1. Friends, Good Friends—and Such Good Friends
By Judith Viorst
Biography
Judith Viorst Quotes
Viorst's children's book
All poems of Judith Viorst

2. In-reading
“…we’re pinched this month…”: pinched for sth: not having enough of sth, for example: pinched for money, space, time; Idiom: pinch pennies (Informal) To be thrifty or miserly.

3. Building Vocabulary
1. A. soft A. New Latin: B. exclusive psych + logia
C. unimportant B. Latin: historia
D. unfamiliar C. Middle English:
E. oppose sib
D. Middle English:
Christmasse
E. Latin: sexus

4. Understanding the writer’s ideas
1. She states that friends are those who “totally love and support and trust each other… no questions asked” and “share the same affections.” She still accepts the definition, but with major modifications because she feels that it is too narrow a point of view.

5. Understanding the writer’s ideas
2. Convenience’ special-interest; historical; crossroads; cross-generational; part-of-a-couple; men; and friendships based on levels of intimacy
3. They are not particularly intimate. They are important for “what was.”
4. The fact that in cross-generational friendships one can play the roles without the complications of actual familial ties

6. Understanding the writer’s ideas
5. The first is often a “reluctant” friendship.
6. Yes, because as in all friendships, one can play the roles without the complications of actual familial ties.
7. Those who ultimately revert back to her original definition.

7. Understanding the writer’s techniques
1. Pars. 1-2 comprise the introduction and are organized to give a wide-ranging view of the idea of friendship which can then be analyzed and categorized. In the second sentence of par. 3.
2. By emphasizing the ranges of intensity and need that define friendship.

8. Understanding the writer’s ideas
3. She treats each category with equal effectiveness and examples. She includes men because those friendships can be “just as close and dear as those…with women.”
4. She clearly illustrates each category with specific examples from her own experiences or from those of friends.

9. Understanding the writer’s ideas
5. She begins each category with a working definition for that type and uses comparison/contrast to show similarities and differences among types.
6. She uses informal speech because she is discussing a topic which is based on personal closeness, and if the tone were too formal, the discussion would sound awkward. Examples: par. 2; “consider…friendship” (4); “the sexual…different” (27).

10. Understanding the writer’s ideas
7. Cateogry 8 (20)
8. Pars comprise the conclusion which is structured to return to and elaborate on the original definition. Parallelism is achieved by repetition of the infinitive “to be” in describing aspects of best friends.