The Friday Everything Changed

1.) The boys are are so upset that the girls are carrying the water bucket because they afraid that their privilege of doing something real will be taken away. The bucket is a symbol.

2.) The boys exclude the girls from playing softball and bully them so that they give up trying to carry the bucket. Alma’s cousin also tries to convince her to stop wanting a change. This causes the girls to come together and unite against them.

3.)The narrator is a student who is a girls. She thought she was young, pretty and tough with the boys.  She also thinks that Ms. Ralston is doesn’t notice the conflict going on because she is an adult. The point of view is Limited Omniscient.

4.) The story takes place in a one room school in a rural part of Ontario, in the 1940s. We know this because the narrator says that the big kids and little kids are all in the same class. The setting intensifies the conflict because it is in a place where gender equality does not exist. The conflict is person vs. society because it is Alma fighting against the way everyone views girls.

5.) Alma is the protaganist because she is the one who seeks change and gets to carry the water bucket.

6.) Ms. Raltson showed the boys that the girls are just as good as boys by hitting the home run. She assigned two girls to carry the water bucket the following week, which was very important for the girls. The theme of the story is to never be afraid to fight for what you believe in.

Vocabulary

1.) Galvanized- To cover steel or iron with a layer of zinc to prevent it from rusting.

2.) Remotest- Far away in time: far into the future or happening a long time ago.

3.) Intoxicated- To be affected with drugs or alcohol.

4.) Ominous- Foreboding or foreshadowing evil.

5.) Supplementary- Completing or enhancing something

6.) Forlornly- Sad and lonely because of isolation or desertion

7.) Earnestly- A serious and intent mental state.

8.) Gloating- To observe or think about something with triumphant and often satisfaction, gratification, or delight.

9.) Transfixed- To cause someone to sit or stand without moving because of surprise, shock, interest, etc.

10.) Pirouetting’s- A rapid whirling of the body, a full turn on the toe or ball of one foot in ballet.