Whirligig

Questions for the book Whirligig ... Make sure you offer detailed answers :)

Chapter 1

1. Characterize Brent. What kind of person does he seem to be? What kinds of things are important to him? Would you want Brent as a friend?
2. What are your impressions of Brent’s family life? Do they seem happy? Why or why not?
3. Name three things that Brent looks into when he moves into a new town.
4. Describe Brianna. Do you think that Brent genuinely cares for her? Why or why not?
5. What are the factors that contribute to Brent’s accident?

Chapter 2

1. What kind of relationship do Steph and Alexandra seem to have? Describe some of the things they do together.
2. Why does Alexandra accuse Steph of “trying to repel boys”?
3. Explain the idea behind “guided imagery”? Why dies Alexandra think it will work for Steph?
4. How does the whirligig relate to the idea of guided imagery? What does the whirligig mean to the girls?
5. To what extent does the guided imagery work? To what extent does it fail?

Chapter 3 – Quote Analysis

• For each of the following quotes:
• Identify the speaker
• Paraphrase the meaning of the quote
• Explain the significance of the quote in the context of the novel
• Make a connection between the quote and your own life, history or literature.

1. “This is the afterlife, he told himself. To be crowded in with a collection of strangers, plunging through a foreign landscape, headed toward an unknown destiny. The bus was his ferry across the river Styx…His second life has eclipsed his first. Its moment of birth had been the crash.” (p.33)

2. “We never know all the consequences of our acts. They reach into places we can’t see. And into the future, where no one can.” (p.  38)

3. “You make the smiles that she would have made. It’s the only thing you can do for me.” (p. 41)

4. “Out of nowhere, the word karass came to mind, from the Vonnegut book he’s read in English, a term for a disparate group of people linked together without their knowledge. Your family and friends weren’t part of your karass. You couldn’t choose its members, and might never know who was in it or what its purpose was. Brent felt certain that lea was a member of his. Was this cyclist part of it too?” (p.  48)

5. “Radios, firecrackers, voices subsided, replaced by the chirring of crickets, a breeze’s passage through the trees, the waves’ steady respiration. The nonhuman world was emerging, a world he’s rarely noticed, another hidden city.” (p.  49)

Chapter 4

1. Characterize the street sweeper. Where is he from? What is his personal history? What does he seem to value?

2. Why is the street sweeper intrigued by the shearwater birds? Do they live up to his expectations? Why or why not?

3. Describe the whirligig that the street sweeper encounters. What does the whirligig mean to him?

Chapter 5

1. Name two new hobbies that Brent picks up in Chapter 5. What changes in Brent’s character do his new hobbies reveal?

2. Describe the hostel where Brent stays. What is it like? Who does Brent meet there?

3. Describe the next whirligig that Brent makes. Where does he put it when he is finished?

4. Who is Emil? Compare Emil’s friendship with Brent with Brent’s earlier friendship with Jonathan. 

Chapter 6

1. Describe the essay that Tony is writing for class. What is Tony fantasizing about as he writes?

2. Why does Tony feel pressured to succeed? How does he handle this pressure?

3. What is Tony’s initial reaction to the whirligig? How do his feelings change?

Chapters 7

1. Name some of the “belts” that Brent passes through.

2. What books does Brent read during this part of the trip? What do they reveal about Brent’s changing character?

3. Who does Brent encounter while building his “marching band” whirligig? What do they learn from Brent? What does he learn from them?

Chapters 8—Quote Analysis

• For each of the following quotes:
• Identify the speaker
• Paraphrase the meaning of the quote (2-3 sentences)
• Explain the significance of the quote in the context of the novel (1 short paragraph)
• Make a connection between the quote and your own life, history or literature. (2-3 paragraphs)

1. “I loved my grandmother, but I did not love shots, bedpans, puking, or the sight of stitches.”
2. “People are not all Hitler, kindelah. People are very good, also, like the one who made this wind toy to give joy to everyone who passes. People are good – even some Germans. When the bad memories come back in my head, here I walked to remind myself of this. This, not the other, I want to remember when I think my thoughts before I die.”

 Ch.9—Quote Analysis

• For each of the following quotes:
• Identify the speaker
• Paraphrase the meaning of the quote
• Explain the significance of the quote in the context of the novel
• Make a connection between the quote and your own life, history or literature.

1. “That table there in 18 is new. The old one had more names on it that the Constitution. Went to the dump and found half a dozen perfectly good two-by-eights. Just needed a few rusty nails to pull out. The Lord doth provide. And the dump’s where he does it most. Most folks don’t realize that.”
2. “Maine summers, like dawn colors, were brief. Darkness and winter predominated. Lea’s hard life had been similarly short. But his clacking, flashing, jingling memorial would give off sound and color all year, holding back the tide of death. It was a kinetic gravestone… Lea would not be swallowed up.”
3. “It was exalting to be part of this twining and twirling, and strangely thrilling to touch other hands and to feel them grasping his. He felt like a bee returning to the hive, greeted and accepted by all.”

Design your own Whirligig!!

Your task: Design your own whirligig. The final product can be a real whirligig, or a mobile art piece.  Be prepared to share your project with the class including an explanation of the various shapes, symbols and motifs which you have chosen that reflect your message. Your plan should include a description and detailed drawing (3 sketches) of the project.

Requirements:

Min. 18 inches in each direction (yes, you can go bigger)

The things that speak to the theme of your Whirligig (photos, magazine cutouts,  need to be no smaller than 3inx3in.

It MUST move (spin, twirl, move up and down, etc.)

YOU need to be included in the Whirligig.

Think:

- What do you want people to feel?

- What do you want others to think about while viewing your Whirligig?

- How will your Whirligig accomplish this?