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Copywork
About This Passage
Paterson closes the chapter with one of the novel's most important images: Jess's life compared to a dandelion that can be destroyed by a single puff of wind. The simile is drawn from nature — a dandelion is beautiful and alive but impossibly fragile. This line captures everything Jess has built with Leslie: precious, real, but vulnerable to forces he cannot control. The passage teaches how a single comparison can carry enormous emotional weight.
sometimes it seemed to him that his life was delicate as a dandelion one little puff of any direction and it was blown to bits
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Tell someone what happened in this chapter in order. When you get to the most important part, slow down and tell it carefully — what happened, why it mattered, and what you think about it.
Discussion Questions
- Jess tried going to Terabithia without Leslie, but 'it was no good — it needed Leslie to make the magic.' Why can Jess not make the magic work on his own? What in the story makes you think Terabithia needs both of them to be real?
- Leslie discovers that Janice Avery — the same bully they tricked in chapter 4 — is crying in the bathroom. Jess feels 'responsible for her, like one of the beached whales.' Why would Jess feel responsible for the person who bullied his sister? What in the story makes you think so?
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Critical Thinking
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