Read the following paragraph: Paul was raised in a tough neighborhood by people who
did their best to survive. He watched peer after peer, like
Marco, succumb to the temptations of the streets. He
watched other peers, like his brother Laurence, keep their
heads down, try to dodge trouble as best they could, and
grab the meager chances that came their way and hang on
with all their might. How could he explain why some went
down one path and some another? How could he guess
which path would be his?
What does the comparison between Marco and Laurence most clearly
illustrate?

Life is never easy.

Its all about how people accept it and live by it.

Marco gave into the dark and flowed with it while Lawrence was keen only just to survive and run out his days alive.

Situations are circumstantial and its always finally upto the people to make their own choices and live by it through its perks and downfalls.

It is for upto Paul now that if he would want to follow either of their footsteps or rather make his own path adjusting fighting thorugh the odds. Maybe even one day he could overpower the darkness shadowing their neighbourhood.

i would say c, admiration because the narrator related to the main character and she, too, once felt ashamed about her culture and wished to be an american girl to impress a boy. she felt admiration because her mom prepared her favorite foods when her and robert's (the guy she liked) family all came together and had a family reunion.