Easy
What quote reminds Aaron Falk of the past?
"Luke lied. You lied. Be at the funeral."
What physical characteristics of Aaron Falk represent him as an outsider?
Skin the blue hue of skimmed-milk and red cancerous freckles.
What is the real reason Aaron Falk is so desperate to reveal the truth about the murders? Hint - Rita Raco says it.
"I mean, that's partly why you're here yourself, isn't it? For your father?" (Rita)
"I think you've read it just about right." (Aaron Falk)
What location is symbolic of Aaron's homecoming?
"the rock tree"
How does Harper describe the dry river?
Why does Falk avoid returning to Kiewarra?
"Honestly, I didn't feel like I'd be welcome."
What does Falk's ex-girlfriend call him?
Why did Gerry Hadler not speak up even though he knew the boys were lying?
“Aaron, if I’d thought for a second that you had, I wouldn’t have kept it
quiet. Why do you think I didn’t say anything? I would have ruined your
life. The suspicion would have followed you for years. Would they have
let you join the police? Luke would have had the book thrown at him for
lying. All for what? The girl was still dead. Killed herself, realistically,
and I know a fair few others thought so too. You boys had nothing to do
with it. At least that’s what I thought.” (Chapter 3)
How does Harper describe the lack of the sound of the river?
"Only an eerie nothingness."
Why does Falk keep people at arm's length?
"He knew he had a habit of keeping people at arm's length, collecting acquaintances rather than friends. But all the better should one of them ever again float bloated and broken to the surface of a river." 152
"selfish"
What did Aaron Falk say to his father that silently destroyed their realtionship?
"So you owe it to me to tell me. Why was your name on it?" Aaron Falk leaned in. Father and son, face to face. He opened his mouth.
"Why was yours?"
What is the symbolism of fire?
Represents both death - fire is deadly and only needs a small spark to cause mass destruction.
"powder keg" "matchbox"
"It was an expensive lighter, the kind that stayed lit until it was closed manually."
What is Falk's response to McMurdo about being an outsider?
Born and bred isn't a free pass either."
Yes - justify with evidence for 400 extra points.
What does Rita Raco say about Kiewarra?
What is the symbol of water?
It both gives and takes life. The river is a pace of solace for Ellie, but ultimately kills her, the town relies on the water the river provides for their livelihoods.
What does Whitlam call the town at the end of the novel?
"This rotten ruined place." (ruined is in italics) which is interesting because Whitlam added to its 'ruin'.
How does Falk react to the dry river?
What ironic statement does Barb Hadler make about secrets?
"No secret's safe from a good clean- out, is it?
It wasn’t as though the farm hadn’t seen death before, and the blowflies didn’t discriminate. To them there was little difference between a carcass and a corpse.
What is symbolic about the baby rabbit that dies?
“It died,” Luke said. His mouth was a tight line. He didn’t meet Aaron’s gaze.
“How?”
“I don’t know. It just did.”
Aaron asked a few more times but never got a different answer. The rabbit lay on its side, perfect but unmoving, its eyes black and vacant.
The death of an innocent.
In your opinion who did Ellie like?
Justify your response with evidence