Literature Response Chapter 4 • Pg. 156-end (Kindle Loc. 165-end)

Answer the questions below in complete sentences.

 

VOCABULARY: lacking

 

lacking   v., n. without …you will never be lacking in spirits to call your friends.

 

COMPREHENDING

 

1. Who does Cat dress as for Halloween? What is Maya’s costume?
2. Why does Cat promise to give Maya three-quarters of her trick-or-treat candy?
3. What do Cat’s friends say to her that make her get scared?
4. Why doesn’t Cat want to go see the ghosts at the Mission? Why does Maya want her to go?
5. How does Carlos’ uncle José bring Cat home?
6. What fear does Maya tell José about? What thing of hers does she share with him?

 

ANALYZING

 

1. Why do you think the author/artist chose to have Maya dress as an angel? Besides being “sweet” or “good,” what ideas do you associate (connect) with angels? Think about the themes (big ideas) that come up in this novel.
2. A motif is an image or idea that recurs (repeats) throughout a work of literature (novel, poem or graphic novel). What are some of the motifs you spotted in Ghosts? Think about things connected to weather and air. 
3. A theme is the big idea behind a work of literature. Not the story, but the ideas and feelings the story explores. What are some of the ideas and feelings Ghosts explores? Think about your response to #8. How do you think the motifs in the novel connect to its themes?

Most narratives (stories) have both an internal conflict and an external conflict. The internal conflict is the protagonist’s (main character’s) struggle with themselves, conflicted feelings they have about something on the inside. The external conflict is the struggle between the protagonist and some outside force, thing or person. Often, a story’s internal and external conflicts are connected. For example, in the Harry Potter series, Harry’s internal conflict is about connecting with his parents, his struggle to understand where he comes from and why he has a scar on his forehead. His external conflict is with Voldemort, but as the series unfolds, it becomes clear that both conflicts are connected: Voldemort has something to do with both Harry’s scar and his disconnection from his parents. Discuss the internal and external conflict in Ghosts. What does Cat struggle with on the inside? How is this conflict connected with her struggle against external forces? A few other ways to think about this question: How does Cat both need and fear the ghosts? What does Cat want, what’s in her way, and how are these two things connected?