ILIAD CHAPTER SUMMARY

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Ten years have passed since the Greek armies arrived in Asia minor to lay
waste Troy and win back their honor. Yet in all those years, neither side has
gained enough advantage to force a surrender. The Greeks remain encamped
outside the walls of the city, their nighttime fires mocking the glittering firmament
while their generals plot stratagems and their warriors hone weapons.
.......Among the Greek leaders, bloodstained and hardened to war, are
Agamemnon, the commander-in-chief; Menelaus, King of Sparta and brother of
Agamemnon; Odysseus, king of Ithaca and a military genius of unparalleled
cunning; and Aias the Great, a giant warrior of colossal strength. With sword and
spear, with rocks and fists, the Greeks have fought the Trojans–led by the
godlike Hector, their mightiest warrior, and Aeneas, a war machine second only
to Hector on the Trojan side–to a standoff. In time, the Greeks believe, they will
prevail. They have right on their side, after all. But even more important, they
have Achilles. He is the greatest warrior ever to walk the earth–fierce, unrelenting,
unconquerable. When Achilles fights, enemies cower in terror and
rivers run with blood. No man can stand against him. Not Hector. Not an army of
Hectors.
.......But, alas, in the tenth year of the great war, Achilles refuses to fight after
Agamemnon insults him. No one can offend the great Achilles with impunity. Not
even Agamemnon, general of generals, who can whisper a command that ten
thousand will obey. The rift between them opens after Agamemnon and Achilles
capture two maidens while raiding the region around Troy. Agamemnon’s prize is
Chryseis, the daughter of a priest of the god Apollo. For Achilles, there is the
beautiful Briseis, who becomes his slave mistress.
When Chryses, the father of Chryseis, offers a ransom for his daughter,
Agamemnon refuses it. Chryses then invokes his patron, Apollo, for aid, and the
sun god sends a pestilence upon the Greeks. Many soldiers die before
Agamemnon learns the cause of their deaths from the soothsayer Calchas.
Unable to wage war against disease, Agamemnon reluctantly surrenders
Chryseis to her father.
.......Unfortunately for the Greeks, the headstrong king then orders his men to
seize Briseis as a replacement for his lost prize. Achilles is outraged. But rather
than venting his wrath with his mighty sword, he retires from battle, vowing never
again to fight for his countrymen. On his behalf, his mother, the sea nymph
Thetis, importunes Zeus, king of the gods, to turn the tide of war in favor of the
Trojans. Such a reversal would be fitting punishment for Agamemnon. But Zeus
is reluctant to intervene in the war, for the gods of Olympus have taken sides,
actively meddling in daily combat. For him to support one army over the other
would be to foment celestial discord. Among the deities favoring the Trojans are
Ares, Aphrodite, Apollo, and Artemis. On the side of the Greeks are Athena,
Poseidon, and Hera–the wife of Zeus. There would be hell-raising in the heavens
if Zeus shows partiality. In particular, his wife’s scolding tongue would wag
without surcease. But Zeus is Zeus, god of thunder and lightning. In the end, he
well knows, he can do as he pleases. Swayed by the pleas of Thetis, he confers
his benisons on the Trojans.
.......However, when the next battle rages, the Greeks–fired with Promethean
defiance and succored by their gods–fight like madmen. True, their right arm,
Achilles, is absent; but their left arm becomes a scythe that reaps a harvest of
Trojans. Aias and Diomedes are especially magnificent. Only intervention by the
Trojans’ Olympian supporters save them from massacre. Alas, however, when
the Trojans regroup for the next fight, Zeus infuses new power into Hector’s
sinews. After Hector bids a tender goodbye to his wife, Andromache, and little
boy, Astyanax, he leads a fierce charge that drives the Greeks all the way back
to within sight of the shoreline, where they had started ten years before. Not a
few Greeks, including Agamemnon, are ready to board their ships and set sail for
home. Such has been the fury of the Hector-led onslaught.
.......Then Nestor, a wise old king of three score and ten, advises Agamemnon to
make peace with Achilles. The proud commander, now repentant and fully
acknowledging his unjust treatment of Achilles, accepts the advice and pledges
to restore Briseis to Achilles. When representatives of Agamemnon meet with lordly
Achilles, the great warrior is idly passing time with the person he loves
most in the world, his friend Patroclus, a distinguished warrior in his own right.
Told that all wrongs against him will be righted, Achilles–still smoldering with
anger–spurns the peace-making overture. His wrath is unquenchable. However,
Patroclus, unable to brook the Trojan onslaught against his countrymen, borrows
the armor of Achilles and, at the next opportunity, enters the battle disguised as
Achilles.
.......The stratagem works for a while as Patroclus chops and hacks his way
through the Trojan ranks. But eventually Hector’s spear fells brave Patroclus with
no small help from meddlesome Apollo. The Trojan hero celebrates the kill with
an audacious coup de grâce: He removes and puts on Achilles’ armor.
Grievously saddened by the death of his friend and outraged at the brazen
behavior of Hector, wrathful Achilles–with a new suit of armor forged in Olympus
by Hephaestus at the behest of Achilles' mother, Thetis–agrees to rejoin the fight
at long last.
.......The next day, Achilles rules the battlefield with death and destruction, cutting
a swath of terror through enemy ranks. Trojan blood mulches the fields. Limbs lie
helter-skelter, broken and crooked, as fodder for diving raptors. Terrified, the
Trojans flee to the safety of Troy and its high walls–all of them, that is, except
Hector. Foolishly, out of his deep sense of honor and responsibility as protector
of Troy, he stands his ground. In a fairy tale about a noble hero with an adoring
wife and son, Hector would surely have won the day against a vengeful, alldevouring foe.
His compatriots–and the gallery of sons and daughters and wives
peering down from the Trojan bulwarks–would surely have crowned him king. But
in the brutal world of Achilles–whose ability to disembowel and decapitate is a
virtue–Hector suffers a humiliating death. After Achilles chases and catches him,
he easily slays him, then straps his carcass to his chariot and drags him around
the walls of Troy. Patroclus has been avenged, the Greeks have reclaimed
battlefield supremacy, and victory seems imminent.
.......However, old Priam, the King of Troy and the father of Hector, shows that
Trojan valor has not died with Hector. At great risk to himself, he crosses the
battlefield in a chariot and presents himself to Achilles to claim the body of his
son. But there is no anger in Priam's heart. He understands the ways of wars and
warriors. He knows that Achilles, the greatest of the Greek soldiers, had no
choice but to kill his son, the greatest of the Trojan warriors. Humbly, Priam
embraces Achilles and gives him his hand. Deeply moved, Achilles welcomes
Priam and orders an attendant to prepare Hector's body. To spare Priam the
shock of seeing the grossly disfigured corpse, Achilles orders the attendant to
cloak it. Troy mourns Hector for nine days, then burns his body and puts the
remains in a golden urn that is buried in a modest grave.

MEIN KAMPF SUMMARY

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Mein Kampf is an autobiography—a book that a person writes about his/her own life and
experiences—by a man who was a German soldier during WWI. In the beginning of this excerpt (a
section taken from a book), the author describes some of the effects of gas warfare. He had
personally been affected by mustard gas and had problems with his eyesight because of it. The
author also discusses the end of the war and his feelings about it. He cannot believe that Germany
would want to surrender. If Germany surrendered, all of the soldiers who fought for the country would have died in vain. It is obvious this author did not want Germany to surrender, but to keep
fighting. The author of this reading selection is Adolf Hitler.
For a long time there had been something indefinite but repulsive in the air. People were
telling each other that in the next few weeks it would 'start in' - but I was unable to imagine what
was meant by this. First I thought of a strike like that of the spring. Unfavorable rumors were
constantly coming from the navy, which was said to be in a state of ferment [confusion]. But
this, too, seemed to me more the product of the imagination of individual scoundrels than an
affair involving real masses. Even in the hospital, people were discussing the end of the War
which they hoped would come soon, but no one counted on anything immediate. I was unable to
read the papers.
In November the general tension increased.
And then one day, suddenly and unexpectedly, the calamity descended. Sailors arrived in
trucks and proclaimed the revolution; a few Jewish youths were the 'leaders' in this struggle for
the 'freedom, beauty, and dignity' of our national existence. None of them had been at the front.
By way of a so-called 'gonorrhea hospital,' the three Orientals had been sent back home from
their second-line base. Now they raised the red rag in the homeland.
In the last few days I had been getting along better. The piercing pain in my eye sockets was diminishing; slowly I succeeded in distinguishing the broad outlines of the things about me.
I was given grounds for hoping that I should recover my eyesight at least well enough to be able
to pursue some profession later. To be sure, I could no longer hope that I would ever be able to
draw again. In any case, I was on the road to improvement when the monstrous thing happened.
My first hope was still that this high treason might still be a more or less local affair. I
also tried to bolster up a few comrades in this view. Particularly my Bavarian friends in the
hospital were more than accessible to this. The mood there was anything but 'revolutionary.' I
could not imagine that the madness would break out in Munich, too. Loyalty to the venerable
House of Wittelsbach seemed to me stronger, after all, than the will of a few Jews. Thus I could
not help but believe that this was merely a Putsch [a plan or attempt to overthrow a government
that is quick and not expected] on the part of the navy and would be crushed in the next few
days.
The next few days came and with them the most terrible certainty of my life. The rumors
became more and more oppressive [unfair]. What I had taken for a local affair was now said to
be a general revolution. To this was added the disgraceful news from the front. They wanted to
capitulate [surrender]. Was such a thing really possible?
On November 10, the pastor came to the hospital for a short address: now we learned
everything.
In extreme agitation, I, too, was present at the short speech. The dignified old gentleman
seemed all a-tremble as he informed us that the House of Hollenzollern should no longer bear the
German imperial crown; that the fatherland [Germany] had become a 'republic'; that we must
pray to the Almighty not to refuse His blessing to this change and not to abandon our people in
the times to come. He could not help himself, he had to speak a few words in memory of the
royal house. He began to praise its services in Pomerania, in Prussia, nay, to the German
fatherland, and-here he began to sob gently to himself-in the little hall the deepest dejection
[depression] settled on all hearts, and I believe that not an eye was able to restrain its tears. But
when the old gentleman tried to go on, and began to tell us that we must now end the long War,
yes, that now that it was lost and we were throwing ourselves upon the mercy of the victors, our
fatherland would for the future be exposed to dire oppression, that the armistice should be
accepted with confidence in the magnanimity of our previous enemies-I could stand it no longer.
It became impossible for me to sit still one minute more. Again everything went black before my
eyes; I tottered and groped my way back to the dormitory, threw myself on my bunk, and dug my burning head into my blanket and pillow.
Since the day when I had stood at my mother's grave, I had not wept. When in my youth
Fate seized me with merciless hardness, my defiance mounted. When in the long war years
Death snatched so many a dear comrade and friend from our ranks, it would have seemed to me
almost a sin to complain-after all, were they not dying for Germany? And when at length the
creeping gas-in the last days of the dreadful struggle-attacked me, too, and began to gnaw at my
eyes, and beneath the fear of going blind forever, I nearly lost heart for a moment, the voice of
my conscience thundered at me: Miserable wretch, are you going to cry when thousands are a
hundred times worse off than you! And so I bore my lot in dull silence. But now I could not help
it. Only now did I see how all personal suffering vanishes in comparison with the misfortune of
the fatherland.
And so it had all been in vain. In vain all the sacrifices and privations [lack of comforts in
life]; in vain the hunger and thirst of months which were often endless; in vain the hours in
which, with mortal fear clutching at our hearts, we nevertheless did our duty; and in vain the
death of two millions who died. Would not the graves of all the hundreds of thousands open, the
graves of those who with faith in the fatherland had marched forth never to return? Would they
not open and send the silent mud-and blood-covered heroes back as spirits of vengeance to the
homeland which had cheated them with such mockery of the highest sacrifice which a man can
make to his people in this world? Had they died for is, the soldiers of August and September,
1914? Was it for this that in the autumn of the same year the volunteer regiments marched after
their old comrades? Was it for this that these boys of seventeen sank into the earth of Flanders?
Was this the meaning of the sacrifice which the German mother made to the fatherland when
with sore heart she let her best-loved boys march off, never to see them again? Did all this
happen only so that a gang of wretched criminals could lay hands on the fatherland?

ERAGON SUMMARY

Book Summary

The book I read was called "Eragon". This book is the first book of the series, there are four books in the series. This is about Eragon being the last Dragon Rider of the dragon, Saphira. When he finds the egg of Saphira by chasing down a deer, as he was a hunter, that led him deep into The Spine in the egg's direction. Eragon had many questions in his head about this egg but he thought it was a beautiful, sort of like: "What kind of stone is this? Where did it come from? Why is it here?". He was in a too exposed glen, so he couldn't make a camp in the place he found the egg. So he put out a bedroll under the upturned roots of a fallen tree. He had a dinner of bread and cheese, and went to sleep thinking about what had occured. Eragon had then brought the mysterious stone back to the village in the spine. The king, Galbatorix, could never conquer this one area becuase of the forest surrounding them had a that cursed anyone to enter the forest. If an army enters this forest then half of it would disappear. Eragon was one of the few in the village that had really good reflexes and vigilance. He was normally out hunting animals or discovering new mysterious things in the Spine. The Spine is a place that was mountainous and rough terrain. The author wanted to give entertainment and trills to the reader, he used chronological order to organize this data. I think this is a very good book and I would recomend this book to anyone that likes fantasy and adventure.
The 15 year old resident of Carvahall, Eragon, starts the book by finding a strange blue stone while traversing The Spine, a mountainous area outside his home. The world in which this novel takes place is known as Alagaësia, under the control of Galbatorix, a fallen Dragon Rider, now evil. These dragon riders used to be the peace keepers of the world, but when his dragon died, Galbatorix went mad and killed his fellow riders.
Eragon’s blue stone hatches eventually and from it emerges a dragon. Because of the rarity of the birth (dragons are supposed to be extinct), Eragon keeps his find secret and raises his dragon away from prying eyes, until two dark Ra’zac enter the town looking for the stone.The dragon, named Saphira, leaves the town with Eragon to hide in the forest. While Eragon is away, the Ra’zac kill Eragon’s Uncle Garrow and burn his house down. In response, Eragon declares himself a new Dragon Rider in the vain of those past, the peace keepers, before Galbatorix betrayed them. Eragon takes with him on his journeys Brom, a weaver of stories from his town with knowledge on everything Eragon needs to protect himself and defeat the Ra’zac.
The three finally reach the town of Teirm where Brom learns that the Ra’zac are in Helgrind, the four-peaked mountain near the city of Dras-Leona. The three travel there and are lured into a trap set by the Ra’zac, failing to find the revenge that Eragon so desparately seeks. Rescued by Murtagh, an unknown stranger, Eragon and Saphira survive, but his mentor Bram is hurt and soon dies. He reveals before his death though that he was once a Dragon Rider, betrayed by Gaslbatorix like the others, his dragon murdered. After Galbatorix’s coup, Brom became a member of Varden, and sniped the unhatched egg that Eragon eventually found, Saphira’s blue stone.
Along with Murtagh, Eragon and Saphira set out to find Varden to help them. Along their journey, Eragon begins to have odd dreams of a mysterious female elf in trouble. When Eragon is captured, he finally meets her, both of them imprisoned together. Murtagh and Saphira strike the prison though and manage to resuce both Eragon and the elf. During the rescue, the three encounter Shade, a horrible creature that should not be awake. The revalation of such a horrible creature loose upon the world causes the three to assume that Galbatorix is in league with darker forces yet.
On the way to the Varden, Eragon must deal with an immense influx of foes and dangers, including an army of Urgals chasing them all the way there. The Vardens’ fortress, located in the depths of the Beor Mountains, is host to groups of dwarves, elves, and Varden, who are in league, having sent Saphira’s egg to The Spine where Eragon found it. Given a short rest, the three along with the Varden and their allies must prepare for the arrival of the Urgal as the approach the mountain. They learn for sure that Galbatorix is in league with the dark forces from a stolen messenge and soon they are in a battle with the Urgal. During the battle, the Urgals are close to defeating the Varden until Eragon defeats the Shade they encountered earlier. However, the battle with the Shade leaves him horribly disfigured and in pain. When the battle ends, closing the first chapter in the Inheritance trilogy, Eragon is preparing to go study with the elves.

ESPERANZA RISING SUMMARY

Book Summary

Esperanza believed her life would be wonderfulforever. She would alwayslive on her
family’sranch in Mexico. She would always have fancy dresses and a beautiful home
filled with servants. Papa and Abuelita would always be with her.
But a sudden tragedy shatters her world and Esperanza and Mama flee to California,
where they settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers. Esperanza isn’t ready forthe hard
labor, financialstruggles brought on by the Great Depression, and lack of acceptance she
now faces. When Mama getssick, and a strike for better working conditionsthreatensto
uproot their new life, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult
circumstances—because Mama’slife and her own depend on it.
Author Information
Pam Muñoz Ryan, has written over 25 booksfor young people including the novel,
Esperanza Rising, winner of the Pura Belpre Medal, the Jane Addams Peace Award, an
ALA Top TenBest Book for Young Adults, and the Americas Award Honor Book. Her
novel, Riding Freedom has garnered many awardsincluding the national Willa Cather
Award, and theCalifornia Young Reader Medal. Her picture booksforthe very young
and picture booksfor older readers, include the award-winning Amelia and Eleanor Go
for a Ride and When Marian Sang, the recipient ofthe ALA Sibert Honor and NCTE's
Orbis Pictus Award. She received her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees at San Diego State
University. She now livesin north San Diego County with her husband and four children.
Pam Muñoz Ryan was born and raised in California's San Joaquin Valley. She isthe
oldest of three sisters and the oldest oftwenty-three cousins on her mother'sside. She
grew up with many of her aunts and uncles and grandparents nearby and considers herself
truly American because her cultural background is an ethnic smorgasbord. She is
Spanish, Mexican, Basque, Italian, and Oklahoman. During many long, hot valley
summers,she spent most of her time riding her bike to the library. It became her favorite
hang out because her family didn't have a swimming pool and the library was airconditioned!
 That's how she got hooked on reading and books. After college,she knew
thatshe wanted to work in a profession that had something to do with books, and she
thought that would be teaching. She became a teacher, an administrator and then, at the
encouragement of a friend who thoughtshe could write, began her first book. That's
when she finally knew whatshe really wanted to do.
Suggested Answersto Literature Circle Questions
1. How is Esperanza planning to spend her birthday? What doesshe anticipate
happening? What actually happens?Esperanza anticipates a fiesta on her birthday,
 beginning with a serenade from her
father and the men on the ranch, followed by many beautiful gifts(pp. 9-10).
Instead, her father does not return from the field and later his body isfound (p. 22)
and she learns he has been killed by bandits(p. 24).
2. Who is Tío Luis? What does he wantfrom Esperanza’s mother? Does Esperanza like
him? Why?
Tio Luisis one of Papa’sstepbrothers(Tio Marco isthe other) and the local bank
president. After Papa’s death, he wantsto marry Mama so that he not only inherits
the land, but also influence and power so that he can run for governor (pp. 31-33).
Esperanza does not like TioLuis,she thinks he istoo “serious and gloomy,” and
that he andTio Marco “looked like two underfed billy goats,” (p. 19). Her father
had said TioLuisloves “money and power more than people,” and he is considered
a “devious, dangerous man,” (p. 33). He threatensto make life impossible for
Mama ifshe will not marry him, and to sendEsperanza away to boarding school if
she does.
3. Why do Esperanza and Mama have to leave ElRancho de las Rosas? Why do they
have to leave in secret?
Tio Luis burnsthe ranch to the ground (pp. 39-42) and threatensto do the same to
the servants’ homesif Mama will not marry him. She agrees, butinstead makes
plansto escape to America (pp. 46-50). They must departin secret because Tio
Luis’ anger atthe humiliation would be so great that he would do anything to find
them and take revenge.
4. What kind of people does Esperanza meet on the train? How doesshe feel about them
and treat them? What does her mother think of her behavior?
Esperanza meets peasants and beggars on the train, thinking “they do notlook very
trustworthy,” (p. 67) although they are in fact all very kind. She does notfeelshe
belongs with them. When a peasant girl triesto touch her doll,she jerksit away
and putsit back in her valise, causing her mother to apologize for her bad manners
(p. 69) and selfishness.
5. Describe Miguel and Esperanza’sfriendship. What do they have in common? What are
their differences?
Miguel and Esperanza both grew up onEl Rancho de las Rosas, and would play
together often when they were little. Both loved and respected Papa, and Papa
treated Miguel almost like a son. Esperanza had wanted to marry Miguel when she
was a young girl, but asshe became older she felt the differencesin their stations—
she asthe ranch owner’s daughter, and he asthe housekeeper’sson—and that
“between them ran a deep river,” (pp. 17-18). Despite thisthey have greatfondness
for one another, even though they rarely speak.
When they move to California and the work camp, Miguel is more practical about
what needsto be done because he has worked all hislife. Ittakes Esperanza time to
learn this. By the end ofthe book, the river between them has been removed; they
have much in common (and it doesseem likely they may one day marry).6.Listsome of the
challengesthat Esperanza encounters when she comesto the farm
workers’ camp. Why were they so difficult for her?
The cabin they live in reminds Esperanza of a horse’sstable (p. 102);she does not
know how to wash diapers or clothes(pp. 114-115); how to use a broom (pp. 140-
142); or how to cook or feed the babies(pp. 140-142). She thinksthat Hortensia, her
former servant, willstill bathe her (pp. 126-127). She was pampered in her previous
life in Mexico and never had to learn to take care of these thingsfor herself.
Hortensia says on page 126, “We are accustomed to doing things a certain way,
aren’t we?”
7. Who are you more like—Esperanza when she first arrives at the farm camp or Isabel?
Why?
Answers will vary—some students may identify withEsperanza’s difficulties
adjusting to life in the camp, while others mightfind Isabel’s optimism appealing.
Conversely, Esperanza might be seen asspoiled in her initial complaints and
selfishness, and Isabel as naïve - as when she dreams of being picked as Queen ofthe
May, although no Mexican girl is ever chosen.
8. On page 133 Esperanza asks why Marta isso angry and Josephina offers her one
explanation. Do you agree with her answer? Why? What other possible reasons are there
for Marta’s anger?
Josephina explainsthat Marta and her family are angry aboutthe conditionsin
which they are forced to live as migrant workers. There is room here to discuss
what feelings and actions are reasonable and unreasonable when situations are
unfair. Willfighting unjustsituations make a difference, or do some people justlike
to complain?
9. How does working on finishing Abuelita’s blanketsustain Esperanza when her mother
issick? What doesit remind her of? What do you think itsymbolizes?
Working on the blanket reminds Esperanza of Abuelita’slove and good wishes(p.
159), and of her promise to Abuelita to take care of Mama (p. 160). The valleys and
mountainsin the blanket can be seen to symbolize the ups and downsin
Esperanza’sjourney through life. It also serves as a reminder to “not be afraid to
start over,” as Abuelita tells Esperanza when she islearning to crochet(p. 15) and
Isabel at the end ofthe book (p. 253). Esperanza muststart over in America, just as
Abuelita did when she came to Mexico from Spain as a girl.
10. Reread the description on pages 176-178 of Esperanza’s hospital visit to her mother.
Isit a hopeful visit or an upsetting one? Support your idea with detailsfrom the text.
The visitseems hopeful, althoughEsperanza’s mother doesn’t wake up. The
Christmas gifts other visitors are bringing to the hospital are cheerful, and though
Esperanza wishesshe could have brought more than the smallstone she’d found in
the fieldsitisstill an expression oflove. She tells her sleeping mother that Miguel
thinks Papa’s rosesshow signs of growth, and hopesthatthe blanket will bring
color to her cheeks. In partingEsperanza says, “Don’t worry. I will take care of
everything. I will be la patrona ofthe family now.” Esperanza is gaining confidenceand
strength, and hopes her mother will improve, as well.
11. Imagine you were taken out of your life right now and put in a work camp like
Esperanza’s. How would you react? What would be hard for you? What would be easy?
Answers will vary. Life atthe work camp is difficult and unfair, especially
compared toEsperanza’s previous position of wealth. While students may feel
sweeping the platform or taking care of the babies are thingsthey could handle,
there would be many other things abouttheir present life they take for granted
which would be missed. There is room for discussion asto whether they would
immediately take the side of Marta and the strikers, or ifthey would be more
concerned with continuing to work in the fieldsso they could take care oftheir
families’ immediate needs.
12. Imagine you could write a letterto Esperanza. What would you want to say to her?
What would you want to ask her?
Answers will vary. Students may wantto tell Esperanza that everything willturn
out all rightin the end, or thatshe should understand more quickly thatthe work
camp will very differentfrom Rancho de las Rosas, and thatshe shouldn’t expectto
be taken care of in the same way.
13. On page 208 itsays, “Something seemed very wrong aboutsending people away
from their own “free country” because they had spoken their minds.” Do you agree?
Why?
It islikely thatstudents will be especially surprised that even citizens born in the
United States who had never even been to Mexico would be deported. There is
much room for discussion asto what rights citizensshould have, or expect. Some
may also believe thatthere are situations where the government may think
deportation is a good idea, although the book’s point of view would notsupportthis.
14. Explain the title of the book. How doesitrelate to the story? Use detailsfrom the
story to support your point of view.
Esperanza is Spanish for “hope.” There isthe literal meaning of “hope rising”
which Esperanza feels when her life improves asshe learnsto take care of herself
and others, as her mother’s health improves, and when Abuelita joinsthem in
California.
Abuelita hastoldEsperanza the story of the phoenix (pp. 49-50), the mythical bird
which risesfrom the ashes. After Papa’s death and the fire at Rancho de las Rosas,
Esperanza, her family, and their servants also rise from these disasters asthey make
a new life for themselves. So, too, do the roses Miguel and Alfonso rescue from the
burned ground atthe ranch and plant atthe work camp (pp. 122-124).
Esperanza also has a vision of “floating and drifting upward” (p. 92), which atfirst
frightens her because she feels herselflosing control and falling. She has not yet
learned confidence in herself. But atthe end ofthe book on pages 249-250,she has
the vision again, butthistime she is unafraid and “soared with the anticipation of
dreamsshe never knew she could have, oflearning English, ofsupporting her
family, ofsomeday buying a tiny house.” She is no longer afraid ofstarting over.

OLD YELLER SUMMARY

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Old Yeller is about a 14yr old boy named Travis. He has to take care of the ranch while his dad is gone on a cattle drive in Argentina. Little did he know disaster would strike, a killer outbreak of hydrophobia also known as Rabies. This is a disease that Travis has only heard of but little did he know he would come head to head with the infected and have to shoot his dog, Old Yeller!!! Young Travis Coates is left to take care of the family ranch with his mother and younger brother while his father goes off on a cattle drive in the 1860's. When a yellow mongrel comes for an uninvited stay with the family, Travis reluctantly adopts the dog. After a series of scrapes involving raccoons, snakes, bears and all manner of animals, Travis grows to love and respect Old Yeller, who comes to have a profound effect on the boy's life. Travis explains that every thing that  Little Arliss saw would catch and put in his pocket.Because of this, Mama always makes him empty his pockets at night. In his pockets he has had everything from grasshoppers and toads to bugs and even a copperhead snake that scared Mama. After that Mama made Travis teach Little Arliss how to kill snakes. After Old Yeller came, Little Arliss started bringing home even bigger things such as rabbits and birds. Old Yeller would catch the prey and then give it to Little Arliss and he would tell Mama he caught it himself. Little Arliss grabs a fish that Old Yeller caught. The fish cuts Little Arliss with its fin but even though he is in pain he tells Mama that he had caught it him self. The next day Little Arliss was down by the creek, he saw a baby bear and decited to grab it. The mother bear thinks that her cum is in danger and she rushes over to snach it form Little Arliss. Before the bear could Old Yeller run and starts to chase after the mother bear.While he is doing this Travis tell him to let the cub down, and run. After all this Little Arliss thinks that Old Yeller has saved his life.

Travis realizes after Old  Yeller rescues Little Arliss from the bear that not only does he now appreciate the dog, but he also really loves his little brother. Travis feels greatly indebted to Old Yeller and claims he can’t do enough for him. He pets him and takes care of him and feels bad for how he treated Old Yeller earlier. To show his care for both Old Yeller and Little Arliss he takes them squirrel hunting. Little Arliss is noisy and slow like Travis knew he would be, but he tolerates it. They work out a system where Little Arliss scares the squirrels off the ground, Old Yeller trees the squirrels, and Travis shoots them. They come home with five squirrels for supper. Old Yeller begins to help the family in all.



Travis Coates is left to take care of the family ranch with his mother and younger brother Arliss while his father goes off on a cattle drive. When a yellow dog came out of no where and ends up staying with the family. Though Travis initially hates the dog and at first and tries to get rid of it, Old Yeller eventually proves his worth, saving the family on several occasions. Travis grows to love the dog named Old Yeller and they become great friends. After Old Yeller and Travis go on several adventures. Old Yeller becomes exposed to rabies while defending the family from an infected wolf. They try to nurse Yeller back to health, but in the end Travis is forced to shoot the dog. However Old Yeller had puppies with one of Travis’s friend’s dogs, and the puppy helps Travis get over Old Yeller’s death.

Authors Purpose: The authors purpose in this book is to entertain.  This is mainly because there is no real lesson learned in the book.  The story is just meant to entertain with tales of a boy and his dog.  This story would be meant for someone who wants to read an about the adventures that Travis and Yeller have.  Even though the book has a sad ending it is still a very good read for someone who wants to hear a good adventure book.

Authors Theme: The authors theme in this book is Heroism. This is because all through out the book Travis gets into some kind of trouble and Yeller saves him in a number of ways.  For example in one tale Travis is trying to catch a wild boar for food but ends up getting attacked himself.  Yeller however is around when this happens and stops it from happening and ends up killing the boar and saving Travis.

Author Information: Fred Gipson is the author of this book. In the 1940s, he began writing short stories with a western theme which proved to be prototypes for his longer works of fiction that followed. In 1946, his first full-length book, The Fabulous Empire: Colonel Zack Miller’s Story, was published. Hound Dog Man in 1947 established Gipson’s reputation when it became a Double day Book of The Month Club selection and sold over 250,000 copies in its first year of publication and was later made into a film in 1959. His additional works included The Home Place, Big Bend: A Homesteader’s Story, Cowhand: The Story of a Working Cowboy, The Trail-Driving Rooster and Recollection Creek.

FEVER 1793 SUMMARY ANSWERS

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During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her
widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making
plans to turn the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the
fever breaks out. Disease sweeps the streets, destroying everything in its path and turning
Mattie's world upside down. At her feverish mother's insistence, Mattie flees the city with
her grandfather. But she soon discovers that the sickness is everywhere, and Mattie must
learn quickly how to survive in a city turned frantic with disease.
Author Information
As a little girl, Laurie Halse Anderson spent hours writing poems, letters, newspaper
columns, and stories. Her many pets were a constant source of inspiration. She spent her
senior year of high school abroad, living on a pig farm in Denmark. "I helped with all the
farm chores, from working in the fields to capturing runaway ducks," she reports. Upon
her return, Anderson attended Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, New York,
and then earned a bachelor's degree in Languages and Linguistics at Georgetown
University in Washington, DC. She now lives in Ambler, Pennsylvania, with her husband
and two children.
Anderson has written numerous books for children and young adults. A picture book,
Ndito Runs, was a 1996 Pick of the Lists from the American Booksellers Association.
Her most recent title, Speak, was named a 2000 Printz Honor Book by the American
Library Association and was a finalist for the 1999 National Book Award.
Suggested Answers to Literature Circle Questions
1. Much of the first part of the story takes place in the Cook Coffeehouse. Describe the
activities that go on there before, during, and after the guests arrive.
Before the guests arrived, Eliza had to prepare the food they will eat, like her special
gingerbread (p. 11). Mattie tended to the garden (p. 12), and Mrs. Cook made sure
that the kitchen had all the necessary provisions for the day (p. 10). While the guests
were at the Coffeehouse, Matilda served the guests (p. 18), carried dishes to and
from the kitchen (p. 21), while Eliza tried to keep the Coffeehouse tidy (p. 21). After
the guests left, Mattie figured the bills (p. 22), washed up, swept the floors, dusted
the tables, and put items back in their place for the next day of business (p. 22).
2. At the time, no one really knew the true cause of the yellow fever epidemic. What are
some of the possible causes suggested by various townspeople and doctors?Mr. Carris, who owned an export business, believed that the fever was caused by the
heap of rotting coffee beans on Ball’s Wharf. (p. 19). A government clerk believes
that it was brought to Philadelphia by Santo Domingan refugees (p. 20).
Grandfather believes that the summer refugees brought the illness to Philadelphia,
just as the ships from Barbados brought it in 1763 (p. 38).
3. Toward the beginning of the story, Matilda wants to go to the market place in town.
Why does she want to go there?
Matilda wants to go to the market place to see Nathaniel Besson who works as a
painter’s assistant at the Peale house (p. 30).
4. Why does Mrs. Cook want Matilda to join her for tea at the Ogilvies’? Why does
Matilda agree to join her that afternoon?
Mrs. Cook wants Matilda to join her for tea at the Ogilvies’ because Mrs. Cook
believes that Edward Ogilvie is a good marriage match for Matilda (p. 41). Matilda
agrees to go because if she does not attend, she will have to do chores all day long
such as scrubbing the kettles clean (pp. 41-42).
5. Throughout the book, Matilda and her mother never say they love each other, yet we
know they do. What evidence is there in the story that the two feel deeply for each other?
Mrs. Cook expects Matilda to work hard, but also wants her to have a better life
than she does. She expresses this by saying, “You might turn out to be a beauty
after all….You’ve grown so quickly. I want the best for you (p. 46).” Matilda cares
for her mother at the beginning of her sickness. She reflects on her mother’s
strength and resolve and realizes that her mother has tried to teach her many
things, but Matilda has been unwilling to listen (p. 68).
6. In good times, how are the farmers outside the city dependent on the city dwellers of
Philadelphia? How are the city-dwellers dependent on the farmers?
The farmers are dependent on the city dwellers to sell their products and to make
money (p. 27-28). The city dwellers are dependent on the farmers to supply them
with food (p. 27-28). Without the farmers, the city dwellers do not have a source of
food. People who stayed in the city during the fever began to starve when the
farmers stopped coming to the market place (pp. 116, 155-156, 211).
7. Authors sometimes subject their characters to difficult tasks. What are two tasks
Matilda accomplishes?
Matilda is faced with many difficult tasks during the novel. One of the most
difficult is taking care of her Grandfather’s dead body and getting him buried with
dignity and respect (pp. 148-154). Matilda also decides to keep the Cook
Coffeehouse open without the help and guidance of her mother by taking Eliza on as
a partner (pp. 224-231).8. What evidence is there in the story that grandfather enjoyed his earlier years as a
soldier?
Grandfather dresses up in his soldier’s uniform to escort Mattie to the countryside
(p. 77). Grandfather also gives Mattie soldiering lessons, and teachers her the tricks
of the American, British, and French armies (p. 79). Grandfather’s work at the
Bush Hill Hospital gave him a clear purpose that he enjoyed, similar to his work as
a soldier (p. 108).
9. Matilda changes a great deal from the beginning of the novel to the end. Give three
specific examples of those changes.
Matilda changes physically from a soft, young girl (p. 43) to a thin, but strong young
woman who now resembles her mother (p. 215) and even wears her mother’s clothes
(p. 132). Matilda’s idea of herself as a child who needs to be fed (p. 9) and pushed to
work (p. 11) changes. At the end of the book, she is running the Coffeehouse
(p. 228), getting up early (p. 240), and taking care of her family (p. 241).
10. During the story, the people of Philadelphia face many dangers, including the risks of
disease, starvation, robbery, and assault. Describe a dramatic incident in which Matilda
faces one of these dangers and point out the personal qualities that help her survive.
Although the Coffeehouse had already been robbed once (pp. 122-123), more thieves
come to take anything else left (pp. 138-146). While the thieves are there, one of
them attacks Grandfather, and Matilda drives off the assailant by striking him with
Grandfather’s sword (pp. 145-146). Although Matilda was surely terrified at that
moment, she was able to stand her ground and protect the person she loved.
11. Based on what you know about Matilda’s character and experiences throughout the
story, what, to Matilda, would make a perfect day?
Matilda enjoys food, especially sweets (p. 9), fishing (pp. 31-32), and being out and
about in the city (p. 9), so a perfect day for her might be filled with good meals and
walks around Philadelphia.
12. How would Matilda’s life have changed if Mrs. Cook had stayed healthy and
remained with her daughter at all times during her story?
Matilda would have remained protected by her mother, rather than having to
protect herself and other people who came to see her as their caretaker. The
experience Matilda had of being on her own helped her to see that she could manage
her own life, make her own decisions, and make her own way in the world
(pp. 215-216).
13. Do you think it is fair of the town council of Pembroke to prevent fever victims from
escaping the city of Philadelphia and entering their town?
It is understandable that people were very scared of the fever victims, especially
since no one understood how the disease was spread, but the town council of
Pembroke as well as many other families in Philadelphia allowed their fear to
control their actions. Instead of extending a helpful hand to people in dire need ofaid, many people pushed the needy away. Students could be divided into two
groups: fever victims and the town council of Pembroke. Each side could argue for
the actions they believe should be taken.
14. What is your opinion of Matilda’s decision to make Eliza a partner in the Cook
Coffeehouse?
Matilda trusts Eliza, views her as a best friend, and respects her work ethic and
ability to run the Coffeehouse (pp. 224-226). Thus, it is a very prudent decision for
Matilda to make Eliza a partner in the Coffeehouse, but the decision is not that
simple because Eliza is a black woman. For example, her brother Joseph comments
that people do not accept Eliza as a partner in the business because, “They don’t
like to see black people move up (p. 226).”  Students can discuss how Eliza’s life
might change now that she is a partner, and could do more research about what life
was like for free black people in Philadelphia in 1793.
Note: The following questions are keyed to Bloom’s Taxonomy as follows: Knowledge:
1-4; Comprehension: 5-6: Application: 7-8; Analysis: 9-10; Synthesis: 11-12;
Evaluation: 13-14.
Activities
1. Fever 1793 contains many words or expressions that were commonly used in those
days but are rarely used today. Create a dictionary for unusual words or phrases found in
the book. For each word, include a definition. Suggested entries: stays (p. 3); the
necessary (p. 24); ninny (p. 33); flagstones (p. 35); mucky (p. 69); headed for a lark
(p. 76).
Provide students with dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other primary sources.
Discuss how we use context clues to determine the definition of a word and how and
why language changes. Students might also create a dictionary for unusual words
and phrases used today to compare how the American language has changed and
what might have influenced those changes.
2. Excerpts from diaries of people living in Philadelphia during the yellow fever epidemic
appear on each chapter’s opening page. Create a fictional diary entry, written by a
Philadelphian in the summer of 1794.
Students can use the dictionaries of words and phrases from the period to add some
authenticity to their journals. Again, provide the students with primary sources to
help them get their bearings. Encourage them to think about how Philadelphia
might have changed since the epidemic: was medicine, trade, or business different?
They could also investigate how Philadelphia might have changed while it was the
temporary capital of the United States. Before students begin their diary entry, they
should have a clear idea of who their character is, i.e. his or her social class, gender,
occupation, race, etc.

MRS DALLOWAY SUMMARY

In Mrs Dalloway as in To the Lighthouse, Woolf writes her joys and, above all, her pains. In fact, Virginia Woolf hadalways been confronted to the vicissitudes of life; a happy family life, a series of cherished
people‟s deaths, sexual abuses of brothers,  the passion  of a beloved husband, ravages of  a
war, a brilliant intellectual life, and the concerns of a woman as a woman and as an individual
in the society, all punctuated with serious mental breakdowns and numerous suicide attempts.
The consequences of Woolf‟s sinuous biography are reflected and described in these two
novels by means of plots, a set of characters, symbols and themes. Writing, ultimately, comes
as therapy for self-expression, claim and communication.

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The first chapter aims at giving the reader an overview on the context of Mrs
Dalloway and To the Lighthouse. First, feminine and feminism will be defined to make
a clear distinction between them. Then, the most important events in Woolf’s life will
be given in a brief biography of the author. Finally, the chapter will end with a
historical background of the novels’ period.
The second chapter will be dedicated to Mrs Dalloway. A summary of major
events is necessary to understand  the main character, Mrs Dalloway. Then, particular
attention will be given to Mrs Dalloway, the party given in her house, and her
relationship with Septimus Warren Smith, a mentally disturb veteran of the First
World War and whom she never met directly. Mrs Dalloway represents women’s role
in politics as perfect hostesses. Most importantly, she symbolizes women’s mental
(anxiety), physical (sexuality) and special (liberty) state in the society.
The third chapter will consist in a study of To the Lighthouse. In this respect,
the same method will be followed as in the second chapter for Mrs Dalloway; starting
with a plot summary and then moving to a study of Mrs Ramsay (the main character)
and the themes related to her and to Virginia Woolf. As Mrs. Dalloway, Mrs. Ramsay is a wonderful hostess who takes pride in making memorable experiences for the
guests at the family’s summer home. The novel shows the evaluation of the Ramsays
from the pre War to the post war period.


Generally feminism  which is anti-masculine in essence  identifies inequalities
and injustices in the way girls and women are treated in a particular society and the
disabilities and disadvantages which result from these. However, feminist writers
sometimes exaggerate when holding utopian views and idealizing women. Instead of
concentrating on how women should live in a quite unlikely world, they better focus
on the way women  live in reality. In the feminine novel,  however,  writers  give
detailed depictions of women’s lives, ideas, emotions and preoccupations including a
lot of feelings. Virginia  Woolf, who is more feminine than feminist,  treats both
feminine and feminist problems in her two novels,  Mrs Dalloway  and  To the
Lighthouse.
In Mrs Dalloway, Virginia Woolf tackles the importance of the competence of a
woman in organizing parties for political purposes. The task of women in politics is
limited to preparing the necessary food and the right décor. In addition, she has to be
presentable in order to please the guests and the masculine assembly. Mrs. Dalloway
buys flowers, dresses for the party, and is anxious about her guests’ opinions of her
sense of organization. In To the Lighthouse, Mrs. Ramsay devotes all her attention to
her male guests because she thinks that they are important in the running of the
world. Woolf’s anti-masculine attitude is shown in her constant bad representation of
the man. In Mrs. Dalloway, Septimus Warren  Smith is attributed madness and Mr. Dalloway
shows distance and  ‘frigidity’ and indifference towards his wife. In To the
Lighthouse, men such as Mr. Ramsay,  Charles Tansley and Augustus Carmichael are
short, ignorant and graceless; qualities that do not seem to bother them so much as
they find compensation in the standard masculine superiority.
What is striking in Mrs Dalloway and To the Lighthouse is Woolf’s sensitivity
and sensibility when writing about her life experience and her problems as a woman
like sexuality as well as social and domestic duties. In fact, Virginia Woolf witnessed a
dramatic change, almost turmoil, in her private and social life. In  Mrs. Dalloway,
Woolf refers to her experience by evoking war and political parties with which she
became familiar when she married Leonard Woolf,   and to the madness of Septimus
that evokes her own mental breakdowns. In To the Lighthouse, she evokes her own
childhood and gives a portrait of a happy family saddened and ultimately torn apart
by a series of deaths, especially the mother’s death that changed their lives, exactly
the way her mother’s death had changed her own life  in 1895 when she was still
Virginia Stephens. The idea of death is constantly present and is persistently echoed
in both novels.
Woolf establishes a parallel between two opposed characters, one sane and
the other insane, one female and the other male, Mrs. Dalloway and Septimus; a
parallel to demonstrate that men and women are not actually different. They are
preoccupied and surrounded by the same matters; but their reactions are not similar
because of social pressure and an innate perception that often a man and a woman react differently.
She  holds, in  A Room of One’s Own, that women  need paper to
write and space to evolve far from man’s obsessive desire to overprotect her. Men
and women do not have the same freedom to express themselves. The parties
organized by Mrs. Dalloway and Mrs. Ramsay, ironically refer to women’s difficulties
to communicate by means of speech. Writing for women, thus, comes as a confession
and communication. The fact of attributing  adjectives like feminine and feminist to
the literature written by women is in itself a recognition of the existence of  women’s
writing as a form of  communication and expression. As such women’s literature
deserves the given denominations, but by no means do they imply that it is inferior to
men’s writings. It is simply literature written by women dealing with the same topics
that are viewed from a different perspective by someone from the opposite sex since
men and women do not have the same experiences. The feminist critic, George Henry
Lewes, in his The Lady Novelist claims that the emergence of women’s literature had
much to do with a description of their lives and experiences and that men and
women live differently and, thus, have different experiences.
Mrs Dalloway (1925) was written before  To the Lighthouse (1927) but if a
comparison is to be made between Woolf’s life and the two novels,  it will be clear
that the events in the latter precede the events in the former since To the Lighthouse
goes back to the author’s childhood. In both novels, Virginia Woolf treats the notion
of time in a quite original way. In Mrs Dalloway, time is regulated by the sound of
clocks far from the physical setting of the novel and in To the Lighthouse, time varies in length.
What can be derived from these two novels is that time does not cure old
hurts and Woolf, even in her forties, was still affected by her childhood and by the
deaths of her parents. Her life and memories are reflected through a writing prism as
a parallel between actual experiences and fiction, “two blocks related by a corridor”,
as she says in her manuscripts of To the Lighthouse. In short, Mrs Dalloway, To the
Lighthouse  and Woolf’s life are two blocks related by the corridor of writing as a
means of therapy of self-experience.

BEOWULF SUMMARY

Short Summary About Beowulf Character List Summary and Analysis of Lines 1-193 Summary and

--> Analysis of Lines 194-709 Summary and Analysis of Lines 710-915 Summary and Analysis of Lines 916-1250 Summary and Analysis of Lines 1251-1649 Summary and Analysis of Lines 1650-1887 Summary and Analysis of Lines 1888-2199 Summary and Analysis of Lines 2200-2537 Summary and Analysis of Lines 2538-2819 Summary and Analysis of Lines 2820-3182 Related Links on Beowulf Author of ClassicNote and Sources  Buy PDF Short SummaryThe poem begins with a brief genealogy of the Danes. Scyld Shefing was the first great king of the Danes, known for his ability to conquer enemies. Scyld becomes the great-grandfather of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes during the events of Beowulf. Hrothgar, like his ancestors before him, is a good king, and he wishes to celebrate his reign by building a grand hall called Heorot. Once the hall is finished, Hrothgar holds a large feast. The revelry attracts the attentions of the monster Grendel, who decides to attack during the night. In the morning, Hrothgar and his thanes discover the bloodshed and mourn the lost warriors. This begins Grendel's assault upon the Danes. Twelve years pass. Eventually the news of Grendel's aggression on the Danes reaches the Geats, another tribe. A Geat thane, Beowulf, decides to help the Danes; he sails to the land of the Danes with his best warriors. Upon their arrival, Hrothgar's thane Wulfgar judges the Geats worthy enough to speak with Hrothgar. Hrothgar remembers when he
helped Beowulf's father Ecgtheow settle a feud; thus, he welcomes Beowulf's help gladly. Heorot is filled once again for a large feast in honor of Beowulf. During the feast, a thane named Unferth tries to get into
a boasting match with Beowulf by accusing him of losing a swimming contest. Beowulf tells the story of his heroic victory in the contest, and the company celebrates his courage. During the height of the celebration, the Danish queen Wealhtheow comes forth, bearing the mead-cup. She presents it first to Hrothgar, then to the rest of the hall, and finally to Beowulf. As he receives the cup, Beowulf tells Wealhtheow that he will kill Grendel or be killed in Heorot. This simple declaration moves Wealhtheow and the Danes, and the revelry continues. Finally, everyone retires. Before he leaves, Hrothgar promises to give Beowulf everything if he can defeat Grendel. Beowulf says that he will leave God to judge the outcome. He and his thanes sleep in the hall as they wait for Grendel. Eventually Grendel arrives at Heorot as usual, hungry for flesh. Beowulf watches carefully as Grendel eats one of his men. When Grendel reaches for Beowulf, Beowulf grabs Grendel's arm and doesn't let go. Grendel writhes about in pain as Beowulf grips him. He thrashes about, causing the hall to nearly collapse. Soon Grendel tears away, leaving his arm in Beowulf's grasp. He slinks back to his lair in the moors and dies. The Danes, meanwhile, consider Beowulf as the greatest hero in Danish history. Hrothgar's minstrel sings songs of Beowulf and other great characters of the past, including Sigemund (who slew a dragon) and Heremod (who ruled his kingdom unwisely and was punished). In Heorot, Grendel's arm is nailed to the wall as a trophy. Hrothgar says that Beowulf will never lack for riches, and Beowulf graciously thanks him. The horses and men of the Geats are all richly adorned, in keeping with Hrothgar's wishes.
Another party is held to celebrate Beowulf's victory. Hrothgar's minstrel tells another story at the feast, the story of the Frisian slaughter. An ancient Danish king had a daughter named Hildeburh; he married her to a king of the Frisians. While Hnaef, Hildeburh's brother, visited his sister, the Frisians attacked the Danes, killing Hnaef and Hildeburh's son in the process. Hengest, the next leader of the Danes, desired vengeance, and in the spring, the Danes attacked the Frisians, killing their leader and taking Hildeburh back to Denmark.
After this story is told, Wealhtheow presents a necklace to Hrothgar while pleading with her brother-in-law Hrothulf to help her two young sons if they should ever need it. Next she presents many golden treasures to Beowulf, such as necklaces, cups, and rings. Soon the feast ends, and everyone sleeps peacefully.
In the night, Grendel's mother approaches the hall, wanting vengeance for her son. The warriors prepared for battle, leaving enough time for Grendel's mother to grab one of Hrothgar's counselors and run away. When Beowulf is summoned to the hall, he finds Hrothgar in mourning for his friend Aeschere. Hrothgar tells Beowulf where the creatures like Grendel live‹in a shadowy, fearful land within the moors. Beowulf persuades Hrothgar to ride with him to the moors. When they reach the edge of the moors, Beowulf calls for
his armor, takes a sword from Unferth, and dives into the lake. After a long time, Beowulf reaches the bottom of the lake, where Grendel's mother is waiting to attack. Beowulf swings his sword, but discovers that it cannot cut her, so he tosses it away. They then wrestle until Beowulf spies a large sword nearby. He grabs it by the hilt and swings‹ killing Grendel's mother by slicing off her head. Still in a rage, Beowulf finds the dead Grendel in the lair and cuts off his head as a trophy. As they wait, the Danes have given up all hope for Beowulf because he has been underwater for such a long time. They are shocked when Beowulf returns with Grendel's head and the hilt of the sword (which melted with the heat of Grendel's blood). They bear the hero and his booty back to Heorot, where another celebration takes place. Beowulf recounts his battle; Hrothgar praises him and gives him advice on being a king. A grand feast follows, and Beowulf is given more priceless treasures. The next morning, the Geats look forward to leaving Denmark. Before they leave,
Beowulf promises aid for Hrothgar from the Danes. Hrothgar praises Beowulf and promises that their lands will have an alliance forever. As the Geats leave, Hrothgar finds himself wishing Beowulf would never leave.
The Geats return with much rejoicing to their homeland, where their king Hygelac and his queen Hygd greet them. In an aside, the narrator compares Hygd to the queen of the ancient Offa, who is not tamed until Offa comes to subjugate her. Beowulf tells his lord the events of his trip to Denmark. In the process, he tells another story that had previously been unmentioned. Hrothgar betrothed his daughter Freawaru to a prince of the Heathobards in order to settle an old feud. Beowulf speculates that someone will goad this eathobard prince to take vengeance upon the Danes for all their past wrongs. Hygelac praises Beowulf for his bravery and gives him half the kingdom. They rule the kingdom together in peace and prosperity. Hygelac is killed in a battle soon after, so Beowulf becomes king of the Geats and rules the kingdom well. In the fiftieth year of Beowulf's reign, a monster arises to terrorize the Geats. A treasure trove was left by an ancient civilization, which guarded it jealously until only one member of the race was left. After the last person's death, a firebreathing dragon found the treasure and guarded it for three hundred years. One day, a slave stumbled upon the treasure and stole a cup as an offering to his lord. The dragon awakened to find something missing from his treasure, and began his rampage upon the Geats. One day, Beowulf learns that this dragon has destroyed his own great hall. This attack sends him into deep thought. Soon he orders a shield to use for battle, but not without a heavy heart at what may happen to him. He recalls Hygelac's death in battle and his own narrow escape from this battle. He recalls a number of battles he has seen as he travels to the dragon's lair with eleven of his thanes. The servant who stole the cup leads them to the lair. As they wait to attack the dragon, Beowulf recounts the Geat royal family's plight, in which Hygelac's oldest brothers killed each other and left their father to die of a broken heart. Beowulf says he served Hygelac well, and a sword (named
Naegling) that he won while serving Hygelac will help him save the kingdom once again. Beowulf leads the charge to the dragon's cave. The shield protects him from the dragon's flames, but his men flee in fear, leaving only one man behind. This man is Wiglaf, Beowulf's kinsman through Ecgtheow. Wiglaf becomes angry, but swears that he will stay by Beowulf's side. Just then the dragon rushes up to them. Beowulf and the dragon swing at each other three times, finally landing mortal blows upon each other the last time. The dragon is beheaded, but Beowulf is bitten and has a mortal poison from the dragon flowing through his body as a result. Wiglaf bathes his lord's body as Beowulf speaks on the treasure. He says that Wiglaf should inherit it as his kinsman; then he dies. After his death, the cowards return, to be severely chastised by Wiglaf. He sends a messenger to tell the people of their king's death. The messenger envisions the joy of the Geats' enemies upon hearing of the death of Beowulf. He also says that no man shall ever have the treasure for which Beowulf fought. Wiglaf and Beowulf's thanes toss the dragon's body into the sea. They place the treasure inside a mound with Beowulf's body and mourn for "the ablest of all world-kings."About Beowulf
Beowulf is the first surviving epic written in the English language. The single existing copy of the manuscript dates from the late tenth century, although some scholars believe it dates from the first part of the eleventh century. It is found in a large volume that features stories involving mythical creatures and people. Two different scribes copied the poem, most likely using an existing copy. Between 1066 and the Reformation, the whole volume remained in a monastic library until Sir Robert Cotton gained possession of it for his own extensive library. A fire consumed much of his library, and the volume containing Beowulf became badly charred. Today the manuscript still exists, though it is falling apart rapidly due to the charring in the fire.
We do not have any definite knowledge about the poet--indeed, we do not even know the date of the poem's composition. Through the study of Old English verse, most scholars believe that the poem was composed much earlier than the Cotton manuscript, between 650 and 800. Some words in Beowulf do not adhere to the scansion of Old English verse; however, using the older forms of the words, dating from the period given, causes the lines to scan correctly. Yet accurately dating the poem is a difficult enterprise since the poem has such a derivative quality. It is evident that the Beowulf poet wished to place his work within an even more ancient tradition. Beowulf directly uses many ancient stories that have been preserved in later texts, such as the legend of Sigemund and the account of the war at Finnesburh. In addition, the poem is written with the traditional epic diction, with whole phrases taken from the other bards who sang the legends incorporated. Despite his borrowing from other sources, perhaps in large quantities, the Beowulf poet nonetheless manages to add his own specialized view of his characters' world. First and foremost, Beowulf's author is a Christian, and he makes the Christian world extremely visible. He alludes to Cain and the Flood; he shows the Christian God's influence upon the pagan world of the Danes. Yet he is obviously aware of his culture's pagan past and attempts to describe it in great detail through rituals, such as the elaborate Germanic sea-burials and the grand feasts in the mead-halls, and the ever-present belief in fate. Thus Beowulf's poet tries to recreate the past of his people for his people, almost with a nostalgic feeling for the bygone pagan days.

TUCK EVERLASTING SUMMARY ANSWERS

ANSWER KEY SHORT ANSWER STUDY QUESTIONS - Tuck Everlasting

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Prologue- Chapter 4
1.  Which month is at the top of the live-long year?
The first week of August hangs at the very top of the live-long year.
2.  Describe the touch-me-not cottage.
It was a square and solid cottage with a touch-me-not appearance surrounded by grass cut
painfully to the quick and enclosed by a capable iron fence some four feet high which clearly
said "Move on-we don't want you here."  It was so proud of itself that you wanted to make a
lot of noise as you passed, maybe even throw a rock or two.
3.  Why did the wood 'make you want to speak in whisper'?
It had a sleeping appearance, otherworld appearance that made you want to speak in whispers.
This, at least is what the cows must have thought: "Let it keep its peace we won't disturb it."
4.  What lies at the center of the wood?
A giant ash tree lies at the center of the wood with a bubbling spring among its roots with a pile
of pebbles piled there to conceal it.
5.  Where does Mae Tuck tell her husband she is going that morning at dawn?
She is going to take the horse and ride down to the wood to meet her sons.
6.  What item did Mae take along with her?
She took the one pretty thing she owned: her music box, painted with roses and lilies of the
valley.
7.  For how many years had all the Tucks remained exactly the same?
For eighty-seven years they had all remained exactly the same.
8.  What does Winnie Foster tell a toad at noon the same day?
She wants to be by herself for a change.  She wants to do something that would make some
kind of difference in the world.  She wants to run away from home.
9.  Why does she want to do this?
She is closely watched constantly by her parents and grandfather with very little freedom.
10.  Describe the stranger who appears at the Foster's gate at sunset of the same day.
He was remarkably tall and narrow with a long chin that faded off into a thin, apologetic beard.
His suit was a jaunty yellow that seemed to glow a little in the fading light.  A black hat dangled
from one hand.15
Tuck Everlasting Study Guide Question Answers page 2
11.  Why has he come?
He's looking for a family
12.  Why did Winnie's grandmother become so excited when she heard music coming from the wood?
She thinks it is the elf music she had heard long ago.  She had told Winnie stories about it.
Chapters 5-8
1.  Why did Winnie awaken disheartened the next morning?
She was annoyed at herself for being afraid to run away after all.
2.  Where does Winnie decide to go?
She decides to go into the wood to see if she can discover what or who had made the music
the night before.
3.  What does Winnie see there?
She sees a thin, sunburned wonderful boy drinking from a little spring near a huge tree.
4.  What does Winnie want to do that the boy refuses to allow her to do?
She wants to take a drink from the little spring from which she saw him drinking.
5.  How was Winnie's kidnapping different from her imagined one?
Her kidnappers appeared as alarmed as she was.
6.  What calmed Winnie's sobbing?
She ceased sobbing after Mae started her music box.
7.  When did the Tucks realize there was something peculiar about themselves and their horse?
They realized something wasn't right when potentially harmful events didn't affect them.
8.  Why did Miles' wife leave him and take the children?
She thought he had sold his soul to the devil because he wasn't aging.
9.  What conclusion did the Tucks draw concerning their changelessness?
They decided that the source of their changelessness was the spring they had drunk from in the
wood. The cat had not drunk from it and had died ten years earlier.
10.  How do Jesse and Miles' opinions differ about their predicament?
Jesse thinks you might as well enjoy it as along as you can't change it, while Miles is more
serious about it.16
Tuck Everlasting Study Guide Question Answers page 3
11.  Who secretly overheard the entire Tuck story?
The man in the yellow suit had crept up in the bushes and heard the entire fascinating story.
Chapters 9-13
1.  Describe the Tuck homeplace.
Their barn-red homely little house sits in a deep hollow below which is a tiny lake.
2.  How does Angus Tuck react to his family bringing Winnie home with them?
He thinks it is the finest thing to happen to them in eighty years.
3.  How is the Tuck home different from what Winnie is used to?
She has been trained to keep absolute order and their home was pleasantly cluttered and is in a
state of disarray.
4.  How do Angus and Mae make a living?
They make things to sell like wooden toys and utensils.
5.  Where do the boys go when they leave home and what do they do?
They go to different places, find odd jobs, and try to bring home some of their money.
6.  When is Mae certain her boys will show up at home?
They come home every ten years during the first week in August.
7.  How does Winnie feel during dinner at the Tucks?
Her spirits drop and she becomes homesick.
8.  Why does Angus take Winnie out in the rowboat on the pond?
He wants to explain to her the cycle of life as compared to the cycle of the water's life.  He
wants her to understand how horrible it really is to be outside of the cycle and STUCK like the
Tucks.  He stresses how dangerous it would be for others to discover the spring.
9.  What news does Miles bring at the end of chapter 12?
Someone has stolen the Tuck's horse.
Chapters 14-18
1.  What suggestion does Jesse make to Winnie?
He asks her to wait six years, when she will be his age, and then drink from the spring.  They
can then marry, see the world, and have a grand time. 17
Tuck Everlasting Study Guide Question Answers page 4
2.  How is Winnie feeling before she falls asleep that night?
She is very confused, but feeling kindly towards the Tucks.  She is worried about what her
father will do when he finds them.
3.  What is the man in the yellow suit asking as a trade from the Fosters for the return of their
    daughter?
He wants to own the wood; signed over to him legally.
4.  How do the constable and the stranger get along on the ride to the Tucks?
The constable is a friendly, talkative man and the stranger is annoyed and rides ahead.
5.  Where does Miles take Winnie the next morning?
He takes her fishing.
6.  What does Miles share with Winnie about his future goals?
He tells her that someday he'll find a way to do something important.
7.  Retell the quote that Miles tells Winnie after throwing the fish back into the pond.
"People got to be meat-eaters sometimes, though.  It's the natural way.  And that means killing
things."
8.  How have Winnie's feelings changed about the Tucks?
She loves this peculiar family and feels that they belong to her.
9.  Who comes knocking at the door at the end of chapter 18?
The man in the yellow suit is at the door of the Tucks.
Chapters 19-22
1.  How did the stranger come to know of the "ageless" family?
His grandmother had told him wild, unbelievable stories of an "odd" family.   A dear friend of
hers had married into this family  and she and her two children had come to live with his
grandmother for awhile. The tune from Mae's music box had been a clue, when the stranger
had heard it at the Foster's gate he knew he was close to finding them.
2.  Explain the stranger's plan for the wood.
He plans to sell the water.
3.  What does Mae do that surprises everyone?
She hits the stranger in the back of his skull with the stock of Angus' shotgun.18
Tuck Everlasting Study Guide Question Answers page 5
4.  How does Winnie protect the Tucks when the constable accuses them of kidnapping?
She tells him that they didn't kidnap her, she went with them because she wanted to.
5.  Why does Winnie think Mae Tuck can't be hanged?
She would not be able to hanged because they can't die.
6.  How do the Fosters react upon Winnie's return?
They seize her with weeping, hugging, fretting, and fussing.
7.  What news does the constable bring the Fosters?
He tells them that the fellar-the one they sold their land to-is dead.
8.  Before falling asleep that night what does Winnie vow she must do?
She knows she has to do something to help Mae.
9.  For what reason does Winnie ask her grandmother for some water the next day?
She wants to give some water to the toad  because it so dry outside.
10.  Who appears at the Foster's gate and what is his plan?
Jesse appears and tells Winnie that Miles plans to take the window, bars and all, out of the
jailhouse so Mae can climb out late that night.
11.  How does Winnie offer to help the Tucks?
She tells Jesse she will take Mae's place in the jailhouse after they get Mae out of the window,
so they can get further away before the constable realizes his prisoner is gone.
Chapters 23- Epilogue
1.  How is Winnie feeling in the three hours before she is to meet Jesse?
She is feeling restless, excited, and guilty about leaving home again without permission.
2.  How is Miles able to help his mother?
He pried out all the nails from the window and yanked the window out of the jailhouse wall so
she could climb out of it and escape.
3.  Just as Mae gets out of the window, what happens?
It begins to rain.
4.  What does Winnie do after Mae gets out?
Winnie climbs in the window and covers herself with the blanket to make herself look like Mae.19
Tuck Everlasting Study Guide Question Answers page 6
5.  What caused the loud crash during the night at the jailhouse?
The gallows had blown over in the wind of the storm.
6.  How did the constable react when he found out about the switch?
He became very angry and called her a criminal and an accomplice.  He released her into the
custody of her parents because of her age,
7.  How did Winnie's status change with her peers because of the incident?
They were impressed by what she had done.  She was a figure of romance to them now. They
came by to look at her and to talk to her through the fence. Before she had been too clean to
be a real friend.
8.  Explain what Winnie does to the toad and why.
She poured the precious water from the spring that Jesse had given to her over the toad so he
would not have to be harmed by the dog.  She wanted to protect him.
9.  When the Tucks returned, how had Treegap changed?
There were many other streets crossing over the main street and they were blacktopped. The
wood and Winnie's cottage were gone.  There were many shops and businesses, as well as a
hotel and diner.
10.  What do the Tucks learn happened to the wood, tree, and spring?
They discover there was a big electrical storm.  The big tree got hit by lightning, caught fire and
had to be bulldozed out.  All sign of the spring was gone.
11.  Why does Mae state they have no need to come back to Treegap?
They find Winnie's tombstone in the family plot at the local cemetery.
12.  How many years had passed since that first week in August with Winnie when the Tucks
       returned?
They say that Winnie had been dead for two years.  Her inscription lists 1948 as the year of her
death, which makes it 1950.  Her year of birth was listed as 1870.  She was 10 years old when
they had been with her; so that would be 1880.   The number of years from 1880 to 1950 is
seventy years.
13.  What do Mae and Angus see in the road before leaving Treegap?
They see the everlasting toad Winnie poured the spring water over.

Chapter Summary Questions for Omnivore’s Dilemma

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Study & Discussion Questions for Omnivore’s Dilemma
Introduction:
 What is meant by “national eating disorder”?  Do you find the idea credible?  Why?/why not?
 Pollan contrasts American eating habits with those of other cultures, particularly the French.
Why?  Do you think this is a valid comparison?  Why?/Why not?
 Explain the concept of the omnivore’s dilemma.
 Summarize the ideas behind Pollan’s four meals.
 How do you think our industrial food chain could put our health at risk?
Chapter 1:
 How are US‐Americans “corn people”?
 What sort of problems might arise from having so much of our food/ingredients produced from
one crop?
 How has corn domesticated us?
Chapter 2:
 How has government policy shaped corn production and, thus, in part, what we eat?
 Explain the technological advances that led to these changes in farming.
 What do you see as being the upsides and downsides of these changes in agriculture?
Chapter 3:
 Explain the differences between corn as food and corn as a commodity.  Who had driven this
shift to commodity and how?
 What effects might this commodification of corn have on our health?
Chapter 4:
 Compare the natural versus the industrial diets for our beef.
 What effects on human health might be caused by this dietary shift and the accompanying use
of medications on beef cattle?
Chapter 5:
 Explain the concept of an “industrial eater.”
 Think about your own eating habits.  Are the food processing companies successful in their
tactics for overcoming your ability to eat a fixed maximum of food each year?  How?/How not?
Chapter 6:
 What health problems are associated with high fructose corn syrup?    How have this and other highly processes ingredients come to be such a central part of the
American diet?
Chapter 7:
 What are the plusses and minuses of such a corn‐intensive diet?  Taken into consideration our
health, the environment, the economy, and even energy independence.  Who wins?  Who
loses?  How?
 Toward the end of this chapter (pg. 117), Pollan asks, “Why should it matter that we have
become a race of corn eaters such as the world has never seen?  Is this necessarily a bad thing?”
How would Pollan likely answer these questions?  You?
Chapter 8:
 Explain the concept of “grass farming” – how is this a different understanding of agriculture?
 Explain the concept of “industrial organic”?
Chapter 9:
 Explain and give examples of “grocery lit.”  Does such “literature” affect the way you think about
food and your buying decisions?  Why/why not?
 Compare and contrast the industrial food chain from the first section of the book with the
industrial organic described in this chapter.  How different are they?
 What are the health and environmental (since environment is also connected to health) impacts
of industrial organic?  Is it worth the extra cost and effort to eat organic?  Why?/Why not?
Chapter 10:
 Revisit your earlier (Ch. 8) definition of grass farming.  With this more in‐depth discussion, how
would you now define it?
 Summarize the steps and things that must be taken into consideration for successful grass
farming.
Chapter 11:
 As we saw on George Naylor’s corn farm in Iowa, most American farms no longer grow a wide
variety of crops, but Joel Salatin’s approach to animal farming shows a deeply interconnected
system.  Explain the different aspects of the system and how each part contributes to the larger
whole.
 What sort of health benefits might this different approach to animal husbandry (including the
grass farming from Ch. 10) have on our health?
Chapter 12: What does Pollan tell us here about our food safety regulations?  Do you think the regulations &
regulatory system make sense?  Why/Why not?
 How safe do you think our food supply is?  Why?
 What changes do you think might be beneficial in the food safety regulatory system?
Chapter 13:
 What does Pollan suggest about the cost of industrial food versus Salatin’s food?
 What do our food choices say about our priorities as a society?
 Does the idea that you may over the long term spend less on healthcare if you were to spend
more on naturally produced foods seem credible to you?  Why?/Why not?
Chapter 14:
 How does Pollan think his meal produced by Joel Salatin’s farm might be nutritionally different
from a similar meal grown on a regular, industrial farm?  Do you agree?  Why?/Why not?
Chapter 15:
 Do you agree with Pollan that the hunter‐gatherer food chain is no longer sufficient for us?
 What would be the costs or benefits to trying to restore more of that food chain?  Could that
effort be viable?  Why/Why not?
Chapter 16:
 What are the good and bad points to the omnivore’s dilemma in Pollan’s view?
 What are the influences of culture on what we eat?  How might this affect our heath?
 Pollan focuses quite narrowly on the United States in terms of the difficulties of food choices
and the issues with our food production methods.  Do you think the American diet is that
different from that of other countries?  Why?/Why not?
 According to www.aboutmcdonalds.com, McDonald’s is found in 118 countries – what does that
say about our globalized food chain versus narrow American eating habits?
Chapter 17:
 Summarize the various ethical questions discussed with regard to eating meat.
 What are your own views on the ethical question of animal suffering and your (potential) meat
consumption?
Chapter 18:
 What different emotions does Pollan experience while hunting?
 If you have hunted, have you experienced similar feelings?  Explain.
 Do you think hunting your own food would give (or gives) you a different perspective as you
eat?  Why?/Why not?Chapter 19:
 What does mushroom foraging suggest about the omnivore’s dilemma?
Chapter 20:
 Pollan indicates that the meal he has produced is at the far opposite end of the human food
chain from his first meal at McDonald’s and that “the pleasures of one are based on nearly
perfect knowledge; the pleasures of the other on an equally perfect ignorance.” (pg. 410).  Do
you agree with Pollan?  Why?/Why not?
 Why does Pollan say that both his first and last meals are “equally unsustainable” (pg. 411)?  Do
you agree?  Why?/Why not?  Do you think the industrial organic or locally grown are
significantly more sustainable?  Why?/Why not?
 Has reading this book changed the way you think about food or what you choose to eat?
Why/How?/Why not?
 What connections do you see between what you eat and your health?  How has the book
affected your thinking in that regard?

Catcher in the Rye Chapter Summary

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The Catcher in the Rye tells the story of Holden Caulfield, a teenage slacker who has perfected the art of
underachievement. The novel begins with Holden flunking out of school for the fourth time. During the last
days before his expulsion, he searches for an appropriate way to conclude his school experience, but he endsup getting so annoyed with his school and schoolmates that he leaves in the middle of the night on the nexttrain home to New York City. Arriving home a few days earlier than his parents expect him, he hangs out in the city to delay the inevitable confrontation with his parents When his money runs out, he considers
hitchhiking out west, but he ultimately returns home, mainly to be with his younger sister Phoebe.
The first few chapters describe Holden's last days at Pencey Prep School in Agerstown, Pennsylvania.
Advertisements portray Pencey as an elite school that grooms boys into sophisticated men, but Holden sees itas a nightmare of adolescence run amok. Fed up with everything about Pencey, Holden skips the football
game against Pencey's rival to say good-bye to his history teacher, Mr. Spencer. He vaguely hopes that
Spencer might give him some comfort and useful advice, but Spencer is a sick old man who simply lectures
him with a thousand platitudes about not applying himself. Like Spencer, the other teachers and
administrators rarely spend any time mentoring boys because they are too busy spouting off platitudes or
kissing up to the wealthy parents visiting the school.
Moreover, Pencey's students do not fit the prep school ideal any more than its teachers do. Holden's classmateRobert Ackley, for example, is the quintessential adolescent nerd. His acne and unbrushed teeth make himphysically repulsive, while his annoying social habits—such as barging into the room uninvited, askingannoying questions, and refusing to leave when asked—make him a general nuisance. Other students, likeHolden's roommate Ward Stradlater, initially appear sophisticated, but even they are really phonies. Stradlaterseems good-looking, but he is secretly a slob who never cleans his rusty old razor. He also appears to be asuccessful student, but he is really an ungrateful egotist who gets other people to do his assignments.Nevertheless, Holden still feels a certain affection even for these annoying phonies. He is annoyed by Ackleybut still invites him to the movies, and he sees through Stradlater's phoniness but also notices his occasionalgenerosity.
The tension between Holden and his classmates eventually climaxes in a fight between Holden and Stradlater.Stradlater annoys Holden by asking him to write his English paper, so he can go on a date with JaneGallagher, an old friend of Holden's. Stradlater really angers Holden, however, when he returns from the dateand begins insinuating that he did all kinds of stuff with Jane in the back seat of a car. Fed up with Stradlater'sphony nice-guy image, Holden picks a fight. Stradlater easily defeats the weaker Holden and gives him abloody nose. After the fight, Holden retreats into Ackley's room to forget about Stradlater, but Ackley onlymakes Holden more lonely. Then Holden goes into the hall to escape Ackley, but the hall is just as lonely.
Surrounded by Pencey's all-pervasive loneliness, Holden decides to return home immediately instead of
waiting for school to finish. He quickly packs and heads for the train station late at night, but before departing
he vents his frustration with his schoolmates one last time. Yelling loud enough to wake everyone, he screams
his final farewell to his moronic classmates.
The middle section of the novel describes Holden's adventures in New York City. As soon as he arrives in
New York, he looks for something to do, since it is too late to call his friends. He calls Faith Cavendish, a
stripper recommended by a friend, but she does not want to meet a stranger so late. After a failed attempt to
get a date with some girls in the hotel bar, he takes a cab to another bar in Greenwich Village. When he
returns to his hotel, a pimp named Maurice sets him up with a prostitute named Sunny, but Holden is too
nervous to do anything with her. The next day Holden asks his old girlfriend, Sally Hayes, to a show. While
waiting to meet her, he has breakfast with two nuns and buys a blues record for his sister. When he finally
meets Sally, they go to a concert and go skating, but they eventually get into a fight and split up. After their
fight, Holden meets an old classmate, Carl Luce, at the Wicker Bar, where they have a brief discussion until
Holden gets drunk and starts asking inappropriately personal questions. After Carl leaves, the still-drunk
Holden calls up Sally and makes a fool of himself.
The last section of the novel describes Holden's return home. At first, Holden only wants to briefly say
good-bye to his sister, Phoebe, so he sneaks into his house late at night in hopes of avoiding his parents. He
successfully sneaks into the room where his sister sleeps, aided by the lucky coincidence that his parents are
not home. At first, Phoebe is delighted to see Holden, but she gets upset when she realizes that he has flunkedout again. She asks him why he flunked out, and he blames it on his terrible school. After listening to Holden'sexcuses, Phoebe criticizes him for being too pessimistic. Holden tries to deny this by explaining how he likeslots of things, but he can only think of a few: his dead brother Allie, a kid named James Castle who died atone of his schools, and Phoebe. In the end, Phoebe forces Holden to admit that he is a rather pessimisticfailure. In the passage that gives the book its title, Holden explains that he cannot imagine himself fitting intoany of the roles that society expects him to perform, like growing up to be a lawyer or scientist. Instead, hecan only imagine being a catcher in the rye who stands at the edge of a large rye field watching over andprotecting little kids from danger.