Plot Pyramid
Vocabulary
Story elements
Text Analysis
Background Information
100
What is the climax of the story?
Boy gets caught in the fence
100
Name all 5 story elements.
Plot, character, conflict, theme, setting
100
Describe the 2 settings of "Once Upon a Time"
1. In the narrator's home during Apartheid
2. In a fairytale suburban neighborhood still set during apartheid
100
Read the excerpt from paragraph 9 and answer
"They were inscribed in a medical benefit society, their pet dog was licensed, they were insured against fire, flood damage, and theft, and subscribed to the local Neighborhood Watch, which supplied them with a plaque for their gates lettered YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED over the silhouette of a would-be intruder.
From these details, what inference can you make about the family in the story?
They feel connected to the community.
They are afraid of sickness.
They desperately want to be safe.
They always obey the law.
c
100
Define apartheid
A law that segregates black south africans and restricts their way of life to keep them unequal.
200
Describe the resolution of the story.
Taking the child back into the house
200
"To extend or bulge" is the definition of what word?
A. Intention
B. Serrated
C. Plot
D. Distend
Distend
200
This story takes place in a time and location in which racial and cultural tensions are high.
Which two sentences from the story best support this inference?
They had a housemaid who was absolutely trustworthy and an itinerant gardener who was highly recommended by the neighbors. (paragraph 9)
There were riots, but these were outside the city, where people of another color were quartered. (paragraph 10)
The little boy was fascinated by the device and used it as a walkie-talkie in cops and robbers play with his small friends. (paragraph 10)
She sent the trusted housemaid out with bread and tea, but the trusted housemaid said these were loafers and tsotsis, who would come and tie her up and shut her in a cupboard. (paragraph 13)
Some walls had a small board affixed, giving the name and telephone number of the firm responsible for the installation of the devices. (paragraph 16)
B and D
200
Which sentence foreshadows the ending of the story? (1pt)
He was masked; it could not be said if he was black or white, and therefore proved the property owner was no racist. (paragraph 9)
Nonsense, my dear, said the husband, there are police and soldiers and tear gas and guns to keep them away. (paragraph 10)
You only encourage them with your bread and tea. (paragraph 13)
There would be no way out, only a struggle getting bloodier and bloodier, a deeper and sharper hooking and tearing of flesh. (paragraph 16)
d
200
Describe 3 things that happened during Apartheid
Possible answers:
Hundreds of students were killed in protest against apartheid
Black south africans were forcefully moved into small areas of housing
Black south Africans could not have relations with white south africans
Black south africans were not given equal pay or education
Nelson Mandela became president and lifted apartheid
300
What is the falling action of "Once Upon a Time"
Freeing the small boy from the wire with all hands on deck
300
Define "intention"
A plan or purpose; something you mean to do.
300
Analyse conflict: The narrator: What struggle does the narrator experience?
She doesn't have the freedom to write about what she wants; She is afraid of the rots; she feels guilty about her privilege
300
Read these lines from paragraph 9. (1pt)
For when they began to live happily ever after, they were warned by that wise old witch, the husband’s mother, not to take on anyone off the street.
Which two phrases best show that the narrator’s story is a fairy tale?
happily ever after
they were warned
wise old witch
the husband’s mother
off the street
a, b
300
How do we know that Apartheid is taking place during the story? (it is never explicitly said)
It is hinted at through decriptions of the people who are rioting, how thos epeople are segregated, and the mention of racism when they describe the security sign
400
What is the rising action of "Once Upon a Time"
The rising action is when the family lets their fear take over, and they continue to rebuild their security measures until they take it too far.
400
Define "Serrated"
Having a jagged edge like a saw
400
Black South Africans: What larger social conflict do Black South Africans face in the society portrayed in the story?
Being treated unequally. Living in a segregated society. Being underpaid and overworked.
400
Which sentence best describes how the author structures the story? (1pt)
She begins by explaining what led her to write the story.
She uses flashback to shift between the past and the present.
She resolves the conflict with a traditional happy ending.
She ends the story by explicitly stating the moral or lesson.
a
500
Describe the exposition of the story
The exposition is when the narator recieves a letter about writing a childrens book which she refuses to do. Later, she hears people working in the mines beneath her house, and decides to tell herself a "bedtime story". The story is set in a white suburban neighborhood during Apartheid, with a family living in fear.
500
What are you saying when you call somebody "audacious"?
Bold
500
The family: What is the family’s main conflict, and how does its desire for safety affect its decisions?
Their fear and prejudice that ultimately leads to their downfall
500
his question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B. (2pts)
Part A
Which statement best describes a possible theme of the story?
Extreme security measures shield people from crime.
Innocent children are unaware of social inequality.
Irrational fear and prejudice imprison everyone.
Pervasive crime and riots threaten the safety of cities.
Part B
Which quote from the selection best supports the answer to Part A?
It was not possible to insure the house, the swimming pool, or the car against riot damage. (paragraph 10)
Then the time came when many of the people who were not trusted housemaids and gardeners hung about the suburb because they were unemployed. (paragraph 13)
But every week there were more reports of intrusion: in broad daylight and the dead of night, in the early hours of the morning, and even in the lovely summer twilight.(paragraph 15)
The sunlight flashed and slashed, off the serrations, the cornice of razor thorns encircled the home, shining. (paragraph 17)
Part A: c
Part B: d- it explains how the neighborhood became like a prison
600
Define "Intrusion"
An unwanted entry or interruption.
600
Identify one theme that is present in "Once Upon a Time" and give one example of how this theme is present
Isolation
Karma
Irony
Freedom