What does Teresa’s behavior in the school setting in "Seventh Grade” help Gary Soto reveal about her character?

She has a difficult time fitting in. She works harder than other students. She is shy and unsure of herself.

Hi!

The elements that make one of the poems sound more like a normal speech are: Words choice, mood, and tone.

Explanation:

Starting with the word choice, we can see that both poems use slightly different words. The first poem uses simple words, however, it also uses a lot of adjectives to describe what the author wants to express, which is less common on a normal speech. On the other hand, the second poem uses less adjectives and less description. It uses simple sentences with simple words to address simpler feelings. This resembles more to normal speech.

The mood in these two pieces is different as well. The first piece evokes questions and is darker, which is not too common on a normal speech. The second piece gives an easier mood, as it evokes the feeling of a person pondering about their lives, which is more in line with normal speech.

Finally, the tone on these two pieces is different as well. The tone of a poem is conveyed through the choice of words or point of view of the writer, and the first poem seems to have a heavier and worried tone while the second poem seems to have an easy going tone.