Nancy Garden’s Annie on My Mind: A Discussion Guide By David Bruce Copyright 2013 by Bruce D. Bruce SMASHWORDS EDITION Thank you for downloading this free ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to Smashwords.com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphics, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author. ••• Preface The purpose of this book is educational. I enjoy reading Nancy Garden’s Annie on My Mind, and I believe that it is an excellent book for young adults (and for middle-aged adults such as myself) to read. This book contains many questions about Nancy Garden’s Annie on My Mind and their answers. I hope that teachers of young adults will find it useful as a guide for discussions. It can also be used for short writing assignments. Students can answer selected questions from this little guide orally or in one or more paragraphs. I hope to encourage teachers to teach Nancy Garden’s Annie on My Mind and I hope to lessen the time needed for teachers to prepare to teach this book. This book uses many short quotations from Nancy Garden’s Annie on My Mind. This use is consistent with fair use: § 107. 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This is a royalty-free book, and I will let anyone download it for free. ••• Annie on My Mind, by Nancy Garden Pages Before Chapter 1 What do we learn about Annie and Liza in these pages? • These pages tell us that Liza — Eliza Winthrop — is a freshman architecture student at MIT. • Liza is 5-foot-3-inches tall, and she has short, brown hair. • Liza is thinking about Annie even though she hadn’t meant to think about Annie; instead, she had meant to begin writing a paper about the architecture of the famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. • Liza begins writing a letter to Annie, although she thinks that she will not mail it — at least not until she thinks about how she came to know Annie and what happened afterward. • The feeling of these pages is one of sadness. Liza is uncertain about what she wants to do. • We learn that Liza had written a letter to Annie earlier — when Annie was in her second week of music school — but that Liza has not written since. Now Annie — who has been writing — says that she will not write again until Liza writes her another letter first. • Liza lives in Brooklyn Heights, New York, while Annie lives in Manhattan. Who is Frank Lloyd Wright? Frank Lloyd Wright is perhaps the United States’ greatest architect. One of his most famous buildings is Fallingwater, a house in Pennsylvania that is partly built over a waterfall. Chapter 1 How do Liza and Annie meet? • Liza and Annie have what movie critic Roger Ebert calls a Meet Cute. A “Meet Cute” occurs whenever two characters in a movie — usually a romantic comedy — have a meeting that is cute in some way. For example, in Notting Hill, Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant meet first in Hugh Grant’s book store (which sells only travel books), then later meet again when Hugh Grant crashes into Julia Roberts while carrying a large cup of orange juice, which he spills all over her. • In Annie on My Mind, Eliza has gone to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to think about a solar- house project. There she hears Annie singing, and when Annie stops, Eliza tells her not to. They introduce themselves, like each other, and pretend to joust with one another like medieval knights. • Liza and Annie do have fun together. • The two exchange telephone numbers and addresses. Write a character analysis of Liza based on what you learn from her first meeting with Annie. • Liza’s last name is Winthrop. • Liza makes the first move — she speaks first to Annie. • Usually, Liza likes to be alone in the museum, but she finds that she doesn’t mind if Annie tags along with her. • Liza listens to her English teacher, Ms. Widmer. She begins her story with the first important or exciting incident — that incident turns out to be meeting Annie, so we know that Annie is important to Eliza. • Liza likes going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she visits the Temple of Dendur and the American Wing. • Liza likes Annie in part because Annie is enthusiastic about what she finds in the museum. (Liza does think that Annie is a little strange.) • Liza does play-joust with Annie, but only after noticing that the only people around who can see her are a couple of small boys. • Liza almost calls Annie beautiful to her face. Write a character analysis of Annie based on what you learn from her first meeting with Liza. • Annie’s last name is Kenyon. • Annie likes going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art • Annie likes to sing and to play-act. She is creative. • Annie wears a cape — possibly an artistic article of clothing. • Annie has long black hair. • Annie thinks that Liza is “bright and clear” (14), while she is somber” (14). Compare and contrast Liza and Annie. • Both are young girls. Both are 17, and both are seniors in high school. (I say “high school girls” and “college women.”) • As we learned earlier, before chapter 1, both will go to college. • Both are artistic. Eliza wants to be an architect; Annie sings and is involved in music. • Annie is less inhibited than Eliza. Annie can and will play-joust if she wants to. Eliza can do this, but she is self-conscious at first. • Both go to museums. What are the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Temple of Dendur, and the American Wing? The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870 and houses many important works of art. It is in New York City’s Central Park. The Museum includes Rembrandts and Vermeers as well as Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. It also has a fine collection of Islamic art. In addition, it houses many other collections, including a collection of medieval armor and weapons. The Temple of Dendur In about 15 B.C.E., the Temple of Dendur, a shrine to the goddess Isis, was built. Today, it is part of the museum’s Egyptian collection. In 1963, the temple was dismantled and moved because of the new Aswan High Dam, which raised the water of the Nile River so high that the water would have submerged the temple. In 1965, the temple was offered as a gift from Egypt to the United States. The American Wing According to the website of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Ever since its establishment in 1870 the Museum has acquired important examples of American Art. A separate ‘American Wing’ building to display the domestic arts of the seventeenth–early nineteenth centuries opened in 1924; paintings galleries and an enclosed sculpture court were added in 1980.” Chapter 2 What do we learn about Liza in chapter 2? • Liza has a playful brother named Chad, who is two years younger than her. • Liza is President of the Student Council. • Liza has a sense of responsibility, but a sense of responsibility that is not well enough developed yet. She does check out the ear-piercing clinic, but she decides that it is sanitary enough and lets it continue doing business. • Liza is a straight-A student. • Liza lives in a good neighborhood and attends a private school. Her neighborhood is middle class or perhaps upper middle class. The wage-earners living in the brownstone apartments are doctors, lawyers, and professors. (On p. 48, we find out that Liza’s father is an engineer who attended MIT.) Write a character analysis of Chad, Liza’s younger brother. • Chad is 15, two years younger than Liza. • Chad and Liza have a playful relationship. Liza and Chad end up throwing leaves at each other in chapter 2. • Chad has been memorizing the Powers of Congress and is surprised that Liza doesn’t remember them. He wonders what is the point of memorizing something at age 15 if you will forget it by age 17? • Chad is perceptive. He says that Liza must be in love. As it turns out, this is true. (This is a good example of foreshadowing.) What is foreshadowing, and what example of it do we see in Chapter 2? The 6th edition of A Handbook to Literature by C. Hugh Holman and William Harmon defines “foreshadowing” in this way: “The presentation of material in a work in such a way that later events are prepared for” (201). Here are a couple of other definitions: Foreshadowing is the use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in literature. Source: http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/foreshadowing.html Date Accessed: 2 October 2011 Definition: A literary device used to hint at events that will follow later in the story, sometimes generating feelings of anxiety or suspense. Anton Chekhov once said that “if there is a gun hanging on the wall in the first act, it must fire in the last.” That remark captures the essence of foreshadowing. Source: http://contemporarylit.about.com/library/bldef-foreshadowing Of course, plays also contain foreshadowing. Chad is perceptive. He says that Liza must be in love. As it turns out, this is true. (This is a good example of foreshadowing.) What is the financial situation of Foster Academy? Who is Mr. Piccolo? • Foster Academy — a private school — is in financial trouble. That is why they have consulted a professional fundraiser and started a “major campaign” (18). • The fundraising campaign is significant because the fundraisers will want to avoid any sign of scandal — a scandal could result in people not wanting to donate money to Foster Academy. • Mr. Piccolo is on the fundraising committee. He is also a parent whose daughter — Jennifer — attends Foster Academy. Both Mr. Piccolo and Jennifer are like the musical instrument they are named after: tall and thin. • A piccolo plays an important part in John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.” A piccolo is a musical instrument that is a small flute that produces music an octave higher than a standard flute. Write a character analysis of Sally Jarrell. • We learn that Sally Jarrell later changes, but that in this chapter she is a true original who goes her own way. • Sally Jarrell is a go-getter, apparently, who doesn’t mind setting up her own ear-piercing clinic. • Unfortunately, she hasn’t thought things through. A number of girls whose ears she pierces end up holding bloody tissues to their ears in various classes. • Neither Sally nor Liza are in cliques. • Liza says about Sally, “In a world of people who seemed to have come out of duplicating machines, Sally Jarrell was no one’s copy, not that fall anyway” (19). Did Liza act properly when she learned about Sally Jarrell’s ear-piercing clinic? • No, she should have been more responsible. Sally is not a doctor, and it’s best to have a professional do body mutilation — uh, ear piercing. • Still, Liza does consider the situation carefully and make decisions, although she makes the wrong decisions — the decisions that the procedure is sanitary enough and that Sally should be allowed to continue piercing ears. • Jennifer Piccolo is hurt when her ears are pierced — this should be reason enough for Liza to stop Sally from piercing more ears. • Liza does like Sally a lot — that may be clouding her judgment. If you feel like doing research, investigate a few of the problems that can result from body piercing. (Do not plagiarize.) Most body piercing is done in the earlobs, and most people do not have problems arising from piercings. Both men and women get body piercings in various parts of their bodies. Piercing the earlobs is usually safe, although problems can arise when other parts of the ear are pierced because the needle goes through cartilage. Piercings through cartilage are more likely to become infected than piercings through earlobs. The most common problem from piercings is infection of the pierced site. Diseases can also be spread through piercing the body if a sterile technique is not used. The diseases that can be transmitted include hepatitis B or hepatitis C, tuberculosis, syphilis, HIV, and blood infections (sepsis). In addition, the person having the piercing may discover that he or she is allergic to the metal used in the jewelry displayed in the pierced body part. Write a character analysis of Ms. Stevenson. • Ms. Stevenson teaches art and is faculty advisor to student council. • Ms. Stevenson is strict but fair. • Ms. Stevenson recognizes that Sally’s piercing of ears is not a good idea. • Ms. Stevenson does have pierced ears — but a doctor pierced her ears. Also, she was in college when her ears were pierced. Chapters 2-3 Write a character analysis of Mrs. Poindexter. • The name “Poindexter” is a hint that this is an unsympathetic character. A “poindexter” is a nerd. • Mrs. Poindexter believes in responsibility. She wants Liza to be a role model for other students. • Mrs. Poindexter does not have a nicely decorated office. It has shades of brown and is unattractive. • She is stubby and gray-haired and always looks as if she has a pain somewhere. • She cares very much about Foster Academy. • She feels that Liza did not do her duty when she allowed Sally Jarrell to keep piercing the ears of students. • She makes Liza explain her actions, and she makes Liza feel guilty. • Mrs. Poindexter is really worried about the school, and she desperately wants the fundraising effort to be successful. She is worried about anything that would negatively impact that fundraising effort. • Mrs. Poindexter is worried that Mr. Piccolo may not help with the fundraising effort since his daughter had to leave school and go home after getting her ears pierced. • A disciplinary hearing will take place for both Liza and Sally. Chapter 3 What is the reporting rule? • The reporting rule is Foster Academy’s honor code. It has three parts: 1) If you do something wrong, you are supposed to report yourself. 2) If you see someone doing something wrong, you are supposed to tell that person to report him- or herself. 3) If that person does not report him- or herself, you are supposed to report him or her. • Most faculty and students think that the reporting rule does not work. Liza even spoke out against it when she was elected Student Council President. Mrs. Poindexter disagrees. Who is Ms. Baxter? • Ms. Baxter is Mrs. Poindexter’s toady. • She teaches the Bible as Literature to juniors and she tells young students Bible stories. • She has dyed red hair. • She is Mrs. Poindexter’s administrative assistant. • They are not equals; Ms. Baxter is clearly subservient to Mrs. Poindexter. Write a character analysis of Liza’s Mom based on what you learn in chapter 3. • She is a good person. Both Liza and Chad can talk to her. Even if they are wrong, their Mom can help them sort out their problem without making them feel like worms. • She makes lots of cookies — perhaps as a result of feeling guilty because she is not a stay-at- home Mom. However, no one except herself expects her to be a stay-at-home Mom. • She is active in the neighborhood association — she attends its meetings. • She leaves notes as needed for members of her family. What do we learn from Annie and Liza’s telephone conversation? • Both are nervous, but both like each other. • They set up a kind of date. They are going to go to the Cloisters together. • This time, Annie makes the first move. She calls, and she asks Liza to go to the Cloisters. • Liza is able to make Annie laugh — a good indication that Annie likes her. The joke isn’t much — just that Liza hopes that Annie will not pose in front of a triptych or something. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language (Fourth Edition, 2000) defines “triptych” in this way: “A work consisting of three painted or carved panels that are hinged together.” What is the Cloisters? The Cloisters is a museum of medieval art and architecture; it is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It consists of a collection of buildings and of art. The buildings include a 12th- century Romanesque chapel, a chapter house, and some French cloisters. The art includes hundreds of examples of medieval painting and sculpture. Dictionary.com gives these definitions of “cloister”: 1. a covered walk, especially in a religious institution, having an open arcade or colonnade usually opening onto a courtyard. 2. a courtyard, especially in a religious institution, bordered with such walks. 3. a place of religious seclusion, as a monastery or convent. 4. any quiet, secluded place. 5. life in a monastery or convent. Chapter 4 Write a character analysis of Ms. Widmer, the poetry teacher. • She is a good teacher. She has a good voice for reading poetry, and she teaches well enough that her students also like poetry. • She reads humorous poems, and she gives homework. • She is a sympathetic character. • She is not old, yet her hair is grey — something that she finds amusing. • It is rumored that before graduation Ms. Widmer gives each graduating senior a poem that she thinks is relevant to their future life. Why do you suppose author Nancy Garden put the poem “Invictus” in chapter 4? What does “invictus” mean? William Ernest Henley (1849–1903) wrote “Invictus”: Invictus Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance 5 I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, 10 And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: 15 I am the captain of my soul. • “Invictus” is Latin, and it means “unconquered” or “undefeated.” • The poem basically says that no matter what bad things are happening or will happen, the speaker’s soul shall still be unconquered. • Trivia: Oklahoma bomber Timothy McVeigh — a bad guy — copied out this poem shortly before he was executed. • In this chapter, Liza is going through a bad time. However, she does not cave in, unlike Sally. Write a character analysis of Angela Cariatid. What is a caryatid? • Angela Cariatid is like a caryatid. She is tall and usually self-possessed. However, now she is not at all self possessed. • Angela is very nervous, and she provides comic relief during the trial scene. For example, she hits the gavel so hard that it flies out of her hand. • Although Angela is supposed to be running the disciplinary hearing, clearly Mrs. Poindexter is running it. • The Columbia Encyclopedia (Sixth Edition, 2001) defines caryatid as “a sculptured female figure serving as an ornamental support in place of a column or pilaster.” On the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, six caryatids make up part of the Porch of the Caryatids, which is part of the Erechtheum, an ancient Greek temple. By the way, male supporting figures also exist; they are called atlantes. Did Mrs. Poindexter run the meeting in chapter 4 fairly? Why or why not? • Although Angela is supposed to be running the disciplinary hearing, clearly Mrs. Poindexter is running it. • Mrs. Poindexter says that Jennifer Piccolo volunteered to testify at the disciplinary hearing, but Liza suspects that Mrs. Poindexter volunteered Jennifer Piccolo to testify at the disciplinary hearing. • Mrs. Poindexter points out the consequences of Sally’s actions. It could really hurt the school’s fundraising efforts. • Mrs. Poindexter seems more worried about Jennifer’s ears than other students’ ears because Jennifer’s father is on the fundraising committee. • At one point, Mrs. Poindexter says to a student who has spoken up, “I did not see you raise your hand” (46). However, I don’t think Mrs. Poindexter has been raising her hand when she wants to speak. Besides, Angela is the one who should be saying, “I did not see you raise your hand.” What does Ms. Stevenson do at the meeting? • Ms. Stevenson is a sympathetic character again. She is opposed to Mrs. Poindexter’s heavy- handedness. • When Angela says that Sally and Liza broke the rules, Ms. Stevenson quietly points out that they are accused of breaking the rules.