Chapters Three and Four

Vocabulary

mulled tendrils frothed mesa col

giddily shade (2x) precipitous arch chisel

gnarled turf (2x) relishing survey falter

cuff tumult audacity solemn anxiously

vigil threshold tarnish calamity jug

Analysis 

1. Why does Jody climb the rock wall?
2. Why doesn't he look at the White Wall? Would that have stopped you? Why or why not?
3. To describe Jody's climb up the rock wall, and the view he has from up high, the author has used a large number of descriptive words. List the six words you found most descriptive.
4. Make a drawing of what Jody finds on top of the rock wall.
5. Why do you think has the survey stake been given to the colonists? What does the President do with it? Why does he do that?
6. What exactly does Jody replace in the ceiling of the Scared Cave? Why did the other colonists never do that?
7. How does Jody see the gifts from the Guardian? In what ways are his views differing from those of the colonists?
8. Why do the colonists keep vigil in the Sacred Cave?

Character Reference

The Guardian of Isis  contains many portraits of memorable people. The process of recalling or creating memorable details about individuals is called characterisation.

The personalities of people in a book can be conveyed by:

what the author states directly about the character

what the character says and does

what others say or think about the character

Directions

Each of the following charts lists some traits possesses by a character in the book. Find several specific pieces of evidence for each trait (from anywhere in the book as you read the story) to prove that the character does have that characteristic.

Then decide which characterisation method (or methods) in each piece of evidence is used to reveal that trait. Check the appropriate column.

a = what the character says

b = what the character does

c = what others say or think about the character

d = how others act toward the character

Below you will find an example of a chart for Jody. Make a similar chart for each of the other characters listed below:

Jody's grandfather

President Mark London

The Guardian

Olwen

Example	Trait	How trait is revealed	Page	a b c d e
Jody	curious	He experiments with the water wheel.	1	b
	persistent
	sensitive
	honest
	brave
	independent

2. Jody's grandfather

a. strong willed

b. insecure

3. President Mark London

a. strong willed

b. demagogue

c. cruel

d. insecure

e. dictatorial

f. corrupt

4. The Guardian

a. intelligent

b. caring

5. Olwen

a. caring

b. insecure

c. compassionate

d. understanding

Figurative Language

To give their language power and colour, writers use figurative language, or figures of speech. The Guardian of Isis is particularly rich in such figures of speech such as metaphors, similes and personification or hyperboles which the author uses to describe Jessie's new environment.

A metaphor is an implied comparison. That means that the comparison is not really stated directly. For example: "My dad is a bear."

A simile is a comparison that uses "like" or "as". For example "Bob runs like a deer". or "She's as sweet as candy."

A personification gives human characteristics to objects or events. For example (from the chapter): "mountains which joined hands with other mountains".

A hyperbole is a deliberate and wild exaggeration. For example: "I've told you a million times!"

Directions

Decide if each of the following is a metaphor (M), a simile (S), a personification (P), or a hyperbole (H)

---> Up to the teachers to select from the text <---

One Step Further

Now try inventing your own examples of hyperbole, simile, metaphor and personification. Do not use expressions you have heard before.

Example: The mountains

Simile:

Personification:

Metaphor:

Hyperbole:

1. Jody

2. The President

3. The mountains

4. Loneliness

Words with Status

When you call someone "obstinate", you mean that that person stubbornly holds to a course of action or an opinion in spite of reasoning or persuasion. The original Latin meaning of this word, however, did not have the connotation of stubbornness in holding a wrong idea. Obstinare  meant "setting about a thing with firmness". The Latin verb is a compound of the preposition ob (against) and the verb stare, status  (to stand). Closely allied to the verb stare  is another verb, statuere  (to set up, to cause to stand), which is formed from the past participle of stare.

These two Latin verbs appear in many English words. Below are ten of them. Can you put them in the correct blanks in the following sentences?

obstacle status

stationary institution

destiny constant

distant destination

restitution destitute

1. President London used the _____ of religion to control the people. (established practice, law, custom)
2. When the pioneers left Earth, their _____ was Isis. (a place to which one is journeying)
3. President London had Jody under _____ supervision, to avoid trouble. (regular, continual, unvarying)
4. Jody's _____ among the settlers was low. (position or rank, standing)
5. _____ should have been paid by the person who had destroyed Jody's water wheel. (act of restoring something to its owner)
6. If Jody could get over that _____ , the rest of the way would be easy. (hindrance, something that impedes progress)
7. The settlers would be _____ , if the valley would flood. (lacking possessions , suffering from want)
8. Jody's _____ was to become a leader of his people. (fate, fortune)
9. Jody wanted to travel to the _____ mountains, but they were taboo. (far off, far away)
10. The sun of Isis, called Ra, was _____ in relation to the planet, but the settlers were told the opposite. (fixed in a certain place, not movable)
    

Composition Workshop

Good action words, called verbs, always make your writing more sparkling and exciting. A line like:

The truck ran well.

doesn't tell the reader much. Think how much stronger it would be if you added sentences like these:

The action words make a big difference. There are many other words like these that you can use. Let's look at a few lively action words. Use them in a paragraph describing students during lunch hour.

hasten scurry jostle whine

collide with pout sulk whirl

complain glide drop slurp

spit slip slide push

shove scream holler yell

If you wish, you may add sensory words and other details you can think of. Remember to keep asking yourself the three key questions:

1. What else can I add to these details?

2. What other sensory or action words can I use?

3. What more can I say about feelings?