Answer:
This passage develops the narrator's external conflict because
D. It implies that the other kids react negatively to his unfamiliar
lunch.
Explanation:
This passage has both types of conflict, external and internal. While the latter takes place within the character, emotionally, the former happens between the character and another character, a group of people, nature etc. In this excerpt, the external conflict leads to the internal one.
The narrator clearly descends from a different culture than the one he lives in. His new lunch box has characters belonging to that original culture, but he does not know their meaning. While worrying about being asked what the characters meant, the narrator realizes children are not worried about them. They are reacting the smell of his lunch, certainly a dish that is unfamiliar to them. This reaction creates an external conflict. The character now sees himself as not belonging to that group of people. They are not his equals.
Since they don't seem to appreciate the smell, the narrator now does not see his own lunch the way he used - as his favorite dish. Because of the other kids' reaction, he struggles. He wants to fit in, but that does not mean he wishes to leave his heritage behind. Would he stop eating that dish he loves so much just to be accepted at school? Even bigger a question, would he leave his family's culture behind just to fit in? That is the internal conflict cause by the external one.
