- Do you think Uncle Nate, Zinny, and Ben have actually seen Aunt Jessie? Why do you think they feel it's necessary to show "proof" that they saw her?
- Describe the terrible things Jake does in the book. Do you dislike or like his character in spite of these actions? Why?
- How do you know that Zinny misses her family while she is on the trail? Why is this an important realization for her?
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Questions for the Week of Monday, April 27, 2009
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I noticed that many of you responded early last week and fulfilled your requirements right away. Then many of you did not respond as thoughtfully after you were finished reading all of the chapters for the week because you had already finished. Be sure to return and make comments about how your feelings might have changed after reading the whole assignment for the week. Remember that our goal is to keep the conversation about the book flowing! Keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteYou know Zinny misses her family because she keeps imagining them and seeing memories of them.
ReplyDeleteShe always wants to run home. She always looks towards her home when she hears the train.
She now realized that her family loves her. They told her to bring thing so she won't get hungery or cold. Some of them didn't want her to go up there because she would get hurt. She finally realized that she missed and cared about them and they missed and cared about her back.
When she finally got home the first thing she thought was that nobody cared about her. Later she learned that the reason the were not wating for her was because her uncle got hurt and her mom took care of him and her dad was at work and her sisters and brothers were sleeping. She learned about how much her dad talked about her. She saw that they took care of her garden for her. She knew they all were happy to see her and happy that she is getting so far on her trail.
I think that, to some extent, Nate, Zinny, and Ben really see Jessie. I don't really think it's a ghost, but I don't think that it's a figment of their imagination either. As I said in an earlier post, I think they're seeing the part of her that remains in their hearts. Not exactly a spirit or imagination, more the love they have of her, the memory they have of her put together to form an image of her.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's important to them to get proof that they saw her because they don't want to think that they, themselves, are crazy, but they also want other people to believe them. To realize that she's not completely gone.
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I think Uncle Nate, Ben, and Zinny really did see Aunt Jessie because Zinny and Ben Doesn't seem the type to make up stories. Uncle Nate probably would make up stories because he is kind of weird. I almost think when Zinny got lost that Jake lead her out of the forest. I don't know why I think that, but I do.
ReplyDeleteI think that they have seen Aunt Jessie because whenever they are in need of something, Aunt Jessie always appears and helps them, like when Zinny was lost on the trail in Spook Hollow and couldn't find her campsite, Aunt Jessie appeared and helped her find a safe place to sleep right next to her campsite. I think that they think it's necessary to show proof of what they saw because most people don't believe them, and Zinny thought that Uncle Nate was crazy for thinking he saw her, and she thought Ben was lying when he said he saw her, so now that Zinny actually saw her she feels that she needs proof, otherwise people will think she's crazy or lying.
ReplyDeleteI think the real reason that they saw her was because they want to see her. They also see her when they need her for thing so then she comes to help with what they need her for.
ReplyDeleteThey want to show proof because no one will believe them if they don't show proof. Then people will think they are crazy. Like how people think Nate is crazy running around after her.
I know Zinny misses her family when she's on the trail because she keeps having these flashbacks of times before at home. Also she is scared for Uncle Nate because he's hurt and she wants to go back home. Plus this new baby that I think Bonnie is taking care of is making Zinny jealous. This is an important realization of her because her family said they love her and she realizes if this isn't very important that much so she wants to go back home.
ReplyDeletewhy do they need proof?
ReplyDeleteI think that they want to show proof because they want other people to believe them. and also I think they all were the closest to Aunt Jessie. I also do think that they have seen her and no one believes them. I think that Uncle Nate and Zinny have seen Aunt Jessie the most.
The reason that I think Jessie is a real ghost is because this is a book and in books you can do and believe anything. I don't think in real life there are ghosts but in this story Jessie is a ghost.
ReplyDeleteThe terrible things Jake does in the book is steal a dog. Steal his great-grandma's ring, and steal a car. I dislike him a little because I don't think he should have stole these things even if he is trying to impress Zinny.
ReplyDeleteIn the book Jake does some bad things to get Zinny's attention. At least I think that it's Zinny's attention, not May's but I guess that's your personal choice. Anyway, he steals, he cheats people, but he also remembers things. In the beginning of the book, his first gift to Zinny is that free package of cookies, which doesn't really matter, but that would be the part about cheating people. His next gift are the bottle caps. He was gone from Kentucky for a very long time, but he still remember that Zinny liked bottle caps. If you think about it, that gift that would seem so pointless to other people is a huge gift of thought and remembrance. It's actually kind of sweet that he gave her that. I realize that Jake steals. He stole Gobbler from an old lady, a car from a family, etc, etc. But he also gave Zinny a cricket and a turtle. I don't know if it was to keep her in the know or what, but the gifts that are the smallest are sometimes the most meaningful.
ReplyDeleteDespite what Jake has done in the book, yes, I do still like his character. To me he represents the conflict that every person has within them. The want to please, but be yourself. The want to succeed, but do right. The confusion of what your feelings really are. For me, the character of Jake Boone kind of sums all that up in to a nut shell.
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ck I have to agree with you I think Uncle Nate and Ben want to say that she is still alive in their hearts because they want to remember what it was like with her around.
ReplyDeleteJake steals things from people to give them to Zinny, but she keeps making up excuses for him about how the puppy followed him, and he borrowed the car. I think Jake needs to get a life.I think what Jake does is wrong, if someone stole my dog i would be very upset. I hope Jake is in jail right now. That'll teach em'.
ReplyDeleteYes I think that Uncle Nate, Zinny, and Ben see her because she always appear when something bad happens or if they need help. Like when the bear was trying to get her in the tree so she asked for help from her. I think it's necessary to show proof because everybody, but them think they're weird. And they think that they miss Aunt Jessie so that's why they think they see her.
ReplyDeleteThe terrible things Jake did was steal a dog, car, and ring. This is terrible because it is against the law. A terrible/sweet thing to do was go against what Zinny said by going up the trail with her(even though she didn't know), it was sweet because he cared enough to spend nights watching over her.
ReplyDeleteI don't like Jake because he seems not to know where the limit is.
Jake steals things and tells lies to other people. Most of the things he steals, like the ring and the dog, he gives to Zinny. He lied to his mom by staying out late to watch over Zinnny on the trail, which he can't do anymore because he was probably put in jail for stealing the car.
ReplyDeleteI kind of like Jake as a character in the book because he makes the book more exciting, but he does a lot of bad things which make him a bad person.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with ck because everything Jake does it for Zinny because I think that Jake likes Zinny. The only thing I don't understand is that why can't Jake buy these things or at least give them back to the owner? Plus he bought a new car when he could of used that money for all of those things.
ReplyDeletein this book jake dose some really bad things. Like stealing his moms ring and giving it to zinny who now has lost it. And he also stole that dog and like always zinny once again lost it to some old lady with another beagle and the crazy old lady charged her with a broom. To top it all off he also stole a car and for some odd reason zinny is worried that he might be in jail I wonder why. I would say that he is not my favorite chareter in the book but I do dislike him.
ReplyDeleteI think that Nate, Zinny, and Ben see Jessie when they are in need, kind of like what LS said. I think that she leads them or shows them what they already know, but what they don't realize. I think that it's kind of like the memories that Zinny keeps in the back of her head, but it's instinct. Something to keep them safe, but coming to them in a different way because fear takes away about all sense, except itself-fear.
ReplyDelete-ck
Zinny misses her family from the trail even though she gets treated badly, she shares a room with her big sisters, her parents ignore her, and nobody an town can tell which Taylor she is. she always climbs a tree and looks for home she misses them all very much, I don't understand why.
ReplyDeleteLS-
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the fact that you can tell Zinny misses her family because she sees memories of them and is always thinking about them. She also has dreams about them.
I think this is an important realization for her because she always thought that her family didn't love her and she never really thought she needed her family, but when she went up to the trail, she learned differently. Now she knows that family is important, her family does care, and that if it weren't for her family, she wouldn't be where she was. I think that that's an important realization for any one really. I mean honestly, without a mom, a dad, and grandparents, who would you be? WHAT would you be? And in short, would you even BE here?
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ps- I leave you with these questions not to make you confused, but to make you think twice before you shun your family. If it weren't for them, there would be no one TO shun.
I think that zinny misses her family a lot because.
ReplyDeleteShe is used to seeing people around her family helping her through things and taking care of her. This is important to her because she now knows that she is on her own and no one else is out there with her to help her. I also know that she misses her family because she is not used to being alone and dose not like being alone and esspceaily
so far from home.
hey ls0321 yea I toataly agree with you Jake is not one of those people I really like in the book and if he likes zinny why dosen't he just tell her strait to her face I mean come on you are probably in jail and all because you stoll stuff for a girl.
ReplyDeleteand really she dosen't know for sure
I don't like Jake because he steels and lies. He steels a dog a car a ring and even a charm stone thing. And he lies a lot. That is not being an honest person. In spite of all the good intentions he has I still don't like him.
ReplyDeleteI know zinny misses her family because she sees and hears her family out in the woods but they wern't there. she keeps talking about her famil and how she wishes they were there.
ReplyDeleteYou can tell she misses her family because while she's in the woods, there are brief moments when she thinks to herself about how she wishes her family were there to help her, or wishing that she is with her family. She also saw Aunt Jessie when she was in desperate need of her family. It's an important thing for her to realize because if she wants to forget about her family and doesn't care for her family, then she would probably get nowhere in life. If she didn't have a family in the first place then she would probably be dead.
ReplyDeleteRM-
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you about Zinny not liking being alone. I think that she liked being alone a lot when she was at her house, thus the reason she always went up to the trail and rarely ever talked- to be alone and be left alone. If you remember that's also part of the reason why she like Nate and Jessie's house so much, because it was quieter and she would be left alone. However, I think that when she goes up to the trail and is alone for ten days she starts to realize that being alone doesn't always have all the cons. She starts to miss her family more and so on. She now, I think, wishes that someone would be there to help her. She starts regretting things and feeling bad about the ways she's treated her family, mainly her parents. I think that being on the trail has made her not like being alone so much, just like you said in your post. But I still think that in the beginning she liked to be left alone. I think her problem was that she wanted people to take care of her and fuss over her, but she never gave them the chance. And because she never gave them the chance she felt they didn't care and it just got worse and worse and worse.
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ps-Be careful for what you wish for- it may come true...
CK,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that it is important for everyone to realize how vital their family is to their life. Have any of you ever had a moment in your life similar to Zinny's, where you suddenly realized how important a family member or friend was to you?
Ms. Steffen
KK,
ReplyDeleteJake did not buy a new car. Have you figured out where he got the car from yet?
Ms. Steffen
Many of you dislike Jake. Are there other reasons that you do not like his character or is it based on his stealing?
ReplyDeleteMs. Steffen
Dear Students,
ReplyDeleteThere are a few of the blogging rules that are not being followed properly.
**Use proper writing conventions. This includes spelling, capitalization, punctuation and grammar. Reread through your writing before you post to double check for any errors.
**Use evidence from the novel to support your answers. Many of you are just stating your opinion about the questions. Be sure to include what information from the book helps shape your opinion. Use more than one example from the book if possible.
Ms. Steffen
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ReplyDeleteMs. Steffen,
ReplyDeleteYes, I have had a moment in my life where I've realized how important, or vital, someone really was to me. Or how much I really needed them, more than what I had originally thought. It's strange, I think, how when you discover that you really need someone it usually seems to happen when you don't have them. I think that it's like that for a lot of things though. If we didn't have electricity for instance, even for just a little while, I think we would value it a lot more than what we do now. I think that it goes the same way with the people in our lives. When they're gone, or we're separated, I think that then we truly realize how much we really need them.
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CK
ReplyDeleteYou talk about the needs of having a family. I agree a little. I still think that you need a little time for yourself alone. Like I am around a lot of people at home and can never get away an I get sick of them. When I get older I don't want to be to dependet on my family and be unable to do things when I leave the house. But yes, you do need your family like when Zinny would go to her trail to get away from her family, then gets chased by a bear and needs her family. I would leave the house almost everyday for hours at a time riding my bike to get away from my family, then one day I turned to sharp to avoid hitting a car and hurt my side. I was in pain as I walked my bike back to my house hoping one of my siblings would see me and help. Back at my house my sister helped me clean all my cuts and fix the bike. So all in all you do need your family and yous space.
LS-
ReplyDeleteI understand what you mean and I agree. Everyone needs their own time and space. Also, when you do leave the house-move out- you shouldn't be so dependent on your family as you were before. You can no longer ask them for money, expect them to get you out of tough situations, or think that they'll always be able to catch you when you fall. But I also think that your family should always be there for you and the other way around. I think it's kind of messed up when someone is always with their family and never without. So, you need your family, you need to respect your family, you need your space, and your family needs to respect that. I guess, it's kind of complicated if you think to hard.
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ps-LS, cause and effect. :D
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ReplyDeleteLS-
ReplyDeleteIt is great that you don't have to ask your parents for money. That's very responsible. But LS, you only have so long to be an adult. You should continue, or at least, TRY to keep being a kid as long as you can. I read a poem one time and it said, "Slow down, don't dance so fast." LS, that is my advice for you, slow down, don't dance so fast. Stay a kid as long as you can. Don't forget how to be a little kid-ever.
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ReplyDeleteLS-
ReplyDeleteYou know, someday you're either getting married or becoming a nun(Nun...), but if you get married I would go partly just to see you in a dress slow dancing throwing purty flowers to "all the single ladies out there!
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ReplyDeleteLS-
ReplyDeleteWell, yes, you could. That's why I said nun. I mean, they ARE single you know. Unless you count be married to the dead Jesus. Then they're married. But that's kind of weird.
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ReplyDelete