Show:
Characters
Story Events & Plot Structure
Literary Elements
????Mystery????
Literary Devices
100
Who acted as Ellie's guardian?
S.R. Hadden
100
Where was the VLA (Very Large Array) located?
Sorroco, New Mexico
100
Name two of the story's settings. Remember that setting includes time as well as place.
Time: Childhood; Place: Ellie's house Time: Present day; Place SETI Time: Present day; Place VLA Time: Present day: Place: White House Time: Present day; Place: Alien Planet - VEGA
100
Describe Eleanor Arroway. Give at least three descriptive words or phrases or facts about her.
-She is an astronomer who works for SETI. -She is very logical. -Her father died when she was very young. -She is persistent (does not give up). -She is very smart.
100
What is the picture that Ellie draws in the beginning of the story? Where does it reappear in the movie?
It's a picture of Pensacola, Florida. She drew it for her dad. It reappears on the "planet" or place where Ellie meets the alien who looks like her father.
200
Name two characters who are Ellie's cheerleaders and/or allies.
Kent Palmer Fish Ted Arroway S.R. Hadden
200
S.R. Hadden
Who built the second machine?
200
What is the main conflict of the story? (Name an internal conflict or an external conflict).
External Conflict: Ellie wants to search for intelligent life but loses funding because of Drumlin. Later, she loses her opportunity to go into space because Drumlin is chosen. Internal Conflict: Ellie trusts in logic and science - what can be proven and understood. She struggles against the rest of society which believes in a higher power - a God. She struggles within herself to accept something she can't explain: Love and Existence
200
Who died while in space?
SR Hadden
200
Give one example of flashback used in the story.
Ellie thinks back to her father's death. The movie opens with a flashback during which Ellie is talking on the ham radio.
300
Which one of the characters below is a dynamic character? How do you know? _____Eleanor Arroway _____David Drumlin
Eleanor. She is dynamic because she undergoes a change. Drumlin is static. His character does not change.
300
What language did the aliens use to contact Earth? Explain this language.
The message was written in a pattern of prime numbers.
300
Who are the protagonist and the main antagonist of the story?
Protagonist: Dr. Eleanor Arroway Antagonist: Dr. David Drumlin
300
How many hours was Ellie really gone and how do we know?
18 hours Rachel Constantine tells Michael Kitz at the end of the movie that they discovered 18 hours of static recording on the tape.
300
When Palmer Joss gives Ellie the compass, what does he tell her and what does it foreshadow?
He says, "Keep it. It may save your life one day." This foreshadows Ellie's ride in the machine when the machine is shaking. The Compass floats away and she realizes it is floating. She gets out of her chair and then the chair jerks up to the ceiling. Had she not left the chair, she could have died. The compass saves her life.
400
Describe how Ellie changed from the beginning to the end of the story.
In the beginning of the story, Ellie trusted only in science. In the end of the story, she was willing to believe in something she could not prove or explain.
400
What does Ellie travel through to reach her destination?
A wormhole. (100 Extra points to explain the theory of wormholes.)
400
The theme of the story is the story's main message or lesson about life. The lesson is usually the lesson that the main character learns. What do you think Carl Sagan was trying to say about technology and religion (faith)? (Think about what Ellie learns.)
Ellie learns that some things in life cannot be proven by science. She learns to acknowledge something bigger than herself and science, something that cannot be explained but which she knows in her heart is true and real. Sagan isn't saying technology is bad, but it can't keep people from being lonely either.
400
Name the idea that says: Given two or explanations which make exactly the same prediction, the one that is simpler is the better or more likely.
Occam's Razor
400
What is the phrase that her dad says to Ellie when she is in her bedroom and then later when she is talking to the alien who looks like her dad?
"Small moves, Ellie. Small moves."
500
Ellie and Palmer become friends and fall in love. How are they alike? (What are some ways they are similar?) How are they different? (What is the main way in which they are different? Think: How do each view the world?
Similar: -Both want to know why we are here and how we came to be here on Earth. -Both are smart. -Both dislike Drumlin Different: Palmer explains his existence through God. Ellie looks for explanations through science.
500
Place the following events in the order in which they occurred. _____ A. Drumlin pulls the plug on Ellie's SETI funding. ($) _____ B. Ellie meets Palmer Joss. _____ C. Ellie hears the alien message. _____ D. Drumlin is selected to ride in the machine. _____ E. The committee asks Ellie what she would be the one question she would ask the aliens.
1. B 2. A 3. C 4. E 5. D
500
What are the three symbols used in the story? What does each represent?
the compass: finding your way the sand: beach with dad; beach with alien; picture of Pensacola : dad; contacting
500
Who are the three people who said that if we're the only ones in the universe, "Seems like it would be an awful waste of space,"? (100 extra points if you can name them in the correct order: Who said it first, second, and last in the film?
Ted Arroway Palmer Joss Ellie Arroway
500
What is the literary device called when a phrase or statement is repeated by several different characters?
Echoing