The Bear
Part One: Pages 1 – 77 Reading Questions
INSTRUCTIONS: These are
reading questions. They are meant to help you understand the material and to be
able to participate in the discussion. Your exams are based on your
understanding of the text, which ties into these questions. I will provide a
completion mark for each section. Be as detailed as you feel you need to in
order to retain information for essays/exams. Do these on a separate sheet.
Chapters 1-4: The First Night (pages 3-24)
1.
From what point
of view is this story written? How do you know this? Provide examples to
support your assertion.
2.
Write a well
formatted summary of this section of the text. Be sure to include the five Ws
as well as the setting and attribution information.
3. Explain the personalities of the parents from the
narrator’s perspective. In order to do this correctly, be sure to pay attention
to the details the narrator finds odd.
4.
Describe the
narrator’s home environment (away from the camping trip!). Provide details to
back up any assertions that might need them.
5.
What is pathetic
fallacy? How is pathetic fallacy developed in this section (1 to 5)?
6.
The narrator
uses a number of similes. Describe three that stand out. Why do they stand out?
What impact do they have on your understanding of the story?
7.
Anthropomorphism
is present in this section. What is anthropomorphism? How is it used? Why is it
used? What suspense or irony does its usage add to this section?
8.
The narrator
uses a number of examples of personification. List ten here. Why are they so
important in our understanding of the way the narrator interprets what is
happening to her? How do they add to the mood at any given time?
9.
The narrator
uses a number of examples of onomatopoeia. How do these contribute to the mood
of the story?
10. Children are, by their very natures. Egocentric. This
means that they focus on self when examining what is happening around them. For
example, when parents of small children divorce, the children often think it is
due to some fault of their own. How is the narrator showing she is egocentric?
How is this ironic?
11. At the end of chapter four, the night will end.
Chapter five will start at daylight. What immediate needs or concerns will the
children have upon awakening? Focus on the reality of their situation as well
as the emotional impacts.
12. What is the initial incident in this novel?
The Bear
Part One: Pages 1 – 77 Reading Questions
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer all of
the following questions with as much detail as possible.
Chapters 5 - 7: Reunited
1.
Why is it
important for the narrator to be able to personify Coleman?
2. What do we learn about the narrator’s grandparents
while she is contemplating the bear’s nose?
3. How does the narrator describe the colour she sees on
the bear’s mouth? How does the narrator describe the smell she gets from the
bear’s mouth? How does she describe what the “dog” is doing after he leaves the
Coleman? What is she literally seeing, smelling or hearing?
4. Why is it important for the narrator to be able to
come up with analogies when faced with the unfamiliar?
5.
In many
situations, motivations come from the negative. What negative situation leads
to the kids abandoning Coleman?
6.
How realistic is
the narrator’s assault on her brother while they are in Coleman? Explain
providing an example from your own experiences/observations.
7. There are a lot of comments in chapter six about daddy
being gone. Some of these comments involve the mother. From this, what can be
inferred about the parent’s relationship?
8. Another analogy appears when the narrator sees meat on
the ground. How does she interpret what she sees? What is she really seeing?
9. Describe why Anna has animosity toward her brother. Is
this animosity normal? From your own observations, provide an anecdote to back
up your assertion.
10. What final promise does the mother give Anna in way of
getting her to take her brother off the island?
The Bear
Part One: Pages 1 – 77 Reading Questions
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer all of
the following questions with as much detail as possible.
Chapters 8 and 9: Into the Boat
1.
Colloquial
dialect, and jargon, are all terms that indicate language usage. Colloquial
means informal or everyday language, dialect means the unique accent one has,
and jargon means the sort of nonsense language a group may use. In this story,
Stick’s age is demonstrated through his use of language. What nonsense words
does Stick use that help support his age? What do the mean?
2.
What motivates
Anna to get Stick in the boat? What is her main objective? What is her
secondary objective?
3.
What game does
Anna play with Stick to get him to come to the canoe?
4.
Humans have a
hierarchy of needs that can take precedence over wants. What needs are
presented in chapter 8? How do Stick’s needs lead to his overall behaviour?
5.
Animals also
have a hierarchy of needs. Compare stick’s need for food to that of the bear.
6. Is behaviour
without civilized control that different from behaviour of animals? Explain.
7. Understanding consequences is a skill that comes with
maturity. How are Anna and Stick different when it comes to consequences? Site
examples.
Part One Question
Both parents attempt to save their children in their
own way. What ways did they incorporate? In this situation, what would you have
done differently?
