.Read the following lines from “A Plate of Peas.”

"Mother," said my mother in her warning voice. "He doesn't like peas. Leave him
alone."

My grandmother did not reply, but there was a glint in her eye and a grim set to her jaw
that signaled she was not going to be thwarted. She leaned in my direction, looked me in
the eye, and uttered the fateful words that changed my life.
What kind of conflict does this excerpt illustrate?
a. man vs. self
b. man vs. nature
c. man vs. man
d. man vs. technology

5. The mother told her son that if he could eat peas for money, he could eat them for
____________.
a. fun c. love
b. two weeks d. his health
6. For the rest of his life, what did the boy do with his peas?
a. He fed them to his dog.
b. He hid them in his napkin.
c. He refused to eat them.
 d. He ate them.

7. What does the plate of peas symbolize in the story?

a. the love the grandmother has for her grandson
b. the strained mother/daughter relationship
c. the grandmother’s hatred of her daughter
d. the boy’s dislike of peas
Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
8. What is conflict? ____________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
9. What is a symbol? __________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Read the short situations and identify in the examples of conflict. Circle the letter of the
correct answer.
10. Jim and Mac disagreed about where they should take the dog they found. Jim
wanted to keep it, and Mac wanted to take it to the pound.
a. man vs. self
b. man vs. man
c. man vs. nature
d. man vs. society

11. In the high winds, the crew was barely able to keep the ship from capsizing.

a. man vs. self

b. man vs. man
c. man vs. nature
d. man vs. society
12. After Maryanne’s brother had teased her about being afraid, she had decided to climb
the cliff. Now she stood at the foot of the cliff, whish she could figure out a way to back
out.

a. man vs. self

b. man vs. man
c. man vs. nature
d. both a and b

13. Sarah couldn’t decide what to do that night. Should she study or should she sneak
out?

a. man vs. self

b. man vs. man
c. man vs. nature
d. man vs. society

14. Violet wanted her friends to let the new girl join the club, but no one else agreed.
They didn’t like her thick foreign accent. They thought she sounded weird. She didn’t
think that was right but didn’t know what to do.

a. man vs. self

b. man vs. man
c. man vs. society
d. all of the above