Put your discussion points and group notes here. (List vocab words only. You can link to the appropriate group memeber's page for the definitions)

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Preparing for the Test

Copy and paste this at the top of your group notes page.

Complete the following tasks with your group:

Why is the boy both an "alien" and an "angel"? What larger symbolic role may he play in this novel? Use evidence and quotes to support your conclusions.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->-          <!--[endif]-->The boy is an alien because he doesn’t know what the world used to be

<!--[if !supportLists]-->o   <!--[endif]-->“What are the states?” (43)

<!--[if !supportLists]-->o   <!--[endif]-->Looked like an alien because he was so thin and pale and his eyes were sunken in

<!--[if !supportLists]-->-          <!--[endif]-->Angel

<!--[if !supportLists]-->o   <!--[endif]-->Wants to be the “good guys”

<!--[if !supportLists]-->o   <!--[endif]-->Symbol of hope – Ely thinks he’s an angel because he never thought he would see a child again

<!--[if !supportLists]-->o   <!--[endif]-->“the last music on earth” (77)

<!--[if !supportLists]-->o   <!--[endif]-->He always wants to help people

<!--[if !supportLists]-->o   <!--[endif]-->He always wants to look hopeful side of life

<!--[if !supportLists]-->-          <!--[endif]-->Larger symbolic role he plays

<!--[if !supportLists]-->o   <!--[endif]-->As long as the boy is alive, there is still hope (above: angel)

List five other important topics that you have discussed as a group throughout your study of this novel.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.      <!--[endif]-->Morality

<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.      <!--[endif]-->Importance of family/companionship

<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.      <!--[endif]-->Humanity

<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.      <!--[endif]-->Hope

<!--[if !supportLists]-->5.      <!--[endif]-->Point of Desperation

What are the most significant quotes that you have discussed while studying this novel? List at least five and for each explain its significance in terms of character development, setting, or theme.

“Can you do it? When the time comes? When the time comes there will be no time. Now is the time. Curse God and die.” (114)

“like a man waking in a grave.” (213)

“He knew that he was placing hopes where he’d no reason to. He hoped it would be brighter where for all he knew the world grew darker daily.” (213)

Pg 52-53 – “The clocks stopped at 1:17. A long shear of light and then a series of low concussions. . . He went into the bathroom and threw the lightswitch but the power was already gone. A dull rose glow in the windowglass. He dropped to one knee and raised the lever to stop the tub. . . cradling her belly in one hand. . . Why are you taking a bath? I’m not.”

 

“He’d been ready to die and now he wasn’t going to and he had to think about it. (144)

 

List fifteen vocabulary words that your group discovered and could use again in your own writing.

 

8/31/0

Summarize:

-A man and his kid are going south because it's warmer south and they can survive the winter.

-The kid drank a coca cola and it was his first one so maybe this happened when he was really young

-Theory: Think whatever happened, happened when the child was young

Writing style:

-makes the world seem more empty

-makes it more lonely

-a lot of description

Questions:

-what are their names?

 

 

 

Literary Luminary

"The boy was all that stood between Jim ans death," (29).

-group idea: we would want to die if we were on the only ones alive

-why was the boy so scared

"Can you do it when the time comes? Can you?" (29).

-will the kid kill himself if the man goes?

-sound like cannibals

"Everything was alight. As if the lost sun returning at last,"(31).

-snowing gray?

-did the sun explode? giant ray?

-WHAT HAPPENED TO EVERYONE? (eat eachother)

 

 

 

9/8/09

  --People died while in their beds (80-81) àHow did they die? Of a regular cause (heart attack?), or of “volcanic”/otherworldly cause?

!--What caused the (overall) destruction?

Made you have even MORE questions, which are still not being answered.

<!--New questions: what happened to the dog? Who is the boy/the boy’s face?

Did he make up this boy – like really wanted to see another child (going crazy…)?

--Surprised us the most:

The “parade” of people  - why are they walking out in broad “daylight”? What importance do they have?

WHAT IF: the wife could have taken this path? Maybe she became one of ‘them’…

<--(89) – the man seems to be forgetting everything he once knew àis he losing his will to live? To save the boy?

The boy himself seems to be losing hope – asking if they will die…

<--The man is very knowledgeable about surviving – cutting sleeping bag for shoes, using the gun, etc.

<--When in city, the man knows they are being watched. Why don’t they leave?

The people in the cities could be refugees, whereas the people in the land/country will do anything to fight for survival (lethal).

--Where are they getting all this water? Is there some reliable source?

--The kid really shows signs of affection: always wants to help, especially when seeing the little boy – yearns to find another human life…?

<--According to the book, it is turning into winter – colder. So why didn’t the man and the boy leave earlier, before it became colder? Perhaps they were in some sort of safe haven (particularly while the boy was born). Did their haven come to an end?

 

Note Taker - pages 40-79

Where did the "bad" people get the fuel from to fun the diesel truck?

 

The man says that these are the first people he has seen (other than the boy) in about a year. - where are all of the people?

 

All of the "bad" people are coughing like the man. Why doesn't the child cough? - theory - because the boy was born after the disaster maybe he is used to the ash in the air because that is all that he's known.

 

After the man shoots the "bad" man and comes back to get their things, he finds boiled bones. It seems the "bad" people who survived have reverted to cannibalism as a means to survive.

 

The man has a flashback of when the disaster first happens, his wife finds him filling up the bathtub. - He does this so that they'll have drinking water. (page 53)

 

Another flashback (page 57) - the wife tells the man that she wishes the child were never born (probably because he was born into the destroyed world), she talks about how she wishes they still had 3 bullets instead of two so she could kill herself and the boy (to protect him from the "bad" people, who will probably rape them all), she leaves the man and the boy. - the man suspects she will kill herself with obsidian (volcanic glass), but it never really says she dies, what if she's still alive?

 

The man mentions that there might be some refugees living in the cities (so not everyone is "bad").

 

The child doesnt understand why they cant help people (like the lightning-struck man, the little boy, and the dog). Even though he was born into a world without trust and helpfulness, he still wants to help people.

 

There seems to be a storm every night and that their common. When they saw the lightning-struck man the father immediately could see he had been struck by lightning.

 

He and his wife would sit by the window and watch distant cities burn. - maybe they were in the country, the cities would be more likely to burn down quickly because the buildings were closer together.

 

The man might feel like he failed his wife, so he doesnt want to fail his son.

 

 

9/10/09

-On page 138 they find all the food supplies

    -why was it all there..was there an indication that something was coming?

-Page 127

    -first thought they were bad..slaves?

    -some were burnt legs

    -how long have they been down there?

    -who were these people (bad guys?)

    -people ran back from the field

    -maybe the box is a warning system for people(ring a bell?)

-Page 113

    -sad when the kid has to learn to put the gun in his mouth to kill himself

-Page 144

 "He'd been ready to die and now he wasnt going to and he had to think about that," (144).

  -he got his hope back

-Page 141

    -"These will be the best pears you've ever tasted, he said," (141).

    -remimded me of Charlie and the Chocolate Facotry, when Charlie has his first bite of chocolate

-Mysterious apples?

  -maybe they were preserved by the ash

  -how did they stay fresh

-Page 145

  "What do I eat first," (145).

    -He's not used to having options

-What happened to the gun...there were bullets but no gun

  -Maybe the people had it on them?

-Page 132

  -man didn't recognize himself in the mirror

   -maybe becuase the kid was used to seeing himself like this

-Page 129

    "Candlecolored skin," (129).

 

 

1.      Transom (13): a crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it.

2.      Cauterized (14): to burn with a hot iron, electric current, fire, or a caustic, esp. for curative purposes; treat with a cautery

3.      Vestibular (15): Of, relating to, or serving as a vestibule, especially of the ear.

4.      Chiffrobe (22): a piece of furniture having both drawers and space for hanging clothes.

5.      Firedrake (31): a mythical fiery dragon

6.      Ash: the powdery residue of matter that remains after burning (used a lot)

7.      Gryke or grike (11): cleft in limestone surface; a deep cleft in a bare limestone rock surface.

8.      Fording (14): a place where a river or other body of water is shallow enough to be crossed by wading.

9.      Precious breathing (1): of high price or great value; very valuable or costly: precious metals

*Thought it was an interesting way to use precious

Vocabulary Enricher

1.       Balustrade pg 159: A railing with supporting balusters

2.       Bivouacked pg 169: shelters, usually without shelter or protection from enemy fire.

3.       Shill pg 172: a person who publicizes or praises something or someone for reasons of self-interest, personal profit, or friendship or loyalty.

4.       Bolus pg 188: Pharmacology, Veterinary Medicine. a round mass of medicinal material, larger than an ordinary pill. Abbreviation: bol.

5.       Grotto pg 189: a cave or cavern.

6.       Corrugate pg 195: to draw or bend into folds or alternate furrows and ridges.