1. Two Part Questions

2. As we walked out into the hall, we saw Johnny's mother. I knew her
As we walked out into the hall, we saw Johnny's mother. I knew her. She was a little woman, with straight black hair and big black eyes like Johnny's. But that was as far as the resemblance went. Johnnycake's eyes were fearful and sensitive; hers were cheap and hard. As we passed her she was saying, "But I have a right to see him. He's my son. After all the trouble his father and I've gone to to raise him, this is our reward! He'd rather see those no-count hoodlums than his own folks..." She saw us and gave us such a look of hatred that I almost backed up. "It was your fault. Always running around in the middle of the night getting jailed and heaven knows what else..." I thought she was going to cuss us out. I really did
2) In the above passage, the narrator characterizes Johnny’s mother as
a. unflinching and gallant
b. intelligent but sarcastic
c. mean and selfish
d. cautious but eager
3) Which of these selections best supports your answer from question 2?
a. But that was as far as the resemblance went.
b. Hers were cheap and hard.
c. “But I have a right to see him.”
d. “After all the troubles his father and I’ve gone to to raise him, this is our reward!” 97 66

3. Two Part Questions

4. PART A: Which of the following best describes a central theme of the text?
A. Compassion is easy enough to find - even in difficult situations - if one looks hard enough for it.
B. People - even children - can sometimes be unintentionally cruel when put in a position of power.
C. It takes true courage to not do what everyone else is doing and stand up for what is right.
D. It is easier and better to live in ignorance than to seek out knowledge and truth
2. PART B: Which of the following paragraphs best supports the answer to Part A?
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 50

5. In the evening we could tell he was getting tired
In the evening we could tell he was getting tired. He wasn’t saying much, and seemed to have lost interest in us. Before we left that day, as we were rising quietly and looking at the dark shadows of the trees we had to move through to reach our homes, he said, “Why didn’t you tell anyone?” He coughed. “Didn’t you want to tell anyone?” Perhaps he heard the hesitation in our breaths, but he wasn’t going to help us now. It was almost night then, and we were spared the detail of having to see and read each other’s faces.

6. PART A: Which of the following best describes a central theme of the text?
B. People - even children - can sometimes be unintentionally cruel when put in a position of power.
he said, “Why didn’t you tell anyone?” He coughed. “Didn’t you want to tell anyone?”
Perhaps he heard the hesitation in our breaths, but he wasn’t going to help us now. It was almost night then, and we were spared the detail of having to see and read each other’s faces.

7. PART A: How did the children come to the decision not to help the man?
They talked it out and figured that someone else would eventually find him.
B. When no one stepped forward to help the man, they all silently decided not to (possibly without reason).
C. They argued among themselves how to help him but could not come to an agreement; thus, they decided not to help at all.
D. The children were going to help him, but so much time passed that they feared they would get in trouble if they did.   

8. When no one stepped forward to help the man, they all silently decided not to (possibly without reason).
4. PART B: Which of the following quotes best supports the answer to Part A?
“I was with a group of friends, playing hide and go seek or something when I found the well, and then I heard the voice of the man in the well calling out for help.” (Paragraph 1)
“I think it’s important that we decided not to help him. Everyone, like myself, was probably on the verge of fetching a rope, or asking where we could find a ladder, but then we looked around at each other and it was decided.” (Paragraph 2)
“At first afraid to disobey the voice from the man in the well, we turned around and actually began to walk toward the nearest house, which was Arthur’s.” (Paragraph 3)
“Now that we had established some sort of a dialogue, everyone had questions he or she wanted to ask the man in the well….” (Paragraph 6)

9. PART A: How did the children come to the decision not to help the man?
B. When no one stepped forward to help the man, they all silently decided not to (possibly without reason).   
B. “I think it’s important that we decided not to help him. Everyone, like myself, was probably on the verge of fetching a rope, or asking where we could find a ladder, but then we looked around at each other and it was decided.” (Paragraph 2)

10. PART A: Consider how the children react the first time the man asks for help. Why do the children likely react this way?
The children feel bad for asking him questions and wasting his time, so they go to retrieve help; however, Arthur’s house is too far away.
The children genuinely want to help him but they become distracted on their search for a ladder; this indicates that they are not very matured and still retain childish carelessness.
The children are cruel and want to play a trick on the man, so they pretend to walk to the nearest house for a ladder.
The children are afraid of getting in trouble and are used to following an adult authority; however, realizing the man cannot get them in trouble, they return without a ladder.

11. The children are afraid of getting in trouble and are used to following an adult authority; however, realizing the man cannot get them in trouble, they return without a ladder.
PART B: Which of the following quotes best supports the answer to Part A?
“I think it’s important that we decided not to help him.” (Paragraph 2)
“I remember that we were still full of games and laughter when we called down to him.” (Paragraph 3)
“At first afraid to disobey the voice from the man in the well, we turned around and actually began to walk toward the nearest house, which was Arthur’s. But along the way we slowed down, and then we stopped….” (Paragraph 3)
"The man answered back immediately, 'Do you have the ladder?' / We all looked at Arthur, and he called back down, 'No, we couldn’t find one.’" (Paragraphs 4-5)

12. PART A: Consider how the children react the first time the man asks for help. Why do the children likely react this way?
D. The children are afraid of getting in trouble and are used to following an adult authority; however, realizing the man cannot get them in trouble, they return without a ladder.
C. “At first afraid to disobey the voice from the man in the well, we turned around and actually began to walk toward the nearest house, which was Arthur’s. But along the way we slowed down, and then we stopped….” (Paragraph 3)

13. PART A: The children cannot see the man in the well
PART A: The children cannot see the man in the well. Why is this an important detail?
It is important because the children cannot see what sort of condition the man is in.
It is important because the children cannot see if they know who the man is, or if he is even in the well.
It is important because the children feel more confident and less sympathetic in tricking him if they cannot see him (literally and as a person).
It is important because the children treat him like a playmate; if they saw him as an adult, they would have never stuck around

14. It is important because the children feel more confident and less sympathetic in tricking him if they cannot see him (literally and as a person).
PART B: Which of the following quotes best supports the answer to Part A?
“I never went very close to the lip of the well, or I only came up on my hands and knees, so that he couldn’t see me; and just as we wouldn’t allow him to see us, I know that none of us ever saw the man in the well….” (Paragraph 2)
“Resting on the grass and cement by the well, I tried to picture him. I tried to imagine the gesture of his hand reaching to cover his mouth, each time he coughed.” (Paragraph 14)
“After ten minutes or so, Grace called down to him, 'What’s your name?' but someone pulled her back from the well, and we became silent again. Today the question humiliated us with its simplicity.” (Paragraph 38)
“At last, the man in the well said, 'All right, then. Arthur. What do you think I look like?' …Arthur, who was sitting on the ground with his chin propped on his fists, didn’t say anything. How could he--I knew I couldn’t answer, myself, if the man in the well called me by name. He called a few of us, and I watched the shudder move from face to face.” (Paragraph 48)

15. PART A: The children cannot see the man in the well
PART A: The children cannot see the man in the well. Why is this an important detail?
C. It is important because the children feel more confident and less sympathetic in tricking him if they cannot see him (literally and as a person).
D. “At last, the man in the well said, 'All right, then. Arthur. What do you think I look like?' …Arthur, who was sitting on the ground with his chin propped on his fists, didn’t say anything. How could he--I knew I couldn’t answer, myself, if the man in the well called me by name. He called a few of us, and I watched the shudder move from face to face.” (Paragraph 48)

16. RESPONSE QUESTIONS
Are the children’s action’s cruel?
Why is Aaron upset that the man in the well knows his name? Why does the speaker hide his face from the man in the well?
3. Why does the speaker never go back to the well after the night it rains?
4. Consider the actions of the characters in the story to answer the following question: Why do people do bad things?
5. Compare the children’s actions to other behavior you observe in society.

17. RESPONSE QUESTIONS
Why do you think the boss never went to see his son’s grave?
What do you think is a theme of this story? (What can we “take away” from this?)
3. Why is the character only referred to as “the boss”?
4. How is this story similar to “The Man in the Well”?