1/12/09

So sorry about the absence. I've been a lazy blogger. I will do better!

We are reading Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen. As of today we have read through chapter 2. Today we talked about literary devices authors use to help us understand the deeper meanings of their stories. These are the devices we looked at today:

imagery: painting a picture with words

simile: a comparison between two unlike things using the words like or as

metaphor: a comparison between two unlike things saying one thing is the other

inference: when an author says something indirectly and we guess what was meant based on the clues in the text

irony: a conflict between reality and expectation

foreshadowing: hints of what will happen in the plot of a book, story, movie, etc.

symbolism: an object or idea that has a deeper meaning than its actual self

We used these definitions to figure out which device Mikaelsen is using in each of the following quotes from the book:

1. He was built like a bulldog with lazy eyes. (p. 3)

2. “Hey Champ, try falling on your fists sometime.” (p. 24)

3. Cole was to put his clothes on inside out. (p. 4)

4. Keep things dry, because wet kills. (p. 17)

5. He stared forward with steely patience, like a wolf waiting (p. 4)

6. “I’m not afraid of dying,” Cole boasted.
Edwin smiled slightly. “If death stares you straight in the face, believe me, son, you’ll get scared.” (p. 17)

7. “If I saw a Spirit Bear, I’d kill it,” Cole said. (p. 18)

8. Whatever happened, he could always count on having one more last chance. (p. 6)

9. “At.oow is something you inherit. This blanket has been handed down for many generations in my family. It once belonged to one of our chiefs and is a link to our ancestors. You can’t own at.oow. You are only its caretaker for a time. If you accept this at.oow from me, you must promise to care for it and someday pass it on to someone else you trust.” (p. 19)

10. His anger smoldered like a lit fuse. (p. 22)

11. Some days his dad got so mad, he turned beet red and twitched because he couldn’t lay a finger on Cole with the guards watching. (p. 9)

12. Now the game was over and he was in charge . . . Rage controlled his tight grip on the match. It controlled the defiant flare of his nostrils and the striking of the match against the box. Rage controlled Cole’s hand as he drew back, paused for a split second, and then flipped the lighted match inside the shelter. (p. 24-25)

13. “Whatever you do to the animals, you do to yourself. Remember that.” (p. 18)

Extra credit:

Cole’s name. Explain your answer.