Author
June 14, 1948
When is the Laurence Yep's birthay?
to move quickly with short, light steps
What is scurry
Who is the main character and narrator of the story?
Laurence "Lawrence" Yep
This character represents the fear, frustration and emotional distance between Laurence and his father- defeating it brings them closer in the end.
What is the rat?
Most of the story takes place in this family-owned business where the rat causes trouble.
What is the family's bicycle shop?
Where did the author grow up?
dirty or covered with soot
What is grimy?
This character often feels left out or different from his father?
Who is Laurence?
The air rifle that Mr. Yep uses to hunt the rat symbolizes this quality that Laurence wishes he had like his father.
What is skill, confidence or control?
The story is set in this large California city, home to a vibrant Chinese-American community.
What is San Fransisco?
This feeling strongly shaped his writing because he "was too American to fit in with the Chinese and too Chinese to fit in with the American kids"
What is cultural identity and feeling torn between two worlds?
feeling upset because you can't achieve something
frustrated
This character is athletic and confident and often praised by his father
Who is Russell? (Laurence's brother)
The dark, cluttered bicycle shop could represent this hidden struggle within the family.
What is the confusion and lack of understanding between father and son?
Laurence admired these items that showed his father's earlier accomplishments and successes.
What is a trophy?
Cultural identity, family relationships, discrimination, dreams and perseverance.
What are the main themes about which Laurence Yep writes?
Reaching a goal or winning at something.
What is success?
This character quietly supports her family and helps ease tension between Laurence and his father.
Who is Mrs. Yep, Laurence's mother
After the rat hunt, Laurence begins to see himself and his father differently, showing that the rat hunt led to or symbolizes this outcome.
What is reconciliation, mutual respect or emotional healing?
The shop was full of bicycles that were broken. When something is broken it needs this.
What is repair?
This is the genre of The Great Rat Hunt because it tells a personal story from a significant season in the author's life.
What is a memoir? (pronounced mem-war)
The act of never giving up, even when things are hard
What is determination
This character is negatively viewed but brings Laurence and his father together in the end.
Who is the rat?
When his father calls himself an "ugly mug" Laurence is surprised to learn that he and his father both struggle with this.
What is worth and identity?
The tires in the bikes needed air to operate. What is another word for filled with air or operated by air pressure?
What is pnuematic?