Jouranl Entry 22/Chapter Twenty:
`"But when I reach here and see the great scar where the inlet side shows its bones, for a moment I know."
"What my lord?"
"That for me it has always been easier here, where only the fundamentals count, to learn what every man must learn in this world."
"And that, my lord?"
"Enough of the meaning of life to be ready to die,"...' (p. 144)
-What meaning of life do you think the Bishop was referring to? In your own words, what is the meaning of life to you? What things do you think everyone should experience before they die?
Journal Entry 23/Chapter Twenty-one: (Choose one of the two journal assignments)
"And what had he learned? Surely not the truth of the Indian. There was no one truth. He had learned a little of the truth of one tribe in one village." (p. 145)
-In your own words, what is "truth"? Is one truth the same fore everyone? Can there be different levels of truth? What separates the truth from an opinion or a lie? Explain.
`She did not say, "Nonsense, it was my name the owl called, and I am old and with me it does not matter." She did not say, "It's true you're thin and white, but who is not? It has not importance."
She turned, spoon still in her hand, lifting her sweet, kind face with its network of tiny wrinkles, and she answered his question as she would have answered any other. She said, "Yes, my son."' (p. 149)
-Why did Marta answer his question one way when she could have answered in any of the ways mentioned in the above passage? What does that tell us about Marta? What does that tell us about Marta and Mark's relationship? If you have bee Marta, would you have answered differently? Why or why not? Explain.
Journal Entry 24/Chapter Twenty-two: (Choose one of the two journal assignments)
`"Stay with us. Marta has told us. We have written the Bishop and asked that he let you remain here to the end, because this is your village and we are your family. You are the swimmer who came to us from the great sea,"' (p. 151)
-Write the letter to the Bishop from the entire village explaining why they want Mark to stay. Site specific reasons for the proposal based on what you have read in the book. What will the Bishop's reaction be?
"...As they neared the float thunder sounded overhead, and lightning cut the sky and struck a tree at the top of the inlet forty yards ahead of the boat and high above them. The tree fell upon the trees below and, weakened by the heavy rains, they fell also, slowly at first, then faster and faster, end over end, until a long jagged strip peeled from the inlet side, and the whole world exploded into sound."
-With the above passage as a starting point, write what happens next from either Mark or Jim's point of view. What do you think is going to happen?
Journal Entry 25/Chapter Twenty-three: (Choose one of the two journal assignments)
`"There will be many guests. What meat shall we prepare for them?"
"Roast beef."
"And how much?"
"And what vegetable?"
"Carrots," and tears trickled down the cheeks of the matriarch. "He never liked mashed turnips and I made him eat them. I am a stubborn woman who want her own way."
And the young matrons moved closer to her like chicks to an old hen, "Oh, no-no-no." (p. 157)
-What does the above passage say about Mrs. Hudson now compared to the beginning of the book? What does the above passage say about the rest of the village during the aftermath of Mark's death? How are they coping? How have they changed? Why do you think they have changed?
-Choose one of the characters in the book and write an Epilogue about what happens to them. How has Mark's life effected him/her and what impact does it have on the rest of his/her life?