TWWB+Analysis+questions


 * Analysis questions **

 1. How does the author make us sympathise/identify with the main character, Ellie? 2. T he novel begins in the present, and looks back into the past. What benefits could there be in choosing to structure a novel this way?  3. How does the author foreshadow events in the story and make us want to keep reading? 3. When and where is the story set? How does Marsden present the setting? 4. Sketch what you think Tailor’s Stitch would have looked like and surround with quotes from the text. What language techniques are used in the description?
 * __Chapter 1 __**

Read pages 28-29 (**__Chapter 2__** – **__Chapter 3__**). What is so unusual about the bridge in the place where Robyn found it? What made them decide it was the hermit’s bridge?

 1. What did Ellie hear and see during the second night of the camping trip, and what was so unusual about it?  2. What language techniques are used in this description, and why?  3. Why was Ellie shocked and amused to hear that Homer liked Fiona so much?
 * __Chapter 4 __**

1. How did the members of the group feel on the last night of their camping trip?  2. At the end of the chapter, how does Marsden increase tension for the reader? How does he plant in our minds the suspicion that something is terribly wrong?
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">Chapter 5 __**

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">1. How does Marsden create impact at the start of Chapter 6? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 2. List some examples of words with negative connotations he uses to create an atmosphere on page 55. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 3. Who is it that concludes they have been invaded? What steps led to that conclusion?
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">Chapter 6 __**

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">1. Why did they wait until dark to go to Kevin’s place? (p. 69) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 2. What special information did they find at Corrie’s place? (p. 73) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 3. Why did the group choose to travel on bikes? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 4. Why was Homer’s suggestion that the group split up so unpopular? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> a. Why did he suggest this? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> b. Did the group split up? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> c. What would you have done in similar circumstances? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 5. Re-read the paragraph on p. 91 beginning “We ran through the fruit trees…” How and why is this section dominated by the description of sound?
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">Chapter 7 __**

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">1. How was Ellie affected by the events in Chapter 7? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 2. How do the others react to her story (p. 95-97), and why was this unexpected for her? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 3. In one paragraph, summarise what happened to Fiona and Homer on their trip into Wirrawee to visit Fiona’s house. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 4. What is the Richter scale? (p. 103)
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">Chapter 8 __**

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">1. Re-read pages 110-111. What action did Homer suggest taking and why? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 2. Why was it important that the group plan most carefully what they took with them back to Hell? (p. 112-113) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 3. Why did the group move into the shearer’s quarters at Corrie’s place, and why did this end up being the most important decision yet? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 4. What techniques does Marsden use to describe the explosion on page 120? Why does he use these techniques? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 5. How does Corrie react? Why is this important to the story?
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">Chapter 9 __**

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">1. How does Marsden build tension on page 128? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 2. What do we learn about Robyn in this chapter?
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">Chapter 10 __**

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">1. “The time was 3.05am.” What makes this such an effective start to the chapter? (p. 141) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 2. Chris is discovered on page 152. What do we learn about him? (p. 153-155) Support your ideas with quotes.
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">Chapter 11 __**

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">1. Re-read pages 161-162. Why was Ellie confused about her feelings for Homer and lee one moment, then violently angry the next? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 2. What did Ellie mean by “So I guess he had atoned.” (p. 163) Why did Chris need to atone? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 3. On page 164 Ellie says “I was a devil of death, and there were no angels left in the world, no one to make me better than myself or to save me from the harm I was doing.” What is your opinion of her actions? Do you think you would have acted differently in her situation? Why?
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">Chapter 12 __**

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">1. On page 168, the group heard a report that a General from the invading country described the aim of the invasion as “reducing imbalances within the region.” This phrase is a euphemism; what is its literal meaning? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 2. In a paragraph, explain what you think it meant to the invaded Australians, and to the invaders.
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">Chapter 13 __**

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> What did Ellie discover in **__Chapter 14__**, and why was it important to the group?

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> What did the documents found by Ellie and Lee in **__Chapters 15 and 16__** reveal, and why did they put them back?

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> What conclusion does Ellie come to about Hell (p. 216)? Explain her point of view.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">1. What good news did Robyn, Kevin, Corrie and Chris have for the others on their return from town? (p. 220, 222) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 2. What did the soldiers mean when they referred to a ‘clean invasion’?
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">Chapter 17 __**

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">1. What do we learn about the different characters from their reactions on pages 240-241? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 2. What conclusion did Ellie come to about Evil? (p. 243) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 3. In one or more paragraphs say whether you agree with Ellie’s conclusion and explain why or why not.
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">Chapter 18 __**

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">1. How is Homer’s leadership shown in this chapter? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 2. To make the story believable, Marsden combines Hollywood action with small-town Australian realism. Find some examples of both of these aspects in Chapter 19. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 3. Lee says “If we do this… I’ll be able to feel pride again.” (p. 254) How does this help us understand his character and his feelings about what’s happened?
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">Chapter 19 __**

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">1. Ellie says “true courage is when you’re really scared but you still do it.” (p. 256) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> a. What is she referring to here? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> b. What are some examples of courageous acts others in the group have shown during the story? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 2. Give some examples from Chapter 20 that show how much Fi and Homer have changed during the novel.
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">Chapter 20 __**

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">1. Explain the references Marsden uses on page 266 (Medicare, Vogue, King Gee, Avgas). Why does he uses these references? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> 2. Explain the significance of ending the chapter with Ellie’s words “I’m sorry. It was very immature of us.”
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">Chapter 21 __**

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> How is the tension and pace maintained in **__Chapter 22__**?

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;"> How does the **__Epilogue__** reinforce the themes of the novel?