Setting & Symbols
Which season at the story’s opening suggests childhood boredom and safety, later contrasted with change?
Summer.
What is the story’s point of view? (first, second, or third person)
First person.
Early in the story the narrator practices gliding in the yard. What happens later that shows he has pushed his limits?
He flies into the “blue beyond blue,” nearly loses sense of self — the farthest flight is later.
Name one theme topic that fits the story (e.g., growing up, adventure).
Growing up / phases of development (or power of play, identity).
In context, what does the word “content” most nearly mean? (choose: irritated, bored, satisfied)
Satisfied.
Name one physical object in the story that functions as a SYMBOL for growing up.
Flying carpet (also: red leaves, snow, lake, marquee).
The excerpt begins “A dizziness came over me, I closed my eyes—…” What does the narrator’s tense and perspective tell you about who is telling the story?
A first-person narrator recalling events (past tense/memory).
Which scene is the climax of the story? Choose the best option: (a) night flight into “blue beyond blue,” (b) stuck in the window, (c) building the chicken coop.
(a) night flight into “blue beyond blue.”
Which answer best states the story’s central theme message: “When we exceed our boundaries, we often view the world from new perspectives that help us change” — True or False? Explain in one sentence.
True — it fits the central message about perspective and maturation.
What does “exultant” mean in the rooftop scene? Provide the single best synonym.
Thrilled / triumphant.
The narrator hears hammer blows “like the ticking of a gigantic clock.” What does this image most likely symbolize?
Passage of time / change (clock = time passing).
Is the narrator’s tone more nostalgic, fearful, or boastful during the night flight? Choose the best single word and justify in one sentence.
Nostalgic (the narrator remembers with mixed wonder and loss).
Put these in the correct order: red leaf appears, narrator’s first night ride, snow slanting against window.
Order: snow slanting against window → narrator’s first night ride → red leaf appears (or: snow at beginning; later summer/crickets; end red leaf — accept answers showing seasonal progression).
Which theme topic from the list would NOT fit the story: love / the loss of love OR growing up? Circle the incorrect topic and justify (1–2 sentences).
“Love / the loss of love” does NOT fit well — the story focuses on identity and change, not romantic/ familial loss.
The narrator describes “skyblue heavenblue blue” like water. Name one effect this comparison creates (choose one).
Creates feeling of immersion/drowning or rebirth; suggests transformation and loss of earthly ties.
Which two seasonal images mark the cycle of change in the story (one at beginning, one at end)?
Red leaves (fall) and snow (winter).
In the line “He was vanishing into blue,” who is likely meant by “he”? Explain in one sentence.
Himself (the narrator feels a split self — old vs. new).
Explain (1–2 sentences) why the narrator locks his window after the first night journey.
He is spooked/overwhelmed by the extraordinary journey; locking the window closes the passageway between ordinary and extraordinary.
The narrator feels both thrilled to fly and wanting to return to ground. What theme does this conflict support? Explain in 2 sentences.
Theme: ambivalence of growing up — excitement and fear coexist; flying shows exploration but also separation from childhood (2 sentences).
The story often repeats “shadows.” Make one inference about why shadows appear often (1–2 sentences).
Shadows suggest doubled meanings or a “shadow self,” implying the narrator is split between child and emerging adolescent.
Explain briefly (1–2 sentences) how the flying carpet itself changes meaning from beginning to end.
Begins as ordinary object/toy → becomes magical means of perspective and then remembered/dusty object signaling end of childhood.
Explain how the repeated “shadow” images contribute to tone and mood (2–3 sentences).
Shadows deepen a mysterious, doubled mood: they create both wonder and a sense that things have hidden or doubled meanings, underscoring change.
Identify a moment of irony in the plot and explain why it is ironic (2–3 sentences).
Example: He wants to fly to escape the ordinary, but once aloft he wants to return — ironic because desire and result conflict.
Write a clear theme message (one complete sentence) based on the climax that follows the guidelines for a strong theme statement.
Example theme sentence: “When we push beyond familiar limits, we sometimes see the world and ourselves differently, signaling the end of childhood and a step toward maturity.”
Use three textual details you might cite as evidence to support the inference that the narrator is changing from child to adolescent. List the three details.
Three details: (1) repeated shadow motif and “he was vanishing into blue” lines (loss of former self), (2) seasonal markers from summer to red leaves/snow (passage of time), (3) locking the window / carpet becoming dusty under basement stairs (end of childhood play).