Plot Under Pressure
After discovering that Stairwell A is destroyed above him, Brandon decides to enter this floor and search for another stairwell. Which floor are we referring to?
The 89th floor.
Brandon realizes that if Stairwell A is blocked, another stairwell might still allow him to continue upward toward his father.
This type of character has multiple traits, emotions, motivations, and complexities.
A round character
Brandon battles his fear while sitting near the exposed edge of the destroyed 89th floor.
What type of conflict is this?
Man vs. Self
This man pulls Brandon away from the ledge and later accompanies him as he tries to climb higher in the North Tower.
Richard
This group of nomadic people allows Reshmina and Pasoon to join them for prayer and food. Who are they?
The Kochi
Put these events in the correct order:
A. Richard rescues Brandon.
B. Brandon discovers the 89th floor has been destroyed.
C. Brandon tries to climb through the debris in Stairwell A.
D. Brandon encounters the NYPD helicopter.
The correct order is C, B, D, A
C. Brandon tries to climb through the debris in Stairwell A.
B. Brandon discovers the 89th floor has been destroyed.
D. Brandon encounters the NYPD helicopter.
A. Richard rescues Brandon.
Brandon feels guilt about leaving his father, terror about falling, determination to keep climbing, concern for others, and eventually despair when he realizes he cannot reach the 107th floor.
Based on all of this evidence, is Brandon a flat or round character?
Brandon is a round character.
He has various emotions, motivations, relationships, fears, and decisions that reveal multiple aspects of his personality.
Reshmina tries to stop Pasoon from joining the Taliban despite his determination to go. Identify which type of conflict this is.
Man vs. Man
Why does Brandon continue trying to move UP the tower even though everyone else agrees that going down would be safer?
He is determined to reunite with his father.
Brandon believes that he and his father are a team, and his guilt over leaving him strengthens his determination to reach the 107th floor.
Why does Reshmina take Pasoon's toy airplane while he is praying?
To prevent or delay him from leaving to join the Taliban.
She prays that Pasoon will turn away from revenge but also takes the airplane as a practical "backup plan."
Brandon uses something he learned from skateboarding to handle a dangerous situation in the stairwell. What is the connection between skateboarding and him in the stairwell?
Brandon remembers that skaters fall repeatedly, but they have to get back up. Instead of allowing his fall in the stairwell to stop him, he gets up and continues climbing.
Pasoon loves his sister enough to save her from falling from the cliff, yet he remains determined to join the Taliban.
What does this combination of traits suggest about the type of character he is: flat or round?
Pasoon is a round character.
He loves Reshmina and protects her, but he also holds onto his anger, resentment, and desire for revenge.
Identify TWO different types of conflict occurring when Reshmina hangs from the cliff while Pasoon tries to save her and the Apache helicopter approaches. Explain each.
- Man vs. Nature: Reshmina is fighting gravity and the cliff itself as she struggles not to fall.
- Man vs. Technology: The Apache helicopter and its machine gun create another external threat.
Why is the 93rd floor a major turning point for Brandon?
Because Brandon finally realizes he cannot physically reach his father.
Fire consumes the floor, and the stairway becomes impassable. Richard eventually has to carry Brandon away as Brandon struggles with the reality that the upward route is gone.
Hila's death impacts Reshmina and Pasoon in different ways. Explain what these ways are.
Pasoon uses her death as part of his reason for fighting and wanting to join the Taliban, while Reshmina shares his grief and anger but rejects revenge and war as the answer.
Compare Brandon's response to danger at the beginning of his journey up to the 107th floor with his response after reaching the destroyed 89th floor. What change is beginning to occur within Brandon?
Brandon is beginning to act despite his fear. Early on, Brandon panics when confronted by water, debris, and the destruction around him. On the 89th floor, he is terrified but ultimately decides to crawl across the exposed ledge because he believes it will help him reach another stairwell.
A student says: "Pasoon wants to join the Taliban, so he must be a flat character because he only has one trait."
Use 2 events from the chapters that we have read thus far in Ground Zero to challenge the student's claim and prove it is false.
Possible answers:
- He wants revenge for Hila.
- He wants greater opportunities than herding goats.
- He resents foreign involvement in Afghanistan.
- He loves Reshmina and protects her.
- He courageously risks himself to save Reshmina from falling.
- He becomes emotional when Reshmina takes Hila's toy airplane.
- He argues that he wants "freedom," while Reshmina sees his motivation as revenge.
Reshmina's struggle is larger than simply "Reshmina vs. Pasoon." Explain how her conflict with her brother also represents Man vs. Society.
Analyze Richard's effect on Brandon. What does Richard do that proves he is more than simply "the man who rescued Brandon"?
Richard becomes a source of safety, guidance, and partnership after Brandon is separated from his father.
Richard provides Brandon with a wet handkerchief, helps him navigate the damaged tower, accompanies him upward instead of allowing him to go alone, physically removes him when continuing becomes impossible, and help him think more rationally about survival
Analyze the significance of Reshmina planting a cedar seed while arguing with Pasoon about Afghanistan's future. What does the seed symbolize?
The seed symbolizes Reshmina's hope that Afghanistan can grow and rebuild rather than remain trapped in destruction and war.
Across both storylines, Alan Gratz repeatedly puts young characters in situations adults cannot immediately solve.
Using Brandon AND Reshmina, explain how the events in this week's reading develop the theme that young people are sometimes forced to make difficult choices when those around them fail to protect them.
Brandon sees a police helicopter, but its crew cannot rescue him from the exposed floor. This forces him to continue finding his own way to safety.
Reshmina is caught between the Taliban and American forces, neither of which makes her feel truly safe. She has to rely on her own courage and judgment to survive.
Based only on what we have read so far, determine whether Reshmina should be classified as flat or round.
Defend your classification with evidence from the text.
Reshmina is a round character because we understand her complicated feelings about Pasoon, America, the Taliban, Hila, war, and Afghanistan.
Choose ONE major conflict from Brandon's storyline and ONE major conflict from Reshmina's.
Identify the conflicts and explain how they increase the tension of the story.
Possible answers:
Brandon:
- Man vs. Self: Brandon's fear of falling increases the story's tension
- Man vs. Nature: The powerful wind while Brandon is on the ledge increases tension
- Man vs. Fate: Being trapped in circumstances he cannot control increases the tension
- Man vs. Technology: Destruction caused by the plane and building systems increases tension
Reshmina:
- Man vs. Nature: Her fighting against gravity while on the cliff increases tension
- Man vs. Technology: The Apache helicopter increases tension
- Man vs. Man: Reshmina trying to convince Pasoon not to join the Taliban despite his determination to do so increases tension
- Man vs. Fate: Being in Afghanistan and being a girl under Taliban rule increases the tension
Brandon spends much of these chapters trying to reach his father, yet by the end of "The 93rd Floor," the narration describes him as a "team of one."
Explain how the events leading to this moment develop Brandon's character and predict how this realization could affect him in the future.
Brandon is being forced toward independence. He will have to make mature survival decisions for himself and may even help others.
Pasoon argues that fighting represents freedom. Reshmina believes constant fighting keeps Afghanistan "stuck in the past."
Using TWO major events from our reading, determine which character's argument the author has developed more strongly so far.
Defending Reshmina:
- generations of warfare represented by the graveyard;
- the abandoned Soviet tank;
- the destruction of Afghanistan's cedar forests;
- Hila's death;
- the continued American/Taliban fighting;
- Reshmina's desire for education and progress;
- the cedar seed representing another possible future
Defending Pasoon:
- Hila's death in the drone strike;
- Baba's land-mine injury;
- generations of foreign invasion;
- economic hardship;
- his belief that resistance is necessary for freedom