Question

when i stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, i had only two things on my mind: paul newman and a ride home. i was wishing i looked like paul newman—he looks tough and i don’t—and i was wishing i had his light brown hair and greenish - gray eyes. i wish i looked like a guy that has to be content with what i have. my hair is longer than a lot of boys wear theirs, squared off in back and long in front and sides, but i am a greaser and most greasers rarely bother to get a haircut. besides, i look better with long hair. —the outsiders, s.e. hinton. describe the conflict in the passage by completing the sentence. ponyboy is experiencing an conflict between

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze the passage from The Outsiders:

Step 1: Identify the Conflict Type

Ponyboy compares his appearance (light brown hair, greaser style) to how he wishes he looked (like Paul Newman, with a tougher look, different hair/eyes). This is an internal conflict because it involves his own thoughts, feelings, and self - perception (vs. external conflict, which would be with another person or group).

Step 2: Complete the Sentence

The sentence structure is "Ponyboy is experiencing an [type] conflict between [his self - perception and his ideal self]". Since it’s internal (about his own identity/self - image), the first blank is "internal", and the second blank relates to his desire to look like Paul Newman (tough, different features) vs. his actual greaser - style appearance. For example, "his desire to look tough (like Paul Newman) and his own appearance as a greaser".

Answer:

Ponyboy is experiencing an internal conflict between his desire to have a tough appearance (like Paul Newman) and his own identity as a greaser (with his light brown hair and greaser - style look). (The first blank is "internal", and the second blank describes the contrast between his ideal self - image and his actual self - image related to appearance/identity.)