Chapter 9, page 84

"I must make a home for the sparks, he thought. A perfect home or they won't stay, they won't make fire."

1. Why does Brian think that the sparks need a home?
2. What does the comment above tell us about the way Brian thinks of the sparks?

Chapter 9, page 83

"He dug into his pockets and found twenty-dollar bill in his wallet. Worthless paper out here."

1. Why did Brian think of his money as 'worthless'?
2. What does this comment show about what he thought the future held for him?

Chapter 8, page 76/77

"Sitting alone in the dark, his leg aching, some mosquitoes finding him again, he started crying. It was all too much, just too much, and he couldn't take it. "

1. What do these sentences tell us about how Brian is feeling?
2. Explain clearly why the situation was 'too much'?

Chapter 8, page 74

"But the smell was alive, alive and full and in the shelter."

1. Explain what made Brian describe the smell as 'alive'?

2.Why did he choose the word the adjective 'full' to tell us about the smell?

Chapter 7, page 69

". . . he picked more and put them in his windbreaker, feeling the mornoing sun on his back and thinking he was rich, rich with food now, just rich . . . "

1. Isn't it strange how Brian describes himself as rich?
Explain clearly why Brian thought he was rich?
2. Have you experienced such a moment when you felt you were ' rich' like Brian? Tell us about it.

Chapter 7, page 66

"He sat back on the bank and fought crying. Then let it come and cried for perhaps three, four minutes. Long tears, self-pity tears, wasted tears."

1. Why did the author use three types of adjectives to describe the tears?
Explain clearly the meaning of each choice of adjective.
2. What is the effect of grouping 3 short phrases about the tears together?

Chapter 6, page 57

"He didn't want to be away from his - he almost thought of it as home - shelter when it came to be dark."

1. Explain clearly why Brian thinks of his shelter as 'home' in this chapter?
2. What does this sentence tell us about his state of mind?

Chapter 5 page 50

"Gradually like sloshing oil, his thoughts settled back and the panic was gone."

1. Why did the author compare his thoughts to 'sloshing oil'?
2. In what way did his thoughts settle back? Explain clearly.

Chapter 5, page 40

"His eyes snapped open, hammered open, and there were things about himself he knew, instantly."

1. Why did the author choose the words 'snapped open'?

2. Why did he continue the sentence by adding the verb 'hammered open'?
Do both phrases have the same meaning? Explain clearly.