- Why are the boys so upset at the idea of the girls carrying the water bucket?
They are upset at the idea of the girls carrying the water bucket because that would mean there is a chance that the boys won’t get the opportunity to get 30 minutes without school themselves and they’ve been always the ones to do it.
- What strategies do the boys use to pressure the girls to give in? How do the girls react?
Some strategies the boys use to pressure the girls to give in may be beating up and the girls react by standing up for themselves against the boys. Another strategy they used was by not letting the girls play softball when they control the game.
- Who is telling the story? What does she think of Ms. Ralston and the conflict over the water? From what point of view is the story told?
The narrator tells the story through Omniscient, meaning the narrator is telling the story while reporting anything or everything of the peoples’ thoughts, feelings and perspectives. This can be proven as the story has referred the protagonist by her name and not as I. Furthermore, the narrator explained how the students liked the teacher and what kind of teacher she was. The expression we got from Ms. Ralston was that she is a strict but a better teacher than most of the others.
- What is the setting (provide evidence). How does the setting intensify the conflict? What kind of conflict is it? (Person vs. person – person vs. self – person vs. society) Provide evidence for each conflict.
The setting is taken place in a school, likely in Canada because of having to bring water from a pump at the railway station and how they mentioned the Toronto Maple Leafs. Another evidence is that the narrator is comparing their school to the “one of those real city schools in the health books” and how they are using a coal stove with terrible quality desks which could mean this story takes place in an older timeline or the fact they mentioned that the ball went into the ox pasture. The setting intensifies the conflict because according to the story there hasn’t been any sight of intervention by the adults, while the boys have a lot of control in what they can do, in examples of not letting them play softball and having the ability to bully people. I believe the story is a person vs society conflict because the story provides the fact that a girl is challenging the boys of the bucket of water when they were the ones to do it for a long time.
- Who is the protagonist? How do you know?
I believe the protagonist is Alma Niles simply because after when she asked if girls were able to carry the bucket of water, the entire story was focused solely on the water bucket and how the boys are trying to doing everything in their power to stop her from getting the chance.
- In what way has everything changed on Friday? What is the significance of Ms. Ralston’s action in the last paragraph? What is the message (theme) the author is exploring?
Everything changed on Friday when the teacher decided to give a girl a chance to carry the water. Now, because it was proven that the girls can carry the water, the boys cannot do anything against it, and must live with it. The significance of Ms. Ralston’s action in the last paragraph is that she decided to play softball with the boys, and she destroy them in the game, even though that the girls were not allowed to play. I believe that the message the author is exploring is that sexism is one of the many problems in the world, and that everyone should be equal with equal opportunities.
Vocabulary
Galvanized = Shock or excite someone into taking action.
Remotest = Of a place situated far from the main centers of population; distant
Intoxicated = Cause someone to lose control of their faculties or behavior.
Ominous = Giving the impression that something bad or unpleasant is going to happen, threatening; inauspicious.
Supplementary = Completing or enhancing something.
Transfixed = Cause someone to become motionless with horror, wonder, or astonishment.
Pirouetting = An act of spinning on one foot, typically with the raised foot touching the knee of the supporting leg.
Forlornly = Pitifully sad and abandoned or lonely.
Earnestly = With sincere and intense conviction; seriously.
Gloating = Dwelling on one’s own success or another’s misfortune with smugness or malignant pleasure.