Summaries English 9

“The Utterly Perfect Murder” by: Ray Bradbury Setting: Greentown, Past/Present Main Characters: Doug Spaulding – crazy Ralph Underhill – old, bully Major Conflict: Doug can’t get over his past of being bullied Type of conflict: Internal Conflict

“The Utterly Perfect Murder” by: Ray Bradbury Plot Summary: Doug can’t get over being bullied by Ralph Underhill as a child. He sets out to murder him. He travels to his home town and finds Ralph an old, sick man. He can not physically kill, but kills him in his mind and lets go of his past. Theme: A person should not bottle up their feelings. A person’s actions can have lasting affects.

“The Day of the Last Rock Fight” by: Joseph Whitehill Setting: Manning Day School Main Characters: Ronnie Quiller: Narrator Peter Irish: Ronnie’s best friend, dated Angela Pine Gene Hanlon: bully Major Conflict: Ronnie trying to decide to tell that his best friend, Peter, killed Gene. Type of Conflict: Internal Conflict

“The Day of the Last Rock Fight” by: Joseph Whitehill Plot Summary: Peter heard Gene was going out with his girlfriend. He over reacts and kills Gene Hanlon. Ronnie witnesses it and can’t tell on his best friend. Peter eventually gets caught and kills himself. Ronnie can finally tell the story. Theme: A person shouldn’t let their emotions get the best of them.

“The Most Dangerous Game” by: Richard Connell Setting: Ship Trap Island Main Characters: Rainsford : Hunted General Zaroff: Hunter (Humans) Ivan: General Zaroff’s bodyguard Major Conflict: Rainsford struggles to survive being hunted by Zaroff. Type of Conflict: Internal Conflict: Rainsford uses his mind to escape External Conflict: Man vs. Man

“The Most Dangerous Game” by: Richard Connell Plot Summary: Rainsford goes from the hunter to the hunted. General Zaroff, a skilled hunter, enjoys hunting humans. Rainsford uses his cleverness to elude Zaroff and kill him in the end. Theme: In difficult situations a person should use their mind instead of strength.

“The Scarlet Ibis” By: James Hurst Setting: 1918, the South Main Characters: Brother: Narrator Doodle: Weak heart, disabled Major Conflict: Brother struggles with having a brother that is physically disabled Type of Conflict: Internal Conflict

“The Scarlet Ibis” By: James Hurst Plot Summary: Doodle is born with a weak heart. Brother pushes him to be normal (walk, swim, climb) Brother pushes him too far and he dies. Doodle is compared to the Scarlet Ibis (bird) that is pushed from its surrounding by a storm and it dies. Theme: A person should accept another person for who they are.

“The Necklace” By: Guy de Maussapant Setting: Paris, France – 19th Century Main Characters: Loisel : Husband Mathilde : wife, unhappy with her life Major Conflict: Mathilde is unhappy with her life and her social status and constantly wants more. Type of Conflict: Internal Conflict

“The Necklace” By: Guy de Maussapant Plot Summary: Loisel and Mathilde are invited to a ball. Mathilde does not have anything to wear. She wants to impress the wealthy so she borrows a diamond necklace. She loses it and her and her husband give up everything to pay back loans they took out to get another necklace. Mathilde finds out at the end that the necklace was fake and not worth anything. Theme: A person should be happy with what they have.

Speak By: Laurie Halse Anderson Setting: Syracuse, NY Main Characters: Melinda Sordino: Narrator Heather-Melinda’s foil character Rachelle: Melinda’s ex-best friend Andy Evans: predator Mr. Freeman: art teacher, trustworthy Dave Petrakis: Melinda’s lab partner Major Conflict: Melinda is struggling with a traumatic event and needs to learn to speak up about it. Type of Conflict: Internal

Speak By: Laurie Halse Anderson Plot Summary: Melinda was raped at a party the summer before her freshman yr. She calls the cops and they bust the party. Everyone at school hates her. She stops talking and becomes very depressed. She is tormented by Andy Evans, the boy who raped her. David Petrakis helps Melinda speak up for herself. She finally tells about the rape and begins to heal. Theme: A person needs to speak up to make a difference.

Romeo & Juliet By: William Shakespeare Setting: Verona Main Characters: Romeo: a Montague Juliet: a Capulet Tybalt: Pugnacious Mercutio: Romeo’s best friend Nurse: Juliet’s servant Friar Lawrence: Priest Major Conflict: Romeo is in love with Juliet who belongs to the family that his family is feuding with. Type of Conflict: External

Romeo & Juliet By: William Shakespeare Plot Summary: Romeo meets Juliet and they fall in love, not realizing their families are enemies. Friar Lawrence quickly marries them the day after they meet. There is a fight; Tybalt kills Mercutio and Romeo kills Tybalt. Romeo is banished and Juliet is devastated. She takes a potion to appear dead. Romeo thinks she is really dead and buys a potion and kills himself. When Juliet awakens and finds Romeo dead she stabs herself with his dagger. The feud is ended through their deaths. Theme: When a person rushes through something it can end up in failure.

Of Mice and Men By: John Steinbeck Setting: 1930’s, Great Depression Main Characters: George Milton: protagonist Lennie Small: mentally slow Candy: swamper Crooks: African American Curley: Boss’ son Curley’s wife: lonely Major Conflict: George is faced with keeping a job during this time period while keeping Lennie out of trouble. Type of Conflict:

Of Mice and Men By: John Steinbeck Plot Summary: George and Lennie arrive at a new ranch to work. They dream of saving enough money to buy their own land. Candy gives them money and their dream is a real possibility. Lennie kills Curley’s wife and the dream is over. George decides he needs to kill Lennie. He does this because he realizes Lennie will always get in trouble and he doesn’t want Curley to be the one who kills him. Theme: Friendship means more to a person than anything else. Loneliness can drive a person crazy.