Character Commandant - Your job is to think about the main character or characters featured in the first two or three chapters of your book. What are they doing? What are they thinking or saying? How are they feeling? Are they facing any conflicts or problems? Have they reached any epiphanies or made any insights or realizations? Are they experiencing hardship or good fortune? What details about the character(s) does the author reveal?
Task: Generate five textual citations (page numbers) that contain noteworthy information about a main character or characters. Summarize the material in one to two paragraphs for each textual reference.
How long will we have to complete this?
ReplyDeleteHi Katherine,
ReplyDeleteFour or five periods. Do you think this is enough time?
I think that's enough time for most of us.
ReplyDeleteYep.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think that is plenty of time.
ReplyDeleteMy book is: Dead End in Norvelt By: Jack Gantos
ReplyDeleteCharacter Commandant - Your job is to think about the main character or characters featured in the first two or three chapters of your book. My main character is Jack Gantos.
What are they doing? Jack’s dad told him to mow away his mother’s cornfields, that she was making for elderly women, because his dad wanted to build a runway for a new plane he bought. “See that new corn?” he shouted over the tractor’s engine. He looked beyond his shoulder. There was a half acre of green corn that his Mom had planted. She was going to sell it, then use the money to buy food for the charity dinners she cooked. The stalks were about a foot high. Yeah I see it,” he replied. “It’s doing great.” Yesterday his Mom had made him weed it. Mow it down he ordered. “Then later we’ll take the heavy rake on your tractor and dig up all the roots.” (pg. 47)
What are they thinking or saying? Jack’s mom got really mad at him, and practically dragged him out of baseball practice, and said “ Mister, you are in deep trouble.” Then she clamped one hand around his neck and marched him across the outfield grass and up the Norvelt road. “You are now grounded for the summer! You can only leave your room to do chores, or go to the bathroom, and if you are lucky mister, you might have the privilege of having dinner with me and your father. But that is it. And I’m going to call Mr. Huffer and tell him you will no longer be on the (baseball) team.” ( pg. 69-70.)
How are they feeling? Jack is feeling like he is in prison, and will do anything to get out of sitting in his room all day. Even if it means going to crazy old Ms.Volker’s house. “ Come in!” she cawed like a pirate parrot. He pushed the door open and stuck his head inside. “Hello?” “In the kitchen,” she squawked. She was leaning over her gas stove with her hands inside a wide, tall pot and her face all screwed up in agony. (pg. 23-24)
Are they facing any conflicts or problems?Jack is facing a big problem, because he is grounded for the entire summer because he messed with his dad’s gun. “ He lifted the rifle again and swung the tip of the barrel straight up into the air. He figured he could gradually lower the barrel at the (drive-in movie) screen, aim, and pick off one of the Japanese troops. (From the movie) With all his strength he slowly lowered the barrel and held it steady enough to finally get the ball centered inside the V, and when he saw a tiny Japanese soldier leap out of a bush he quickly pulled the trigger and let him have it. BLAM!... (pg.10)
Have they reached any epiphanies or made any insights or realizations? Not yet, but hopefully soon.
Are they experiencing hardship or good fortune? Jack’s birthday is coming soon, so maybe he will get ungrounded for the day.
What details about the character does the author reveal? He reveals that Jack’s nose bleeds whenever he’s lying, frightened, or whenever he sees a dead body, which happens more often than you would think. “Do I need to remind you of your little problem?” she asked. How could he forget? He was a nosebleeder. The moment something startled him or whenever he got overexcited or spooked about any little thing blood would spray out of his nose holes like dragon flames. (pg.8)
We have to post it?
DeleteYes, we have to post it and turn in a copy to Mrs. O'Hara.
DeleteJake Semple just moved into the Applewhites house, because his grandfather
ReplyDeletedoesn’t like Jake at all. I think Jake’s grandfather doesn’t like him because he is a bad
kid: he swears, he burned down his school before, he smokes and he taught a little kid
named Destiny (who is only 4 years old) to say the swear word.
He is probably hating living at the Applewhites house so far, because the
Applewhites have a big family with about 7 or 8 people living in the house, and he has
to sleep in the Applewhites schoolroom because he doesn’t like the smelly meditation
room with the dead plant in it.
Some wake up at different times to do things, like start a chainsaw when people are
still sleeping in their beds, and there is someone who hates to wake up before 10:00.
They don’t go well together at all! There is also the littlest Applewhite in the house
named Destiny, that asks Jake way too many questions. Jake might be thinking that his
grandfather really hates him, and Jake is saying nothing about it.
I think Jake is feeling scared, because he doesn’t know what the Applewhites are
going to do to him, so I think there will be a big problem in the house. I don’t think jake
has realized anything yet. I think Jake only likes a little bit of his time at his house,
because he has good meals at their house. He had bacon and pumpernickel toast for
breakfast, which is not weird at all.
Jake is a 15 year old boy with spiky hair I think he dyed red. Jake has a bunch of
callipiters in a fish tank without water, and he in feeding them parsnip so they could
grow into butterflies. Later in the book, one callipitar grows into a butterfly, and Jake
and Destiny feed the butterfly Grape Kool-Aid. They name the butterfly Blackie, and the
butterfly seems to like Destiny a lot.
Character Commandant: Icefire by Chris d’Lacey
ReplyDeleteWhat are they doing?
David is an older student who is living with Liz and Lucy Pennykettle as a tenant. He plays with Lucy and is very curious and Mrs. Pennykettle’s clay dragons. He has his school course work to do in a short amount of time. Lucy has made her first clay wishing dragon and made some snow (not in snow’s season!).
What are they thinking or saying? How are they feeling?
I bet a lot of thoughts are racing through David’s head. He is very curious about the clay dragons and how the magic is possible. David has been implying by what he’s been saying that he doesn’t fully believe in the dragons powers. He’s skeptical.
Are they facing any conflicts or problems?
David is definitely having some issues. One of them is that Dr. Bergstrom assigned him a difficult essay on whether dragons exist or not, requiring proof to back up his theory. He is also curious about the Pennykettle's dragons, but he hasn’t had much luck getting information out of Mrs. Pennykettle.
Have they reached any epiphanies or made any insights or realizations?
Unfortunately for David, he hasn’t really found out anything important at this point in the book. I am about half way done in my book now, and throughout there, he has started to learn some things, but since this assignment is just for the first few chapters, I will not include them.
Are they experiencing hardship or good fortune?
At this point, David is certainly experiencing some hardship. He has his essay to to complete. To add to that, he’s struggling to find out the secrets about the fire tear, Lorel, and everything else related to the Pennykettle’s dragons.
What details about the character(s) does the author reveal?
The author reveals on the first two pages that David is a writer who is having troubles being published (as summarized in my first textual citation). We also find out that David is a school student. The author lets the reader know that Lucy is making her own clay dragons now, just like her mom (second textual citation).
1) Pages 1 and 2
ReplyDeleteOn these pages, the reader learns that David is a writer without much luck.
““I take it’s another rejection?”
David nodded. “Complete with coffee stain. This makes fourteen now. And they all say the same. Dear Mr. Rain. Thanks, but no thanks. No one wants to hear about Snigger the squirrel.””
He’s written a story and tried to publish it fourteen times now. His story is not making any headway in the sense of being published and he’s seems to be losing hope in it. David has put in a lot of effort to have his story published, but to no avail.
Lucy (the girl that David wrote the story for) doesn’t understand why no one wants his story. She thinks it is the best story ever and how could anyone give up the chance to publish David’s amazing story about Snigger?
2) Page 7
“”Lucy, try making a wish,” said her mom.
Lucy’s mouth fell open in astonishment. “Is it allowed? It’s David’s dragon.”
“What?” he coughed. “I don’t want it.”
“You named him,” said Lucy. “You have to keep him.”
David shook his head. “No,” he said firmly. “One dragon’s enough for me.
Lucy’s face took on a sad expression. “You want stay in this house if you don’t believe in dragons.””
Mrs. Pennykettle makes clay dragons, and Lucy is beginning to. That dragons have special powers, but it is evident that David doesn’t really think that all of it is possible or real. Lucy does not like that David isn’t serious about the dragons. Lucy definitely believes in the dragons. I think that David still does not know what to make of the Pennykettle’s dragons and their powers.
3) Pages 8, 11 and 12
“”I wish, I wish, I wish … it would snow.”
“Snow?” hooted David. “How is that beneficial?”
“They like it,” said Lucy. “Dragons like snow.””
Lucy has wished for some snow, but is it really possible that the dragons can control that type to thing?
“David turned to the windshield.
Impossible as it seemed, it was specked with snow.
“That’s amazing, David gasped. “Where did it come from?”
Liz rolled down her window and caught a few flakes. “Never underestimate a wishing dragon.””
The dragons are truly magic. Wishing dragons can make the owner’s wishes come true if the wish in beneficial. Lucy made the dragon (and the maker gets one wish) and wished for snow, and it came. Lucy has a made a dragon like the ones her mother makes. Lucy has that magic touch to make the dragon so perfectly. It will be interesting to see what other types of dragons she makes, and what they can do.
4) Pages 20 and 21
ReplyDelete“David scanned the flyer with an envious gaze.
“Chamberlain? Wow, I’d love to go. But … jeez, it costs seven hundred dollars. I can’t afford that! I’m a week behind on my rent as it is.””
David seems to want to go to Chamberlain, but he definitely cannot afford it.
“”It won’t cost you a penny if you write a good paper. The essay I judge to be the best will receive a free passage. How’s your coursework?””
David know has an opportunity to go for free. All he has to do is write a good essay. But how on earth is he supposed to write one on the existence or not of dragons?! This is a real problem, and there’s a time limit on top of that! It will be very interesting to see how his essay turns out and if David will win. Some information that can be taken from the text above: David is a school student with his own issues, and he really wants to do something, but needs to work very hard to get to that goal. To summarize, David’s got a lot of work ahead of him!
5) Pages 31 and 32
“”Not just any old snowball,” said Lucy. “Mom’s kept it forever, since she was little.””
“”We all keep little reminders of our childhood. You have your teddy bear; I have my snowball.”
“It’s nothing to do with the dragons, then?”
Liz looped back her hair and looked at him hard.”
Why keep an old snowball? I don’t think the snowball is just a memory of Liz’s past. I think that it may contain some important secret. Other mentions of the snowball haven’t come up again, so I think that the snowball may be very important in the end of the story. Who knows? Maybe the fire tear is in the ball! Liz is a very secretive person, who will only tell you small bits of the whole story. It seems to be very hard to get any important information out of her. So until Liz is ready to tell, the secret remains.
(Pg. 2)
ReplyDeleteBut all of that is in the future. When our story begins, Batty is still four years old. Rosalind is twelve, Skye is eleven and Jane is ten. They’re in their car with Mr. Penderwick and Hound. The family is on their way to Arundel and, unfortunately, they’re lost.
(Pg. 10)
The teenager with a wheelbarrow had come over to the driveway, and Mr. Penderwick had gotten out of the car and was talking to him. “I see there’s some Linnaea borealis here along the drive. Odd place for it. But I’m particularly interested in Cypripedium arietinum, if you know any good places to hunt for it. It likes swampy land, some shade….”
Rosalind ducked her head into the back of the car and rooted around among the luggage. Her father was talking in Latin about plants, which meant he was happy. She hoped he remembered to ask the boy about directions, too. He looked nice, that boy. Eighteen or maybe nineteen years old, with light brown hair sticking out from a Red Sox baseball cap.
(Pg. 11/12)
“Girls, this is Cagney,” said Mr. Penderwick.
“Hi,” said Cagney, with a big smile.
“Cagney, these four are my pride and joy. The one with blond hair is my second daughter, Skye-”
“Blue Skye, blue eyes,” said Skye, opening wide her eyes to demonstrate.
“That’s how you can remember which one she is,” said Jane. “Blue eyes and straight brown hair. The rest of us have identical brown eyes and dark curly hair. People get me and Rosalind mixed up all the time.”
“They do not. I’m much taller than you are,” said Rosalind, painfully aware that not only was she holding vomity paper towels, she was wearing her shirt with Wildwood Elementary School across the front. Why had she worn it? She didn’t want people to think she was still in elementary school. She was going to start seventh grade in September.
(Pg. 17)
Skye opened her suitcase, pulled out a math book -she was teaching herself algebra for fun- and wrote the bed schedule next to her favourite word problem about trains traveling in different directions. Next she rummaged around for her lucky camouflage hat, the one she’d been wearing when she fell off the garage roof and didn’t break any arms or legs. There it was, under her black T-shirts. Skye crammed the hat onto her head and closed the suitcase and shoved it into the closet.
“Now for exploring,” she said, and, after one more long, satisfied look at her glorious bedroom, left in search of her sisters.
(Pg. 26/27)
Skye hurled herself into the hedge tunnel and -CRASH!- slammed into someone and fell to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs.
“Ouch!’ She checked her head for blood. But the camouflage hat had softened the blow and there was no major damage. Which was good, because she’d still have the strength to murder whichever of her sisters had caused this accident. She untwisted herself, pushed her hair out of her eyes, and looked at the person lying half under her.
It wasn’t one of her sisters. It was a boy about her own age with freckles and straight brown hair. His eyes were closed, and he was pale and lying still.
Oh, and if you don't know, I read The Penderwicks.
Character Commandment
DeleteWhat are they doing?
The Penderwicks are spending the summer at a cottage.
What are they thinking or saying?
Skye is saying that it’s Batty’s fault that they lost the map to get to Arundel (the cottage place), and Batty is saying that it’s not her fault at all. Skye blames her for feeding Hound (the family dog) the map along with Batty’s sandwich. Jane says that maybe it’s fate that Hound ate the map, and maybe they’ll discover something wonderful while they’re lost. Mr. Penderwick tries to stop them from arguing and Rosalind suggests they play I Went to the Zoo and I Saw. After a long drive they meet man named Harry and he gives directions to get to Arundel (he even gives them a couple of tomatoes) and the Penderwicks finally (FINALLY, after a 3 hour long drive) reach Arundel.
How are they feeling?
Skye feels irritated that Batty feed Hound the map, and everyone (except Mr. Penderwick who isn’t even thinking about driving, instead plants) is impatiently waiting to get to Arundel.
Are they facing any conflicts or problems?
They are facing many problems. First, Batty feeds Hound the map, and then they get lost. Mr Penderwick isn’t paying attention to the road, and then... Hound barfs on Jane’s sneakers... then Skye insults a boy named Jeffery and THEN Batty, Jane, Skye and Jeffrey barely escape from a gouging bull (that’s another story).
Have they reached any epiphanies or made any insights or realizations?
They’re haven’t reached any epiphanies or made any insights or realizations to this point.
Are they experiencing hardship or good fortune?
They are experiencing a LOT of hardship, not really a lot of good fortune. (See “Are they facing any conflicts or problems” to see what I mean...)
What details about the character(s) does the author reveal?
Batty is the shy, cute and funny one. She always wears her wings, no matter where she is. Unless shes sleeping in bed. Jane is the imaginative one, and she loves writing and thinking of ideas for her series of books, Sabrina Starr. Skye is the athletic one, and she loves math. She’s also teaching herself algebra for fun.
Skye wants a nice bedroom but she got choose last to pick her bedroom. She wanted to choose a bedroom that she used to have. "Once upon a time, many years ago, she had slept in a room like that. But then Batty was born and put into Jane's room, and Jane moved in with Skye, and suddenly half of Skye's bedroom was painted lavender and filled with Jane's dolls and books and untidy piles of paper." You can see that Jane wasn't neat and why Skye wanted a another bedroom. "She's been looking forward to picking out a special bedroom, painted white maybe, which she can keep neat and organized." (p.16)
ReplyDeleteJane’s bedroom was on the third floor (which was actually the attic). But for her it was special. She knew that it would be the perfect spot for her to write her Sabrina Starr book. A perfect one. “I’m sure that some famous writer has been here before me. Like Louisa May Alcott or Patricia MacLachlan.” You can tell that one day Jane would want to be a writer when she grows up. (p.19 & 20)
Skye found a tunnel to Mrs.Tifton’s garden. “Now if Roselind had been the first to discover that tunnel, she would have noticed that it was too neatly trimmed and pricker-free to be there by mistake, and she would figured that someone used it often and that the someone probably wasn’t Mrs.Tifton. If Jane had been there first, she, too, would have realized that the natural forces hadn’t formed that tunnel. Her explanation for it would have been nonsense -an escape route for convicts on the run or talking badgers- but at least she would have thought about it.” On the other hand Skye would of thought differently. Actually she didn’t really think about it. “She only thought, I need a way through the hedge and here it is.” (p.23)
It’s Batty’s bedtime. She had done all the things she had to do before bed: brushing her teeth, taking a bath, putting on her pajamas. She had her wings hanging on her doorknob, her stuffies: Sedgewick the horse, Funty the blue elephant, Ursula the bear, and Fred the other bear. She was in the bedroom at the cottage. “It was an okay bedroom, Batty decided, not as safe and cosy as her room at home, but at least the closet had that secret passage into Rosalind’s room. Nothing scary could hide in a closet like that, not with Rosalind right there.” She acts like an ordinary four year old girl.
Batty is smarter than what at least Skye thinks. Skye had called a MOOPS meeting. Batty knew what it meant. “A MOOPS was a Meeting Of Older Penderwick Sisters.” They called it that so their dad and Batty didn’t knew what it meant. Batty also knew MOPS: Meeting Of Penderwick Sisters. (p.29 & 30)
“Our story begins, Batty is still only four years old. Roselind is twelve, Skye eleven, and Jane ten.” It tells their ages at the time.(pg.2)
Book: Metro dogs of Moscow
ReplyDeleteCharacters: JR & George
#1:What details about the character(s) does the author reveal?
JR hates the way that George says walks. JR also states that he wishes that he could talk human to tell him how stupid “walkies” sounds to him “ Sometimes JR wished he could speak human just so he could tell George how ridiculous he sounded when he says ‘walkies’. (Pg 1-2)
#2: What are they doing?
George is a globetrotter. George and JR move around the world a lot. JR does not like moving. Some places he moved he enjoyed but some places not. They have been moving around the globe for seven years now. (Pg 2-4)
#3: Are they experiencing hardship or good fortune?
JR does not like the city to much. There are tall grey buildings that sit right against the sidewalk and the loud taxis that whip around the corners of the street. He also hates the sour smell of the car exhaust in the air that takes away all of the nice spring smells. There are barely any grass patches in the city, only a ca little against the edge of buildings. (Pg 5-6)
#4: Are they facing any conflicts or problems?
JR did a very bad thing. He hide pieces of the thing he destroyed so George could not find out about it. JR hopes that George is not going to find the smashed pieces. ( 1st chapter)
What is the main character doing?
George takes JR to the pack for a walk and meets other embassy dogs there: Pie, Beatrix, and Robert. One night JR saw the open window and suddenly he wanted to go out to explore Moscow. JR is introduced to other friends Fyodor, Boris and Ania (all stray) when a human tries to grab JR that night. (Pg 28-30)
~Ronan
(Page 1:)
ReplyDelete“...I mean don't get me wrong, I am prepared for a lot of scary situations. After all, in the last year and a half I'd been fake kidnapped once, almost truly kidnapped twice, targeted by one international terrorist and two incredibly cute boys…”
“...Even though my best friend was beside me. Even though our school had trained us well.
Even though we go to a school for spies...”
It reveals that she goes to a school for spies, and she had been fake kidnapped once, almost truly kidnapped twice, targeted by one international terrorist and two incredibly cute boys - Josh and Zach.
This is the author’s (Ally Carter) casual way of summarizing the past few books in the series, up to this point. I think she did this very well, in my opinion.
(Page 8:)
“Bex's dad is one of England's top spies (not to mention the man who taught his daughter how to use a Barbie as a weapon when she was seven)...”
In many points in the series, we learn about “that time when Bex…” or “Liz and I once…” . This is another example of that. We, as readers, know that Liz is small, for it’s pointed out every time they go on a mission. Ally Carter introduces things about the characters, all the time. Example:
“Sure, she knows cuss words in fourteen different languages, but when faced with a minor catastrophe, Liz says oopsy daisy.”
(I’d tell you I Love you, but then I’d have to Kill you.)
(Page: 19)
“During winter break of our seventh-grade year, Bex helped her parents expose a double agent who had been working inside M16. The summer she turned fourteen she swears she disabled a bomb beneath the royal family's box in the bleachers at Wimbledon…”
In conclusion, this British 16 year-old girl, has a busy vacation.
No more needs to be said.
(Page: 24 - 25)
“PROS AND CONS OF SPENDING THE NIGHT
IN A TOP SECRET ROOM OF A TOP SECRET
FACILITY, BUT NO ONE WILL TELL YOU WHY
(A list by Cameron Morgan)
PRO: Turns out, top secret underground government facilities are an excellent place to warm up after ice skating.
CON: The warming-up process includes no friends, no family, and absolutely no answers.
PRO: Sometimes it's nice having a moment alone to compose yourself after fairly traumatic (and totally confusing) experiences.
CON: The "moment" stops being nice when it goes on for almost two hours.
PRO: Three words - Extra. Credit. Essay.
CON: Two words - No. Bathroom.
PRO: Knowing there are fifty operatives and at least two hundred cameras between you and the people trying to get you.
CON: Realizing, you know even less about those people then you thought you did. A lot less.”
Every now and then, the author reminds the readers, that each book is a covert operations report that the main character writes. This is an example of this. It gives you an insight on what’s happened and what the character is feeling, in an interesting way.
(Page: 48 - 49)
“There are three things it's important to know about Professor Buckingham. 1) She's our oldest faculty member. 2) She is an absolute legend at MI6. And 3) She walks faster than should be humanly possible with a bad hip. At least it seemed that way as Bex and I dragged our heavy bags up the stairs, trying to keep pace. “
Professor Buckingham teaches newbie orientation and acclimation, which means she helps out new students and shows them around on a tour, first day of school. This paragraph teaches us more about her. Professor Buckingham comes up, every now and then, but not usually.
~Jordan
"Your job is to think about the main character or characters in the first two or three chapters of your book."
ReplyDeleteThe character that I will be writing my response on is Jack.
Q: What is he doing? What is he thinking or saying?
A: Let's take a look at Jack. Well, one chapter into the book he has already gotten into trouble because he had his dad's stuff from the war out; he fired the sniper and didn't know it was loaded! “BLAM! The rifle fired off and violently kicked out of my grip. It flipped into the air before clattering down across the picnic table and sliding to the ground.” (p.10) Another thing that Jack was doing was doing in the first couple of chapters was going to (or being made to go to) Miss Volker's house to help type an obituary. oh yes, and getting lots of nosebleeds. Now for the second part. For some reason, a lot of what Jack was thinking about was gold, dying and being eaten alive. Not at the same time. I can't tell you why because it would spoil some of the book. He wasn’t actually saying that much apart from when he was trying to get out of sticky situations.
Q: How is he feeling?
A: Jack is feeling (kind of obviously) upset. There is actually not that much to say in this section, except for, well, the fact that anybody would be upset if they got grounded for something that they did by accident. I also can not really find a reference to justify this. Oh yes, I forgot to mention why he got grounded. Jack got grounded for firing his father's Japanese sniper rifle (he did not know that it was loaded).
Q: Is he facing any conflicts or problems?
A: The answer is, definitely, yes. First of all there was the sniper incident, and there was when his dad told him to mow down the corn that Jack’s mom was growing in order to feed the poor and needy to build a “bomb shelter” (which was actually an airplane landing strip). Another problem was that Jack’s mom said that if he did not do anything do anything else stupid, she might not tell his dad about the sniper incident, but when Jack cut down the corn, not only did his mom get mad at him, she told his dad about the sniper incident. So, now Jack was in trouble with both of his parents.
Q: Has he reached any epiphanies or made any insights or realizations?
A: No, not really. There was only some very small realizations (or things that Jck realized in the past) such as the fact that he can not stand to look at dead people or else he freaks out and he starts getting a very heavy nose bleed. Then again, he gets nose bleeds from saying and doing a lot of things…
Q: Is he experiencing hardship or good fortune?
A: Well, this is kind of obvious, seeing as there is a lot written down under “Is he facing any conflicts or problems?” So, the answer is that Jack is most definitely experiencing a lot of hardship (at least from his point of view). How ever, because Jack is helping Miss Volker, he is sort of experiencing good fortune because she let’s him drive her car, and Jack has always wanted to drive a car having grown up on a sort-of-farm where he was always driving the tractor (yes, rules are a little bit different in Norvelt). So, in a way, Jack is experiencing hardship and good fortune.
Q: What details about the character does the author reveal?
A: There are not that many (if any) physical descriptions about Jack, however there are several descriptions about his personality and interests. For example, you know that Jack is into baseball. Another description is that Jack gets a lot of nosebleeds. In terms of a personality description, Jack is, well, if I had to come up with something that would give a person an idea of what his personality is like, I would say that he copes fairly well under pressure, considering exactly how much pressure is on him throughout the story. I also forgot to mention that he really likes books about history.
Character Commandant - Your job is to think about the main character or characters featured in the first two or three chapters of your book.
ReplyDeleteWhat are they doing?
They are driving to the cottage in Arundel which they are going to spend three weeks in.
What are they thinking or saying?
“It’s Batty’s fault,” said Skye.
“It is not,” said Batty.
“Of course it is,” said Skye. ‘’We wouldn’t be lost if Hound hadn’t eaten the map’ and Hound wouldn’t have eaten the map if you hadn’t hidden your sandwich in it.’’
How are they feeling?
Frustrated. But when they get to Arundel they feel amazed and happy.
Are they facing any conflicts or problems?
Yes, they are lost. Hound ate the map so they don’t know where the cottage is. Then later when they get to the cottage, Hound needs to throw up so he throws up on Jane. Skye found a tunnel to Mrs.Tifton’s garden. So she had to hide in a large urn, then insulted Jeffery when she crashed in him.
Have they reached any epiphanies or made any insights or realizations?
Well the only thing they realize is that the cottage is actually in Arundel.
Are they experiencing hardship or good fortune?
Well at the beginning They experience hardship. Actually they experience mostly hardship at the beginning. Like they are lost. Hound ate the map so they don’t know where the cottage is. Then later when they get to the cottage, Hound needs to throw up so he throws up on Jane. Skye found a tunnel to Mrs.Tifton’s garden. So she had to hide in a large urn, then insulted Jeffery when she crashed in him.
What details about the character(s) does the author reveal?
I mostly mention all of that in my five textual citations.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteWhat are they doing?
Jake was smoking and cursing to try to disturb the Applewhites in the first few chapters. (1. Pg 6)‘So far so good, Jake thought. This girl was bugged by cursing and smoking. He had news for her. He intended to do a whole lot of both.’ E.D. and Destiny noticed and were disgusted about his swearing and smoking the most. At the beginning when E.D. first met Jake, he blew cigarette smoke on her face. He also met all the other Applewhites, he did not really like Zedediah, the grandfather of the applewhites. When he cursed in front of Zedediah, he did not get shocked like E.D. did, he just said (2. pg 14) “You ought to spend a little time with Cordelia, she’s taught my parrot the French for that. Spanish, Italian, and German too.” Jake also goes to the schoolroom and is arranged to learn with E.D. Before Jake went to study that morning, he ate breakfast because he did not eat breakfast for a couple days because he did not feel like eating at his grandfather’s place. Jake met Paulie the parrot and exchanged curses with each other (3.pg 36) ‘The parrot looked up from picking at one foot with his beak, raised his green, yellow, and red wings, and swore a long stream of colorful curses. Jake swore back.’ He took a look at E.D.'s notebook for her education plan.
What are they thinking or saying?
Jake is thinking about bothering the applewhites, cursing a lot, running out of cigarettes, rolling his own cigarettes, and what the other applewhites looked like (for a short time). He also taught Destiny to swear.
How are they feeling?
Jake feels a little bit exhausted because Destiny, the youngest of the applewhites keeps asking him questions at one point, he feels sort of bored as well, because he cannot do anything he actually likes, he cannot watch television, he cannot play games on the computer, and he if he is caught smoking, he will lose his cigarettes.
Are they facing any conflicts or problems?
Jake is experiencing multiple problems, such as running out of cigarettes, not getting entertained well enough, nobody cares if he swears or smokes and boredom. Other than those, he is not really finding any other troubles.
Have they reached any epiphanies or made any insights or realizations?
Jake has realized that if he smokes and swears, no one cares. Except for E.D. and Destiny. Jake also realizes that he cannot go back to Rhode Island, which he wants to go back to, because no families will take him.
Are they experiencing hardship or good fortune?
In my opinion, Jake is facing both; he has a place to live in and study which is good fortune, and he is experiencing hardship through boredom and his other troubles. Jake's parents are also in jail, so that is hardship. But in general, he faces more hardship than good fortune.
What details about the character(s) does the author reveal?
Stephanie S. Tolan reveals that Jake Semple is a mischievous troublemaker that is always looking to make trouble. He also has many bad habits such as smoking and cursing. His appearance is a gangster type of look.
4. (Pg 1) ‘The boy slouching against the porch railing had scarlet spiked hair, a silver ring through one dark brown eyebrow, and too many earrings to count. He was dressed entirely in black- black T-shirt, black jeans, black high-top running shoes- and the look in his eyes were pure mean.’
5. (Pg 32) “Don’t mind Destiny. He can go on like that all day.” (Lucille)
My book is Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan
ReplyDeleteCharacter Commandant - Your job is to think about the main character or characters featured in the first two or three chapters of your book.
What are they doing? The Applewhites are trying to make Jake nicer. “Only Aunt Lucille, whose view of life was almost pathologically sunny, would get the idea that after an entire state had admitted it couldn’t cope with the kid and after Traybridge Middle School had been defeated in less than a month, the Applewhites should take him in.”
What are they thinking or saying? Most of the Applewhites think that they will be able to turn Jake nice, but E.D. doesn’t think so. ““The most important thing you’re going to learn while you’re here is who you are and what you’re made of.” E.D. thought they were all likely to learn that about Jake. She was quite sure she didn’t want to know.”
How are they feeling? Jake is feeling bored because the Applewhites don’t have a television and he is not allowed to play computer games. ““Where’s your T.V.?” he asked after a while.”
Are they facing any conflicts or problems? Jake is starving because the Applewhite’s food tastes horrible. “He wondered what sort of food they served where his parents were. Better, he bet!” Other than that, no problems at all.
Have they reached any epiphanies or made any insights or realizations? Jake has realized that whether he wants to stay at Wit’s End or not, he is going to make this work. “The choice was clear. One way or another, he was going to have to make this work.”
Are they experiencing hardship or good fortune? Good fortune. Definitely. The Applewhites have not had any problems with Jake Semple. That’s pretty lucky, considering he burned down his old school. “According to her friend Melissa, though, Jake Semple was famous. He had been kicked out of the public schools in the whole state of Rhode Island. Melissa wasn’t sure what all he’d done to achieve that particular distinction, but the word around Traybridge was that one thing he did was burn down his old school.”
What details about the character(s) does the author reveal? Stephanie reveals that Jake’s parents are in jail because they were growing marijuana in their basement and offered some to an off-duty sheriff’s deputy. She also reveals that the Randolph withdrew his kids from Traybridge Middle School because Cordelia wasn’t allowed to paint a zebra black and purple. ““It had all started when Cordelia was in seventh grade at Traybridge Middle School and was told by a teacher that she wasn’t allowed to paint a zebra black and purple, because zebras were really black and white.”
WARNING SOMEWHAT SPOILERS
ReplyDeleteMain Character
Miranda
What is Miranda Doing?
Miranda is, in the first few chapters of the book, just doing normal stuff like going to school and doing normal things grade six girls in the seventies did, but then her best friend Sal gets punched and Sal shuts Miranda out of his life. And then she gets the first note from someone, and she gets freaked out, but despite telling her mom and Sals mom, Louisa, she pretends it didn’t happen. She also makes good friends with Annemarie, and Colin and they all get a “job” together at the sandwich shop. Next she gets the third note and she is very scared.
What is Miranda thinking or saying?
Miranda is feeling really freaked out about the first and second notes that she got though she doesn’t speak about the second letter and she pretends to seem fine to her friends; Annemarie and Colin.
How is Miranda Feeling
Miranda as I explained is feeling very scared about the notes and all but despite those she feels sad because of Sal, but happy as well because she made good friends with Colin and Annemarie. so mixed feelings.
Is Miranda facing any conflicts or problems?
Well she has some trouble figuring out who wrote the letter, and she has trouble at the school because of one of the girls, Julia, is being mean. Also she is trying to figure out what happened with Sal, and she is having trouble with her “job” (she is just helping out, she doesn’t get paid) at the sandwich place as she is not very good at cutting the bread.
Has Miranda reached any epiphanies or made any insights or realizations?
Yes Miranda has found out that one of her new friends, Annemarie, has epilepsy and is on a diet where she can’t have bread or soda. Unfortunately she hasn’t realized anything that big besides that.
Is Miranda experiencing hardships or good fortune?
She is experiencing hardship because of the letter and Sal, but her life at school is okay. she also gets into big arguments with the guy who punched Sal (named Marcus) about time as Marcus is very smart.
What details has the Author revealed about Miranda?
Rebecca Stead has revealed that Miranda is growing scared of the notes and that she is not really shy. She also revealed that Miranda isn’t the smartest girl in the world either not the dumbest, but easily not the smartest. Miranda can take a psychologically hard hit surprisingly well too as she kind of just moved on in life after Sal shut her out of his, I mean she is still sad about it, but it never really shows.
Book: 'When You Reach Me' By: Rebecca Stead
Character Commandant
ReplyDeleteBy: Xavier. Book: The Metro Dogs Of Moscow
#1: What is the main character doing?
JR (the dog) hid the pieces of Georges (His owner) watch, and he hopes that George does not find them. When George took JR to the park, JR met some other embassy dogs, Pie Robert and Beatrix. Afterwards at his apartment, JR saw an open window at his apartment room, so he decided to go out to explore the city. JR gets grabbed by a human and another dog saves him. The dog is a stray, the same stray that JR had seen before, and the stray had some friends. The dogs names were Boris, Ania and Fyodor.
#2 What is the main character thinking or saying?
JR is thinking about how awesome Moscow is, and that other people didn’t “give him so much as a glance”
#3 How is the main character feeling?
JR is feeling free because he is not stuck in the apartment, but out in the city. JR is feeling a bit happy with his new stray friends. JR is also feeling a bit of guilt from the “Very Bad Thing” he did (breaking Georges watch), still hoping that George does not find it under the bed.
#3 Is the main character facing any conflicts or problems?
JR is facing the problem of Georges watch, for breaking it then hiding it under Georges bed. Everytime George goes into his room, JR is getting ready for a scream, but it never happens. Other than that, JR is not facing any other conflicts or problems.
#4 Has the main character reached any epiphanies or made any insights or realizations?
JR has realized that the stray dogs aren’t so bad. He realized that the strays were friendly once he got to know him. They gave him food, treated him well, and they were just good friends. JR has also realized that the word “walkies” is very stupid to say.
#5 Is the main character experiencing hardship or good fortune?
JR isn’t experiencing any good fortune, but he is experiencing some hardship for breaking Georges watch. He is pretty worried and he hopes that George does not find the mechanical bits that were his watch.
#6 What details about the main character does the author reveal?
The author has revealed that JR is a dog that sometimes does “Very Bad Things”, and that he is a globetrotter and that he likes to be free and running in the wind. The author also reveals that JR is an average sized, well fit Jack Russell Terrier.
My 5 textual citations.
(pg: 2-3)
“Some airlines allowed dogs to travel with the cabin if they weighed under 8 kilograms, which JR, an average-sized Jack Russell Terrier, did”
(pg: 6)
“George never let him off leash in the city. He seemed to think that if JR spotted something small and squeaky, he’d take off after it and never look back. Which was true. But it still didn’t seem fair.”
(pg: 7)
“Aw, c’mon, boy.” George tugged on the leash. “You want a pastry, don’t you? Something chocolatey? Oh wait, you can’t eat chocolate.”
(pg: 9)
“JR closed his eyes and forced himself not to bite George’s well-moisturized hand. It made him feel much better about the Very Bad Thing awaiting George back at home.”
Sorry, I could only get 4 textual citations.
ReplyDeleteTask: Generate five textual citations (page numbers) that contain noteworthy information about a main character or characters. Summarize the material in one to two paragraphs for each textual reference.
ReplyDeletepg # 1 Miranda’s mother:
Miranda’s mother wants to go to $20,000 Pyramid and got in after 3 years of trying. The $20,000 Pyramid is hosted by Dick Clark and has 2 rounds. A speed round and the winners circle. The speed round has 7 questions and you have to answer them as quickly as possible. A question could be “You use this to put food in your mouth - not a spoon, but a…”
“So Mom got the postcard today. It says Congratulations in big curly letters, and at the very top is the address of studio TV-15 on West 58th street.”
pg # 18 The Laughing Man:
The laughing man sleeps with his head under the mailbox. Nobody knows why. He also says weird things like “bookbag, pocketshoe”. He says it sort of like a chant: “bookbag, pocketshoe.”
““What’s a ‘pocketshoe’ anyway?”
“Pocketshoe,” he said, looking serious. “Noun: an extra shoe you keep in your pocket. In case someone steals one of yours when your head is under the mailbox.””
pg # 22 Sal:
Miranda’s best friend, Sal, got punched by one of the kids that usually stay in the garage.
“He made a fist that came up like a wave and hit Sal right in the stomach. Hard. Sal doubled over and gurgled like he was about to throw up and then the kid whacked him across the face.”
pg # 25-26 Miranda:
Mirandas mom had rules for life in New York City.
“1: Always have your key out before you reach the front door.
2: If a stranger is hanging out in front of the building, don’t ever go in - just keep walking around the block until he’s gone.
3: Look ahead. If there’s someone acting strange down the block, looking drunk or dangerous, cross the street, but don’t make it obvious. Make it look like you were planning to cross the street all along.
4:Never shoe our money on the street.”
Miranda had her own trick as well. If she’s afraid of someone on the street, she’ll turn to them and ask them, “Excuse me, do you happen to know what time it is?” This is her way of saying, “I see you as a friend, and there is no need to hurt me or take my stuff. Also, I don’t even have a watch and I’m probably not worth mugging.”
So far, It’s worked pretty well.
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