Interpretive Questions: Answer all questions in complete sentences, providing quotes as textual support.
1.) Why does Mercedes insist she’s not Mercedes Kane, the child prodigy?
Mercedes insists she's not the prodigy because she just wants people to treat her like a normal person, not a child prodigy. She denies it because it might not actually be her, "That was someone else, I'm sure. All I know is English, and I'm not too handy with that" (Page 119).
2.) Why does Mercedes tell the story about her father saying that Edith was a pretty girl?
Mercedes tells the story about her father saying that Edith was a pretty girl because he's making a comparison of Edith and Mercedes, "My father looked up; whatever he was about to say was important enough to make him put down his book" (Page 125).
3.) Why does Mercedes look “terrified” when Ruthie says, “We all know you’re a genius”? (p. 126)
Mercedes looks terrified when Ruthie says, "We all know you're a genius" because she wants to keep her secret safe and she doesn't want it to affect her relationship, "We all know you're a genius, Mercedes" (Page 126).
4.) Why does Mercedes retype Ruthie’s report?
Mercedes retypes Ruthie's report because Ruthie crumbled it up and threw it away and she feels guilty for reading her report without permission. She wants to prove she's Mercedes, "I was only interested. I don't know anything about the Boston Tea Party" (Page 126).
5.) Why does Mercedes leave and never return to Ruthie and her mother’s house?
Mercedes leaves and never returns to Ruthie and her mother's house because if she really is Mercedes Kane she might not want them to expect her to be a prodigy, "Mercedes knew that I wouldn't be too proud to take it if she snuck it in" (Page 127).
6.) Why does Ruthie get so angry at Mercedes for denying who she is?
Ruthie gets so angry at Mercedes for denying who she is because she just wants her to admit it and Ruthie is mad because Mercedes it getting more attention from the mom, "We all know you're a genius, Mercedes" (Page 126).
7.) Why does Ruthie say that her mother bringing Mercedes home was “an astounding thing to do”? (p. 115)
Ruthie says that her mother bringing Mercedes home was "an astounding thing to do" because the mom just takes a random person named Mercedes home assuming it's the prodigy, "It was an astounding thing to do" (Page 115).
8.) Why does Ruthie say that her mother loves her with a “careful affection: regimented, proper”? (p. 121)
Ruthie says that her mother loves her with a "careful affection: regimented, proper" because the mom only shows affection when she thinks she should, "I knew she loved me of course, but it was a careful affection: regimented, proper" (Page 121).
9.) Why does Ruthie do a “cruel impression” of Mercedes by saying “Mmm,…That’s a lie”? (p. 127)
Ruthie does a "cruel impression" of Mercedes by saying "Mmm,... That's a lie" because she mocked Mercedes not saying who she was because she was mad, "Mmmm' I said, doing a dead-on, cruel impression. 'That's a lie" (Page 127).
10.) Why does Ruthie cry when she replays the conversation between herself and Mercedes?
Ruthie cries when she replayed the conversation between herself and Mercedes because she feels bad that she treated Mercedes so badly and hurt her feelings. Mercedes meant no harm, "But I knew which one of us was guiltiest, and pinched my thighs and slapped my stomach, rolling in the streets" (Page 127).
Vocabulary in Context:
1.) Prodigies (p. 113)
Quote: "When she was a little girl in the 1940s, my mother read books about child prodigies and got jealous" (Page 113).
Definition (based on context/in your own words): the definition of the word prodigies is someone who is excellent at something
Synonym: genius, talented, phenomenon
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): The prodigies were placed in a different class than the regular people.
2.) Antagonistically (p. 115)
Quote: "She wouldn't have gotten depressed—she was unfailingly, antagonistically pleasant" (Page 115).
Definition (based on context/in your own words): the word antagonistically means to act rude or selfishly
Synonym: negatively, adversely, contrastively
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): She was acting antagonistically to her mother.
3.) Impetuous (p. 121)
Quote: "She plainly loved Mercedes, and that surprised me, because my mother wasn't impetuous about anything, least of all love" (Page 121).
Definition (based on context/in your own words): the word impetuous means with great force
Synonym: carelessly, rashly, thoughtlessly
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): Sally was talking to her teacher in an impetuous tone.
4.) Dubious (p. 123)
Quote: "Mercedes sounded dubious" (Page 123).
Definition (based on context/in your own words): the word dubious means to be unsure of what will happen
Synonym: questionable, suspicious, disputable
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): Everyone was acting dubious when the clock broke.
5.) Ambitious (p. 124)
Quote: "He was too far away from reality to be ambitious" (Page124).
Definition (based on context/in your own words): the word ambitious means with great strive
Synonym: enthusiastic, anxious, longing
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): I was very ambitious to get my report card last trimester.
6.) Silhouette (p. 127)
Quote: "Whenever we were in the car, looking down driveways and in doorways, if we spotted a small silhouette or a wisp of smoke, my mother slowed down" (Page 127).
Definition (based on context/in your own words): the word silhouette means the side of the outer shape of something
Synonym: shadow, profile, form
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): Madison asked me if the silhouette looked like her the other day.
Thinking Map:
Use textual evidence to show examples of when a character reveals something about herself or a character hides something about herself. Include 5 examples and support with page numbers and opinion for each column.
1.) Why does Mercedes insist she’s not Mercedes Kane, the child prodigy?
Mercedes insists she's not the prodigy because she just wants people to treat her like a normal person, not a child prodigy. She denies it because it might not actually be her, "That was someone else, I'm sure. All I know is English, and I'm not too handy with that" (Page 119).
2.) Why does Mercedes tell the story about her father saying that Edith was a pretty girl?
Mercedes tells the story about her father saying that Edith was a pretty girl because he's making a comparison of Edith and Mercedes, "My father looked up; whatever he was about to say was important enough to make him put down his book" (Page 125).
3.) Why does Mercedes look “terrified” when Ruthie says, “We all know you’re a genius”? (p. 126)
Mercedes looks terrified when Ruthie says, "We all know you're a genius" because she wants to keep her secret safe and she doesn't want it to affect her relationship, "We all know you're a genius, Mercedes" (Page 126).
4.) Why does Mercedes retype Ruthie’s report?
Mercedes retypes Ruthie's report because Ruthie crumbled it up and threw it away and she feels guilty for reading her report without permission. She wants to prove she's Mercedes, "I was only interested. I don't know anything about the Boston Tea Party" (Page 126).
5.) Why does Mercedes leave and never return to Ruthie and her mother’s house?
Mercedes leaves and never returns to Ruthie and her mother's house because if she really is Mercedes Kane she might not want them to expect her to be a prodigy, "Mercedes knew that I wouldn't be too proud to take it if she snuck it in" (Page 127).
6.) Why does Ruthie get so angry at Mercedes for denying who she is?
Ruthie gets so angry at Mercedes for denying who she is because she just wants her to admit it and Ruthie is mad because Mercedes it getting more attention from the mom, "We all know you're a genius, Mercedes" (Page 126).
7.) Why does Ruthie say that her mother bringing Mercedes home was “an astounding thing to do”? (p. 115)
Ruthie says that her mother bringing Mercedes home was "an astounding thing to do" because the mom just takes a random person named Mercedes home assuming it's the prodigy, "It was an astounding thing to do" (Page 115).
8.) Why does Ruthie say that her mother loves her with a “careful affection: regimented, proper”? (p. 121)
Ruthie says that her mother loves her with a "careful affection: regimented, proper" because the mom only shows affection when she thinks she should, "I knew she loved me of course, but it was a careful affection: regimented, proper" (Page 121).
9.) Why does Ruthie do a “cruel impression” of Mercedes by saying “Mmm,…That’s a lie”? (p. 127)
Ruthie does a "cruel impression" of Mercedes by saying "Mmm,... That's a lie" because she mocked Mercedes not saying who she was because she was mad, "Mmmm' I said, doing a dead-on, cruel impression. 'That's a lie" (Page 127).
10.) Why does Ruthie cry when she replays the conversation between herself and Mercedes?
Ruthie cries when she replayed the conversation between herself and Mercedes because she feels bad that she treated Mercedes so badly and hurt her feelings. Mercedes meant no harm, "But I knew which one of us was guiltiest, and pinched my thighs and slapped my stomach, rolling in the streets" (Page 127).
Vocabulary in Context:
1.) Prodigies (p. 113)
Quote: "When she was a little girl in the 1940s, my mother read books about child prodigies and got jealous" (Page 113).
Definition (based on context/in your own words): the definition of the word prodigies is someone who is excellent at something
Synonym: genius, talented, phenomenon
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): The prodigies were placed in a different class than the regular people.
2.) Antagonistically (p. 115)
Quote: "She wouldn't have gotten depressed—she was unfailingly, antagonistically pleasant" (Page 115).
Definition (based on context/in your own words): the word antagonistically means to act rude or selfishly
Synonym: negatively, adversely, contrastively
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): She was acting antagonistically to her mother.
3.) Impetuous (p. 121)
Quote: "She plainly loved Mercedes, and that surprised me, because my mother wasn't impetuous about anything, least of all love" (Page 121).
Definition (based on context/in your own words): the word impetuous means with great force
Synonym: carelessly, rashly, thoughtlessly
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): Sally was talking to her teacher in an impetuous tone.
4.) Dubious (p. 123)
Quote: "Mercedes sounded dubious" (Page 123).
Definition (based on context/in your own words): the word dubious means to be unsure of what will happen
Synonym: questionable, suspicious, disputable
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): Everyone was acting dubious when the clock broke.
5.) Ambitious (p. 124)
Quote: "He was too far away from reality to be ambitious" (Page124).
Definition (based on context/in your own words): the word ambitious means with great strive
Synonym: enthusiastic, anxious, longing
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): I was very ambitious to get my report card last trimester.
6.) Silhouette (p. 127)
Quote: "Whenever we were in the car, looking down driveways and in doorways, if we spotted a small silhouette or a wisp of smoke, my mother slowed down" (Page 127).
Definition (based on context/in your own words): the word silhouette means the side of the outer shape of something
Synonym: shadow, profile, form
Sentence (underline the vocabulary word): Madison asked me if the silhouette looked like her the other day.
Thinking Map:
Use textual evidence to show examples of when a character reveals something about herself or a character hides something about herself. Include 5 examples and support with page numbers and opinion for each column.
revealsMercedes revealed her intelligence about cars (Page 120)
Mom reveals her spontaneous attitude (Page 116) Mom reveals her lack of affection for Ruthie (Page 114) Mom reveals her organization (Page 116) Mercedes reveals the possibility of being smart by rewriting the paper (Page 127) |
HidesMercedes hides that she's the prodigy (Page 120)
Mercedes hides where she went (Page 127) The mom hides her true personality of caring (Page 121-122) Mercedes hides the fact that she was reading the paper (Page 126) Ruthie hides the fact that she was doodling and watching tv (Page 121) |