Theme
Which of these best describes what "theme" means?
A.) What characters think of each other
B.) Why the author wrote the piece
C.) The message or moral of the story
D.) Ideas + People + Events
C.) The message or moral of the story
At the start, what is the narrator's perspective of the Alans?
A.) He didn't really like them, but they were the only people who would hang out with him.
B.) He thought they were kind boys who were mistreated by the popular crowd.
C.) He is best friends with them and hangs out with them all the time.
D.) He dislikes them because he is popular, and they are not.
A.) He didn't really like them, but they were the only people who would hang out with him.
What type of figurative language is the follwing:
"I realized then that Mitch was Sean's jester."
A.) Simile
B.) Metaphor
C.) Personification
D.) Hyperbole
B.) Metaphor
Which of these best describes the main conflict in the story?
A.) The popular kids are mean to the narrator who wants a better life.
B.) The narrator isn't sure who is his real friends after he's accepted by the popular crowd.
C.) The narrator wants to be a popular kid, but he's unsure how to do that.
D.) The narrator gets into a fight with his friends named Alan after looking for clovers.
C.) The narrator wants to be a popular kid, but he's unsure how to do that.
Lord Higa
What is the difference between a "topic" and a "theme"?
A.) A topic is usually one or two words that describes what the story is about. Theme is the lesson you should learn.
B.) A theme can be proven with evidence while a topic usually doesn't relate to the story.
C.) Both are based on the author's purpose, but the topic is what we should learn from the story.
D.) Neither are that important - you should only care about the author's POV
A.) A topic is usually one or two words that describes what the story is about. Theme is the lesson you should learn.
Which TWO quotations best show how the narrator views his position within the poplular crowd?
A.) "I noticed that every time Mitch said something funny, he eyed Sean Owens to see if he was laughing."
B.) "It did not take a genius to know that, upon the continent of this playground, the two Allans and I were stableboys."
C.) "He might have gotten away with it if I hadn't left for school that morning unaware that one folded cuff of my jeans was noticeably lower than the other."
D.) "Mitch Brockman, a boy who never noticed me, never seemed to know I was alive turned to me, pointed to my uneven pants and said, 'Someone needs a ruler.'"
E.) "I had been resigned to my rank for many months, but now, looking at the two Allans...I suddenly knew that I could not stand another day at the bottom."
B.) "It did not take a genius to know that, upon the continent of this playground, the two Allans and I were stableboys."
E.) "I had been resigned to my rank for many months, but now, looking at the two Allans...I suddenly knew that I could not stand another day at the bottom."
Why does the author compare the popular kids to "queens" and "dukes" but himself and his friends as "stableboys" in paragraph 20?
A.) Queens and dukes were rich, but he and his friends are poor.
B.) Stableboys had a lot of respect unlike the poplular "queens" and "dukes."
C.) Queens had a lot of status, but stableboys were unimportant much like the unpopular narrator.
D.) The author is unpopular, but he's very interested in tales of queens, dukes, and stableboys.
C.) Queens had a lot of status, but stableboys were unimportant much like the unpopular narrator.
Which piece of evidence best shows how the narrator's joke affects his status on the playground?
A.) "In an instant, Mitch Brockman became Tweety Bird, and I, an absolute nonentity, became somebody." ( Paragraph 33)
B.) "and that day, on that playground, Sean Owens's laughter was heard for the first time." ( Paragraph 33)
C.) "During this time Mitch became a less and less vocal part of the group, telling fewer and fewer stories" ( Paragraph 34)
D.) "I was standing on sand and was only a yellow shirt and pair of pants away from the oak trees where the two Allans were still looking for four-leaf clovers." ( Paragraph 35)
A.) "In an instant, Mitch Brockman became Tweety Bird, and I, an absolute nonentity, became somebody." ( Paragraph 33)
Where did the girl from "Follow the Water" live?
Mars
Which of the following best expresses a theme of the story?
A.) Popularity is as temporary as it is motivating for adolescents.
B.) Being funny is more important to adolescents than being popular.
C.) Adolescents should wish for more confidence instead of popularity.
D.) Adolescents often abandon their friends when they gain popularity.
A.) Popularity is as temporary as it is motivating for adolescents.
How does the author develop the narrator's point of view in paragraphs 20-22?
A.) by showing how cruel the other boys are to the narrator
B.) by contrasting the narrator's accomplishments to those of Sean Owens
C.) by describing the daily routine of the narrator and the two Allans have at recess
D.) by comparing the playground to a kingdom where the narrator holds no power
D.) by comparing the playground to a kingdom where the narrator holds no power
How does the figurative language describing the narrator's walk to the popular kids (paragraph 24) contribute to the tone/connotation?
A.) It emphasizes the narrator's feelings of happiness as he's finally accepted by the popular crowd.
B.) It emphasizes the narrator's nervousness to sneak into the popular group.
C.) It emphasizes the narrator's dislike of the two Allans.
D.) It emphasizes the narrator's desire to become popular at any cost.
B.) It emphasizes the narrator's nervousness to sneak into the popular group.
Which piece of text evidence best shows the conflict the narrator has with himself?
A.) "But my phone rang. My weekends were filled with sleep-overs and baseball games and bowling parties and bicycle races..."
B.) "That was, perhaps, the wittiest remark he had ever made, and I froze. With four words he had devestated all of my aspirations..."
C.) "At recess that fateful day, I took my customary place a foot from the popular boys and listed to Mitch tell another variation of his story..."
D.) "How could I bridge such a gap, knowing I might be stared at, or laughed at, or belittled to a speck so small that I could no longer be seen by the naked eye?"
D.) "How could I bridge such a gap, knowing I might be stared at, or laughed at, or belittled to a speck so small that I could no longer be seen by the naked eye?"
Who was the person who figured out Mary was spreading typhoid?
Dr. Soper
If the theme of the story relates to popularity not being something that sticks around for a long time, what is a piece of evidence from the text that supports that?
Answers may vary - but good choices are:
"I did not know then that popularity has a life span, and that Mitch's time was about to run out."
"In that instant, Mitch Brockman became Tweety Bird, and I, an absolute nonentity, became somebody."
"I knew then that I was standing on sand and was only a yellow short and a pair of pants away from the oak trees..."
How does the author MAINLY develop the narrator's perspective throughout the story?
A.) His inner thoughts
B.) His dialogue with others
C.) His actions
D.) His reactions
A.) His inner thoughts
In paragraph 30, the narrator says, "As it was, the two of us were on a collision course that only one of us would survive." What does the narrator mean when he says only one of us would "survive"?
A.) Only one would stay alive
B.) Only one would be harmed
C.) Only one would be popular
D.) Only one would be able to tell a joke
C.) Only one would be popular
How does the narrator's lack of confidence affect his participation with the popular group's conversations at reccess?
A.) The narrator is very confident in his abilities, so it doesn't take long for him to join in the conversations.
B.) The narrator lacks confidence, so he is very hesitant to say anything while the popular kids are talking.
C.) The narrator is quick to make fun of another student because he has such self-confidence.
D.) The narrator is very sensitive and lacks confidence so he is easily bullied by the popular kid.
B.) The narrator lacks confidence, so he is very hesitant to say anything while the popular kids are talking.
Who "won" the lottery in The Lottery?
Tessie
If the story did not end with the narrator becoming popular, but instead ended with him going back to being friends with the Alans - what would the theme of the story be?
Answers may vary - but answers could be:
-Stay with friends who truly like you
-Popularity isn't the most important thing
-It's not worth being mean to be poplular
What can we infer is Mitch Brockman's perspective of the narrator of the story? Why?
Answers will vary - but we can assume that Mitch doesn't like the narrator because when the narrator made fun of him, Mitch became "unpopular."
In paragraph 26, the narrator says that "As long as he could make Sean laugh, he was assured a prominent position in the group."
What is a synonym that could replace promiment but ensure the sentence means the same thing?
-important
-vital
-distinguished
-notable
-public
Explain why the narrator says he doesn't trust his new friends at the end of the story?
Answers will vary - but he knows that he became popular by making one comment, and someone could very easily make a comment about him and take away his popularity.
Ithaca