The speaker of the poem seems to make the best of an unpleasant situation. How do you think she does this? What specific steps does she take to improve her situation—and what else can she do to make it better? In 250 words or more, analyze the speaker’s approach to facing challenges. Cite text evidence to support your answer. Choices by Nikki Giovanni

Two or three months had gone by without any mention of my being a

prodigy again. And then one day my mother was watching The Ed Sullivan

Show6

on TV. The TV was old and the sound kept shorting out. Every time

my mother got halfway up from the sofa to adjust the set, the sound would go

back on and Ed would be talking. As soon as she sat down, Ed would go silent

again. She got up, the TV broke into loud piano music. She sat down. Silence.

Up and down, back and forth, quiet and loud. It was like a stiff, embraceless

dance between her and the TV set. Finally she stood by the set with her hand

on the sound dial.

where is the passage at?