Chapter 8 — Teaching Companion

What it asks It asks why the chapter begins with a radio show. Gram and Lily are listening to Portia Faces Life, a story Lily likes too; she and Margaret even wrote away for Portia’s picture. In it, Portia’s husband, Walter, is “a prisoner of war in Germany” who means to hide in a small boat and signal an American ship with a flashlight. Gram says they will see what happens to him tomorrow, and that “They’re certainly stretching this out.” After that the real war keeps coming in: the news from Normandy in the bathroom, a girl “caught in France” at dinner, and Gram saying of Poppy, “I hope it isn’t Germany.” The question asks what the made-up war does beside the real ones. It sets up the last written question without asking it: one war can be switched off and saved for tomorrow, and the others cannot.

One reading

A war you can wait for. Walter’s war is a story with a plan in it, and it will be back tomorrow. Nothing at the Orbans’ table works like that. Ruth has no plan in this chapter, only the word that she is caught.

• Then when an American ship passed he’d signal it with a flashlight and row out to freedom.
• She’s caught in France.

Another reading

A war that is already Lily’s. Walter is a prisoner in Germany, far from home, and Lily listens to him just before she cries about Poppy. At dinner Gram hopes Poppy will not be sent to Germany. The radio story is closer to Lily than it sounds.

• Right now on the radio, Portia’s husband, Walter, was a prisoner of war in Germany, and he had just thought of an escape plan.
• I hope it isn’t Germany.

Listen for

• Says what Walter plans to do, and what Gram says about it.
• Notices that Walter’s story will go on tomorrow.
• Sets the radio war beside a real one from later in the chapter: Ruth or Poppy.
• Gives a reason from the chapter, not only that the story is exciting.

If stuck

• What is Walter planning to do?
• When will Gram and Lily find out what happens to him?
• Later, at dinner, who else is far away because of the war?

A strong answer A strong response might say the radio gives a war you can wait for: Walter has a plan, a boat and a flashlight, and Gram expects to hear more tomorrow, while at dinner Ruth has only “She’s caught in France.” Another might say the story is already close to Lily: Walter is held in Germany, and that night Gram says of Poppy, “I hope it isn’t Germany.” A thoughtful student may notice that Lily likes Portia, and that the made-up war is the only one she listens to on purpose all evening. Look for the radio set beside one real person in the chapter.

What it asks It asks about the turn on the couch, and what one line does that another could not. Lily has let Gram’s arm stay around her and is crying. Gram says, “I know,” and Lily shakes her head: “No, you don’t.” Then Lily says what she has lost: “We were going to do everything.” Gram answers that Poppy “said exactly the same thing,” and Lily looks up: “Really?” Both lines come from Gram, a moment apart. The question asks why the second one reaches Lily. Notice that “Really?” is itself a question, so the look up may be belief or may be hope. It matters for the last written question. Here Lily lets someone else’s sadness come close, and lets Gram come close with it; at dinner she will meet another person’s sadness and do something very different.

One reading

It is proof. “I know” is only Gram’s word, and Lily does not believe it. But Gram has heard the very same words from Poppy, so she really does know, and Lily can believe her.

• “Your father said exactly the same thing,” Gram said.
• Lily shook her head. “No, you don’t.”

Another reading

It is something she hopes is true. Lily has been crying over plans she thought only she was losing. Now she hears that Poppy wanted the same summer. Her “Really?” is a question: she looks up because she wants to hear that he minds leaving her too.

• “We were going to go fishing,” Lily said, “and to the movies. We were going to do everything.”
• Lily looked up. “Really?”

Listen for

• Sets “I know” beside what Gram says about Poppy, and says what is different.
• Uses Lily’s “No, you don’t.” and her “Really?”
• Says what Lily learns about Poppy, without claiming more than Gram says.
• Gives a reason tied to the couch, not only that Lily misses her father.

If stuck

• What does Gram say first, and how does Lily answer?
• What were Lily and Poppy going to do together?
• Is Lily’s “Really?” a statement or a question? What is she asking?

A strong answer A strong response might say the second line is proof: Lily does not believe “I know,” but Gram has heard the same words from Poppy, so she really does know. Another might say it gives Lily something to hope for: Poppy wanted the same summer she did, and her “Really?” asks whether he minds leaving her as much as she minds him going. A thoughtful student may notice that the closeness does not last: as soon as Gram names the Orbans and the surprise, “Lily moved back to her end of the couch.” Look for “I know” and the line about Poppy set side by side.

What it asks It asks the student to hear Mrs. Orban’s happy words the way Lily might, not long after the couch. There Lily cried about the fishing and the movies she and Poppy had planned. The question leaves the couch out on purpose; the student has to remember it. Mrs. Orban says, “Isn’t this perfect,” and “Just as Margaret leaves, Albert comes.” She is thinking of Lily’s friend. Lily may be hearing Poppy. Gram, staring at her, thinks Lily won’t go to the beach with any boy, fish with him, or go to the movies at the Cross Bay Theatre. So the fishing and the movies are being offered back, with Albert in them. And Lily thinks Gram has it wrong: “it was probably the other way around.” The question asks what that offer sounds like to her. It feeds the last written question without asking it.

One reading

Like someone trying to fill Poppy’s place. Mrs. Orban means Margaret’s place, but fishing and the movies were Lily’s plans with Poppy. Hearing them handed to a boy she hardly knows could make the loss sharper, not smaller.

• “We were going to go fishing,” Lily said, “and to the movies. We were going to do everything.”
• “Isn’t this perfect,” Mrs. Orban said.

Another reading

Like something she can’t take, because of what Albert knows. The trouble is not fishing with a boy, as Gram thinks. Albert knows she spied on him, and Lily guesses he is the one who won’t want her.

• How could she say she didn’t want to go, that she knew about Albert? And worse, that he knew about her.
• What Gram didn’t know was that it was probably the other way around.

Listen for

• Remembers, without being told, what Lily cried about on the couch.
• Notices that Gram thinks of the movies too, the Cross Bay Theatre.
• Uses “the other way around” and says what it means.
• Says how the offer sounds to Lily, not only what Mrs. Orban means by it.

If stuck

• What two things did Lily say she and Poppy were going to do?
• What does Mrs. Orban offer Lily now that Albert is here?
• Gram thinks Lily won’t want to fish with a boy. What does Lily think instead?

A strong answer A strong response might say it sounds like someone trying to fill Poppy’s place: the fishing and the movies she cried about on the couch are handed to a boy she hardly knows, and Mrs. Orban calls it “perfect.” Another might say the trouble is Albert himself: he knows about her, and Lily thinks it is “probably the other way around,” that he is the one who won’t want her. A thoughtful student may say it is both, or notice that Mrs. Orban is thinking of Margaret while Lily is thinking of Poppy. Look for the couch and the dinner used together, and for no claim that the two become friends.

What it asks It asks about the second time Albert makes the same move. At the door he taps his lip with “his own eyebrows raised.” Lily decides “Albert was crazy.” Now, with peas falling off his fork, he sees her watching, laughs, and brings his hand to his mouth, and she knows: “He was reminding her of the lipstick, Gertz Department Store, FREE TAKE ONE.” Lily wants to race out and never come back, and at the end she is still thinking about “him laughing at her.” But the page gives only Albert’s gesture and Lily’s guess about it. He says nothing out loud, and the grown-ups go on talking. The question asks the student to read his laugh. It gives the last written question one of its reasons without asking it. The card does not say Albert dislikes or mocks Lily.

One reading

Laughing at her. He has caught her before, and now he lets her know he remembers. Lily feels it as a joke on her, and she almost runs out of the house.

• Usually she was good at that, but halfway into the face, her eyes slid away because for the quickest second it looked as if Albert was going to laugh.
• It was a good thing Mrs. Orban was talking, otherwise Lily might just have jumped up to race out of there and never come back.

Another reading

Sharing a joke. He keeps it behind his hand and says nothing to the grown-ups, so the lipstick stays between the two of them. It is also the only time he laughs at the table, not long after his sister is named.

• When she looked back, he was tapping his lip, looking at her, his own eyebrows raised.
• He was laughing, bringing his hand up to his mouth.

Listen for

• Uses both times Albert touches his mouth: at the door and over the peas.
• Notices that Albert says nothing about the lipstick out loud.
• Uses what Lily feels, and keeps it as her guess.
• Takes a side and gives a reason from the page.

If stuck

• What does Albert do at the door, and what does Lily think of it?
• What does Lily figure out when he laughs over the peas?
• Does Albert tell anyone at the table about the lipstick?

A strong answer A strong response might say he is laughing at her: he has caught her before, and the laugh makes her want to “race out of there and never come back.” Another might say he is sharing a joke: he keeps it behind his hand and tells no one, so the lipstick stays between the two of them. A thoughtful student may notice it is the only time Albert laughs at the table, not long after his sister is named, and that “laughing at her” is Lily’s own word for it in the last sentence. Look for both gestures used, and for no claim that Albert dislikes Lily.

What it asks It asks the student to set Lily and Albert side by side at one dinner, starting from the word “too.” When Ruth is named, Albert looks down at his bread, and Lily bends over her plate: “She was starving.” Then she watches him: “Albert must have been starving too.” He bends over his own plate, “his hand made a fist around his fork,” and he eats fast. Later, when Gram talks about Poppy going to Europe, Lily stuffs her mouth with bread. At the end neither one looks at the other. But Albert also laughs over the peas, reminds her of the lipstick and eats three pieces of cake, and Ruth is “caught in France” while Gram only hopes Poppy is “still at Fort Dix.” The student decides how far the likeness goes. It gives the last written question its ground without asking it. The card does not say why Ruth was left behind, says nothing about Albert’s mother and father, and does not say Poppy has gone overseas.

One reading

Very alike tonight. Both are hungry, and both look down at their plates when Ruth is named. Each has someone the war is taking away: Albert’s sister is caught in France, and Lily’s father may go to Europe any day. By the end, neither looks at the other.

• Albert must have been starving too.
• He’ll go to Europe soon, any day.

Another reading

Less alike than it looks. Albert looks right at Lily over the peas and laughs, while she keeps looking away. He can tease her; she cannot even meet his eyes. And Ruth is already caught far away, while Poppy may still be at Fort Dix.

• And suddenly he looked up and saw her watching him.
• “I hope he’s still at Fort Dix,” she said.

Listen for

• Uses the word “too,” and how Albert eats, his fist around his fork.
• Sets one thing Albert does beside one thing Lily does after Ruth is named.
• Names a difference as well as a likeness.
• Answers in complete sentences, says what the other side would say, and keeps Poppy at Fort Dix as Gram’s hope.

If stuck

• What do Lily and Albert each do right after Ruth is named?
• What does Lily notice when she watches Albert eat?
• Who in each family is far away because of the war?

A strong answer A strong response might argue they are very alike tonight: both bend over their plates when Ruth is named, Lily sees that Albert “must have been starving too,” and each has someone the war is taking away. Another might argue the likeness stops at the plate: Albert looks up, laughs and teases, while Lily looks away, and Ruth is caught in France while Gram still hopes Poppy is “still at Fort Dix.” The best answers use at least one thing each of them does after Ruth is named, answer the other side, and claim nothing about Albert’s mother and father or about Poppy having gone overseas.

What it asks It asks the whole question of the chapter. Lily walks to the Orbans’ planning not to look at Albert: “She’d talk to Mr. and Mrs. Orban and not even look at him.” Then Mrs. Orban tells about Albert’s long trip, Albert says “With Ruth,” and Mrs. Orban’s face goes “older, sad.” His eight-year-old sister was sick, she says, and “She’s caught in France.” Albert makes a sound and looks down at his bread. Mr. Orban and Gram start talking quickly, and Lily bends over her plate. From then on she looks past him, gets caught watching him over the peas, and stuffs her mouth with bread when Gram talks about Poppy going to Europe. The chapter ends with her wondering about Ruth and “trying to pretend she didn’t notice he was there,” until it is time to go home. The student weighs why the pretending goes on after Ruth, now that Lily knows the boy she spied on has a sister the war is keeping from him. The setup says Albert does not look at Lily again, so a student may say she is only matching him; ask what she was doing before he stopped looking. Three things press on her at that table: Albert’s lipstick joke, Gram’s watching eyes, and talk of a war she does not want to think about. The card does not say why Ruth was left behind, says nothing about Albert’s mother and father, and does not say Lily will teach him to swim or that they become friends.

One reading

She is embarrassed. Albert knows she spied on him, and he has just reminded her of the lipstick. Ruth makes him a real boy, but it does not make him forget what he saw. At the end, wondering about his sister and dreading his laugh go on at the same time.

• She dreaded having to meet Albert, actually meet him at last.
• He didn’t look at Lily again, and she sat there thinking about him laughing at her, and wondering about his sister, Ruth, and trying to pretend she didn’t notice he was there, until they were finished and it was time to go home.

Another reading

She does not want to think about the war. Ruth is caught in France, the place Lily heard about on the news before dinner, and Poppy may be sent to Europe any day. When Ruth is named, the grown-ups talk fast and Lily looks down. She does with Albert what she does with Gram’s talk about Poppy: she fills her mouth and looks away.

• And then Mr. Orban began to talk quickly, and so did Gram, and Lily bent over her plate to bone the fish and begin on the corn.
• She didn’t want to think about it.

Listen for

• Takes a position and gives at least two reasons from the chapter.
• Uses what Lily learns about Ruth and what the people at the table do right after.
• Weighs the lipstick joke, Gram’s watching eyes and the war talk against each other.
• Sets the couch, where Lily lets Gram come close, beside the dinner, and answers the other side without saying why Ruth was left behind.

If stuck

• What does Lily plan to do about Albert before she gets to the Orbans’?
• What does Mrs. Orban say about Ruth, and what do the grown-ups do right after?
• What does Lily do when Gram talks about Poppy going to Europe?

A strong answer A strong response takes a position, gives reasons and answers the other side. A student might argue that embarrassment wins: Albert knows she spied on him, his laugh over the peas proves he remembers, and in the last sentence she sits “thinking about him laughing at her” before anything else. Another might argue that Ruth is the reason, not an exception. Lily “didn’t want to think about” the war, and Ruth brings it to the table: she is caught in France, and Poppy may go to Europe “any day.” So Lily looks away from Albert the way she stuffs her mouth with bread. A thoughtful student may add Gram, whose eyes Lily can feel on her, and may notice that pretending not to notice is not the same as not noticing: in the last sentence she is wondering about his sister. Look for the couch kept in view, where Lily let Gram come close, and for no story about Ruth’s journey or Albert’s mother and father.