GOODNIGHT MISTER TOM 16 MAY 2013 STUDY NOTES - ENGLISHNOTES7B 1 - SQUARESPACE
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
16 May 2013
Study Notes
7b English 2013
Goodnight Mister Tom
English Notes 7B 1CONTENTS
B ook R e v i e w G o o d n i g h t M iste r To m . 3
A f av ou r i t e s e c t i o n f ro m Go o d n ig h t M iste r To m 4
New Vo c a b u l a r y 7
K ey Q u o t e s 9
C h a p t e r O n e : M e e t i n g! 9
C h a p t e r Tw o : L i t t l e We i r w o l d! 11
C h a p t e r T h r e e : S a t u r d a y M o r n i n g! 11
C h a p t e r F o u r : E q u i p p e d! 11
C h a p t e r F i v e : ‘ C h a m b e r l a i n a n n o u n c e s ’! 12
C h a p t e r S i x : Z a c h! 12
C h a p t e r S e v e n : A n e n c o u n t e r o v e r B l a c k b e r r i e s! 12
C h a p t e r E i g h t : S c h o o l! 12
C h a p t e r N i n e : B i r t h d a y B o y! 12
C h a p t e r Te n : T h e C a s e! 13
C h a p t e r E l e v e n : F r i d a y! 13
C h a p t e r Tw e l v e : T h e S h o w M u s t G o O n! 13
C h a p t e r T h i r t e e n : C a r o l S i n g i n g! 14
C h a p t e r F o u r t e e n : N e w B e g i n n i n g s! 14
C h a p t e r F i f t e e n : H o m e! 14
C h a p t e r S i x t e e n : T h e S e a r c h! 15
C h a p t e r S e v e n t e e n : R e s c u e! 15
C h a p t e r E i g h t e e n : R e c o v e r y! 16
C h a p t e r N i n e t e e n : T h e S e a , t h e S e a , t h e S e a !! 17
C h a p t e r Tw e n t y : S p o o k y C o t t! 17
C h a p t e r Tw e n t y – O n e : B a c k t o S c h o o l `! 18
C h a p t e r Tw e n t y - Tw o : G r i e v i n g! 18
C h a p t e r Tw e n t y - T h r e e : P o s t s c r i p t! 19
English Notes 7B 2Bo ok Rev iew G ood nig h t Mi s te r To m .
G oo d ni g ht Mi st er To m t r ace s the gr ow th of Wi l l i am Be ech fr om a sad ,
l o n e ly an d depr ived ch ild to a con fiden t, assu red an d well-adju sted you n g boy. To
begin with, William is descr ibed as being "t h i n a n d s i c k l y l o o k i n g , p a l e w i t h l i m p ,
s a n d y h a i r a nd dull g rey eyes ." However, we quickly lear n that William's emaciated
phy s i c al appear an ce is mir rored by h is f r agile an d br u ised ch ar acter. Willi am ' s
m o t h e r h a s abu s e d h im t o s u c h a n extent that he is unable to w r i te , i s ter r i fie d of
author ity and has a distor ted under standing of mor ality.
S l ow ly, W i l l i a m ' s p hy s i c a l c o n d i t i o n b e g i n s t o i m p r ove . G o o d fo o d , a w a r m b e d
and adequate clothing see William retur n to health:
" Run," roared Tom ,
An d h e a nd Wi l l i am to re d own th e pathwa y to th e co ttage . "
Wh i l e Wi l l i am' s physical con dition improves qu ickly, th e ch an ges in h is ch ar ac te r
ar e s l owe r to man ifest th emselves. To begin with , William is pain f u lly shy, h e fi n ds
i t di f fi cu l t t o ma ke f r ie n ds a n d is acutely aw ar e of his ow n i nability to w r i te . I n
o n e m e m o r able ke y mo me n t in t h e novel , w hen William is asked to w r i te ,:
"His face had turned quite pale and beads of per spiration
h ad broken ou t acro ss his fo rehead. "
U n de r To m ' s lovin g care , William lear n s h ow to spell h is own n ame an d in th e
pr o c e s s o f lear n in g h ow to wr ite , William' s talen t as an ar tist reveals itsel f . A s
au tu m n c h an ges to ear ly win ter, William' s growin g closen ess to Tom is match e d by
a cor respon din g growth in h is self -con fiden ce . H e develops a f r ien dsh ip with
Zachar ias Wrench, lear ns how to read & wr ite and plays the leading roll in a
s ch oo l p l ay.
English Notes 7B 3
T he insi pi d l i t t l e boy w ho gr e ete d Tom gr ow s into a we l l - a d j u st ed ,
c o n fi de n t per son . T h e en or mity of th e tr an sfor mation th at takes place in Wi l l i am
i s s i gn al e d by h is decision to ch an ge h is n ame to Will. In th is man n er, Wi l l i am
m ake s i t c l ear th at th e per son h e on ce was is dead. Alth ou gh William su f fe r s
gr e atly u pon h is retu r n h ome an d is n ear ly destroyed by th e h or ror h e
e x pe r i e n c e s , h e su r vives. Wh en Tom rescu es h im an d retu r n s h im to L i ttl e
We i r wo l d, William is slowly h ealed. O th er tr ials f ace h im su ch as th e death o f h i s
be s t f r i e n d, Zach , an d th e su icide of h is moth er. H owever, William h as ch an ge d to
s u c h a n ex t en t t h a t h e me e t s a n d over comes these chal l enges.
I fo u n d th e fin al lin e of th e n ovel par ticu lar ly movin g becau se it stresses th e
degree to which William has changed.
"' Dad, ' " re pe ate d W i l l i n a s ur pr is e d to n e , 'I' m growi ng!' "
A fa vo ur it e s ect ion f ro m Go o d n i g h t M i s te r To m
Choose a favour ite section from a novel or shor t stor y you have studied.
(i)D e s c r i b e w h a t h a p p e n s i n t h i s s e c t i o n o f yo u r c h o s e n t e x t . ( 1 5 )
(ii)Why is this your f avo u r i t e section? Explain your answer with reference to
the novel or shor t stor y you have chosen. (15)
( T h i s w o u l d als o w ork for a c haracte r sketc h o f Wi l l )
T he novel tha t I h ave st udie d i s “Goodni ght Mi ste r Tom”. Wr i t t en by
Mi c h e l l e Magor ian th is n ovel tr aces th e ch an gin g relation sh ip between , To m
O akl e y an d a you n g evacu ee , William Beech . T h e section of th e n ovel th at I h ave
c h o sen i n cl u de s W illia m’s a r r iv a l in Little Wei r wol d to his tr agi c r etur n home .
I n the o peni ng pa g es of t he Nove l , we meet Wi l l i am Be ech, a yo u n g ,
m al n o u r i s h e d an d excessively shy evacu ee . H e is liter ally du mped on Mister To m
English Notes 7B 4O akl e y ’s f r o n t door. Wh en Tom fir st sees William, h e does n ot kn ow wh at to m ake
of him:
“The tales he had heard of evacuees didn't seem to fit
W i l l i e . ' Un g ra teful' and ' wild' we re th e adjecti ves h e h ad
heard used or just plain 'homesic k'. He was quite
u npre pared fo r th is ti mid, sic k l y l i ttl e spe cime n ”.
U n fo r tu n ate ly, th in gs become a great deal clearer for Mister Tom wh en h e ope n s
William’s bag. There are no war m clothes, instead there is an old Bible and a
l e ath e r be l t in ten ded for William’s pu n ish men t. Tom qu ickly discover s th at Wi l l i am
i s u s e d to bein g beaten ; h e is covered in br u ises an d bleedin g sores. S u ch i s h i s
ter ror of being beaten “when Tom picked up a piece of ember bur ning coal,
William passed out with the fear of being branded”. Owing to his
m al n o u r i s h men t, William fin ds it impossible to keep a proper meal down , h e we ts
the bed, is illiter ate and suffer s from night ter ror s. However, under Tom’s loving
c ar e Wi l l i am slowly begin s to ch an ge both physically an d emotion ally. H e gai n s
c on fi de n ce , le a r n s t o re a d a n d dis cover s tal ents that he never knew he had.
When Wi l l i a m i s fo r c e d t o r e tur n home , the change s that have taken p l ace
i n h i s ch a r ac t e r a n d a ppe a r a n c e make hi m liter al ly unr ecogni sable to his ow n
mother :
I t wa s W i l l i e , b u t h e h a d a l t e re d s o mu c h , s h e h a d b e e n l o o k i n g
for a t hi n li ttl e boy d ressed i n grey.
F o r W i l l i a m , t h e re t u r n h o me is ver y pai nful. “Su d d en ly, n ow, w h en h is Mo th e r
re fe r re d t o h i m a s W i l l i e i t wa s a s t h o u g h s h e wa s t a l k i n g t o s o m e o n e e l s e”. For h e r
par t, William’s mother finds it impossible to accept the changes that have taken
place in her son. She accuses him of stealing, lying, befr iending gir ls and
c on so r t i n g wit h Je ws . Sh e me t e s out a di stur bing l evel of cor por al punishm en t
and William retreats once more into himself:
English Notes 7B 5
H e k new that s he was h i tti ng hi m but h e fe l t
n umb an d se parated fro m h imse l f.
F o r a sh or t wh ile , Willia m e ve n r egr ets having ever gone to “Little We i r wo ld” . I
fo u n d th i s s e c ti o n o f th e n ove l ve r y di s tu r bi n g. H e qu i e tly adm i ts to h i m s e l f , th at
because of the changes wrought in his char acter by contact with Mister Tom, that
h e h a d g r ow n s o f t . “A wa v e o f d e s p a i r sw e p t t h ro u g h h i m a n d h e c u r s e d h i s n ew
a wa re n e s s .” The change in William is complete when he acknowledges to himself
that he is neither William nor Willie but r ather Will.
G oo d ni g ht Mi st er To m i s a de eply movi ng and at time s har r ow i ng n ove l t o
r e ad. T h e s ection of th e n ovel th at I h ave ju st ou tlin ed is a f avou r ite of m i n e
be c au s e i t takes u s on an u n for ge ttable jou r n ey, is realistically told an d it is a f u l l
o f dr a m a t i c mo me n t s .
Willia m ’s j o ur n ey of g r ow t h fr om i ns i pid, fe ar ful little boy to a c on fi d en t ,
l ov i n g a n d a r t ic u la t e yo u n g ma n is r el ated to us i n unfor gettabl e detai l . For m e ,
th e c h an ge th at takes place in William’s ch ar acter is best seen du r in g h i s
pr e par ati o n for th e sch ool play. H ere William demon str ates an in n er con fide n c e
that is unimaginable ear lier on in the novel. He dr aws on his awful exper iences at
h o m e i n o r der to give depth an d life to th e ch ar acter th at h e is playin g. I r e al ly
e n j oye d r e adin g th is section of th e n ovel becau se Mich elle Magor ian allows u s to
e n te r f u l ly i n to th e lives of William an d Mister Tom. We feel like we kn ow th e s e
c h ar ac te r s an d we take genu in e satisf action in watch in g William ch an ge . In o n e
par ti c u l ar ly memor able key momen t, Mister Tom is talkin g to Mr s Fletch er. D u r i n g
th e c o nve r sation , h e remin ds u s of th e profou n d ch an ge th at h as come ove r
William:
Do you know, Mr s Fletc her, last week he laughed. It were a bit
of a n er vo u s o n e like , b ut h e a ctu ally l a ug h ed. It we re the fir s t
ti me I eve r he ard h im do i t.
English Notes 7B 6N e w Vo c a b u l a r y
MEANING
APPREHENSIVELY
APTITUDE
AUXILIARY
BAIRNS
BEWILDERED
BLAND
BRACKEN
BRUSQUELY
CADENCE
CONFIDENTIAL
CONTENTEDLY
CONVALESCENT
DEJECTEDLY
DILAPIDATED
DILEMMA
DIRGE
ENGULF
EXASPERATION
EXUBERANT
FERVOUR
FIGURATIVE
FINALITY
FOND
GALOSHES
GLUTINOUS
IMPATIENTLY
IMPOTENTLY
INCONSPICUOUS
English Notes 7B 7INSOMNIA INTERMINABLE INTERMITTENT INTERPOSED LABORIOUSLY LATRINE MORGUE NONCHALANTLY NUBBLY OMINOUSLY PALLID PEWS PIEBALD PRECOCIOUS QUAGMIRE RAGGED RAVENOUS RECLUSE RECOLLECTED RECTORY RESIGNATION RETICENT RIVULETS SEDATION SEVERAL SHILLING SLAB SPRY STARVING STUPOR TANDEM TO BUNDLE TO CONDENSE TO CONFIDE English Notes 7B 8
TO DRONE TO EXCEL TO NAG TO REBUKE TO REEL TO REJUVENATE TO RETORT TO REVERBERATE TO SILHOUETTE UNDAUNTED VACANT VOLUBLE Key Ke y Qu ot es Chapter One: Meeting Pg 10 – ‘The boy was thin and sickly-looking, pale with limp sandy hair and dull grey eyes.’ English Notes 7B 9
‘Tom was well into his sixties, a healthy, robust, stockily-built man with a head of thick white hair. Although he was of aver age height, in Willie’s eyes he was a tower ing giant with skin like coar se , wr inkled brown paper and a voice like thunder.’ ‘ “Come on in,” repeated Tom har shly. “I ent got all day.”’ Page 11- ‘ “G o on ,” said Tom, “I told you before , I en t got all day. Now make a m a r k so ’s I kn ow wh e re t o pu t a p eg, see .”’ Page 12 – ‘Willie tu gged n er vou sly at th e tops of h is woollen socks…’ Page 13 – ‘O n e of h is socks slid h alf -way down h is leg, revealin g a lar ge multicoloured br uise on his shin and a swollen red sore beside . “T h a t ’s a n a st y o le t h in g ,” To m s a id , pointing to it. “What give you that?” Willie paled and pulled the sock up quickly.’ ‘Tom noticed another br uise on the boy’s thigh, but said nothing.’ ‘Willie heard him slam the front door and listened to the sound of his footsteps gr adually fading. He hugged himself tightly and rocked backwards and forwards on the stool. “I must be good,” he whispered ur gently, “I must be good,” and he r ubbed a sore s p o t o n h i s a r m. He was such a bad boy, he knew that. Mum said s h e w a s k i n d e r t o h im t h a n mo s t mother s. She only gave him soft beatings. He s h u d de r e d. H e wa s dre a din g t h e moment w hen Mr O akl ey would di scover how w i cked h e wa s . H e wa s s t ro n g e r-looking than Mum.’ Page 16 – with th e squ ir rel: ‘H e was ter r ified an d remain ed f rozen in a crou ch ed position.’ Page 17 – ‘ “T h em poison ou s dogs,” h e h eard h is moth er’s voice sayin g in side h im. “O n e bi t e f r o m t h e m mu t s a n d you’r e dead. T hey got ‘or r i bl e di seases i n ‘em.”’ (shor tly after Willie thinks Tom will hit him with the br anch that he picked u p t o p r o t e c t h i m s e l f f r o m S a m my w i t h ) English Notes 7B 10
Page 19 – Tom realises Willie th ou gh t h e was goin g to h it or br an d h im with th e h o t p o ke r ! ‘ “ ‘ E n e ve r t h o u g h t … N o … S u r e ly n o t ! ” h e mu r mu r e d . “ O h , T h o m a s O a k l e y, w h e r e ‘ ave yo u l a n d e d ye r s e l f ? ” ’ Page 20 – ‘ “Well, S am,” Tom wh ispered, “I don ’t kn ow n oth in ’ abou t ch ildren , bu t I do know enuff not to beat ‘em and make ‘em that scared.”’ C h a p t e r Tw o : L i t t l e We i r w o l d Page 24 – ‘ Tom slowed down an d Willie wlaked more easily beside h im. H e stared u p a t t h e g r u f f o l d m a n w h o w a s s o k i n d t o h i m .’ T h e n o t e f r o m W i l l i e ’s M u m ( p a g e 2 7 – 2 8 ) – ‘ L i ke m o s t b oy s h e ’s f u l l o f s i n bu t h e ’s p r o m i s e d t o b e g o o d … I ’ ve p u t t h e b e l t i n fo r w h e n h e ’s b a d … To m w a s a n g r y. “W h i l e you ’r e in my h o u s e ,” h e s a i d i n a choked voice , “you’l l live by my r ul es. I e n t ever h i t a c h ild a n d if I e ve r do i t’l l be w ith the ski n of me hand. You got that?”’ (Willie cr ies tear s of joy and relief after this moment but after Tom has l e f t t h e h ou se . ) Chapter Three: Saturday Morning To m c o n t i nu e s t o s h ow W i l l i e p a t i e n c e a n d k i n d n e s s ; h e d i s c ove r s W i l l i e c a n n o t re a d o r w r i t e s o wr it e s h is po s t c a rd home for hi m; Wi l l i e fails to under stand t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f it be in g h is 9 th bir thday on Thur sday 7 th September and Tom is s u r p r i sed; To m t a ke s W illie t o t h e shops w her e he sees Zach for the fir st ti me . Chapter Four: Equipped To m t a ke s W i l l i e i n t o t ow n a n d bu y s h i m a s we e t , a c o m i c , c l o t h e s a n d py j a m a s . We lear n from the libr ar ian that Tom is known for being emotionally distant and c ol d t ow a r d s pe o ple a n d h a s ke pt to himself for year s. I n this chapter we see h er s u r p r i se a t h ow mu c h To m is lo o k i ng out for this evacuee but we al so see Tom ’s s u r p r i se a t t h e s a me t h in g . English Notes 7B 11
Chapter Five: ‘Chamberlain announces’ Building the Ander son shelter Tom protects Willie from embar r assing questions as to why, on a hot day, he won’t remove all his war m clothes. Willie is ashamed of the ‘mar ks of his sins’ (his br uises and sores) and Tom steps in to save him by making up an excuse . Chapter Six: Zach Chapter Seven: An encounter over Blackberries Meeting Geor ge , Car r ie and Ginnie Page 87 – ‘A su dden bu r st of en er gy rose u p in side h im. It excited an d f r igh ten ed h i m . H e h a d a lw ay s b e e n g o o d a t ke e p i n g s t i l l . I t w a s w i c ke d n o t t o, h e k n e w t h a t , bu t n ow h e fe l t a de s pe r a t e de s i re to l eap and jump.’ Chapter Eight: School A f t er be i n g p u t down a c la s s To m offer ’s to help Wi l l i e r ead and w r ite – Page 102 - ‘Willie’s eyes stu n g as th e grou n d moved in a gen tle h aze ben eath h im. H e b e a m e d . “ Aw, m i s t e r,” w a s a l l h e c o u l d m a n a g e t o s ay. To m w a s s u r p r i s e d t o fi n d a l u m p i n h i s ow n t h r o a t .’ Willie copies what Tom shows him and wr ites his own name , he also dr aws two almost perfectly str aight lines free-hand – Page 104 – ‘ “T h at’s ver y good,” remar ked Tom. “I s i t ? ” “D on ’ t you kn ow? ” Willie shook his head. Chapter Nine: Birthday Boy G i f t s o n t h e b r e a k f a s t t a bl e – p a g e 1 0 8 ‘ “ A r e t h e y fe r m e ? ” h e a s ke d i n astonishment.’ English Notes 7B 12
Page 110 – ‘Willie looked lovin gly at th e pain ts an d br u sh es an d swallowed a pain
that had r isen at the back of his throat.
“I t a ke i t you like t h e m,” mu r mu re d Tom. “I chose them meself, like .”
H e g l a n c e d o u t o f t h e w i n d ow a t t h e o a k t r e e w h e r e R a c h e l a n d h i s s o n we r e
bu r i e d . S h e u s e d t o h u g a n d k i s s hi m w hen he gave her pr esents. S he loved
painting, wild flower s and pretty lace , sweet jams, freshly brewed beer. Since her
death he had never wanted to touch anything that might remind him of her. Tr ust
a str ange boy to soften him up. The odd thing was that, after he had entered the
paint shop, he had felt as if a heavy wave of sadness had suddenly been lifted
f r o m o u t o f h i m . M e m o r i e s o f h e r d i d n ’ t s e e m a s p a i n f u l a s h e h a d i m a g i n e d .’
(I t t o o k l ove fo r W illia m fo r To m t o move out of hi s year s of gr ievi ng for his w i fe
and back into living!)
A f t er l u n ch To m t a ke s W illie t o v isit al l the people w ho gave hi m gi fts – ‘As for
To m , e ve r yo n e w a s ve r y s u r p r i s e d t o s e e h i m , fo r h e r a r e ly v i s i t e d
anyone .’ (Willie has only been there for six days and already Tom is much changed
and so is Willie although his tr ansition will take longer due to his abuse . He
re q u i r e s mu c h love …)
C h a p t e r Te n : T h e C a s e
Chapter Eleven: Friday
A f t er t wo m o n t h s in Lit t le We irwold, Tom is chatting to Mr s F l etcher –
Page 134 – ‘ “H e’s ch an ged qu ite a bit in th ese last few weeks.” [said Tom]
S o ha s yo u a nd a l l , t ho ug ht Mr s Fle tche r.
“Ye s,” he we nt o n, “ I a l mo s t fancy he ’s gr ow n a bit. I t won’t do hi m n o
h a r m t o b e o u t o f h i s m o t h e r ’s a p r o n - s t r i n g s fe r a b i t l o n g e r. S h e p u t s t h e fe a r o f
the divvil into him anyways. Do you know, Mr s Fletcher, last week he laughed. It
were a bit of a ner vous one like , but he actually laughed. It were the fir st time I
e ve r h ea r d h im do it .”’
C h a p t e r Tw e l v e : T h e S h o w M u s t G o O n
English Notes 7B 13In w h i ch W i l lie fin ds h e h a s t h e a bility to act and gr ow s somew hat i n confi dence
and fr iendship with Zach, Car r ie , Ginnie and Geor ge .
Chapter Thirteen: Carol Singing
Chapter Fourteen: New Beginnings
In w h i ch ever y t h in g is g o in g ve r y wel l , it’s J anuar y and Wi l l i e is moved up a cla ss
s o i s n ow w it h h is f r ie n ds . By t h e end of the chapter it is Mar ch and Willie has
l i ved w i t h To m fo r s e ve n mo n t h s –
Page 174 – Willie san g as h e walked down th e lan e . H e was still bu r stin g with
e n e r g y.
“I d on’ t c a r e i f t her e’s e ven an ai r- r aid dr i l l toni ght,” he s aid, gr i nni n g a n d
twir ling around. He r an into the cottage , flinging the back door open, his cheeks
f l u s h e d w i t h b o t h p l e a s u r e a n d t h e c o l d w i n d . H e t o r e o f f h i s c o a t , b a l a c l av a a n d
s ca r f a n d bu r s t in t o t h e f ro n t ro o m .
To m wa s st a ndi ng by t he r ange . He gl ance d at Wi l l i e and lis te ne d q u i et ly t o
h i s c h a t t e r.’
T h e c h a p t e r e n d s w i t h t h e l e t t e r f r o m W i l l i e ’s mu m t e l l i n g h i m t o c o m e h o m e .
Chapter Fifteen: Home
H i s mu m s e e s h i m fo r t h e fi r s t t i m e i n s e ve n m o n t h s – p a g e 1 8 1 – ‘ H e r e s t o o d a n
u p r i g h t , we l l - f l e s h e d b oy i n s t u r d y a n k l e b o o t s , t h i c k wo o l l e n s o c k s , a g r e e n
ro l l ed- t o p j er s e y, a n d a n av y blu e coat and bal acl ava. His hai r stuck out i n a sh i ny
m a ss a bove h is fo re h e a d a n d h is cheeks wer e r ound and pi nk. I t w as a gr eat sh ock
to her.’
‘She had expected him to be more subser vient but even his voice sounded
l o u d e r.’
Page 185 – ‘S u dden ly, n ow, wh en h is Moth er refer red to h im as Willie it was as
though she was talking to someone else . He felt like two people . He knew she
English Notes 7B 14wouldn’t accept the Will side of him, only the Willie , and he didn’t feel real when
s h e c a l l ed h i m t h a t .’
A f t er a cc u si ng h im o f s t e a lin g , ly ing, befr i endi ng gi r l s and J ew s, his mother bea ts
h i m – p a g e 1 9 2 – ‘ S o m e t h i n g h e av y h i t h i m a c r o s s t h e h e a d a n d h e s a n k i n t o a
c ol d da r k n e s s . He c o u ld s t ill h e a r her scr eami ng and he knew that she w as hit ti n g
h i m bu t h e fe l t nu m b a n d s e p a r a t e d f r o m h i m s e l f . H e h a d b e c o m e t wo p e o p l e a n d
o n e o f h i s selve s wa s h ove r in g a bove him w atchi ng w hat w as happeni ng to his
body…
H e fe l t a s t h o u g h h e w a s a d i f fe r e n t p e r s o n ly i n g t h e r e i n t h e d a r k . H e w a s
n o l o n g e r W i l l i e . I t w a s a s i f h e h a d s a i d g o o d - bye t o a n o l d p a r t o f h i m s e l f .
N e i t h er w a s h e t wo s e pa r a t e pe o p le . He w as Wi l l insi de and out.
F o r a n in s t a n t h e wis h e d h e had never gone to Li ttl e Weir wold. T hen he
would have thought his Mum was kind and loving. He wouldn’t have known any
different. A wave of despair swept through him and he cur sed his new awareness.
H e h a d n ’ t b e e n u s e d t o t h i s p a i n fo r a l o n g t i m e . H e h a d s o f t e n e d .
“ M i st e r To m,” h e wh is pe re d in the dar kness. “Mi ster Tom. I w ant you, Mis ter
To m ,” ’
Chapter Sixteen: The Search
Chapter Seventeen: Rescue
Page 206 - ‘T h e small alcove stan k of stale u r in e an d vomit. A th in emaciated boy
w i t h m a t t e d h a ir a n d s k in like pa rchment w as tied to a l ength of copper pi ping.
H e h e l d a s m a l l bu n d l e i n h i s a r m s . H i s s c r aw ny l i m b s c ove r e d w i t h s o r e s a n d
br uises and he sat in his own excrement.’
Page 207 – ‘T h e warden , realizin g th at th e boy looked calmer wh en th e old man
w a s by h i m , le f t h im t o it a n d wa t ched.’
Page 208 – ‘I en t Willie’
Page 218 (in th e h ospital) ‘ “T h e boy en t h ad a lot of lovin ’!”
“I ’d like hi m ba c k wi t h me ,” s aid Tom fi r mly.
English Notes 7B 15
“I ’m fo nd o f t he boy.”’
Page 225 – ‘ “I kidn apped you ,” h e said over h is sh ou lder an d th en h e su dden ly
re a l i ze d t h e e n o r mit y o f wh a t h e had done and he bur st into laughter. “Yes, th at’s
w h a t I d o n e boy. I k idn a ppe d yo u ! ”’
‘ “I k n ew yo u’d br ing hi m back,” Zach said fi er ce ly, te ar s in hi s e ye s.’
Chapter Eighteen: Recovery
Page 229 – ‘O n e n igh t h e was so fever ish Tom stayed by h is bed keepin g watch .’
Page 231 – ‘ “T h ey’ll git stron ger. R emember…” bu t Will fin ish ed th e sen ten ce for
him.
“Eve r yt hi n’ ha s i t s own t i me ,” and he laughe d.’ ( T his quote s how s h ow
u n i t e d W i l l a n d To m h ave b e c o m e t h a t t h e y c a n fi n i s h e a c h o t h e r ’s s e n t e n c e s , a n d
h ow s t r o n g To m ’s vo i c e i s i n W i l l ’s m i n d ) ‘ I t w a s g o o d t o s e e W i l l s m i l e a g a i n . I t
m a d e To m fee l live ly, re ju ve n a t e d…As Tom br oke an egg i nto the fr yi ng pan he
s t a r t ed si n g in g . H e t o o fe lt re le a s ed.’
Page 238 – ‘ “Bu t why did you kidn ap me th en ?”
“T he y we r e g o i n’ t o put yo u in a childr en’s home . I w anted you back h er e .”
“W hy ? ”
“W hy ? Wel l ,” a nd i n a n e mbar r as sed manne r he puffed out a billow of
s m oke f r om h is pipe . “B e c a u s e I’ m fond of you, boy. T hat’s w hy. I missed you,”
(W i l l ’s r esp o n s e )
“I love yo u,” a nd i nst ea d o f the cold fe el i ng he imagined would hap p en i f h e
u t t e r e d t h o s e wo r d s , h e fe l t a w ave o f w a r m t h f l o o d i n g i n t o h i s s t o m a c h a n d
through to his chest, and he beamed. Mister Tom’s face became flushed. He
c l e a r ed h i s t h ro a t .
“I love yo u t o o, boy,” he g r unte d. “And now I ’ll git on w i th dow ns ta i r s,” a n d
h e d i s a p p e a r e d q u i c k ly d ow n t h e l a d d e r.’
Page 243 – ‘As th ey walked h ome Will felt su dden ly ligh ter. Tom h ad been r igh t.
H e c o u l d n ’ t h ave g i ve n Tr u d y w h a t s h e h a d n e e d e d . I t w a s n ’ t h i s f a u l t t h a t s h e h a d
English Notes 7B 16died. He was still saddened by her death but the awful responsibility that had
weighed so heavily on him had now lifted.’
Chapter Nineteen: The Sea, the Sea, the Sea!
(W h e n t h ey fir s t s e e t h e s e a W ill and Zach do the fol l ow i ng)
Page 245 – ‘Flin gin g th eir bicycles in to th e h edgerows th ey leapt an d pr an ced
about waving their ar ms in the air and yelling at the tops of their voices, and
w h en su d de n ly W ill a n d Za c h re a lized that Tom w as danci ng too, they cl utched
their stomachs and laughed hyster ically till the tear s rolled down their cheeks.’
Page 247 - ‘Will h ad imagin ed th at th e sea wou ld ter r if y an d en gu lf h im bu t
i n st e a d h e felt s u r pr is in g ly c a lm. It seemed as i f his mi nd had suddenly opened
and all his wor r ies, painful memor ies and fear s were flooding to the surface and
dr ifting away.’
C h a p t e r Tw e n t y : S p o o k y C o t t
Where Will is the br avest one to approach the supposedly haunted cottage ,
m e e t s a n a r t is t wh o t e lls h im h e has a gi ft – exci ted Wi l l goes home to find a
policeman, psychologist, social wor ker and the London ARP warden in the house .
Will is defiant about talk of him leaving – he is not the boy he was at the
beginning of the stor y.
Page 270 – ‘ “Wh en you kidn ap someon e you u su ally wan t a r an som. T h ere en t n o
o n e i n t h e wo r ld wh o ’d pay a r a n som for me ,” and he gl anced at Tom, “except
Mister Tom perhaps and he’s the one that’s supposed to have kidnapped me . Well,
I r ec kon I were n ’ t k idn a ppe d. I re ckon I w as r escued.”’
To m i s t o l d h e c a n a d o p t W i l l :
Page 273 – ‘In an in stan t it su dden ly dawn ed on h im th at Will wou ld be growin g
u p w i t h h i m . W i t h a g r e a t ye l l o f j oy h e l e a p t u p f r o m t h e a r m c h a i r.
Will thr ew hi s a r ms a r o und hi m and together the y danced and cavor ted
across the room shouting and yelling while Sammy whir led around their ankles
c h a si n g h i s t a il a n d ba r k in g in lu n atic fashi on.’
English Notes 7B 17C h a p t e r Tw e n t y – O n e : B a c k t o S c h o o l `
Zach insists on going home for the weekend to see his injured father, Will’s 10 th
bir thday and Zach dies in the bombing.
Page 279 – ‘T h e h igh spot of th e par ty, h owever, was wh en ever yon e swar med
ro u n d t h e c o t t a g e s c re a min g hy s t er ically and hi ding fr om Tom w ho w as chasing
them and pretending to be a monster at the same time .’
C h a p t e r Tw e n t y - Tw o : G r i e v i n g
Page 282 - ‘ “I en t got anyth in g lef t in side me ,” Will wou ld say repeatedly, for h e
fe l t t h a t h a l f o f h i m s e l f h a d b e e n c u t aw ay, t h a t l i fe w i t h o u t Z a c h w a s o n ly h a l f a
l i fe a n d e ven t h a t h a lf wa s e mpt y.’
Page 289 – af ter con f ron tin g Zach ’s death an d h is an ger at it, Will f alls asleep in
the freezing woods, on ar r iving home he says: ‘ “I’m sor r y, Dad.”…It wasn’t until
Will was asleep and Tom was lying in his own bed that he allowed the full impact
o f W i l l ’s words t o s in k in .
“He c a l l ed me Da d,” he w hi spe r ed cr oaki ly i nto the dar kness. “He ca l l ed m e
D a d .” A n d , a l t h o u g h h e fe l t ove r w h e l m e d w i t h h a p p i n e s s , t h e t e a r s r a n s i l e n t ly
down his face .’
Will has come to gr ips with Zach’s death and so happily wear s Zach’s old things
and even bunks school to teach himself how to r ide Zach’s bike .
Page 291 – ‘U n dau n ted, h e clambered back on again an d each time h e swer ved
and fell, he only grew more deter mined.’… ‘He could hear his Dad’s words over
and over again inside his head. “Takes yer time , ever ythin’ ‘as its own time”’
‘As he rode , his coat flapping behind him, the cr isp wind cooling his face , he
s u dde n ly fel t t h a t Za c h wa s n o lo nger beside hi m, he w as insi de him and ver y
much alive . The numbness in his body had dissolved into exhilar ation.’
Page 294 – ‘D u r in g th e weeks th at followed th e bicycle-r idin g in ciden t ever yon e
noticed a dramatic change in Will…’ (Will asks to cast as Captain Hook in the
play a ver y flamboyant role but Will is behaving like this) ‘It was so obvious that
English Notes 7B 18the audience loved Will, that when sever al of the children pushed him forward to
take a separ ate bow the hall er upted into cheer s.
To m wa s t er r ibly pr o ud o f hi m but the n he had been for a long ti me .’
Will realises that … ‘the Zach par t of himself, the outgoing, cheeky par t of
h i m s e l f , h a d b e e n bu r i e d i n s i d e h i m a n d i t w a s h i s f r i e n d s h i p w i t h Z a c h t h a t h a d
brought those qualities to the surface .’
C h a p t e r Tw e n t y - T h r e e : P o s t s c r i p t
Will helps Car r ie come to ter ms with Zach’s death. Will realises how much he has
c h a n g ed… R E A D PAG E 303 a n d 30 4 note how Wi l l has changed since the
i n c i d e n t s w i t h t h e pe g , t h e fe a r o f Sammy, the age of Tom…Will i s gr ow i ng.
English Notes 7B 19You can also read
