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Copywork
About This Passage
This passage is Sachar's direct metafictional address to the reader — the narrator stepping outside the story to name its ending and to instruct the reader what matters (character and self-confidence) and what does not (weight, tedious answers). It rewards study of voice and of authorial priorities.
This is pretty much the end of the story. The reader probably still has some questions, but unfortunately, from here on in, the answers tend to be long and tedious. While Mrs. Bell, Stanley’s former m...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
In three to five sentences, retell what happens at the Yelnats house during the Super Bowl party in Chapter 50 — who is there, what is on television, and what the woman behind Hector does at the end.
Discussion Questions
- The narrator says ‘You will have to fill in the holes yourself’ just before the final scene. What holes are left for the reader to fill, and why does the author refuse to fill them?
- Why does Sachar choose a Sploosh commercial — a comic advertisement for a foot-odor eliminator — as the turn that brings everyone together at the end? What does it mean that the novel's mercy closes through a can of foot spray?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
So slow or repetitive that it becomes tiresome to go through
Item 2
So small or understated that it is not easily noticed
Item 3
Worn or marked by long exposure to sun, wind, and hard living
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Critical Thinking
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