Group Discussions Page
This is the page where you will post the products of your group discussion. The posting will be made by the Discussion Leader. Each member of each group will have 2 or 3 opportunities (depending on your group size) to work as the Discussion Leader.
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Readings
This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:
Chapter #1
Word Wizard
The following words and their definitions were selected by the Word Wizard and discussed by the group:
1 -miniature: (Page13 Paragraph 7)
adj. being, on, or represented on a small scale; reduced
e.g. Pearl is like a miniature version of her mother.
2 -freckle:(Page 15 Paragraph 2)
n. a small brownish spot on the skin: alocalized deposit of the pigment melanin, developed byexposure to sunlight
e.g. Maisie has lots of freckles on her face.
3 -fuzzy:(Page 10 Paragraph 3)
adj. of, resembling, or covered with fuzz
e.g. The seats of the car are made of something fuzzy.
4 -infantry:(Page 11 Paragraph 3)
v. soldiers or military units that fight on foot, in modern timestypically with rifles, machine guns, grenades, mortars, etc.,as weapons.
e.g. Gramp was in the infantry.
5 -buck:(Page 11 Paragraph 9)
n. the male of the deer, antelope, rabbit, hare, sheep, or goat.
e.g. The buck takes a couple of spongy bounces.
Passage Picker
The following passage was selected by the Passage Picker and discussed by the group:
"When the women didn't start smoking right away, the car was fresh and warm when we first climbed into it, like under a down comforter.It fought hard to keep its own scent, but as mile after mile passed on the dusty gravel road, the heat mixed that dust with whiffs of sweat and perfume and stinky cigarette smoke, making a cloud of smell so strong that the car almost lost its identity. Only by stuffing my nose into its pleasing cloth could I recognize my mechanical, four-wheeled friend."(Page 11 Paragraph 5)
Character Expert
As presented by the Character Expert and discussed by the group, the following are details related to an important character:
Gramp
In this chapter, Gramp, first of all, used to be extremely handsome that he is "the best looking man on the town's hockey team"(P15). Also, he is a very traditional person who always relies on walk that he walks both "fast and hard"(P8), and he is passionate to his job and the train. He doesn't have a car partly because of he has "a pass, being a worker for the railway"(P8). Though this direct presentation, his personality may be a factor of reasons why Uncle Bill, the author, is pretty traditional and stubborn somehow against the technology. He is kind of irritable because he often gets angry about things that are not what he wants; for example, he shouts, "Enough with the bloody cigarettes! You're going to gas me worse than I got in the war!"(P11) when people try to smoke in the car. When he is mad, he just vents out his emotion without caring others; however, he picks up his politeness as soon as he finds Del still likes to smoke in the car. It suggests that even though he is little bit short-tempered, he can still have a rough control on his emotion so that he is not that intolerable. Our group think that Gramp might be a significant character in the novel because Uncle Bill has lots of same personalities as him, such as the stubbornness and being short-tempered and strict (Bill has a small conflict with Jared about the technology).
Stagecrafter
As presented by the Stagecrafter and discussed by the group, the following are details related to the setting in this section of the book:
Tow boys' death in the lake!
Discussion Summary
Group Leader (Victor Liu)
It's the first time we meet Buddy, and during the discussion, we think that the main goal of chapter one is to give a setting and do some foreshadowings. We've also found some connections between preface and this chapter and made some predictions.
To begin with, we think that Buddy, the narrator, is a little bit shy and obedient. He always obeys parents' instruction; for instance, he only makes a plea on taking his bike to the lake. He is extremely quiet in the car that he can even gets some joys from riding it quietly. We think that only a person who is shy and timid can be always that silent when he is especially a teenager. Talking about his dog and his hobby which is playing in the lake with his preference of the car in the same chapter makes us feel they are a little bit contradicted to each other. The dog and the hobby are 100 percent natural, which suit for the characters that Uncle Bill has as an environmentalist. His preference to the car, however, is some kind of preference to the technology, which is definitely what Uncle Bill go against with. We surprisingly find that, in this chapter, Buddy likes both nature and technologies at the same time. There must be somethings happening with the technological stuffs that make him to be dynamic.
There is an interesting detail we discussed about the reasons why they don't have a car. First of all, it because of the size of the town. It's too small to even need a car. They can walk anywhere they want within an acceptable amount of time. Second, because the town is set up based on the train station, the railway takes a big role of the town that most people only think of the train, love the train and never consider the need of the car. Since lots of people in the town work for the train, they want to keep their job instead of losing it due to the increasing popularity of the car. Third, their entire family is very traditional that they are against the new technology- car somehow.
Also, one more thing interesting is that lots of people in his family share the same name or nickname. We bet the author does it on purpose as a foreshadowing, or it may cause some problems latter to incite the plot.
Lastly, the death of the tow boys is a foreshadowing as we predict. Buddy may undergo a common situation latter when the adventure starts that brings him the same dilemma again, which causes same guilt.
Readings
This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:
Chapter #2
Word Wizard
The following words and their definitions were selected by the Word Wizard and discussed by the group:
1 -Knoll(Page21 Paragraph2)
noun.
A small natural hill
e.g. The water pump still stood on top of the knoll where the lane split…
2 -Gulp(Page22 Paragraph2)
verb.
A large and hurried swallow
e.g. Or, when I gulped down too many handfuls of chokecherries…
3 -Submerge (Page24 Paragraph8)
verb.
Sink below the surface of water.
e.g. She looked like a scarecrow, except that she wasn’t searing a straw hat, and all of her body, except her arms, shoulders, and head were submerged.
4 -Verandah (page27 Paragraph 3)
noun.
A porch along the outside of a building.
e.g. It had a simple screened-in verandah that stretched across the entire front of the cabin.
5 -Wimpy (page25 Paragraph 10)
adjetive.
weak and ineffectual
e.g. She was also a wimpy little girl.
Passage Picker
The following passage was selected by the Passage Picker and discussed by the group:
"I turned to see that Pearl was wading towards the middle of the lake. She was way beyond where she was supposed to go, but still less than a quarter of the way to the drop. She was hopping up and down on her toes, with her arms lifted to the side, like she didn’t want to get them wet. She looked like a scarecrow, except that she wasn’t wearing a straw hat, and all of her body, except her arms, shoulders and head were submerged." ( Page 24 Paragraph 9)
Character Expert
As presented by the Character Expert and discussed by the group, the following are details related to an important character:
Pearl
Pearl is Buddy's younger sister, but we can tell that Buddy doesn't get along with her very well since he, as a boy, doesn't agree with her pros and cons in her life. He thinks that "She was a little brat"( Page 25, Paragraph 10), the wimpy personality and boring lifestyle are quite going against his own character. Pearl, however, is a very merciful girl because she can build a good relationship with animals; "...several of the chipmunks and ground squirrels that lived around our place would also slow up ready to take peanuts or sunflower seeds from her." (Page 25 Paragraph 12) Besides, we can also find adventurous in her character. In this section, Pearl "was way beyond where she was supposed to go, but still less than a quarter of the way to the drop"(Page24 Paragraph 9), which is dangerous and crazy since the accident of drowning happened last summer on two boys. Even though she comes back after many adults shout to her, she doesn't feel sorry because she is too young to identify the danger of the drop and everybody's anxiety. From here, we can also find that she is a headstrong girl who owns a strong curiousity.
Stagecrafter
As presented by the Stagecrafter and discussed by the group, the following are details related to the setting in this section of the book:
Innocent Pearl is approaching to the deep drop.
Discussion Summary
Sylvia Chen
After a heated discussion about this chapter, we all agreed that this section develops further information about the setting, which draws a better, detailed map for us. We also found that Buddy is a round character which his personalities has clashes on each other. It could make some influences on his adventure in next chapters. Some of our group members found that Buddy is a shy and obedient boy, especially when he faces adults. “…I had to wear a long-sleeved shirt and pyjama bottoms to swim and play in. I blamed the cottage for making me feel so foolish in front my friends…”(Page 23 Paragraph 3) is a good example to show his obedience. Even though he doesn’t want to wear, he still obeys Nan’s instructions. Besides, he follows his mom’s command to keep an eye on girls, though he actually is not willing to do that. In fact, Buddy is like most boys who really want to play and have adventures. In chapter two, there are some descriptions of the burning skin since Buddy is easy to get sunburned, but he is still keen on swimming in the lake and playing in the sun. This is the nature of a kid. He is eager to play as soon as they arrive at the cottage, but he chooses to help adults. From details mentioned above, Victor noticed that Buddy’s inner thought is contradicted somehow. Also, there's a flashback about his father (Page 30 Paragraph 3). We guess that, the lack of father's love and only living with his mother are a factor of reasons why he is so obedient and timid (like a girl) but adventurous (as a boy and soldier). Therefore, we predicted that in the next chapters he might meet some dilemma or difficulties because of his personality.
Moreover, we discussed the most exciting part in chapter too. Alice said the most exciting part to her is the ways to treat burning skin and “green apple attack”(Page22 Paragraph2), for those ways are totally different from her thoughts, which is so interesting. Also we noticed that Buddy’s family is a typical traditional family from that. Tom thought the most exciting part is the Pearl’s dangerous experience. He said that was the climax of chapter two. Victor found that Buddy “gulped down too manyhandfuls of chokecherries, Sakatoon berries, or Pin cherries”(Page22 Paragraph2) was interesting to him.
Furthermore, we discussed the effect of the flashback. In chapter two, there are some flashbacks. Victor and I had the same opinion, we thought flashbacks are giving additional information of the background. Alice didn’t agree with us, because she thought it is good for bringing out the theme or main point of this chapter.
In the end of the discussion, we predicted that Buddy’s adventure might has some connections to the drop, and it might make him guilty to the two boys' death again.
Readings
This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:
Chapter #3
Word Wizard
The following words and their definitions were selected by the Word Wizard and discussed by the group:
1 Slithered (page 33 paragraph 6)
it means you are slide along in an uneven way.
"They gave me the creeps. I liked them even less than I did the garter snakes I would catch once in awhiles as they slithered through the water plants."
2 Submerge(page 34 paragraph 2)
it gose below the surface of some water or another liquid
"I had managed to submerge myself almost to my knees once and membered the fear I felt as I tried to get out of the ooze."
3 Denizen(page 34 paragraph 2)
A dinizen ofa particular place is a person, animal, or plant that leaves or grows in this place.
"I imagined the hands of some denizen of the deep looking onto my ankles, and then I saw the creature's face looking through.........."
4 Squinted(page 32 paragraph 2)
you look at it with your eyes partly closed.
she looked over the glasses and squinted at me through the screen."
5 Slather(page 35 paragraph 1)
it means you put the substance on in a thick layer.
"if I forgot to slather on repellent before I went frog hunting,......."
Passage Picker
The following passage was selected by the Passage Picker and discussed by the group:
"Actually, the three of us, who Nan called “The Three Musketeers,” had only really been to the rock together once. It was a place Gramp had taken me first, and I had showed it to the guys one time, but never seemed to get around to going there again. For whatever the reason, Riel was always the one who said it wasn’t effort. I wondered if his not waiting to go had something to do with him being mostly Indian and the rock being on the edge of Indian land. But, I never went around giving it more though than that. It might have just been easier to ask Riel why he didn’t like the place. (page 36, paragraph 3)."
Character Expert
As presented by the Character Expert and discussed by the group, the following are details related to an i:
Nan
Nan is Buddy’s grandmother, but we can tell that Nan wants to protect the Buddy, “Nan didn’t like us going beyond Indian island.”(page 35 paragraph 6). Compare to chapter 2, she doesn’t want buddy to get sunburn. Nan is the traditional person to do traditional way. Nan really is a substituted. “As well as staying away from the cliffs, Nan didn’t like us going beyond the rock onto Indian land. It didn’t have anything to do with whether she liked Indians or not. She always brought fresh fish from them when they came to the cottage door, and she enjoyed talking to those she met when she made a trip to Pariseau’s. And Gramp……..” (page35 Paragraph 7). She doesn’t want buy to be dangerous. She is very serious about the characters. The important about Nan character in this chapter was she is very considerable and she respects Indian. Nan is very careful. Nan doesn’t trusted maisie and pearl to go there.
Stagecrafter
As presented by the Stagecrafter and discussed by the group, the following are details related to the setting in this section of the book:
Discussion Summary
Group Leader (Alice You)
After a heated discussion about this chapter, we all agreed that this section develops further information about the Buddy and Nan goes fishing, and in this chapter has a lot of exaggeration, personification of jackfish, and allusion for “The tree Maskatees”(page 36 paragraph 3). Some of our group members found that Nan is very considerable and she respects the Indian, and also we found out that the relationship of Nan and Buddy is it is more like a teacher and (Page 32 paragraph 4) was always messy surface. We found the interesting fact that Buddy likes to go to fishing but he is scared of mosquitoes. He is kind of childish, very ridiculous. He can be suffered (Victor). They really care about Buddy too much he limited shy, and how to care about himself (Victor). Nan trusted Buddy, ne never do anything dangerous (Sylvia).
We found interesting fact in the story which is He is really afraid of fish, something happens in water and fish, fish is very obstacle, in his mind it could be difficult to adventure. He also likes frogs but not mosquitoes and he hated tadpoles.
Readings
This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:
Chapter #4
Word Wizard
The following words and their definitions were selected by the Word Wizard and discussed by the group:
1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
5 -
Passage Picker
The following passage was selected by the Passage Picker and discussed by the group:
"Enter your passage here between the quotation marks."
Character Expert
As presented by the Character Expert and discussed by the group, the following are details related to an important character:
Name of Character here
Details revealed about this character in this section of the book should be listed here, over top of this text.
Stagecrafter
As presented by the Stagecrafter and discussed by the group, the following are details related to the setting in this section of the book:
Discussion Summary
Group Leader (your name)
Example: In this section of the book we meet Buddy Williams for the first time. Our group members all agree that he is an adventurous young boy.
Readings
This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:
Chapter #5
Word Wizard
The following words and their definitions were selected by the Word Wizard and discussed by the group:
1 -chestnut (Page 68 Paragraph 8)
adj. reddish-brown.
"She was so pretty with her chestnut hair and eyes a brighter green than mine."
2 -infatuated (Page 69 Paragraph 1)
adj. (often followed by with) possessed by a foolish or extravagant passion, especially for another person.
"It's infatuated, Moke, and no, she's not."
3 -tackle (Page 69 Paragraph 6)
n. equipment, apparatus, or gear, especially for fishing: fishing tackle.
"Groceries were mixed in with hardware supplies and fishing tackle was right next to a display of bathing suits."
4 -muskrat (Page 70 Paragraph 12)
n. a large, aquatic, North American rodent, Ondatra zibethica, having a musky odor.
"But both him and his place stunk of rotten beaver, muskrat and coyote pelts."
5 -scow (Page 72 Paragraph 1)
n. any of various vessels having a flat-bottomed rectangular hull with sloping ends, built in various sizes with or
without means of propulsion, as barges, punts, rowboats, or sailboats.
“The planks making up the flat-bottomed scow were splitting from dryness."
Passage Picker
The following passage was selected by the Passage Picker and discussed by the group:
Page 67 Paragraph 11-12
"Guarding our cottage from its perch on the knoll, I was happy to call the iron soldier my friend most times. Usually it gave us guys its gift of cool, tasty, thirst-quenching life whenever we came back from the heat of berry picking or an adventure along the cliffs. After Nan’s rule, which was that you weren’t supposed to gulp down cold water too fast after being too hot, we could almost breathe in its magic potion.
But sometimes on my daily trips to get Nan her water, the pump made me really angry. It could get pig-headed and had to be primed before it gave up its treasure. And after all that huffing and puffing from getting it to work, I’d still have to lug the heavy pails of water all the way back to the cottage. It was the main reason I hated that chore more than any others I had at the lake."
Character Expert
As presented by the Character Expert and discussed by the group, the following are details related to an important character:
Mokey
Mokey is a new, flat (at least in this chapter) character that his innocent and childish way of talking never changes throughout this chapter. He is innocent who always obeys his mother’s rules and doesn’t seem to often have his own ideas, which his friends, Riel, describes him as a “Momma’s Brat”(Page 71). He is childish because he listens to his friends’ order which shows that he is not an independent thinker and is scarce of development of critical thinking skills. He always tries to pretend to be mature by using high-level words, like “infatuated”(Page 69). His wrong pronunciations, however, actually show his childishness. Mokey is even timid than Buddy that he often complains about some of Buddy’s plans which are adventurous, and he is also the first one who is threaten by the possibility of the sinking of the boat. The choice he makes in this chapter while he is facing the dilemma between the obedience of his mother's rules and the friendships suggests that he virtually is a boy who doesn't know how to refuse people's requests especially when he is under the peer pressure.
Stagecrafter
As presented by the Stagecrafter and discussed by the group, the following are details related to the setting in this section of the book:
Discussion Summary
Group Leader (Victor Liu)
It is the first time we meet Buddy’s best friends, Mokey and Riel. During the discussion, our group has agreed the importance of this chapter since this was Buddy’s first real adventure. In the process, we have found out lots of literary devices, the characters of all three “musketeers”(P57) (Mokey has discussed in character expert) and interesting parts in this chapter. Lastly, we have made some predictions to the plot as usual.
First of all, lots of literary devices are used especially in this chapter. I think the passage I have chosen for the passage keeper is a paradox. It indicates Buddy’s totally opposite feelings about the same object in different situations. It suggests Buddy’s round, complicated characters as a protagonist. Also there are lots of devices when Buddy is describing the scene that the weather sharply turns, such as the black cloud “were scrunched together, and looked like ugly, massive, mushrooms without stems” (P73) as a simile, “the current of the creek was pushing us”(P73) as a personification, “Mokey’s face had turned into one big moon” (P73) as a metaphor. Those devices are used to draw the picture of how dangerous the situation is. Besides, “sweet prince”(P58), which Nan calls Buddy is a verbal irony, which shows Nan’s euphemism. Buddy’s characters, as a little kid, are also demonstrated by some of the literary devices; for example, “I sprinkled on a bit more sugar and then wolfed the porridge down” (P59) as a zoomorphism. His understanding of “have fun and behave” (P61) is also a paradox, which implied his internal conflict about whether shall he behave well or have fun with friends.
Furthermore, our group has discussed another tow characters, Buddy and Riel. Buddy, in this chapter, seems to be a leader among his peers instead of a timid boy in previous chapters. He is more levelheaded and brave than his friends that, at least, he is the last one who feels the despair, and he always tries to work out things first. Not only that, we think that there are more reasons why he becomes a leader. First, he is an independent thinker that he always gets his own opinions and ideas about things around him, even though some of them might be a little bit crazy like he thinks he has a crash on Helga. He can also come up with many things to play. Second, as he says, he is “proud of how easily [he] had worked things out” (P73). It indicates that he has ability to solve problems, which is definitely an important quality a leader should have. Third, he cares about their friendship, which he always tries to maintain. That’s why though he often thinks of Joe to join them, he says no to himself every time because of caring about Riel’s feelings. On the other hand, Riel is so supportive as a friend that he always agrees what Buddy says and helps Mokey out of bullies. He is willing to listen to Buddy even he is actually older than him. He, however, is fragile emotionally because he doesn’t enjoy the environment at home. He is always ready to protect himself by fighting back. In my opinion, due to this reason, Buddy especially cares about Riel’s feelings.
Moreover, our group have discussed the interesting parts. Sylvia thinks that the most interesting part in this chapter is the passage about how Buddy thinks of Helga, especially about her voice; “her gravely voice sounded as if someone had rubbed her vocal cords with sandpaper, but on her it was what I guessed sexy would be.” It is funny for readers to read when think of an 11-year-old boy to explain what does sexy mean especially when indeed her voice is not that beautiful. He even uses allusion that “she spoke like Julie London”(P68) to emphasize his opinion. For Alice, she thinks that the passage about the process of how Buddy and his friends is striving for getting out of the dangerous situation on the boat is the most interesting part. First of all, it’s the climax of the chapter. They are also facing dilemma there because if they dock the boat in front of Buddy’s cottage, Nan would know; if they try to turn back the boat to Crazy Bernie, there would be no enough time for them. These ups and downs of adventure make the plot much more interesting (bias).
Finally, we have predicted that someone who is kind will save them, and they may meet another new friend on the boat. There may be flaws in their friendships particularly because of Mokey. All of our group members strongly believe that there must be something happened with Joe in the reserve land. Joe will bring all of them into a new world and a new adventure.
Readings
This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:
Chapter #6
Word Wizard
The following words and their definitions were selected by the Word Wizard and discussed by the group:
1 -anchored(page 77 paragraph 2)
any of various devices dropped by a chain, cable or rope to the bottom of a body of water for preventing or retracting the motion of a vessel or other floating object, typically having broad, hooklike arms that bury themselves in the bottom to provide a firm hold.
2 -washbasin(page 83 paragraph 5)
It is a basin for washing the hands
3 -confession(page 87 paragraph 6)
the act or process of confessing
4 -mean-spirted(page 87 paragraph 3)
Have characterised by a mailcious or pretty spirit
5 -ammunition(page 89 paragraph 4)
Projjectiles, such as bullets and shot, together with their fuses and primers, that can be fired from guns or otherwise propelled.
Passage Picker
The following passage was selected by the Passage Picker and discussed by the group:
"When we finished, we looked at each other and laughed at the fake bloodbath. Not only did we look like vampires that had just feasted on juicy victims, but there were also bullet holes all over our shirts. We'd catch it for staining our clothes again. Even a fake cold shower under the pump didn't wash off all the stains, especially Mokey's white T-shirt. Certainly it did nothing to help our lips and and the insides of our mouths. I picked up the few pieces of fruit to peel and tossed them into my shopping bags of groceries."(page 89 paragraph 7)
Character Expert
Helga
In this chapter, Helga is the flat , and static character. She thinks that on other people's side that she covers up Mokey's lie to his mom. She lets Buddy and his friends make momey in her store, and she never asks the reasons even though she wonders. She is nice and kind. Evidence for this character is,"We let found other from helga as she paid us for the work we did for her, that she had covered for Mokey when Mrs. Stuckhouse quizzed her later in the store" (p.78)." Now Riel, dont make fun of Buddy. If you and Moke's birthdays were during the summer while you were here. I'd make both of you feel special too"(p.87). She knows the most important things in life----share with family and friendsk.(paragraph87lparagraph 3) She is considerae that :Helga had split into three so we'd all have someting to angry."
Stagecrafter
As presented by the Stagecrafter and discussed by the group, the following are details related to the setting in this section of the book:
Discussion Summary
Group Leader (Alice You)
In the chapter 6, We had a lot of discussion questions using study guide. For myself it will might helpful to improve to complete the work, The questions is "Was Buddy right to geel angry with the rescuer that saved his life?" To answer to this questions are normal immotion and heavy road for 2 busks...(p.77 paragraph 1). It became Buddy is little bit angry with this Nam.(Sylvia). Agree with Sylvia, because if you save somebody, it is really normal to happen unethical that is why Buddy get mad at it. Instead of change them later(Victor).Second question is "How might teenagers be "Headstorng and difficult?" This question was really don not know how to discuss it in the discussion. They cannot rescue themselves because emergency was really dangerous and pay for themselves they work and do so many jobs(sylvia). Lession to teach them this experience will crew in their mind. they will learn save some life because they might get punishment. This is good proess for them and think about consequences(connotation) punishement. Thired question was "Is it okay or buddy lie or Nan and other adults was he does?" I will lie like Buddy, because of adults and will be dangerous. If Buddy learn the experience try to lie first, because I enjoyed in not confedence. You will think lot about by yourself(Victor)(Dilema). If he tells the truth he feels guilty. He will never Nan because of not oing abain adventure adventure(Sylvia, Victor). Experience with the nature, Hid and see, traditional way to hide inside in the storm and in the hill(sylvia) more dangerous to play in the wood. Help she said not share with the Germany and husband(Victor). He is talent one ski.
Readings
This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:
Chapter #7
Word Wizard
The following words and their definitions were selected by the Word Wizard and discussed by the group:
1 -Windshield:
n. Front window of a motor vehicle.
e.g. A windshield separated the long prow from two bench seats and an engine-well at the stern. (Page91 Paragraph 3)
2 -Sleek:
Adj. Glossy smooth and shiny
e.g. The owner of the sleek little motorboat was the man who had rescued us from sinking in Bernie’s scow… (Page 94 Paragraph 10)
3 -Ramp
n. Slope joining two level surfaces
e.g. This time the ramp came much more quickly, and suddenly it was time. (Page 97 Paragraph 15)
4 -Silhouette
n. A dark image, shadow or shape, seen against a light background.
e.g. My soft shadow shaped a silky silhouette in the sand. (Page 105 Paragraph 4)
5 -Polio
n. a serious infections disease of the nerves in the SPINE, often resulting in PARALYSIS
e.g. It was fortunate that the polio, which had attacked her when she was eleven… (Page 101 Paragraph 2)
Passage Picker
"The following passage was selected by the Passage Picker and discussed by the group:
Page 93 Paragraph 4
"I half-swam and half-ran against the water to get around the boat to him. He was a few feet away from the bow and easy to find because his hands were sticking out of the water. My heart was crashing in my chest. I quickly waded over to him and looked down to see his legs doing the fastest peddling I’d ever seen any kid do on any bike. That’s what had been keeping his hands up above the surface, I guessed. His eyes looked right up though the water into mine, and I could never forget how huge they were. I grabbed him, and as soon as I did, he clawed his way up my body to sit almost on top of my head, just the way I’d seen Cheetah the Chimp do in movies when he was happy to see Tazan. But, Billy wasn’t happy. He started spitting and coughing over and over again. And even when he finally caught his breath and had to know he was safe, that didn’t stop him from crying."
Character Expert
As presented by the Character Expert and discussed by the group, the following are details related to an important character:
Uncle Dan
Uncle Dan likes to show off everything anytime. The way he shows he is good at water skiing is by water-skiing for two rounds. When Buddy drives for him, “since it was his boat, he got to do two rounds, one on both skis and then another with only one.”(Page95 Paragraph1) Besides, he likes showing off his wife. During the water-skiing, “Aunt Tootsie skied a turn too but her heart never seemed to be in it. It was more like she did it because Uncle Dan expected her to, as if he wanted to show off her good looks and thin figure.”(Page 94 Paragraph 9) Also, Uncle Dan is kind of selfish that he bans to use his boat for fishing because he doesn’t want anyone to make the boat dirty. At last, he is skeptical and small-minded that he is not fond of Crazy Bernie because he thinks Bennie likes Tootsie, for “Bernie kidded Tootsie about how good she looked every time he was her at the store.” (Page 96 Paragraph 3) In fact, Uncle Dan is a good teacher to Buddy. He is just like a father to teach Buddy how to water-ski and how to jump, which makes Buddy brave somehow.
Stagecrafter
As presented by the Stagecrafter and discussed by the group, the following are details related to the setting in this section of the book:
Discussion Summary
Sylvia Chen
After reading the chapter seven, our group had a discussion on a few questions which are connected to characters and plots. Firstly, we talked about Buddy’s new personalities which we could found in this chapter. Victor thought Buddy is responsible because he rescues Billy. From the allusion “I grabbed him, and as soon as I did, he clawed his way up my body to sit almost on top of my head, just the way I’d seen Cheetah the Chimp do in movies when he was happy to see Tarzan”(Page 93, Paragraph 4), we can tell that Buddy tries his best to save his cousin. Also, the allusion here could show Buddy’s actions vividly. I found that Buddy really wants to show off his single-ski skills. He “got to go first, and of course had show off by skiing on one ski. I stayed up on that one ski all the way up to the end of the cliffs and back---twice!” (Page 94 Paragraph 2). Also, I thought that is one of human natures, especially children. Alice noticed Buddy always thinks about Joe. It is because Joe is not only his friend, but also his teacher who teaches him how to get along with the nature.
Besides, we discussed about the reason why Uncle Dan insists that buddy should jump. We had some different opinions on this question. Alice told us that he wants Buddy to get more experience about jumping. Daisy, however, had a different opinion that Uncle Dan only wants to make fun of Buddy because he is selfish. Victor thought Uncle Dan wants Buddy to be more skillful on jumping. Also, Uncle Dan is just like Buddy’s father in a way, because he teaches Buddy a lot, and he wants to find a way to make Buddy to be braver to challenge himself. As for this issue, Wenda and I agreed with Victor. Also, we noticed that there are quite a few vivid details of descriptions about Buddy’s feelings after he jumps into the water. I think this is a point to reveal that Buddy is a round character who is very sensitive.
In the end of this chapter, there are some descriptions on Buddy’s touch with the nature. Daisy thought Buddy finds a new way to enjoy the nature. We had the same thought which is Buddy wants to be friendly to the nature. Before he goes to bed, he “wiggled to find a comfy spot, then said goodnight to my new noon-friend” (Page 107 paragraph 3) which could show his attitude to it. I think from the Buddy's contact with the nature, he is a kind and friendly boy. He likes to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere which is given by the nature, and also, he shows great respect and horror to it. He has a wonderful imagination which is "Once while holding of my breath, on the edge of my underwater vision, I was sure I saw something darker thant everything else, a torpedo shape that turned squiggly all of a sudden and then zipped away." (Page 106 Paragraph 2) He could get things that others couldn't. Buddy thinks about the nature and draws some childish conclusions from it. He loves the nature, which is the endless source of happiness in his summer time.
There are some dramatic climaxes in this chapter. We, except Wenda, enjoyed the part of “jump". Daisy and I thought that Buddy has a dilemma inside himself before he jumps, which shows his character. Victor and Alice preferred the descriptions of Buddy’s feelings after he jumps. Wenda, however, believed the most important part in this chapter is the gift-giving. Buddy receives some gifts which are weapons, and that made Wenda excited.
Finally, we made some predictions. Some of us predicted that there may be an inciting incident to pull Joe on to stage. Others thought it might be something bad will happen to Buddy because the gifts which may be the foreshadowing of the blood or danger. Also, Victor made a detailed prediction that Buddy would kill the jackfish with the gun or the knife.
Readings
This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:
Chapter #8
Word Wizard
The following words and their definitions were selected by the Word Wizard and discussed by the group:
1 -traipse (P109 Paragraph 9)
Verb.
To walk or go aimlessly or idly or without finding or reaching one's goal.
2 -newfangled (Page 114 Paragraph 15)
Adj.
Of a new kind or fashion
3 -bologna (P 116 Paragraph 2)
N.
a large seasoned sausage made of finely ground meat, usually beef and pork, that has been cooked and smoked.
4 -stem (P119 Paragraph 5)
N.
the stalk that supports a leaf, flower, or fruit.
5 -marksmanship (P119 Paragraph 5)
N.
a person who is skilled in shooting at a mark; a person who shoots well.
Passage Picker
The following passage was selected by the Passage Picker and discussed by the group:
Page117 Paragraph 6--12
"Just before it struck the tail of the fish I had on my line, it stopped and hung in the water, as if it were a log suspended on its way to the top.
I stopped reeling and instead pointed again and again at the huge jackfish.
“There he is! There’s Slackjaw!”
The pumping of my finger at him might have been why Slackjaw turned, and with just a couple of flicks of his tail, disappeared back the way he had come. Both guys saw him.
“Quick,” shouted Riel, “get off the rock with your line so I can take a crack at him!” He was anxious to see if he could hook the prize pike.
I looked back at Mokey. He had backed out of the shallows and was now standing on dry sand only. His eyes couldn’t get any bigger. I did as Riel asked.
Riel kept casting and casting---always sidearm---with no luck. Mockey actually cheered him on a few times, as though it might help. While all this was going on, I managed to clobber my fish, get the hook out of its mouth and add it to the stringer. Then Mokey and I sat on the sand and watched a lather build on Riel’s skin."
Character Expert
As presented by the Character Expert and discussed by the group, the following are details related to an important character:
Buddy
In this chapter, Buddy shows his selfishness in the way he refuses his Pearl’s requirement of going fishing with them. He makes lots of excuses that some of his reasons are “ But Nan, she’s always bugging me to take her with the guys and me, and she can’t keep up with us.”(P110) and “ I really couldn’t think of anything I’d want to do with them (Pearl and Maisie)”(P110). The internal conflict between whether shall he brings her to paly with always bothers him. It makes him a round character, that latter he apparently starting to feel guilty for always saying no to his sister. Buddy also enjoys adventures that he says, “ I couldn’t possibly give up a trip to the rock where I might met Joe again or do battle with slack jaw.”(P110) Moreover, as what has been found last a few times, he initiatively takes care of their friendship that he avoid to say “ the Indian stuff” (P113), which provides reasons why he can be a leader amongst his friends. Also, he admires and regards his Grandpa as his father, so that he is not depressed like other kids who only have single parent.
Stagecrafter
As presented by the Stagecrafter and discussed by the group, the following are details related to the setting in this section of the book:
Discussion Summary
Arthur Lin
Last class was the first class that I got involved in the discussion as a group leader. All my group members were all very proactive and anxious to express their own opinions about chapter eight.
My first question was "Whats the most interesting part in this chapter?" Sylvia thought the most interesting part was the part where Buddy and his sidekicks saw the sleek and gigantic Slackjaw. Buddy almost caught it but the Slackjaw might see Buddy pointing at him. So the Slackjaw eventually disappeared back the way it had come. This was really fun because Mr. Budd used a lot a details to describe the reaction of the three boys when the saw the giant Slackjaw. "We all saw the gigantic shadow...It was Slackjaw!"(Pg117 paragraph) There are so many exclamatory marks in those boys conversation which really emphasize those boys' excitement seeing that Slackjaw. This interesting event also indicates the characteristics of these three boys. Riel tends to be pretty mature capable. He is a very fast learner (He quickly learns how to do sidarm casting). Mokey is a childish chubby boy. He was so doted on by his mom so much that he does not have so many skills.(He tries so many times but seldom catches a fish.) Buddy iskilled like Riel does and also childish just like Mokey.(He doesn't want Riel to catch the Slackjaw because he failed catching it).
Victor also pointed out the interesting talk on the way "the three musketeers" have about some"Indian stuff". This topic is sensitive because Riel himself is a "half-breed". Buddy is very smart and correct the mean word half-breed and use Metis instead. This little episode show Buddy really cares so much about his friends feel and we can see a very deep friendship from it; In the beginning of this chapter. We were also found the "argument" between the grandma and grandson interesting. Grandma wants Buddy to spend some time taking care of his kid sister, but Buddy wants to go fishing with his sidekicks. They all give in to each other eventually and Buddy promised to buy his sister a ice cream cone. From this section, we can see grandma Nan is a strict but reasonable women and Buddy is being considerate.
We also talked about why Buddy feels so guilty when they have an accident beside the cliff. We found a whole paragraph of quotation for this question:"I had to start listening better. It was one...My two best friends had almost died because it." Buddy is aware of what he did wrong and we can tell he is a responsible young man.
Readings
This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:
Chapter #9 and #10
Word Wizard
The following words and their definitions were selected by the Word Wizard and discussed by the group:
1 -streaked (p.146 paragraph 4)
A line, mark, smear, or band differentiated by color or texture from its surroundings
2 -knuckles (p.149 paragraph 4)
The prominence of the dorsal aspect of a joint of a finger, especially of one of the joints connectings a finger to the rest of the hand; the rounded knob formed by the bons at such a joint
3 -baseman (p.156 paragraph 4)
A player assigned to first, second or third base.
4 -outfield (p. 157 paragraph 5)
the playing area extending outward from the diamond, divided into left, center and field.
5 -manhandle(p.160 paragraph 3)
To handle roughly.
Passage Picker
The following passage was selected by the Passage Picker and discussed by the group:
"Gramp seemed to know a lot about all sports. He played most every one of them in his life time. She told me with al lot of pride in her voice how he held the league scoring title for three seasons in a row. On top of that, she said, he was a scrapper and got into quite a few tussles. There was kind of a far away look in her eyes and a sneaky little grin on her face when she told me how handsome he looked in his hockey gear."(p.149 last paragraph). This quotation shows that, He is excellent about hockey player and grandma is very proud of him and her husband. Gramp and nam are very old and she is still pride of gramp. Their relationship is touched.
Character Expert
As presented by the Character Expert and discussed by the group, the following are details related to an important character:
Gramp
He loves buddy, he is just like the father of buddy, He teaches buddy: fishing baseball. He is like a role model of buddy (P. 149 paragraph 2 last sentence) “I didn’t expected him
Gramp really likes fishing. Buddy is different kids has only single parent. He doesn’t think that he is lock of father’s mom. He is not depressed by single parents. (victor) gramp is the smart man Buddy always asking him (P.151-152 paragraph) gramp is so smart.
Stagecrafter
As presented by the Stagecrafter and discussed by the group, the following are details related to the setting in this section of the book:
Discussion Summary
Group leader (Alice You)
In this Chapter, we discuss about asking question like our opinions.
Because Nan banned her – (Victor) and also buddy doesn’t want to go with him. And also she is too young to understand the nature. (Victor)
Because pearl is too young to adventure Nan doesn’t allow her to do the adventure so buddy thinks Pearl is on the way. (Sylvia) if buddy does fish with Pearl Buddy will tell Nan.
That’s normal if you hate somebody in the first sight you can still love somebody.( victor)
It is not good people can judge of somebody looking somebody is good or not. (Sylvia)
I think that wouldn’t be good we can just looking someone and hates it just looking at their parents and apparence. (Arthur)
It cannot find the different charataristic from chapters(Sylvia) they are not changing at any charataristics . (Victor) expect buddy has a one more to girl to love. (Victor)
He cares about what he think he is . because he is Métis and half breed. (Arthur)
Readings
This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:
Chapter #11
Word Wizard
The following words and their definitions were selected by the Word Wizard and discussed by the group:
1 -ached(pg162 paragraph 2)
If you ache or a part of your body aches, you feel a steady, fairly strong pain.
2 -miserable (pg163 paragraph 7)
If you are miserable, you are very unhappy.
3 -breeze (pg164 paragraph 9)
A breeze is a gentle wind.
4 -cushion (pg164 paragraph 10)
A cushion is a fabric case filled with soft material, which you put on a seat to make it more comfortable.
5 -scald (pg164 paragraph 11)
If you scaldyourself, you burn yourself with very hot liquid or steam.
Passage Picker
The following passage was selected by the Passage Picker and discussed by the group:
"It was enough that i was still haunted by the drowning of Joey and Francis. I couldn't stand the thought of Pearl's tiny body lying limp and cold and green on the beach in the front of our cottage ." (pg170)
Character Expert
As presented by the Character Expert and discussed by the group, the following are details related to an important character:
JOE
Joe is a good helper, and he has a power to comfort Buddy, so Buddy really relies on him." His black hair gleamed and stream behind him , and the way his bright white T-shirt puffed as he ran, it almost looked liked an angel's wings" (pg 173) Writer tells us that Joe is warmed-heated, he helps Buddy as Buddy has problem. He could calm down when the trouble comes out. He tries his best to help Buddy but he is really clear about what should he does. joe arranges very properly because he lead Buddy to knock the door. he cares about others even though he doesn't know Pearl very well. Joe talks fairly and he treats everyone equal. Joe is also a good teacher because he teaches Buddy to treat others equally and well.
Details revealed about this character in this section of the book should be listed here, over top of this text.
Stagecrafter
As presented by the Stagecrafter and discussed by the group, the following are details related to the setting in this section of the book:
Discussion Summary
Group Leader (Tom Wang)
In chapter11,we know that Buddy and Pearl made a sand castle and this action proves the friendship between them and Arthur thinks that this part is the most interesting part of the story. In Selvia's opinion, the most interesting part of the chapter is that Buddy anD Joe checked the rental cottage and Joe was very niceto Buddy, this proves their relationship. Joe treat everyone equally even Buddy is a white person, even some white people had insulted his family before. There is a situational irony which when Buddy find Pearl, she was eating a ice cream because this is a strongly comparing between two different kind of moods. Buddy had learned that he should be nice to his sister and he also changed his attitude to Pearl. Joe taught Buddy that he should treat everyone equally. Buddy realized that Pearl was important to him and he was very regret to not take the response of Pearl. In my opinion Buddy should take the responsibility of "Pearl lost" because he should not spend a lot time on reading comic books when he was doing a bath. However,Victor thinks that Pearl should take the responsibility because she did not follow the rules. "It was enough that i was still haunted by the drowning of Joey and Francis. I couldn't stand the thought of Pearl's tiny body lying limp and cold and green on the beach in the front of our cottage ." (pg170) this paragraph is The most scary part of this chapter because it amy foreshadow that Pearl will died like the tow brothers and there is also some imagination in Buddy's mind. Joe was like hero in this chapter because he saved Buddy by helping him to find Pearl. There is also a epiphany which Buddy suddenly realize dark side of the society because Nan was worried about Pearl being rapped by old man.
Example: In this section of the book we meet Buddy Williams for the first time. Our group members all agree that he is an adventurous young boy.
Readings
This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:
Chapter #12
Word Wizard
The following words and their definitions were selected by the Word Wizard and discussed by the group:
1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
5 -
Passage Picker
The following passage was selected by the Passage Picker and discussed by the group:
"Enter your passage here between the quotation marks."
Character Expert
As presented by the Character Expert and discussed by the group, the following are details related to an important character:
Name of Character here
Details revealed about this character in this section of the book should be listed here, over top of this text.
Stagecrafter
As presented by the Stagecrafter and discussed by the group, the following are details related to the setting in this section of the book:
Discussion Summary
Group Leader (your name)
Example: In this section of the book we meet Buddy Williams for the first time. Our group members all agree that he is an adventurous young boy.
Comments (2)
Ken Budd said
at 11:53 am on Mar 8, 2012
I must firstly recognize the effort all of you put into your artistic renderings of scenes from the text of the novel, and while I am—like, I suspect, most people—not an artist, I do believe that even artistic interpretations should be accurate. I will comment on this aspect of your work, and hope to find time soon to also discuss with you your written work. To that end:
1] Victor Liu, your piece that depicts Joey and Francis drowning has lots of action, and certainly suggests that they are in difficulty. Well done, but check back on the text to see if you have their hair colour accurate.
2] Sylvia Chen, unlike other, more detailed art works, yours is powerful in its simplicity. Good job, but like Victor, I would ask that you check back to see if you have Pearl's hair colour and style correct. Do you?
3] Alice You, your artwork does accurately depict Buddy's reaction to meeting Slackjaw, but I would firstly suggest that your interpretation is a little over the top, and secondly say that you might not get great marks for your execution—were I marking it.
4] Whoever did the sketch of two boys sweating inside some structure, with the sun blazing outside, you didn't identify yourself, you didn't give me any indication of what scene in the book you were interpreting, and you didn't really execute your drawing very well. Sorry...
5] Victor Liu, once again you have demonstrated your prowess as an artist. Not only did you accurately show the dilemma the boys were experiencing, but you even included details of accurate hair colour, the baling can and the oar. Good work!
Thank you all for your fine work!
- Ken Budd
Ken Budd said
at 9:59 am on Mar 16, 2012
[Pt #3] Thank you for your attentiveness, your enthusiasm and your enquiries (or is it inquiries?). I enjoyed every minute that I got to spend with you.
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