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Copywork
About This Passage
This paragraph shows a strange reversal. Stanley believed he could not climb the precipice, his feet slipped, and he tumbled into a muddy gully. Sachar lets despair and salvation arrive in the same instant — the mud that breaks him turns out to be proof of the water he needs.
As the ground flattened, a huge stone precipice rose up ahead of him, just barely visible in the moonlight. It seemed to grow bigger with each step he took. It no longer resembled a thumb. And he knew...
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Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell Chapter 38: Stanley carries Zero, reaches the precipice, falls into mud, digs water, and finds an onion. What does each step of the climb cost him, and what does each one give him?
Discussion Questions
- The narrator says Stanley's 'strength came from somewhere deep inside himself and also seemed to come from the outside as well,' as if Big Thumb were a magnet. What does this suggest about where strength comes from when we carry someone we love?
- When Stanley reaches the precipice, Sachar writes, 'It was the bitter smell of despair.' Why does Sachar use a smell to describe a feeling, and what does that choice do that a simple sentence like 'Stanley despaired' would not?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
A very steep rock face, almost straight up and down.
Item 2
Hung loosely, swinging back and forth.
Item 3
Took in or soaked up something fully.
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Critical Thinking
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