Here are my questions.

1. They are so upset because they view that as their job and its being threatened. It will make them feel less dominant.
2. They beat up Alma, they don’t let the girls play softball and Arnold tries to persuade Alma to drop the subject of the water bucket. The girls don’t give in, they still have hope for change.
3. The story is told by a girl, she is on the girls side of the conflict, she thinks the girls should get to carry the water bucket too. first person, limited omniscience.
4. The setting is a one room schoolhouse (All sizes and grades in one room) in a rural town, probably outside Toronto. (mentions Toronto maple leaves) It is set in the past (Water pump, not tap and war movies). The setting intensifies the conflict because the genders aren’t equal. The conflict is person vs. Person (boys vs. Girls, who carries the water bucket) and person vs. Society (girls vs. Society, equality, girls should carry the water bucket too).
5. Girls are the protagonist (Alma is the leader). I know because they are the ones that start the conflict by battling for equality.
6. Everything changed on that Friday because the girls were allowed to carry the water bucket. The significance of Ms. Ralston’s action in the last paragraph is one of defiance. It signifies that she has made the decision to let the girls carry the water bucket. The theme is everyone is equal.

1. Galvanized= metal that is polished, shiny and weather resistant
2. Remotest= farthest away
3. Intoxicated = in this case, drunk with excitement
4. Ominous= looming, dark, dangerous
5. Supplementary= something as well as
6. Forlornly= lonely, sadly,
7. Earnestly=seriously
8. Gloating= boasting
9. Transfixed= mesmerized
10. Pirouetting=to spin rapidly