Characters
Literary Devices
Plot
Symbols
Symbols 2.0
100
Who sends the narrator to school and why?
The father of the narrator, to make a useful man out of him
100
How does the descriptive language in the story help the reader understand the story?
Descriptive language and imagery is used to put the reader into the narrator's situation and allows the reader to understand the narrator and his situation in a deeper sense.
100
Where does this story take place?
Egypt
100
How does the changing of setting affect the story?
In the beginning, plants and garden symbolize childhood and at the end, his childhood went away to a city and there is nothing left for him
100
What does the snake that the conjurers show off represent at the end of the story?
Deceit and Evil
200
Who is the kid at the end of the story? What does this mean for the narrator?
He is the grandchild of the narrator, it shows how his whole life has passed by and he didn't even know it. One moment he is going to school, the next he is a grandfather.
200
How does comparing school to a punishment show how the narrator feels towards this step in his life?
It highlights how the narrator is scared and intimidated by this new step in his life and foreshadows how this is not a positive thing.
200
What is the climax of this story?
Paragraph 18 - the man is out of school and overwhelmed by the city.
200
What does the boy walking to school represent?
How the author is growing up and leaving behind his innocence, and walking through his life.
200
What do the gates of the school symbolize?
A turning point in the character's life and in the story
300
Why is the boy scared to go to school at first?
He is hesitant about leaving home and entering this new stage of his life. He is leaving the care of his parents.
300
How is foreshadowing used when the father says, “”?
When the narrator gets out of school he will literally be a man. The father said this as telling him as he gets older going to school will make him a man, but he didn't expect to become a grandfather after half a day of being at school.
300
What type of conflict is presented in this story? Hint: Man vs. what?
Man vs. Time
300
What does the school uniform symbolize?
Conformity and constrictions on life, the bumpy parts in life you might not like but have to deal with
300
What does the house that the narrator is trying to get to at the end of the story represent?
Death
400
What does the mother watching her son leave symbolize?
The mother symbolizes mothers who have to let go of their sons and allow them to move on in life.
400
How is it ironic that the father said “Don't you want to be useful like your brothers?”?
It is ironic because throughout the whole story, it never brings up that he was useful, it just brings up the idea of life passing by unbelievably fast. The narrator did not find it useful.
400
What is the other major turning point in this story, besides the climax?
When the author started enjoying school after dreading entering.
400
What does the boy’s dad represent?
God, how He brings him in and out of life
400
What do the children at the school and the activities they learn at school symbolize?
Life Experiences
500
What do the children at the school represent?
The children at the school represent people of his life and allow him to experience life, if the school represents his life, then the children are the ones who are most important to him and his experiences.
500
Explain how foreshadowing is used when the father said, “You'll find me waiting for you when it's time to leave.”?
This is foreshadowing to the idea of the father being God, he is there to guide him through his life and he will be there when the boy dies. When the narrator does get out of school, the father is not literally there, but when he leaves life, the father will be there.
500
How does the lack of a step-by-step plot lead the reader to understand the story?
It forces the reader to read the story more figuratively about the story instead of literally.
500
How do the colors on the uniform express a point about the way the boy is living life?
Black shoes represents death, the green uniform represents life, and the red hat represent how he was focusing on one part of his life and halting the rest
500
Who does the grandson helping the man cross the road to the get to his house allude to/symbolize?
St. Peter, the guardian to gates of heaven. He brings the story full circle by guiding him out of life, like how his father guided him into life.
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