Mr_Shank

Erin Campbell

In the first five chapters of the story the main characters name is unknown.  What is known is that he is an adult male that seems to be in the upper class.  We can assume this because he knows things about meteorology and associates himself with higher level society.  When he finds out about the capsule that landed on earth near him, his interest is sparked and he goes to see it as soon as possible.  He is definately one of the braver people because he approaches the capsule with the other men (including Ogilvy and Henderson).  This seems to diminish a fair amount when the capsule opens though, when he backs up.  So my question to you is if you think the main character is brave or a coward?  Also do you think this will stay the same through out the story or will it change?  In other words if the you think he is brave will he become scared, or if you think he is already scared will he become courageous?  Use facts to back up you view.

The first chapter of the book starts out from the point of view of a man who has already experienced whatever the plot of the story is. He drops a lot of hints early on about the impending attack on mankind from Mars. This tells us that the narrator must have survived the events that are going to take place throughout the novel. Knowing this, we can ask the questions of why are the Martians attacking people, how how did they get to Earth, and what are they’re intentions? What do you think the martians want?

The main issue i would like to address is society’s reaction to the arrival of the Martians. It seems that the people of Woking and the other nearby towns were very enthralled by the news of landings, but in just a few short days most of the people seem uninterested or even uninformed about the Martians and the deaths of all those people. What is the reason for society’s apparent lack of interest in the recent happenings? More importantly, however, the military officers that the narrator talks to all have the same opinion about the Martians; that killing them now would be the best thing for humanity. This seems like a logical idea on their end since the Martians seem to be very hostile, but is it really a good idea to eliminate the first extraterrestrial species ever encountered by mankind?

-Shaun Ditzler

Hopefully everyone has an understanding of what has been happening in the book so far.  I would like to start the discussion by asking, How does the man in Lorry’s dream relate to Miss Manette’s father?  Please use examples from the story to support your answer. 

I would also like to bring up the time period of this book.  It takes place at the begining of the French Revolution and the Revolution of the British Colonists in America, 1775.  Like in any revolution there are riots and common chaos among the streets, what are some actions you noticed in the first book that the “common” people of France and England are doing in the streets and in general?  Again, please be specific and look closely through the chapters to find examples.

-Rebecca Krick

In the first four chapters of The Bean Trees, the author presents two stories in two different view points. The story of Taylor Greer is told in first person. The story of LouAnn is told in third person. I have several questions below:

Why does the author do this? How does this create the novel? How are the stories similar literally and symbolically?

How does the character of Angel fit into Taylor Greer’s story? This is not directly stated, but there is a connection. This connection also ties Taylor and LouAnn together.

How are LouAnn and Taylor similar? How are they different?

First off I think that since I am the discussion director for this first week I should say that it would be greatly appreciated if everyone in our group could read the first five chapters of the book to answer some of my questions. My questions are as follows:

1. First off, what do all of you think of the book  so far, do you think that this form of introduction into the book written by H.G. Wells was an effective way to start the book?

2. Second, I would like to know if you think that the foreshadowing used by H.G. Wells was too direct, and if it made it too easy to guess what would happen later on in the story? (What I mean by this is if you thought that by showing instances that denied the existence of martians was a way of foreshadowing that made the outcome too predictable, and therefore killed off any suspense that was meant to be built up.)

3. Third, I would like to know what were your first thoughts when the capsule had landed and started to move? Did you just happen to guess it was a martian? Or did you think something different, don’t by shy to tell us what you thought.

4. And finally I would like to hear some feedback on what were your thoughts when you learned more about the martians. Did you believe that they were capable of killing masses of people in one swoop? Or do you think it was just an overreaction made by the martians? You tell me, I would like to hear what you think about these extraterrestrials

I think that these four questions should keep you busy long enough.

The character that I am going to look at is Taylor. Her personality is very unique, flipping to one objective to another so quickly that it is hard to identify with her. Her basic outline was laid out very quickly and accurately by Barbara Kingsolver. Taylor is very headstrong, taking the reins of her own future and not really letting anyone have an influence on where she is going. Actually, I believe that she is not quite sure where she is going in life. Her thoughts and actions have been influenced by indirect forces, for instance, the tire exploding, which created her fear of putting air into tires. Another indirect influence was actually one that Taylor was aware of: The scenery of Kentucky. 

My question to you is somewhat related to Kianat’s, yet still has its own uniqueness. What could have possibly been an indirect influence on Taylor to have her except Turtle (the child)? Why do you think this? How could Taylor’s personality affect the way that Taylor might raise the child?

Right, that is all that I have for you!

-Jenni Kantor

I believe that this novel can be connected with Lord of the Flies. in the War of the Worlds the people are attracted to the crater were the martians have landed. There is a hidden danger in the hole though. When the martians fell out of the ship they started killing.  Havoc began to break out among the people. The same occured in the Lord of Flies. The boys had believed that the island was going to be fun, there were no rules, no adults, and there was a lot of space to play. Soon power struggles broke out and people were being killed. Just the same as the little boy with the birthmark who had disappered, the shop keeper had fallen in the hole and they never knew what had happened to him. The was that hidden danger that must have been in the spectators minds but they were so excited about somenthing new that they had dismayed it, the same as the boys on the island they knew that there was danger but they were so excited about being on the island that it temporarily put that out of their minds. Obviosly there will be violence and war in the story, but will the martians provide a sense of false comfort like the island did?

The character that I would like to look at is Thomasin Yeobright. She is the niece of Mrs. Yeobright and had been away from her home because she was to be married. Her aunt did not approve of the marriage. After she changed the location of where she would like to be married on the day of her wedding, her groom forgot to get a new licence for the new location. So it seems to me that Thomasin is a spoiled girl, and always has to get what she wants. Although the fact that they have to postpone their wedding is embarrassing, why are they trying to hide it from the rest of the towns folk? They planned to get married the following day, so it really shouldn’t be such an ordeal. Why is Thomasin along with her aunt so intent on hiding this from everyone else?

Adam Lough

Well, I am still trying to figure this thing out so hopefully this works and the group gets it. My question is why does Taylor choose to keep the baby that the one woman gave her? So far in the first four chapters she treats the baby well but she doesn’t talk about it as if she wants to keep the baby. So why does she choose to keep the baby when in her mind she doesn’t really want it or it may cause her problems down the road?

Also why is Taylor always second guessing herself? Is she just naturally one of those people who second guess themselves, or is she concerned about the effect that the decisions she makes will have. For example she was second guessing herself when she took the child instead of giving it back, why do you think that is? Could it possibly be because she is scared that she might not be a good influence on the child. Or maybe she thinks that she will not be able to support the child or be the good, steady parent that the child needs.