Skip to main content

What are 10 important items to Dave Packer?

We know that Dave is a thoughtful boy, someone who's not overly attached to objects or possessions. But if we consider anyway the items that may be of importance to him, we can understand his character better. Here are some suggestions:


1. Dave's library books about India and Gandhi. These open his mind to the new ideas that really get this story going.


2. His own hands. Dave discovers at the end of Chapter 2 that he can communicate very well just by doing a thumbs-up or a high five, or even by sliding his hands into his pockets to show that he doesn't want to talk.


3. Pizza and fruit cups. These are the foods that he chooses out of all the others in the lunch line, so he must like them best.


4. A baseball, a soccer ball, or a football. Dave loves sports, and he loves talking about sports, too.


5. Rocks. We also learn in Chapter 3 that Dave enjoys looking for interesting rocks.


6. His Playstation, Nintendo, or Xbox. Like most American boys his age, Dave loves playing video games.


7. Comic books. Of course Dave loves these! Again, he's an American kid in the fifth grade.


8. An iPod. Although Dave doesn't actually have one, he wishes for one in Chapter 3 so that he could block out the sounds of Lynsey talking on and on.


9. Candy and gum. In Chapter 7, we find out that Dave found it really hard to follow the school rules against chewing gum or eating candy on the school bus or on campus. He must really like this stuff!


10. His voice. By learning to use it more selectively instead of just chattering, Dave understands better how powerful it is.


Finally, just for fun, let's finish up by thinking about the objects Dave definitely doesn't like: Mrs. Escobar's bull horn, memos sent home about how noisy he is in class, and Lynsey's notebook where she records all the mistakes that the boys make!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...
Post a Comment
Read more