The writer uses paradox irony, symbol, plot and characterization to show they were looking up from the bottom of a bowl. Dad said the hills around Welch were too steep for cultivating much of anything.

Later that day, we got into the Oldsmobile, and Mom and Dad took us for a tour of the town. Welch was

surrounded on all sides by such steep mountains that you felt like you were looking up from the bottom

of a bowl. Dad said the hills around Welch were too steep for cultivating much of anything. Couldn't

raise a decent herd of sheep or cattle, couldn't even till crops except maybe to feed your family. So this

part of the world was left pretty much alone until around the turn of the century, when robber barons

from the North laid a track into the area and brought in cheap labor to dig out the huge fields of coal.

What recurring patterns (repeated or related words, images, etc.) can you find? What 

is the effect of these patterns or motifs? Erma

wouldn't let us use any coal—she said we didn't know how to operate the stove and would burn the

house down—and it was so cold in the basement that Lori, Brian, Maureen, and I were glad we all

shared one bed. As soon as we got home from school, we'd climb under the covers with our clothes on

and do our homework there.

Recurring patterns were the multiple ways in which the Walls family would struggle for money for example when they didn't have food and they had to go live with grandma erma, and the multiple times they skipped towns when they didn't have money.

• Experiences that I share with the characters are What experiences do you share with the characters?

• In what ways is your family similar or different from those in the book?

• What did you learn about a character or group of people that you have not personally experienced?

Family

Home

Poverty

Resilience

Responsibility, Self Sufficiency,

Non Conformity

Other

• Give context for your quote. What was happening in the story that made this quote significant? Who was speaking?

• Why did this quote stand out to you?

reading that elicits a response from you and explain. 

What tone and mood are created at various parts of the work?  Provide examples.

What recurring patterns (repeated or related words, images, etc.) can you find? What 

is the effect of these patterns or motifs?