Watsons Comprehension Questions Chapters 9-11

Watsons Comprehension Questions Chapters 10-11 Name: ______

I. Comprehension Questions- answer these questions as you find the answers in the chapters.

1. Why does the Watson family find the rest stop in Appalachia so frightening? ______2. What surprises Kenny when he sees his grandmother for the first time? ______3. What surprises Kenny about Byron’s reaction to Grandma Sands? ______

II. Literary Devices: A. Symbolism—a symbol in literature is an object, person, or event that represents an idea or set of ideas.

For example, reread the last part of Chapter Ten where the Watsons pull off at a dark, deserted rest stop in the mountains of Tennessee. The dark night might symbolize racial tensions in America. Use the chart below to compare the descriptions in the text to what you know about what was happening in the south during the time between African Americans and whites.

Description of Appalachian Mountains =Racial Tensions during 1960s  “scariest things I’d ever seen”  violence hurt or even killed people  “big, black hills...”   “crumpled up a big black blanket  and dropped the Weird Watsons down into the middle of it”  air made you feel like something  bad was going to happen   “Hell”

What might the Brown Bomber symbolize?

8. B. Personification—a figure of speech in which an author gives lifelike qualities to nonhuman objects. For example: C. D. “The lights knocked some of the darkness out of the way and we felt safe again.” p. 147 E. F. 9. What has been personified? ______G. H. 10. What does this use of personification reveal about the Watson’s feelings at the rest stop in Appalachia? ______I. J. Word Choice—authors use word choice to best express thoughts that match the purpose of the piece. K. L. Byron describes racist Southerners using insulting terms that are often used to describe poor, rural whites in Chapter 10. Can you locate these terms in the chapter? M. N. 11.______O. P. Hyperbole—a figure of speech with the deliberate use of exaggeration used as a way of adding humor to a story. Q. R. Find examples of hyperbole from Chapter 11 and Chapter 12: S. T. 12. Grandma Sands (p. 156) U. ______V. 13. Grandma Sands and Byron (p. 158) W. ______X. 14. the heat (p. 162) Y. ______Z.

as described before meeting her after they meet her in person Grandma Sands AA.

BB. CC.