Bridge to Terabithia — Chapter 11

About This Passage

Jess walks into the room that Leslie's father made beautiful — the room he first saw in chapter 6. Back then, the golden room was a wonder: a room transformed by art and love, proof that ordinary things could be made extraordinary. Now Leslie is dead, and the room is still golden, still beautiful. The sun still pours through the windows. Nothing in the room has changed except that the person who inspired its beauty is gone. Paterson shows us that beautiful things do not stop being beautiful when the people who made them die. The golden room survives Leslie, which is both comforting and heartbreaking.

Narration Prompt

Tell someone what happened when Jess visited Leslie's house. Who was there? What did the room look like? What did Jess feel when he walked in?

Discussion Questions

1. PT the dog leaps joyfully on Jess the moment the door opens. PT was Leslie's Christmas gift to Jess in chapter 5 — the puppy they named Prince Terrien, the prince of Terabithia. Now PT doesn't understand that Leslie is gone. He is just happy. Why does Jess pick up PT and rub the back of his neck 'as he used to when PT was a tiny puppy'? What in the story makes you think Jess needs to hold the dog right now?
2. Jess thinks about how the kids at school will 'whisper around him and treat him with respect' because his friend died. He even thinks it 'made him important.' Then he feels ashamed of thinking that. Is it wrong to feel important because something terrible happened to you? Why does Jess feel ashamed? What in the story makes you think so?

+ 2 more questions in the complete study guide