Stanley and Zero
At the beginning of chapter 36, What have Stanley and Zero resolved to do?
To continue. Walk towards God's Thumb to seek refuge.
Zero gets severe stomack attacks, why? (pp. 160-161)
Because he drank a lot of sploosh (over 100 years old)
When Stanley considers the possibility of dying, what scares and worries him the most? (p. 163)
The thought of his parents not knowing what happened to him.
"[Stanley looked] to see if [Big Thumb] seemed closer. It never did. It was like chasing the moon." (p. 161)
What type of imagery is the author making use of here? (simile, metaphor, symbol???)
Simile
"At times he had to use the side of the rut for support, in order to make it to the next ledge." (p. 164)
What is a 'ledge'?
a. niveau
b. stykke fast jord
c. Gren man kan holde fast i
d. klippeafsats
klippeafsats
What does Stanley think when he sees how far he has climbed carrying Zero? (pp. 180-181)
He is amazed, he cannot believe how he was able to do it.
What was Zero's 'confession' to Stanley? (p. 175)
That he was the one who took Clyde Livingston's shoes from the shelter.
How does Stanley realize they'd found a source of water? (pp. 170-171)
He discovers 'mud', 'weeds' and 'bugs'.
"I wonder who she was," said Zero. "Who?" "Mary Lou," said Zero. [...] "I bet she was pretty" [...] I bet she looked great in a bathing suit, sitting in the boat while her boyfriend rowed." (p. 161)
Why is this mental image ironic and funny?
Because we as readers know that Mary Lou was a donkey :)
"Stanley cupped his hands together, and Zero stepped on his interwoven fingers."
Translate interwoven into Danish!
sammenflettede
What had Elya Yelnats (Stanley's great-great-grandfather) failed to do for Madame Zeroni? And how does Stanley fulfill this promise four generations later?
He failed to carry Madame Zeroni op the mountain and sing to her as payment for the pig she gave him.
Stanley fulfills the promise by carrying Zero up the same mountain (as he is her great-great-grandson).
How many onions does Zero calculate that the two of them have eaten at God's Thumb? (p. 186)
280 onions
What else does Stanley find in the water hole (besides water)? (p. 172)
An onion
Zero says: "When you spend your whole life living in a hole, the only way you can go is up." (p. 160)
What does this imagery tell us about Zero's life so far?
That it has been a lonley, difficult and hard life.
And of course that he feels like he has been digging holes at the camp forever.
"Other townspeople made their way to the cart. "Good morning Gladys, " said Hattie Parker. "Don't you look lovely this morning." Several people snickered." (p. 178)
Translate the word 'snickered' into Danish!
fnisede / fniste / fnes
"Zero's confession seemed to bring him some relief. The muscles in his face relaxed. As he drifted into sleep, Stanley soflty sang him the song that had been in his family for generations. "If only, if only...." "(pp. 175-176)
What significance does it have to the story as a whole that Stanley sings to Zero after having climbed to the top of the mountain?
By singing this particular song to Zero, the decendent of Madam Zeroni, Stanley fulfills his great-great-grandfather's promise and the bad luck curse on his family is lifted.
In Chapter 42, Zero suggests that Big Thumb must have water in it, because 'water doesn't run uphill'. What is the significance of this statement?
In the beginning of the story, we were told that Sam had an onion field on the other side of the lake where water runs uphill. Something supernatural/magical is at stake here in the story - things are connected - but Zero speaks like a true realist.
"[Stanley] he remembered when he had first carried Zero up the hill. How the air had smelled bitter. It was the smell of thousands of onions, growing and rotting and sprouting." (p. 186)
Before knowing this, what did Stanley think the smell was? (p. 171)
First he thought it came from Zero, but it didn't. It was the bitter smell of despair
As Zero tells his story in Chapter 41, Stanley sits eating an onion one layer at a time. Halfway through Zero's story, the author interrupts to say, "Stanley peeled off another layer of his onion." How is peeling an onion an appropriate metaphor for what is happening in Chapter 41?
The removal of the layers of the onion one at a time is a metaphor showing us how Stanley 'layer' by 'layer' (bit by bit) understands how things are connected and the story behind the shoes falling from the sky (his own fate).
"...but not Dr. Hawthorn. That quack wanted to put leeches on her [Becca's] stomach.[...] he said they would suck out the bad blood." (p. 178)
Translate the word 'leeches' into Danish!
(blod)igler