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1) Evaluate the setting in this excerpt. Critique the significance of the setting (how the setting impacts the events or people).
Chapter 22, pages 259-267
Aza and Daisy were going to an art show in the sewer, while they were walking through the sewer they give a description of what they see and smell. It says in the book that there is a little stream of sewage water felt in the dark passageway. They could hear the sound of the rodents that lived there and a very powerful smell of rotting sewage. They also passed by a sign that said, A Pickett Engineering Project, which they didn’t think was important at the moment. Later, they decided to take a walk through the sewer, and realize that the smell is getting stronger. Aza and Daisy start talking and they realize where the jogger’s mouth is. They started to put the puzzle pieces together and figured out that Mr. Pickett is most likely hiding in the sewer somewhere. The setting in the excerpt helped them use the small details that didn’t seem important make a big difference and changer the plot of the story.
2) Evaluate a character in this scene, telling what is revealed about this character and how it is revealed. Specify direct or indirect characterization. Justify your answer with evidence from the text.
Chapter 5, pages 46-47
Aza has a mental condition where she deals with a lot of anxiety and worries about bacterial infections from a cut on her finger and in her body. In one case she describes one her spirals where she is concerned about a bacterial infection in the cut of her finger. As the reader seeing it her perspective truly shows that she can’t help it and it’s a part of her. When it says, “You don’t actually want to do this; it’s just an invasive. Everyone has them. But you can’t shut yours up.” and “Well, but wait. What if your finger is infected? Why not just check? The cafeteria wasn’t exactly the most sanitary place to reopen the wound. And then you were in the river.” From this, we can tell that Aza has a voice inside her head that makes her second-guess herself and this forms into a battle between her and the voice creating one of her spirals. This excerpt has an indirect characterization because the reader is reading the characters thoughts.
3) Evaluate the main conflict, giving evidence of the conflict and/or the reason behind it. Identify it as internal or external. Justify your answer with evidence from the text.
Chapter 19, pages 227-229
Aza was in a car accident and has been in a hospital for a few days. She has a mental illness where she has a major anxiety of getting a bacterial infection which creates a spiral and she has another voice in her head, that takes control of her thoughts. The main conflict is that Aza’s mental illness creates her to do reckless things. In chapter 19, she has a thought spiral about her concern about getting C. diff in the hospital. The voice in her head is telling to drink the hand sanitizer, but her true-self is trying to stop the voice. She goes into a huge spiral and drinks the hand sanitizer and makes herself sick. The conflict is internal because the conflict is all happening inside her head and it’s all her, no one else is really involved other than the voice in her head.
4) Evaluate the main theme (What is the author telling us about life?) Justify your reasoning with evidence from the text.
Chapter 18, pages 215-217 and Chapter 21, pages 237-238
The main theme is that friendships can be tough sometimes and you might not always agree, but if you are meant to be true friends you’ll work it out in the end and forget all about. The author is expressing this theme in his writing because it’s something pretty much everyone will deal with or has dealt with. John Green wants us to know that some things are worth going through the trouble to fix. In the book, this theme is shown by Aza and Daisy. They get into an argument about how Daisy views Aza and that Aza doesn’t know anything about Daisy. They get into a car accident leaving Aza in the hospital, they don’t talk or see each other after that until Aza returns to school. They apologize and work things out and become even better friends after it.
