“The Body” Active Reading

Practice Analysis & Study Guide

We will be working through these questions, discussion topics and focus analysis guides as we read.

All of your work for this reading should be down in your annotations and in your English notebook.

THEMES FROM “THE BODY”

1. FACING NEW, ADULT-LIKE REALITIES

2. CONFRONTING THE REALITY OF DEATH

3. MOVING FROM INNOCENCE TO EXPERIENCE

4. MOVING FROM IGNORANCE TO KNOWLEDGE

5. MOVING FROM YOUTH TO MATURITY

6. GAINING NEW PERSEPCTIVES ABOUT LIFE, FRIENDSHIP, CONFLICT, ETC…

As we work through the reading, we will keep track of specific moments from the text that fall in line with any of these themes. Using your notebook to keep track of these moments will greatly improve your final writing assignment!!!

FOCUS TOPICS AND GUIDING QUESTIONS—We will do our best to discuss these ideas as we read, but any and all of these questions may show up on a reading quiz or test throughout this unit…

THE BODY – SECTION I GUIDED READING

  1. WHAT INFORMATION IS GIVEN TO US IN THE INTRODUCTION? HOW MIGHT THAT INFORMATION GIVE US CLUES ABOUT HOW THIS STORY WILL BE TOLD?
  2. WHAT IS THE AUTHOR TRYING TO SAY IN CHAPTER 1? CAN YOU PUT HIS THOUGHTS—HIS WONDERINGS—INTO YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING? ANY EXAMPLES OF WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT??
  3. EXPLAIN WHAT WE LEARN IN CHAPTER 2 ABOUT TEDDY…
  4. WHAT LITTLE INFORMATION DO WE LEARN ABOUT CHRIS AND GORDIE AT THE END OF CHAPTER 2?
  5. EXPLAIN WHAT WE LEARN ABOUT VERN AS A CHARACTER IN CHAPTER 4, ‘A JAR OF PENNIES.”
  6. THE NARRATOR TELLS US CHARLIE HOGAN WAS “ONE OF THE HARDEST GUYS IN TOWN.” WHEN HE SAW THE DEAD BODY, HE PUKED. WHAT INFERENCES CAN WE DRAW ABOUT THE DEAD BODY AND ABOUT THE YOUNG BOYS REACTION TO THE BODY?
  7. BY THE END OF CHAPTER 5, WE HAVE A PRETTY GOOD “SNAP SHOT” OF THESE BOY’S HOMELIVES. EXPLAIN WHAT THEIR CHILDHOOD LIVES MUST BE LIKE BASED UPON WHAT YOU KNOW SO FAR…
  8. WHAT DO WE LEARN ABOUT GORDIE’S HOME LIFE AND FAMILY LIFE IN CHAPTER 6, ‘BROTHER DENNY’? BE SURE TO TALK ABOUT HIS BROTHER AND HOW THAT AFFECTS HIS LIFE…
  9. CHRIS BRINGS HIS DAD’S GUN ALONG FOR THE ADVENTURE. PUT YOURSELF IN THE SITUATION: IS IT ACCEPTABLE OR EVEN PASSABLE NORMAL FOR 12 & 13 YEAR OLD BOYS TO HANDLE AND PLAY WITH A HAND GUN??
  10. WHAT DO WE LEARN ABOUT CHRIS’S ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR IN CHAP TER 7?
  11. WHAT TWO EVENTS ARE RECOUNTED IN CHAPTERS 8 & 9 THAT HELP US SHOW JUST HOW CRAZY TEDDY IS?
  12. ON PAGE 19, HOW DOES STEPHEN USE FORESHADOWING WITH THE COIN SLIP SITUATION?
  13. ANSWER GORDIE’S QUESTION AT THE END OF PAGE 19…
  14. SO, THESE FOUR 12 YEAR OLDS ARE GOING ON A 20 MILE HIKE TO SEE A DEAD BODY. THEY FORGOT TO BRING FOOD, HAVE ONLY A LITTLE WATER, AND ARE CARRYING A GUN. HAVE YOU EVER HAD A MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE THAT RELATES TO WHAT THESE FOUR ARE DOING??
  15. WHAT REALISM ISSUE DOES STEPHEN KING HIGHLIGHT WITH THE “MILK MONEY” STORY FROM CHAPTER 13?

THE BODY – SECTION II GUIDED READING

  1. EXPLAIN HOW TEDDY BEHAVES DURING THE WHOLE DUMP SCENE IN CHAPTER 10—HOW IS HE FIRST ACTING, HOW DOES HE CHANGE, AND WHAT CAUSES THAT CHANGE?
  2. WHAT DOES GORDIE REALIZE ABOUT THE FEARSOME HELL HOUND CHOPPER IN CHAPTER 10? HOW MIGHT THIS REALIZATION BE SYMBOLIC OF THE MOVING FROM IGNORANCE TO KNOWLEDGE THEME?
  3. WHAT IS REVEALED ABOUT CHRIS AS A CHARACTER WHEN HE TALKS TO TEDDY AS TEDDY IS HAVING AN EMOTIONAL BREAKDOWN IN CHAPTER 11?
  4. EXPLAIN WHAT VERN MEANS WHEN HE SAYS “I’M NOT SURE I WANT [SEEING THE DEAD BODY] TO BE A GOOD TIME.” (CHAPTER 11) DO YOU AGREE WITH HIS PERSPECTIVE?
  5. CHAPTER 12 IS ABOUT CROSSING THE TRAINTRACKSBRIDGE. THIS PASSAGE IS ABOUT SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST RACING A TRAIN. WHAT DO YOU THINK STEPHEN KING IS TRYING TO ILLUSTRATE OR REPRESENT WITH THIS CHAPTER?
  6. WHAT DOES GORDIE GAIN AFTER HIS EXPERIENCE WITH THE TRAIN? (HINT: READING THE FIRST PAGE OF CHAPTER 13 CAREFULLY)
  7. THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN CHRIS AND GORDIEON PAGE 35-37 IS A KEY MOMENT IN GORDIE’S LIFE. EXPLAIN WHAT POINTS CHRIS IS MAKING ABOUT THE FUTURE AND WHAT THEY CAN INDIVIDUALLY EXPECT IN THE FUTURE.
  8. WHAT REALISM ISSUE DOES STEPHEN KING HIGHLIGHT WITH THE “MILK MONEY” STORY FROM CHAPTER 13?
  9. ON PAGE 38 CHRIS REFLECTS ON HOW FRIENDS CAN INFLUENCE YOUR FUTURE—WHAT DOES CHRIS SAY? DO YOU AGREE?
  10. CHAPTER 14, “DARKNESS IN THE FOREST,” REALLY HELPS SHOW HOW THESE FOUR KIDS ARE STILL VERY MUCH KIDS, AND YET—IT ALSO SHOWS THEM ACTING ALMOST ADULT-LIKE. HOW DOES IT CAPTURE BOTH IN JUST TWO PAGES?
  11. HOW DOES CHAPTER 15 HELP REMIND US THAT THESE FOUR GUYS ARE STILL CHILDISH AND INNOCENT?
  12. STEPHEN KING WRITES: “BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS ARE THE HARDEST TO SAY. IT’S HARD TO MAKE STRANGERS TO CARE ABOUT THE GOOD THINGS IN LIFE.” I WONDER IF YOU HAVE ANY CLUE AS TO WHAT THAT QUOTE MIGHT ACTUALLY MEAN.
  13. HOW IS CHAPTER 16—THE DEER—SYMBOLIC OF CHILDHOOD INNOCENCE AND IGNORANCE? WHY IS THIS SUCH A KEY MOMENT FOR GORDIE?
  14. CHAPTER 17 PROVIDES AN EXCELLENT LESSON FOR LIFE…IF YOY PAY ATTENTION. WHAT MIGHT THESE KIDS HAVE LEARNED FROM THEIR SWIMMING EXPERIENCE?