Key Passages

2.) Good readers focus on key passages.

As we read, we should be listening and looking for scenes, descriptions, dialogues, or monologues that stand out as important for the reader to recall. The plot of a story strings a collection of important passages or events together from start to finish. The reader should be aware of these and then explain why the passages or events were important and related.

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Key Passages in Frindle by Andrew Clements

As I read this book, I found myself drawn to passages that described events with intensity and the characters' heightened emotions. Often times, I found myself drawn to artistic wording in specific quotes of the text. Key passages tend to be those that string together to form the peaks and valleys of a story's plot. These passages hold the reader's "A-Ha!" moments that answer our questions, surprise us, or allow us to know more about a character and the situation. Often times, a passage becomes important to us after we discover later in the text that it had foreshadowed an event. There is more than imagery and description to these passages. Key passages are those that we can recall after reading as meaningful and important to understanding the book.

Examples of thinking about key passages in "Frindle" by Andrew Clements:

Pg. 1- "Was Nick a troublemaker? Hard to say. One thing's for sure: Nick Allen had plenty of ideas, and he knew what to do with them."

This passage us the important personality traits about Nick Allen at the start of the story. Being one of the first things we read in this book, I predict this to be foreshadowing for the events to come. This leads the reader to believe that the events to come may be pursued as troublesome, but may also be viewed as the opposite. There is a sense of mischief and innovation that sets the tone and attitude of the story.

Pg. 5- "Mrs. Avery never figured out who was making that sound, and gradually she trained herself to ignore it. But she still looked like a hawk."

This statement was attached to the story of Nick Allen getting away with tricking his third grade teacher into wasting time and letting him mock her. The passage leads the reader to believe that nick is a strong willed character that is sneaky and gets his way with his teachers. This scene provides and example to illustrate the previous passage about our main character's personality.

Pg. 15- "Mrs. Granger, you have so many dictionaries in this room, and that huge one especially... where did all those words come from? Did they just get copied from other dictionaries? It sure is a big book."
"...Why, what an interesting question, Nicholas. I could talk about that for hours, I bet." she glanced around the classroom. "Do the rest of you want to know, too?" Everyone nodded yes. "Very well then. Nicholas, will you do some research on that subject and give a little oral report to the class? If you found out the answer yourself , it will mean much more than if I just told you."

 This scene was a turn of events. For once, nick Allen did not get away with his plan or prank easily. This scene was the key moment where Nick Allen was inspired to create a speech and idea that would later guide the direction of the novel. We learn that Mrs. Granger was different than the other teachers Nick had, staying strong and seeing through his attempts to be a distraction.

Pg.  27- "It was a long article, and the kids were bored to death. But no one looked bored at all. Every kid in the room knew now that the period was more than half over, and that Nick's report wasn't just a report. It was one of the greatest time-wasters he had ever invented."

This passage demonstrates that despite the reality of the class being bored, there was an inherent communication happening between Nick and his classmates. Nick was a leader and, without mentioning it, gathered his classmates' support in wasting class time. Having experienced Nick's previous successful plans to distract teachers, the class understood the anterior motive behind Nick's speech that would also work out in the class' favor. There is strength in numbers and this statement would set the stage for where Nick gets his strength and support later in the novel.

Pg. 41- "But I really didn't have a frindle with me," said Nick, amazed at his own bravery... She was quiet for a few seconds, and then she said, "I see. Very well. Then I guess we have nothing more to discuss today, Nicholas. You may go."

Nick had blatently disobeyed Mrs. Granger, but she let him go without addressing the issue further. This was an interesting situation where both characters supported their side of the debate over words. This point left the reader wondering what would come next, seeing that both characters were strong in their opinion. 

Pg 47- "...When you read it, whenever that may be, you will know it is the same letter, and that I have not made any changes to it."
"...Then Mrs. Granger stood up abruptly and said, "Then that is all for today, Nicholas. And may the best word win."

The plot continues to move along and deepen at this point. Surprisingly to Nick, Mrs. Granger had just sparked the beginning of a "word war" that would escalate throughout the rest of the book. Emotions of surprise, tension, and possible anger are evoked from the reader in this scene. 

Pg. 54- "It was a chess game, Nick against Mrs. Granger. Mrs. Granger had just tried to end the game by using her queen- Mrs. Chatham in her black raincoat, the black queen."
"Nick didn't know it until the attack was under way, but he had a powerful defender of his own- good old Mom, the white queen. And the game was not over. It would go on until there was a winner and a loser."

A new character comes into play with this scene. Nick's mother becomes the adult representative of a child's good intentions among a system run by adult control. The image created by this metaphor makes the idea of this "word war" more concrete and strategic. Each move by either side was now to be perceived as taking steps in a battle.

Pg. 74- "Mrs. Granger was not impressed at all by the lights and the microphones. She looked right into the camera and said, "I have always said that the dictionary is the finest tool ever made for educating young minds, and I still say that. Children need to understand that there are rules about words and language, and that those rules have a history that makes sense. And to pretend that  perfectly good English word can be replaced by a silly made-up word just for the fun of it, well, it's not something I was read to stand by and watch without a fight."

The reader has, for the first time, openly heard Mrs. Granger's side of the story. Emotions are torn by those who can understand the good intentions by both parties now. Questions may be raised about whether or not this statement is good or bad, wise or closed-minded? 

Pg. 88- "On the outside, Nick was still Nick. But on the inside, it was different. Oh sure, he still had a lot of great ideas, but now they scared him a little."

At the end of the story, we get to see how the action of frindle becoming a word has effected Nick's attitude. For some time, Nick sees how much stress was brought upon himself and those around him. Our main character is doubting himself, which is not typical for him. Reading this statement strengthens the importance of the passage quoted on page 1 about Nick possibly being a troublemaker, but with good ideas he knew how to use. the reader wonders if what we thought was good about the word frindle is truly a good thing or not. We experience a stark contrast between the personality of our main character from before and after the action, wondering what has become of him.

Pg. 92- "...Nicholas, you didn't do anything wrong this year. I know a lot of things were said, and you must have had some difficult days here and there. But your idea was a good idea, and I have been very proud of the way you behaved- most of the time."

Mrs. Granger's personality is made more complex with this statement. She crosses the line from enemy to a caring friend that supports his ideas. Nick's thinking processes and behaviors throughout the "word war" are commended, despite her objection to the action of making frindle a word.

Pg. 93- "He was proud that he had made up a new word, and he enjoyed thinking about all the commotion it had stirred up. That one little word had made fifth grade a year to remember."
"Before he started sixth grade Nick was Nick again, and all through junior high and high school and college, he proved it."         

The story is concluded with this idea, placing an ending significance to the story's plot. In the beginning of the story, Nick had thought that fifth grade would be a year to forget and fear. This quote contrasts the initial thoughts displayed in the beginning of the story. The reader understands the journey that has taken place, feels content about Nick's personality remaining unchanged, and understands that this story is opposite to how the characters imagined it to.