Second Marking Period

Literary Terms:

• Theme: a main idea, or message, of an essay, paragraph, or a book.

Ex.) An example of the word theme is when Melinda's mom tells her that suicide is for cowards.(P.88)

• Tone: how the author feels.

Ex.) An example of the word tone is when Melinda starts saying that her head isn't right and that she wants to leave and transfer to another galaxy and that she wantsw to blurt out everything to someone that can understand but her closet is a perfect place where she can think about her problems.(P.51)

• Exposition: is to provide some background information to inform the readers about the plot, theme etc.

Ex.)An example of exposotion is when Melinda has to choose for five verbs and conjugate. The five verbs were: to flunk, to hide, to escape, to forget and that what she is doing and wants to do.(P.51)

• Conflict: it is defined as the problem in any piece of literature and is often classified according to the nature of the protagonist or antagonist.

Ex.) An example of the word conflict is when she is hanging up posters and IT whispers to her saying freshmeat and out of a lot of female freshmen who only whispers top her. IT finds her and she can't stand him and she knows that he remembers of that day that she wants top forget she wants to stay very far away from him.(P.86)

• Point of View: the perspective from which the story is told.

Ex.)The point of view of the story is when Melinda says "I write a runaway note" and when she says Mom finds me sleeping in my bedroom closet meaning it's first person.(P.87)

Vocabulary Terms:

• Harried: troubled persistently especially with pretty annoyances.

"My normally harried, rushed mother always turns into a strung-out retail junkie just before Turkey Day."(P.57)

• Vermilion: a bright red mercuric sulfiede used as a pigment.

" An unseen hand turned off the radio as he crossed the threshold, and bags of potato chips vanished, leaving the faint scent of salt to mix with vermilion oil paint and wet clay."(P.78)

• Obligation: The act of binding oneself by a social, legal, or moral tie.

"It's like a holy obligation, part of what makes her aa wife and mother."(P.58)

• Oriented: adjusted or located in relation to surroundings or circumstances.

"So I said I have a friend who is really artistic and community-oriented and could she help with the posters?"(P.80)

• Imperial: a supreme authority.

"The Marthas have not issued an imperial invitation for her to sit with them."(P.69)

• Demented: brainsick; affected with madness or insanity.

"She has a warped sense of humor as well as a demented beautician."(P.84)

Discussion Questions:

• Who is a real American?Discuss Mr.Neck's views of a real American and if you think there are some people who are not really Americans, and how that seems to you? A real american is someone who is hardworking and takes advantage of what they got instead of what they don't have.

"His son wants to be a firefighter, but didn't get the job. Mr.Neck is convinced that this is some kind of reverse discrimination. He says we should close our borders so that real Americans can get the jobs they deserve. The job test said that I would be a good firefighter. I wonder if I could take a job away from Mr.Neck's son...Mr.Neck writes on the board again: 'DEBATE: America should have closed her borders in 1900.' That strikes a nerve. Several nerves. I can see kids counting backward on their fingers, trying to figure when their grandparents or greatgrandparents were born, when they came to America, if they would have made the Neck Cut. When they figure out they would have been stuck in a country that hated them, or a place with no schools, or a place with no future, their hands shoot up."(P.54) This quote supports my answer because it shows that Mr.Neck just wants american's to have it all easy.

• Why is it that sometimes people like us more when they can get something out of us? Discuss why you think The Marthas may or may not be good friends to Heather. People sometimes like us more when they can get something out of us because they think of us as being useful and as their provider for things they need. They use us when they want to and when they just don't have a need for us they abandon you as if they throw you away and when they need something again they just know to go to you and only like using you when needed.

" The rest of the Marthas sigh on cue. Apparantly, beets are Not Good Enough. Real Marthas only collect food that they like to eat, like cranberry sauce, dolphin-safe tuna, or baby peas. I can see Heather dig her nails into her palms under the table. The peanut butter molds to the roof of my mouth like a retainer....Emily slides her tray across to Heather. Heather gets up without a word and clears it away. Traitor. She isn't going to stick up for my posters. The peanut butter in my mouth hardens."(P.89) This quote supports my answer because The Marthas are basically using Heather because they want someone to boss around and yell at. They also want to treat them like trash and make them feel wrong.

• What should we value in other people? Discuss what qualities are important in a person and what you usually first notice about someone.

"David Petrakis My Lab Partner has stood up.David Petrakis is never, ever in trouble. He is the kid who wins perfect attendance records, who helps the staff chase down bugs in the computer files of report cards. I chew a hangnail on my pinkie. What is he thinking? Has he flipped, finally cracked under the pressure of being smarter than everyone?...David stares at Mr.Neck, looks at the flag for a minute, then picks up his books and walks out of the room. He says a million things without saying a word. I make a note to study David Petrakis. I have never heard a more eloquent silence."(P.56-57)

Journal Topics:

• Humiliations and embarrassing moments:

Ex.) An example of one of Melinda's humiliations and embarrassing moments is when she gets hit with a lump of potatoes and gravy. All conversations stop and the people explode in laughter.

Everybody has gone through humiliating and embarrassing moments and I admit that I have gone through some humiliating and embarrassing moments. I would give an example of one of my embarrassing moments but its to embbarrassing to talk about and something I want to forget.

• Being cool: when is being cool really un-cool?

Ex.) An example of when being cool really is un-cool from the book is when The Marthas see talk about IT(Andy Evans) and about the rumors about IT being bad but they don't really believe the rumor and think its just spread by jealous people, but he really is uncool when he keeps on bothering Melinda making her remember of that day and him being his nightmare.

Being cool is really uncool when someone tries to act like there better than other people and really aren't. They try to act cool in the outside and who some people might look up to but they might be hiding there other side and people might not really know there real side and think that there not bad people but in reality might be.