Based on the information disclosed by the narrator, what are you led to think about the Blackwood family? What specific information or details support your impression of the Blackwood family?

Response

Description
Engage with Chapter 1 by reading it closely, marking your text or taking notes, and providing written responses to the following questions (with as much detail as possible).

1. What quote in Chapter one did you enjoy the most? Share the quote including the page number in your answer. Why do you like it?

2. In Ch. 1 the narrator does not explain all of her thoughts or comments. This leaves the reader with some comments that seem incomplete or mysterious. Compile a short list of incomplete ideas, comments, or thoughts. Include the page number for each item on your list.  For example, Mary Katherine Blackwood writes “I like Amanita phalloides, the death cab mushroom…” (p. 1). [But she says nothing else about it, which feels incomplete to the reader.]

3. Based on the information disclosed by the narrator, what are you led to think about the Blackwood family? What specific information or details support your impression of the Blackwood family?

4. Describe how Mary Katherine Blackwood sees the townspeople or “villagers.” At this point in the story, do her feelings about the villagers make sense to you? Why or why not?

5. Based on Mary Katherine’s account of her trip into town, how do the villagers treat and interact with the Blackwood family? What evidence seems to support your impression of the villagers?

6. Who narrates the story? Based on what you know about her at the end of chapter, do you think she’s reliable? Why or why not?