ILIAD CHAPTER SUMMARY

-->

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

DOWNLOAD SUMMARY

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

DOWNLOAD HERE

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.