Question

In this excerpt from Robert Cormier’s “The Moustache,” which pair of sentences shows the main character dealing with an internal conflict?
I was about to protest—I had never heard of a Chesterfield, for crying out loud. But I stopped. Be patient with her, my mother had said. Humor her. Be gentle.

We were interrupted by an attendant who pushed a wheeled cart into the room. “Time for juices, dear,” the woman said. She was the standard forty- or fifty-year-old woman: glasses, nothing hair, plump cheeks. Her manner was cheerful but a businesslike kind of cheerfulness. I’d hate to be called “dear” by someone getting paid to do it. “Orange or grape or cranberry, dear? Cranberry is good for the bones, you know.”

My grandmother ignored the interruption. She didn’t even bother to answer, having turned away at the woman’s arrival, as if angry about her appearance.

Answer 1

Answer: The pair of sentences that shows the main character dealing with an internal conflict are "I was about to protest—I had never heard of a Chesterfield, for crying out loud. But I stopped. Be patient with her, my mother had said. Humor her. Be gentle."

Explanation: Just to elaborate a liitle on the answer, it can be added that the last excerpt can be discarded, since it does not show an internal conflict. It is just describing the way one of the characters behaved. Likewise, the second excerpt shows that the main character does not like to be called "dear" by the attendant, and he does not reveal his displeasure, but that cannot be described as an internal conflict. The first excerpt, however, does show that the said character is dealing with an internal conflict: his urge to protest and reveal his anger, and his decision to be patient and refrain from doing so.    

Answer 2

The correct answer is : " I was about to protest but stopped". I hope this helps!