Swindle — Chapter 1

About This Passage

This is a passage worth copying because it shows young writers how a story-within-a-story can be told in only three sentences. Notice the rhythm: first the action ('took the law into their own hands'), then the specific object ('rat poison inside a big steak'), then the twist ('it could live inside something else, too, like a house'). The twist sentence is the most important part — the author shows the towns-people thinking they have solved a problem, but in the same sentence reveals the way they have not. That structure, where the solution becomes a new problem, is called dramatic irony, and it is one of the most useful tools a writer of scary stories can learn.

Narration Prompt

Retell the chapter in your own words, paying special attention to the moment Griffin starts to get scared. What is the very first sign that even Griffin — the man with the plan — is no longer in control?

Discussion Questions

1. Griffin is called 'the man with the plan,' and he insists 'There's no such thing as a haunted house.' But by the end of the chapter, even Griffin gets a little scared. Is this a SETBACK for Griffin, or is the author actually showing us something MORE impressive about him — that he can be afraid and still hold his ground? What in the chapter makes you think so?
2. Look carefully at how Ben's scary stories build. The first story is about a chainsaw, the second about a railway spike, the third about a dog, and the fourth about a baby kidnapped by a chicken hawk. Why did the author choose to give us so many DIFFERENT versions instead of just sticking with one? What does the variety do to the mood that a single story would not?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide