The velvet curtains lifted across the stage, and automatically, the bows were set upon the strings to begin the symphony. With a
flick of the wrist, the conductor commanded all of the instruments to make their grand statement. First, the woodwinds began, then the strings and the brass, and finally the percussion. The combination of all the orchestral instruments made an impressive sound.
Joseph sat in the audience, drumming his finger on his knee to his favorite part of the symphony. Next to him was his mother who brought him every year to the start of the symphony season. She silently listened to the music and closed her eyes whenever the sound of the woodwinds dominated the airwaves. She would let a small smile escape from her tight lips.
Whenever his mother closed her eyes, Joseph would be able to drum to the music. However, the moment her eyes would flicker open, he would immediately stop. He looked straight ahead, and once in a while, he would make a sidelong glance toward his mother. However, he knew she was doing the same thing so that he would not do anything embarrassing.
Once the curtains fell upon the orchestra and people began to move, Joseph's mother began her lecture. "Joseph, do not think that I did not see you drum your fingers on your knee. You know that is highly incorrect behavior at the opera. We’ve discussed this before."
Joseph lowered his eyes—he knew he shouldn’t have done it in front of her, but he couldn’t help it. The music enthralled him; the mixture of instruments created harmony that he could feel to the depths of his bones. He could not imagine life without music—he had to hear it and play it. He desperately wanted to go to college for music, and he had been accepted at one of the most prestigious music colleges in the nation, Carnegie Mellon. However, he knew his parents would never approve of that major. Joseph replied, "I know, Mom. I can’t help it. I feel the music all around of me. It just speaks to me."
He certainly sounds like me when I was growing up, his mother considered to herself. He cannot make the same mistakes I made.
Joseph looked up at his mother and saw that she was staring at him intensely. He didn’t know what to do because his mother never looked at him that way. They never even had a real conversation in his life. So now, he was faced with the unfamiliar and began to shift from side to side.
Finally, his mother said, "Joseph, I think you should go to Carnegie Mellon. I think you will be able to fulfill your dreams there."
Joseph looked at her in shock.
Which sentence best illustrates the relationship between Joseph and his mother? Next to him was his mother who brought him every year to the start of the symphony season. Joseph looked up at his mother and saw that she was staring at him intensely. They never even had a real conversation in his life. She would let a small smile escape from her tight lips.
