AP English Literature and Composition Flashcards: Character Relationships Short Fiction
Study Character Relationships Short Fiction in AP English Literature and Composition with focused flashcards that help you recognize the idea, recall the key rule, and apply it in practice-style prompts.
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QUESTION
What is the most precise term for a relationship with mixed affection and resentment?
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ANSWER
Ambivalent relationship. Captures simultaneous positive and negative feelings toward someone.
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AP English Literature and Composition: Short Fiction
This deck focuses on Character Relationships Short Fiction, giving you a quick way to review the definitions, rules, and examples that matter most for AP English Literature and Composition.
How to use these flashcards
Work through these flashcards in short sessions. Try to answer each prompt before flipping the card, then revisit any cards you miss until the explanation feels automatic.
In the following excerpt, Mara has come to the back room of her uncle's tailor shop on the morning of her college move-in. Her uncle, Vic, is pressing a jacket that isn't hers.Vic didn't look up when Mara came in; his eyes stayed on the seam as if the cloth might flinch. The iron hissed once, a reprimand. "You're early," he said, though the clock above the door read eight-fifteen and her ride wouldn't come until ten.Mara set the cardboard box on the cutting table. "I thought I'd help. Or say goodbye. Whichever you prefer."He slid the jacket onto a hanger with a care that felt, to Mara, almost like anger. "Goodbyes are for people who don't come back.""People don't always come back," she said.Vic's hand paused on the hanger hook. He reached into the breast pocket and pinched out a loose thread, rolling it between his fingers until it disappeared. "You packed the good shoes?"Mara waited for him to ask about her classes, her roommate, the dorm. "Yes."He nodded as if that settled something. Then, without turning, he said, "You know I kept your mother's machine oiled. In case you ever—""In case I ever what?" Mara asked.The iron clicked off. Vic finally looked at her, his eyes bright and flat at once. "In case you ever remember where you learned to make a straight line."Mara felt the comment land between them like a pattern weight. She lifted the lid of her box. Inside were neatly folded sweaters and, on top, a pincushion shaped like a tomato. "I didn't forget," she said.Vic's gaze flicked to the pincushion and away. "Mm." He reached for the jacket again, smoothing the lapel with two fingers, as if calming it. "Your ride's coming at ten."Mara swallowed. "You already said that."He shrugged with one shoulder. "I like to know where things are in time."Which of the following best describes the complexity of Mara and Vic's relationship as revealed through Vic's line, "You know I kept your mother's machine oiled. In case you ever—" and his subsequent deflection to logistics?