Literature, 8th Grade Assignments

The Chapter 5 quiz for The Lord of the Flies will be on Monday.

• Read chapters 30
• 5-7 sentence summary for chapter 

1. What location do Tom and Huck choose for their treasure hunt?

2. Why do the boys believe treasure would be buried near a dead tree?

3. What tools do Tom and Huck bring with them?

4. How long do they dig before becoming discouraged?

5. What explanation do the boys give for their failure to find treasure?

6. What new location do they decide to search next?

7. How does the chapter end regarding their hopes for finding treasure?

Each question is worth one point

 

Chapter 22

1. What did Tom need to refrain from when he was a part of the Cadets of Temperance? 
2. Where had Becky gone for the summer break?  
3. What happens to Tom's religious fervor?

Chapter 23

1. How did Tom and Huck feel about Muff Potter getting hung for the murder?  
2. What nice things did Muff Potter do for them?  
3. Who did the defense lawyer call to the stand?  
4. What did Injun Joe do when Tom told his side of the story? 

Chapter 24

1. Who did Tom tell the murder story to?  
2. When? 
3. Why were Tom and Huck so terrified at night?  

CH 19

1. What does Aunt Polly confront Tom about when he returns home?

2. How does Tom explain his behavior and his “dream” story?

3. What defensive detail does Tom add to his story to try to make it seem sincere?

4. How does Aunt Polly react at first to Tom’s explanation?

5. What object does she later find that changes her belief about Tom’s account?

CH 17

 

1. What event is happening when the chapter begins?

2. How does the town feel about the boys’ “deaths”?

3. How do Aunt Polly and Mrs. Harper react during the funeral?

4. What is the pastor’s tone during the funeral sermon?

5. When do Tom, Huck, and Joe enter the church?

6. How does the congregation respond when they see the boys alive?

7. How does Aunt Polly react to Tom once the shock is over?

8. How does Tom feel during this moment?

CH 15

CH 16

 

1. How do the boys feel when they wake up in the morning?

2. What kinds of games or pretend play do they engage in?

3. What causes Joe to become homesick again?

4. How does Huck react when Joe wants to go home?

5. What “secret plan” does Tom finally reveal to them?

6. How do Joe and Huck respond to the plan?

7. What makes Joe and Tom sick?

CH 12

1. Is Tom truly sick in this chapter, or is his illness more emotional than physical? Explain.

1. What symptoms does Tom show, and how do Aunt Polly’s treatments affect him?
2. How does Aunt Polly interpret Tom’s behavior and condition?

1. In what ways does guilt influence Tom’s actions and attitude throughout the chapter?
2. Why does Tom confess to stealing the jam but not to witnessing the murder?
3. How does Tom use sickness—intentionally or unintentionally—to gain sympathy or relief?

 

CH 13

1. Why does the idea of becoming a pirate appeal so strongly to Tom, Joe, and Huck at this point in the story?
2. Where do Tom, Joe, and Huck go when they run away, and how do they survive?

1. What reasons does each boy have for wanting to leave town?

1. How does running away allow Tom to avoid the guilt and fear he feels in St. Petersburg?
2. In what ways does the pirate fantasy give the boys a sense of power or control they lack at home?
3. How is Huck’s idea of freedom different from Tom’s and Joe’s?

 

CH 14

1. At what moment does the pirate adventure stop feeling exciting and start feeling real for the boys?
2. What worries or emotions do Joe and Huck express during their conversation by the fire?

1. Why does Tom secretly return to town, and what does he discover when he gets there?

1. How does homesickness challenge the boys’ fantasy of total freedom?
2. Why does Tom choose not to reveal himself to Aunt Polly, even when he sees her grieving?
3. What does Tom’s decision to stay silent reveal about his personality at this point in the novel?

 

 

1. Where does Tom go after he runs away, and what supplies does he bring with him?
2. What fantasies or stories does Tom imagine about himself while he is alone?
3. How does Tom’s imagination shape the way he understands his problems and his identity?
4. Why does Tom believe people will miss him or regret how they treated him? What does this reveal about him?
5. In what ways is Tom’s running away more about attention than true independence?

Chapter 4

1. When Tom was doing his lessons, why did he choose to memorize the Sermon on the Mount?  
2. At Sunday School, what could the children earn with their tickets?  
3. How was Tom able to get enough tickets to win a Bible?  
4. What did Amy Lawrence realize when Tom would only look at the new girl?  

1. What did Tom have to do Saturday morning as a punishment for his ruined clothes?
2. How did Aunt Polly stop Jim from getting tricked by Tom into washing his fence?  
3. What did Tom’s friends do when they saw him painting the fence?   
4. How did Tom get out of whitewashing the fence?  He tricked his friends into doing it for him.

Chapter 3

1.  What rewards did Tom get when his aunt thought he’d done the fence?  
2. What did the new girl throw over the fence for Tom before she went inside?  
3. Who did Aunt Polly think broke the sugar bowl?  
4. Why couldn’t his aunt apologize for belting Tom even though he didn’t do it?  

Chapter 1

1. Who’s Tom Sawyer’s caregiver?  
2. How does Aunt Polly feel about Tom? 
3. Tell me about Tom. 
4. Why did Tom chase the boy home after their fight?  

1. As you read this novel, what conclusions did you draw about how war affects people?
2. What conclusions did you draw about the American Revolutionary War?
3. What does Tim mean when he says at the end of the novel, "But somehow, even fifty years later, I kept
thinking that there might have been another way besides war to achieve the same end." What does he mean
here?
4. Would Tim's idea about there being another way besides war to achieve independence be different if his
father and Sam hadn't been killed?
5. Why did Tim write this story so late in his life?
6. What do you think about the way the authors ended the book?
7. What was the mother's life like after the war ended and Sam and Father were dead?
8. Why do you think the authors talked about the rest of Tim's life in an epilogue, rather than in the main body
of the story?

1. Why didn't Tim try harder to get to see Colonel Parsons?
2. Why didn't Mother show more emotion when she found out that Sam was going to die?
3. Why did Sam seem to be resigned to the fact that he would die? Why doesn't he have more fight in him?
4. Why doesn't Betsy Read try and see Sam?
5. If you were Tim and had to see General Putnam, what would you tell the general about the situation to
convince him to release Sam?
6. When Tim was visiting Sam, why didn't Sam ask about his Mother or how things were going at the tavern
without Father?
7. Why does Mother act so calm when she hears that Sam is going to be executed?

1. What do you think Tim's feelings are about the war now?
2. What side do you think Tim would be on if he had to choose?
3. In what ways has Tim changed?
4. Why do you think the authors have decided to tell the story through Tim's eyes? Why not tell the story
though Sam's eyes?
5. Why do you think the authors chose the title, My Brother Sam is Dead rather than a different title? Does the
title give away too much of the story to the reader?
6. Why does Tim blame Sam for Father's death?
7. Father was on the prison ship when he forgave Sam. Why did Father forgive Sam so late in the story?
8. What do you think Father meant when he said, "Now, I go to enjoy the freedom war has brought me"?
(page 165)
9. If you were in Sam's position, would you change to the British side after you found out that Father had died?
10.Why do you think the British kept Jerry Sanford?
11.At this point in the book, how do you think Sam feels about being a soldier?

1. Sam has a conversation with his mother about which duty is more important - family or country. Which do
you think is more important? What would you do if you were Sam?
2. Why do you think the authors wait until this chapter to show how aggressive Mother can be?
3. Why won't Mother let Tim ring the bell to call the soldiers?
4. How does the mother's personality change as the war goes on?
5. At this point in the story, do you think Tim would be a soldier if he could?
6. Tim says, "I didn't feel like his little brother so much any more. I felt more like his equal." What does Tim
mean by this?
7. Why does Tim feel this way?
8. What made him change his mind from earlier in the chapter when he stated he was a Tory?
9. Why do you think the author shows Tim on both sides of the war within the same chapter?

1. Why does Mother go on believing Father is alive?
2. How does the absence of Father change the lives of Mother and Tim? How does Tim feel about Father
being absent? How does he feel about Sam not coming home after Father is taken?
3. What did Mother mean when she said of Sam, "He should be tired of playing soldier boy by now. I should
think that glory would have worn off"?
4. What did Tim mean when he said, "Of course, I still hadn't figured out what he was fighting for. It seemed
to me that we'd been free all along. What had the English ever done against me"?
5. What does Tim mean when he says, "There were a lot of changes in our lives, but the biggest was the one
that was happening inside myself. Ever since I had got the wagon home by myself, I hadn't felt like a boy
any more"?
6. As Tim speaks to an Irish soldier he says, "We're mostly Tories here. Suddenly, I realized I was. Father's
capture had done that." What does Tim mean by this?
7. At the end of the chapter, Tim says, "I turned and ran down the road toward Dr. Hobart's. I didn't feel much
like being a Tory any more."
8. Why does Tim feel this way?
9. What made him change his mind from earlier in the chapter when he stated he was a Tory?
10.Why do you think the author shows Tim on both sides of the war within the same chapter?

1. What makes Tim start worrying about Father's safety? Does he immediately know something is wrong?
2. Tim sees the ambush site in the snow and instantly knows the Cowboys have attacked Father. What does
the reader notice about the way Tim is thinking as he senses there may be trouble with Father?
3. Tim has to decide what to do when he realizes that Father is in trouble. He considers what Sam would do
(track Father down and rescue him) and what Father would do (get the oxen and goods back home). Why
do you think Tim decided to choose the second solution rather than the first?
4. Tell about a time when you had to make a very difficult choice in your own life. What did you have to
consider to make your decision. Was it the right choice?
5. Tim starts to think about what he will tell the Cowboys if they come upon him and the wagon. How are
Tim's actions changing in this chapter?
6. Tim runs into the Cowboys. He asks them, "Are you the escort?" He then says, "Am I ever glad to see
you . . . I thought there'd be more of you, though." What is the author trying to show us about Tim?
7. Does the reader begin to feel any differently about Tim in this chapter?

1. Tim tells his cousin that he'd probably fight for the British. What would Tim do if he ran into Sam in battle,
and they were on opposite sides?
2. If Tim is so concerned about the way, why doesn't he at least try and talk to his father about it?
3. What do you think Father would say if Tim told him he was a Patriot?
4. What side do "you" think Tim is on? Do you think Tim is changing his mind at all?
5. If you were in Tim's position, would you be a Loyalist or a Rebel?
6. Do you think Mr. Meeker feels differently about Tim than he does about Sam?
7. Why didn't Father buy a new rifle when he sold the cattle and the hogs? Sam had his only rifle. Why didn't
Father replace it, especially when he knew the Cowboys could ambush them?

1. Why didn't Mr. Heron ask Tim about the letter after the incident?
2. Why was Father arguing with the Cowboys if he knew he could get hurt?
3. Was Tim afraid to go to Verplancks Point with his father?
4. When Mother said she was going to write back to Sam, she told Father her decision was final. Why did
Father stop arguing with Mother at this point in the story?
5. Do you think that Sam will come back, and if so, when?
6. Why does Father get angry at the way Sam is living his life?
7. Why does Father think it's different for Sam to leave at age 16 or 17 when Father left his own home when he
was 16 himself?
8. If you were in Tim's position, which side would you want to win the war?
9. Why doesn't the mother have a bigger part in the story? Why is she always in the background?

Answer the following

 

1. Why does Mr. Heron allow Tim to deliver the message when Mr. Meeker told him directly that Tim was not
allowed to do so?
2. Why does Tim decide to deliver the message for Mr. Heron even though he knows his father has said he
couldn't?
3. Why doesn't it make sense that Mr. Heron would know where Sam and the other American officers are?
4. Why does Tim talk about lying to his father and the fact that it's a sin? (page 76) Why do you think the
authors refer to the lying as being a sin rather than just say it's wrong to lie?
5. Is Mr. Heron a Loyalist?

Answer the following

 

1. For Tim, what is the worst part of the war?
2. Why is the errand for Mr. Heron so important?
3. At this point in the book, how are the people of Redding affected by the war? What were the major
differences between the way the people in Redding viewed the war and the way the people in Lexington and
Concord viewed it?
4. In this chapter, how does Tim feel about his older brother Sam. Does Tim support what Sam is doing?
5. At this point in the story, what side do you think Tim would choose - Patriot or Tory?
6. Why doesn't Father want Tim to deliver the message for Mr. Heron? Is there anything Father knows that
Tim doesn't?

Answer the following

 

1. Who are the Continentals, and why do they come to Redding?
2. Why were the Rebel soldiers threatening Mr. Meeker?
3. Why can't Sam go to the tavern to defend his father when he is attacked by the Rebel soldiers?
4. Would Tim have shot Sam if Sam hadn't overpowered him when Tim tried to get the Brown Bess back?
5. What do Tim and Mr. Meeker feel when Sam turns around and waves from the stone fence?

     Choose five of the following questions

1. Who are the main members of the Meeker family introduced in Chapter 1? Describe their personalities briefly.

2. What is the setting of the story? How does the time and place begin to shape the conflict?

3. What news does Sam bring home that shocks his family?

4. How does Father react to Sam’s decision to join the army?

5. What reasons does Sam give for wanting to fight in the war?

6. Why does Tim admire his older brother?

7. What emotions do you notice Tim feeling during the argument between Sam and Father?

8. What is the significance of Sam bringing the Brown Bess home?

9. How does Mother react differently from Father during the argument? What might that tell us about her character?

10. Based on Chapter 1, what early conflicts are already forming in the Meeker family?

 

CH 20

 

How does Jonas change emotionally from Chapter 19 to 20?

Why does the Giver say that he loves the people, even though they are ignorant?

What do the Giver’s and Jonas’s roles in the plan symbolize about wisdom and action?

Why do you think the author chose for Jonas, not the Giver, to be the one to leave?

How does this chapter reveal the cost of caring in a world that suppresses emotion?

 

CH 21

 

• Read chapter 19
  • 86. What does Jonas learn about rule 3 from his training rules in this chapter?
    87. How does The Giver feel about Rosemary’s release?
    88. How does Lois Lowry describe Jonas’ feeling at the end of Chapter 19? How did you feel reading this chapter? Why?

76. How does Jonas learn of love?
77. Why are grandparents a new idea for Jonas?
78. What does the society lose without grandparents? What do they gain?
79. What provokes Jonas’ first lie to his parents?

Answer the following

 

74. Why do you think that this chapter is so short?
75. Why does The Giver say, “Forgive me”?

Answer ALL of the following questions

 

68. How does Jonas react when The Giver gives him the memory of breaking a leg in sledding? How does Jonas’ understanding and growing wisdom increase after he experiences that pain?
69. What wisdom does hunger provide?
70. What is the mood at the end of the talk between Jonas and The Giver? Why?
71. How does Jonas calm Gabriel?
72. Why does Jonas decide not to confess giving a memory away?
73. Why does Mother shake her head about the release of the twin and Father’s responsibility for it?

Answer All of the following questions

 

64. What new meaning do the following words --ordinary, color, and choice-- have for Jonas?
65. How would the elders react to the same three words?
66. What does The Giver share of his personal family life?
67. How does the book’s society deal with adults with grown children? What does such an arrangement lose?

 

Answer the following even questions

 

54. Once Jonas receives the snow and sledding, how does he feel?
55. Just how does the Receiver of Memories’ training proceed?
56. How are The Giver’s burdens lessened in working with Jonas?
57. What other memories are transmitted on this first day of training?
58. Why did the book’s community eliminate sunshine and a hill?

 

Chapter X
49. What does Jonas notice about the Receiver of Memory’s dwelling?
50. What will Jonas’ position as a receiver of Memory involve?
51. Why is it important to save the memories?
52. Why does the Receiver have books but no one else has more than three?
53. How will the old receiver transmit the memory of snow to Jonas?

Answer the following odd questions

 

44. What is it like to feel different? Why is it a new sensation for Jonas at the start of Chapter Nine? How do others now treat Jonas?
45. What happened to the Receiver selected that failed?
46. What are Jonas’ instructions for his Receiver training? Why are the rules particularly puzzling?
47. What is the puzzle about lying which Jonas ponders at the end of Chapter 9?
48. What puzzles do you expect in the rest of the book?

 

40. Why do Jonas and the audience feel ill at ease at the start of Chapter 8?
41. What is announced as Jonas’ Assignment? What is the job?
42. What qualities does the Chief Elder explain Jonas will need?
43. How will Jonas’ life change as he trains to be Receiver of Memory? Make some predictions.

36. How does the Ceremony of Twelve start?
37. What do the numbers mean for each person?
38. Why is number Nineteen skipped in the Assignments?
39. What do you think Jonas’ Assignment will be?

 

31. What values does the book’s society embrace and encourage?
32. What is interdependence? Give an example of interdependence from your own experiences.
33. What is the difference in the book between loss and release? Why do you think that the author points out the distinction? On what page is the distinction made?
34. How does the author build the interest in Jonas’ Ceremony of Twelve?
35. Who makes the important decisions in the book’s society?

 

27. What is the morning ritual?
28. Why must Jonas start taking a pill every day?
29. How are you feeling about the society in the book?
30. What have you found so far that the book’s society represses?

23. What seems to be the purpose of the volunteer hours?
24. Why doesn’t Jonas seem to have a niche?
25. What is the nakedness rule?
26. What are the Releasing Room and the releasing ceremony?

 

12. What about the society is revealed by the reaction to eye color?
13. What is a Birthmother?
14. Why is Mother so appalled when Lilly suggests she’d like to be a Birthmother?
15. How was Jonas disciplined for taking an apple home?
16. Why had the apple intrigued Jonas?
17. What does the nondescript shade of the tunics and the apple tell you about the people and society in the book?
18. Start an attribute web to describe Jonas. (Place Jonas’ name in the center and characteristics that he has around him in a web form. You may wish to show the way that he acts, feels, looks, his family structure, etc.)
19. Compare Jonas in his world to typical eleven-year olds that you may know. (You may use a T-Chart or other graphic organizer to show your information).
20. What seems odd about the community in the book? What seems desirable about the way things are done?
21. Begin to fill in a story map. (A story map consists of a graphic organizer with terms such as setting, problem, goal, point of view, resolution, etc)
22. Sort out the plusses and minuses for the facets below of the book community:
 Raising children together in age groups
 Birthmothers
 Loudspeaker
 Evening telling of feelings
 Ceremonies
 Ceremony of Twelve

7. What is the private conversation his parents have in Chapter 2 with Jonas?
8. Identify and explain all of the following items from the book:
a. Ceremony of One
b. Naming
c. Bicycles
d. Ceremony of Nine
e. Comfort Object
9. What rules does Jonas’ father disobey?
10. How do the people receive their Assignment?
11. Why do you think the author is building up Jonas’ Ceremony of Twelve? What do you think will Jonas’ Assignment be?

• Read chapter 1
• Answer the following Odd questions in complete sentences
• We will discuss the even in class tomorrow