Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapters
3 & 4

Chapters
5 & 6

Chapters
7 & 8

Edition used:
Methuen Children's Books Ltd. 1984

Translated from the Danish by L.W. Kingsland.

The Movie


Please do NOT contact me for answers to Chapter or Test questions. Your request will not be answered.







CHAPTER TWO

Vocabulary

intermingled  - lithe  - irresolutely  - irksome  -   intervals  - spurs  - verge  - clamber  - credit  - arancia  - apfelsinen  - intricate  - passionate

 

Questions

1. The Chapter begins with a descriptive paragraph. List the descriptive words.

2. David gives himself a good scrubbing. But he is doing more than just washing himself. Re-check the meaning of the word symbolic and explain what is symbolic about David cleansing himself. Why is it so important to him? What effect does it have on his relationships with his surroundings? List the words that indicate a change in David.

3. Why does the author give so much detail about David's decision to cross the road and find a good hiding place?

4. After finding a hiding place, David goes over his plan of action and carefully makes a list of his strengths and weaknesses.
(a) Make a list of things that are to his credit. Explain how they might help in the future.
(b) Make a list of things he is ignorant about. Explain how this might cause problems for him.
(c) Name three character traits which David reveals about himself during his deliberations. Which trait is most adult-like? Explain.

5. Why had David thought at one time that he might be Jewish?

6. Why had there been scarcely any difference between the men and the women in the camp?


7. What things does David experience in the small town? What special qualities does David notice in the people? Are the people really a particularly fortunate group? Explain.

8. David thinks that the baker has "the same slightly stupid expression, the same good-natured eyes" as the sailor (p.43). Why does he use the word stupid.

9. What major misinterpretation makes David leave town?

10. What is strange about David's eyes?

11. What has David learned at the end of the chapter? Do you think David is really old beyond his years? Does he act like a grown up? Explain.

Setting the Mood


The setting is the time and place in which a story occurs. By describing setting, an author can create a mood or atmosphere for the story.

Setting and the mood created by that setting are particularly important in I Am David. The environment acts as a force to shape David's character and his actions.


Directions

In the following passages from the book, the author describes setting and creates a mood. Read each passage and answer the questions.

Passage 1

... Every night he ran, and he ran all night long. Once he slipped into a water-hole and the mud caked on him as it dried. Once he was so torn by branches that blood oozed from the scratches on his face, hands and legs. He would never forget that night. He had come to a close thicket of thorn bushes, and the needle of his compass indicated that he should go straight through it. So he plunged into the thicket, elbows up to protect his face. The first branch that struck him hurt painfully, and so did the first gash along his arm, but after that he noticed nothing and just crashed his way through...

1. Select a single word that would best describe the mood created by the setting.

2. List two details that contribute to the mood of the passage.

Passage 2

... And so the days passed. David lost count of them, for it was dark all the time and there was nothing to distinguish day from night. Once he woke he picked up the strange bottle by mistake for his own, and after that he took a drink from it every time stay- ing awake any longer grew too much for him, for he discovered that drinking from it soon made him feel sleepy. It tasted good, too - a little strong perhaps but not unpleas- ant - and then he could sleep a while longer.

1. Select a single word that would best describe the mood created by the setting.

2. List two details that contribute to the mood of the passage.

Passage 3

Far below him lay the sea, a sea bluer than any sky he had ever seen, The land curved in and out along its edge: in and out, up and down, all green and golden, with here and there the red of flowers too far off to be clearly seen. Down by the sea a road ran along the foot of the mountain, and near it lay villages whose bright colours gleamed dazzlingly. There were trees with many changing tints of green, and over it all shone the warming sun - not white-hot and spiteful and scorching, as the sun had shone upon the camp in the summertime, but with a warm golden loveliness.

1. Select a single word that would best describe the mood created by the setting.

2. In what ways is this mood different from the previous passages? What force in the passage creates this different mood?

One Step Further

Write a three-paragraph description of a room, car, restaurant, or store with which you are familiar. Write your subject on the top line of your sheet.

After choosing a setting, identify the mood you usually associate with it. Some examples of moods: peaceful, exciting, boring, frightening, depressing, homey, stressful, charming.) Write that mood on the second line of your sheet. Then write your drescription, choosing words to reflect the mood.

Introduction - Chapter 1 - Chapters 3-4 - Chapters 5-6 Chapters 7-8