1. Literary Devices
1.1. Onomatopoeia
1.1.1. "He drew back his fist and-whap!" p.153
1.1.2. "Click, craaaaackle, the intercom sputtered to life." p.153
1.2. Foreshadowing
1.2.1. The story Macbeth foreshadows Grandpa Pat's death in page 152: "It's a metaphor expressing how short life is."
1.3. Simile
1.3.1. "Up in the sky, the long, white vapor trail falling silently through the air like some disconnected umbilical cord." p.154
2. Theme
2.1. Death
2.1.1. The big idea would be how to cope with death, be it the death of a shuttle full of heroes or a loved one. Also, how the death of a loved impacts those around them.
2.1.2. Death by age vs disaster.
2.2. How short life is
3. Theme
3.1. Bullying
3.1.1. People often get bullied in school and other places. But, you should always be yourself.
3.1.1.1. "I had a feeling no one would ever call her Mouse again." (p.67)
3.2. Self-confidence
3.2.1. Helen performed very well in the school talent show because she was confident in her capabilities, despite being constantly bullied by Kath and her friends.
4. Characters
4.1. Helen (Mouse)
4.1.1. Talented
4.1.1.1. "For the first time, I understood what a terrific singer she was." (p.66)
4.1.2. Shy
4.1.2.1. "When Helen spoke, her voice was very quiet." (p.65)
4.1.2.2. "She nodded shyly."(p.67)
4.1.3. Confident
4.1.3.1. "Besides, I' a very good singer."p.(63)
4.2. Kathryn Morris
4.2.1. Mean
4.2.1.1. "What is that mouse doing at our table." (p.62)
4.2.2. Popular
4.2.2.1. "Maybe Kath thought she could be queen of the school forever, but she made a mistake."(p.64)
4.3. Kevin
4.3.1. Friendly
4.3.2. Supportive
4.3.2.1. "One more trick like that, and I tell. I mean it." (p.64)
4.4. Renee
4.4.1. Talanted
4.4.1.1. "She played percussion in the school band." (p.62)
4.5. Christine
4.5.1. Athletic
4.5.1.1. "Christine was a good athlete and popular. She started having parties." (p.64)
4.5.2. Popular
4.5.2.1. " "(p.64)
4.6. Mrs. Cromwell
4.6.1. Nice
4.6.1.1. "Even this late, Mrs. Cromwell is really nice"(p.63)
5. Setting
5.1. School
5.1.1. Gym
5.1.1.1. Kath shoots a soccer ball at Helen in the gym.
5.1.1.2. "I knew something was up in gym the next day the way Kath and her friends came out of the change room, giggling." (p.64)
5.1.2. Cafeteria
5.1.2.1. "What is that mouse doing at our table?"(p.62)
5.1.3. Stage
5.1.3.1. The school talent show takes place on the stage.
5.2. Church Basement
5.2.1. Helen practices singing in the church basement where no one can hear her.
6. Plot
6.1. Introduction
6.1.1. The establishment of the setting, the classroom where everyone is writing a test. The classroom is silent and you could hear everyone breathing.
6.2. Rising Action
6.2.1. When the principal makes the announcement that the space shuttle, Challenger crashed and how the classmates react to the news.
6.3. Climax
6.3.1. How the main character would come to Grandpa Pat's bed every night shortly before he died, and every time he stopped snoring the main character would panic and rush to his side, hoping he would continue breathing.
6.4. Falling Action
6.4.1. The main character plays memories of his Grandpa and him: watching movies on Saturday nights, playing hockey, and dressing up for Halloween.
6.5. Resolution
6.5.1. As the main character falls asleep and sees the white vapor trail "falling silently in the sky" and how the story implies the connection between the disaster and his grandpa's death.
7. Setting
7.1. School
7.1.1. Classroom
7.1.1.1. The first setting in the story
7.1.2. Student Lounge
7.1.2.1. Where everyone stays to watch the TV cover the disaster
7.2. Main Character's Home
7.2.1. Grandpa Pat's Room
7.2.1.1. The origin of the Tobacco smell
7.2.2. Main Character's Room
7.3. Ice Rink
7.3.1. Where Grandpa Pat would watch the main character play hockey
8. Characters
8.1. Point Of View Main Character
8.1.1. Caring
8.1.1.1. "I'd wake up scares he was going to die, and I'd come in to check Grandpa" "Towards the end, I used to come here every night" p.157
8.1.2. Restless
8.1.2.1. "I'd wait for it to continue but it had stopped right in the middle. I'd think think, heart attack! and sneak closer. He'd start to snore again." p.157
8.2. Andy
8.2.1. Conflicted
8.2.1.1. ""He didn't seem afraid or anything. Angry maybe. Confused. Hurt that people misunderstood his laughter" p.154
8.3. Brad
8.3.1. Conceited
8.3.1.1. "..., Brad played quarterback for the junior football team and he thought he was real tough." p.153
8.3.2. Aggressive
8.3.2.1. "He drew back his fist and-whap!" p.153
8.4. Grandpa Pat
8.4.1. Supportive
8.4.1.1. "I remember the wood scimitar he made me one Halloween, and the colorful shield he built from an old garbage can lid" p.157
8.4.1.2. "I remember playing peewee hockey at six in the mornings and Grandpa Pat watching me from behind the boards, his breath a plume of white smoke in the freezing cold arena" p.158
8.4.2. Down-To-Earth
8.4.2.1. "Ain't no heroes and no villains like that. Just people, just us humans" p.157
8.5. Mr. Kent
8.5.1. Confident
8.5.1.1. "Mr. Kent always seemed so sure of himself" p.154
8.6. Christa McAuliffe
8.6.1. Courageous
8.6.1.1. The first civilian to go on a shuttle mission
9. Plot
9.1. Exposition
9.1.1. First day of School
9.1.1.1. Kath is having a conversation with her friends about the concert at her table. Helen comes to Kath's table uninvited and begins to get bullied by Kath.
9.2. Rising Action
9.2.1. The rising action is composed of the parts where Kath and her friends constantly bully Helen, but Helen is persistent about proving herself, and prepares to sing at the talent show with Kevin.
9.2.1.1. Kath makes fun of Helen's bag.
9.2.1.2. Kath kicks a soccer ball hard at Helen in gym class.
9.2.1.3. Kath and her friends make fun of Helen because she can't play an instrument.
9.3. Climax
9.3.1. Helen runs off the stage at the school talent show.
9.4. Falling Action
9.4.1. Helen runs back on the stage with a stool. Helen sings at the talent show while Kevin plays the piano, and gives an amazing performance. Kath, however, does not perform as well as Helen.
9.5. Resolution
9.5.1. Everybody loves Helen's performance.
9.5.2. Helen becomes popular and is invited to sing at Christine's party.
9.5.3. Meanwhile, Kath loses her popularity. She goes from "Queen of School" to "Queen of Nothing." (p.67)
10. Literary Devices
10.1. Personification
10.1.1. "My knees were knocking" (p.65)
10.2. Satire (Sarcasm)
10.2.1. "We should practise at my place," I told her. She laughed. "Right, and afterwards, your sister could have me for supper. As the main course." (p.65)
10.3. Simile
10.3.1. "Everyone else at the table picked up their trays to following her like robots." (p.62)