Reading 6 Name:
Ramirez
Due Date:
Study Guide: “The Open Window”
Warmup. Answer each with a short discussion. Grammar and spelling are important!
1. Have you ever heard of a “nerve cure”? What do you guess it might be?
2. What could be another, more modern name, for a “nerve cure”?
3. If you were feeling extremely stressed out and you didn’t have to work for a few months,
what type of place would you go to relax?
4. What do you think a “letter of introduction” could be? Who would have it?
5. In your culture, is it common to go visit a stranger? Is there ever a time you might you visit
someone you’ve never met before? Explain.
6. Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?
Vocabulary List 1: You should know these words. They are non-academic, ordinary English.
For each word, try to:
1) Identify the part of speech
2) Translate into your first language, and
3) Give a synonym
amusing hungry for (metaphor)
apology hunt
alert intend
anniversary illness
aunt lose (your) nerve [phrasal verb]
avoid meantime
calmly masculine
cemetery menfolk
coat mess
coincidence muddy
correct niece
creatures nerves
creepy pack
cure phobia
cyclist privately
duck (noun) regret
diet relief
dug replace
dusk shock
excitement snap (verb)
extraordinary spaniel
formal specialty
fragment sympathetic
get on s.o.’s nerves [idiom] tea
gesture at tease
grave (noun) tragedy, tragic
gravel twilight
hostess widow
horror, horrible yawn
List 2: You might not know these words. They are non-academic, ordinary English. For each
word, try to write the synonym given in class, and make any useful notes.
ailment dazed romance
briskly delusion presently
bog dreadful self-possessed
break off (talking) faltering shudder
bustle flatter straying past
cane ghastly snarl
chatter hoarse sink, sank
chant insult sprint
collision marsh treacherous
communion mope twilight
List 3: These are academic words. You should learn these words and their word
families. Make a vocabulary card for each one.
adapted migrate recover topic
distinct physical series undergo
mental pursue stress widespead
Paraphrase
Write a simpler paraphrase of each sentence. Don’t focus on synonyms; instead, try to
communicate the meaning behind the words. The first one is done as an example.
“My aunt will be down presently, Mr. Nuttel ... In the meantime you must try and put up
with me."
My aunt is not here but she’s coming soon. Until she gets here
I’ll talk with you.
Framton Nuttel tried to think of the correct phrase to flatter the niece of the moment without
insulting the aunt that was to come.
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He was wondering whether Mrs. Sappleton was in the married or widowed state.
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In crossing the marsh to their favorite hunting place, they were all three engulfed in a
treacherous piece of bog.
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[H]er youngest brother [was] singing 'Bertie, why do you bound?' as he always did to tease her,
because she said it got on her nerves.
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"All my doctors agree that I need a complete rest, with no mental excitement, and to avoid all
stressful physical exercise," announced Framton.
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[He] shared the widespread delusion that total strangers are hungry for the smallest details of
one's ailments, their causes and cures.
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Setting
Where and when does this story take place? Guess! What clues make you think so? Write a
quotation (a few words is OK) from the story to support your guess.
Place: What room? Why?
What kind of town? Why?
What country? Why?
Time: What day? Why?
What season? Why?
In the past, present or future? Why?
Characters
Main characters are the people who speak and affect the story the most. For each main
character – there are three – give the person’s name, a few facts, and some descriptive
words. One is done as an example. Caution: Avoid copying directly from the story.
Name: Framton Nuttel Name: Name:
This person is: (Description)
A man
Middle-aged?
Nervous, sick
Has a sister
Single?
Probably a little rich
Their personality is:
(Characterization)
Shy
Strange
Easily scared of things
Maybe selfish
Not brave
Socially awkward
Characterization
“Characterization” means the way the author shows the personality of each character. Look
for actions, not just adjectives!
Look back at the “Characters” exercise. Choose one “personality” quality that you wrote for
each person. Copy it here. First, explain your thinking: why do you feel this describes the
person? Then, write a quote from the story that supports your choice. Be careful to include
quotation marks. It’s OK to copy a phrase, but be sure the thought is complete.
Example:
Character & Personality Trait: Why? Supporting Quote:
He can go on a long
vacation and he can have a “Framton grabbed wildly at
Framton is probably a little
“nerve cure.” Also, he his cane and hat...”
rich wears a hat and carries a
cane, and I think rich men
did this in the past
Character & Personality Trait: Why? Supporting Quote:
Character & Personality Trait: Why? Supporting Quote:
Plot
Plot is “what happens” in a story.
✱ One easy way to explain a story is by summarizing “what happens” in the story.
✱ This is a natural thing for humans to do.
✱ To summarize, you simply retell the story very briefly.
You leave out most description and focus on the major actions.
A. Summarize “The Open Window” in three or four sentences.
✱ A different, more abstract way to explain a story is by creating a timeline
that puts the events in order.
✱ A timeline must go from earliest to latest.
B. Write a timeline for “The Open Window” here. Include exactly SIX more events.
✱ A third way to analyze a story is by asking “What basic problems do the
characters have? How do these problems make the story happen?”
✱ This is the narrative arc method.
Conflict: Development: Climax or Turning Point: Resolution:
C. Complete a narrative arc for “The Open Window.”