Answer Key

  1. What do we learn about Doug Spaulding in the introduction of the story?

Doug is 48 years old and he has a family. He seems angry. He wants to kill Ralph Underhill.

  1. Why does Ray Bradbury capitalize the word Past and Present if they are not proper nouns?

Bradbury capitalizes these words because they represent a place/location. He is going to travel back to the Past. The train is going to take him from the Present to the Past.

  1. As we travel into the Past with Doug, he shares some of his childhood memories with the reader. What do we learn about:

Doug as a child: Doug was bullied by Ralph. He just wanted to be accepted by Ralph. Ralph used to push him in the mud, make unfair trades with him, and never asked him to play.

Ralph as a child: Ralph was a bully. He beat up on Doug.

  1. What are the advantages of having the story told in 1st person point of view at this point in the story?

The reader can get inside Doug’s mind and realize why he wants to kill Ralph. We understand why he is so upset and can’t let go of the past.

  1. Why does Bradbury include the allusion (referring to a famous person, place, event or work of art) to Ahab from Moby Dick? What do Doug and Captain Ahab have in common?

In the novel Moby Dick all the characters thought that Captain Ahab was crazy. Here Doug is admitting to himself that he knows he is crazy.

  1. When Doug arrives at Ralph Underhill’s home, what do we learn about Doug and Ralph as adults?

Doug as an adult: Doug is tall and healthy. He has a wife and children.

Ralph as an adult: Ralph is short, bald, and sickly. He has breath that smells like funeral flowers. He also lives alone.

  1. What deeper meaning (symbolism) does Doug whispering, “Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang. Ralph you’re dead.” represent?

Instead of really killing Ralph, Dougkills him in his mind.

  1. Why does Doug make the decision that he does?

Doug realizes that Ralph is old and sick. Ralph is living a sad and lonely life, so that is his revenge. Doug has a wife and family. His life is much better.

  1. What does Doug do after he leaves Ralph’s house?

He goes to his old house and throws rocks at his own window (something Ralph never did). He calls his younger self down and walks back to the future.

  1. What does this event symbolize?

This symbolizes Doug letting go of the past.