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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To post, start by pressing "Edit" at the top of the page --> enter your login information, if you are asked --> use the mouse to highlight the text to be changed, and type over it --> when finished, click "Save" at the bottom of the page, and you're done.

 

You may also add colour, underlines, bold, italics, or even links to other sites, if you wish.

 

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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.   Suspected(Pg. 8, 3rd paragraph) - to believe to be guilty, false, counterfeit, undesirable, defective, bad

 

“I also suspected he didn’t drive a car because he thought there were too many of them, and he didn’t want them to become more important than his trusty trains."

 

2.   Ravines (Pg. 8, 5th paragraph) -  a narrow steep-sided valley commonly eroded by running water.

 

“A few miles downriver from town, two huge ravines”

 

3.   Mingling (Pg. 8, 6th paragraph) - to become mixed, blended, or united.

 

“…, I could still smell the sweet stench of buffalo blood mingling with the blood of Indians,”

 

4.   Armory (Pg. 9, 3rd paragraph) - a storage place for weapons and other war equipment.

 

“…, an auto court, the armories, and our elementary school.”

 

5.   Retriever (Pg. 16, 3rd paragraph) - a breed of dog.

 

“Gramp wanted a Lab for bird hunting, but a purebred retriever cost a whole lot,”

 

Passage Picker

The following passage was selected by the Passage Picker and discussed by the group:

 

"It was. They found the brothers two days later. I was there when they brought in the bodies. They weren’t Joey and Francis anymore, not the Joey and Francis I had met. They were just bodies. Dead bodies. The first ones I had ever seen. And they were ugly and greenish, and slimy and cold. They looked so puffy and bloated. I stayed back from getting too close because I figured they had to smell. Dead fish smell after a while, and these somehow looked like dead fish. " (page 6 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

 

     Gramp is sixty-four years old and he is the grandfather of Buddy. He was very handsome when he was young, now he is still pretty good for his age, even though he doesn’t have too much hair and is mixed with grey and white colors. He has green eyes and kind smile which did not change for years. In the text, he seems to be an impulsive person. When he was angry, he does not think to much, but just follows his feelings to say anything freely. From the novel, he said, “Enough with the bloody cigarettes! You’re going to gas me worse than I got in the war!”, here he is showing his unpleasant of smoking in the car. But he soon realizes that he did not think about the owner of this car, Del, who often drove their family to important places. Gramp was a roadway worker and his job was to repair the train. He was very proud about his job and loved his job truely, we see this through: “she was making fun of Gramp, who always used railroad talk even as passenger in a car”. Through the text, “The government paid the veterans to work with him” we also notice that Gramp is very good at his job and good at teaching it. In his family, he had made two of his children named after Buddy, which was his nickname when he was young, which somehow made some close connections with him and his children. This shows us that he really loves his children and shows that he is a good father and grandfather.

 

 

 

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

 

Larry Kan

 

      Our group has focused on the the plot in chapter one, the novel Summer Wild is a story about a young boy’s summer at the Pelican Lake, written by Kenneth William Budd. The main character, Buddy, age 10, soon to be 11, describes his adventures with his best friends Mokey and Riel at their family cottage and boat house for the summers. Buddy’s family includes his grandmother Nan, his Gramp, his mother, his younger sister Pearl, cousin Maisie, and their family dog Rinty which died in a car accident when he was trying to chase the car’s tire. We think the death of Rinty could be a foreshadow of death later on in the story. Also,in the beginning of the first chapter, the young boy, Buddy recalls the previous summer at Pelican Lake when two of his friends, two brothers, Fancis and Joey lost their lives at the lake. Buddy thinks that he is guilty of the death because he did not try to stop the bothers from going into the drop, and moreover he was not able and was frightened to tell the adults that the brothers were planning to go somewhere far into the lake. During our discussion, we also discussed about Buddy’s family. Their family did not own a car because Gramp did not like cars, mainly because he used to work for the railway and loved trains more than cars, therefore they travel to their cottage through an old family friend, Del Weist, who owns a car, and often helped out when they needed a ride. Del’s ’49 ford always made a comfortable and safe ride for the family, no matter what happens Del’s ’49 ford would always get them to their destination safely. When they have finally arrived at their destination, a new summer was there waiting for their new adventure.  

 

      The passage we discussed mostly was from page6 paragraph5. We thought this was an important passage because it might be a foreshadow for the following text, the speaker here talks about it in a dark and dramatic tone. This paragraph also brings a lot of attention to the readers because it is at the very beginning of the novel, and he brings up dramatic stories about the death of the brothers. It is a gruesome paragraph, it’s really graphic (imagery). “looked like dead fish” (simile). This also might be one of the theme that will carry on later in the novel, (guilt). This passage also made us think about what actually happened in that afternoon, when the two brothers headed out deep. Did they drawn into the water or did something else happen to them? Also we talked about the character Gramp an important character in the story, who was the grandfather of Buddy. He seems to be an impulsive person. When he was angry, he doesn’t think too much, instead he just follows his feelings to say anything he wished. Gramp was a roadway worker, and he was very proud about his job, we know this by Gramp continuously talking about his job. More importantly, we thought he loves his children.

 

 

 

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Readings

This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:

 

Chapter #2

 

Word Wizard

 

1. P19 P5 Pelican - n. any of several large, totipalmate, fish-eating birds of the family Pelecanidae, having a large bill with a distensible pouch.

“I noticed a line of snow - white pelican gliding toward their nesting grounds at the near end of the lake”

Ex. "Pelican has a very useful beak." 

 

2. P25 P12 Chipmunk - n. any of several small, striped, terrestrial squirrels of the genera Tamias,  of North America, and Eutamia,  of Asia and North America.

“On top of that, several of the chipmunks and ground squirrels”

Ex. "Chipmunk of western America and Asia."

 

3. P26 P2 Tarpaper - n. a heavy, tar-coated paper used as a waterproofing material in building construction.

“the tarpaper roof, the rough siding and the trim on all the windows” 

 

4. P28 P1 Gunnysack - n. A sack made of gunny or burlap.

“which Gramp had filled with the block of ice we brought town wrapped in a gunnysack”

Ex. "The performance went surprisingly well , though , until it was time for gunnysack race." 

 

5. P31 P7 Chokecherry - n. The berrylike fruit of any North American shrub of the genus Aronia,  of the rose family.

“I was ready for the tastes of fresh, fried fish and tangy chokecherries”

 

Passage Picker

 

"Looking out at the lake from the front door of the cottage, there was pretty much an open view out over the water. To the right of the cottage, blocking part of the view, was the two-storey boathouse. Since it had neither been painted nor stained, it was already turned old-barn-grey by the weather, even though it had only been built a few years earlier. Inside it, Uncle Dan’s pride and joy-his Peterborough boat-sat snug and safe. My room was above the boathouse, on the second storey. It was my pride and joy"  (page 26, paragraph 4).

 

Character Expert

 

Pearl

Pearl is Buddy's younger sister and is the indirect character in this novel. She is a reckless nine-year-old girl who still needs to be supervised. Instead of helping her parents, Pearl is heading towards the middle of the lake where the two boys died last summer. We think that Pearl is unpredictable because she swims to the middle of the lake without her parents knowing. We know that Buddy is annoyed because he says, "she was still a little brat" and "she was also a wimpy little girl" (page 25, paragraph 10). In addition, she can ruin her brother's summer even though she is young. Pearl likes animals and animals like her too. She feeds chipmunks and ground squirrels that live around her place (page25, paragraph 12). Buddy envies Pearl because she is good with animals. 

 

Stagecrafter

 

 

Discussion Summary

 

Vanessa Yang

 

  In Chapter 2, Buddy first describes he and his family as they pass the airport, and where the cottage is located.  We discover a couple of literary devices along the way. First, there are two hyperboles that can be found on page 19. Buddy talks about his love about the lake. Buddy is excited about going to the lake, but remembers what happened last year and begins to feel sad. Then he starts to talk about the jackfish in Pelican Lake which is a kind of massive fish that eat dead bodies. Next, he discusses the Indian Reserve which we think is a culture bias. After,  Buddy describes how his sister Pearl and his cousin Maisie want ice cream, but they can’t because the adults will leave soon. When they get to the lake, the speaker describes the cottage and boathouse; here, we find more literary devices like simile and personification. We also discuss foreshadowing. 

     Kevin and I think that the death of the two boys and the dog which had occurred in the previous chapter, might foreshadow a death going on later. For instance, we believe it might be Pearl, but we are just taking a guess. Wenda thinks that Bud might be a homicidal maniac.

     In our group discussion, we focus on page 26, paragraph 4. In this passage, the narrator uses imagery to paint an elegant scene. In this image, there is a cottage in front of the lake and a two-storey boathouse alongside it. Throughout time, the house becomes a part of the landscape. We believe that the image demonstrates a peaceful yet dangerous environment, because we know that Joey and Francis died in the lake. We think that the passage is an example of dramatic irony. Pearl, who is the sister of Buddy, is the main focus of our discussion. We think that Pearl is a reckless young girl and she can ruin her brother's summer. Buddy envies her because she is good with animals. We also think that she has the guts to do something crazy that might end up killing her.

 

 

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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 -Damselfly: n. a type of dragonfly

    P34 P6

“Dragonflies and blue damselflies with long, skinny bodies and big wings of gauze chased each other through the reeds”

2 -Bandit: n. a robber that runs away from the law

    P35 P2

“I’d only see the wing of a barbed bandit poking out if the frog’s mouth”

3 -Denizen: n. an inhabitant; resident.

    P34 P2

“I imagined the hands of some denizens of the deep locking out of the ooze”

4 -Grebe: n. any diving bird of the family Podicipedidae, related to the loons

    P34 P5

“Plenty more kinds, like ducks and grebes”

5 -Meadowlarks: n. any of several American songbirds of the genus Sturnella

    P34 P5

“while other birds, like meadowlarks”

 

Passage Picker

Pg41 line 10-13
"I was stuck to the rock. I hoped that if I didn't move, he might not notice me. He might not notice me and might not rear up out of his world to scoop me off the rock and take me into some deep underwater cave in the middle of the lake where he would tear my body to shreds."

     This passage showed Buddy's fear of the jack fish and describes details vividly. Since Buddy had heard about that jack fish ate dead bodies, in his mind, the jack fish was like monster. When Buddy saw the giant jack fish, the fear from the deep of his heart come out and he was afraid that jack fish might jump out of the water and eat him. So he hide behind the rock and very nervous so that he couldn't move.

Character Expert

Nan

     In chapter three, Nan shows her concerns of Buddy’s safety. In the page 35 paragraph 6, “Only it you don’t go any farther than the rock or bother the people on the reserve land.” It shows Nan’s personality, she shows respect to the Indians because she doesn’t want Buddy to step on the reserve land. In the page 36 paragraph 4, “And what else are you not to do?” Nan often ended her lectures with a quiz. And when I went fishing from the rock, the answer she expected had to always to be the same.” It indicates that Nan was concern of Buddy’s safety. She doesn’t want Buddy to swimming in the lake due to his sunburn. More importantly, it shows Nan loves Buddy.

 

 

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

Raymond Chang

     In chapter 3, basically is about fishing, then I asked my group members’ fishing experience. Andrew wasn’t excited when he was fishing because he never been fishing before, and a little scary. Vanessa and Larry has been fishing in the lake and ocean, and they both scared. Emilia has been fishing, and she said is easy to hook the fish in the fish farm.

     We disgusted which scene should we draw in the stagecrafter for long time. The most important scene is the one that Buddy hides behind the big rock and the jackfish that has the spoon is staring Buddy. But, Andrew doesn’t want to have the same stagecrafter as another group.

 

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Readings

This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:

 

Chapter #4

 

Word Wizard

 

mane(noun) - If you refer to a person’s hair as their mane, you mean that they have a lot of hair. (page 43 paragraph 2)

talon(noun) - The talons of a bird of prey, such as an eagle, are its hooked claws. (page 48 paragraph 10) 
tiger lily(noun) - A tiger lily is a lily which has flowers that are orange with black spots. (page 49 paragraph 12) 
velvet(noun) - Velvet is soft material made from cotton, silk, or nylon, which has a thick layer of short, cut threats on one side.(page 54 paragraph 8)
sleigh(noun) - A sledge designed for travelling on snow, either for sport or pleasure or as a form of transport. (page 51 paragraph 4) 

 

 

Passage Picker

 

“It was time for me to leave this interesting, newfound friend, but before I could, I realized another thing that was even a greater embarrassment to me. I looked at his face, which was now both peaceful and handsome, and asked the question I knew I should have asked much earlier. "So, what's your name?" "Joe Starblanket," he said. I reached down to pick up my fishing gear and flour sack. Bent over, I started to introduce myself too. "That's a really super name. Mine's Buddy, Buddy Williams. I..." I said, looking back up. He was gone.” （page 55 paragraph 3)

 

 

Character Expert

 

Joe is hospitable native. He has long black hair and very beautiful dark pupil. He was very strong and really good at hiking and fishing. From the

indirect presentation, we can see that Joe was not well-educated. But he does understand a lot about the nature and know how to show his respect to the nature. This has shown by few examples in this chapter that Joe told Buddy to be quiet when they had walk to Joe's cabin. Joe was a quiet and smart person, he likes to use his action to show his words. In this chapter, he didn't ask Buddy anything but he knows what Buddy looking for, so he brought Buddy to see the beautiful nature that Buddy wants. He also has show his hospitality by showing Buddy, the friend that he had met for only one day, his cabin, even it's very small and poor.

 

 

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

 

In our discussion, we talked about few elements around Buddy's new friend Joe and Buddy's adventure in the Indian land. We talked about Joe, he's very friendly and smart. Joe was a very traditional native. He had show his hospitality by been a guid for Buddy and brought Buddy home. As a Indian, he also knows a lot about the nature and he had treat very part of nature as a person. From Joe taught Buddy the skill of fishing, he also taught Buddy a lesson which is how to show respect to the nature. And from the passage that we picked from this chapter also showed us the friendly native friend already became a friend of Buddy by leading Buddy to a wonderful adventure in Indian land, even by not telling his name. And Joe has left when Buddy was talking, Buddy did not even notice. We think that Joe stills a mystery character in the novel and we believe he will show up anywhere and anytime later to save Buddy from dangerous or led Buddy to a new adventure.We also concerned about Nan's reaction when get she know about Buddy's adventure. We agreed that Nan might be mad at Buddy and ground him for a long time in the cottage. But she also might be happy about Buddy had make a new friend, who would teach Buddy a lot about nature.

 

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Readings

This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:

 

Chapter #5

 

Word Wizard

 

     Scorcher: n. a very hot day

“that made it easy to tell that it was going to be another scorcher” (p59 p3)

 

     Legionnaire: n. a member of certain military forces or associations 

“French Foreign Legionnaire” (p61 p7)

 

     Shrubbery: n. a collection of shrubs growing together

“we turned the corner of shrubbery” (p67 p2)

 

     Pickerel: Any of several small fishes

“If we can spot any perch or pickerel” (p72 p6)

 

     Oarlock: a holder attached to the gunwale of a boat that holds the oar in place 

“that took place of oarlocks” (p72 p3)

 

Passage Picker

 

"There was another slash of lightning and an immediate answer of thunder.Yes, I thought I could make out the growl of a motor.Riel's voice cracked as he hollered, "There! Over there! A red and white boat!"I was never so glad to see colour."

(page76 last 4 lines)

 

In this chapter, Buddy, Riel and Mokey were in a very dangerous situation. The boat that Buddy and his friends on was going to sink in the strong storm under the lightning and thunders. One of Buddy's friends, Mocky, was very afraid and couldn't stay calm. Riel and Buddy were also very anxious. When they were all in bad motion, feeling no hope within this danger, Riel saw a boat. This passage was giving a bread to starving people. This told us that Buddy and his friend still have a chance to be rescue. And when we read to this part, we would be guessing who's going to save them. From our discussion, Emilia thinks that might be Riel and other people in our group think that might be a fishing man, which would be a friend of Buddy.

 

Character Expert

 

Mokey

 

          Mokey is a flat character. He is one of Buddy’s friends and innocent. Mokey doesn’t have any siblings and his mother really cares about him. He knows the rules from his mother and tries to obey her. That's why Buddy and Riel is making fun of him. In this chapter, Riel said, “You just don’t’ want to have your mom holler at you when you get home. You’re such a Momma’s Brat! Why don’t you grow up? Are you coming with us or not?” This shows us how they think about Mokey. Also, this becomes a dilemma to Mokey between obeying his mother and following his friends. At the end of this chapter, Mokey gets so upset about his wrong choice. Maybe, through this experience, he will never disobey his mother.

 

 

 

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

 

Andrew Cho

 

     During our discussion, we talked about various elements of the story that were exposed in this chapter. It was stated by Raymond that the fundamental characteristics of the characters (Riel, Mokey, and Buddy) were exposed during their dangerous adventure. Riel, we agreed, was cool and calm in the face of danger, as expected if we were to deduce the result from his previous mannerism. Mokey also fit his character description in that he is scared, nervous, and panicky. We noticed that Buddy’s behavior was very interesting. Buddy learns that even his problem solving skills cannot get them out of their particular predicament. However scared he is, he still assumes the role of a leader, which is an admirable trait.

 

     Our group also noticed, through careful discussion, that this event might be connected to the foreshadowing in chapter one, where the two dead boys were found bloated and locked together. There seems to be the implied mental image that the three musketeers (Buddy, Riel, and Mokey) would end up in that same position. Furthermore, it was agreed by our group that the literary device of imagery is prevalent in this chapter. There are also many sensory descriptions. It seems as though the reader is living through the characters’ tensions.

 

     Overall, we believe that this chapter is very significant as it builds an even stronger bond between the three friends. Also, after discussing the last paragraph of the story, we think a new and important character will soon be introduced.

 

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Readings

This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:

 

Chapter #6

 

Word Wizard

 

 

1-Minnow （Noun)

   is a general term used to refer to small freshwater and saltwater fish, especially those used as bait fish or for fishing bait.(page85 paragraph5)

 

2-Holler (Verb)

   To speak or say very loudly or with a shout. (page84 paragraph3)

 

3-Tousle (Verb)

   To disarrange or rumple. (page84 paragraph9)

 

4-Pomegranate (Noun)

   is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall. (page89 paragraph4)

 

5-Ammunition (Noun)

   is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war. (page89 paragraph7)

 

 

 

 

Passage Picker

 

 

"At the moment, I loved her more than ever. Her cocoa butter smell, dark tan, shiny brown hair with blonde tips, and jewel-green eyes that laughed as they looked deep down into me,caused my blood to bubble. I could feel the heat rising from my chest, creeping up my neck and flooding my cheeks. I didn’t care one bit that she was as old as my Aunt Bud." (page86 paragraph13)

 

 

Character Expert

 

   Nan

 

      Throughout chapter six, we got to know more about Nan. In the previous chapters, we learned that Nan is a good and kind teacher, although she is harsh on Buddy sometimes, but it was because she cared about him. In this chapter, we figured out that Nan not only cares for Buddy, but she also loves Buddy enough to make his birthday special. In a passage, Buddy says: “Nan always made me Saskatoon berry pancakes with real berry hidden in the golden “stack of hots,” and they would be smothered in butter and homemade Saskatoon syrup.”(page81, paragraph 2) This shows that Nan really loves Buddy, and also shows Buddy’s appreciation towards Nan. In order to make his favorite pancake, Nan would need to go into the bushes and pick the Saskatoon berries by hand. We also know that there is no electricity in their home; therefore the kitchen does not have a refrigerator. So Nan would have to buy some ice and wrap it in paper to cool the milk. Nan’s actions show us that she is willing to go through all the fancy steps and inconveniences just to make her grandson’s birthday special. Another passage from the book, “Over her many years she had heard of too many people that died getting zapped by lightning, some of them while in a boat or swimming. She wouldn’t let any of us become one of them.”(page82 paragraph5) shows Nan as a person who always cared about Buddy’s safety. At the end of the chapter, Nan said, “What’s the hell happened?”(page90, paragraph2) This also tells us that she is always concerned about Buddy’s safety and would never want anything to happen to him.

 

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

 

Larry Kan

     In the beginning of chapter six, the author writes“The guy who rescued us turned out to be a devil in disguise,” (page 77, paragraph 1) which shows us this guy is greedy. Our group discussed about why the guy rescued buddy and his friend. We thought that the guy saved them because he wanted money or some advantage from them. It shows his evilness because, saving another from danger seems natural for human beings to do without asking for return, but instead, he did it with plan and hoping for a return. We also thought that buddy still felt guilty about the death of the two brothers in chapter one, and has a deep insecure and delicate heart when facing death. We can see this through the quote “Once in a while I would see a haunting picture of the brothers waving to me as they ploughed towards the drop in the early light of sunset.”(page 79, paragraph 2)

     This chapter is talking about buddy’s eleventh birthday. After our discussion, I find an allusion in this chapter. The author uses allusion about Tommy Kochanski which shows buddy is afraid of number thirteen. Also, our group found another literary term which is a dramatic irony, “Maybe it was like what I had heard older guys call a “crush,” though that still didn’t explain the times I would wake up in my bed above the boathouse feeling really uncomfortable.”(page 86-87) It shows us that he is stepping into puberty. As readers, we know the fact that during this age, a child will go through some sort of physical changes, but in the book Buddy doesn’t, which creates a dramatic irony. Our group member also felt shy when we were discussing this topic, but has still gone through many of the basic knowledge and thoughts about this passage.

       At the end of our discussion, we talked about the passage that we chose. In this passage, Buddy had described Helga's physical features and her attractions to him. We can see that Helga was a pretty and lovely woman. She was so attractive that she made Buddy, an eleven-year-old boy, blood bubbled and his face turn red. At age eleven, Buddy was in puberty, an age between boy and man, which made him confused and curious about the relationship between man and woman. Buddy was already concerned about his love for Helga in the previous chapter, but he did not talk much about how she attracts him. In this passage however,  he mentioned many physical and emotional affects and changes he had. From this chapter, we can see that Helga was a very nice and pretty woman. We think that Buddy was not really love Helga, but instead just interested in her, because Helga was probably the first beautiful and kind woman he met, so he was confused about his feeling about Helga.

 

 

 

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Readings

This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:

 

Chapter #7

 

Word Wizard

 

1 - Chauffeur: (P95 P1) 

noun. a man paid to drive a privately owned car

"drive him around like a professional boat chauffeur"

 

2 - Bullrush: (P96 P9)
noun. tall marsh plant with cylindrical seed heads that explode when mature shedding large quantities of down
"it was rimmed with only reeds and bullrushes instead of beaches"

 

3 - Towrope: (P98 P5)

noun. a rope used in towing

"something wise inside my brain told me to at least ket the handle of the towrope go, so i did"

 

4 - Velvety: (P100 P6)

adjective: resembling velvet in having a smooth soft surface

"its rays still shot into the heavens and bounced the bright pink off velvety, dark blue clouds"

 

5 - Chorus: (P101 P5)

noun. the part of a song where a soloist is joined by a group of singers

"Mom stepped up to the plate and led an out-of-tune choir through choruses of Roll Out Barrel"

 

Passage Picker

 

"Immediately I tried to relieve the crushing pain in my crotch by pulling my bathing suit away from that area. Things hadn't grown enough down there yet to get much protection, so the lack of padding left my marbles feeling like smashed peas" (Page98 Paragraph8).

 

Character Expert

 

Buddy

 

Buddy’s birthday is a time of celebration with friends and family. As Buddy turns twelve-years-old, he is no longer portrays as a child who needs much care and attention. We see a transition from childhood to adulthood when Uncle Dan permits his nephew to drive the boat around the lake. Buddy is extremely grateful for his friends and family, we see Buddy’s appreciation as he receives many special gifts from pals and relatives. Chapter Seven also reveals that Buddy is a natural-born leader. We see that Mokey and Riel turn to Buddy for guidance. We also see that Buddy exercises caution when sharing his secrets. He wants to share his experiences with Joe Starblanket with Mokey and Riel, but too afraid of Nan finding out. In this chapter, we learn how important friends and family mean to Buddy and he also respects their opinions and love to be around them. 

 

 

 

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

 

Vanessa. Yang

 

We believe that the tone of this chapter is both comical and gloomy simultaneously. We talk about a specific passage that relates to Buddy’s private area that we think is quite humourous. The boys in the group claim that they understand the pain of their private parts feeling like “smashed peas” (P98 P8). In this particular passage, “the flesh on the front of [Buddy’s] body was on fire,” is a classic example of a hyperbole which shows us how awful Buddy really feels (P98 P7). 

 

We claim that the main theme of this chapter is about the importance of family and friends. Buddy respects and values everyone in his life. We know that Buddy loves to assist his grandmother by going “into the cottage to see if [he] could help Nan” get ready for guests (P100 P4). Also, we see that Buddy loves Aunt Bud because he feels that his birthday is incomplete “without [her] beautiful sound leading [them]” (P101 P6). We discover that Buddy receives a shotgun from his grandfather. We believe that the gun is not the only reason why Buddy cherishes Gramp; but rather, Gramp symbolizes the father figure that Buddy lacks in his life. What is more important, Buddy sees his grandfather as his role model because “Gramp was [his] dad and would always be [his] dad” (P104 P5). During Buddy’s birthday celebration, we see the strength and importance in Buddy’s relationships with his friends and family. 

 

We also discuss the different types of conflicts that occur within this chapter. Andrew notices a conflict between Uncle Dan and Buddy as they approach the jump. Uncle Dan accuses Buddy by demanding that he is not a chicken (P97 P7). As a result, Buddy feels forced into taking the jump. Larry suggests that there is a struggle between Uncle Dan and Gramp when it comes to taking care of Buddy. Due to the incident, “Gramp felt right away that any problems that had occurred would be Uncle Dan’s doing” (P100 P2). This shows that Gramp is responsible for Buddy’s safety. We learn about the dynamic in the family while taking a closer look at this chapter.

 

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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 -

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

Pearl 

Pearl is Buddy’s little sister. She always beg her brother Buddy to go on a adventure with Buddy and Buddy’s friend, but she has to play with her cousin Maisie and to stay around the cabin. She’s pretty brave or I can say she’s an idiot one. In chapter, Pearl had go into the lake for very far by herself without anyone had notice, this had shown her braveness, she know the dangerous of the drop but she still curios about it and wanted to go to further to see it. It has also shown her ignorance, she knows it’s dangerous but she didn’t know how danger is it, so she want to try it but she didn’t think about the consequences. I think Pearl is pretty much like his brother, she is also very curious about many things that she wants to find out by herself.

 

Stagecrafter

Discussion Summary

 

Group Leader (Raymond)

 

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.

 

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Readings

This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:

 

Chapter #9 and #10

 

Word Wizard

 

1. Bleacher: noun

          A typically roofless section of inexpensive and unreserved seats in tiers, especially at an open-air athletic stadium.

 

page.146 p.2

Gramp and Mom had season tickets and both of them never missed a game. Because they worked almost all of the summer, they were always in town, which made it easier for them to be in the bleachers.

 

2. Tussle: noun

           To struggle or fight roughly or vigorously

 

page.150 p1

On top of that, she said, he was a scrapper and got quite a few tussles.

 

3. Umpire: noun

           A person selected to rule on the plays in a game

 

Page.153 p5

A called second strike caused him to look back at the umpire in a not-so-pleasant way.

 

4. Thwack: verb

           To strike or beat vigorously with something flat; whack.

 

Page.158 p6

There was aloud thwack from the plate, and I turned to see Rod finish another powerful swing.

 

5. Blurry: adjective

           Blurred; to obscure or sully (something) by smearing or with a smeary substance

 

Page 159 p4

Anything I could see out of my right eye was blurry.

 

 

 

Passage Picker

 

page157 p1

 

Thinking about how the Negro player were so willing to help me be a better player made me remember how Joe Starblanket, the Indian boy, had taught me so much about Nature in such a short time. And, how after meeting him, as if being struck be a bolt of lightning, I had realized that Reil, my best friend, was also an Indian. Or, almost one. Then I thought about what good buddies my other Metis friends were, and how I also liked Mr. Grossman, who was Jewish and my mom's boss. It came to me that the world was a much better place because of all the different kinds of people in it. It made living more interesting and exciting.

 

 

 

Character Expert

 

Danielle

 

Danielle is a pretty girl. She make Buddy fall in love with her.The author writes ,“She was a good swimmer. I knew I wouldn’t want to try racing against her. We jumped around and splashed each other, and we laughed a bunch but didn’t say much,”(page132 paragraph4) It shows Danielle is a friendly and playful girl. Also, her dialogue with Pearl indicates she is a nice person. She says, “ I can spend a lot of time together over the weekend”(page133 paragraph1) to Pearl, which shows she is happy to stay  with people who is younger than her. Also, she says, “Of course, silly. I am from New York,” It shows her personality which is arrogant. When Dennis shot Buddy in the butt, Danielle holler, “ What did you do that for? How could you be such a stupid idiot, Dennis? You are just a big,stupid creep!” It shows her justice because she wants Dennis apologize to buddy. She shows her concern to Buddy.

 

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 (Emilia Hu)

 

Chapter 9 is about Buddy meeting with his two cousins (Dennis and Daniel) from his uncle’s family. Buddy shows them around like a tour guide. Dennis is older than Buddy, and he always sounds awful. Unlike his younger sister, Daniel is much loveable girl. 

In our discussion, we all agree that Dennis is very impulsive and sometimes violent, because that he is going through a period of rebelling as a teenager. As he said: “Where the hell’s Tarzan? I’ll shoot his ass off” (p137); he used the allusion of Tarzan-- a boy who lived in the wild and the friend of many animals-- to show that he’s very good at hunting and not afraid of beasts. In contrast, Daniel is a pretty girl and “her voice was as pretty as a meadowlark’s song” (p131). Daniel is totally different from her brother. She is very kind to everybody, even Buddy’s little sister likes her.


Buddy falls in love with Daniel quickly. Larry thinks Buddy loves Daniel because he has Oedipus complex. After a long debate, some of us agree with Larry for the following three reasons. Firstly, since Buddy’s mother is a single mother, and she has to work most of the time, so she cannot spend much time with Buddy. As a matter of fact, Nan and Gramp are more like a mother and father to Buddy. Secondly, Buddy loves his mother to kiss him. Thirdly, Daniel reminds Buddy about his mother who is very beautiful, gentle and mature. From the above points, we can conclude that Buddy really loves his mother. 


Chapter 10 is about Buddy going to a baseball game between Cuban All Star and Beavers, which lets Buddy think carefully about all the different kinds of people who are living in the world and making the world a better place. First of all, Joe Starblanket who taught him how to fishing and invited him to his place even if they met first time. He is a Native Indian. Second, Riel is Buddy's best friend. He is one of the Three musketeers. Buddy spends his whole time with Riel and Mokey. He is also not Caucasian. He is Métis. Third, Mr. Grossman is Jewish and Buddy's mom's boss. In the Canada, there are a lot of different kinds of people. For example, our school is located in Vancouver, which is one of the biggest cities in Canada. There are more than one nationalities. There are some students from Japan, Korea and China. We are learning English as second language. Sometimes, our language skills are not strong enough so that, we might get in trouble. Or, some people just don't like the people from other countries. The reason why they don't like us? Maybe we speak different language? We talk too loud? We look different? Maybe. This stereo-type makes two different kinds of people keep their distance far away. However, through this passage, we are so thankful of the writer. There are some people like the writer, the world could be better place for everyone.

 

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Readings

This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:

 

Chapter #11

 

Word Wizard

 

1. Tern : noun

           A tern is a small black and white seabird with long wings and a forked tail.

Page166 p7

- A tern stole my attention by the way it worked its wings perfectly to stay in one place in the air over the lake.

 

2. Pelicans : noun

           A pelican is a large water bird which catches fish and keeps them in the bottom part of its beak which is shaped like a big bag.

Page166 p7

- A line of pelicans cruised by, leaving only the sound of their wing beats behind.

 

3. Tantalize : adjective

           If you tantalize someone, you make them feel hopeful and excited.

Page168 p1

- But the instant smell of sugar and flour and spices mixed together, baking into something tantalizing, grabbed at my throat and made my mouth fill up with spit so quickly that I had to swallow or end up drooling down my bare chest.

 

4. Python : noun

           A python is a large, very long snake that kills animals by squeezing them with its body.

Page 170 p3

- Slackjaw was swimming lazily around them, his huge python-like body casting shadows on the boys and throughout the weeds and the brown-green water.

 

5. Stubborn : adjective

           Someone who is stubborn is determined to do what they want and very unwilling to change their mind; used showing disapproval.

Page176 p1

- He wasn't having any success either, but he still moved quickly, stubbornness locked onto his face.

 

Passage Picker

 

"In the dreams I was playing tag on the beach and in the water with the two teenagers, or we were tossing each other off the inner tube. In the nightmares they were drowning off the drop, with me standing chest-deep on the edge of the underwater cliff, reaching out for them. I could never grab them and pull them in. The most terrible, worst nightmare was of the brothers sitting on the bottom of the lake locked onto each other’s body the way they had found them. This time their eyes were open, looking at one another. Slackjaw was swimming lazily around them, his huge python-like body casting shadows on the boys and throughout the weeds and the brown-green water. The monster’s fishy lips were pulled back into a sneaky grin that showed his razor teeth. I always made myself wake up before he could tear them apart." (Page.170 p.3)

 

Character Expert

Joe Starblanket

 

He is Buddy’s secret friend. In this chapter Joe is really important character. He is calm. He helps Buddy as doing knocking doors and asking about Pearl. Through this passage, “This is the time to believe she is safe, but she needs to be found.”(page 174 p4) We can see he is also reliable. Even if, he had such a bad experience with white people, he naturally helped Buddy. Also he shows his kindness again in the later they found Pearl at the Pariseau’s. He allows to invite his friend and Gramp. He makes Buddy think about his family once again and friend.(page 182 p1)

 

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 Andrew Cho

 

During our discussion, we believed that the tone of this chapter was gloomy and urgent. We decided that this chapter is the climax of this book. Because, there were many happenings that buddy got into the trouble, he almost drowned and fell down from the cliff. However, those were already known from the beginning as dangerous places which Buddy must do not go. Since we noticed that the main theme of this book is about “Nature”, we couldn’t expected that Pearl got lost. Larry said, “I did not notice that various happening could appear. In previous chapters, Pearl was walking toward to the deep and always wanted to go to fishing at the rock. Buddy has a responsibility for Peal, and now, she is gone. I can see he is in trouble also, Buddy said, “my stomach to start flopping around like a bunch of worms were wiggling inside it.”(Page.169 p.5). This is an example of a hyperbole which shows us how awful Buddy really feels.

 

Moreover, we talked about the how important of family. First of all, we all agreed that family is the most important thing in the world. Emilia said, “My family always support and encourage me. I should respect them as they treated me.” We all noticed that Nan and Buddy was looking for them so hard. We felt infinite love from Nan but, why Buddy so worried about Pearl? Emilia said, “Because Buddy loves her as sister. Sometimes Buddy ignored her because, she is too young to hang out. Buddy, however always take care of her.” Larry didn’t agree and insisted “Buddy did not want to feel guilty about it.” Suddenly, we all remembered that the two guys from the beginning. Buddy could stop them but he did not. We noticed that friend is also important. Venessa said, “I want to have a friend like Joe, he doesn’t wish anything from Buddy and he’s so reliable. He seems like when I need some help but I can tell nobody, he might stay behind me. Also, he gives exactly right advises to Buddy.” Larry noticed a conflict between Joe and white guys in Pariseau’s. Two guys laughed and that made his mother cry(Page 180 p.3).

 

Overall, after discussing the last paragraph of the story, we believe that this chapter is very significant as it builds a strong bond between Buddy and Joe. We expected that Buddy will leave the lake and saying goodbye to Joe in next chapter.

 

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Readings

This post was derived from discussion around the following chapter:

 

Chapter #12

 

Word Wizard

 

1 -Cauliflower noun  A plant having a large edible head of crowded white flower buds

     "I thought it looked more like a cauliflower without the stem." 

2 -Squirm verb To move in a twisting or contorted motion

    "..., these nasty fellows squirmed amongst each other just above the water." 

3 -Plasticine noun A synthetic material resembling clay but remaining soft

    " ..., a big box of the crayons, and two sticks of Plasticine."

4 -Pageboy noun A smooth hair style with the ends of the hair curled inward

    "..., there wasn't a hair of her Pageboy hairstyle out of place." 

5 -Mimic verb To imitate or copy in action, speech, etc., often playfully or derisively.

    ""If we think ahead, we won't make as many," I mimicked."

Passage Picker

 

""No buts, Buddy," he cut me off. "I always want you to tell me about the things that happen in your life. I don't want you to hold back from telling me something because you're afraid that I'll punish. And I sure don't want you to lie to me--or your mom or your grandmother. I don't want you to lie about anything to anyone. Understand?" (pp191 P8)

 

Character Expert

 

Gramp

 

     To Buddy, Gramp is like his father. He dislikes when Buddy said he broke the rules. Also he gives a wonderful advices to Buddy. In the quote, "All of us have to make choices all of the time. Some  choices are a lot more important than others. Making the right ones keeps us safe, and untimately it makes us better. I want u to think ahead, so you'll always make better choices. Okay?" shows us do not break the rules between your family, also, we can see how Granp worried about Buddy.

 

 

Stagecrafter

 

 

Discussion Summary

 

Raymond Chang

 

     This is the last chapter of the story, also is the ending. There are some points we were discussing in the class. We guessed the conversion of Buddy's personality in the future. We talked about the ending that made the members had different opions. The literary divices is indispensible. The interesting thing is when I talked about the grandfather with Vanessa, and she said her grandpa was died when she was six, then we shared the ghost story by the real experience of my members.

 

     First of all, Buddy shows the changeover of his behavior to his family. For example, Emilia thinks Buddy won't change his personality in the future, because he met Joe-his savior- when he broke he the rule, however, he will change his attitude to Pearl, the reason is he alomst lost Pearl. But Andrew has diiferent thoughts as Emilia. He thinks Buddy will change his personality beacuse he is a twelve-year-old kid who has a lot question mark in his future. In my opinion, i would agree with Andrew's idea, because i had the similar situation with Buddy. In facts, I broke a few rules that my mother made. I got the ear piercing and learned to smoking cigarette when i was fifteen, but, i was trying to be a good boy after my mother ingored me, and bring the relationship back.

 

      Second, the members were really despaired about the ending. They think the ending suppose to be exciting, but not. Therefore, I asked them, "If you were the auther of the story, what will you change the ending?". Andrew said he will make the gramp died by cancer like some of the Korean drama, and this will be another climax of the story. And he asked me why can't the story end of the climax, and I really agreed with him. After that, I got the funny answer by Vanessa, who said she would let the two guys who died in the drop alive, and we all laughed. Vanessa has a great imagination, and she always says something crazy.

 

      Third, we found some literary devices in this chapter. In the page 190 paragraph 11, "but I knew that would only seem like a flimsy smoke screen." is a simile. In the page 187 second paragraph, "..., so I swam it more like Johnny Weissmuller when he acted like a Tarzan in the movies." is an alluison and an imagination. In the page 200 forth paragraph, "A song echoed across the lake from a loon sharing its haunting cry." is a personifaction.

 

      Forth, Vanessa shared her ghost story when I was asking the question "Have you ever fishing with your grandpa?". Vanessa has cool eyes that can see ghost. She tell us that there are two people was standing beside her bed fro three days,  and she still was not afraid. At the time, I was really proud of her. And Emilia said, when Vanessa first time come to the school, and she saw there are her parents and an granny stand beside Vanessa. After that , Vanessa rejected, there should be my parents only. They always make the atmosphere scared.

       

      Overall, Every my group members did the really nice job, and they were dicussing with me. In the chapter. I learn how important is the family and friends, also, do not break the rule that you were deal. And i will treat my younger sister really well, like Buddy to Pearl after the event happened.