Honors English IV Summer Reading Project
by Jackie Arnold
June 11, 2008
Honors English IV Summer Reading Project
Mrs. Hull
Summer 2008
Honors English IV Summer Reading Project
150 points
This year you are given choices so that you have more flexibility with your summer reading. You must choose one book from each tier to complete before school resumes. Your project consists of three phases and some choices to make as well. This project will be due sometime during the first week of school.
Please don’t wait until school starts to work on this project. It will be WAY too much to do in a couple nights. PLAN AHEAD AND HAVE FUN WITH IT!
Phase #1 is completing the correlating book discussion guides for the novels you choose to read. These should be typed.(30 points)
Phase #2 is the following:
Choose whichever activities you would like from the following list. Each is worth points from 1 to 4. You must do any combination of activities to earn 10 points. Each activity will be assessed on a ten point scale to equal a total of 100 points.
1-point Activities
1A. Change the time and place of the novel. Explain how this would change the story. First tell us where and when the novel takes place. Then tell us where and when you would change it to. Focus on how the characters would be different and on how the plot might change.
1B. Become one of the characters and describe your experiences during a certain event from the novel. Your description should be at least a page and a half. Write in the first person and remember to use as many senses as possible in your description.
1C. Make a cartoon of the book or a chapter (at least 8 panels in full color with text).
1D. Write a blues song for your character. Include a one paragraph explanation after the song about why this song is appropriate for the character.
2-point Activities
2A. Write a letter to a character. Then, have that character write a letter answering back in his/her authentic voice (using words they would use and saying things they would say). Each letter should at least be one page.
2B. Become a character and write a diary with at least 5 entries. Include events from the novel and how you feel about them. Write in the voice of the character.
2C. What would happen after the story is over? Write a brief summary (two pages) of a sequel to the book (describe main characters; tell what the plot would be).
2D. Redesign the front and back cover of the book, complete with a blurb and quotes on the back (these should be made up).
3-point Activities
3A. What happened first? Write the chapter that comes before the book began. This should be at least 4 pages and in the style of the book.
3B. Pick two characters from different books. Describe a meeting between the two of them (where and when and how it would take place) and write at least 20 lines of dialogue between them.
3C. Rewrite a section of the book from a different character’s point of view than is in the original book. This should be at least 4 pages and in the style of the book.
3D. Rewrite a section of the book with yourself as the character. This should be at least 4 pages and in the style of the book.
4-point Activities
4A. Act out and video tape several scenes from the book of at least ten minutes. Present it to the class.
4B. Write and illustrate a full children’s book telling the story of your book. Include a book cover.
Phase #3: Present your project to the class the first week of school. (20 points)
Study Guide for J.R.R, Tolkien’s The Hobbit (a prequel to The Lord of the Rings Trilogy)
1. Describe Bilbo Baggins.
2. What is Gandalf's reputation?
3. What is the dwarves' plan?
4. What is to be Bilbo's job on the adventure?
5. What is significant about the map Gandalf gives Thorin?
6. Describe what happens to Bilbo on his first attempt at "burglaring."
7. How is a troll different from a dwarf or a hobbit?
8. How does Gandalf trick the trolls? What then happens to them?
9. What are rune-letters? What are moon-letters? How are they significant?
10. Who is Durin? What is Durin's Day?
11. What does Elrond tell the party about their swords?
12. Explain the importance of the thunderbattle to the travelers.
13. How does Bilbo get separated from everyone?
14. Characterize Gollum.
15. Why do Gollum and Bilbo ask each other riddles? How does Bilbo stump Gollum?
16. After he does not guess the last riddle, why does Gollum go back to his island?
17. How does Gandalf's plan to help the dwarves backfire?
18. How do the Goblins and Wargs trap the party in the forest?
19. Why does the Lord of the Eagles save them?
20. Why must the dwarves enter Beorn's house in pairs, five minutes apart?
21. Characterize Beorn.
22. Why can't the party go around Mirkwood?
23. What are the nights like in Mirkwood? Why can't they light fires?
24. Describe what happens to Bombur in Mirkwood.
25. Explain how Bilbo saves the dwarves from the giant spider.
26. Why do the Wood-elves capture and imprison the dwarves?
27. Explain how Bilbo helps the dwarves escape from the Wood-elves.
28. Characterize Thorin.
29. Describe the area around the mountain near the secret door.
30. How do Bilbo and the dwarves finally find the secret door?
31. How has Bilbo's personality changed since the beginning of the story?
32. What does Smaug do when he discovers Bilbo has stolen the cup?
33. How does Bilbo describe himself when Smaug asks who he is and where he comes from?
34. Characterize Smaug.
35. What is cram?
36. What does Thorin give Bilbo? Why?
37. Characterize Bard.
38. What is the importance of the black arrow?
39. Describe the Arkenstone of Thrain. Why does Bilbo keep it? Does he have a right to it?
40. What good news does Roac bring? What bad news does he bring?
41. Why does Thorin refuse Bard his requests for treasure?
42. Why does Bilbo offer the Arkenstone to Bard?
43. How has the treasure changed Thorin?
44. Who is involved in the Battle of Five Armies?
45. Why isn't Bilbo found until the day after the battle?
46. How does Thorin make amends with Bilbo?
47. Why are Bilbo's things being sold?
Discussion
Questions for Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto 
- Describe Roxane Coss.
What is it about her that makes such an impression on the other
hostages and the terrorists? Is it merely that she is famous? How
does her singing and the music relate to the story?
- Even though he is given
the opportunity to leave the mansion, Father Arguedas elects to
stay with the hostages. Why does he decide to stay when he risks
the possibility of being killed? As the narrative states, why did
he feel, "in the midst of all this fear and confusion, in the
mortal danger of so many lives, the wild giddiness of good luck?"
(pg. 74). Isn't this an odd reaction to have given the situation?
What role does religion play in the story?
- There are numerous
instances in the story where Mr. Hosokawa blames himself for the
hostages' situation. He says to Roxane, "But I was the one who set
this whole thing in motion." Roxane replies with the following: "Or
did I?" she said. "I thought about declining… Don't get me wrong. I
am very capable of blame. This is an event ripe for blame if I ever
saw one. I just don't blame you." (pg. 94). Is either one to blame
for the situation? If not, who do you think is ultimately
responsible?
- Roxane and Mr. Hosokawa
speak different languages and require Gen to translate their
conversations. Do you think it's possible to fall in love with
someone to whom you cannot speak directly?
- "Roxane Coss and Mr.
Hosokawa, however improbable to those around them, were members of
the same tribe, the tribe of the hostages... But Gen and Carmen
were another matter" (pg. 294). Compare the love affairs of Gen and
Carmen and Roxane and Mr. Hosokawa. What are the elements that
define each relationship?
- We find out in the
Epilogue that Roxane and Gen have been married. How would you
describe their relationship throughout the story? Thibault believes
that "Gen and Roxane had married for love, the love of each other
and the love of all the people they remembered" (pg. 318). What do
you think of the novel's ending? Did it surprise you? Do you agree
with Thibault's assessment of Gen and Roxane's motivations for
marrying?
- The garua, the fog
and mist, lifts after the hostages are in captivity for a number of
weeks. "One would have thought that with so much rain and so little
light the forward march of growth would have been suspended, when
in fact everything had thrived" (p. 197). How does this observation
about the weather mirror what is happening inside the Vice
President's mansion?
- At one point Carmen says
to Gen, "'Ask yourself, would it be so awful if we all stayed here
in this beautiful house?'" (p. 206). And towards the end of the
story it is stated: "Gen knew that everything was getting better
and not just for him. People were happier." Messner then says to
him, "'You were the brightest one here once, and now you're as
crazy as the rest of them'" (pg. 302). What do you think of these
statements? Do you really believe they would rather stay captive in
this house than return to the "real" world?
- When the hostages are
finally rescued, Mr. Hosokawa steps in front of Carmen to save her
from a bullet. Do you think Mr. Hosokawa wanted to die? Once they
all return to their lives, it would be nearly impossible for him to
be with Roxane. Do you think he would rather have died than live
life without her?
- The story is told by a narrator who is looking back and recounting the events that took place. What do you think of this technique? Did it enhance the story, or would you have preferred the use of a straight narrative?
Discussion Questions
for Jodi Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes
- Alex and Lacy's
friendship comes to an end when they discover Peter and Josie
playing with guns in the Houghton house. Why does Alex decide that
it's in Josie's best interest to keep her away from Peter? What
significance is there to the fact that Alex is the first one to
prevent Josie from being friends with Peter?
2. Alex often has trouble separating her roles as a judge and a mother. How does this affect her relationship with Josie? Discuss whether or not Alex's job is more important to her than being a mother.
3. A theme throughout the novel is the idea of masks and personas and pretending to be someone you're not. To which characters does this apply, and why?
4. At one point defense attorney Jordan McAfee refers to himself as a "spin doctor," and he believes that at the end of Peter's trial he "will be either reviled or canonized" (250). What is your view of Jordan? As you were reading the book, did you find it difficult to remain objective about the judicial system's standing that every defendant (no matter how heinous his or her crime) has the right to a fair trial?
5. Peter was a victim of bullying for twelve years at the hands of certain classmates, many of whom repeatedly tormented him. But he also shot and killed students he had never met or who had never done anything wrong to him. What empathy, if any, did you have for Peter both before and after the shooting?
6. Josie and Peter were friends until the sixth grade. Is it understandable that Josie decided not to hang out with Peter in favor of the popular crowd? Why or why not? How accurate and believable did you find the author's depiction of high school peer pressure and the quest for popularity? Do you believe, as Picoult suggests, that even the popular kids are afraid that their own friends will turn on them?
7. Josie admits she often witnessed Matt's cruelty toward other students. Why then does it come as such a surprise to Josie when Matt abuses her verbally and physically? How much did you empathize with Josie?
8. Regarding Lacy, Patrick notes that "in a different way, this woman was a victim of her son's actions, too" (53). How much responsibility do Lewis and Lacy bear for Peter's actions? How about Lewis in particular, who taught his son how to handle guns and hunt?
9. At one point during Peter's bullying, Lacy is encouraged by an elementary school teacher to force Peter to stand up for himself. She threatens to cancel his play dates with Josie if he doesn't fight back. How did you feel, when you read that scene? Do you blame Lacy for Peter's future actions because of it? Do you agree or disagree with the idea that it a parent's job to teach a child the skills necessary to defend himself?
10. Discuss the novel's structure. In what ways do the alternating narratives between past and present enhance the story? How do the scenes in the past give you further insight into the characters and their actions, particularly Peter and Josie?
11. When Patrick arrives at Sterling High after the shooting, "his entire body began to shake, knowing that for so many students and parents and citizens today, he had once again been too late" (24). Why does Patrick blame himself for not preventing an incident he had no way of knowing was going to happen?
12. Dr. King, an expert witness for the defense, states that Peter was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of chronic victimization. "But a big part of it, too," he adds, "is the society that created both Peter and those bullies" (409). What reasons does Dr. King give to support his assertion that society is partly to blame for Peter's actions as well as those of the bullies? Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
13. Why does Josie choose to shoot Matt instead of shooting Peter? Why does Peter remain silent about Josie's role in the shooting? In the end, has justice been satisfactorily dealt to Peter and to Josie?
14. Discuss the very ending of the novel, which concludes on the one-year anniversary of the Sterling High shooting. Why do you suppose the author chose to leave readers with an image of Patrick and Alex, who is pregnant? In what way does the final image of the book predict the future?
15. Shootings have occurred at a number of high schools across the country over the last several years. Did Nineteen Minutes make you think about these incidents in a more immediate way than reading about them in the newspaper or seeing coverage on television? How so? In what ways did the novel affect your opinion of the parties generally involved in school shootings -- perpetrators, victims, fellow students, teachers, parents, attorneys, and law enforcement officials?
16. What do you think the author is proposing as the root of the problem of school violence? What have you heard, in the media and in political forums, as solutions? Do you think they will work? Why or why not?
Discussion
Questions for Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid
Suns
1.The
phrase “a thousand splendid suns,” from the poem by Saib-e-Tabrizi,
is quoted twice in the novel – once as Laila’s family prepares to
leave Kabul, and again when she decides to return there from
Pakistan. It is also echoed in one of the final lines: “Miriam is
in Laila’s own heart, where she shines with the bursting radiance
of a thousand suns.” Discuss the thematic significance of this
phrase.
2. Mariam’s mother tells her: “Women like us. We endure.
It’s all we have.” Discuss how this sentiment informs Mariam’s life
and how it relates to the larger themes of the novel.
3. By the time Laila is rescued from the rubble of her home
by Rasheed and Mariam, Mariam’s marriage has become a miserable
existence of neglect and abuse. Yet when she realizes that Rasheed
intends to marry Laila, she reacts with outrage. Given that Laila’s
presence actually tempers Rasheed’s abuse, why is Mariam so hostile
toward her?
4. Laila’s friendship with Mariam begins when she defends
Mariam from a beating by Rasheed. Why does Laila take this action,
despite the contempt Mariam has consistently shown her?
5. Growing up, Laila feels that her mother’s love is
reserved for her two brothers. “People,” she decides, “shouldn’t be
allowed to have new children if they’d already given away all their
love to their old ones.” How does this sentiment inform Laila’s
reaction to becoming pregnant with Rasheed’s child? What lessons
from her childhood does Laila apply in raising her own
children?
6. At several points in the story, Mariam and Laila pass
themselves off as mother and daughter. What is the symbolic
importance of this subterfuge? In what ways is Mariam’s and Laila’s
relationship with each other informed by their relationships with
their own mothers?
7. One of the Taliban judges at Mariam’s trial tells her,
“God has made us different, you women and us men. Our brains are
different. You are not able to think like we can. Western doctors
and their science have proven this.” What is the irony in this
statement? How is irony employed throughout the novel?
8. Laila’s father tells her, “You’re a very, very bright
girl. Truly you are. You can be anything that you want.” Discuss
Laila’s relationship with her father. What aspects of his character
does she inherit? In what ways is she different?
9. Mariam refuses to see visitors while she is imprisoned,
and she calls no witnesses at her trial. Why does she make these
decisions?
10. The driver who takes Babi, Laila, and Tariq to the giant
stone Buddhas above the Bamiyan Valley describes the crumbling
fortress of Shahr-e-Zohak as “the story of our country, one invader
after another… we’re like those walls up there. Battered, and
nothing pretty to look at, but still standing.” Discuss the
metaphorical import of this passage as it relates to Miriam and
Laila. In what ways does their story reflect the larger story of
Afghanistan’s troubled history?
11. Among other things, the Taliban forbid “writing books,
watching films, and painting pictures.” Yet despite this edict, the
film Titanic becomes a sensation on the black market. Why
would people risk the Taliban’s violent reprisals for a taste of
popcorn entertainment? What do the Taliban’s restrictions on such
material say about the power of artistic expression and the threat
it poses to repressive political regimes?
12. While the first three parts of the novel are written in
the past tense, the final part is written in present tense. What do
you think was the author’s intent in making this shift? How does it
change the effect of this final section?
Discussion
Questions for Cormac McCarthy’s The Road
- Cormac McCarthy has an
unmistakable prose style. What do you see as the most distinctive
features of that style? How is the writing in The Roadin
some ways more like poetry than narrative prose?
2. Why do you think McCarthy has chosen not to give his characters names? How do the generic labels of "the man" and "the boy" affect the way in which readers relate to them?
3. How is McCarthy able to make the postapocalyptic world of The Road seem so real and utterly terrifying? Which descriptive passages are especially vivid and visceral in their depiction of this blasted landscape? What do you find to be the most horrifying features of this world and the survivors who inhabit it?
4. McCarthy doesn't make explicit what kind of catastrophe has ruined the earth and destroyed human civilization, but what might be suggested by the many descriptions of a scorched landscape covered in ash? What is implied by the father's statement that "On this road there are no godspoke men. They are gone and I am left and they have taken with them the world" [p. 32]?
5. As the father is dying, he tells his son he must go on in order to "carry the fire." When the boy asks if the fire is real, the father says, "It's inside you. It was always there. I can see it" [p. 279]. What is this fire? Why is it so crucial that they not let it die?
6. McCarthy envisions a postapocalyptic world in which "murder was everywhere upon the land" and the earth would soon be "largely populated by men who would eat your children in front of your eyes" [p. 181]. How difficult or easy is it to imagine McCarthy's nightmare vision actually happening? Do you think people would likely behave as they do in the novel, under the same circumstances? Does it now seem that human civilization is headed toward such an end?
7. The man and the boy think of themselves as the "good guys." In what ways are they like and unlike the "bad guys" they encounter? What do you think McCarthy is suggesting in the scenes in which the boy begs his father to be merciful to the strangers they encounter on the road? How is the boy able to retain his compassion--to be, as one reviewer put it, "compassion incarnate"?
8. The sardonic blind man named Ely who the man and boy encounter on the road tells the father that "There is no God and we are his prophets" [p. 170]. What does he mean by this? Why does the father say about his son, later in the same conversation, "What if I said that he's a god?" [p. 172] Are we meant to see the son as a savior?
9. The Road takes the form of a classic journey story, a form that dates back to Homer's Odyssey. To what destination are the man and the boy journeying? In what sense are they "pilgrims"? What, if any, is the symbolic significance of their journey?
10. McCarthy's work often dramatizes the opposition between good and evil, with evil sometimes emerging triumphant. What does The Road ultimately suggest about good and evil? Which force seems to have greater power in the novel?
11. What makes the relationship between the boy and his father so powerful and poignant? What do they feel for each other? How do they maintain their affection for and faith in each other in such brutal conditions?
12. Why do you think McCarthy ends the novel with the image of trout in mountain streams before the end of the world: "In the deep glens where they lived all things were older than man and they hummed of mystery" [p. 287]. What is surprising about this ending? Does it provide closure, or does it prompt a rethinking of all that has come before? What does it suggest about what lies ahead?
Discussion
Questions for Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of
Avalon 
- The Mists of
Avalon revolves around a
number of dualities: male/female, Christianity/druidism,
duty/desire. How are these dualities represented in the book? Can
you think of others that were presented?
2. How does the book strive to challenge common stereotypes? How does it reinforce them?
3. Is Gwenhwyfar a sympathetic character? In your opinion, does Marion Zimmer Bradley treat physical beauty in a positive, negative, or neutral manner? Explain.
4. How responsible is Arthur for allowing the spread of Christianity and ultimate disappearance of Avalon? Was he simply being an honorable husband to Gwenhwyfar? Did you find the Arthur, Lancelet, Gwenhwyfar tryst disturbing? Although Arthur was an indisputably potent leader, can he, in the end, be deemed an effective one?
5. It seemed in several instances that Morgaine disappeared when she was most needed. Was she ultimately successful in representing the Goddess? Would you say that she was a victim to her fate or that she ultimately rose to meet it? What parallels can you draw between Morgaine's life and Igraine's? Between Morgaine and Viviane?
6. The Merlin seems to play an ambiguous role in the story. Do you agree with this statement? In your opinion, was he motivated more by his faith, or by pride and ambition?
7. Throughout history, did the spread of Christianity really lead to a diminishing of tolerance? Does the Goddess have a place in today's world? Do you think that Christianity ever held woman as the principal of evil?
8. What symbolism, if any, would you apply to the dragon slain by Lancelet? What is the symbolism behind Excalibur? The Grail? The Holy Thorn?
9. At the end of Mists, did you feel that the Goddess had truly been absorbed into Christianity?
10. How has Mists changed your perception or understanding of the Arthurian legend? How has it changed your perception of women's roles in the making (and telling) of history?
Discussion
Questions for Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood
Bible
1.
What are
the implications of the novel's title phrase, the poisonwood bible,
particularly in connection with the main characters' lives and the
novel's main themes? How important are the circumstances in which
the phrase comes into being?
2. How does Kingsolver differentiate among the Price
sisters, particularly in terms of their voices? What does each
sister reveal about herself and the other three, their
relationships, their mother and father, and their lives in Africa?
What is the effect of our learning about events and people through
the sisters' eyes?
3. What is the significance of the Kikongo word nommo and
its attendant concepts of being and naming? Are there Christian
parallels to the constellation of meanings and beliefs attached to
nommo? How do the Price daughters' Christian names and their
acquired Kikongo names reflect their personalities and
behavior?
4. The sisters refer repeatedly to balance (and, by
implication, imbalance). What kinds of balance--including
historical, political, and social--emerge as important? Are
individual characters associated with specific kinds of balance or
imbalance? Do any of the sisters have a final say on the importance
of balance?
5. What do we learn about cultural, social, religious, and
other differences between Africa and America? To what degree do
Orleanna and her daughters come to an understanding of those
differences? Do you agree with what you take to be Kingsolver's
message concerning such differences?
6. Why do you suppose that Reverend Nathan Price is not
given a voice of his own? Do we learn from his wife and daughters
enough information to formulate an adequate explanation for his
beliefs and behavior? Does such an explanation matter?
7. What differences and similarities are there among Nathan
Price's relationship with his family, Tata Ndu's relationship with
his people, and the relationship of the Belgian and American
authorities with the Congo? Are the novel's political details--both
imagined and historical--appropriate?
8. How does Kingsolver present the double themes of
captivity and freedom and of love and betrayal? What kinds of
captivity and freedom does she explore? What kinds of love and
betrayal? What are the causes and consequences of each kind of
captivity, freedom, love, and betrayal?
9. At Bikoki Station, in 1965, Leah reflects, "I still know
what justice is." Does she? What concept of justice does each
member of the Price family and other characters (Anatole, for
example) hold? Do you have a sense, by the novel's end, that any
true justice has occurred?
10. In Book Six, Adah proclaims, "This is the story I
believe in . . ." What is that story? Do Rachel and Leah also have
stories in which they believe? How would you characterize the
philosophies of life at which Adah, Leah, and Rachel arrive? What
story do you believe in?
11. At the novel's end, the carved-animal woman in the
African market is sure that "There has never been any village on
the road past Bulungu," that "There is no such village" as Kilanga.
What do you make of this?
Discussion
Questions for Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s 
Tale
1. The novel begins with three epigraphs. What are their
functions?
2. In Gilead, women are categorized as wives, handmaids,
Marthas, or Aunts, but Moira refuses to fit into a niche. Offred
says she was like an elevator with open sides who made them dizzy,
she was their fantasy. Trace Moira's role throughout the tale to
determine what she symbolizes.
3. Aunt Lydia, Janine, and Offred's mother also represent
more than themselves. What do each of their characters connote?
What do the style and color of their clothes symbolize?
4. At one level, The Handmaid's Tale is about the
writing process. Atwood cleverly weaves this sub-plot into a major
focus with remarks by Offred such as "Context is all," and "I've
filled it out for her...," "I made that up," and "I wish this story
were different." Does Offred's habit of talking about the process
of storytelling make it easier or more difficult for you to suspend
disbelief?
5. A palimpsest is a medieval parchment that scribes
attempted to scrape clean and use again, though they were unable to
obliterate all traces of the original. How does the new republic of
Gilead's social order often resemble a palimpsest?.
6. The commander in the novel says you can't cheat nature.
How do characters find ways to follow their natural instinct?
7. Why is the Bible under lock and key in Gilead?
8. Babies are referred to as "a keeper," "unbabies,"
"shredders." What other real or fictional worlds do these terms
suggest?
9. Atwood's title brings to mind titles from Chaucer's
The Canterbury Tales. Why might Atwood have wanted you to
make that connection?
10. What do you feel the historical notes at the book's end
add to the reading of this novel? What does the book's last line
mean to you?
Discussion Questions for Bryce Courtenay’s The Power of One
- There is conflict between two “white tribes” in the novel. Who are these two “tribes” and what does it say about racial tension in South Africa?
- The narrator’s adult voice uses hyperbole, or exaggeration, to describe the torture sessions the Judge and his “council of war” forced upon his five-year-old self. Give two examples of such hyperbole.
- The narrator finely balances tragedy and comedy, suggesting that laughing is sometimes the only way to cope with adversity. Give an example of humor balancing tragedy.
- Even as a young child Pisskop knows that adaptation is key to survival. Explain his views on adaptation and give an example from the text.
- How does the author keep the protagonist camouflaged from us, the reader, in Chapters 1-3?
- How does the protagonist seem more mature than the average five-year-old? In what instances does his naïveté shine through?
- In chapter 3 we finally learn the Judge’s name. Why might the author have kept that from the reader and what is the significance of revealing it?
- How does the author increase the reader’s sense of pathos, or comapassion, for the protagonist in Chapter 3?
- Pisskop learns to be “in two places at once.” Explain this survival technique and how the protagonist uses it.
- In chapter 4, Peekay meets Hoppy Groenewald. He is only with him for about 24 hours but he becomes a mentor. Explain how.
- Chapter 4 introduces the milieu, or backdrop, of the novel: apartheid. Peekay approaches the issue of racism with a childlike confusion, which adds dramatic irony to the novel. Give an example of his racial confusion from the text and comment on the overall irony of his confusion.
- There are several levels of discrimination and prejudice base on racial and cultural divides in the first part of this novel. Give four groups that experience this and explain briefly.
- How does Peekay become a moral yardstick by which we are to judge the other characters?
- Comment on the colorful human landscape of the novel. Give two examples of colorful characters.
- What aphorism does Peekay learn from Hoppy and what is its significance?
- In chapter seven, Peekay states that he is witnessing “a sickness or sadness or even both.” To whom is he referring and what does he mean by this?
- What is Peekay’s opinion of God as described in these chapters? Why does he feel this way?
- Explain why the loneliness birds return in chapter eight.
- For what does Doc ask Peekay’s mother’s permission? How does he convince her?
- How is Doc a foil for Granpa?
- Why is Doc arrested in chapter nine?
- Why does Doc agree to perform at the concert in town?
- What stops the fighting that erupts at the end of chapter ten?
- Doc renames the “Concerto of the Great Southland.” What does he rename it?
- How does Peekay continue to smuggle tobacco into the prison after Geel Piet’s death?
- Describe the irony in Borman’s death.
- Explain how the narrator describes religion.
28. Where is Peekay headed at the end of chapter 15?
29. Why do Morrie and Peekay form an immediate partnership and friendship at the Prince of Wales School?
30. How do Peekay and Morrie make a profit off of boxing?
- How has the African Osmosis increased since the previous chapters?
- In chapter 16 Peekay feels proud to be a “rooinek” for the first time. Why is this?
- Why does Morrie organize it so that Peekay’s fights are first on the schedule at boxing tournaments?
- When does Peekay first hear about a concept called “apartheid”?
- What does it mean to be one of “Sinjun’s people”?
- What was the Black Sash Movement?
37. Peekay realizes that “intellect separates men.” How is this true of his own relationships?
38. What is Doc’s opinion of the music of Africa?
39. What does “the crystal cave of Africa” mean to Doc?
40. How is Peekay able to pay Solly Goldman for boxing lessons?
41. How does chapter 20 end with a juxtaposition of old and new for Peekay (hint: think about the people in his life)?
42. Morrie and Peekay often discuss history. Morrie claims that “history forgets the vomit and the shit, the blood and the horses with their guts blown out.” How does Bryce Courtenay make sure that he does not do this injustice to history in The Power of One?
