First Impression

Hour 7

1. First Impression (pink)

What is the first thing you notice about the passage?

I noticed that it was very hot outside and the children were not allowed to go out all day, they had to stay indoors with everything closed up. This made the day very long and they felt confined to the house.

What is the second thing?

The children wailed and begged so horrendously that the mom finally let them out to play.

Do the two things you noticed complement each other or contradict?

They contradict because they are opposite, the children wanted to go out so badly and the mom would not let them but finally she gives in.

What mood does the passage create in you? Why?

The passage created a mood of sympathy for the children as I felt bad that they could not go out because of the heat. Kids just want to be able to play and it is sad when they can't.

2. Vocabulary and Diction (yellow)

Which words do you notice first? Why?

Shuttered and stifled were words I noticed first because they were unfamiliar to me.

How do the important words relate to one another?

They do not relate to one another they just are used to describe the situation.

Do the words seem oddly used to you? Why?

No because they help to describe the situation

Look up any words unfamiliar to you in the dictionary

Shattered - a hinged cover or screen for a window usually fitted with louvers

Stifled - To feel smothered or suffocated by or as if by closed confinement in a stuffy room

3. Discerning Patterns (orange)

Does an image here remind you of an image elsewhere in the book?

There are 3 different times where an image of children playing games is created. One is hide and seek, another dip, dip dip my blue ship (to decide who goes first) and lastly the grass is green, funeral game. The author spends time creating those images of childhood games.

How might this image fit into the pattern of the book as a whole?

Throughout the passage the main focus is on one night game since most of the story is about the one game there is not much of a pattern so it has little affect on the whole.

Could this passage symbolize the entire work? Could this passage serve as a microcosm - a little picture - of what's taking place in the whole work?

The games could symbolize the different situations that people face in life and hope to succeed at or win just like a game. Sometimes people see and acknowledge the success and other time it goes unnoticed.

What is the sentence rhythm like? Short and choppy? Long and flowing? Does it build on itself or stay at an even pace?

Although there are a few areas where the rhythm is short and choppy, the areas of the children speaking most of the passage are long and flowing. It is very descriptive and builds up to the end of the game where there is a winner.

Look at the punctuation. Is there anything unusual about it?

No

Is there any repetition within the passage? What is the effect of that